Bringing food ashore, and timing for tender ports

[kilili]

HI all, 

 

I have two separate questions.  The first one is regarding the port of Invergordon.  We booked an excursion to the highlands which stops at a castle and also a whisky distillery.  When they sent me the confirmation, they sent some instructions. They mention that there is no dedicated meal stop, and suggest one can purchase snacks or bring some food from the ship.  Is this allowed in the port?  I know some ports have some restrictions regarding bringing food ashore.  

 

The second question is regarding the tender ports of Dun Laagohaire for Dublin and South Queensferry for Edinburgh.  Will three hours be enough to get back to the ship (on the DART or Lothian Bus)?  We would be trying to get back from Guiness Storehouse in Dublin and Johnnie Walker Princess Street in Edinburgh.

 

Thank you very much for your help.

 

P.S.  I will be crossposting about the food on the Princess forum

[fruitmachine]

7 hours ago, kilili said:

The second question is regarding the tender ports of Dun Laagohaire for Dublin and South Queensferry for Edinburgh.  Will three hours be enough to get back to the ship (on the DART or Lothian Bus)?  We would be trying to get back from Guiness Storehouse in Dublin and Johnnie Walker Princess Street in Edinburgh.

 

Three hours from setting foot on land to return to the tender point, or three hours from finishing at Johnnie Walker?

If the former, it's just doable (assuming you have the Johnnie Walker Experience tour), but you won't have much other time in Edinburgh.  For the latter, it's probably two hours too much.

Edited January 24, 2023 by fruitmachine

[edinburgher]

 The Johnny Walker experience is at the Shandwick Place end of Princes Street.  (Note that there is also The Scotch Whisky Experience next to the Castle Esplanade)

 

I would also allow an hour to return to SQ and to take the tender ride.  Check the Lothian Buses website for info on local buses running the SQ/ E/SQ route, but I have seen recent threads mention a dedicated Lothian Bus route which operates only on cruise call days between SQ and somewhere in Edinburgh city centre, so that may be a better option as it will most likely have few or no stops along the route and be a faster run.  I know nothing about it  other than that.  If there is no info on the Lothian Buses website, you could contact them directly to ask.

 

You could also use the CC SEARCH option to bring up past posts which mention S. Queensferry and read them for info.

Edited January 24, 2023 by edinburgher

[kilili]

3 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

Three hours from setting foot on land to return to the tender point, or three hours from finishing at Johnnie Walker?

If the former, it's just doable (assuming you have the Johnnie Walker Experience tour), but you won't have much other time in Edinburgh.  For the latter, it's probably two hours too much.

I mean we would be in Edinburgh since around 10:00 am, and see the Johnnie Walker tour at 14:00 (1.5 hour tour) and by the time we peruse gift shop leave at 16:00 h).  All aboard would be 19:00 h.  Would the three hours be enough from leaving the Johnnie Walker Princess street location, and make it back to the ship, it being a tender port.

[fruitmachine]

2 hours ago, kilili said:

I mean we would be in Edinburgh since around 10:00 am, and see the Johnnie Walker tour at 14:00 (1.5 hour tour) and by the time we peruse gift shop leave at 16:00 h).  All aboard would be 19:00 h.  Would the three hours be enough from leaving the Johnnie Walker Princess street location, and make it back to the ship, it being a tender port.

Without any issue.  1.5 hours before the last tender would be more than enough (the X99 itself takes about 30 minutes).  If you get a return ticket on the X99, it includes a day ticket on the city buses, so you can pop on any of them for a couple of stops if needed to get you back more quickly from Johnnie Walker to St Andrew Sq, where the X99 runs from.  If only on foot, then it's under 15 minutes at a normal pace.

[MeHeartCruising]

Regarding the food... There isn't anyone who is going to stop you from bringing food into the country.   There is no bag/luggage inspection or X-ray devices where someone will look through your belongings and there is no customs barrier you will need to walk thru and declare items.  You will just walk off the ship and walk to wherever you are meeting your tour group.

 

Having said that, I don't know whether Scotland has any laws prohibiting you from bringing food off the ship.  

 

Your possessions WILL be X-rayed when you return to the ship, but that is done on the ship by ship security personnel.

[Bob++]

There will be no problem with taking a packed lunch. I have no doubt that if you ask, you could have one made up for you.

[John Bull]

38 minutes ago, Bob++ said:

There will be no problem with taking a packed lunch. I have no doubt that if you ask, you could have one made up for you.

 

Some cheapskates get platefuls of rolls, cheese, bacon, sausages, fruit & such at the breakfast buffet, find a quiet corner and transfer the food to bags to carry ashore.

 

As a matter of principle  I won't do that.

Which is unfortunate, because my better-half never steals enough sausages. 😏

 

JB 🙂

[kilili]

I’m all for tasting the local cuisine.  But the the shore excursion included this in their instructions: 

Lunch/Snack

We do not set aside a specific time or place for you to eat but there are cafes or takeaways at some of the venues we visit. However to save time you may wish to bring with you a packed lunch which you could eat on the vehicle during periods of travel over 30 minutes. 

[HondaGirl05]

On 1/24/2023 at 5:55 PM, kilili said:

I’m all for tasting the local cuisine.  But the the shore excursion included this in their instructions: 

Lunch/Snack

We do not set aside a specific time or place for you to eat but there are cafes or takeaways at some of the venues we visit. However to save time you may wish to bring with you a packed lunch which you could eat on the vehicle during periods of travel over 30 minutes. 

We too have several long excursions without lunch, and will be traveling with too older kiddos. I'm planning to pack a few protein bar type snacks in our checked baggage, but would love other options.