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

[RNCheryl]

Geoherb, did you see the Merrion Hotel?  It is an absolute jewel.

[geoherb]

2 hours ago, RNCheryl said:

Geoherb, did you see the Merrion Hotel?  It is an absolute jewel.

 

We walked by it the first day on our way to Dublin Castle, but we did not go inside.

[cruisegal415]

On 6/3/2022 at 2:32 PM, ROWSE said:

We asked the wonderful port representatives which seem to be in various spots where to catch the train and we were pointed in the right direction.  It was very close to the tender drop off.  We bought our tickets with the end stop being Connolly station.  We had no idea which platform or direction we should be so asked and hoped for the best.  This is a sign and the stations are in Gaeilge.  Once on the train they are also in names we could recognize.  

Was this the best stop to get off for the Guiness Storehouse? That's our first place we are going in Dublin, planning on taking the train.  Was there more than one line to get on? (train line, I mean, not a queue line)

[ROWSE]

1 hour ago, cruisegal415 said:

Was this the best stop to get off for the Guiness Storehouse? That's our first place we are going in Dublin, planning on taking the train.  Was there more than one line to get on? (train line, I mean, not a queue line)

The train in to Dublin goes to the same stations, I believe, but if we did it again, we would not go to Connolly station to get off, we would get off at Dublin Pearse Station.  It cuts the walk a bit.  It is still about a 38 minute walk to Guinness Storehouse.  Connolly is a massive size station and Dublin Pearse is on the smaller side to navigate also.  

 

If you wanted to see the sites a walk is great but if you want to get there fast, then a taxi would be the thing to do.  Really are not too bad price wise I know it was under 10 pounds.  We did not look for a taxi at the train station, so no idea if they are there or not.  There was one outside the door at Guinness Storehouse.  

 

I remember when buying the ticket the end place was Connolly station so that is the ticket you want to buy but get off at Dublin Pearse which I believe was one stop before Connolly.  

 

 

 

 

[TM]

I have really enjoyed reading your review and following along on your trip.  We did British Isles back in August of 2019, on the Crown Princess and we haven’t been back on a ship as of yet. The Med cruise we had booked for the following fall on the new Enchanted was cancelled due to Covid.  
 

Our trip started with 5 days pre cruise in London followed by a Norwegian Fjords cruise and then British Isles.  We ended our trip with 8 days in France.  You brought back so many wonderful memories and seeing your pictures just added so much more to the review and it was fun saying we were there, we did that!   Thank for taking the time to share your trip with us.

 

Tom and Christine

[WhiteRockMike]

Wow, this is just a fantastic review, thank you!!  it is very timely and useful to us as we are doing the same cruise on August 25th, and will do many of the same things that you have done. Your excellent review is a great guide for us, Thank you!!

[cruisegal415]

On 6/12/2022 at 8:29 PM, ROWSE said:

We had a wonderful time with our Son, daughter-in-law, and grand babies, it filled up my

snuggle quota for awhile, but it is NEVER enough!  Love those little people!!!  Time to return to 

our next few days in London!!!

 

May 24, 2022, London Adventure

 

After a lovely breakfast, it was our goal for the first of the day to reach the Tower of London.  This was one of the places that opened earlier than 10 at 9:00a.m.  

We got on the tube at Paddington, went one stop and changed lines,  and in one of my searches it stated to get off at Algate station.  This was wrong, we wanted one more which was Tower Hill Station.  Our learning curve on this Tube was still a challenge.  Right back on and one more station took us to the Tower of London area.  

 

Wrong try again....  

 

 

Once at the ticket entrance to Tower of London we bought our tickets and joined the line

already going in that had pre-booked tickets.  We were told to head right to the Crown jewels

for a less crowded viewing time.   It was raining off and on today!  

 

The Crown Jewels were at a building a brief walk away, so took some pictures at the amazing

structures as we went.

 

 

 

 

 

We found the building and it was guarded on the outside by two guards.  There

was no line and found the advice given was right on.  There was a huge line up later.

