British Isles Cruise Photo Heavy Review

Will be looking to future reviews from you! So enjoyed this one. The pics were completely amazing. Have a fabulous cruise to Alaska!

Will be looking to future reviews from you! So enjoyed this one. The pics were completely amazing. Have a fabulous cruise to Alaska!

Thank you again for following along as you have. It really makes the effort worth it. I do plan to write again after Alaska. I'm currently trying to learn to use a new camera so hopefully the pics will be good. Planning a cruise is almost as much fun as actually going. Happy planning, and don't forget to come back and tell us all about yours :)

I followed your trip report day by day and we are seriously considering a British Isles cruise-yes we live in UK but to drive/fly to some of those ports takes so long there are places we haven't visited!

 

unfortunately with our dreadful broadband[we love out in the sticks] it is taking so long to download photos from all 14 pages as I try to re read the whole thing for private tour info

 

so can you do me a massive favour and list the tour companies you used and what score out of 10 you would give them

 

I research on trip advisor and on here but a recommendation from someone such as yourself is invaluable

 

I should mention my husband has walking difficulties so levels of activity would be useful

 

looking forward to your next trip report

I can see where doing a British Isles cruise would be a far more relaxing and even cheaper way to see these cities. Driving and flying or even overnight trains is a lot of work. Packing up to board a ship in a port you don’t need to fly to is fantastic, and then unpack once and wake up in the places you have wanted to visit is the best. All you can want to eat included, and drink packages to suite all tastes. How could you beat it?

We did a combination of ship tour and private tours. Many of our ship tours were “On Your Own” which allowed us guaranteed transport back to the ship (we are not big risk takers) but nobody telling us where we could go or how long we stayed in a place. We didn’t mind needing to be a the bus at a certain time.

I did pre buy tickets for the castle enrties and HOHO buses. I also made a list of must see and do’s in the cities we were on our own so I wouldn’t forget things that were important to us.

Cities we booked “On Your Own” tours:

Dublin - following the morning at Powerscourt Estate

Glasgow - On our own in Sterling I bought the tickets for the castle here:

https://www.stirlingcastle.scot/

Invergordon - Booked the HOHO bus from:

http://www.citysightseeinginverness.com/

Edinburgh - On Your Own in Edinburgh, I chose this tour because I learned from CC that ship’s tours get off the ship first. Our roll call group that book a private tour didn’t arrive at the castle until we were finished there and on our way out the gate. I bought the castle tickets here:

https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/

When I received our etickets in my email, there were also downloadable/printable maps so that we could better plan our trip before arriving at the castle.

Private tours were booked with members from our CC Roll Call. The info for those tours are as follows:

Belfast - Alister ofcityandcausewaytours@gmail.com

The VERY BEST TOUR EVER. Seriously, they were wonderful. There was a gentleman on the this tour with us with mobility issues and he did very well during this tour.

Normandy - https://www.overlordtour.com/product/tours-from-cruise-ports-9/

This tour was very overwhelming (emotionally), and our brief time in Honfleur at the end was fantastic. If you would be offered this addition don’t pass it up. The town is just beautiful. Walking the beaches here may be difficult depending on your husband’s condition, but the sand was tightly packed and walkways available during much of the tour. Honfluer has cobbled streets but sidewalks are available.

Given that you are from the UK you may or may not be interested in staying in “a proper castle”, but if so, Thornbury Castle is perfect. I have booked there twice and we love it’s peace and beauty. The history is good too.

I hope this helps. If there is anything else I can help with, please ask.

Hi Terri.

Thank you very much for your review. I love your photos and your writing style, easy to read and very helpful. I just finished fine tuning our plans with your review. We leave Thursday to follow the same itinerary on the Royal.

Thank you very much for your effort. It has been incredibly helpful.

Cathy

Loved and appreciated your wonderfully detailed review with so many excellent photos, etc. I was watching the Royal Wedding this am and then seeing your pictures from London added to the excellent experience. YES, the Brits are great at having such interesting and entertaining traditions.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 201,818 views for this posting.

