Detailed, Multi-part review of Royal Princess June 18th British Isles Cruise

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Intro

We just returned home to the US VERY late last night fromthe Royal Princess’s June 18th British Isles cruise (with Kirkwall). This review will come in pieces over the nextweek. Please be patient with us. We’re recovering. The one-liner I can give is that it was atrip of a lifetime for my family. It hadits hiccups, but it seems to have converted some non-cruisers.

 

 

The cruisers in this case are DH and DW (me and my wife 40s), DD1 (elder daughter, 14), DD2(younger daughter, 11), DF (my Dad, 80) and DM (my Mom, 80), all in generally good health and able to hike, withthe usual caveat that DF and DM can’t do upward stairs by the hundreds as wellanymore. All are US born and based.

 

 

DH, DW, DF and DM are all pretty well-travelled, with DF andDM having lived in European countries for years at a time. DDs have traveled to London previously, andare very good travelers.

 

 

 

DW and DH had taken one cruise (HAL, US/Canada) with DD1when she was 18mo. None of the othershad ever cruised.

 

 

DD and DM are historically VERY independent travelers, and wouldhave been described as anti-cruise until maybe a year ago.

 

 

All of us are extreme pre-planners when it comes to travel(it is half the fun for us) and DW and DH are ravenous internet planners.

 

 

Note – one thing you need to keep in mind with this review;we did not have a single day of serious rain on a 12-day UK cruise. The weather was absolutely incredible. The only uncomfortable day was Le Havre(Paris for 4 of us, Normandy beaches for 2), which was hot and very sunny. Hardly what one can expect for a UK cruise.

 

 

Next... Staterooms...

[sunsetbeachgal]

Can’t wait to read it! We did the June 6 British Isles cruise and everyone in our group loved it!

 

 

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[MrsEmmaPeel]

Staterooms

We had two adjacent balcony staterooms on Baja (B222 and B226) and the interior across the hall (B228). While the booking had DD and DM in one of the balconies and then an adult and a kid in each of the other two staterooms, the plan all along was to have DDs in the interior and DH and DW in the other balcony.

 

Customer Service cut extra keys for the younger generations’ two staterooms, so that the fact that one actual resident of each of those two rooms could not enter with their own card was not an issue. At worst, you unlocked the door to your original stateroom and grabbed the spare from there. It was never an issue.

 

Put simply, the stateroom location, layout and setup was simply perfection for us. All of us loved our staterooms, and we simply could not overstate the importance of the balcony staterooms for this itinerary. I’ll go further and state that assuming the ship docks the same way each time, port side is THE SIDE to have in order to face the interesting stuff. Few things are quite as amazing as waking up to looking directly out of your balcony onto St Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh.

 

The staterooms were a great location for us, mid-deck between Lido and Piazza, close enough to the forward elevators not to be an issue, and far enough from them not to be a noise issue. We are VERY picky about noise, and we NEVER found it an issue on this cruise.

 

Our steward opened the divider between our balconies the first night, and we loved it. It DOES impinge on the view from one of the two staterooms, but that was a small price to pay for the chance to enjoy sail-away every evening on a double-balcony.

 

We found the beds to be great. Initially, the younger generations’ two rooms were both set up as twins, but we asked our steward if he could move DH and DW balcony back to a queen at his convenience. He said it would be easy to do so after the first night and we happily agreed. Second night, they were together, and we found that it was hard to even notice the join in the middle when sleeping.

 

We brought a pair of 6-jack USB charging blocks, one for each of the younger generations’ staterooms. We also brought three “breakout” 120V cables, one for each stateroom. These covered all of the power needs we had.

 

We bought a pack of 4 2-prong, non-polarized, flat-panel nightlights for the rooms. DH installed them in the bathroom razor plugs of each stateroom and in the bedroom of the inside stateroom and they stayed there the whole cruise. They propped the cover on the razor outlet open perfectly. And for the younger crew, it meant never having to turn on the bathroom light at night. For DF and DM, it meant they were able to see their way to the bathroom, even if they had to turn on the light when they got there.

 

Note – it does seem to be Princess policy to pull out any “temporary” card you stick in the power-enable slot near the door when they work on the room. So don’t expect things to charge during the day when you’re in port.

 

 

Next... Texhnology

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Technology

 

* Phones

 

We all had unlocked cell phones, so on arrival day in London, we walked a block to the Vodafone store and purchased Big Value Bundle SIMs (2GB or 8GB) for each phone at a price of between 10-20GBP each. We had done this on previous London trips, and they were perfect. DM and DD had a need to call home to the US daily for family reasons, and they wanted it to be as “normal” as possible for DM. So, for 5GBP, we added 50mins of US calling to each of their phones. By Glasgow, they had run low on one phone, so we stopped into a Vodaphone store there and topped up for another 5GBP.

 

The downside of our method is that we all had to add new numbers for each other in our contacts, but this was really a non-issue, and the price is right.