 

 

 

This was the entrance of the building.  How interesting is that clock!

 

There is no photos once past the doors so I cannot show you that CROWN!!!  Oh

my!  If that truly is the real thing, the diamond on the front of it is as big as a silver dollar!!!

The other precious jewels were beautiful that were on the crown as well!  

 

We came back out and ventured back toward the front as we wanted to take a Yoeman's/Beefeater tour.

I had read this is a must and I couldn't agree more!  We learned so much!!!  

Some of our sites in the front as we waited for our tour.

The Tower Bridge 

 

They were decorating in the moat area for the June celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee

 

A view of the Shard 

 

Finally the Yoemen/Beefeater joined our group.

 

 This is the paragraph that describes this position from Wikipedia:

The Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary, popularly known as the Beefeaters, are ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. In principle they are responsible for looking after any prisoners in the Tower and safeguarding the British crown jewels. They have also conducted guided tours of the Tower since the Victorian era.

All warders are retired from the British Armed Forces and must be former warrant officers with at least 22 years of service. They must also hold the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.   The garrison consists of 32 (formerly 37) Yeomen Warders and one Chief Warder.

 

Our tour was with Scott Kelly or Beefeater 409.  We easily had the best!  We listened to other tours as we continued around the sites later and clearly we lucked out!  He was so funny which is hard to be when telling us about a ton of gory, murderous, but true stories of Henry the VIII and wives and going ons of the Tower of London.  We learned of Jane Gray the 9 hour Queen and how she was killed, along with Anne Boleyn who is the most famous of the be-headed group!  

 

 

 

After our tour we sat having a snack and saw some of the changing of the Crown Jewels guards.

 

 

 

 

 

This is some of the housing of the Yoeman.  They live on site with their families.  Our guide said

it was very nice when having teenage daughters as the gates closed at 10 so they were always in by then.

 

 

Some other sites we saw were a tower that housed some of the tortures of the time. 

 

 

I always wished I were taller, but I doubt if you survived this you would be appreciate of that fact.  

 

 

In one area where prisoners were housed, they had etched things into the wall.  This was quite eerie to see.  

 

 

 

 

There was a lovely chapel on the grounds called the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula.

The building dates from 1520 although the church was established several centuries earlier.  

 

Tomorrow I will continue with more areas of the Tower of London.  

 

 

Where/how did you get a Beefeater tour? That sounds fantastic!

 

[cruisegal415]

22 hours ago, ROWSE said:

The train in to Dublin goes to the same stations, I believe, but if we did it again, we would not go to Connolly station to get off, we would get off at Dublin Pearse Station.  It cuts the walk a bit.  It is still about a 38 minute walk to Guinness Storehouse.  Connolly is a massive size station and Dublin Pearse is on the smaller side to navigate also.  

 

If you wanted to see the sites a walk is great but if you want to get there fast, then a taxi would be the thing to do.  Really are not too bad price wise I know it was under 10 pounds.  We did not look for a taxi at the train station, so no idea if they are there or not.  There was one outside the door at Guinness Storehouse.  

 

I remember when buying the ticket the end place was Connolly station so that is the ticket you want to buy but get off at Dublin Pearse which I believe was one stop before Connolly.  

 

 

 

 

Great info! I think we will just take a taxi, to save our steps.  After the Guinness Storehouse we are doing a Sights and Pints tour which is a walking tour of Dublin.  We are also on the August 25th cruise, some of our other Roll Call pax are also following your wonderful review! I also wonder what camera did you use to get these great pics? Or did you just use your iPhone?

[cruisegal415]

On 6/13/2022 at 4:07 PM, ROWSE said:

May 24, 2022, London Adventure continued...

 

Our next stop after Tower of London was Tower Bridge.  We went up one side in an elevator.

 

 

The walkway across has a glass floor section and it is so far down to the road below.  

