REVIEW w/PHOTOS - REGAL PRINCESS BRITISH ISLES 9/12/24

[Trish Traveler]

2 hours ago, Salvelinus said:

If you get the chance, then it is worth visiting the Metropolitan Cathedral (known as 'Paddy's Wigwam' by the locals).  The interior is stunning, with marvellous light through the stained glass windows and fittings, such as the Frink crucifix, which are genuinely evocative.

Thanks for pointing that out to folks.  It definitely looks unique!  I definitely had FOMO when trying to plan our day in Liverpool.  I even thought of grabbing a cab or Uber for a quick visit, but we were pretty tired and hungry after Matthew Street.  

[Trish Traveler]

REVIEW OF REGAL PRINCESS 12 NT. BRITISH ISLES CRUISE SEPT. 12-24

GLASGOW/GREENOCK, SCOTLAND  Tuesday 9/17  9am-8pm

 

First of our four Scotland ports of call. The little we saw of the sail in looked beautiful through the firth of Clyde to the River Clyde with views of rolling hills on both sides.  There was a bagpiper on the dock below to greet us – Ah, bonny Scotland.  I have previously been to Glasgow, which is close to an hour from Greenock.  Having toured mostly cities starting with London, we decided we definitely wanted to get out and see some gorgeous Scotland countryside and castles (especially DH who has never been here).   Princess offered a variety of tours including Glasgow, Stirling Castle, Loch Lomond, Falkirk Wheel, Whisky Tasting and more.  We were looking for a smaller tour experience especially since we had a full day here.  After researching several independent tours, we decided to go with a tour that we had seen several good reviews for here on CC.  Note to those interested in touring Glasgow - at the port we saw a sign for the Clyde Flyer which is independent bus transportation to the city.

 

 

 

We chose the Serca Tours Company Outlander Tour, pre-booked online.  Although we have seen some of the Outlander series, we were mostly interested in the castles and countryside we would see on this tour.  Much of these locations are actually closer to Edinburgh, but we knew we wanted to see the Edinburgh Castle and Royal Mile there, so we chose this tour here.   It is a lot of time in the vehicle, but also a decent amount of time at each site.  And since we had been doing so much walking on the first part of this cruise, we were enjoying sitting and watching the beautiful scenery and learning more about Scotland on this full day tour.  This company uses a variety of vehicles depending on how many are booked on a particular day.  The day we went we were in a car with a driver/guide, and there were two vans with about 6 each and a driver/guide who were in our caravan that day as we traveled together to the various sites.  Our guide Dario was so interesting with his knowledge of Scotland.  He wasn't as versed with the Outlander info but that was okay as we met up with the other guides at the sites and Sergio gave us more Outlander info. We had a beautiful September day which made for excellent photos.  We learned first about the former ship building history of Greenock as we departed town and enjoyed seeing the large “Skelpies” sculpture by John McKenna,  depicting the riveters important role in ship-building.    And then further along in our journey we saw the “Kelpies” in the form of water horse heads, by artist Andy Scott.  I apologize for the blurry photos from the moving car.

"Skelpies"

"Kelpies"

[Trish Traveler]

CON'T. GLASGOW/GREENOCK, SCOTLAND  Tuesday 9/17  9am-8pm

As clearly stated on their website, the three castle entry fees and optional lunch are not included in the cost of the tour.  The first drive was via mostly expressway for about 75 minutes.  Our first stop, Blackness Castle was beautiful, on the Firth of Forth.  This was the castle that doubled as Ft. William in Outlander.  This castle is not furnished with the exception of the table in the dining hall.  Inside the building where you pay is a poster depicting some of the Outlander scenes.   Not too crowded so early, which is a plus of independent tours.  Dario was always available to take photos of us in front of each castle.  Just gorgeous.  Lots of uneven surfaces, stairs and low doorways as would be expected.  You can also walk the wall for some great views, as well as the pier outside. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

