Crown Princess Review

Crown Princess 5/22 British Isles

Review for the British Isles & Western Europe Cruise on Crown Princess
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Nanatravel
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: May 2011
Cabin: Balcony

Crown Princess British Isles 5/22- 6/3/11Pre-cruise: London 3 nights at the Sanctuary House Hotel. We booked through booking.com but credit card was not charged until date of arrival. Issue with this is the conversion rate of the Great British Pound to the US dollar had gone up. Thus it cost us much more than anticipated. Location was great- walking distance to Westminster Abby, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Bridge and River Thames Cruise stop, Big Ben, the London Eye, Whitehall St., the Churchill War Museum and Trafalgar Square. Tube stop, St. James Park just 2 minutes away and Westminster stop about less than 10 minutes. Near a HOHO bus stop, too. Although I brought and used a Voltage adapter and did get to charge my camera battery, I "fried" my curling iron. I should have bought & used a Voltage converter.We booked Exclusive Airport car service @ £44 per car from Heathrow to our hotel. Our street was blocked off due to construction, so our driver had to go around by an alternate route. Traffic was very heavy on a weekday morning. It took almost 1 ½ hrs. to get to the hotel from Heathrow. I am glad we weren't in a taxi. We shared a car from Smith's Exclusive Airport with another couple to Southampton @ £160 total/£80 per couple on 5/22. London: Pre-purchased the London Pass including Tube tickets. You must visit a majority of sites listed to yield a good return on this purchase. Only regret was buying Tube ticket for 1st day, as we did not use it.• Westminster Abby tour w/ audio guide• Churchill War Rooms Museum - Lunch at their cafe• Walked to the Horse Guards staging area and through the arch to Whitehall Street • #10 Downing Street is blocked from view• Trafalgar Square• Official London Visitors to purchase Original HOHO tickets £22.50pp• Walked across to the pickup spot for the Narrated Blue route tour. Went around totally without getting off. This gave us a good perspective of where sites of interest were located.• Got off near Piccadilly Square and walked to the Mall• Buckingham Palace photo op• Walked back to the hotel via St. James Park.• Had dinner at the Queen's pub corner of Tothill & BroadwayDay 2: • Simple breakfast at EAT nearby - good coffee and croissant sandwich• Took Tube @ 9:30AM to Tower of London• Tower of London tour - group que for London pass was long - lots of school Age groups in London from all over the world. Beefeater tour was from main gate. We did our own tour with audio guide.• Walked to the Tower of London Bridge - did tour of engine room and historical museum• Walked along the Southbank of the River Thames. We had hoped to walk to the Millennium Bridge but that was not possible directly. I didn't want to get lost.• Walked across the London Bridge to the Tube stop and had a very long walk underground. Took tube to St. Paul's Cathedral• Toured St. Paul's• Had lunch in nearby deli. • Returned to our hotel by Tube• PM: Took Tube to Covent Garden - There were many theaters in this area.• Walked to Porter's English Pub for dinner where we met two new friends from Cruise Critic. Three of us tried the special 3 English pie sampler- wonderful and so filling. With our London Pass, we received a bottle of wine. Day 3:• Had a difficult time finding an open place for breakfast. All nearby shops were closed. Our hotel appears to be in a business district. Our hotel offered Continental Breakfast @ £9 or full English breakfast @ £12, which I thought too expensive and reviews of the food weren't positive.• Took the Tube again from St. James to So. Kensington• Walked to the Victoria & Albert Museum - very nice with lots of historical artifacts, paintings, silver, clothing etc.• Walked to Harrods's for a little local shopping in their logo shop. Bought English Tea canisters and some souvenirs with Harrods's logo. I wanted to have lunch in their Food Court, but it was much too crowded to attempt to sit down.• Took the Tube back to the Westminster Bridge• Walked to the River Thames City Cruise dock.• Although the HOHO ticket also gave you a River Thames one-way tour, it was valid for 24 hrs. after purchase only. Our London Pass allowed us unlimited privileges on this same tour boat. We were going to stop and ride the London Eye, but it was a beautiful day and riding the boat was a leisurely way to see the city from the water.• Got off at the Tower of London. Found a Black London Taxi que and went to Sherlock Holmes Pub for a late lunch.• Traffic was horrendous with 3 bridges closed on a Saturday for construction. It must have taken us an hour to get to Trafalgar Square. If I had known, we would have taken the Tube. Taxi fee was £30 but the driver felt bad and charged us just £25.• The Original HOHO bus company is no longer giving discount coupons for the Sherlock Holmes Pub Fish & Chips lunch. We bought it @ £8.95. It wasn't as good as the first night's dinner near our hotel. I found I don't like Mushy Peas!