Live from the Golden

[Infocus]

We are very excited about our upcoming European cruise on July 21! I am looking forward to bringing my two 14 y/o's along. My daughter and I have our dresses for the formal and smart casual evenings, My husband and son are packing slacks for the informal nights and we have rented tuxes for those formal ones. My son is rather excited about wearing his first tux!

My question concerns our 14 y/o boy: do the teens onboard european cruises dress up more during the day, or can he bring his normal abercrombie-sloppies (baggie shorts and t's) ?

[3beauvid]

Back home in Seattle and rested and ready to go again!!

 

Just a few reminders for future cruisers who are doing shore excursions on their own.

 

Dublin- Contact Damian at Day Tours Unplugged. $36# for a full day excursion. There were 16 of us and we went to Glendalough and the Wicklow Monuntains, Stopped for a little shopping and rest stop at a Woolen Mill.

Had a Great Lunch Stop. The best guinness stew I have ever had!

The small buses go where the big buses don't dare!

Damian's tour was the best of all of them. We were spoiled.

 

Belfast- Share a taxi to the Europa Bus Starion(9 #). We took a public bus for 11# each to Derry(the 17th century walled city). Wonderful trip! It was a 1 hr. 40 minute drive in a very comfortable coach. Not crowded at all.

Lunch was at Austin's department strore-3rd Floor. 4# for a beef stew, potatoes, cabbage, tea and dessert!!

A local gave us the info.

We got back to Belfast in time to see the Crown Liquor Saloon. A must do!!

It was across the street from the bus station.

 

Kirkwall(Orkney). I arranged a tour for 11 of us with Michael at "Wild About Orkney". 30# pp. Absolutely fantastic day! We had a great lunch stop and made 4 other stops seeing Ring Of Brodar, Skaera Brae,Haes Mowe, and the ocean and cliffs vista.

Some people on the big buses were very disappointed. The buses were hot and they were not allowed to get off at three stops. They do not allow people out on the cliffs because of liability issues!!

 

Glasgow- I arranged a tour for 16(can do it in a smaller group as well)

Contact Ian at Aurigatortours. $35# per person. I had arranged for us to include Stirling and Stirling Castle, but because of the G-8 conference Stirling was under siege with protesters.

However, we had alternate routes and had a great day. The steamship ride on Loch Katrine is fun. Spectacular scenery and they have scotch in the galley for purchase if you are cold!!

 

South Queensferry- Hike up the hill to the train starion(Not recommended for people with disabilities!!) Only 4# round trip to the last station. Walk across the street and purchase a hop on and off ticket and you are on your way. Look RIGHT and then LEFT before crossing streets. I came close to being hit by a bus and have scratches on my right arm to show for my near death experience!!

 

Wales- Mini Coach TOurs took us (26#) per person on an all day tour including two castles, Landfair, Conwy, lunch stop, and the Snowdonia mountians. Beautiful day and beautiful scenery!!

 

Do ir yourself!! You will save at least 50% and will have a much better time.

 

Lynn B

[kaleighsgram]

Infocus: Kids are the same everywhere. Tell him to bring whatever makes him comfortable. Kids never get dressed up unless you ask them to. . . Bring his sloppies.

[Natmil]

We are trying to arrange a private tour in Kirkwall for 14 (or less) when we arrive on the Golden Aug. 17. Any suggestions? Michael (of rave reviews) is booked.

 

Would appreciate any help.

 

Thanks.

[chefajax]

Hi to All...

Although Private tours are excellant,we found the Orkney bus cheap and easy to see the sights. They have a day pass for 6 GBP. The sights like the Ring of Brodgar has person there to talk about the history and Skara Brae has tours. The Stones of Stennes is very simple to see and needs no explanation,also there is a path next to this place where the tours don't take you to the Barnhouse that is part of the Skara Brae people's history. We took the bus #96, though the schedule said it was the 98A. Just ask the drivers. We then took Bus 11 to go to the Highland Park Distillery and the driver said that he would pick us up an hour later,which was enough time to see the place. The places there are on the small side and did not need alot of time to see. Hope that this helps, but if a tour is what you want, then Lynn from our roll call for July 1st has that info.....Dennis

[richardgail]

 

The only other advice I can give, that hasn't been given, is to get to the Dublin show early. We had gotten to the theater at 8:05 just to see what it was like. By 8:15 all seats were practically gone. At 8:30 people were lining the walls, some even sitting on the stairs. The word is now out there, and people know it's worth seeing, so beware.

 

 

 

We are in the late seating at 8:30. Is there an earlier Dublin show to accomodate those who are in late seating?

[cinnamon]

We had 8.30 dinner. The show was in the Princess theatre at 10.15 as well as 8.30. We nipped out of dinner promptly and got a seat OK. There were a few people standing though. You may need to forgo desert to be certain!!!

 

Cinnamon

[Natmil]

Dennis,

 

Thanks so much for the information on Kirkwall. It really helps.I have been unable to find info on the web re bus schedules in Kirkwall, though.

 

Did you go to Scapa Flow (whatever that is) or to the Italian Chapel as well?

 

Again, thanks much.

