Moonlion

We were discussing the topic of solo travelers on the "Onboard Neptune now - British Isles Explorer" post I had started (pasted below). On our May 2023 BIE, Viking sponsored two events for solo travelers ("Solo Traveler Get Together") at 5:30 PM in the upper level of the Explorer's Lounge on Days 3 and 10 of cruise, which were listed in the Viking Daily.

3 hours ago, deec said:

Moon Lion....do you have a list/contact that you could easily post about your Independent Tours and the optional Viking's that you most enjoyed.    Although this is our first trip to the British Isle, we would prefer not to the "Panorama" bus tours.  We find that Viking's included "walking" tours are usually very good.

Hi deec,

We booked 5 independent excursions (all excellent to outstanding in our opinion) and did Edinburgh completely on our own (no Viking or independent tours - booked a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia and then walked down the Royal Mile).

Here are the independent tours that we booked, mostly through TripAdvisor but you can book directly with the tour operator (see my post #123 on why we booked via TripAdvisor):

Holyhead: Busy Bus Tours: Sightseeing Day Tour to North Wales from Holyhead Cruise Terminal; www.busybus.co.uk/north-wales-trip-from-holyhead/; this tour is also available through TripAdvisor. Note: there were only 8 of us on this tour in May, all Neptune passengers, but could be larger groups in high season.

Liverpool: Mad Day Out Beatles Taxi Tours (with Ian Doyle); https://mad-dayouttaxitours.co.uk/; can book through TripAdvisor.  The price is per cab (up to 6 persons), not per person.  This tour was outstanding!  You need to book months in advance since he sells out fast. 

Belfast: Odyssey Coach Tours – Shore Excursion: Giants Causeway Tour (Small Group)

https://odysseycoachtours.co.uk/giants_causeway_tour/shore-excursion-giants-causeway-tour-small-group/; can book through TripAdvisor. Note: there were only 10 of us on this tour in May, all Neptune passengers, but again could be a larger group in high season. 

Orkneys: Craigie’s Taxi, LTD  http://www.craigiestaxis.co.uk/; Note: the cab drivers are not official tour guides but they know the islands well and will take you to wherever you want to go (£50 per hour for up to 4 passengers in a car; you can pay by cash or credit card after the tour is completed); see my post on the Orkneys for the sites we visited. 

Invergordon: Thistle Excursions https://www.thistleexcursions.co.uk/; can book through TripAdvisor (Tour 2: Cawdor Castle, Inverness, Culloden Battlefield and Loch Ness).  Note: there were only 6 of us on this tour in May, all Neptune passengers, but again could be a larger group in high season.

We took two Viking optional excursions ("Scenic Assynt" in Ullapool and "Walking the Nature Trails of Mousa Island" in the Shetlands).  However, to be honest, I can't wholeheartedly recommend either of these (see my posts above).  Other passengers we met on the cruise took the "Ancient Civilizations" optional excursion in the Shetlands and all said it was great. 

We took 5 included Viking excursions and can recommend Historic Canterbury in Dover and Royal Greenwich by Foot (Greenwich of course) - both are walking tours. The rest (City Views of Dublin, Shetland Panorama & Ponies, and Panoramic Bergen) were "just OK" in my opinion, and are pretty much bus tours. 

Hope this helps.

1 hour ago, LewiLewi said:

We’re you aware of any singles activities on board for solo traveler’s? We’re there any opportunities for shared tables or solo traveler’s get togethers?

Hi LewiLewi,

We met and chatted with a couple of solo travelers in the Explorer's Lounge or on excursions.  They seemed to be enjoying themselves and happy with the cruise.  Can't comment on shared tables since DH and I were always seated at tables for two by the hostesses at dinner.  We did note many larger tables especially in the Restaurant but not aware of the seating arrangements (individuals or couples wanting to meet fellow passengers or larger groups traveling together). 

Viking sponsored two events for solo travelers ("Solo Traveler Get Together") at 5:30 PM in the upper level of the Explorer's Lounge on Days 3 and 10 of cruise, which were listed in the Viking Daily.  We weren't in the Explorer's Lounge during these times so can't reported on how well-attended the events were.   