• We walked back to our hotel through the Admiralty Arch along St. James park• Had a drink & desert at our hotel in the Fuller Pub. (This pub was a busy place on the week nights, with standing room only. We couldn't get in earlier in the week.)• Point of Note: it does not get dark in the UK until after 9PM• We walked past Big Ben and the Parliament building for evening photo op's• We walked across the Westminster Bridge for Sunset photos of Big Ben and along the banks of the River Thames including the London Eye. There were hundreds of tourists in this area doing the same thing. Police presence was very apparent. Day 4: • Went to 8AM Sunday service at Westminster Abby• Had a continental breakfast at the Methodist Hall Cafe• Checked out of our hotel by 10:30 AM to meet our new Cruise Critic friends who picked us up in a car from Smith's for Airports which was pre-booked to Southampton. Crown Princess EmbarkationWe arrived about 11:30AM after looking for the correct pier. Due to staggered embarkation; we are Platinum and on Aloha deck, we were allowed to board immediately. Our friends also dropped off their luggage but Dolphin deck mini-suites weren't scheduled to board until 3PM. They took a taxi into Southampton to buy some wine. In my opinion, they could have boarded with us as there were no lines.Cabin A304, HA was mid-ship near the forward bank of elevators. It was a good location but a long walk to dining options aft in the Horizon Court or Botticelli Dining room. Only aft elevators will take you there directly. We had paid to upgrade to this large room when it came available at the last minute, which also had a longer balcony. Even though the temps were chilly and damp many days, it was a great place to take morning arrival photos.Marcos was our cabin Steward. Our requested Egg crate was on the bed but he never delivered our robes. He did keep the ice bucket full and even put a large one in our mini-fridge. The cabin still did not have a love seat and it had plenty of room for it. The closet is in the room, there are two double nightstands with 4 draws each, and the bathroom only has 2 small shelves at the sink and 2 in the shower area. It was nice to have a large bathroom which was totally wheelchair accessible.Sail Away: Caribe Cafe -Cruise Critics met inside. It was great to finally meet so many on the first day, who had been on the Roll Call.Meet & Mingle: Skywalker's 7:30PM Monday Formal Night- More than 120 folks stopped by totally for one or both meetings. Our roll call was at 207 when we left the USA.Dining: Breakfast: Due to 9 out of 10 early morning tours and the outbreak of the Norovirus, we opted for daily room service. We wrote in an earlier time i.e.; 6:30AM and the server was there like our alarm clock with our order. Since there is 24 hr. room service, you can request an earlier delivery; just write it next to the time. It gave us a chance to leisurely get ready for the day and enjoy a decent breakfast. Egg McMuffins are now available and arrived very hot. I just knew the lines would get long in the buffet as service was by waiter only to prevent cross contamination.On 3 mornings we/I went to the DaVinci dining room serving breakfast from 7:30 to 9:30 AM, but service was pretty slow even before the virus outbreak. One morning, I waited about 5 to 10 minutes for butter or jam for my now cold toast. Again, they had to serve everything.Lunch:Due to the itinerary being so port intensive, we only ate lunch onboard 3 times; embarkation buffet, Wheelhouse Pub lunch of Fish & Chips (lines were even long at 1:30PM). They had a lot of servers but the kitchen was a little slow. We sat at the bar. We had pizza on Lido deck on the last sea day and sat in the crowded HC.International Cafe:Great - bought our coffee card on the 2nd afternoon @ $30+ for one card. There was no discount coupon. However, the Coupon booklet received in our cabin did have a coupon for a nice free travel mug. We enjoyed a specialty coffee, salads, pastries and 3 scoops of gelato @ $1.50 almost every afternoon. There was no issue using one card for 2 beverages. At first we would take turns going to the counter to order, but later, it was apparent they would just make the appropriate number of punches per beverages purchase.Late Traditional 8:15PM@ the Bottichilli dining roomOur server for 11 of the 12 nights was Elana from Bulgaria and her assistant Aaron. Both were very good servers and put to the test during the Code Red for the Norovirus outbreak. Everything had to be individually served; butter & bread. We had pre-arranged to sit with Cruise Critics we had met 4 years ago on our Med cruise and their friends. Our table arrangement worked out very well. We shared daily updates, tours and events, wine and had a great time with both of these couples. Food was enjoyable. Only found the menu lacking on the last night of our 12 night options. I ordered off the daily standard alternative menu Beef Medallions but I didn't like the taste at all.Alternate Dining: Crown Grill With new friends, we dined on the 3rd night. I ordered the Rib Eye and my husband had the filet. Our waiter brought a plate of lobster tails that were very small and shrimp to share. It was good to have a taste and I was glad that I hadn't bothered to order the lobster. As a New Englander, there is a big difference in taste. It was a very nice evening shared with new friends. Service fee $25pp. I could not finish all of my steak.Chef's TableOur dining tablemates went to the Chef's Table the same night. They raved about it. Good thing they had been accepted for the first night. The subsequent schedule for the same dining experience was cancelled due to the Norovirus outbreak.VinesThis was a Great late afternoon/early evening spot to enjoy a glass of wine and Tapas and/or Sushi (free). This was a great way to unwind.