12 night British Isles Cruise - Your experiences with excursions at each port

[luvtocruise52]

We are looking at the 12 Night British Isles Cruise and wonder whether the amount of time in port (usually about 12 hours) allowed you to get a good feel for the area, especially Belfast and Dublin. We're curious what people were able to see and do in each of the ports. (I've read the descriptions of excursions but think personal experience is valuable.) Also, which excursions were the most enjoyable in any of the ports, and was it easy to arrange your own excursion instead of taking the ones offered by the cruise line? Thanks in advance for your feedback.  

[dog]

I have been on this cruise twice. Dublin- Princess shuttle to town, HOHO bus, walked around town, many sites right there.

second time saw a taxi driver dancing a jig right after we got off ship. Hired him for the day. Loads of fun. Told him to take us where the big red bus didn’t go. Off to the countryside, nature area, pub lunch.

Belfast- shuttle to town, HOHO bus, walked around town.

First time- hired taxi driver for a day tour to see the Troubles- muralist, neighborhoods .

 

we did not go further like many other on tours.

ask ? About other ports

[nini]

This is best posted on the "Britain" board.

[Blondilu]

In Dublin - shuttle into town and walked to Trinity College with the hopes of seeing the book of Kells.  If you want to do this you might want to get there much, much earlier than we did.  They had 2 pages of the book on display in a little room and that room was packed in like sardines.  There wasn't even a moving line.  The folks at the front just stood there and stood there.  I think I got to see it for about 10 seconds.  The library, on the other hand, was spectular.  That alone was worth the trip.  We ate in some little pub off a side street which was really cool.

 

In Belfast we took the shuttle to town and then got on the HoHo bus.  We got off at the Titanic Museum which was awesome, but again very crowded.  Ate lunch there and then back on the bus.  We went all the way around but there was no time to visit any other sites.  Well, we could have gotten off at the murals which I thought was really interesting but my sisters didn't want to.  The next stop was the Crumlin Gael.  They have guided tours only and we would have missed the last bus so didn't stop.

 

This was our second time in Belfast.  The first time we took an excursion to the Giant's Causeway.  Typical bus trip out there with a guide and a few stops for photo ops.  I really liked the Causeway.  It's maybe 1/2 walk from the visitor's center although you can take a little shuttle.  Very scenic.

[Tak8]

I used toursbylocals to book my time in Dublin and Belfast.  I researched the sights I definitely wanted to get to, then said beyond that I am in your hands.  Worked well.

[Jadn13]

Definitely recommend the HoHo in Dublin.

We also purchased tickets on our own to Guinness, best views of Dublin from the Gravity  bar.

https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/gravity-bar

 

[majortom10]

Just be aware that the British Isles cruise in 2022 does not dock in Dublin but Dun Laoghaire which you need a tender to get ashore and then a train into Dublin. This impacts on your actual time in Dublin and what you are able to see.

[Blondilu]

I had to think for a bit about the other ports.  I've done this cruise twice. But, it was a few years ago.

 

Guernsey - 1st time we just walked around the little town.  It is very walkable.  The 2nd time we took a local tour I found online.  

 

Cork - Both times we visited the Blarney Castle.  Once on a Princess shore excursion.  Afterwards we walked into the town, which is right there, and got something to eat.  The other time we hired a taxi from a line of taxis right on the pier.  For a set price the guy took us to the Castle and back with a little tour of the town before he dropped us off.

 

Dublin - I mentioned that in my first post.  The other time we missed it due to weather.  Also Belfast as in my previous post.

 

Once in Greenock we took a ship's excursion.  The other time we walked into town and caught a train to Edinburgh to see the tattoo.  We did not take a ship's tour because by the time I even knew they were open for reservations the tour was sold out.  So I bought tickets online and arranged our own transportation.  For the return trip (2 hours) we hired a private car.  I was worried about trying to catch the train back at such a late hour.  Worked out perfect.

 

In Invergorden the first time was a private tour.  Just us and the driver.  It was a fun day.  The second time we took a ship's excursion.  

 

In LeHavre both times we took a ship's excursion to the beaches of Normandy and the American Cemetary.

