British Isles cruise on Aug 13,2015

[FJKcruising]

This is our first cruise to these countries. Four of us are looking for small group local tours from several ports. On a Mediterranean cruise a few years ago, we used Rome-in-Limo for 8 of us, and they used small Mercedes SUVs, and the drivers were fantastic guides. Looking for something similar at the British Isles ports. Looking for recommended tours.

[gmann]

We did this itinerary a few years ago. In Cobh we hired Butlers Buses to get us to Blarney Castle. This was suggested on CC as a way to avoid the intense lines from the cruise ship winding its way to the castle. When we got to Blarney we walked right up to the castle. On our way our the line was 1/4 mile long. This gave us plenty of time to visit the woolen mills and then to Kinsale, a seaside town, for lunch. I'd highly recommend this.

 

In Liverpool we toured with the Hop on Hop off bus.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

Don't know what ship you are sailing but joining the roll call for your cruise will help you connect with others on tours etc.

[timetravler]

In Belfast we did a private tour with a fellow named McAllister. I believe that is the name of his tour company too. Anyways he was FANTASTIC!. When I first booked with him, I didn't know what to expect except tripadvisor recommended him highly. First off He called us within 24 hours of booking to ask us what we wanted to see and do. This was probably one of the TOP tours I have ever taken. We were a small group of 4 but he can take up to six. Book him ASAP as his tours always fill up quickly. BTW even if his partner does the tour instead of him, I have heard it is just as good.

[FJKcruising]

Thanks for your input about Belfast. I currently have a call into your suggested tour guide. Have a good day.

[MaChere]

London pre-cruise. Blackberry Cars picked us up at Heathrow. Driver was waiting even though our early flight was even earlier than expected. Excellent driver and clean nice car. Perfect way to get promptly to hotel, since we had decided that we didn't want to shlep our luggage on train or bus. http://blackberrycars.com Purchased tickets in advance to see the Buckingham Palace staterooms. Would do it again. Lovely.

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/?_ga=1.156422331.1851528234.1299182964

 

To Southampton: International Friends tour bus, which picked us up at our hotel, Premier Inn County Hall, to Stonehenge on the way to Southampton. Highly recommend that as well. Driver was a bit early and actually came into the hotel lobby to get us and our luggage. Also tickets in advance.

http://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/white/londontk/southampton-cruise-bus-from-150-central-london-hotels-via-stonehenge.html

 

 

Guernsey:

Originally we were scheduled with Annette Henry, based on her great reviews, but decided against a several mile walk after hubby's arthroscopic knee surgery.

http://annettehenrytours.gg

 

Instead we spent the whole time ashore with great Silver Accredited Guide Steve Martin. He has lived on the island for 30 years and we toured and saw as much as we could until time to return to dock for the tender. Was a gorgeous and informative day. His taxi would hold 4, but we decided on just the two of us. Cheaper of course, if split with another couple.

Might mention that on Guernsey, they have Guernsey pounds as well as pounds sterling. Guernsey pounds cannot be used anywhere other than Guernsey, so when a local ATM gave us Guernsey pounds, Steve took us to the tourist office to exchange them before dropping us off at the dock. We were so grateful to him for that! We saw many things, such as German defenses, the Little Chapel, saw the spots mentioned in the Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie book, and I highly recommend reading prior to the trip, drove by but didn't go into Hugo house and German museum and lots of others, had some Guernsey ice cream. However, I'm quite sure Steve would tailor the tour to your liking. It was a great day. Guernsey is beautiful. There are other accredited guides as well.

http://www.guernseyguidedtours.com/steve-martin.html

 

Cork:

We had an 8 person van for an about Cork taxi tour. Another lovely day, in spite of a bit of rain. Met just off the ship at the Annie Moore statue, drove straight to Blarney where some of us saw the castle (didn't climb to kiss the stone) and some went to the woolen mills to browse and shop. My husband and I went to see the castle and still had some time to do a bit of shopping. We left there and went to Kinsale for a brief walking tour....small colorful town, just a few city streets, informative guide. Great seafood chowder, fish and chips, and Guinness lunch at Jim Edwards pub in Kinsale (extra $), visit to Charles Fort, then to Cork where we went through the cathedral, a candy shop, and the English Market, where we met funny man Pat O'Connell.

http://www.koconnellfish.com

Then on back to Cobh, visit to lovely cathedral, and back to dock. Great day of touring. Our driver/guide was named Michael.

http://www.aboutcorktaxitours.com/kinsale-walking-tour-special

https://www.facebook.com/pages/About-Cork-Taxi-Tours/151529128205448?fref=ts

 

 

Dublin:

Originally planned a walking tour with Garvan, but decided against several mile walk.

http://tourguides.viator.com/tour-guide-garvan-rushe-16277.aspx

 

This was our only disappointment in touring. Based on much prior reading, we decided to do Dublin on our own, so booked the Green Hop On Hop Off bus, hoping to visit our preferred sights easily from just hopping on and off. If you are happy with actually visiting only one or two places, then this is perfect for you. The bus does indeed make a great loop around Dublin and we did SEE it all. But there was another cruise ship in dock with another 3,000 people, and there was also a big horse show there for several days, so the city was packed with people.

