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Has anyone attended the Edinburgh Tattoo with Private Seating & Reception?


JimAOk1945
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Hello everyone!

I have posted this question in the Britain Port of Call section, but since we are booked on a Princess cruise, I thought someone here might have some information to share.

My wife and I will be taking a British Isles cruise next August to celebrate our anniversary. We are planning to attend the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

We will have seats in the Royal Gallery and attend the reception following the program. According to the Princess website, this excursion is called the Edinburgh Tattoo with Private Seating & Reception

The cruise website excursion description doesn't answer my specific questions. I'd love to hear anyone's experiences with this excursion. Feel free to go into as much detail as you wish. I've searched Cruise Critic and the internet for several hours but can't find personal reviews from anyone who took this specific excursion.

 

Also, here are a few questions that came to mind:

Did you disembark the ship in a group and then board a bus or meet at the pier?

How close to castle did the bus take you?

Did you have assigned seats?

Did you have a good view of the entire performance or were you too far away?

What was the Reception like?

Were the restrooms nearby?

What did you receive in your “Gift Bag?”

 

I know next August is along way off, but I like to plan ahead especially for a special occasion like the Tattoo. Thanks in advance for your help.

Edited by JimAOk1945
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Hello everyone!

I have posted this question in the Britain Port of Call section, but since we are booked on a Princess cruise, I thought someone here might have some information to share.

My wife and I will be taking a British Isles cruise next August to celebrate our anniversary. We are planning to attend the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

We will have seats in the Royal Gallery and attend the reception following the program. According to the Princess website, this excursion is called the Edinburgh Tattoo with Private Seating & Reception

The cruise website excursion description doesn't answer my specific questions. I'd love to hear anyone's experiences with this excursion. Feel free to go into as much detail as you wish. I've searched Cruise Critic and the internet for several hours but can't find personal reviews from anyone who took this specific excursion.

My wife and I took the British Isles cruise on the Caribbean Princess in August 2017. We went to the Tattoo from the port of Greenock on the other side of the island past Glasgow. We were a party of eight on this cruise - four brothers and our wives. One brother and sister-in-law and my wife and I had reserved the Edinburgh Tattoo with Private Seating and Reception excursion. My other two brothers and sisters-in-law took one of the other Princess Tattoo excursions.

 

Also, here are a few questions that came to mind:



I will try to answer your questions. Since I am answering mostly from memory, I'm not absolutely sure about all of the answers.

 

Did you disembark the ship in a group and then board a bus or meet at the pier?

We met on the ship at a designated time. I believe we met and left the ship about one half hour later than the other Tattoo excursions.



How close to castle did the bus take you?

Our group was in a smaller minibus - not a full size bus. The bus took us up to the castle entrance - very close to the lift (elevator for Americans) to the Royal Gallery. There was very little walking.





 

The other Princess Tattoo excursions were in full size buses that parked at the bottom of the Royal Mile. They had a long walk up hill to get to the castle and another long walk at the end of the Tattoo to get back to the bus parking lot.

This was one of the reasons I booked this excursion. My wife has walking difficulties. She walks slowly, uses a cane, and tires when walking long distances. Although the Tattoo allows people with disabilities to be taken up to the castle, Princess did not have an excursion available for people with disabilities. The Edinburgh Tattoo with Private Seating and Reception, however, was very suitable for people with walking difficulties.



We had one problem on the night we went however. The lift to the Royal Gallery was broken, so we had to use the stairs to climb to the Royal Gallery. They offered people who could not handle the stairs alternative seats on the ground level, and I believe Princess adjusted the excursion costs for those people who take advantage of that offer. My wife did manage to climb the steps, so we didn't take the alternative seats. I would not expect you to have the same problem. The lift was very close to where we entered and returned to the minibus, and at the top it was very close to the Royal Gallery itself.



We were able to leave the ship a half hour after the other Tattoo excursions because they had to provide time to walk up the Royal Mile. Also we were able to go to the reception and then leave and get back to the ship when the others did because we did not have to walk back down the Royal Mile.