CON'T. GLASGOW/GREENOCK, SCOTLAND  Tuesday 9/17  9am-8pm

Next stop was Midhope Castle, which doubled as Jamie's family home Lallybroch in Outlander.  Just as pictured in the series.  No one was here as we arrived.  Unfortunately, you can't tour inside, but the outside is photogenic.  Even without access to the inside, it is one of the most iconic castles seen in Outlander IMO.  We saw some interesting, possibly wild chickens nearby and saw the building that served as the bird (I think quail) raising building for the property long ago (Dario pointed that out to us).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Former bird coop:

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

CON'T. GLASGOW/GREENOCK, SCOTLAND  Tuesday 9/17  9am-8pm

 

Onward, to the picturesque town of Falkland.  This whole town could be a movie set it is so quaintly amazing.  We had a light lunch break at the charming Hayloft Tea Room which was reserved just for our group where you could order soups and sandwiches, etc.  It was delightful, tasty, affordable and quick service.  Thanks to the sweet gals that served us here.

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we strolled the town with the guides and saw the Bruce fountain, and building which was used in Outlander for the scene where Jamie from the past (ghost?) views Claire in the future brushing her hair in the window.  In Outlander, this town was used to represent Inverness.  We continued on and they told us there is a connection to Johnny Cash as his ancestors were from this area, and he and June did a concert here.  There is also a pretty Church and Palace with Gardens in town, as well as some nice gift shops, and restaurants.   After, we had a little free time (20 min) to explore the town.  Back at the parking lot we had a "wee dram" of Scottish whisky courtesy of our guides before continuing on through the countryside.  Cheers - Slainte Mhath (pronounced slan-ja-va)!

 

 

 

The fountain Jamie stood looking up at Claire. Behind this is the Falkland Parish Church.

Picture Claire brushing her hair in the window.

 

 

 

Falkland Palace & Gardens:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

CON'T. GLASGOW/GREENOCK, SCOTLAND  Tuesday 9/17  9am-8pm

Last castle was Doune which was used as the fictional Castle Leoch, the Scottish Highlands home of Clan Mackenzie in Outlander. Here we were able to have an audio tour with our admission which explained the castle in depth but also the Outlander connections, with Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) narrating some portions.   It was also used in the Monty Python movie, as well as the Game of Thrones pilot (one of DH’s favs).  Again, this is a mostly unfurnished castle.  Another scenic, beautiful site, enhanced by the audio descriptions (I wish the Blackness Castle offered that as well).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

CON'T. GLASGOW/GREENOCK, SCOTLAND  Tuesday 9/17  9am-8pm

 

 

Lastly we made a quick stop at the Trossacks Woolen Mill which was closed for the day, but we had come for the main attraction:  their two "Hairy Coos" (famous Highland cows) named Honey & Baxter.  They are so adorable.  Our guides brought carrots for us to feed them!  Right by a scenic field of sheep grazing, with a lovely estate in the background. 

 

 

 

 

Although the ride at the start of the day was mostly expressway to reach our first destination, the return was more via backroads to avoid traffic and were quite scenic.  This was a full, delightful day.  It is a lot of time in the vehicle, but well worth it to us as we chatted with the guide.   And we felt like we had enough time at each site, considering the distance we had to cover.  We thoroughly enjoyed this tour and our time with Dario who was a wealth of information about Scotland.  You should always remind your independent tour guides, however, they know when the cruise all aboard time is and make sure you are back to the port. But, you must remember that is a difference between choosing to tour independently versus a cruise line tour, that the for the most part, the ship will wait for you if you are delayed on one of their tours.  Thankfully, we have never been left behind.

 

We definitely recommend this tour company based on the wonderful day we had.  Serca tours also offers a variety of other tours on their website.   Our full day tour ran long and was from about 9:30am-6:45pm on this day based on our 7:30pm all aboard.  The other 4 sailing with us decided to make it an easy day and just did a quick HOHO in the town of Greenock and then enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on the ship.

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

CON'T. GLASGOW/GREENOCK, SCOTLAND  Tuesday 9/17  9am-8pm

We chose the buffet for dinner where they had a Scottish theme in one section and we got to try some Haggis.  When in Scotland…  At sailaway it was wonderful to hear a pipe band on the dock sending us off.  It was very beautiful to see the scenery as we sailed away.  And soon another stupendous sunset. 