 

One thing to note with the Vodaphone SIMs. Not only did they work seamlessly in every port, we found that owing to the course of the ship on this itinerary, good cell signal on Vodaphone UK or a related carrier was often available for 1 to 2 hours after the ship left port for the day, especially if you were willing to go up to the Lido deck and sit on the side closer to shore. In fact, on the last two days (between the UK and France), there were times when you could connect to UK providers on one side of the ship, and continental on the other! This was very useful, because calling back to the West coast of the US could really only be done in the 6pm-8pm range ship time.

 

Important note – in order to do the post-port connecting we did on the ship, we had to get used to manually selecting the carrier in our phones’ setting controls. Otherwise, you could end up on Telenor, which is the marine cell network that costs $2.50 a minute.

 

* Ship Internet

 

If the Vodaphone SIMs were the best aspect of tech for the trip, internet on the ship itself was definitely the worst. Owing to the ludicrously outdated system of charging by the minute, we never used the ship’s internet. However, in several cases where we brought it up with other passengers who had, it generally unleashed responses of VERY negative experiences. One passenger repeated something I’ve heard from others on the boards: if you have to conduct internet-based communication for business while on a cruise (and in this day and age, many do), Princess may not be your best cruise option.

 

* Princess@sea mobile site

 

Princess has a mobile website that allows you to see your account, activities for the day, shore excursions, etc. The most important feature to us was the Messenger feature that allowed you to message other guests for free when connected to the Princess Wifi. This feature should be executed better than it is. First, there are no push notifications, so you need to refresh the page to see if you have a message. Second, if you move around the ship, you will receive notifications when you try to refresh the page that you got disconnected. So you need to refresh again and try sending your message again. DH and DW wanted to use this to communicate with DDs, and it was better than nothing. Not tremendously better than nothing, but it did work, sometimes. The stateroom account section was much better done – you could see updates in real time, and you can see the charges for connected staterooms.

 

* Tap to Pay / Contactless

 

If there is any single recommendation we could give with regard to technology it is this; if your phone supports Google Pay / Apple Pay, set it up before you travel. Contactless payment is ubiquitous on this itinerary and once you spend a few days with it in port, you will (if you are a US resident) find yourself cursing the low acceptance of it in the US. It is, simply put, the smoothest way to pay for day to day stuff on this itinerary. And it completely sidesteps the US “chip and sign” card stuff. Note however that many places only accept it for transactions 30GBP/EUR or less. Oddly, this limitation is not universal. I used tap-to-pay for a V&A membership that was >100GBP!

 

 

Next... Dining...

[rocklinmom]

Loving your very detailed review! Can’t wait for the rest. We are booked on this itinerary next summer.

 

 

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[MrsEmmaPeel]

Dining

 

Dining was a big concern for us pre-cruise, since most days were in port and the fixed dining times were not a great fit for those sail-away times when the added constraint of DF and DM likely not wanting to eat late. In the end, this was fixed by wonderful Princess dining staff and DF and DM not being as picky as we expected on dining times.

 

We were all assigned “6pm” traditional dining, which we knew from CC would likely be 5:45. A non-starter for us. So, when we embarked, while we waited for our pizzas in Alfredo’s (many thanks CC for the Alfredo’s embarkation lunch idea!), DW ran down to the dining room to talk to the staff. Conrad in dining worked with her, and we ended up with a fixed table for 7:45 in Concerto for the rest of the cruise. We feared this would be too late for DF and DM, but it was not. In fact, we found the time to be PERFECT for us. We were always back on the ship in time for it, and on most days, we were able to watch the ship sail away before dinner (more on this later). Also, if we didn’t dawdle, we could get decent seats at the 10:00 or 10:15 show. In two cases, we sent an early crew, skipping dessert to go as soon as the doors opened to get the seats we really wanted (for the two biggest production shows)

 

We had thought it likely that DF and DM would eat in the MDR each night, DDs would likely eat at the Horizon court most nights, and DH and DW would split nights. In the end, we ate EVERY dinner together in the MDR and it was marvelous. Three generations talking, laughing and eating together for 75mins to 2hrs a night.

 

The food in the MDR was really very good, and often outstanding. DF and DM were shocked at how good it was many nights. I would estimate that each of us found about 3 dishes (not meals) over the 12 nights that we thought were “not good”, either a tough steak or an unfortunate flavor combination. That seemed to us to be a very minor issue. Steak seemed to be the dodgiest; we had “filet” one night that was tough. Two nights later, a New York Strip was tender and flavorful. Prime Rib could be fattier than we’d expect (and not in a marbled sense). The best items were likely the soups. Great flavor and quite varied. DD2 is a vegetarian, and there were always numerous options for her on the menu.

 

The dining staff (we had Ludy and Dranreb) were truly wonderful; DF actually joked with them that they were so attentive that he never got to finish telling a story. We thanked Ludy for this.  They were everything that cruise lines like to advertise; remembering what people like, offering ideas, remembering names and relationships. It was a highlight we looked forward to every night.

