How to use the shuttle bus to get to Edinburgh

[High C's]

tartanexile81 - what a WEALTH of information your threads are. Thank you so, so much! We are coming in next year (still scheduled at South Queensferry) on Caribbean Princess.

 

We want to take the shuttle into Edinburgh. From the drop off point, we want to go straight to Holyrood Palace. Is that walkable?

 

Then, from there we want to take a cab to the top of the Royal Mile (or as close as a cab can take us - we are actually heading to The Scotch Whiskey Experience. Are there plenty of cabs available when we exit the Palace?

 

Again - HUGE thank you for all you do. :)

[tartanexile81]

tartanexile81 - what a WEALTH of information your threads are. Thank you so' date=' so much! We are coming in next year (still scheduled at South Queensferry) on Caribbean Princess.

 

We want to take the shuttle into Edinburgh. From the drop off point, we want to go straight to Holyrood Palace. Is that walkable?

 

Then, from there we want to take a cab to the top of the Royal Mile (or as close as a cab can take us - we are actually heading to The Scotch Whiskey Experience. Are there plenty of cabs available when we exit the Palace?

 

Again - HUGE thank you for all you do. :)[/quote']

 

I'm glad you find them helpful. I love cruising and find this site so helpful and I'm pleased if I can help other people when they're visiting this area.

 

If you take the shuttle into Edinburgh you will be dropped off in Charlotte Square which is at the West End of Princes Street and Holyrood Palace is South East of Princes Street. Most sights are walkable in Edinburgh but these two are at either end of the city centre! It is walkable and would be quite an interesting walk but I'd say it would take 30-40 minutes. If i were you I'd take a taxi from Charlotte Square to Holyrood then walk to the Whisky Experience. The Whisky Experience is close to the Castle and on your walk you would pass lots of interesting sights.

 

BUT

The only disadvantage is that it would be uphill so if it would be much easier to take a taxi /walk to the Whisky Experience from Charlotte Square then walk down to Holyrood. Let me know what you think and I'll give you more info / directions.

 

As far as cabs are concerned you can just hail a black cab anywhere on the street in Edinburgh and they are plentiful. They are all licensed and your fare is metered so you shouldn't have any problems.

 

I'll just finish by saying that Scots are VERY proud of their whisky industry so it's important you spell whisky without the 'e' which is Irish :D

Edited July 5, 2015 by tartanexile81

[High C's]

MY BAD!!!! :o WHISKY WHISKY WHISKY I shall write it one hundred times in my book! LOL My apologies (I truly did not realize the meaning in the difference in the spelling!! I am so used to seeing words spelled differently as we are used to it here in Canada vs US spellings on many words)

 

Yes, that sounds perfect. Shuttle to Edinburgh, cab to Holyrood, cab to The Scotch Whisky ;) Experience, and then stroll back down the Royal Mile, and fill time until we wander back to the shuttle. We've visited Edinburgh Castle on a previous trip, so we don't want to repeat it on this cruise.

 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

[tartanexile81]

MY BAD!!!! :o WHISKY WHISKY WHISKY I shall write it one hundred times in my book! LOL My apologies (I truly did not realize the meaning in the difference in the spelling!! I am so used to seeing words spelled differently as we are used to it here in Canada vs US spellings on many words)

 

Yes' date=' that sounds perfect. Shuttle to Edinburgh, cab to Holyrood, cab to The Scotch Whisky ;) Experience, and then stroll back down the Royal Mile, and fill time until we wander back to the shuttle. We've visited Edinburgh Castle on a previous trip, so we don't want to repeat it on this cruise.

 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated![/quote']

 

Gold star for getting whisky right :D

 

Sorry i don't think I was clear. is there any reason you need to start at Holyrood? The better way would be to cab or walk to Whisky Experience first (I can give you directions if you want to walk) THEN walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood.