 

In answer to your question regarding ease of arranging tours yourself;  the internet makes everything easy.  The tour operators we contacted were great at communicating.  It does take a bit of a leap of faith that it's all going to work out.  But, the driver of the private car was right where he said he would be.  The driver of the private tour in Invergorden not only was easy to find but very mindful of the time she needed to get us back to the ship.  Remember these people sells tours often by reputation alone.  And they are not looking for bad reviews.  The taxi driver was a bit of an adventure for a couple of older ladies who aren't well traveled.  But, he was a hoot.  I became very fond of taxi travel on these 2 trips.  My best tip: start your planning with by googling "cruise ship shore excursions in..........."  The shore excursion part is important because those tours will be arranged around your time in port.  Other kinds of tours may run too late or too far from where you need to be.

 

My favorite tours and excursions are always those we arranged ourselves.  On the train to Edinburgh we sat with an 18 year man from Yorkshire.  We had a great conversation, at least what we could understand LOL.  His accent was thick.  We got along so great with the driver of the tour in Invergorden that she made a stop at her house on the way back to the ship so we could meet her cats.  As I mentioned the taxi driver out of Cork was a hoot.  Imagine the look on our faces when asked us, "Excuse me ladies, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?  What religion are you?"  The tour on Guernsey was run by a young man who was a native of the island.  He drove a safari type open-aired vehicle.  One of the stops he made was at a friend or cousins (can't remember) who had a small roadside shop that sold scones and clotted cream and hot chocolate.  Oh my, so good.  

 

Regarding the ship's excursions; if I am going to do one at all I like it to be on a longer day, preferrably with lunch and a good guide who will ply you with all kinds of info you're absolutely sure you'll remember and then let you go off on your own.  Of this trip my favorite ones were the one we took out of Liverpool to Chester, and the 2nd one to the beaches of Normandy.  That woman was the most knowledgeable guide I have ever had on a tour, ever.  Lots of time to explore on our own and lunch, yay.  We took other excursions that were OK, and one or 2 that were just Meh.

 

 

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, Blondilu said:

One of the stops he made was at a friend or cousins (can't remember) who had a small roadside shop that sold scones and clotted cream and hot chocolate.  Oh my, so good.  

How convenient! 

I'm glad you enjoyed your scones,  but I think you are being a bit gullible.  

[Jadn13]

LeHavre-Paris w/theBateaux Seine cruise w/lunch - I actually did this tour  twice it was amazing and the photo ops are extraordinary (it’s a 3 hour drive each direction-traffic can be horrible so I suggest a ship tour for Paris-Our bus was late getting back but the ship had to wait)

 

Cobh-Is adorable, the town is the port. We did the 1/2 day tour  to Jameson which was great, and sat outside at a pub in cobh after. 

Cobh has a tourism site- I also visited the church and they have an overlook area for good scenic photos (they had a cute train in the past but seems the pandemic caused them to go out of business) 

http://www.visitcobh.com 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Jadn13

[ann141]

We did this cruise in 2019.I think to get a feel of Belfast you need to get a HOHO bus from the centre as it takes you to various areas including the troubles

.Dublin I think you can get a feel of the place by walking around the centre.

[Blondilu]

13 minutes ago, wowzz said:

How convenient! 

I'm glad you enjoyed your scones,  but I think you are being a bit gullible.  

LOL, what a funny thing to say. Gullible?  Not in the least.  We paid a good price for a tour and got a great tour.  We paid a fair price for a snack and got a really good snack.  Isn't that the way it's supposed to work?  How would who owns it make a difference?  We had a great day.  The scenery was awesome, the company was good, the driver was funny and friendly, I loved his safari jeep. The scones and clotted cream were very good and I got to try something I had never had before.  And no one forced us to buy any.  It was just a stop to use the restroom and take a break from the tour.  We could easily have skipped the treats.  But, why would we have?  They were really good, not very expensive and everybody on the tour sat for awhile in a gorgeous location and just enjoyed the moment.  All in all we got our monies worth and this tour was one of our more memorable.  

