British Isles

[babs135]

Any Brits done a cruise round our beautiful island and if so what was it like?  DH is still not fit to travel abroad but I'm wondering if we could manage a local cruise, based on the fact that, god forbid, a problem arose he would still be close to an NHS hospital.  More cruise lines do a trip than I had realised so obviously it must be popular.

[MicCanberra]

As long as you still get cover in case of a medical evacuation, I cannot see any issues.

[Glenndale]

No, I haven’t done an around Britain cruise but did take one that took in Edinburgh, Shetlands, Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Orkneys, Ireland, Falmouth, France and Belgium which was really enjoyable and would happily do one that stayed within the confines of the British Isles.

There do seem to be quite a few options but many of them stray as far as Ireland, but if you don’t have a problem with that I’d say go for it.

😀

[yorkshirephil]

We had a great cruise around the BI's. It is good to visit places you would not likely visit on a land holiday. Bear in mind that you will still be at sea for long periods and should your husband need medical help that couldn't be dealt with on the ship he could be evacuated to another country, depending where the ship is. The sea can also be rough around the BI's.

[jocap]

We did such a cruise a few years ago, and became friendly with a family taking their mother on her final cruise, as she was in remission from cancer, but with a limited time ahead. They chose the cruise because it was mainly close to land- so close that ships have to make a special figure of 8 between Belfast and the IOM, to release water and to keep the casino open- the rest of the time they were within the 12 mile limit. ( I always worried that that was where the Caribbean Princess released some of their oiled water over the 5 years- for which they received a hefty fine).

The family was prepared to remove their parent if things became worse, to an NHS or ROI hospital, but in fact she only had a couple of not well days, and just stayed in bed.

As far as the itinerary- we loved it! There's a great difference between driving along the motorway to Glasgow and sailing slowly up the Clyde, returning past the Isle of Arran; or seeing the Royal yacht from the Forth and not the busy streets. 

Loved it. x

[Slugsta]

We did a 'GB' cruise on Princess a few years ago - we visited Le Havre and Dublin as well. It was good fun and nice to see parts of the country that we hadn't visited before. OH is talking about doing it again at some stage.

[amudd56]

My mother and I are considering a 12 day cruise from London to Ireland and Scotland on Norwegian. This is in September and are concerned the sea might be to choppy and the weather chilly/wet since it is quite a bit north of where we live in the US. We also were concerned that the tours might not give us the same view of the country/people that a land (motor coach) tour might. Does anyone have any advice??

[MicCanberra]

34 minutes ago, amudd56 said:

My mother and I are considering a 12 day cruise from London to Ireland and Scotland on Norwegian. This is in September and are concerned the sea might be to choppy and the weather chilly/wet since it is quite a bit north of where we live in the US. We also were concerned that the tours might not give us the same view of the country/people that a land (motor coach) tour might. Does anyone have any advice??

Welcome to cruise critic.

As with anywhere, the weather can be good or bad. It is most likely to be cool but that is easily catered for with wearing layers. Not sure where you are from so cannot comment on how much colder it would be.  Yes there are a lot of things to see and one day in port is often never enough to see everything the place has to offer. We have done a land tour and would say that we still haven't seen anywhere near everything we wanted to see, but it sure was amazing.

If you have time, perhaps do both. 

 

P.S do not forget a rain jacket.

[jocap]

September weather is often mild and dry-ish… just as the children go back to school, they often miss the best weather. We do get our weather from the Atlantic, though, so anything can happen, but we're also warmed by the Gulf Stream, so it cam be warmer than some "opposite" parts of North America.

Coach tours are great, but I don't think they can offer anything as beautiful as sailing in/out of some of the ports  on such a cruise- Dublin, Belfast... and especially sailing the firths to Greenock and Edinburgh. 

[Flo71]

Well I've done the British Isles cruise with Princess twice (on the same ship too) so it must be good.  Love Royal Princess ship, did it once with daughter and then again with hubby and daughter.  We went both times in July/Aug and weather was ok, bit of choppy seas one evening close to Ireland the first time but none that I recall second time.  Beautiful scenery.

[travelingman]

On 7/15/2019 at 4:50 PM, jocap said:

September weather is often mild and dry-ish… just as the children go back to school, they often miss the best weather. We do get our weather from the Atlantic, though, so anything can happen, but we're also warmed by the Gulf Stream, so it cam be warmer than some "opposite" parts of North America.

Coach tours are great, but I don't think they can offer anything as beautiful as sailing in/out of some of the ports  on such a cruise- Dublin, Belfast... and especially sailing the firths to Greenock and Edinburgh. 

 

I know you nor anyone can predict the sea conditions but in general can you tell me, based on history, if there are any months better than other to do a British Isles cruise that includes gong through the English Channel from London to Dublin - to Belfast - to Ullapool - to the Orkney Island - to Edinburgh - to Invergordon - to the Shetland Islands - to Bergen.

Based on my limited knowledge it seems the English Channel portion and the North Sea (Shetland Islands to Bergen) would be the areas of concern for sea conditions.

i ask this because my wife has motion sickness problems and I want to protect her as much as possible from the bad sea conditions.

Thanks.

 

Stan

[jocap]

Oh dear, Stan, I can't say anything for certain... I live quite close to the Irish Sea, and we often have storms through the summer months, due to the tail-ends of hurricanes in the Caribbean... but it can also be very calm. I honestly wouldn't prefer any month to another, except it will be warmer in spring and summer. Even right now, in January, we're having a furious storm across the northern part of the UK- but it's really warm at around 9C, which is a bit of a surprise!

All I can suggest is a visit to your doctor, for his recommendation for severe sea sickness. 

I do hope you'll manage to make the journey.

Jo.

[MicCanberra]

I have crossed the North sea many times but only had tough weather twice, it can happen. The same goes for any stretch of water, even places that are usually calm most of the time can become rough due to a storm.

[john watson]

On 6/16/2019 at 9:18 AM, babs135 said:

Any Brits done a cruise round our beautiful island and if so what was it like?  DH is still not fit to travel abroad but I'm wondering if we could manage a local cruise, based on the fact that, god forbid, a problem arose he would still be close to an NHS hospital.  More cruise lines do a trip than I had realised so obviously it must be popular.

 

I have done a British Isles cruise with Princess, they are a good bet in my opinion and their prices drop enormously near sail date on the larger ships.  Assuming you need urgent NHS services the furthest you go is Ireland and France.  In Ireland you could in theory drive across the border.  It is a type of cruise mainly aimed at US passengers in my opinion. You do need medical insurance but nobody ever seems ti indicate a specific minimum level and with this type of cruise risk is a lot less than Mediterranean etc.

 

Regards John