 

 

We were told the drawbridge below opens about 800 times a year and we were lucky enough to be up 

on there when it opened at 1:00p.m.   That dark cloud in my earlier picture turned in to a full blown thunder storm and the rain pelted down!  In the second video you can hear a bit of the thunder at the end.

Going up....

 

 

Coming down...  listen for that thunder!   

 

 

A view outward from the bridge.

 

 

The rain hit so hard the area leaked and had to be mopped up.  

 

Some relics from the bridge.

 

At the other tower we walked down a long stairs.  You could take the elevator if needed.

 

We were so hungry by now, and we still had the Engine Room to see which was a separate part of our ticket and at the end of the bridge.  We decided to have lunch then go see it.  There was a place called The Vault right beside the Engine Room area.  They had the best fish and chips that we had had all vacation so far OR we were just so hungry!!  We sat outside till another round of thunder chases us in. 

 

Our view...

 

 

 

 

The engine room was next.

 

 

We learned all about the early years of how the system worked for the bridge.

 

Next up we walked the waterfront to the London Bridge.  It didn't seem very far but it sure felt

like it!  Saw this cool building as we walked.

 

 

Once on the bridge a view back toward Tower Bridge.

 

 

Walking London Bridge.  I had imagined that this bridge would be so beautiful but no it is not.  

 

At the end of the bridge we see the Monument to the Great Fire of London

 

 

My feet said "no more" and we happen to be right next to a tube station (Monument Station)

We headed back to our hotel calling it a day.  Later we got an amazing veggie pizza 

take out from our hotel restaurant and had a pizza picnic in bed.

Another amazing day!  Tomorrow we have a Westminster tour with a group called Free Tours by Foot!  

 

How long would you estimate we should allow to visit the Tower, including the tour and seeing the jewels? We unfortunately only have two days in London pre-cruise and I fear that we will not have enough time to do even the minuscule amount of things we want to!

[GloriaF]

This is the most amazing and helpful review!  I made notes of some of the tours you took and places you visited so that when my cousin and I go in 2023, we will have an idea of where to start.  The only problem I foresee for us is that we will be 76 years and not sure we can do as much walking as you young 61's did.  Still, inspirational and motivational as well to work on being able to walk further distances next year!  Thank you for a fabulous review!!

[ROWSE]

4 hours ago, cruisegal415 said:

Where/how did you get a Beefeater tour? That sounds fantastic!

 

This tour was for anyone and given at the front entrance just after you come in at various times.   Just ask someone when the next tour will be when you are ready.  Don't think they really care how many just show up at one of the times.  

 

4 hours ago, cruisegal415 said:

Great info! I think we will just take a taxi, to save our steps.  After the Guinness Storehouse we are doing a Sights and Pints tour which is a walking tour of Dublin.  We are also on the August 25th cruise, some of our other Roll Call pax are also following your wonderful review! I also wonder what camera did you use to get these great pics? Or did you just use your iPhone?

 

Just used my iPhone and thank you for thinking they are pretty good.  There are some amazing photographers on here @Bimmer09is one of them.  

 

4 hours ago, cruisegal415 said:

How long would you estimate we should allow to visit the Tower, including the tour and seeing the jewels? We unfortunately only have two days in London pre-cruise and I fear that we will not have enough time to do even the minuscule amount of things we want to!

Not sure if you mean the Tower of London or Tower Bridge but Tower of London would be at least 3 to 4 hours I would say.  Tower Bridge could be maybe an hour or two.  You could definitely make it quicker depending on how much information you like to read.  

It is really subjective as you could like to read more or less about things than we did.

 

 

[ROWSE]

21 hours ago, TM said:

I have really enjoyed reading your review and following along on your trip.  We did British Isles back in August of 2019, on the Crown Princess and we haven’t been back on a ship as of yet. The Med cruise we had booked for the following fall on the new Enchanted was cancelled due to Covid.  
 

Our trip started with 5 days pre cruise in London followed by a Norwegian Fjords cruise and then British Isles.  We ended our trip with 8 days in France.  You brought back so many wonderful memories and seeing your pictures just added so much more to the review and it was fun saying we were there, we did that!   Thank for taking the time to share your trip with us.

