Shore excursion in Edinburgh, Scotland

[shuguley]

My wife and I are booked on a September 2023 cruise that makes a stop in Edinburgh, Scotland.  It appears that none of the listed shore excursions include an opportunity to tour the Royal Yacht Britannia which is something we both wanted to do.  Since the ship will be in port from 9 AM to 7PM we were wondering if it would be possible to do a medium length tour earlier in the day and then walk from the ship in the afternoon to see the Britannia.  I cannot imagine why a stop in Edinburgh would not include touring the Britannia, hopefully one will be added before departure.  

 

Is it possible to walk or take a short taxi ride from the ship to the Britannia and can you simply walk up and purchase admission tickets or must they be purchased in advance?  Thanks so much for your help and I may have a few more questions about things to see and do on a British Isles cruise.

[HonTri]

We docked on the north side of the river that is miles from the Britannia.

[Lonedaddy]

We were tendered in May.  you could do the castle tour which is fairly short and then take taxi to Britannia and then back to ship.  They had the Britannia tour on our splendor trip so as you said hopefully, they may add it.

[flossie009]

I think your September 2023 cruise on Splendor is scheduled to tender into Newhaven.

From there it is about a 20 minute walk or 5 minute taxi ride to the Britannia, which is moored in Leith harbour.

Definitely worth a visit and, if Regent does not offer an excursion, tickets can easily be booked on-line.

 

 

[mrstanley]

Currently on The Navigator docked at the
Leith Cruise Terminal.

You can walk to the Britannia from here.

Buy a ticket in advance as it’s considered a busy destination for tourists.

[wishIweretravelling]

If the Hop On Hop Off is included, one of the routes of the HoHo includes the yacht.

[Techno123]

You have to go into the ocean terminal shopping centre and up the escalator to get to the entrance (follow the signs)  If you get time try to stop for afternoon tea - we were quite impressed last year when we were staying in Edinburgh. We didn't purchase tickets in advance but probably a good idea. They do discounts if you are over 60 or a student so take appropriate ID 😜
There was, however, quite a lot of road disruption as they were putting the new tramlines in so take that into account (although not relevant if you walk 😁)

 

[showingdiva]

On 8/6/2022 at 4:19 PM, shuguley said:

My wife and I are booked on a September 2023 cruise that makes a stop in Edinburgh, Scotland.  It appears that none of the listed shore excursions include an opportunity to tour the Royal Yacht Britannia which is something we both wanted to do.  Since the ship will be in port from 9 AM to 7PM we were wondering if it would be possible to do a medium length tour earlier in the day and then walk from the ship in the afternoon to see the Britannia.  I cannot imagine why a stop in Edinburgh would not include touring the Britannia, hopefully one will be added before departure.  

 

Is it possible to walk or take a short taxi ride from the ship to the Britannia and can you simply walk up and purchase admission tickets or must they be purchased in advance?  Thanks so much for your help and I may have a few more questions about things to see and do on a British Isles cruise.

 

I'm one of the volunteer guides at Newhaven Harbour and Leith.

 

Yes, Splendor will be tendering from Newhaven Harbour (she's a little too big to fit through the locks in Leith, unlike Navigator, which is here at the moment).

 

From Newhaven, the Royal Yacht Britannia is a leisurely 15 minute walk away - but as has been said, there are major roadworks due to the Edinburgh tram extension.   

 

The Hop on/off ticket can indeed include entry to Britannia.   The bus ticket sellers should be at Newhaven when you arrive from the tender to help you with ticketing for this.  The bus stops in front of the Ocean Terminal shopping centre - entry to Britannia is via this on level 2.   Should you not wish to incorporate the Hop on/off, the No.11 local bus will take you from the harbour straight to Ocean Terminal (£1.80pp).  All our buses take cards, similarly do our taxis.

 

As for being up to walk up on the day.   At the moment with the Edinburgh Festival on and the city really busy, it is more difficult.  However, by Splendor's arrival in Edinburgh on 19th September, I would anticipate things being a lot easier.   However, I would recommend you go their first when you arrive, then plan the rest of your day.   Hop on / off, local buses into Edinburgh and taxis from outside Ocean Terminal.   Britannia opens at 9.30am.

 

We look forward to welcoming you to Edinburgh.

 

[NCCruzQueen]

1 hour ago, showingdiva said:

We look forward to welcoming you to Edinburgh.

 

 

Hello @showingdiva

 

Thank you for and the great tips and the warm welcome to Edinburgh.  I will be arriving in your fare city next month on Sept. 19th on Splendor.  Can't wait to return to your lovely city.

[xrvlcruiser]

I walked fro the ship to the Ocean Terminal/Mall and got tickets and took the tour - very good/worth while! We were docked in Leith.