Hi Terri.

Thank you very much for your review. I love your photos and your writing style, easy to read and very helpful. I just finished fine tuning our plans with your review. We leave Thursday to follow the same itinerary on the Royal.

Thank you very much for your effort. It has been incredibly helpful.

Cathy

Cathy, I'm so glad you found my review helpful. Have a great cruise.

Loved and appreciated your wonderfully detailed review with so many excellent photos, etc. I was watching the Royal Wedding this am and then seeing your pictures from London added to the excellent experience. YES, the Brits are great at having such interesting and entertaining traditions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 201,818 views for this posting.

Terry, I have read and enjoyed so many of your reviews over the years. I'm glad mine was able to add your Royal experience today. It was a beautiful wedding.

I can see where doing a British Isles cruise would be a far more relaxing and even cheaper way to see these cities. Driving and flying or even overnight trains is a lot of work. Packing up to board a ship in a port you don’t need to fly to is fantastic' date=' and then unpack once and wake up in the places you have wanted to visit is the best. All you can want to eat included, and drink packages to suite all tastes. How could you beat it?[/font']

 

We did a combination of ship tour and private tours. Many of our ship tours were “On Your Own” which allowed us guaranteed transport back to the ship (we are not big risk takers) but nobody telling us where we could go or how long we stayed in a place. We didn’t mind needing to be a the bus at a certain time.

 

I did pre buy tickets for the castle enrties and HOHO buses. I also made a list of must see and do’s in the cities we were on our own so I wouldn’t forget things that were important to us.

 

Cities we booked “On Your Own” tours:

Dublin - following the morning at Powerscourt Estate

Glasgow - On our own in Sterling I bought the tickets for the castle here:

https://www.stirlingcastle.scot/

Invergordon - Booked the HOHO bus from:

http://www.citysightseeinginverness.com/

Edinburgh - On Your Own in Edinburgh, I chose this tour because I learned from CC that ship’s tours get off the ship first. Our roll call group that book a private tour didn’t arrive at the castle until we were finished there and on our way out the gate. I bought the castle tickets here:

https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/

When I received our etickets in my email, there were also downloadable/printable maps so that we could better plan our trip before arriving at the castle.

 

Private tours were booked with members from our CC Roll Call. The info for those tours are as follows:

Belfast - Alister ofcityandcausewaytours@gmail.com

The VERY BEST TOUR EVER. Seriously, they were wonderful. There was a gentleman on the this tour with us with mobility issues and he did very well during this tour.

Normandy - https://www.overlordtour.com/product/tours-from-cruise-ports-9/

This tour was very overwhelming (emotionally), and our brief time in Honfleur at the end was fantastic. If you would be offered this addition don’t pass it up. The town is just beautiful. Walking the beaches here may be difficult depending on your husband’s condition, but the sand was tightly packed and walkways available during much of the tour. Honfluer has cobbled streets but sidewalks are available.

 

Given that you are from the UK you may or may not be interested in staying in “a proper castle”, but if so, Thornbury Castle is perfect. I have booked there twice and we love it’s peace and beauty. The history is good too.

 

I hope this helps. If there is anything else I can help with, please ask.

Great info! Planning our May 2019 cruise now. Loved your review, it has helped tremendously.

Great info! Planning our May 2019 cruise now. Loved your review, it has helped tremendously.

I'm so glad it helped. Have a great cruise!

Hi Terri -

Excellent review. Loved the pictures. We visited Cork/Kinsale and Belfast on our first Transatlantic back in 2004 on Celebrity Constellation. A super trip and your pictures brought back great memories.

We did one cruise on Princess (Buenos Aires to Santiago-great itinerary) and experienced many similar warts...after several trips on Celebrity and Oceania we knew not to return. We did, though, have your same mini suite! Only we were on Star Princess. 😊

Tip for London next time if you haven’t been, visit Hampton Court Palace...

