british isles cruise itinerary help please

[eigig]

Hello

I am an experienced solo cruiser but this will be my first Princess cruise. I am considering two 2022 British Isles cruises. One stops in Portland and says (For Stonehenge) and the other stops in Liverpool.  I have always wanted to see Stonehenge but Portland seems quite far from that area. In fact, the internet notes that Southampton in closer. If it is a very long journey from Portland to Stonehenge then I will do the Liverpool stop. 

 

What are your thoughts? I could also come in two days early and stay in Southampton and take a guided tour to Stonehenge I guess and do the cruise with the Liverpool stop. 

Thanks for any help 

 

[jdacombe]

We live about mid-way between Portland and Stonehenge, so I reckon it would be around a 65 miles journey to Stonehenge. Portland itself is a quite lovely spot with beautiful views to Chesil Beach, and I believe there is a coastal path that goes into Weymouth, a traditional seaside resort,  the Nothe Fort in Weymouth is worth a visit. Hope that is a bit of help for you.

 

[jdacombe]

 

[wowzz]

Stay in Southampton and visit Stonehenge from there  (plus Winchester). Visit Liverpool when in port.

[dreaminofcruisin]

We weren't on a British Isles cruise, but did embark/disembark in Southampton. We took the Princess disembarkation excursion to Stonehenge which then dropped us at the airport. Easy Peasy. Just another option for you.

[roxievegas]

We did the excursion from Southampton also.  Beautiful drive through the countryside.

[DUCHESSRN]

22 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Stay in Southampton and visit Stonehenge from there  (plus Winchester). Visit Liverpool when in port.

I agree ,so much to see and do in Winchester my family lives there . I remember seeing passengers in the Cathedral there with their Blue Princess Bags .

[NavyVeteran]

Instead of staying in Southampton pre-cruise, you may want to stay in Salisbury. We stayed in Salisbury inside the cathedral close. Salisbury is very close to Stonehenge. We also purchased a private transfer from Salisbury directly to the ship - it's not that far from Southampton.

 

We had eight in our party, so we purchased private excursions and private transfers. I'm not sure how it would work for one.

 

If you are really interested in Stonehenge, they have tours available early morning before it opens to the public or late afternoon after it closes that allow you to go in a small group inside the circle - not just stay on the path behind the rope. That is definitely the best way to see Stonehenge. If you want to do this, you will need to book the tour far in advance. With our party of eight, we booked a private tour. They also have group tours available which would be more feasible for a party of one.

[eigig]

Wow I love cruisecritic!! Thanks all for your helpful replies. I think I may opt for Liverpool and either stay extra pre cruise in Southampton or do the post cruise excursion on the way to the airport.

 

I have sailed from Southampton before (to the Norwegian Fjords) but the QM2 did not offer the excursion post cruise. 

Thanks again to all !!

[eigig]

1 hour ago, jdacombe said:

 

Well geesh --how informative. Thank you so much 

[MustangGT]

I think you are making a good call.  When Portland was on our itinerary in 2019, we didn’t make the port because of weather.  Would hate to have you miss Stonehenge.

Happy Sailing!

[geoherb]

I'd opt to come early. There's never enough time in England for me. Our minimum has been two nights before a cruise. I'd prefer to stay at least four or five nights. 

[georgiacat]

We stayed in Salisbury for 2 days prior to our British Isles cruise.  We loved Stonehenge and the Salisbury cathedral.  There is a lot of history there, among which is one of the original copies of the magna carta.  Loved the town; there was marketday when we were there, wonderful.

 

The only bad part was no air conditioning and England was having a heat wave in August, 2018.  We had a very hot room with no sleep.

 

We used Smith's cars for transportation from airport to Salisbury and from Salisbury to port.  Wonderful.  Used hop on/hop off bus to Stonehenge; bought tickets on line; easy as can be.  Stayed at The Red Lion Hotel; very nice people with complementary (American style) breakfast.

[caribill]

There are transportation services from Heathrow to Southampton that can give a tour of Stonehenge on the way.

