BTimmer's Almost Live First Princess Cruise (6/1-13/23) on the Regal Princess

[Btimmer]

The Lido breakfast spread is excellent.  With the port cancellation, it will be a good time to explore the ship as we make our way to Cobh.

[azbirdmom]

On 6/1/2023 at 8:16 AM, azbirdmom said:

I'm following along as we will be flying out to Southampton to take a similar cruise in three weeks (British Isles with Liverpool).  Would appreciate it if someone on the ship could post if they are selling airport transfers.  I have heard that one some cruises you can only add transfers pre-cruise.  We always used to purchase them when on the ship which allows the use of OBC and are really hoping that they are still doing that.  Thanks in advance and have a great cruise!

@Btimmer - not sure if you saw my post yesterday but would appreciate it if you could let me know the answer.  Thanks, and sorry about Guernsey.

[Btimmer]

22 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

@Btimmer - not sure if you saw my post yesterday but would appreciate it if you could let me know the answer.  Thanks, and sorry about Guernsey.

I see on the APP that they are selling disembarkation transfers to Heathrow & Gatwick. $139/pp.

[azbirdmom]

40 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

I see on the APP that they are selling disembarkation transfers to Heathrow & Gatwick. $139/pp.

 

Thank you so much!  Seems a little steep but it is what it is.

[RLK33853]

5 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Thank you so much!  Seems a little steep but it is what it is.

A private car service basically costs the same or is more economical than the Princess transfer - as long as you have more than one person.

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, RLK33853 said:

A private car service basically costs the same or is more economical than the Princess transfer - as long as you have more than one person.

 

Yes, we may well do that.  We have already booked West Quay from Heathrow to Southampton.  Have done National Express bus before but nothing like a man with sign greeting you at the airport after a long overnight flight.

[Btimmer]

We're finally in Cobh and on the train to Cork.  It's gorgeous here today.

 

Lusitanua memorial 

 

 

 

 

St. Colman (huge church)

[phabric]

When we were in Cobh, there were ladies at the dock singing us off.

[Lady Arwen]

21 hours ago, Btimmer said:

I see on the APP that they are selling disembarkation transfers to Heathrow & Gatwick. $139/pp.

We just booked our Princess transfers from Regal in Southampton to LHR and paid half of that!

[JimmyVWine]

I thought that “The Upside Down” was in Hawkins, Indiana and not Cohb. 🤪

[kttraveler]

I have seen you like many of us don’t appreciate the medallion app. It is clunky. There is a website you can use instead to plan your activities. I forget how to get to it but if you go to the medallion app desk or the Internet cafe and ask they can set it up for you. It is much better than the app. 

[winnipeg melody]

I'm really enjoying your report too.  We will be on the June 25th sailing that includes Liverpool.  We love London and are spending 4 days there prior to the cruise and will be taking the train from London Waterloo to Southampton Central the morning of and returning to London the same way for two nights.

It's much cheaper than the Princess transfer when we booked our tickets a few weeks ago.  Can't wait!

 

[Btimmer]

We went to the Titanic Experience Museum and visited the St. Colman cathedral before taking the train to Cork where we visited the St. Finn Barre cathedral and Elizabeth fort before meeting a local fellow who participates in a YT cruising channel.  We had a nice corned beef and cabbage lunch and toured the English market before heading back on the 4pm train.  Here's a few pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[azbirdmom]

Looks like a beautiful day in Cobh.  Can't wait to get there!

[ehogan]

We were on this sailing May 20.  Lovely ship and awesome crew.

Some notes:

Entertainment was excellent but you should be in the theatre at least 20 minutes before show time.  You might want to bring a mask as we noted near the halfway point of the cruise there was a lot of coughing and sneezing.

 

We purchased transfers to LHR after the cruise from Princess pre cruise, easy to do by calling Princess and adding it.  Cant remember cost but it wasnt $139.
 

 We always use National Express bus to get from Heathrow to London and also from London to Southampton.  Prepurchase on line is easy and inexpensive.  We stayed at the Premier inn West Quay in Southampton which was a ten minute walk from The Nat.Express station.

 

If you are interested in the Titanic story do not miss the Titanic Museum in Belfast.

Taxis are available port side and only cost us 10 pounds each way.  It is amazing and tells the Titanic story very sympathetically.  We also did the Titanic museum in Cobh which was good but cannot compare with Belfast.  We pre purchased tickets on line before the cruise since we had heard that the shore excursion for this was rushed.  Tickets were 19£ for seniors 

 

Bring some duct tape to cover the motion detecter sensor on the light in the bathroom hallway if you are a light sleeper.

 

Enjoy your cruise

 

 

[azbirdmom]

3 hours ago, ehogan said:

We purchased transfers to LHR after the cruise from Princess pre cruise, easy to do by calling Princess and adding it.  Cant remember cost but it wasnt $139.

 

Yes, I've since found other recent indications that it is $59 or $60, but my only concern was about whether or not it is available on the ship.  I'd like to use OBC plus it's a casino reservation and I don't want to run the risk of a rep accidentally cancelling it when adding the transfers.  The June 25th cruise is sold out and having an accidental last minute cancellation is a hassle I don't want to deal with (not being paranoid, these offers are a great deal but come with a bit of stress).  And our flight time doesn't line up well with National Express departures, allowing for the possibility of late arrival into port.  We have taken them before so we understand the process.

