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

[kttraveler]

Loved seeing how easy it was to get the HOHO in Liverpool since that is what I am planning to do. Thanks for letting me plan a bit through your experiences!

[Jiminy1955]

I'm so excited I found this since we will be on our first Princess cruise on the Regal April 5th, 2024. it's also our first Transatlantic cruise, 28 days, from Florida to the UK, Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland and Scotland!!

[bmc alabama]

I hate that you missed Guernsey. We were on the 5/20-6/1 cruise right before yours and had an absolutely wonderful day there. 

 

I think that you did get lucky with your Embarkation from the Ocean Terminal.  Our debarkation there was very smooth.  However, we embarked from the QEII terminal and that was a complete mess. Apparently, somehow the fire alarm got triggered and they cleared everyone out and there was a really long line outside to get checked in. Then, once in the terminal, there was no signage as to where you went to drop bags, so everyone was apparently in the wrong spot. It was a mess.  Took a couple of hours to get on the ship.

 

That said, once onboard, we had a fantastic cruise. Really lucked out with the weather. It did not rain a single day of our cruise. I see that you also don't stop in Invergordon. We enjoyed that stop as well. We did not stop in Liverpool, however.

 

In Northern Ireland, going to the Giant's Causeway, I think, is a must. Not only for the Causeway, but the scenery in the Northern Ireland countryside is absolutely breathtaking.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Btimmer]

1 hour ago, bmc alabama said:

I hate that you missed Guernsey. We were on the 5/20-6/1 cruise right before yours and had an absolutely wonderful day there. 

 

I think that you did get lucky with your Embarkation from the Ocean Terminal.  Our debarkation there was very smooth.  However, we embarked from the QEII terminal and that was a complete mess. Apparently, somehow the fire alarm got triggered and they cleared everyone out and there was a really long line outside to get checked in. Then, once in the terminal, there was no signage as to where you went to drop bags, so everyone was apparently in the wrong spot. It was a mess.  Took a couple of hours to get on the ship.

 

That said, once onboard, we had a fantastic cruise. Really lucked out with the weather. It did not rain a single day of our cruise. I see that you also don't stop in Invergordon. We enjoyed that stop as well. We did not stop in Liverpool, however.

 

In Northern Ireland, going to the Giant's Causeway, I think, is a must. Not only for the Causeway, but the scenery in the Northern Ireland countryside is absolutely breathtaking.

 

Have a great cruise!

We have been to Ireland previously on our motorcycle and rode up to Giant's Causeway.  It's truly a sight not to be missed.  Our only regret about that previous trip was that we didn't spend enough time in Ireland.  It is so green and pretty! 

[Btimmer]

2 hours ago, Jiminy1955 said:

I'm so excited I found this since we will be on our first Princess cruise on the Regal April 5th, 2024. it's also our first Transatlantic cruise, 28 days, from Florida to the UK, Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland and Scotland!!

That sounds like a great itinerary! The Regal will be a great ship for a crossing.

[Btimmer]

4 hours ago, kttraveler said:

Loved seeing how easy it was to get the HOHO in Liverpool since that is what I am planning to do. Thanks for letting me plan a bit through your experiences!

Yes, just head for the Beatles statute in front of the ferry terminal and the HoHo bus is a few hundred feet away.  I highly recommend the 10am Red line tour followed by the 11:30am Blue line Beatles tour. It's quite reasonably priced!

[Jiminy1955]

Just now, Btimmer said:

That sounds like a great itinerary! The Regal will be a great ship for a crossing.

So happy to hear that! Thank you.  In total we have 14 sea days & 13 ports!! Additionally we are staying 5 days in England and 5 days in Paris. This is for our 50th anniversary!!! 

 

I must admit I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with planning the land portion of this trip.  I've never been to Europe and my husband was in grade school when he lived in both England and France when his dad was stationed there.

[Btimmer]

1 minute ago, Jiminy1955 said:

So happy to hear that! Thank you.  In total we have 14 sea days & 13 ports!! Additionally we are staying 5 days in England and 5 days in Paris. This is for our 50th anniversary!!! 

 

I must admit I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with planning the land portion of this trip.  I've never been to Europe and my husband was in grade school when he lived in both England and France when his dad was stationed there.

We've done multiple trans Atlantic and Pacific cruises.  My biggest recommendation is to not overplan your stops and realize that there is no way you will see everything.  Once we learned that, travel became so much more fun for us.

 

Congrats on your 50th! This cruise is partially to celebrate my wife's birthday on the last day of the cruise.  Later this year we'll celebrate our 55th.

[Btimmer]

Today in Belfast, the ship brought folkloric talent on board in the form of an Irish dancing & musical group plus a bagpiper to prepare us for tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

[Btimmer]

For those planning a Belfast stop, there is a $15.95 RT Electric shuttle bus from the port to downtown.  The HOHO bus leaves from just behind the shuttle stop at city hall and cost 20 pounds for a two hour loop.  The Titanic museum has two new exhibits.

[Jiminy1955]

13 hours ago, Btimmer said:

We've done multiple trans Atlantic and Pacific cruises.  My biggest recommendation is to not overplan your stops and realize that there is no way you will see everything.  Once we learned that, travel became so much more fun for us.

 

Congrats on your 50th! This cruise is partially to celebrate my wife's birthday on the last day of the cruise.  Later this year we'll celebrate our 55th.

Happy Birthday and 55 years Anniversary!!

