Help Please With Possible Tour Recommendations

[Mylisa]

Hi all.  My DH and I will be on a cruise that includes the following ports. If anybody would mind giving me ideas of tours and tour companies to use for these destinations, I would really appreciate it.  We’ve only been to London and nowhere else, so I have no idea what’s important to see or not see. 
 

 

Edinburgh (Newhaven), United Kingdom

8 AM

7 PM

	Kirkwall (Orkney Islands), United Kingdom	10 AM	7 PM
	Stornoway (Hebrides), United Kingdom	7 AM	4 PM
	Belfast, Ireland	9 AM	7 PM
	Glasgow (Greenock), United Kingdom	7 AM	6 PM
	Liverpool, United Kingdom	8 AM	9 PM
	Dublin (Dún Laoghaire), Ireland	7 AM	7 PM
	Holyhead, United Kingdom	7 AM	6 PM
	Cork (Cobh), Ireland	8 AM	5 PM
	Torbay, United Kingdom	9 AM	7 PM
	London (Southampton), United Kingdom	Disembark 8 AM

 

[edinburgher]

1 hour ago, Mylisa said:

Hi all.  My DH and I will be on a cruise that includes the following ports

No tour necessary for Edinburgh.  Once in the city most on a first visit will head to the Royal Mile and neighbouring streets.  Including visits to eg the castle, museum and other points of interest this area alone can easily use up most if not all of your time. this is super easy to DIY on foot.

 

For information on reaching the city from whichever port or tender point your ship will use, go to

 

https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/ship/ and "find your ship". 

 

The full 2024 schedule may not already be posted and you may need to check back. Once you know your ship location go to the "how can I get around" section. Noting that it may be Newhaven, you will already be in the city and only need a taxi, public bus or tram to travel into the centre.

 

Much tourist info about Edinburgh can be easily found online or by reading past threads which you can find using the SEARCH tool, and reading about the city will help you decide the sights of most interest to you personally. 

 

One piece of advice.  If you decide to visit Edinburgh Castle, buy your tickets online ahead of time and at the same time, pre-book an entry slot to save waiting in very long lines on the day.

Edited November 8, 2023 by edinburgher

[Harters]

No need for a tour  for Liverpool. The city centre has plenty to fill a day (even without Beatles stuff) and is very walkable. You may hardly leave the  waterside. 

 

But, if you do want to get away from the city, Busybus runs tours for cruise passengers and have often been recommended on this forum. I have it in mind that they also run tours from Holyhead. My guess is that their excursions from both ports will be pretty similar ones of North Wales so you could think of them both in tandem - do city stuff in Liverpool but Welsh scenery stuff from Holyhead. Holyhead is a small town (or large village) and has little of interest in itself (it exists as the main ferry port between Britain and Ireland). 

Edited November 8, 2023 by Harters

[Meander Ingwa]

I would prioritize a facilitated tour of the neolithic sites on Kirkwall, particularly Skara Brae.  If time allows, also see and learn the story of the Italian Chapel.  I cannot speak to a single tour guide but you can start by looking for Blue Badge guides.

[WESTEAST]

We have done two British Isles Cruises and offer a few ideas for some of the ports you mentioned that we visited:

Edinburgh: to satisfy the golfer, we took a ship tour to St. Andrews; also went to the Royal Yacht Britannia the same day. 

Stornoway: tender port and walked around small town/village then to Lews Castle (about a 20 min walk) with nice views.

Belfast: shuttle bus to town and then took a walking tour of the Troubles; then walked around the nice shopping area close to City Hall (stop in the City Hall as it is beautiful); excellent Tourist Office close by (near Tim Hortons).

Dublin: shuttle bus to town and then had pre-booked tickets to Trinity College (Book of Kells and don't miss the Long Room - stunning library) then to St. Patrick's and Christ Church Cathedrals. Strolled Temple Bar area and then stopped for an Irish Coffee in 'the' Temple Bar. All walkable.

