Just got back from British Isles cruise - any questions?

quick question. we're doing a 12 day British Isles in Aug. Cruise is AMS to AMS with all stops in EU countries. I'm assuming that since we don't leave the EU on the cruise there will be no customs to go through on return to the AMS port and that we can walk off directly the ship to a cab.. I'm concerned since we have a rather tight (4 HR) connect to Schiphol for the flight back to the US.

We had to show/get our passports stamped multiple times:

When we arrived to Schipol from USA, when we went through customs.

Just before boarding the cruise ship in Amsterdam

Upon arriving in Dover, in the cruise terminal.

Dublin also required this - the ship collected our passports 2 days prior to arriving in Dublin and returned them the day after we left Dublin. There was a large green stamp from them.

When we disembarked the ship in Amsterdam.

Multiple times in Schipol Airport.

We had a flight that departed Schipol for Houston at about 11am. We disembarked the ship at about 7:15am, caught a cab by 8am. We got to the airport, through the airline check-in area and through passport control with time to spare to sit down and have a small breakfast before catching our flight.

How was the ship? We have been on Brilliance and Serenade, but from what we have read Vision is out dated.

Also, how long did it take to get off the ship in Edinburgh? We have a 9:30 tour, but with the ship being tendered instead of docked, my wife is a little stressed about making it on time.

I like Vision of the Seas. It was one of the smaller ships that we've sailed on, but it never felt too small and it was nice that the venues were all a few minutes away from one another. Prior to cruising, I had heard that the ship was dated and in need of refurbishment. I didn't notice that. The staterooms, including bathrooms, appeared fairly new.

Tendering in Edinburgh was not optimal. It took about 30 minutes to get from ship to shore. Excursions booked through the ship were able to get off the ship first. For all other passengers, they began handing out tender tickets early in the morning. If you're not on a ship excursion, then I'd recommend getting tender tickets as soon as they start handing them out to ensure that you're one of the first off the ship after the ship excursion passengers. I wish I could remember the exact times that these events occurred, but I can't. Based off announcements made in the days following our time in Edinburgh, it was clear that the ship staff was well aware that tendering in Edinburgh was less than desirable for the passengers. Hopefully, they have taken some actions to make future tendering in that city runs more smoothly.

I like Vision of the Seas. It was one of the smaller ships that we've sailed on, but it never felt too small and it was nice that the venues were all a few minutes away from one another. Prior to cruising, I had heard that the ship was dated and in need of refurbishment. I didn't notice that. The staterooms, including bathrooms, appeared fairly new.

 

Tendering in Edinburgh was not optimal. It took about 30 minutes to get from ship to shore. Excursions booked through the ship were able to get off the ship first. For all other passengers, they began handing out tender tickets early in the morning. If you're not on a ship excursion, then I'd recommend getting tender tickets as soon as they start handing them out to ensure that you're one of the first off the ship after the ship excursion passengers. I wish I could remember the exact times that these events occurred, but I can't. Based off announcements made in the days following our time in Edinburgh, it was clear that the ship staff was well aware that tendering in Edinburgh was less than desirable for the passengers. Hopefully, they have taken some actions to make future tendering in that city runs more smoothly.

Thanks for the tendering info. Leave in 10 days for similar itinerary. Planning on doing Edinburgh on our own since have been there many times. How late at night is the last tender?

We had to show/get our passports stamped multiple times:

When we arrived to Schipol from USA, when we went through customs.

Just before boarding the cruise ship in Amsterdam

Upon arriving in Dover, in the cruise terminal.

Dublin also required this - the ship collected our passports 2 days prior to arriving in Dublin and returned them the day after we left Dublin. There was a large green stamp from them.

When we disembarked the ship in Amsterdam.

Multiple times in Schipol Airport.

We had a flight that departed Schipol for Houston at about 11am. We disembarked the ship at about 7:15am, caught a cab by 8am. We got to the airport, through the airline check-in area and through passport control with time to spare to sit down and have a small breakfast before catching our flight.

THX for the info.

Does the ho ho bus stop near the cruise terminal in Dublin? Also is there a shuttle from ship to centre of Dublin? TIA

We're on the transatlantic cruise on the Regal Princess on September 9th. We will port in Aarhus, Kristiansand, Glasgow(Greenock), Belfast, & Cork. I'm looking at the ships tours, but we prefer smaller tours. Did you go to any of these ports? If so, are any of the ports within walking distance to sites that are worth going to? My husband wants to go to some of the distillery's if possible and still be able to see some of the other sites.

