In Retirement
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Posts posted by In Retirement
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Hello,
Its good to worry and wrassle it out. Our schedule with Butlers (24 seats) was 1000 Cahir Castle, 1200 Rock of Cashel, and 1530 Charlesfort. Yes, bathroom breaks at each, but no lunch stop. I had originally designed a Cashel/Cahir/Lismore day but discovered to/from Lismore = 3 hours (for a sandwich) and didn't like the idea if something went wrong we would be 1 1/2 hours from the ship, while Charlesfort would be 1/2 hour.
OK, I scheduled group admissions with guided tour months before. The tour at Cahir Castle was a hoot and simply wonderful. Loved the easy access and the lovely views. Apparently the highway reduced traffic flows through Cahir and Cashel and we loved the relative quiet. I would suggest that one approach is to drop Charlesfort and visit one or both villages. Cashel (we probably had the same quiet and slow guide) was, as many castles, a physical challenge with a steep climb from parking to structures.
No, our driver took control of our coach (it was great) and got us to our scheduled appointments. Our tour a Charlesfort was complicated by a slight continuing rain that made the stones somewhat slippery?
I am now a strong supporter of Butlers and would listen to them but also use the Automobile Association website that provides distances and driving times (though not for a 24-seat coach).
We all had a wonderful day. Our tour easily fit within 8 hours.
DJ:)
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Hello,
Which popular ships will now be welcome into the new locks, for those of us who would return for a cruise with a full passage (Florida to California, etc.). Some of us really appreciate the expanded options found with a larger ship (and obviously these are more profitable?) as we enjoy show stages and contemporary attempts to minimize troublesome ship movements. We remember even a San Juan to Costa Rica (relatively short) cruise that ended with a multiple-day coach tour in Costa Rica (never again)?
DJ:)
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I am looking for feedback on a tour company, Norway Excursions. They are offering a bus tour out of Alesund called "From Fjords to Trolls". It is an 8 hour tour that includes lunch for 140 Euros. That is a lot better than HAL who is charging $230 for basically the same tour. I just have not been able to find a lot of info on the tour company so want to make sure I am spending my money wisely.
Interesting that after two years CC on a forum with no responses, I receive a response, How wonderful! I assume that you have read my comments regarding our 2014 cruise. We had a wonderful day out of Alesund and I went beyond anything I had ever done to lease a coach and recruit participants. Actually, this year I'm more or less doing several of these things on a repeat British Isles (Princess) cruise with several family members: our travel group now consists of 55 participants in 23 cabins! (So, I'm getting worse?)
My general impression of Norwegians is perhaps even too uniformly positive? I'd ask for the itinerary so you would see where you will be going and what you are seeing? Obviously cruise lines double on-economy retail prices, and if you'd like to pay 1/4 of the cruise line price, you have to become the tour developer and recruit participants!
My best (I'd take the chance, maybe look at promotional materials, or even ask for the names/email addresses of previous customers this or last season).
DJ:)
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Hi - spike island is well worth a look (just got back from a BI cruise yesterday) :)
It's and old fort and prison - you take a ferry across - be warned tickets are not for a timed ferry so don't buy a ticket and then come back just before it leaves (if it is full i guess you wait an hour)
The pier for spike island is about 5-10 min walk from the ship head along the sea front just past the titanic museum,
Chelsea.
So how was the June 13 cruise? How comfortable was the tender in Guernsey? How was France? In your first Ireland port, did you use Cobh or Ringaskiddy?
Much thanks,
DJ:) (19 July cruise)
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We plan to do a walking tour in Cobh and then explore on our own or maybe take a taxi to Kinsale
Don't know the date of your visit, but I've learned that Cobh handles only one large cruise ship at a time, no matter what your itinerary might post. You should confirm with Port of Cork website. We are in "Cobh" on 21 July -- but actually we dock at "Ringaskiddy" which is a ferry deep port directly south of Cobh. If you end up at Ringaskiddy you will be pretty well disoriented when you expect to walk out and visit adjacent museums, etc. Most of us on our Roll Call realize that they have to plan an activity from our port, not Cobh. Taxis, Tours, and hired vans will start from the south. I'll advise that you check and then check again a month before, as assignment can change (I had seen where both Celebrity and Princess were at Cobh for the same day and the same hours, but not true.) Good luck,
DJ:)
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We are planning to take a taxi (about 4-5 hour tour) to go to Kinsale and Charles Fort. Does anyone have any suggestions of things to see or do in Kinsale? Or if there is anything else we should stop to see? Thanks!
