British Isles Trip Review w/Pics: A Thesis :)

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

We did the Grand Med last year and loved it. You did not even know you were on water as it was so smooth sailing.

How would the British Isles cruise compare to the Grand Med as far as turbulence / calmness goes ?

We are planning this for next May / June.

 

Just saw this post. Woo-hoo! You will love the itinerary. :)

Edited July 21, 2012 by D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL

[heidik]

Thank you so very much for taking the time to share your incredible journey with us -- what a great escape you have provided me today. Jeeze, now I've got to start obsessing about a British Isles trip..... :rolleyes:

[phabric]

Did anybody make private transportation arrangements from Edinburgh port to the castle?

[JanetAlice]

Did anybody make private transportation arrangements from Edinburgh port to the castle?

 

We just caught a cab right at the port. There were plenty waiting. We shared it with another couple from our roll call. We went into the city center near the castle.

[DeloreanGirl]

We did the Grand Med last year and loved it. You did not even know you were on water as it was so smooth sailing.

How would the British Isles cruise compare to the Grand Med as far as turbulence / calmness goes ?

We are planning this for next May / June.

 

Our sailing had GREAT seas. Calm, for the most part to moderate. The folks that went before and after us had patches of bad weather to deal with. It's truly 50/50. I didn't need Bonine or SeaBands at all. Plus, you're really only sailing from 7pm until the next morning (since you're in port everyday) so you're asleep for most of it.

 

Thank you so very much for taking the time to share your incredible journey with us -- what a great escape you have provided me today. Jeeze, now I've got to start obsessing about a British Isles trip..... :rolleyes:

 

It's worth it!

[DeloreanGirl]

For those into scrapbooking -- Shutterfly is my favorite way to combine all my trip pictures into a hardcover photo book. They are having a 50%-off sale right now if interested. :)

 

British Isles Photo Book:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AatWTJq4aNGbCBA

[Hollywood2]

Emily,

 

Your travel log was absolutely fantastic ... and I love, love, love your Shutterfly album (I am a Shutterfly gal, myself). Thanks so much for sharing.

 

We are taking the British Isles Cruise next week - fly to Heathrow a week from today on July 30 and sail on August 1st.

 

Reading your posts has been most helpful as our plans are being made.

 

Happy sailing,

Peg

[centralcalicruzer]

For those into scrapbooking -- Shutterfly is my favorite way to combine all my trip pictures into a hardcover photo book. They are having a 50%-off sale right now if interested. :)

 

British Isles Photo Book:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AatWTJq4aNGbCBA

 

Love your Shutterfly ablum - I recently got something free from them when I ordered something, I haven't claimed it yet so I will have to look into it. I think it was a free album but maybe just some free album pages.

 

Actually, I just went a looked and it is a free 8X8 20 page hardcover book that I get for booking a flight through Orbitz. I'm really excited now. Sorry to highjack your British Isles thread, but what was the approximate shipping and handling for your book? I assume that is not included in my free gift, so I don't want to get a big shock at check out.

Edited July 23, 2012 by centralcalicruzer

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

Thanks Emily for the feedback. I realize it is port intensive and only 2 sea days but my DW has issues at times if we are at dinner and the seas are rough. She has the wrist bands but when she takes gravol she appears to get sick from the gravol. I need to check if Bonine will cause her the same effects. We can not purchase it in Canada but we are not far from Buffalo or Detroit.

 

Our sailing had GREAT seas. Calm, for the most part to moderate. The folks that went before and after us had patches of bad weather to deal with. It's truly 50/50. I didn't need Bonine or SeaBands at all. Plus, you're really only sailing from 7pm until the next morning (since you're in port everyday) so you're asleep for most of it.

 

 

 

It's worth it!

[cdngrl]

Thanks Emily for the feedback. I realize it is port intensive and only 2 sea days but my DW has issues at times if we are at dinner and the seas are rough. She has the wrist bands but when she takes gravol she appears to get sick from the gravol. I need to check if Bonine will cause her the same effects. We can not purchase it in Canada but we are not far from Buffalo or Detroit.

we have ginger gravol in canada, or you can get generic ginger pills. non-drowsy and they work for my daughter.