 

We only ordered one bottle of wine in the MDR, the first night, and we had it for two nights. Most other evenings, we drank wine from the 4 bottles we brought on board at embarkation, on our double-balcony while we watched the ship prepare to sail away. Some nights, we grabbed bread and cheese from the Horizon Court and brought it down to the balcony, too. This was very popular with our crew. A few other nights, one or two of us ordered glasses of wine with dinner.

 

The first two mornings, DH lead DF and DM to the MDR for breakfast, as we thought they would hate the Horizon court. We found the breakfast there to be good, but the options a little limited and a little slow given how early most mornings were in port. Every morning, DW and DDs ate in the Horizon court for breakfast, and by the third morning, all of us were going there for breakfast. The selection was excellent, and with the need to get moving very quickly each morning, DF and DM could come early and take their time, DH could come a little later and eat normally, and DW and DDs could fly in last minute and eat quickly before leaving for shore. While it might have been nice for the options to change a little more, little things like the different French toast flavors each day were fun.

 

The brewed coffee throughout the ship was… Okay. I did not love it, and DW did not love the iced tea, either. But we have no experience of the syrup coffee to compare. And the coffee, tea and juice came abundantly and quickly from the extremely attentive Lido staff.

 

One recommendation – pick a VERY specific area to meet up in the Horizon court every morning, or else you will never find your crew again once they split off to get food! We always found 4 seats together, but the Horizon court can get overwhelming.

 

We ate very few lunches onboard, as there were only 2 days at sea. In general, we ate those at Alfredos. Alfredos had very good food, but the menu never changed, and it does take more time than Horizons. We never found it crowded. And if all you want are pizzas, then the menu doesn’t matter, as you can pick your own toppings.

 

DDs liked to grab a sweet every now and then at the International Café, and they took a liking to the chocolate ganache cups from there. Often, they would choose to skip MDR desserts in favor of the IC items later. But DD1 always asked for (and got) a nice little pot of frothy hot chocolate (no charge) after dinner when the rest of us got hot tea and coffee.

 

Note that while there are hot chocolate machines in the Horizon Court and aft on the Lido deck, they appeared to be out of service the entire cruise. We assume they are being phased out. But pots of hot chocolate are available free in the MDR.

 

We never ate at the specialty restaurants or the poolside venues, so we have no reviews of those. DDs had ice cream from Swirls several times – one tip is that you can get sprinkles if you ask.

 

 

Next... Nightlife

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Nightlife

 

We are not a nightlife crew. This itinerary does not lead itself well to nightlife, given how early our port plans were most mornings. None of us like loud venues, and two of us could be considered “noise-sensitive”. So take this as you will.

 

“Nightlife” most nights involved DF and DM sleeping or watching the next day’s port info session on the in-room on-demand (these port info sessions were excellent and covered a lot of details on how to get around). For DDs, it was either watching on-demand movies or watching Movies Under the Stars, often from a hot tub. For DH and DW, it was generally walking up to the open decks to look around, or (later in the cruise) getting a drink together at the Princess Live bar.

 

More on bars. We found most of the bars in or near the Piazza to be too crowded and/or too loud for our tastes. We found Club 6 to be sad and hopeless; it was basically always empty unless there was a world cup match on the TV, in which case there would be 4 to 6 people in it. But empty or not, it was loud and cold. In the end, we found that the Princess Live bar was the best for us. Quiet other than a little sound from Princess Live, and very comfortable. The staff, and especially the bar’s amazing manager, Joaquim was what brought us back. Joaquim we always willing to talk about the ports, life on the ship (as appropriate), etc. He made us feel at home, and these things brought us back numerous nights to talk as a couple about the day gone by or anything else. The staff are what make the difference. One note – I don’t know if this is common, but I found most shaken mixed drinks to have more little ice chunks in them than I prefer. I feel like they are shaking with ice cubes that are too small, or else not straining effectively. It was minor, but worth mentioning for those who are picky about their “up” drinks. Pours were very reasonable, perhaps generous.

 

Two nights, our whole crew went to the 10:15 production shows. DH is picky about seats so both of those nights, he and one other person skipped dessert and got to the Princess Theater 45mins early to grab seats on the front row of the first “riser” level, center. This was kind of silly, as most seats are good, but DH is who he is… These shows definitely filled up, but we do not think they rose to standing room.

 

We went to Colors of the World and The Secret Silk. Both were enjoyable, and had excellent production levels for a cruise ship show. Costumes were elaborate, and changes constant. Lighting and scenery cues seemed to be everywhere. The music was too loud for us, but was not outside of the levels we’ve gotten used to enduring in land-based shows.

