British Isles Cruise on Regal Princess
Ports of call - Cobh for Cork, Dun Laoghaire for Dublin, Belfast, Holyhead, Greenock for Glasgow, Invergordon, South Queensferry for Edinburgh and Le Havre.
Our port highlights: - We absolutely loved Fota Wildlife Park, which was just 10 minutes by train from Cobh. I would describe it as a safari park that you walk around. It was absolutely huge and we loved seeing the giraffes, and being able to walk amongst wallabies and kangaroos. - Belfast was brilliant because we spent a fun day catching up with friends who live there. We loved the tropical greenhouses and the Botanical Gardens and we were really impressed by the Ulster Museum, especially how hands on and interactive some of the areas were for children. - We also enjoyed Invergordon, because it was a walk off port, which was so easy and made for a relaxed day. Although the town was small we enjoyed exploring the local gift shops, museum and doing the mural trail. - Edinburgh was a highlight, not just for the castle and the Royal Mile; we also really enjoyed the smooth tender ride in the sunshine with beautiful views of our ship and the Forth Bridge. - Our biggest surprise was Le Havre. Many people had told us they don’t usually bother getting off the ship when docking here, and when we had visited previously we had taken an excursion to the smaller local town of Honfleur. However, this time we headed into Le Havre itself, specifically to the beach area, Plage du Havre, and we were really impressed. There were sandy volleyball and football courts (which were great for building sandcastles in, as well as playing sports of course!), the beach itself and the sea to paddle in, kiosks with beach snacks and adventure playgrounds that kept our children very happy. Seeing an extreme sports festival being set up, and the contestants practising, was the icing on the cake for us.
Our ship highlights - - The Retreat - We visited the Retreat early on in the cruise when the weather wasn’t so good, but then totally forgot about the area! Big mistake, it would have been stunning in the sunshine and we wish we had spent more time up here, including in the adults only pool. - Camp Discovery kids club (The Lodge for 8-12 year olds) - This was absolutely loved by both our children. They had so much fun up there, made friends (one of our children now has a new pen pal!), and took part in so many competitions and craft activities. They also attended a really fun kids club pizza party one evening with the club. - The Buffet Menu - This was exceptionally good, especially the international themed nights. We loved how the different options each night often tied in with our ports of call. - The included "freebies"! We loved the fact that ice cream up by the pool was included in the standard cruise fare, plus that we could get free hot chocolate at the terminal each time we returned to the ship (plus cookies/brownies when it was tender port!), and my daughter loved collecting a new pendant each day from the Effy jewellery store. - The family fun fair in the atrium on one of the sea days was another family highlight. The children loved taking part in various activities and competitions to win raffle tickets for the prize draw. My daughter was thrilled to win the Captain Stanley cuddly toy she had been admiring in the gift shop all week! - The sushi - We had a great meal at Seafood Terrace, and were really impressed by the lunchtime sushi banquet in the buffet; the selection was vast. - The sports decks at the top of the ship were brilliant, with so much space and great facilities and equipment (pickleball, basketball, golf, mini golf, table tennis, shuffleboard, walking/jogging track). Along with the gym, spa and pools, these facilities were amazing for anyone who wanted to stay active on their cruise. - Our cabin, a spacious mini suite, was in a great location on the lido deck. A lovely perk of this cabin type was being greeted with a glass of champagne.
We would happily return and sail on Regal again, or one of her sister ships. We found her stylish, and the staff were both friendly and professional. The British Isles itinerary was very quiet, with a mainly adult, internationally mixed crowd on board. The ship felt calm, spacious and rarely busy. There were enough children on board for family and kids clubs activities to run, and for our children to make friends, however the number of children on board overall was low. This was perfect for us. Of course, the medallion technology on Princess was a great perk too - being able to locate each other on board easily, opening our cabin door automatically when we approached and charging items to our bill using no-touch technology were great. Overall, a fantastic experience that we would happily repeat.
