British Isles Explorer Past Cruisers - Questions

[GoNavyFamily]

We are on the BIE cruise Bergen-Tilbury in April with a 2 night pre-extension in Oslo and I have several questions I am hoping can be answered by those of you who have been on this itinerary, especially post Covid, as protocols may have changed.

 

1. What places does the Viking tour include in Oslo?  The web site still mentions the Viking Ship Museum, which is closed.  I'd like an idea of what they will take us to see so I can plan where we will go on our own.

2. In Edinburgh, does the ship provide shuttles during the day to the town, outside of booked excursions? If not, how do you get from the pier to town?

3. In Dublin, I believe we will be in port at Dun Loaghaire.  Is a tender required there or can you walk off the ship?  How do you get into Dublin on your own?  I did read about the DART train but I'm not clear how close is the station from the ship.  Also, I am interested in suggestions of what to do on our own.

4. In Dover, how do we get from the pier to Dover Castle on our own?  Taxi? Bus?

5. In Tilbury, if we take an included tour into London and notify the guide we are getting off the bus and will head back a different time, what are the specific return instructions to take which tube to which stop, to get on a train to Tilbury? And how do we get from the train to the ship?

 

I've looked at many threads and seen some partial answers but would like to receive definitive information from those who have more recently been on this cruise. TIA!

[sarch99]

Rome2Rio dot com is very helpful in determining methods and routes for transportation.  

[whitbob]

On 2/9/2023 at 7:25 PM, GoNavyFamily said:

We are on the BIE cruise Bergen-Tilbury in April with a 2 night pre-extension in Oslo and I have several questions I am hoping can be answered by those of you who have been on this itinerary, especially post Covid, as protocols may have changed.

 

1. What places does the Viking tour include in Oslo?  The web site still mentions the Viking Ship Museum, which is closed.  I'd like an idea of what they will take us to see so I can plan where we will go on our own.

2. In Edinburgh, does the ship provide shuttles during the day to the town, outside of booked excursions? If not, how do you get from the pier to town?

3. In Dublin, I believe we will be in port at Dun Loaghaire.  Is a tender required there or can you walk off the ship?  How do you get into Dublin on your own?  I did read about the DART train but I'm not clear how close is the station from the ship.  Also, I am interested in suggestions of what to do on our own.

4. In Dover, how do we get from the pier to Dover Castle on our own?  Taxi? Bus?

5. In Tilbury, if we take an included tour into London and notify the guide we are getting off the bus and will head back a different time, what are the specific return instructions to take which tube to which stop, to get on a train to Tilbury? And how do we get from the train to the ship?

 

I've looked at many threads and seen some partial answers but would like to receive definitive information from those who have more recently been on this cruise. TIA!

We did this trip August/Sept 2022.  

1.  The pre-cruise trip included a 4 hour tour on Day 2.  We started with a guided bus tour driving past city sights:  Fortress, Cathedral, up Karl Johans gate, past the palace, City Hall, Nobel Peace center.  The first stop was Frogner Park for a guided walking tour of the Vigeland Sculpture garden.  Next stop was the Maritime Museum, with a talk by ship builders, time to tour the museum, and enjoy the views of Oslo Harbour.  The bus then returns to the hotel.  About half of the folks asked to be dropped off near city center, so they could spend the afternoon touring independently.

 

2.  Where are you porting in Edinburgh?  We overnighted here because of a port cancellation of the Highlands, so we DOCKED in Rosyth, rather than anchoring closer to the city.  Viking/Rosyth had shuttle buses to Dunfermline NOT Edinburgh.  Guest relations had a typed out set of instructions explaining how to take the train from there into Edinburgh.  If you end up in Rosyth they did have locals at the port to help with transportation.  In addition to the shuttles, they could call you a taxi, and we noticed an occasional taxi would pull up hoping to pick up a fare, but it was not a true taxi stand with cars waiting.  We took a taxi into Edinburgh to have more time in town rather than on shuttles and trains.

