Edinburgh Question

[pappy1022]

Now that some people have been to Edinburgh in 2023, does Regent have a shuttle to and from the New Haven port (tender)? If so, how often does it run? Has anyone taken the Regent tour “City of Edinburgh and Castle”? If so, does it go to the castle first and can you go on your own on the Royal mile and catch the Regent shuttle (assuming there is one) instead of taking the official tour bus back to the port?

[flossie009]

The Edinburgh tram system has recently been extended to Newhaven, offering a quick & easy way to get to/from the centre of Edinburgh.

 

https://edinburghtrams.com/plan-journey/trams-newhaven

 

 

The CC thread below gives more information:

 

[Gilly]

We had three days in Edinburgh on board Navigator last year (in Leith, two scheduled plus one extra day because high winds prevented the safe transit out of the dock earlier) and used the shuttle into Edinburgh centre instead of a tour on one of those days. The drop off point is very central, we walked into Princes Street and visited the National Gallery, did a bit of shopping and returned to the ship on the shuttle. The witches' warning here is that central Edinburgh in August is very full with Festival goers and the fallout that all makes - not pretty. When we were there, the tram extension was in the finishing stages and as Flossie says above, would be an ideal choice now it's running. Bear in mind that Edinburgh is a very hilly city, that a walk "up" the Royal Mile and to the Castle might be a stretch for some and @pappy1022 I think your thought of taking the tour there and making your own way back is an excellent one if you can make it work.  St Giles Cathedral (access from the Royal Mile) is also well worth a visit and there are plenty of places along there for refreshment too.

On the other days we took the tour to St Andrews which was good and on the additional day we walked into Leith, because we'd been to the Royal Yacht Britannia previously (highly recommend that btw).

[2012_Alaska_bound]

Follow on to @Gilly, as we were on the cruise with them.

 

Did the Castle tour, and we were given the option to return on the tour bus after or just use the shuttle at our leisure. If you weren't there when the tour bus left, then take the shuttle!

 

Agree about the crowds. And agree do not miss Royal Yacht.

[pappy1022]

Thank you all for the information. We will be there in September so hopefully the crowds won’t be as bad. What route (sites) did the tour bus take on the way to the castle? How long do you get to stay in the castle ?

[2012_Alaska_bound]

@pappy1022 since it was the Saturday or Sunday of the Festival and the most crowded day, not sure our routes were the norm.
I seem to remember some sights were pointed out on the way to the Castle. The bus parked as close as possible on a side street close to the Castle entrance so that only walked up a short portion on the Royal Mile before entering the Castle grounds. Lots of uphill (and then down back out) once in the Castle grounds. Guides are only allowed to stop in certain areas to talk outside. They are not allowed to talk inside, but I seem to remember a Castle guide took over there. I think our total time in the Castle area was about 2 hours. I don't remember if there was the option to stay longer, since we wanted to take the tour bus back to the ship.
The drive back to the ship had lots of commentary about what we were passing including Holyrood. This was because we were at a snail's pace because of the crowds on the Royal mile. I do know the driver modified the route in some way to get away from the crowds.