Keeping in mind the demographics of most Viking passengers (mostly people in their 60s to 80s), the atmosphere on Viking ships is generally quiet and subdued. However, I would assume that the Explorer's Lounge in the late afternoons before dinner service starts would be a good place and time to meet other passengers.  It seemed relatively lively and busy to us at those times.  The 4 PM Afternoon Tea would be another good venue to meet other passengers.  I went by myself one afternoon (DH was taking a nap) and was seated with other groups.  Also, we went to Torshavn on a couple of evenings and it was very lively and fun with a lot of people dancing.  Hopefully, others on this forum can comment on solo traveler experiences on Viking cruises.

Since we independently extended our stay in Norway, we just got back home this week.  Oh my, it’s such a drag to have to go back to work, cook our meals, clean up after ourselves… my “head” is still back on the Viking Neptune, so I thought I would sum up our experiences.

Overall, we had a fabulous time on this cruise and would not hesitate to book another Viking cruise.  In fact, we’re booked on the Viking South America & Chilian Fjords cruise next February which we’re really looking forward to!  Was the cruise perfect?  Absolutely not… but in all our years of travel, land or sea, for work or pleasure, we've never experienced 100% perfection on a trip, not even on expensive, supposedly “luxury” trips.  I think it helps to do our research beforehand and learn from other travelers what to expect, both the good and the not so good.  We go in expecting that there will be a few glitches along the way and, unless major, try not to let it dampen our enjoyment.

So, what did we like about this cruise?

In our experience, the crew and service on the Neptune were over-the-top outstanding. They were without exception friendly, attentive, went out of their way to be helpful, and quickly learned what were our “likes” (for us, classic real-lime-juice margaritas which the bar staff made perfectly).  We never encountered any staff who were dismissive or in the slightest rude to us.

The itinerary of the British Isles Explorer cruise is excellent! It’s a busy – you could say exhausting – itinerary (12 port stops and only one sea day in a 14-night cruise) but we experienced so many different cities, countries, and a lot of beautiful scenery in the UK. It helped that we booked some excellent excursions on the cruise.

We loved the quiet, relaxed, subdued environment with only 900 or so other passengers on board and the ship's understated but beautiful décor.  The spa is also a wonderful experience and doesn’t cost extra.  Our cabin was fine and glad we had the balcony.  Although the ship was full, it didn't feel crowded and we could always find peaceful spots to sit and relax (just avoid the Explorer’s Lounge an hour or two before dinner service starts).

We really enjoyed the enrichment lectures on the history, culture and wildlife of the region, and the onboard historian was excellent.  We were also very happy with the musical entertainment on board – in fact, we thought that most of the musicians were really good!  The lack of Broadway show-quality entertainment was not an issue for us.

The weather in May was great! Despite threats of rain, we had lovely weather throughout the cruise other than a couple of afternoons of light rain.  Temps were in the low to high 60s (F) so we didn’t need all the cold-weather gear we packed.  Even in Bergen which is known for clouds and rain, we had sunshine and warm weather when we visited.  The seas were remarkably calm, like being on a river cruise.  We didn’t miss any ports even in the Shetland and Orkney Islands which are often missed due to winds and rough seas.  We occasionally felt some very gentle rocking motion on the ship, but I didn’t need any seasickness remedies (and I’m very prone to seasickness).  

More than 80% of our meals in The Restaurant and Specialty Restaurants were good to excellent and a few dishes were outstanding. However, there were some notable disappointments as mentioned below.  We didn’t book any specialty restaurants before the cruise because we like to see the menus first, especially the Chef’s Table since we like some of their menus but not others.  As soon as we boarded, we went straight to the reservations desk by Manfredi’s to view the CT menus and had no problem whatsoever booking reservations at CT and Manfedi’s, and at the times we wanted. We did note that a couple of days later, the prime timeslots (6-8 PM) at Manfredi’s were booked up.   

For us, the Silver Spring Beverage Package was reasonably priced, and we took advantage of the premium wine list along with enjoying a pre- or post-dinner cocktail.  Admittedly not wine connoisseurs, we found 2-3 white and 3-4 red wines that we liked.

We found Viking to be well-organized and efficient when it came to embarkation, getting people on tours, tendering, shuttles, disembarkation, etc.

We met several lovely fellow passengers on the cruise.

What could be improved?

Overall, we found that the Viking included shore excursions were limited, not very inspiring and could use some improvement.  Although a couple of the included excursions were excellent (Canterbury) or good (Greenwich), most were “just OK” in our opinion, some just a 2-to-3-hour bus tour with a few brief photo stops.  We would have been disappointed if we had only gone on the included excursions. The Viking optional excursions we took were better, but I thought overpriced for what we got.  Perhaps we were spoiled by the independent tours we booked, all excellent-to-outstanding in quality, and about half the price of the Viking optional excursions.

