How is the British Isles Cruise?

[ChicosWife]

What has been your experience with the BI cruise? Coming from California, were the flights to London expensive? We've never been to Europe, so this would be a whole new flying and cruise experience for us.

TIA

 

[tink1970]

I don't want to come off as being sassy (because I'm not intending to sound that way) but have you been following @poisonivy's trip report? It sounds like she, her husband and son as well as others on the trip loved it! Anyway, her tr is very thorough and answers AT LOT of questions (although she flew from the East Coast).

https://disboards.com/threads/disney-magic-12-nt-british-isles-cruise-2017.3623371/

Last year my family and I did the Dover to Barcelona cruise and it was our first DCL in Europe. We loved it. Hang the cost, the experience was wonderful. Just my 2 cents I'd love to do the BI cruise as well...and the Baltic...and the Iceland...and yep, all of them!

 

[Alohagirl73]

This is an awesome cruise. We did the inaugural and want to do it again. We too came from California but had a direct flight from San Diego on British Airways. It wasn't cheap for 3 plus an infant.

I too recommend Poison Ivy's trip report. She is writing a very detailed report.

 

[EllinK]

We are also from CA. Went last year and really enjoyed it. Couldn't find a deal on airfare so we decided to stopover in Iceland and at least feel like we were getting more for our $$. Iceland was also amazing. I can give you specifics about what we did, what we liked etc. Feel free to ask questions.

 

[ChicosWife]

I don't want to come off as being sassy (because I'm not intending to sound that way) but have you been following @poisonivy's trip report? It sounds like she, her husband and son as well as others on the trip loved it! Anyway, her tr is very thorough and answers AT LOT of questions (although she flew from the East Coast).

https://disboards.com/threads/disney-magic-12-nt-british-isles-cruise-2017.3623371/

Last year my family and I did the Dover to Barcelona cruise and it was our first DCL in Europe. We loved it. Hang the cost, the experience was wonderful. Just my 2 cents I'd love to do the BI cruise as well...and the Baltic...and the Iceland...and yep, all of them!

Thanks for the trip report link. I hadn't seen it. How did the kids like it? Our past cruises have been tropical with lots of water activities. I worry that they may be bored just sight-seeing and looking at historic sites.

We are also from CA. Went last year and really enjoyed it. Couldn't find a deal on airfare so we decided to stopover in Iceland and at least feel like we were getting more for our $$. Iceland was also amazing. I can give you specifics about what we did, what we liked etc. Feel free to ask questions.

Where did you fly out of? How long did you stay in Iceland? Were 2 flights (with the stayover in Iceland) cheaper than just a direct flight to London?

 

[tink1970]

Thanks for the trip report link. I hadn't seen it. How did the kids like it? Our past cruises have been tropical with lots of water activities. I worry that they may be bored just sight-seeing and looking at historic sites

I think @poisonivy's son is an adult but there are a couple of people posting on her thread who had children and it sounds like they enjoyed themselves...not sure what activities they did, though. In France, there's DL Paris as an excursion (actually 3 or 4 different ones) which would appeal to kids of all ages; I know in London most people hit up the Harry Potter Studios (pre or post cruise). Scotland has a fascinating (read: bloody) history so if you have the right guide all that dry history comes alive in a fun way...of course having the right guide is key I just went to the port adventures section for this year's cruise and there seem to be quite an assortment of different experiences-sort of made me wish I was on the cruise for this year

 

[ChicosWife]

I think @poisonivy's son is an adult but there are a couple of people posting on her thread who had children and it sounds like they enjoyed themselves...not sure what activities they did, though. In France, there's DL Paris as an excursion (actually 3 or 4 different ones) which would appeal to kids of all ages; I know in London most people hit up the Harry Potter Studios (pre or post cruise). Scotland has a fascinating (read: bloody) history so if you have the right guide all that dry history comes alive in a fun way...of course having the right guide is key I just went to the port adventures section for this year's cruise and there seem to be quite an assortment of different experiences-sort of made me wish I was on the cruise for this year

I didn't think of doing DL in Paris. That would be enjoyable for all of us! Thanks!

 

[tink1970]

I didn't think of doing DL in Paris. That would be enjoyable for all of us! Thanks!

The bus ride is long, so I didn't go when we were in port but I was super tempted to! I keep thinking it's another reason to go back...of course I'm always thinking of "another reason to go back."

 

[mousefan73]

We were looking at this cruise, but we live in Germany and have been to London so many times. I would hope anyone planning this cruise adds on a few days before/after just for London. (Believe port is Dover). IMO London as a single day port call is not doing any justice and a shame as there’s too much to see and do. More than NYC. And who only visits NYC for 8 hrs??

 

[Kate_45]

I would be a long day going to DLP from the boat, but it would be super easy to visit there before or after and get the train straight from the parks to central London.

 

[Calfan]

We did the 12-day BI cruise last summer (2017) and loved it! We'd definitely consider doing it again. That was our fourth DCL European cruise (Med, Iceland/Norway/Scotland, Baltics) and maybe our favorite of the four. We live in Idaho but actually booked our flights to/from San Francisco to use United miles. I ended up scoring a saver upgrade to first class for our flights there about a week out, which was awesome. We spent three nights in Cornwall and two in London before the cruise. Cornwall was absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend. We enjoyed London too. We did the Harry Potter Studios tour, the London Eye and high tea. My kids were 12 and 14 on the cruise (although closer to 13 and 15). In Invergordon, we did the horseback riding PA through DCL which we really enjoyed. We also did a number of private tours so we could be a little more active on our excursions.

 

[EllinK]

Where did you fly out of? How long did you stay in Iceland? Were 2 flights (with the stayover in Iceland) cheaper than just a direct flight to London?

We flew from LAX to Iceland on WOW. Although they frequently have super cheap flights, they don't seem to have them in July, which was when we wanted to travel. Tix from LA to Iceland to London were around $850, I think. That was slightly cheaper than flying direct to London AND it got us to Iceland!! We loved Iceland. We were there for 5 days, including travel. If you have outdoorsy or active kids, this place is awesome. I can tell you more if you're interested.

The British Isles trip: my son is not big on museums, he would much rather 'do' than 'look' which can be a challenge when touring Europe. We found some great options. I had 2 favorites. One was a Disney PA. I usually don't care for these because they are too $$$ and have too many people. In Kirkwall, Scotland we went on a walk along the cliffs overlooking the sea. Sounds boring, it was amazing. The other was something we booked on our own. I found a place in Newcastle that does falconry and has other birds of prey. Again, absolutely fantastic.

 

[wajones2]

We did the British Isles in 2017, and are hoping they bring the 12 night back for 2019! We did 5 pre-nights in London and 2 post-nights in London. The cruise itself was by far our favorite...Family of 3 (DD was 7). If they stop in Le Harve again, we are going to stay closer to the port vs driving into Paris for the day. I think our pre-nights will be in Paris next time.

 

[EllinK]

In Le Havre we went to Giverney and really enjoyed it.