WORST News To Get On British Isles Cruise and Why We Were NOT Happy

[@mariasharp2334]

Living in the UK and sailing from Southampton - a bit of port disappointment is no big thing , because you can always catch them next time round - but you guys having flown from the USA just to do this - i really FELT for you 😢 - to miss the Orkneys AND Paris must have been SO disappointing. If you ever come over again, I'd recommend skipping the port of Le Havre and looking for a British Isles cruise that stops at Honfleur, the prettiest medieval port you could wish for. Also, one that stops at St Mary's in the Scilly Isles 👍

[@MileswithMcConkey]

@@mariasharp2334 thank you for this tips. We truly appreciate it. Definitely will look into these ports next time. Thanks for watching. ❤️

[@Smokeyham]

Sorry that you had two ports cancelled. For anyone considering going on a cruise do be advised that port cancellations/changes are frequently necessary due to weather or other issues, so you need to be prepared for that to happen. Sounding the fog horn, in the fog, is also a standard safety practice.

[@MileswithMcConkey]

Thank you for that great information. Missing out on the Orkney Islands was a bummer. When you are looking forward to it so much and then find out that they cancelled the port more than they dock, it hurts. I wish they wouldn't put it on the itinerary, or at least let you know the odds of docking there are very slim. We understood the safety of the crew and passengers was their most important objective. The fog horn was a fun experience. I really liked walking around in complete fog. Something we will never forget. Thanks for watching. ❤️

[@DaveM-FFB]

It's unpredictable. On our 23 day Transatlantic cruise from Miami to Venice, Italy we were mentally prepared for inclement weather and multiple missed ports. We actually had 23 days of perfect weather. However we docked in Nassau instead of the private island port in the Bahamas (no big deal). We made all of the other 14 ports as scheduled. But on a 10 day cruise from Barcelona to Southampton, UK we missed 2 ports in Portugal due to strikes, and we missed 1 port in England due to weather. You just never know.

[@MileswithMcConkey]

I completely agree. You just can't predict the weather or strikes. Your Transatlantic cruise sounds fun. We might have to try one of those. Thanks for watching. ❤️

[@DaveM-FFB]

@@MileswithMcConkey You'll find most Transatlantic cruises in the Spring or Fall. You can expect calmer seas and better weather in March/April. I wouldn't do a Transatlantic in October/November. Some itineraries only visit a few ports, while others will visit several. Either way, it's a much lower cost per day.

[@nicolethomas1674]

You can see puffins in the US out of Maine or Iceland. Cruises and weather and unpredictable and on a cruise you only get that one day at port if you do go into the port so no waiting for better weather if you were on a vacation on land for a longer period of time.

[@MileswithMcConkey]

Thank you for that information. We usually only do land trips, but since this was our first time across the pond we just wanted to get the taste of 6 countries in 12 says. Not being on the land for several days to explore was KILLING my husband. I probably won't be able to get him on another cruise 😂. We have been to Maine and struck out there too. I was really hoping the Orkney Islands excursion to see them was the answer. Lesson learned. Thanks for the great advice and for watching. ❤️

[@nicolethomas1674]

@@MileswithMcConkey I totally get your disappointment. We just had a terrible weather in Alaska and our only nice day at port that excursion was canceled due to inclement weather. Such a gamble for so much money. Your best bet for Puffins is Iceland I guess. they have them in the north and south plus it's beautiful.

[@toddthomason3412]

First thank you for this video. I was on the 27th of May sailing. They cancelled Le Havre for us to. Our alternate was Belgium which was really nice. Now in regards to the shore excursion lecture with 'Ken." First of all......right!!! This was not good. I was thinking to myself during that lecture that first they need someone else more vibrant. His lecture is just tired and old. I actually pulled him aside and asked how to get a job as a shore excursion director. I think someone needs to make the tough decsion to kind a send him on to retirement. For such an important cruise you would think Princess would realize this. Anyways dont worry about Paris. You need more than just a day. Fly there for a few days...go to Normandy for 2 days and then go to the Loire Valley. Worth the land travel vs 14 hours of travel stress from the port.

[@MileswithMcConkey]

I feel so much better now that someone knows what we went through. You must have been on the cruise right behind us. We were getting off and you were getting on. The fact that you got Belgium, WOW!!!! My husband is so jealous. Ken is a nice guy, but couldn't agree with you more. Everything he showed and talked about was so outdated. I was hoping to get a least something small out of it and got nothing! There were SO MANY people that fell asleep during the presentation. We joked about watching him in the room at night to put us to sleep and it worked. We were out within minutes 😂. I would love to have that job, talk for 1 minute and play music for 3. Thank you for making me feel better and for watching. ❤️

[@toddthomason3412]

@@MileswithMcConkey Of course these videos are so helpful to everyone going on British Isles cruises. I hope you get a chance to go to Paris. Of course way after the olympics. I can recommend a tour guide that we used for Normandy. He had a B and B that was actually a battalion aid station during D Day and a soldier who died there is buried at the American Cemetery. I believe his company is called normandybattletours. You can of course travel to Versailles and the Louire Valley for day tours. Nice chatting with you. Todd

[@wadewave4323]

It's unfortunate, but things like this do happen. Weather usually being the cause. The Paris strike sucked, that's for sure. I did the 2023 World Cruise on Island Princess and we had 7 ports canceled. Mostly New Zealand and Australia. The two destinations that were high on my list. I just hunkered down and had fun with our group of friends. We actually did a pub crawl to make up for it.

[@MileswithMcConkey]

OMG, 7 ports cancelled!!! I would be crying. When you pay that kind of money to see places you dream about only to have it taken away 💔. A world cruise sounds so amazing!!! I don't think I will be able to get my husband on another cruise after this one. He wants to explore places fully for days and to drive by in a bus was KILLING him. He kept wanting to scream "Stop the bus and let me out" I understand you can't control weather or strikes, but the news still stung just the same. Thank you for understanding and watching. ❤️

[@tommyedodson2412]

Even Princess can't control Mother Nature or those striking French (which can happen a lot unfortunately). Hope the rest of your cruise was better.

[@MileswithMcConkey]

I completely agree with you. These were at the end, so the beginning of the cruise was amazing. 😁. It was a great cruise, just hated missing out on Orkney Islands, especially when we found out that they cancel the port more times then they dock. Then just take it off the itinerary, is my opinion. Thanks for watching. ❤️

[@AndreaRichardson-jb4xt]

Can you share what were your travel dates?

[@MileswithMcConkey]

Hi Andrea. Yes, we took this cruise in May. I did an entire video series on it. You might want to watch Day 1 where I go over all the ports with dates and times to get a better feel of the trip. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for watching. ❤️

[@Kittycats26]

I’m sorry your itinerary was upset but I live in the UK and for years I’ve struck Paris off my list of places to visit. There’s just too much negative stuff going on there. It’s often on our news here, riots and so on. To top that off, the Olympics are on so I’d be avoiding because of that as well. A real shame that Normandy got struck off though.

[@MileswithMcConkey]

Your kind words was so nice to hear. Thank you!! ❤️. I have heard this from MANY people about Paris. I heard it's dirty and lots of pick-pocketers, but I was hoping that since it was May and the Olympic were coming, then it would be a little cleaner. I did feel really bad for the older people on our cruise about missing Normandy. It was a lot of "bucket list" places for them. Thanks for watching. ❤️

[@gulfislander11]

Whine whine whine whine.........

[@MileswithMcConkey]

I like Wine 🍷 . Thanks for watching 😂.