Since most of our meals at dinner were very good and at times excellent, we don’t have major complaints about the food.  However, there was a notable lack of consistency in the quality of some dishes even when DH and I ordered the same item on the same night in the same venue.  Seafood was usually good, but steaks and beef were at times thinly cut, overcooked and tough or fatty.  It seems that Viking could tighten up on the quality control of food preparation in the restaurants.           

Our independent extension in Bergen and Oslo including the scenic train was fantastic.  I’ll post separately about our train experience.

Happy to answer any questions.

On our cruise, the pasta carbonara, gnocchi and the Osso Buco were delicious.  We didn't like the lasagna at all - some strange bechamel topping that was thin and hard as a cracker.  

12 hours ago, Krazy4Kruisin' said:

We will be on Jupiter beginning Aug 9. There are 8 tours listed as of tonight for Orkneys. Maybe they found different tour companies.

As discussed in some of the previous posts, we've concluded that Viking probably cancelled the optional excursions in the Orkneys because there were three ships on the island that day - the Viking Neptune, the Viking Venus and AIDA’s Luna (over 2000 passengers).  With 4000 passengers in town, there may not have been enough tour operators to service the two Viking ships.  

3 hours ago, molymoo said:

Do bear in mind that if you book an independent tour read the contract carefully regarding last minute cancellations.  We have done the BIE twice and hit some of the same ports on our Midnight Sun cruise and every time we missed at least one port.  Orkney (Kirkwall), the Shetlands (Lerwick) and Ullapool are all subject to weather related issues that can make docking impossible.  On our last cruise we missed Kirkwall after about a half an hour of the crew trying valiantly to tie up at the dock.  The wind was ferocious and apparently the harbor master eventually called it and we had an unscheduled sea day.  We watched their attempts from our stateroom and it was disheartening to see all the busses and vans lined up waiting to take us on our excursions.  I'm fairly certain that it is a situation they are accustomed to and a refund would be offered but always a good idea to check.

 

Agree completely with this comment.  I had done quite a bit of research (on CC. TripAdvisor and FB) before booking our independent excursions.  I was well aware that Orkney (Kirkwall), the Shetlands (Lerwick) and Ullapool can often be missed at the last minute because of weather conditions. For this reason, we booked Craigie's Taxi on the Orkney Islands which allowed payment after the tour was completed, therefore mitigating our financial risk if ship was not able to make the port. I did not arrange independent tours in Ullapool or the Shetland Islands, instead booking Viking optional and included excursions. Although they may exist, I wasn't able to find independent tour operators at Lerwick or Ullapool that offered a full refund if ship couldn't dock. 

I booked our remaining independent tours (Holyhead, Liverpool, Belfast and Invergordon) through TripAdvisor/Viator which offered a more generous cancellation policy (full refund up to 24 hours before tour) versus booking directly with the tour providers.  The TripAdvisor/Viator tour costs were about 10-15% higher but worth it in our opinion for the 24-hour cancellation policy. 

The quality of all our independent tours ranged from excellent to outstanding and included many fewer passengers than on the Viking excursions we took (both Viking optional and included). Our independent tour prices were about half of Viking's optional excursion prices, and were generally longer/more comprehensive, covering more sites. 

The downside, of course, with an independent excursion is not making it back to the ship in time for sail-away.  However, all the independent tour companies we booked are very experienced with conducting shore excursions and have an excellent reputation for returning passengers to the ship at least an hour before departure time.  Of course, rare incidents can still occur causing passengers to miss the sail-away but all the companies we went with had good backup plans and even "guarantees" in place. Their reputations depend on it. However, for "zero risk" of missing the boat, you'll need to stay with the ship's excursions. 

8 hours ago, Krazy4Kruisin' said:

The ship stays in Liverpool until 11pm. So, we booked dinner at a restaurant in Liverpool that evening. 

Be aware that there can be changes to port arrival and departure times. Our original invoice said that we would be in Dublin until 11 PM. About a month or so before the cruise, the departure time was changed to 6 PM in My Viking Journey and in our final documents.  However, if Viking is offering excursions in the evening in Liverpool, you should be on solid ground (pun intended). 

34 minutes ago, slewis7 said:

I have had very mixed results ordering that steak at Manfredi’s.  The first time, it was delicious but subsequently it was mediocre.  Still, I will try again in our upcoming cruise. 🤞
 

Our recent experiences at Manfredi’s, post pandemic, have been a mixed bag in general.