Cheers

Joe

Hi Terri -

 

Excellent review. Loved the pictures. We visited Cork/Kinsale and Belfast on our first Transatlantic back in 2004 on Celebrity Constellation. A super trip and your pictures brought back great memories.

 

We did one cruise on Princess (Buenos Aires to Santiago-great itinerary) and experienced many similar warts...after several trips on Celebrity and Oceania we knew not to return. We did, though, have your same mini suite! Only we were on Star Princess. 😊

 

Tip for London next time if you haven’t been, visit Hampton Court Palace...

 

Cheers

Joe

Thanks Joe, glad to have brought back happy memories and sorry you had to experience the warts. We are doing our Alaskan cruise on Celebrity and will be very happy to be back with them.

We did get to visit Hampton Court in 2015 pre cruise to Norway. What a great visit that was. I loved the gardens and the Chapel Royal was absolutely beautiful. There was even a choir singing when I entered.

K

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Thank you for your interesting review! It got me even more excited for our upcoming British Isles cruise!

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Thank you for your interesting review! It got me even more excited for our upcoming British Isles cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You're welcome. Have a great cruise :)

OK' date=' now that that is out of the way, on to Guernsey. I was very excited about this port. I had read the book[/font'] The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows and I couldn’t wait to get to Juliet’s wonderful island. My imagination had run wild while reading and I needed to experience it for myself.

 

Here is a tip for those not booking an excursion.

Those people on a ship excursion get the first tenders off the ship. Don’t wait to go to the Island Dining room and get a tender ticket. Go early. We waited until about 10:00. We waited well an hour and a half for our ticket to be called.

 

The weather had turned chilly and rainy so there was talk of stopping the tenders all together. Kevin kept asking me if I really wanted to go since the weather was bad and it was such a short port stop. I was like well duhhh, If Juliet had not gone she would never had met the love of her life. Yes I wanted to go. Okay, so I didn’t really say that out loud, but the thought was there.

 

What a wonderful little town is St Peter’s Port. I loved wandering the streets and going into the church - so pretty. Note to all readers, I have a thing for churches, cathedrals and such. That will likely become very obvious in the days to come.

I feel the same way about the possibility of seeing Guernsey after reading that book! I am really enjoying reading your review. Thanks for sharing!

I feel the same way about the possibility of seeing Guernsey after reading that book! I am really enjoying reading your review. Thanks for sharing!

I'm so glad you are enjoying the review. Guernsey did not disappoint, even in the rain. Being there just made the book feel even more real.

Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your beautiful pictures. As a lover of all the British Isles has to offer it was a real treat to see where you went. I am elderly and unable to travel around like I did in my youth so your pictures brought back so many lovely memories for me. I lived in England for a while and traveled extensively then - the best time of my life. Thanks for bringing back the memories for me. I really enjoyed your writing.:)

Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your beautiful pictures. As a lover of all the British Isles has to offer it was a real treat to see where you went. I am elderly and unable to travel around like I did in my youth so your pictures brought back so many lovely memories for me. I lived in England for a while and traveled extensively then - the best time of my life. Thanks for bringing back the memories for me. I really enjoyed your writing.:)

Thank you. The British Isles are truly beautiful and filled with such history. We really enjoyed our trip there and hope to return some day. I'm so glad that you enjoyed the review and that it brought back good memories.

Do you remember where the Princess bus drops you off in Edinburgh?

THANKS!

On 12/3/2017 at 9:17 PM, Kevin's girl said:

Edinburgh was our next port of call. I knew we wanted to see the castle and walk the Royal Mile. I wanted to see Holyrood Palace but Kevin didn’t. Hmm, how could we make a compromise? I booked our tickets online well in advance and chose the entry time slot 9:00 - 11:00. I received a email later on that apologized for any inconvenience but the castle opening time was actually 9:30 and we would need to make adjustments. No big deal for us. I also booked an excursion through the cruise line - Edinburgh On Your Own. Remember this is a tender port. Cruise excursions get off first followed by all others on private tours. I know this was expensive, but for us worth every penny. Our excursion left the ship at 8:30 in the morning and we had time for breakfast in town before arriving at the castle just after 9:30 and before the maddening crowds.

