A Coronation and Live From 12 Day British Isles on the Regal

[Steelers0854]

Day 3 Guernsey (7am-4pm)

 

DW didn’t have any issues from dinner last night so all is well there.

 

We didnt book any excursions for this port in advance.  We hear that this port gets skipped quite a lot due to weather and it looked like there may be plenty to do right off the ship so we thought we would just wing it and wander around this day.

 

Tender operations started promptly at 7. That meant the life boat sitting outside our balcony dropped at 6am. Good thing we went to bed on the early side!

 

It is a beautiful morning outside. Partly cloudy and windy. Cool temperatures. We went to the buffet for breakfast. Pro tip: if you like crispy bacon ask them, they have a secret crispy bacon drawer they will pull it from for you.

 

 

We headed downstairs and off the ship around 9:30. There was still a descent sized line when we got here but it was just a line to board the tender. It was a 20 minute trip, would have been 5 minutes shorter but we had to wait outside the port for a tender to leave. It was a windy day and a pretty bumpy ride in.

 

 

We walked over to the Castle. It was £11pp but they provided a walking tour with a guide. Beautiful views. Great history at that castle between the different countries claiming ownership over the years. Fun Fact: Guernsey gets its power from 2 nuclear power plants in France. They have a diesel facility on the island as a backup.

 

 

We spent the better part of 90 minutes walking around and with the tour. We have a very busy few days coming up so kept it pretty light today. We headed to the tender and had a solid line at a little after noon but it took only 10 minutes to wait for the next tender to arrive and we were off. The ride back was significantly smoother than the ride in.

 

We headed to the buffet for lunch. DW got some nachos (sans cheese) and albondgas soup without the meatballs (contained gluten). She said the soup was delicious.

 

After lunch we needed to do some laundry and relax a bit.

 

[JenP]

Thank you for your report. My husband and I are taking this cruise in July and we're looking forward to it. Do you need tender tickets for Guernsey, or does everyone just get in a line? We have a locally-booked tour about 2 hours after the ship arrives. 

[Steelers0854]

8 minutes ago, JenP said:

Thank you for your report. My husband and I are taking this cruise in July and we're looking forward to it. Do you need tender tickets for Guernsey, or does everyone just get in a line? We have a locally-booked tour about 2 hours after the ship arrives. 

you need tickets up until about 8:30 or so. Depends on how busy they are. You’ll get them from the Photo gallery. I would suggest getting there early. Boarding takes a long time, atleast for us, as the waves were rough and it slowed everything down. 

[kebhouse]

Thanks for sharing! I am fascinated with the history of Guernsey and Jersey and would love to visit someday!

[nini]

We loved Guernsey! We had booked a walking tour with a local and enjoyed seeing Victor Hugo's house where he was exiled for 14 years and wrote Les Miserables. Also, DH took a photo of me sitting on a bench next to the bronze statue of Victor Hugo.

[Steelers0854]

Day 3 Guernsey (7am-4pm) cont.

 

Laundry complete and we relaxed the rest of the day. The seas picked up and the captain mentioned tender operations were tough in the afternoon and he thanked the staff. Glad we came back when we did. She said we would have 3 meter seas tonight until about 2am when the island would provide us some protection.

 

Tonight was our first formal night. We got ready early and lounged around Crooners and read before dinner. We had the same section as last night and they hit their stride tonight. Service was spot on a quick but not rushed.

 

 

DW got French onion soup and the filet. I got the crab cake and the filet. DW said her soup was outstanding. Both our filets were nicely cooked and very flavorful.

 

 

 

 

 

For dessert they brought out the chef special dessert for DW which was just a variation of the appetizer from tonight. The head waiter wasn’t happy about this and said he would talk with the chef to get something different for tomorrow night.

 

We are currently enjoying the evening in the piazza with the live music before we call it a night.

 

[blackfly]

Being a Formal night how did everyone dress.  Would dress slacks and shirt with a tie work for men.  Can’t really justify packing a sports coat for one dinner.

[Steelers0854]

7 minutes ago, blackfly said:

Being a Formal night how did everyone dress.  Would dress slacks and shirt with a tie work for men.  Can’t really justify packing a sports coat for one dinner.

all over the map as usual. I wore a polo and slacks. Many with long sleeved vitriol down shirts. Some with ties. A few sport coats etc. my take is if your enjoyment of the evening is so dependent on what I wear you should go sail Cunard. But as you said I’m not taking up room in my suitcase to wear a suit for 10 hours in a 3 week vacation. 

[Steelers0854]

Patters for tomorrow. Oaf. Internet is bad tonight. Had a rough time uploading these 2 images. 
 

 

[Barbara B]

Thank you so much for your wonderful posts from sea. We're on the July 7 cruise (very slightly different itinerary -- No Guernsey, but a different port).