Our day's ecoach tour from Cobh in 2012 included a lunch stop there. My one positive memory of this tour was the time we had for lunch at "Fishy Fishy" (no kidding) If you are a seafood lover, this was a truly enjoyable time. Maybe you pay to see whatever you want and then get dropped off here for lunch (and then return to port?). We have a scheduled tour of Charles Fort 21 July (could tell you more next August!)
DJ:)
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We have a tour planned with "About Cork Taxi Tours" for a group of 13 to the above places. I will post a full and detailed cruise log / review upon our return in Mid July.
Our 21 July experience (so sorry that we will not be able to benefit from your experiences as we leave Houston 10 July!) started with months of planning and multiple rejections from coach company for our 0830am to 500pm window. Above all, I look at last location and time to return to port or if a van repair becomes an issue. I had first (taking reservations for a guided experience) started with Cahir Castle at 10am (54 miles), Rock of Cashel at 1200 noon, and then Lismore. Found that the few miles to Lismore was a 1 1/2 hour drive and the drive back to port was also 1 1/2 hours! Don't understand, but this Lismore experience ends up 3 hours of drive for one hour with a sandwich? We have ended up instead going to Charles Fort (on the water) which is 74 miles from Cashel, but only 16 miles from the port. So we have three guided tours, bathroom breaks and all know they are going to eat fiber bars and drink provided bottled water.
Obviously Cobh is inconvenient and at least needs another 2 hours of port time? I've also noticed on our BI cruise, that some people really want to walk industrial era cities (could instead more easily visit Gary Indiana. Don't know peoples attraction to Cork, Inverness, Glasgow etc. We are in most locations combining countryside, history, and selected city experiences.
Good luck,
DJ:)
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In Retirement and brazilgirl, thanks for the tips and contacts, I'm planning our BI cruise for June 2017 and would like to do something other than Blarney from Cobh. How much did/are you paying for the tour? We are a family group of 8 but may have 4 others join us.
In Retirement, do revert after you get back, I'm looking for a similar itinerary as yours, though for a smaller group.
Thanks in advance, Prish
Hello, The multiple tricks of such a cruise is to early book exactly the two adjacent cabins that you want and then to look for price reductions and work with a TA who will cooperate. For our upcoming we've saved thousands that way.
Second, try to disavow your notion of only touring with people you've known for years! Cruise Critic is wonderful in that similarly motivated and often experienced folks will contribute. Whether you 8 buy seats on a private commercial van at 50% discount or plan your own tour by renting a van/driver or even a coach/driver you will save anywhere from 50% to 75% over cruise line prices! Seeing that I'm retired, the time involved was worth the effort and savings! If you want a port-by-port description including highlights and problems experienced, feel free to email me into August for descriptions (balticports@yahoo.com) also note where you are coming from and previous experience with UK/Ireland etc.
DJ:)
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Spent two weeks on the ground in Ireland 3 years ago and visited many of these. Found the rock of cashel very interesting (dress warm, lots of wind). Also enjoyed Jameson tour. If you have some end of day time the titanic experience is worth an hour but won't fill a day. I may get slammed as I have on other boards but I am not a big fan of blarney given all the other available places to go and see.
People who watch Rick Steves "visit" to Blarney Castle, or read his more recent judgment about the "Disney-esque" nature of this ancient ruin would understand your good judgment. I'll bet you are having problems from the "I did it, I thought it was wonderful" crowd, who have the retrospective judgment that because they selected the experience it was great. (Unfortunately, Cruise Critic is not strong on posting negative experiences, but there is TripAdvisor?) With this in mind, we have substituted Cahir castle and Rock of Cashel.
