Terrific first ocean cruise

With the help of a travel agent we discovered the Princess British isles cruise for Sept,2019 on the Pacific Princess.

The 650 guest ship was perfect. Big enough to offer great resources, small enough to be easily accessible.

We were fortunate to have terrific weather and smooth seas even over the Orkneys atop Scotland

Princess gave a reasonable a la Carte rate, even tho there were continual extra costs. Many such as over priced tours, drinks on board and internet to name three were avoidable.

The staff were terrific exhibiting a sincere and customer focused attitude. The entertainment was way above what we expected from other reviews. We ( and other reviewers ) can often be critical, so this is a true compliment. Irish and scotch shows were great. Nick Page of London’s Le Mis fame was an incredible final show. The ship band and dancers were also terrific as was the comedian, magician and other solo artists.

We had 13 stops in 15 days all of which were negotiated by a safety conscious crew. One downside was occasional inconvenient access to city centers for those not on a Princess tours especially Edinburg. However there were easily accessible local tours, hop on off busses,(Dublin) local trains (Holyhead) and interesting walks (Edinburg) among others.

We took three Princess tours to Lands end in Cornwall, to the standing stones in the Orkney’s and the bus thru London which were well guided tho overpriced.

Food was plentiful, well prepared and efficiently and sweetly served in the buffet and regular dining room. We tried one dinner in one of the two special cover charged Dining rooms which while ok was not worth the extra cost.

The exercise room was comparable to a Planet fitness gym. We avoided the costly spa and other similar services

My T-Mobile phone gave me free and good internet access near and ashore vs the costly Princess plans.

We ignored the small casino, and jewelry store as did most it seemed.

we travelled with our adult son and spouse which was fun. A sept cruise avoided lots of annoying kids!

In summary it was a terrific first cruise, great itinerary, super staff and smartly negotiated by us to be reasonably priced. The great weather made it a total success

We chose a lower level cabin which was comfortable, nicely furnished and very stable. I’d do that again vs the overpriced higher levels. We used it largely to sleep in the very comfortable bed and consume some liquors purchased in cities.

We purchased our own air travel at a discount and avoided the over priced Princess pre tour hotels.