British Isles cruise question

[pier]

We're taking an August British Isles cruise and are wondering about getting to Le Harve, Dublin, and Glasgow from the dock. Is there transportation available other than taking the ship excursions to get back and forth? We don't want to be locked into their times. We're planning on taking the HOHO bus in Belfast and Dublin. We're not sure what we're doing in Liverpool.

[welshfamily]

This post is bound to be moved to the port board but I would not look normally at the British Isles posts.

Liverpool

We live about 90 minutes away and are often there.

There is a lovely dock with free museums ...it was the American civil war and a customs interactive display last week. There is a slave exhibition and of course the Beatles story all within walking distance of the ship. The docks are called the Albert Docks try google.

Liverpool city centre and the shops are no more than a 5 minute walk.

There are tours on a Hoho .... I would be interesting to know what they show you. It's an easy port to 'do it yourself'.

There are private tour companies which know more about the Beatles than Paul Macartney ( according to the Liverpool Echo) we treated some friends and they had a blast.

You are about 90 minutes from the Lake District, very beautiful and two hours from the castles in North Wales ( god's own country ...spectacular ) Conwy castle is the best of these and is usually added to Betsw y coed.....quaint village with waterfalls and the Snowdonia National Park.

 

If you need any help deciding post and I will do my best.

I am sure others here can tell you about Dublin and Glasgow.

Hope you have a lovely cruise.

[maggie.1008]

In Dublin and Belfast we did the HOHO bus. Glasgow take a cab to the train station. Very easy. We went to the Central station.

[4774Papa]

We did the British Isles cruise May 2013.

Dublin, there is a shuttle service that takes you close to where you can pickup the HoHo bus. There is a small fee for the shuttle. We enjoyed the HoHo, it is a great way to see Dublin.

 

Glasgow, we took an X tour to Edinburgh. If you haven't been to Edinburgh, you will be missing a must see.

 

As for Le Harve, I can't say the geography of where the port is located, but I can say that the local traffic was terrible. We took an X tour to Normandy, which was super and were almost late getting back to the ship on time due to the local traffic.

I don't know what you have planned for Le Harve, but I would suggest that you don't want to just do Le Harve.

 

As for Liverpool, we did a great private bus tour of N. Wales. It was excellent. Company is busybus.

 

info@busybus.co.uk

 

Here is my review of our cruise.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=221137

[HelenREMfan]

When we did a wine cruise with Celebrity there was a shuttle bus to the centre of le Havre. We spent an afternoon looking around and having coffee quite successfully. It is possible to catch a bus to the very pretty town of Honfleur if you wish to travel about independently. We also did the ship's tour to the Normandy beaches for my US OH. I have previously driven all around that area but then driving in France is fine for me and I speak French so it depends on your confidence. TBH right from the start in France I never found driving over there any problem.... just take extra care at roundabouts.

Rouen - a train ride from Le Havre is a great place to visit - packed full of medieval history and of course the site of Jeanne d'Arc's death.

For me.... it is a long train ride to Paris but other people do it. It you wanted to do that then I would strongly recommend that you do very thorough research so that you get a reasonable amount of sightseeing done in the time available.

If you need any suggestions just shout.

[Jo and Rob]

Le Havre is in walking distance of the ship (15 minutes which is mostly walking round and out of the port) so no need to pay for a shuttle unless you don't want to walk. Le Havre has an art gallery called Musée Malraux which has paintings by impressionists including Monet, Manet, Degas and Pissaro. Taxis are available near the port.

 

The second time we went to Le Havre we went to the bus station and catch a local bus to Honfleur which is a really pretty little French town. I would recommend taking a trip to Honfleur (I'm sure Celebrity also do trips there). Here is a video link to our trip to Honfleur

 

Le Havre is also the port for Paris but it is miles away so depending on whether you have been to Paris before or whether you have an opportunity for a dedicated trip I would not recommend taking an excursion to Paris as you will spend most of the day sat on a coach!

