Live From - 5/12/13 British Isles Caribbean Princess

[ccrain]

05-22-2013 – Cobh

 

Cobh is a great little port. When they say the train station is right next to the ship, they are not kidding. The train is less than 300’ away from the boarding ramp. To get to Cork, you walk 300’ pay your fare (15.40 Euros for two round trips), get on the train and it takes about 20 minutes to get to the Cork station. From there you can get a taxi or bus to just about anywhere. The train is just two cars, so it is standing room only when the ship is in. The trains just run back and forth from Cork to Cobh. I think there is 3 of them total. So it is very easy to get to Cork from Cobh and back again.

 

But the most memorable part of Cobh is the cathedral with a magnificent clock tower. From the outside it’s beautiful and majestic. Very easy to get to, but it does require walking up a steep slope and some steps. It’s even more impressive inside with the sunshine, yes sunshine today, illuminating the stained glass windows all over the church. Vaulted ceilings, towering support columns, great statuary on the altar, just really incredible. We spent at least an hour around the cathedral admiring the interior and exterior. They allow photos if there is not a service going on.

 

We recommended to Paul and Elizabeth to take Mom up there, slowly, because of the steep inclines and stairs, but they all made it and there was a children’s choir practicing with the church choir and the pipe organ. We missed out by going to Cork and they really got a treat.

 

There are several pubs in the area and a gift shop on main street. You can walk all over town in about an hour, but plan on at least an hour at the Cathedral. Even more convenient to town that at Greenock. There is a café and a souvenir shop in the train terminal next to the ship as well. Plenty of ways to spend those remaining Euros.

 

Tonight was sushi night in the elite lounge, so that was dinner for us. Unfortunately the last and final, before the absolute last chance art auction, was going on in Explorer’s so the dancing schedule was pretty much screwed up. But no matter, we did our Zumba and walking for the day, so we will watch movies. The balloon drop and dance party is at 1030 and I don’t think there will be a lot of people up at that hour.

 

We probably will not go into Guernsey tomorrow. A little note in the mail told of how fickle the weather is and how rough it can get and how far out we have to anchor. Suffice it to say, I do not want Judy motion sick in a tender far from the ship or the shore. We’ll see how the water looks in the morning.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Oh Guernsey is lovely - you must go. We've been twice and it was not rough. If it is rough the tenders won't go across. I think they also use some of the port tenders as well and they won't allow ships to tender if the weather is too bad.

 

The town of St Peterport is very nice and you can catch a bus round the island very cheaply :)

 

Still enjoying your reports :)

[AutumnSky]

I've really been enjoying your report. We are on the June 29 sailing. I have some questions about the Dublin shuttle you took. This was a Princess shuttle? What is the cost? Does it run back and forth during the day, or is it one trip into the city and then a pick-up in the p.m.? Thank you!

[Posaune]

It will be interesting in a couple of months when we do this cruise if Parental Guidance is still playing. Three of us that had a small part in the film will be on the cruise. (We were in the orchestra scene)

[ccrain]

I've really been enjoying your report. We are on the June 29 sailing. I have some questions about the Dublin shuttle you took. This was a Princess shuttle? What is the cost? Does it run back and forth during the day, or is it one trip into the city and then a pick-up in the p.m.? Thank you!

 

The dublin shuttle runs continuously all day and costs $8 one way or $16 round trip. The drop off point is about 2 blocks east of Grafton Street. You can buy the tickets at the desk or next to the bus. They are happy to take your money...

[ccrain]

05-23-2013 – In Route Guernsey

 

My least favorite days of the cruise – packing day, and then flying day, and then back to work day. The seas are slight for the ship, but white capping and does not bode well for Guernsey tendering. So it’s time to wrap this cruise up and prepare for the next one.

