Questions for John Bull

Two years ago you provided me with information that greatlyassisted my group to make a decision to book a cruise to Norway or the BalticSea area. We ended up going to Norwayand did not regret our decision. Sinceyou are a wealth of knowledge, I would greatly appreciate anyinsight/recommendations you can provide to help us plan our shore excursionswhile visiting the British Isles on the Caribbean Princess leaving Southampton on August 29th.

The only excursion booked at this point is to the NormandyD-Day Battlefields with Overlord Tours when docked at LeHavre, France. Ourcruise schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, August 29 – Southampton

Wednesday, August 30 – St. Peter Port, Guernsey, ChannelIsland

Thursday, August 31 – Cork (Cobh), Ireland

Friday, September 1 – Dublin, Ireland

Saturday, September 2 – Belfast, northern Ireland

Sunday, September 3 – Glasgow (Greenock), Scotland

Monday, September 4 – Sea

Tuesday, September 5 – Kirkwall, Scotland

Wednesday, September 6 – Invergordon, Scotland

Thursday, September 7 – Edinburgh (S Queensferry), Scotland

Friday, September 8 – Sea

Saturday, September 9 – Paris (Le Havre), France

Sunday, September 10 – Southampton

Since we really enjoy seeing the country side and roaming aroundcities/villages near the port rather than spending hours in museums andcathedrals, I would like your thoughts about some of the “must see” sites whilevisiting Ireland.

Cliffs of Moher

Ring of Kerry

Killarney National Park

Dingle Peninsula

Giant’s Causeway

Would also appreciate your opinion about what ports arethe best for just roaming around the closest city rather than participating inan organized tour. We want to avoidscheduling an excursion at every port and want some “down time” to just wanderaround the area at our leisure.

Thank you.

Hi Sailoroma,

There's places in the world that I know, and places I don't know.

And you've picked mainly places I don't know.:rolleyes:

Only ever once been to Ireland, for a short break in Dublin.

Visited a few pubs, visited the Guinness brewery on the Bublin ho-ho, visited a few pubs, took the DART train along the coast to Dun Laoghaire, visited a few pubs, took a van tour of the Wicklow Mountains, visited a few pubs, strolled O'Connell Street & the riverside by Ha'penny Bridge. Trinity College and its Book of Kells seems to be high on many visitors' priorities

Unless you want to head into the mountains I don't see a need for a tour in Dublin - on foot & by ho-ho should do the trick.

Never been to either Cork or Belfast.

I'm no authority on Scotland either.

As a kid I lived a few years in Aberdeen, but that was 50+ years ago, and other than the main roads for business I haven't been to Scotland in decades.

Kirkwall is the capital of the Orkney Isles, I've never been to them.

From Invergordon. Inverness is the obvious town to visit. But I reckon its worth checking out tours to the countryside & along the shores of Loch Ness, or into the Grampians - the Boat of Garten and the whiskey distilleries of Speyside.

Can't help with Glasgow city, but from there mebbe a boat down the Clyde or a drive to Loch Lomond & the Trossachs. Glencoe & Fort William would probably be too far, though it's value is as much for the journey as for the destination.

Edinburgh I suspect is easy to DIY, though you'd need transport to & from.

It's worth considering renting a car in some of those ports (perhaps Invergordon or Glasgow), but it's something that I'd certainly recommend for Guernsey.

Again, it's many years since I've been there but it's quite small, with a maze of little lanes to explore and fortifications old & new (German defences from its occupation in WW2 including the military hospital).

But one note of caution - Guernsey is a tender port and unreliable because of unreliable seas. So check cancellation terms for any advance bookings - car rental, tour, etc.

All that said, I'm responding cos I was asked & not because I'm much help.:rolleyes:

Hopefully others can give better / fuller advice

JB :)

Hi Sailoroma,

 

There's places in the world that I know, and places I don't know.

And you've picked mainly places I don't know.:rolleyes:

 

Only ever once been to Ireland, for a short break in Dublin.

Visited a few pubs, visited the Guinness brewery on the Bublin ho-ho, visited a few pubs, took the DART train along the coast to Dun Laoghaire, visited a few pubs, took a van tour of the Wicklow Mountains, visited a few pubs, strolled O'Connell Street & the riverside by Ha'penny Bridge. Trinity College and its Book of Kells seems to be high on many visitors' priorities

Unless you want to head into the mountains I don't see a need for a tour in Dublin - on foot & by ho-ho should do the trick.

Never been to either Cork or Belfast.

 

I'm no authority on Scotland either.

As a kid I lived a few years in Aberdeen, but that was 50+ years ago, and other than the main roads for business I haven't been to Scotland in decades.

Kirkwall is the capital of the Orkney Isles, I've never been to them.

From Invergordon. Inverness is the obvious town to visit. But I reckon its worth checking out tours to the countryside & along the shores of Loch Ness, or into the Grampians - the Boat of Garten and the whiskey distilleries of Speyside.

Can't help with Glasgow city, but from there mebbe a boat down the Clyde or a drive to Loch Lomond & the Trossachs. Glencoe & Fort William would probably be too far, though it's value is as much for the journey as for the destination.

Edinburgh I suspect is easy to DIY, though you'd need transport to & from.

 

It's worth considering renting a car in some of those ports (perhaps Invergordon or Glasgow), but it's something that I'd certainly recommend for Guernsey.

Again, it's many years since I've been there but it's quite small, with a maze of little lanes to explore and fortifications old & new (German defences from its occupation in WW2 including the military hospital).