Any idea the cost of taxi from Invergordon to Inverness? Ive tried contacting taxi companies, with no response.

Thanks!

I see you had an overnight stop in Dublin, as we will next May on Brilliance of the Seas. Do you have to be back to the ship by a certain time the first night in order to get back on? Or is the ship open for access all night?

What do you recommend for Glasgow ? We are very much into history.

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Hi Cruisersdm

When you dock at Greenock there are two Distillerys within easy travel of the ship:

Auchentoshan which is approx 10miles away upriver from Greenock and on the other side of the river.

Glengoyne which is approx 20 miles away in roughly the same direction.

If you google both you will find all the info you need, a taxi return journey to both will be fairly expensive but you may be able to negotiate an acceptable fare as it will be regarded as a good hire.

Enjoy your cruise.

Handy tips! How did you get to Powerscourt Gardens? Did you do this the same day as Trinity College?

We had an overnight in Dublin, so we did the Glendalough and Powerscourt Gardens tour with DoDublin on Day 1.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g186605-d195416-Reviews-DoDublin-Dublin_County_Dublin.html

Glendalough was fantastic. We felt a bit rushed at Powercourt, but still, the Gardens were lovely.

We did Trinity College and the Book of Kells on Day 2.

Does the ho ho bus stop near the cruise terminal in Dublin? Also is there a shuttle from ship to centre of Dublin? TIA

I would guess that it would take at least 30 minutes to walk from the closest HOHO bus stop (which is near the Jeannie Johnson tall ship) to the cruise terminal. Princess (at least when we were on the Caribbean Princess last month) provides a shuttle to the center of town, across the street from the statue of Oscar Wilde in Merrion Square.

That being said, it's pretty easy to get an Uber in Dublin, if need be.

Thank you! Hopefully X also has a shuttle close to this, otherwise uber is a good tip. I did call the bus company who said there would be promotional material at the cruise terminal so all should be well.

Did you take local currency with you or rely on ATMs along the way? We're booked for a British Isles cruise on Princess in August and will be going from England to Ireland to North Ireland to Scotland and finally to France. I plan to get a little bit of cash in euros and pounds from my bank before we leave.

Also, were there tours available at the ports like there are in the Caribbean?

Did you take local currency with you or rely on ATMs along the way? We're booked for a British Isles cruise on Princess in August and will be going from England to Ireland to North Ireland to Scotland and finally to France. I plan to get a little bit of cash in euros and pounds from my bank before we leave.

 

Also, were there tours available at the ports like there are in the Caribbean?

We rely on ATM's along the way. That being said; we travel to Europe pretty frequently so we generally have a stash of euros and GBP leftover from past trips.

Sometimes, there are tours available at the ports. We tried to help a couple we met on the cruise ship get on a couple of our tours, but our tours were booked up. They were able to latch onto another tour at Belfast, but were unable to do so at Greenock.

We used Busy Bus in Greenock, small buses and a great tour with our driver/guide Frank. Saw lots of out of the way sights and beautiful countryside (Kilchurn Castle, the Green Welly, village of Luss among others). Did Dublin on our own, ship's shuttle to town then the HOHO bus directly to Kilmainham (did not have advance tickets but managed to get in). Jameson Distillery was great, toured Temple Bar area, had lunch. Walked back to the ship which was a bit of a hike but doable.

Took the train to Waverley Station from Queensferry, very easy if you are up to doing steps....actually a very nice hike through the woods, someone has very thoughtfully added signs along the way pointing you in the right direction. Cost was 4.6 GBP each and you end up right in the centre of town. Trains run very frequently trip was about 20 minutes, very comfortable. Also used the HOHO bus which was great....lots of live commentary. If you plan to see Edinburgh Castle buy your tickets in advance as it gets VERY busy.

We will be on the Vision TA sailing in a couple of weeks. They have just changed our Lerwick stop to Invergordon/Inverness Scotland. We have never been to Northern Europe.

Any suggestions for tours? We have a 9 am to 6 pm stop.

Thanks for any suggestions

What did you do in Dover? We are interested in visiting either Leeds Castle or Canterbury on our own. Do you know of anyone who did that and if it was relatively easy to do?

Thanks,

We recently returned from our 12-night British Isles cruise. We departed on May 22 and returned on June 3. We sailed on Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas and visited the following ports: Amsterdam, Dover, Edinburgh, Invergorden/Inverness/Loch Ness, Greenock/Glasgow, Dublin, and St. Peter Port.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about the ship or the ports of call. Hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did!