British Isles cruise tours reviews (just back!)

[trosebery]

My daughter and I just completed a cruise of the British Isles, starting in Southampton and traveling to St. Peter Port (Guernsey), Cobh/Cork, Dublin (an overnight), Belfast, Greenock/Glasgow, Invergordon, Edinburgh, and Le Havre (Normandy). We booked tours everywhere we went and I thought I'd share my personal experiences in that it helps someone else plan.

 

I'm going to try to do one port per post, starting with:

 

We flew into Heathrow one day early,but having visited London recently, we decided to do something different and stay outside London, in the Watford area, and visit the Harry Potter Studio Tour on the afternoon of the day we flew in:

https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/home

 

Sets, props, costumes, animatronics,concept art, models, etc., all engagingly presented. If you happen to have a Potterphile in your party, they will love it. My 20-year-olddaughter was blissful.

 

Rather than negotiate trains while jetlagged, I arranged for Blackberry Cars to pick us up at Heathrow and then had Smiths for Airports pick us up and take us to Southampton the next morning. Both were prompt and efficient.

[trosebery]

Guernsey

 

Since we had some OBC to use and I wanted to force myself to get up and do something active to really get over the jetlag, I booked us a 7 am cycling tour through Princess, which was operated by Outdoor Guernsey:

http://outdoorguernsey.co.uk/

 

We tendered into the port with no trouble and were then picked up in a minibus to the west coast of the island for the tour. Although the Princess literature warns guests that the tour is “strenuous” and for “experienced” cyclists,it's quite reasonable. There are few hills and you don't actually ride far: there are frequent stops for one of the guides (Don) to talk about the history and the geography of the island (including a visit inside dolmen and inside a WWII German bunker). I very much enjoyed it and so did everyone else in the group, that I could tell.

 

We were then transferred back to the port, arriving shortly after 10 am, which gave us ample time to wander and visit the town and castle. (FYI, the TI there has particularly good/fast free WiFi.) We wandered back to the tenders at around 12:30 pm and encountered a small wait but were back on board within an hour of getting in line. Some people who arrived later encountered more substantial waits (over 2 hours). I do recommend an early morning and an early return. (The last tender was supposed to be by 1:30 pm.)

[trosebery]

Cobh/Cork

 

Because it took so long to get the last tenders back and because the Caribbean Princess, upon preparing to leave, discovered an engine issue that delayed us an additional 2 hours, we didn't arrive in Ireland until almost noon – but the ship pushed back its departure time from port as well, so we were able to get in the full tour we had booked with eCoach/Butlers Buses:

http://www.ecoach.ie/blarney_bus_tour_list.php

 

I loved Blarney Castle, though neither my daughter and I joined the line to go up into the castle and kiss the stone. (The wait by the time we arrived, given our midday arrival, was almost an hour.) We enjoyed the gardens instead, which include the fascinating Poison Garden (with informative signs) and the beautiful Rock Close. We also visited Blarney Woolen Mills,although if you're running short on time because you want to kiss the stone, this can be skipped. It's a nice store with an extensive selection (and a good shipping deal), but you'll be able to find the same items in other stores elsewhere.

 

After Blarney, we went to Charles Fort for a brief photo stop and then went to Kinsale – which was intended as a lunch stop, on our original schedule, but given our delay, was a late afternoon snack/early dinner for most. Dino's fish and chip shop was recommended (by our driver and the others who tried it), but we just chose to wander ourselves. Kinsale is nice, though I'm not sure it's worth the non-trivial drive – or at least, it wouldn't have been if the drive hadn't been through pretty countryside, and our driver, John, hadn't been entertaining us with histories and songs along the way. We briefly drove through Cork and Cobh, and we arrived back at the ship in plenty of time for those who wanted to have a wander through Cobh to do so (as the ship was docked right by the town).

 

I do recommend the company. Everything was well-run and if you didn't want to stand in line for the stone,there was no waiting around. (We were just waved in a side gate atthe entrance to the grounds of the castle.)

