Need some help on cruise ports

Hello, I just booked a British Isles cruise for August 1, 2017. Can anyone give me information on which of these listed below are easy to walk to the city center. The easy access ports, I want to explore on my own and those that are not within walking distance I will book tours. Any help is appreciated. Virginia

Newcastle, United Kingdom

Edinburgh (Newhaven), United Kingdom

Invergordon, United Kingdom

Glasgow (Greenock), United Kingdom

Liverpool, United Kingdom

Dublin, Ireland

Holyhead, United Kingdom

Cork (Cobh), Ireland

Portland, United Kingdom

Liverpool is easy to walk to the city or to see other attractions.

Cobh is easy to walk, although to reach Cork take the train which is right at the dock, although at Cork station it is a 10-15 minute walk into the city.

helpthejuggler- thank you very much. I like to plan far in advance of my trips.

Invergordon is an easy walk into the err town centre. However it is very small and you will probably wish to get the bus into Inverness.

Newhaven is not really the centre of Edinburgh but it is a very easy bus ride into the centre.

Portland is close to the Victorian seaside resort of Weymouth.

Ships normally provide a (payable) shuttlebus between the pier & Weymouth.

Weymouth has plenty to offer you for a lazy day - beach, harbour, little lanes with a wide range of local shops including tourist stuff, pubs, cafes, fish&chip takeaways, smugglers' museum, etc.

I very much doubt there'll be independent tours offered at the pier, but you can pre-book a private tour or a rental car & visit places like Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove, Corfe Castle, Bovingdon tank museum, Abbotsbury swannery, the Jurassic coast.

There's a regular train service to the market town of Dorchester.

Or take the train further, to Wool then taxi to Bovingdon, or to Wareham then taxi to Corfe Castle.

Or if you're feeling energetic, rent bikes & explore Portland Bill.

Check out these options on the web, more details if you ask.

JB :)

Newcastle, England - your ship will dock at North Shields which is about 8 miles out of Newcastle.

You will need transport:

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/North-Shields/Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Holyhead, North Wales - you might want transport to explore the Isle of Anglesey or to go further into North Wales

http://www.anglesey.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/public-transport/

http://www.carlberry.co.uk/rfnshowl.asp?L1=HOL0160

https://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/United_Kingdom/Wales/Gwynedd/Holyhead-311246/Transportation-Holyhead-TG-C-1.html

Holyhead.

main choices are........

Excursion offered by busybus http://www.busybus.co.uk/cruise-excursions

They offer similar excursions from both Holyhead & Liverpool, though you'll find a lot of other options in Liverpool.

Book early, they do book-out. Beware, Holyhead is a comparatively unreliable port for large ships in high winds or seas, I don't know Busybus's cancellation policy.

Train (station walkable from the berth) to Conwy & its castle.

For any of your ports you can sift out stacks of info already on this forum by using the "search" facility...........

Click to the Britain forum. At the bottom of the page is a little box called "forum search". Type in the name of a port and hit "go".

This will bring up all threads that include that name.

JB :)

Thanks to all that have responded. Very helpful information. Virginia

Newhaven (Edinburgh) is approximately 4 miles from the city centre. Options when arriving there are :

Use shuttle bus if provided by the ship.

Take local bus (No.10) into centre of Edinburgh. Bus stop directly opposite the harbour where the tender arrives. Correct UK currency only (£1.60 per journey (2016 price). Return journey also stops at the harbour.

Take hop on / hop off tour bus. Also stops at the harbour where tender arrives. Bus takes in Palace of Holyroodhouse, Royal Mile, New Town area and Botanic Gardens. £15 per person (2016 price) - debit / credit cards accepted.

Take taxi (available at harbour next to tender). Dependent on traffic. £15-20 (2016 price). Debit / credit cards accepted.

Walk - approx 45 minutes into city centre (uphill)

Visit local attractions instead - local seafood restaurants, Ocean Terminal shopping mall, Royal Yacht Britannia .. all within a 10-15 walk

showingdiva- Thank you very much just the kind of information I wanted. Virginia

Just in case the OP hadn't realised, Newhaven (for Edinburgh) is a small port, much too small for a cruise ship. Your will be parked in the middle of the Firth of Forth, which then necessitates a tender ride of 20-30 minutes before you get into Newhaven.