But one note of caution - Guernsey is a tender port and unreliable because of unreliable seas. So check cancellation terms for any advance bookings - car rental, tour, etc.

 

All that said, I'm responding cos I was asked & not because I'm much help.:rolleyes:

Hopefully others can give better / fuller advice

 

JB :)

Butting in here, but I did the BI cruise last year on the Caribbean and had a wonderful time seeing many things and places I'd only read about or seen on TV..

If you enjoy history and things that out of the ordinary, when you go to the Orkney Islands, do an excursion to Skara Brae. It's what remains of a Neolithic community that is partially underground. I found it fascinating. It's one of those World Heritage sites that seems quite popular.

I also enjoyed a bus tour in Scotland that took us to see a number of lochs, including Loch Ness, and we had some free time in a small village on the shore of Loch Ness that had charming stone cottages. Very picturesque.

JMO, but a visit to Edinburgh Castle is a should do. It's enormous and there's a lot to see.

As no one else has posted, I will offer my opinion......

First off, Giant's Causeway is best done from Belfast as it is on the Antrim coast in the extreme North of Ireland.

For Dublin, I would suggest the usual recommendations of Book of Kells, Trinity College, Guinness Storehouse, and the HO-HO bus. Maybe, if you are feeling adventurous a trip out to Powerscourt House, but it is a good distance out of Dublin.

All the other locations you want to visit are basically in the West of Ireland. Tours of the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula leave Killarney at 10.30 each morning and return to Killarney at 5pm. Killarney is a two hour drive from Cobh. So, perhaps the two suggestions I can offer are either a ship tour (which will of course be expensive!) or try contaction Butlers Tours in Cobh who are often mentioned on this forum. Perhaps you could organise a group through the Roll Call. They would be able to offer you advise on where you could go based on your arrival and departure times.

P.S. please note that the day before you board Monday 28th August is a 'Bank Holiday' in UK. This means a National Public holiday with the usual increase in traffic, travellers etc.

Because the BI itinerary is so port intensive, with port day after port day after port day, if you schedule full days tours for every port, it's easy to get exhausted. When you finally do get a sea day, it's feels kind of like a vacation from work!! LOL

We did mostly half day tours, leaving us time to do some leisurely walking around in port towns where the pier was essentially in town, or allowed us a leisurely morning on the ship because we had an afternoon tour. We only did a couple of full day excursions, and those were chosen for their special (to us) content or interest.

Thank you John Bull, Flamomo and VMax1700. Greatly appreciate your tips. John Bull's clever comments about his "visit to a few pubs" made me chuckle and I am certain it will not take much persuasion for our group to make a few pub stops while in Ireland. Thank you Flamomo about your reminder to allow some "leisure" time when planning port activities. It is so easy to get caught up in trying to see and do as much as you can. Since we are hoping to arrange a Ring of Kerry excursion, I was delighted to hear about Butlers Tour from VMax1700.

We are a group of 5 adults and would love to see the places you mentioned. We would def be interested in joining any tours to dingle, ring of Kerry, cliffs of moher, etc. Please keep us posted if you would like to add 5! Thx! Can't wait! :D

Two years ago you provided me with information that greatlyassisted my group to make a decision to book a cruise to Norway or the BalticSea area. We ended up going to Norwayand did not regret our decision. Sinceyou are a wealth of knowledge, I would greatly appreciate anyinsight/recommendations you can provide to help us plan our shore excursionswhile visiting the British Isles on the Caribbean Princess leaving Southampton on August 29th.

 

The only excursion booked at this point is to the NormandyD-Day Battlefields with Overlord Tours when docked at LeHavre, France. Ourcruise schedule is as follows:

 

Tuesday, August 29 – Southampton

Wednesday, August 30 – St. Peter Port, Guernsey, ChannelIsland

Thursday, August 31 – Cork (Cobh), Ireland

Friday, September 1 – Dublin, Ireland

Saturday, September 2 – Belfast, northern Ireland

Sunday, September 3 – Glasgow (Greenock), Scotland

Monday, September 4 – Sea

Tuesday, September 5 – Kirkwall, Scotland

Wednesday, September 6 – Invergordon, Scotland

Thursday, September 7 – Edinburgh (S Queensferry), Scotland

Friday, September 8 – Sea

Saturday, September 9 – Paris (Le Havre), France

Sunday, September 10 – Southampton

 

Since we really enjoy seeing the country side and roaming aroundcities/villages near the port rather than spending hours in museums andcathedrals, I would like your thoughts about some of the “must see” sites whilevisiting Ireland.

 

Cliffs of Moher

Ring of Kerry

Killarney National Park

Dingle Peninsula

Giant’s Causeway

 

 

Would also appreciate your opinion about what ports arethe best for just roaming around the closest city rather than participating inan organized tour. We want to avoidscheduling an excursion at every port and want some “down time” to just wanderaround the area at our leisure.

 

 

Thank you.

In Kirkwell we did an excellent private tour with Wild about Orkney.

We have taken the HOHO bus in Dublin. It had live commentary and one of the best we have done.

We have also taken HOHOs in Glasgow and Cork, although Cork is fairly small and you could probably walk around or use public transport. The English Market is worth a visit.

In Le Havre it depends if you want to visit Paris or stay in Normandy. I would hire a car and do the DDay beaches and Bayeux and/ or Honfleur. There's plenty of info here on CC.