It was a chilly, misty, rainy morning as we came into port. The weather traded between better and worse all day.

We boarded our tender and were greeted by the gentleman that had been our captain on the Falkirk Wheel. He had told us that he would be on board the Maid of the Mist tender when we were due in at Edinburgh. We said hello and it was nice to see him again. He was tickled that we remembered. This is him to the left as we took the tender ride over. The ride itself was not bad despite the pouring rain and great wind that spurred us along.

 

 

 

 

Once ashore, we found our bus to the city and were off. Our guide was a very nice gentleman who let us know about the best ways to get into the sites from our drop off/pick up spot and about a park way up the hill just to the side of our meeting point. Just enough info to be helpful and the rest on our own. I had bought a nice city map to help with the small streets, it stayed in my back pack the whole time. It’s very easy to get around. As I mentioned above we were early enough to grab a bite before heading up to the castle. It was also a chance to wait out the current monsoon.

Can you advise how much actual time you had in Edinburgh if the on your own excursion  starts at 8:30 am. What time did you actually tender since Princess excursions have priority.    We also want to maximize our time in Edinburgh.   THANKS. Love your review.

2 hours ago, Southern Cruise said:

Can you advise how much actual time you had in Edinburgh if the on your own excursion  starts at 8:30 am. What time did you actually tender since Princess excursions have priority.    We also want to maximize our time in Edinburgh.   THANKS. Love your review.

We were in off the tender and in Edinburgh by 9:00. Our original Castle tickets were for 9:00 am but changed to 9:30 due to a change in opening time. This was nice as I left us with time to grab a quick bite to eat. Our pick up time I believe was 3:00 pm although Kevin thinks 3:15 pm. Either way we had 6 hours to spend however we wanted. If you plan to see the castle don't forget to buy your tickets ahead of time. It will save you all kinds of time.

On 12/30/2018 at 12:28 PM, Southern Cruise said:

Do you remember where the Princess bus drops you off in Edinburgh?

 

THANKS!

Drop off and pick up was just outside of the Old Colton Cemetery. Kind of a neat stop in itself. Not a place you would expect to find Abraham Lincoln. There is a set of stairs just down and across from the cemetery that goes up Colton Hill where you can get a great look at the city and Holyrood Palace.

The street where the shuttle bus drops you off is Waterloo Place and it is a short walk to the Royal Mile - less that 10 minutes. It is right at the end of Princes Street as well for the shoppers amongst you.  As well as Abraham Lincoln, there are various other monuments on Calton Hill - https://ewh.org.uk/world-heritage-sites/calton-hill/

and nearby is the statue to our very own Rabbie Burns! 

On ‎10‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 3:41 PM, Kevin's girl said:

After spending our morning at Powerscourt, we were off to wander Dublin on our own. Neither of us are the guided tour sort of people, so being dropped off in the city and free to do our own thing suited us just fine. We were given a map of the city and told what time to be back at the meeting point. There was also an option of coming back to the ship via public transportation if you wanted and all were shown the bus stop. All you needed to do was let the guide know so you were not waited on later.

 

Fishmonger Molly Malone on Suffolk Street in front of the Tourist Information Office

 

On to the Temple Bar neighborhood on the south bank of the River Liffey. I just love the cobbled streets here.

 

 

 

Do you remember where you were dropped off in Dublin after Powerscourt?

3 hours ago, Southern Cruise said:

Do you remember where you were dropped off in Dublin after Powerscourt?

We were dropped off on Nassau St, just across the street from Trinity College back gate entrance. We had also been told that if we did not want to return to the ship with our excursion group there was a public bus stop at St Stephen's Green. We returned with our group.

Here is a map with the spot marked with an X: