Orkney Islands

[Triptkr]

Hello!  At the beginning of July 2019 we will be on a British Isles cruise--getting excited!  For those of you that have wisdom in that area of the world, I need your help.  What is your recommendation(s) in relation to excursions, tours, etc for the Orkney Islands?  We will be docking in Kirkwall.  Thanks so much!

[tjwa]

I hope you can dock in Kirkwall and the ship has both engines in working order and doesn't have a 'magic pipe'.

Edited March 12, 2019 by tjwa

[Triptkr]

1 minute ago, tjwa said:

I hope you can dock in Kirkwall and the ship has both engines in working order.

 

I'm guessing you have a story behind this...?

[Spideysmum]

We had booked a tour of Skara Brae and Scapa Flow. Sigh...one of main reasons we booked the British Isle Cruise knowing we’d never get to that part of the world by ourselves.  Ship (Caribbean Princess) couldn’t dock that day because there were no available tugs. Very disappointing. Hope you make it. 

[Triptkr]

8 minutes ago, Spideysmum said:

We had booked a tour of Skara Brae and Scapa Flow. Sigh...one of main reasons we booked the British Isle Cruise knowing we’d never get to that part of the world by ourselves.  Ship (Caribbean Princess) couldn’t dock that day because there were no available tugs. Very disappointing. Hope you make it. 

Wow! That would be very disappointing!  

[Alaskanb]

We visited in 2017 and had an amazing day tour on Orkney. The company we used no longer exists but others do. 

[wheezedr]

This can be a tough port. We were on the very first cruise where the Caribbean Princess docked here.  No problem getting in.  Had a tour of Skara Brae and then spent some enjoyable time in Kirkwall before the fun began.  A big windstorm blew in abeam of the ship.  Captain made multiple unsuccessful attempts to depart on his own but kept being pushed back to the dock.  Finally the tug, note singular, was called and by angling the bow away from the dock we were able to depart. All in all quite a production and took close to an extra hour.  Neither the ship nor the passengers were at any risk, just seemed like we might never leave.

 

I suspect that they might be reluctant to dock if they knew the tug was unavailable.

[Triptkr]

Very interesting!  Hope all goes smooth as the Orkney Islands are one of the main reasons we booked this cruise.  Would be just our luck to have that day canceled.  Will have to look more in to Skara Brae.   

Thanks for the feedback!

[Spideysmum]

While others on our cruise shared our disappointment, I recall one woman in the elevator exclaiming with great joy how wonderful it was to get another sea day. My husband made me get off at the next floor in case I’d react badly. Lol. 

[LondonTowner]

We did a private tour with WildaboutOrkney. I had contacted the tourist office and they gave me a list of local operators. Excellent tour, especially as OH interested in WWII history.

[Triptkr]

7 minutes ago, LondonTowner said:

We did a private tour with WildaboutOrkney. I had contacted the tourist office and they gave me a list of local operators. Excellent tour, especially as OH interested in WWII history.

Nice!  Thanks for the info!   I am definitely open to booking tours privately vs thru Princess.  We've done 11 cruises over the world and this one has the most expensive excursions it seems!

[LondonTowner]

2 minutes ago, Triptkr said:

Nice!  Thanks for the info!   I am definitely open to booking tours privately vs thru Princess.  We've done 11 cruises over the world and this one has the most expensive excursions it seems!

 

[wheezedr]

9 hours ago, Triptkr said:

Nice!  Thanks for the info!   I am definitely open to booking tours privately vs thru Princess.  We've done 11 cruises over the world and this one has the most expensive excursions it seems!

You should be looking already for private tours.  While it has many interesting sites to visit, there is not a vast tourist infrastructure.  We were late to the game when we booked this cruise and ended up on a Princess Cruise tour as pretty much everything else, including rental cars, were booked solid.

