British Isles

[Trish Traveler]

On 1/18/2024 at 1:43 PM, konatyme said:

In 2014, we did an around the British Isles cruise on the Ruby and it was one of our favorite cruises. (We loved it so much that we've talked about doing it again.) We went early and stayed in London for several days to see all the sights there and were really glad that we did--so much to see there!

We did privately-arranged tours, rather than Princess ones. In some cases, (like Liverpool and Guernsey), we simply disembarked and walked around. For Cobh, we took a tour (with E-Bus, I think) to Blarney Castle (though we weren't interested in kissing the stone and just walked around the very scenic castle grounds), Charles Fort, Kinsale, and St. Colman's Cathedral).   In Dublin, we shared a taxi with some other cruisers to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. From there, we were able to catch the HOHO bus to go around town (with stops like the Guinness Storehouse, of course!), then caught a taxi at Trinity College to return to the ship. We also did the Odyssey Tours trip from Belfast to Giants Causeway (and the other things mentioned in the post from karatemom2), as well as the same Discover Scotland tour from Glasgow. We did a WowScotland tour to Inverness, Loch Ness, Culloden Battlefield, Clava Cairns, and Cawdor Castle  (a really good tour!). At South Queensferry pier for Edinburgh, we took the train into town (following directions I found here on CruiseCritic) and then walked to the castle and around town.  From the LeHavre port, we had an amazing small group tour of the Normandy battlefield beaches, the cemeteries, etc. with Bayeaux Shuttles. (if possible, watch the original "The Longest Day" movie before going here.)

 

Thanks for more great suggestions!

[Tedferg]

We did a private tour of Highlands with Avril's Travels, out of Invergordon, nice small company. Avrils Travels | Highlands.

 

 

[nini]

22 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

We did a private tour of Highlands with Avril's Travels, out of Invergordon, nice small company. Avrils Travels | Highlands.

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing this company. It is always helpful to have this as a resource when booking shore excursions.

[insidecabin]

On 1/25/2024 at 4:22 AM, NavyVeteran said:

That only works for the smaller ships. The larger ones use tenders at South Queensferry and therefore usually go to the Tattoo from Greenock.

Some ships now tender into Newhaven.

Princess seems to continue to use SouthQ.

 

Newhaven is near(20min walk) the Royal Yacht in Leith.

 Also there are regular local bus(11) and tram connections into central Edinburgh.

 

[kaiiak]

On 1/18/2024 at 9:15 PM, charliedalrymple said:

 

We went on a very similar cruise, although ours also included Cork.  And we agree, it was wonderful!  I would say it was our second favourite (after Alaska), but we've only done eight cruises.  The only disappointment was that we couldn't dock at Invergordon due to rough seas. I'd say Edinburgh was the highlight--it's a breathtaking city. It was closely followed by Cork, where we hired a very entertaining private guide.  (He recommended that we skip the Blarney Stone because we would fight crowds of tourists, and we didn't feel deprived.).  The only missable stop was Le Havre.  Not much to see or do there.

 

This will sound strange, but there were almost too many ports. We stopped in a different port every day, and it got to be a little exhausting.  Of course, we didn't want to miss any of the destinations, but we are accustomed to have sea days throughout a cruise to relax and recharge.

We are on this cruise in June 2024 and it almost feels like a land trip because it is so port intensive. I am forgetting I will be on a ship! I feel like we will be so exhausted after the day's itinerary that we won't really feel up to exploring on the ship and will end up just relaxing with room service or a quick bite in the buffet. But I am really looking forward to all of the ports!

[nini]

On 1/18/2024 at 9:15 PM, charliedalrymple said:

 

 The only missable stop was Le Havre.  Not much to see or do there.

 

 

 

For that port, we booked a tour to Beaches of Normandy and it was well worth it. Otherwise, we were not impressed with the so-called "Welcome to Americans with money to spend". What a joke. The rudeness was palpable. This happened in a little town on our way back for a lunch stop. And also in another little stop in a town on the way back to the ship.

Edited February 4 by nini
edit

[tdtanc]

On 1/18/2024 at 6:04 PM, helenb said:

We had been talking about doing a British Isles cruise for years before COVID hit, but never did because they were so expensive as compared to other European cruises. We did the Med a few times, the Baltic, the Adriatic, the Holy Land, Hawaii, even Australia/New Zealand... all cheaper than British Isles.

 

COVID completely changed our outlook (not being able to cruise for 2+ years). When we saw the British Isles cruises on the Regal for summer 2024, we went ahead and booked. We are on the June 7 cruise out of Southampton. I have been buried in planning for it the past couple of weeks and I think that we have come up with an amazing touring itinerary for pre-cruise, each port, and post-cruise. I am so excited for this trip! I know that it is something I will remember forever.