 

This video includes Le Havre http://www.robhowarthphotography.com/Video/Independence-of-the-Seas-2010/

 

 

Edited July 10, 2014 by Jo and Rob

[pier]

Thank you all for your replies! They are most helpful.

 

Since it's so easy, we'll definitely take the bus to Honfluer. We've already been to Paris, Rouen, Giverney, etc., so it's a good choice. I wasn't sure there was that much to do in Le Havre.

 

In Dublin and Belfast we'll do the HOHO bus.

 

welshfamily: your post made me want to see Wales more than Liverpool. (I read "How Green Was My Valley" years ago and loved it)

 

4774Papa: Your review of your cruise was very informative. I tried to book the tour to Wales that you went on, but it's filled. I emailed them hoping they can make room somehow. We're taking the Cork tour that you went on, but it's now almost doubled in price!

[smtcan]

Thank you all for your replies! They are most helpful.

 

welshfamily: your post made me want to see Wales more than Liverpool. (I read "How Green Was My Valley" years ago and loved it)

 

 

I would recommend Conwy Castle - it's about ten minutes from my home town. It is completely the other end of the country from 'How Green was my Valley' however. North Wales is more beautiful than the south, in my somewhat prejudiced opinion! Liverpool, Chester and North Wales are all well worth visiting.

 

Sheila

[rebeccalouiseagain]

We're taking an August British Isles cruise and are wondering about getting to Le Harve, Dublin, and Glasgow from the dock. Is there transportation available other than taking the ship excursions to get back and forth? We don't want to be locked into their times. We're planning on taking the HOHO bus in Belfast and Dublin. We're not sure what we're doing in Liverpool.

 

I've done this itinerary and wouldn't even consider doing Paris on your own. I'd do the ship tour. It's too far from Le Havre to DIY and not be sweating bullets that you'll get back on time. I would recommend doing Normandy instead though. It's much closer and you really can't appreciate Paris in a few scant hours.

 

In Belfast we did the Giant's Causeway excursion and it was fantastic. We made a bee line for the Causeway Hotel on the way back from the Causeway and had a fantastic pub lunch. It was a great excursion that took us through farmland and ocean vistas. Loved it. Great value.

 

I didn't do anything in Glasgow so can't comment.

 

In Dublin the HOHO bus is great and the Guinness Factory is the highlight of everyone's trip- even if you aren't a stout drinker.

Edited July 11, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[pier]

I would recommend Conwy Castle - it's about ten minutes from my home town. It is completely the other end of the country from 'How Green was my Valley' however. North Wales is more beautiful than the south, in my somewhat prejudiced opinion! Liverpool, Chester and North Wales are all well worth visiting.

 

Sheila

 

Now I really, really want to go to Wales! I hope we can get a tour.

[pier]

 

In Belfast we did the Giant's Causeway excursion and it was fantastic. We made a bee line for the Causeway Hotel on the way back from the Causeway and had a fantastic pub lunch. It was a great excursion that took us through farmland and ocean vistas. Loved it. Great value.

 

In Dublin the HOHO bus is great and the Guinness Factory is the highlight of everyone's trip- even if you aren't a stout drinker.

 

We'll be sure not to miss it. Again, thank you all!

[alcpa1]

Do pay the surcharge to enter Conwy Castle. The views are spectacular. There are ramparts that you do not have to pay to access but it's not nearly as good. The town is charming and there are plenty of places to get a cold drink or scones of every flavor.

We were also on a Busy Bus tour in May.

While it is very late to seek a private tour for an August itinerary do look at Tours By Locals to see if any have availability. We thoroughly enjoyed Geoffrey Y in Dublin. We booked with Craig of mini_tours.com for Glasgow (actually a tour with focus on Inveraray and the Lochs) and he was one of the most delightful guides ever.

I hope that those who are seeking information about the British Isles cruises will also look here after they go to the Destinations boards.

[happygran]

Conwy Castle

 

http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/conwycastle/?lang=en