Jump to content

Anyone else here on Breeze in August Reykjavik-Edinburgh or Edinburgh Dublin


milepig
 Share

Recommended Posts

I know the roll calls are lightly used, so apologies for posting here, but I have two roll calls going for these two itins with zero traffic. Maybe we'll be utterly alone!! If anyone is on either of these please take a look, I have two private tours listed that I have room for others to join, sharing the fixed cost, and would also welcome other traffic on those two threads. . Or just email me windstarpig@gmail.com

Edited by milepig
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately I'm not, but wish I was--they sound like remarkable itineraries.  I can help with things to do in Dublin and Belfast if you are stopping there, as I've visited both cities on land based trips multiple times.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems that Windstar cruisers don't like to use Roll Calls.  We don't have a Roll Call listed  for our August Around Iceland sailing.

 

Enjoy your cruises - they sound fabulous!

 

Safe Travels

Edited by jmbklj
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, ducklite said:

Unfortunately I'm not, but wish I was--they sound like remarkable itineraries.  I can help with things to do in Dublin and Belfast if you are stopping there, as I've visited both cities on land based trips multiple times.  

 

We haven’t decided between Belfast and Derry, can’t decide. 

 

Dublin is the end so just a long afternoon and dinner and then off to the airport in the morning. We think we’ll just do one of the walking routes and then an casual.  dinner. Although classy isn’t out if the question. We’re very central at the Radisson Blu. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, milepig said:

 

We haven’t decided between Belfast and Derry, can’t decide. 

 

Dublin is the end so just a long afternoon and dinner and then off to the airport in the morning. We think we’ll just do one of the walking routes and then an casual.  dinner. Although classy isn’t out if the question. We’re very central at the Radisson Blu. 


Do you dock in Belfast or Derry?  How much time do you have?  It's a very easy train ride between them, takes a little over two hours.  We've taken the train, it's a pleasant trip.  You end up on the east side of the Foyle and have to cross over to the west for most of the sites. There's a good restaurant near the train station on the east side of the Foyle open for dinner if you'll have time, Brown's Bond Hill. Jeans with collared shirt type of dress is fine.  They have a nice wine list

 

I know a man whose father was killed by the Paras on Bloody Sunday who gives tours, let me know if you're interested and I can give you his information.  I'll warn you that it's a VERY Republican viewpoint.  He took my husband, a friend, and I up to see his fathers grave site in Creggan, up on that hill with the wind whipping relentlessly.  Very sobering indeed.  I can also point you to a bar where you can tip a few back with some men who were, ahem, involved in a certain organization in the past.  You'll be stopped and given a once over on your way in.  Be warned, if your name is British, you will likely be told there are better places for you and sent on your way.  If you're Irish you'll be welcomed. 

 

You could see Derry in a day, but you'll be left wanting to go back and really savor it.  

 

My opinion, if I only had a day and hadn't been before, I'd probably stay in Belfast instead of wasting the four plus hours in transit to Derry.  Go back and visit another time and stay for a couple of weeks.  The entire island is a magical place.  

 

There's a great Tapas Bar fairly close to the port in Belfast called 2Taps.  It's a great place to have lunch or even a snack.  If you want advice on things to do in Belfast, let me know.

 

If you haven't been to Dublin, I suggest the GPO and then the Yellow Umbrella walking tour from the Spire--book it in advance.  It's free, but the guides do expect a "tip" at the end, I think we gave 10 Euro each.  My other favorite things to do are the often missed but outstanding Epic Museum and the Little Museum of Dublin.  Give Brookewood on Baggot St Lower a try for dinner.  Wonderful food and service in an unpretentious atmosphere.  We were in jeans and fully welcomed--I want to think the server was in jeans as well.  One of those crisp linen napkins but neat jeans are fine types of places.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, ducklite said:


Do you dock in Belfast or Derry?  How much time do you have?  It's a very easy train ride between them, takes a little over two hours.  We've taken the train, it's a pleasant trip.  You end up on the east side of the Foyle and have to cross over to the west for most of the sites. There's a good restaurant near the train station on the east side of the Foyle open for dinner if you'll have time, Brown's Bond Hill. Jeans with collared shirt type of dress is fine.  They have a nice wine list

 

I know a man whose father was killed by the Paras on Bloody Sunday who gives tours, let me know if you're interested and I can give you his information.  I'll warn you that it's a VERY Republican viewpoint.  He took my husband, a friend, and I up to see his fathers grave site in Creggan, up on that hill with the wind whipping relentlessly.  Very sobering indeed.  I can also point you to a bar where you can tip a few back with some men who were, ahem, involved in a certain organization in the past.  You'll be stopped and given a once over on your way in.  Be warned, if your name is British, you will likely be told there are better places for you and sent on your way.  If you're Irish you'll be welcomed. 

 

You could see Derry in a day, but you'll be left wanting to go back and really savor it.  

 

My opinion, if I only had a day and hadn't been before, I'd probably stay in Belfast instead of wasting the four plus hours in transit to Derry.  Go back and visit another time and stay for a couple of weeks.  The entire island is a magical place.  

 

There's a great Tapas Bar fairly close to the port in Belfast called 2Taps.  It's a great place to have lunch or even a snack.  If you want advice on things to do in Belfast, let me know.

 

If you haven't been to Dublin, I suggest the GPO and then the Yellow Umbrella walking tour from the Spire--book it in advance.  It's free, but the guides do expect a "tip" at the end, I think we gave 10 Euro each.  My other favorite things to do are the often missed but outstanding Epic Museum and the Little Museum of Dublin.  Give Brookewood on Baggot St Lower a try for dinner.  Wonderful food and service in an unpretentious atmosphere.  We were in jeans and fully welcomed--I want to think the server was in jeans as well.  One of those crisp linen napkins but neat jeans are fine types of places.

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve hit a gold mine, thanks. We dock din Portrush so sort of equidistant from both. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, milepig said:

 

We haven’t decided between Belfast and Derry, can’t decide. 

 

Dublin is the end so just a long afternoon and dinner and then off to the airport in the morning. We think we’ll just do one of the walking routes and then an casual.  dinner. Although classy isn’t out if the question. We’re very central at the Radisson Blu. 


Ah, I see you are in Portrush 8-5 or so.  I'd choose Derry, as it's a bit closer and you're less likely to get back there being realistic.  If you can catch the 8:30 train you'll have time to tour the take a tour of Bogside, see the Free Derry Museum, and catch the 2:30 train back.  It would be very tight, but doable.  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the help. For Dublin we looked at the Brookwood, which is well reviewed, but maybe not for us. We love steak, but being in Chicago we have our choice of amazing places here (including my terrace). 

 

The the three wildly different places on my list were picked months ago and I have no idea why. They’re wildly different:

 

The Ramen Bar on S. William

Feast on Castle Way, Golden Lane

Piglet Wine Bar on Cow’s Lane, Temple Bar. 

 

I’m looking at the Yellow Umbrella walking tour. We dock at 7 so I guess in a taxi on our way to Dublin by 8. That gives plenty of time to drop our bags and make the 11 tour, I think?? This is on a Saturday. 

Edited by milepig
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, milepig said:

Thanks for all the help. For Dublin we looked at the Brookwood, which is well reviewed, but maybe not for us. We love steak, but being in Chicago we have our choice of amazing places here (including my terrace). 

 

The the three wildly different places on my list were picked months ago and I have no idea why. They’re wildly different:

 

The Ramen Bar on S. William

Feast on Castle Way, Golden Lane

Piglet Wine Bar on Cow’s Lane, Temple Bar. 

 

I’m looking at the Yellow Umbrella walking tour. We dock at 7 so I guess in a taxi on our way to Dublin by 8. That gives plenty of time to drop our bags and make the 11 tour, I think?? This is on a Saturday. 


Overall I find Temple Bar to be a shameless tourist trap.  M & L Szechuan Chinese is authentic Chinese that's worth the walk to get to.  We were about the only non-Asians in the place both times we've been there--which says a lot.  Le Cave wine Bar on Anne St is another that we enjoy.  

 

We really enjoyed the Yellow Umbrella tour we took last year.  The guide had a true connection to Dublin, he pointed out the hospital he was born in as we walked by.  You'll have plenty of time.  In fact you might even have time to take the free self-guided tour in the basement of City Hall on your way.  It takes about 30 minutes--maybe 45 if you take the time to read everything, and has great information on ancient Dublin up to today.  It's only a 20 minute walk from your hotel to the Spire, and you could take a route that takes you right past City Hall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hopefully the seas will be calmer than they were last year.  We were not able to make the Portrush stop due to rough seas.  It was too dangerous to use the tenders.  We sailed on to the Isle of Man for the evening.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm also trying to avoid Temple Bar, but the wine bar came to my attention for some reason - probably positive reviews.

 

Too bad about missing Portrush!  For us, that's the second to last stop before Isle of Man and then Dublin. Were you going in the same direction and just spend an extra day/night in Isle of Man?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

We’re onboard now. First 2 days were really rough. We’re missing Kirkwall due to anticipated 17 foot seas!!!  

 

Luckily for us we’ll be back there on our 2nd leg so we just moved our plans. 

 

The Breeze is as ship shape as ever and with the best crew, for us almost like all our favorites from previous itins. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, milepig said:

We’re onboard now. First 2 days were really rough. We’re missing Kirkwall due to anticipated 17 foot seas!!!  

 

Luckily for us we’ll be back there on our 2nd leg so we just moved our plans. 

 

The Breeze is as ship shape as ever and with the best crew, for us almost like all our favorites from previous itins. 

Wishing you "fair winds and following seas" for the remainder of your travels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Pride was supposed to meet up with us in Lerwick today but Is a no show. They were coming from Alesund and then Lerwick, Kirkwall and Tórshavn on the way to Reykjavík. The last position is well north of the Faroe Islands, and I fear then missed all three ports after Alesund. Ouch!

Edited by milepig
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, milepig said:

The Pride was supposed to meet up with us in Lerwick today but Is a no show. They were coming from Alesund and then Lerwick, Kirkwall and Tórshavn on the way to Reykjavík. The last position is well north of the Faroe Islands, and I fear then missed all three ports after Alesund. Ouch!


Ouch is right.  That' would be a bitter pill to swallow.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Captain confirmed that they indeed missed all three and are in their way to Reykjavík. I’m sure we’ll hear stories at some point. 

 

We’re just arriving in Alesund where the seas are now calm, it’s sort of warmish and the skies are clearing. Should be a nice afternoon for us. 

Edited by milepig
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, milepig said:

 Captain confirmed that they indeed missed all three and are in their way to Reykjavík. I’m sure we’ll hear stories at some point. 

 

We’re just arriving in Alesund where the seas are now calm, it’s sort of warmish and the skies are clearing. Should be a nice afternoon for us. 

Alesund is delightful!

Alesund, Norway (2).JPG

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I was aboard the Pride - and yes, we did miss all three ports.  Disappointing, but we'd already had some pretty big swells on our first sea day, and many passengers were sick puppies.  We went straight from Alesund to Iceland, with two full sea days.  The upside was that we skirted the north coast of Iceland and crossed a bit of the Arctic Circle, so we are now all "blue noses."  I think most of us felt the Windstar did the prudent thing, but it was an "ouch" to miss all three of those island ports.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Carolfay said:

Yes, I was aboard the Pride - and yes, we did miss all three ports.  Disappointing, but we'd already had some pretty big swells on our first sea day, and many passengers were sick puppies.  We went straight from Alesund to Iceland, with two full sea days.  The upside was that we skirted the north coast of Iceland and crossed a bit of the Arctic Circle, so we are now all "blue noses."  I think most of us felt the Windstar did the prudent thing, but it was an "ouch" to miss all three of those island ports.

 

Thanks for checking in about this. I’d have been disappointed but agree the captain made the right call. 

 

After we left for Alesund we had a fairly smooth crossing and then a glorious day in the Fjords and the 2 spectacular 85 degree and sunny days in Bergen. The crew remains iffy about Portrush as it is a tender port and are watching conditions closely.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Windstar took good care of us, but the weather couldn't be defeated.  I'm wondering now if I waited too late in the season for this itinerary.  We Pride passengers did get two additional days in Iceland for touring, one at Grundarfjordur in the west, and one more in Reykjavik, so that allowed us to see some spectacular terrain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

On 8/31/2019 at 5:12 PM, Carolfay said:

Yes, I was aboard the Pride - and yes, we did miss all three ports.  Disappointing, but we'd already had some pretty big swells on our first sea day, and many passengers were sick puppies.  We went straight from Alesund to Iceland, with two full sea days.  The upside was that we skirted the north coast of Iceland and crossed a bit of the Arctic Circle, so we are now all "blue noses."  I think most of us felt the Windstar did the prudent thing, but it was an "ouch" to miss all three of those island ports.

 

We were in Iceland last week, doing a 'circumnavigation' on Ponant Le Laperouse.  We left Reykjavik on August 22 and headed around in a clockwise direction to Ísafjördur (Aug. 23), Grímsey (Aug. 24), and Akureyri (Aug. 25) – all calm sailing.  Then the Captain called a meeting to show us the forecasts on windy.com: a big nor'easter-type storm was sitting off the SW coast of Iceland with a strong counterclockwise swirl of wind and swells all around the island and wasn't moving.  The rest of our itinerary would take us into the teeth of that storm down the eastern coast and along the bottom of Iceland to get back to Reykjavik.  He decided we could sneak in to Seyðisfjörður (in the NE corner of Iceland) on Aug. 26, but then we had to turn back and go across the north and down the west [missing Heimaey and gaining a sea day].  We had one slightly rough morning, but otherwise it was pretty smooth sailing – as you describe for your deviation.  Both Captains made good decisions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The captains know their stuff. 

 

To the point of too late in the season?  One of our private guides said that the fall started about 6 weeks early. The leaves are turning and migratory birds from Russia are already appearing. The wild crazy winds and rain are more of an October thing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...