Royal Princess British Isles June 30-July 12

[Cindy]

yes 2019!

 

 

 

Maybe we will! I need to contact Tommy and let him know we’re thinking about it. I’m trying to figure out logistics...we’d like to look into stopping for 2 or 3 nights in Iceland on the way over or the way home.

 

 

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[karinad]

Thank you for posting your blog/review! I'm enjoying it very much! We will be going on the NCL Jade Sept. 17, next month, to the British Islands and hoping to gather some good info. We'll be going to Stonehenge and Salisbury post-cruise and I'm hoping that we could get pictures as gorgeous as yours! It looks like you had some nice sunny days! I'm more stressed right now then excited!

 

I'm looking forward to following along!

[Cotswold Eagle]

Thanks for continuing your report here - still great photos! It will be very useful.

 

Not a criticism at all, many British folk get this wrong, but for geeky interest, Magna Carta doesn’t take the definite article - so just ‘Magna Carta’ not ‘the Magna Carta’. Three of its clauses (from the 1297 edition) remain on the statute book in England and Wales and can be see online here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Edw1cc1929/25/9

 

Looking forward to the rest of the trip [emoji846]

[John Bull]

 

Not a criticism at all, many British folk get this wrong, but for geeky interest, Magna Carta doesn’t take the definite article - so just ‘Magna Carta’ not ‘the Magna Carta’.

 

Tee-hee

I just posted about "the Magna Carta" on another thread.:o

Saw your post too late to edit.

 

I get equally pedantic when I hear references to "The HMS Victory" or "The HMS Illustrious" or "The HMS Anyroyalnavyship". And that includes reports by TV newsreaders and so-called experts.:rolleyes:

Since HMS stands for Her (his) Majesty's Ship, they're talking about "The Her Majesty's Ship", and that makes me cringe.:eek:

 

First world problems, eh. ;)

 

JB :)

[Cindy]

Thanks for continuing your report here - still great photos! It will be very useful.

 

Not a criticism at all, many British folk get this wrong, but for geeky interest, Magna Carta doesn’t take the definite article - so just ‘Magna Carta’ not ‘the Magna Carta’. Three of its clauses (from the 1297 edition) remain on the statute book in England and Wales and can be see online here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Edw1cc1929/25/9

 

Looking forward to the rest of the trip [emoji846]

 

 

 

Tee-hee

 

I just posted about "the Magna Carta" on another thread.:o

 

Saw your post too late to edit.

 

 

 

I get equally pedantic when I hear references to "The HMS Victory" or "The HMS Illustrious" or "The HMS Anyroyalnavyship". And that includes reports by TV newsreaders and so-called experts.[emoji57]

 

Since HMS stands for Her (his) Majesty's Ship, they're talking about "The Her Majesty's Ship", and that makes me cringe.[emoji33]

 

 

 

First world problems, eh. [emoji6]

 

 

 

JB :)

 

 

 

Thanks! I’ll change it on the blog, but it’s far too late for Cruise Critic.[emoji5]

 

 

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[phabric]

I enjoyed your review. I have done the British Isles Cruise 2x.

[Cindy]

I’m back and ready to start posting Guernsey! I’m sorry I’m so slow...life keeps getting in the way!

 

 

Sorry, I’m having some problems with the app. I’ll try again using Tapatalk.[emoji22]

Edited August 21, 2018 by Cindy

[Cindy]

We woke on Sunday to grungy grey skies and rain. What?!? This was a British Isles cruise. We were prepared for rain, but we weren’t supposed to get any![emoji23] Oh well, rain or shine the show must go on!

 

We grabbed a quick bite to eat, packed our rain gear and other assorted supplies for the day, and met the rest of our group (8 of us from the Royal Princess) at Vines at 7:30. I had read enough scary reports about tendering in Guernsey that we wanted to ensure we had plenty of time to make our tour. In fact, we had a plan for both directions. We were going to return early in the afternoon to avoid the horrible waits that had been reported. You know what they say about plans, right? But I’m getting ahead of myself…

 