 

 

 

 

While having drinks in the Piazza we were also treated to a 15 minute performance from a special guest, Pipe Major Tom Johnstone.  I believe he performed for 3 nights while in Scotland.  We had cocktails from the Good Spirits Bar which has a special menu for additional specialty drinks served  after 4pm.  These bars usually also offer a special “mixology presentation”  but when I asked about that, I was told for this cruise they didn’t have a bartender on board trained for that.  There were no prices on the menu and I was told they are all $15 and are included in the Plus package.  DH was done for the night, but I had a little burst of energy and knew we had a sea day tomorrow, so I went to see the production show Fiera, which was lively, colorful and certainly kept me awake.  It was fun.

 

Tasty Cartegena Cool & Barbados Swizzler cocktails:

 

 

[Justpackingmybags]

I think you’ll find the wild chickens are pheasants. Their main hobby appears to be running in front of cars. Always plenty of roadkill on a Country Road sadly.

[Trish Traveler]

REVIEW OF REGAL PRINCESS 12 NT. BRITISH ISLES CRUISE SEPT. 12-24

SEA DAY  Wednesday 9/18

 

Just knowing we didn’t have to get up early was great.  I would like to say I slept in, but I’m retired so I can do that back at home.🤗 We even saw the sunrise today!  When we wake early on sea days, we really like to start our day in the hot tub if possible.  The ship is so peaceful in the morning as everyone is just waking up.  Breakfast, some trivia and later in the morning we attended another one of Leo Rossi’s enrichment talks, this time on his experiences working with The Beach Boys on a concert tour.  Another great talk about a band we also love.  Checked out the $10 shops event, but nothing I need at this time.  Sometimes these are great gifts to pick up as stocking stuffers or grab bag gifts.  We enjoyed walking outside and the beautiful views of the Hebrides Islands we were sailing past.

 

 

 

 

 

The buffet had a sushi station today where I enjoyed the California Rolls.  We ate outside aft in the shade which was so lovely as the weather was sunny and amazing again.  The seas have been so calm this cruise.  One of the days we had some slight rocking, but mostly amazing and not what we expected for the Atlantic and North Seas at this time of the year.  We found some spots near the railing to relax, read and observe more pods of dolphins following our ship.  We really needed this restful day.

 

 

Tonight’s MDR menu was the Chef’s Dinner where I enjoyed the Spaghetti Ala Carbonara, Rack of Lamb and the Lychee, Raspberry & Rose Mousse.  All were delicious.  Several at our table enjoyed the Beef Wellington.  It was a relaxing night listening to music in the Piazza and turned in early.

 

 

And ended the day with a sunset (viewed through a window):

 

[Trish Traveler]

REVIEW OF REGAL PRINCESS 12 NT. BRITISH ISLES CRUISE SEPT. 12-24

KIRKWALL/ORKNEY ISLANDS, SCOTLAND  -  THURSDAY 9/19  7AM-6PM

 

This is another port we were really excited for because it is far north and sounded very different than other ports we would be visiting.  Through research we learned about the amazing Neolithic sites located here and very much wanted to see them.  We pre-booked the Princess 4 hour Ring of Brodgar Tour which would also include a visit to Skara Brea and Skaill House.   There were 3 choices of times and we chose the 8:15am, as we like to start early.  Anyway, we purchased in May (4 months in advance) when the excursion was on sale for $149.95pp. Upon checking my cruise personalizer in June, I saw that my excursion was gone.  The excursion was still shown operating at the two later times, but they were sold out.  Ugh, I had to call Princess customer service.  The agent had no idea what happened.  After about 10 minutes, he suddenly said he saw another time added at 12:15pm, which was not showing on the website on my end.  He was able to book it but the cost was currently $5pp more, which he would not protect my original cost and wouldn’t let me speak to a supervisor, so I just took it.  I let my traveling companions know, and even with the specific tour number for the 12:15pm, they had a difficult time booking it with another rep, and ended up paying $30 more pp.  I was a bit nervous it would disappear again, but luckily it didn’t. 