The No. 10 bus will take you into Edinburgh, but does not drop you near the Castle.

There is a hop-oh-hop-off bus stop at Newhaven, so that could also be an option.

celle-thank you so much for that information! Virginia

Portland is close to the Victorian seaside resort of Weymouth.

Ships normally provide a (payable) shuttlebus between the pier & Weymouth.

Weymouth has plenty to offer you for a lazy day - beach, harbour, little lanes with a wide range of local shops including tourist stuff, pubs, cafes, fish&chip takeaways, smugglers' museum, etc.

 

I very much doubt there'll be independent tours offered at the pier, but you can pre-book a private tour or a rental car & visit places like Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove, Corfe Castle, Bovingdon tank museum, Abbotsbury swannery, the Jurassic coast.

 

There's a regular train service to the market town of Dorchester.

Or take the train further, to Wool then taxi to Bovingdon, or to Wareham then taxi to Corfe Castle.

 

Or if you're feeling energetic, rent bikes & explore Portland Bill.

 

Check out these options on the web, more details if you ask.

 

JB :)

JB, do you know if there are taxis available at Portland port please?

We had planned to drop off luggage in Portland (about 1 mile and a bit from the ship according to the info received) to ship to our hotel in Paris so that we could easily do the high speed train without being "loaded down".

I am still researching Portland and will definitely go exploring afterbut first, I will want to "tend to business".

Thanks so much :)

Newcastle has an excellent Metro system and it is not too far from the Quay you should be berthed at.

There is also an outlet Mall next to where you berth called Royal Quays.

JB, do you know if there are taxis available at Portland port please?

 

We had planned to drop off luggage in Portland (about 1 mile and a bit from the ship according to the info received) to ship to our hotel in Paris so that we could easily do the high speed train without being "loaded down".

 

I am still researching Portland and will definitely go exploring afterbut first, I will want to "tend to business".

 

Thanks so much :)

I'm not local to Portland/Weymouth, but Portland is a secure port (includes the Royal Navy), so I'm pretty sure there won't be taxis available on-spec in the port. Mebbe not outside the port gate either.

But if the agency is in the Portland Port Business Centre (Independent Shipping Agencies) I think it's only about half a mile.

If you fix up a private tour that can be incorporated - otherwise your best bet is to ask the shipper how you can get the stuff to them.

Sorry I can't help more

JB :)

Greenock is about 22 miles from Glasgow. There is a regular train service.

See http://www.trainline.com

I'm not local to Portland/Weymouth, but Portland is a secure port (includes the Royal Navy), so I'm pretty sure there won't be taxis available on-spec in the port. Mebbe not outside the port gate either.

But if the agency is in the Portland Port Business Centre (Independent Shipping Agencies) I think it's only about half a mile.

 

If you fix up a private tour that can be incorporated - otherwise your best bet is to ask the shipper how you can get the stuff to them.

 

Sorry I can't help more

 

JB :)

Thanks JB very much :). I thought Portland was a secure port.

We are still in tour planning stage and we can certainly walk depending on how hard it is with suitcases ;). I thought it was a protected port which is why I asked. I prefer not to bog down a group on a private tour with this arrangement. I'll do some more research and possibly arrange at an alternate port.

Your answer is a big help. Many thanks for taking the time and my apologies for thread drift.

Dublin is a shuttle bus ride into the centre from the port, but once there is an easy diy.

There are a number of hoho buses in Dublin which are worth considering, but there is also plenty to do which is walkable of the shuttle bus drop off point.

As said previously, Liverpool is an easy walk as the cruise terminal is right in the centre. There are lots of museums and St. George''s Hall is worth a visit. The Town Hall (which is very near to the cruise terminal) is usually open in August, so it is definitely worth looking into the opening hours which will be on the net nearer to the time - no charge usually, though donations would be appreciated.