 

Overall this was a good cruise. We had a lot of fun seeing and doing a lot of different things. Having friends on this cruise also made it special. We had a great time dining with people we knew, and liked! The ports and for the most part, the excursions, were fascinating with a lot of different sights. Even the food wasn’t too bad! The itinerary on this cruise was hectic, packed but very interesting. Not a dud in the bunch. Yes the bus rides could be long, but that is the nature of the beast. The highlights: #1 has got to be Normandy, followed by lunch in the Eifel Tower, Edinburgh Castle, Dublin Glendaloch, Kirkwall Ring of Brodgar, Glasgow Glengloyne. Dublin, Cobh, Southampton, Belfast and Glenock on our own were really fun as well. Thankfully we had no duds as tour guides. They all were knowledgeable, friendly and interesting to listen to.

 

The service on the ship was excellent. Very few slip ups here and there, but nothing to write home about. Besides, as the comedian said, here’s your two free muffins – now shut up!. Incredibly enough, in 27 days we did not once have breakfast in the HC or the MDR. The IC was sufficient for us and the service with Elizabeth and Beatriz was fantastic. Sabatini’s new menu is good, but I do miss the old one a bit. It had a different flair. Crown Grill was excellent, as usual. We did not do a UBD or Chef’s table on this cruise – and that was ok as well. (We spent out our budget on excursions!)

 

Overall a good cruise and a good itinerary. Highly recommended.

 

That’s it for this cruise. Talk to you all later…

[tequilasunrise]

Thanks again for the thread. Good luck returning to "real" life! ;)

[capriccio]

OP - thank you for taking so much time out of both your cruises to share your experiences with us. I watched you sail by as you left Fort Lauderdale and was an avid reader of both your threads - especially this one since we'll be on the British Isles cruise on August 16th!

[Clutterlady]

Thank you for the wonderful "live from"!! Have been following you every day....this itinerary is in our bucket list for sure:)

[HRPro]

Really enjoyed your "Live From". We love the British Isles and you have inspired us to think about this cruise in 2015. many thanks for a well written and interesting travel journal. safe travels home!

[melody hounddog]

Fantastic review. Thanks so much!

[Victorious8]

Thanks for your Live From thread! I was wondering as the cruise went on did you hear any info/rumors about enforcement of the alcohol policy?

 

I am on a similar sailing in about a month!

[TM]

I so enjoyed reading your "live from". A British Isle's cruise is very high on my bucket list and we almost did it this year, but settled on the Eastern Med instead.

 

After following your posts I think I would like to book the trip as you did, a TA then British Isles. Thanks so much for taking all of us along with you, it was a great ride!!

 

Safe travels home to you and Judy.

[SkystheLimit]

Thank you for this wonderful posting of your trip. Learned a lot for our upcoming cruise. Just curious, did you make it to Guernsey?

 

 

05-23-2013 – In Route Guernsey

 

My least favorite days of the cruise – packing day, and then flying day, and then back to work day. The seas are slight for the ship, but white capping and does not bode well for Guernsey tendering. So it’s time to wrap this cruise up and prepare for the next one.

 

Overall this was a good cruise. We had a lot of fun seeing and doing a lot of different things. Having friends on this cruise also made it special. We had a great time dining with people we knew, and liked! The ports and for the most part, the excursions, were fascinating with a lot of different sights. Even the food wasn’t too bad! The itinerary on this cruise was hectic, packed but very interesting. Not a dud in the bunch. Yes the bus rides could be long, but that is the nature of the beast. The highlights: #1 has got to be Normandy, followed by lunch in the Eifel Tower, Edinburgh Castle, Dublin Glendaloch, Kirkwall Ring of Brodgar, Glasgow Glengloyne. Dublin, Cobh, Southampton, Belfast and Glenock on our own were really fun as well. Thankfully we had no duds as tour guides. They all were knowledgeable, friendly and interesting to listen to.

 

The service on the ship was excellent. Very few slip ups here and there, but nothing to write home about. Besides, as the comedian said, here’s your two free muffins – now shut up!. Incredibly enough, in 27 days we did not once have breakfast in the HC or the MDR. The IC was sufficient for us and the service with Elizabeth and Beatriz was fantastic. Sabatini’s new menu is good, but I do miss the old one a bit. It had a different flair. Crown Grill was excellent, as usual. We did not do a UBD or Chef’s table on this cruise – and that was ok as well. (We spent out our budget on excursions!)

