Where to visit in the UK?

[AndyMichelle]

12 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Andy, just the very unlikely thought that might happen is making me feel suicidal, I dread to think how I might feel if due to age, infirmities and lack of insurance it came true.😒

It's frightening times John... 

I am usually so positive about everything, now I don't know if I'm overreacting or being realistic, but I can't see much happening for a while.. 

As we keep saying, nobody knows.. 

Andy 

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

I have always fancied cruising into Liverpool. As I mentioned in my post in this thread, it’s a fabulous city and stunning waterfront. I hadn’t appreciated that some ships operate tenders there. That would be a major problem for us, as my wife is a wheelchair user and has to stay on board in tender ports, so if we pick a cruise that calls there we shall need to make sure that it berths. 

I’m not sure if many ships tender, remember the QE2 was very old and this was a number of years ago. They now have a cruise port at Liverpool which was not there back then. Perhaps someone local can advise.

[kalos]

21 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

I’m not sure if many ships tender, remember the QE2 was very old and this was a number of years ago. They now have a cruise port at Liverpool which was not there back then. Perhaps someone local can advise.

We did one with Fred Olsen from Liverpool ,I think they do a couple of mini cruises a year over to Ireland .

It was very good ,we stayed in a Travelodge which is about a two minute walk to the ship,the car parking was easy

as that was almost opposite the ships berth as well. Checking in was a very basic marquee next to the Mersey ferry.

We liked Liverpool and revisited the place a few times , one occasion we left the car at home and went by train .

Lime street station is just a road crossing away from the station itself. Or you could use Jury's hotel right next door

to Lime street station which we have not used yet .

Further down the road we used the Premier Inn which was near the marina and other attractions.

If you decide on a cruise from Liverpool or just a visit , it's very easy for  people with a car or even using the rail service.

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Eglesbrech said:

I’m not sure if many ships tender, remember the QE2 was very old and this was a number of years ago. They now have a cruise port at Liverpool which was not there back then. Perhaps someone local can advise.

Ah, I misread QE2 as QM2. In recent years they have built a ‘cruise terminal’ but it’s a bit Heath Robinson. I believe that they are keen to build a proper one but I suspect that there will be the usual red tape. As you say, will be useful if anyone local can update. 

[kalos]

On 4/9/2020 at 8:35 PM, happy v said:

Hopefully I'll be on the round Britain cruise and like everyone else put this back on the to do list.😉

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did Happy -V . Ours departed from North Shields on the

Thomson Spirit which would be a very handy departure point for you should they or any other

cruise line decide to depart from there .

Edited April 11, 2020 by kalos

[brian1]

4 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Ah, I misread QE2 as QM2. In recent years they have built a ‘cruise terminal’ but it’s a bit Heath Robinson. I believe that they are keen to build a proper one but I suspect that there will be the usual red tape. As you say, will be useful if anyone local can update. 

That's unfair,they should have some blue tape as well.

[happy v]

9 hours ago, kalos said:

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did Happy -V . Ours departed from North Shields on the

Thomson Spirit which would be a very handy departure point for you should they or any other

cruise line decide to depart from there .

I'm sure we will. If we get to go. I'm hoping around Britain will be one of the first cruises to sail, as we are not actually going anywhere.

[darknightsdespiser]

So many fabulous places to visit but unlike a cruise nothing to do in the evenings, service is rubbish, food hit and miss and try finding a dog free hotel.....

[funinhounslow]

On 4/11/2020 at 10:53 AM, kalos said:

 

Lime street station is just a road crossing away from the station itself. Or you could use Jury's hotel right next door

to Lime street station which we have not used yet .

Further down the road we used the Premier Inn which was near the marina and other attractions.

If you decide on a cruise from Liverpool or just a visit , it's very easy for  people with a car or even using the rail service.

The Liner Hotel just behind Lime St station is worth considering too. Convenient location, free parking (unlike most other in city) and a nautical theme. Also reasonably priced as long as there isn’t a match on...

 

On 4/11/2020 at 3:53 PM, brian1 said:

That's unfair,they should have some blue tape as well.

