Booked on Spirit from Southampton circle UK

[Juno023]

 Looking for help and info on shore excursions on ports of call on Spirit cruise around the British Isles. What ports are best for ship excurs. and what ports are fine for local tours or just walking around? Any info from previous passengers on this cruise would be helpful.   I have searched on this site for info on this cruise (leaving July 21 - Aug. 2) from Southampton and can not even find this cruise listed anywhere. Can anyone tell me why?   I can find reviews of the Spirit....and will take those with a grain of there salt. Has anyone out there done this circle around the UK?   Thanks in advance.

Edited January 13, 2019 by Juno023
typos

[fabnfortysomething]

13 hours ago, Juno023 said:

 Looking for help and info on shore excursions on ports of call on Spirit cruise around the British Isles. What ports are best for ship excurs. and what ports are fine for local tours or just walking around? Any info from previous passengers on this cruise would be helpful.   I have searched on this site for info on this cruise (leaving July 21 - Aug. 2) from Southampton and can not even find this cruise listed anywhere. Can anyone tell me why?   I can find reviews of the Spirit....and will take those with a grain of there salt. Has anyone out there done this circle around the UK?   Thanks in advance.

 

it definitely exists-we are on it

above is link to roll call

[lamchops]

If you list the itinerary you’ll get a better response. We did the British Isle cruise last September 2018 on the NCL Jade from Southampton so I would assume that the itinerary would be similar. We did everything on our own and not through NCL. We booked with irishtourtickets for a Giants Causeway tour but used local transportation and shuttles for the remainder. Look under British ports of call to ask questions and search previous posted info.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

Edited January 14, 2019 by lamchops

[yaoughta]

On 1/13/2019 at 3:05 PM, Juno023 said:

 Looking for help and info on shore excursions on ports of call on Spirit cruise around the British Isles. What ports are best for ship excurs. and what ports are fine for local tours or just walking around? Any info from previous passengers on this cruise would be helpful.   I have searched on this site for info on this cruise (leaving July 21 - Aug. 2) from Southampton and can not even find this cruise listed anywhere. Can anyone tell me why?   I can find reviews of the Spirit....and will take those with a grain of there salt. Has anyone out there done this circle around the UK?   Thanks in advance.

That really depends on your age, interests and activity level. Obviously, there are things to do in every port from just enjoying beautiful scenery to visiting historical sites. You don't have to purchase excursions through NCL. Just google "Things to do in..." and you can find all sorts of things to do and decide for yourself whether its worth the price.

[rxlowry]

I’m getting on Spirit today and doing a live post here with more on my blog!  

[CazV]

If you join the roll call linked to above hopefully you'll find some people who have already organised excursions or will be able to advise on some ideas. I live on the west coast of Scotland about an hour's drive from the Greenock port so if you have any specific questions about this part of the trip, tag me and ask and I'll be happy to help if I can. A relative of my brother in law has a tour company based near Greenock (but do tours Scotland wide) that I'm happy to pass details of. Haven't used them but they get excellent reviews. 

 

Edit... just realised this is an old post that's been bumped, so hopefully you're all sorted now. 

Also just been for a look at the ports of call section of CC for my part of the world and there's lots of good info there too... gave me a few ideas for the summer lol  🙂 

Edited July 7, 2019 by CazV

[insidecabin]

 

EDI : easy now going into Newhaven local transport.

Invergordon: only the murals local, there will be local tours waiting at the dock.

Kirkwall : ok to DIY the town but the best tours are with locals that get booked up, see roll call for spaces.

Greenock : local tourist people do some short tours, glasgow can be done if in port long enough.

Belfast: Titanic or giants causeway(local tour significantly cheaper)

Dublin : HOHO if first time.

Cobh : Local pubs are great for the black stuff and music.(or go kiss the blarney stone that has not been washed for years)

Portland : tender and often missed due to weather (forget what is local there)

 

I see the port timings on this trip are not all ideal.

Sun	London (Southampton), England (EMBARK)	---	5:00 pm
Mon	At Sea	---	---
Tue	Edinburgh (Newhaven), Scotland	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Wed	Inverness (Invergordon), Scotland	7:00 am	5:00 pm
Thu	Kirkwall, Orkney Isles, Scotland	7:00 am	1:00 pm
Fri	Glasgow (Greenock), Scotland	12:00 pm	9:00 pm
Sat	Belfast, Northern Ireland	7:00 am	6:00 pm
Sun	Holyhead, Wales, United Kingdom	7:00 am	6:00 pm
Mon	Dublin, Ireland	7:00 am	---
Tue	Dublin, Ireland	---	7:00 pm
Wed	Cork (Cobh), Ireland	8:00 am	4:00 pm
Thu	Portland, England	9:00 am	7:00 pm
Fri	London (Southampton), England (DISEMBARK)	5:00 am	---