 

emily, i am booked for the british isles in 3 weeks! and thank you so much for your info, i've referred back to this thread a few times.

[DeloreanGirl]

Emily,

 

Your travel log was absolutely fantastic ... and I love, love, love your Shutterfly album (I am a Shutterfly gal, myself). Thanks so much for sharing.

 

We are taking the British Isles Cruise next week - fly to Heathrow a week from today on July 30 and sail on August 1st.

 

Reading your posts has been most helpful as our plans are being made.

 

Happy sailing,

Peg

 

Have a great trip!!!

 

Love your Shutterfly ablum - I recently got something free from them when I ordered something, I haven't claimed it yet so I will have to look into it. I think it was a free album but maybe just some free album pages.

 

Actually, I just went a looked and it is a free 8X8 20 page hardcover book that I get for booking a flight through Orbitz. I'm really excited now. Sorry to highjack your British Isles thread, but what was the approximate shipping and handling for your book? I assume that is not included in my free gift, so I don't want to get a big shock at check out.

 

The free 8x8 coupon is how I got hooked on Shutterfly. I got the coupon from the supermarket and havent' looked back since.

 

The shipping is $7.99 but if you spend over $30, there are codes to get free shipping. The code for free shipping (which works some of the time, not all) is SHIP30. You can use multiple codes, too. For example, I bought the 12x12 book when the 50% off code was activated (SAVE50) and used SHIP30 as well. I saved over $100! I signed up for Shutterfly's e-mail alerts and that's how I get the sales. :)

[Wormy53]

WOW! Don't know how I missed this thread earlier. This was a wonderful story about your trip and the details were outstanding! This is on our bucket list, so thanks for sharing.

[centralcalicruzer]

Have a great trip!!!

 

 

 

The free 8x8 coupon is how I got hooked on Shutterfly. I got the coupon from the supermarket and havent' looked back since.

 

The shipping is $7.99 but if you spend over $30, there are codes to get free shipping. The code for free shipping (which works some of the time, not all) is SHIP30. You can use multiple codes, too. For example, I bought the 12x12 book when the 50% off code was activated (SAVE50) and used SHIP30 as well. I saved over $100! I signed up for Shutterfly's e-mail alerts and that's how I get the sales. :)

 

Did you upload your photos directly from your computer? I was playing around with it uploading photos from Facebook, but then saw something that says Facebook photos are re-sized, so I wasn't sure if that affected the quality of the photos. I want it to look good even if it is free!

[cormike1]

Thanks Emily for the feedback. I realize it is port intensive and only 2 sea days but my DW has issues at times if we are at dinner and the seas are rough. She has the wrist bands but when she takes gravol she appears to get sick from the gravol. I need to check if Bonine will cause her the same effects. We can not purchase it in Canada but we are not far from Buffalo or Detroit.

 

I tend to get sea sick/car sick very easily. I used the patches that go behind your ears...."Transoderm" or something like that. I get them at our local "Superstore" grocery store. Walmart also carries them. They are for 3 days and then you change it. I don't find I have any side effects. I also bring along the ginger gravol and get non drowsy just in case. I used them them when I over indulged lol. For the patch, go a couple of weeks before to buy them because sometimes they are not stocked and have to be ordered in. I would not be cruising if I did not use this product. The wrist bands did not work nor did using only gravol. Good luck!!!

[FishinChris]

Awesome review!