DJ:)
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Brazilgirl
Can I ask who did you hire for your day to Hore Abbey, Cashel and Cahir?
Thanks
We essentially visit Port of Cork (moved from Cobh to Ringaskiddy) and did not want to repeat eCoach private tour. The same company rents vans & drivers (Butlers) -- you could start by looking at their website. I have dealt with their Tour Manager (Ciara Fitzharris: claire@butlers-buses.com). She has been very helpful and good at "reality testing" when my ideas exceeded our time limits! They have 3 van sizes; we've selected a 24-seat van and will do Cahir Castle, Rock of Cashel, and then back south to Charles Fort. I've contacted each site and have a guided tour reserved at each. No time for a sit-down lunch, we'll bring fiber/protein bars and have bought bottled water from Butlers. I'd Google these three locations. If you are planning for next season, email me for our experiences. If its before August, can't provide information as we'll be there 21 July.
DJ:)
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s
We are scheduled to dock in Cobh on 3rd June on Fred Olsen's Boudicca (about 28,000 ton). Caribbean Princess (just over 100,000 ton) is also scheduled to be there. Both companies seem convinced that is where they are docking, but the Port of Cork website gives Cobh for Princess and Ringaskiddy for us. Is there any chance we may dock in Cobh with the Princess ship, or is it much more likely that Fred have got it wrong?If we do end up in Ringaskiddy, do you have any idea what a taxi would cost to Cork? It is very difficult to book a taxi as we are not sure where we will dock, but we may be able to ring for one when we arrive if the situation is not clarified before then.
Really good to hear that other cruise lines are just as stubborn, and frequently wrong. Have had many experiences where I would find out something and then have it confirmed by the port, while the cruiseline stuck with what they had written months before (both Princess ans Celebrity). This July we are also in the Cobh/Ringaskiddy situation. The port of Cork, that controls where all ships dock, doesn't care what Princess (California) says about the situation. We are at Ringaskiddy, the Celebrity ship is at Cobh. (Look at Google map, this change of location can be useful depending on where you want to go.) We are leasing a van and driver for the day from Butlers, and they now know where to come to get us.
DJ:)
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Taxis are not cheap, though it does work out cheaper the more people you fit in. You can book a cab in Cobh, there are a couple of companies, you just let them know how many and what number. Also in Cobh there are usually a couple of Taxis out side the ship, the taxi will contact the taxi Base and request a bigger cab, but you run the risk of it already being booked.
In Cobh, where do you want to go?
Hello Kerry in Cork. Our specific port visit to SE Ireland (Thursday 21 July) was posted originally as Cobh, but Princess arrivals seem to be slowly moved to the Ferry port across the water, south (Ringaskiddy). I had noticed last year when we selected this date that a Celebrity cruise ship
was also scheduled in to Cobh on 21 July, arriving and departing this port at the same time! Is it possible that Cobh only accomodates one large cruise ship? Looking at previous Cruise Critic forums, apparently this is not a new issue at all?
The best question for you to answer to this general audience is what people should do now that they know they will wake up 21 July at Ringaskiddy. It seems that the only people who will be comfortable concerning their day are those who have selected either a cruise ship excursion, developed their own private tour and have a van waiting for them, or are signed up with purchase per seat of a private day's tour? Do you think that taxis will be at this port? Are you aware of resources that passengers can contact now to arrange transportation or even more?
DJ:)
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For scenery and atmosphere I would pick the Clonakilty, Glengarriff, Gougane Barra trip, however it will be a long trip. The road to/from Gougane/Glengarriff is narrow and twisty. The road from Gougane to/from Cork is long and twisty. Are you renting a car for this, or is it an organised trip? There is also Garnish Island on this trip!
Rock of Cashel is nice and a stop at Cahir Castle 15 miles before it, is a must. The landscape will be green and you will see the mountains, however the Clonakilty/gougane trip has the raw wildness of West Cork.
We are a 24-person van quite set on Cobh-Cahir (0830, 1000 tour) and Cashel (noon tour). At 1330 we thought we were doing a visit to Lismore and lovely ride there from Cashel, but I've received estimates of 1 1/2 hour ride Cashel/Lismore and Lismore/Cobh, giving us an hour at Lismore to gulp down a sandwhich! Now thinking it makes more sense to head back towards Cork at 1330, or lunch at Cashel (?) -- any ideas of reduction of afternoon road time (3 hours driving/1 hour out of van). Could jet down to Kinsale? Wondering what speeds a van can do on M8 and if there is anything of visit merit between Cahir and Cobh? All advice much appreciated!
DJ:)
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In Dublin and Cobh you will have to specify you need a large taxi.
In Dublin, if it's just to take you into the city, there is a bus near where your ship gets in.
We are a family group of seven: can you recommend reliable taxi company to email? I know we will do only a short travel from dock (to Trinity or Archeology Museum) and apparently our visit begins after noon! Also, wonder if on a Friday afternoon 1500-1700 do pubs between city center and dock offer traditional live music with your beer?
This is my second visit in five years, but never to Dublin on a visit that starts Friday afternoon! Much thanks,
DJ:)
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Hi alll cruisers . on Goldern princess april 2016 melbourne to Hong Kong just been upgraded (downgraded?) to a lower deck D aft to a minisuite with balcony. any experiences with minisuites aft compared to what I booked midship C deck ? .concerned about engine shaking and motion sickness. No problems on two previous Princess cruises.
thanks john
John,
Do you have experience with being sea sick? We have been lucky to snag an aft balcony and found we had wonderful experience. Sometimes these cabins have been added-on in subsequent dry docks. On our upcoming British Isles cruise we needed two adjacent mini-suites and had the choice of two decks. I was advised against the the lowest deck choice because of the public space below these cabins. Best advice is to make certain that the space below and above you are passenger cabins. Also useful not to be sound-sensitive and just enjoy. Have never sailed in Asia and my only concern has to do with the water conditions currently in the Pacific (all of these horrible storms).
DJ:)
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look at the cruise line website before questioning a poster's integrity. The 21 day Western Europe Explorer docks in Rouen on May 5th.
If you view your 16 February posting, you will note that you didn't put in the date in May, so didn't originally look at April options. This ship has the capacity for both canal and river and deep water travel? The smallest ship we were on was the soon-to-be-sold Ocean Princess (14 horrible days) although in 2014 we sailed Basel to Amsterdam on a new river boat that was a good experience (the transportation, not the tours). The itinerary looks wonderful. Do you know how the ship gets from Cherbourg to Rouen. Obviously the Quest docks on the Seine and I'd do a Google Search for this, as well as review of TripAdvisor (sometimes on a Forum you will get a local to give you his/her observations).
Another thought: I haven't looked at Cherbourg: see their excursion options (I assume on this ship you pay for excursions?) so you'll see where they go? At Rouen you can either eat the night and get.. some mileage in, or you can do two different things: If you are in for easy/restful (and have spent some time in Paris, so not overly excited) I'd save Rouen for day two, so you have breakfast after a good night's sleep, do the morning in Rouen and maybe a local lunch (or return to ship; you have great food on this ship and I don't know where you come from-- honestly I don't vacation in Europe for the food?). On the day before the overnight, you have the option of traveling some distance away from Rouen as you can't be left behind if you are slow in the return?
Does this ship have an active Roll Call (can be a problem): excellent would be people who are looking for more participants and they are driving a couple of hours away to see something that may interest you.
Hope you return to this Forum on your return to at least post that you have shared your experiences on this ship and where I can find them (my wife won't stop teaching, so April travel (my first would be flowering bulb fields) isn't in our future. Have done 12-night RT Amsterdam for Norway (only) and that was so great. Baltic cruises with overnight in Russia: didn't want to go back and now won't, no need to support their international actions.
Maybe this helps your planning, hope that you are looking at multiple other sites. My France experience (so far, is Paris (many days) and nearby Paris, Rouen and Honfleur.