 

We thought it might be colder here being north, but we were unexpectedly delighted to be blessed with another beautiful sunny day.  Since our tour was in the afternoon we used the morning to explore the lovely little town of Kirkwall.  As the port is 2 miles from town center, it was so nice to see that the town provides a free shuttle beginning at 8:30am.  This takes you to a nice Visitor Information Center in town. 

 

 

We walked about two blocks to see the beautiful St. Magnus Cathedral, “The Light in the North” (free will offering).  While waiting for it to open at 9, we walked around the old cemetery surrounding the church.  St. Magnus is described as the oldest cathedral (1137) in Scotland and the most northerly cathedral in the UK.  It was stunning inside.  You can get a pamphlet inside describing the church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then walked around the outside of the Bishop’s and Earl’s Palaces which are right across the street.  Kirkwall is a charming town with some shops and restaurants.  We popped in the Judith Glue shop which was now open, where they sell a variety of souvenirs as well as pretty woolen sweaters and scarfs.  There is also a cute café in the rear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed back to the ship because we wanted to have an early lunch before we met up for our tour.  The Orkney Islands are so beautiful with rolling hills and lots of fields for livestock.  A herd of cows was in view from the ship.  We had a hot dog and tacos from the Trident Grill on Lido.  I had discovered the Bellini Bar on deck 6, so I enjoyed one of the interesting varieties they offer. 

 

 

 

 

 

[vickykay]

Wonderful photos.  Enjoying your review and taking notes.

[Trish Traveler]

CON'T. KIRKWALL/ORKNEY ISLANDS, SCOTLAND  -  THU 9/19  7AM-6PM

 

 

Our Princess tour was on a full size bus (I think there were two buses actually doing the same tour).  We had a great tour guide (can’t remember his name).  We saw some of the island and learned about the Scapa Flow before arriving at the Skara Brea and Skaill House site. Here, you tour on your own.  We decided to walk out to the Neolithic Skara Brea site first.  This site is outstanding and enhanced by the fact that it is on the Scapa Flow shore.  This Stone Age (3100BC!!) settlement was buried under sand for thousands of years until uncovered by a violent storm in 1850.  There are placards to explain what you are seeing.  Simply amazing to see something manmade that is this old!  This whole area is open air so dress accordingly for the weather such as sunny like our day (hats and sunglasses), or windy, cold or rainy.

 

 

 

 

From there, we walked to Skaill House which is a 17^th century mansion.  This is a self-guided tour with some placards to read.  Beautiful art and antique furnishings, including some more “modern” updates like the pink tiled bathroom.  There is also a gift shop and one restroom here, which as it turned out I was glad I used it here as the line was even longer at the Visitor Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back at the Visitors Center area, we enjoyed seeing the recreated typical Skara Brae house.  The visitor center also has a café, gift shop and restrooms. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

CON'T. KIRKWALL/ORKNEY ISLANDS, SCOTLAND  -  THU 9/19  7AM-6PM

 

Back on the bus for our next highlight which was the Ring of Brodgar, dating from 2700 B.C. and displaying 27 of its original 60 standing stones.  I think a lot of people are familiar with the Stonehenge Standing Stones, but like me didn’t realize that there are many sites with ancient standing stones.  And now fans of the Outlander series are also familiar with standing stones which may or may not facilitate time travel if you touch them.  These are not those, and at this site you cannot touch them, as you are only allowed to view them from outside of the formation.  That didn’t matter to us as we just wanted to marvel at their beauty and wonder just exactly what they were used for and what giants built them.  Many theories having to do with it being a ceremonial site, possibly spiritual, astronomy related, calendar-like aligned with the equinox or ?????  Here our tour guide walked with us to the site, and gave us commentary at  the site. 

 

We saw this adorable Shetland pony from the bus!

Stunning Orkney countryside!

Line of ants walking to the site - you must stay on the path.

 

The guide said if it was a couple weeks earlier, we would have seen all this bright purple heather in bloom in front of the stones.  

 

Right behind us was this burial mound - my friend caught this stunning photo!