 

That will probably take up much of your day with various stops on the RM so you'd probably then take a cab back to Charlotte square. However if you still had lots of time left you could then walk back to the shuttle along Princes Street and enjoy the gardens. I only suggested not walking to start with as it would take too long but it is something you might consider if time allowed. The shuttle bus always allows plenty time to get back to the ship on time because rush hour traffic in Edinburgh can be quite hectic as in all cities.

 

Happy to give walk directions for either shuttle to Whisky Experience or Holyrood to shuttle if you want.

 

You're obviously big Princess fans Chris and Jackie. We've been on Ruby twice and loved her and when we did the TA last year lots of people on our roll call had done the Round Britain beforehand. My OH was on duty down at the pier yesterday when the Royal was in. What did you not like about HAL? I did an Info desk on Eurodam at SQ on Saturday and thought it looked a lovely ship.

[High C's]

Gold star for getting whisky right :D

 

Sorry i don't think I was clear. is there any reason you need to start at Holyrood? The better way would be to cab or walk to Whisky Experience first (I can give you directions if you want to walk) THEN walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood.

 

That will probably take up much of your day with various stops on the RM so you'd probably then take a cab back to Charlotte square. However if you still had lots of time left you could then walk back to the shuttle along Princes Street and enjoy the gardens. I only suggested not walking to start with as it would take too long but it is something you might consider if time allowed. The shuttle bus always allows plenty time to get back to the ship on time because rush hour traffic in Edinburgh can be quite hectic as in all cities.

 

Happy to give walk directions for either shuttle to Whisky Experience or Holyrood to shuttle if you want.

 

You're obviously big Princess fans Chris and Jackie. We've been on Ruby twice and loved her and when we did the TA last year lots of people on our roll call had done the Round Britain beforehand. My OH was on duty down at the pier yesterday when the Royal was in. What did you not like about HAL? I did an Info desk on Eurodam at SQ on Saturday and thought it looked a lovely ship.

 

Sorry - I do think I got myself a bit confused. But I do think we want to start at the palace, as I expect it would get more crowded as the day goes on. And to be quite honest, I can't imagine a whisky tasting first thing in the morning! LOL So, despite it costing two cab rides, I do think this would work best. And then, as you advise, we will still be walking downhill on the Royal Mile! :)

 

Re HAL - it wasn't the cruise line, it was the ship, that we hated. The Veendam, when we were on her, quite simply should not have been in service. They had failed an inspection the sailing before ours, and took HOURS to clean and be passed for our sailing. The huge light in the middle of the diningroom was being held up by big nets to avoid pieces falling from the ceiling. There was as much duct tape on the pipes around the promenade deck as there was pipes! The AC in our cabin did not work, and the front desk conceded that there was major issues. And there was an "odour" mid-ship that turned my stomach. And that's just off the top of my head several years after being on it! I'm not saying we wouldn't sail HAL again, but it would have to be on the BEST itinerary for the BEST price. Once bitten, twice shy!

[Louise sail]

Gold star for getting whisky right :D

 

Sorry i don't think I was clear. is there any reason you need to start at Holyrood? The better way would be to cab or walk to Whisky Experience first (I can give you directions if you want to walk) THEN walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood.

 

That will probably take up much of your day with various stops on the RM so you'd probably then take a cab back to Charlotte square. However if you still had lots of time left you could then walk back to the shuttle along Princes Street and enjoy the gardens. I only suggested not walking to start with as it would take too long but it is something you might consider if time allowed. The shuttle bus always allows plenty time to get back to the ship on time because rush hour traffic in Edinburgh can be quite hectic as in all cities.

 

Happy to give walk directions for either shuttle to Whisky Experience or Holyrood to shuttle if you want.

 

You're obviously big Princess fans Chris and Jackie. We've been on Ruby twice and loved her and when we did the TA last year lots of people on our roll call had done the Round Britain beforehand. My OH was on duty down at the pier yesterday when the Royal was in. What did you not like about HAL? I did an Info desk on Eurodam at SQ on Saturday and thought it looked a lovely ship.