[sammyjoanne]

Glad you are enjoying the UK and its great to see you was there for the Coronation. I was watching at home, we felt that there would be a lot of people in London, so we tucked into some nice food and saw it on TV. I have been to Edinburgh and really love the Royal Mile. We did a ghost tour round the place in the evening, ending up at the Edinburgh Vaults which is very creepy, but facinating. I think you are going to love loch ness. My late brother went there and he said its superb.

[Steelers0854]

Day 4 Cork, Ireland (9am-7pm): Best of Cork and Countryside (Blarney Castle & Kinsale)

 

Well the captain was correct. Last night was not great. It was easily the roughest ride I have had in 18ish cruises (I’m not including Windstar, that seems a little unfair). And it wasn’t even the motion that made it so bad, it was the obnoxiously loud creeping and cracking the walls and ceiling made. All. Night. Long. I think I got an hours sleep, while I can sleep through a dumbo truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant, I can’t get to sleep if it’s loud Ike that. Thankfully DW knocked out on the early side before it got bad as she gets motion sick (although these days her Accupuncture has all but cured her of that). Oh well, as of 7am this morning we still have some strong swells but it’s not bad enough to come with all the noise so that’s good.  And this is nothing some caffeine likely can’t resolve.

 

It is a beautiful morning. We aren’t due in port until 9am and we meet in the Princess Theatre at 9:15 for our 9:30 excursion. Today we head to Kinsale and Blarney Castle!

[Shirley and Warren]

Thanks for all the posting - you're definitely going above and beyond!

DW has some food sensitivities as well, so it's good to hear staff are tuned-in to this.

We're on the August 12th sailing and are looking forward to our first experience on Princess after being initiated to cruising with a few trips on Celebrity. It will be interesting to see how Princess measures up - definately like the idea of self-serve laundry facilities!

[Steelers0854]

What a beautiful welcome to Cobh. We are running about 20 minutes late due to the very strong tide and headwinds from last night. Capt said they were running full out all night last night. 
 

 

this has to be one of the most beautiful entrances to a port I’ve seen. 
 

[Steelers0854]

59 minutes ago, Shirley and Warren said:

Thanks for all the posting - you're definitely going above and beyond!

DW has some food sensitivities as well, so it's good to hear staff are tuned-in to this.

We're on the August 12th sailing and are looking forward to our first experience on Princess after being initiated to cruising with a few trips on Celebrity. It will be interesting to see how Princess measures up - definately like the idea of self-serve laundry facilities!

you’ll find them more similar than different. We loved our Celebrity cruise and I feel like you’ll love Princess as well. Laundry is $3 per load per method (wash/dry) soap is also $3 so bring your own. We use the soap sheets. They are great for travel. We found a full cycle in delicates was just enough heat to get everything dry without nuking our clothes. 

[Steelers36]

16 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

all over the map as usual. I wore a polo and slacks. Many with long sleeved vitriol down shirts. Some with ties. A few sport coats etc. my take is if your enjoyment of the evening is so dependent on what I wear you should go sail Cunard. But as you said I’m not taking up room in my suitcase to wear a suit for 10 hours in a 3 week vacation. 

Interesting report as it reads like there isn't much more formal wear than a N.A. or Med cruise.  According to @wowzz, 80%-90% are in suits or tuxes on a B.I. voyage, but perhaps no longer in 2023.

[Steelers0854]

42 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Interesting report as it reads like there isn't much more formal wear than a N.A. or Med cruise.  According to @wowzz, 80%-90% are in suits or tuxes on a B.I. voyage, but perhaps no longer in 2023.

I mean dont get me wrong. I would say the majority had a suit or some kind of sport coat. But tuxes were definitely in the minority. And I would say a handful were in something without a coat. The dining room we ate (6:45-7:45) was almost empty so a lot of people may have also chose  the buffet. 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Steelers0854

[Steelers0854]

Day 4 Cork, Ireland (9am-7pm): Best of Cork and Countryside (Blarney Castle & Kinsale) cont. 

 

We sailed in to one of the most beautiful ports I’ve ever seen, lined with homes along the mountainside and an old church.

 

 

 

We got breakfast at the buffet and headed to the Princess Theater at 9:15. We boarded our bus at 9:45 and headed out by 10. Our bus is a very nice coach with not only a restroom but in seat USB plugs (type A not C) but I did see a fair number of buses without restrooms. I’m betting it depends on how long your tour is.

 

It was a wonderful drive through the countryside that was narrated by a local guide. We stopped momentarily at a photo spot overlooking Kinsale before heading into the town where we will have an hour. She does a number of different tours and said we selected the best one. She said Blarney Castle and the gardens will be beautiful this time of year.

