British Isles on Oceania

[Paperboy99]

Taking Oceania Sirena to British Isles April, 2024.  Ports of call are:  Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Glasgow and Holyhead Scotland.  Then Belfast,Dublin, Cork Ireland,  Finally Plymouth.  I'm concerned about shore excursions and the best use of time in each port.  Any and all suggestions and opinions will be greatly appreciated.  If you have taken a shore excursion to any of these ports, that too would be very helpful.

[gnome12]

10 minutes ago, Paperboy99 said:

Taking Oceania Sirena to British Isles April, 2024.  Ports of call are:  Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Glasgow and Holyhead Scotland.  Then Belfast,Dublin, Cork Ireland,  Finally Plymouth.  I'm concerned about shore excursions and the best use of time in each port.  Any and all suggestions and opinions will be greatly appreciated.  If you have taken a shore excursion to any of these ports, that too would be very helpful.

Just a bit of a correction. Holyhead is in Wales, not Scotland.

[edinburgher]

5 hours ago, gnome12 said:

 I'm concerned about shore excursions and the best use of time in each port.

Not all of these ports must be visited only with a shorex as several are easy to DIY independently.  If you have not already done so, I suggest you read some of the previous threads for all of your ports as you will find lots of helpful info.  Easy to find using the SEARCH tool. The below is one example for Edinburgh, but others can be found here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=edinburgh&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=148

 

Independent sightseeing requires some pre-trip homework/research, but doing so can bring huge $$$ savings and give you sightseeing days which meet your own personal interests.

 

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• #3  

Posted December 20, 2023 (edited)

On 12/20/2023 at 1:42 PM, Dede F said:

looking for recommendations for non ship tours for these two ports. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks 

I have copied below, a reply I recently gave to a question about whether a tour in Edinburgh was needed or not and you may find it helpful to read if you will be a first time visitor to the city. 

 

No tour necessary for Edinburgh.  Once in the city most on a first visit will head to the Royal Mile and neighbouring streets.  Including visits to eg the castle, museums, cathedral  and other points of interest this area alone can easily use up most if not all of your time. This is super easy to DIY on foot.

 

For information on reaching the city from whichever port or tender point your ship will use, go to

 

https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/ship/ and "find your ship". 

 

The full 2024 schedule may not already be posted and you may need to check back. Once you know your ship location go to the "how to get around" section.

 

Much tourist info about Edinburgh can be easily found online or by reading past threads which you can find using the SEARCH tool, and reading about the city will help you decide the sights of most interest to you personally.  And of course if you internet search something like "Tourist information Edinburgh" or "what to see and do in Edinburgh" there will be a huge number of information websites in the results and many will also have images.

 

One piece of advice.  If you decide to visit Edinburgh Castle, buy your tickets online ahead of time and at the same time, pre-book an entry slot to save waiting in very long lines on the day.

• #5  

 

Edited February 13 by edinburgher

[Thejuggler]

There's not much in Stornoway town to fill a day, so you need to get out, but there isn't much on Lewis (I stayed for a week a couple of years ago)!

 

Callanish Standing Stones, Gearannan Blackhouse Village and maybe a Harris Tweed weaver.  Scenery isn't as spectacular as other areas of Scotland, largely flat peat moorland, but some of the beaches are spectacular if the sun is shining.

[rhiannon84]

It looks like Oceania shore excursions are visible on their website, so I'd suggest using that as a starting point - which ports have lots you'd like to do, which ports have little on offer, which will require you to sit in a bus for 3hrs to get anywhere etc... and then you can use google & what others have posted on CC to compare the ship excursions (especially the timings, coach-to-fun ratio) to what you can do on your own. 

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/british-isles-cruises/port-glasgow-GLA/excursions/#all

For example for Glasgow you'll dock at Greenock. It's easy to take the train into Glasgow independently, and there's lot on CC about that. If you wanted to go to Stirling Castle then the ship excursion might be better - but that's a good specific question "independent excursion Stirling Castle" that someone on CC could possibly answer.

 

Given it's in April - be prepared for all and every bit of British weather, sorry!

 

 

[ABQrobin]

Glasgow/Greenock.....check out Serca Tours.  They use small (6 person) vans for their tours and the guides are amazing!  We used them last year, highly recommended!

[SbbquilterUT]

We took the train from the Cobh pier to town - easy, buy ticket right at the pier.  Then did a walking audio tour at our own pace - an excellent day.  Belfast we did a Black cab tour from the pier, finished with a walk around town.  

[CruiserMark74]

Hey, we used Callum from Anderson Scottish Tours at Greenock and Edinburg. Found him on Facebook but I think he has a website too. We did custom itineraries out of both ports, around 8-9 hours. Would highly recommend and will be using him again in 2025 (hopefully on Oceania again too!)

[John Bull]

Plymouth is a rare port-of-call for cruise ships.

But a good one .

An historic city, in a bay known as "Plymouth Sound" protected from the ocean waves by a long breakwater 

 

Sirena is about the same size as cross-Channel ferries from Plymouth, so I'd guess that she'll be berthed at Millbay Dock in the city.

Plymouth Hoe is a 15 - 20 minute waterfront walk from the dock. The Hoe is a vantage point where Sir Francis Drake reputedly said he'd finish his game of bowls before setting out to defeat the Spanish Armada.

It's also where Smeaton's Tower (lighthouse) was re-built in his honour after it was retired from its  duties guarding the Eddystone Reef - scene of many shipwrecks - about 12 miles directly out to sea. On a clear day those with good eyesight can see its replacement, a thin white pencil on the horizon.

https://www.visitplymouth.co.uk/things-to-do/smeatons-tower-p258003

 

The little island in Plymouth Sound is Drake's Island

https://drakes-island.com/island-history

Continue along the waterfront past the Citadel (fort)  and the boat trips, to Southside Street in "The Barbican", the historic quarter of Plymouth. Narrow cobbled streets and places like the Plymouth Gin distillery (Plymouth Gin is the Royal Navy's tipple). 

Here you'll also find the Mayflower Steps - last stop for the Mayflower in 1620 before crossing to The New World (that's you 😏).

https://www.visitplymouth.co.uk/explore/areas-to-visit/the-barbican-and-sutton-harbour

 

Plymouth was heavily bombed during the Blitz of WW2,  the city centre is post-war and - dare I say it - a bit bland.

 

There are alternatives outside the city, places like Dartmoor or Drake's Buckland Abbey or Slapton Sands, Dartmouth & the South Hams.

But the city itself has plenty for a port-of-call

 

JB 🙂

[Harters]

On 2/13/2024 at 3:54 AM, Paperboy99 said:

Taking Oceania Sirena to British Isles April, 2024.

I see the roll call thread for that cruise is quite active and may be worth you checking out to see what others are already planning and, perhaps, looking for more to join in their arrangements)

[Paperboy99]

Thank you. I’m unable to find the Roll Call you mention.  I saw one thread that had 2 comments. Any chance you could provide a link?  Thanks

[gnome12]

28 minutes ago, Paperboy99 said:

Thank you. I’m unable to find the Roll Call you mention.  I saw one thread that had 2 comments. Any chance you could provide a link?  Thanks

I think that this is the one.