Ireland and Scotland

[Jeanrasm53]

can anyone recommend a cruise line that goes to both Ireland and Scotland? 

[CruiserBruce]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

There are a number. Who have you cruised with in the past?

[mom says]

As Cruiser Bruce said, there are quite a few lines that do Ireland and UK tours. You might start by looking at the "Find a Cruise" section of Cruise Critic.  https://www.cruisecritic.com/cruiseto/?ecid=GSEM_&supai=582907429865&supsn=g&supmbl=&suppos=&supap1=&supap2=&supdev=t&suprnd=5437433344873255568&taparam=&mcid=&sitelinks=4169&suppressTabs=1&source=133139&taparam=ECCGoogleUS_Kdsa-1636158384398_A137168307327&supai=582907429865&supsn=g&supmbl=&suppos=&supap1=16267644389&supap2=137168307327&supdev=t&suprnd=5437433344873255568&supmob=dsa-1636158384398&suplp=&gclid=CjwKCAjwyeujBhA5EiwA5WD7_frff74UMtafVg1t5rIQ_rE_Xf4LBt5pDkHulnAmfi_1e8Ty2WMZXRoCQQcQAvD_BwE

[Hlitner]

We could recommend several lines ranging from typical mass market (i.e. Princess) to smaller ship luxury lines.  But your question is too general.  Give us some idea of your budget, how long you want to cruise, whether you prefer small or larger ships, etc.

 

I will make a suggestion, not always appreciated on a cruise site.  When it comes to Ireland (we have been there on several cruises and also spent 2 extended driving trips on the island) we think a land trip beats any cruise....by a mile.  Ireland (and we are speaking of the Republic) is an interesting place with much of the island not easily accessible to cruisers who only have 1 or 2 port days.  To us, the best of Ireland was when we had a rental car (one must master driving on the left) and spent most of our nights at B&Bs and Inns.  We particularly loved western Ireland which was beautfiul and welcoming.  

 

One hint.  If you fly Europe on Aer Lingus, they used to allow a stop-over in Ireland (either Dublin or Shannon) for a number of days (used to be about 10).  Those stopovers did not add any cost to the fare, so we used Aer Lingus to get to places in Europe where we either took a cruise or did a self-driving land trip.  The free stopover was a way to spend time in Ireland without paying for additional air. Not sure if this option still exists, but it is worth checking out if you are interested.

 

Hank

[SPacificbound]

Hank I agree 100%. 

 

Scotland and Ireland are most definitely best visited on a land trip or 2 or 3.

[Essiesmom]

Go to cruisetimetables.com and choose some ports you would like to visit from the ‘cruises to’ list.  Then choose the times you want to sail.  It will tell you who calls there, and their itineraries.  It is not a travel agency site, purely informational.  EM

[VMax1700]

EI previously advertised the stopover advantage however they currently state to contact  them regarding a stopover.  Worth a try though.

https://www.aerlingus.com/app/plan/multi-city

 

Meanwhile I will try to find out if it is still generally available

 

[cruiserking]

We did a fabulous 12-night British Isles cruise last summer on board the Emerald Princess which included stops in Cobh, Ireland - Belfast, Ireland - Glasgow, Scotland - Inverness, Scotland, - Kirkwall, Scotland - Edinburgh, Scotland plus Guernsey, UK and Le Havre, France.

 

Princess is a terrific cruise line they have been doing the British Isles run for ages. This season the fairly new Regal Princess is doing the 12-night British Isles cruise. 

 

We loved every minute of it and can't wait to go again. 

 

Jonathan

[notalandlover]

13 hours ago, cruiserking said:

We did a fabulous 12-night British Isles cruise last summer on board the Emerald Princess which included stops in Cobh, Ireland - Belfast, Ireland - Glasgow, Scotland - Inverness, Scotland, - Kirkwall, Scotland - Edinburgh, Scotland plus Guernsey, UK and Le Havre, France.

 

Princess is a terrific cruise line they have been doing the British Isles run for ages. This season the fairly new Regal Princess is doing the 12-night British Isles cruise. 

 

We loved every minute of it and can't wait to go again. 

 

Jonathan

I went on the same cruise last yr. You said it perfectly.

[DarrenM]

being from the UK i find it strange that people cruise round it.

 

For a number of reasons.

 

You could drive across the whole of the UK, so much quicker than cruising round it, and see so much more.

 

Its bloody cold, nearly all the time, and wet.

 

You certainly wont see the best of the UK on a cruise.

 

I would imagine the same could be said about Ireland. Dublin is fabulous, but its much better at night, aand by this time I would imagine those on cruises would have departed.

[Hlitner]

9 hours ago, DarrenM said:

being from the UK i find it strange that people cruise round it.

 

For a number of reasons.

 

You could drive across the whole of the UK, so much quicker than cruising round it, and see so much more.

 

Its bloody cold, nearly all the time, and wet.

 

You certainly wont see the best of the UK on a cruise.

