Booked. June 26 2022 British Isles cabin R503. Any info on this ship

[Larrytheg]

Our 6th cruise on princess first time on Crown , cabin Riviera 503 balcony. Anyone stay in this cabin . And your thoughts in the British Isles Itinerary.. ? Thank you 

[dog]

I have done this cruise twice. Enjoyed it. Once with Wales& Liverpool. And once with Orkney Islands. First time was on the Crown. Stayed aft facing cabin Caribe deck. If you have any specific questions the ports of call forum on this website is excellent. One cruise we missed LeHavre, one time missed St Peters Port both due to winds. Aug- Sept and had to turn back after Edinburg because of weather. 

[skynight]

R503 is a standard balcony cabin with a 9' x 5' covered balcony. Balcony has two chairs and a table. The interior has one desk chair, no sofa. Bathroom has a shower, no tub. There is a 6 ft. open closet, wardrobe closet with shelves and a safe plus drawers in the nights stand and dressing table. The cabin has a fridge and one TV.

The Movies Under the Star screen and sound system is two decks up over the Lido Deck Calypso Bar. Sound is quite loud. You may hear it in your cabin and on the balcony. Personally we like to choose cabins that have cabins above and below.  

[Tak8]

I did this itinerary in '17.  Great way to get a taste of several countries.  People were very friendly throughout the ports.

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

This is an excellent cruise. I took a 12-night British Isles cruise on the Crown Princess in September 2019 and had a wonderful time. The ports are very interesting. 

 

Chuck

[Larrytheg]

I thank you all for your response . Tell me your favorite port . Did you do your excursions from princess or outside vendors or prearranged with other companies. .  As I said I have been on 5 previous cruises with princess and others with Holland. Always stayed in a balcony stateroom . Last year we did Italy Greece and Barcelona. On the Emerald and year before that Alaska on emerald . This is first time on a Medallion ship . Also curious if anyone is also planning on this cruise 

[snoozecrooze]

Excellent itinerary. Very port-intensive and the sea day between Greenock and Invergordon is highly appreciated (not sure if that's exactly your itinerary). It was very sad to step off the ship at the end. I also had relatively great weather and seas as smooth as silk, but your experience may be different. (And also I know you said it's your first time on the Crown and since the itinerary is so port-intensive, I'd doubt you'll find much to complain about the ship; the cruise will almost be like a taxi service between ports since you'll be so focused on exploring the destinations)

 

I personally found every port had their own bits of excitement that made things very worthwhile, considering it was my first time visiting. I won't speak to exact excursion opportunities as I just found things on my own, but I also personally really loved the experience of walking around, especially in the larger cities of Liverpool, Dublin, Edinburgh, and Belfast. But even if you don't find an excursion you want to take, walking around the smaller towns such as Invergordon and Cobh were just as interesting. 

 

Anyways, make sure to reach out to your roll call (and if there isn't one, start one!) so that you can gather together with others taking your cruise.

Edited December 21, 2020 by snoozecrooze

[AF-1]

I have been to all these countries and cities; but on business and not a cruise.  I have to say Dublin and Edinburgh, and LIverpool were excellent.  LIverpool is so full of Beatles trivia and other music groups from the 60's; Like Gerry and the Pacemakers.  

[Larrytheg]

Thanks for more information. I will say I’m not new to princess ships just the crown. I am very active on the boards before traveling. Last cruise 2019 we did 14 days Rome to Barcelona .on Emerald 2nd time in that ship . We made friends with many people and booked excursions non Princess ,was much better then a princess excursion. And I did start Roll call for my ship . And I’m always looking for information. I have like 553 days to sailing date  

[skynight]

Some port information:

We sailed from Southampton twice. The first time we spent post cruise time in London. Very nice. The 2nd time we flew to Heathrow and took a private transfer, Smiths for Airports, directly to our hotel in Southampton. The private transfer was well worth the small additional cost. We spent a few days there. It is a very nice town, pubs restaurants, stores, mall. We were able to do our pre-cruise supply shopping. 

Cork. The ship docks in Cobh. There is a train right on the pier that can take you to Cork. But there isn't very much to see there. It's a downtown business area. Cobh itself is very nice for walking around, some shops, restaurants, nice views. A little hilly. There is (was) a lively pub close to the pier. Busy with ship's passengers. The other trips to Blarney Castle are also nice.

