Scottish Military Tatoo

Looking at a British Isle trip 2019 Aug. Main reason the military tattoo, yes I know it is expensive but is a bucket list thing hang the cost. For those who have done a ship excursion I need an idea of how fast these tours book up. I would imagine they would fill pretty fast. Have you ever tried to book when bookings open up and been told they are all filled up. Would much prefer to do a ship sponsored tour.

Looking at a British Isle trip 2019 Aug. Main reason the military tattoo, yes I know it is expensive but is a bucket list thing hang the cost. For those who have done a ship excursion I need an idea of how fast these tours book up. I would imagine they would fill pretty fast. Have you ever tried to book when bookings open up and been told they are all filled up. Would much prefer to do a ship sponsored tour.

I was on a Princess excursion to the Tattoo last August.

They do sell out way in advance. Princess has four different seating groups at different prices. Some of the groups were available later after earlier being listed as sold out. In fact, there were seats available onboard. I suspect some people reserved Princess excursions as soon as they were available and then cancelled after reserving private excursions later.

If you want a Princess excursion to the Tattoo, I recommend you reserve them as soon as they become available. There is no reason not to reserve them as early as possible. Even if you don't have enough OBC and have to pre-pay by credit card, the cost is still fully refundable if you change your mind. I would not book this cruise without making sure you had the Tattoo booked.

If you have any walking difficulties, you can count on a long walk up hill from the bus park to the castle and then back down to the bus park after the Tattoo. Even though the Tattoo will allow access directly to the castle for pre-booked handicapped tickets, you cannot book them through Princess - you would have to arrange this access directly. The Princess excursion "Edinburgh Tattoo with Private Seating & Reception" does take you by a mini-bus directly to the castle, so there is not much walking involved, but that excursion is much more expensive than the other ones to the Tattoo.

We did the Princess excursion a couple of years ago ... and it was absolutely worth every penny. If you can afford the price, go for the tickets where you sit directly in front of the castle rather than on the side. We would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

We did this last year and it was great and we had seats on the side up in the nosebleed section, but I still think it was worth it and yes it does fill up fast.

I am going this August. Booked tatoo reservation right away and there are spots still open. I was booked on a celebrity cruise but all the tatoo tickets were gone so I cancelled and booked with princess. Tattoo excursion on celebrity was nonrefundable.

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It is possible to do the Tattoo on your own or with a private tour. You buy your tickets online at the Tattoo website, and you can pick your seats at the various prices. We were part of an active roll call a few years ago that organized a private tour, and all went smoothly. In fact we had to bus from Glasgow because it was the end of August and would have been September when we arrived in Edinburgh.

However you get there, don't miss the Tattoo! We hope to make it back one of these days.

Some quick comments based on my experience visiting the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo last year. I was not on a cruise but rather with my pipe band for two weeks of competitions in Scotland. Amazing spectacle that should not be missed. Be prepared for all kinds of weather - often within the same 2 hour period - and in particular, it gets COLD at night. With respect to seating, there really is not a bad location so don't be afraid to choose a less expensive seat higher in the stands.

Thanks to all for your reply's I can hear those pipes already.

While the tattoo is not my thing (I was born in Scotland but hate bagpipes, go figure) I've spent a lot of time in Edinburgh and you could absolutely do this on your own, so don't panic if you find the tour through Princess sold out. Edinburgh is very easy to navigate so the main thing you'd need to sort out is transport from the port. Just keep in mind it is also hideously busy in August! I will be there in the madness for 4 nights this August to attend the festival :)

While the tattoo is not my thing (I was born in Scotland but hate bagpipes, go figure) I've spent a lot of time in Edinburgh and you could absolutely do this on your own, so don't panic if you find the tour through Princess sold out. Edinburgh is very easy to navigate so the main thing you'd need to sort out is transport from the port. Just keep in mind it is also hideously busy in August! I will be there in the madness for 4 nights this August to attend the festival :)

If you purchase tickets on your own, you will need to pre-book transportation.

Look at your specific itinerary to see which port you use for the Tattoo. On our cruise last August on the Caribbean Princess, we went to the Tattoo from Greenock (on the other side of the island near Glasgow) - not from South Queensferry (near Edinburgh). South Queensferry was a tender port from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm (not late enough for the Tattoo). The ship stayed in Greenock from 7:00 am until 2:00 am to give time to get back from the Tattoo. If you are returning to Greenock, you will not find public transportation. You definitely need to have your transportation booked in advance.

Several companies provide transportation and/or tours from the ship in Greenock to the Tattoo and back. Some of them will purchase tickets for you and some require you to purchase your own tickets directly (easy to do on the Tattoo website). The Roll Call for our cruise had a lot of discussion of the various options. I recommend you look at the Roll Call threads for the Caribbean Princess cruises last August.

The Pacific Princess is able to use a port closer to Edinburgh for the Tattoo, but I believe all of the larger Princess ships would use Greenock.

We did the Princess excursion a couple of years ago ... and it was absolutely worth every penny. If you can afford the price, go for the tickets where you sit directly in front of the castle rather than on the side. We would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

That is Section 8 & 9 you're talking about and what we had last August. We did it on our own with a fantastic locally-sourced dinner at The Whiskey Experience beforehand with an escort to the show.

...The Pacific Princess is able to use a port closer to Edinburgh for the Tattoo, but I believe all of the larger Princess ships would use Greenock.