*Note - there were NO drinks of the day nor Happy Hour beverage sales.Skywalkers Elite, Platinum, Suites Happy Hour 5-7PM - OK - some days hors d'ouerves were better than others.EntertainmentAgain, due to this port intensive itinerary, this was not a cruise where we expected to be up late each night after dinner. For probably at least half of the cruise, the Casino was closed. UK rule is if the ship is within a 12 mile radius of land, the casino can not open. This was exceptionally difficult on the 1st sea day. Glad we don't prefer to gamble.We went to one Singers & Dancer's show and to the Ray Cousin's Frank Sinatra show in the Princess Theater. Both were just fine. Stopped by Crooner's one night but Ray was on a break. He returned but sat with folks and didn't return to the piano. It was too late to just sit there to wait to hear him perform. Wheelhouse Lounge had a good band and female soloist for dancing.It was much too cold to sit and enjoy MUTS. We did try to catch the King's Speech in the Princess Theater for a while, but had a conflict appointment at the spa which interrupted our plans. SpaMy husband had a full body massage on our sea day at 8AM. When booked from home in April, this was the only time I could get. I noticed a brave soul soaking in the heated Jacuzzi in the spa/lap pool area. This area is not covered but opens to the elements. Steam was rising from the hot tub. Ports of CallSt. Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands - tender port We met friends at 9:30AM to get tender tickets as we were in no hurry to go ashore. (Figured tours would go first anyway.) It took almost an hour before our number was called. Some said there was a medical emergency others said it was rough seas. We took the #7A bus around the island @ £1 pp. Our bus was packed with no seating room for quite awhile. Our driver was not even shouting out bus stops, so we did not enjoy this recommended method of touring the lovely island. Cruise Critic's whom took the #7 bus had a totally different experience with a great bus driver. When we got back to town, we walked from the bus Terminus out to the Castle Cornet entry fee @ £4.50pp. Toured the castle and walked back into town. Stopped at a local supermarket for bottled water and talked to a lovely local resident. People were very friendly. Flowers were in full bloom. Took tender back to the ship for lunch at the IC.Corb/Cork/Blarney Castle & Kinsale, Ireland - pre-booked ecoach/Butler Bus @ €19.95Best value of the trip. It was €10pp to enter the Blarney Castle area whether you wished to Kiss the Stone or not. Even those who had pre-paid had to wait in the same line as others accept for the Princess tours. Lines were long and the climb uphill. There was only one Que to enter the castle which was more than an hour wait. My husband as most did give up after realizing there wasn't a separate line for just touring the inside. I toured the gardens which were beautiful. We went to the Blarney Woolen Mill but had limited time for shopping. I purchased our major souvenirs of Irish knit sweaters for the family. We had them shipped to the states.Kinsale - went to lunch at Fishy Fishy, which was close to our bus stop. We enjoyed the seafood chowder and I had a Seafood Salad with their freshly baked homemade bread. We walked the narrow streets and stopped at an ATM for more Euros' at a local bank. The machine dispensed 50's. Went inside to change to smaller bills, but with only one teller, this was a very slow transaction.Cork City - stopped for a quick visit and photo op at St. Coleman's Roman Catholic Church. The view was beautiful of the port and the spot where many tendered to board the Titanic. We could see our ship. Dublin, Ireland - tour booked through Eric Cosgrove of Cosgrove Limousines of Ireland @ €35pp No greeter was there on the port with our group leader's name nor a bus in sight. Her husband had to walk behind all the large buses to find a 16 seat bus. Fortunately, a driver/guide was found but he didn't have any idea what we had contracted to see. He wanted to steer us to museums which we didn't want. Although he ware a headset microphone, his voice was often not understandable. When asked questions, his replies weren't appropriate. We drove along the River Liffey, saw Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Phoenix Park, Molly Malone's statue