Vineyard View

We sailed in a Neptune and really enjoyed it, but we are not looking to do that. So signature suites are larger though, as well as balcony, correct? Bathroom?

So no benefit to Signature suites, much like no value to spa verandas?

VMax1700 and fruitmachine- you both are so incredibly helpful. Thank you very much. I welcome any and all thoughts. DH threw out a land trip, and I think that would be amazing and the best way to experience your beautiful areas, but it would limit us to one country…..so research will continue. That’s part of the fun!

I’ve looked at Regent and SS. Their itineraries and ships look pretty enticing for sure. My issue is that we are DIY and private excursions people rather than ship excursions. Lines that include this in their pricing, and for those who enjoy ship excursions, it is a great alternative. For those who don’t explore that way, there may be a premium that doesn’t pencil out. For some, that makes no difference, and how awesome is that. Same thing with the Retreat. For some it might make more sense than paying for an excursion in every port more than an excursion. IDK, but it seems like there are a lot of positive with these three lines that get talked about - depending on your individual priorities as to which is a better fit.

Thank you for the feedback cruisemom42. I originally looked at weather and it showed that April/May can be preferred shoulder months, but there are locals on this thread who could better address that. We have friends who just returned from a land trip in Scotland in September and it was apparently colder than average. Trying to find that sweet spot when schools are still active and weather cooperates. I am trying to tie this with a special anniversary in May ‘25, but for the right itinerary/line/price can be flexible.

Thank you 0106! I appreciate this info!

What about lower suite categories. Would that make sense financially?

This is great information. Yes that is the sailing. Interesting it is also showing the same sailing, same ship on 5/3 with different cabin availability. So I didn’t mention that and I should have stated that up front. A bit confusing. We have been contemplating and wanting to visit the BI for several years. Newhaven; Lerwick; Douglas, IOM; Dun Laoghaire are all tenders. Sounds like all four are not ideal to tender from? Add in Ringaskiddy, and maybe this is enough to give me pause. Then again, maybe this is typical of BI cruises. I am just starting the research for BI. My first pass was the overview itinerary, but with tenders it prompted me to start this thread. VMax1700, thanks for the link. I will take a look through that. You all have a lot of experience here in this region. Would this itinerary grab you enough to book it for the first (who knows, maybe only) BI cruise? thanks so much again.

Good to know. Was wondering the same thing. Thanks for posting gfkcruiser! Also considering - tendering priority is attractive.

Maybe consider SB as well. We’ve sailed both and SB is a great value and product… against the current V pricing it may surprise you. Some shared that they enjoyed the cruise…..good that some were able to. I sure do understand your position and know it would have been difficult for us as well. So glad you made it safely.

Unless you were on the first booking post refurbishment. The revised announcement came out two days post penalty phase.

Unfortunately there are no overnights, only a late Belfast stay. I appreciate the recommendation though! Since starting this thread, it sounds like at least two of the published ports are not the best choices for having quality time - Ringaskiddy as well as the tendered port advertised as Newhaven for Edinburgh. That gives me some pause, but I am grateful to know ahead of time. looks like I need to do more homework.

Thank you for this information. These tips are priceless. Knowing these types of situations impacts the itinerary so thank you.

The published statement was pretty clear that any cabins below PH would not have anything refurbished in the bathrooms. For some, this is a pretty big disappointment.

We’ve only sailed once since Covid, and it was on a line we had not previously sailed. I read about the comparisons with pre/post Covid on the several lines that I follow and would consider. My goal is to find a great itinerary in the BI for 2025. This HAL option caught me by surprise. It’s pretty awesome from first few glances. I was looking at four other lines, and this itinerary just stood out to me. I am not sure what to expect from the current vs old HAL, but we do know where we want to travel. I’m not quite finished with my research, but how does one weigh it all out…..I don’t quite know. I sure do appreciate all the feedback though.

Thank you Hank. We haven’t sailed on a ship over 1k pax capacity in a long, long while and do understand first hand what you are referring to. This itinerary checks more boxes than any of the others I have researched. Years ago our HAL experience was a good one - it was on the old Rynam so a much smaller vessel. Maybe the Orange Club is worthwhile based on all these responses.

Thank you for all of this information fruitmachine. I have no idea the logistics of the port for your Beautiful city. I was only looking at the itinerary posted on the website for Newhaven. It sounds like tendering with HAL, and other larger operations, is a roll of the dice. I guess the good news is this ship is not the largest.

Thank you for these further answers. From what I have read, Edinburgh is a non optional tender port. I also notice different “port names” with different lines for Edinburgh. It really is one we would like to explore as long as possible. In the past we have booked excursions to get someplace, then asked when and where to meet back at the bus. We tip the tour guide and have found that to be a positive experience that meets what we want to do, and also values the tour guide. Maybe this is a good port to do so

I thought that I read it is only Neptune and Pinnacle where tendering is prioritized. If that is the case, then Club Orange may be worth it. On our last HAL cruise, when a country required immigration checks prior to, there were times when that occurred the evening before. Not sure how they made that happen, and it could very well be a thing of the past, or only with specific countries this is allowed.

This one starts in Rotterdam, and first port is Newhaven for Edinburgh, which is tendered. We’ve traveled quite a bit in the world, but British Isles are still boxes unchecked. If that’s the case I am sad to hear about immigration check as it’s a big one for us to see. Ugh. Thanks for the heads up though. This might make club Orange worth it alone.

We haven’t decided quite yet. We sailed Neptune last time, but this one I am looking at the two suites below that. Not knowing what club orange is, I just looked and it appears that one can pay for that if not in a Neptune. It seems to have quite a few benefits, including tendering priority. It shows $13/day for longer cruises so might be worth it. Thanks for the tip!

Thank you both. We haven’t sailed on this size ship before with tendering. Each line seems to have slightly to very big differences in how it handles tendering - everything to lining up for tickets the day prior, to zero boarding with excursion groups, to allowing early tenders for DIY, to priority based on stateroom category……being as this is Scotland & Ireland, I also know weather/seas can particularly affect this part of our world no matter what size ship you are on. A two hour wait time I would hope is on the longer spectrum of expectations…..and I am hoping an hour would be reasonable but not necessarily guaranteed, but I just don’t know with HAL & 2,600 pax.

We haven’t sailed HAL in a long time, and never on pinnacle class. We are looking at a 14 day British Isles cruise in 2025. There are 4 tender ports, including a couple that are key for us. We tend to DIY or private tour. We haven’t experienced the tendering process on this size of ship before (we have on smaller ships). I am wondering how that all tends to work. Do booked excursions have priority access, but still have allowance for DIY space? What would be a fair expectation of disembarkation time after clearance if you are DIY? I would assume there is just a general last tender time at the end of the day? Thank you

Next April, on 4/21 departure, Izmir has been changed to Corfu. We had no issue with that tbh.

This is such a valid comment. It truly does speak to the traveler who is more DIY vs excursions in most ports. When we look at cruises, we look not at included excursions, but rather the ports where we will need to determine private vs ship excursions in our decisions. Any port where we can do DIY is a bonus round. When we look at all included excursions, we see ports where we would absolutely not want ship excursions. No wrong. No right.