 

Colors of the World was fun as a revue show. The singers and dancers really put their all into it, and we enjoyed it as light, sometimes high camp entertainment. The Secret Silk aspired to be more, and its costumes, sets, and story were definitely “more”. But they were let down in the extreme by the fact that most of the songs in the show were top-40 hits shoehorned into the show in ways that were supposed to feel like they represented the story. They were stylistically jarring in what was supposed to be a more artistically-consistent show. We enjoyed it, but Princess sold it as more than a jukebox musical. And in truth, it wasn’t. Name-dropping Stephen Schwartz was a little over the top for what it was. NONE of this was the fault of the folks on the Royal, who pulled of the shows wonderfully.

 

We heard bits of the main show band (DD and the Groove?) many nights as we walked to dinner or back. They were fine, although I took issue with the fact that they seemed to get the tempos wrong on many of the songs. They took songs like Staying Alive at well above normal to the point that the singer was not able to get the words out.

 

We did not go to any of the piano bar entertainers, nor any of the Princess Live events to speak of.

 

Next... Embarkation

[caribill]

 

Note – it does seem to be Princess policy to pull out any “temporary” card you stick in the power-enable slot near the door when they work on the room. So don’t expect things to charge during the day when you’re in port.

 

Maybe it depends on where you had these plugged in. My experience has been that if plugged into the outlet on the desk that they would still charge if the card was not in the slot.

[sunsetbeachgal]

They also pull out the card I put in the slot by the door that keeps the lights on. I use a grocery store card, never my cruise card. We try to remember to pull it partly out when we leave the cabin, leaving it diagonally in the slot so we don’t waster energy. But if we forgot the steward did it!

 

 

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[SquishTheWhale]

Note – one thing you need to keep in mind with this review;we did not have a single day of serious rain on a 12-day UK cruise. The weather was absolutely incredible. The only uncomfortable day was Le Havre(Paris for 4 of us, Normandy beaches for 2), which was hot and very sunny. Hardly what one can expect for a UK cruise.

 

I'd just like to point out for anyone considering a British Isles cruise, the weather this and last month is VERY unusual for the UK. Just didn't want anyone to book expecting wall to wall sunshine every summer haha. We usually get about 3 days of summer and then it rains the rest of the time.

 

Nice review so far! Hope you enjoyed the ports

[phabric]

Enjoyed your review. I have taken this Cruise 2x.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Embarkation Day

 

We had flown into LHR on different flights on Sat AM, and spent Sat and Sun touring London. Our TA had booked us Princess transfers from Victoria Coach Station (VCS) for Mon AM. Originally, we were slated to be staying in the hotel adjoining the VCS, so this was going to be a breeze. However, our TA wasn’t able to book the hotel, and we finally ended up booking a hotel we knew well at Green Park (The Holiday Inn London Mayfair). So on Monday morning, we took a van cab with our luggage from the hotel to the VCS. We arrived there a little before 10am.

 

For those who have never gone through the VCS, it is… Not nice. We had to pull all of our luggage through masses of people trying to find the right “gate”, which was in the other “wing” of the station. Once we found the “gate” for Princess, things were not much better. We had to make our way to a queue to get a coach ticket, and then figure out who to give our luggage. Seating is at a premium, and everyone is pushing a bit. DD2 actually had a pigeon land on her lap, trying to steal the last few crumbs of her breakfast. INSIDE the terminal. We got cards for the 11am shuttle.

 

DH had hoped to use the extra time to procure some bottles of wine at a nearby M&S Simply Food or other grocer. The M&S wine selection was awful, and there were no other good options close by. So that was another strike against the VCS. Get your wine earlier and carry it.

 

We lined up when our card was called, but had to push our way through people with later cards who were clogging the doors. We boarded the coach, which was perfectly nice and had a bathroom. The Princess-contracted staff at the VCS were great; we had a nice conversation with the dispatcher, and they did their best to organize the chaos. However, once we were all happily seated, we were told that our particular bus would need to make a 30min rest-stop mid-way to Southampton for driver rest! We were not happy.

 

Indeed, we did stop at a motorway services mid-way to S’hampton. However, it was an extremely well-appointed stop, with several shops, including a convenience store with quite a good selection of wine! So we purchased our 4 bottle allowance there, got a snack and made the best of the stop. In hindsight, given there were 6 of us, we would have found our own transportation to Southampton since that would be cheaper and likely easier.

 

We arrived at the cruise terminal about 1:45, and it was very well organized, with plenty of seating, ample restrooms, and a good system for keeping people from standing in line too long. The staff were very professional and organized. No health forms were used. We were given group 31 on arrival, and they were calling group 20. In about 40mins, we were called, and in another 20mins, we walked onto the ship itself. NOTE – your passports are taken from you at checkin until Dublin, so make copies before you leave for the cruise for safety. Also, at embarkation, we each carried our wine bottle in our backpack. No mention was made of them at all. We didn’t even see an alcohol check-in desk. We DID see alcohol check-in desks at almost every other port. I’m assuming this was likely due to the Whiskey/Whisky-heavy ports in the itinerary 

 

Our staterooms were already ready, but we needed lunch. Thanks to CC’s boards, we knew exactly where we wanted to go – we walked straight to the Piazza and up to Alfredo’s. Which was totally empty other than one other table! We ordered a nice lunch and relaxed. DW (as mentioned before) used the wait for pizzas to clear up our dining and get extra keys for the staterooms.

