Royal Princess Dublin overnite reviews

Anxious to hear about the cruise that just finished this morning. Going on the June 30 sailing. Any tips or suggestions? Someone please let us know. This is our second attempt at this trip. Last September we made it to Dublin but had to return home due to a family emergency. Now we are trying again. Have been on Royal princess before in the Carib. so I am familiar with ship. Thanks for any help

The overnight was perfect for us.We overnighted at our daughters house in kilcoole,which is 20 miles from the port.

long cruiser

We recently did an overnight in Dublin while cruising on the Royal. The 5 of us caught the shuttle from the port to Merrion Square, and walked to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. Although we didn't have reserved tickets, the line to enter moved quickly and we had ample time to see the exhibit and long room, plus a few minutes in the gift shop before the site After that, we walked around Dublin, and had dinner at an area pub. DH wanted to dine at one of the oldest pubs, but it was packed, very noisy, so we went across the street to another recommended pub. One look at the menu and we decided to look elsewhere. Eventually, we dined at the Oak, nice pub/restaurant, window view seating was a plus to catch the hen parties going by.

The following day, we caught the shuttle back into Dublin and took the red HoHo bus for a city overview. The audio was terrible, and many passengers were chatting so loudly, it was impossible to hear anything. We got off at the Guiness Factory for the obligatory tour; in spite of a long line, it moved quickly. Great city views at the top level where you can turn in your coupon for a beer, but again, very crowded. We gave up waiting for the HoHo bus - and recalled that whenever it stopped to pick up passengers, it sat for well over 10 minutes. We spotted a taxi and asked to be taken near Temple Bar area, a great decision. After wandering through tourist shops, checking out various pubs, we headed back toward Merrion Square, via more department store and upscale shops. Back on the ship for dinner.

Our original booking on the Royal had us arriving a bit earlier on the first day and with a 10:PM departure on the second day. Sadly, the abbreviated second day gave us far less time in the city.

Darcy

Thx Darcy for some good input. We keep reading recommendations for the Hoho bus, but our experiences with hoho buses has not been great. Both in Barcelona and in London it seemed like the bus sat in traffic quite a bit, at times moving at a snails pace. We are good walkers, is the Guinness factory tour within a walk?

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is the guinness 'factory tour' really a tour or the actual brewing facility?

or this

https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en

Thx Darcy for some good input. We keep reading recommendations for the Hoho bus, but our experiences with hoho buses has not been great. Both in Barcelona and in London it seemed like the bus sat in traffic quite a bit, at times moving at a snails pace. We are good walkers, is the Guinness factory tour within a walk?

 

 

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https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Trinity-College-Ireland/8-St-James-Ave-Ushers-Dublin-8-D08-W8Y1-Ireland

Hope this helps in your decision to either walk or taxi.

On a prior trip to Dublin, we did take a HoHo bus that had a human narrating but again, traffic moved slower than we could walk. On our trip this past month, one member of our party was having mobility issues, so we went for the cab - the driver seems to know how to avoid congested areas and we weren't too particular about where he could drop us off - thus the general "near Temple Bar" worked out well.

Oh, it's NOT a real factory - more history of the brewing industry in Dublin, how their beer is made and what makes it unique, 7 floors of exhibits with food courts, big gift shop and places to pick up your brew. I'm not a beer drinker, but went along with the group decision "if in Dublin, you must see."

Darcy

I see the Royal did not make Guernsey stop this May 25 cruise. I was so looking forward to this after reading the Potato Peel Pie and Literary Society book. Missed it last September too. What are our chances?

I see the Royal did not make Guernsey stop this May 25 cruise. I was so looking forward to this after reading the Potato Peel Pie and Literary Society book. Missed it last September too. What are our chances?

Oh no! I also read and loved the book and am trying not to get too excited about Guernsey as reality says they miss it regularly. It sounds charming. We picked a Liverpool sailing over the sailings with Kirkwall as I read that this is a tender port that they miss about half the time.

We are on the June 6 sailing.

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Oh no! I also read and loved the book and am trying not to get too excited about Guernsey as reality says they miss it regularly. It sounds charming. We picked a Liverpool sailing over the sailings with Kirkwall as I read that this is a tender port that they miss about half the time.

 

We are on the June 6 sailing.

