devolve Posted January 18 #1 Share Posted January 18 Hi we are considering a cruise around the British Isles, has anyone experience of this cruise they can share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare karatemom2 Posted January 18 #2 Share Posted January 18 We did the British Isles cruise on the Emerald Princes in 2022 and it still ranks as one of our top 5 cruises in my estimation. They are port intensive, so you need to be prepared for an energetic vacation as there is so much to see and do and each destination. Here is an itinerary of what we did on our 4 day stay pre-cruise in London, and then at each port on our cruise: London: Buckingham Palace Westminster Abbey Tower of London Churchill War Rooms Shakespeare's Old Globe Theatre St. Paul's Cathedral Maritime Museum at Greenwich Southampton Departure - transfer and tour vis International Friends: Windsor Castle Guernsey - Private Tour: Castle Cornet WWII Sites and Museum Cobh - Princess Tour: Rock of Cashel Dublin - Princess Tour: Glendalough Monastic City Christchurch Cathedral Belfast - Odyssey Tours: Giants Causeway Dunluce Castle Titanic Museum Liverpool - Wales Tour via Busy Bus: Conwy Castle Snowdonia Park Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Invergordon - Private Tour: Dunrobin Castle Cairn Liath Falls of Shin Dornoch Cathedral Glasgow - Discover Scotland: Sterling Castle Doune Castle Village of Luss Loch Lomond Trossachs National Park Edinburgh - used local taxi: Edinburgh Castle Royal Mile St. Giles Cathedral Royal Yacht Brittania Le Havre - Normandy via Overlord Tours: Omaha Beach American Cemetery Bayeux - for Cathedral and Bayeux Tapestry Honfleur Southampton Departure - transfer and tour via EC Minibus: Stonehenge It was a busy and action packed cruise vacation, but one I highly recommend! 7 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoMom!! Posted January 18 #3 Share Posted January 18 I haven't yet, but a girl can dream! I love looking at this forum that is all about cruising the British Isles. Although it is not Princess specific, it is a great source of information! https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadn13 Posted January 18 #4 Share Posted January 18 Sept on the Regal (12 Day with Bruges) It was Fantastic! Port intensive so if you are flying in, best to pad it a day to get over jet lag before the cruise starts. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konatyme Posted January 18 #5 Share Posted January 18 In 2014, we did an around the British Isles cruise on the Ruby and it was one of our favorite cruises. (We loved it so much that we've talked about doing it again.) We went early and stayed in London for several days to see all the sights there and were really glad that we did--so much to see there! We did privately-arranged tours, rather than Princess ones. In some cases, (like Liverpool and Guernsey), we simply disembarked and walked around. For Cobh, we took a tour (with E-Bus, I think) to Blarney Castle (though we weren't interested in kissing the stone and just walked around the very scenic castle grounds), Charles Fort, Kinsale, and St. Colman's Cathedral). In Dublin, we shared a taxi with some other cruisers to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. From there, we were able to catch the HOHO bus to go around town (with stops like the Guinness Storehouse, of course!), then caught a taxi at Trinity College to return to the ship. We also did the Odyssey Tours trip from Belfast to Giants Causeway (and the other things mentioned in the post from karatemom2), as well as the same Discover Scotland tour from Glasgow. We did a WowScotland tour to Inverness, Loch Ness, Culloden Battlefield, Clava Cairns, and Cawdor Castle (a really good tour!). At South Queensferry pier for Edinburgh, we took the train into town (following directions I found here on CruiseCritic) and then walked to the castle and around town. From the LeHavre port, we had an amazing small group tour of the Normandy battlefield beaches, the cemeteries, etc. with Bayeaux Shuttles. (if possible, watch the original "The Longest Day" movie before going here.) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenb Posted January 18 #6 Share Posted January 18 We had been talking about doing a British Isles cruise for years before COVID hit, but never did because they were so expensive as compared to other European cruises. We did the Med a few times, the Baltic, the Adriatic, the Holy Land, Hawaii, even Australia/New Zealand... all cheaper than British Isles. COVID completely changed our outlook (not being able to cruise for 2+ years). When we saw the British Isles cruises on the Regal for summer 2024, we went ahead and booked. We are on the June 7 cruise out of Southampton. I have been buried in planning for it the past couple of weeks and I think that we have come up with an amazing touring itinerary for pre-cruise, each port, and post-cruise. I am so excited for this trip! I know that it is something I will remember forever. So tl;dr is: do it! Seize the moment! You never know if this opportunity will be available again and it is a great cruising destination. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nini Posted January 19 #7 Share Posted January 19 We were on the Emerald in May 2022 for this itinerary. One word can't sum it up but here is one: FABULOUS!!! Our tours were amazing as other posters have said. We did many of those as well. We would love to go again, but we would not go on the Emerald. I think the Regal is doing this now and we love the Regal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted January 19 #8 Share Posted January 19 We had the good fortune to do our British Isles cruise on the former Ocean Princess. Such a sweet experience sailing on a ship whose listed capacity was IIRC 670. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherwoman Posted January 19 #9 Share Posted January 19 We did the British Isles cruise and it was one of the best cruises and I've done more than 50. If you book it, go in August and attend the Edinburgh Tattoo out of Glasgow. It is spectacular! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare charliedalrymple Posted January 19 #10 Share Posted January 19 10 hours ago, karatemom2 said: We did the British Isles cruise on the Emerald Princes in 2022 and it still ranks as one of our top 5 cruises in my estimation. We went on a very similar cruise, although ours also included Cork. And we agree, it was wonderful! I would say it was our second favourite (after Alaska), but we've only done eight cruises. The only disappointment was that we couldn't dock at Invergordon due to rough seas. I'd say Edinburgh was the highlight--it's a breathtaking city. It was closely followed by Cork, where we hired a very entertaining private guide. (He recommended that we skip the Blarney Stone because we would fight crowds of tourists, and we didn't feel deprived.). The only missable stop was Le Havre. Not much to see or do there. This will sound strange, but there were almost too many ports. We stopped in a different port every day, and it got to be a little exhausting. Of course, we didn't want to miss any of the destinations, but we are accustomed to have sea days throughout a cruise to relax and recharge. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare leck57 Posted January 19 #11 Share Posted January 19 (edited) 5 hours ago, nini said: We were on the Emerald in May 2022 for this itinerary. One word can't sum it up but here is one: FABULOUS!!! Our tours were amazing as other posters have said. We did many of those as well. We would love to go again, but we would not go on the Emerald. I think the Regal is doing this now and we love the Regal. Hello again. We did this cruise as well and the Emerald was fine by us, but I would also do a Royal class ship in preference. To the OP @devolve I highly recommend for your stop in Liverpool, do a Lakes District tour. That was one of our best days. Our cruise went to the Orkney Islands as, from memory, they exchanged that stop with Glasgow. Edinburgh was a great stop. We did a ship tour to Paris from Le Havre and thought it was a waste of time as the drive to Paris was about 2 hours and we only had time to the see the sights from a wet bus window. We are doing another cruise from Southampton later in the year and will stop at Paris on the way for a few days an then train it to London. I was going to suggest London activities but just noticed you are from the UK so I'm guessing you don't need any help. Edited January 19 by leck57 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandancer Posted January 19 #12 Share Posted January 19 18 hours ago, devolve said: Hi we are considering a cruise around the British Isles, has anyone experience of this cruise they can share. We are also from the UK and we’ve booked the Regal Princess for this Summer. We have always headed for the sun (other than Alaska) and have been to some of the ports on this itinerary, just not on a cruise. It will be great to see it all from a different perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare insidecabin Posted January 19 #13 Share Posted January 19 These are great trips, good ports with interesting tour options. We live here and will do them every year when the prices drop to sensible levels. Last year NCL undercut Princess so we did them, year before it was Princess but that was when Plus was £30pppd, now at £50 the base fares need to drop a lot(under £50pppd) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandancer Posted January 19 #14 Share Posted January 19 The basic fare for us with BLC saving would be around £83 pppd for a cat BB balcony without Princess plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nymshowdown Posted January 19 #15 Share Posted January 19 Highly recommend it. Second favorite cruise I've done behind Alaska. As many have said, port intensive, but it's a good mix of some really great stops and some that are a bit more laid back. What I loved most was that many of those ports weren't like the typical Mediterranean stops. Coach rides to the cities/highlights were much shorter. The cities, while beautiful, have less to try and cram in with limited time than say a Florence or Rome. Finally, you'll find much less crowding in ports and more tolerable weather compared to a Med cruise. Really makes each stop more enjoyable and less exhausting by the end of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treadingwater Posted January 21 #16 Share Posted January 21 On 1/18/2024 at 6:04 PM, helenb said: We had been talking about doing a British Isles cruise for years before COVID hit, but never did because they were so expensive as compared to other European cruises. We did the Med a few times, the Baltic, the Adriatic, the Holy Land, Hawaii, even Australia/New Zealand... all cheaper than British Isles. COVID completely changed our outlook (not being able to cruise for 2+ years). When we saw the British Isles cruises on the Regal for summer 2024, we went ahead and booked. We are on the June 7 cruise out of Southampton. I have been buried in planning for it the past couple of weeks and I think that we have come up with an amazing touring itinerary for pre-cruise, each port, and post-cruise. I am so excited for this trip! I know that it is something I will remember forever. So tl;dr is: do it! Seize the moment! You never know if this opportunity will be available again and it is a great cruising destination. Would love to hear what you've planned for each port itinerary. We leave on the same trip May 3rd and need to get things pinned down and like to book more local, smaller tours than Princess. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devolve Posted January 21 Author #17 Share Posted January 21 Has anyone booked the saver fare, we have not cruised with Princess for a long time, how does she compare to Cunard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenb Posted January 21 #18 Share Posted January 21 17 hours ago, treadingwater said: Would love to hear what you've planned for each port itinerary. We leave on the same trip May 3rd and need to get things pinned down and like to book more local, smaller tours than Princess. Thanks! Okay, here's what I have (note that our itinerary may differ from yours): Portland - Walk/blue shuttle to Portland Castle, visit D-Day Center, walk/taxi to Tout Quarry Sculpture Park. (Note, most people will be going to Stonehenge or Bath, but we have been to those sites before. I strongly recommend visiting Stonehenge on your own before/after the cruise (easy to reach if you are driving to/from London) as it will be cheaper and easier than taking an expensive tour from port. Cobh - Private tour to Blarney Castle and Cork Dublin - Taking DART to Dublin, then HOHO Bus to get around and see sights Glasgow - Taking train to Glasgow, then HOHO Bus to get around and see sights Kirkwall - Private tour to see Skara Brae and Maeshowe (Maeshowe not available on big tours) Invergordon - Private tour to Lochness and Inverness Edinburgh - Taking train to Edinburgh, then walking between sights Le Havre - Walking along beach, visiting Maison de l'Armateur, catching Bee Bus to Honfleur (Most people will be visiting Paris, Mont St. Michel and the Normandy Beaches, which we have see many times before, so we wanted something new. I highly recommend Mont St. Michel or the Normandy Beaches via private tour/rental car if you have never been.) NOTE I do NOT recommend visiting Paris from Le Havre. It's a long journey and you won't see much in the limited time you are there. Instead, it is worthwhile to fly into/out of Paris before/after your cruise and take a few days to see it on your own. You can then take the train to London. If you're sailing out of Dover, you can also take a ferry from Le Havre to Dover (and vice versa). 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yehootu Posted January 22 #19 Share Posted January 22 40 minutes ago, helenb said: NOTE I do NOT recommend visiting Paris from Le Havre. Or to Mt Saint Michel. If you can stand a 3hr bus ride both ways with 1 stop, it's a beautiful place. Unfortunately we got the "I'm French, so I don't need to be politically correct" tour guide. Thankfully I had cell reception and watched You Tube videos for the ride back😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenb Posted January 22 #20 Share Posted January 22 2 minutes ago, Yehootu said: Or to Mt Saint Michel. If you can stand a 3hr bus ride both ways with 1 stop, it's a beautiful place. Unfortunately we got the "I'm French, so I don't need to be politically correct" tour guide. Thankfully I had cell reception and watched You Tube videos for the ride back😀 We did Mont St. Michel from Le Havre once using a rental car. Since the ship gets into port very early and stays late (to accommodate the busses that go to Paris) it was very doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare dickinson Posted January 22 #21 Share Posted January 22 2 hours ago, helenb said: NOTE I do NOT recommend visiting Paris from Le Havre. It's a long journey and you won't see much in the limited time you are there. Instead, it is worthwhile to fly into/out of Paris before/after your cruise and take a few days to see it on your own. You can then take the train to London. If you're sailing out of Dover, you can also take a ferry from Le Havre to Dover (and vice versa). I DO recommend visiting Paris from Le Havre. We did it on our BI cruise. Drove by the Arc de Triomphe, went to the Louvre, had lunch in the Eiffel Tower, and drove along the Champs Elysee. Wish I could have had more time there but I didn't and probably won't be back although one never knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pink845 Posted January 22 #22 Share Posted January 22 Everyone should do a British Isles cruise on Princess. We loved ours in August of 2023. We had fabulous weather to boot. What a great way to sample Scotland and Ireland. Once my husband retires this summer, we plan on heading back to Scotland ourselves now that we have gotten a snippet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitmachine Posted January 22 #23 Share Posted January 22 9 hours ago, helenb said: Edinburgh - Taking train to Edinburgh, then walking between sights The train is an option, but the X99 Cruiselik service (https://www.lothianbuses.com/cruiselink-x99/) takes you into the city centre from the end of Hawes Pier - where the yellow traffic cones are on the left of this picture (https://maps.app.goo.gl/5eaPB687Tfzcakm3A) - rather than having to walk up the half-mile path to the rail station at bridge-deck level. Last year, their £12.00 round-trip ticket also gave free access to all buses in the city (plus many that go outside it) and to the Edinburgh Tram. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elaine5 Posted January 22 #24 Share Posted January 22 We also took the X99 on prior BI cruise. Easy peasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KKB Posted January 22 #25 Share Posted January 22 I did BI on MSC (don't recommend) in May. Fell in LOVE--DH & I are doing it on the Regal in April. Cobh--loved this little town, just hit a couple pubs; will probably take train to Cork this time. Looks like a lovely small city Dublin--was a fiasco & unable to get off. SUPER excited to go pub hopping this time! Glasgow--walked around Greenock. FAIL--nothing much in this sleepy town. Will train to Glasgow this time Belfast--did HOHO & LOVED it. Fabulous city. Sad it is not on our itinerary Kirkwall--took the T11 Orkney Tour. FABULOUS & great price Invergordon--did a Loch Ness/Highlands/Invernesss Tour via invergordon-bustours FANTASTIC Completely fell in love w/ this area This time we add Portland, Edinburgh (YEAH) & LeHavre. We hit LeHavre in Oct on our N. Europe tour. Our friends got off & said "meh". It was the last day so we relaxed, did laundry & packed. Possibly the same this time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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