¡Live! Regal 12 Night UK Cruise (6/25-7/7)

[mrsbos]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post. This is very helpful as we are going on the same cruise in September. Enjoy your trip...it appears you are. 

 

[susancruzs]

Great posts so far, enjoy the rest of your cruise, I'll be following along.

 

I'm taking the Regal TA Apr. '24 with this cruise following.  Can't wait!

[KarmaCruisers]

4 hours ago, Tyskie said:

 

That's odd, it used to be blue

Heard they were changing some things....................

They’re still blue; the pattern is just reverse (instead of blue background with White Sea Witch; it’s a white background with a blue sea witch)

[KarmaCruisers]

4 hours ago, TenneSea said:

Could you give us a little update on the whole Passport/Immigration process at Heathrow?  How long did it take from getting off the plane until you were on your way.  Any tips to make it smoother for us future passengers who are headed to LHR soon.  Thanks.

Honestly if you’re an American Citizen; it couldn’t have been easier!

literally just que up on your own and place your passport in a kiosk..it scans it, take a picture of you; then the kiosk gate opens and you walk through. Easy peasy

the longest part is the WALK from gate to underground tube platform at Heathrow..like 15 minutes walk! Haha they literally have traffic lights for walkways at LHR, it’s THAT big, haha.

 

[senior lady]

1 hour ago, KarmaCruisers said:

They’re still blue; the pattern is just reverse (instead of blue background with White Sea Witch; it’s a white background with a blue sea witch)

that's what I've seen the last few times

[KarmaCruisers]

So last I left you; we were heading into Dublin on DART…man those are nice trains compared to the utter trash that it BART, haha.

We got to Dublin and hit the ground running…

Walked down to Trinity College and took photos. We skipped the Library and Book Of Kells; frankly because the line was too long and we had so much other stuff we wanted to do.

We pressed on and walked down to take a photo with the Molly Malone Statue, on the way to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

MAN; for €9 a piece it’s WORTH it to go inside and explore. We didn’t think we had enough time..only spending 45 minutes inside (we hadn’t originally planned on going inside) but we’re glad we did! Some of the stained glass in there is AMAZING! One even has JOAN OF ARC on it! Also; they provide you a good audio tour that is self-guided.

After St. Patrick’s, we walked to Guinness Storehouse and took the “Express Tour”. Pretty cool and we got to sample Guinness and have a pint on the 7th floor (what they call the “Gravity Bar”) We also enjoyed lunch on the 5th floor for a very reasonable price (I got a Guinness Irish Stew)

After that, we hustled over to the closest Luas train stop and caught it up to Smithfield stop (Jameson Distillery is only a block away from there)

Popped into Jameson to get my boss a personalized bottle of Distillery Edition Jameson. Headed back out to Luas and caught it up to Connolly Station where we walked over to the Tara St DART station.

crazy story..we got on the train at 5:30..no problem for a 6:30 last tender right???….

Maybe NOT! apparently a car had struck a DART crossing and was causing a delay..I guess…fortunately(???) there was about 30 other cruisers on our train all sweating the same sweat. (So I figured they wouldn’t leave a TON of people behind)

with the delays; we made it to the dock at  6:20, with tenders ending up running until 7, actually.

We did freakin 14,500 steps today!! We’re resting in the cabin until were going to get the buffet at 8:30 (tonight is Asian street food theme, until 9)

 

On another note; I think like Princess the best because it’s buffet is literally open from 7am-10pm; and all they do is change from Breakfast to Lunch to Dinner..on Carnival, the buffet entirely closes DOWN, so there’s almost NO place to eat at specific times..

[kttraveler]

1 hour ago, KarmaCruisers said:

So last I left you; we were heading into Dublin on DART…man those are nice trains compared to the utter trash that it BART, haha.

We got to Dublin and hit the ground running…

Walked down to Trinity College and took photos. We skipped the Library and Book Of Kells; frankly because the line was too long and we had so much other stuff we wanted to do.

We pressed on and walked down to take a photo with the Molly Malone Statue, on the way to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

MAN; for €9 a piece it’s WORTH it to go inside and explore. We didn’t think we had enough time..only spending 45 minutes inside (we hadn’t originally planned on going inside) but we’re glad we did! Some of the stained glass in there is AMAZING! One even has JOAN OF ARC on it! Also; they provide you a good audio tour that is self-guided.

