British Isles Explorer Cruise

[Ceegeefl]

We are thinking  of booking the British Isles Explorer cruise next year. For those who have done this cruise or have researched it, is there a preference for starting the cruise in London or Bergen? Also do you have a favorite  time of year to travel there? I saw that in London Viking docks at either Greenwich or Tilbury.  Any preferences as to which port? We are very excited to be planning another cruise!

[duquephart]

8 minutes ago, Ceegeefl said:

We are thinking  of booking the British Isles Explorer cruise next year. For those who have done this cruise or have researched it, is there a preference for starting the cruise in London or Bergen? Also do you have a favorite  time of year to travel there? I saw that in London Viking docks at either Greenwich or Tilbury.  Any preferences as to which port? We are very excited to be planning another cruise!

 

We always tried to figure a "best part last" approach. Judgement call.

[sugarside]

Greenwich over Tilbury definitely.

Do you want to sail up the Thames  on arrival or experience sailing away from London?

I have seen Youtube videos where you reverse quite a distance up the Thames on arrival so as to be able to sail away facing forward.

 

[Jim Avery]

Tilbury is principally a container/cargo port.  Not very scenic.  Greenwich is anchored and tied to a float in the River Thames in London.  Just offshore of the Village of Greenwich, the Cutty Sark and lots of shopping and pubs.  The dock used by the tenders from the ship is also the Thames Clipper boat terminal.  Imho the best way to get to Westminster or Tower Bridge.  Very scenic.  Personally I would not book a cruise starting or ending in Tilbury.  Greenwich is that much better..🍸

[molymoo]

We did this cruise in 2018 and started in Greenwich.  We are doing it again later this month and starting in Bergen.  Yes, we loved the cruise and for us it is worth repeating.  I don’t think starting point will make much difference but I would recommend adding a pre or post that takes you to Oslo and the train to or from Bergen.  Oslo is a bigger airport and you will have more flights to choose from.  The train ride is spectacular.  Oslo is a great little city too!

[KBs mum]

2 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Tilbury is principally a container/cargo port.  Not very scenic.  Greenwich is anchored and tied to a float in the River Thames in London.  Just offshore of the Village of Greenwich, the Cutty Sark and lots of shopping and pubs.  The dock used by the tenders from the ship is also the Thames Clipper boat terminal.  Imho the best way to get to Westminster or Tower Bridge.  Very scenic.  Personally I would not book a cruise starting or ending in Tilbury.  Greenwich is that much better..🍸

True, but Tilbury is best if in a hire car and wanting to avoid London hassle. Straight onto M25 over Dartford crossing and away north, or conversely, onto M25 and away south

[Jim Avery]

8 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

True, but Tilbury is best if in a hire car and wanting to avoid London hassle. Straight onto M25 over Dartford crossing and away north, or conversely, onto M25 and away south

Good if you live in England.  I bet most passengers have some interest in London.🍺

[KBs mum]

1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

Good if you live in England.  I bet most passengers have some interest in London.🍺

Or Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. 

London is odd in that it is a city in England, but not a typical English city. 

I would say visit the Tower, the cabinet war rooms, and the British and Natural History museums, then get out to the regions if you can. 

[Jim Avery]

32 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

Or Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. 

London is odd in that it is a city in England, but not a typical English city. 

I would say visit the Tower, the cabinet war rooms, and the British and Natural History museums, then get out to the regions if you can. 

How right you are.  London is to the UK like NYC is to the USA.  My Mother is from Staffordshire and family lives in Shropshire, Berkshire, and Hampshire.  I have been fortunate to grow up on both sides of the Pond.  Well as much grown up as is.....🍺

[GoNavyFamily]

5 hours ago, molymoo said:

We did this cruise in 2018 and started in Greenwich.  We are doing it again later this month and starting in Bergen.  Yes, we loved the cruise and for us it is worth repeating.  I don’t think starting point will make much difference but I would recommend adding a pre or post that takes you to Oslo and the train to or from Bergen.  Oslo is a bigger airport and you will have more flights to choose from.  The train ride is spectacular.  Oslo is a great little city too!

We are on this cruise April 2023 and would love any insights into what we should not miss seeing or what excursions we should take in the various ports.  We have the pre-cruise extension in Oslo with the train to Bergen so any recommendations on what to do in Oslo, as well as tips on riding the train, are appreciated!