Enjoy the cruise. You have a very good itinerary - which cruise ship are you on?

tring- thank you for the information. We are sailing on Oceania and yes the itinerary is excellent. Virginia

tring- thank you for the information. We are sailing on Oceania and yes the itinerary is excellent. Virginia

Since you're on Oceania, they may have complimentary shuttle buses by the ship in some of those ports that take you to the tourist area of those cities. We did some of these ports with Oceania, but it was a slightly different itinerary, and several years ago, so I can't remember too much. A little later I'll look at what info I saved and see if I come up with anything helpful.

Yes, in Portland you have to take a port bus to the outside of the port, but we went to Weymouth on our own, so it couldn't have been too terribly hard to get there as an independent. I do remember taking a public bus in Portland to go see the lighthouse there. I also remember that either Portland or Weymouth tourism folks provided a pretty helpful booklet to me when I emailed them a month or two pre-cruise.

For Cobh, we had a little surprise which I didn't find out about until a week or two pre-cruise. When there are too many ships, a ship or two are assigned to dock in another town nearby (Ringaskiddy), where ferries dock. I don't think that happens too often, but if it happens to you, I'd recommend that you take a ship's excursion or arrange something in advance. Of course, if I remember correctly, Oceania did arrange a shuttle to Cork, so it turned out to be better than I thought it would be. I only saw Cobh from the deck of the ship, but it was very pretty, and looked like a nice place to explore. Cork was worthwhile. My pictures are here, but you'll have to go back maybe 10 "galleries" or so to find the galleries from my UK/British Isles cruise on Oceania: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123

I'll post more later.

OK, I'm afraid I didn't save much, and what I did save were good maps, but no way to see where I found them. However, here's a little bit more info on Dublin, Cork (Cobh, where you're scheduled to dock), and Portland:

Of course, anything could change, but in Dublin Oceania provided a shuttle to Kildare Street. I just walked around, going to Trinity College and other places on my own. (See http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/belfast__dublin for pictures.) Dublin was pretty easy. I had a good tourist type map I either picked up from Destination Services folks on the ship or received when I got off the ship. (Oceania usually DOES have a local tourist rep come on board the ship, although that person sometimes gets swamped with people asking questions, so patience is required!) If you want to see something specific like the Book of Kells (I think it's called) you may want to take a tour if it will get you in faster than waiting in the long line I saw. However, I didn't care about that and just wandered on my own. My husband went to the zoo that day. We both had a nice day in Dublin.

In Cork, I just wandered as well. I had originally been interested in a town called Kinsale, but between the added time needed to go from Ringaskiddy, I decided to just stay in Cork. Cork was nice, although it IS a large city, and the sights are a bit spread out. I saw all I wanted to see without walking a huge amount, though. You MAY prefer Cobh, especially if you're interested in Titanic and other historic things. The shuttle I mentioned above was actually an "on your own transfer" from Ringaskiddy, so I think I signed up for it in advance and paid a small fee for it. There was a guide on board the bus and limited return times. If you dock in Cobh (pronounced "Cove" I think) perhaps Oceania will provide a free and frequent shuttle to Cork.

According to my pre-cruise notes, the train from Cobh to Cork would have been 25 minutes and by car it would have been 40.

In Portland, we apparently were provided a shuttle to Weymouth near one part of the beach. Weymouth was absolutely lovely and we enjoyed a nice half day exploring the fun beach town. I don't think you need to plan anything other than doing the same there, although of course there ARE a lot of other places to go outside of Portland and Weymouth. I'm a lighthouse nut, so I walked up to the bus stop area in Weymouth and took a bus down to the lighthouse at the end of the Portland peninsula. Just be sure to allow yourself enough time to get back from Weymouth to Portland, as I think it's probably at least a 20 minute ride, plus then you need to take the port bus through the controlled port area to the ship.

Near the photo gallery I mentioned above, there's a gallery for our Portland stop if you want to see the lovely resort town of Weymouth.

We also went to Edinburgh on that cruise, but we anchored in South Queensferry, which is not where you're scheduled to dock/anchor. In Edinburgh, we took one of the HoHo buses around the city, stopping for lunch, walking around a bit, etc. (See Edinburgh gallery for pictures.) The HoHo's are popular, and there are more than one company, although it didn't seem like there was much difference among them. Edinburgh's a pretty easy city to see by HoHo.

