Disney Magic 12 nt. British Isles Cruise 2017

[poison ivy]

Oxford looks really interesting as well!!! Beautiful and historic! And I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan, as is my daughter and husband. On our last day in London (after disembarking from the cruise) we went to Harry Potter Studios. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So amazing, well organized, beautiful ... and I fan girled all over the place. I really want to go back to London now for at least another week!!!!

You'd be among many friends if you do an HP Oxford walking tour. back in 2012 visitors to Christ Church Cathedral increased by 350,000 as HP fans descended on the University. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-17434129

Sounds like great fun to visit the HP Studios in London. JQ isn't a big fan but Iron Man definitely is. He'd have loved that tour.
He got a lot of mileage out of this costume at the 2013 MNSSHP. Kept hearing "Harry Potter what are you doing here?" all night.

Too funny!

 

[disneymomto5]

From the pictures it looks sunny and warm. Can you address what the weather was like for most of the cruise? Will have to pack light so don't know if I should take shorts, or jeans.

 

[JenTen1585]

You'd be among many friends if you do an HP Oxford walking tour. back in 2012 visitors to Christ Church Cathedral increased by 350,000 as HP fans descended on the University. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-17434129

Sounds like great fun to visit the HP Studios in London. JQ isn't a big fan but Iron Man definitely is. He'd have loved that tour.
He got a lot of mileage out of this costume at the 2013 MNSSHP. Kept hearing "Harry Potter what are you doing here?" all night.

Too funny!

View attachment 270788

View attachment 270790

View attachment 270789

OMG!!! Awesome!!! We are doing a Harry Potter theme for Halloween this year. My husband is being Harry, my daughter Hermione, and I'm going to be Luna.

 

[JenTen1585]

From the pictures it looks sunny and warm. Can you address what the weather was like for most of the cruise? Will have to pack light so don't know if I should take shorts, or jeans.

Definitely jeans and not shorts. I will tell you from a SW Floridian perspective (so consider me a whimp!): London had beautiful weather while we were there. Jeans, a light shirt, and light jacket, which you would take on and off. But Scotland was at times very, very cold, and very rainy (again from a Floridian perspective). My family all wore jeans, long sleeve shirt, sweater, and rain jacket, scarf, and my daughter and I would wear gloves. Even northerners looked chilly in Scotland, especially Kirkwall, where it was really windy and raining off and on.

I will tell you, I was not disappointed in the weather - I found it a really nice and refreshing change from Florida's heat in the summer! I enjoyed putting on the layers and it didn't damper a single tour. But pack layers and you can probably leave the shorts at home!!!

 

[JenTen1585]

Here are a couple of pics from Harry Potter Studios in London or right outside of London (It's actually about an hour bus ride to get there but you can buy the bus transfer with the ticket on the Harry Potter Studios website, and they play the Harry Potter Movie on the way there so the time passes quickly):

On the train,you can actually walk through and they have a compartment decorated with props from each year!

You can see how happy my daughter is! This was her favorite tour of the trip! LOL!

 

[poison ivy]

From the pictures it looks sunny and warm. Can you address what the weather was like for most of the cruise? Will have to pack light so don't know if I should take shorts, or jeans.

Good question disneymomto5:

The weather was one of the biggest hurdles we had with packing for this cruise.

Yes! sunny and warm on many days - high 60's / mid 70's . But it would also rise to 78 or drop below 60 at times and could rain at any point. It really did fluctuate from place to place.

Since your trip is first week in Sept 2018 it tends to be 10-15 degrees cooler on avg. that time of year.

So figure partly sunny mid 60's when you go. Some days will be warmer. Others cooler. Sometimes it may rain with a heavy or light wind. Other days could be beautiful skies. Or a combination of the two.

Which as @JenTen1585 is advising - would not be shorts weather for most. You can always pack shorts if mid/high 60's = shorts for you. (It does for some here in NJ.)

Otherwise, plan to dress in layers and pack a few key articles to cover changes in weather. The temps typically started out cooler in the mornings and most excursions were FULL DAY.

We carried a waterproof windbreaker type jacket whenever we ventured out to cover surprise weather shifts.

Here's a great resource to track the historical temps. https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/uk/oxford/historic?month=7&year=2017

You can select my month: July 2017 and compare it to Sept. 2017 for the dates that correlate to your trip next year.
It gives temps for am/mid day/pm with icons for weather changes from sunny to pt. cloudy to rain etc....

For example: (I'll post a few similar ports to some of the 2018 cruises)

Sat. July 8, 2017 = 77 was the high in Stonehenge / 78.8 high in Oxford / 77 high in Windsor
Sat. Sept 2, 2017= 68 was the high in Stonehenge / 69.8 high in Oxford / 72 high in Windsor

Many dressed like this in the am at Stonehenge on July 8: (low 70's)



and shed a layer or two by the afternoon in Windsor: (78 degree weather)



Same for Dover:
Sun July 9, 2017 = Dover - embarkation day = sunny high 78
Sat Sept 2, 2017 = Dover high 64

So the am starts out like this on July 8th: (mid 70's)



with similar clothing for 78 degree weather as we check-in at the port




But you're going to have low/mid 60's for the most part.

That would compare to our day in Le Havre, France
Mon July 10. 2017 = 8:30am overcast wind light drizzle 63 degrees - in port



afternoon = pt sunny high 66 - Pointe du Hoc (Normandy)



Or our day in Portland (JQ & I visited Glastonbury)

Tue July 11, 2017 Glastonbury = am overcast high 64/noon = rain temp dropped to 61. And VERY WINDY at the top of Glastonbury Tor
Tue Sept 5, 2017 Glastonbury = pt sunny high 73 (beautiful day for Sept)

so we start out dressed like this (JQ holding his red waterproof jacket) - low 60's



by noon a light steady rain picked up and the temps dropped to - 61 (hence the raingear)




I hope this proves helpful!

You can also check out the various outfits in the crowd when I post our visits to these ports as they may have similar weather to you as well.

Dublin, Ireland
Thurs July 13, 2017 = pt. sunny high 68

Liverpool, England
Fri July 14, 2017 = mostly sunny high 64

Greenock, Scotland (Edinburgh)
Sat Jul 15, 2017 = overcast/rain_am 64/noon 68

 

[poison ivy]

Here are a couple of pics from Harry Potter Studios in London or right outside of London (It's actually about an hour bus ride to get there but you can buy the bus transfer with the ticket on the Harry Potter Studios website, and they play the Harry Potter Movie on the way there so the time passes quickly):

On the train,you can actually walk through and they have a compartment decorated with props from each year!

You can see how happy my daughter is! This was her favorite tour of the trip! LOL!

Awesome pics!! That tour looks fantastic. I've gotta go back!!

 

[poison ivy]

OMG!!! Awesome!!! We are doing a Harry Potter theme for Halloween this year. My husband is being Harry, my daughter Hermione, and I'm going to be Luna.

Love it! You guys are gonna look great.

Definitely jeans and not shorts. I will tell you from a SW Floridian perspective (so consider me a whimp!): London had beautiful weather while we were there. Jeans, a light shirt, and light jacket, which you would take on and off. But Scotland was at times very, very cold, and very rainy (again from a Floridian perspective). My family all wore jeans, long sleeve shirt, sweater, and rain jacket, scarf, and my daughter and I would wear gloves. Even northerners looked chilly in Scotland, especially Kirkwall, where it was really windy and raining off and on.

I will tell you, I was not disappointed in the weather - I found it a really nice and refreshing change from Florida's heat in the summer! I enjoyed putting on the layers and it didn't damper a single tour. But pack layers and you can probably leave the shorts at home!!!

perfect description. This was exactly how we tended to dress as well. I remember the navigators always being off with the highs and not factoring in the rain enough.

Kirkwall, Scotland (Orkney islands) was insane weather. Had to be the worst day! Navigator said partly cloudy high 56.
OMG was that wrong. We had whipping rain in Orkney. You couldn't hold an umbrella. I remember not being able to see with all the rain in my face and freezing cold at the standing stones of Stenness. Felt like the 40's with the windchill.

What's funny is that Orkney is our #1 favorite out of all the great places we went on this cruise.

 

[JenTen1585]

Love it! You guys are gonna look great.



perfect description. This was exactly how we tended to dress as well. I remember the navigators always being off with the highs and not factoring in the rain enough.

Kirkwall, Scotland (Orkney islands) was insane weather. Had to be the worst day! Navigator said partly cloudy high 56.
OMG was that wrong. We had whipping rain in Orkney. You couldn't hold an umbrella. I remember not being able to see with all the rain in my face and freezing cold at the standing stones of Stenness. Felt like the 40's with the windchill.

What's funny is that Orkney is our #1 favorite out of all the great places we went on this cruise.

Same!! Even though Kirkwall was so windy and cold, we had a blast there! We did a walking tour of Kirkwall and went to the old church and climbed through the earl's palace, which is in ruins! We had such a fantastic time and were giggling the whole time as the wind was reaking havoc on us! It just added to the atmosphere! By the afternoon, the wind and rain had died down and we walked through the beautiful streets and went to the little shops. I think Dublin was my favorite port, but Kirkwall (Orkney) was my 2nd favorite, followed by Newcastle, and surprisingly, Liverpool!

