PRIVATE TOUR GUIDES FOR CRUISE & 2 SHOPS DONT MISS in KINSALE, CORK IRELAND

[dakotariley]

:D Just came back from the Princess British Isles trip - 7/16/ - 7/28/2011 -- had a marvelous time -- 2 SHOPS A "must see" --

 

KINSALE CRYSTAL ON MARKET STREET http://www.kinsalecrystal.ie

 

AND

 

KINSALE SILVER http://www.kinsalesilver.com

 

Did all private tours with cruise critic cruisers and it was great - would recommend to all .... we would never have seen as much with out these great tour guides

 

[stipmom]

Who did you use for your tours?Will be going in June 2012

[dakotariley]

Who did you use for your tours?Will be going in June 2012

 

 

Hi - tell me which ports you are interested in ... Also we have been to Amsterdam and have stayed at the Hilton in the room where Yoko and John spent several days in an all white room for "peace" .... it is the Amsterdam Hilton ... and it is always booked but they will take your name in case of cancellation ... and we happened to get a cancellation and got to stay there.

 

In Dublin we used ... Eric Cosgrove -- eric.cosgrove@gmail.com 353-87-6536738 tours@private-guides.com I would email him directly and say Leslie and Dennis Schaefer -- although he will know my name more because of all the emails I sent ... lol ... we saw so much with him.

 

in Edinburgh we used Toursbylocals and a gentleman named Billy Crawford (00447986263008) - billy C. <guide_1978-229@toursbylocals.com> we got to see the following -- St. Andrews Golf Course (for the DH's, Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, Mary Kings Close, it was to long to take the Whiskey tour - went to the store instead, Mary Kings Close, Greyfrier's Church, A Temple we always like to see a temple in every country we visit, and a couple of surprises that if you book with him - I don't want to ruin for you.

 

Again - mention Leslie Schaefer -- we did a lot of emailing ... lol

 

Didn't go to Brugge, or have a guide in Amsterdam (different trip, and London we had been to before, but don't miss Portobello Road (nearest to the Nottingham Hill tube station.... you probably can get a good guide there --I would inquire from Cosgrove - first on your list above -- because one day we decided we needed a private guide for the next day and they got us one just as terrific as the one we had had.

 

Are you going to Liverpool? We had the best best best one there.

 

Have fun -- Leslie

[stipmom]

Hi Leslie, We will be going to Liverpool. Who did you use there?

[dakotariley]

Hi Leslie, We will be going to Liverpool. Who did you use there?

 

:D OMG - you must use .... Tim Hemmings - again -- tell him -- Leslie -- timothyhemmings66@gmail.com http://www.pooloflifetours.com or info@pooloflifetours.com he can accommodate I believe 8 people and if you get him in advance you can go into two of the homes ... because you need tickets and they are included in your price -- the tour is the BEST . . . and he takes you to some very special places that other tour guides cannot get into ... can't tell you .... otherwise it won't be a surprise and I just happened onto him when 5 other guides turned us down. So we really lucked out.

 

HE WAS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC ... you have a lot of time to plan ... so good luck to you and you won't be sorry... :D

[stipmom]

Leslie, Did you do the full day tour or the 3 hour tour with Pool of Life?

[phabric]

I would also like to know if you went on the 2 or 3 hour or the all day Beatles or the Liverpool City tour.

 

We will be visiting the following on our Aug 1, 2012 British Isles cruise. Any information is a great help.

 

Le Havre

Edinburgh

Invergordon

Glasgow

Belfast

Liverpool

Dublin

Cobh

St Peter- Guernsey

[dakotariley]

Leslie, Did you do the full day tour or the 3 hour tour with Pool of Life?

 

 

Hi - We did a full day's tour so we could see everything . . . and believe me it was well worth it -- we probably could have used more time.

 

If anyone is going to COBH (pronounced cove) I suggest a private tour - Cosgrove can arrange that -- we were originally scheduled to be with a group of cruise critic people but then I heard it was 5 buses of 50 people and the price was good - but figured we would get to see what we wanted to see touring Blarney, Cork, Kinsale, Charlesfort and Cobh -- we made a great decision and headed to Blarney Castle & the "stone" first and only waited 20 minutes -- others never got to see it -- wait was 2 hours for a "rock" .... and everywhere else they didn't have enough time.

 

We also went to Guernsey / St. Peters Port and were lucky enough to be able to tender into the island and people on our sailing on cruise critics made fun that we had a private tour -- well - we were first online to see Victor Hugo's House (they don't do all the tours in English) and they fill up very fast and you can't buy tickets ahead of time .... and we had advantages that buses couldn't go where we went -- we ate where locals ate ... etc.