 

 

Returning on the bus we passed by (not included on our tour) the smaller site of the Stones of Stenness, where you can touch the stones, if that is of interest to you, Sassenach.   The Outlander stones were actually made of styrofoam but the Clava Cairns stones located near Inverness, are said to possibly represent Craigh na Dun in Outlander. Lots of cattle and sheep on this lovely island.  We would have loved to see Puffins, but we learned they are already back at sea after raising their young on land during the summer.  We really enjoyed this tour.

Stones of Stenness viewed from the bus:

[Trish Traveler]

CON'T. KIRKWALL/ORKNEY ISLANDS, SCOTLAND  -  THU 9/19  7AM-6PM

 

 

For dinner we decided to use another Princess Plus casual dining and have the Vines offering of Crudites, Charcuterie Board, and Truffles… and of course, Wine.  We figured we could just grab something extra from IC or the buffet if we were still hungry after that.  It was all delicious and we didn’t need another snack until later in the evening.  I highly recommend it – I didn’t notice anyone else having it anytime I passed by the Vines Bar.  I forgot to take a photo of the scrumptious truffles.

 

 

 

 

 

There was an announcement that there would be another pipe band playing on the dock prior to our Sailaway, so I popped out to see that on the Promenade, which was already crowded in the small open area mid-ship. I was able to snap a photo near the lifeboat blocking the view by crouching down.  This was so cool to have these Scottish towns make our cruise special.  So beautiful to listen to.  Farewell bonnie Kirkwall.

 

Our choice for evening entertainment was first to the Showtime with Illusionist Ottavio Belli, which we totally enjoyed and then on to yet another interesting enrichment talk from Leo Rossi: The Women of Fleetwood Mac. Passing by the Princess Live Bar we heard a bartender playing a ukelele and singing!  He's really good!

 

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

1 hour ago, Trish Traveler said:

 

Stones of Stenness viewed from the bus:

 

I am thoroughly enjoying your review and wonderful photos. 

 

I will be in Kirkwall next year on a Princess cruise so the details of your tour are very helpful. We are taking a Princess excursion that stops at the Ring of Brodgar but not the Stones of Stenness but would like to see them if possible from the bus. What side of the bus were you sitting when you took the photo of the Stones of Stenness? Thank you. 😊

 

Edited Saturday at 01:00 AM by PurpleTraveller

[Paula_MacFan]

Thanks for your entire review and pictures, I've been following along. We are doing a similar itinerary in Sept 2026 and I was especially interested in your Orkney Islands excursion as we have the same one booked.  Now I'm even more excited. Thanks and I look forward to the rest of your review!

 

Side note -- your Sassenach comment made me laugh 🙂 

[Trish Traveler]

1 hour ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

I am thoroughly enjoying your review and wonderful photos. 

 

I will be in Kirkwall next year on a Princess cruise so the details of your tour are very helpful. We are taking a Princess excursion that stops at the Ring of Brodgar but not the Stones of Stenness but would like to see them if possible from the bus. What side of the bus were you sitting when you took the photo of the Stones of Stenness? Thank you. 😊

 

Glad you are enjoying it!   Both my DH and I are 95% sure we were on the left side of the bus for this tour when we saw the Stones of Stenness.  And we only saw it on the return trip back to the ship, as we toured other areas of the island going to our destinations. 

We were on many forms of transportation this entire trip, so details can get hazy - it's like the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" - but add in buses, trams, boats, ship, people-movers, escalators, elevators... 🤣

[Trish Traveler]

52 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Thanks for your entire review and pictures, I've been following along. We are doing a similar itinerary in Sept 2026 and I was especially interested in your Orkney Islands excursion as we have the same one booked.  Now I'm even more excited. Thanks and I look forward to the rest of your review!

 

Side note -- your Sassenach comment made me laugh 🙂 

You're welcome.  Yes, the Orkney Island was a very special port to have visited.👍  Have fun planning your cruise! 😉

[Trish Traveler]

8 hours ago, Justpackingmybags said:

I think you’ll find the wild chickens are pheasants. Their main hobby appears to be running in front of cars. Always plenty of roadkill on a Country Road sadly.