 

After lunch, we made our way to our staterooms and met our great steward, Tomi(slav). We asked him for the modifications mentioned before, and settled in a little (most of our bags had not arrived). The 6 cases of water we had ordered were already in our rooms. We found that there were no bathrobes in the rooms despite requesting them in personalizer. We asked Tomi and he got us the robes, although none of them had belts, and Tomi told us that he could not find any.

 

DW took DDs to the kids’ and teens’ clubs to make sure they knew where they were and see what was up. We’ll cover the clubs in their own post.

 

Our luggage arrived in fits and spurts over the afternoon and we got settled in and had dinner. Sail away was delayed until 6:45pm because of technical issues. We got to bed quite early, as we had quite an exciting day planned for Guernsey, which it appeared we would actually not miss!

 

 

Next... Guernsey

[jagsfan]

I love all of the helpful details!

 

 

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[MrsEmmaPeel]

Guernsey

 

Guernsey was one of the most anticipated ports for our entire crew. We’re Anglophiles and WW2 history buffs, and Guernsey had a lot of all of those. Originally, we considered splitting up and the younger crew renting bikes to bike the island. However, we decided splitting up at the first port wasn’t the best idea, and we only wanted to bike if the weather was perfect (as it turns out, it was…). We considered using the municipal buses to get around, but CC board posts from GuernseyCruiser indicated that using the municipal buses as HOHOs was a problem. You could definitely hop off anywhere, but the buses get so crowded that you may never hop on again! This finally got DH to look into hire cars. Since there were 6 of us, this got complex, but Value Rent a Car on Guernsey rents 7-passenger, automatic transmission, Ford S Max MPVs. They deliver to the cruise dock and you can return them there, as well. They also rent smaller cars, with stick and auto. In fact, we get the feeling we got lucky that they even had one S Max. They were easy to deal with, and were very helpful.

 

Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re walking off of your cruise tender and hopping into a right-hand drive car to drive around a small island with narrow roads, hedgerows and stone walls. This is doubly true with the Ford S Max. It is much smaller than a US minivan, but it feels like a truck on Guernsey’s roads.

 

On the morning, Guernsey was beautiful: partly cloudy and mid-50s to mid-60s F. We were very nervous about tendering lines and delays, as time on Guernsey was limited. We all grabbed breakfast and were at Symphony to get our tender tickets at 8:10 (our car was to be ready at 9:00). We got tender tickets 96-101. We were on a tender within 2 minutes. We were at the pier by 8:40. We were supposed to call the car hire firm when we boarded the tended, but that was hard to do as we rushed to it, and the tender is loud. So we didn’t call them until we were on the dock. It took about 15mins for the hire car representative to arrive, although we had immediately found what was certainly our car waiting on the pier. DW did the paperwork with them while the rest of us took photos of every tiny nick on the car (there really weren’t any).

 

The Ford was excellent, perfect for 4 adults and 2 kids, with a satnav and just enough cargo space for our daybags. Once we were all settled, we drove straight out of St Peter Port to the German Occupation Museum. We arrived not long after it opened, and there were very few others there when we arrived. This meant that most of our time there was unhurried. When we were close to done, the first Princess excursion bus arrived and that all changed. This would become a recurring theme on our independent travelling and third-party, small tours. We would get to attractions ahead of the “sticker people” (sorry, but it was the easiest way to determine the Princess excursion folks), and “surfed the wave” ahead of the crowds.

 

The German Occupation Museum was WELL worth it; a wonderful collection of artifacts, stories, photos, and documents that told the story of Guernsey’s Occupation in detail. I can’t imagine going to Guernsey and NOT going there. As a note, this museum only takes cash, so plan ahead. Also the souvenirs here were the most reasonable of our entire trip here, so it is worth taking a look.

 

From there, we drove out to the west coast of Guernsey and made our way from the southern end to the northern end, stopping at beaches and fortifications as we wanted. This was the true glory of having a car. The western coastal road is wide, and parking is plentiful. The best stopping point was Fort Hommet, which we had to ourselves and were able to survey in detail and climb the rocks out past the fortifications. The water was beautiful and it was a high point of the entire trip.

 

From there, we decided to try to see the Little Chapel. This led us through the center of the island, and most of the more complex driving we had to do. In the end, when we drove by the chapel, it was overrun by three or four full-sized tour buses, and didn’t look like much fun. We didn’t even stop, but instead headed back into St Peter Port, and dropped the car at 1:45. We had paid for a full day of the car (~80GBP), but we had done what we wanted to do, and we did want to have some time in St Peter Port. So we got a late lunch in town. Also we noted that the queues for the tenders were very long at this point. The Pier Manager said they got better about 3:45 and it was worth looking around the town until then.

