Princess British Isles: Cohb - Blarney & Jameson Excursions back to back?

[georgemoe]

Hi,

 

Wife and I along with four others are sailing Regal Princess next August. I'm interested in two excursions. Blarney Castle is 9:30 to 1:30 (2hrs at Castle), and then Cork City Sites/Jameson Whiskey from 2:30 to 6:30. Port departure is 7:00.

 

If anyone has done the Blarney excursion, does the coach get back to the pier on schedule? There should be enough time to make the 2nd excursion even if it's slightly delayed. I expect if the Blarney coach is late getting back to port and we miss the 2:30, Princess would refund us.

 

Thoughts?

 

- George

[phabric]

Usually with a Princess excursion, they tell you a location to meet about 15 minutes before the excursion time so you can get a colored sticker for your excursion and then you all go down together to the Coach.

 

You might want to check out this private tour company -

www.ecoach.ie

 

I took their tour for Blarney Castle and Kinsale in 2013.  You can contact them about a private tour for your group of 6.

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by phabric

[Ashland]

9 hours ago, phabric said:

Usually with a Princess excursion, they tell you a location to meet about 15 minutes before the excursion time so you can get a colored sticker for your excursion and then you all go down together to the Coach.

 

You might want to check out this private tour company -

www.ecoach.ie

 

I took their tour for Blarney Castle and Kinsale in 2013.  You can contact them about a private tour for your group of 6.

 

We booked (a few years ago) with Tours By Locals for their Blarney Castle and Kinsale...Highly recommend this private tour company.

[georgemoe]

23 hours ago, phabric said:

Usually with a Princess excursion, they tell you a location to meet about 15 minutes before the excursion time so you can get a colored sticker for your excursion and then you all go down together to the Coach.

 

You might want to check out this private tour company -

www.ecoach.ie

 

I took their tour for Blarney Castle and Kinsale in 2013.  You can contact them about a private tour for your group of 6.

 

 

Thanks. I checked the website but their calendar reflects no available dates to book. I'm wondering if they are still in operation.

[georgemoe]

13 hours ago, Ashland said:

We booked (a few years ago) with Tours By Locals for their Blarney Castle and Kinsale...Highly recommend this private tour company.

 

Thank you! I just checked this out and it looks perfect. You can do Kinsale or Jameson after Blarney. 

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, georgemoe said:

 

Thank you! I just checked this out and it looks perfect. You can do Kinsale or Jameson after Blarney. 

If I did this again I would do Jameson....Kinsale was a pretty little town...but not much to do there. We ate lunch and walked through a couple of shops.

[georgemoe]

On 11/13/2022 at 2:11 PM, Ashland said:

If I did this again I would do Jameson....Kinsale was a pretty little town...but not much to do there. We ate lunch and walked through a couple of shops.

 

All booked with ToursByLocals for Blarney/Kinsale. After watching a few YouTubes of Kinsale we will probably do this and save Jameson for Dublin/Bow St. If the weather is bad we may opt for Jameson.

 

Onto Dublin now. We will either Uber or take the Dart train in from port.  

[VMax1700]

On 11/18/2022 at 3:59 PM, georgemoe said:

take the Dart train in from port. 

Are you tendering in Dun Laoghaire?  

Remember to leave plenty of time to return to the ship as you will probably be leaving Dublin city centre around the evening rush hour, when the Dart trains are really full.

[Ashland]

On 11/18/2022 at 7:59 AM, georgemoe said:

 

All booked with ToursByLocals for Blarney/Kinsale. After watching a few YouTubes of Kinsale we will probably do this and save Jameson for Dublin/Bow St. If the weather is bad we may opt for Jameson.

 

Onto Dublin now. We will either Uber or take the Dart train in from port.  

There may be a ship shuttle from port to the Trinity area. Celebrity offered one.

[georgemoe]

On 11/19/2022 at 11:36 AM, VMax1700 said:

Are you tendering in Dun Laoghaire?  

Remember to leave plenty of time to return to the ship as you will probably be leaving Dublin city centre around the evening rush hour, when the Dart trains are really full.

 

Yes. Dun Laoghaire. And agree we will need to leave extra time. Thanks!

[eileeshb]

On Jameson in Middleton I would say if you’ve ever done a whiskey or bourbon distillery tour anywhere else it won’t be very different. The only unique element is that they give you the option to try a range of mixers with the whiskey taster at the end. I’ve been to a couple of the bourbon distilleries in Kentucky as well as the Bacardi tour in San Juan and world of whiskys in Edinburgh. So if you’re debating between Jameson and something else bear that in mind. 

[georgemoe]

On 1/2/2023 at 6:13 PM, eileeshb said:

On Jameson in Middleton I would say if you’ve ever done a whiskey or bourbon distillery tour anywhere else it won’t be very different. The only unique element is that they give you the option to try a range of mixers with the whiskey taster at the end. I’ve been to a couple of the bourbon distilleries in Kentucky as well as the Bacardi tour in San Juan and world of whiskys in Edinburgh. So if you’re debating between Jameson and something else bear that in mind. 

 

Thanks for the info. We've done the bourbon trail in Kentucky back in 19 so pretty much know what to expect. Right now we have booked Bushmill's in Belfast. We will probably do Kinsale vs. Jameson/Middleton. I want to do World of Whisky in Edinburgh if I get the chance.

[eileeshb]

15 hours ago, georgemoe said:

 

Thanks for the info. We've done the bourbon trail in Kentucky back in 19 so pretty much know what to expect. Right now we have booked Bushmill's in Belfast. We will probably do Kinsale vs. Jameson/Middleton. I want to do World of Whisky in Edinburgh if I get the chance.

if you go to Bushmills they now have a bunch of new blends, I like the honey one and I picked up a bottle of the rum cask aged whiskey just before Christmas. They were doing a promo of the honey blend when I was working at a sports event a few years ago and they were mixing it with apple juice and ginger ale. My local bar back home clued me into mixing with cidona (it’s an Irish apple soda made by the main cider manufacturer and looks exactly like it) .