[georgiacat]

We did a British Isles tour in August, 2018.  Here are my opinions of the excursions/ports:

 

Cobb, Ireland: 

There was no problem finding eCoach tour for Blarney castle.  We walked around the Castle gardens; they were very pretty, but I surely could have used my walking stick here.  The ground was uneven and with lots of rocks and pebbles.  We did not wait in line to climb the stairs for the Blarney Stone.  About an hour wait when we got there and 2 hours when we left.

 

We went across the street for shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills.  Wished we could have stopped for a snack, but the guide said we did not have time here.

 

We rode the bus to Charles Fort.  Bill got off and took pictures; it was misting.  We saw lots of country between Blarney and Kinsale.

 

We went to the small fishing village of Kinsale for lunch at the White House; this was 3:30 pm.  I had beef and Guiness stew, delicious; Bill had Philly beef steak sandwich with fries. 

We arrived back at the ship about 5:30 pm.

 

Dublin, Ireland:

 

We did a Princess tour of the Powerscourt Estate Gardens and Dublin.  Powerscourt is an estate in the Wickslow mountains.  It burned down about 1974 and the outside was rebuilt about 1994.  The gardens were beautiful and easier to get around than Blarney gardens.  These had more flowers and statues.

 

We ate lunch at the café, sandwiches and Diet Coke.  It was good.  The bus returned to Dublin and gave us a tour of the city.  The guide was not very good; she was older than we are, and this is the first time she had worked with this driver (he was nice), maybe the first time for this tour.

 

Many people did not wish to be dropped off in Dublin, so the driver found the shuttle to the ship for us.  We returned that way about 5:30 pm.

 

Liverpool, England:

We took a FabFour Beatles 3 hour taxi tour (65 pounds) that I had booked online.  It was very good, but lots of getting in and out of the taxi, hard on knees and shoulders.  He told lots of stories of the Beatles childhood and stopped at the early homes and other sites.

 

I did not enjoy this tour very much, but we took it for my husband.  I would not endorse it.

 

Belfast, Ireland:

No tour scheduled for today.  We took the free shuttle to the center of Belfast.  Then we took the city bus to the Titanic Museum.  At 2 pm we were at the admission window where the earliest admission ticket for the museum was 4:30 pm.  We went to the restroom and shopped in the gift shop.  Then we took the return bus and shuttle to the ship for a late lunch

If I could change anything, I would arrange for tickets ahead of time, on-line.  We did not know what we planned for this day, but enjoyed what we saw of the Titanic display.

 

Greenock, Scotland:

This is why I chose this time of year for our cruise.  Wonderful, but once was enough.  Strongly endorse Clyde Coast Tours.

Tattoo Day with Clyde Coast Tours

Met the bus at 8:30 am for 9 am departure.  Our guide was James (in a kilt, no less).

 

We stopped at the town of Luss (home of the Colquhoun clan) to admire Loch Lomand, nice lake.  Beautiful scenery and some shopping.

 

Next we stopped at the viewpoint Inveruglas for another view of Loch Lomand; there were lots of steps and stairs.  At the top most everyone enjoyed a taste of Scottish whiskey.

We stopped at the Drover’s Inn for refreshments (diet Coke).  This is an old coaching inn still in use.  It had a lot of stuffed animals.

 

We stopped at Kilmahog to see the Highland Coos (cows).  They are cute and very shaggy.  I did some shopping at Trossacks Park.  This was the only place I found golf towels in all of Scotland, a big item on my souvenir list that was limited to only one towel.

 

We arrived at Stirling Castle about 2:15 pm.  We used the restrooms and had lunch (fish sandwiches) in their café.  We toured the castle with a free tour guide; it was very interesting.  I had purchased the Historic Scotland Pass on-line (strongly recommend), so no waiting in line for tickets.

 

4 pm the bus left for Edinburgh and arrived about 5:15 pm.  James walked us to the front of St. Giles Church where we would be meeting up with him after the Tattoo at 9:30 pm this night.

 

It was very crowded with people attending not only the Tattoo, but also the Fringe Festival.  We walked around, but did not shop, too crowded.  I did not find any golf stuff.  All of the restaurants were prior reservations only.

 

We picked up a sandwich and diet Coke for Bill, pastry for me, and a couple of candy bars, just in case, at The Little Inn.  It was cash only, about 20 pounds.  They cleared off some seats and table for us outside.

 

We joined the long queue across the street on Johnston Terrace for entrance to the Tattoo about 6:10 pm.  It started moving about 6:20-6:30 pm and moved consistently.  We picked up programs (included with our tickets), and went through bag inspection.  Stopped by the restrooms, then found our seats.  They were way up high on row R.  We were seated by 7 pm.

 

The pretalk started about 7 pm with the dignitary being the Prime Minister of Scotland (a lady in high heels); she walked all the way to the top of the stadium in those heels.

 

7:30 pm was the start of the show with bagpipes, bands, dancing, drum corps, and other displays.  It was wonderful.  The show concluded about 9:15 pm with fireworks and a lone piper.

 

We walked back downhill (easier) to our meeting place in front of St. Giles Cathedral.  We were a few minutes late, but not the last ones to get there.  We left the meeting place about 9:50 pm and walked 15-20 minutes to get to our bus.  There were a lot of buses parked on the street in front of the national museum.

 

The bus left Edinburgh about 10:10 pm and arrived at the ship about 11:50 pm.  We had beautiful weather, cool and warm.  It drizzled a bit on the way to the ship.

 

Invergordon, Scotland:

One of my favorite days:  We walked off the ship about 11:20 am with no tour planned.  We walked around the cute town taking pictures of the wall murals.  We stopped in their museum and went to the craft market; I bought a few things.  We walked down the street and shopped for souvenirs.  The people were very friendly and welcoming.

 

Edinburgh, Scotland:

Of any day, I would change this one to a tour out of town.

We took the tender to shore and caught the shuttle bus to the center of town about 10 am.  It was 20 pounds each which included trip in and return from town and the Hop On/Hop Off bus.   The shuttle delivered us to St. Andrews Square, and the driver showed us where to walk to catch the Hop On/Hop Off bus.

 

We got off at the Castle stop.  I had prepurchased tickets with the Historic Scotland Pass, so we went right into the Castle.  We used the restroom and had lunch (pizza) at the café.

 

We stood in line for the Crown Jewels, just a crown, scepter, and sword, not as much as England’s.  The road up into the castle was very steep and wet with the rain.  It was wet and windy with steep cobble stone paths in the castle.  We walked through the area where the Tattoo had performed before.

 

We shopped a little, asking in several stores, but could not find any St. Andrews golf stuff.

 

We went in St. Giles Cathedral where we had met our guide the other night.  It was lovely.

 

We caught the Hop On/Hop Off bus back to St. Andrews Square where we caught the shuttle to the 4 pm tender back to the ship.

 

LeHarvre, France

Beaches of Normandy Spearhead Tours (recommended)

Our tour left at 8 am.  There was a mini-van with 3 couples.  We had enough room.

 

We visited the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, and a couple of churches.  We had lunch at a café Le Roosevelt at Utah Beach.  Our guide and driver Florin had good commentary and stories.  He had a book with pictures of events.

 

We were not able to visit the museums and no shopping time.  There was a long ride back to the ship, arriving about 5 pm.  We did a lot with the time that we had.

 

Sorry for the length.  I would do it again with little changes.  I loved this cruise.

 

[luvtocruise52]

On 4/23/2022 at 5:49 PM, Blondilu said:

I had to think for a bit about the other ports.  I've done this cruise twice. But, it was a few years ago.

 

Guernsey - 1st time we just walked around the little town.  It is very walkable.  The 2nd time we took a local tour I found online.  

 

Cork - Both times we visited the Blarney Castle.  Once on a Princess shore excursion.  Afterwards we walked into the town, which is right there, and got something to eat.  The other time we hired a taxi from a line of taxis right on the pier.  For a set price the guy took us to the Castle and back with a little tour of the town before he dropped us off.

 

Dublin - I mentioned that in my first post.  The other time we missed it due to weather.  Also Belfast as in my previous post.

