Hoho in Dublin help

[RoDel]

Hi! We’ll be visiting Dublin next summer on the NCL Dawn, in port from 7am - 4pm.
The ship’s Hoho shore excursion leaves at either 8:30 or 9:30am and has a scheduled duration of 2hrs. I assume it’s 2hrs because that’s what it would take to complete a full circuit if you stay on the bus?

Has anyone taken this shore excursion and be able to tell me when the last transfer to Dun Loughaire is? It’s a short day in Dublin…

thanks

[princeton123211]

15 hours ago, RoDel said:

I assume it’s 2hrs because that’s what it would take to complete a full circuit if you stay on the bus?

That sounds about right-- we haven't done a ships Hoho tour but have done the standard Dublin Hoho tour (which I'm sure is the same one) and its about 90 minutes but there are usually lines to board busses at each stop so will slow things down.  

 

Keep in mind that later in the day the bus can get hopelessly snarled in traffic-- we sat for a while a few years back and actually got out and walked. 

 

15 hours ago, RoDel said:

Has anyone taken this shore excursion and be able to tell me when the last transfer to Dun Loughaire is? It’s a short day in Dublin…

Keep in mind that Dublin is fairly compact-- you're not physically covering a on of ground with the bus. If you're using the bus as transportation to a handful of specific places, you might be better served just walking or using a taxi. If you want the full city overview then the bus isn't a bad way to do it. 

 

The transfer back to Dún Laoghaire is NCL specific (the HoHo is shared with non cruise folks but the transfers are specifically for you). I would guess they would tell you a meet point and last departure.

 

But again-- buffer yourself a little. Dublin's roads are small for a cities and traffic becomes very real as the day gets on. I would not cut it close getting back to the port transfer. Obviously once your'e on the transfer back you're fine even if you did hit traffic. 

[RoDel]

Thank you princeton! That’s the kind of insight I was hoping for. We might just make our way to Dublin and play it by ear whether to join the HoHo there. I’ll be buying Book of Kells tickets for a set time, so we’ll plan around that. Thanks again. 

[VMax1700]

Another thing to take into consideration is that Dun Laoghaire is a tender port, so you will need to factor that into your planned timeline.

 

You could take the DART (local train) from Dun Laoghaire to Dublin (Pearse Street station) which is very close to Trinity College.

Purchase DART tickets in Dun Laoghaire station.  Credit cards ok.

 

Here is a map of where the ship's tender comes ashore (marked with X) and location of the DART station.

[phabric]

19 hours ago, RoDel said:

Thank you princeton! That’s the kind of insight I was hoping for. We might just make our way to Dublin and play it by ear whether to join the HoHo there. I’ll be buying Book of Kells tickets for a set time, so we’ll plan around that. Thanks again. 

On a Princess cruise, we took a taxi to Book of Kells (get the earliest ticket).  After Book of Kells, we walked out the grounds to get the HoHo bus. Took a taxi back to the ship.

 

I purchased tickets in advance for Book of Kells and HoHo.

[RoDel]

Thank you! I think we’ll settle for DART and an early visit to Book of Kells and wander around after. I do wish we had more time in Dublin….