 

[poison ivy]

Same!! Even though Kirkwall was so windy and cold, we had a blast there! We did a walking tour of Kirkwall and went to the old church and climbed through the earl's palace, which is in ruins! We had such a fantastic time and were giggling the whole time as the wind was reaking havoc on us! It just added to the atmosphere! By the afternoon, the wind and rain had died down and we walked through the beautiful streets and went to the little shops. I think Dublin was my favorite port, but Kirkwall (Orkney) was my 2nd favorite, followed by Newcastle, and surprisingly, Liverpool!

Dublin runs a very close second for us. Incredible day and really fun night with @BadPinkTink. There are a few 3rd place contenders - Newcastle and North Wales among them. (we didn't get to tour in Liverpool that day - wanted to but no time after Busybus dropped us off)
another excuse to go back!

It'll be great to compare notes on all these ports among everyone here who cruised the BI. Can't wait to get to the cruise.
But it doesn't look like Disney is going back to Kirkwall on any 2018 European cruises. Really too bad. Orkney Islands is a hidden gem.

 

[disneymomto5]

Thank you, that's really helpful.

 

[poison ivy]

Day 2 – London continues
Sat. July 8, 2017
Tour: Stonehenge at Sunrise; Oxford & Windsor Castle

“Speed Oxford" comes to close………

I’m working to wrap this up. Can't wait to get to the cruise.

JQ was right. Oxford’s Architecture alone is worth the visit.

To imagine Lewis Carroll, CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien spending their life and literary careers in and around the many colleges and buildings of this fascinating city adds to the fantasy and mystique that shrouds such incredible works.

You couldn't help being captivated in awe as Charlotte races thru time.



This especially came true the minute we stepped into Radcliffe Square.



With its' majestic centerpiece: Radcliffe Camera – flanked by All Souls College to the left and Brasenose College to the right, this is a place you can really begin to connect.



"The square is widely regarded as the most beautiful in Oxford, and is very popular with tourists. There are no modern buildings to be seen, so it is also used as a setting for period films"

As we walked around it, the great tower of the Historic University Church of St. Mary the Virgin came into view. http://www.universitychurch.ox.ac.uk/visiting/the-tower/

Incredible



"The tower is the oldest part of the church still visible today. It dates from 1280 and is decorated with beautifully carved gargoyles and grotesques."

Look closely, and you can see gargoyles and grotesques on the spire and down the side of St Mary's here. In fact, they're everywhere in Oxford.
The gargoyles of Magdalen College are legendary in connection to Tolkien's Journey to Middle Earth.



From here, we follow in the footsteps of CS Lewis on St. Mary’s Passage to behold the “Narnia Lamppost”



"This tiny alley is often said to have inspired CS Lewis’ magical world in The Chronicles of Narnia."

(the lamp-post in the above photo supposedly marks the beginning of Narnia in the story)

Charlotte stops at an ornate door which lies just ahead on the right. It is believed this door WAS the entrance to Narnia - sporting a lion’s head knocker, with two golden fawns looking down upon you.



Finally, we finish with a walk down Brasenose Lane. Truly an incredible sight at every turn.





And end up back on Broad street right in the middle of all the action.



continued in the next post............

 

[poison ivy]

Day 2 – London
Sat. July 8, 2017
Tour: Stonehenge at Sunrise; Oxford & Windsor Castle

continued from the previous post.........

It’s now around 11:20 am as we conclude this walking tour. Nobody took any breaks. No food, no drinks – nothing. Last bathroom was hours ago back at Stonehenge. In fact Charlotte warns everyone not to use the public toilets here.

Identifying clean toilets was a common emphasis by our guides on just about every tour we had. And believe me, you don’t want to find out the hard way why this is so important should you venture out on your own. (Word of advice: carry Kleenex)

So here we are, back on Broad Street.

We have no real time for lunch and this is what we're looking at:


Shoppes everywhere. Plus this little café with an ice cream sign out front.



JQ and Iron Man are so hungry they’ll eat anything. So we rush in.



Good thing we got there first. A line quickly grew behind us - probably our group.

click on the below pic quoted from a few pages back and you'll also see Charlotte in line. just realized she was in here too.

View attachment 263842

Wow! coffee, sandwiches, cakes, ice cream, smoothies. great!



We quickly order a coke, vanilla latte and 2 baked chicken sandwiches: Chicken Tikka and Chicken Mozzarella. All really good.

If you zoom in to that last pic, you'll notice 2 different prices tagged for each item – Takeaway vs. Eat In.
(with Eat In always marked up higher.)

I don’t know which price JQ paid, because we don’t have the receipt. (We used cash - total was less than £15.00)
But considering this is how our meal was packaged, I’m going to assume he looked at the prices and automatically ordered it to go.



Here’s the kicker, we then sat down in the back room to eat. Omg!?!?
It was a welcome break with a clean bathroom.



Hey, it’s not our fault. In the US it’s common practice that when you order from a counter “for here” or “to go” you can sit anywhere.
So who knows what that Eat-in price was covering?