 

Natalie

[cinnamon]

Did you go to Scapa Flow (whatever that is) or to the Italian Chapel as well?

 

Scapa Flow is the deep water bay where many ships were anchored during the 2 world wars.

 

Cinnamon

[chefajax]

Natmil...

There is a bus to the scara flow area, but we did not go. The bus to the Italian Chapel only runs on Wednesday. Try a google search of Orkney rover tourist trail or http://www.rapson.com, the parent company. The bus station is one block over and three blocks up and easy to find. Buy your tickets from the driver. No worries.

 

Hi Cinnamon....

How goes life after Golden? SHould we warn the nice CC board about the BAD meal at Sabatini's?.....Dennis

[Elcruzer]

Are there any ATMs at Heathrow Airport?

[rimisk]

Yes, there are ATMs. Go here:

http://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk/facilities-t4.html

and scroll down to "Terminal 4 arrivals" and look for "Cash Dispensers" category. I believe terminal 4 is for international arrivals. It's the only one I ever saw when traveling there, which I did 8 or 9 times. In any event, I checked and there are also ATMs in terminals 1, 2, and 3 as well.

Richard

[Elcruzer]

Richard,

:) Great, thanks so much for the link.

Eleanor

[Roo]

Hi everyone!

We are back in Toronto after the July 1st Golden sailing and our heads are almost back into our own time zone. :p Those from our sailing who have replied so far have given a lot of info so I will not dwell on that. Hi to y'all!! Miss ya!

 

My area of 'expertise' is in gathering the flock and presenting them to the 'shepherd'!!! Before we left on the cruise about 25 families/singles/friends had replied to my requests on the July 1st British Isles Roll Call so that I could be the main contact to gather names. I had contacted Rich Joseph (the cruise director) prior to sailing and, as he had done in the past, he suggested a cocktail at 5:15 on Kirkwall day - that was convenient for him.

 

I e-mailed everyone with those details, but also a few days before the party, 'borrowed' a handful of postcards (the free ones of the ship) from the Purser's desk and wrote a one-line reminder about the party. On one of the tour days where we had a group of Cruise Critic friends on a bus, I handed them out, and also asked for help in delivering the rest to cabins on their floor.

 

I had e-mailed a master list of names (screen names and real names) and cabin #'s to everyone who had replied (to a few postings I made recruiting people) and we had set up 2 meeting times in advance to 'meet-n-greet'. The first meeting was at sailaway in the Conservatory which is where the indoor pool is, but up the stairs overlooking the pool, but with access and windows to outdoors to view the misty/foggy sailaway (which ended up being delayed anyways). This was really just a chance for people to put names to faces.

 

Second meeting was the following day in the late afternoon in Skywalkers (the disco at the back of the ship). I had made up name tags of real and screen names (***with large font***) so we could address each other easily. At this point we had time to socialize but also review with each other who had signed up on mini-tours etc.; who had further info to share on each port and set up further casual get-togethers.

 

We had a really fun group of all ages and from all over (including Canada, eh!). It is really worth organizing yourselves in advance to make it as easy as possible to be together for the party as well as organize small private tours. Princess doesn't want to be involved with this and the reason for no advertising in the Patter is that Rich said on a previous cruise, the organizer had expected a certain number of people, but with word of mouth more than twice that many came :eek: (made it awkward to get drinks and share the few hors d'oeuvres in 45 minutes). Cheers!

[lkmamom]

Thanks so much Roo for helping with this question. I am trying to be the party planner for our sailing and was not sure how to go about things. I did not want to be a "pest" with Mr. Joesph but it sounds as if he is very gracious about holding cruise critic parties each sailing.

 

We are all very excited to meet eachother and so thanks again for your advice.

 

Linda

[Kruizefan]

The Golden docks in town today. Not really a golden day in Hamburg for it´s the first chilly and windy day after weeks of sunshine.

 

But for those who stayed in Hamburg and did not go to Berlin it is a special day.

 

Two events are taking place near to the ships docking.

 

Harley days Hamburg sees 20.000 Harley Davidson bikes in town making an all american easy rider feeling.

 

And right next to the ship thousands of people are celebrating the First European River Swimmingday "big jump" going to swim in the river Elbe.

[fsdorado]

Hello everybody!! We just got off the ship this morning and are now in London for a couple of days. The cruise was wonderful!! We'll be posting a detailed review when we get back to Dallas but if anyone has any questions, we'll be happy to answer them as best we can. (Sorry we didn't post while onboard but we're first time Princess cruisers and it was pretty slow and expensive.)

 

 

Frederick

[CruiserGreg]

fsdorado,

 

Welcome back! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your first Princess cruise, and the beautiful Golden Princess. We're looking forward to reading your review.

[blackpool belle]

Arrived home safe from the 11th -21st July sail. Sorry I did not post from onboard as promised but the computer would not recognize my service provider, only the most popular ones like hotmail and yahoo. I will leave it up to Frederick to write the report as you probably wont want to hear about it twice.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Well we're back in the states, on Long Island and tomorrow we go back to Florida! We were very lucky and British Airways upgraded us all at the gate to club world from travellers plus for the ride home! What a nice thing to be able to lay down flat and get some sleep.

The trip and the cruise were amazing. We saw so many interesting things and met so many great people. Our CC group was so much fun. The Golden was great and the service was wonderful. Our cabin steward, Jaime, was simply the best. We did book another cruise onboard, but did the open booking for now.

Once I get home I'll write up a report but if anyone has any questions, let me know if I can help.

 

Carolyn

[fsdorado]

Well we're back in the states, on Long Island and tomorrow we go back to Florida! We were very lucky and British Airways upgraded us all at the gate to club world from travellers plus for the ride home! What a nice thing to be able to lay down flat and get some sleep.

The trip and the cruise were amazing. We saw so many interesting things and met so many great people. Our CC group was so much fun. The Golden was great and the service was wonderful. Our cabin steward, Jaime, was simply the best. We did book another cruise onboard, but did the open booking for now.

Once I get home I'll write up a report but if anyone has any questions, let me know if I can help.

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn,

 

Wow, how did you manage to get the upgrade? Was the plane full? We have a flight direct to Dallas tomorrow morning. It's good to hear that you made it back to the US safely. I must agree... Our CC group was a LOT of fun, especially since we continually ran into eachother in port!!

 

 

Frederick

[Host CJSKIDS]

Carolyn,

 

Wow, how did you manage to get the upgrade? Was the plane full? We have a flight direct to Dallas tomorrow morning. It's good to hear that you made it back to the US safely. I must agree... Our CC group was a LOT of fun, especially since we continually ran into eachother in port!!

 

 

Frederick

 

 

Frederick, I'm glad you checked in as we've been thinking of the 3 of you all day with the new bombings. Loved meeting you and if you're ever in Naples, let us know!

I have no idea how we got the upgrade. We checked in normally the 3 hours ahead of time. They announced our gate 1 hour prior to boarding and we made our way to the gate. Of course we were in the holideck lounge and our gate was 4, a 15 minute walk! As we stood there for a moment for me to get our passports out of my backpack, the fellow at the club boarding area told me to come over quickly. They took our boarding passes, crossed out the number and gave them back. Alex asked me if we were in the same seats as coming over and I said yes, the gentlemen then said no, we had better. Sure enough we boarded first, got on board and we had 5 seats in club! The kids were together and Steve and I were just 2 rows up and together. What a way to travel, it made the end up the trip great.

Sorry I didn't get to say goodbye. I got really ill with a high fever and the chills Wednesday and couldn't leave the stateroom. Not sure what I have, but I'm glad I got sick at the end of the cruise.

Hope you get home safely and you enjoy the rest of London.

 

Carolyn

[kaleighsgram]

Carolyn, I find it interesting that you came down with a "bug" at the end of your cruise. My husband and I also came down with something. Actually, MANY people came down with the same thing. It started out with a high fever, chills, and being just plain tired. I slept for two days, missing Kirwall. I forced myself to get out of bed in order to see Edinboro. At the train station I realized I was not alone. Talking with some of the other passengers, I listened to them all complain of the same thing. It ended up with the worst cough. I still have it, tho not as bad. I finally broke down this week and went to my doctor. Just visiting the thread from our sailing, I realized that others in our CC group got it too. I felt sorry for the ones who were just getting it as they got off the ship. I remembe how I felt...all I wanted to do was stay in bed. Hopefully, this bug, whatever it is, is gone.

[fsdorado]

Frederick, I'm glad you checked in as we've been thinking of the 3 of you all day with the new bombings. Loved meeting you and if you're ever in Naples, let us know!

 

Sorry I didn't get to say goodbye. I got really ill with a high fever and the chills Wednesday and couldn't leave the stateroom. Not sure what I have, but I'm glad I got sick at the end of the cruise.

Hope you get home safely and you enjoy the rest of London.

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn,

 

Yes, we're all safe. We haven't taken the Tube at all (taxis and lots of walking); Mickie and Alex are a bit wary of the whole public transportation system. We actually got evacuated from the Tower of London this morning. The only good thing about all the nonsense going on in London is that there are NO lines anywhere!!

 

We were wondering why we didn't run into you on Wednesday at all. Hope you're feeling better soon. We'll check in when we get back to Dallas.

 

 

Frederick

[paulmichael]

Carolyn,

 

Yes, we're all safe. We haven't taken the Tube at all (taxis and lots of walking); Mickie and Alex are a bit wary of the whole public transportation system. We actually got evacuated from the Tower of London this morning. The only good thing about all the nonsense going on in London is that there are NO lines anywhere!!

 

We were wondering why we didn't run into you on Wednesday at all. Hope you're feeling better soon. We'll check in when we get back to Dallas.

 

 

Frederick

 

Hello all you July 11 Cruise Critics. Hope eveyone is either home safe or still safe in London. I got home safe yesterday after, like the rest of you, went through another nonsense on Wednesday. I was lucky and got into London early off the ship and missed the shut down. I want to thank all of you that came to the party and made the cruise a realy fun time. Hope to see you on another cruise and please keep in touch.

 

 

Mike Yarman