Great Way to See the British Isles! - British Isles & Western Europe "Ports" Review by Love Those Grandkids

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Love Those Grandkids's Port Reviews of Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Paris (Le Havre)
Crown Princess cruise in May 2011

Member Name:	Love Those Grandkids
Cruise Date:	May 2011
Embarkation:	London (Southampton)
Destination:	British Isles & Western Europe
Member Review:	Love Those Grandkids's Crown Princess Review

	Belfast Port Rating: Our private driver met us at the dock and was wonderful! (Tours by Locals) His name was Kevin. He was full of information on the history of the divided Ireland. He took us to see Belfast and the Peace Wall. We then went across the hills, stopping to see local interests, and ended up at the Giant's Causeway. We hiked down to see that, and then drove to Bushmill's Distillery for a late lunch. As we drove back into Belfast, there was a bomb scare and the freeways were all shut down. Our driver was afraid we would be late, but as it turned out, lots of tour buses were also sitting, and by 7:30 p.m. everyone was back on board. We did not feel afraid, and feel sorry for the locals there, as they will probably lose cruise business if things like that continue to happen.
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	Dublin Port Rating: We toured Dublin on our own, and probably missed some highlights by doing so. However, we had a good day. We went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. Very interesting display. We then hopped on a hop-on, hop-off bus and rode around. We ate lunch at the Guinness brewery, which was fun. Our day ended with Grafton Street, which is closed to traffic and full of shopping.
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	Edinburgh Port Rating: My husband's family comes from a little town in Scotland called Killin. We again hired a private driver, Billy, who picked us up at the dock and drove us to Killin. It was a wonderful day. The countryside is so beautiful, and the town of Killin actually has a cemetery named after my husband's family! We got the key to the cemetery from the visitor's center and saw it. After lunch, our driver took us to his sister's home which was nearby. It turned out to be a castle, and was amazing. Truly a highlight of the whole cruise! The same day, my brother stayed and went to see St. Andrews, because he loves golf. He said it was great. Unfortunately, we will have to travel back to Scotland because we all missed seeing Edinburgh!
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	Liverpool Port Rating: We took the ship's tour into Wales this day. We had a great guide and a wonderful day. It was one of the only rainy days we had, which was fine as we traveled by bus. We drove through Ruffin, where my relatives live. Couldn't stop, of course, so will have to go back there as well! We ended up in Llangollen, Wales, where we boarded a train for a lovely train ride. Had a nice group lunch (two bus loads of us)before driving back. Great day.
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	Paris (Le Havre) Port Rating: My sister-in-law and I traveled on the ship's tour bus to Paris. The drive, while long, had wonderful scenery. Once in Paris, we drove around so we could get a feel for the town (and see the Arch de Triomphe) before stopping at the Eiffel Tower. After picture taking, we drove to the dock where we boarded a boat for a Seine River cruise and lunch. It was lovely, and lasted over two hours. We then went to the Galeries Lafayette to do quick shopping. That was probably the least favorite part of the day, as we didn't have enough time, and it was so huge we didn't know where to begin. My husband and brother went to see Normandy this same day. They had a wonderful time and would recommend it, even though of course there isn't enough time to see everything.
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