Can't help with the other ports as our cruise went to the UK and Norway rather than a lot of the UK.

Have a great cruise next August!

Hi Virginia,

We are taking a similar cruise in August, and I have been researching obsessively for a couple of weeks. I find it helpful to use the search function on this forum and enter the name of the port. That brings up reviews of excursions and ideas for touring.

So far, this is what I am leaning toward (obviously, can't recommend since I've not taken the tours yet...but may give you some ideas):

Cobh: eCoach for Blarney Castle, Kinsale, Cork...fraction of the cost of the ship's tour

Dublin: We will probably just use the HOHO bus which seems to be highly recommended on CC

Liverpool: possibly a 3-hour Fab 4 taxi tour, and do the rest on our own. However, some of the tour companies offer nice day-long excursions into Wales from Liverpool

Belfast:Booked a private tour with Mark Murphy/Murphy Executive tours

Glasgow: Reserved the Stirling Castle/Loch Lomond tour with Discover Scotland

Invergordon: Still undecided. WOW Scotland gets good reviews, as does a smaller group or private tour with Invergordon Tours or Invergordon Shore Excursions with Nigel.

Edinburgh: It's going to be sooo crowded due to the Tattoo....not really sure if we will stay in town and explore on our own or head out on a tour.

IF you are interested in a stay in London, one thing I would suggest looking into right away---Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. Tickets are free, but they are currently booked through the end of July 2017.

Happy planning!

Hi Virginia,

 

We are taking a similar cruise in August, and I have been researching obsessively for a couple of weeks. I find it helpful to use the search function on this forum and enter the name of the port. That brings up reviews of excursions and ideas for touring.

 

So far, this is what I am leaning toward (obviously, can't recommend since I've not taken the tours yet...but may give you some ideas):

 

Cobh: eCoach for Blarney Castle, Kinsale, Cork...fraction of the cost of the ship's tour

 

Dublin: We will probably just use the HOHO bus which seems to be highly recommended on CC

 

Liverpool: possibly a 3-hour Fab 4 taxi tour, and do the rest on our own. However, some of the tour companies offer nice day-long excursions into Wales from Liverpool

 

Belfast:Booked a private tour with Mark Murphy/Murphy Executive tours

 

Glasgow: Reserved the Stirling Castle/Loch Lomond tour with Discover Scotland

 

Invergordon: Still undecided. WOW Scotland gets good reviews, as does a smaller group or private tour with Invergordon Tours or Invergordon Shore Excursions with Nigel.

 

Edinburgh: It's going to be sooo crowded due to the Tattoo....not really sure if we will stay in town and explore on our own or head out on a tour.

 

IF you are interested in a stay in London, one thing I would suggest looking into right away---Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. Tickets are free, but they are currently booked through the end of July 2017.

 

Happy planning!

Interesting ideas here, and when I read it, I realized I forgot Invergordon: It's a nice place (with great tourism folks near the ship to greet/help you), and you can just walk off the ship and do some walking around. I found cute houses and interesting murals. However, Invergordon is one place where I felt that getting out of the port town was best. We rented a car and drove around Loch Lomond a bit, stopping at a castle and soaking up the countryside.

 

Edinburgh: It's going to be sooo crowded due to the Tattoo....not really sure if we will stay in town and explore on our own or head out on a tour.

 

IF you are interested in a stay in London, one thing I would suggest looking into right away---Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. Tickets are free, but they are currently booked through the end of July 2017.

 

Happy planning!

Hello: We will be on a late May/early June cruise and have been to Edinburgh many times. My alternative day will be to stay in the South Queensferry area -- maybe walking tour (http://www.queensferrytours.com/index.php#_=_), lunch in one of the historical pubs, followed by a taxi ride to Hopetoun House (http://hopetoun.co.uk/house-and-grounds/visit-the-house-and-grounds/) for the 2 pm tour followed by afternoon tea in their cafe, taxi back to tender dock.

Great information everyone and it's very much appreciated. Virginia