Need help on deciding which shore excursions for Norway, Iceland and British Isles

[SF]

For these ports which shore excursions would you suggest and which attractions are "not to be missed".

 

Oslo, Stavanger, Flaam, Lerwick, Torshavn, Akureyri, Reykjavik, Greenock and Dublin.

 

Can any of these places be done on your own? Does the ship dock near town? Are there private tour agencies or should we consider going with Princess? In Flaam if we don't want to do the train to Vik are their any other things to do? The train tour and the bus tour to Vik from Flaam state it makes "hair raising twisted turns". Would appreciate hearing from someone who's taken this tour how sharp the turns really are.

 

Would appreciate any help in planning, thanks.

[LHT28]

Oslo and Dublin have the Hop On Hop off bus so you can take a tour of the city and get off at what sights interest you then just catch the next bus.

 

Flam there is not much in the town a gift shop, grocery store, post office a nice park if you just want to sit and people watch.

Lerwick-if you are interested in archaelogial site take a tour to Jarishof ..watch out for those cute ponies ..they WILL bite.

[SF]

Are you sure Oslo has a hop on/off bus? I found info on them for Dublin and Glasgow but not for Oslo and none of the posts from people who have been there mention any hop on/off bus. If you have a website or any other info in regards to this please post it. Thanks.

[LHT28]

Are you sure Oslo has a hop on/off bus? . Thanks.

It stopped at the cruise dock and right in front of Castle

http://www.tellus.no/tellus/db.dll?sp=GB&dv=sti&http://www.tellus.no/&dv=katalog&macro/oslopro&dv=Header&oslopro/inc/header&dv=Footer&oslopro/inc/footer&icp=oslopro/produkt&PR=23_5746_2

[estebofarr]

In Oslo you can do the three museums at Bygdoy on your own, at your own pace. The Viking Longboat, Flam and the Kon Tiki. Oslo is very easy to do on your own. Did the Norway in a nutshell tour from Bergen, probably can google the website, and there is a train ride, boat ride and bus with the hairpin turns. Its fine, very carefully done, you will not get carsick. Lovely trip, don't know if time constraints of the port time will allow as I was there for an extended time. I don't remember a hop-on hop off bus in Oslo either but I was there a few years ago.

[SF]

LHT28:

 

Thanks again for the help and the website.

 

estebofarr:

 

Yes, we're only in Oslo from 12-6 so times a factor. Still doing my "homework" but we still may do it on our own.

[estebofarr]

SF

When are you taking your triP?

 

six hours is plenty to do Oslo on your own and three days is not enough. But the Norway in a Nutshell I mentioned is in Bergen and that takes a little longer I think.

[SF]

Our trip isn't until 2006 (have others scheduled ahead) but we're in the planning stages now deciding based on what we find out whether we want to do this itinerary and leave a deposit. We didn't want an itinerary where we'd have to take most of the ship's tours. It can get real expensive real fast with four people. From what I've learned thanks to these boards it appears most of the ports can be done on your own so we're going to leave a deposit tomorrow with our TA. :)

[FamilyFive]

SF...

we were on the Golden Princess's British Isles Cruise in Jun 05.

We used Hop On/Off bus for Dublin.

In Greenock we hired a guide, Ralph Carson of Dunbritton Tours. http://www.dunbrittontours.co.uk/

We spent the day at Loch Lomond & Luss. Ralph will take you whereever you want to go. Note...he does not do Edinburgh.

 

Hope this helps.

Pamela

[SF]

Pamela,

 

Thank you for Ralph's website. I'm going to check it out as that's exactly what we were thinking of doing while in Greenock. After reading the tours the ship offers we decided we wanted to go to Loch Lomond and Luss. It sounds like a lovely trip.

How far away is it from where you dock?

Can you tell me some of what you saw.

 

We were trying to decide between that one and the one with Clyde Coast and Culzean Castle. Did you happen to hear or speak to anyone who took the castle tour?

 

We'll be in Greenock only from 1PM to 6PM so hopefully we'll have enough time.

 

As for Dublin's hop on/off do you know if they accept credit cards for payment? Did you purchase your tickets ahead or where can you purchase them in town? Any info or suggestion on this would be helpful.

[FamilyFive]

From Greenock to Loch Lomond is a 45 minute drive.

We made a few stops to include a tavern & antique shop along the way to get some views of the loch.

We had lunch at a restaurant w/view of Ben Lomond.

We went to the church in Luss & walked around the village. very charming.

Most people did castles in Wales & Edinburgh on our cruise.

If you are not going to any other castles on your cruise, then I would suggest doing a castle at Greenock. Plus I think you might be rushed w/going to Loch Lomond with 5 hours available.

 

Princess offers a shuttle to center for $4 per person. Since there was 5 of us, we took a cab for less. The cabs are waiting for you as you exit the gangway. For Dublin, we bought our tickets at the tourist info center in Dublin. They do accept credit cards. Here's the sight for the bus tour we used. http://www.city-sightseeing.com/ We didn't purchase online because it would be one more thing that I'd have to remember to pack.

 

If you like the guide (no two guides are alike) on the bus stay on until the end, then decide where you want to go back & see. We wished we had stayed on the bus w/our first guide.