The morning plan worked like a charm. We never even made it into the Symphony Dining Room for tender tickets — we were early enough we walked right on to a boat! I would say the tender ride took about 15 minutes, and there we were in Guernsey with almost an hour before our walking tour. Thankfully the rain had given way to clouds, so we stowed the rain gear and amused ourselves with free WiFi. Well, most of us did. Jim had to live vicariously through the rest of us since his phone had gone where all overpriced Apple products seem to go on a regularly scheduled basis![emoji15]

 

 

Our plan for the day was a morning walking tour with Annette Henry, some quality shopping time, lunch at one of the delicious looking restaurants we had found on Trip Advisor, a walk over to the castle, and an early-ish return to the ship to beat the late afternoon tender lines. The first part of our plan went off without a hitch. We found Annette Henry to be an extremely knowledgeable guide. She is a Guernsey native, so in addition to using props and engaging her audience to tell a story, she also has first-hand knowledge and can convey the information as only someone who’s lived it can do.

 

 

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[Cindy]

We wandered through the beautiful streets and up and down the many stairs of Guernsey, with Annette telling the story of her home as we went along.

 

 

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[Cindy]

 

 

We learned about the vennels that were built to provide a fast route from the shore to the center of town. These dark, narrow passageways/staircases provided a quick route for everyone, including pirates, prostitutes, and unfortunately rats carrying the Bubonic Plague. Even today, some of the vennels don’t look very appealing…I decided I didn’t need to explore.

 

 

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[Cindy]

Queen Victoria is revered in Guernsey, as she was the first reigning monarch to visit in 1846. Although Victoria and Albert were already married when they visited, Annette included the story of Victoria’s many suitors, and she used props and some of us to tell the story. Apparently one of Victoria’s would-be husbands didn’t suit her because he had too much facial hair and acne (that was Jim’s role!), and another was dismissed because he was partially blind. I have no way of knowing if that’s fact or fiction, but it was fun, entertaining, and kept everyone engaged.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Cindy]

While we walked, we learned about the cost and availability of housing in Guernsey. Housing in Guernsey is divided into two types…local market and open market. Local market housing is restricted to those who are natives of Guernsey, have at least one parent who falls into that classification, or have a partner who is a native. Open market housing is available to anyone, regardless of their citizenship status. It is much more limited than local market housing, and as a result is extremely expensive. Since Guernsey is a relatively small island with limited housing, the rules help control the population at a level that gives all a high quality of life.

 

 

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[Cindy]

We also heard about some of the darker times in Guernsey’s history. On a steep staircase Annette told the tragic story of three women. Catherine Cauches and her daughters Perotine Massey and Guillemine Gilbert were convicted of heresy and sentenced to death by hanging and burning. During the execution Perotine gave birth, and even though the baby was rescued from the flames the bailiff ordered the baby to be burned along with his mother. The memory of these women is represented on a plaque and serves as a glimpse at a dark period in history.

 

This was another event where Annette called on us to play the parts of the three women, and I’ll be honest…it was a little over the top for me. She even had a noose she used as a prop. I took a photo of the scene complete with the noose around a lady’s neck, but I’m not going to post it because the thought of being burned alive and having a newborn thrown in the fire freaked me out. I enjoyed almost everything about our tour, but that audience participation segment gave me the creeps.

 

 

At the top of a hill overlooking the town and the harbor, we heard the story of the German occupation of Guernsey during WWII. 5,000 children were evacuated from the island, among them Annette’s mother and uncle. Other family members stayed behind and endured the hardships of life on an occupied island with dwindling food supplies and increasing tension between the islanders and the occupying forces. Annette shared the story through her relatives’ experiences, photos, and artifacts from the time.

 

 

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[Cindy]

Our tour ended with a demonstration by Annette…she showed us how they used to deal with thieves “back in the day.” I have to admit, if I had been walking by I probably would have done a double-take.[emoji15] I could tell Annette is extremely proud of her home and enjoys helping visitors get to know Guernsey. Her tour would appeal to people of all ages, and it was a great introduction to Guernsey.

 

 

Our time with Annette ended about 11:15, and we walked down to a place called Tea & Co. for some genuine Guernsey ice cream. Remember, this is a vacation story, so dessert before lunch is allowed! We decided on a place called Dix Neuf for lunch, and since there were two ships in port we thought it would be best to be there when they opened. We would have been right on time any other day, but this particular day was a Sunday, and Dix Neuf wasn’t open for lunch. As a matter of fact, lots of places — most places — were closed. The husbands were probably more than a little relieved, but Deedee and I were disappointed to have our shopping plans ruined.