 

3. Dun Loaghaire is a tender port.  Viking had shuttles running into Dublin.  The tendering operation for Viking was very efficient and the Dart station an easy walk from the port.  We had been to Dublin before so we skipped going into the city because of the time to travel back and forth (45 min plus waiting to board, etc) .  Last summer BIE seemed to have a reduced number of excursions available at many of the ports, as compared to this summer, probably due to limited vendors available.  We would book a Viking Excursion or private tour with port pick up if we were doing this again.

 

4.  We did an afternoon tour in Dover, but they had free shuttles running into town.  The castle is a 1/2 to 1 mile walk uphill from town.  The shuttles were VERY busy.  We attempted to go into town in the morning, but missed a shuttle, and waited for about 20 minutes before we gave up and went back to the ship for lunch outside and wonderful views of the cliffs.  There were 3 ships in Dover that day, and the shuttles were dedicated to the separate cruise ships.  It looked like they had more trips from the Disney ship which was much bigger than Viking.

 

5.   We moored in Greenwich, so I cannot answer your question about Tilbury.   

 

Enjoy your trip.

[Island2Dweller]

Dover.  Cruise ships moor at the Western Dock.  It's about two miles to the castle.  You can walk - but as the castle is on top of the cliffs, it's a sharp uphill walk.  Or walk into the town (half a mile to a mile - depending on how far down the quay you moor up) and get a bus up to the castle entrance (you can use a contactless bank card to pay, no need for cash).  Or call a taxi and they'll happily take you

[Island2Dweller]

Tilbury.  It would be unusual for Viking to use Tilbury - they generally come much closer into London and moor at Greenwich.

Assuming it definitely is Tilbury. Trains depart from Fenchurch Street (which does NOT have a tube station, but is a very short / 5 minute walk from Tower Hill on the District Line.  The easiest option is to take the train to Grays (one stop before Tilbury).  There will be taxis waiting outside Grays station, whereas there will not be taxis waiting at Tilbury.  The taxi journey from Grays is not any longer.  You can pay the rail fare with a contactless bank card (tap in at start station, tap again at Grays), which means you don't waste time buying a paper ticket AND is cheaper than a paper ticket.

[LindaS272]

2 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

It would be unusual for Viking to use Tilbury - they generally come much closer into London and moor at Greenwich.

But they have used it and it’s been discussed at length on CC in recent months. (Someone will doubtless post a link to the various discussions).Thanks for reiterating the detail here, though.

[fruitmachine]

On 2/10/2023 at 12:25 AM, GoNavyFamily said:

2. In Edinburgh, does the ship provide shuttles during the day to the town, outside of booked excursions? If not, how do you get from the pier to town?

The vast majority of Viking's calls in Edinburgh tender to Newhaven (I think last year, Rosyth was only used when there was a schedule change after the Queen died) and they provide a shuttle bus every 30 minutes into the city centre.  Last year, the shuttle bus point in the city was Charlotte Square, outside West Register House. 

[uktog]

On 2/10/2023 at 4:10 PM, sarch99 said:

Rome2Rio dot com is very helpful in determining methods and routes for transportation.  

Absolutely useless and incorrect information on that site re Edinburgh (!!!)  but @fruitmachne has covered correctly.  This year it is still the intention to use Charlotte Square or St Andrew Square (OK opposite ends of Princees Street but both great drop off points).  From late June only (albeit at a cost) passengers coming into Newhaven will also be able to use the city trams into town (and if it was a turnaround port go straight to the airport from there)

[sarch99]

On 2/13/2023 at 10:52 AM, uktog said:

Absolutely useless and incorrect information on that site re Edinburgh (!!!)  but @fruitmachne has covered correctly.  This year it is still the intention to use Charlotte Square or St Andrew Square (OK opposite ends of Princees Street but both great drop off points).  From late June only (albeit at a cost) passengers coming into Newhaven will also be able to use the city trams into town (and if it was a turnaround port go straight to the airport from there)

Good to know.  Thanks.