 

So tl;dr is: do it! Seize the moment! You never know if this opportunity will be available again and it is a great cruising destination.

we are going on this cruise May 27th. so we will be disembarking and you will embark. We have been planning like crazy as well. So port intensive. The only port I'm truly having an issue with is Le havre and I think you mistyped. You will be embarking on the 8th of June not the 7th. We are in Le Havre on the 7th which is one day after DDay anniversary. So many tours state they can not accommodate a tour due to the crowds. 

[nini]

3 hours ago, tdtanc said:

we are going on this cruise May 27th. so we will be disembarking and you will embark. We have been planning like crazy as well. So port intensive. The only port I'm truly having an issue with is Le havre and I think you mistyped. You will be embarking on the 8th of June not the 7th. We are in Le Havre on the 7th which is one day after DDay anniversary. So many tours state they can not accommodate a tour due to the crowds. 

Go to www.overlordtour.com

This is the company that we used as well as many on our cruise. They book up FAST! But, you can get on the wait list.

[helenb]

13 hours ago, tdtanc said:

we are going on this cruise May 27th. so we will be disembarking and you will embark. We have been planning like crazy as well. So port intensive. The only port I'm truly having an issue with is Le havre and I think you mistyped. You will be embarking on the 8th of June not the 7th. We are in Le Havre on the 7th which is one day after DDay anniversary. So many tours state they can not accommodate a tour due to the crowds. 

 

Yes, you are correct, the 8th! I mistyped. On the 7th, we will be touring Windsor, enroute to Southampton.

 

The DDay Beaches are amazing sights, even if you are not a 'World War/Military Historian' type. Being able to walk through those old bunkers and looking down on the beach, and then a visit to the cemeteries, really brings it home. This being said, if there is an anniversary and it is packed with people, you may be better off elsewhere. I would highly recommend Mont St. Michel, if you can get there. Paris is too much of a slog (for me) for too little time.

 

For us, we have done all of these sites multiple times, so we are going to take it easy in Le Havre and just go to Honfleur for a few hours.

[Tedferg]

11 hours ago, nini said:

Go to www.overlordtour.com

This is the company that we used as well as many on our cruise. They book up FAST! But, you can get on the wait list.

We used Overlord and joined other couples for a Private tour, this might be an option of regularly scheduled tours are full.

[nini]

7 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

We used Overlord and joined other couples for a Private tour, this might be an option of regularly scheduled tours are full.

 

That is also a great idea!

[bjkTX]

We did the British Isles cruise in the fall of 2022.  You have received a lot of great info already.  All I can add was that it rained almost every day we were there - and it was still one of the best cruises we've been on.  Do it!!!

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, bjkTX said:

We did the British Isles cruise in the fall of 2022.  You have received a lot of great info already.  All I can add was that it rained almost every day we were there - and it was still one of the best cruises we've been on.  Do it!!!

I guess we were lucky that it never rained on our British Isles cruise in 2014. 

 

I agree with do it.

[trrn2016]

We are taking this cruise in May, 2024.  Does the tender process to South Queensferry from the Regal Princess go quickly? Trying to arrange a taxi pickup. Thanks so much.

[karatemom2]

1 minute ago, trrn2016 said:

We are taking this cruise in May, 2024.  Does the tender process to South Queensferry from the Regal Princess go quickly? Trying to arrange a taxi pickup. Thanks so much.

 

That really depends on a lot of issues. The day we were there, the weather was not ideal and the ship had some difficulties anchoring, so the start of tendering process was delayed. You will need to go to the lounge and get tickets, and there is always a crush of people who want to get off the ship as quickly as possible so the line for tickets can be very long and wait times for your tender group to be called can take awhile. If you are Elite with Princess or booked on a Princess excursion, you get priority tendering, but otherwise you just have to wait your turn. Another thing to consider is that the tender ride itself is pretty long - about 20 minutes, especially if the weather is not great, so you have to allow for transit time as well.

 

All this to just say that it is very difficult to predict exactly what time you will be at the dock, so you need to build in some flexibility with your pick up time if possible. You might just want to wait until you are onshore and then get a taxi or Uber. 

 

If you want to try to be on one of earliest tenders, my advice would be to go to the lounge where tender tickets are being distributed at least 30 minutes to an hour prior to the time distribution is scheduled to begin so you can secure a spot at the beginning of the line.

[Rick&Jeannie]

20 hours ago, bjkTX said:

We did the British Isles cruise in the fall of 2022.  You have received a lot of great info already.  All I can add was that it rained almost every day we were there - and it was still one of the best cruises we've been on.  Do it!!!

