Live From May 1 2017 Caribbean Princess British Isles cruise

Will also be on sept 10

We are on the 10 Sept, so we will be following closely. We have not booked any excursions yet so very interested in your reviews here. It is our first Princess cruise. We are mostly HAL cruisers, but except for the very expensive Prinsendam, HAL has ceded the BI itinerary to their sister line. We are looking forward to the freshened Caribbean Princess.

 

Dennis

I did try one of the new ice cream cookies that are $3 USD on the pool deck. I wanted the peppermint paddie but they were out so I tried the snickerdoodle cookie with cinnamon ice cream. It was pretty good but not what I expected for $3 and I doubt I'll get one again. I thought it would be bigger at least. Oh and it's 3.45 with a gratuity it looks like after looking at my account statement.

I went to another dance class taught by the wonderful Luci. I'd planned to stay for an Irish dance class with Melissa as well but I'm just exhausted :( My voice is surprisingly back a bit this afternoon but I'm going to rest and read the rest of the afternoon. The Elite Captains party is tonight so I'll just watch movies or read this afternoon and hope I can actually talk at the party later and at dinner tonight.

I'll take some pics at the Crown Grill tonight to share

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Please get some good rest on your extra day off . I love your attitude about the weather and not being able to get into port. We too have cruised many times and understand it is just part of life. I was a flight attendant for 27 years and remember some people yelling at me when the weather was bad and We were delayed. I always appreciated passengers like you!

Thank you so much for your thread! We are on the May 25 sailing and you are adding to our excitment!

Thanks for taking the time to post your experiences on the Caribbean Princess. It's a great help for anyone that will be traveling on the Caribbean Princess since the dry dock & the major changes with new restaurants. If you have a chance can you photograph the areas with the new restaurants so we can see what the new changes look like?

Hope your voice gets better soon & thanks again for taking the time to post your experiences.

Tom😁

Could I ask you how many Formal nights you have had. We board Crown Princess in Southampton on Saturday. I am busy packing and the thought just struck me. On Celebrity we had 3 for a 15 night cruise.

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Could I ask you how many Formal nights you have had. We board Crown Princess in Southampton on Saturday. I am busy packing and the thought just struck me. On Celebrity we had 3 for a 15 night cruise.

 

 

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We have had 2. I would think you'd also have two but it should be on your confirmation or you can also look in your cruise personalizer. Have a great trip!

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On the TA there were so many elite and platinum there were 4 Captains Circle Parties held-would you please, give us an idea of the numbers for this cruise. Thanks!

Have you heard anything about a port strike at Le Havre France? I am seeing reports of a French strike and wondering if it will affect your cruise stop there (or people soon to be on that cruise).

Thanks for sharing.

 

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We are on the 10 Sept, so we will be following closely. We have not booked any excursions yet so very interested in your reviews here. It is our first Princess cruise. We are mostly HAL cruisers, but except for the very expensive Prinsendam, HAL has ceded the BI itinerary to their sister line. We are looking forward to the freshened Caribbean Princess.

 

Dennis

Will also be on sept 10

Hope you can both come join the Roll Call for the Sept 10 voyage (click here)

PKT, thanks for such detailed reporting, and especially for the directions to the pathway at Stirling. I have seen the castle before (and LOVED it), but might enjoy a different perspective this time. Great idea! Sorry you had to miss a great port -- but for me, i might appreciate an extra day of rest after all the gallivanting...

Hi all, I still can't talk well... at least I can still be understood... if it's quiet. I can't dictate to my phone to type out my updates.... it's like what? I got nothing haha. So I'm tapping it all out.

The guy at the International cafe and I have kind of a code worked out for what I want between hot tea and hot chocolate. Anything else I just point at it on the menu or type it in my phone and show it to him. I decided I needed an ice cream cone tonight, how hard can that be, right? Problem is it's was cold so she was wearing ear covers and a movie was playing on MUTS. I had no chance [emoji38] haha. Between hand motions and lip reading, we got it all sorted.

I forgot, the night before last I saw Broadway Ballroom, one of the few production shows I haven't seen. Everything was excellent! The scenes, costumes and technical aspects were exceptional. The singers and dancers are excellent on this ship and I really enjoyed the show.

Since we weren't able to port in Kirkwall, I find myself with extra on board credit. My table mates and I decided to try the Crown Grill. I tried it in a cruise a few years ago and wasn't impressed on that cruise. Keep in mind I am not a steak loving person. I'll eat it but I don't love steak and usually will order chicken or salmon over a steak. Oh and I'm allergic to shellfish so that's out. The filet was larger then I expected and I thought I wouldn't be finishing it as I was way more excited about the dessert. That filet was exceptional. The flavor was amazing and the knife sliced through it like butter. I finished every bit of it. I had the goat cheese and beef salad for an appetizer. It was good. They served mushrooms, asparagus and spinach family style with the steaks. I had the Parmesan garlic fries.

Unfortunately the service aspect was an issue. I hate to say anything negative as I know they work very hard so I'll just say I was surprised to have service issues there.

