July 15 Nautica - Edinburgh

[didi7]

Does anyone know why Edinburgh tours are no longer included in the cruise shore excursions? They disappeared within last 10 days.

[LHT28]

maybe the tours are sold out ?

 

Have you tried contacting Oceania to see if they are cancelled or just fully booked?

[Issyalex]

Does anyone know why Edinburgh tours are no longer included in the cruise shore excursions? They disappeared within last 10 days.

 

Edinburgh is a small town that's very easy to walk around. All the tourist sites are all near each other. There will be plenty of taxis at the port.

[Mura]

We will be leaving Nautica the day you board.

 

Will try not to destroy it too much ...

 

Mura

[bitob]

Take the hop on hop off bus. You can see it all at your own pace

[Cahpek]

Does anyone know why Edinburgh tours are no longer included in the cruise shore excursions? They disappeared within last 10 days.

 

You will find that there are other online agents offering Cruising Shore Excursions. Oceania's excursions are usually quite a lot more expensive than you would get elsewhere, and some passengers have complained on CruiseCritic about that.

 

You will find these other online agents for excursions on Google and you would probably save money by booking through them. I cannot give their website addresses to you on here because Cruise Critic frowns upon anyone giving a link web addresses to other sites, as I have to respect their requirements.

 

Our favorite online excursion agent is one Cruising Excursions, and to date, we were quite happy with their service. There are others too.

 

Of course, you can visit central Edinburgh on your own even without taking any excursions. The city is not large, but it is not tiny either (some people said Edinburgh is a small place, it is not. It has a population of 500,000, and the city spreads about 8-10 miles from east to west, 4-5 miles from north to south! )

 

However, the downtown area is reasonable small enough for you to get around, about 2 square miles(?). As the city is quite hilly and undulating, if you are not taking an excursion bus, it may be an idea to take normal city buses. I would suggest buying a DAILY BUS TICKET (£4.00). You can ask the driver and buy it on the bus. You have to have the exact money - no change is given. Also, there are two bus companies - take the LOTHIAN BUS rather than FIRST BUS, as Lothian busses serve more routes and covers more stops in Central Edinburgh.

 

You can also get a very good bus map in one of the LOTHIAN BUS TRAVEL SHOPS in downtown Edinburgh.

 

Do not miss walking the historic Royal Mile - I think it is pedestrianised - and it takes you up to the famous Edinburgh Castle. From the Castle , you can have a view of Edinburgh looking through the castle walls and between the cannons!

 

Another place to have a panoramic view of Edinburgh is if you go up Carlton Hill. This is where many professional photographers take their pictures of the city. Carlton Hill is actually very close to the city centre - you can find steps to get up there from Princess Street, the main shopping street for the city at South Queensferry.

 

I do not know how long your ship is stopping in Edinburgh. If it is stopping overnight, you might even like to take a bus to see the Forth Road Bridge and the Forth Rail Bridge, both landmarks of Edinburgh. That one, you need to take the (I think)Bus 55 (not Lothian Busses) as the bridges are actually just outside the fringe of the city.

 

One thing about Edinburgh is that it is "oozing" with character - although it is several hundred years old, it looks as if the city was built for tourism , yet it is still unspoilt.

 

Remember to always take an umbrella with you, because the Scottish weather is very unpredictable. On a sunny day, it can be lovely. But it can also turn to rain and wind very quickly! Also, sometimes, Edinburgh experience the misty "Harr", fog which comes from the North Sea. Other times, Edinburgh may have slight drizzly rain, which the locals call "DREICH"! That would just add to the character, I guess (think MacBeth!).

 

 

Hope you will have a nice time there.

Edited April 27, 2016 by Cahpek

[Cahpek]

I made a mistake to say that Princess Street is at South Queensferry. It is not. Princess Street is in downtown Edinburgh.

 

The two Forth Bridges, the Forth Road Bridge and the Forth Rail Bridge, are the ones located near South Queensferry - on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

Edited April 27, 2016 by Cahpek

[rallydave]

I made a mistake to say that Princess Street is at South Queensferry. It is not. Princess Street is in downtown Edinburgh.

 

The two Forth Bridges, the Forth Road Bridge and the Forth Rail Bridge, are the ones located near South Queensferry - on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

 

 

Cahpek, it is not a problem putting up web addresses or even e-mails for tour companies. What is banned by CC is naming Travel Agents.

[Pearl64]

You might join our roll call. Look under the roll call, Oceania, Nautica, and then the July 15 cruise. While many have private tours that are already filled, you might get some ideas of what to do. Also, the Nautica will be in Leith and not Rosyth as previously printed. Several are exploring Edinburgh on their own. The Lothian buses are a great way to get around.

 

See you in July.

 

Pearl

[Issyalex]

You will find that there are other online agents offering Cruising Shore Excursions. Oceania's excursions are usually quite a lot more expensive than you would get elsewhere, and some passengers have complained on CruiseCritic about that.

 

You will find these other online agents for excursions on Google and you would probably save money by booking through them. I cannot give their website addresses to you on here because Cruise Critic frowns upon anyone giving a link web addresses to other sites, as I have to respect their requirements.

 

Our favorite online excursion agent is one Cruising Excursions, and to date, we were quite happy with their service. There are others too.

 

Of course, you can visit central Edinburgh on your own even without taking any excursions. The city is not large, but it is not tiny either (some people said Edinburgh is a small place, it is not. It has a population of 500,000, and the city spreads about 8-10 miles from east to west, 4-5 miles from north to south! )

 

However, the downtown area is reasonable small enough for you to get around, about 2 square miles(?). As the city is quite hilly and undulating, if you are not taking an excursion bus, it may be an idea to take normal city buses. I would suggest buying a DAILY BUS TICKET (£4.00). You can ask the driver and buy it on the bus. You have to have the exact money - no change is given. Also, there are two bus companies - take the LOTHIAN BUS rather than FIRST BUS, as Lothian busses serve more routes and covers more stops in Central Edinburgh.

 

You can also get a very good bus map in one of the LOTHIAN BUS TRAVEL SHOPS in downtown Edinburgh.

 

Do not miss walking the historic Royal Mile - I think it is pedestrianised - and it takes you up to the famous Edinburgh castle.

 

Remember to always take an umbrella with you, because the Scottish weather is very unpredictable. On a sunny day, it can be lovely. But it can also turn to rain and wind very quickly! Also, sometimes, Edinburgh experience the misty "Harr", fog which comes from the North Sea. Other times, Edinburgh may have slight drizzly rain, which the locals call "DREICH"! That would just add to the character, I guess (think MacBeth!).

 

 

Hope you will have a nice time there.

 

Yes make sure you have an umbrella or raincoat because In Glasgow (west coast) and I think most if Scotland, we had sleet, snow, rain, sun and bitter cold winds today!! :eek: it's not unusual for us to have four seasons in one hour never mind a day! Lol sadly we have lots of dreich days but our history, scenery and people make up for it.

 

Edinburgh doesn't have the best shopping. They have Harvey Nicks and, Jenners which are great but the rest is mainly Scottish tourist type shops.

 

If you've time for a wee drink then visit Rose Street. it's one street back from Princess Street and it has many quaint and not so quaint pubs, great for a pub crawl! Lol :cool: ;)