Ah, thanks for clarifying. That's too bad to hear 😞  

[PurpleTraveller]

2 hours ago, Trish Traveler said:

Glad you are enjoying it!   Both my DH and I are 95% sure we were on the left side of the bus for this tour when we saw the Stones of Stenness.  And we only saw it on the return trip back to the ship, as we toured other areas of the island going to our destinations. 

We were on many forms of transportation this entire trip, so details can get hazy - it's like the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" - but add in buses, trams, boats, ship, people-movers, escalators, elevators... 🤣

 

Thank you so much for your information. We will be seeing them on the way back to the ship after the Ring of Brodgar (unless the order of where we visit changes) so this is very helpful. It will be great if we get weather as lovely as you did. Totally understand about the "Trains, Planes and Automobiles" as that is how we seem to travel. On our last trip I even had a hot air balloon to add to the mix! 

 

Thanks again and I look forward to the rest of your review. 😊

 

[tobyt]

Bartender is Jonathan….he is awesome be sure to stop by and visit him at the Princess Live bar!

[Trish Traveler]

3 hours ago, tobyt said:

Bartender is Jonathan….he is awesome be sure to stop by and visit him at the Princess Live bar!

Thanks!  He was great! 👍

[Trish Traveler]

REVIEW OF REGAL PRINCESS 12 NT. BRITISH ISLES CRUISE SEPT. 12-24

INVERGORDON/INVERNESS, SCOTLAND  Friday 9/20  7am-6pm 

 

I’m getting to the point in typing this memoir that I am so thankful to have notes, photos, patters, port info and maps as well as my brain to try to remember details as this is a lot of ports and info and I would never be able to do this without my cheat sheets. 

 

Today started out cloudy and a bit foggy, but cleared by afternoon.  I was excited for DH to experience the beauty of the Scottish Highlands today.  There are a lot of sights to choose from in this area.  We pre-booked online an independent tour with Invergordon Bus Tours: Tour 1) Loch Ness, Inverness & Cawdor Castle, 7-8 hour tour.  We docked right in the small town of Invergordon. The port had a nice tourist info center and small gift shop.  Right after you exit security is where we found the trailer for our tour where we checked in.  We walked a couple of blocks to where the full size bus was parked and enjoyed seeing some of the many murals in town.  I think we only had about 14 people on our tour that day. We had a terrific guide, Glen who was knowledgeable and funny; and a skilled bus driver Alec.  We headed out for a quick stop at the Robertson's Farm to see some Hairy Coos (Highland Cows, one of which is named Jamie Fraser) as well as cute goats and alpacas.  They also have a gift shop there.  Onward to the quaint little town of Beauly which is a bathroom break and a chance for coffee if you choose.  For Outlander fans, this town is home to Beauly Priory (under renovation currently) the location where Claire Meets the seer Maisri.

 

Nice locals at the Visitor Info spot:

 

Port exit to the left.  Invergordon Bus Tours trailer was the white one.

Our bus is the white one with the church in the background.  One of the cool murals:

Town of Beauly:

Coffee shop with fresh bakery goods!

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

CON'T. INVERGORDON/INVERNESS, SCOTLAND  Friday 9/20  7am-6pm

Onward through the beautiful winding roads of the Scottish Highlands to an overlook of Loch Ness to look for Nessie.  I believe we had a sighting!  This day had started cloudy which made for a perfect backdrop to the site.  We also caught a view of the popular Urquat Castle located on Loch Ness.

Urquat Castle:

Nessie is the black dot to the left of the boat (or is that a SUP - stand up paddleboarder)???

 

Next up was 90 minutes free time in Inverness.  The bus dropped us off by the St. Andrews Cathedral which we chose to tour first.  It was lovely and has some cool crochet church mice for kids to find and learn about the church at their level. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then crossed the Ness Bridge to Bridge Street and High Street for some shopping and a quick lunch at McDonald's as time was short.  Beautiful city on the River Ness.  We had views of the Inverness Castle which is currently under construction and closed. 

 

Inverness Castle under renovation:

 

 

 

 

 

All the clan tartans available in scarves: