cruisegal415

To each their own! I'm sure some people enjoyed it. I would have rather just taken a ride into Belfast and done the Titanic on our own, or, taken an historic tour of Belfast and learned more about the troubles. We are more into history than geology.

On the Emerald Princess’s British Isles tour. Had wonderful tours and excursions in Guernsey, Cobh and Dublin. Felt that Giants Causeway from Belfast was a waste of time. If you’re a member of the National Trust, you can get the $13 Causeway Experience for free but if not they won’t even let you into the cafe to grab a takeaway or an ice cream cone. Be sure to bring cash (4 pounds total for two people round trip) for the shuttle that takes you up and back from the top. Otherwise it is a very long walk. Maybe it’s just me but I didn’t think spending almost 2 hours to get there and about 90 minutes to get back was worth it to look at a bunch of rocks. Our ship was supposed to dock at 8 am but due to some issues with the tide or something we didn’t dock till 9 and weren’t able to leave the ship until about 9:45. Our excursion which was supposed to start at 8:30 didn’t leave until maybe 10:15. Since our tour guide had booked tickets for the Titanic Experience for 3, we ended up having to skip our lunch stop. So I was glad I had taken along some protein bars and crackers at the last minute. The ride to Giant’s Causeway from Belfast was almost two hours including a 10-15 minute stop to see the rope bridge. Honestly we could have gone to the Titanic Museum on our own rather than being on a bus for most of the day.

We are doing a walking tour in the morning and then will have a few hours. We were going to go to Castle Coronet but now I’m thinking maybe Victor Hugo House or German Occupation Museum. If you had to choose between those three, which would you choose and which would be easiest to get there? We’re coming next week.

Someone mentioned Megabus? I checked and their website said they are no longer doing it but referred us to their partner, City Sightseeing. They also have red buses. I'll check their routes as suggested.

Exactly the information I was looking for!! Thanks John!

Our overnight flight arrives at 10:30 am London time, so we figured we'd drop our bags at the hotel (our room probably won't be ready yet) and take a sightseeing bus through London to start getting acclimated. Should we take a HOHO bus or a sightseeing bus or are they one and the same? Looking for something that would take us around to all the sights and give us some commentary, so we can get an overview before we have a few days to explore. Already booked Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Tower of London, which we will visit on subsequent days before our British Isles cruise.

Some of the excursions we are taking require paying the balance in cash (pounds sterling or euros) at the end of the excursions. Would that we could use our plastic for everything!

Very good point. I'm guessing we'll be tired/exhausted after making the trip from Miami FL, and as we are mid sixties, the idea of just finding the official taxi rank outside the terminal vs looking for or having to navigate our way to one of the airport car parks seems easier. On the other hand, wouldn't there be someone with a sign in the terminal or don't they do that any more?

Can we trade in our pounds and euros at the end of the trip to US dollars at the airport?

So would pre-booking a car service be preferable to taking a taxi from Heathrow?

I see that the tours provided by the usual groups to Edinburgh Castle are only on the outside, as no tour guides are permitted inside. The tours I have seen are about 1.5 hours and cover the outside of the castle. I'm not sure if we should do this or not. I find it interesting to hear the history, etc., and wonder if we would be missing it if we didn't. But the tours I'm looking at start at the base of the hill, climb up the hill, go around the outside of the castle, and take 1.5 hours. I wonder if it would make more sense to take a cab to the top, get out at the castle, and wander around ourselves. I think there's an audio guide. Pro's and con's? We go next month.

On some of the excursions I booked, it says that tipping is expected. Not sure if that means the driver, the tour guide, or both. They suggest £5 per person. Is this not a thing?

We have excursions booked for all the ports on the Princess BI cruise next month and are spending 3 days in London pre-cruise. I know when we went to Europe we had to have euros available to use some public toilets. I assume the places we will be seeing have facilities in them, but doe we need to bring cash to use them? Trying to figure out how much extra to bring for bathrooms.

Looking forward to taking the Beefeater tour. Do they accept/expect tips? How much?

As long as we get it before the cruise!

You are correct. Royal Collection is also the one that has the Beatles Childhood Homes, which we are also seeing. All these places require pre-purchased tickets with a specific time which makes me nervous because it's tricky to plan on the timings if we are seeing more than one in any given day.

Definitely plan to! Bought a membership to the Historic Palaces which includes that, Hampton Court and Kensington as well as the Tower of London.

Just wanted to add my thank you to you as well, the information you are giving is so helpful! I am also on the August 25th cruise, and have learned a lot from your very thorough reviews!

How long would you estimate we should allow to visit the Tower, including the tour and seeing the jewels? We unfortunately only have two days in London pre-cruise and I fear that we will not have enough time to do even the minuscule amount of things we want to!

Great info! I think we will just take a taxi, to save our steps. After the Guinness Storehouse we are doing a Sights and Pints tour which is a walking tour of Dublin. We are also on the August 25th cruise, some of our other Roll Call pax are also following your wonderful review! I also wonder what camera did you use to get these great pics? Or did you just use your iPhone?

Where/how did you get a Beefeater tour? That sounds fantastic!

Was this the best stop to get off for the Guiness Storehouse? That's our first place we are going in Dublin, planning on taking the train. Was there more than one line to get on? (train line, I mean, not a queue line)

After disembarkation begins, you need to shuttle to shore. Even being on the first shuttle will be calling it very close if the shuttles started on time. (I assume you mean a private excursion, not a Princess one.) Yes a private one, Butlers. It worries me because I know that the Princess excursion folks get priority on the shuttles, and I think, then, elites? I guess if we all make it on the excursion, they may just have to readjust the schedule if we run out of time.

How late were you in docking there? We booked an excursion that leaves 30 minutes after disembarkation begins, and I worry that we won't have enough time on it.

We had hoped to book with Annette when we are there in August but unfortunately she has a wedding booked that weekend so she is not available. We did book another similar tour but really was looking forward to Annette as we've heard so many good things about her tour.