Review of British Isles Cruise and Vendors (Royal Princess 6/6/18-6/18/18)

Thanks for the info!

Thanks for all the specific information on tours and transportation! We are taking the British Isles cruise next year, and this is very helpful as we begin to plan our trip since we also prefer to make independent arrangements for transport and tours.

I also want to thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to write all the details of your port experiences, this is helping with my planning of our Crown Princess UK trip next July 2019!

Also for anyone who is interested, since Paris is the last stop (leaves Paris 8 pm, arrives back Southampton 5 am), we called Princess and requested to disembark in Paris so we could spend a few days there. The rep took down our info and within a few days we got an email with the "Route Deviation Approval" confirmation (our online reservation now shows disembarking in Paris, too). I am soooo thrilled that we don't have to disembark in Southampton and spend the better part of a day travelling back to Paris! Also, we have picked out a wonderful Airbnb private apartment (with kitchen) in Paris where we'll stay, central location and the price was only $103 a night.

You do realise that you will disembark in Le Havre which is 2½ hours from Paris by train? It bugs me that cruise companies do this; London, Southampton for example as if it was a port actually in London.

It still makes perfect sense for you to disembark there, and you may find that you are not the only ones. You just need to make travel arrangements to get to Paris from the port.

Oh yes, I already planned to take a taxi from the port to Le Havre train station (one mile away). Since trains are only once an hour to Paris, it makes sense to do a quick change of trains in Rouen if timings don't match up to the hourly train.

In case by some fluke of nature we don't dock in Le Havre, we have our plan mapped out: shuttle Southampton to Heathrow (or train Southampton Central to Waterloo), then Heathrow to St. Pancras Station (bus from King's Cross), then St. Pancras to Gare du Nord Paris via Eurostar. (There's also the ferry from Portsmouth at 23:30, arrives LeHavre at 8:30 am.)

14 hours ago, eileen108 said:

then Heathrow to St. Pancras Station (bus from King's Cross), 

I don’t understand the reference to a bus from King’s Cross, which is literally next door to St Pancras. You will be taking the tube presumably, and getting off at King’s Cross St Pancras station, which serves both mainline stations. No need for a bus. 

Cotswold Eagle, good question, not sure what I meant - I'm running blind here, not being familiar with London, haha! I probably meant there's the option of taking the tube from Heathrow or bus 59 "towards" King's Cross (not "from"), and getting out at St Pancras International.

17 hours ago, eileen108 said:

Cotswold Eagle, good question, not sure what I meant - I'm running blind here, not being familiar with London, haha! I probably meant there's the option of taking the tube from Heathrow or bus 59 "towards" King's Cross (not "from"), and getting out at St Pancras International.

Hmnnn...the 59 runs from Streatham in south London to King’s Cross, nowhere near Heathrow. The last two stops are St Pancras and King’s Cross, so I suspect you are being fed some really poor advice from a route planner!

I know it’s only your backup plan, but just delete the reference to the bus from your notes. Take the tube to King’s Cross St Pancras and follow the exit signs for St Pancras International Station and you’ll be right where you need to be 😀

Ok, only a backup plan but I NEEDED to get that straight. All's clear now and written down correctly. Thanks for your help!!

On 7/26/2018 at 12:05 PM, molly1riv said:

Melinda: thank you so much for the excellent information. We are booked on the 12-day British Isles cruise aboard the Crown Princess round trip from Dublin next May. Your information is most helpful, thanks for taking the time to share.

--Michelle

 

 

Michelle, We are on the same cruise departing Southhampton.  Have you booked any tours yet?

On 11/6/2018 at 5:39 AM, eileen108 said:

I also want to thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to write all the details of your port experiences, this is helping with my planning of our Crown Princess UK trip next July 2019!

 

Also for anyone who is interested, since Paris is the last stop (leaves Paris 8 pm, arrives back Southampton 5 am), we called Princess and requested to disembark in Paris so we could spend a few days there. The rep took down our info and within a few days we got an email with the "Route Deviation Approval" confirmation (our online reservation now shows disembarking in Paris, too). I am soooo thrilled that we don't have to disembark in Southampton and spend the better part of a day travelling back to Paris! Also, we have picked out a wonderful Airbnb private apartment (with kitchen) in Paris where we'll stay, central location and the price was only $103 a night.

Can you point me to the Airbnb you chose?  Hotels in Paris are so expensive and I know nothing about locations.  TIA

Here is the link for the place we booked, "Odilicious'Studio 48 in Paris-Le Marais": https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/962959?s=51

Rick Steves has some good less expensive hotel suggestions, see if your local library has either the physical or ebook of "Rick Steves Paris". 

He suggests five "safe, handy and colorful" neighborhoods: the village-like Rue Cler (near the Eiffel Tower); the artsy and trendy Marais (near Place de la Bastille, and where we will stay); the historic island of Ile St. Louis (next door to Notre-Dame); the lively, Latin, and classy Luxembourg Garden neighborhood (on the Left Bank); and the less polished, less central, but less pricey Montmartre neighborhood.

On Airbnb, put in your travel dates in Paris, then your price range, and scroll around the map to see what is available in each neighborhood. 

Thanks eileen, that is good info.

On ‎12‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 3:10 PM, teachaug said:

Michelle, We are on the same cruise departing Southhampton.  Have you booked any tours yet?

 

I apologize for the late response, haven't been on CC in a while.  We've booked a combination of private tours (Liverpool, Le Havre and Guernsey) and through the ship; still researching what we want to do in two stops. We're traveling with one other couple and have a wheelchair to accommodate so it takes a bit of searching to find tour providers for us. There's quite a bit of tour chatter on the roll call.  Now we're "only" six months away!!

--Michelle

Regarding Airbnb in Paris, you need to check that it is actually registered with the Mairie de Paris. The authorities have cracked down on short term holiday rentals as it removes properties from the available rental pool for those who might want to rent and live full time in Paris. As of October 2017, it is compulsory for all short term rentals to be registered and they face heavy fines if they don't. So just be aware. It would be upsetting to arrive at your rental and find out that because it was "illegal" , it was no longer available.

I'm sure your rental will be fine, but I couldn't find a registration number on the listing.