 

I would imagine the same could be said about Ireland. Dublin is fabulous, but its much better at night, aand by this time I would imagine those on cruises would have departed.

What you say applies to most of the world (except for small islands).  Cruisers are very limited in what they can see because of both time constraints and geography.  Once met some folks who happened to ask us "what is your favorite city in New Zealand."  Without any hesitation both DW and I replied "Queenstown."  The person who had asked was surprised and mentioned that you cannot go to Queenstown on a cruise (it is too far from the nearest port).  We explained that we had spent weeks driving the country (both North and South Islands) and many of the best places were not accessible by cruise ship.  It is no different in Europe.  Try going to Krakow, Poland (we really like this city) on an Ocean Cruise.  or how about going up the Swiss Alps to a place like Jungfrau (cannot be done on any Ocean Cruise).  

 

We have enjoyed Dublin during the day and night (we have stayed there a few days).  And there are plenty of other places that become magical AFTER all the cruisers and daytrippers are long gone.  San Gimignano, Italy is often packed with tourists during the day.  But late at night, when the streets are empty and the eerie glow of the old fashioned street lights throw off all kinds of shadows, it is truly spectacular.  Cruisers will never see this unless they spend some nights on land.  And than there are all the fabulous restaurants around the world that are not accessible to cruisers unless they do an overnight!

 

Hank

[K32682]

The OP specifically asked about cruises and telling them that driving is the better way to see the UK isn't helping. I've driven in the UK extensively but perhaps driving on the other side of the road, learning what a slip road is, single-lane roads with hedgerows and contending with multi-lane roundabouts isn't for them. 

[Mum2Mercury]

My sister and her family just did this on Norwegian.  Things she told me: 

- It was very port-heavy, and she was exhausted at the end of each day.  She said they only had one at-sea day in a two-week cruise.  

- She said they did much more walking than she anticipated.  

- They bought their airfare through the cruise line (BOGOF) and said it was the best deal they could find.  

- They did the 3-day (3-day?) London extension and said it was worthwhile. 

Edited June 24, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[DarrenM]

On 6/23/2023 at 2:34 AM, K32682 said:

The OP specifically asked about cruises and telling them that driving is the better way to see the UK isn't helping. I've driven in the UK extensively but perhaps driving on the other side of the road, learning what a slip road is, single-lane roads with hedgerows and contending with multi-lane roundabouts isn't for them. 

Do they not like adventure?

[K32682]

56 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

Do they not like adventure?

 

If they were seeking adventure they wouldn't be asking about cruises. 😉

[DarrenM]

Good point well put.

[martincath]

On 6/21/2023 at 11:18 PM, DarrenM said:

...You could drive across the whole of the UK, so much quicker than cruising round it, and see so much more.

 

Its bloody cold, nearly all the time, and wet.

As a Scot, forced to waste every childhood summer by visiting relatives all over the place, I can say with great confidence that there are MANY parts of the mainland's west coast and Caithness that boats are significantly faster ways to travel than cars...

 

Limited roads, especially those following along the shores of long sea lochs with villages out on the end both sides are a nightmare - locals will row across to visit The Other Pub rather than drive at times, even without factoring in the Bane of All Country Roads... caravans!

 

Actual islands - the ferry service was total crap when we did our last 'world tour of Scotland' before moving to Canada over 20 years ago, and folks we still know there confirm it's only gotten worse since on basically all the routes. Limited routes, limited hours, and don't get me started on the Wee Frees protesting ferries running on Sundays!!!

 

Of course, some giant floating hotel isn't going to stop in the teeny wee nooks and crannies, but compared to arranging a piecemeal visit by car and ferry to multiple towns and cities the timing of the round-the-UK cruises actually look pretty efficient!

 

As soon as the remaining important family members die, so that I can visit the UK without having to visit X, Y, and Z on pain of being cut from wills and never spoken of again, I'll absolutely be returning to the old homeland by cruise around the outsidey bits rather than driving myself around - and I grew up on single track roads, passing places, dodging sheep and random hikers around blind corners while regarding the legal speed limit as both minimum and maximum!

[DarrenM]

Well when you put it like that🤣

[jocap]

Darren- we've driven or taken the train to Glasgow and Edinburgh many times,  but there's a great difference in arriving motorway free to these great cities. Arriving slowly up the Firths, and seeing the amazing scenery without stopping for endless red lights is incredible. 

Leaving Greenock, we sailed round the Isle of Arran, where we've stayed several times, but other than ferries, we've not seen the whole island from the sea before.

Our cruise was several years ago, but we remember so many new things about an area which we thought we knew quite well. 🙂

[Vagabond Knight]

We're booked on a 9-day British Isles cruise on the Norwegian Dawn on October 5-14 that leaves out of Southampton and will visit various ports in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.  Norwegian has a few other cruises available to these locations as well that are a couple days longer.  This one just happened to fit our schedule between two other cruises.  We know we'll only see a small bit of these countries, but we consider it sort of like a beer flight or wine tasting... you taste a little sample of a number of options, and then you decide which one (or more) you like enough to order a full glass.