We had the same experience on our May  '23 BIE cruise.  We went to Manfredi's twice: the first time, the steak was excellent; the second time, it was thin, fatty and overcooked. 

7 hours ago, photopro2 said:

Thanks for your brilliant trip report @Moonlion 

 

 

It is no criticism of yourself as you were just reporting the comment as "hearsay" but I can't help pointing out that it seems rather unfair to the tour vendors on the island and that it is probably not the whole truth. May I suggest that the problem was not the quality of the tour vendors but the quantity?

 

The mainland of Orkney is a small island with a population of about 17,000 people. Even though the tourist industry is very important to the islands there are obviously only a limited number of people available that can provided tours. It may well have been the case that Viking could not contract enough high quality optional tours to service two ships on the same day, and therefore (perhaps in an attempt to be "fair" to customers on both ships?) decided not to contract any at all.

 

From personal experience I know that Viking found enough good quality tour vendors when we visited the Orkneys with them on a midnight sun cruise. We were offered a range of optional tours and choose a cliff walk to Skara Brae, which was excellent.

 

It is also worth noting that they currently indicate on their website that a range of optional tours will be available (See below) Again, this suggests to me that they are generally happy with the quality of local tour vendors and the issue had more to do with this being one of the rare occasions when they had two ships in Kirkwall on the same day.  

 

Glad you enjoyed your day on the island, nonetheless 🙂

 

 

Agree, makes much more sense that it was the quantity of tour providers (with 3 ships on the island) versus the quality. 

2 hours ago, famcruisefun said:

Thank you Moonlion for the wonderful trip report - I've enjoyed reading all of it. We are seriously considering the BIE cruise for next year as Orkney and Shetland Islands are high up on my bucket list. I saw the list of excursions that you posted a while back (sorry - just found this post yesterday) and I have a question. It looks like there was only on excursion offered for Orkney. Was that the case? I was hoping to see more than what's offered in the included excursion - just wondering if this is typical as there are 6 or so excursions for Orkney shown on the website - so not sure if it's typical to only offer one on the actual cruise (or maybe I'm reading the list wrong).

We haven't sailed with Viking before - just trying to learn the ins and outs before we book. We appreciate greatly all of the wonderful posts on this board! Thank you!!

The Orkneys were unusual. When shore excursions were first listed in MVJ last December, there was the included excursion and 6 or 7 optional excursions available. A month or two later, all the optional excursions were suddenly removed from MVJ and only the included tour remained. I never learned why but someone onboard had heard that Viking was not satisfied with the quality of the local tour vendors in the Orkneys on our sailing. The May 13th Viking Venus stopped in Orkney the same day we did, and they also had no optional excursions available to them, just the included. We wanted to visit Scara Brae which was not on the itinerary of the included excursion and thus booked a 4-hour tour of the Orkneys with Craigie’s Taxi. We were very happy with our experience. 

On our BIE cruise this May, we were directed to The Restaurant (our assigned muster station; others may have been assigned to other stations) for a 5- minute instruction on putting on the life vests. No more Covid testing or procedures. 

We just got off the May 9-23 BIE cruise and didn’t miss any ports. However, I think we were very fortunate with the weather. From my research, it seems that both Orkney and the Shetlands can be missed due to winds and rough seas. If these islands are on your bucket list, you may want to consider a land trip. 
 

Once you book the cruise, the port times will be listed in your Viking invoice. On our cruise, we arrived at most ports between 7-8 AM and departed at 5 or 6 PM. Ullapool was the only port where we had a half day (arrived around noon and departed at 5 PM). Keep in mind that you will be asked to be back on board about an hour before the departure time. 

8 hours ago, What was that? said:

Moonlion,

I would like to add my thanks for your upbeat and honest travelogue. It will help us choose activities when we go next year. Knowledge is power!

Cheers,

wwt

@What was that? I believe we were on the same Northern Lights sailing as you in January ‘22.  I can’t remember but thought we may have met up with you at our informal roll call meet-and-greet? It was our first Viking Ocean cruise and, despite the MANY Covid procedures in place both before and during that cruise, we had a great time…and saw the lights! While onboard the NL cruise, we booked this BIE cruise and a future South America & Chilean Fjords cruise for February ‘24. 