and St. Stephen's Green but rarely did he pull over or advise us of the upcoming sites for a photo opportunity. It turned out not to be a tour with photo ops. Also, our first request was to tour Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. He said there were too many buses and we would come back later. Well later, he couldn't find a nearby parking space and there were numerous buses nearby. We did get to tour the Guiness Brewery @ €11pp and go up to the Gravity bar for wonderful photos of Dublin. I actually drank a stout and I am not a beer drinker. We also toured St. Patrick's Protestant Cathedral @ €11 pp. We had free time for lunch and found a local pub. We never saw the Temple Bar area. I do not recommend this tour company.Liverpool, England - on our own with friendsWe walked along the pier is the rain to Albert's Dock past the 3 Graces where we finally met our friends niece who lives in Liverpool. We visited the Beatles Museum, which had the story of their early lives and how their street band got started. The stories and many collectible pieces with art work detailed their stairway to stardom. Musical hits played and you couldn't help but start singing. I am not much of a museum lover but did enjoy this one. It put me in the mood for touring this city. We then took the Hop On Hop Off bus @ £5 pp. We rode the entire circuit as it was raining and very blustery. We saw the Liverpool Cathedral which has the world's heaviest bells, Penny Lane, the Cathedral of Christ the King known as Paddy's Wigwam, China Town, Great George Street, Cains Brewery and Parliament Street. We continued to ride this double decker bus as we had a dry seat at the front window and were close to the narrator to ask questions. We got off after the Hard Day's Night Hotel near Victoria Street and found the Cavern Club where the Beatles got their career started. We strolled the side streets trying to find a restaurant the guide had recommended with little luck. Between his accent and not knowing the area or street it was on, we almost gave up. Upon re-tracing our steps, I found it - Wetherspoons, which caters to local families and has very reasonable prices. This was off Matthew and Temple Streets. As with all pubs in the UK, you go to the bar to place your order, get your beverages, and pay. Food is delivered to your table. After lunch we walked back to a HOHO stop, but none came along. We walked to their major department store Denharm and boarded the free shopping shuttle bus back to the ship. It was very windy along the shore.Belfast, Republic of Northern Ireland - Michael McVeigh All Belfast Taxi Tours - DO NOT BOOK - He did not show up! Also do not confuse Belfast Taxi Tours with All Belfast Taxi Tours. They are 2 different companies.After difficult negotiations at the pier, both groups of 6 found independent taxi drivers to take them for just a little more than originally negotiated £40pp. Our driver had a van which was much more comfortable than putting 6 in a black cab.Giants Causeway along the Antrim Coast - small entry fee for bus to drive the hilly narrow windy coastal road was well worth the fee. Beautiful views and photo op's but hiking the paths with the cold damp winds wasn't an option any of us wanted to take.Dunluce Castle and Bally Castle stops for photo op'sBushmill's Whiskey tour led by our driver - he even got a sampling for us. Gift store was nice where we bought some nips.Lunch was at a very nice pub McHenry's Central Wine Bar.Carrick-a-ridge Rope Bridge photo op. It was more than 1 mile to walk and we elected just to view and take pictures.Belfast once back in the city our taxi, as well as hundreds of cars and buses, encountered the worst traffic jam and road closures due to a "Bomb Scare/Drill or explosion". It took almost 2 hours of alternate routes and traffic delays before we got back to the ship. I don't think we will ever know exactly what happened in Belfast near the port that day.Greenock (Glasgow) Scotland - Gordon Ross of Great Scots Tours - Excellent tour with Jim Hughes, the Piper. He would play his bagpipes to call you back to the bus and at many stops. Many other tourists enjoyed his musical talents as well. £35Village of Luss - stopped and walked in the light rain throughout this quaint little village where flowers bloomed and cottages lined the narrow streets.Doune Castle - Ruins photo op stopStirling Castle - home of the Stuart KingsRob Roy Country of the TrossachsVillage of AberfoyleCoffee break Stop & to see Sheep Shearing Lunch over a clothing store @ CallendarDesert at a small local bakery/cafe - raisin squares were excellentInvergordon/Inverness, Scotland - Bruce Neilson, Ocean Links Tours - guide Ms. Pat Murry - Excellent @ £45pp included entry feesScottish Highland - beautiful vistas even on a rainy dayBeauly Priory - 13th century ruins and cemetery in a sleepy little town - photo op Urquhart Castle- photo opTo Inverness via the North side of Loch Ness to find Nessie!Culloden Battlefield - last battle fought on British soil in 1746- photo opClava Cairns - 4,000 year old burial groundsCawdor Castle- entry fee included to this renovated