We took the early Princess shuttle to town, which let us off just near Trinity College. We walked straight there, got in line before opening, and were only in line about 15 minutes before we went on in. Took us about an hour to see the Book of Kells and saunter through the gorgeous library. Then we spent just a little time in the gift shop before heading to the street to the spot for the Hop On Hop Off, which is adjacent to the college. We were turned away from two buses, too full for us to get on. :( Oh, dear, now what. We grabbed a taxi to St. Patrick's Cathedral, and spent a wonderful hour or more there. Wonderful. Then to the street where we were able to get on the bus. By now it was approaching noon. We had hoped to have lunch at the Guinness Gravity Bar, but the line to get back on the bus at the Guinness factory was far too long, as it was also at the Gaol. So we just stayed on the bus and saw all the sights of Dublin from there. We got off the bus back near where the Princess shuttle was to pick up and had a lovely fish and chips lunch in a pub near there. So the only places we actually had time to VISIT were the college and St. Patrick's and we are so glad of that.

So if I had it to do again, I would plan something else. Paddywagon had been one we considered, but the reviews are so very mixed that we had decided against. But I heard that others used and enjoyed.

http://www.dublinsightseeing.ie/citytour.aspx

Tickets in advance

 

Belfast:

Another wonderful day. Great tour, three couples. Picked up at the ship and whisked away to the Antrim Coast. Gorgeous. Coast road where no bus can travel. Unbelievably scenic. Giant's Causeway, line too long to walk over the rope bridge but had a great view of it, Dunluce Castle and perfect lunch at Wee Cottage nearby, beautiful Game of Thrones beech trees, back to Belfast to see the Protestant/Catholic murals and sign the Peace Wall. Wow. Eye-opening. Great day. Our excellent driver/guide was Michael.

http://www.cityandcausewaytours.com/index.html

 

Glasgow:

This was our day to travel to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

 

Can I say another great day? 15 passenger van with Gordon Ross of Great Scot Tours. He was superb. We left the ship about noon, traveled to the lovely little village of Luss, where we had a rest and coffee stop, saw Loch Lomond, traveled on through the Trossachs, Aberfoyle, Callander for another stop, then to Stirling Castle, where we toured with Gordon and other great guides, and then finally on into Edinburgh for the Military Tattoo. Great information and commentary all the while. Gordon and his driver dropped us only a couple of blocks from Edinburgh Castle. We separated at that point and four of us stopped to eat at Elephant House prior to making our way to our to our seats at the castle. Purchased Tattoo tickets as soon as they went on sale in the fall. We all had tickets in section 12 to hopes of simplifying our return to our bus. It worked. We were back at the ship by about an hour before any of the Princess buses.

Tattoo fabulous.

http://www.greatscot-tours.com

 

Orkney:

We toured with Orkney Aspects. Another 15 passenger van. Our guide was Anne. Great. Stones of Stenness, Ring of Brodgar, Maes Howe and Norse inscriptions, Skara Brae, Scapa Flow, delightful soup and sandwich lunch at Merkister Hotel, stop in Kirkwall to visit St. Magnus Cathedral and time for some Orkney ice cream. Another fabulous day.

http://www.orkneyaspects.co.uk/home/4571330808

https://www.facebook.com/OrkneyAspectsTourServices?fref=ts

 

Invergordon:

Bummer

We were unable to dock because of remnants of Hurricane Bertha!

We were scheduled to tour with Wow Scotland tours and Gordon Pearson. SO very disappointed to miss this port where we were looking forward to the Scottish highlands. I will say that on the very day that we missed our port, Gordon emailed to confirm our refund. I was totally impressed by that. Perhaps another cruise.

http://www.wowscotlandtours.com/invergordon-tours/group-tours-from-invergordon/

https://www.facebook.com/wowscotland?fref=ts

 

 

Edinburgh:

So glad we hired a taxi for this morning. Rainy day. Andy and his black taxi picked us up at the ship, drove into Edinburgh where we also picked up some family who happened to be in Scotland, too. We toured the city all morning, stopping here and there for bits of interesting info from Andy. He was great. Drove up Arthur's Seat. Spent time in St. Giles and Thistle Chapel. When we finished our taxi tour, we made arrangements for Andy to pick us up later in the day to take us back to ship. Another great day! What can I say? I am sure he will also tailor a tour to suit.

http://www.edinburghcabtours.com/Home/

https://www.facebook.com/EdinburghCabTours?fref=photo

 

 

LeHavre:

This is the only port where we took a Princess excursion. After much thought on how to best use our shore excursion credits, we booked the Normandy beaches tour. We had been to Normandy before on a small group tour, but had not seen Arromanches, and we wanted to see the Mulberry harbors and little town. We are glad we took the tour. Wonderful day at the cemetery, Omaha Beach, Arromanches, Pointe du Hoc, and a delightful lunch at Omaha Beach Golf Club.

