Fresh off 12-nights British Isles on Silhouette

[MrsNorman]

Your are spot on Mrs Norman, thank you for your kind words.

Indeed they did miss out - and to think they have seen all that Northern Ireland has to offer... well I am speechless!!! :rolleyes:

 

To say Belfast & Northern Ireland have came a long way is an understatement & I am thankful to say, we have turned a corner. 2017 Belfast Harbour has welcomed 150,000 cruise visitors and is the gateway to very many sites and attractions Northern Ireland has to offer our international friends.

 

Thank you for your lovely post and reply to mine. We would personally always want to take advantage of a chance to visit Northern Ireland, because we love it and it is a great destination. We visited last year while we were on the Ireland and Iceland cruise and everything was very well organised. We thought we would have to wait for a shuttle into the city but no, it seemed like all of Belfast's bus drivers were out there lined up and waiting to whisk people off the dockside and into the centre if they wanted to see the city rather than explore further afield or go on a tour.

 

While there we had a marvellous tour on a HOHO bus with the driver giving a really good commentary as we went. He made us all laugh a lot too, as well as telling us some of the history of the region. It was only the second time we had seen Belfast because we normally head off towards the North to visit relatives in County Antrim. So we have seen quite a few of the sights there but don't feel we have in any way exhausted everything that there is to see and do in N I.

 

The morning of our visit we opened the curtains in the cabin to see that we were sailing past Rathlin Island, seeing it from an unusual angle and stayed some time at the window identifying all the known landmarks as we sailed around the coastline. That's one of our best memories of the cruise.

 

That said, I have to say that we sometimes skip a destination or two while on a cruise if we fancy a lazy day on board! We just have to, sometimes!

[floridaag]

and Floridaag:

 

Very interested in hearing more about Tattoo since we're going in August, 2018. Specifically:

 

1. did you dock or tender?

2. was there a specific time by which you had to be on board the ship on the over-night? I heard that if you tender they sometimes stop tender service at midnight.

3. did you get your Tattoo tix through Celebrity, and if so did they sell out really fast? OR

4. did you do the Tattoo with a private company and if so, if you were satisfied, which one? If you were NOT satisfied, why?

 

 

Thanks in advance. HK

 

1. Tender and it was a long ride and something of a zoo. Took a long time. Much better if you were in a Suite and there is priority disembarkation

 

2. The sky opened up starting around 10 PM on the overnight. The last tender was supposed to be at 3AM I believe - due to the rain and swells, they had to stop tenders for some time period. My group with good planning and a lot of luck made it back to the ship after to Tattoo before midnight

 

3. If I recall correctly, about 900 people or so on the ship got their tickets through Celebrity and transportation etc. - many of these people were the ones who were delayed getting back on board and they were peeved to put it mildly.

 

4. Our group of 13 bought ours and dinner in the castle directly and my wife arranged transportation for everyone and our vans were waiting for us and we got out before the buses and many others

 

Edinburgh is a wonderful City and the Fringe Festival and Tattoo were amazing - I plan to return for a longer visit for sure.

[floridaag]

I've read lots of Celebrity reviews detailing issues with unruly kids in July/August on many European routes. We were on an RCL cruise last year out of Southampton that departed the first day of the British summer holidays (something we hadn't realized). It was so miserable that we came close to disembarking early and have almost sworn off late summer cruises in Europe.

 

We had been told/assumed kids were not as prevalent on Celebrity so booked your cruise next summer. But, as noted, we've seen reviews that say ships are filled with (sometimes unruly kids). Thus, I'm curious as to whether there were lot of kids on this itinerary at that time of year and whether they were generally under control.

 

[Note: Please don't flame me for the question or turn this into a debate about whether children are or aren't well behaved or whether that should or should not affect other passengers. I'm only curious as to whether this particular cruise had any "kid issues" as a reference point for what we personally want to do next summer.]

 

No kid issues whatsoever that I noticed on this cruise

[Saab4444]

THANK YOU!! Your information is the most helpful I've seen....and exactly what I wanted. I love the idea of staying overnight following the tattoo. I'll start looking for places now. Then we can take our time leaving the Castle and have a nice Scottish breakfast and maybe take the train back to Greenoch. I've also contacted a company that will set up a day tour for us, purchase our Tattoo tix (although I LOVE the idea of becoming a member for a year, that's brilliant) and arrange for handicapped permit so I don't have to walk the hill either direction. It's good to know that Celebrity will continue running tenders until everyone is back on board....that was a little disturbing.

 

 

 

Silhouette does not dock in Greenoch on the west cost but tenders in Newhaven on the east cost of Britain.

 

 

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[Swampduck]

Thank you for your lovely post and reply to mine. We would personally always want to take advantage of a chance to visit Northern Ireland, because we love it and it is a great destination. We visited last year while we were on the Ireland and Iceland cruise and everything was very well organised. We thought we would have to wait for a shuttle into the city but no, it seemed like all of Belfast's bus drivers were out there lined up and waiting to whisk people off the dockside and into the centre if they wanted to see the city rather than explore further afield or go on a tour.

 

While there we had a marvellous tour on a HOHO bus with the driver giving a really good commentary as we went. He made us all laugh a lot too, as well as telling us some of the history of the region. It was only the second time we had seen Belfast because we normally head off towards the North to visit relatives in County Antrim. So we have seen quite a few of the sights there but don't feel we have in any way exhausted everything that there is to see and do in N I.

 

The morning of our visit we opened the curtains in the cabin to see that we were sailing past Rathlin Island, seeing it from an unusual angle and stayed some time at the window identifying all the known landmarks as we sailed around the coastline. That's one of our best memories of the cruise.

 

That said, I have to say that we sometimes skip a destination or two while on a cruise if we fancy a lazy day on board! We just have to, sometimes!

 

Mrs Norman, thank you....

Well we miss the odd port too, it is nice to enjoy the ship on our own - well almost.

But I think the OP should've explained why he did, at the first point - we have so much to offer here. And like any other port there is more than the city they are docked in . (we live in Co Antrim)

IN FACT we have had the Princess Regal Princess (5,000 guests) doing an overnight here.

I hope you return again soon. regards Debbie x

[twincheryl]

We had a wonderful day in Northern Ireland.

 

We are going to be in Edinburgh next year during this time and will have an overnight as well. Do you remember how much the tickets for the Tattoo were? If you were to do it again, would you go to the Tattoo or are there other sightseeing places that you might substitute?

 

Any other suggestions?

[Hydrokitty]

Silhouette does not dock in Greenoch on the west cost but tenders in Newhaven on the east cost of Britain.

 

 

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Sorry, I neglected to mention that we're on the Eclipse.