Up the Gangplank - live from the Caribbean Princess (5th-22nd Sept)

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the first post in the Gangplank 'live from'.

Admittedly, it is just a tad early :D - we don't actually sail until tomorrow - but I thought I'd get the thread started, write a little intro and say a quick hello now because, as it's daft o'clock, all's quiet (apart from my heart thumping with excitement) and I can take my time getting this typed up - once we leave the house later on today, we're going to be pretty busy.

In just over 24 hours Terry (my fab hubby) & I will be boarding the Caribbean Princess in Southampton for a wonderful 17 night cruise that will see us visit a total of 8 ports in 5 countries before arriving in New York on 22nd September.

We are so excited about this trip. Not only is it the first time in over 26 years that we'll be spending any part of any holiday anywhere in Europe, we'll also be making our first transatlantic crossing and, most importantly, Terry will be celebrating a very special birthday.

I'll hopefully be writing about our Gangplank exploits every day and posting not only on Cruise Critic but also on a blog I created - especially for this holiday - just over 6 months ago (the only difference between the two will be photos...... if I get chance to post any pics, I'll only be uploading them to the blog).

(The blog's been up & running for a while now but I thought I'd wait until nearer to our sailaway date before I posted the details on CC. If you'd like to check it out, you'll find the link at the end of this post)

I just know we're going to have a brilliant holiday and I'm really looking forward to sharing it all with you :D

Sue :)

PS - In the interests of full disclosure, my last "live from" didn't go too well - I gave up the ghost after just a couple of posts because of a terrible internet connection and a mini emergency (five days into the cruise) that forced us to use almost all the minutes left on our package!

I even stopped typing the daily write-ups because it never occurred to me to write them on the ship & post them when we got home (duhh, my brain hurts sometimes).

Fingers crossed it all works out this time around

To visit our Up The Gangplank blog, please click HERE

I'm looking forward to walk the Gangplank :D

Tony

Looking forward to hearing more. Following along. :)

I will be following along. Have a wonderful cruise and also happy birthday to your DH:)

I will be following along. Have a wonderful cruise and also happy birthday to your DH:)

Thank you so much :)

Hi everyone,

 

Welcome to the first post in the Gangplank 'live from'.

 

Admittedly, it is just a tad early :D - we don't actually sail until tomorrow - but I thought I'd get the thread started, write a little intro and say a quick hello now because, as it's daft o'clock, all's quiet (apart from my heart thumping with excitement) and I can take my time getting this typed up - once we leave the house later on today, we're going to be pretty busy.

 

In just over 24 hours Terry (my fab hubby) & I will be boarding the Caribbean Princess in Southampton for a wonderful 17 night cruise that will see us visit a total of 8 ports in 5 countries before arriving in New York on 22nd September.

 

We are so excited about this trip. Not only is it the first time in over 26 years that we'll be spending any part of any holiday anywhere in Europe, we'll also be making our first transatlantic crossing and, most importantly, Terry will be celebrating a very special birthday.

 

I'll hopefully be writing about our Gangplank exploits every day and posting not only on Cruise Critic but also on a blog I created - especially for this holiday - just over 6 months ago (the only difference between the two will be photos...... if I get chance to post any pics, I'll only be uploading them to the blog).

 

(The blog's been up & running for a while now but I thought I'd wait until nearer to our sailaway date before I posted the details on CC. If you'd like to check it out, you'll find the link at the end of this post)

 

I just know we're going to have a brilliant holiday and I'm really looking forward to sharing it all with you :D

 

 

Sue :)

 

PS - In the interests of full disclosure, my last "live from" didn't go too well - I gave up the ghost after just a couple of posts because of a terrible internet connection and a mini emergency (five days into the cruise) that forced us to use almost all the minutes left on our package!

I even stopped typing the daily write-ups because it never occurred to me to write them on the ship & post them when we got home (duhh, my brain hurts sometimes).