Cobh: first time, took a ship tour to Blarney Castle and visit to close-by Blarney Woolen Mills (authentic products) then, walkabout in Cobh where ship docked lots of Titantic history and picturesque. Second time, took a ship tour to Kinsale - quaint seaside village and very picturesque drive to and fro and still had time to walkabout Cobh again.

Enjoy your cruise.

 

[Harters]

8 hours ago, WESTEAST said:

took a ship tour to Kinsale

KInsale is a lovely village/town. We spent a week there a few years back.

[sleepingcat]

Torbay: it will be by tender to land in Torquay. Are you an Agatha Christie fan? if yes, then a visit to her former house Greenway would be a good choice.

 

Otherwise the most favoured day out is the steam train from Paignton to Kingswear, cross the river to Dartmouth, boat up the river to Totnes and return by bus.  The company offers the whole thing as a 'round robin' tour. Scroll down for earlier detail on this tour as I and others have advised about it several times before.  

 

Torquay itself has Torre Abbey and gardens, museum etc. Or Kents Cavern if you fancy prehistoric human history. 

[Harters]

17 hours ago, sleepingcat said:

Otherwise the most favoured day out is the steam train from Paignton to Kingswear

If memory serves, from  when I took a trip, the steam train stops at Greenway. So, if you werent on the organised trip, and had put things together yourself, then you could stop off here and catch the next train on to Kingswear. Dartmouth is a lovely small town, although unsurprisingly a bit touristy, which we're considering as a base for another week-long trip to the area (stayed in Paignton both previous times)

[Globaliser]

18 hours ago, sleepingcat said:

Otherwise the most favoured day out is the steam train from Paignton to Kingswear, cross the river to Dartmouth, boat up the river to Totnes and return by bus.  The company offers the whole thing as a 'round robin' tour. Scroll down for earlier detail on this tour as I and others have advised about it several times before.

 

If it helps, here is a past thread that focused on this: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2930142-dartmouth-steam-railway-and-river-boat

 

 

[matamanoa]

For the Orkney Islands, contact Lorna Brown from See Orkney Tours.  We have toured with her twice and she gives a fantastic all day tour to the major attractions.  seeorkneyweb@gmail.com 

[ABQrobin]

Liverpool we did a HOHO Beatles tour bus.  It was awesome, booked thru Viator.

Glasgow we did Serca tours.  Awesome small groups.

Cork we did Paddywagon tours.

Belfast we did Odyssey tours.

 

book ahead, don't wait until last minutes.

[Mylisa]

On 12/23/2023 at 5:51 PM, ABQrobin said:

Liverpool we did a HOHO Beatles tour bus.  It was awesome, booked thru Viator.

Glasgow we did Serca tours.  Awesome small groups.

Cork we did Paddywagon tours.

Belfast we did Odyssey tours.

 

book ahead, don't wait until last minutes.

Thanks for the response. Which particular tours did you take with Paddywagon and Odyssey?

[Malleykatt]

For Orkney try.

    www.otga.co.uk

Look through all the guides and you can contact them for more details. We used Davey Malcolm.

For Liverpool it's a great place to wander the docks and Museums lots to see, or book a Beatles black cab  tour. Don't book a coach tour if offered you'll be disappointed.

 Belfast we grabbed a cab and spent about 4 hours at the Titanic museum, well worth a visit..

 

 

[ABQrobin]

15 hours ago, Mylisa said:

Thanks for the response. Which particular tours did you take with Paddywagon and Odyssey?

Here are our videos:

 

Paddywagon

 

 

 

Odyssey

 

 

Let me know if you have any other quesitons.

[Jagggg]

On 12/27/2023 at 6:52 AM, ABQrobin said:

Here are our videos:

 

Paddywagon

 

 

 

Odyssey

 

 

Let me know if you have any other quesitons.

Looking into the Odyssey tour. Thanks for the video. What time of year were you there?

[ABQrobin]

53 minutes ago, Jagggg said:

Looking into the Odyssey tour. Thanks for the video. What time of year were you there?

We were on our cruise, Sept 30-Oct 10.  

[puppymama1]

Any recommendations for a Belfast tour that would include a stop at the Bushmills distillery?  I know my husband would like to see that if possible... thanks!