 

That deserves a 😂 

[Roger88]

Its a dream of mine to visit the UK. I want to arrive to London, visit the palace, museums and other historical stuff. Then,  I want  to take a car and take a ride all over the UK, go up north to Edinborough and further. Then take a little cruise to Ireland, explore both islands back and forth. Its my dream and dream of my wife. Unfortunatly, it wont happen in the near future.. hope in a few years something will change 

[wowzz]

11 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

Its a dream of mine to visit the UK. I want to arrive to London, visit the palace, museums and other historical stuff. Then,  I want  to take a car and take a ride all over the UK, go up north to Edinborough and further. Then take a little cruise to Ireland, explore both islands back and forth. Its my dream and dream of my wife. Unfortunatly, it wont happen in the near future.. hope in a few years something will change 

Roger - you've already posted virtually the same reply a couple of days ago.  Are you sure you are not going stir crazy in lock down!

[P&O SUE]

20 hours ago, funinhounslow said:

The Liner Hotel just behind Lime St station is worth considering too. Convenient location, free parking (unlike most other in city) and a nautical theme. Also reasonably priced as long as there isn’t a match on...

 

 

That deserves a 😂 

I’ve stayed at the Liner hotel, the nautical theme is brilliant - the floors are called decks! 

[Britboys]

On 4/11/2020 at 11:05 AM, Selbourne said:

Ah, I misread QE2 as QM2. In recent years they have built a ‘cruise terminal’ but it’s a bit Heath Robinson. I believe that they are keen to build a proper one but I suspect that there will be the usual red tape. As you say, will be useful if anyone local can update. 

I'm not local but having done a bit of research, it seems that planning permission was granted last September and preliminary investigation is underway to check out the 'seabed' beside the dock where construction is due to take place.

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I'm not local but having done a bit of research, it seems that planning permission was granted last September and preliminary investigation is underway to check out the 'seabed' beside the dock where construction is due to take place.

Thanks Andrew. That’s very interesting. Thank you also for the update on Egypt. I am very tempted, but would have to go solo as it’s obviously not going to be wheelchair friendly! Just the inevitable upset stomach to deal with then 🤢

[Britboys]

6 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Thanks Andrew. That’s very interesting. Thank you also for the update on Egypt. I am very tempted, but would have to go solo as it’s obviously not going to be wheelchair friendly! Just the inevitable upset stomach to deal with then 🤢

Pleased to say that neither me nor the cruise buddy I went with suffered stomach problems and not aware of anyone else who did either.  It was one of those cruises that Tony and I had on our list but sadly didn't get around to before he died.  It is a really fantastic river cruise.  To use that dreadful American wording, the ancient sites and artifacts are 'real awesome'!

[tring]

On 4/11/2020 at 8:19 AM, Selbourne said:

I have always fancied cruising into Liverpool. As I mentioned in my post in this thread, it’s a fabulous city and stunning waterfront. I hadn’t appreciated that some ships operate tenders there. That would be a major problem for us, as my wife is a wheelchair user and has to stay on board in tender ports, so if we pick a cruise that calls there we shall need to make sure that it berths. 

 

I am a local and have never known a ship use tenders of any kind.  We had seen the QEII docked and also the QM2 so no problems.  The only time they may have used tenders is the Cunard anniversary when we had the Three Queens in at once, so they took a bit of a rota with different ones docked (only one at a time), though we were away then so we did not see the event.  The other possibility is if a ship called before the pier head terminal was in place (10 years or so ago now) as only the smaller ships (e.g. Fred) called and went into the docks out to the north of the city, but I think that was only for turnaround.  There can be a very steep ramp to/from the terminal especially if the tide is low, but I have seen buggies there for the less able if needed. 

 

As Merseyside residents we can get on the ferry with our bus passes, so on a nice day we often decide to "take a cruise" as we call it.  Just looking forward to when we can do that again, but we live in West Wirral and there is a lot of varied unspoiled coastline and open spaces like Thurstaton Common, Caldy Hill, The Dales and The Beacons, some of which is within walking distance from our home.  It is not a tourist area, except for one caravan site at Thurstaton shore, which is why it is not overcrowded except for sunny weekends. 

Edited April 15, 2020 by tring

[Selbourne]

37 minutes ago, tring said:

 

I am a local and have never known a ship use tenders of any kind.  We had seen the QEII docked and also the QM2 so no problems.  The only time they may have used tenders is the Cunard anniversary when we had the Three Queens in at once, so they took a bit of a rota with different ones docked (only one at a time), though we were away then so we did not see the event.  The other possibility is if a ship called before the pier head terminal was in place (10 years or so ago now) as only the smaller ships (e.g. Fred) called and went into the docks out to the north of the city, but I think that was only for turnaround.  There can be a very steep ramp to/from the terminal especially if the tide is low, but I have seen buggies there for the less able if needed. 