*The Tea & Co. pictures and the Ship & Crown pictures were downloaded from the internet.

 

 

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[Cindy]

We walked back down the hill to the Ship & Crown pub, which was right next door to our ice cream stop. We got there and grabbed a nice table just as they opened, but the seats filled fast. If we had waited to eat I’m not sure we would have found a table. I had a great burger. I don’t remember what the other choices were, but I think everybody enjoyed their lunch.

*The Tea & Co. pictures and the Ship & Crown pictures were downloaded from the internet.

 

 

Sometime while we were in the pub it started to rain. Hard. We didn’t think much of it at the time, because we were inside where we were dry and had plentiful food and drink to keep us busy. Unfortunately, the thousands of other people who were walking past the shuttered shops and restaurants of Guernsey decided the rain meant it was time to return to the ship. We had no such sense of urgency and took our time. Once the rain let up we thought it would be a perfect time to head back. We scrapped the idea of walking over to Castle Cornet and went straight to the tender dock. It was then that we discovered the perfect torture that is tendering in Guernsey. The Disney-esque line mostly stood still while hundreds of Royal Princess passengers and hundreds of Brilliance of the Seas passengers slowly shuffled along. The “fun” was doubled when it started pouring again.

 

 

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[Cindy]

All told, it took us about 2 hours from the time we left the pub until we stepped back on the ship. Totally unacceptable, but at least it wasn’t broiling hot, and there were employees walking around making sure things didn’t get out of control. When we finally got to the gangway we discovered part of the problem is that Guernsey really doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle 2 big ships at once. The two ships had to share one dock and one gangway down to that dock, hence the long periods of no movement.

 

 

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[Cindy]

 

I thought Guernsey was beautiful and interesting, but I would think twice about spending a long day on shore from a ship if it meant standing in line for hours again just to get “home.”

 

 

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[Cindy]

Back on the ship, we hung up our rain gear (preview…we wouldn’t really need it again!), and I did a quick load of laundry. We hung out on the balcony and relaxed for a while before dinner. Sunday was the first of two formal nights. We started the evening in Crooners with beautiful scenery and fun martinis, then ate in the Symphony Dining Room about 7:30. I remember dinner was good, but I couldn’t begin to tell you what I had![emoji5] I know the dessert had peanut butter in it and it was so good I could have made room for another!

 

 

I didn’t have much awake left in me by the time we finished dinner! We watched the Champagne Waterfall from above, but didn’t participate. Jim went to the show, but I opted for sleep! It had been a long day, and we had a full day planned for Monday. I fell asleep easily and had sweet dreams about our next few days in Ireland.[emoji42]

 

 

 

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[D C]

I thought Guernsey was beautiful and interesting, but I would think twice about spending a long day on shore from a ship if it meant standing in line for hours again just to get “home.”

Thanks for the nice review of Guernsey. Having spent time there, itt's interesting to see it through the lens of someone else (literally).

I'm sorry that you missed Dix Neuf (one of our favourite restaurants) and Castle Cornet.

 

On the return trip, how many tenders were running for each ship? Albert Pier is supposed to be able to dock up to 4 tenders at once (2 per ship), which seems fairly normal from my other cruise experiences. I wonder if people just happen to flood the pier at the same time, having heard lines are long. (Just like everyone getting in the same line at Disney at the same time... though Disney rides are more fun than tenders :) )

 

Did Annette mention Victoria Tower being constructed to commemorate the visit of Victoria & Albert (which I've heard was a surprise visit, unannounced until someone saw the Royal Standard flying over a ship coming to port)? A symbol of commemoration is quite typical in Guernsey, and the tower is quite a substantial one.

Edited August 21, 2018 by D C

[Cindy]

 

 

 

On the return trip, how many tenders were running for each ship? Albert Pier is supposed to be able to dock up to 4 tenders at once (2 per ship), which seems fairly normal from my other cruise experiences. I wonder if people just happen to flood the pier at the same time, having heard lines are long. (Just like everyone getting in the same line at Disney at the same time... though Disney rides are more fun than tenders :) )

 

 

I think part of the problem was everybody heading back at once because the weather turned and most things were closed.

