British Isle cruise with these criteria

[World Gallery]

Researching our first British Isle cruise and the options are getting a bit overwhelming.  I figure I will narrow it down by the main things we are hoping for in a cruise.  Has anyone been on a British Isle cruise with these criteria:

 

Few or no tender ports (too time consuming or risk of not getting into port)

Ending in Southhampton (best to begin there also but ending there is preferred)

 

Also, is there a best month regarding weather?  We are hoping to avoid extreme heat (or extreme crowds in port) like the heatwave last summer in London or risky month regarding not getting into port due to weather.  Our options are July-Sept. Viking Venus looks good but it is the most expensive.  Regal Princess is also appealing, 12 day British Isle with Orkney Island.

 

Open to any cruiseline other than Carnival and MSC.  

Are there ports of call we should consider as "must see" when choosing itinerary?

Any insights into choosing a British Isle cruise would be appreciated.  Thanks.

 

[LHT28]

even with ports  you dock in can be risky  if the weather or seas are bad

We have yet to make it to Holyhead  Wales 

 

I would look at the port of  Southampton  & see what ships sail from there  & do round trips

https://www.cruisecritic.com/cruiseto/cruiseitineraries.cfm?port=111&depcity=270

 

Then look at  number of tender ports  if you want to have a few as possible 

Late June early July  might be safe  but  pack a rain jacket  no matter 

[capriccio]

Look for an August itinerary that includes a late evening in Glasgow or Edinburgh, Scotland so you can attend the military tattoo (https://www.edintattoo.co.uk/). It was a highlight of our 2013 British Isles cruise. 

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, capriccio said:

Look for an August itinerary that includes a late evening in Glasgow or Edinburgh, Scotland so you can attend the military tattoo (https://www.edintattoo.co.uk/). It was a highlight of our 2013 British Isles cruise. 

I agree though our British Isles cruise in which we saw the Tattoo was in 2014 out of Dover. I would suggest one that has an overnight as we would not have otherwise made it back to our port for Edinburgh which was Rosyth.

[jsn55]

We did a 'perfect' circumnavigation of the UK with Grand Circle on their Corinthian.  The ship was small, maybe 50 cabins, and we docked everywhere.  GCT really knows how to take care of the pax ... but of course you pay for all that coddling.  Each group of 20 pax has their own 'Program Director', so there's a great feeling of comfort knowing you always have someone 'there' for you.  The crew is outstanding.  There's a 'port talk' every evening that is very comprehensive.  It was a great value; there are four 'penthouse' cabins on the top deck that are very comfortable for a 2-week cruise.  My only issue was just one dining venue available ... we don't like big dinners every night.

Edited November 30, 2022 by jsn55
thought

[LHT28]

48 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

  My only issue was just one dining venue available ... we don't like big dinners every night.

Do they make you clean  your plate? 🤔

[sleepingcat]

15 hours ago, World Gallery said:

Few or no tender ports (too time consuming or risk of not getting into port)

Ending in Southhampton (best to begin there also but ending there is preferred)

 

Also, is there a best month regarding weather? 

Hi WG, I see I'm the first Brit to reply to your topic. 

 

To avoid tendering, you need a small ship (by US standards I mean).  At many UK ports the ship will dock right near the city centre (though not Edinburgh, that always requires a bus ride). The suggestion of looking at everything departing Southampton in the months you are interested in is a good one.  I would also check Dover and Tilbury as British lines use these two ports as well and easy to access from LHR. 

 

Summer weather in the UK can never be relied on.  Looking at where you live, I dont think you'd have had a problem with the very few days of high (for us) temps we had this last summer. I would think more about avoiding the height of British holiday season which is from when the schools break up, usually about 16 July. A good time to travel is from mid June to mid July. Schools go back about 2nd September and after that is good as well though it may be getting cooler by then (2022 not, September was lovely 70s temperatures at least where we live on the south coast). 

 

You might try posting on the 'UK cruisers' section and you will get a lot of comments about round UK cruising. There are also sections for the UK port calls. 

[World Gallery]

 

Thanks everyone.  Very helpful!

 

Glad to know that Southhampton is not the only port from England.  I will check into Dover and Tilbury.  The reason for a port in England is so that we can spend a few days exploring London and the surrounding area.  Also, there is a direct flight from Heathrow to New Orleans, which is a huge deal for us.  I know that AC is not common in hotels like the USA and even when they do have it, a friend  (flight attendent friend spends a lot of time at hotels in London), says that AC doesn't work well during a heat wave.  

jsn55 - I will also look into that particular cruise.  I have heard small ships have a lot of movement.  I am not prone to sea sickness but would prefer not to take a chance if there is a big difference.

 

Looks like Viking may be a good option for us afterall because it is a smaller ship so maybe that means we can dock closer to town but I will explore the other options.  

 

Also, forgot to mention we prefer enrichment over entertainment.  

Edited November 30, 2022 by World Gallery

[World Gallery]

sleeping cat - a few more questions.  Is it safe to assume the first 2 weeks of September has a decent chance of good weather?  We do not mind cool or even cold temps because by Sept., we are so tired of the extreme heat/humidity we are still having in Louisiana.  We can't travel in June and if July will be too crowded, it looks like Sept may be the best option but your insights would be appreciated.  We have done Mediterranean cruises in May and a Baltic cruise in June and the weather was good but never a British Isle cruise.  Thanks.

[sleepingcat]

WG - my husband is the weather person in our house, so I will get him to prepare some figures for you.  the main thing to know is that weather patterns are so different between the south of England, and the north and more specifically Scotland. For example, some periods this last summer, when southern England was sweltering, it was miserable in Scotland, cold and wet. so on a September cruise you might encounter a variety of weather. 

[World Gallery]

That is very much appreciated.  Thank you.

[ldubs]

On 11/29/2022 at 7:01 PM, World Gallery said:

 

Are there ports of call we should consider as "must see" when choosing itinerary?

 

 

Edinburgh is not to be missed, IMO.  For us the port was Queensferry, which is a short journey to Edinburgh.  There are others as already mentioned.  BTW, Queensferry used tenders for our cruise, but that was a long time ago.  

 

This is one of my favorite itineraries.    We are thinking of doing it again next year.   Enjoy!

[sleepingcat]

Hey /WG, here is some average weather data for September around the /british coast:

 

September weather data

 

Around the coast	Hours of sunshine / month	Rainfall in inches	Temperature in ° F
London	115	2	66
North East England (Newcastle)	95	2	62
North East Scotland (Inverness)	85	2.5	60
West Scotland (Oban)	75	6.5	58
North Wales (Anglesey)	95	4	62
South West England (Pemzance)	105	3.5	64
South Coast (Dover)	125	2.5	65

 

from the British Met Office. you can see the big contrast between Scotland and the southern areas of England.