British Isles Cruise 2026 - Disembarkation / Flight Home (09/07/26)

Today was a lot of "Hurry up and Waiting."  RQS and I had requested special help from the airline to get us through the airport, and I'm glad she did so.  

But first...

We got up around 6 am, so that we could get showered and dressed, and out of our cabin by 7:30 am.  And we did just that, even though we had a disembarkation time of 9:15 am.  Our first stop was the restaurant at the back of the ship, so that we;d be able to have a leisurely breakfast and have a place to wait until our disembarkation group was called sometime after breakfast.

Waiting, waiting, and waiting....  We moved closer to the gangway around 9:00 am and waited.  At 9:15 am, we took the long walk through another restaurant at the back of the ship, through the long ramps to enter the cruise terminal, then on another path to the luggage pickup area.  Once we found our luggage, we then started another long process to find the bus to take us to the airport.  And that was a stop and go process until we got to the bus that would take us to the airport.

They were loading buses based on the departure terminal, and we had to wait again to get a free bus and have our luggage loaded for the trip to the airport.  Unlike most buses, this one had a trailer to hold our luggage - and ours was loaded in the rear, meaning first in, last out.  This would be a problem later on, as both of us needed to take bio-breaks before we reached the airport, and couldn't do so until we got our luggage back.

When we finally had our luggage in hand, we rushed to the toilets for our much needed bio-breaks.  And then to the desk to check in for our flight.  RQS had requested wheelchair help, knowing that it was both a long distance to walk through Heathrow to get to the plane, and a long distance to walk through JFK in New York to get to the ride share area.  And again, we had to wait for wheelchair assistance which would take us to and through security, and then to the handicapped waiting room.  Unfortunately, we were escorted through security by two different people and deposited to two different destinations.  And RQS had problems finding me.

Our hurry up and waiting at Heathrow didn't end there.  There is a cart that is used to take mobility challenged people to the gates, and they wanted us to share the cart with 3 other people, with no provisions for our luggage.  They thought it strange that we'd each have a carry-on and a personal bag, and for both of us to be carrying medical bags of different sizes.  (My bag was bigger, as I use a CPAP machine.)  So we had to wait again to get a cart to deliver the 2 of us to another waiting area near the departure gate.  And that still wasn't the end of our waiting, as another person had to deliver the 2 of us to the departure gate, and to the plane.

The flight was uneventful.  But there was one thing of note.  A large number of ultraconservative Jews were on the plane, and one was standing up and praying in the middle of the flight.  If that wasn't strange enough, another man came along the aisle and was asking every man he found whether he was Jewish or not.  By the time the plane landed, my butt was aching and I couldn't wait to get to RQS's place.

Neither of us were in a rush to get off the plane.  We had nowhere to go but home.  And, when we got off the plane, two wheelchairs were waiting for us.  And then, we were separately wheeled through customs, then to the baggage claim area.  The gentleman wheeling me around shared a conversation about dual citizenship, and I mentioned my foreign birth registration, and he noted his dual citizenship.  Eventually, we were dropped off at the ride share area.

The Uber ride to RQS's place was quick, and the driver helped us deposit our bags at RQS's front door.  I was lucky - my legs weren't failing me, and I had all the strength I needed to get ALL our bags upstairs.  It was a long day, and I was glad it was finally over!

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Le Havre (09/06/26)

Today, I had no plans to get off the ship.  Visiting Paris on a curated shore excursion might expose me to leg pain that I couldn't manage.  And I had to save myself for the flight home tomorrow.  Instead, it was another day on the ship, where I could eat and drink (usually diet cokes) as I please, and be able to go back to my cabin to rest.

RQS has been a doll about this, taking care of little things when my legs didn't want to cooperate with me.  I'm grateful to have her around.  But I digress....

