knotheadusc

I had no idea that there are any Murphy beds on SeaDream!  Wow!

14 hours ago, garysarah said:

I would recommend at least 2 days in Athens for potential delays. We had people on our cruise delayed twice. Plus..things to do! We stayed at Hera Hotel. Liked the location.  Decent price. 

We stayed at Hera Hotel, too.  It was a good experience!

16 hours ago, vistaman said:

that is maybe the one and only cruise company, I am afraid to book 

 

I don't know why.  It's my favorite line, and I've also done cruises on Regent, SeaDream, and Royal Caribbean.  If Hebridean Island Cruises didn't just stay in one area, I'd probably never book a different line.  But I guess different strokes for different folks...

I will take a look at your links!

I think the bar may be one area where Hebridean Princess is different.  They offer a completely open bar, including liquor— especially gin and whisky.  Two of the cruises we have done were whisky tours, which included visits to distilleries and very generous opportunities to taste whisky and gin.  I have never had a bill at the end of our Hebridean cruises.  But then, you pay a lot to get onboard.  
 

Also, it looks like Noble’s ships are bigger, though not too big for us.  Hebridean Princess takes 48 passengers, and Lord of the Highlands takes 36.

Hebridean Princess doesn’t really offer laundry service, although we did get laundry done by them on our back to back cruise.  On turnaround day, I had told the purser we needed to find a laundromat because we were on an extended vacation.  He told us to give our laundry to the steward.  They took care of it with no extra charge to us.

Still, I do wish they went to more places.  

By the way, when I mentioned the new vessel, I meant the new one Hebridean recently bought, Lord of the Highlands.  It is a lot more modern than Hebridean Princess is, although maybe not as fancy.

I have never tried Noble, but now I am intrigued!

To be honest, I was so blown away after our first Hebridean Princess back to back cruise in 2012, that I kind of pined away for another, which we did in 2016, after we moved to Germany from the US.  Then in 2017, they offered an interesting trip that included Belfast, so we booked that.  Same in 2019, when they went over the top of Scotland from Inverness.  Then there was the pandemic.  

I like Hebridean because it’s the only cruise I’ve ever done that really is all inclusive to the point at which I don’t even have to give them a credit card when I board.  Plus, they have a truly wonderful crew.

I would consider trying a different line for Scotland, though, if it offered something unique.  I will have a look at Noble and see if it would be something we’d like as much.

I’m so glad you had a wonderful time!  I love the duck boots,  I used to wear them when I had a horse and cleaned stalls.  They were useful for that purpose, too!

I’ve been thinking about trying the new vessel.  We tried Regent over the summer and the experience reminded me that I really prefer the small ships!  They don’t get much smaller than Hebridean!

On 10/23/2023 at 9:34 AM, loriva said:

 

     --The hotel Regent uses, the Hilton Molino Stucky, is very nice.  Need water shuttle to Venice proper, but not a huge problem.  And such a nice view if you have a canal-side room.

 

More later and will try to answer questions,

 

I stayed at the Hilton Molino Stucky some years ago and had a brilliant experience, mainly because the place was fully booked except for their tower suite.  My husband paid using Hilton Honor points, and they gave us that awesome suite for the night!  It was absolutely fabulous-- had two bathrooms, a dining room, and a bedroom with a gorgeous view of the canal.  Good to know that Regent also uses that hotel! 

Our first SeaDream cruise was in late April.  We still had a blast, but I do remember some hot weather!  I still left the ship completely gobsmacked. 
 

57 minutes ago, triptik said:

Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I look forward to posting a report upon my return.

 
You’re welcome.  And don’t stress too much.  They do like people to dress up, but no one on the crew is going to call you out over your clothes.  They know you’re coming a long way.  Many of your fellow passengers will probably be from the EU or the UK, and it’s a lot easier for them to bring fancy clothes.

14 hours ago, triptik said:

I am looking forward to my first Hebridean Princess Cruise”flavours of the Hebrides” in October. I appreciate all the guidance that members of the board have contributed.

