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I'm looking at that same shorex for this June and was wondering where they drop you off after Powerscourt, so happy to see this!  Was that near Grafton or O'Connell Streets?  Sorry my eyes aren't good and the printing on this map is small.  Wanted to research what's in the area for the free time there.  Also, do you remember how long they gave you?  We would have to find somewhere to get some lunch or at least a snack since it's an 8 hour excursion. 

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We had lunch at Powerscourt in their cafe; it was delicious.  We had sandwiches and diet Coke for two for less than 20 pounds.  We were lucky that we got there right before the crowd because they got very busy right after we went in.

It may seem strange that we would trade some of our sightseeing time for eating, but my husband is a diabetic, and he has to eat on a regular time schedule or he would pass out.  That would definitely ruin an excursion.

We really enjoyed Powerscourt; we probably did not walk as far as other people will, but we enjoyed ourselves.

Our tour bus reached Dublin after 2, maybe like 3 pm.  After Powerscourt, the bus spent an hour driving around Dublin while the guide explained sights.  We decided to catch the Princess connection back to the ship rather than spend a couple of hours in town.  Unfortunately, we had to pay extra for that connection.  The tour people probably had about 2 hours to explore Dublin.

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2 hours ago, rocklinmom said:

I'm looking at that same shorex for this June and was wondering where they drop you off after Powerscourt, so happy to see this!  Was that near Grafton or O'Connell Streets?  Sorry my eyes aren't good and the printing on this map is small.  Wanted to research what's in the area for the free time there.  Also, do you remember how long they gave you?  We would have to find somewhere to get some lunch or at least a snack since it's an 8 hour excursion. 

It was closest to Grafton St. I believe we were in Dublin about 1:00 and met the bus at 4:00. There is so much to see and do from this drop off point. The map will get a bit larger if you click the photo in the post. It might help a little with the tiny print.

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1 hour ago, georgiacat said:

We had lunch at Powerscourt in their cafe; it was delicious.  We had sandwiches and diet Coke for two for less than 20 pounds.  We were lucky that we got there right before the crowd because they got very busy right after we went in.

It may seem strange that we would trade some of our sightseeing time for eating, but my husband is a diabetic, and he has to eat on a regular time schedule or he would pass out.  That would definitely ruin an excursion.

We really enjoyed Powerscourt; we probably did not walk as far as other people will, but we enjoyed ourselves.

Our tour bus reached Dublin after 2, maybe like 3 pm.  After Powerscourt, the bus spent an hour driving around Dublin while the guide explained sights.  We decided to catch the Princess connection back to the ship rather than spend a couple of hours in town.  Unfortunately, we had to pay extra for that connection.  The tour people probably had about 2 hours to explore Dublin.

It doesn't seem strange at all to grab a bite at Powerscourt. What a pretty place to grab a bite. We grabbed tea and scones there and it was delicious.  

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1 hour ago, Kevin's girl said:

It was closest to Grafton St. I believe we were in Dublin about 1:00 and met the bus at 4:00. There is so much to see and do from this drop off point. The map will get a bit larger if you click the photo in the post. It might help a little with the tiny print.

I was just going through a pile of papers in a box and found our map. We picked it up at the tourist office by Molly Malone. It has more things to see on it and the print larger. And again if you click it, it will get larger.IMG_1418.thumb.JPG.7e8420cf76f158337fb60c8e1253ad56.JPG

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  • 1 month later...
On 10/16/2017 at 9:50 PM, Kevin's girl said:

Here is a tip for those not booking an excursion.

Those people on a ship excursion get the first tenders off the ship. Don’t wait to go to the Island Dining room and get a tender ticket. Go early. We waited until about 10:00. We waited well an hour and a half for our ticket to be called.

 

Kevin's girl (or anyone else that has experience with this)...question for you.  We will be going on this same cruise in July of this year.  We have a private tour booked and just wanted a little clarification about this subject of getting off the ship on our own.  Our ship is there from 7am-7pm.  Ideally, I'd like for us to get off at 7:00am to 7:15am.  Taking this into consideration what time do you think we will be able to get off the ship?  You mentioned that you recommended going to the Island Dining room early...will that really help if all the ship-booked excursions are ahead of us?  Will they let people get tender tickets (that have private tours) and get off the ship before those that have excursions booked through the ship?         TIA!!!

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For tender ports,

ship tours,

Elite,

 passengers with numbered tickets

after all ticket numbers, you just go to the loading area.

 

Line up before they open up so you can get a early number everyone in your party needs to be there.

 

On return, you line up for the first available tender back to the ship.

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2 minutes ago, phabric said:

For tender ports,

ship tours,

Elite,

 passengers with numbered tickets

after all ticket numbers, you just go to the loading area.

 

Line up before they open up so you can get a early number everyone in your party needs to be there.

 

On return, you line up for the first available tender back to the ship.

Any thoughts on what time one could get a tender if the ship arrives at 7am, lets everyone off that has ship tours and you're the first in line for private tours?  I fully realize that every situation is different.  I'm trying to figure out if it's even worth getting a private tour if we can't get off the ship until 10am for example.

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18 hours ago, phabric said:

For tender ports,

ship tours,

Elite,

 passengers with numbered tickets

after all ticket numbers, you just go to the loading area.

 

Line up before they open up so you can get a early number everyone in your party needs to be there.

 

On return, you line up for the first available tender back to the ship.

In our prior 20 cruises, this is what has happened. Just not this Princess cruise. All ship excursions, and upper level frequent cruiser program people off first and then your number group that you were assigned when you walked into the lounge. No other line ups or leave when you want later in the day. It was a nightmare. We experienced this in Guernsey and saw many of our CC group go through it in Edinburgh. You HAD to use the lounge and be escorted off the ship in groups or you weren't going off.  If this is the rule for your ship I would recommend getting to the lounge as early as possible and pick up your group number. We waited hours.

 :(

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