Review Emerald Princess British Isles May 9-26, 2022, plus one week in London!

[ROWSE]

May 28, 2022, saying Good bye to London!  

 

We are sad it is time to go home, and want to use every minute of time so we are up early for our 

last lovely breakfast.  Check out was at 11:00.

 

 

We walk a little more of Hyde Park.  Check out all those Port-a-potties for the upcoming

Queen's Jubilee.  Too bad they were all locked up.

 

 

We go see the Marble Arch which was designed to be both a grandiose gateway to an expanded Buckingham Palace and an exuberant celebration of British victories in the Napoleonic Wars – a Triumphal Arch.  Walked some of the neighborhood.  

 

All too soon it was back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and headed off to Paddington Station to take the 
Heathrow Express.  The Indigo Hotel had been wonderful!!  I had purchased the Express tickets at least 90 days out and only paid 11 pounds total for both of us.  If you purchase at the gate it is 25 pounds each.  

We scanned in and a Station guide pointed us to the right train.  

It was not very crowded.

 

 

Great place for luggage. 

 

Train starts off slowly and DH thinks it got up to 80mph.  Great way to get to the airport.  

 

 

Our flight isn't till 3:10pm.  but there are SO many people at the airport Delta gate that it took us way over an hour to just check our luggage.  Then security was very very long as well.  

 

We finally get up to what seems like this huge shopping area but you have to wait here till these reader boards announce your gate which is just a short time till your boarding time.  We were lucky to have a gate about 10 minutes walk away, some are 20.   Even though we were there so early, we only had a few minutes before the gate was listed.

 

 

Later we realize that so many many flights were cancelled due to the Memorial Day weekend and count our blessings that we got on and home without any glitches at all.  It was a vacation we will remember forever, and I thank those of you that might still be reading along for joining us!  

May you all have Happy Sailings ahead and great vacations!!

[BuckeyeMark]

Thank you again for a magnificent Trip Report!  A+++++!  And so helpful to those of us who are headed over for much of the same journey.  Thank you!

[wowzz]

Really enjoyed your report. Thank you.

As a Brit, I feel very guilty, as you have seen far more of London than I have.

Perhaps it is time to stop travelling abroad, and explore my own country. 

Thank you again.

Edited June 16, 2022 by wowzz

[muchofamuchness]

I have really enjoyed following this report - it's been a joy to check back every so often and read the next 'episode'.

 

It's always interesting to see the view that someone coming from another country gets of places you think you know so well. Seems that you really 'did things properly' and I'm glad you had such a nice time.

[styme123]

What a great review!!! I love all the pictures! It really makes it come to life. Were' booked for mid August on same trip. I wish we could stay longer pre/post cruise but we only have a day or so on each end. So many interesting and wonderful places to see. Thank you for taking the time to post it all for us to enjoy.

[ciera123]

I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your vacation with us! It was such a great review, and I’m sorry it's over. ❤️

[ROWSE]

1 hour ago, muchofamuchness said:

I have really enjoyed following this report - it's been a joy to check back every so often and read the next 'episode'.

 

It's always interesting to see the view that someone coming from another country gets of places you think you know so well. Seems that you really 'did things properly' and I'm glad you had such a nice time.

Thank you for reading along!  

[ROWSE]

1 hour ago, styme123 said:

What a great review!!! I love all the pictures! It really makes it come to life. Were' booked for mid August on same trip. I wish we could stay longer pre/post cruise but we only have a day or so on each end. So many interesting and wonderful places to see. Thank you for taking the time to post it all for us to enjoy.

Thank you for the compliment and reading along!  Enjoy your August trip!!!  

[ROWSE]

1 hour ago, ciera123 said:

I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your vacation with us! It was such a great review, and I’m sorry it's over. ❤️

It was so fun to relive as I posted.  Thank you so much for the compliment!  

[styme123]

2 hours ago, ROWSE said:

Thank you for the compliment and reading along!  Enjoy your August trip!!!  