Belfast. The ship docks directly across from the Titanic Experience which is just a few hundred yards away across the channel. Even though it is very close you can't really walk there because of the way the highways are routed. We booked the Titanic Experience on line months in advance. It gets crowded. We booked an early time, disembarked the ship and took a taxi there. It was very nice. The tour took about two hours. We actually walked from the Titanic Experience to the City Hall area. It is maybe a few miles. There was a shuttle bus between the pier and City Hall downtown. We took the shuttle back to the ship. There are other tours, but this is what we did.

Paris. The ship docks in leHarve. It is a 2 1/2 to 3 hour one way trip to Paris. Tours to Paris are a very long day. Since we hade been to Paris we chose to visit Honfleur, a short 1/2 hour taxi ride, around $30. Honfleur is a nice town, shops, restaurants, historic buildings, on the mouth of the Seine River. A group of river cruise boats were there. 

[Larrytheg]

Thank you very much for your help it is appreciated 

[Cruise Raider]

On 12/20/2020 at 10:59 PM, Larrytheg said:

Our 6th cruise on princess first time on Crown , cabin Riviera 503 balcony. Anyone stay in this cabin . Thank you 

 

I've not stayed in that cabin before but just forward of that on the same deck.  It is right under the pool deck and I can honestly tell you, it is the absolute worst cabin I've had in over 60 cruises.  I would do myself a favor and just head down one deck, if I were you.  

The deckhands place the chairs out around the pool early in the morning ... they come in big stacks and slam them to the ground.  And then, they will be moved around at all hours of the day. You will hear footsteps overhead, 24/7. There will be deck parties over your head and the security guards walk the decks throughout the night.  Anybody with hard soled shoes, you will hear them.  Also, I think there may be tables and chairs that will be moved around overhead starting early in the morning and I think we had a ping pong table above us.  It's strange that they would put the suites right there under the pool deck to get all this noise from above.  If you are hard of hearing or can sleep through anything, it might be just the room for you but, otherwise, I'd head down to the Aloha deck or if you like the Riviera deck, go forward so there are cabins above you, like in the BF category.  

[Ombud]

2 tips from a 2018 cruise: 

Guernsey (St. Peter Port): you dock next to Castle Cornet and they're the ones that do the tour. The ship just walks you there

 

Kirkwall: Skara Brae: I took the island bus for about £16rt (2018) but you need exact change. No line to return but a half hour wait to get on the bus. Fortunately another cruiser lent it to me. 

[Larrytheg]

Cruise Raider Thank you for the cabin  advice . I called Princess and moved a farther up . In our Last Cruise on the Emerald we had R251 it was very quiet port side  the Crown and Emerald are sister ships so we were able to move to that same Cabin. Thank you for your advice. Larry 

[gbldcl]

3 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

I've not stayed in that cabin before but just forward of that on the same deck.  It is right under the pool deck and I can honestly tell you, it is the absolute worst cabin I've had in over 60 cruises.  I would do myself a favor and just head down one deck, if I were you.  

The deckhands place the chairs out around the pool early in the morning ... they come in big stacks and slam them to the ground.  And then, they will be moved around at all hours of the day. You will hear footsteps overhead, 24/7. There will be deck parties over your head and the security guards walk the decks throughout the night.  Anybody with hard soled shoes, you will hear them.  Also, I think there may be tables and chairs that will be moved around overhead starting early in the morning and I think we had a ping pong table above us.  It's strange that they would put the suites right there under the pool deck to get all this noise from above.  If you are hard of hearing or can sleep through anything, it might be just the room for you but, otherwise, I'd head down to the Aloha deck or if you like the Riviera deck, go forward so there are cabins above you, like in the BF category.  

Absolutely correct! We stayed in R504 and was by far the worst (because of noise overhead) cabin we have ever endured.

[Treasure Hunter]

I don't know if it's the right time of year ( might need to go July or August) but if you can, book the Military Tattoo in Edinburgh through Princess. You'll need the transportation and reserved tickets. It's the most wonderful extravaganza in the courtyard in front of the Castle on the Royal Mile. Bag pipes and dancers from all over Scotland and beyond. Magical and memorable. Also some terrific antique jewelry shops if that's of interest. 

