Where to begin? Maybe the best way is a day-by-day account of my recent two week trip to the UK and cruise aboard the Princess Cruise Line’s Regal Princess.
Tuesday August 8, 2023
We had an evening flight to London from New York on Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Had Premium economy seats and they were very comfortable, and the flight was great.
Wednesday August 9, 2023
Flight arrived at about 9:00 am in the morning and by the time we collected our luggage, cleared customs and transferred to our hotel it was about 11:00am. We stayed at the Thistle Trafalgar Square. The hotel was in a great location within walking distance of many of London’s major visitor sites. It was a good three star hotels but was a bit disappointed with hotel amenities, no gym, no help desk, but the rooms were fine and it did the job.
Since we arrived at the hotel early, our room was not ready until 1:00 pm. That was not so good, as after a short walk around our hotel area. We sat in the lobby for a couple of hours until our room was ready. FYI……..take a later overseas flight to Europe and try to arrive closer to noon time, so that by the time you get to your hotel, your room will be ready.
Thursday August 10, 2023
An absolute must in London is to see a West End show. It is just like seeing a Broadway show and the quality is just as good as a Broadway production. We saw “Back to the Future”, a musical recreating the Michael J. Fox movie of the same name from the 1980’s. It was fantastic.
We did a lot of walking around Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and the Strand. These are all major tourist destinations and were very crowded.
For dinner we had traditional Fish and Chips at a traditional English pub, the Admiralty, right on Trafalgar Square. After dinner we strolled around Trafalgar Square and by then the crowds had thinned out and it was a delightful cloudless sunset.
Friday August 11, 2023
We got to visit the King at his official residence in London, Buckingham Palace. Well, not really. We didn’t visit with the King, or any of his family, but we did get to visit the official State rooms of Buckingham Palace.
At certain times of the year, mostly the summer months, the Palace is open to the public for tours. There is a fee to tour and the crowds do get busy. With advance reservations you won’t stand in line and from start to finish, walking through the fourteen public rooms will take about an hour at a leisurely pace.
It is a stunning walk through these rooms as well as the Palace Courtyard and Gardens. You get a real sense of how this monarchy truly lives. Be advised there is a lot of walking and comfortable shoes are a must. The Palace has even set up a café area at the end of the tour as well as a gift shop and you can linger at the Palace for as long as you’d like
We had a morning tour, so that upon completion, we jumped into a taxi and headed for Covent Garden where we met my cousins Steve and Betsy, who unbeknownst to me, had arranged a visit to London, and surprised me for my 70th birthday. We walked around and found a great outdoor restaurant for lunch.
Later that evening, we headed over to the “City” area of London near the Tower of London and met Steve and Betsy at their hotel for dinner. We had dinner at a great “locals” (no tourists) restaurant a few blocks from their hotel.
On our cab ride back to our hotel we did a little side trip and drove past St. Paul’s Cathedral, best known for the Wedding of Charles and Diana. What a great day we had.
Saturday August 12, 2023
We spent the morning packing up and then taking the two hour drive from London to Southampton to embark on our 12-night UK/Ireland/France cruise on the Regal Princess.