Did you have assigned seats?

We each received a ticket with an assigned seat. They gave us the tickets on the bus as we were traveling to Edinburgh. Since we had two couples traveling together, we told them and they gave us tickets next to each other. To make sure, if you are traveling with anyone else (other than someone in the same cabin), I recommend you tell the Shore Excursions people in advance.



Did you have a good view of the entire performance or were you too far away?

The view was perfect. We could not always see details of individual performers, but you can always take binoculars. Many of the performances were large production shows that you really would not appreciate as well at ground level.

 

Also everything was aimed at the end where we were seating, so we were looking at the front of the performance - not at the side. We were seating about six seats away from the Salute Taker - a military officer in uniform who stood and returned salutes from the performers in each group.

What was the Reception like?

I believe the reception had drinks and some refreshments, but I can't really remember what. The Producer of the show talked about the show, including information about how the groups were selected and how everyone prepared. We also had a piper who gave a short performance at the reception.

Were the restrooms nearby?

Yes. The reception was held in a small entrance area outside the doors to the Royal Gallery. We went through that area on our way in and on our way out. There were restrooms just outside that area. These restrooms were not available to the general attendees, so we did not have the waits that others may have had.

What did you receive in your “Gift Bag?”

We each received a program book, a scarf in the Tattoo tartan, and a few other items I forget.

I know next August is along way off, but I like to plan ahead especially for a special occasion like the Tattoo. Thanks in advance for your help.

The Tattoo was fantastic. Even though this excursion was expensive, I don't regret it at all. When you consider how much we paid for the cruise and for the airline tickets from the United States, the additional cost for this excursion was not really that much. We scheduled this cruise in August specifically for the Tattoo - it was the reason we were there, and we wanted to see it right. This is not something we would do everyday, and we probably wouldn't go back to the Royal Gallery if we go back to the Tattoo, but it was definitely worth it to us for our first time to see the Tattoo.

 

Note that you will need to wear a suit and tie for men and equivalent dress for women. The military officers in that section were all wearing their dress uniforms.

 

It rained some while we were watching the Tattoo. Umbrellas are not allowed in the Tattoo, since they would prevent others from seeing and would drop water on your neighbors. You could carry them in, since you could use them for the walk up and back. I saw ushers respond very quickly to anyone who opened an umbrella. That was not a problem in the Royal Gallery however. Even though it is open to the front, the Royal Gallery is fully covered. That does make it somewhat more comfortable if it rains - or I should say when it rains (since we are in Scotland in August).

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A few years ago pants suits were acceptable for ladies. I would suggest that you bring an overcoat if it is raining. The night we went it poured the entire show but we had our football stadium ponchos and no problem. We sat in the row right in front of the box and had perfect viewing. I had friends that attended the Princess tour that you are interested in and they had a wonderful time and booked it because of his wife having walking difficulties.

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My wife and I took the British Isles cruise on the Caribbean Princess in August 2017. We went to the Tattoo from the port of Greenock on the other side of the island past Glasgow. We were a party of eight on this cruise - four brothers and our wives. One brother and sister-in-law and my wife and I had reserved the Edinburgh Tattoo with Private Seating and Reception excursion. My other two brothers and sisters-in-law took one of the other Princess Tattoo excursions.

 

 



I will try to answer your questions. Since I am answering mostly from memory, I'm not absolutely sure about all of the answers.

 

We met on the ship at a designated time. I believe we met and left the ship about one half hour later than the other Tattoo excursions.



Our group was in a smaller minibus - not a full size bus. The bus took us up to the castle entrance - very close to the lift (elevator for Americans) to the Royal Gallery. There was very little walking.





 

The other Princess Tattoo excursions were in full size buses that parked at the bottom of the Royal Mile. They had a long walk up hill to get to the castle and another long walk at the end of the Tattoo to get back to the bus parking lot.

This was one of the reasons I booked this excursion. My wife has walking difficulties. She walks slowly, uses a cane, and tires when walking long distances. Although the Tattoo allows people with disabilities to be taken up to the castle, Princess did not have an excursion available for people with disabilities. The Edinburgh Tattoo with Private Seating and Reception, however, was very suitable for people with walking difficulties.