[patrickandsusan]

Emily, well, what can I say? I feel like I know you and Mike already just by reading your travel log. We so wanted to do something like you did, though we couldn't hold a candle to your style, when we returned from our British Isles cruise on the Crown in 2011. We had the very same itinerary, so your log was like a blast to the past! I absolutley loved reading through every page. Like you, this was a trip of a lifetime for us. When we were married 22 years ago, my wife told me her dream was to go to Italy. I told her mine was to go to England, Scotland and Ireland. We did a land tour of Italy in 2007 and fell in love with traveling, that being our first venture out of the States. So, when we discovered cruising in 2009, it was only a matter of time until we found Princess's British Isles cruise. We both knew it was meant to be as soon as we saw it listed! :)

 

I read your post at first for tips on current cruising as we are ready to head back out to the Med., leaving soon, and I wondered what was new on Princess these days. The excitement drives me, like you, to these boards and the wonderful community that has been created here. Also, being OCD like you, I plan everything! So, there I was, looking thru your post even though we had done this trip, and thank God I did! What a wonderful reminder of a beautiful trip!

 

I do want to encourage anyone looking at this cruise to just do it! You will not regret a minute of it! Sad to see that Liverpool is not on the 2013 list, as we thouroughly enjoyed her even though it rained and was windy the whole day we were there. But, the rest of the trip is still intact, go do it, you will not be sorry!

 

Now, I do want to come along side your log Emily and add a few things to help encourage others to do this trip. I will only add where we did things different than you guys did. I think we may do this whole trip again to do some things you did that we didn't too. Besides, my clan is from northern Ireland, near Belfast, I need to make that pilgrimage again one day! So, here goes with an addendum to Emily's prize winning travel log:

 

Guernsey was a dream for us as we had just finished reading "The Book". We did take that bus all around the island (think it was 2 pounds ea) and stopped for the Occupation Museum, then walked miles thru the beautiful countryside to see the chapel. DW took 200+ pictures of flowers and gardens that day! Magnificent. We came back and had time to go thru shopping as you did, but shops were open that day, so the ATM took a hit to say the least. Just like you, it was iffy that we made Guernsey that morning, but the trip back was fine.

 

We loved Cobh just as you did. Wasn't that the most beautiful sail-in? BTW, we had booked inside and got the upgrade fairy visit 34 days out to a balcony too. Smart on their part, we will never be able to do inside again! That balcony is worth it's weight in gold! We did the town and the cathedral, had my very first Irish Coffee (love Jamesons) and then took the train to Cork. HOHO there was great, then back to the ship.

 

We did the HOHO in Dublin too. We met a lady who worked in a lace shop while waiting for our plane in OC. She had been visiting a friend in Newport Beach. She told us where she worked, at the base of the Heypenny Bridge, so we rode the HOHO around once to get our bearings, then jumped off to see her. Very cool. Got back on and the DW got off to see the museum while I rode around again to the Guinness Stockhouse, Mecca for me! Love the stuff. I rode back to her on the bus, then we took a cab back to the ship for like 18 pounds.

 

Like you, we loved Liverpool. Had no real expectations, no reservations either. We did the HOHO and got off 2nd time around to see the Cavern Club, then walked to both cathedrals. Both were amazing in their own right. We took so many pictures of architecture there, doors, windows, the bombed out church. Friends of ours from church back home are from Liverpool, they were amazed at how much of Liverpool we saw (and photographed) while we were there. We did the Museum back at the docks too, DW loves art museums. Then, back to the ship in the driving wind and rain. Still loved every minute of it though.

 

All the Titanic history was not lossed on us either. Each place we went, seemed we got deeper into the story than ever before. But, Belfast was, of course, the crown jewel in a way. We were in awe of the dry docks and gantries in port. The museum was under construction in 2011 :( We went into town after a bus tour booked thru Princess of the surrounding area and a castle. The Princess shuttle dropped us off downtown. It was very modern and nice. We took the HOHO from there and saw ALL parts of Belfast. Some of which were downright scary. We got back walked for hours and had lunch at a pub that was 200+ years old with the most amazing private booths, all made of rich wood. On our way back, there was a bomb scare that shut down the entire city for 2 hours. We were all nearly 3 hours late getting back to ship, but they had to wait for us, we were on Princess transfers! Still, would do it all again. Belfast was truly unique in all the places we saw, totally different vibe, yet the people there were just as nice as all we found in the UK. BTW, the day we were there, there was a Delorean Convention in town. The cars were everywhere! Emily, how did you come by your CC moniker?