[Larrytheg]

Thank you Treasure Hunter for the information . This is why I love these boards so much. Since I have until June of 2022 I may have time to make it .my Grandfather is from Scotland so this sounds like a must see thing. And on the Jewelry shopping I am a 3rd Generation Jeweler so I do love to look . Thanks for the Advice 

[Larrytheg]

As soon as I heard about the cabin noise in R504 I called my age and moved to r251the same cabin we stayed on the Emerald prince for 14 day cruise to Italy and Greece great room. No noise 

[Cruise Raider]

On 12/22/2020 at 9:55 AM, Larrytheg said:

Cruise Raider Thank you for the cabin  advice . I called Princess and moved a farther up . In our Last Cruise on the Emerald we had R251 it was very quiet port side  the Crown and Emerald are sister ships so we were able to move to that same Cabin. Thank you for your advice. Larry 

 

Don't even mention it.  I am glad you were able to move to a more suitable cabin.  That cabin that we had on the Crown was when I first learned of CruiseCritic.  Funny thing is, most of my comments and reviews are on the positive or informative note but my first post on this site was a negative one.  I've tried to steer clear of of just complaining for the sake of complaining but, will try to inform other passengers with comments that might improve their cruise experience.  I've also gotten so many useful tips and hints on these boards ... they are invaluable! 

Anyway, that cruise included a lot of mishaps and they were intensified by our lack of sleep, I'm sure of that.  The cruiseline ended up giving a rather generous compensation offer for our next cruise, if we chose to sail with them again.  Well, we picked the same ship and in an inside cabin that next time around ... we love it.  It's amazing what a good night's sleep, or a lack of it, can make or break one's trip. 

I think you will be very happy with your new choice.  Bon voyage!  

 

[voljeep]

On 12/22/2020 at 12:08 PM, Cruise Raider said:

.  It's strange that they would put the suites right there under the pool deck to get all this noise from above.

R411 on the CB - Cat S2 PH suite -  right under the ice cream shop - lots of sliding chair noise during the day, but other than that it was very nice

Edited December 24, 2020 by voljeep

[Larrytheg]

Has anyone else booked this cruise June 26 2022 British Isles .  On the Crown. My wife’s Sister and her husband are joining us , and last week wife’s family booked a 7 day cruise in November 2022 so we will be quite busy .

[john watson]

If you are interested in RMS Titanic, your cruise calls at Belfast where she was built Harland and Wolff shipyard, a well worth museum exists in Belfast.  Most cruise lines cover this on excursions, however I should recommend getting the earliest free of charge port shuttle into town. This also fixes the location of where to get your free bus back to the ship. The local authority run these on corporation buses. Then get a taxi to the museum £5.00 maximum.  This gets you to the museum site before the coach loads of visitors arrive.  Titanic sailed from Belfast with just crew as I understand it to Southampton.  It then sailed to Cherbourg and then on to Queenstown (now known as Cobh).  There might be an opportunity to look into this regarding a private tour. This was the final port, she anchored up just off shore and tenders ferried the last few passengers aboard and how a very lucky people disembarked thus escaping the ordeal. You are calling in at three Titanic ports.

 

Guernsey is a tender port where 50% success in tendering takes place I have been there about eight times and was successful in going ashore four times.  June/July should be more likely to have a tender operation working.  Restrooms are available in the yacht marina and many excursions the cruise line run are based in this area such as visiting Sark or Hern islands. One time I went to Sark courtesy of Princess and the ferry to Sark was used as a ships tender at the end.  This was due to an emergency on Sark with a guy having a heart attack.  The Sark ambulance is a sight to behold, no engine and no emergency lights or sirens. Hilariously ridiculous vehicle (see you tube).

[AF-1]

John Watson;  why did you only tender half the time;  was this due to weather conditions, or the tenders didn't work?

[nini]

Also, you may enjoy Skywalker's for a "quiet" reading place or cards during the day

and to enjoy the scenery (sea days).

[Larrytheg]

Thank you we do play a lot of cards