Into the Midnight Sun Shore Excursions

[basinview]

On 2/1/2024 at 1:00 PM, janetcbl said:

I have spent time in the Lofotens, but have not done these tours. If you are interested in Art,  Henningsvaer has some art galleries and is a charming, picturesque town. 

Thank you for the suggestion.

[mc1962]

I appreciate reading everyone's suggestions. Trying to plan excursions and have a rookie question - how can I tell if it is a tender port, thinking about 2 excursions on one or two days and wondering about the timing,

 

We're on this cruise May 15 and sadly are not going into Edinburgh at all. The included tours for our Edinburgh (Rosyth) stop are St Andrew's or Linlithgow Palace & town. I would like to have been able to wander Edinburgh on my own.

[FoggyEthan]

In the confirmation email after you booked and after each payment you make, there is a PDF attachment that has the entire itinerary for your cruise, including (anticipated) arrival and departure times from each port. A little symbol of an anchor is shown for each port that is at anchor / with tender.

[fruitmachine]

4 hours ago, mc1962 said:

I appreciate reading everyone's suggestions. Trying to plan excursions and have a rookie question - how can I tell if it is a tender port, thinking about 2 excursions on one or two days and wondering about the timing,

 

We're on this cruise May 15 and sadly are not going into Edinburgh at all. The included tours for our Edinburgh (Rosyth) stop are St Andrew's or Linlithgow Palace & town. I would like to have been able to wander Edinburgh on my own.

Rosyth is not a tender port.  Viking have always run a shuttle bus from their usual (tendered) port of Newhaven to Edinburgh city centre, but I think not when they've had an unplanned deviation to Rosyth.  With your visit to Rosyth being planned, that may be on the cards, but I'd suggest having a Plan B ready.

 

The easiest (but most expensive) option would be a taxi directly into Edinburgh.  The alternative public transport alternative is a short taxi to Inverkeithing station and a train from there.  The CruiseForth website (https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/getting-around-rosyth/) gives some more information.

[mc1962]

17 hours ago, FoggyEthan said:

In the confirmation email after you booked and after each payment you make, there is a PDF attachment that has the entire itinerary for your cruise, including (anticipated) arrival and departure times from each port. A little symbol of an anchor is shown for each port that is at anchor / with tender.

 

13 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

Rosyth is not a tender port.  Viking have always run a shuttle bus from their usual (tendered) port of Newhaven to Edinburgh city centre, but I think not when they've had an unplanned deviation to Rosyth.  With your visit to Rosyth being planned, that may be on the cards, but I'd suggest having a Plan B ready.

 

The easiest (but most expensive) option would be a taxi directly into Edinburgh.  The alternative public transport alternative is a short taxi to Inverkeithing station and a train from there.  The CruiseForth website (https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/getting-around-rosyth/) gives some more information.

Thanks! All very helpful info. Our confirmation did list Newhaven, but it was changed after that. We may just save Edinburgh for a future Scotland-only trip.

 

We would like to do both the kayaking and included bus tour in Geiranger. I would prefer to bus in the morning (8:30-11:30) and kayak (12:45) in the afternoon, but don't want to miss the paid tour if the bus tour comes back late, plus the tender issue. Will have to look into whether we could find some lunch where ever the tender docks, to stay there between events.

[LindaS272]

12 hours ago, mc1962 said:

Will have to look into whether we could find some lunch where ever the tender docks, to stay there between events.

Yes, there’s a wee town at the dock in Geiranger. You should be able to grab a bite. We were there last July but did not have to tender.

[mc1962]

Thanks!

[kcpvwill]

17 hours ago, mc1962 said:

 

Thanks! All very helpful info. Our confirmation did list Newhaven, but it was changed after that. We may just save Edinburgh for a future Scotland-only trip.

 

We would like to do both the kayaking and included bus tour in Geiranger. I would prefer to bus in the morning (8:30-11:30) and kayak (12:45) in the afternoon, but don't want to miss the paid tour if the bus tour comes back late, plus the tender issue. Will have to look into whether we could find some lunch where ever the tender docks, to stay there between events.

We tendered in Leith on our Edinburgh stops when we did Edinburgh on the British Isles Explorer as a B2B with Midnight Sun.  Leith is within walking distance of the Royal Yacht Britannia and we booked our own tickets online.  Very good value and fascinating for an ardent Royalist like me.  You could just walk up to get tickets when we went.  There was lots to do and you can stay as long as you like. You get an audio guide and can do as many links as you want.  
 

On the other leg we went into Edinburgh and did the included panoramic and then at free time we left the guide (not forgetting to tell her) to do our own thing in Princess Gardens. We then got the shuttle bus back to the ship, they run every 30 minutes.   We were lucky it was not the Fringe, Festival or Tattoo as during those times traffic grinds to a holt.  

[fruitmachine]

24 minutes ago, kcpvwill said:

We tendered in Leith on our Edinburgh stops when we did Edinburgh on the British Isles Explorer as a B2B with Midnight Sun.  Leith is within walking distance of the Royal Yacht Britannia and we booked our own tickets online.  Very good value and fascinating for an ardent Royalist like me.  You could just walk up to get tickets when we went.  There was lots to do and you can stay as long as you like. You get an audio guide and can do as many links as you want.  
 

On the other leg we went into Edinburgh and did the included panoramic and then at free time we left the guide (not forgetting to tell her) to do our own thing in Princess Gardens. We then got the shuttle bus back to the ship, they run every 30 minutes.   We were lucky it was not the Fringe, Festival or Tattoo as during those times traffic grinds to a holt.  

Just to be clear for others, you will have tendered to Newhaven Harbour, which is a fishing harbour near Leith docks.  As you say, it's an easy 15 minute walk from there to Leith and Britannia, passing on the way the cruise terminal used by smaller ships that can get through the dock gates.

 

Even in peak Festival time, the traffic is not too bad between the Viking shuttle bus point in Charlotte Square and Newhaven Harbour.  You should expect the transfer to take a maximum of 20-25 minutes.  It's really just the very centre of the Old Town that can become log jammed.

[janetcbl]

19 hours ago, mc1962 said:

 

Thanks! All very helpful info. Our confirmation did list Newhaven, but it was changed after that. We may just save Edinburgh for a future Scotland-only trip.

 

We would like to do both the kayaking and included bus tour in Geiranger. I would prefer to bus in the morning (8:30-11:30) and kayak (12:45) in the afternoon, but don't want to miss the paid tour if the bus tour comes back late, plus the tender issue. Will have to look into whether we could find some lunch where ever the tender docks, to stay there between events.

If I remember correctly there are a couple of restaurants and I think there is a fresh fish booth with fish sandwiches.