Waterford

[Ombud]

Is there an easy DIY way to get from Cobh cruise port to Waterford?

[VMax1700]

Hire a car is probably the only way to do it on a port day.

Other option would be public transport which would leave you with no time in Waterford.

Train from Cobh to Cork   30 mins

Walk from Train station to Bus station 15 minutes

Bus to Waterford  2 hours 15 mins

Bus back to Cork  2 hours 15 mins

Walk to Train station 15 minutes

Train Cork to Cobh 30 minutes.

That is 6 hours travel.

 

If you catch the 7.30 train from Cobh to Cork, you should be able to board the 8.40am bus to Waterford, which arrives to Waterford Bus Station at 11am.

Presuming you have 6pm all aboard time, then you need to leave Waterford on the 2pm bus which arrives to Cork Bus station at 4.15 pm.  You should then head to the train station for the 5pm train to Cobh which arrives at 5.30pm.

Note that Bus seats are not bookable in advance, so if the 2 pm bus is full in Waterford then you would have to wait for the next one at 3 pm and you would just about arrive in Cobh at 5.56pm.

Obviously a later arrival or earlier sail away will impact on these timings.

https://www.expressway.ie/route/40-rosslare-to-tralee

https://www.irishrail.ie/IrishRail/media/Timetable-PDF-s/Heuston-timetables/13_mallow_cobh_midleton.pdf

https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/station/cobh

 

[Ombud]

Will do ship excursion.  Thanks, hoping I could skip an organized tour for 40+ but at least there's 2 hrs free time in 2 spots (Waterford & Lismore), but 3 hrs travel time. Unfortunately 2 hrs organized tour time ..... might rethink whole thing

 

 

Edited March 15, 2022 by Ombud

[tony s]

Hope it is not a Sunday. We did Waterford on a ship tour 4 years ago and the only thing open was Waterford factory

[Ombud]

No. It's on a Wednesday. I was just looking for a way to avoid spending 1/2 the time on a bus. Was it a pretty ride @tony s? I took the train to Cork last time so looking for something different

[tony s]

It was pretty but the same after a while my recommendation go to Cork,great food scene

[long4acruise]

@VMax1700

Hi, I see you're in Cork.  Can you suggest a few "must-do's" while in Cork.  We're on a charter with Royal Caribbean and will be in Cork on a Sunday (7AM-6PM).  We're not coffee drinkers, have plenty of Waterford so not particularly interested in the Visitors Center.  RC offers an 8-hr Best of Ireland tour which includes 1 hour each way to the Castle but no interest spending a lot of time having lunch (restricted dietary regiment) and waiting for fellow passengers.

Scenic drive to Blarney Village? (But sadly this tour doesn't visit the Castle.)

Also, are US dollars acceptable for small souvenir purchases (magnets, postcards, etc.)?

Thanks much for any advice you can offer!

 

[Ombud]

16 minutes ago, long4acruise said:

a few "must-do's" while in Cork. 

Not vmax1700 but my favorite was the English Market and a beautiful park around the corner from it

 

[long4acruise]

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

Not vmax1700 but my favorite was the English Market and a beautiful park around the corner from it

 

OK, thanks much!

[VMax1700]

11 hours ago, long4acruise said:

will be in Cork on a Sunday (7AM-6PM).

What month will you be here?

Sunday restricts the possibilities somewhat.  The English Market (mentioned by @Ombud) will be closed.  Many retail outlets in Cork City will be open from midday.  Some 12 noon, but most by 2pm.

What are your interests, and most important, are you docking in Cobh or Ringaskiddy?

[long4acruise]

17 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

What month will you be here?

Sunday restricts the possibilities somewhat.  The English Market (mentioned by @Ombud) will be closed.  Many retail outlets in Cork City will be open from midday.  Some 12 noon, but most by 2pm.

What are your interests, and most important, are you docking in Cobh or Ringaskiddy?

We'll be there on Sun May 15th on Jewel. Scheduled to dock @ Port of Cork (Cobh).

We enjoy sightseeing, historic sights, castles, etc. Just not interested in having a sit down meal due to dietary restrictions and wasted time waiting for a group to finish the meal.

Wasn't sure if the Port is easily accessible to plan something on our own so trying to decide if want to do one of the cruiseline tours.