If the up charge was for a table, they let it go. As you can see from the above pic, there were a ton of seats in the back area, and honestly, we would have paid had we understood.

After lunch Iron Man went next door to check out Flaggs





and we picked up a few things:

Mug £14.99 / keychain £ 2.99 / cufflinks £21.99 = Total £39.97
Note: there was no vat tax listed on the receipt from Flaggs and we did not yet realize that prices already include tax. (sometimes they don't list it separately on the sales slip) I

Plus we had no knowledge of the Vat refund at this point. And this would have mattered. The aggregate purchase per store had to be at least £30.00 pre-tax to qualify for a refund request form. As soon as you back VAT out, the total may have qualified, but we didn't ask for the form.



By 12:15 pm we began the hour ride to Windsor. 9 hrs. logged in for the Iron Man - and counting!



next up: a Royal Residence

 

[poison ivy]

Thank you, that's really helpful.

great. I'll try to make a point to note the forecast at each port as well.

 

[rndmr2]

Great tour and pics, it really is a nice little town and those shoppes were really cute

Hey, it’s not our fault. In the US it’s common practice that when you order from a counter “for here” or “to go” you can sit anywhere.
So who knows what that Eat-in price was covering?

Nice little cafe, those sandwiches looked yummy. Maybe you get real dishes if you say "For Here"

 

[Johnny Quest]

Cafe Creme was a great stop. We were starving and the sandwiches were excellent.

My only regret was not having time for their home made ice cream...reason to go back!

 

[BadPinkTink]

The difference in the Eat In or To Go prices is based on VAT. The restaurant or cafe needs to charge VAT if the food is consumed on their premises.

VAT is a tax that is collected by the business and then sent to Revenue. If you charge VAT you are responsible at the end of the tax year for declaring and paying this as a lump sum.

Food and drink for human consumption is usually zero-rated but some items are always standard-rated. These include catering, alcoholic drinks, confectionery, crisps and savoury snacks, hot food, sports drinks, hot takeaways, ice cream, soft drinks and mineral water.

Restaurants must always charge VAT on everything eaten either on their premises or in communal areas designated for their customers to use, such as shared tables in a shopping centre or airport food courts.

In addition, restaurants and takeaway vendors must charge VAT on all hot takeaways and home deliveries, but don’t need to charge VAT on cold takeaway food unless it’s to be eaten in a designated area.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-of-vat-on-different-goods-and-services

 

[Johnny Quest]

I think we paid the vat price. Next visit to the isles It's cold take out for me!

Thanks for explaining Tink. You made our visit to Dublin very special.

 

[85glht]

Awesome pics! Thanks for sharing!

 

[poison ivy]

Great tour and pics, it really is a nice little town and those shoppes were really cute

Nice little cafe, those sandwiches looked yummy. Maybe you get real dishes if you say "For Here"

Too funny! I would have loved real dishes. Those sandwiches were pretty good and a decent size. But seriously, even with the VAT, and UK exchange rate, souvenir and food prices on this trip seemed to run lower than what we'd pay in the US. That meal would have been around $25.00 for a latte, 2 hot chicken sandwiches and a coke. That's a lot higher than converting 15 pounds to US$.

Yes. Oxford really is such a nice place. Those cute shops and cafes along Broad Street felt like some of our towns back home.
What's amazing is that the old historic buildings that line Brasenose Lane sit just one block behind that bustling marketplace.

Cafe Creme was a great stop. We were starving and the sandwiches were excellent.

My only regret was not having time for their home made ice cream...reason to go back!

I'm quoting you so you can't edit out "reason to go back". It's locked in now!

The difference in the Eat In or To Go prices is based on VAT. The restaurant or cafe needs to charge VAT if the food is consumed on their premises.

VAT is a tax that is collected by the business and then sent to Revenue. If you charge VAT you are responsible at the end of the tax year for declaring and paying this as a lump sum.

Food and drink for human consumption is usually zero-rated but some items are always standard-rated. These include catering, alcoholic drinks, confectionery, crisps and savoury snacks, hot food, sports drinks, hot takeaways, ice cream, soft drinks and mineral water.

Restaurants must always charge VAT on everything eaten either on their premises or in communal areas designated for their customers to use, such as shared tables in a shopping centre or airport food courts.

In addition, restaurants and takeaway vendors must charge VAT on all hot takeaways and home deliveries, but don’t need to charge VAT on cold takeaway food unless it’s to be eaten in a designated area.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-of-vat-on-different-goods-and-services

You know, just when you think it's safe to go back in the VAT.................(insert Jaws music)
I swear I'm going to become so much better educated on VAT by the time I finish this report.

Why in the world would a hot sandwich be treated different than a cold one??

JQ was telling me he didn't remember being asked any questions when he ordered. Sounds like they wouldn't have in our case and we just paid the eat-in price.