[trosebery]

Dublin

 

It's a fair ways from the ship into town, and you wouldn't want to walk it, as the port is very commercial/industrial. Princess was running free shuttles to and from Merrion Square (drop off/pick up right across from the Oscar Wilde statue), and they ran frequently enough that we never really waited.When we arrived the first day, I noted that they had about a dozen double-deckers ready and waiting. Taxis, incidentally, were impossible to find. On the second day we were in Dublin, I asked the people waiting in the taxi line (which was about a dozen people deep)how long they'd been waiting, and they said that they'd seen only 2 taxis in 45 minutes! But it was fairly easy to flag down taxis downtown. I'd take a shuttle and then flag down a taxi if you need one.

 

We started our first day in Dublin,after taking the requisite photos with Oscar Wilde, with a tour of Trinity College:

https://www.tcd.ie/visitors/tours/

which was very entertaining (highly recommended) and included admission to the Library/Book of Kells. But note that the tour does not allow you to skip the line at the Library. You can book timed tickets to the Library separately (and then pay less for the tour) if you don't want to wait, but the line,even if it looks long, does move fairly quickly. (My daughter and I waited about 20-30 minutes. She read a book. I had a snack.)

 

There are so many things to see in Dublin. We chose to visit the National Museum of Ireland – Archaelogy and the Chester Beatty Library at Dublin Castle, both of which are good museums . . . although we had to see both quickly as not only did our ship not get in until 10:30 am (which was scheduled), but it was a Sunday and places closed around 5 pm. Take note of days of the week when planning.

 

As it was drizzling, we wandered overto the very old Brazen Head pub early and had a pint before ourFolklore Dinner:

http://irishfolktours.com/

This was fun. Our hostess and themusicians were both personable, although I would have enjoyed more folklore and fairy tales: a lot of the evening was spent eating (there was quite a bit of food: the starter warm chicken salad is as much as I usually eat for a meal) and in conversation with my CruiseCritic tablemates.

 

The next day, we went on Mary Gibbons'Newgrange and Hill of Tara Tour:

http://newgrangetours.com/

This takes you out of Dublin and if it's your first time in Dublin and you only have one day, you'll probably want to stay in the city. But if you've seen Dublin or have more time as we did, I would recommend it. I'd thought Mary's narration as we drove would focus more on early Irish history (or rather prehistory), but she covered everything from the Neolithic to the Troubles, often in response to questions that people called out.

 

Note that the Hill of Tara is reallyjust a photo stop (it's a grassy hill with mounds and ditches and anamazing view), and Mary doesn't accompany you onto to the hill, so dostop and read the signs and map at the entrance so that you know the significance of each of the mounds and ditches.

 

At Newgrange, you have ample time to have some lunch (a little expensive, but the soup and bread were very good) before you meet the buses to take you to the site and your archaeologist guide, who does take you into the passage tomb. Older than Stonehenge, this Neolithic site is impressive for its abstract rock carvings and stonework – the tomb itself is watertight, and wehad a good demonstration of this as we had no idea until we exited that it had started to pour rain while we were in the tomb! We then had time to visit the exhibition before meeting the buses and returning to Dublin.

 

FYI, her bus had WiFi, which I appreciated as it was the only bus of our entire trip that did!

[trosebery]

Belfast

 

Our ship was a little late getting in (again), but we still got to see everything. We booked a Giants Causeway tour with Odyssey:

http://odysseycoachtours.co.uk/giants-causeway-cruise-tours/

And we booked the Extra Legroom options for the smaller bus (which got everywhere first) and more comfort.

 

We started the day at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, where our driver was able to get us timed tickets that allowed us to walk right in. There weren't any lines to cross when we got there, although the lines did build and some of the slower walkers in our group were a few minutes late getting back. The bridge itself is trivial to cross (and very safe). It's the walk to and from the bridge and on the island itself that is not easy. Lots of stairs. Some uneven ground. About 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back. Be warned. But even if you don't cross the bridge, the scenery is stunning.

 

We then had a brief photo stop at Dunluce Castle on the way to Giants Causeway, which is also stunning– and a lot of fun to clamber over, even if you're a forty-something adult like me. (The kids were loving it.) There is a shuttlebus from the carpark/visitor center down to the Causeway that is 1 pound per person each way. There was a bus ready to go when we arrived (and no line), so we hopped on and saved some time getting down there. There was a line to go back up, so we walked instead, and it really wasn't bad. (A much easier walk than to/from the rope bridge.) We'd been warned by the driver that it was a 20-minute walk down and longer back up, but we walked it in 13 minutes. And it's a nice paved walkway.

