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British Isle Cruise 2017 Photo Review


FishinChris
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This was our First British Isle Cruise and most enjoyable itinerary so far. We are from Northern California and have cruised mostly on West Coast itinerary's ( Hawaii, Alaska, and Mexico). We stayed in London 3 days pre-cruise and we could have easily stayed 3 more.

 

We were on the Caribbean Princess for the August 17th sailing. The ship recently went through an extensive dry dock earlier this year and we appreciated the upgrades to the ship. Most improved was Sabintini's and World Fresh Marketplace (buffet) which we found ourselves in more due to the port intensive itinerary. There has been many recent reviews of the Caribbean Princess so I will focus more on what we did while in port.

 

 

We flew nonstop on British Airways from San Francisco (SFO) to London Heathrow (LHR), it was a 10.5 hour flight with a 8 hour time change.

 

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Our First view of the UK.

 

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We used a car service to get to our Hotel from the airport. The Chesterfield Mayfair is located on a quiet street close to Green Park and within walking distance to most places we went. We would highly recommend staying at the Chesterfield, The service was second to none. https://www.chesterfieldmayfair.com/

 

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Our stay at the Chesterfield included breakfast. Their English Breakfast should not be missed.

 

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We also had dinner at the Chesterfield, they have a 5 star restaurant called Butlers. The fish and chips were very tasty.

 

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Once we were checked in, we hit the road. So much to do so little time. Sleep will have to wait.

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Time to hit the streets. We had purchased 3 day London Passes with an Oyster card for public transportation. I don’t think we used it enough for what we paid for it but the time savings for not having to stand in line was worth it.

 

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Our first stop was the Handrel and Hendrix House. https://handelhendrix.org/

 

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Next stop was the British Museum. You could definitely spend a few days trying to see everything inside. We chose not to carry any bags or backpacks while we were touring London, we carried our cameras by their sling straps. If you did carry a bag of any kind you had to get in a pretty long line for a bag inspection. If you want to save time then leave the backpack/tote bags at the hotel.

 

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Once inside you can buy a map for 2 GBP

 

 

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There definitely is no shortage of pubs anywhere we went in London.

 

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We were up early the next day and headed over to the Victoria Monument in front of Buckingham Palace.

 

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The gates of Buckingham Palace.

 

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Plenty of souvenir stores nearby.

 

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After breakfast we headed over to Westminster Abbey and took the obligatory photo of the phone booth with Elizabeth Tower in the background.

 

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We were there just in time, the bells were silenced the following week.

 

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We recommend going to Westminster Abbey first thing in the morning to avoid the lines. No photography is allowed inside any of the cathedrals in London. It was quite the experience not to be missed.

 

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Photographers everywhere!

 

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The Banqueting Hall was pretty awesome. https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/#gs.cSI6lDQ

 

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The National Gallery was our next stop.

 

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The Sir Peter Paul Rubens were fantastic.

 

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After dinner we did venture out to the Victoria Monument for some night photography. Most of these places are less crowded and well lit at night. Just remember your tripod.

 

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The Mall.

 

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Green Park gate.

 

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Remember to follow the signs on the road.

 

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We rode to Tube to Tower Hill station so that we could start our day at the Tower of London.

 

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Stand on the right!

 

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If your going to the Tower of London than make sure your are there early to avoid the lines.

 

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We followed Rick Steves advice and made a beeline to the crown jewels and then returned to this spot on the left for the Beefeater tour.

 

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This is one of the Beefeater tours at the Traitor’s Gate.

 

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This place gets crowded fast. Make sure to give yourself enough time, you could spend most of the day here.

 

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The White Tower.

 

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There is a large and entertaining armor collection in the White Tower.

 

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Out London Passes included a ride on one of the City Cruises river tours.

 

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London Bridge seen from the river cruise.

 

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Victoria Embankment.

 

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Saint Paul’s Cathedral.

 

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I found the streets in London much more interesting then the Streets in San Francisco. They were definitely much cleaner and orderly. I hope to return soon.

 

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We had dinner at Ye Grapes our last night in Shepard’s Market and then we proceeded to Prince Of Wales Theatre to Watch The Book Of Mormon.

 

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This is the extent of our pre cruise activities, I hope you enjoyed them.

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