 

Overall a good cruise and a good itinerary. Highly recommended.

 

That’s it for this cruise. Talk to you all later…

[ccrain]

Thanks for your Live From thread! I was wondering as the cruise went on did you hear any info/rumors about enforcement of the alcohol policy?

 

I am on a similar sailing in about a month!

 

Several people brought on a lot of wine with them, and hard liquors, and no enforcement we've heard of.

 

During the cruise a lot of single malt was brought back on excursions and no enforcement there either. Although purchases in the shop were not handed out until the night before disembarkation as usual.

[ccrain]

05-24-2013 – Disembarkation Morning

 

40 knot winds put the end to any possible port call in Guernsey yesterday, and while some people, obviously very experienced retired cruise ship captains, voiced disagreement with the Captain’s decision, most of us were relieved at not having to make that decision ourselves. Swells were 3-5 and forecast to increase during the day.

 

So it was a leisurely packing and doing nothing day for us.

 

Only 4 people are transiting on this cruise. ~500 have been on since FLL and are now leaving. The crew will get a whole new crowd to train.

 

Glad you all enjoyed this Live From Thread. I get a lot of information from these types of threads, so I try to provide as much back as possible.

 

Next up, the South Pacific, or a Greek Isles, we haven't completely decided yet...

[crusdiva]

Thank you so much for both of your wonderful "live" threads. I followed each with great interest as DH are sailing the Isles on 6/5. I enjoyed your thoughtful and detailed information regarding the ports and I love the way you look at life onboard.

 

Safe travels home.

[macusr]

As always I enjoyed reading your live thread. We sailed with you & Judy on our Alaska southbound Whittier to Vancouver in May 2006. Always hope one day to cross paths with you again, but you've far exceeded our number of days at sea!!!

Though we've spent several days in London and almost 2 weeks in Scotland on land vacations, we'd still like to do this itinerary - most probably timed in conjunction with the Edinburgh Tattoo. So it was very interesting to read about your experiences in the various ports.

[WVBill]

Thank you so much for your live-from.

 

I copied each of your daily reports into a word document and printed it out for my and my DW's research preparing for our British Isles cruise in 2014. - 18 Pages ! I love your writing style.

 

Thanks again.

[ccrain]

As always I enjoyed reading your live thread. We sailed with you & Judy on our Alaska southbound Whittier to Vancouver in May 2006. Always hope one day to cross paths with you again, but you've far exceeded our number of days at sea!!!

Though we've spent several days in London and almost 2 weeks in Scotland on land vacations, we'd still like to do this itinerary - most probably timed in conjunction with the Edinburgh Tattoo. So it was very interesting to read about your experiences in the various ports.

 

That was our 20th anniversary cruise. It was one of our favorite cruises.

 

This itinerary is tiring for sure, but you get to see a lot of different ports in one fell swoop.

 

Hope to see you on another cruise!

[NFEB]

Thank you for your live updates. We will be on this iten on June 5. Your postings have heightened out anticipation.

Safe travels back home.

Be well

Nancy and Fred

[AutumnSky]

The dublin shuttle runs continuously all day and costs $8 one way or $16 round trip. The drop off point is about 2 blocks east of Grafton Street. You can buy the tickets at the desk or next to the bus. They are happy to take your money...

 

Thanks so much for the information! Thanks also for the live report and sharing so much information with all of us here on CC. I wish you a safe and uneventful trip home!

[Victorious8]

Several people brought on a lot of wine with them, and hard liquors, and no enforcement we've heard of.

 

During the cruise a lot of single malt was brought back on excursions and no enforcement there either. Although purchases in the shop were not handed out until the night before disembarkation as usual.

 

Thank you so much for the tidbit I am hoping this is still the case when it is our turn next month. I have copied down some of your tips and plan to share them with the rest of my family. I look forward to checking out your Patters!

[BaltimoreRaven]

Thank you very much for your postings. Very informative. We are on the 6-513 cruise.

 

Lois and Scott

[iduck]

Thanks for doing your "live from" We were scheduled for the August 4 sailing but had to cancel! At least we will be able to visit the ports through your cruise

Thanks again!