 

We had a late lunch stop in Ballycastle. Your choice of places, although most people chose to stop at the O'Connor's bar that had been recommended by our driverand had a quick menu for tour groups. (Good food and reasonably priced -- and WiFi!) Our scenic drive down the coast was unfortunately not particularly scenic. We had the bad luck of encountering some unusually dense fog: our driver joked that he'd often claimed that he could drive that route blindfolded but never thought he'd actually have to!

 

We finally drove through Belfast andsaw the Peace Walls and murals (brief photo stop) and Shankill Roadwhile our Irish Nationalist driver told us of the Troubles. It was honestly shocking and sobering to see such stark divisions. The embarrassing thing is that I was so affected by the tour through Belfast that I forgot to tip our driver and I'm now emailing the company to try to remedy that!

Edited August 31, 2017 by trosebery

[trosebery]

Greenock/Glasgow

 

Our ship was scheduled to be in port until 2 am so that those who wished to see the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo could do so. (It's about a 90 minute drive.) We wanted to see if it lived up to the hype, and indeed, it was a very good show.

 

But as we wanted to do more than just visit the Tattoo, we booked a tour with Clyde Coast Tourism that would take us to Luss (Loch Lomond) and the Trossachs National Park and then Stirling Castle on the way to Edinburgh:

http://clydecoasttourism.co.uk/scotland-cruise-shore-excursions/greenock-port-tours/edinburgh-military-tattoo-tour.html

 

This trip . . . had some hiccups.First, the bus that we were on had a problem with its heating system:it would not turn off. And it was an unusually hot day. (We had a lovely evening for the Tattoo.) Our guide Catriona had to make a few phone calls and find us a new bus, which turned up when we stopped for lunch. So our drive through the Trossachs was scenic but warm. (Lunch, incidentally, was at the very old Drovers' Inn. They were quick and the food was okay, but be warned that the decor includes a lot of vintage taxidermy.)

 

We stopped to take some photos of some highland cows below Stirling Castle and then had some time to visit the castle itself. My one quibble with the tour was not the hot bus, which was eventually solved, but Catriona's narration, which was sometimes good and informative but sometimes fell short. For example, we didn't hear anything of the history of Stirling Castle on the way. (Fortunately,my daughter and I had watched the Great British Castles series on Netflix and knew its story.) Maybe she was flustered by having to solve the buses issue?

 

We arrived in Edinburgh around 6:30 pm in time to have dinner before the Tattoo, although be warned that the Royal Mile is very crowded with Festival-goers (and buskers) in August. The Tattoo itself is very well-run and an engaging spectacle. There is no bad seat: yes, if you sit in the pricier seats (sections 6-11), you will have the projections on the castle as a backdrop to the performers without having to glance between the projections and performers. But the performers themselves are typically closest to sections 3, 4, 13, and 14. (We were in section 12 and had no complaints.)

 

It's a little chaotic leaving the Tattoo, but we found our guide in the pre-arranged spot and she led us to the bus parking. However, we lost four people on the way there.Our guide panicked we waited while she ran up and down the Mile looking for them before we finally had to leave to get back to the ship. (She eventually contacted them by phone and arranged for them to take anUber back.) I was a little worried about getting back to the ship especially as there was road construction and detours and we only made it back at 1:30 am for an all-aboard time of 1:30 am . . . but really, I shouldn't have worried. There was a line when we got there and people were still coming back with Princess and the ship didn't leave for more than an hour after that. (Incidentally, they had the buffet on Lidodeck open for everyone coming back.)