Now I'm thinking about doing land tour there next summer, just to see all those wonderful sites 😁

[High C's]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!  Best review I've read in quite some time.  Your enthusiasm is infectious.  Can't wait to follow in your footsteps in August.  

[loveapug]

I add my thanks to the others. Really enjoyed living this trip through your eyes. We leave in about a month for a similar trip and this helps get us ready for the adventure!

[dog]

Excellent photos & review. Thanks again. Safe travels home.

[cnd crsr]

What a great review of your trip. Thanks for taking us along. Your photos and writing have brought back wonderful memories of  the BI cruises we have taken and also given me ideas for next time.

Again thanks for a wonderful read.

[Diver2014]

I have quite a few of your exact same photos from our Princess cruise in 2019, especially in Southampton.  We arrived 3 days before our cruise so we could explore.  It was such a wonderful trip that we're planning on doing the same cruise again in a few years.

[tartana]

LOVE!LOVE!LOVE! Thanks so much! I did Paris with my Senior Mom in 2019 - 5 days just exploring, walking many parts of the city, museums, churches, awesome restaurants, siteseeing....loved getting "off the beaten path", a few "free walking tours", etc.... I know how much time the research and planning takes, and the wonderful feeling when you actually get to "act it all out" lol.  I look forward to doing the same in some of Northern Europe and the UK as well someday (hopefully soon)! 

Edited June 17, 2022 by tartana

[RNRcruisers]

 

The High Tea looks amazing! Added to my list of must-do's. Thank you for the great review!

 

[Tinktank]

Many, many thanks for your fabulous review and photos. Definitely one of the best I've ever read.

We are on the Aug 25th sailing and now are more excited than ever to experience the British Isles.

Thank you!!

[kgillespie5]

@ROWSE I loved your review!  I was living vicariously through you, reading every post and loving it, not knowing that I would end up booking a transatlantic cruise on the Emerald for November.  I was set to cruise on the Royal in November but this past week decided to do the Transatlantic instead 🙂  I noticed you took a National Express bus from Heathrow to Southampton.  Did you enjoy it and would you recommend it?  I priced it and it's a lot more palatable than the cost of a private transfer.  Is the National Express departure site at Heathrow?  Did you find it relatively easy to find and figure out?

[MixerDave]

On 5/31/2022 at 3:06 PM, ROWSE said:

Cruise Day continued...

There is a place to walk along the wall near the Bargate.

This was really amazing to be on something from the 12 century!

 

 

View of the mall from the top of wall. 

 

 

 

We go back to room and have a quick nap!  So many naps the first couple days!!!

We were lucky enough to have Boarding Group A, which for this cruise was 11:00 to 12:00.

The hotel had this wonderful designated phone near the elevator to call a taxi.  It was quick

and so EASY.  I think the price was 5.80 pounds which came to about $8 on our credit card.

 

We handed over the suitcase and went on in.  Our Covid tests were recorded and our vaccine

cards shown and were all set.  We were guided to the Elite lounge and some snacks and drinks were waiting in here.  We received a special  letter letting us know there were several Covid cases so there would be a requirement to wear masks in all inside venues. Unless eating or drinking.  (Later, in the room another letter stated masks were recommended)  UGH!  Come on Princess make up your mind.  We followed the first letter but so many others followed the one in the room.

 

After SO long, and with tears in my eyes, we were stepping again onto a cruise.  

I notice I matched my luggage!!!  

 

Decided to do the buffet for our first meal, and it was served by staff the entire cruise.

I loved this!!!  Think they should keep this as so many people touching things in the buffet 

has never been my favorite thing!

 

We sat out back by the back pool and no one else was out there at all!

 

Our view of the terminal shows how they embrace solar energy.

 

 

And my first drink of a cruise is usually a Mud Slide....

 

 

It was time then to be able to head to the rooms.  We were in E702 obstructed ocean view.

This is a fantastic room and though there was a little vibration upon porting, the view was 

not really obstructed!

