Military Tattoo excursion from Caribbean Princess this August

I wanted to use Princess (the cheaper one) to go to the Tattoo from Greenock. But, by the time I realized the excursions were out, they were sold out. So, I had to come up with Plan B. We got our tickets online and took the train from Greenock to Edinburg. I was worried about getting back so we hired a private car service to get us back.

 

The whole thing worked perfectly and we had a great time. Loved the show.

 

We ran into some people from our ship who had arranged for a tour of some kind (not Princess) to bring them to the Tattoo. There were enough of them that they had one of those big buses. Despite having confirmed everything with the tour company before they arrived, the driver insisted they be back on the bus before the show ended. They were not happy.

 

Can't remember exactly why he said that but it could have been that there were so very many people in Edinburgh. There was a street festival as well as the Tattoo and it was pretty much a crowded chaotic mess. In fact, there were so many people our driver had trouble finding a place to park, so he was parked illegally. When we met up with him at the appointed spot, we all but ran back to his car. One: to avoid a ticket, and two: to get ahead of the crazy crush of people, cars and buses.

 

Anyway, it cost us just about the same as the cheaper Princess excursion and I thought it was totally worth it.

That street festival is the Fringe Festival. And it is very entertaining. We saw it twice, once on a cruise, and once previous to that on a land trip.

That street festival is the Fringe Festival. And it is very entertaining. We saw it twice, once on a cruise, and once previous to that on a land trip.

Yes, I remember now, that's what it was called. Street performers everywhere, performances at every venue, vendor booths everywhere. It was all very interesting and looked to be a lot of fun. There was a massive amount of people. I have to say though, the Edinburgh police and volunteers handled it all like a champ. Had it completely under control. But, it did make things a little difficult for anyone who had driven into the area including our driver.

Plenty of good information on this thread. When we did the Tattoo off the Ocean Princess a couple of years ago (it overnighted in Edinburgh), we took the train in and a taxi back (expensive, but worth it).

What I wanted to offer is that rather than buying our tickets on line, I called the Tattoo office from home, and the nice Scottish lady sold us two great seats that weren't even shown on their web site. I did it many months in advance, but it still could be an option for someone looking to buy tickets. The tickets were mailed to our house.

Cheers, Bruce

Plenty of good information on this thread. When we did the Tattoo off the Ocean Princess a couple of years ago (it overnighted in Edinburgh), we took the train in and a taxi back (expensive, but worth it).

 

What I wanted to offer is that rather than buying our tickets on line, I called the Tattoo office from home, and the nice Scottish lady sold us two great seats that weren't even shown on their web site. I did it many months in advance, but it still could be an option for someone looking to buy tickets. The tickets were mailed to our house.

Cheers, Bruce

They mail the tickets out now to everyone as long as you've booked far enough in advance.

That's what we're doing but in the opposite direction - car service into EDI and train to Inverkeithing then taxi to ship. With the Fringe Festival going on, it's not easy for taxis/car services to get very close to the castle but at least they have the flexibility to move around into smaller streets and go in the back way by Mound Place. The big buses park a good distance away from the castle.

I seem to remember that I bought the tickets on line and princess had a shuttle there and back

Still had to pay for bus there and back, but was much cheaper than buying the total pkg from princess

We're also on the Aug. 17 cruise. I looked into tickets for the tattoo and decided we're not going to splurge on them. One thing I wondered with this itinerary is if anyone has ever sought permission from Princess to leave the ship temporarily in Greenock (for Glasgow) and rejoining it in Edinburgh. They'd miss three nights on the ship, but that would give them a great time to see more in Edinburgh in addition to the tattoo.

Has anyone done the Military Tattoo Excursion during British Isles Cruise. Our cruise begins 8/17 in Southampton. This excursion is quite expensive so we're looking for opinions on whether it's worth it. Are there other resources to get tickets and to get us there from ship? Your advice is valued.:o

If you are there during the Tattoo it's an absolute must see!!!! I can't describe how amazing it is there at the Castle, really I one of kind experience. Book it for sure!

Has anyone done the Military Tattoo Excursion during British Isles Cruise. Our cruise begins 8/17 in Southampton. This excursion is quite expensive so we're looking for opinions on whether it's worth it. Are there other resources to get tickets and to get us there from ship? Your advice is valued.:o

We did the Military Tattoo last summer... took the ship's excursion so as not to worry about getting back too late and because we just didn't want to deal with buying our own tix, securing other transportation etc. . It was expensive and worth every penny! The seats Princess put us in were excellent; the Tattoo itself was stunning! It was definitely one of the highlights of this cruise. Highly, highly recommended.

We did the Military Tattoo last summer... took the ship's excursion so as not to worry about getting back too late and because we just didn't want to deal with buying our own tix, securing other transportation etc. . It was expensive and worth every penny! The seats Princess put us in were excellent; the Tattoo itself was stunning! It was definitely one of the highlights of this cruise. Highly, highly recommended.

We also did this last summer on Princess excursion. Ditto to everything you said. It is a once in a lifetime event not to be missed. Very impressive.

First thing to know is, I'm cheap. Pretty much never buy shore excursions from Princess, but I did last year when we did the same cruise. Comments:

A FANTASTIC excursion. Worth every penny!

The only day you can do it is in Greenock which is the call for Glasgow which is a head scratcher - why? Well because the Edinburgh stay is too short, departs before the Tattoo starts, and is a tender port anyway so taking half the ship off would be logistically prohibitive. On our sailing, Princess sent 22 buses, nearly 1,000 people.

Logistics were good, my only gripe was the comfort stop, at a small motorway rest. The restrooms were simply overwhelmed by the several hundred concurrent guests.

Our seats were amongst the cheapest, but the field is small, every seat in the house was good IMHO.

Leaving the castle was a bit of a forced march, all leave at once, through narrow streets, trying to get to the busses parked in the same area. Speaking of busses, I happened to be on the very last one. No biggie except it was a dragged to be #935 in line to pass through the security tent and get back on board took 45 minutes at midnight.

Still, a great excursion very well organized by Princess. I likely wouldn't do it a second time, but would suggest anyone do it once.

Jon

All the more reason to do the Tattoo on a smaller ship - the Pacific Princess. We docked in Rosyth and didn't have the tidal conditions to worry about that the bigger ships have to deal with there. Boarding and the security line after midnight was a breeze. I think there were maybe 6 people in line including us. Grabbing a taxi at Inverkeithing train station was a bit of a mad house and the train was packed, but it was an awesome experience to be able to drive across the new Firth of Forth Bridge going into Edinburgh and then take the train across the other Forth bridge.