[trosebery]

Invergordon

 

Our tour in Invergordon was the only one I didn't enjoy even though we booked with the highly-rated Invergordon Tours:

http://www.invergordontours.com/store/c3/Caribbean_Princess_-_Loch_Ness_Group_Tour_2017.html

and really, the itinerary and guide were fine. My only issue was the mini-buses. The seats are small and narrow. The smaller buses are supposed to provide a more “intimate”experience, but I didn't especially want to get intimate with the stranger who wound up sitting next to me. He was a very nice man, but he needed more space than that single seat in the middle (the back row of the bus is five across, and he was stuck in the middle of two couples) and I wound up with a pinch in my shoulder from trying to cram myself into the narrow space. I did ask our guide if there was any alternative seating, but our only options were to take the same cramped back seats on the other bus or split up. Since I wanted to enjoy the tour with my daughter, we did stay in our seats, but I had a miserably uncomfortable day.

 

We started at the Urquhart Castle ruins, which were scenic, followed by a cruise on Loch Ness, which is. . . a lake. There's some interesting narration by Jacobite (the boat tour company), but the loch itself was not particularly dramatic. Back on the bus, we were driven through Inverness to lunch at a local garden center . . . which wasn't very atmospheric, but they were quick andi nexpensive and I suppose it was a very local experience! Unfortunately, we only drove by Culloden Battlefield (no photo stop) on our way to Clava Cairns, which were interesting (you may have guessed by now that I enjoy prehistory), and Cawdor Castle. The castle itself isn't as interesting as the gardens, and we didn't quite have time to really see both. (I'd choose the gardens over the castle.)

 

We got back to the ship in plenty oftime, although I would only recommend this tour with reservations.While our guide was personable and informative, some parts of the day felt rushed (like not being able to stop at Culloden) and thediscomfort of the cramped transportation really cast a damper on my day.

[geoherb]

Great to meet you on this cruise. We'll be talking about your daughter's prodigious knowledge of Harry Potter trivia for years to come. I took a photo of you at Blarney. I did not realize until going through my photos today.

[trosebery]

Edinburgh

 

Back to Edinburgh (tendering into South Queensferry). We'd heard horror stories about the tendering process,but we got on the first tender with no problem whatsoever and were 45 minutes early for our tour. We booked with Timberbush:

http://www.timberbush-tours.co.uk/our-tours/shore-excursions/1-day-edinburgh-city-tour/

and visited the Royal Yacht Britannia and Edinburgh Castle. The stop at Holyrood was only a photo stop (for the palace and the Scottish Parliament across the street), although as I wasn't that interested in Holyrood, I didn't mind. (If you really want to see it, you can go back down the mile during your free time at the castle later.)

 

The tour started at the Royal Yacht,and really, it was a highlight. The yacht is an interesting and intimate look at royal life, including the life of the support staff that traveled with the queen. The included audio tour is very good.We then drove to Holyrood and then through Holyrood Park for some beautiful panoramic views before our driver took us onto the Royal Mile (despite the Festival crowds!) and dropped us at Castlehill. We then had ample free time to have lunch, visit the castle (including the crown jewels, which had a bit of a line but I had to see the famous Stone of Scone), and explore. The Scottish War Memorial at the Castle, by the way, is a very interesting site, especially if you've ever wondered what tanks and zeppelins look like done in stained glass.

 

We then drove through a little more of the city, including the New Town, on our way back to South Queensferry. We booked the tour more for the transportation to the yacht and the city than for the tour, but we still enjoyed our good-humored driver's stories. (And I enjoyed being in a full-sized coach instead of a minibus! The gentleman who'd been wedged into the center seat beside me yesterday got a full two seats to himself today.)

[trosebery]

Le Havre

 

We'd been to Paris before and therefore weren't interested in making the long drive for a brief visit. I was interested in Giverny and Rouen, but my daughter wanted to see the D-Day beaches and we therefore booked Overlord Tour 9B:

http://www.overlordtour.com/product/tours-from-cruise-ports-9b/

 

It was a very good tour, even if you don't have a special interest in WWII history. Informative (throughout the drive), engaging, affecting (especially at Omaha Beach), and generally very well run. We started at the dramatic American Cemetery before continuing to Omaha Beach. We then continued to Bayeux, where we had time to visit the Tapestry (which was well worth seeing) and have some galettes (savory crepes) and local cider down by the river.