 

We did take the train into Glasgow from Greenock. It was a short walk from the ship to the train, very cheap fare and then we did the HOHO around Glasgow. Pretty city! Modern and old at the same time. It was a fast trip because we booked a Princess excursion of Loch Lomond for the afternoon. OK, so I like nice countryside, ferry rides across bays and I can appreciate a nice lake when I see one. But, this was like nothing I had ever seen! The firth was very choppy, but the ferry did just fine taking us across in our giant bus. On the way, we stopped for photo ops that were breathtaking in the Highlands. Then, we got to Loch Lomond. The walk down to it was thru a little village that was out of a postcard. DW took another 200+ photos all thru there. On the way back to the ship, we agreed that the price we paid for the excursion was well worth it, as I watched my wife cry to be leaving, saying it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen!

 

Don't forget Pub Lunches on sea days...great fish & chips and bangers & mash right there onboard. Not a big Kidney Pie fan though!

 

Inverness was fantastic. We did the Princess excursion again to Loch Ness and Urquart Castle...Fabulous. 200+ more pix. Then, we came back to Invergordon and found we had time to go back by city bus to Inverness to tour about. We did for hours, stopping at my favorite pub of the whole trip just in front of Inverness Castle, called the Castle Tavern. It had just quit raining "cats & dogs", we took our hoods off and stopped in here. Covered patio, heaters, great ales and a wee dram of a single malt they had on the blackboard! Then, back to the bus station and to the ship. Lovely bag pipe send-off, I have about 20 minutes of video from my phone of that. Emily, you are right about that odd mascot! He almost got blown over in the wind while we watched from Deck 7!

 

BTW, "Raining Cats and Dogs" supposedly comes from thatched roof days, when rain was so heavy it chased or flooded the "cats and dogs" who had nested in the roofs down. Who knows!

 

Emily, could not agree more with you about Edinburgh! We loved it! Did mostly what you did, steps, train, walk up the mile to the castle. Here's where you were smart, we weren't. Had to wait in that hour line to get tickets, we did. DW walked around taking pix while I waited. But, worth every minute! We spend 2.5 hours there, then walked down the mile, did the HOHO all around and ended the day in the famous pub, Greyfriar's Bobby. Had a great lunch there, then back to the train. Ran into a bit of a snag here. Our ticket was for return in off hours. We were now in commuter hours and had to pay extra for the ticket. Made it just in time back to the ship.

 

In France, we did Honfleur by private cab. I think it was 80e each for two fishing villages and 3 hours in Honfleur. It was nice, but people in France are not nice. In the UK, yes. France, NO!

 

Back to Southampton and off like you said, smooth as silk. We took a National Express bus back, just as we came, to London. Like you, we spent 2 days riding the HOHO and the Tube all around London, loved every minute! We did hear "mind the gap" enough to get the t-shirts. But, it as the boxer shorts with "mind the gap" printed on them that got the biggest laugh!

 

OK Emily, now that is 2+ hours of my work hours the company will never get back that I spent thoroughly enjoying your account of your trip of a lifetime that reminded me so much of our trip of a lifetime. Thank you so much. And, for any of you thinking about this trip, stop thinking, start booking it! You will love it too.

 

Now, I need to get back to the business at hand, obsessing about our next "trip of a lifetime", back to Italy, etc. and 5 nights in Positano post cruise!

 

Any who are sailing Pacific Princess Sept. 9, look for us at the meet n greet!

 

Emily, you and Mike need to plan your next trip and I hope Susan & I get to run into you guys out there somewhere!

 

Cheers!

Edited July 25, 2012 by patrickandsusan

[phabric]

[quote name=patrickandsusan;34664705

 

I do want to encourage anyone looking at this cruise to just do it! You will not regret a minute of it! Sad to see that Liverpool is not on the 2013 list' date='

 

Cheers![/quote]

 

Princess does have a cruise August 16, 2013 that goes to Liverpool.