[Lady Meer]

3 hours ago, Btimmer said:

For those planning a Belfast stop, there is a $15.95 RT Electric shuttle bus from the port to downtown.  The HOHO bus leaves from just behind the shuttle stop at city hall and cost 20 pounds for a two hour loop.  The Titanic museum has two new exhibits.

It was only £15 for up to 4 passengers to take a cab from the ship to the centre of the city. The return cab was on a meter and was just £7, again for up to 4. Better value and no need to queue!

[trishweber22]

45 minutes ago, Lady Meer said:

It was only £15 for up to 4 passengers to take a cab from the ship to the centre of the city. The return cab was on a meter and was just £7, again for up to 4. Better value and no need to queue!

How easy was it to find cabs to come back to the ship in Belfast?  We were almost stranded in France and Italy and I don’t want to repeat that stress.  

[Btimmer]

1 hour ago, Lady Meer said:

It was only £15 for up to 4 passengers to take a cab from the ship to the centre of the city. The return cab was on a meter and was just £7, again for up to 4. Better value and no need to queue!

Except we have a bunch of shipboard credit.  So free was a decent value for us.

[Jiminy1955]

Do any of the European countries accept U.S. Dollars?

[taxmantoo]

3 minutes ago, Jiminy1955 said:

Do any of the European countries accept U.S. Dollars?

Does the U.S accept any European currency?  End of debate.

[Lady Meer]

1 hour ago, trishweber22 said:

How easy was it to find cabs to come back to the ship in Belfast?  We were almost stranded in France and Italy and I don’t want to repeat that stress.  

The cab driver who took us into Belfast gave us a card for the company with a number to call when we were ready to be picked up. Also I imagine that Uber operates there.

Edited June 6, 2023 by Lady Meer

[KarmaCruisers]

1 hour ago, Jiminy1955 said:

Do any of the European countries accept U.S. Dollars?

No but they CRUSH the U.S. on tap-to-pay..paper currency is almost laughed at in EU/UK.

[azbirdmom]

7 hours ago, Btimmer said:

For those planning a Belfast stop, there is a $15.95 RT Electric shuttle bus from the port to downtown.  The HOHO bus leaves from just behind the shuttle stop at city hall and cost 20 pounds for a two hour loop.

Thank you for the info!  That is exactly what we plan to do.

[Jiminy1955]

2 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

No but they CRUSH the U.S. on tap-to-pay..paper currency is almost laughed at in EU/UK.

Good to know.

[Jiminy1955]

4 hours ago, taxmantoo said:

Does the U.S accept any European currency?  End of debate.

I didn't know there was a debate 🤔

[CruisingGrandmaW]

On 6/5/2023 at 10:51 PM, Jiminy1955 said:

So happy to hear that! Thank you.  In total we have 14 sea days & 13 ports!! Additionally we are staying 5 days in England and 5 days in Paris. This is for our 50th anniversary!!! 

 

I must admit I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with planning the land portion of this trip.  I've never been to Europe and my husband was in grade school when he lived in both England and France when his dad was stationed there.

@Jiminy1955  Hello - I've been to Paris numerous times; in fact first trip there ---  hubby had taken me there to propose to me.  You'll definitely want to stay at a Hotel in the heart of Paris as it's a half hour train ride from airport to downtown.  Paris also has an excellent Hop On Hop Off Bus that you'll want to take for an overview of the city.  The subway system is excellent & will be your main means of transportation.  You should be able to look online for the Paris Subway schedules & routes.  Just be aware that your main hurdle will be transporting all your luggage from airport to a downtown hotel.  The subway system has many stairs/escalators when using.  It would be cumbersome trying to haul a lot of luggage.  Perhaps - look into a Hotel near the airport that you can stay on your first & last night in Paris....that will store your excess luggage for you - then use only one carry on for staying at your other Hotel in Paris.  (Most of the airport Hotels will have a shuttle bus to & from the airport).  You can email me at cjbootscoot at gmail dot com if you want any more specific information.

Visiting Versailles is a LONG day.  You can get there via the subway - but I would recommend staying one night at a Hotel near it & purchase your tickets in advance via online if you plan to go there.

[CruisingGrandmaW]

12 hours ago, Jiminy1955 said:

I didn't know there was a debate 🤔

@Jiminy1955  When traveling in Europe -- we used a Credit Card that had NO Foreign Transaction Fee.  You'll want to look into that as having a Foreign Transaction fee on each purchase can get pricey.  Also we did use ATMs for acquiring our foreign currency.  While our Bank did have a Foreign Transaction Fee for ATM -- we were able to pull enough currency via one-time ATM transaction.  The exchange rate via ATM was better than using a Currency Exchange facility at airports.

[Lady Arwen]

15 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

No but they CRUSH the U.S. on tap-to-pay..paper currency is almost laughed at in EU/UK.

In Canada we also have tap and go technology and have had for years.  Nobody uses cash here unless absolutely necessary.  We love travelling to the UK and Europe because it’s just like home.  The USA needs to catch up!

[Btimmer]

 

We just enjoyed a wonderful private excursion out of Greenock with Sixstar Coach Tours, Ltd.  David, an owner, guided 7 of us to the Stirling Castle,  Duone Castle, the hairy coos (highland cattle), and Loch Loman. He's witty and conscientious.  They service Greenock, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. Contact them at info@sixstarcoachtoursltd.com for further information.

Edited June 7, 2023 by Btimmer