Live British Isles July 19-31 Princess Regal

[Esjung1]

15 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Yes, I saw that after I responded, I hadn't gone out far enough in the schedule to see it.  Enjoy Liverpool, we sure had a fantastic visit there!

 

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

 

We did the Beatles Story and the Magical Mystery Tour on our own.  Absolutely loved it but we are all Beatles fans.

 

We pre-booked the 11 AM Magical Mystery Tour.  We left the ship at 8:15 and walked over to Albert Dock.  We got to The Beatles Story and bought our tickets there.  We beat the crowds from the Princess excursion bus so we had the place pretty much to ourselves for a while.

 

The Magical Mystery Tour ticket office and bus stop is pretty much next door to The Beatles Story so this makes it a nice combo if you get off the ship early enough.  The bus tour was fun too. Lots of interesting tidbits provided by the tour guide with stops at some of the more interesting places like Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, and Paul's boyhood home which is now a museum.

 

At the end we were dropped off about a block from the Cavern Club.  Since they actually run the Magical Mystery Tour your bus ticket gets you admission into the Cavern Club.  Really interesting place, it could be a museum!  We listened to music and had a pint before walking back to the ship.

This sounds awesome, thank you for sharing! Is the Albert dock relatively close?  I'm asking because we have one younger child and one older person with some mobility issues but walking a few blocks at a time is totally doable. 

[azbirdmom]

48 minutes ago, Esjung1 said:

 

This sounds awesome, thank you for sharing! Is the Albert dock relatively close?  I'm asking because we have one younger child and one older person with some mobility issues but walking a few blocks at a time is totally doable. 

 

From where we docked it was about a mile or so.  We mostly took the gray route, there was a concert that they were setting up for and we weren't allowed to do the short way.  But from what the OP said it sounds like they docked closer to Albert Dock?  And you did need to walk downstairs to get to The Beatle's Story.  Not sure if there is an elevator, maybe check their website?

 

[kttraveler]

27 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

From where we docked it was about a mile or so.  We mostly took the gray route, there was a concert that they were setting up for and we weren't allowed to do the short way.  But from what the OP said it sounds like they docked closer to Albert Dock?  And you did need to walk downstairs to get to The Beatle's Story.  Not sure if there is an elevator, maybe check their website?

 

We were right beside Albert dock but it was still quite a walk if mobility challenged because of the incline. There was lots to see and do at the dock though. 

[kttraveler]

Today was a sea day and I basically did nothing, which I needed. My parents and I have all had colds the last couple of days so I wanted to just relax. There is quite a bit of coughing and sneezing the last couple of days but it really is just colds. Goes away fast after a couple of blah days. The yummy gold and white dinner menu is attached as is tomorrows patter. The escargot was the best I’ve ever had. Sadly I have started my packing. 

 

[azbirdmom]

3 minutes ago, kttraveler said:

We were right beside Albert dock but it was still quite a walk if mobility challenged because of the incline. There was lots to see and do at the dock though. 

 

We also had quite an incline where we were docked.  And I do recall that there were cobblestones and uneven pavement in places as well along our walk so I do imagine that this may prove problematic for those with mobility challenges.

[kttraveler]

Plenty of cobblestone in most places we went. Really bad for scooters and wheelchairs but also not awesome just for walking if you don’t want to twist your ankle. I figure car suspensions over here get a real work out. 
 

For those who have never stayed in a European hotel and plan to do so you might want to know washcloths are not normally provided. They are in the ship because they know Americans love them but many hotels don’t give them out and don’t even have them if you ask for them. If you really want them maybe pay some cheap ones and just leave them behind. 
 

Also if you’ve never had clotted cream go to tea on the ship at least once and give it a try with a scone and some jam. 

[Skys the limit]

I’m interested in two people. Is David Pitchfork assistant Hotel Manager 

and is Valeria Captains Circle rep ?

boardibg August 12

[kttraveler]

Plenty of cobblestone in most places we went. Really bad for scooters and wheelchairs but also not awesome just for walking if you don’t want to twist your ankle. I figure car suspensions over here get a real work out. 
 

For those who have never stayed in a European hotel and plan to do so you might want to know washcloths are not normally provided. They are in the ship because they know Americans love them but many hotels don’t give them out and don’t even have them if you ask for them. If you really want them maybe pay some cheap ones and just leave them behind. 
 