[jcarlisle]

Thanks Emily for the feedback. I realize it is port intensive and only 2 sea days but my DW has issues at times if we are at dinner and the seas are rough. She has the wrist bands but when she takes gravol she appears to get sick from the gravol. I need to check if Bonine will cause her the same effects. We can not purchase it in Canada but we are not far from Buffalo or Detroit.

 

Just off the July 8th cruise, and we had very good seas... in fact DW commented that we have experienced rougher seas a couple of times in the Caribbean. Overall, we had really great weather during our cruise. Here's hoping your August cruise experiences the same.

[DeloreanGirl]

Did you upload your photos directly from your computer? I was playing around with it uploading photos from Facebook, but then saw something that says Facebook photos are re-sized, so I wasn't sure if that affected the quality of the photos. I want it to look good even if it is free!

 

Yes, it's important to upload photos straight from your computer - preferably the same resolution as coming straing out of your camera. I always get the "picture has low resolution" warning when I upload Facebook or resized images and believe me they came out pixelated in the photo book. I only resize pictures when I know I'm going to e-mail them to someone. Otherwise, I offload all of them into folders on my desktop, build the photo books and upload them to Facebook/Photobucket/Shutterfly, then burn the folders to a DVD-R.

[DeloreanGirl]

Emily, well, what can I say? I feel like I know you and Mike already just by reading your travel log. We so wanted to do something like you did, though we couldn't hold a candle to your style, when we returned from our British Isles cruise on the Crown in 2011. We had the very same itinerary, so your log was like a blast to the past! I absolutley loved reading through every page. Like you, this was a trip of a lifetime for us. When we were married 22 years ago, my wife told me her dream was to go to Italy. I told her mine was to go to England, Scotland and Ireland. We did a land tour of Italy in 2007 and fell in love with traveling, that being our first venture out of the States. So, when we discovered cruising in 2009, it was only a matter of time until we found Princess's British Isles cruise. We both knew it was meant to be as soon as we saw it listed! :)

 

I read your post at first for tips on current cruising as we are ready to head back out to the Med., leaving soon, and I wondered what was new on Princess these days. The excitement drives me, like you, to these boards and the wonderful community that has been created here. Also, being OCD like you, I plan everything! So, there I was, looking thru your post even though we had done this trip, and thank God I did! What a wonderful reminder of a beautiful trip!

 

I do want to encourage anyone looking at this cruise to just do it! You will not regret a minute of it! Sad to see that Liverpool is not on the 2013 list, as we thouroughly enjoyed her even though it rained and was windy the whole day we were there. But, the rest of the trip is still intact, go do it, you will not be sorry!

 

Now, I do want to come along side your log Emily and add a few things to help encourage others to do this trip. I will only add where we did things different than you guys did. I think we may do this whole trip again to do some things you did that we didn't too. Besides, my clan is from northern Ireland, near Belfast, I need to make that pilgrimage again one day! So, here goes with an addendum to Emily's prize winning travel log:

 

Guernsey was a dream for us as we had just finished reading "The Book". We did take that bus all around the island (think it was 2 pounds ea) and stopped for the Occupation Museum, then walked miles thru the beautiful countryside to see the chapel. DW took 200+ pictures of flowers and gardens that day! Magnificent. We came back and had time to go thru shopping as you did, but shops were open that day, so the ATM took a hit to say the least. Just like you, it was iffy that we made Guernsey that morning, but the trip back was fine.

 

We loved Cobh just as you did. Wasn't that the most beautiful sail-in? BTW, we had booked inside and got the upgrade fairy visit 34 days out to a balcony too. Smart on their part, we will never be able to do inside again! That balcony is worth it's weight in gold! We did the town and the cathedral, had my very first Irish Coffee (love Jamesons) and then took the train to Cork. HOHO there was great, then back to the ship.

 

We did the HOHO in Dublin too. We met a lady who worked in a lace shop while waiting for our plane in OC. She had been visiting a friend in Newport Beach. She told us where she worked, at the base of the Heypenny Bridge, so we rode the HOHO around once to get our bearings, then jumped off to see her. Very cool. Got back on and the DW got off to see the museum while I rode around again to the Guinness Stockhouse, Mecca for me! Love the stuff. I rode back to her on the bus, then we took a cab back to the ship for like 18 pounds.