 

We were on the Eurodam on Saturday thanks for info provided both on the ship and on cruise critic and for coming on the tender over on a rough sea.We enjoyed our day in Edinburgh,the art gallery,the beautiful weather and the lovely roses along Princes Street.

 

Thanks again

[discerningedinburgh]

Hi. I live in Edinburgh. I'm also an Elite Captains Club Member of Celebrity...and we've sailed on The Silhouette. According to our local ports authority your tender boats will bring you in to Newhaven Harbour. Newhaven is an area within Edinburgh (not outside Edinburgh) and the bus stop for local buses (Lothian Region) is at 'the harbour'. You'll have a choice of buses and a 20 minute ride in to the city for £1.50 each way or £4 for an all day unlimited use ticket. You will need exact change. When you reach Princes Street you can get a hop on /off bus tour easily to see all the sights. If you want to see The Royal Yacht Brittania at Ocean Terminal it is only a 10 minute walk from the Harbour. In Newhaven you'll find a couple of restaurants at the pier and on the main street - all good. Enjoy.

[tartanexile81]

We were on the Eurodam on Saturday thanks for info provided both on the ship and on cruise critic and for coming on the tender over on a rough sea.We enjoyed our day in Edinburgh,the art gallery,the beautiful weather and the lovely roses along Princes Street.

 

Thanks again

 

Glad you enjoyed your day and it was quite exciting being out in the Forth on a tender for 90 minutes. We loved the ship and the friendly passengers and were treated to a great lunch so it was a pleasure to be there.

[tartanexile81]

Hi. I live in Edinburgh. I'm also an Elite Captains Club Member of Celebrity...and we've sailed on The Silhouette. According to our local ports authority your tender boats will bring you in to Newhaven Harbour. Newhaven is an area within Edinburgh (not outside Edinburgh) and the bus stop for local buses (Lothian Region) is at 'the harbour'. You'll have a choice of buses and a 20 minute ride in to the city for £1.50 each way or £4 for an all day unlimited use ticket. You will need exact change. When you reach Princes Street you can get a hop on /off bus tour easily to see all the sights. If you want to see The Royal Yacht Brittania at Ocean Terminal it is only a 10 minute walk from the Harbour. In Newhaven you'll find a couple of restaurants at the pier and on the main street - all good. Enjoy.

 

There's been a few threads about this discerningedinburgh, particularly after the change was announced. I also took some photos when Britannia was in last week and for anybody arriving at Newhaven for the first time, it will hopefully help.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2231904

[High C's]

There's been a few threads about this discerningedinburgh, particularly after the change was announced. I also took some photos when Britannia was in last week and for anybody arriving at Newhaven for the first time, it will hopefully help.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2231904

 

Tartan: do you know if Princess is now tendering into Newhaven also?

[tartanexile81]

Our schedules still show Princess at South Queensferry. She's certainly been in a few times recently and always at SQ.

[High C's]

Our schedules still show Princess at South Queensferry. She's certainly been in a few times recently and always at SQ.

 

Darn! :( Maybe we'll be lucky next year. We don't call in until early May.

 

Again, Tartan, thanks for all the info you post here. Its truly invaluable!

[HRPro]

Just wanted to say thanks for the excellent advice from tartanexile81 and others on this board, which made our travel from SQ to Edinburgh a breeze. We were on one of the first tenders--didn't have to wait at all for tender tickets on the Royal Princess, but we did leave the ship around 7:30. We had a smooth tender ride in to South Queensferry and were greeted by the wonderfully friendly ambassadors who directed us to shuttle buses or the train station. We chose the train and after a 10 minute walk up the stairs and through the woods arrived at the station in time to catch the 8:00 am train. The walk to the station is well signed. They told us to buy tickets on board but the conductor didn't come through until we were almost into Edinburgh so she directed us to buy our tickets on the platform, which we did. No problem. We toured Edinburgh on our own starting with Edinburgh a Castle for which we had purchased online tickets, so we were able to walk right in when they opened. By the time we left, the lines to get in and to buy tickets were horrendous. So glad we had such good advice from CC, which made our day in Edinburgh a highlight of our cruise. Train return from Edinburgh to SQ was also easy and only a short line for tenders a t 4:30. Friends of ours who used the local shuttle bus also had a great experience.