 

We asked the Pier Manager for a lunch recommendation, and they recommended Nelio’s Deli. They bake their own bread, and offer wonderful and creative sandwiches. Prices were reasonable and the selection large. They are right on the high street, slightly north of the pier. We recommend them highly. We spent some time shopping in St Peter Port.

 

We then walked around St. Peter Port. One note was that we had gotten a single pearl earring from our car rental representative (I believe many vendors on the island have them) with the instructions to go to the Guernsey Pearl to get the other. This is right in St. Peter’s Port and a quick walk from the ship. DDs loved finding the shop and they were each given a pair of pearl earrings! It began to mist and so we headed back, getting back to the tender line about 3:30. We were on a tender in under 30 minutes and back on the ship 4:15. Note, you do not want to miss the boat here. One, you do not have your passports and so may not be able to travel directly to Ireland. Two, it is a small island with very limited external transportation options.

 

Every single person we met in Guernsey was helpful, welcoming, and nice; despite being tourist drivers on the narrow roads, we were never honked at or gestured at even once. Guernsey was one of our favorite ports from the entire trip.

 

We were generally careful about ALL of the various money issues (old 5 and 10GBP notes, old pound coins, NI Pounds, etc), but DM wasn’t watching and ended the day with a Guernsey Pound. So there’s a souvenir… DW always asked for GBPs. As a note, in Belfast, DW was handled a Northern Irish 5 pound note. She asked the vendor for an English note, and they kindly swapped it out for an English note.

 

Next... Cobh.

[no1racefan1]

Following. Excellent detail!

[releck97]

Thanks for doing the very detailed review! We were also on this cruise and concur about the weather and food. Our favorite bartender was Mar (usually found at the Retreat Bar during the day and Crooners at night). He has a photographic memory, and although I only ordered a few drinks from him, he had my name and folio # memorized after the first drink! Although we had early sitting dinner (due to my 88 year old mother), we sometimes did not make it back on board early enough to eat at that time. We were extraordinarily fortunate to be seated in the Concerto Dining Room (Anytime Dining) with James and Camille ((forward/starboard) twice, including our last night. I have been cruising since the 1970's and this team ranks with the best dining room staff I have ever had!

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Cobh

 

For Cobh, our entire crew made the conscious decision totake it easy; Guernsey was wonderful but stressful trying to keep a rental carundamaged, and we knew the back half of the cruise was busy with plannedtours. Folks either had an earlybreakfast and took things slowly or a later breakfast and we didn’t step off ofthe ship until 10:30am. None of us wereinterested in Blarney Castle and/or the stone (we joked DW would have broughtClorox wipes for it), so we decided to stay in Cobh. Well, kind of.

 

First, we made our way up to and toured St. Colman’sCathedral, which was pretty but did not take up a huge amount of time forus. DW wanted to visit the Lusitaniagraves, which were in a churchyard about a mile from town. The walk is not the prettiest, but there weresome nice views of pastoral fields in among the homes and stores. The graveyard not only contained Lusitaniagrave markers and glass memorials, but also some moderately famous and/orstoried folks. Of particular interestwere the graves of some men who died in the 1922 war of independence (when thejarring to modern American inscription “IRA” had a slightly different feelingto it).

 

On the walk back, we stopped at the Lidl, used the toiletthere and DD1 bought a jar of hot chocolate powder that she used for the restof the cruise to create her “mocha” every morning (mixed a spoon into herHorizon Court coffee). This was a greatlittle treat for her, and a very cheap one. During the walk back, we met some Canadian fellow passengers in town whorecommended the Titanic Experience and said we should get tickets in advance,since they had to wait an hour or so for their entry time. We had considered it, but this pushed us todo it. We decided that the best optionwas to go and get tickets for later in the afternoon. We got a set of tickets for 3:30.

 

At this point, it was 1:30, and we all fancied lunch – so wetook advantage of a unique among this cruise’s ports feature in Cobh; he easyand quick ability to go back to the ship. We got back on the ship and ate lunch in Alfredos, which was once againalmost empty. DD2 wanted food from theHorizon court, so we took her there for her lunch and the rest of us had asweet. We left the ship and headed forthe Titanic Experience.

 

The Titanic experience was good for about an hour’stouring. You are assigned a person thatboarded in Cobh, and you can see at the end what happened to that person. It included an hour-long guided tour throughboarding, the disaster, etc. If anyoneis interested in the Titanic, we recommend it. DO NOT go there expecting a treasure trove of Titanic artifacts. It is much more of an experience than amuseum. It was really fun as DDs arereally interested in the Titanic.

 

At this point, DF and DM headed back to the ship, and theyounger 2/3rds of the crew traded the price of a few drinks at a pub on the mainsquare (The Mauritania) for a shady seat and some speedy internet. Everyone was very friendly, and severallocals chatted with us. We all headedback to the ship. It was hardly aheavy-touring day by our standards, but it was extremely enjoyable. Weather was once again sunny and pleasantother than a slight misting in the morning.

