Would appreciate your input and advice on Irish Cruise.

[Lydia B.]

Good Day,

Simply said I love to cruise, but have only completed cruises in the Caribbean and Hawaii.

My cruise chum and I would like to travel to Ireland in 2013...we are advance planners...and are considering a cruise. I have found an read information about Fred Olson cruises and would like your advice/input on that line and any others you can recommend.

We are both in good physical condition, like moderate adverntures and do enjoy learing about various cultures and ideas.

Again any advice you can give me would be great....even if you tell me that cruises are not an ideal way to see Ireland, I would like to know that too.

I am just starting to plan our Ireland vacation and am a bit overwhelmed with all the options...do it yourself, go with a tour, do a cruise???? Thanks so very much, Lydia of Ohio

[yorkshirephil]

Cruise and Maritime do several cruises around Ireland, visiting ports that you will not get with other cruise lines. The ships are very small (700 pax)and basic but great fun. I would agree that you will not see all of Dublin in one day, same with some of the other larger ports but you will get a taste of Ireland, which is a stunning country to visit that oozes culture and tradition.

[jocap]

Some of the round British Isles cruises stop at Cobh, for Cork; Dublin, then Belfast....we found the HOHO buses handy in the last 2 ports, but there were plenty of other tours, including the Giant's Causeway, Blarney Stone etc. The train station is near to where the ship moors in Cobh, and takes about 30mins to Cork.

Many of my friends go on bus tours around Ireland, especially to Galway and other western parts.....a coach tour leaves our village for these parts this week, and is very popular, so perhaps that could be the way to go, either. There should be a number leaving from Dublin or Belfast- Google the tourist boards of those cities.

Jo.

[CruiseLuvver]

I think your first decision is whether you want to see Ireland, or you want to cruise. If the former, cruising isn't the best way to do it - few cruises visit anywhere other than Dublin, Cork or Belfast, and most of the really picturesque places aren't particularly close to these. The Discover Ireland website (http://www.discoverireland.ie/) is a good place to start.

 

Please do remember that Ireland is not a particularly flat country, and as a consequence, many roads are narrow and winding (certainly compared with American highways!), and it takes longer than you might think to travel by road - don't get stressed out trying to do too many things at once.

[Menelaus]

Just backfrom around UK with Fred Olsen. Guernsey Hollyhead Dublin Greenock Tobermorey, took cruise to see this, Thurso apparently most northly town in UK and Harwich. As stated you really do not see much in any of these places unless you do their tours and then you are being bussed most of the day. The coach tours sound better if you want to see places. If you are coming all this way you could maybe do both or find out if you can hop around Ireland some ferries etc.