DJ:)
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If you overnight in Rouen consider an excursion to the Normandy landing beaches and cemetery. Or perhaps an excursion into the Normandy countryside. When we were on our river cruise we overnighted there. Rouen has wonderful shopping and restaurants. The cathedral is the subject of famous Monet paintings. You can also see original timber buildings. 3 years ago there was a multimedia light show on the cathedral each night, not sure if that was temporary or permanent
Princess stops at Le Havre (deep water port) and in 2012 we spent morning at Rouen and the afternoon at Honfleur. Used Radio Taxi Le Havre. Rouen has multiple things of interest. You could start with their art museum (see the Monets) then do the Cathedral itself and then go to the church that honors Joan of Arc (wonderful stained glass) and then there is the walk under the famous clock tower and the ancient buildings.
If I literally had one day for Rouen and one day (full day, or half day) again, I'd visit the websites for Rouen tourism and consider all the options that we didn't have time for. The same can be said for Honfleur: nice harborside views of the Seine, fine old church and museum possibilities. With the miracle of two full days with an actual night docked between them, I'd look at a larger circle and take into account your past experience and your financial situation or interest in recruiting 3 more couples? Have no idea what a van/driver charges for an overnight (as I've never done it). If you haven't experienced Paris at all, you could pack an overnight and look at train schedule to/from Paris: could fit in some actual museum time, food, and bateux bus to see things of interest. If I'd never been, and had the spirit of adventure, likely to do this as anyone can handle one bad night at a hotel that was a mistake!
Hope somebody actually has an overnight from Normandy and writes about it! Always fun to dream?
DJ:)
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thankfully- it's Rouen (re-read my post, please) on board the Seabourn Quest and yes I'm very sure we're there.... :) Thanks for your thoughts on Le Havre though...not my favorite place. Love Honfleur but doubt we'll go back. If you have any thoughts on ROUEN, I would love to read them. Thanks.
Rouen is on the banks of the Seine, this river empties at Honfleur and going the other way, there is Paris? Know that river boats work here, don't know about cruise ships. Doesn't look like this is a deep water port.
Used Cruise.com because of its great search engine. Looked at May and Seabourn, the Quest is spending the month in North Europe, going nowhere near France.
What do you think?
DJ:(
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has recently been to Rouen? We will be there for 2 days on a cruise ship stop in May, yes a cruise ship, not a river cruise where excursions are included. I have appreciated the postings on this thread - thanks.
Really, an overnight at Le Havre? Really can't believe it! Maybe some other port? (1) you can always start with looking at what the ship offers, you might get ideas. I only had one long day in 2012 (we go back this summer and do Normandy Beaches for our 10 hours) and we did Rouen in the morning and had lunch and some tourism in Honfleur in the afternoon. (2) Another thought is to look at Radio Taxi LeHavre and look at what they do. If I knew we were overnight, I'd probably take the train to/from Le Havre and first concentrate on Rouen (look at options on Trip Advisor for both Rouen and Honfleur (or for that matter Le Havre has a nice museum if you enjoy impressionists!). Hope this helps, Good luck,
DJ:)
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Some airports such as Norwich and Teesside charge this. It just makes people go to other airport. We had to pay a leaving fee to leave Cuba
Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app
Hello,
Airports charge landing and departure fees routinely. Coming into Heathrow is nothing, but leaving (when you fly on points) there is usually a substantial USD fee added to this portion of flight?
When we purchase a cruise vacation, port charges are routinely posted on their own line in costs details. Yes?
DJ:)
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Returning July 2016 (was there May 2012). In 2012 I found a British tax shelter and a town that did not acknowledge our presence: taking a bus around the island was quite difficut for those on holiday for days, finding their means of transport filled by ship passengers and the passengers very sorry that windows were blocked by standing passengers! Plan in 2016 to walk to the castle and hope that our tender landing is convenient for a pleasant walk of our 7-person family group. The town knows when a ship is coming and could do as well as a Caribbean island by offering buses for tour options? Most cruise ship corporations are top-down organizations. If my advice was polled, I'd say add Wales, Scotland, or France (like stay at LeHavre overnight to allow long day of active touring?). Oh, and what is the port fee for when island cannot accomodate ship (just tender docks).
