Review of Cruise to Scotland, Ireland, Northern Europe - May 2019

[GeorgeCharlie]

Hi Folks,

 

Decided to take a shot at doing another review.

 

This one covering the first segment of our 24-day cruise on the Zuiderdam this past May/June.

 

Our 24-day cruise consisted of B2B cruises with the first 14-day cruise segment visiting the Highlands area of Scotland, along with Northern Ireland, Ireland, and other various stops in Northern Europe. The second 10-day segment consisted of visits to the Baltic area of Europe. 

 

In addition, I plan on doing a separate review covering the Baltic cruise segment.

 

 

Map showing the full 24-day cruise.

 

 

I must forewarn you this review may take some time to complete, because at this time of the year I do not have the luxury of long winter nights to do it like I had with my fall 2018 review.

 

Similar to my previous reviews I intend to try and keep my comments related to places we visited and what we saw, rather then what happened on the ship.

 

Edited July 20, 2019 by GeorgeCharlie

[GeorgeCharlie]

 

Most of the places we visited were new to us - so you will be getting our first impressions on many of these port visits.

 

Overall we found the cruise to be fun and relaxing, as we had a great time visiting all the ports. In our opinion, a couple of them were not up to par, but we are still pleased we got to see them.

 

Map of the first segment.

[canadianbear]

Looking forward to reading about your cruise.  

[GeorgeCharlie]

 

First port - Edinburgh.

 

The Zuiderdam anchored in the bay and we were tendered to the South Queensferry port.

 

The tender dock is right beside the famous Forth Railway Bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bridge is 2.5 kilometres long and remains largely unchanged from when it was built in 1890. It still carries 190-200 trains every day.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2019 by GeorgeCharlie

[GeorgeCharlie]

Actually where we were tendered in, is locally referred to as Hawes Pier.

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

On the pier there was a traditional bell-ringer to greet us.

 

 

 

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

 

If you go down to the end of the pier, you will find the area where the shuttle busses and taxis are.

 

 

This is also where you can catch the Service X99 direct shuttle bus to downtown Edinburgh St Andrew Square. It takes about 45 minutes and cost 6 GBP for a return ticket. They depart each way about every 20 minutes.

 

You buy tickets prior to boarding the bus - they take credit cards and cash. Your can also buy a combo ticket which includes the HOHO bus tour.

 

Link to their site is https://www.lothianbuses.com/news/2018/04/new-service-x99/

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

On the pier we were also entertained by a bagpipe player - the first of many we would see while in Edinburgh.

 

 

You can see the bow of the Zuiderdam peeking out from behind the bridge pier to the left of the drummer.

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

 

Just in case anyone is interested - this segment of our cruise departed Copenhagen on May 17th and returned to Copenhagen on May 31st.

[oakridger]

Hi GeorgeCharlie!  I'm enjoying your pictures and videos.  Thanks for taking all the effort to share them with us.  I'll be checking back to see any more you post.

 

~Nancy

[Krazy Kruizers]

Loving your report, pictures and videos.

 

Looking forward to more.

[puppycanducruise]

You're off to a great start.

Looking forward to seeing more.

Thanks for doing this.

[ontheweb]

Thanks, and looking forward to more.

 

I did not realize there was actually a port in Edinburgh. When we did a British Isles cruise that included Edinburgh, Rosyth was used as the port.

 

What size ship were you on that could actually use that port. I find it hard to believe that it could be smaller than the former Ocean Princess that we were on. And there was construction at the Rosyth port when we were there, so if they could have actually gone to Edinburgh, I wonder why they did not.

[Lido deck main]

Following. Looking forward to more.  Thank you for sharing.

[cat shepard]

Thank you for doing this. I especially love your bagpiper video. There is something about the sound of bagpipes that calls to me.

 

Someday, I will witness the Beating of the Retreat. And I am sure something will get in my eyes, and they will water.

 

Am looking forward to more. Following.....

[GeorgeCharlie]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Thanks, and looking forward to more.

 

I did not realize there was actually a port in Edinburgh. When we did a British Isles cruise that included Edinburgh, Rosyth was used as the port.