 

Once in Greenock we took a ship's excursion.  The other time we walked into town and caught a train to Edinburgh to see the tattoo.  We did not take a ship's tour because by the time I even knew they were open for reservations the tour was sold out.  So I bought tickets online and arranged our own transportation.  For the return trip (2 hours) we hired a private car.  I was worried about trying to catch the train back at such a late hour.  Worked out perfect.

 

In Invergorden the first time was a private tour.  Just us and the driver.  It was a fun day.  The second time we took a ship's excursion.  

 

In LeHavre both times we took a ship's excursion to the beaches of Normandy and the American Cemetary.

 

In answer to your question regarding ease of arranging tours yourself;  the internet makes everything easy.  The tour operators we contacted were great at communicating.  It does take a bit of a leap of faith that it's all going to work out.  But, the driver of the private car was right where he said he would be.  The driver of the private tour in Invergorden not only was easy to find but very mindful of the time she needed to get us back to the ship.  Remember these people sells tours often by reputation alone.  And they are not looking for bad reviews.  The taxi driver was a bit of an adventure for a couple of older ladies who aren't well traveled.  But, he was a hoot.  I became very fond of taxi travel on these 2 trips.  My best tip: start your planning with by googling "cruise ship shore excursions in..........."  The shore excursion part is important because those tours will be arranged around your time in port.  Other kinds of tours may run too late or too far from where you need to be.

 

My favorite tours and excursions are always those we arranged ourselves.  On the train to Edinburgh we sat with an 18 year man from Yorkshire.  We had a great conversation, at least what we could understand LOL.  His accent was thick.  We got along so great with the driver of the tour in Invergorden that she made a stop at her house on the way back to the ship so we could meet her cats.  As I mentioned the taxi driver out of Cork was a hoot.  Imagine the look on our faces when asked us, "Excuse me ladies, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?  What religion are you?"  The tour on Guernsey was run by a young man who was a native of the island.  He drove a safari type open-aired vehicle.  One of the stops he made was at a friend or cousins (can't remember) who had a small roadside shop that sold scones and clotted cream and hot chocolate.  Oh my, so good.  

 

Regarding the ship's excursions; if I am going to do one at all I like it to be on a longer day, preferrably with lunch and a good guide who will ply you with all kinds of info you're absolutely sure you'll remember and then let you go off on your own.  Of this trip my favorite ones were the one we took out of Liverpool to Chester, and the 2nd one to the beaches of Normandy.  That woman was the most knowledgeable guide I have ever had on a tour, ever.  Lots of time to explore on our own and lunch, yay.  We took other excursions that were OK, and one or 2 that were just Meh.

 

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to write such a thorough response. We had planned to tour Ireland and visit a friend near London in 2020 but Covid stopped that and now we have some other life circumstances that might stand in the way of a a land tour so we decided to look at a cruise that would give us a taste of Ireland and return later for a land tour. I've booked excursions and hired private drivers on previous cruises and they have always turned out well. We're having to plan this very last minute and I'm used to taking months to plan!

[luvtocruise52]

On 4/23/2022 at 4:24 PM, majortom10 said:

Just be aware that the British Isles cruise in 2022 does not dock in Dublin but Dun Laoghaire which you need a tender to get ashore and then a train into Dublin. This impacts on your actual time in Dublin and what you are able to see.

Thanks for the reminder!

[luvtocruise52]

On 4/23/2022 at 6:35 PM, Blondilu said:

LOL, what a funny thing to say. Gullible?  Not in the least.  We paid a good price for a tour and got a great tour.  We paid a fair price for a snack and got a really good snack.  Isn't that the way it's supposed to work?  How would who owns it make a difference?  We had a great day.  The scenery was awesome, the company was good, the driver was funny and friendly, I loved his safari jeep. The scones and clotted cream were very good and I got to try something I had never had before.  And no one forced us to buy any.  It was just a stop to use the restroom and take a break from the tour.  We could easily have skipped the treats.  But, why would we have?  They were really good, not very expensive and everybody on the tour sat for awhile in a gorgeous location and just enjoyed the moment.  All in all we got our monies worth and this tour was one of our more memorable.  