and still lived in Castle. Owned by the Dowager Countess Angelilia Cawdor - no photos allowed.Clootie Well - Healing Powers - take a piece of cloth or clothing, dip in the spring water and wish for good health or luck for your loved one or yourself. Pieces of clothing from hundreds of years are hanging from tree branches in this forest area dating back 1000 years. (Ship tours do not go here.)South Queensferry, Scotland - tender port for Edinburgh - Bruce Neilson, Ocean Links Tours @ £50pp inc. entry feeAll of my guests met at 7:30AM at Vines and proceeded to the Michaelangelo Dining Room for tender tickets. We were tender group #3 and the previous group had just been called. We were tendered and on the pier by 8PM. Bruce was waiting for us and was our guide.Edinburgh - bus tour and stop at Edinburgh Castle. Touring inside would have taken too long (2 hr.) per our guide. We had time to shop at nearby gift shops. Streets were hilly, stairs were steep. We had photo op's and shopped a little on the Royal Mile. We bought a silver Celtic Cross for my birthday present. Saw Holyroad House Palace but Prince Charles & Carmella where in residence. This is the home of the Queen when she is in Scotland.Drive North via Perth to the Dewar's Scotch Whisky Distillery - long ride. Had I known, I would not have made the request. We had a pre-packaged lunch in their cafe. Toured the distilling process and watched the actual production of Scotch Whisky. Toured the museum and determined my husband is probably not related due to the family tree information shown on the tour. We had a Tasting of Scotch afterwards. I determined I am not a Scotch fan!LeHavre - Paris/Normandy, France - Overload Tours with Stefan our driver guide @ €100 pp/€800 per 8 person vanOmaha Beach - showed us where the Americans scaled the cliffsAmerican Cemetery - 9,000+ graves of soldiers whose bodies had been originally buried within 4 to 5 other cemeteries. Movement of the bodies had to be approved by families. Beautiful monuments were centered amongst numerous fields of white crosses and Stars of David. Statuary was throughout the beautiful yet solemn location. In the large monument there were huge maps showing where and what country solders who fought in battle of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 were from. The towns were preparing for a Re-enactment this weekend.Utah Beach - saw remains of turrets, bombed holes and craters, cliffs along beautiful beaches which are now enjoyed by local families on holiday.Pont'd HocLunch was at D'Day House Hotel & Restaurant at their outside cafe. This day was beautiful and the best @ 80 degrees with warm sun and delightful sea breezes.Disembarkation Day - Princess tour/transfer to Windsor Castle and Heathrow airport @ $139pp - Expensive7AM meeting at the Wheelhouse lounge. We were off by 7:15, through the long gangways and walk to the luggage terminal. Found our bags easily and there were plenty of luggage carts available thus no Porter was required. Long walk to the buses where loading of luggage onto one's bus was taking place. Our coach was delayed as one passenger returned to the ship for a lost article. Needless to say, passengers who were waiting were frustrated for this extensive delay.Arrived by 9:30AM at the Windsor Castle Bus park. We had to climb steep stairs and walk through a train station lined with high end shops out to the street where the castle was located which took about 15 minutes. We walked the cobblestoned streets and had to Que in line as the opening wasn't until 10AM. Groups were many and lines were long and the temperature was hot. I can't imagine doing this in the heat of the Summer. We had to stand in 3 lines including security screening before entering the grounds. Once inside you were on your own to wander with our audio guide or could stay with the guide Pamela. We went into St. George's Chapel, watched the changing of the Welch guard including the marching band, toured the Queen's apartment but skipped seeing the Dollhouse due to time restrictions. We walked back and stopped for a Take Away lunch, which we ate on the bus while awaiting the remaining passengers to return. Our guide and driver knew we had a 3PM flight, so stopped at our Terminal 3 to leave off passengers by 1PM. Security and check-in was fairly easy. Screening was not as thorough as in the USA as we did not have to remove our shoes.Great Cruise - Great people - Love our new Cruise Critic friendsI can cross off these many locations from my "100 Places to see" list.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin BC

A304 Handicap Accessible - we did a paid upgrade at the last minute to get this large cabin. Balcony was much longer than regular BC cabin. Bathroom space and cabin space had room for a wheelchair to turn around. Bathroom had limited shelf & counter space. There were 8 draws for storage, plus the usual shelves in a closest and double door closet. It was close to the elevators (with earplugs) noise was minimal. Heard cabin steward's cart each morning, but I was getting up early anyway.

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