Edinburgh Castle Excursions

[tnr]

Edinburgh, Stirling,, or Scone Castle excursion?  Any input would be greatly appreciated.  We will be on the Voyager in July of 2023.

[Kristal Blade]

As a Scot I can tell you all are fabulous, but I am biased.

Where do you dock? If it is Leith (Edinburgh) then you can catch a tram to Princess Street and walk (uphill) to the Royal Mile which takes you to the castle. 
Stirling will be a drive of maybe 45 mins away, the castle is steeped in history and sometimes in the summer months they have guides dressed in period costumes to tell you tales of life there in the time of Mary Queen of Scots.

Scone Palace is just outside Perth. It is a longer drive, but you will see some lovely Scottish scenery and the Palace is beautiful too. Even more history of the Scottish royals there. If you go to Scone you might have time to drive past The Beech Hedge. The longest, highest beech tree hedge in the world. It is along little country roads through some pretty villages, but if you aren’t into trees you will be underwhelmed! Perthshire is known as the Big Tree county and has some gorgeous trees. I love trees, you might be able to tell, so a trip to Perthshire is joy for me. YMMV, ha ha.

[pappy1022]

Haven’t been to any of them yet but I chose Edinburgh for our September 2023 cruise because there is so much to see and experience in a fairly compact area. We are taking a Regent tour but intend to walk down the Royal Mile after visiting the castle and probably go to the Royal Britannia.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

Since we were scheduled two days in Edinburgh, I did both Stirling Castle and Edinburgh Castle. Both were great excursions. If I could only choose one, I would choose Edinburgh which also allows you to see some of the other sites in the city.

 

We ended up with another day in Edinburgh due to weather. Since we were docked in Leith, we spent that day touring the Royal Yacht, which was right next to the ship. Great choice, and would have been doable along with another excursion that day. The Royal Yacht is self guided and can be done in about 2 hours.

[tnr]

Thank you so much to all of you.  I was in castle mind overload and you have helped me tremendously.  Edinburgh Castle it is.

[tnr]

1 hour ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

Since we were scheduled two days in Edinburgh, I did both Stirling Castle and Edinburgh Castle. Both were great excursions. If I could only choose one, I would choose Edinburgh which also allows you to see some of the other sites in the city.

 

We ended up with another day in Edinburgh due to weather. Since we were docked in Leith, we spent that day touring the Royal Yacht, which was right next to the ship. Great choice, and would have been doable along with another excursion that day. The Royal Yacht is self guided and can be done in about 2 hours.

We should have time to see her since this tour is scheduled for the morning.  I am so glad you mentioned it.  Thanks.

[Got2Cruise]

On 9/22/2022 at 5:24 PM, tnr said:

Edinburgh, Stirling,, or Scone Castle excursion?  Any input would be greatly appreciated.  We will be on the Voyager in July of 2023.

If you haven’t been to Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile, it’s must. The only reason I wouldn’t recommend it if you have mobility issues. 

[cwbegg]

I am not sure the Voyager will be able to dock since there is a lock to pass through.  In August 2022, it looked like the Navigator was inches from the wall.  Edinburgh might be a tender port for you.  Not sure where tenders drop off and pick up.  Possibly another CC poster could answer that question.  Mentioning this because you might not be as close to the Royal yacht as we were.

 

The shuttle was from Leith to Charlotte Square which was very close to the Royal Mile and we were able to walk to Edinburgh Castle.

[tnr]

It is scheduled to be a tender port.  Hopefully we won’t “land” too far from the yacht. 

[flossie009]

5 hours ago, tnr said:

It is scheduled to be a tender port.  Hopefully we won’t “land” too far from the yacht. 

If Voyager is tendering into Newhaven, you may find this previous thread to be of use:

 

[Techno123]

1 hour ago, flossie009 said:

If Voyager is tendering into Newhaven, you may find this previous thread to be of use:

 

That looks suspiciously like the rather tasty snack we enjoyed onboard HMS Britannia 😂😂

[tnr]

Thanks Flossie.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

On 9/23/2022 at 11:32 AM, tnr said:

Thank you so much to all of you.  I was in castle mind overload and you have helped me tremendously.  Edinburgh Castle it is.

You and Ray will love Edinburgh … Herb and I visited several years ago and it was a wonderful day! Enjoy….