 

Like you, we loved Liverpool. Had no real expectations, no reservations either. We did the HOHO and got off 2nd time around to see the Cavern Club, then walked to both cathedrals. Both were amazing in their own right. We took so many pictures of architecture there, doors, windows, the bombed out church. Friends of ours from church back home are from Liverpool, they were amazed at how much of Liverpool we saw (and photographed) while we were there. We did the Museum back at the docks too, DW loves art museums. Then, back to the ship in the driving wind and rain. Still loved every minute of it though.

 

All the Titanic history was not lossed on us either. Each place we went, seemed we got deeper into the story than ever before. But, Belfast was, of course, the crown jewel in a way. We were in awe of the dry docks and gantries in port. The museum was under construction in 2011 :( We went into town after a bus tour booked thru Princess of the surrounding area and a castle. The Princess shuttle dropped us off downtown. It was very modern and nice. We took the HOHO from there and saw ALL parts of Belfast. Some of which were downright scary. We got back walked for hours and had lunch at a pub that was 200+ years old with the most amazing private booths, all made of rich wood. On our way back, there was a bomb scare that shut down the entire city for 2 hours. We were all nearly 3 hours late getting back to ship, but they had to wait for us, we were on Princess transfers! Still, would do it all again. Belfast was truly unique in all the places we saw, totally different vibe, yet the people there were just as nice as all we found in the UK. BTW, the day we were there, there was a Delorean Convention in town. The cars were everywhere! Emily, how did you come by your CC moniker?

 

We did take the train into Glasgow from Greenock. It was a short walk from the ship to the train, very cheap fare and then we did the HOHO around Glasgow. Pretty city! Modern and old at the same time. It was a fast trip because we booked a Princess excursion of Loch Lomond for the afternoon. OK, so I like nice countryside, ferry rides across bays and I can appreciate a nice lake when I see one. But, this was like nothing I had ever seen! The firth was very choppy, but the ferry did just fine taking us across in our giant bus. On the way, we stopped for photo ops that were breathtaking in the Highlands. Then, we got to Loch Lomond. The walk down to it was thru a little village that was out of a postcard. DW took another 200+ photos all thru there. On the way back to the ship, we agreed that the price we paid for the excursion was well worth it, as I watched my wife cry to be leaving, saying it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen!

 

Don't forget Pub Lunches on sea days...great fish & chips and bangers & mash right there onboard. Not a big Kidney Pie fan though!

 

Inverness was fantastic. We did the Princess excursion again to Loch Ness and Urquart Castle...Fabulous. 200+ more pix. Then, we came back to Invergordon and found we had time to go back by city bus to Inverness to tour about. We did for hours, stopping at my favorite pub of the whole trip just in front of Inverness Castle, called the Castle Tavern. It had just quit raining "cats & dogs", we took our hoods off and stopped in here. Covered patio, heaters, great ales and a wee dram of a single malt they had on the blackboard! Then, back to the bus station and to the ship. Lovely bag pipe send-off, I have about 20 minutes of video from my phone of that. Emily, you are right about that odd mascot! He almost got blown over in the wind while we watched from Deck 7!

 

BTW, "Raining Cats and Dogs" supposedly comes from thatched roof days, when rain was so heavy it chased or flooded the "cats and dogs" who had nested in the roofs down. Who knows!

 

Emily, could not agree more with you about Edinburgh! We loved it! Did mostly what you did, steps, train, walk up the mile to the castle. Here's where you were smart, we weren't. Had to wait in that hour line to get tickets, we did. DW walked around taking pix while I waited. But, worth every minute! We spend 2.5 hours there, then walked down the mile, did the HOHO all around and ended the day in the famous pub, Greyfriar's Bobby. Had a great lunch there, then back to the train. Ran into a bit of a snag here. Our ticket was for return in off hours. We were now in commuter hours and had to pay extra for the ticket. Made it just in time back to the ship.