Also if you’ve never had clotted cream go to tea on the ship at least once and give it a try with a scone and some jam. 

[kttraveler]

Today is our last port, Le Havre. This is an industrial port so you aren’t getting out and walking around on your own. You can get a shuttle to Le Havre and back for $20. There was a line of taxis waiting out front of the pier as well. I did not explore what options existed in town for sightseeing because my parents and I had a tour booked. 
 

My parents and I did an overlord tour to the Normandy beaches. It was very informative and the guide did a great job of going with the flow and helping with the wheelchairs. The initial drive out took about three hours but we went through some beautiful small villages. 

 

Luckily I went to Paris a few years ago so I didn’t want to do the ship excursions into Paris. The Normandy beaches was enough of a drive. It did start to rain after midday so we didn’t get out and explore much. 

[kml246]

49 minutes ago, kttraveler said:

My parents and I did an overlord tour to the Normandy beaches. It was very informative and the guide did a great job of going with the flow and helping with the wheelchairs. The initial drive out took about three hours but we went through some beautiful small villages. 

 

Yikes… three hours! I don't recall that in the description. We are taking the same tour on August 23. How long was the trip back? How much time are you actually at the sites? 

 

Thanks, 

Kevin 

[kttraveler]

5 minutes ago, kml246 said:

 

Yikes… three hours! I don't recall that in the description. We are taking the same tour on August 23. How long was the trip back? How much time are you actually at the sites? 

 

Thanks, 

Kevin 

We stopped several times along the way there to get a bit of history. We only stayed about 45 minutes. We left the ship around 8 am and got to the American cemetery around 11. Cruise ship tours started showing up about 11:30. I don’t know when they left. We headed back to the ship around 1:30 and hope to be back around 3:30 if traffic cooperates. Most tours will do more and stay out longer than us. It is still quite a drive though. 

[Camberley]

Well Honfleur was THE highlight of the cruise for us. Many other great places visited but this topped them all for us. Organised it independently for a fraction of the cost and had an amazing time in this picture-perfect town. The back to the ship, tried to use a hot tub but avoided them like the plague as it was full of screaming kids (at least four of whom looked like they had no concept of bladder control!), so found my way to a bar instead. A lovely day.

 

And a great cruise. Perhaps too many ports in succession in hindsight: I would happily drop one of the Irish ports and one of the Scottish ports, perhaps even for an extra day at Edinburgh, but great variety of venues to visit.

Edited July 30, 2023 by Camberley

[MouseBerry]

2 hours ago, kttraveler said:

Today is our last port, Le Havre. This is an industrial port so you aren’t getting out and walking around on your own. You can get a shuttle to Le Havre and back for $20. There was a line of taxis waiting out front of the pier as well. I did not explore what options existed in town for sightseeing because my parents and I had a tour booked. 
 

My parents and I did an overlord tour to the Normandy beaches. It was very informative and the guide did a great job of going with the flow and helping with the wheelchairs. The initial drive out took about three hours but we went through some beautiful small villages. 

 

Luckily I went to Paris a few years ago so I didn’t want to do the ship excursions into Paris. The Normandy beaches was enough of a drive. It did start to rain after midday so we didn’t get out and explore much. 

Well, Le Havre actually is an industrial port, but it is allowed to walk on your own. It is 25 to 30 min. to city center, but it isn‘t a nice walk most of the time. Maybe not an option for not well walkers, but it‘s doable. 20$ roundtrip pp is a hefty price for the shuttle. 10$ should be enough or Princess should provide it for free. Last year in Bilbao and LaRochelle, where walking seems to be not allowed, Princess offered free shuttles.

[fivecontinents]

Camberley

We are thinking of doing Honfleur independently too. We are cruising next month. 

We are planning to take the 11am Bee Le Havre Honfleur Suttle bus to Honfleur. We are thinking of taking a taxi from the cruise port to the city center to take the shuttle bus. Did you use this company for your day in Honfleur? If so, do you know how much a taxi would cost to the city center?

Thank you for any information you can share with me.

 

[kttraveler]

All you get tonight is the dinner menu. No patter for tomorrow since we disembark (boo hoo). We have tickets to buckingham palace tomorrow afternoon and I get to go to the backstage Harry Potter tour the day after. Then it is back to the states. Thanks for following along. 