 

 

After getting back onboard, we watched all-aboard and sail-away from our joined double balcony, and then DH. DW and DF headed up to the Sky Deck with binoculars to view the scenery as we sailed out. One of the joys of this itinerary is that there is interesting shoreline on at least one side of the ship (and often both) for an hour or more after sail-away most nights.

 

 

Next... Dublin.

[CCFC]

They also pull out the card I put in the slot by the door that keeps the lights on. I use a grocery store card, never my cruise card. We try to remember to pull it partly out when we leave the cabin, leaving it diagonally in the slot so we don’t waster energy. But if we forgot the steward did it!

 

 

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The Do Not Disturb/Make My Room Up Now sign fits the light slot perfectly, no need for a separate card!

[jagsfan]

The Do Not Disturb/Make My Room Up Now sign fits the light slot perfectly, no need for a separate card!

 

 

 

We never thought to even try it. We keep a Blockbusters card with our passports just for that slot.

 

 

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[MrsEmmaPeel]

Haha - we never did think to try it either. In our case, we kept the door-only extra key to the other stateroom (our family had a balcony and the interior opposite) in the slot.

- Up side: we never had to go searching for the key to the other room's door

- Down side: if the user didn't return the key to the slot quickly, the lights went off in the room... This lead to some funny situations, esp when there was someone in the bathroom.

 

 

We never thought to even try it. We keep a Blockbusters card with our passports just for that slot.

 

 

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[yoyosma]

Hotel room key card, aarp card, aaa card, right size stiff cardboard (I have heard, no personal experience with cardboard) all work. Just take them out and put them in at an angle when leaving to conserve the energy.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Dublin

 

We docked at 8:30 and people started getting off about 9am. We decided to cancel our Greenock Princess excursion, so we didn’t get off the boat until later – maybe about 9:40. The line for the taxis was very long and there were no taxis. People in the know called ahead for a cab – if you wake up and see no cabs, this is a good strategy. It annoyed everyone in line greatly to see other groups piling into cabs and leaving while we were all waiting for cabs. It is about 2 miles into town. As a note, traffic is terrible so driving doesn’t actually save you that much time. If you like to walk, you should consider it; with DF and DM, we could not. It was about 25 EUR each way for 6 of us, 30 with tip. Cabbies also wanted cash (we asked if they took cards and were told no!). On the way back we split into two cabs (as a van wasn’t available) and it was still 30 for each cab. Going into town, once we were across the Liffey and close to the Cathedral, the driver suggested we get out because traffic was so slow. We agreed and hopped out and walked.

 

Our first stop was St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was 28EUR for all of us, a family package and two adults. The Cathedral was smaller than those in London and took less time to tour. There are stations to make small brass rubbings, which interested both DDs. We spent about 45 minutes and then walked to St. Stephen’s Green (gorgeous park) and then to the Shelbourne Hotel (the younger crew had watched the British TV show The Hotel, which covers life working in the Shelbourne, so we were interested). DW and DDs had their photo taken out front with the doorman, and the doorman suggested we step inside to look around. This was a fun little diversion, and it was very nice to be invited despite not being guests of the hotel or restaurants.

 

Next we walked to Trinity College and the Book of Kells Exhibit. On the way, we stopped at the Brewbaker Café on Leinster St for sandwiches – very good and reasonable quick lunch close to Trinity.

 

We had pre-purchased timed-entry tickets online before the trip, which saved us a long wait in line. There is a separate “line” (often empty) for online sales to the left of the entrance, with the crazy-long line for walk-ups to the right.

 

If you have kids or tweens, we STRONGLY suggest watching the (only partially-historical) animated film The Secret of Kells with them before your trip. It is stunningly beautiful, and tells a version of the story of the Book of Kells. DDs loved it, and it meant they had some real interest in the exhibit. The parts of the exhibit that covered the style, the pigments, and even a particular cat all harkened back to some scenes in the movie. So it made the exhibit much more engrossing to the girls.

 

Important warning – do not expect to see dozens of pages from the original book arrayed out before you. You will only see 4 pages from the actual Book of Kells, in one display table. You will need to gently ease your way to each corner of the table to see them. But the exhibit is great and shouldn’t be rushed.

 

The library’s Long Room was a highlight as well, if crowded. Be sure to review some of the amazing pieces of Irish history there. After that, we split up briefly; most got a snack from the Trinity Café, while DH and DD1 headed to Forbidden Planet, a very well-stocked comic book and science fiction store in Temple Bar. If you happen to be in the Temple Bar section of Dublin and have any geeks in your crew, we recommend a quick stop at Forbidden Planet.

 

We met back up at Dublin Castle. Tip: Pay for the guided tour. You will get to see the medieval portions of the castle that are hidden underground. This was really cool. The chapel was also very nice. The self-guided tour sections were also great, but you don’t want to miss the chapel and the medieval parts. After that we made a quick visit to Christ Church, just a few blocks away. We liked this better than St. Patrick’s – it has a Crypt and a bit more to see.