Although I started packing last night for the return home, I still have much to do.  Somehow, even with only a teddy bear for my neighbor's child as a souvenir, I have to fit ALL the stuff I brought with me into the luggage I have with me.  And that may be an effort with compression bags and the like. 

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RQS was interested in getting off the ship and exploring the town for 30 minutes or so.  After seeing the price of the shuttle bus that would take her to town ($20), she considered it not worth the price.  (Even if my legs and back were feeling up to it, I likely would not have bothered with this port stop for reasons of my own.)   About the only thing I might have made the effort to visit here were the D-Day beaches at Normandy, and to pay my respects at the American cemetery there. 

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Sea Day #3 (09/05/26)

 

Another sea day, and it's time to do some laundry before we leave the ship.  Tomorrow, the ship may empty when it makes port at Le Havre, but we won't be taking any excursions from that port.  It's a long trip to either Paris or Normandy, and I'm not in the mood to suffer another bus ride to see any part of France right now.  Bur, if I had to make a choice, it would be the D-Day beaches at Normandy, where America last did something worthy of our ideals. But then, I am a little disgusted at the current VPOTUS who claimed that POTUS (also known as the Orange Monster in this blog) has won the war with Iran, while claiming we're not in an undeclared war.  (I'm glad I qualify for a second citizenship in a land which is both free and respectful of human rights.)

For the most part my back and my legs have been behaving.  I shudder to think what will happen if they give out before I return home.  But I'm not going to think much about that for now.  Instead, I'm going to think back on this trip, and be thankful that I was able to enjoy it as much as I did.

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RQS sent me a Facebook post about a lady who made an authorized deviation from her cruise itinerary, and got burnt because of it.  Yet, she may have an amazing adventure to talk about when she returns to the ship....

One lady made arrangements with the cruise line to depart the ship in Greenock and board again in Edinburgh. This would give her an extra few days in Scotland to be with her friends.  One problem: We couldn't make port in Edinburgh due to high winds.   So, she was stranded, even though everyone did everything according to the rules.  So now, she had to find a way to make it from Edinburgh to London, London to Paris, and Paris to Le Havre before the ship leaves for Southampton.  I hope she makes it.

This is why I'm extra careful about shore excursions.  They can and will go wrong.  Somehow, a person must be able to get back to the ship as planned. 

 

PS: I met this woman as she was at guest services while in Le Havre.  She ended up flying to Paris and then took the train to Le Havre to get back on the ship.  Hopefully, she'll post more of her story online soon. 

 

  

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Edinburgh (Cancelled) / Sea Day #2 (09/04/26)

 

Due to high winds, our port stop for Edinburgh / South Queensferry was cancelled.  In its place was another sea day.  Given how many ports this cruise has stopped at already, this cruise was still well worth the money spent.  Sadly, our next port stop is in Le Havre, France, a port where I have no intentions of getting off the ship.

Both RQS and I have been getting over colds.  I caught mine about a day or two before her, and I'm hoping that we've recovered enough to be comfortable on our flight home.  Over the next three days, we'll try to take advantage of venues on the ship that I would have missed due to shore excursions keeping us off the ship if we were in port.  One thing I know: We will be doing another load of laundry soon.

For the most part, we stayed inside our cabin, except when it was time to eat.  RQS wasn't feeling well, and I was restoring work I was doing on my cruise blog.  And on a sea day, rest is always the order of the day.

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Kirkwall / Orkney Islands (09/03/26)

 

 

This would be the last port day in an English speaking country, though I didn't know it at the time.  We had scheduled an excursion to see the Ring of Brodan and Skara Brae, and that wouldn't leave until 11:15. So that meant we would have room service deliver breakfast to the room, and we could enjoy it at leisure.

At 9:15, our breakfast came, and we feasted.  (It's nice to have room service for breakfast!)  Then, we were off on our shore excursion.  I didn't know much about the Orkneys, especially about its ancient settlements.  It was good to hear the tour guide talk about the Ring of Brodar and Skara Brae on the way to these sites.