[azbirdmom]

Three hours to get to Omaha Beach?  Wow.  We went with Overlord earlier this month.  We left the port at 8:20 (due to a bus problem and they had to move us around) and got to Omaha Beach at 10:40. With the commentary it didn't even seem that long.  After that we went to the American Cemetery, then got to spend time at Bayeux and Honfleur respectively.  We were back to the ship around 5:30.  Wonder if the accessible tour that you took does things a little differently?

Edited July 30, 2023 by azbirdmom

[Camberley]

5 hours ago, fivecontinents said:

Camberley

We are thinking of doing Honfleur independently too. We are cruising next month. 

We are planning to take the 11am Bee Le Havre Honfleur Suttle bus to Honfleur. We are thinking of taking a taxi from the cruise port to the city center to take the shuttle bus. Did you use this company for your day in Honfleur? If so, do you know how much a taxi would cost to the city center?

Thank you for any information you can share with me.

 

We used Bee Le Havre who were terrific. They also dropped us back at the port terminal if we wished rather than in Le Havre town centre. Not sure how much the taxi would be but if there are others on the ship you have befriended, it would probably be more cost effective to get the taxi from the ship to Le Havre and split that cost. Then with Bee taking you back to the ship later……

[fivecontinents]

Camberley

Thank you for your response. We will probably take a taxi to the shuttle bus one way and get dropped off after our 3 hours in Honfleur. Perhaps someone will share the taxi over. 
Thank you again!

[Simsonite]

Thank you for the updates. What time were you able to disembark by?

[kttraveler]

1 hour ago, Simsonite said:

Thank you for the updates. What time were you able to disembark by?

There were folks in line to leave at 6:30 this morning when I went down to get my coffee. Our driver was scheduled to get us at 9 so we left at 8:40. Our luggage was waiting for us and so was our driver. We pulled out just after nine and expect to get to our hotel near paddington station around 11:15 am. 

[georgemoe]

23 hours ago, Camberley said:

Well Honfleur was THE highlight of the cruise for us. Many other great places visited but this topped them all for us. Organised it independently for a fraction of the cost and had an amazing time in this picture-perfect town. The back to the ship, tried to use a hot tub but avoided them like the plague as it was full of screaming kids (at least four of whom looked like they had no concept of bladder control!), so found my way to a bar instead. A lovely day.

 

And a great cruise. Perhaps too many ports in succession in hindsight: I would happily drop one of the Irish ports and one of the Scottish ports, perhaps even for an extra day at Edinburgh, but great variety of venues to visit.

 

You had me at "found my way to bar"! 😃

 

We decided that 5 to 6 hours bus time to Normandy/Paris was way to much for our group. We'll take a shuttle/taxi option in the city centre and do the Beelehavre shuttle to Honfleur. The return shuttle drops you off at the pier. Then we'll find that bar you spoke of. 🤣

[ricka47]

We’re sitting at LHR as our flight is delayed about 5 hours. It was a very good trip but we both have colds now.

 

There was so much coughing and sneezing on the tour busses that it was inevitable, I guess.

[phabric]

46 minutes ago, ricka47 said:

We’re sitting at LHR as our flight is delayed about 5 hours. It was a very good trip but we both have colds now.

 

There was so much coughing and sneezing on the tour busses that it was inevitable, I guess.

At LHR there are a lot of stores to walk around and look at to waste some time.

Have a safe flight home.

[azbirdmom]

4 hours ago, ricka47 said:

We’re sitting at LHR as our flight is delayed about 5 hours. It was a very good trip but we both have colds now.

 

There was so much coughing and sneezing on the tour busses that it was inevitable, I guess.

 

There was a lot of coughing and sneezing on the tour busses and around the ship during our June 25th Regal cruise too.  And I succumbed to Covid with my first symptoms happening on the flight on the way home.  Took me 16 days to test negative after that and it wasn't a pleasant experience.  Take care of yourself and I sure hope that your flight takes off soon (if it hasn't already).

[kml246]

I'm sure many of these "colds" are actually COVID. 

 

We've been cruising a lot since return to sail. On Enchanted in July, we could not believe how most have forgotten COVID. People just piling into elevators as if there isn't any concern. We opted to take the stairs or got off elevators early (or waited for the next) if they became too crowded. 

 

At the wash stations at the buffet entrances, hardly anyone (we did) washed their hands before entry.

 

Even if it's not COVID, who wants a cold on a cruise?