 

 

 

I turned my back for a moment and the first nap of the cruise happened.  You think that bed would have been a bit better.  LOL

 

 

I, on the other hand, try out my medallion AP for ordering drinks.  A mimosa arrived

soon after!  

 

 

The patters have our schedule for the cruise and we notice some port time "all boards" had changed a little bit to earlier than we booked at.   Also of note, Princess dropped our planned

stop in Glasgow and added Orkney Islands only about 2 weeks before sail date.  The sea day changed to the 15th instead of the 16th.  

 

 

You said when you boarded they handed you a letter saying they had several covid cases.  Surely this could not be passengers or they would have been denied boarding.  Was it the crew.  Please help me understand as We are due to board on 7/20.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ROWSE]

6 hours ago, kgillespie5 said:

@ROWSE I loved your review!  I was living vicariously through you, reading every post and loving it, not knowing that I would end up booking a transatlantic cruise on the Emerald for November.  I was set to cruise on the Royal in November but this past week decided to do the Transatlantic instead 🙂  I noticed you took a National Express bus from Heathrow to Southampton.  Did you enjoy it and would you recommend it?  I priced it and it's a lot more palatable than the cost of a private transfer.  Is the National Express departure site at Heathrow?  Did you find it relatively easy to find and figure out?

Thank you for the compliment!    The National Express was a lot less expensive and it was very nice bus.  It has a bathroom and the luggage is stored under the bus.  Our bus stopped at Terminal 5 and one other stop then to Southampton.  The stops were very short.  
The departure is adjacent to Heathrow and there is signage directing you how to get there.  Follow the Central Bus Line signs.   I watched You Tubes  by putting in “National Express Heathrow” on You Tube.   There are a few to watch, and they familiarized me with it all.  
 

Once to the area, we asked an agent that was walking around which bus we were looking for on the reader board to be absolutely sure we were doing the right one.   We had pre-bought our tickets and since the reader board lists several named stops it is a little confusing.  The agent was very helpful.
I would do it again if we ever go out of Southampton in the future.  

 

[ROWSE]

5 hours ago, MixerDave said:

You said when you boarded they handed you a letter saying they had several covid cases.  Surely this could not be passengers or they would have been denied boarding.  Was it the crew.  Please help me understand as We are due to board on 7/20.

Staff at check in handed us a letter as we entered the waiting area to board.  It was not specific about who,  just due to there being an uptick in Covid cases they were requiring masks in public inside areas unless eating or drinking, but as I stated earlier in my review, another letter was in the cabin with the wording “recommending” masks.  Very much mixed messaging on Princess part.  
Seems each cruise is handled differently.  There would be no way to know what will happen by July.  


 

 

[kgillespie5]

Thank you for your quick response and directions for the location of the bus departure area!  I'll definitely find the videos on YouTube and watch them to familiarize myself with the process.  Looking forward to the adventure 🙂  I love the planning and research leading up to a trip.  I've already made my hotel reservations for the Moxy in Southampton pre-cruise and will continue my research this weekend on National Express and plan to go ahead and buy my ticket now.  Makes the trip feel so real even though it's months away.

[geoherb]

What a great trip! We took a British Isles cruise in 2017. Ours had an overnight in Dublin, and the ship docked a few miles from the city instead of having to tender at Dun Laoghaire. Princess provided a free shuttle to Merrion Square. 

 

And you'll need to go back to London when Buckingham Palace is open.

[MixerDave]

8 hours ago, ROWSE said:

Staff at check in handed us a letter as we entered the waiting area to board.  It was not specific about who,  just due to there being an uptick in Covid cases they were requiring masks in public inside areas unless eating or drinking, but as I stated earlier in my review, another letter was in the cabin with the wording “recommending” masks.  Very much mixed messaging on Princess part.  
Seems each cruise is handled differently.  There would be no way to know what will happen by July.  


 

 

It just seems strange there was an uptick while still in the boarding process.