This was a great cruise. You get to see a lot of interesting cities and countryside in the UK and the Regal Princess is a nice ship. If you can, take at least a couple of days either before or after the cruise to tour London. It's well worth the time and extra expense. Be aware that the weather in the UK is very changeable. We experienced some very nice weather but also rainy, cold days. Pack appropriately.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
We had to wait longer than expected to board but the overall process was easy and efficient. The Princess cruise terminal in Southampton is adequate but not particularly comfortable or appealing.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The buffet provided an adequate number of choices but became repetitive after a few days so we ate dinner in the main dining rooms for most of the cruise. We were pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of the food in the main dining rooms. The experience in the main dining rooms is much more pleasant and less crowded than the buffet and it gave us a chance to relax and decompress from the day's activities. Neither one of us was impressed by the quality of the ice cream. I thought the pizza was just ok but my traveling companion liked it much more than I did. I used room service several times and the food was delivered in a timely manner with the warm food at the correct temperature. The room service menu is a bit limited but the food was good. We did not eat in any of the specialty restaurants. My traveling companion did purchase the Crab Fest and really enjoyed it. He was impressed by the amount and quality of the sea food. He also did a wine tasting and felt the value was very good. Our major complaint was with the relative lack of access to drinking water. Free drinking water was available at all the dining venues but nowhere else. I was reluctant to drink the water from the bathroom tap in the cabin so I had to purchase bottles of water throughout the cruise. Neither of us drinks soda so the beverage package seemed like an unnecessary expense just for water. I would like to see Princess add a few places where you could fill a water bottle for free.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
I am a mid 70s male and traveled with my mid 40s son. This was his second cruise while I have been on 9 cruises so we had different expectations for the onboard activities. I didn't participate in many of the onboard activities while he did a few. We both chose this cruise for the itinerary rather than the onboard activities. People seemed to be having fun as we walked around the ship but I can't comment on the entertainment. This cruise seemed to have the usual variety of onboard activities. My traveling companion did visit the casino once and enjoyed it. Neither of us used the fitness center or the spa.
Entertainment
Neither one of us went to any of the shows although we did enjoy the music that was available throughout the ship.
Children's Programs
We were not traveling with any children.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff were friendly and helpful. Everyone had a smile on their face and greeted us pleasantly as we walked around the ship. I want to specially commend the customer service staff. I came down with a bad cold early in the cruise. My son, understandably, did not want to spend his nights listening to me coughing and hacking so he talked to the the staff to see if there was anything they could do for us. They let him move for free into an empty inside cabin for the remainder of the cruise. That was definitely going above and beyond!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship is medium sized and relatively easy to get around. The layout is normal for a ship of this size. The decor is classy and more subdued than to the Carnival ships I have been on. The common areas were very clean and well maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We upgraded to an obstructed view balcony cabin on deck 8 (E104). The cabin was roomy and had plenty of storage and closet space. The bathroom was surprisingly roomy for this level of cabin. We used the balcony quite a bit even in the cold north Atlantic part of the cruise. As I explained earlier, my son moved to an interior cabin after I came down with a cold. Interior cabins can be a little claustrophobic but he said it was roomy enough.
Ship tip
This is a port intensive cruise and several of the ports are distant from the areas and cities you may want to visit. I often arrange my own excursions but some of the ports are small and don't have many options for excursions so the excursions fill up fast. I recommend that you book your excursions as soon as possible after you book your cruise. We did not do that and had to scramble to figure out something to do in some of the ports.
Portland is a small town and all of the excursions, even the locally based ones, were fully booked. We were in port on a Sunday so we couldn't even rent a car. We took the free shuttle to the center of Weymouth and explored it on foot. It's a cute town with several nice restaurants and pubs. We had a couple of drinks outside one of the restaurants along the river. It was pleasant and relaxed. The small fort near the port is worth visiting.
