This summer my family and I went on our second European cruise. Last year, we took the Disney Magic on a ten night Mediterranean cruise sailing from Barcelona. It was glorious. This year, we took the Royal Princess on a twelve day British Isles cruise from July 23 to August 4, 2018. This cruise was somewhat unusual in that some passengers boarded and commenced their cruise from Le Havre, France and others from the next port, Southampton, England. In total we had the pleasure of visiting 4 countries, 9 ports of call and travelled over 4000 kilometers. Interestingly, we had sailed the Royal Princess' sister ship, the Regal Princess a few years back when we did our first ever cruise - that being the Eastern Caribbean.
We picked up the boat in Le Havre. We had spent a few days in Paris (see my post below).
We flew in on Air France as opposed to our usual use of Air Canada. I have to tell you that we were a bit nervous with our decision as Air France had begun to experience strikes starting in February. Indeed, Air France pilot unions and ground crews went on strike in March twice and another six times in April. By May we were really concerned. The union had given new strike dates by the end of April (May 3, 4, 7, and 8) and it was clear that neither side was backing down. On May 5th, Air France CEO resigned. We still hung on to our AF tickets and did not find alternatives. Then the news breaks in June. Air France workers will strike starting June 23 to the 27th. Meetings are scheduled, we watch the news closely. Will there be a deal? By June 19th, news reports state that the strikes will be cancelled in preparation of meeting the new CEO at the beginning of July. There is no further news. We are hopeful we will get on a plane that has a pilot when we need to get to Paris. And, we do.
Despite the drama, I liked Air France. Boarding was relatively hassle free. Once on board we noticed the pitch of the seats in economy were more generous than that of Air Canada - and certainly Air Rouge which we had flown the summer before. They had a very cheeky safety video which was charming and I actually wanted to watch. They too had 'back of the seat' individualized entertainment systems - and the earphones were free (unlike AC). The selection was okay - there were certainly Hollywood films and programming for kids, and coming from France of course there was lots of European films. We had ordered in advance a kids menu for our youngest. The kids were served first (thank you!) and the selection was geared to their tastes. Our food was passable - as far as airline food goes - but what I loved is the bar service. Included was a pre-dinner glass of sparkling wine, as much wine as you wanted for dinner, and a lovely digestive - I had a great pear liquor. We also did not need to purchase a pillow or blanket (again unlike the AC service) - it was right there waiting for us. I would definitely fly Air France again - if they ever settle with the pilots. Even today, there is no settlement. The latest reports stated that Air France unions would meet August 27 to go over strike plans. I don't know what came of those plans. I am just happy that we got to Paris and came back home without delay.
An important tip for travelling on this cruise it to fully understand how far Normandy is from Paris. Le Havre and Paris are approximately 200 km apart and a travel time of approximately 2.5 hours. With that kind of distance between us, we wanted to be sure we made it to the boat on time. We decided to take the Princess offering of transportation via a motor coach leaving from the city's center. Unfortunately, that meant that we had to leave early on the morning of the 23rd and not later as we had hoped. On the bright side the trip was comfortable and hassle free.
I have to tell you, I am a big fan of Princess Cruise Lines. I find the ships are always well maintained, the staff very accommodating and the food top notch. I was not a fan of Royal Caribbean. I find the food on Disney not as good as Princess but they do entertainment very well. On the Disney ships, the live shows are about as good as Broadway.
The 12 day British Isles cruise could either start (and finish) in Le Havre or South Hampton. We chose Le Havre because we wanted to spend a few days in Paris rather than London. With 9 ports of call, I found this cruise exhausting. We had 7 ports before a sea day and boy was I looking forward to a relaxing day at sea after going non-stop for 7 days - not including our whirlwind time in Paris. The final sea day was the day before disembarking in Le Havre.