I enjoyed reading your response. Many tour guides make stops at places where they have connections, and these can be enjoyable as you pointed out.

[luvtocruise52]

On 4/24/2022 at 1:19 PM, georgiacat said:

We did a British Isles tour in August, 2018.  Here are my opinions of the excursions/ports:

 

Cobb, Ireland: 

There was no problem finding eCoach tour for Blarney castle.  We walked around the Castle gardens; they were very pretty, but I surely could have used my walking stick here.  The ground was uneven and with lots of rocks and pebbles.  We did not wait in line to climb the stairs for the Blarney Stone.  About an hour wait when we got there and 2 hours when we left.

 

We went across the street for shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills.  Wished we could have stopped for a snack, but the guide said we did not have time here.

 

We rode the bus to Charles Fort.  Bill got off and took pictures; it was misting.  We saw lots of country between Blarney and Kinsale.

 

We went to the small fishing village of Kinsale for lunch at the White House; this was 3:30 pm.  I had beef and Guiness stew, delicious; Bill had Philly beef steak sandwich with fries. 

We arrived back at the ship about 5:30 pm.

 

Dublin, Ireland:

 

We did a Princess tour of the Powerscourt Estate Gardens and Dublin.  Powerscourt is an estate in the Wickslow mountains.  It burned down about 1974 and the outside was rebuilt about 1994.  The gardens were beautiful and easier to get around than Blarney gardens.  These had more flowers and statues.

 

We ate lunch at the café, sandwiches and Diet Coke.  It was good.  The bus returned to Dublin and gave us a tour of the city.  The guide was not very good; she was older than we are, and this is the first time she had worked with this driver (he was nice), maybe the first time for this tour.

 

Many people did not wish to be dropped off in Dublin, so the driver found the shuttle to the ship for us.  We returned that way about 5:30 pm.

 

Liverpool, England:

We took a FabFour Beatles 3 hour taxi tour (65 pounds) that I had booked online.  It was very good, but lots of getting in and out of the taxi, hard on knees and shoulders.  He told lots of stories of the Beatles childhood and stopped at the early homes and other sites.

 

I did not enjoy this tour very much, but we took it for my husband.  I would not endorse it.

 

Belfast, Ireland:

No tour scheduled for today.  We took the free shuttle to the center of Belfast.  Then we took the city bus to the Titanic Museum.  At 2 pm we were at the admission window where the earliest admission ticket for the museum was 4:30 pm.  We went to the restroom and shopped in the gift shop.  Then we took the return bus and shuttle to the ship for a late lunch

If I could change anything, I would arrange for tickets ahead of time, on-line.  We did not know what we planned for this day, but enjoyed what we saw of the Titanic display.

 

Greenock, Scotland:

This is why I chose this time of year for our cruise.  Wonderful, but once was enough.  Strongly endorse Clyde Coast Tours.

Tattoo Day with Clyde Coast Tours

Met the bus at 8:30 am for 9 am departure.  Our guide was James (in a kilt, no less).

 

We stopped at the town of Luss (home of the Colquhoun clan) to admire Loch Lomand, nice lake.  Beautiful scenery and some shopping.

 

Next we stopped at the viewpoint Inveruglas for another view of Loch Lomand; there were lots of steps and stairs.  At the top most everyone enjoyed a taste of Scottish whiskey.

We stopped at the Drover’s Inn for refreshments (diet Coke).  This is an old coaching inn still in use.  It had a lot of stuffed animals.

 

We stopped at Kilmahog to see the Highland Coos (cows).  They are cute and very shaggy.  I did some shopping at Trossacks Park.  This was the only place I found golf towels in all of Scotland, a big item on my souvenir list that was limited to only one towel.

 

We arrived at Stirling Castle about 2:15 pm.  We used the restrooms and had lunch (fish sandwiches) in their café.  We toured the castle with a free tour guide; it was very interesting.  I had purchased the Historic Scotland Pass on-line (strongly recommend), so no waiting in line for tickets.