 

As Merseyside residents we can get on the ferry with our bus passes, so on a nice day we often decide to "take a cruise" as we call it.  Just looking forward to when we can do that again, but we live in West Wirral and there is a lot of varied unspoiled coastline and open spaces like Thurstaton Common, Caldy Hill, The Dales and The Beacons, some of which is within walking distance from our home.  It is not a tourist area, except for one caravan site at Thurstaton shore, which is why it is not overcrowded except for sunny weekends. 

Thanks for the info Tring. Your part of the country is definitely high on my list for a visit once life returns to normal.

[ann141]

On 4/14/2020 at 8:26 AM, funinhounslow said:

The Liner Hotel just behind Lime St station is worth considering too. Convenient location, free parking (unlike most other in city) and a nautical theme. Also reasonably priced as long as there isn’t a match on...

 

 

That deserves a 😂 

Another vote for The Liner Hotel, particularly if you are arriving by train at Lime Street.The room we stayed in was very small but love the theme and breakfast was good and a very good price

[tring]

On 4/15/2020 at 12:49 PM, Selbourne said:

Thanks for the info Tring. Your part of the country is definitely high on my list for a visit once life returns to normal.

 

To explain the terminal and ramp a bit better, the ship's dock at a floating landing stage and there is just a tented structure where check ins etc. are done for turnarounds (I remember similar at one of the Southampton docks).  We have an exceptionally high tide variation so there is quite a fair difference in the slope, which can be almost flat at some high tides.

 

I would not be expecting any new terminal for some years to come and plans are for it to be further to the north, so would not have the appeal of docking right at the centre of the city as at present.  Hence in some respects it is a bit of advantages vs disadvantages IMO, especially if just on a one day cruise stop.  For turnarounds only smaller ships can be accommodated at present (though I have seen it done as a partial turnaround on the QM2), but not sure if that could change with the new plans.  Turnaround for bigger ships, if only from time to time would be well received in the locality.  Cruises from Liverpool tend to sell very well as lots of people from the north find it more convenient, so sadly we do not get the offers you often see for some cruises.  

[Cruising Nomads]

I thought plans had been submitted for a new cruise terminal and hotel to be built in the Princes dock area. The work was due to completed by late 2021.

[tring]

7 hours ago, Cruising Nomads said:

I thought plans had been submitted for a new cruise terminal and hotel to be built in the Princes dock area. The work was due to completed by late 2021.

 

As I understand, that merely replaces the "tent" which acts as the terminal for turnarounds, with the ships still being berthed at the existing floating landing stage.  An excerpt from the following links says "The Terminal will be built across two floors, with the baggage hall in the ground floor and the passenger lounge, café and check-in on the first floor. It will also be connected to the existing cruise ship landing stage by a vehicular and passenger link-span bridge and walkway."

 

This is a link with a picture of the existing landing stage and the small structure on it which you pass through to get to the ships (security scan area mainly), along with artists impressions of the proposed new structure:-

 

https://uk.ramboll.com/news/ruk/plans-approved-for-liverpool-cruise-terminal

 

As I mentioned previously the new terminal will be to the north side of the city and it would be necessary to walk further south from there before being able to walk away from the dock area.  If you can still walk straight across from the landing stage into the city, it would be OK for a day cruise stop, but if you have to go through the new terminal and then backtrack to the city centre there would be a whole lot more walking.

 

I think the idea is to allow turnarounds of bigger ships, since that is fairly restricted in ship size at present and tends to just be done occasionally by certain ships from the Fred Olsen and CMV fleets.  It will keep people like me happy though if there are more turnarounds done from Liverpool, albeit a quite a walk from any public transport base (bus, train or ferry) and a lot more walking to the ship once in the terminal.  I am also not unduly hopeful of it being completed on time given the unknown effect of the Coronavirus on the cruise industry, though possibly depends if contacts for the construction have been signed with firm dates.  Peel Holdings have had lots of plans which are scheduled over the next 20 years, so my thoughts are other things may well get priority over that - but I have never been known as an optimist (my defence always being that I am never disappointed) 🙂