DJ:)
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I'm doing the Barbados in a day tour with viator - go to the Harrison caves, the park with the green monkeys, birds etc ( wildlife reserve), the coasts,, islands green hills, beach and snorkel with turtles. And lunch included Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
You do understand that Viator is a worldwide marketer of tourism products? I don't think that you have Viator employees (they are online?) in Barbados, but some local resource that will take you to these experiences (during your port visit). You might want to compare to other companies that don't have to share profits and also compare to an agency like Glory Tours? I'd read descriptions of peoples' experiences at the Wildlife Reserve and Harrison Caves on TripAdvisor in your selection process -- hope that you at least drive by Bathsheba? Enjoy for sure,
DJ:)
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I looked at them, a few others that have been recommended. They seem a little expensive for a 3-4 tour. Is that the norm for Barbados? We're looking to see a few sights, a beach for the view, not to swim/snorkel, then a nice lunch before heading back to the ship. Following this for other suggestions, thanks. BTW this is my 1st CC post. had to delurk, join.. all this info is so helpful. :-)
Hello,
(1) You might make a list of what Glory would take you to (across options) and then look up those of potential interest on Trip Advisor (you pick up impressions, photos, ranking, website and email if available as well as the ability to email the person who posts the "interesting" comments). We found we would return to some locations, while others were fine for one visit? To take a look at a Barbados beach, at least a few minutes on Bathsheba and a drive to the north is very scenic and very typical.
(2) Barbados seems to me to be one of the best developed of the British islands and they take tourism quite seriously.
(3) Consider going to locations that the ship doesn't go to and avoid the crowds.
(4) Food: depends on your cruiseline and the other islands you will be visiting and your travel/food experience. In reality, if a meal is included in a tour, you are going to eat at both an inexpensive and quick location. Also, being a resident in a large urban area, we have seldom found, at least in Europe, a "unique" eating experience that was priced reasonably. Indeed, if your cruise line is at least mid-level (Princess, Holland America, Celebrity) you may find the food to be very good. We all have various experiences: MDW associates a GI discomfort with a lunch at a ranch in Jamaica and service on reused wood bowls, and she really is skeptical of tours that include such meals. Mind you, we have not sailed in Asia, which may be a different situation.
(5) Pricing: you can always compare any private rate to a cruise ship excursion, remembering that these prices include promotion, administration, and often the same services you might purchase directly. Also, it is likely that locals have to negotiate a lower price to be selected (hoping that volume will make up the discount provided). We also find that (so far) that Caribbean Roll Calls do not have the private-tour motivation that we have found to be ubiquitous of our many European cruises. Indeed, early participants are often very busy outlining options, while late-arrivals often first ask "what is still available" at each port.
My very best,
DJ:)
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Although very few ships have cabins that are connected through an interior door (and you may not be happy with their location), we've found that most adjacent balconies can be opened up between. When we travel with family, children/teens often move between cabins and, weather permitting, talking, reading, or time alone can vary with location. We had a late July RT Seattle Alaska week with 3 adjacent balconies and one dinning table for dinner. One of my favorite vacations (including grandchildren riding trains, watching whales, etc.). (Far less hectic than Disney World.) Have selected upcoming July British Isles for easy access to laundry, buffet, and youth/teen activity. Really enjoy Europe-based Roll Calls as most participants are quite focused on planning port experiences.
Good luck,
DJ:)
Cork (Cobh) - what to do other than Blarney?
in British Isles/Western Europe
Posted
I made a reservation for a facility-provided tour for our group (no extra expense) for each location and, indeed we did Cahir before Cashel because our first available tour of Cashel was at noon. I'd suggest making reservations that are workable and also visit TripAdvisor and maybe a Cruise Critic forum to see what a "village visit" would mean for you. I'd say that I would rank these three as (1) Cahir Castle (the gentleman who was the guide was absolutely wonderful; (2) Rock of Cashel (views): guide was soft-spoken and provider of information, not entertaining: those of us dealing with severe slopes (no place to sit down); (3) Charlesfort: drive from Cashel to Charlesfort worked; weather became problematic with rain that made a comprehensive tour more of a challenge. Really, if weather was stable (or predictable) maybe I'd do Cahir and Charlesfort with a lunch break in Kinsale (Fishy Fishy?). Good luck in your planning. DJ:)