However, I need wardrobe guidance! I live in Florida and although I have full winter clothes, including a down coat, I am trying to navigate the ship guidance for October weather. I need translations / what are waterproofs? What are the best shoes for the day trips? What have you used? If you have been on the gastronomic tours, do you dress for lunch? Are “waxed jackets” the best idea? Do women wear long gowns for gala evenings? 

I have time to order what I need but I need to know what I need!

Agsin, thank all of you for your detailed reviews. This has been my dream for years, and I have derived so much pleasure from your writings.
 

 

On the first night, you will probably be encouraged to dress casually for dinner, as everyone will be settling in after embarkation and the muster drill.  During the days, you can dress casually.  At night, when dinners are not galas, you can dress as if you are going to church.  For the ladies, that means a dress or skirt or elegant casual pants and tops.  For men, it means a jacket and tie.  On gala nights, women often wear cocktail dresses.  Men often wear tuxedoes.  My husband wore his Army uniform the first four times we cruised with Hebridean, but bought a kilt and wore that on our most recent cruise.

As for footwear during the days, I usually wear Danskos, which are very comfortable walking shoes.  In wet conditions, I wear “duck boots” from LL Bean, though plain old hiking boots would suffice.  
 

You don’t need to dress up for lunch.  If there is a need for special clothing on an excursion, I would expect it to be mentioned ahead of time.  
 

You probably won’t need your down coat in October.  I would save room for rain gear.  I did my first two Hebridean cruises in November, and it wasn’t very cold.  In fact, we had some gorgeous days.

Try not to worry!  Hebridean Princess is unique and wonderful, and you are in for a amazing time!
 

I just took my first Regent cruise in June and it drove home how much I prefer Hebridean.  I really like small ships.

Oh... and one other thing.  I did have the misfortune of needing to take a cab back to Glasgow after a cruise that ended in Oban.  I got a stomach virus and didn't want to expose other people on the bus.  Hebridean actually PAID for the cab ride back.  I think it was about 200 GBP.  

5 hours ago, jimdee3636 said:

A question I have about the cruises that start in Oban: how exactly do you get there? If I'm starting from the U.S. and flying to LHR, then what? It looks like Glasgow is the nearest major city to Oban, but it's about 100 miles away and there doesn't seem to be any direct air connection between the two places. There's no way I'd rent a car (I'm not going to risk my life trying to drive on the left side of the road), so is taxi service the only way to get there? If so, it would make an already-expensive trip a prohibitively-expensive one.

 

Thanks for any insights and suggestions.

 

Jim

I've done five cruises with Hebridean and I can tell you that when the cruises start in Oban, they pick you up at either the airport or the train station in Glasgow and take you to Oban by bus.  They also take you back to Glasgow after the cruise is over.  Same thing when a cruise starts in Greenock or Inverness.  They pick you up at a meeting point and take you to and from the port.  Last trip we did was out of Invergordon.  We met at a hotel in Inverness.  Then everyone gets piped in by a bagpiper, couple by couple.  ❤️

It's all very civilized!  In fact, they usually bring a snack hamper for the ride up and back, and they will stop for a bathroom break.  I'm long overdue for another cruise on Princess.

20 hours ago, nrc said:

We tried a small ship, Hebridean Princess, with 40 passengers, last year for a 10 day cruise of the islands along the coast of Great Britain between Cardiff, Wales and Oban, Scotland.  HP is an older ship, with an older clientele, but top notch (with prices to match.)  After Queen Elizabeth retired her ship, Britannia, she used to charter Hebridean Princess.  That says something about the quality of the ship, crew, and service.

 

This is HP's "second life" as she was a car ferry in her first incarnation.  Age aside, she is a completely delightful experience.  We just finished up 10 days in the Orkney and Shetland Islands, and hated to disembark.  We've booked her again for a trip next year out of Dublin.

I love Hebridean Princess!  We've done five cruises on the Princess since 2012 and are long overdue for a sixth!  I'm delighted that you had a good time and have booked again.  

I'm ready for another SeaDream cruise, too.

2 hours ago, Gilly said:

Good Morning from the Splendor!