After St. Patrick’s, we walked to Guinness Storehouse and took the “Express Tour”. Pretty cool and we got to sample Guinness and have a pint on the 7th floor (what they call the “Gravity Bar”) We also enjoyed lunch on the 5th floor for a very reasonable price (I got a Guinness Irish Stew)

After that, we hustled over to the closest Luas train stop and caught it up to Smithfield stop (Jameson Distillery is only a block away from there)

Popped into Jameson to get my boss a personalized bottle of Distillery Edition Jameson. Headed back out to Luas and caught it up to Connolly Station where we walked over to the Tara St DART station.

crazy story..we got on the train at 5:30..no problem for a 6:30 last tender right???….

Maybe NOT! apparently a car had struck a DART crossing and was causing a delay..I guess…fortunately(???) there was about 30 other cruisers on our train all sweating the same sweat. (So I figured they wouldn’t leave a TON of people behind)

with the delays; we made it to the dock at  6:20, with tenders ending up running until 7, actually.

We did freakin 14,500 steps today!! We’re resting in the cabin until were going to get the buffet at 8:30 (tonight is Asian street food theme, until 9)

 

On another note; I think like Princess the best because it’s buffet is literally open from 7am-10pm; and all they do is change from Breakfast to Lunch to Dinner..on Carnival, the buffet entirely closes DOWN, so there’s almost NO place to eat at specific times..

What stop did you get off to go to the college? I have Book of Kells tickets for 9:30 so I want that to be my first stop and then get on the HOHO.

[Scottygirl1]

How easy was it to get a train ticket for the DART? We have booked a shore excursion but think the train might be a good option instead.

 

[KarmaCruisers]

2 hours ago, kttraveler said:

What stop did you get off to go to the college? I have Book of Kells tickets for 9:30 so I want that to be my first stop and then get on the HOHO.

Tara Street Station, is the closest DART station.

literally 3 blocks away

[KarmaCruisers]

2 hours ago, Scottygirl1 said:

How easy was it to get a train ticket for the DART? We have booked a shore excursion but think the train might be a good option instead.

 

SUPER easy; just go here: and order a LEAP 24-hour visitor pass (good on DART, Luas, and Bus’s)

https://about.leapcard.ie/leap-visitor-card

you just tell them what day it’s for; when you order it

then the station is like a few hundred feet from the cruise port; just tap-in with your LEAP card, and board a westbound train

 

[Scottygirl1]

1 hour ago, KarmaCruisers said:

SUPER easy; just go here: and order a LEAP 24-hour visitor pass (good on DART, Luas, and Bus’s)

https://about.leapcard.ie/leap-visitor-card

you just tell them what day it’s for; when you order it

then the station is like a few hundred feet from the cruise port; just tap-in with your LEAP card, and board a westbound train

 

Thanks, sadly I can't buy one, our country is not on the list (too far away I suspect).  We do have a tour booked that also gives us 2 hours free time in Dublin so we'll probably stick with that.  

[kttraveler]

1 hour ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Tara Street Station, is the closest DART station.

literally 3 blocks away

Thank you! Added to my itinerary!

[TenneSea]

8 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Honestly if you’re an American Citizen; it couldn’t have been easier!

literally just que up on your own and place your passport in a kiosk..it scans it, take a picture of you; then the kiosk gate opens and you walk through. Easy peasy

the longest part is the WALK from gate to underground tube platform at Heathrow..like 15 minutes walk! Haha they literally have traffic lights for walkways at LHR, it’s THAT big, haha.

 

Oh my, we will have to find the National Coach station as will be taking it to Southampton.

[phabric]

57 minutes ago, TenneSea said:

Oh my, we will have to find the National Coach station as will be taking it to Southampton.

If you go to the Heathrow website and find which terminal you fly into then look where to find National Express Coach location.

[TenneSea]

19 minutes ago, phabric said:

If you go to the Heathrow website and find which terminal you fly into then look where to find National Express Coach location.

T3 Virgin.  I think I've figured it out - just going to be a haul !

[Mabel67]

Thank you for your reports  - this info is getting us very excited about our choice to book this crisis in 2024!  I was wondering if you could share why beer are on tap and maybe  pic of the wine list from Vines in particular the cabs?

I hope you continue gonna be a marvellous time and I look forward to your future posts!

[Catchum]

5 hours ago, Scottygirl1 said:

Thanks, sadly I can't buy one, our country is not on the list (too far away I suspect).  We do have a tour booked that also gives us 2 hours free time in Dublin so we'll probably stick with that.  