 

Finally, we went to the very pretty town of Honfleur, where we ran off from our guide (meeting back at the bus later) because we needed to find some desperately needed WiFi, so we probably didn't get the full experience (our guide was very good). But it was still an interesting town and we enjoyed our wander (and our ice creams while we found WiFi). As a Canadian, I was tempted to book a smaller tour to Juno Beach, but I'm glad I joined this one in the end.

[trosebery]

Southampton

 

We booked a Princess tour to take us back to Heathrow via Stonehenge, and the tour was much better than I expected. Our guide started by telling us about Southampton as we drove through it, and then we took the scenic route through the New Forest. We saw lots of ponies, including several foals, one of which we had to slow for because he was standing in the middle of the road.There were also lots of cows (and calves) and cottages with thatched roofs and fields of heather, and it was genuinely lovely. Our guidekept up her narration through the forest and into Salisbury (with a break for a comfort stop) and past Old Sarum on the way to Stonehenge.

 

We were there at 9:15 am and immediately hopped the bus to the site (audio tours in hand) and were therefore able to enjoy the stones before it got crowded. We walked around twice (listening to the audio tour the first time and discussing the stones ourselves the second) before heading back to the visitor center for a look at the exhibition and an early lunch before we were back on the bus at 11:30.

 

We drove through Windsor (past Ascot and with a view of the castle) on the way to the terminal and made it there by 2 pm for those with 4 pm flights. So it wasn't the fastest of getting to Heathrow, but it was interesting and scenic. (And our flight didn't go out until 6 pm anyway.) I did enjoy seeing the airport lawnmowing sheep cropping the grass by the reservoir on our way to the terminal. It seemed fitting that we end our trip with a final view of sheep. (I haven't mentioned them in my reviews above,but that's because they were *everywhere* on this trip. And where there weren't sheep, there were cows.)

 

 

I hope my reviews are of some use to someone planning their trips for next year? Please feel free to ask me any questions.

[trosebery]

Great to meet you on this cruise. We'll be talking about your daughter's prodigious knowledge of Harry Potter trivia for years to come. I took a photo of you at Blarney. I did not realize until going through my photos today.

 

It was great to meet you too! I hope your tablemates were able to enjoy the bottle of champagne. It was a very *odd* prize to offer for a Harry Potter trivia contest. I don't think any of the players who earned their team their perfect score were over 21, LOL!

 

We have yet to go through all our photos, except for the few mostly selfies I snapped on my cellphone to send back to my DH (the rare times we got WiFi). We have well over 1000. Although I think about half of them are from the Harry Potter Studio Tour.

 

I can add some photos if someone can point me at directions on how to do so from Google Photos?

 

I enjoyed reading through your Live Feed thread when I got back. It really took me back there. Although my cat, currently sleeping on me and purring loudly, is happy I'm here.

Edited August 31, 2017 by trosebery

[easyboy]

Thank you so much for the organized port reviews, including the links. Very relevant and useful for our sailing next week.

[tartanexile81]

Thank you very much for taking the time to write your thoughts about the various ports.

 

August is actually the worst time to visit Edinburgh in many ways. The focus is very much on the Festival and Fringe and there are just crowds round the city. It is calmer now and October is a good month to visit IMO. I'm glad you enjoyed the Royal Yacht. It's my favourite tourist spot and I can just imagine how much the Royal Family loved spending time on it. We were also at the Tattoo this year and enjoyed it very much.

 

It's a pity your day in and around Loch Ness was spoilt by the transport arrangements. Loch Ness isn't the most scenic of lochs but of course with the legend of the monster it's always popular with tourists from overseas. I hope you enjoyed the views more in The Trossachs. We love driving over The Duke's Pass and visiting Loch Katrine.

 

Hope you come back to Edinburgh at a quieter time of year so you can really enjoy its beauty

[Ellipooh]

Very informative, thanks for posting your extensive reviews of the tours. Your warning about Sunday closures made me run to look at our itinerary (we leave in a week), and fortunately both Sundays are clear.

 

I do have a question about your times in each port. I understand that some adjustments were made to accommodate late arrivals due to the technical issues plaguing the Caribbean Princess -- but your scheduled arrival for Dublin Day One was not until 10:30am -- ours shows as 7am. Then you said one all-aboard was at130am?? We show a 7pm departure from Glasgow. True, there is no opportunity for Tatoo on our September voyage, but that's a huge difference. Any insights?