[SF]

Appreciate your help and I just emailed Ralph for information. That's the only reason we're thinking strongly of taking the ships tour is because of the weird times we're in town plus it's such a short amnt. of time to be able to visit the outer areas. If we're late returning the ship will wait for it's own tour but if we book independently we're on our own. That in itself is a big factor to pay the extra and play it safe with the cruise.

 

We've been to Scotland before and last time we did Edinburgh and loved it. Saw castles on our last trip so if we can't arrange one this time it won't be a problem plus we have other ports where we can catch one.

 

Glad to know that in Dublin they accept credit cards. How far is the tourist information center from were you docked? We're in Dublin all day so that will give us plenty of time to tour.

[eldercruser]

Start a savings account now so you can take the Flam - Vik tour. Incredible scenery and waterfalls. It could well be the highlight of your trip. There really is no other option than taking the ship's tour. We just returned from a Norwegian fjord cruise. Our ship did not offer the the Flam - Vik tour and we were very disappointed. We were able to do something else that was similar and very happy that we did.

[SF]

Was wondering how strenuous the tours Icelands Landscape of Fire (Akureyri) and Golden Circle (Reykjavik) trips are. It says substantial level of activity and we're wondering if my mom will be able to handle it. Is it just a lot of walking or is there a good amnt. of climbing involved? Any info from someone who's gone on these tours would be appreciated.

[carlmm]

Was wondering how strenuous the tours Icelands Landscape of Fire (Akureyri) and Golden Circle (Reykjavik) trips are. It says substantial level of activity and we're wondering if my mom will be able to handle it. Is it just a lot of walking or is there a good amnt. of climbing involved? Any info from someone who's gone on these tours would be appreciated.

 

Both tours involve a lot of walking. The climbing parts are, if I remember right, more or less optional. (Climbing as in up- and downhill walking, nothing like rock climbing)

There were a number of elderly people on our tours who found it very strenous and did not participate in several of the walks.

Others enjoyed it very much. Maybe you should talk to the tour office on board to find out how your mothers capabilites align to the actual tour.

[SF]

My mom does a lot of walking at home so that wouldn't be a problem. I was more or less concerned if it was uphill or on rough surfaces. Would she still be able to see the sites if she didn't do the uphill walking?

 

Thanks for posting and helping me out.

[carlmm]

Would she still be able to see the sites if she didn't do the uphill walking?

 

Well. most I would say. I will give some details as I remember them.

Golden Circle:

Gullfoss, Golden Waterfall: There is a viewing area right by the parking lot, the walk down closer to the falls is a bit rough and you need to walk up again.

Geysir area: flat.

Thingvellier: Long walk, if you stay on the pathway even; if you do it the way we did, you go only downhill with the bus picking you up at a lower point; here you would miss a lot without walking.

Kerid, volcanic crater, very short uphill walk (a couple of meters), yet necessary to look into the crater.

 

Around Akureyri:

Godafoss: flat but uneven, depending on how close you want to get.

Skutustadir: steep uphill walking with a nice view in the pseudo craters and over the lake. Yet many people skipped this and were still satisfied.

Dimmurborgir: slightly up and down, uneven, but then there are even some pathes suitable for people in wheelchairs. Talk to the guide about your options.

Sulphur deposits, fumaroles etc.: flat

 

I hope this helps. Enjoy Iceland.

[SF]

Thank you so much for the great summary of the tours. Did you enjoy them and did you feel they were worth the money? One of them is $155.00 per person and I think that's a lot even with lunch but I'd be willing to spend it for the 5 of us if it's something worthwhile.

[carlmm]

With Cunard the prices were $153 for the Golden Circle and $129 for Godafoss and the Lake area.

Normally we like to do the landtours on our own but in Iceland it was different as the various nature sights are spreaded out in a realtively large area and there would be no way to do it on your own even with a rental car. Yet I do not know if there are private tour operators who would offer you the tours for less for five people.

The Golden Circle is a standard tour for every tourist in Icland and very thought trough. Very worth the money.

Our tour in Akureyri suffered a from organisation and guide. The tour started late and the guide rushed us through some of the places without giving any explanation or allowing even for breathing time. Ridiculous.

Just assume you will have a better guide and it will also be worth the money if you are interested in the sights to be seen on your particular tour.

 

Regarding the lunch you need to know that prices are very high in Iceland. Be happy not to spent a landbased vacation there and having to pay in restaurants and bars. I personally would prefer to skip lunch in favour of more time for the sights (and left always early to explore the area) but it was both times simple good fare (soup, salmon, dessert).

 

In conclusion: Yes, we enjoyed. Well worth the money to experience the fascinating nature of Iceland.

[SF]

carlmm:

 

Thank you so much for all the information. I really appreciate you taking the time to post and share your experiences. It definitely helps make our planning easier.

 

The only thing I'm concerned with is lunch....do they offer any substitutes for those people that can't eat seafood? I wouldn't want to go all day without eating anything for lunch and there are at least two people in our group who don't or can't eat seafood.

[carlmm]

SF, I am happy to help with information and experience.

 

....do they offer any substitutes for those people that can't eat seafood?

 

Good question. As everything was pre-ordered and organized, I assume that you cannot ask for something else once you are at the restaurant, but most cruiselines would be happy to forward your request when you tell the tour office on board about your dietary requirements.

[SF]

Guess I'll call Princess once the shore excursions become available online.