jellybungsters

I just realized the links for Cork and Belfast are broken. My apologies since these are two of my favorite stops.

Here are the correct links:

Day 3: Cork: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-3-cork-ireland-cobh-for-blarney.html

Day 6: Belfast: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-6-belfast-northern-ireland.html

We are two adults, early fifties and one 15-year old son from Southern California and we took this cruise towards the end of summer in 2015.

It took me a while to chronicle our trip in my blog but it may help people planning a cruise to the UK this coming summer.

In researching what to do on this cruise, I came across this thread started by DeloreanGirl http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=34145061.

While we both hail from Southern California, she is a hundred times better writer than I am and her report is funny and informative at the same time. It is a must read for anyone planning a British Isles cruise.

Instead of writing my report on Cruise Critic, I decided to post it on my blog so I can update it easier.

So here are the links to my trip report:

Departure from Los Angeles: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/departure-from-los-angeles.html

Arrival in London: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/arrival-in-london.html

Pre-cruise Day 1: Stonehenge and Bath: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/pre-cruise-day-1-stonehenge-bath.html

Pre-cruise Day 2: Oxford and Highclere Castle: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/pre-cruise-day-2-oxford-highclere-castle.html

Day 1: Embarkation in Southampton: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-1-embarkation-in-southampton.html

Day 2: Guernsey: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-2-guernsey.html

Day 3: Cork: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-3-cork-ireland-cobh-for-blarney.htmlhttp://

Day 4: Liverpool: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-4-august-16-2015-liverpool-england.html

Day 5: Dublin: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-5-dublin-ireland.html

Day 6: Belfast: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-5-dublin-ireland.html

Day 7&8: Glasgow: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-7-glasgow-greenock-scotland.html

Day 9: Inverness: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-9-invernessloch-ness-invergordon.html

Day 10: Edinburgh: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-10-edinburgh-south-queensferry.html

Day 12: Le Havre, France: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-12-august-24-2015-parisnormandy-le.html

Day 13: Disembarkation: http://cruisedoityourself.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-13-august-25-2015.html

Here are links to the Princess Patters:

Day 1: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1HghdW4zaXhxX3MyRDQ

Day 2: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1HghcHU5VVhGUkZmSWs

Day 3: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1Hghc2p5X0Faa2pSX1k

Day 4: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1HghTVo3WXM1V2ppUE0

Day 5: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1HghOGd1TExISjdSNXM

Day 6: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1Hghb3BzeG9hS3B6SGs

Day 7: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1HghRVB3N0RrdWJBTG8

Day 8: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1HghTDJMWFBJN1QxV2c

Day 9: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1HghQnBHNkE2a21qazQ

Day 10: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1HghYUhvUWNBcS0wbWs

Day 11: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1HghOFRVWkJ5cFRMS3c

Day 12: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1HghckhyRk9kVFFLZkk

Day 13: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B05Ws8oP1HghZHJpNmExQ2VPWFU

This is what it looked like on the Emerald Princess:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/24689424@N02/9323936336/in/dateposted-public/

Does anyone have a picture of a mini-suite on the Royal Princess that shows the bed for the 4th passenger? Does the bed pull down from the ceiling or the wall?

We were on the 8/13 sailing and it was code red on embarkation day only. None after that first day. But crew always made everyone wash their hands before entering the buffet.

At the top of the slope you will find a ticket machine. Providing it is after 9:30, you can buy an off-peak day return. The ticket takes chip and pin cards but you can also pay on the train if you want to pay by GBP.

Is Saturday considered off-peak? When I checked the website http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ for Saturday schedule, it listed everything as £4.60 return.

See section on local transportation:

http://cruiseportwiki.com/Invergordon

As stated above, bus stop is yards from pier. Fare has gone up to £11 return.

Thanks for the info! Good to know.

Does anyone have the following information about the Invergordon to Inverness Bus 25X?

1. How much does a return ticket cost? I tried to look at https://www.stagecoachbus.com/ but couldn't figure out how much the bus ticket cost.

2. Do you need exact change when you pay inside the bus? Or can you pay by credit card?

Thanks.

Any update on the Norovirus situation?

Hi All

 

Good site for sea state

 

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/marine-shipping-forecast/#?tab=map

 

 

yours Shogun

Thanks!

Weatherman has issued warnings for rough seas and gale force winds, for next few days

Where do you get the warnings?

We are arriving Oslo on Monday, August 10, 2015 on Regal Princess from 10 am - 7 pm. We would like to visit the Bygdoy museums especially the Viking museum. Do you think we have time to go to Vigeland Park and how do we get there from Bygdoy? Will it be better if we were to go to Vigeland Park first by taking Tram 12 and then return to Pier 3 to go over to Bygdoy.

