Is this your itinerary?

1 Southhampton (London), United Kingdom 5:00PM
2 At Sea
3 Bilbao, Spain 7:00AM 6:00PM
4 Bordeaux (Le Verdon), France 7:00AM 6:00PM
5 At Sea
6 Greenock, GB 8:00AM 8:00PM
7 Dublin, Ireland 7:00AM 7:00PM
8 Cork (Cobh), Ireland 7:00AM 6:00PM
9 Plymouth, England 8:00AM 6:00PM
10 Le Havre (Paris/Normandy), France 6:00AM 6:00PM
11 Amsterdam, Netherlands 1:00PM 8:00PM
12 Brussels/Bruges (Zeebrugge), Belgium 7:00AM 4:00PM
13 Southhampton (London), United Kingdom 5:00AM

If at all possible, have an overnight in London before sailing - you're 'wiped' for 2 days otherwise!

Don't know about smoking but most ships have designated smoking areas.

With the above itinerary (a busy one!) I'd suggest that for shore days you dress in layers and for sure have comfortable walking shoes! End of May, early June could be chilly - light rain gear also advisable.

You'll probably have 3 (maybe 4) formals - what you'd wear to a wedding would be fine. I'm a great believer in 'mix an'match' - long skirt and/or evening pants with glam. tops and some jewellery fill the bill - tux if you wish but it's not essential - business suite will do nicely.

Princess website sets out tours etc. and there are a couple of reviews in Reader Reviews - left hand side of your screen.

Hope this is of some help....if not, ask some specific questions.

Princess cruise lines, even in Europe, will probably offer a pretty American experience. In fact you may well find yourself surrounded by your follow countrymen? You may regard this as either good news or bad?

I'm sure that you will have a great cruise - Eroupe is full of facinating cities and people!

Just for fun, I have listed some ridiculously broad generalisations about the differances:

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We are not obsessed with ice in our drinks, prime rib, or lobster tails.

We are not big gamblers or big tippers.

We do not tend to like glitz in decor or fashion,hence our women do not tend to dress like Christmas trees for formal meals. (But they do dress smartly).

Our women even wear skirts!

We like to be entertained, but not to be a part of the show.

We laugh at different things.

We don't like our Cruise Directors to be too loud or think that they are gods gift to show business.

We do not like the hard sell at all.

We are not as good at customer service as the Americans.

Us Brits really are a little more reserved.

We DO NOT all smoke.

We are used to paying through the nose for everything!

We do not have stickers warning us that 'hot water can burn' or 'hot coffee is hot'. We expect people to work these these things out for themselves.

European weather is unpredictable. Bring all forms of clothing and an umbrella.

US Dollars are not a global currency - get some local currency, if you are shopping in a City. (However, Visa-card is a global currency).

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Please let us know how it goes.

[ 02-20-2002: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Welcome aboard Jo!

Princess cruise lines, even in Europe, will probably offer an American experience. In fact you may well find yourself surrounded by your follow countrymen? You may regard this as either good news or bad?

I'm sure that you will have a great cruise -.......

Just for fun, I have listed some ridiculously broad generalizations about the differences:

Please let us know how it goes.

[ 02-19-2002: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Well said Malcolm - as a born Brit (with a Passport to prove it) and also a Canadian Passport holder, much of what you say is 'dead on'.

"Europe is full of fascinating cities and people!" Enjoy them!

Malcolm, regarding your "ridiculously broad generalizations" many are so true and also apply to Canadians.

- "We are not big gamblers (at least some of us) or big tippers."

-"We do not tend to like glitz in decor or fashion, hence our women do not tend to dress like Christmas trees for formal meals. (But they do dress smartly)."

-"Our women even wear skirts!" - on occasion! Slacks, pants, whatever you call them are acceptable everywhere these days.

- "We like to be entertained, but not to be a part of the show."
Some of us do enjoy being part of the show.

- "We laugh at different things." It's all a matter of politics!

- "We don't like our Cruise Directors to be too loud or think that they are god's gift to show business. "

- "We do not like the hard sell."

- "We are not (quite) as good at customer service as the Americans."

- "We DO NOT all smoke".

- "Us Brits (read us Canadians) really are a little more reserved."

- "We are used to paying through the nose for everything!" - with the exchange rate as it is, Canadians have no option!

- "We do not have stickers warning us that 'hot water can burn' or 'hot coffee is hot'. We expect people to work these things out for themselves." - except for McDonalds!

- "European weather is unpredictable. Bring all forms of clothing and an umbrella." I said that!

- "US Dollars are not a global currency - get some local currency, if you are shopping in a City. (However, Visa-card is a global currency)." Don't expect or ask for your change in U.S. currency. The US postage stamps in your wallet will not work from Paris - or anywhere else in Europe (or Canada).

Canadians welcome our US neighbours in all our towns and cities - like Brits and Europeans, we just ask that you accept our differences as we do yours.

Please post with your reactions andfindings.

I am a native of Virginia and have made my home in London for the past fifteen years. I have cruised and holidayed in Europe with the British and I have also cruised from US ports with my native country-people.

Very generally speaking, I find that, in my holiday interactions with the people of my adopted country, "less is more" conversation-wise.

I have found that when meeting the British for the first time, conversations develop more slowly, more "reservedly". At first, I found it somewhat confusing, almost as if Americans thought it polite to talk more and the British thought it polite to talk less, but you get used to it and both approaches have their merits!

Safe topics for starting out with the British include: the weather (a perennially safe topic - use it frequently - talk about the weather yesterday, today and what is predicted for tomorrow), "How was your journey (to the ship, to the port, to the bar, etc)?" and "How was your day (at sea, ashore) today?". Give these a try and you will not put a foot wrong.

The British are a little hard to get to know at first, but they are a pleasure to live amongst and work with. You would be hard-pressed to find a more intelligent and articulate people or more loyal friends. I hope you meet and get to know many on your cruise.