british isles cruise itinerary help please

[macsford]

For what it's worth I would enjoy Liverpool. Consider a Beatles tour. Alternatively there is a lot of Maritime history there. 

Better to see Stonehenge on the way to or from the ship.

[eigig]

Hi everyone

I fully agree now that Stonehenge can be seen coming or going to the port and Liverpool is the better port choice. 

 

I am exploring my options -- maybe staying in London a few days and taking the international friends tour on the way to the port or staying in Bath for a few days and taking a local tour to Stonehenge from there.

Gee I really missed the fun of planning a trip! 

 

Anyone have experience with the Princess offered pre stay in London? 

[georgiacat]

People are different.  We visited Liverpool (a Beatles excursion); it was my least favorite stop.  Of course, I would not say that our guide was top notch.

 

I Loved Stonehenge!  Maybe most people don't like what we do, but we spent between 2-3 hours there.  We enjoyed the small museum they had, and ate lunch in their cafe.  Loved the mystery and history of Stonehenge.  I learned a lot more than what I had imagined it was like.  I would definitely go back if I could.  I would also check out the Bath area and other areas outside of London (did that).

[Treasure Hunter]

Yes. We stayed at The Grovenor House pre Princess Cruise ( Iceland). It was great . Saw a show and the British Museum. Traffic to Southampton was terrible. Glad we were on the Princess bus transfer, they held the ship for the lot of us.

[cltnccruisers]

We love to hear what other folks do on dry land.  Our only visit on UK was Windsor and we loved it.  I'd desperately like to spend a couple of weeks and do Windsor, Stonehenge, Bath and a week wandering London.  Everyone has a dream I guess. 

[Cruisen Elf]

On 11/15/2021 at 9:50 AM, eigig said:

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. 

 

We did this for our British Isles cruise in 2019.  (Oh, so long ago!  Can't wait to get on a ship again soon!)  Using all the great advice on the British Isles ports boards, we took the National Express bus from Heathrow to Bath, where we stayed for several days pre-cruise.  We visited Stonehenge and Salisbury from there.  There is plenty to see right in Bath, also, such as the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, etc.  We took the train to Southampton to board the ship.  It was a great way to start off a wonderful cruise!

[ChangeOrder]

On 11/14/2021 at 4:34 PM, NavyVeteran said:

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.

I haven't been to Stonehenge since the 90s. Looks like I'm adjusting my trip to try for this inside the ropes tour.