 

What size ship were you on that could actually use that port. I find it hard to believe that it could be smaller than the former Ocean Princess that we were on. And there was construction at the Rosyth port when we were there, so if they could have actually gone to Edinburgh, I wonder why they did not.

 

Although South Queensferry is sometimes referred to as a port for Edinburgh, there is no pier large enough for a cruise ship of any size to actually tie up to. Cruise ships have to anchor in the River Forth and tender passengers into Hawes Pier, which can only handle small tourist boats and tenders.

 

Rosyth is a industrial port (and navel base) on the north side of River Forth in North Queensferry. It is a deep water port which can accommodate large cruise ships and includes a dedicated cruise terminal.

 

Although tendering creates a lot more hassle for passengers getting off and back on the ship, Hawes Pier is much closer to Edinburgh then Rosyth, so overall it's likely quicker for passengers going into Edinburgh. Plus, Hawes Pier has regular public bus service to Edinburgh.

[GeorgeCharlie]

2 hours ago, cat shepard said:

Thank you for doing this. I especially love your bagpiper video. There is something about the sound of bagpipes that calls to me.

 

Someday, I will witness the Beating of the Retreat. And I am sure something will get in my eyes, and they will water.

 

Am looking forward to more. Following.....

 

On the Royal Mile there seemed to be someone playing a bagpipe on just about every corner - got annoying after a while.

 

And some where having of a tough time in getting going!

 

 

 

[Himself]

I am enjoying the review.  Looking forward to Belfast an Dublin.

[sevenseasnomad]

Great job!  Love the 1st bagpipe video.  Second one, I agree.  What's worse than someone trying to play an instrument who struggles?  Just noise, although some people who aren't fond of bagpipes would say the instrument itself is annoying.  Not us.  We're directly related to Scotland (and Ireland) through both sides of our family, and we can't wait to go on a cruise similar to the one you just took.

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, GeorgeCharlie said:

 

Although South Queensferry is sometimes referred to as a port for Edinburgh, there is no pier large enough for a cruise ship of any size to actually tie up to. Cruise ships have to anchor in the River Forth and tender passengers into Hawes Pier, which can only handle small tourist boats and tenders.

 

Rosyth is a industrial port (and navel base) on the north side of River Forth in North Queensferry. It is a deep water port which can accommodate large cruise ships and includes a dedicated cruise terminal.

 

Although tendering creates a lot more hassle for passengers getting off and back on the ship, Hawes Pier is much closer to Edinburgh then Rosyth, so overall it's likely quicker for passengers going into Edinburgh. Plus, Hawes Pier has regular public bus service to Edinburgh.

How late does the bus service run? Would it still be running after the Tattoo ended? We had a round trip ticket for the train back to Rosyth, but the train was no longer running by the time we got to the station from the Tattoo. We had to take a cab back.

[GeorgeCharlie]

We had arranged private tours for most of the ports on this cruise through the CC roll call. We did not take any ship provided tours.

 

The only tour out of South Queensferry which seemed interesting to us was a half day tour to St. Andrew's, which included a walking tour of the famous Old Course. Unfortunately, there was a tournament happening on the day we would be visiting, so we wouldn't be able to visit the Old Course. The opportunity to walk part of the golf course would be the main reason for our visit, so we decided to not go. Maybe another time.

 

Therefore, Edinburgh became a DIY visit for us and we took the Service X99 bus into town.

 

From Saint Andrews Square it is about a 15 minute walk (1/2 mile) over to the Royal Mile.

 

The normal route will take you by the Scott Monument, which is by the Waverley Train Station. The Waverley Mall, which is a 3-level mall with a fast-food court is nearby.

 

Scott Monument.

[GeorgeCharlie]

7 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

How late does the bus service run? Would it still be running after the Tattoo ended? We had a round trip ticket for the train back to Rosyth, but the train was no longer running by the time we got to the station from the Tattoo. We had to take a cab back.

 

Are you asking about bus service to Edinburgh from Rosyth, or Hawes Pier?

[CRu1853!!]

Looking forward to more of your trip. This is on my bucket list. Terrific reading!

[erewhon]

Looking forward to following more of your review, thank you.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, GeorgeCharlie said:

 

Are you asking about bus service to Edinburgh from Rosyth, or Hawes Pier?

Hawes Pier.