My table mates also have an ongoing issue but I think the responsibility for that falls more with customer service then the staff at the Crown Grill. They are still trying to sort it out today and I recommended they keep pushing for a resolution with customer service. They are pretty frustrated which I understand as they've told me the story. My advice was to be sure to talk with a manager on the ship rather than wait until they see home. Given the opportunity, I've found that management on board will do what they need to do to correct a situation as long as they are given the opportunity.

Today in Inverness/Invergorden was another lovely sunny day so our good weather mojo is back. We actually docked at 2:30 In The morning. The Captain let us know last night that there were two people who needed to urgently to medically evacuated from the ship and the quickest and safest option was to get to port during the night so the two people could get the medical assistance they needed. I know we got there at 2:30 am because the thrusters are outside my window ;) if you don't want "we are in port or leaving port" wake ups, deck 8 aft outside cabins may not be for you. I hope the two passengers are ok.

I booked at 8 person van with Nigel with Invergorden Shore Excursions. He was great to work with from the start. He's responsive and kept me updated in he months leading up to the tour. He sent detailed instructions and even pictures showing how to find him. It was very easy. We exited the port and there he was with a sign with his name! Our group met and was ready to go as soon as we had clearance. First we went to hunt for Nessie with Jacobite tours. Darn that Nessie, she was nowhere to be found today! You'd think the sun would draw her out right? The boat tour ended at a dock for Urquhart Castle. We had about an hour and a half to explore the castle ruins.

From there we went to the Culloden Battlefield. I just felt sad there. In places like this, the sadness is palpable. To me, it was like a cemetery or memorial site. We tend to romanticize that time period but truly, there was so much violence, war, disease and suffering.

There was a wall with some stones Reaching out further than most to demonstrate the number of British soldiers and Jacobite soldiers who were killed in that battle. The first section represents the British soldiers. It goes on for maybe 5 or 6 feet. Then there is a space of stones all flush to the building. The rest of the side of the building with many stones jutting out represent the Jacobite soldiers who died in the battle. It was maybe 50 feet or more. Sorry, depth perception is not my forte to the estimate is likely off but you can understand the huge disparity at least. Others on the tour commented the same feeling and Nigel said he feels it too. It's beautiful and painful to see places such as that.

Nigel suggested we have food at this stop. The MSC Preciosa is also in port so he expected some stops to be busy. I had a yummy hummus and tomato sandwich with chips and a coke.

Next we went to my favorite stop so far on this trip. Cawdor Castle is amazing and what I dreamed Scotland would be. The castle is beautiful inside and out and the gardens are stunning. If you come to this port I highly recommend a tour that comes here. This is the storybook castle and gardens that bring princes and princesses to mind. Inside there are rooms with antiquities and passageways as well as stone spiral steps to explore. One garden had a maze (which is g currently pen to the public) but you can see it quite well. There are passages to water fountains and quiet little places with benches. The larger garden was being worked on but will be amazing once the work is done and the flowers are blooming.

We also had time to stop by the Clava Cairns if you are an Outlander fan. Nigel and his wife offer an Outlander themed tour that is new this year. We also had time to drive by the murals by the port. The icing on the cake was a stop to see Highland cows and baby calfs!!! I was so excited and Nigel really worked to help us see as much as possible in our short time in this port. Nigel and his family are lovely and so far this is the best tour I've had this trip. It definitely helped there were only 8 of us but Nigel worked very hard to make sure all of us enjoyed our time here. http://www.shorexcursions.co.uk/ I posted the link for those coming soon...hopefully it works. It's shoreexcursions . Co . Uk.

Tonight I'm resting up. Tomorrow is country night onboard and I can't play the bang bang game if I can't say bang right?!?

We will be in Edinburgh tomorrow and the Captain expects another lovely day.

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Thank you for yet another wonderful update.

Any chance you'll be checking out Planks (either for breakfast, lunch or dinner) on your cruise? I expect that Steamers is out of the question for you (with the shellfish allergy). Or a quick trip up to the buffet to check out the PB&J bar? I quite intrigued - I mean, are there different types of peanut butter, how many flavours of jelly, and what kind of bread and can you get it toasted (my "not feeling well" food is rye toast with crunchy peanut butter and raspberry jam - not something I've ever found on a cruise ship).

I hope your throat feels better and you get your voice back for tomorrow night!

Thanks for the wonderful review. I am also very interested in the peanut butter bar. A picture of it would be extremely appreciated.

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Thanks for the wonderful review. I am also very interested in the peanut butter bar. A picture of it would be extremely appreciated.

Also thanks for the reviews. A photo would be good; then I will know what to look for so I can avoid it!!

Also thanks for the reviews. A photo would be good; then I will know what to look for so I can avoid it!!

x2. I've never seen a PB&J bar on a cruise ship before. I'd rather have taco bar instead :D

So sorry to hear you had issues at the Crown Grill. We ate there four times on our 4/6 & 4/20 cruises. Love their steaks. They do melt in your mouth. The service was great as always every time we went. What were the issues you experienced?

Here you go, google helps a lot.