 

Kinsale was a quaint little town with lots of shops and cafes. An hour wasn’t much time so we swung in and grabbed a quick coffee for take away and then walked through some of the local shops. We also saw the oldest church in County Cork.

 

 

 

It was an hour bus ride to our lunch stop as we did a driving tour through Cork.  it was a very nice, modern little city, it would be fun to visit and walk around here. Apparently much of the city had canals running through it and a number of the buildings still had their entrances on the second floor because of the water levels. Now those canals run under the city.

 

 

DW and I stopped by the shore excursion desk on embarkation and and let them know about her food allergies. They seemed to indicate this happens often and they will communicate with the tour operators. So we shall see what happens. We had taken precautions with a large breakfast and snacks just in case!  Our lunch was at the Clayton Hotel silver springs. We spoke with our tour operator who connected us with the hotel management. They had a gluten free vegan dish that they offered. We also had local Irish performers play a series of songs and engage with the audience during lunch. They were great.

 

 

 

 

The food was outstanding. DW said the curry was excellent not only packed full of flavor but with a good kick to it. My stew was also excellent with that rich gravy and perfectly cooked lamb. The cheesecake with light and airy and was the perfect ending to the meal. There must have been 200 of us here. It was very well done. The food came up steaming hot and they paced the meal perfectly. The facility was very nice with great restrooms. We were done with time to spare on our hour long stop.

 

kind of a crime to go to Ireland and not accept the fee pint of Guinness.

 

 

 

[Steelers36]

10 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

I mean don't get me wrong. I would say the majority had a suit or some kind of sport coat. But tuxes were definitely in the minority. And I would say a handful were in something without a coat. The dining room we ate (6:45-7:45) was almost empty so a lot of people may have also chose  the buffet. 

Thanks for additional info.

[Steelers0854]

Day 4 Cork, Ireland (9am-7pm): Best of Cork and Countryside (Blarney Castle & Kinsale) cont. 

 

It took us around 20 minutes to get from lunch to Blarney Castle. It’s was such a nice day. A bit breezy but partly cloudy and the sun was out the majority of the time.

 

 

 

We got VERY lucky. When we arrived we hit a lull in attendance. There were 5 buses for our particular excursion and I know of atleast 1 other excursion going to Blarney castle. We walked straight to the castle and straight up the very narrow steps. We only stopped in nice we hit the top landing. From there we had about. 5-7 minute wait. The views were breathtaking. When we had finished the line was HUGE as all the other buses had arrived.

 

 

Let’s talk about the climb up. It’s very very narrow and very steep. There is a vertical rope to help you, but IMO you need to have no mobility issues to do this. No cane, definitely no walker etc. also, I’m a big guy, I barely got through some of the passages needed. So just a few words of warning.

 

 

Plus when you get up there you have to do some acrobatics to actually kiss the stone. There is an employee there to help you but you lie on your back, pull yourself over a small ledge and essentially touch the back of your head to your back to kiss the stone upside down. You can google it for a better idea of what I’m talking about. If you have back issues I would go for the view but wouldn’t try and kiss the stone.

 

 

 

 

We explored the site, gardens and shop as we had about 2 hours onsite. We headed back to the port around 4:30pm.

 

[nini]

We very much enjoyed our visit to the Blarney Castle and grounds. The Blarney Woolery is very close by in the parking area and we made a visit and I fell in love with the shop. If you purchase 250.00 in their currency, they will ship it at no charge to you in the states. I complied.

[Steelers0854]

Day 4 Cork, Ireland (9am-7pm) Cont. 

 

For dinner tonight DW got a salad and gluten free pasta with bolognese sauce. I got the seafood antipasto and the kale Cesar and the butter chicken.

 

 

DW said her salad was good and her pasta was fantastic. She said the sauce was delicious. The seafood antipasto was nothing to write home about but the kale Cesar salad was amazing. I’m getting that every night. The dressing was so flavorful!  The butter chicken was ho hum. The chicken was over cooked and there wasn’t much sauce with it. Despite DW asking for a few things as options for dessert they didn’t do anything for her. She got the lemon sorbet which of course she loved. But Princess is big time slacking. They used to do rice puddings even made her tiramisu in the past. They are way off their game and phoning it in these days which is really disappointing.

 

for those eagled eyed this one has Parmesan cheese but we caught it and they brought out a new one. 
 

 

 

 

 

[G&Gcruisers]

Following.  I am on this same itinerary in June so, thank you for the great info, tips, and photos. I’m taking notes.

have a great trip!

mj

[G&Gcruisers]

I am also on #team traditional.  I am traveling with family and some evenings I couldn’t get a reservation for the same dining room and same time as they have. 

[Steelers0854]

Tomorrows patter.