[tartanexile81]

Just wanted to say thanks for the excellent advice from tartanexile81 and others on this board, which made our travel from SQ to Edinburgh a breeze. We were on one of the first tenders--didn't have to wait at all for tender tickets on the Royal Princess, but we did leave the ship around 7:30. We had a smooth tender ride in to South Queensferry and were greeted by the wonderfully friendly ambassadors who directed us to shuttle buses or the train station. We chose the train and after a 10 minute walk up the stairs and through the woods arrived at the station in time to catch the 8:00 am train. The walk to the station is well signed. They told us to buy tickets on board but the conductor didn't come through until we were almost into Edinburgh so she directed us to buy our tickets on the platform, which we did. No problem. We toured Edinburgh on our own starting with Edinburgh a Castle for which we had purchased online tickets, so we were able to walk right in when they opened. By the time we left, the lines to get in and to buy tickets were horrendous. So glad we had such good advice from CC, which made our day in Edinburgh a highlight of our cruise. Train return from Edinburgh to SQ was also easy and only a short line for tenders a t 4:30. Friends of ours who used the local shuttle bus also had a great experience.

 

Pleased you enjoyed your visit to Edinburgh and thank you for giving the feedback and hints. What would we all do without CC?

Edited July 22, 2015 by tartanexile81

[Alphen]

Hello tartanexile81,

 

Just worked through all of the information on this thread, preparing for our 2016 cruise on HAL Prinsendam.

Came to the conclusion that there is limited information regarding arrival in Rosyth. I know there is the train station nearby, which has good train connections into Edinburg, it is getting from port tot the train station that has my interest.

Prinsendam has just visited there this week, but I have not seen any information on that. I have read that some ships have (complementary) shuttles from the terminal to the train station, but so far, have not been able to find out if HAL is one of them. Taxis are an option, but rather go for a shuttle to get to the trains. Do you happen to have any information, regarding the operations during Prinsendams visit this week?

[tartanexile81]

Hello tartanexile81,

 

Just worked through all of the information on this thread, preparing for our 2016 cruise on HAL Prinsendam.

Came to the conclusion that there is limited information regarding arrival in Rosyth. I know there is the train station nearby, which has good train connections into Edinburg, it is getting from port tot the train station that has my interest.

Prinsendam has just visited there this week, but I have not seen any information on that. I have read that some ships have (complementary) shuttles from the terminal to the train station, but so far, have not been able to find out if HAL is one of them. Taxis are an option, but rather go for a shuttle to get to the trains. Do you happen to have any information, regarding the operations during Prinsendams visit this week?

 

hello Alphen

I wasn't at Rosyth when the HAL ship was in but could maybe find out about shuttle buses. However, none of the other ships have offered free shuttle buses to the station as far as I'm aware. Ocean Princess, for example, was selling tickets for their shuttle bus, but I don't know how much it was.

 

Because it is an industrial port, you are not allowed to walk anywhere, so there's a free bus from the ship to the terminal but it only takes two minutes. To tell you the truth, it is only £7 per taxi, (not per person!) from the port to the railway station and although you don't sound keen on it, it is a good option. This may also be the cheapest option and when you get back from Edinburgh there are always taxis waiting to meet the trains to take you back to the ship, again for £7.

 

The nearest station is Inverkeithing, and there is a regular service to Edinburgh. Every southbound train will stop at Edinburgh Waverley, in the city centre, and takes about 20 minutes. They go about every 10 minutes during the day. An off-peak day return costs about £5. You can buy ticket on the train, from the automatic machine at the station or the booking office. When you get back to Waverley, there's a large electronics noticeboard with train times arranged chronologically. Just look for the first train heading to Inverkeithing.