Just before closing our curtains last evening, we looked outside to find one of those magnificent skies

 

This morning, we woke in Prince Christian Sound, Greenland, to find an iceberg outside our window.

 

 

Speaker Hugh Neighbour will begin his commentary soon - 7am - and we're looking forward to a spectacular morning's sailing.  Right now, the Captain has turned into a small inlet and is taking us to see a tidal glacier at the end of the fjord.  Oooh!

 

As always, details will be on my blog later, internet permitting 😉

 

Such beautiful photos!  The top one is especially gorgeous.  My husband has expressed an interest in visiting Greenland, so this is a very helpful post in convincing him to pull the trigger.    

I see you are in Gloucestershire.  I grew up in Gloucester, Virginia!  

8 hours ago, vistaman said:

it is Her Majesty  ,  HRH  is for the other members of the royal family.

Thanks for the correction. 

1 hour ago, Piaa said:

 

Definitely not all do - especially when they have done zero research into the customs of the island they are visiting ... oh and leave their trash everywhere !!!

Yes... 

We were in Norway for a land based break a few days before our most recent cruise, and though we did not experience this ourselves, we became aware of an anti-cruising campaign there.  They had signs up in some cities, shaming cruisers and saying they should book a "proper vacation".  There's even news about it.

I would imagine that, for many reasons, having hundreds of people hitting your town for a few hours every day could get old, increased cash flow notwithstanding.    

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/norway-anticruise-poster-campaign-b2125605.html 

I was just on the June 23rd Stockholm to Copenhagen cruise.  I did a live post pretty much every day.  I used cell service because I live in Europe. 

I also wrote a long travel blog series about our trip.  
 

Someone else on last week’s cruise from Copenhagen to Stockholm was also posting a lot.

Absolutely not.  Luxury cruises and small children don't mix.

On 7/9/2023 at 9:11 PM, DeepFreeze63 said:

Just finished packing for disembarkation tomorrow.

Got into Turku - neat town - 6th largest in Finland, 1st capital, 200K population, very Swedish part of Finland - wide streets and and very clean. Weather turned nice (for a while).

Finally won Trivia - we celebrated loudly!

Helsinki dock was in industrial port (Ponant got choice dock downtown) Raining day but did "walking tour" excursion - interesting but involved real walking (10 to 11K steps). Quiet on a Sunday morning in holiday season! Loved Helsinki - but we departed at 3PM. Quite a bit of discontent among passenger at such early departures.

Tidbits: Grandeur Production Cast begins training in Miami tomorrow (per member of Splendor cast).

All Boutique sales have been subject to 25% "Danish tax" that was charged THROUGHOUT cruise WHENEVER the shops were open - no many sales!

Petit-fours have been discontinued as an after dinner treat in CR.

I was on the cruise before yours, and they still had the petit-fours!  I wonder what happened!

We did the harbor cruise in Helsinki.  It was very interesting, but I would have liked to have seen more of the city.  Now I want to visit Turku.

3 hours ago, Chateaunole-du-pape said:

Same... I actually saw myself in two of their shots!

I’m afraid to look too closely!  

5 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

Nothing wrong with the professional style video but it felt a bit of a commercial to me. I much more enjoyed your reports knotheadusc

Awww!  That’s so nice to know!  Glad you enjoyed my posts!

Bwahahahaha…. That was the cruise we were on!  

15 minutes ago, TrapperZimmy said:

Only the ones who get to see it.  But it is good for those of us who sail on fancy ships to see up close what poverty looks like in lands of no opportunity.  And if we are prompted to do something about it, either on the island or at home, it is worth the trip.

I don’t disagree.  I might be more sensitive to the reactions of locals in some ways because I spent two years in the Peace Corps when I was a lot younger and hardier. 
 

I remember getting somewhat obvious hostile treatment when we visited a museum on Carriacou, even though we bought a carving from the gift shop.  But then, we made a another local guy ecstatic by buying one of his carvings.  So I guess it goes both ways.  I know the guy with the carvings sold at least a couple that day.  
 

Anyway, I probably never would have gone there if not for SeaDream.  That’s another thing I like about it.  They go to small ports.