P&O shuttle buses on Round Britain cruises

[Orianababes]

Considering a round Britain cruise next year. A number of the towns/cities appear to be at a distance from where the ships dock. Do P&O provide the shuttle buses or do there’s provide them. Am considering this as part of a decision between select and saver fare. Thanks for all experiences passed on

[showingdiva]

If going to Edinburgh - if anchored at Newhaven Harbour, the city centre is around 3m away.   Local buses and tram directly into the city centre (based on 2023 prices) work out at five pounds for an all day ticket on the buses and trams.   Cards accepted.  Traffic dependent, around 20 minute journey time.

 

South Queensferry - there's local buses, train from Dalmeny or the special Cruiselink shuttle bus into Edinburgh.   Journey time, again traffic dependent, around 45 minutes.

 

In all honesty, I don't recall a P&O shuttle bus at Newhaven.  Any shuttle bus would be going to Charlotte Square at the west end of Princes Street.   To any ship coming here, it's probably cheaper and more convenient on public transport than a shuttle bus to get there.

[Eglesbrech]

23 hours ago, Orianababes said:

Considering a round Britain cruise next year. A number of the towns/cities appear to be at a distance from where the ships dock. Do P&O provide the shuttle buses or do there’s provide them. Am considering this as part of a decision between select and saver fare. Thanks for all experiences passed on

Which ports?

[Orianababes]

 

• #3   

Posted 16 hours ago

   On 2/14/2024 at 6:23 PM,  Orianababes said: 

Considering a round Britain cruise next year. A number of the towns/cities appear to be at a distance from where the ships dock. Do P&O provide the shuttle buses or do there’s provide them. Am considering this as part of a decision between select and saver fare. Thanks for all experiences passed on

Which ports?
 

The ports are Cork, Dunmore, Greenock, Belfast, Kirkwall, South Queensferry and Newcastle. It’s the Aurora trip August 2025

 

 

[Eglesbrech]

5 hours ago, Orianababes said:

 

 

 

• #3   

Posted 16 hours ago

   On 2/14/2024 at 6:23 PM,  Orianababes said: 

Considering a round Britain cruise next year. A number of the towns/cities appear to be at a distance from where the ships dock. Do P&O provide the shuttle buses or do there’s provide them. Am considering this as part of a decision between select and saver fare. Thanks for all experiences passed on

Which ports?
 

The ports are Cork, Dunmore, Greenock, Belfast, Kirkwall, South Queensferry and Newcastle. It’s the Aurora trip August 2025

 

 

Cork  (Cobh actually) - depends on the berth . One of the berths which can actually take big ships is just an easy walk off, the other requires a shuttle as it is round the bay at the navy base.

Dunmore - it’s been quite a few few years since we were there so it may have changed but when we were it was a tender port and then a 25 to 30 minute shuttle into Waterford. We booked a tour to cut out one of the queues at least. 
 

Greenock - you dock right in the centre of Greenock but there is a limited amount to see and do. They generally don’t offer a shuttle as Glasgow is quite a bit away. There is a local train station (Greenock) not too far away for trains to Glasgow which has lots to do. Tours usually offer Stirling and the trossachs, Glasgow city or even Burns country. 

 

Belfast - you need a shuttle as the dock is quite far out of the centre. Drops normally at city hall right in the city centre.

 

Kirkwall - really small ships tender into the centre. Bigger ones are at the out of town dock so a shuttle is required. It is walkable if you are fit but a good stretch of the legs.
 

South Queensferry- ships normally are at anchor under the bridges and tender into the middle of South Queensferry so no shuttle to Edinburgh provided. As showingdiva says there is local transport and a station at Dalmeney (steep walk up a hill). Edinburgh is well worth a visit if you haven’t been but I would be inclined to do a P&O tour here as the traffic can be really bad and it would be too easy to get left behind.
 

If you just fancy a nice walk, coffee, some local seafood, a few small gift shops etc then Queensferry is fine for an hour or two. Hopetoun House is a short taxi ride away if you like history.

 

 

For Newcastle I assume it’s actually North  Shields?. There is an outdoor shopping mall about a 10 minute walk from North Shields terminal which would be fine for an hour or two. I don’t know what P&O offer here but there are local buses into the city. Newcastle is about 25 to 30 minutes drive away. Perhaps someone else can advice re shuttles.

 

 

[john watson]

When we docked at Cobh the ship was next to the railway station which took you to Cork. The station was closer to the ship than all the tour buses

 

Regards John

[Red Leicester]

Here's a link to the current Cobh - Cork railway timetable.  Half hourly on Monday to Friday and hourly on a Saturday and Sunday.  26 mins into Cork.  I did this a few years back, it was a booked hourly service but IE ran extras on the day.  It was busy but had a seat both ways.

 

https://www.irishrail.ie/getmedia/07903094-cff0-4db2-88a3-1eab9ca81359/13-Mallow-Cobh-Midleton.pdf

[john watson]

1 hour ago, Red Leicester said:

Here's a link to the current Cobh - Cork railway timetable.  Half hourly on Monday to Friday and hourly on a Saturday and Sunday.  26 mins into Cork.  I did this a few years back, it was a booked hourly service but IE ran extras on the day.  It was busy but had a seat both ways.

The train was in the station at Cork to return us back to Cobh. It had been sitting there a while so I started running. The Railway man told me not to run in case I tripped.  He then said the train wont start while people are walking along the platform towards the train. This is a strange concept for people used to BR service.

 

Incidentally Cobh formerly know as Queenstown was a Titanic port.  The ship did not dock but anchored and was tendered.  A memorial exists at the town.

 

Regards John

[Red Leicester]

Following an incident a few years back train dispatch rules and methods have changed.  More people use the railways in the UK compared to Ireland.  The Passenger Train Interface (PTI) is one of the biggest risks associated with running trains and is taken very seriously in the UK.

 

BR train services haven't existed since the mid 90s. 

The Cobh - Cork service is useful though, we had two days in Cobh and the option of getting to Cork was easy and appreciated.  Cork station was a little way out of the centre though.

[Lady Meer]

In Belfast, the queue for the shuttle was very long so we took a taxi with another couple for 20 euros (fixed price). We were dropped at the City Hall. We asked the driver for a card to call for a return trip. This was on a meter and was 10 euros! 
 

There is a service bus which stops just outside the dock gates - quite a few people used that. 
 

If anyone is interested, The Duke of York pub is very interesting and worth a visit!!

[lindylooellalouise]

The ship docks in North Shields for Newcastle and the shuttle bus dropped us off at the metro train station where a return ticket into the centre of Newcastle cost around £4.00 and they run every 15 mins well worth it as there’s not an awful lot to do  in North Shields 

[tring]

On 2/19/2024 at 10:11 PM, john watson said:

When we docked at Cobh the ship was next to the railway station which took you to Cork. The station was closer to the ship than all the tour buses

 

Regards John

 

We have generally docked there, which is also central for the lovely Cobh itself, as we use smaller ships.  Once there was another ship in the main Cobh docking location, so we were scheduled to be out of town at a deep water dock.  It was a distance and no shuttle bus only an "On your own" trip.  I took to trip advisor forums and seemed the local buses are not really viable from there as very infrequent (I think only about once an hour) and may not be able to get on them.  So it does depend where you are docked.  I am pretty sure I got our docking location from the port authority site there, which I had googled.  I know the QM2 can only dock in the out of town location, though seems there are sometimes water shuttles put on into Cobh, which is a much shorter distance than by road that goes right around an inlet.  Do not know about other ships so worth checking.

 

 

Edited February 23 by tring