Others used Overlord Tours and loved them, too.

 

So all in all a fabulous assortment of excursions. Great guides, really wonderful Cruise Critic folks to share the small tours. Would do them all again, with the exception of Dublin. We were sad to see the LONG line of unhappy cruisers who waited until they boarded ship to book their excursions. The most wished for tours were sold out from day one. There was a long wait list, but that didn't work out for too many. We LOVED our BI cruise. Happy planning!! :)

[capriccio]

We did this cruise in August 2013 - it is fantastic! We had a very active roll call with lots of private excursions. See posting 2965 to give you an idea of what is available: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1594858.

 

We especially enjoyed Overlord Tours in Normandy, Timberbush Tours in Glasgow, Shore Excursions.UK in Invergordon, and Odyssey Coach Tours in Belfast. Whatever you chose, do not miss the Tattoo in Edinburg (and make sure you stay until the very end; some on our roll call left early to avoid the crowds and regretted missing the incredible finale). It was the absolute highlight of a cruise with many wonderful higlights.

[Chesie]

This is our first cruise to these countries. Four of us are looking for small group local tours from several ports. On a Mediterranean cruise a few years ago, we used Rome-in-Limo for 8 of us, and they used small Mercedes SUVs, and the drivers were fantastic guides. Looking for something similar at the British Isles ports. Looking for recommended tours.

 

We did the BI cruise August 2013. There was a large group of us on the roll all and. Artois people took charge of the excursions. If you can find our roll all, there is a wealth of information there. We had a blast but it is very port intense.

[kbubbles]

You are going to have a wonderful time. One of the nice extras that Princess does on this itinerary is bring on local entertainment at various ports. I highly recommend attending.

 

It sounds like MaChere did the exact tour my group of 4 did in Belfast. Absolutely fabulous! We used Belfast Black Taxi tours. Loved them. Definetly eat in the cottage by Giants Causeway.

 

Glasgow/Greenock we toured with the local volunteer group that is at the pier. Inverclyde tourist group is their name, if I remember correctly. We decided to have an easier day for this port and stay local. It was a wonderful day. It was 5 pounds a person for us to tour Newark a Castle plus 5 pounds for admission. They transported us in a group of 15 and our 2 guides were top notch. The tour was 2 hours. Afterwards they gave us a recommendation for a pub lunch and we explored the town.

 

In Orkney we hired Orkney Taxi. They are the largest cab company in Orkney, that being said, they only have 13. We had a great day did everything on our list and then some. They charge by the hour and require no fees up front. Skara Brae is a must see.

 

LaHavre, beware that we felt the taxi drivers were padding their prices to get to other areas by 3 times what I had researched. Even the lady at tourist info for LaHavre said they were, "taking advantage of the tourists." We walked to the train station and took the train to Rouen. Loved our day here. On the return from the train we did take a taxi as the price was 10 euro not the 25 we were quoted from the morning. It's a shame because this was a nice port of call.

 

There was not one port of call I didn't enjoy. Have fun!

[Stevesan]

The highlight of our cruise: Edinburgh Military Tattoo!!

With Edinburgh Castle in the background, this show is a must see! 600 military musicians, with more than 100 bagpipers! Each tableau showed the extent of these military bands' skills in music, drill and even dance! The choreographers were all unique and original. The projections on the castle added to the magnificence of the event. Along with the Scottish Pipers were military bands from Switzerland, Chili, Japan, Nepal and New Zealand. The pinnacle of the event was the poignant performance of the Lone Piper on top of the castle! Unforgettable!

 

Interesting fact: The word Tattoo comes from the Dutch in the 17-18th c. when they were calling the Scots to combat, the piper would play while they told the pub owner Doe den tap toe - Turn off the taps!

You can rent a cushion for £1 at the bottom of the bleacher a great idea cause it s not only more comfortable but also warmer. There are portable toilets available at the Tattoo, but the lines are long better do a pit stop at one of the Pubs on the Royal Mile ahead of time!

Finally take lots of film or memory cards with you!! I filled a 512 MB memory stick just for the Tattoo!

At the end of the show, we got back to the bus and left at about 23h30. We got back in Greenock at 1h15. Thankfully, the Horizon Court was still open and waiting for us. We joined the crowd for a quick bite before falling into our beds after a long but wonderful day!

 

True story:

We had drizzling rain all evening until a solo soprano began singing "Amazing Grace". The clouds parted and a full moon appeared lighting us up!

That was enough to make any one a believer!!!:)

Edited February 4, 2015 by Stevesan