Guernsey

[rich12]

Has anybody else experienced problems getting into St Peter Port? We have had three attempts at getting there without success, it appears the swell is often to heavy for tenders to launch, the latest aborted attempt was last Wednesday on Aurora.

 

Why do the cruise companies persist with a call here when its obviously difficult to reach?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I guess I was just lucky. We had no issues when I was there in August of 2008.

[gosport11]

Its all to do with tax free status,a vist to the channel islands is outside the EEC :):)

[KirkNC]

Its all to do with tax free status,a vist to the channel islands is outside the EEC :):)

 

Bingo!

 

We were lucky in that we did make St Peters this last June, we missed Liverpool and Edinburgh due to weather :( but made Guernsey. It was a great stop, we rode the bus a ways out of town and walked back via the cliff paths, beautiful!

[edinburgher]

We made it in as scheduled on our first call there, but the second time we did not.

 

Second time we tendered into Herm instead. Gorgeous wee island especially on a sunny day. We loved it.

[edinburgher]

Slight error.

 

We did not tender to Herm, we had to use the zodiacs.

[rich12]

Well, we are trying again in October! Cunard have just released a change of itinerary, instead of Le Havre its Guernsey, fingers crossed, but not confident :p

[gosport11]

its a nice place to vist,there is a local bus which runs around the island,which makes an intresting day out

,we have been twice now on the last vist getting into the port was ok,getting back to the ship was a little bouncy to say the least

[phabric]

its a nice place to vist,there is a local bus which runs around the island,which makes an intresting day out

,we have been twice now on the last vist getting into the port was ok,getting back to the ship was a little bouncy to say the least

 

I noticed that you are near Portsmouth, maybe you can help.

 

We have rented a car before while staying in Southampton. We visited the New Forrest National Car Museum and drove to Portsmouth and visited the Naval Museum and the tall building near the port.

 

Our plan so far is arrive Monday August 12, 2013 at Heathrow at 21:00, pick up the car, stay at hotel near airport, drive to Portsmouth on a Tuesday. Do something in the area for the rest of the day, need help there??????

 

On Wednesday, take the ferry to Isle of Wight. Is it worth going to? Looks to be about 73 GBP for car and 2 passengers this years prices from Portsmouth. We will purchase our tickets in advance. Since you have to purchase timed tickets going and returning, we were thinking a 9am ferry since we are early riser can go early if you think it is better. What time should we book for the return??? What to see over there?

 

On the Thursday, drive to the New Forrest area to see more of the area, return the car, and have a Southampton hotel for the night.

 

We were looking at the Best Western The Royal Beach hotel, St Helen's Place in Portsmouth. Have you seen this hotel? Or know anything about this hotel? Or is there another hotel you can recommend?

 

Or, should we stay in Southampton for the whole time period and do the Isle of Wight and New Forrest from there?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[atlasali]

We lucked out. Sunny, gentle breeze, warm. It was a Sunday, there was a food fair. We did the circle the island public transport bus, which was a lovely drive. Only problem was the LONG line in the sun for the tender boats. Such a pretty day, such a pretty place that no one was in a hurry to get back on the ship.

[gosport11]

I noticed that you are near Portsmouth, maybe you can help.

 

We have rented a car before while staying in Southampton. We visited the New Forrest National Car Museum and drove to Portsmouth and visited the Naval Museum and the tall building near the port.

 

Our plan so far is arrive Monday August 12, 2013 at Heathrow at 21:00, pick up the car, stay at hotel near airport, drive to Portsmouth on a Tuesday. Do something in the area for the rest of the day, need help there??????

 

On Wednesday, take the ferry to Isle of Wight. Is it worth going to? Looks to be about 73 GBP for car and 2 passengers this years prices from Portsmouth. We will purchase our tickets in advance. Since you have to purchase timed tickets going and returning, we were thinking a 9am ferry since we are early riser can go early if you think it is better. What time should we book for the return??? What to see over there?

 

On the Thursday, drive to the New Forrest area to see more of the area, return the car, and have a Southampton hotel for the night.

 

We were looking at the Best Western The Royal Beach hotel, St Helen's Place in Portsmouth. Have you seen this hotel? Or know anything about this hotel? Or is there another hotel you can recommend?

 

Or, should we stay in Southampton for the whole time period and do the Isle of Wight and New Forrest from there?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

I would look at holiday inn express in Gunwharf quays,near that tall building,Southsea is a nice place if the sun is shining,there are a couple of musems,and an old fort,also there is a Dickens muesem,

There is a Roman fort at porchester which is nearby,a lot depends on your intrests

As for the IOW 9 is a good time as its just outside peak times,you can vist Osbourne house, some pretty villages,and some really touristy places,the beaches are lovely i would look at a 18.00 booking back the ferry terminal is about 2 min drive from Gunwharf

As for the new forest John Bull is the best guy to ask he has posted a couple of suggested routes

[lannp]

Well, we are trying again in October! Cunard have just released a change of itinerary, instead of Le Havre its Guernsey, fingers crossed, but not confident :p

 

I guess you didn't get the the email from Cunard. They have changed it back to LeHavre.