 

4 pm the bus left for Edinburgh and arrived about 5:15 pm.  James walked us to the front of St. Giles Church where we would be meeting up with him after the Tattoo at 9:30 pm this night.

 

It was very crowded with people attending not only the Tattoo, but also the Fringe Festival.  We walked around, but did not shop, too crowded.  I did not find any golf stuff.  All of the restaurants were prior reservations only.

 

We picked up a sandwich and diet Coke for Bill, pastry for me, and a couple of candy bars, just in case, at The Little Inn.  It was cash only, about 20 pounds.  They cleared off some seats and table for us outside.

 

We joined the long queue across the street on Johnston Terrace for entrance to the Tattoo about 6:10 pm.  It started moving about 6:20-6:30 pm and moved consistently.  We picked up programs (included with our tickets), and went through bag inspection.  Stopped by the restrooms, then found our seats.  They were way up high on row R.  We were seated by 7 pm.

 

The pretalk started about 7 pm with the dignitary being the Prime Minister of Scotland (a lady in high heels); she walked all the way to the top of the stadium in those heels.

 

7:30 pm was the start of the show with bagpipes, bands, dancing, drum corps, and other displays.  It was wonderful.  The show concluded about 9:15 pm with fireworks and a lone piper.

 

We walked back downhill (easier) to our meeting place in front of St. Giles Cathedral.  We were a few minutes late, but not the last ones to get there.  We left the meeting place about 9:50 pm and walked 15-20 minutes to get to our bus.  There were a lot of buses parked on the street in front of the national museum.

 

The bus left Edinburgh about 10:10 pm and arrived at the ship about 11:50 pm.  We had beautiful weather, cool and warm.  It drizzled a bit on the way to the ship.

 

Invergordon, Scotland:

One of my favorite days:  We walked off the ship about 11:20 am with no tour planned.  We walked around the cute town taking pictures of the wall murals.  We stopped in their museum and went to the craft market; I bought a few things.  We walked down the street and shopped for souvenirs.  The people were very friendly and welcoming.

 

Edinburgh, Scotland:

Of any day, I would change this one to a tour out of town.

We took the tender to shore and caught the shuttle bus to the center of town about 10 am.  It was 20 pounds each which included trip in and return from town and the Hop On/Hop Off bus.   The shuttle delivered us to St. Andrews Square, and the driver showed us where to walk to catch the Hop On/Hop Off bus.

 

We got off at the Castle stop.  I had prepurchased tickets with the Historic Scotland Pass, so we went right into the Castle.  We used the restroom and had lunch (pizza) at the café.

 

We stood in line for the Crown Jewels, just a crown, scepter, and sword, not as much as England’s.  The road up into the castle was very steep and wet with the rain.  It was wet and windy with steep cobble stone paths in the castle.  We walked through the area where the Tattoo had performed before.

 

We shopped a little, asking in several stores, but could not find any St. Andrews golf stuff.

 

We went in St. Giles Cathedral where we had met our guide the other night.  It was lovely.

 

We caught the Hop On/Hop Off bus back to St. Andrews Square where we caught the shuttle to the 4 pm tender back to the ship.

 

LeHarvre, France

Beaches of Normandy Spearhead Tours (recommended)

Our tour left at 8 am.  There was a mini-van with 3 couples.  We had enough room.

 

We visited the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, and a couple of churches.  We had lunch at a café Le Roosevelt at Utah Beach.  Our guide and driver Florin had good commentary and stories.  He had a book with pictures of events.

 

We were not able to visit the museums and no shopping time.  There was a long ride back to the ship, arriving about 5 pm.  We did a lot with the time that we had.

 

Sorry for the length.  I would do it again with little changes.  I loved this cruise.

 

Thanks so much for your detailed description. The last time we visited Scotland, we just missed the Tattoo and it is on my bucket list! I'm glad to hear positive reviews of the cruise. We have had to put off a land tour of Ireland for two years and are now doing some last-minute planning for a vacation so we thought a cruise might be easier to plan for.   

[FritzG]

We loved this port intensive itinerary.  We’ve had very good luck with finding a taxi driver who we could book by the hour.  That way we could see what we wanted to see at our own pace.  We had a great driver on our first time in Cobh, and now we call him in advance of a cruise.  He sets up a flexible itinerary for us. 
 

[mam11]

We did this cruise a few months before covid. It was fabulous. There were six of us and I used toursbylocals at every port. Our only hiccup was Dublin, because of flight delays- we were lucky that the ship overnighted in Dublin the first night before sailing. But we missed our Dublin tour. The Princess insurance kicked in on that adventure. 

I highly recommend toursbylocals for this cruise. 

[John99]

On 4/23/2022 at 1:37 PM, luvtocruise52 said:

We are looking at the 12 Night British Isles Cruise and wonder whether the amount of time in port (usually about 12 hours) allowed you to get a good feel for the area, especially Belfast and Dublin. We're curious what people were able to see and do in each of the ports. (I've read the descriptions of excursions but think personal experience is valuable.) Also, which excursions were the most enjoyable in any of the ports, and was it easy to arrange your own excursion instead of taking the ones offered by the cruise line? Thanks in advance for your feedback.  

Are you staying in London pre cruise?  If yes, how many days?

[grammawmoses]

I have British Isles cruise booked with Princess for May 2024 and have been trying to find out if Hop On Hop Off has stations near cruise terminals. I believe Belfast does but not sure about the others. I have asked Hop On Hop Off but they don't answer questions. They simply respond to all inquiries with the same paragraph that does not answer the question. I see some blogs refer to a shuttle. Are there shuttles at all ports? Thanks for any information you can provide!

[NavyVeteran]

What to do in Greenock and South Queensferry depends a lot on when you are traveling. If you are there in August during the Tattoo, then I would highly recommend going to the Tattoo. You can either book the ship's tour (which you need to book way in advance) or arrange it on your own.

Normally you would go to the Tattoo from Greenock (near Glasgow) - not from South Queensferry (near Edinburgh). South Queensferry is a tender port for most Princess ships, and they don't like tendering most of the passengers back to the ship at 1:00 am. Although Greenock is farther away, the ship is docked.

You can tell whether an August itinerary is planned for the Tattoo before they list excursions. If the Tattoo is available, the ship will leave Greenock at 2:00 am to give people time to get back. That is the only reason they ever have the 2:00 am departure.

Even if the ship is at South Queensferry during the Tattoo, you can't usually go from there. The ship leaves in the evening before the Tattoo starts.

In addition to going to the Tattoo from Greenock, you need to plan what to do from South Queensferry. It is not a good time to go in to Edinburgh. Because of the Festival, Edinburgh is very, very crowded during that time. You may want to do something that doesn't actually go into the city.

If you're not going to be there in August, then you can ignore everything I just wrote.

[LynnSD]

We’ve been to most of these ports at least three times.  The best tours we did were small groups with local companies.  The leaders are so friendly, and will customize your visit.  We find a good guide is invaluable; there’s a huge difference between wandering by yourself, and hearing history, stories, anecdotes etc.  
 

We did walking tours run by a local in both Guernsey and Cobh; found online.  They were great.   Small tours in other places. 
 

Also, if you plan to do-it-yourself, get as many tickets beforehand as you can for things like Book of Kells.  

 
o

[grammawmoses]

Thanks so much!

[fruitmachine]

10 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

It is not a good time to go in to Edinburgh. Because of the Festival, Edinburgh is very, very crowded during that time. You may want to do something that doesn't actually go into the city.

"Very crowded" is a somewhat relative term, and many would argue that the best time to visit is when we have the world's largest arts festival in progress with, literally, thousands of performances happening every day.  I've been walking or getting the bus into the Royal Mile all this week and I've been out and about each lunchtime and again yesterday evening.  There is no doubt that Edinburgh is at its busiest in August, but there is still plenty of room!  The busiest attraction - the castle - limits the number of tickets sold for ach time-slot, rear-round.  All that happens during August is that they sell out further in advance.

 

A bit of preparation and some advance booking - an attribute shown in abundance by most folk on Cruise Critic - will stand you in good stead.