 

Hope that helps but if anything's not clear come back with any more questions.

[need2cruisesoon]

Darn! :( Maybe we'll be lucky next year. We don't call in until early May.

 

Again' date=' Tartan, thanks for all the info you post here. Its truly invaluable![/quote']

 

This was the Silhouette in July tendering to Newhaven, yeah thats us way out their as we take the tender to port. What a haul:

 

 

Low tide made it difficult for awhile:

[need2cruisesoon]

30 minutes from ship to shore: Welcome to Edinburgh.

 

 

Edited August 21, 2015 by need2cruisesoon

[tartanexile81]

Thanks for the great photos need2cruisesoon. I posted some photos on a thread I started about at Newhaven but obviously took all my photos from the shore and showed how to get to the bus stop etc.

 

I spoke to one of the other volunteers on duty that day Alphen and yes there was a shuttle but they didn't know how much it cost. However they, like me ,said it was better and cheaper to get a taxi.

[Alphen]

Thanks for the great photos need2cruisesoon. I posted some photos on a thread I started about at Newhaven but obviously took all my photos from the shore and showed how to get to the bus stop etc.

 

I spoke to one of the other volunteers on duty that day Alphen and yes there was a shuttle but they didn't know how much it cost. However they, like me ,said it was better and cheaper to get a taxi.

 

Thank you for the informative replies, I have taken note of the options for shuttles and taxis.

 

My experience is that HAL is often very high priced with its shuttles, so I will be taking the taxi option. On board they will only tell you the high priced options, but quite often the “on location guide” will give you the cheaper options when you meet him or her on shore.

 

Thank you for taking the trouble asking around, regarding my questions, this is much appreciated.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Alphen

[Marketa24]

Hi, we will not be doing a cruise but we are taking the Eurostar from London to spend the day in Edinburgh. Do you have any suggestions of things that we must do in this great city? We were thinking of taking the HOHO bus. There probably is no reason to rent a car since there is public transportation.

[discerningedinburgh]

Yes, you can get a HOHO Bus right outside Waverley Train Station on Waverley Bridge. There is no need for you to hire a car and you would not be able to 'park' it anywhere in the city centre.The sightseeing buses are your best way to see as much as possible in a day. Enjoy.

[Cotswold Eagle]

Hi, we will not be doing a cruise but we are taking the Eurostar from London to spend the day in Edinburgh. Do you have any suggestions of things that we must do in this great city? We were thinking of taking the HOHO bus. There probably is no reason to rent a car since there is public transportation.

 

The Eurostar serves destinations in continental Europe, such as Paris and Brussels. It does not serve Edinburgh from London.

 

You may get more responses by posting your question in a separate thread, as this is specifically about shuttle buses from the cruise terminals.

[Ladybentley]

We will be on the Koningsdam overnighting (with tenders) at South Queensferry next August. We are thinking of buying tickets to the Tattoo but aren't sure what time it finishes and what would be the best way to get back to the ship afterwards. Will there be taxis readily available after the finish of the Tattoo and if so, does anyone know how much one would cost? Alternatively is there any company we could book a transfer with? Many thanks for any advice that anyone can give.

[discerningedinburgh]

Hi. South Queensferry is approx 10 miles from Edinburgh City Centre and is within the Edinburgh Postal Code District. You could take a taxi , bus or train. Taxis (Black cabs) are plentiful at taxi ranks in the city centre and will probably cost around £20 for a one way trip depending on traffic and time. When the tattoo comes out the taxi ranks may be busy- you will be able to get a taxi but you will likely have to stand in line. Checkout the bus on Stagecoach website. The last bus from the city centre to South Queensferry is around 11.30 pm and costs less than £5. There is also a train service Edinburgh to Dalmeny station...look at Scotrail website.

The Tattoo usually starts at 9pm and finishes approx 10.45pm. There is a late performance on a Saturday that starts at 10.30 & finishes around midnight.

You should also check with your cruise line. They may be running a shuttle service from a central point at regular intervals.