 

http://www.bankoncollegegreen.com/restaurant

 

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Thanks for the tip! Now I know where to go to lunch when in Dublin this June.

JG and JG

Thank you for yet another wonderful update.

 

Any chance you'll be checking out Planks (either for breakfast, lunch or dinner) on your cruise? I expect that Steamers is out of the question for you (with the shellfish allergy). Or a quick trip up to the buffet to check out the PB&J bar? I quite intrigued - I mean, are there different types of peanut butter, how many flavours of jelly, and what kind of bread and can you get it toasted (my "not feeling well" food is rye toast with crunchy peanut butter and raspberry jam - not something I've ever found on a cruise ship).

 

I hope your throat feels better and you get your voice back for tomorrow night!

We used Planks on the TA and found that there were still a few kinks. Our main server, Magdalena, we knew from previous cruises. She told us to try all of the meats and we did. There was so much meat that we could have fed another couple. We thought that it might have been done just for us but we went back at other times just to visit and it seemed that we had gotten just about the same amount as others. The sides were adequate but nothing to write home about. I was less than impressed with the coleslaw.

Another good/bad thing: The place did not have many customers at any of the times we were through. This left under used staff and in their effort to make sure we were satisfied they "hoovered" around the table. We felt like we were being watched with each bite we took. Mentioned this to the head waiter but still saw this at later visits.

Food was OK but far too much of it. Kind of wished you could order one platter and split it.

So grateful for your review. We will be boarding this cruise on July 24th. Your experiences are making the wait a little easier.

So grateful for your review. We will be boarding this cruise on July 24th. Your experiences are making the wait a little easier.

Totally agree that this is a wonderful review! The wait for our 9/10 sail date is killing us:loudcry:! Thank you pkt1976 for giving us a sneak peak into what promises to be a dream cruise.:D

We're enjoying your postings, too. We took this cruise in 2015, and we're repeating it on Sept. 10 so you are bringing back some great memories and making us ever more excited for the upcoming trip.

I woke up to a partly cloudy day in Edinburgh but the sun was already peeking through. Princess changed the port arrival time from 7 -8 and the tenders were very delayed. I think part of the delay was due to low tide as they only had 2 tender at the dock at a time. At the end of the day the tide was much higher and there were 3 and 4. I had priority tendering but some people on the tour said it took over an hour to get onto a tender. Therefore we unfortunately had over an hour delay to start the tour. Jaime extended our tour by about 45 minutes to make up at least part of the day, which was very kind of him. I'm the end, the ship left port about an hour later than planned.

For Edinburgh I toured with Timberbush again. Once you get off the tender you will see the lines of Princess and private tour buses all lined up. Mark was by the exit with his sign to direct everyone to where the bus is. He said hi and he remembers me! I told him I lost my voice and it's his fault hehe.

Jaime was my guide for today and he's very funny and my twin when it comes to traffic :) we don't like it.

First we went to the mall where you can also tour the royal yacht. I hunted down some throat lozenges and mint candies to give me hope of talking. The winds and all the walking nixed that and for most of the day and night I couldn't make a peep. If you want the see the yacht for photos, go to the 2nd floor. There is a food court area with a patio you can go onto. There is also a restaurant on the third floor by the gym that overlooks the yacht.

Next we drove through town and Jaime showed us the sites such as Holyrood and the city itself. Jaime let us off to take photos at Holyrood. Traffic was pretty bad but Jaime was the king of the road finding ways around it.

We were then dropped off by the Royal Mile for a few hours to tour Edinburgh castle or to shop. I wanted to see the castle and spent about two hours there. This is not only a castle, there are several buildings to explore and tour. There is a tea room and Whisky room as well as gift shops. You can pre buy tickets for entry, but I didn't. When i arrived around noon, there was no line but that can vary. There were a lot of exhibits to go through including viewing the Crown Jewels.

About an hour from the meeting time, I started heading down. There is a souvenir shop with a woolen mill to the left as you leave the castle area. I think it was 4 levels and was incredible to explore. I also stopped for a quick smoothie, cherry pastry and free wifi along the way.

Jaime got us back to the port about 5:15and I walked right onto a tender.

My dinner time is 5:45 so I had time to walk on, drop my stuff in my cabin then straight to dinner. My junior waiter got me some hot tea throughout dinner since I didn't have time to treat my vocal chords and throat before trying to eat. Vocal cords were very swollen so breathing is more work since the swelling affects the whole area and eating the dense food like chicken just wasn't flying. I had to cut it up small and eat it slowly like a kid ... ugggg. I'm not terribly patient :) Baked Alaska was great for desert yummm!

Today was a sea day and I rested most of the day. I hate resting but I have a long couple days ahead of me and resting now means being more comfortable hopefully.

I looked for the peanut butter and jelly bar this afternoon but didn't see it. My France tour isn't until the afternoon tomorrow so I'll look again.

Since we didn't port in Kirkwall I also have about $70 in on board credit to deal with. It is refundable but I haven't ever had credit before so don't know how that works. If anyone knows can you tell me? I want to pack my suitcases and if there's room left I'll go shopping hehe.

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