 

In France, we did Honfleur by private cab. I think it was 80e each for two fishing villages and 3 hours in Honfleur. It was nice, but people in France are not nice. In the UK, yes. France, NO!

 

Back to Southampton and off like you said, smooth as silk. We took a National Express bus back, just as we came, to London. Like you, we spent 2 days riding the HOHO and the Tube all around London, loved every minute! We did hear "mind the gap" enough to get the t-shirts. But, it as the boxer shorts with "mind the gap" printed on them that got the biggest laugh!

 

OK Emily, now that is 2+ hours of my work hours the company will never get back that I spent thoroughly enjoying your account of your trip of a lifetime that reminded me so much of our trip of a lifetime. Thank you so much. And, for any of you thinking about this trip, stop thinking, start booking it! You will love it too.

 

Now, I need to get back to the business at hand, obsessing about our next "trip of a lifetime", back to Italy, etc. and 5 nights in Positano post cruise!

 

Any who are sailing Pacific Princess Sept. 9, look for us at the meet n greet!

 

Emily, you and Mike need to plan your next trip and I hope Susan & I get to run into you guys out there somewhere!

 

Cheers!

 

Hi there!

 

I'm so glad you got to relive your British Isles vacation through my report - hah! I keep going through my Shutterfly album and it still makes me happily sigh.

 

I'm truly sad that Liverpool didn't make the 2013 cut. Sheesh! All I've heard about the Liverpool stop were glowing reviews. And the folks who live there are so passionate and welcoming!

 

Isn't it sad that the French still have that reputation? I feel bad because I'm sure there are a few French folks out there that are really sweet. It just seems that us cruisers have bumped into some less-than-pleasant locals while in the country. Though, after visiting the cheery UK, it's hard to find others as lovely and welcoming. :rolleyes:

 

I got my CC moniker/email address because I became infatuated with DeLorean's (the car) in high school. I always thought it was just a movie prop from "Back To The Future" until I saw one at a museum in Laughlin, Nevada. I told my dad (who is a cop) "Wait...... these are REAL?? You can OWN one of these?" To which he said, "Uh...yeah? I've even pulled one over before." That's when the obsession began. I thought it was *the* coolest car, ever. And this was 14 years after the movie came out.

 

At that point, the Internet was just taking off and I had a brand new AOL account so I researched the car to death and became a member of the DeLorean Owner's Association even though I didn't own one. In the first issue that arrived, there was an article about a young owner named Mike who lived in Los Angeles. I read it and said, "This guy is living my life! He has the car and he lives in L.A. and works in the film industry. That's what I want to do!"

 

I built a little crappy AOL webpage where I wrote about the car and collected pictures. The head of the DeLorean Owner's Association in San Diego, CA stumbled across the webpage and told me that there would be a Christmas parade in Palm Springs that would feature 9 DeLorean's in it. I eagerly went and found the cars lined up before the parade. I went to say hi to one of the owners that directed me towards a young 26-year-old owner named Mike. I realized it was the same "Mike" that I had read about months earlier in the magazine! We chatted, he sensed my enthusiasm, and invited me to sit in the passenger seat through the parade. I said yes (even though he was a stranger and could have taken me out into the desert and killed me), but oddly enough, I trusted him.

 

When the parade was over, all the drivers met back at a restaurant and I asked for his e-mail address so that I could send him a thank-you letter. I had such a great time that night that I was giddy the whole drive home. Mike told his buddies he had just met his soulmate (a girl that loves DeLorean's? Rare!) My mom left a post-it note on my bed that said, "Hope you had a great time Delorean Girl!" (Hence, beginning the email address and online nickname.)

 

We began e-mailing back and forth, then started dating, then I moved to Los Angeles to live with him for 4 more years, then we got married in 2005 (yes, the table place cards were little matchbox DeLorean's). To think that a car brought us together 12 years ago still makes me laugh. We sold the car in 2003 after years and years of car shows and parades. It was a fun hobby, but it reached it's prime and moved onto an owner in England and sometimes we Google it to see how it's doing.