Rosyth is actually a little farther away than South Queensferry where the larger Princess ships tender to. It's across the Firth of Fourth. You might be thinking of Leith but that is not a place where the Pacific Princess docks.

There's no need to pre-book transportation if you go to the Tattoo on your own. We booked Seven Sevens taxi service for a pick up but there was really no need to as there were taxis available. We just saved a little money doing it that way and had a driver who knew where we wanted to go ahead of time. On the way home, we took the train from Waverley to Inverkeithing Rail Station, then a taxi the short distance from there. Super easy and really fun to do it that way.

Rosyth is actually a little farther away than South Queensferry where the larger Princess ships tender to. It's across the Firth of Fourth. You might be thinking of Leith but that is not a place where the Pacific Princess docks.

 

There's no need to pre-book transportation if you go to the Tattoo on your own. We booked Seven Sevens taxi service for a pick up but there was really no need to as there were taxis available. We just saved a little money doing it that way and had a driver who knew where we wanted to go ahead of time. On the way home, we took the train from Waverley to Inverkeithing Rail Station, then a taxi the short distance from there. Super easy and really fun to do it that way.

As I stated, the Caribbean Princess used Greenock for the Tattoo - not South Queensferry. Rosyth is much closer to Edinburgh than Greenock is - Greenock is on the other side of Glasgow. I don't believe a taxi is a very good option to Greenock, and I don't think the trains run late enough to return to Greenock by public transportation after the Tattoo.

The Pacific Princess is scheduled to stop in Rosyth for the Tattoo in August 2018 and in August 2019. These comments about travel from Rosyth would be applicable to anyone booking one of these cruises.

The Royal Princess and Crown Princess are scheduled to stop in South Queensferry and Greenock in August 2018 and in August 2019. The ships leave South Queensferry much too early for the Tattoo; they stay in Greenock until 2:00 am to provide time to return from the Tattoo. Anyone on either of these ships would have to travel from Greenock to the Tattoo - a much longer trip.

Rosyth is actually a little farther away than South Queensferry where the larger Princess ships tender to. It's across the Firth of Fourth. You might be thinking of Leith but that is not a place where the Pacific Princess docks.

 

There's no need to pre-book transportation if you go to the Tattoo on your own. We booked Seven Sevens taxi service for a pick up but there was really no need to as there were taxis available. We just saved a little money doing it that way and had a driver who knew where we wanted to go ahead of time. On the way home, we took the train from Waverley to Inverkeithing Rail Station, then a taxi the short distance from there. Super easy and really fun to do it that way.

We were on the Ocean Princess that docked in Rosyth and did the Tattoo on our own buying tickets online. At the train station we bought round trip tickets, but ended up taking a taxi back as the last train had left prior to our arrival at the train station.

FWIW, departed from Southhampton(2017), the Tattoo had to be accomplished from Glasgow. In 2016 from Dover, the Tattoo could be attended from Edinburgh. The schedules had extra time at only one place for the Tattoo.

We were on a 12-day BI cruise last August. It was my favorite cruise! My suggestion to you would be to read the roll call for your departure date/ship. There you will find a wealth of information, and many people arrange tour groups through the roll call boards. I know the military tattoo was discussed extensively on our roll call board.

Another board to read would be the "Ports of call-Britain." I found it to be very helpful in the planning of our cruise.

Also, a link to my review of the cruise...if you are interested ;)

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2539170

Go on youtube and you will see the tattoo for free.

long cruiser

We did this in 2016, we planned the entire trip around the tattoo. We bought tickets directly when they went on sale in December, we got front row seats facing the castle. It did get very cold during the evening. We had a full bus I booked with Timberbush tours that did a full day tour through the highlands prior to dropping us off for the tattoo, the. Getting us back in plenty of time. It was awesome and I believe much better than anything princess offers at a fraction of the cost.

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We did this in 2016, we planned the entire trip around the tattoo. We bought tickets directly when they went on sale in December, we got front row seats facing the castle. It did get very cold during the evening. We had a full bus I booked with Timberbush tours that did a full day tour through the highlands prior to dropping us off for the tattoo, the. Getting us back in plenty of time. It was awesome and I believe much better than anything princess offers at a fraction of the cost.

 

 

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We did the same in 2013 and had great tickets facing the castle and in the first row above the entrance/exit for all the performers. Our very active roll call organized a couple of Timberbush vans and dinner at a restaurant just steps from the entrance to the tattoo. It was a memorable day and, as you say, at a fraction of the cost of the Princess tours.

Go on youtube and you will see the tattoo for free.

long cruiser

I could also do world cruises on you tube if I wanted. Thanks I think for the hint but would just as soon see things in real time, Enjoy your you tube travels.

The Tattoo is outstanding. Prepare for a long day. Seeing the Tattoo is on my top 10 list of best travel events that I have completed. Seeing the penguins on Phillips Island is #1 on my list.

We were on the Ocean Princess that docked in Rosyth and did the Tattoo on our own buying tickets online. At the train station we bought round trip tickets, but ended up taking a taxi back as the last train had left prior to our arrival at the train station.

We did this very same thing off the Ocean Princess. We took the train in and were at a matinee performance. We could have taken the train back, but it was drizzling, so we took a taxi back (about 50 pounds with tip as I remember).

One difference is I called the Tattoo booking office in January, and the nice lady found us excellent seats, which didn't show as available on line, and mailed the tickets to us. However, as has been mentioned, all the seats are good