Here is what we ran into visiting Kilchurn Castle in Scotland:

 

[bjkTX]

45 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Here is what we ran into visiting Kilchurn Castle in Scotland:

 

 

Looks familiar 🙂  But our last day in Wales was sunny and spectacular.  On a private car tour in Scotland I had been discussing local favorite beverages with our driver and he admitted enjoying a "wee dram" of his favorite now and then - and we kept bringing it up until we got to our last tour area.  He called me back to the car and opened his trunk.  He pulled out a box and opened it and inside was a bottle of his favorite plus two small what looked like pewter glasses with "A wee dram" engraved in them and poured one for each of us.  When I admired his choice he decided we should have another wee dram.  At least I didn't have to drive :-)

[Rick&Jeannie]

11 minutes ago, bjkTX said:

Looks familiar 🙂    He pulled out a box and opened it and inside was a bottle of his favorite plus two small what looked like pewter glasses with "A wee dram" engraved in them and poured one for each of us.  

Lol! The same thing happened with us on our private tour from Invergordontours.com! We had a group of 8...I don't recall exactly what it was that our guide served us...but it sure was good!

[Rick&Jeannie]

2 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Lol! The same thing happened with us on our private tour from Invergordontours.com! We had a group of 8...I don't recall exactly what it was that our guide served us...but it sure was good!

Our guide on the left and the owner (I think) of Invergordon Tours on the right:

 

[insidecabin]

15 hours ago, trrn2016 said:

We are taking this cruise in May, 2024.  Does the tender process to South Queensferry from the Regal Princess go quickly? Trying to arrange a taxi pickup. Thanks so much.

Most ships get tender support from a local tour sightseeing  boat that holds more then the ships tenders, when that is in use tendering can move quite quickly.
There is still the tour/priority to get through if you don't qualify.

Our last trip(2022)  for priority they just looked at the medallion to join the line

[john watson]

3 hours ago, insidecabin said:

Most ships get tender support from a local tour sightseeing  boat that holds more then the ships tenders, when that is in use tendering can move quite quickly.
 

 

I remember a stop at Guernsey where we had done an official tour to Sark on a second ferry.  We were incredibly late back, in fact the last ships tender was being raised as we returned to the ship.  Our ferry transferred all our group on to a bigger ferry which took us back to the ship.

 

On another occasion when we visited the sea got choppy and the ship's tender dock closed.  We were at sea for over an hour until the ship moved to shelter the ock.

 

Regards John

[BabyShadowBaileyZoey]

We are looking forward to our cruise in 2025.  We do not have any issues with the movement of the ship but we are trying to get another couple to go with us and they are concerned.  How rough does it typically get during this itinerary, (knowing that there can be variables changing the norm)?  We will be going late May to Early June if it matters.  I know that the tender may be too rough for them but so far we just have one tender port listed.  Thanks!

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, BabyShadowBaileyZoey said:

We are looking forward to our cruise in 2025.  We do not have any issues with the movement of the ship but we are trying to get another couple to go with us and they are concerned.  How rough does it typically get during this itinerary, (knowing that there can be variables changing the norm)?  We will be going late May to Early June if it matters.  I know that the tender may be too rough for them but so far we just have one tender port listed.  Thanks!

I always hesitate to answer questions like this because I don't know the people involved and their situation. It's the North Atlantic and North Sea we're talking about...there's always the possibility of some rough weather. That being said, when we did it in a September (I *think*) we didn't have anything that I thought was particularly bad...but for someone who is really prone to getting seasick they just might have been uncomfortable. But you can say pretty much the same thing for *any* itinerary. 

I doubt that I've helped you much with this answer...it's a *great* itinerary.

[RNCheryl]

Our best tour was in Kirkwall, Orkney.  We traveled with Tours by Locals, and our host was Mark C.  Highly recommend, willing to customize the tour to your specifications, or present you with his fabulous itinerary.

[insidecabin]

21 hours ago, BabyShadowBaileyZoey said:

We are looking forward to our cruise in 2025.  We do not have any issues with the movement of the ship but we are trying to get another couple to go with us and they are concerned.  How rough does it typically get during this itinerary, (knowing that there can be variables changing the norm)?  We will be going late May to Early June if it matters.  I know that the tender may be too rough for them but so far we just have one tender port listed.  Thanks!

We try to do a round Britain every year, when price is right, weather is so variable it is really hard to tell you get good weeks and bad weeks straight after.

Last year we had 3 tender ports missed on a July cruise(made Edinburgh), yet our round Ireland in May was much calmer.

For 21 May 2025  Regal Princess
Dublin (Dun Laoghaire), Ireland is a tender port,   and sometimes Kirwall if there is more than one ship in.