 

The Orkney islands are beautiful, and the road to these heritage sites was alone worth going on the shore excursion.  Our first stop was at the Stones of Stenness.these stones are a henge similar to that at Stonehenge.  And next was the Ring of Brodar.  This ring was older than Stonehenge, and likely served a similar function.  It's hard to believe that these stones were moved to these sites without the use of modern technology. Finally came Skara Brae - a settlement site that is 5,000 years old.  This was the most the most interesting site on the tour, but not the most photogenic one.

Finally, it was back to the ship, and we were among the last to board the ship. 

 

 

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Sea Day #1 (09/02/26)

 

It was not the best of days outside, and we had nowhere to go except for lunch and dinner.  So, we took advantage of the option to have Room Service breakfast to start our day.  And we found that the quality of the food delivered to us was slightly better than would be found in the buffet, as the hot food we had was a little warmer and fresher. 

After breakfast, we had to rebook our Edinburgh excursion.  Our original shore excursion was cancelled, and we had to find (and book) one that would both fit our interests and our budget.  Luckily, we found one, and were able to book this excursion without any complications. 

We had nothing left to do until lunch.  And this would be a hearty one, as we had reservations at the Crab Shack pop-up.  This restaurant is not part of our fare, so it is the one time we're paying extra for our meal.  And it is generally worth it on all Princess Cruises' ships.

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 Around 1 pm, we sauntered down to Crab Shack, where we had a filling lunch.  Unlike the last time we ate at Crab Shack, I was unimpressed with the Clam Chowder.  But the Signature Seafood Pot made up for it, even though they had to substitute Snow Crab Legs for Dungeness Crab.  By the time 2 pm came, we were filled to the gills, and not in the mood to contemplate dinner at 7 pm.

At 7 pm, we went to the ship's casual dining restaurant to have some pizza.  It was good, and we didn't have to suffer the slow service we had in the ship's main dining room.  Additionally, it was a much shorter walk for me as well - less wear and tear on the legs.

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While editing my cruise blog, I lost the entire contents of an entry which I've been writing for the better part of 10 days.  AARGH!  Now, I have to take the time to reconstruct it from notes I made in this blog.  Wish me luck! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 British Isles Cruise 2026 - Sea Day #1 (09/02/26)

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Glasgow / Greenock (09/01/26)

 

The day started off with my usual problems with my back and with my legs.  I wasn't totally crippled.  But I was glad that I didn't have to walk far, as today's shore excursion would take us on a 1 hour cruise on Loch Lomond

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RQS and I went for a late breakfast, picking up items from the ship's coffee and light pastry shop.  It was not much, but it was what we needed to get moving.  After we got back to the room, my GI-Tract began to tell me that it wasn't in love with me anymore.  I didn't pay it much mind until Lunch time, and then it demanded my attention.

30 minutes later, we were off to our shore excursion, and I was glad to have taken care of business when I could do so.  But this would not be the end of it.  Walking to the tour bus was an effort, especially since the weather was gloomy and that the rain would be coming down at any minute.  30 minutes into the trip to Loch Lomond, the bus stopped to give people a chance for a bio-break and to do some shopping.  As for me, I stayed on the bus and tried to rest.

Eventually, we got to Loch Lomond for the 1 hour cruise.  It rained a bit, but not enough to ruin the excursion.  On our return to the ship, the tour guide asked us: "At what time does the ship leave port?" And I answered: "15 minutes after the bus drops us off."  I wasn't joking.  The bus was running late due to traffic, and we were among the last people to return to the ship.  As I expected, the ship did leave port shortly after we returned to the ship.

Once back in our room, our cabin attendant had a complaint to make.  We made his life harder for him when my GI Tract caused me trouble.  Although there was nothing I could have done differently, I won't have to worry about this happening again.  And - I know he'll be getting an extra special tip for going above and beyond when cleaning up the room.