Ruby Princess British Isles Cruise: Detailed Review

[Glamgram]

Day 1: Arrival and Sightseeing

 

We landed at Heathrow about 10 am and got through the LONG line in Customs by 11. We grabbed our luggage and hopped in a cab for the short ride to our Hotel for the night. We were using a Free Night Stay at the Marriott that we had earned as part of their loyalty program. We are members of both Hyatt and Marriott and trust their consistency with both service and quality. I am a HUGE advocate of Loyalty programs because of their cost: FREE, and their benefits: PRICELESS. Free wifi and water are just a couple of the bonuses we get just for being rewards members. We weren't sure if our room would be ready because it was barely noon at this time. We were prepared to just have our luggage locked up so we could head downtown and get our one day of sightseeing in. However, when we stepped up to the Registration desk, we were greeted with a big smile, warm welcome AND a room that was ready if we didn’t mind the airport view. NO problem for us. We weren’t going to be in the room until later that evening and just falling asleep by then anyway so the view was not important. We dropped our luggage off in the room and walked just a block down the street to the bus stop where we picked up the FREE bus back to Heathrow to get the Underground. I had planned on getting the Original Hop on Hop off bus tour for the day once we got to Picadilly Circus. However, they were selling the tickets for them in the same line as the ticket for the underground so we were able to get both in one place and wonderful guidance from the sales clerk. He clearly marked out his “suggested itinerary” for our one day in London and we were off! It was about a 45 minute ride on a fairly empty train to our stop: Green Park. We got off and strolled through the Park to Buckingham Palace and enjoyed the lovely weather. It was cool and clear even though it was supposed to be raining all day. I knew we would probably have some rain at some point so we were prepared with rain gear (Hubby wore a Rain Jacket and I had a plastic rain poncho in my bag). I did not expect to get out of London without having rain! We then walked to the bus stop to pick up the Original Tour for our ride around London. I knew we wouldn’t have time to get off and go into any Museums or attractions along the way. I was prepared to snap away from the top of the bus and just enjoy the day. I have been to London before but my Hubby has not. He was happy to just take in what he could from the bus and hit the main landmarks at least. The weather was looking angry and we hopped off at the stop by the London Eye and Big Ben so I could get a few better pics from the ground. As I was walking across the bridge to get the Big Ben shots, it started lightning and pouring! I whipped out my poncho and threw it on. My camera is the Canon D10 (waterproof and shockproof) so there were no worries there. It is the only camera I travel with and love it for those reasons. Even if I am not planning to take it in or under water, it is ready for any rain or accidents (like dropping it). I enjoyed the downpour, got my shots and headed back to my Hubby who was waiting under the cover of the building by the bus stop. We got on the next bus and were able to get seats inside and out of the rain. The rain ended up stopping about 10 minutes later so we were able to resume the ride on the top open deck of the double decker. I just took off my wet poncho, turned it inside out and laid it across the wet seats to sit on. We enjoyed the rest of the loop and got off to eat dinner before hopping on the underground and heading back to Heathrow and our Hotel for the night. Even though we only had a few hours in the city, we managed to have a great day AND see most of the main sights, including riding over the Tower Bridge. We definitely plan to go back to London one day and spend more time so we can actually go IN the Museums and some of the wonderful attractions and buildings. I took over 800 pictures and decided that if I can only show you 1, this would be it

 

Thanks for all the helpful info. We are going in 3 weeks and have as much time as you in London. I have been there before but Carl has not. The bus seems like the best to get an overall picture of the city.

[tourismtessy]

Today was our Loch Ness tour with Jacobite. I had read nothing but GREAT reviews of them and we were excited for the day! We walked off the ship and were greeted with the sounds of bagpipes! The local volunteers pointed us in the right direction to catch the local bus into Inverness. We walked to the left, around the parking lot and saw the bus stop. There were a couple of other people from our ship waiting already. It was about 10 minutes before the bus came and we paid the driver (I think it was just under 2 pounds each—one way) and climbed aboard. There were a bunch of school kids on the bus with us. That was a lot of fun. The boys were about 10 to 13 years old and really enjoyed our “American” accents. We had some lively conversation with them as we enjoyed the hour ride into town (we were NOT on the express bus).

 

We arrived at the Bus Terminal about 30 minutes before we needed to be there. I went inside and checked in at the Jacobite counter (just to the right as you walk in the door—large Jacobite sign on it). The young lady checked our name off the list and gave us our 2 tickets for the Sensation Tour. This tour included a boat ride on the Loch, a tour of the Castle, bus ride to the Loch Ness Expedition Center with Interactive Tour, and then drive back to the Inverness Bus Terminal. It was a total of 4 hours. We went outside and waited the 15 minutes or so for our coach to arrive. It was a smaller coach and very comfortable. Our Driver was also our Guide and she was fabulous. So much history, information and pride for her country and the region. The drive to the Loch was very scenic and we enjoyed seeing all the countryside in its Green Glory! The boat was very comfortable, had nice bathrooms, snack bar with food and drink for purchase, and free wifi aboard. The lower level was covered and warm and the upper level was open. I spent a little time below and then went above for the majority of the ride. You definitely want to be upstairs as you approach the Castle in order to get the best pictures. Once there, we had about an hour to wander the grounds and do our sightseeing at our leisure. It was enough time to see the grounds and take lots of pictures. I did not go inside the Castle so I would have more time for leisurely strolling and picture taking. There is a visitor center, gift shop and snack bar just up the hill from the castle and we were to meet our driver and bus at the bus loading area here. We then went to the Loch Ness Exhibition Center where we were given tickets to see the exhibit. It was very interesting and was a walk through attraction. We had a little bit of time to browse and shop in the store at the end.

 

The drive back to Inverness was very relaxing and beautiful. Passed a lovely dairy farm right away and got a little lesson on the famous, local cows. We got back to the bus station about 2 pm and went right over to the bus lane for Invergorden and boarded the express bus back. This bus takes about 45 minutes to get back to Invergordon. Once there, we got off the bus a couple stops before the actual port so we could walk in the town and enjoy the streets and lovely scenery. It was a wonderful day and I highly recommend the Jacobite Tour Company.

 

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Edited July 9, 2014 by tourismtessy

[westendgirl]

So Tessy didn't see Nessie? :D

 

Really enjoying your review btw! Thanks for the time & effort.

[tartanexile81]

I originally was going to take the train but after research and discussion with the lovely local volunteers that greet you, I opted to take the local public bus round trip. I think it was about 3 pounds RT.

 

It was about a 45 minute ride into the heart of Edinburgh and when I got off the bus, I literally stopped breathing. The high cliff/hill with the Castle on top was just too beautiful to be real.

 

Glad you loved Edinburgh as much as we do. I'm one of the volunteers at South Queensferry so I'll pass on your kind words to the other volunteers. We don't get much feedback so it's good to hear our info was useful to you.

I'm really enjoying your review, just a shame about the people who think it's fair game to criticise what others write.

 

So excited to hear you were able to dock at South Queensferry. I never knew that was even an option! Do you know how many ships were I port that day?

 

There are three ports for Edinburgh and the bigger ships such as Ruby always anchor in the river at South Queensferry, under the Forth Rail Bridge. On the day you are in Edinburgh there will be two ships: Ruby at South Queensferry and Ocean Princess at Rosyth. I have posted instructions on how to use the local shuttle bus into Edinburgh

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2046842

 

and also how to get to the railway station from the port. http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2031574.

The volunteers wil be tehre in their purple 'uniforms' to help answer any questions you may have. Here is a tender coming into the pier (Hawer Pier) at South Queensferry

Edited July 9, 2014 by tartanexile81