 

The Britain Ports of Call section in Cruise Critic may have some suggestions.

[eigig]

11 hours ago, georgiacat said:

We stayed in Salisbury for 2 days prior to our British Isles cruise.  We loved Stonehenge and the Salisbury cathedral.  There is a lot of history there, among which is one of the original copies of the magna carta.  Loved the town; there was marketday when we were there, wonderful.

 

The only bad part was no air conditioning and England was having a heat wave in August, 2018.  We had a very hot room with no sleep.

 

We used Smith's cars for transportation from airport to Salisbury and from Salisbury to port.  Wonderful.  Used hop on/hop off bus to Stonehenge; bought tickets on line; easy as can be.  Stayed at The Red Lion Hotel; very nice people with complementary (American style) breakfast.

Thanks that is a great idea. I am toying now with the idea of coming in 3 days early and going to Bath as a base -- seeing Salisbury and Stonehenge from there (?) and then go on to the port.  Having been an independent traveller for many years and relishing navigating the public transit systems in various countries, (Rick Steves style)  I need to remember that there are such services as Smith's cars to transport me to Bath and then to the port.  Great idea and so much more comfortable. 

[eigig]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

There are transportation services from Heathrow to Southampton that can give a tour of Stonehenge on the way.

 

The Britain Ports of Call section in Cruise Critic may have some suggestions.

Thanks that is an option I am considering now too. Liverpool it is!

[eigig]

13 hours ago, geoherb said:

I'd opt to come early. There's never enough time in England for me. Our minimum has been two nights before a cruise. I'd prefer to stay at least four or five nights. 

yea i really agree with you. Never enough time in England!

[jimbo1683]

(As an englishman) Liverpool is a lovely city amd very grand from the waterfront.

 

I wouldnt take a tour purely for stonehenge - it doesn't take very long to see it all. As others have suggested if you are going to viait the site then definiteky combine it with other sights in the area.

[phabric]

Check out www.internationalfriends.co.uk.  They go on embarkment and disembarkment days from certain London hotels, LHR hotels to/from Southampton.
 

 If you have a late flight or next day flight on disembarkment day, they have a tour Salisbury, Stonehenge, Windsor then they drop you off at a London hotel, LHR hotels or LHR.  I have taken this tour from Southampton and dropped off at my London hotel.

 

Go to Cruise Critic - Port of Call - Britain.

[bjkTX]

3 hours ago, eigig said:

Thanks that is an option I am considering now too. Liverpool it is!

Come join us on the 30 Sep cruise 🙂

 

[cltnccruisers]

On 11/14/2021 at 6:11 PM, jdacombe said:

 

Watched the entire vlog last night as we will be on Sky 11/27.  Very informative and fun to watch.  Thanks.  

[ingatestonian]

I love Dorset and there are some great places to see much closer to Portland, including Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door and Corfe Castle. Plus the village of Tyneham which remains much as it was in 1943 when the Ministry of Defence took over the village to use for military training and the people were never allowed back to their homes. Part of the village can be viewed when there is no firing on the nearby ranges.

 

And the Jurassic beach at Kimmeridge. Not sure there would be an organised tour to all these places though.

[CCFC]

Check out the disembarkation trips, I have seen them go to Stonehenge before.

[ontheweb]

55 minutes ago, CCFC said:

Check out the disembarkation trips, I have seen them go to Stonehenge before.

Yes, we were supposed to go to Stonehenge from Southampton on the way to Heathrow on the Princess cruise we were supposed to sail on in the summer of 2020. Previously we had an excursion to Canterbury on the way to Heathrow from Dover on a Princess cruise. It really made disembarking much more pleasant as it was almost like we were still enjoying our cruise rather than just going to the airport.

[Tedferg]

On 11/15/2021 at 6:52 AM, eigig said:

Thanks that is an option I am considering now too. Liverpool it is!

Funny that most responses refer to Stonehenge - IMHO there is no decision between Stonehenge and Liverpool.