 

Leslie

[dakotariley]

I would also like to know if you went on the 2 or 3 hour or the all day Beatles or the Liverpool City tour.

 

We will be visiting the following on our Aug 1, 2012 British Isles cruise. Any information is a great help.

 

Le Havre

Edinburgh

Invergordon

Glasgow

Belfast

Liverpool

Dublin

Cobh

St Peter- Guernsey

 

 

Hi - If you have read all the posts - you should know who to contact ... in LeHarve since we had already been to Paris we went to Normandy, but since I didn't plan that tour - I found the tour guide to be way above us -- like we were going for our PhD - we needed the 4th grade version -- I am sure if you ask Cosgrove they can recommend someone....

 

Edinburgh we gave you Billy Crawford from ToursbyLocals

 

Invergordon - we went on a tour by another cruiser it was OK -- but now that I know what I am doing I would venture a smaller "bus" ... we went to Clootie Well, drove through inverness, went through Loch Ness, photo stop at Urguhart Castle - stoped at Beauly - through Dingwall - then a photo stop at Million Dollar View, then Dunrobin Castle for tour and falconry display (I would have done this first- there are only certain times they do the falconry display - very interesting) Dornoch - town stop for short visit - then we saw the Mermaid of the North - I liked the one in Copenhagen better LOL....

 

Belfast was - was a driver and a guide Michael and Rory - Tours by Locals very full day -

 

Glasgow - Greenock -- this was a bus tour created by another cruise critic - 33pounds pp --

 

Liverpool - I told you - Tim Hemmings - mention my name - Leslie Schaefer

 

Dublin - Eric Cosgrove

 

Cobh - as stated above

 

And in St. Peter Port -- Eric Grimsley -- e.grimsley@cwgsy.net phone 01481 255229

 

It was a fabulous trip and you can buy on-line - tickets to the castles so you don't have to wait in line -- and if you will be in London pre cruise -- go and see a play

 

Don't miss the antiques Market of Portobello Road

 

We took Smiths for Airports from London to Southampton and we knew we could board early - but I asked for my own info and they said that people started boarding at 9:30AM --- wish I had known that!

 

Well have fun all .... Leslie

[5ofusnow]

I was on the same cruise with Leslie and I agree that private tours are the best way to go. We did a mix of private tours, we traveled with a group of 7, and a few ports that we did on our own. Hands down the private tours were the best! Not only do you see more but you understand what you are seeing.:D We loved our tour guide that we used in all 3 ports in Scotland. In Belfast, we lucked into a private tour with a taxi driver. In Ireland we did it on our own and we feel like we missed so much that it was a real let down after such wonderful tours in Scotland.

 

On a financial note, the tours are not that much more expensive than doing it on your own, especially if there are more than two of you. In Dublin the ship charged $16 rd trip into the city and then if you take the hoho bus you have another charge and then you would still have the entry fee to the attraction.:eek: In Liverpool, I would definitely take a tour. We didn't and the few of us that got off the ship, did not feel the urge to stay off the ship for long. The private tours fill up fast, good luck.

Sherry

[3dogmom]

In Dublin we used ... Eric Cosgrove -- eric.cosgrove@gmail.com 353-87-6536738 tours@private-guides.com I would email him directly and say Leslie and Dennis Schaefer -- although he will know my name more because of all the emails I sent ... lol ... we saw so much with him.

 

Leslie,

 

Did Eric provide a personalize tour or just a taxi service? What did you do in Dublin? I have a foursome that wants to play golf and also visit the city sites along with a Jameson tour. We're in port from 5:00 AM until 11:15 PM, so we have a lot of time to do and see the sites.

 

Thanks for the additional information.

[luvoldies]

I would also like to know if you went on the 2 or 3 hour or the all day Beatles or the Liverpool City tour.

 

We will be visiting the following on our Aug 1, 2012 British Isles cruise. Any information is a great help.

 

Le Havre

Edinburgh

Invergordon

Glasgow

Belfast

Liverpool

Dublin

Cobh

St Peter- Guernsey

 

 

I haven't been to the UK ports, but I did just stop at Le Havre on the Eclipse TA. I organized a tour with a wonderful guide named Pierre Doublet (cabtourservices@orange.fr). He was informative, accommodating, and lovely to spend the day with. If you email him, tell him Claire says hi!

[Spuzzum]

I haven't been to the UK ports, but I did just stop at Le Havre on the Eclipse TA. I organized a tour with a wonderful guide named Pierre Doublet (cabtourservices@orange.fr). He was informative, accommodating, and lovely to spend the day with. If you email him, tell him Claire says hi!

Claire, where did you end up going with this guide and what was his cost?