We booked an excursion at this port with shoreexcursionsgroup.com to Kinsale, Cork City, and Blarney Castle. The Irish countryside is gorgeous and Kinsale and Cork were interesting and enjoyable. Our tour guide was very informative. Blarney Castle is definitely worth a visit. I did not want to climb all the way to the top of the castle to kiss the Blarney Stone so I walked around the beautiful grounds while my son waited in line to kiss the stone. He said it took over an hour to get to the stone. As a note of warning, it's a long, single file, slow climb to the top of the castle and you have to lean out backwards over open air to actually kiss the stone. If you have a fear of heights or are not particularly flexible or strong in your upper body, you might want to think about whether or not to do this. My son said that several people got to the stone and decided to not go through with kissing the stone.
We did not book an excursion at this port so we took the train from the port into Dublin. We had limited time in the city but we did the Guinness Brewery tour and visited Dublin Castle. Both were well worth the price of admission. The Guinness tour is very interesting even if you aren't a beer drinker and the view of Dublin from the top of the Guinness building is spectacular. We purchased Hop On Hop Off tickets in Dublin. Depending on what you plan to visit, you may not need the HOPO but the commentary during the tour was interesting. Be warned that rush hour traffic in Dublin is very bad so give yourself plenty of time to get back to the port.
I was too sick with a cold to visit this port. My son did go off the ship into the port. He said there is not much to do in Greenock but the beer in the local pub was cheap. I would definitely recommend scheduling an excursion at this port.
The Orkney Islands are beautiful. Kirkwall is small and walkable with several interesting places to visit. Even so, I recommend booking an excursion so you can see the rest of the island. We toured the Bishop's and Earl's palaces in Kirkwall. Both were built in the 12th century and are very interesting. We also visited St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall. It's the northernmost cathedral in the UK and is impressive and beautiful.
We booked another excursion at this port through shoreexcursionsgroup.com to Inverness and Loch Ness. It rained most of the day but the scenery was so beautiful that we didn't mind. Be careful when booking your excursion because some offer a boat ride on Loch Ness and some don't. Luckily, our tour included a boat ride on Loch Ness to Urquhart Castle. The castle is interesting but the area is hilly so be prepared for a lot of walking up and down hills. Inverness is a pretty city. I recommend visiting Inverness Cathedral and St Andrew's Cathedral. Both are beautiful. I had the best fish'n chips on the entire trip at Encore Une Fois restaurant in Inverness.
The port is about a 40 minute train ride from Edinburgh. We did not book an excursion at this port so we took the train into town. We visited Edinburgh Castle. It's not so much a castle as a fort built on several levels. The view of Edinburgh from the castle is spectacular. Make sure you purchase your tickets ahead of time. We also bought HOPO tickets in Edinburgh but didn't use them because the Royal Mile is walkable and we didn't have time to tour the rest of the city. Be aware that Edinburgh is hilly so if walking up hills is a problem, you might want a HOPO or an excursion. Edinburgh is a beautiful city with lots to see and do but it can get pretty crowded when several cruise ships are docked.
We were both tired and had previously stayed in Paris so we did not get off the ship. Be aware that Le Havre is over 100 miles from Paris and the train trip is over 2 hours each way. An excursion to either Paris or Normandy will take the entire day and you will be on a bus for several hours. We don't know what Le Havre has to offer but the port is a long walk from the city center. The port offers a 30 minute water shuttle from the dock to the city center.
The disembarkation was efficient and smooth. They assign you a group based on when you need to be off the ship. Since we weren't flying out of London until the next day, we were one of the last groups to leave the ship so that gave us plenty of time for breakfast at the buffet. I recommend booking the optional Princess shuttle to the airport because taking the train back to the airport is a long ride with several transfers. The shuttle takes you directly to your terminal at Heathrow.
Thanks for the detailed review. We’ll be on the same itinerary next month. How cold did it get in the north? We’re trying to figure out what types of clothes to bring.
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