 

Thanks much.

[VMax1700]

11 hours ago, long4acruise said:

We'll be there on Sun May 15th on Jewel. Scheduled to dock @ Port of Cork (Cobh).

We enjoy sightseeing, historic sights, castles, etc. Just not interested in having a sit down meal due to dietary restrictions and wasted time waiting for a group to finish the meal.

Wasn't sure if the Port is easily accessible to plan something on our own so trying to decide if want to do one of the cruiseline tours.

 

Thanks much.

Really sorry about this. I posted a long reply to your question but it has just gone missing!

I will redo it and post, but due to appointments it may well be late Tuesday before I can repost.

 

Edited March 21, 2022 by VMax1700

[VMax1700]

OK here we go again!

Sunday is not the optimum day to be here as many things will be closed or not open until 2pm and the train service from/to Cobh/Cork on a reduced schedule.  However let's look at some options......

Stay in Cobh:  Cobh is a lovely little town and (in pre Covid days) has entertainment and animation on the promenade. It is a little bit hilly, but the promenade and shops area is flat.  The ship docks right in the centre of town and beside the railway station.

St Colman's Cathedral is worth a visit https://cobhcathedralparish.ie/ Sunday mass is at 10am or 12 Noon.  You are welcome to visit at other times too.   Maybe a visit to Spike Island https://www.spikeislandcork.ie/ which has a very interesting history and has been reopened in recent years.  

If you stay in Cobh you are really close to the ship and could return at any time for lunch etc as they know your dietary requirements.  There is a very interesting wild life park close to Cobh which is run by University College Cork https://www.fotawildlife.ie/  and can be accessed by using the Cobh-Cork train.

Previously there has been a 'Tourist Train' that ran around Cobh during cruise visits but I have no information as to it running this year.

Another possibility is Jameson Distillery in Midleton https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/en-en/visit-us/jameson-distillery-midleton .  Again, prior to Covid, they had bus transfers from Cobh to/from the Distillery.  

Further Afield: The train to Cork from Cobh leaves from just beside the cruise dock, but has a reduced service on Sunday https://www.irishrail.ie/IrishRail/media/Timetable-PDF-s/Heuston-timetables/13_mallow_cobh_midleton.pdf  It is possible that additional trains will be running during cruise ship docking and I will try to find that information.

As already mentioned the English Market https://www.corkcity.ie/en/english-market/ is closed on Sundays.  Perhaps a visit to St Fin Barres Cathedral https://corkcathedral.webs.com/ which is the Protestant Cathedral or a visit to St Anne's (Shandon) with the 'Goldie Fish' and the 'Four Liars' (4 clocks which all showed a different time🙄).

I can't imagine what the 'Scenic Drive' entails as it is main roads most of the way from Cobh to Blarney, which, after the drive from Cobh towards the main Cork-Waterford road is mostly industrial buildings and suburban dwellings.  Blarney itself is a major suburb of Cork City and apart from the Castle (meh) the Castle Gardens (well worth a visit) https://blarneycastle.ie/ .  There is also Blarney Woollen Mills https://www.blarney.com/ is a large store with many Irish gifts.  

Most stores will only accept Euro or credit/debit cards.  During the pandemic the use of cash has almost ceased as most prefer to tap a card even for small purchases.  If a store accepts dollars you will get a very poor exchange rate.  You would be better advised to use a credit card and ensure that they post the charge you Euro.  If they offer to charge you in dollars do not accept and ask to be charged in Euro. You will get a much better exchange rate from your banks.

Hope that this helps a bit?

[long4acruise]

3 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Hope that this helps a bit?

@VMax1700

Wow, Thanks so much for all of your information!  Sincerely appreciate you taking the time to assist and making our visit to Cobh/Cork even more memorable!

 

Donna

[VMax1700]

@long4acruise Today we went to Blarney to visit Blarney Woollen Mills and asked them if the would accept US Dollars for a purchase.  We purchased socks for our granddaughter and they were priced at €9.95  I was informed that the price in USD would be $11.70.  Notes only and change would be given in euro coins.

I have not been down to Cobh yet, but I will go there in the next few weeks.  Currently there is only one ship scheduled for April, but from May 4th onwards there are quite a few ships due to be in port.