[rich12]

I guess you didn't get the the email from Cunard. They have changed it back to LeHavre.

 

Not heard anything yet, we booked via online agency so i expect to get the email from them if thats correct. I think its a bit risky trying to get to Guernsey by tender in October anyway. Le Havre is fine for us the missus will look forward to spending many hours and euros in "Les Dock" shopping mall :eek:

[phabric]

I would look at holiday inn express in Gunwharf quays,near that tall building,Southsea is a nice place if the sun is shining,there are a couple of musems,and an old fort,also there is a Dickens muesem,

There is a Roman fort at porchester which is nearby,a lot depends on your intrests

As for the IOW 9 is a good time as its just outside peak times,you can vist Osbourne house, some pretty villages,and some really touristy places,the beaches are lovely i would look at a 18.00 booking back the ferry terminal is about 2 min drive from Gunwharf

As for the new forest John Bull is the best guy to ask he has posted a couple of suggested routes

 

Thanks for the information on the hotel and area.

[lannp]

Not heard anything yet, we booked via online agency so i expect to get the email from them if thats correct. I think its a bit risky trying to get to Guernsey by tender in October anyway. Le Havre is fine for us the missus will look forward to spending many hours and euros in "Les Dock" shopping mall :eek:

 

Please join our Roll Call.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=35223339#post35223339

[KirkNC]

Slight error.

 

We did not tender to Herm, we had to use the zodiacs.

 

I bet that was interesting!

[edinburgher]

It was! And it was our first zodiac ride too, although not everyone could get ashore because of the use of zodiacs instead of tenders.

 

We got a little damp going across to the island so paid more attention to our seat position on the return trip. We thought it was fun and something a bit different.

[rich12]

email arrived today confirming Le Havre is back and Guernsey out, maybe a few others rang Cunard as well as me to voice their concerns about Guernsey.

 

I will get there one day, maybe by flying :rolleyes:

[Guernseycruiser]

As you can guess from my login name, I live in Guernsey. For those who have visited, I am happy to read you had a good time. It is a beautiful island and for those visiting in future, please perserve with the tenders.

 

If you have any questions about the island, please post and I will try to answer them.

[phabric]

As you can guess from my login name, I live in Guernsey. For those who have visited, I am happy to read you had a good time. It is a beautiful island and for those visiting in future, please perserve with the tenders.

 

If you have any questions about the island, please post and I will try to answer them.

 

We will be in Guernsey on the Caribbean Princess on Saturday August 17 from 7am-2pm.

 

Is there any thing that goes on a Saturday that is different than during the week?

 

What time does the bus start?

 

What is around the dock to see?

[KirkNC]

Be sure to read The Gurnsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society. A great book on Guernsey in WWII.

[Guernseycruiser]

There are no different activities on a Saturday to other days during the week, unless there is a specific one off special event.

 

The website for the bus timetable is http://www.buses.gg click on the left hand side for timetables, then click on routes 7 or 7A (one is clockwise, one anticlockwise). These are the routes that will take you around the island. It will take approx 15 minutes to walk from where the tenders drop off to the bus terminal. It is all flat, and a nice walk along the waterfront. The main shopping area runs parallel to the waterfront.

 

When returning from the bus trip, you could walk to Castle Cornet and have a look around, also in the main town area is Victor Hugo's house.

 

Another good website is http://www.visitguernsey.com which provides further information on places to visit and activities.

 

I hope you enjoy your visit to Guernsey.

[phabric]

Thank you for the helpful information.

 

What is the cost of the bus? Is it GBP or Euro? Since Guernsey will be our first port, we might not have small exact change for the bus as the banks only give out paper money.

[Guernseycruiser]

The bus costs GBP 1.00 per trip per person.

 

You will need change, as sometimes the buses do not have change for GBP 5.00 or GBP 10.00 note. Perhaps you can purchase a small item of food at the airport to obtain some change. In the UK mainland, GBP 1.00 will be a coin (and not a note), whereas in Guernsey we have our own currency notes (£1.00, £5.00, £10.00, £20.00 and £50.00). The currency ranks 1:1 with UK currency.

 

Unless you wish to keep some Guernsey currency, I suggest that if you purchase any items whereby you receive change in cash, you request "English" cash, rather than "Guernsey" cash. You can exchange "Guernsey" notes for "English" notes in any bank, and you should not be charged for this.

[pizzalady1]

As you can guess from my login name, I live in Guernsey. For those who have visited, I am happy to read you had a good time. It is a beautiful island and for those visiting in future, please perserve with the tenders.

 

If you have any questions about the island, please post and I will try to answer them.

 

We will be in Guernsey (hoping the ship will be able to tender) on Monday 8/5/2013 and want to rent a car to drive around the island, stoping at various tourist sites. We were told that straight driving, with no stopping, would take about 1 hour. Do you agree with that estimate?

 

Would you suggest we go clockwise or counterclockwise, or does it not make a difference?

 

Thanks.