 

 

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We met on the first day in theTemple Bar area, walked over to the Hapenny Inn where the musicians accompanying us played for an hour in a private room for the tour only. There were about 30 of us. After that we walked over to O'Connell St. to Flanagans. There, the musicians played for another hour or so accompanied by a wonderful step dancer. We had a great meal at Flanagans as well! Drinks are on your own, so it's not a drunk fest. We caught the last shuttle back to the ship, a short walk from Flanagans. The musicians were top flight and the music was not the Tin Pan Irish you might expect, but real traditonal story tunes. Highly recommend!

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We missed Guernsey too in 2012. After reading the book, I was anxious to do a private tour there with other CCers and couldn't.

The Guinness Factory Tour is not a tour of the actual brewing grounds. It's a tour of their visitor center and is comprised of many levels. You walk around and learn about the process, culminating in a free glass at the top which tends to get packed. It was memorable and I'm glad we did it because I missed it the first time to Dublin. DH will never forget it. It really pays to book your tickets in advance!

IMO, you cannot walk easily from Merrion Square to the Guinness Factory. You should take a taxi. They're cheap and easy to get. There's a lot more worth seeing in Dublin like St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Viking museum Dublinia, Kilmainham Gaol (fantastic) and the Royal Hospital.

I see the Royal did not make Guernsey stop this May 25 cruise. I was so looking forward to this after reading the Potato Peel Pie and Literary Society book. Missed it last September too. What are our chances?

We missed this port on the May 1st sailing, too, and were very disappointed. We planned to take in Cornet Castle and then wander through the waterfront shops and stop by a sweet/candy shop I had read about. Next trip to England, we take the ferry for a day trip, maybe overnight.

Two years ago we took the BI cruise on the Royal, and made the port, a bit rough heading in, but enjoyed a walking tour with Annette. We left in the early afternoon, and the tender lines were crazy, slow and so many passengers were trying to sneak ahead of everyone else.

This is one port that would benefit from construction of a type of jetty or breakwater to minimize the strong current and adverse winds or build a pier.

Darcy

"We picked a Liverpool sailing over the sailings with Kirkwall as I read that this is a tender port that they miss about half the time"

That's odd - we're on the June 18th on Royal, and Kirkwall is NOT listed as a tender port. It docks at Haston Pier.

Only St Peter Port and S. Queensferry are listed as "Anchorage Ports" on our Princess booking and arrangements site.

Sadly, we're also tracking the previous cruises for St Peter Port, as we're quite excited to drive around the island. Looks like the Royal is 1-for-3 so far this season :-(

I’ll be sure to report back on June 7, hopefully saying that we made it to Guernsey and it was delightful!

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We're all rooting for you. Well, really for the Maritime Forecast, but you get the picture. Actually, my wife might be in favor of missing the port. Not because she isn't interested, but because she's nervous about me driving a 6-passenger vehicle on the left side of the narrow roads in Guernsey. But we're likely to stay on the major roads (we've been watching dashcam videos and reviewing Google Maps a lot)

I’ll be sure to report back on June 7, hopefully saying that we made it to Guernsey and it was delightful!

 

 

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MrsEmmaPeel: I looked up Kirkwall port and it seems that cruise ships either tender or dock. If you tender you are dropped off in city center, if you dock it is a commercial shipping area further from town ( hopefully a shuttle is provided).

I’m not sure if Princess always docked. We have friends who did this cruise last year and they missed Kirkwall as it wasn’t safe to tender. So this is good news to be docking!

I’m sure you will have fun driving on Guernsey!!

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I can TOTALLY believe it depends on the cruise, and what else might be in port. Also, I get the feeling like Hatston may not have always been cruise ship-ready. Indeed, Hatston is outside of the town center. SUPPOSEDLY, there's a free shuttle to the tourist bureau from there. But of course, this is the Royal, so that shuttle will need to handle my group _and_ several thousand of our newest friends. We'll see how it goes. We're doing Kirkwall on our own. We have mid-day tickets for the Bishop and Earl's Palace, will likely visit the cathedral, and really hope to visit the little wireless museum. We'll see. I would actually have preferred Liverpool in our itinerary, but it was 1w too early in the year for us.

MrsEmmaPeel: I looked up Kirkwall port and it seems that cruise ships either tender or dock. If you tender you are dropped off in city center, if you dock it is a commercial shipping area further from town ( hopefully a shuttle is provided).

 

I’m not sure if Princess always docked. We have friends who did this cruise last year and they missed Kirkwall as it wasn’t safe to tender. So this is good news to be docking!

 

I’m sure you will have fun driving on Guernsey!!

 

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still no reviews.. Its a shame . There used to be several the day after the cruise finished. Now it seems its not done as much. I am so hungry for information but guess Ill just have to wait and see. 34 days all will be revealed!