 

Tom and Christine

Thank you for reading along!  I hope you get to go back to cruising soon!  Norwegian Fjords will be a someday for us!!!  

[ROWSE]

5 hours ago, WhiteRockMike said:

Wow, this is just a fantastic review, thank you!!  it is very timely and useful to us as we are doing the same cruise on August 25th, and will do many of the same things that you have done. Your excellent review is a great guide for us, Thank you!!

Thank you so much for the compliment, and to know I may be helpful to someone going soon is just heart warming!  Have a fantastic cruise!  

[ROWSE]

On 6/17/2022 at 9:05 AM, Tinktank said:

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!!

I got a little behind in thanking those who are reading along but THANK YOU!!!  Hope your have a fantastic adventure on your August cruise!

[ROWSE]

On 6/16/2022 at 8:07 PM, loveapug said:

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!

Thank you for chiming in and I am a little slow to Thank you!  Have a fantastic cruise!  

[ROWSE]

On 6/17/2022 at 1:29 AM, dog said:

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

Thank you for reading along!  We did have safe travels home!  Lucky as there were many many flights cancelled that day!

[ROWSE]

On 6/17/2022 at 3:01 AM, cnd crsr said:

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.

Thank you for the compliment and coming along for the ride.  Hope your next time is very soon!

[ROWSE]

On 6/17/2022 at 5:18 AM, Diver2014 said:

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.

Thank you for reading along!  More time in Southampton would have been nice.  Always so many things to see and so little time.  

[styme123]

You gave such a great review that I just booked tickets for the same tour as you did post-cruise with International Friends, Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the Thames river cruise! We have unfortunately only had one free day in London before flying back home or else we would have copied you some more lol. You should be getting a kick back commission from all the companies that are getting bookings because of your great review🤣 

[ROWSE]

16 hours ago, styme123 said:

You gave such a great review that I just booked tickets for the same tour as you did post-cruise with International Friends, Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the Thames river cruise! We have unfortunately only had one free day in London before flying back home or else we would have copied you some more lol. You should be getting a kick back commission from all the companies that are getting bookings because of your great review🤣 

Oh my goodness!  That is such a compliment, thank you!  Hope you have as wonderful a time as we did!

[styme123]

2 hours ago, ROWSE said:

Oh my goodness!  That is such a compliment, thank you!  Hope you have as wonderful a time as we did!

I hope so too 😁 A lot of planning with a lot of moving parts.

[cruisegal415]

Just wanted to add my thank you to you as well, the information you are giving is so helpful! I am also on the August 25th cruise, and have learned a lot from your very thorough reviews!

[geoherb]

On 6/21/2022 at 1:48 PM, cruisegal415 said:

How long would you estimate we should allow to visit the Tower, including the tour and seeing the jewels? We unfortunately only have two days in London pre-cruise and I fear that we will not have enough time to do even the minuscule amount of things we want to!

 

You won't have enough time. We stayed three nights in London before our British Isles cruise and did not have nearly enough time. When we went back before a transatlantic cruise the following year, we spent four nights in London and still did not have enough time. And then the following year, we went back and spent just two nights there. But I loved every trip. The pandemic messed up my plans to go every year, and now my mother-in-law's age has messed it up for this year. DH will not leave the country. 

[geoherb]

9 hours ago, cruisegal415 said:

Just wanted to add my thank you to you as well, the information you are giving is so helpful! I am also on the August 25th cruise, and have learned a lot from your very thorough reviews!

 

Be sure to look into taking a tour of Buckingham Palace. It's open only a few weeks each summer, from the end of July through early September. I highly recommend adding on the garden tour as well.

https://www.rct.uk/visit/buckingham-palace

[durangokid]

Adding our thanks for your wonderful, fact filled review.  Have made notes of which tours you did and are looking forward to booking some for our September 5, 2023 cruise.  Enjoyed reading this very much!!

 

Mary and Art