 

Any other attractions we should see? Should we bother to see City Hall and the Parliament with the free tour? Any suggestions and help are greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you!

You could also do Akershus fortress in addition to these attractions.

Check out my blog on how we did this:

http://emeraldprincessjuly6.blogspot.com/2013/07/day-2-oslo-norway.html

Is there a convenient store within walking distance of Ocean terminal where one can buy sodas prior to boarding? On Google maps, I see a Tesco and The Co-operative Food that are about a 10 minute walk. Are these the closest ones?

I don't want to buy the soda package from the ship. We don't drink $5 worth of sodas a day.

We will be docked at Frihamnen and want to start our shore excursion beginning with Gamla Stan and the Royal Palace. How difficult is it to get to bus 76 from our ship? We do have SEK to purchase bus tickets. (how many zones should we buy?)

Thanks

This was 2 years ago: http://emeraldprincessjuly6.blogspot.com/2013/07/day-10-stockholm-sweden.html

The cost of a 24 hour bus ticket was 115/70 SEK adult/child. You can buy the tickets inside the cruise terminal. It was about a 12 minute walk from the terminal to the bus stop. Just follow the blue line on the road.

Anyone done Berlin by renting a car? We're going to be at Warnemunde next summer on a Monday from 7am-9:30pm. Thinking about renting a car and driving to Berlin, then meeting up with a local tour guide, then driving back. Might be fun and probably much quicker than waiting for even a small group to get in a van, get out of a van, get in a van, etc.

We did this exact thing in July 2013. We rented an Audi A6 from SIXT. The pickup is right at the port. An attendant will be waiting right outside the cruise terminal - you don't have to drive to a car rental place.

You can check out my blog about this trip:

http://emeraldprincessjuly6.blogspot.com/2013/07/day-4-warnemundeberlin-germany.html

We are taking the National Express bus for the August 13 cruise from the same Victoria Station as the Princess transfer. The total cost for 3 adults booked online is £33.50.

The bus departs every hour and the trip takes 2 hours and 15 minutes. We chose the 9:30am departure time which gets us to Southampton at 11:45am.

The only difference between the two is the National Express drops you off at the Southampton Coach station and requires a £10 cab ride to the port.

$59 for a Princess transfer to Southampton? You can take the National Express bus from the same Victoria Coach Station for £9 per person. The only difference is you have to take a £10 cab ride from the Southampton Coach station to the cruise terminal.

As far as hotel, check out this place:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g186338-d1539346-Reviews-Premier_Inn_London_Victoria-London_England.html

It's about a 10 minute walk from Victoria Coach station.

Hi Dermot,

We were planning on having lunch at O'Neills Bar & Restaurant. How is The Bailey or Davy Byrne's compared to O'Neills? I'm especially looking for a place that serves good Irish stew.

Thanks,

Joey

As an alternative to HOHO, what do you think of the CumfyBus? From what I can see on their website, it looks like they a few routes that stop right by the cruise terminal. It sounds like it costs £3 for an all day pass and they run more frequently.

Also, on this site http://www.whatsinport.com/Liverpool.htm, it says there is a free shuttle to the city center. Can you confirm this?

Thanks

Is DART the best transportation option from Dún Laoghaire to Dublin? If so, how far is the train station from the cruise port? Is Dublin Connolly the closest stop in Dublin to Trinity College?

Thanks.

In case you want to see what some of them look like:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24689424@N02/sets/72157634711540744/

You can take a look at these pictures and see what looks good

Personally, these were my favorites:

This lamb stew was really good. It's too bad they only serve it during lunch.

The lobster tail and king prawns are always good:

Cassata alla Siciliana, ice cream trilogy with candied fruits. Probably the best dessert I had on this cruise.

Actually 3T becomes 2 and 3B becomes 3.

 

Now, both the tram stop and the bus stop has the same name "Kauppakorkeakoulut" (meaning "schools of economics") but the bus stop is on Runeberginkatu while the tram stop is on Arkadiankatu. So from the bus you go forward and turn right once. From the tram you either go forward turning right around a corner twice or circling the block in the other direction turning left once, the distance is about the same.

 

 

 

That's not a bad quess :)

Which tram 3T stop is better for the rock church? Kauppakorkeakoulut or Sammonkatu?

Just saw this. Don't worry, they're just renaming them.

http://yle.fi/uutiset/helsinki_says_goodbye_to_3b3t_trams/6462625