Puffins,Coos and Kelpies oh my! :16 day , photo travelogue on the Caribbean Princess to the UK, Ireland, and Iceland 7-12-24

[scubacruiserx2]

 When we checked in with Virgin Atlantic we checked for a upgrade with less than 24 hours before flight time .   A couple of times we got a better price than booking it in advance . Our favorite club before we fly is at LHR .

 

 

 

 We have never seen a seat in the elevator before , in case you get you get stuck we suppose . 

 

 

 

 They had a private drive to take you to the Upper class area and a private TSA check in line only for upper class .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

  After the check in , this is the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They have a quite library upstairs and a door that leads outside to a terrace where you can watch the planes take off and land or smoke

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 Breakfast Menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

3 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

  After the check in , this is the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They have a quite library upstairs and a door that leads outside to a terrace where you can watch the planes take off and land or smoke

 

 

 

 The stairway to the Library

 

 

The terrace

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 There were no upper class seats available and  we were picked up by the same driver that had originally picked us up at LHR  for our arrival and now our return trip to MIA  via LHR . 

 

 Time to join the queue for Premium Economy

 

 

 

 Across the way we could see the private sign for Upper class 

 

 

 

We did a lot of walking along the way and jumped through a few hoops . We finally reached the duty free store  with about a half an hour left before boarding . With a 50 GBP note burning a hole in my wallet we grabbed a couple of tin boxes of Walkers shortbread . One of the Queen and one of Prince and Princess of Wales and a plain one to snack on with tea on the plane . It was at the cash register where we had to wait in another queue to pay cash . There were no lines to pay at the credit machines . But after paying I requested a King on the currency . The teller found one on the Fiver but she had not seen many and no coins . So we flew back home with HRH in our pocket .

 

 

 We couldn't find any like ours on Amazon but this is similar 

 

Edited September 8 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 We arrived at our gate as they were beginning to load the plane so we didn't have to sit as we would be boarded soon .

 Why is it that people always crowd the boarding area , forming a gauntlet that you must pass through ? We all have numbered seats it's not like it's a general admission concert to a crowd of Swifties to get close to their goddess just to get a selfie to die for ?

  Anyhow , to continue the joy of queueing . After being scanned in . we continued down the PBB ( Passenger Boarding Bridge ) lower and lower to our fear - a set of stairs that circled around down to the ground . Not having my walking stick , and with a bum leg , the amazing race was on , with inpatient younger people pushing and passing both on and off the bridge to the ground and the bus . The swifties raced to get to the coveted seats and standing area close to the double door of the bus , ensuring that they would be the first off the bus and the first on the plane . Social darwinism at it's finest - Survival of the fastest .

 

Edited September 9 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

  We were the last to board the bus and took the last seats in the rear of the bus with 2 heavy carry on bags .

 

 

 

 Why is it that taking a long bus ride to the plane reminds us of being in a 3rd world country , usually hot ? As you can see , only a couple of Alpha Males were standing and ready to pounce on their next meal or target .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

59 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

  We were the last to board the bus and took the last seats in the rear of the bus with 2 heavy carry on bags .

 

 

 

 Why is it that taking a long bus ride to the plane reminds us of being in a 3rd world country , usually hot ? As you can see , only a couple of Alpha Males were standing and ready to pounce on their next meal or target .

 

 

 

 

 

Try the video clip again

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

  We had finally reached our plane and only 2 more flights of stairs to sit 3 painful legs down . Since we were the first bus load there of able bodied people ( After wheel chair people and their families and parents of children and their extended families ) , we thought that there would be plenty of room for our 2 carry on bags . We were wrong . It seems like the forward baggage overhead bins , including ours were already full . We had also forgotten that many people bring 2 carry on bags each so they don't have to check luggage . So now we understand why the airline offered us an opportunity to fly on the next flight . We did get to fly side by side next to the window for Pat . Our plane like WW II planes had a picture of a attractive Lady painted on the side of the nose of plane . Ours was named Golden Girl , which we found funny as we live in the state full of Golden Girls .

 

 

 

 

 

 These photos are from the Boeing Whisper Jet that have larger outer bins and more seat room than the Airbus . They also have a much larger and nicer Rest room .

 

 

 

 .

Edited September 9 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

  We asked the flight attendant to help us position our bags so that we would not have to swim upstream to get our bags . We were on the Port side with only one row ahead of us . They had filled the front bin , their bin and half of our bin . I had asked a flight attendant if I could use the rest room on the ground and she said yes . I quitely told her of my medical experience - if they needed me . When I told my Doctor of this habit he says that he does the same thing . One time he said that the person next to him  had a cardiac arrest and he was able to successfully resuscitate him . ☺️

  The guy sitting ahead of me was rocking his chair constantly and reclined it after I had sat back down . He needed to be told to sit it up for take off . After take off he bounced up while we were still ascending and opened the bin door and grabbed something from a suit case and bolted to the bath room . Pat also pointed it out and I had noticed that it was almost all female flight attendants . When the seat belt sign went off  I told her of what I thought was erratic behavior and asked her to talk to him and notify a Flight Marshall to be aware . I have never done this before but she told me the chairs rock a lot .

 I did ask the first attendant if I could move to the front center row which had a lot more leg room and no people ahead of the passengers . She did ask for me and suggested that I move soon before any others did . I sat in the center seat and struck up a conversation with the gentleman next to me . It allowed me to keep an eye on the Bumblebee man in case he transformed into a Decepticon and I may have to take action .

[scubacruiserx2]

  The front row was much nicer and the attendant brought us leg rests of a hard rubber like an ottoman . 

 

 

 

 After talking awhile , I decided to read their book to pass time before writing in my journal . I didn't realize that Virgin began in 1984 .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

   Another man joined me on the right seat and began coughing and turned his A/C vent off and reached for mine complaining that he was cold . I did tell him to leave my vent alone and to ask for a blanket . After about a half an hour of his steady coughing , I chose to return next to Pat . The man in front of me was in the overhead bin about once an hour but being diminutive , he now needed to stand on his chair to reach deeper into his suitcase .

 The lunch bell was rang so it was time to place our orders .

 

 

 

 

 

So after lunch , a NICE can of wine ( no corkage fee ) and a chill pill , it was time for some quite Muzak and a reclined nap .

Edited September 10 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

  I didn't watch most of the movies but prefer just to watch the map and listen to my music on the noise cancelling headphones .

 

 

 

 Sconed again 

 

 

 

 The sky over the mid Atlantic was pretty so I asked Pat to take a photo out of the window

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 A few photo outtakes from London

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 A couple  more shots of London

 

 

 

Buckingham Palace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 A few more photos of walking arounds London these near the hotel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 A couple of last photos of the Tower of London and the Shard before boarding a boat for Greenwich and the Prime Meridian . 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Royal observatory

 

 

 

 The Prime Meridian where East is East and West is West

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_meridian

 

The next time will be a CC review format of the Caribbean Princess

Edited September 15 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

CC format modified

 How would you rate you experience 1-5

 4

 Did you cruise with children  ?

Not ours , others kids unsupervised 

2

 Did you travel with a disabled person ?

3 bad knees and and a swollen leg from cellulitis requiring a hiking pole on uneven ground or steep terrain .

 3

How many cruises ?

50 +

[scubacruiserx2]

 Continuing with our hybrid CC/Scubacruiserx2 summary/review . The following are 1-5 rating on CC only , but we will include some of our observations with some things to clarify our number .

 

 Your cabin ? 

  Normally a 4 but on the CB a 3 . The loud echo and pounding and scraping on the balcony as people above us on the pool deck dined was very noisy . And the screaming and yelling , unsupervised kids in the hallway we a problem . We tried to quite them in English and Spanish to no avail .

 

Dining and food ? 

  A 4 . It was good considering the limited number of places . We like Alfredo's for breakfast and dinner and the UBD . The buffet was pretty good when it wasn't too crowded . 

 

Embarkation a 4  it was good and smooth .

 

Entertainment we gave a 2 . It was packed early and warm . We liked 2 of the singers and didn't attend the comedy shows . Our friends said that the UK comics were good , but the Americans not so .

 

Family friendly N/A for us . But child gone wild for many of the people at the pool and halls . We trained and attended our children when we traveled with them , for others comfort and their safety .

 

Fitness Room N/A for us . But walking around the good old promenade was good enough for us .👍👍

 

[scubacruiserx2]

   Public Areas

 For being 20 years old and living in a very salty and wet environment the CB looked pretty good with the crew doing a good job keeping her clean a 4 out of 5 .

 

   Value for your money 

 We bought the basic suite and bought internet as we felt led . We didn't by a drink package as a couple of  meals included wine and we bought a couple onboard . They have the best price of any cruise line that we usually sail on for spring water which we drink mostly . Once again a 4 .

 

   Service 

 This is where the Caribbean Princess really shined ! Our cabin attendant was great considering that he had to clean more than 30 cabins , twice a day , by himself . The guys at Sabatini's were also fantastic and it's where we spent most of our time dining . We had one hiccup in Steamers but the manager corrected it . So we would give service a 5 which we rarely do . 

 

 Children's Programs N/A 

 

 Overall we would give the ship a 4 and a pretty good value for all that we saw . We do however prefer the Royal class . If you do book a suite we had an aft one that was great and wished that we would have booked the forward facing suite on the Lido deck for the same price that we paid for our sub Lido suite .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 " I think I can see Scotland from here "

 

 

 

Our guild in Ketchikan