Laura and Ernie from Maryland

Well, we leave the ship this morning 😢. Yesterday, we explored Bergen on our own, skipping the included excursion. Beautiful weather again today, sunny, warm. We took the funicular to Floibanen. The views of Bergen at the top on a sunny day are to die for. We decided to walk back down. Easy walk on a well-marked, groomed path, and through the forest with nice views all the way down.  Dinner was very good last night in the Restaurant. 
 

We’ve had a fantastic time on this cruise, but it goes by so quickly. We’re independently extending our trip: one night in the Thon Orion Hotel in Bergen; then taking the scenic train to Oslo; and 2 nights in Oslo (Thon Opera Hotel) before heading back to the States. 
 

Bon Voyage to all future travelers!

Deleted. 

4 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

We have done quite a few Viking excursions and there has not been a single one that we’ve been on that has had 40 passengers.  Most passenger counts tend to range from 20-35.  Our trip in The Shetlands was a boat tour to a bird sanctuary (which was fabulous) and there were 10 passengers.  My excursion today in Bergen had 21 passengers, DH said he had 22 on his (we went in different directions).

Sorry, not so in our case. Our optional excursion, Scenic Assynt, had 2 buses - ours had exactly 44 passengers, the other had close to 50 according to another passenger on that bus. Our optional excursion, Walking the Nature Trails of Moussa Island, was almost a full bus, more than 35 I would say. 

25 minutes ago, SteelCity Cruiser said:

Moonlion, out of curiosity, what have been the general tour guide/bus driver tipping practices in the UK - yes tip, no tip and general amount guidelines.  We're 'heavier than usual' tippers on these trips (since we see some passengers not tip guides and drivers at all) but I've gotten some conflicting advise on the topic and would appreciate your observations.

 

Sorry, I don’t really know what people are tipping the guides/drivers on the Viking excursions which are usually large bus tours with 40-50 passengers. From what we could see, most people discreetly handed the tour guide some kind of tip at the end of the tour but I have no idea the amount. 

Day 13 (May 21st, Shetland Islands):

Today, we woke to gorgeous sunshine, calm seas, no winds and balmy temps. We were told by our tour guides and every local we encountered today that this is extremely unusual for the Shetland Islands. 
 

We did two Viking Excursions, one optional and the other the included one. In the morning, we did the “Walking the Nature Trails of Moussa Island” ($129 pp). If all conditions line up perfectly, this could be a fabulous experience…or a disaster. Ours fell somewhere in between. There is a half hour bus ride to the small pier across from Moussa Island and then a half hour boat ride to the Island.
 

The tour description said we would walk about about 3 miles around the perimeter of the island to learn about the island’s wildlife. However, we were only able to walk about a half mile to the Broch (which was interesting to visit) and back the same way because of poor ground conditions (heavy rains the past couple of weeks made the walking paths very muddy and slippery). Also, we didn’t see as much wildlife as expected (the birds and wildlife haven’t arrived in full yet because of a very cold spring). Sheep roam freely on the island and therefore there’s a LOT of sheep dung everywhere!  The tour is described as “demanding.”  However, the most strenuous activity was avoiding slipping in the mud and not stepping in the sheep dung 🤣. Although we enjoyed the hike and lovely sunshine, we probably wouldn’t recommend this excursion. The Shetlands are known for their strong winds. Our tour guide said that the boat ride is often canceled several times a week in the summer because of rough seas and winds. Not sure what alternative Viking would offer if this excursion were canceled. 
 

We did the included excursion in the afternoon (Shetland Panorama and Ponies). It’s a 1 hour, 45 minute bus ride to the western side of the Island with a couple of photoshops along the way. The “Ponies part” consisted of 5 or 6 Shetland Ponies in a pen by the side of the road and a 10-15 minute presentation by the breeder.  Some people seemed to enjoy this excursion while others commented that it was a waste of time.  Although OK, it wasn’t one of our top-rated excursions on this cruise. 
 

Dinner tonight in the Restaurant was excellent, every dish we ordered was perfectly prepared and delicious!

58 minutes ago, SteelCity Cruiser said:

Yep - that's a little different.  We're stopping at Urquhart (it was on my extremely long list of places to see in Scotland) but not Cawdor.  Our description didn't include a lunch stop so our friends and us are going to see if the World Cafe can whip up a box lunch for us for the day.

 

Ours didn’t include a description of a lunch stop either. However, we stopped for an hour in Inverness to see the Inverness Castle (not open to the public now) which was enough time to grab a quick lunch. 
 