 

After that, we had the long, slow cab ride back to the ship. DDs ended up skipping our sit down dinner for the first of only two times the entire cruise, but with good reason. The MUTS was Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Belfast

 

Belfast was our first organized tour. We purchased tickets for Odyssey Coach Tours’ Giants’ Causeway (Extra Legroom) ahead of time online for 45GBP per person. The extra legroom tour uses 19-passenger minibuses, and can thus be a bit more nimble and aggressive in terms of itinerary. This tour goes to the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge, a photo stop for Dunluce Castle, Giant’s Causeway, lunch on you own in Ballycastle, a scenic drive back along the Antrim coast, a quick comfort/ice cream stop, and then a tour of the sectarian neighborhoods in Belfast.

 

The bus was nice, and included WiFi. The real trick to this tour is that you can actually cross the rope bridge if you like. Most of the bus tours only guarantee the chance to walk to the bridge. However, because the coaches are small and the itinerary delays the (slower) coast road drive until the afternoon, you can choose to pay the extra 8GBP to cross the bridge. Our guide/driver Jim asked each person if they wanted to do this as we arrived for the tour, and he called it in to the bridge organizers on our way. This was wonderful, because although crossing the bridge is cool, the view and the photos from the island on the other side of the bridge are unbeatable. Note that there is a significant walk to the bridge, and time is limited. If you have limited mobility or are unable to walk at a good pace on hilly terrain, you may have limited time at the bridge itself. DF and DM decided not to cross the bridge, and it was a good call, as it took them a while to walk there.

 

We had extremely high expectations for Giant’s Causeway, and we felt a little let-down. Not by the causeway, which was incredible, but by the National Trust, who have made a hash of the experience with their (optional) expensive visitors’ center (where we think the bathrooms are. DW managed to find one outside the visitors center but there was a 20 min queue for it). You can access the causeway free of charge, but that is somewhat hidden by the National Trust (intentionally). The walk to the stones is hilly and long, similar to the rope bridge. There is a 1GBP (each way) bus to and from the stones, but was run too infrequently, leading to mobs for the bus at the bottom (for people who didn’t want to walk back up). As a result, it was not a reliable way for people to get back to their tour buses in time, and people who should not have walked back up the hill in a hurry often did so because they had to. In addition, the National Trust has placed “lifeguards” in high-visibility vests at the stones. The problem is that they seem to blow their whistles and point at people from afar, leaving everyone confused as to what they did wrong, and what the rules are. The rules were never posted, adding to the confusion. Having said this, the stones are incredible, and still worthwhile.

 

Ballycastle was great – not very touristy, and there were multiple, nice spots for lunch in town. We went to Donnelly’s Bakery and Coffee Shop, which had nice baked goods downstairs and an excellent, hot lunch café upstairs. All enjoyed their lunches. Lunch was very reasonable – a burger, fries, and a drink were 6 pounds. The baked goods downstairs were also very reasonable. We got 2 pieces of cake and a pastry for only a few pounds.

 

We ran out of unique exclamations for the beauty of the Antrim coast road during the afternoon drive. It simply seemed as if it could not be real, and was a wonderful way to relax in the afternoon after a very active morning.

 

The drive through the sectarian neighborhoods was where our guide, Jim really shined. His descriptions and stories really filled in the details of the modern, real-world “post-Troubles” sectarian neighborhoods. He really brought home a feeling for this dynamic as a living, breathing community. It was moving and fascinating. All of us found that we were craning our necks and swiveling our heads to catch everything. We even saw the beginnings of the bonfire preparations for the Orangemens’ 12 July festivities. Fascinating.

 

We recommend Odyssey Coach Tours VERY highly, both in terms of overall quality and in terms of value for money. One VERY important tip with Odyssey: when they give the time that the bus will leave the pier in the morning, THEY MEAN IT. Do not delay your exit from the ship. Odyssey is able to do these itineraries because they can and do leave latecomers to the tour behind. They will adjust if the ship is late, but do not push it!

 

Next… Glasgow.

[no1racefan1]

Were there many photo opportunities on the Antrim coast portion of the tour? We'd like to do something like this, but I don't know if I just want to see the whole coast through a bus window. Did all passengers have a good view?

[MrsEmmaPeel]

There were no stops on the coast road other than the one "comfort stop", which was in a town. So no, there were no specific stop-and-shoot photo opportunities on the coast road. But we had seen so many amazing things that day that we weren't short of photos of the coast from earlier stops. We felt as if the bus had great visibility. It was a seating layout of 2+2, so anyone not in a window seat tended to be related to the person next to them with the window seat :-)

 

Were there many photo opportunities on the Antrim coast portion of the tour? We'd like to do something like this, but I don't know if I just want to see the whole coast through a bus window. Did all passengers have a good view?