We had one problem on the night we went however. The lift to the Royal Gallery was broken, so we had to use the stairs to climb to the Royal Gallery. They offered people who could not handle the stairs alternative seats on the ground level, and I believe Princess adjusted the excursion costs for those people who take advantage of that offer. My wife did manage to climb the steps, so we didn't take the alternative seats. I would not expect you to have the same problem. The lift was very close to where we entered and returned to the minibus, and at the top it was very close to the Royal Gallery itself.



We were able to leave the ship a half hour after the other Tattoo excursions because they had to provide time to walk up the Royal Mile. Also we were able to go to the reception and then leave and get back to the ship when the others did because we did not have to walk back down the Royal Mile.

We each received a ticket with an assigned seat. They gave us the tickets on the bus as we were traveling to Edinburgh. Since we had two couples traveling together, we told them and they gave us tickets next to each other. To make sure, if you are traveling with anyone else (other than someone in the same cabin), I recommend you tell the Shore Excursions people in advance.



The view was perfect. We could not always see details of individual performers, but you can always take binoculars. Many of the performances were large production shows that you really would not appreciate as well at ground level.

 

Also everything was aimed at the end where we were seating, so we were looking at the front of the performance - not at the side. We were seating about six seats away from the Salute Taker - a military officer in uniform who stood and returned salutes from the performers in each group.

I believe the reception had drinks and some refreshments, but I can't really remember what. The Producer of the show talked about the show, including information about how the groups were selected and how everyone prepared. We also had a piper who gave a short performance at the reception.

Yes. The reception was held in a small entrance area outside the doors to the Royal Gallery. We went through that area on our way in and on our way out. There were restrooms just outside that area. These restrooms were not available to the general attendees, so we did not have the waits that others may have had.

We each received a program book, a scarf in the Tattoo tartan, and a few other items I forget.

The Tattoo was fantastic. Even though this excursion was expensive, I don't regret it at all. When you consider how much we paid for the cruise and for the airline tickets from the United States, the additional cost for this excursion was not really that much. We scheduled this cruise in August specifically for the Tattoo - it was the reason we were there, and we wanted to see it right. This is not something we would do everyday, and we probably wouldn't go back to the Royal Gallery if we go back to the Tattoo, but it was definitely worth it to us for our first time to see the Tattoo.

 

Note that you will need to wear a suit and tie for men and equivalent dress for women. The military officers in that section were all wearing their dress uniforms.

 

It rained some while we were watching the Tattoo. Umbrellas are not allowed in the Tattoo, since they would prevent others from seeing and would drop water on your neighbors. You could carry them in, since you could use them for the walk up and back. I saw ushers respond very quickly to anyone who opened an umbrella. That was not a problem in the Royal Gallery however. Even though it is open to the front, the Royal Gallery is fully covered. That does make it somewhat more comfortable if it rains - or I should say when it rains (since we are in Scotland in August).

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions. You provided me with a wealth of information and I have learned so much from reading your responses. I appreciate it so much.

 

We are looking forward to seeing the Tattoo next year. I think it will be the highlight of the cruise.

 

One more question. Did you notice any of the attendees carrying and using their cameras or phones to take pictures?

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Forums mobile app

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A few years ago pants suits were acceptable for ladies. I would suggest that you bring an overcoat if it is raining. The night we went it poured the entire show but we had our football stadium ponchos and no problem. We sat in the row right in front of the box and had perfect viewing. I had friends that attended the Princess tour that you are interested in and they had a wonderful time and booked it because of his wife having walking difficulties.
It's good to know pantsuits are accepted. This is what my wife prefers.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Forums mobile app

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Photography is allowed, but no tripods or flash.
Thanks for taking the time to reply to my question. It will make my wife very happy to know she can take loads of pictures for her website. The internet doesn't seem to have any pictures taken by those attending the reception.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Forums mobile app

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