Unless, you arrange a private tour (e.g., skip the drive down to Loch Ness), there’s not enough time to tour both Urquhart and Cawdor Castle. Urquhart is one of the Outlander sites, but basically a ruins. Cawdor is a working castle, beautifully decorated inside and the gardens are truly amazing. All the sites were interesting, but Cawdor was a highlight, at least for those of us on our tour. 

47 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

Did you stop at Tain for Glen Morangie?

No, not on this tour. However, I believe that Thistle offers another excursion that stops at a distillery. 

4 minutes ago, MaynardsMom said:

How long did the Uber take to the Castle?  We will be in Edinburgh on the August 29 BIE and because of losing Ullapool and Orkeny we get a day and a half in Edinburgh.  We dock at noon and want to go straight to the Castle leaving the next day for other adventures.  Not sure how long it will take us to get off the ship, but hoped that if we booked the 3:00 p.m. entry we'd have plenty of time to get there explore.  

 

Thanks for your running updates on the cruise.  It has helped our planning so much!  

The Uber from the Royal Yacht Britannia to the top of the castle took about 25 minutes; from Holyroodhouse to the New Haven pier, it  took a little over 15 minutes. Of course, your travel time could be more or less depending on traffic, which will depend on day of week, time of day, etc. 
 

We were in Edinburg on a Friday. When we got to the Castle around noon, it was mobbed. I was glad we decided not to purchase tickets to the Castle because we probably would have skipped it. 

4 hours ago, SteelCity Cruiser said:

We're doing a tour with them in Invergordon next month as well and I think we have the exact Itinerary, They refer to it as "Tour 3".  Is that the same one you took?  Good to hear the positive review!!

 

TripAdvisor referred to ours as “Tour 2.”  Our excursion included a tour of Cawdor Castle and a drive by of Urquhart (which is basically a ruin). 

Day 12 (May 20th, Invergordon):

We did an independent tour today with Thistle Excursions which I booked through TripAdvisor ($150 pp). We visited a lot of sites on this 7-hour excursion: Culloden Battlefield, Clara Cairns and Beauly Priory from the Outlander series, Cawdor Castle and Gardens (beautiful castle and gardens - not to be missed in our opinion!), lunch stop in Inverness, Loch Ness (we didn’t spot Nessie 🥲), and more. Our guide, June, was excellent and there were only 6 of us in a minivan, all fellow passengers from the Neptune. The weather was lovely in the morning and held out until the mid-afternoon when we had some light rain on and off. Fortunately, we had done all the outdoor activities by then. We thoroughly enjoyed this excursion and can highly recommend. 
 

Dinner tonight in The Restaurant was excellent!

Day 11 (May 19th, Edinburg):

Brilliant day! We did not do any tours today, Viking or independent. Instead, we used Google Maps and Uber (easy and fast in Edinburg) to get around the city. The weather was perfect - sunny, and almost too warm for a long sleeve tee shirt. 
 

The ship anchored in New Haven harbor. To get a tender spot when touring independently, we needed to sign up at Guest Services in the Atrium when ready to leave. It usually takes about 15-20 minutes to be called. We took the 8:30 AM tender and got to shore a little before 9 AM. 

Our first stop today was an independent tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia. I had booked tickets online before leaving the States for the 9:30-9:45 AM entry time, but it looked like you could buy tickets onsite. We walked from the New Haven Pier to the RYB in less than 20 minutes, and made our entry window in plenty of time. They provide audio guides and the tour was excellent, a fascinating look into the Royal Family and luxury yachting! After the tour (took about an hour and 15 minutes), we had tea and scones or cake in the Tea Room onboard the RYB. This tour was a lot of fun!

We then Ubered from the RYB to the top of the Edinburg Castle (£12). Viking offers a free shuttle from the pier to Charlotte Square which is a few blocks from the Castle, but we didn’t want to waste any time. We didn’t buy tickets to the Castle but could walk up to the top of the esplanade to take photos and enjoy the views of the city. 
 

From the Castle, we walked the Royal Mile using Rick Steve’s free app “Audio Europe” which includes a “walking tour” of the Royal Mile. Along the way we visited the Edinburg Museum and had a snack and beer at a local pub. The Holyroodhouse at the end of the Royal Mile is closed until the end of May. We Ubered back to the pier (£11). 
 

We had dinner at Manfredies. The starters and sides were excellent. The mains and pasta were a bit overcooked or dry tonight. 
 

A lovely day in Edinburgh!