 

Thanks again for generously sharing your experiences.

[trosebery]

Very informative, thanks for posting your extensive reviews of the tours. Your warning about Sunday closures made me run to look at our itinerary (we leave in a week), and fortunately both Sundays are clear.

 

I do have a question about your times in each port. I understand that some adjustments were made to accommodate late arrivals due to the technical issues plaguing the Caribbean Princess -- but your scheduled arrival for Dublin Day One was not until 10:30am -- ours shows as 7am. Then you said one all-aboard was at130am?? We show a 7pm departure from Glasgow. True, there is no opportunity for Tatoo on our September voyage, but that's a huge difference. Any insights?

 

Thanks again for generously sharing your experiences.

 

Our 1030 arrival in Dublin was scheduled long before they discovered the techical issues with the Caribbean princess, so it may have had more to do with berth or pilot availability or similar on that particular Sunday than the ship.

 

And yes, our late departure from Greenock, followed by a sea day, was solely to accommodate the Tattoo (which didn't end until almost 11 pm).

 

ETA Be careful of Monday closures too. Some museums and the like were closed Mondays.

Edited September 2, 2017 by trosebery

[Keith1010]

Excellent information. Thank you for taking the time to write this and to share it with the CC community.

 

Keith

[FishinChris]

Excellent review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[ICUQT]

Excellent review! Thank you for the all the information on your tours especially the Tattoo.

 

Bob

[cricketts]

Thanks for a great review! We're doing this same itinerary on Royal Princess June 30th. I really appreciate your sharing and suggestions!

[Cruising Carolynne]

Thank you for sharing this. Going on the same trip next year and this was very helpful. One question though: If you wanted to explore the town on your own in Belfast, how easy it is to get off the ship and do things on your own?

[trosebery]

Thank you for sharing this. Going on the same trip next year and this was very helpful. One question though: If you wanted to explore the town on your own in Belfast, how easy it is to get off the ship and do things on your own?

 

As in Dublin, Princess had double decker shuttles running to some point in the city. I cannot comment on their ease of use as I did not use them, but they were there. There were also quite a few taxis at the port, but they may have all been prebooked

[geoherb]

Thank you for sharing this. Going on the same trip next year and this was very helpful. One question though: If you wanted to explore the town on your own in Belfast, how easy it is to get off the ship and do things on your own?

The free shuttle buses were easy to use. It dropped us off at Donegall Square, right outside the Belfast Welcome Center. There were many different folks there waiting to sell us tours, from hop-on/hop-off buses to taxis tours of Belfast to excursions to the Giant's Causeway.

 

We enjoyed our walk to the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens, a little more than a mile. After our tour of the gardens and museum, we walked to Victoria Square, stopping to pick up and eat sandwiches along the way. Victoria Square is a modern shopping mall. There's a terrific view from the top of the glass dome.

 

We walked back along some shopping streets and caught the bus back to the ship.

[Cruising Carolynne]

The free shuttle buses were easy to use. It dropped us off at Donegall Square, right outside the Belfast Welcome Center. There were many different folks there waiting to sell us tours, from hop-on/hop-off buses to taxis tours of Belfast to excursions to the Giant's Causeway.

 

We enjoyed our walk to the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens, a little more than a mile. After our tour of the gardens and museum, we walked to Victoria Square, stopping to pick up and eat sandwiches along the way. Victoria Square is a modern shopping mall. There's a terrific view from the top of the glass dome.

 

We walked back along some shopping streets and caught the bus back to the ship.

 

 

That's very helpful! Thank you! I want to have a couple days where we aren't on any planned excursions, just going around on our own, and it sounds like Belfast would be a good day to do that.:D

[dutchclogs]

We took a taxi to the Belfast excursion centre (GBP 10 ) and then took the HOHO Bus tour which was very good indeed. After that we had a drink in the oldest tavern in Belfast (White's?) in the Entries and walked to the Crown Liquor Saloon then caught an uber back to ship.