We did the Dart last year without pre ordering very very easy to get tickets from the machines.

[KarmaCruisers]

8 hours ago, Mabel67 said:

Thank you for your reports  - this info is getting us very excited about our choice to book this crisis in 2024!  I was wondering if you could share why beer are on tap and maybe  pic of the wine list from Vines in particular the cabs?

I hope you continue gonna be a marvellous time and I look forward to your future posts!

My pleasure!

[KarmaCruisers]

So; I had a helluva night..I ordered some room service (chicken fingers and a Chef Salad)..Kris and I shared the chicken fingers and fries but I alone ate some of the Chef Salad..apparently (and I think it was a piece of the Turkey) something was "bad"..so i layed curled up against the toilet for an hour or so; TRYING to puke it out (to no avail; just couldn't do it)

so i went and laid down.jesus i was in misery! i went to lay down at probably 2am; and we slept until NOON! 
I’m feeling a LITTLE bit better today, but not 100% for sure.

We’re going to get off the ship and walk over to the Titanic Memorial, then probably walk back. (BoB is 5:30)

On another note, lol, I actually looked back at my iPhone and days I WFH (Tue/Wed/Fri) and weekends..I actually DO only do about 800 steps in a day. So it just may be, my body is deteriorating with all this exercise, haha…and there’s still SEVEN MORE DAYS OF IT!!!

Edited June 29, 2023 by KarmaCruisers

[Lady Arwen]

1 hour ago, KarmaCruisers said:

So; I had a helluva night..I ordered some room service (chicken fingers and a Chef Salad)..Kris and I shared the chicken fingers and fries but I alone ate some of the Chef Salad..apparently (and I think it was a piece of the Turkey) something was "bad"..so i layed curled up against the toilet for an hour or so; TRYING to puke it out (to no avail; just couldn't do it)

so i went and laid down.jesus i was in misery! i went to lay down at probably 2am; and we slept until NOON! 
I’m feeling a LITTLE bit better today, but not 100% for sure.

We’re going to get off the ship and walk over to the Titanic Memorial, then probably walk back. (BoB is 5:30)

On another note, lol, I actually looked back at my iPhone and days I WFH (Tue/Wed/Fri) and weekends..I actually DO only do about 800 steps in a day. So it just may be, my body is deteriorating with all this exercise, haha…and there’s still SEVEN MORE DAYS OF IT!!!

Sorry, you’re not feeling well!  Food poisoning usually doesn’t manifest itself that quickly after eating something “off”.  Could it have been something you ate earlier in the day?  Drink lots of fluids, as that will help flush things out.  Try eating light meals today and nothing before retiring at night.  I hope you feel better soon and you can get out and get those steps in!  Loving your report…thanks for taking us along!

[KarmaCruisers]

5 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

Sorry, you’re not feeling well!  Food poisoning usually doesn’t manifest itself that quickly after eating something “off”.  Could it have been something you ate earlier in the day?  Drink lots of fluids, as that will help flush things out.  Try eating light meals today and nothing before retiring at night.  I hope you feel better soon and you can get out and get those steps in!  Loving your report…thanks for taking us along!

Huh..maybe then..the last time I got food poisoning (bad enough to go to hospital) the ER doc said usually it’s between 4-8 hours after you eat something…so maybe it was my dinner at the buffet…but man that ramen was BANGIN

[Fortunate 2 travel]

Hope you are up and feeling great soon.  If you don’t mind me asking, has the ship been cool/cold inside?

[KarmaCruisers]

5 minutes ago, Fortunate 2 travel said:

Hope you are up and feeling great soon.  If you don’t mind me asking, has the ship been cool/cold inside?

Thanks. Doing a little bit better, drinking lots of water, for sure.

Yeah, that’s one thing I noticed..and I run hot always..the ship is definitely cooool.

[KarmaCruisers]

So we got off in Liverpool and walked up to the Liverpool museum. Pretty cool inside (it’s free); took pictures of the Liver Birds on top of the government building, then leisurely walked back to the ship.

picture of the titanic memorial 

[Fortunate 2 travel]

1 hour ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Thanks. Doing a little bit better, drinking lots of water, for sure.

Yeah, that’s one thing I noticed..and I run hot always..the ship is definitely cooool.

Thank you for that information 😃