[ericosmith]

On the Bergen to Greenwich cruise, is the trip up the Thames done at night or during the day?

[whitbob]

1 hour ago, ericosmith said:

On the Bergen to Greenwich cruise, is the trip up the Thames done at night or during the day?

Day. This was about 10:30 am and we were just entering the river.  Dover isn’t that far but we seemed to coast along all night in the channel so the Trip up the Thames was part of the experience.  

[ericosmith]

42 minutes ago, whitbob said:

Day. This was about 10:30 am and we were just entering the river.  Dover isn’t that far but we seemed to coast along all night in the channel so the Trip up the Thames was part of the experience.  

Thanks but now I'm totally confused.  I'm trying to decide in which direction to take this cruise.  On the website it has shore excursions in London the day after Dover and disembarkation the following morning.  What time is the arrival in Greenwich?

[Heidi13]

38 minutes ago, ericosmith said:

Thanks but now I'm totally confused.  I'm trying to decide in which direction to take this cruise.  On the website it has shore excursions in London the day after Dover and disembarkation the following morning.  What time is the arrival in Greenwich?

 

The arrival times may vary depending on the tides in the river.

[uktog]

Both ours were in the night. There’s actually not a lot to see the interesting stuff is up river beyond Tilbury unfortunately 

Edited February 16, 2023 by uktog

[whitbob]

12 hours ago, ericosmith said:

Thanks but now I'm totally confused.  I'm trying to decide in which direction to take this cruise.  On the website it has shore excursions in London the day after Dover and disembarkation the following morning.  What time is the arrival in Greenwich?

We arrived at the Greenwich dock Between 2 and 3pm.  This was mid Sept.  The boat Moors in the river, rather than docking, so it is like a tender operation to get off of the boat.  In our case, Viking tours were 4pm, and we assumed given they tender off with Large Thames river boats, we would be able to squeeze in, and be able to get to several museums in Greenwich and the market on our own  before closing.  We were not able to leave the ship until 5:30, and we politely pushed our way onto the last boat full of Viking tour guests.  I believe the mooring process took longer than they expected, which delayed clearing the ships tours.  The included Viking walking tours were also only sights outside of the municipal buildings, as they were closed.
 

We had been to London And Greenwich numerous times and we spent two more days in the city, so we were not missing a bucket list chance to see London.  We did provide feedback to Viking that advertising ALL Bergen to London BIE cruises as being able to see London was misleading.  The only 2 options they offered for seeing much was the night tour of Tower of London or A clipper night cruise.

 

This picture gives you idea about mooring, as you are still in the middle of the river. The white building is the dock.

 

 

[BrendaEDH]

I was on the same cruise as @whitbob, and so enjoyed the sail up the Thames!  A local pilot (retired), provided narration during the transit through the Thames Barriers.  Having a bright sunny day along with Pimm's cocktails in the Explorers Lounge added to the festive atmosphere.  We arrived at about 3pm and yes, there was a bit of a delay getting the ship moored, so all Greenwich walking tours started late.  It seemed there was an issue with not enough tenders (Thames Uber Boats) that afternoon. Regardless of the issues in Greenwich, it was a great cruise.  We also stayed in London for five days post-cruise. Enjoy! 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by BrendaEDH

[ericosmith]

I decided to book the Bergen to Greenwich version of the cruise.  It shows us arriving at Greenwich at noon.  That being the case I'm hoping that the river transit will be during normal waking hours.  I'm addicted to watching passing scenery.

Thanks for the helpful info!

Edited February 17, 2023 by ericosmith

[Island2Dweller]

Greenwich  "The arrival times may vary depending on the tides in the river. "

There's no 'may' about it.  You can only arrive and depart on the full tide, so times to arrive/depart Greenwich are always dictated by the times of high tide.  Due to wind on the day, the actual time of high tide may vary by up to an hour from the prediction - the pilot will always work with the actual tide on the day rather than the predicted times.