Fingers crossed it all works out this time around

 

 

 

To visit our Up The Gangplank blog, please click HERE

looking forward to it-I'll follow along.

Trish

Looking forward to your live from. Are you aware there is already another one? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2396631 You might want to post on that.

Looking forward to your post! One of or bucket list cruises is a TA and its always nice to experience one through someones eyes that is enjoying one!

I'm already tuned in. Your title (Up the Gangplank) is perfect!

Looking forward to following you on your trip:):)

Enjoy your cruise while we enjoy your thread

I have never cruised so looking forward to learning g thru your post

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Welcome to Cruise Critic. You can gain a wealth of info from these boards

I also will be following along. Have a wonderful cruise.

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We're also looking forward to your posts. Our friends the Murphy's from South Carolina are aboard now and will be on until NYC on the 22nd. Pretty small world we live in. :)

Thank you for posting your live from thread. I'm looking forward to reading it and checking out your blog. Have a wonderful cruise.

Following along with all your adventures. Have a great time!

4/9 - Southampton - Pre Cruise - Day 001

Beginning our hols with a full English brekky at Manchester (or any) airport is one of our traditions - one that we love but couldn't do yesterday because we weren't actually due at the airport until 3pm! We didn't want to miss out on our morning fry up so we remedied the situation as best we could by going to Seacombe Ferry Terminal (one of the stops on the famous "Ferry 'cross the Mersey" route) for breakfast.

Despite living just a 10 minute drive away, it was our first time there but it certainly won't be our last. The food was lovely, totally enjoyed it and it was a great start to the official start of our holiday.

Back home by 11am we twiddled our thumbs, made sure (again and again) that we had everything we needed and grew steadily more & more excited - and impatient - as we waited for our taxi to turn up.

We got to Manchester Airport in plenty of time and apart from the pull up handle thingy on one of our smaller (cabin) suitcases deciding to break into about 10 million different pieces, we had an uneventful afternoon.

No delays at take off - we were in the air by 5:10 and, even though I'm pretty scared of flying, I've got to admit that our journey in the DeHavilland watchamacallit wasn't bad at all - I wouldn't want to fly in one on a regular basis but for a short 35 min flight, it was fine.

Back on terra firma (yayyyyy) by 5:45 and our airport taxi got us to the Premier Inn West Quay by 6:30.

I'm really quite impressed with the hotel....admittedly, it doesn't have the razzmatazz of the bigger chains but all the members of staff are lovely, our room is a really good size and, most importantly, the place is spotless.

Once we'd settled in, we went down to 'Thyme' (the onsite restaurant/bar) and had a couple of drinks while they sorted out our table - unfortunately the reservation we made when we'd booked the room hadn't filtered through and they couldn't find us (the guy said the software they use is rubbish) but luckily I had the confirmation on my phone so, as soon as a table for 2 became free....we were seated.

The meal wasn't actually that brilliant but credit where it's due.....the restaurant replaced my dinner for something completely different and, as a goodwill gesture, only charged us for Terry's food (my advice would be to avoid the baby back ribs!).

Needing to make sure that we'll be bright eyed & bushy tailed for embarkation day, we were back in our room before 10 and asleep not long after......

To visit our Up The Gangplank blog, please click HERE

Looking forward to your live from. Are you aware there is already another one? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2396631 You might want to post on that.

Ha ha, yes I did realise about half an hour after I'd started my thread but I've decided to stay with it now - I just couldn't abandon another 'live from'.

Thanks for following and thanks to everyone else who's coming along on our journey.

Sue :)

Thanks for doing the live from the Caribbean Princess. I'm looking forward to reading all about your cruise.

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Looking forward to more of your live posts.

Have a great time. Enjoying your review.

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Good to know you are almost onboard! looking forward to hearing your impression of the ship.

Thanks for the posts. We are boarding this ship on Sept 22 for the Cruise to Quebec City and look forward to your review.

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Have a great trip, we'll be on the Caribbean Princess next month! Happy B-day to your husband!