[phabric]

7 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Yes, I've since found other recent indications that it is $59 or $60, but my only concern was about whether or not it is available on the ship.  I'd like to use OBC plus it's a casino reservation and I don't want to run the risk of a rep accidentally cancelling it when adding the transfers.  The June 25th cruise is sold out and having an accidental last minute cancellation is a hassle I don't want to deal with (not being paranoid, these offers are a great deal but come with a bit of stress).  And our flight time doesn't line up well with National Express departures, allowing for the possibility of late arrival into port.  We have taken them before so we understand the process.

Maybe the quote of $139 is the transfer with a excursion?

[azbirdmom]

24 minutes ago, phabric said:

Maybe the quote of $139 is the transfer with a excursion?

That's probably it as those tend to be for sale as an excursion which is in the app.

[Btimmer]

3 hours ago, phabric said:

Maybe the quote of $139 is the transfer with a excursion?

Yes, that is what I quoted.  A plain transfer did not show in the app.  We don't personally need a transfer as we're doing something totally different.

[Btimmer]

6 hours ago, ehogan said:

We were on this sailing May 20.  Lovely ship and awesome crew.

Some notes:

Entertainment was excellent but you should be in the theatre at least 20 minutes before show time.  You might want to bring a mask as we noted near the halfway point of the cruise there was a lot of coughing and sneezing.

yes the theater is packed and we're veterans at arriving early to get our choice of seats.

6 hours ago, ehogan said:

 

We purchased transfers to LHR after the cruise from Princess pre cruise, easy to do by calling Princess and adding it.  Cant remember cost but it wasnt $139.
 

 We always use National Express bus to get from Heathrow to London and also from London to Southampton.  Prepurchase on line is easy and inexpensive.  We stayed at the Premier inn West Quay in Southampton which was a ten minute walk from The Nat.Express station.

 

 

If you are interested in the Titanic story do not miss the Titanic Museum in Belfast.

we've been to Belfast previously and seen the Titanic story there.  It's very well done.

 

6 hours ago, ehogan said:

Taxis are available port side and only cost us 10 pounds each way.  It is amazing and tells the Titanic story very sympathetically.  We also did the Titanic museum in Cobh which was good but cannot compare with Belfast.  We pre purchased tickets on line before the cruise since we had heard that the shore excursion for this was rushed.  Tickets were 19£ for seniors 

 

Bring some duct tape to cover the motion detecter sensor on the light in the bathroom hallway if you are a light sleeper.

 

Enjoy your cruise

 

 

We are totally enjoying our first Princess cruise.

 

Another tip is to bring some magnetic hooks for the walls. And wow is that motion light bright!

[good42n]

On 6/2/2023 at 8:43 AM, Btimmer said:

I see on the APP that they are selling disembarkation transfers to Heathrow & Gatwick. $139/pp.

Wow! For our September cruise, the shuttle is only $59pp! That’s a heck of a difference. 

[jjkelly22]

hi 

 

I was wondering how the motion of the ship was if it was too windy to tender in.  Just curious as motion sickness can be an issue for us.  Most cruise ships seem pretty good but sometimes it is just difficult for them to compensate.  and since I'm asking how was it getting to Cork and Dublin re the ship movement?  enjoying your blog greatly.  thanks

 

jjk

[phabric]

10 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Yes, I've since found other recent indications that it is $59 or $60, but my only concern was about whether or not it is available on the ship.  I'd like to use OBC plus it's a casino reservation and I don't want to run the risk of a rep accidentally cancelling it when adding the transfers.  The June 25th cruise is sold out and having an accidental last minute cancellation is a hassle I don't want to deal with (not being paranoid, these offers are a great deal but come with a bit of stress).  And our flight time doesn't line up well with National Express departures, allowing for the possibility of late arrival into port.  We have taken them before so we understand the process.

You probably can go Excursion Desk and get a transfer to the airport without an excursion.

[Btimmer]

23 minutes ago, jjkelly22 said:

hi 

 

I was wondering how the motion of the ship was if it was too windy to tender in.  Just curious as motion sickness can be an issue for us.  Most cruise ships seem pretty good but sometimes it is just difficult for them to compensate.  and since I'm asking how was it getting to Cork and Dublin re the ship movement?  enjoying your blog greatly.  thanks

 

jjk

There is virtually no motion which makes it quite pleasant.  Even at Guernsey, there was no abnormal motion.

[phabric]

14 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Yes, I've since found other recent indications that it is $59 or $60, but my only concern was about whether or not it is available on the ship.  I'd like to use OBC plus it's a casino reservation and I don't want to run the risk of a rep accidentally cancelling it when adding the transfers.  The June 25th cruise is sold out and having an accidental last minute cancellation is a hassle I don't want to deal with (not being paranoid, these offers are a great deal but come with a bit of stress).  And our flight time doesn't line up well with National Express departures, allowing for the possibility of late arrival into port.  We have taken them before so we understand the process.

I noticed on another thread, the person posted the Disembarking Information sheet,  there is a section where you can purchase a transfer to the airport.