Caribbean Princess Review
Great itinerary, not so great ship and cruise line.
Rating by category
Additional details
I'm an active, independent cruise veteran with 53 cruises over the past 42 years. I flew to London and had private limo transportation to the ship. I've toured London several times, so skipped the city this time and was comfortable overnight at a favorite Hilton hotel near Heathrow Airport. A private car service took me to Southampton the following day after a good night's rest.
I'm elite status with Princess, and enjoy the little extras this status level brings. I do wish, however, that Princess would give a discount to solo travelers (at any level), but at least with the elite cruisers - many other cruise lines do this for their solo travelers, but not Princess.
Embarkation at Southampton's rather outdated and small terminal went very smoothly, thanks to lots of practice by the mature and polite staff on duty. From drop off to boarding the ship, it was probably 10 minutes until I was in my cabin. Luggage arrived approximately an hour later (I checked in around noon. )
Cabin Review
Port Reviews
Southampton
Old part of city is fascinating for its history.
St. Peter Port (Guernsey)
Warm, scenic, friendly and fascinating blend of England and France, full of historic old buildings and a shopping paradise. Easy to walk around.
Cobh (Cork)
Very scenic and lots of Titanic history, great old buildings.
Dublin
Worth seeing all day long. I'd been there before, and skipped it this time.
Belfast
Beautiful Victorian architecture and traditional historic buildings and churches. For Titanic fans, this is the place to see it all.
Greenock (Glasgow)
Quaint small port town, a few interesting shops and classical Scottish homestead buildings. Easy to walk around and friendly people. I've been to Glasgow, and did not visit there on this cruise.
Invergordon (Inverness)
Gorgeous Highland scenery, quaint villages, lots of historic places visited and enjoyed, especially places relating to the "Outlander" books.
Edinburgh (South Queensferry)
Enjoyed seeing the port city of Leith, not far from Edinburgh, with a private car and driver, and then touring the Royal Yacht Britannia - well worth the small admission fee. I've been to Edinburg before, and did not visit there this cruise.
Le Havre
Wonderful countryside and town scenery all the time. Rouen is full of historic sights, magnificent cathedral and churches, Joan of Arc historic sights, good shops, lots of good restaurants, very French atmosphere.