[KBs mum]

16 minutes ago, GoNavyFamily said:

We are on this cruise April 2023 and would love any insights into what we should not miss seeing or what excursions we should take in the various ports.  We have the pre-cruise extension in Oslo with the train to Bergen so any recommendations on what to do in Oslo, as well as tips on riding the train, are appreciated!

Impossible to answer without knowing your interests, the UK has over 2000.years of history, if you can narrow it down I'm sure somebody can advise

[GoNavyFamily]

Just now, KBs mum said:

Impossible to answer without knowing your interests, the UK has over 2000.years of history, if you can narrow it down I'm sure somebody can advise

I would love to hear from others about excursions they took (through Viking or on their own) or places they visited that they feel are not to be missed while in the cruise ports on this itinerary.  So I am looking for what others experienced that they loved.  Then I have some basis to begin my own research.   I have made similar requests before and never had a problem getting great feedback on places people felt they would highly recommend.  Otherwise, it is a little overwhelming just for the reason you stated - there are so many places to visit in some of the ports!

[duquephart]

2 hours ago, KBs mum said:

Or Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. 

London is odd in that it is a city in England, but not a typical English city. 

I would say visit the Tower, the cabinet war rooms, and the British and Natural History museums, then get out to the regions if you can. 

 

Ceremony of the Keys?

[Mrs Miggins]

Jim from Arizona has it right.  There is absolutely no comparison between the shabby  industrial Tilbury and the wonderful World Heritage Site at Greenwich.  Fantastic history and architecture all within easy walking distance of the pier.  Why do you think Viking uses iconic photos of a Viking ship sailing past The Old Royal Naval College in advertising material?

Hop on the River Shuttle and sail under Tower Bridge, past The Tower of London, past The City and onto Westminster and The Houses of Parliament.  Wonderful !

[molymoo]

2 hours ago, GoNavyFamily said:

We are on this cruise April 2023 and would love any insights into what we should not miss seeing or what excursions we should take in the various ports.  We have the pre-cruise extension in Oslo with the train to Bergen so any recommendations on what to do in Oslo, as well as tips on riding the train, are appreciated!

-Oslo is lovely and you can see most of what there is to see in the time you have for the extension.  We pre-purchased hop on hop off tickets in advance and that enabled us to get around to most of the sights.  Unfortunately it looks like the Viking Ship Museum is closed for refurbishments but the Fram and Kon Tiki museums are fun snd close together  … easily done in an afternoon.  The Vigeland museum/sculpture park is a nice stroll if the weather is nice.  We had a lovely lunch on the waterfront during our wandering … we weren’t really lost but couldn’t say exactly where we were!  If you are up for some authentic Norwegian food try the Engebret Cafe.  It is the oldest restaurant in Oslo and although pricey … the food is good and the service charming.  
-The train is lovely … either side will give you great views.  The seats are comfortable and when we went the Viking group had a car to ourselves.  A tour guide stays with the group the whole time so things ran very smoothly,

-Most of the excursions we took have since changed but in Edinburg any excursion that includes The Britannia is worth doing and St.Andrews is worth a visit.  If you liked The DaVinci Code the excursion to Rosalyn is also a good one. We did a pre extension in Edinburg so got to see lots there.  
- I’ll stop there … still lots of time to plan!

Edited June 11, 2022 by molymoo

[sugarside]

In London ,after a number of visits ,we have narrowed our favourite places down to.

The National Portrait Gallery(just round the corner from the more famous National Gallery in Trafalgar Square) .This has famous original paintings of numerous historic people and will interest history buffs. A place that Viking offer an exclusive tour to is The John Soames house and museum.We plan to visit again on our Viking trip next year.

[Mrs Miggins]

Entry to the St John Soane's Museum is free. check on their website.  Great place packed full of interest.

 

 

Don't forget the wonderful Westminster Abbey plus St Paul's Cathedral.  Covent Garden,  the South Bank with the rarely visited Southwark Cathedral (lovely tea shop) plus The Globe, Pubs,  Tate Modern (free). 

 

In fact you could spend several months or years in London and not see it all.