 

And yep, we're totally aware that two of our passions (the DeLorean and the Titanic) both were made in Belfast!

 

Wow, that was way longer than expected. Sorry about the rambling! So yes, that's where the DeloreanGirl screen name came from. :o

[patrickandsusan]

Great story Emily/Delorean Girl! Too bad you weren't in Belfast for the convention, they were litterally all over the city that day! My folks live in Palm Desert, I will have to watch for the parade in the future :) As for me, it's Mustangs, not Deloreans. But, I appreciate cars in general, so I was paying attention to them all over Belfast. We did not get to go into the hotel that housed the convention though, too crowded.

 

And, btw, you got lucky weather-wise on your UK trip! We had some rough seas across from Guernsey to Cobh and in the North Sea one night. We slept thru it for the most part, we were deck 9, mid-ship. But, we met some ladies from Southampton who were in the bow and they were awake all night! We just wetted a towel and put it down in the track for the sliding door to keep it open/not sliding all night for the fresh air. We slept with that door open every night of the cruise! We had some rain, but never enough to dampen our spirits!

 

Thanks for the great screen name/finding your soul-mate story! I can appreciate that too. I met my wife in the aftermath of a tonado in Texas, long story for another post some day. Keep Traveling, Patrick

Edited July 25, 2012 by patrickandsusan

[DeloreanGirl]

Great story Emily/Delorean Girl! Too bad you weren't in Belfast for the convention, they were litterally all over the city that day! My folks live in Palm Desert, I will have to watch for the parade in the future :) As for me, it's Mustangs, not Deloreans. But, I appreciate cars in general, so I was paying attention to them all over Belfast. We did not get to go into the hotel that housed the convention though, too crowded.

 

And, btw, you got lucky weather-wise on your UK trip! We had some rough seas across from Guernsey to Cobh and in the North Sea one night. We slept thru it for the most part, we were deck 9, mid-ship. But, we met some ladies from Southampton who were in the bow and they were awake all night! We just wetted a towel and put it down in the track for the sliding door to keep it open/not sliding all night for the fresh air. We slept with that door open every night of the cruise! We had some rain, but never enough to dampen our spirits!

 

Thanks for the great screen name/finding your soul-mate story! I can appreciate that too. I met my wife in the aftermath of a tonado in Texas, long story for another post some day. Keep Traveling, Patrick

 

Yep, the parade was called the "Festival of Lights" parade and occured the first weekend in December. They have "Euro Fest" in Europe as well.

 

Yes, we were thrilled with how lucky we got with the weather. It made packing clothes confusing, but at least we were prepared for anything. The hangars in the closet would make noises some nights, but that was about it. I can't wait to go back!

[DeloreanGirl]

Not British Isles related, but for anyone who wanted to try out the Shutterfly photo book, here is a code to get a 8x8 hardcover photo book for free (plus $7 shipping).

 

http://www.babycenter.com/shutterfly?sfsrc=push-ad

[centralcalicruzer]

Not British Isles related, but for anyone who wanted to try out the Shutterfly photo book, here is a code to get a 8x8 hardcover photo book for free (plus $7 shipping).

 

http://www.babycenter.com/shutterfly?sfsrc=push-ad

 

Thank you! Is that for anyone or just new Shutterfly accounts? I just ordered my free one, which I made from my trip to D.C. last year, but I'm working on my second one from my recent cruise photos. I wonder if they will let me get two free ones? I think I am getting addicted.

 

Nevermind, I just looked and it is for new customers only. Oh well, I still think Shutterfly is a great deal, and so much fun! I can't wait to get my book that I ordered yesterday!

Edited July 26, 2012 by centralcalicruzer

[loma linda ca a & j]

just when i thought it could not get better (this thread re emily's thesis !)thot i'd see what was new and lo and behold saw the shutterfly book - my jim & i just viewed the whole 104 pages !! totally amazing !!;)

 

and also patrick's review ! wow !!!:)

 

we cannot wait till next 5 august 2013 sailing on infinity !!:D