[Capt_BJ]

there was a free shuttle from the pier to town and then a decent amount to see by foot ..... altho the 'rocks' did require a tour of some sort

 

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by Capt_BJ

[Triptkr]

Capt_BJ -- thanks for posting the pictures!   Good info to have about the shuttle.   

 

p.s.  I wanna be like you when I grow up..."50+ cruises"...that's awesome!!!   :)

[Capt_BJ]

I recommend finding the dive shop ... it is a bit past where most folks stop walking on the main road in town. Not but a block or two but clearly few walked this far . . .

 

We were greeted by a big friendly dog and when we entered, the person there was surprised to hear we were off a cruise ship!!!!! No idea one was in that day . . . 

 

If nothing else, the t-shirt is unique!! And they make custom dive hoods!!!!! Very unique

 

 

[matamanoa]

We took a private tour with See Orkney Tours.  Contact Lorna Brown at seeorkneyweb@gmail.com.  As Kirkwall is  very small, there aren't many private tour operators and those that are get booked up very quickly.  I hope you get to see Kirkwall and surrounding area as it is quite beautiful, with an unusual landscape and we thoroughly enjoyed our day out with Lorna.

[lamchops]

We took the local bus to Highland Park distillery and had a tour and tasting before exploring the area around town. I suggest prebooking the tour online as many were turned away. 

There’s plenty of stuff to see in town as well.

[just_dont]

8 hours ago, lamchops said:

We took the local bus to Highland Park distillery and had a tour and tasting before exploring the area around town. I suggest prebooking the tour online as many were turned away. 

There’s plenty of stuff to see in town as well.

 

If you pre-book one of the more expensive tours, they include a van transfer to the distillery from the cathedral in town. 

[linedancer 73]

I've been twice to Orkney on a Cruise Ship.  First time we hired a car and did The Italian Chapel, Skara Brae and the Standing Stones.  The weather was just beautiful that day.  The second time it poured all day so we just stayed in Kirkwall.  I looked at the Bishop's Palace and the Cathedral while my other half went to the Town Hall just across the road and enjoyed the coffee and wifi.  There was a Craft Fair upstairs where many local crafters sold their wares.  Apparently they do this quite often when the cruise ships come in.  We will visit again in June this year and will again hire a car to go to some of the other places.  Orkney certainly welcomes the cruise ships and I'm sure you will have a lovely day there.

[Triptkr]

Thank you to each one of you that was so helpful in your advice!  I think we have our time on Orkney Islands figured out...I think.  We are there from 7am-7pm so are thinking we'll get off the ship and do our own thing for a while then do an excursion through Princess--Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae & Skaill House.  If we have time after that we may walk around Kirkwall for a bit then get back on the ship.  Nothing is written in stone yet so we may still change our minds but for now this is the plan.  :)

[lamchops]

I paid less than 2£ for the bus and 10£ for the tour. 

On 3/19/2019 at 10:07 PM, just_dont said:

 

If you pre-book one of the more expensive tours, they include a van transfer to the distillery from the cathedral in town. 

 

[just_dont]

I paid less than 2£ for the bus and 10£ for the tour. 
 

Yes, it's an easy bus ride.
The 10£ tour includes a single sample (iirc).
More expensive tours provide much more extensive top-shelf product tastings. Though arguably, anything from Highland Park is fairly top-shelf.
For me, a visit here may be a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I'm happy to spend more to sample some products I'd never be able to find at my local tavern, or would cost hundreds to purchase whole bottles.

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[caripoo]

We went to the distillery...Highland park, and then we had plenty of time to walk around town and have lunch.

[mahi mahi]

There is a public bus that travels to Skara Brae and other sights, with time in each destination.  There was quite a lineup for tickets (office is right by the shuttle dropoff) as the office was not open when we got there.  I know that some were turned away.  Unfortunately there was no commentary on the bus but it was a very cost effective way to see the island.  As has been already pointed out, there are not a lot of options tour wise on the island and they book up fast.  We also heard that some private operators won't refund if the ship doesn't make port.