[Twitchly]

We’re going to Highgate Cemetery, a major London highlight for me when I was there long ago. It’s basically the perfect cemetery. Unfortunately I hear they’ve cleaned it up quite a bit since then. It was quite wild and beautifully neglected when I saw it.

 

 

Edited June 12, 2022 by Twitchly

[duquephart]

16 hours ago, molymoo said:

-Oslo is lovely and you can see most of what there is to see in the time you have for the extension.  We pre-purchased hop on hop off tickets in advance and that enabled us to get around to most of the sights.  Unfortunately it looks like the Viking Ship Museum is closed for refurbishments but the Fram and Kon Tiki museums are fun snd close together  … easily done in an afternoon.  The Vigeland museum/sculpture park is a nice stroll if the weather is nice.  We had a lovely lunch on the waterfront during our wandering … we weren’t really lost but couldn’t say exactly where we were!  If you are up for some authentic Norwegian food try the Engebret Cafe.  It is the oldest restaurant in Oslo and although pricey … the food is good and the service charming.  
-The train is lovely … either side will give you great views.  The seats are comfortable and when we went the Viking group had a car to ourselves.  A tour guide stays with the group the whole time so things ran very smoothly,

-Most of the excursions we took have since changed but in Edinburg any excursion that includes The Britannia is worth doing and St.Andrews is worth a visit.  If you liked The DaVinci Code the excursion to Rosalyn is also a good one. We did a pre extension in Edinburg so got to see lots there.  
- I’ll stop there … still lots of time to plan!

 

I assume you went to Engebret for lunch? I'm wondering about dress code - doesn't look like a place you can just walk into wearing "tourist walking around" clothes.

[molymoo]

1 hour ago, duquephart said:

 

I assume you went to Engebret for lunch? I'm wondering about dress code - doesn't look like a place you can just walk into wearing "tourist walking around" clothes.

Dinner actually.  Changed into clothes we might wear to dinner on the ship.  Slacks, “dressy” t shirt and scarf.  Nothing fancy.

[duquephart]

22 minutes ago, molymoo said:

Dinner actually.  Changed into clothes we might wear to dinner on the ship.  Slacks, “dressy” t shirt and scarf.  Nothing fancy.

 

So --- back to the ship to change? Then walk/cab? What were others wearing? Thanks much!

[Ontario/AZ]

We started with pre-extension in Edinburgh which could not have been better.  We then flew to London and were taken to the ship.  Unfortunately the ship was not at the dock and we had to be tendered out.  The next day we went to Tower of London on our own by using the tube.  Had purchased skip the line tickets before our trip.  The London included trip was by bus and raining.  Loved the  entire cruise, ended up with extension in Iceland.

[duquephart]

No excursions to Tantallon offered? For my $$$ it's one of the most heart-stopping sights in Scotland.

[DGHOC]

10 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Entry to the St John Soane's Museum is free. check on their website.  Great place packed full of interest.

 

 

Don't forget the wonderful Westminster Abbey plus St Paul's Cathedral.  Covent Garden,  the South Bank with the rarely visited Southwark Cathedral (lovely tea shop) plus The Globe, Pubs,  Tate Modern (free). 

 

In fact you could spend several months or years in London and not see it all.

I'd echo these thoughts entirely! There's so much to see but a little planning would be hugely advantageous.

We've recommended two walks to past visitors which might be of interest to some of you, I'll pop the links below. I love St James's and the surrounding area, worked there for many years. Little St James's church is our spot for the annual candle lit Christmas carol concert which is magical.

https://mylondonwalks.com/walks/a-walk-through-st-jamess/

The Westminster walk is a delight and depending on time you could tag on a walk in St James's Park and past Horse Guards.

https://mylondonwalks.com/walks/a-walk-through-westminster/

To be honest both of these walks are very close so depending on your speed you'd be able to combine bits of both. There are plenty of little pubs, cafes and coffee shops to keep you fed and watered along the way. 

I'd highly recommend the boat from Greenwich, London is a delightful city from the river. Tilbury is to be avoided if at all possible!

[molymoo]

3 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

So --- back to the ship to change? Then walk/cab? What were others wearing? Thanks much!

We were on an extension staying in a hotel close to the restaurant.  Others were dressed much the same … no one was really dressed up.