 

When we boarded our tender, there were 2 Princess and 2 RCI boats at the pier. Each had at least 2 more waiting to get in, so I think they were running as many boats as the facility can handle. When there’s only one gangway and you have to take turns between two ships it’s just very slow going.

 

 

 

 

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[jagsfan]

I don’t know whether to hope I can find out if another ship will be in port with us and dread Guernsey or just keep my fingers crossed and happily anticipate the day.

I’ll already have a few fingers crossed for calm seas so we can tender.

 

 

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[Cindy]

I don’t know whether to hope I can find out if another ship will be in port with us and dread Guernsey or just keep my fingers crossed and happily anticipate the day.

I’ll already have a few fingers crossed for calm seas so we can tender.

 

 

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Don’t spend time worrying about it, because it really was just a series of things that all came together to make the wait longer than expected.

 

 

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[Cindy]

Sorry this is taking so long...life keeps getting in the way!

 

Here’s Day 3 — Cobh, Ireland

Butler’s Bus Private tour to Cork, Charles Fort, and Kinsale

 

 

We woke on Monday morning to brilliant blue skies and bright sunshine…we were back on track with the weather, and ready to greet Ireland! Some frou-frou coffee, a quick breakfast, and we were off to Vines to meet our group. There were 11 of us who had formed a group on our Cruise Critic roll call, and we were booked with Butlers Bus. The tour was one of the first I reserved for this trip, and based on the outstanding reviews I was confident we were going to have a fantastic day. Our itinerary was to visit the English Market in Cork, Charles Fort, Kinsale, and see some coastal scenery. No Blarney Castle for us! We didn’t want to deal with the crowds or stand in a long line to kiss the Blarney Stone.

 

Getting off the ship was not as easy as I expected. In fact, they were directing everybody into the dining room. I wondered if they were trying to pull a St. Petersburg, aka get their tours out ahead of everyone else, but the delay turned out to be waiting for the ship to clear Irish immigration. Once the formalities were taken care of we were off fairly quickly. Soon after we disembarked we found our driver Norbert and we were off.

 

I had hints pretty early in the day that something was not quite right.[emoji848] First of all, our bus was the only one that was silver instead of white with the bright blue and pink lettering of the other Butlers vehicles. It also seemed quite a bit smaller than a Butlers 16 passenger bus. Then there was Norbert.[emoji853] Our “guide” didn’t know what our itinerary was, didn’t seem to want to be there, and worst of all, had the personality of a rock. Conversation was non-existent. Perhaps he needed to kiss the Blarney Stone! As we drove to Cork from Cobh, there was no narration, no explanation of what we were seeing, and very short answers to our questions. We knew before we even got to Cork we had a problem on our hands. On the bright side, it was a beautiful day and we were going to enjoy ourselves despite Norbert!

 

 

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[Cindy]

Our first stop of the day was at the English Market in Cork. Norbert was unable or unwilling to tell us anything about it, but he did recommend we enter in groups of 2 or 3 so we wouldn’t be charged admission. Sigh…as you will see this was the pattern for the day. We followed instructions, and enjoyed about 30 minutes walking around admiring the fresh seafood, meats, and produce. The market is celebrating its 230th anniversary this year, and it is one of the oldest markets of its kind in the world. I would love to have a nearby market like that to shop at.

 

 

 

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[Cindy]

We left the market and headed towards the coast and our second stop at Charles Fort.

 

Deterred but determined, we asked Norbert various questions about the things we were seeing, but he was having no part of it! I remember asking what we were crossing (I wanted the name of the river), and the response I got was, “a river.”[emoji849] In hindsight I suppose that was pretty informative, because when we got to Charles Fort we were told to read the signs![emoji15]

 

Charles Fort is a 17th century star shaped fort that was one of the main fortifications on the Irish coast for centuries. It was used extensively in the Williamite War in 1689-91 and the Civil War in 1922-23. The fort was declared a national landmark in 1973. In addition to the interesting structure and history, Charles Fort offers beautiful views of nearby Kinsale and the rolling countryside.

 

 

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