Great Britain Cruise vs. Land

[Tsunami74]

Perhaps asking on a cruise site may be a biased place for opinion, but not sure where else to ask.

 

We are ready to see Great Britain.  The circumnavigate cruise around Great Britain goes to several ports/places we have never heard of or know next to nothing about. (Kirkwell, Hebrides, Killybegs, Hollyhead, Cork, Guernsey)

 

Are these ports something wonderful to see, or just a fill in the place as you sail around the island.

 

The question is: for a first (although at our age, perhaps only) visit to Great Britain, would it be better to just go to the major cities either by plane or train - London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin - and take tours of city and surrounding countryside instead of visiting a different small port everyday.

 

(Full disclosure, I will be asking on another cruise site that we are also considering that has different unknown to us ports included)

 

[EJL2023]

Personally….we have an upcoming cruise which stops a couple of places in UK and have done a London to Edinburgh train vacation a few years back. I really think if goal is more immerse yourself in the UK a land tour would be better. We definitely plan on doing that sometime in the future again.  A few hours for places like Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin in my opinion being on a cruise does not do them justice. 

[jondfk]

Sure, I’ll weigh in.  I worked for a British company prior to retirement, something like 100 UK entry stamps in my passport.  Have also done 3 circumnavigation cruises so considerable experience both land and sea.

 

To be completely honest the cruises scratch only the very surface, many of the most interesting cities are some distance from the port (exceptions for Liverpool and Dublin which are well served by cruise stops).  One could easily spend many days or a week in Edinburgh, London and many others and still have highlights unseen.

 

if I were making only a single trip, I’d probably make it a land tour.

 

Just one man’s opinion.

 

[clo]

I don't know how OP feels about driving but we've done England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales by driving. It was fantastic. Just a thought.

[Vineyard View]

1 minute ago, clo said:

I don't know how OP feels about driving but we've done England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales by driving. It was fantastic. Just a thought.

All in one trip?  How long?

[halfapair]

2 minutes ago, clo said:

I don't know how OP feels about driving but we've done England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales by driving. It was fantastic. Just a thought.

Driving is great, but can be scary (little windy roads and driving on the other side of the road, etc). You can get to many of the best sites by train, and then take specialty tours (eg. take the train from London to Bath, then do a tour to see Stonehenge).

 

Or you could do a combo-trip: part cruise, part land tour. Do a British Isles cruise, then do a land tour on your own - the best of both worlds!

[lackcreativity]

In our younger years we travelled by land, and thoroughly enjoyed it. That is how we saw England, Ireland, and Scotland. When we got older, we began ocean cruising as it seems much easier than moving from place to place. The experiences are quite different, and we enjoy them both. 

 

For England, I would recommend touring by land. London of course takes several days at least, then a Cotswold village or two, and Bath. Edinburgh is a must for me, and Dublin should give you plenty to cover in one trip. Of course, your choices may differ.

 

Finally, I really don't know anything about the smaller ports you mentioned. However, over the years, we have gone to many places we didn't know anything about prior to selecting a trip, and some of those were truly a delight. Still, for a first visit, I would go by land. 

 

[1985rz1]

6 minutes ago, clo said:

I don't know how OP feels about driving but we've done England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales by driving. It was fantastic. Just a thought.

In general, the maximum age for rental cars is 75. 

[1985rz1]

52 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

In general, the maximum age for rental cars is 75. 

I should have specified that the maximum age in UK for rental cars is 75.  One needs to check specific counties in Europe.

Edited March 14 by 1985rz1

[QuestionEverything]

To the OP - it is always your choice.

Cruising is good, but it does not provide a deep dive into any geography.

We have a Globus 24 day Great Britain land tour booked, most of June. Aimed at North Americans with all the hotels, breakfasts etc aimed at us and all the must see venues booked and paid for.

Time is precious - I want to see the 5 countries and no way will a cruise even scratch the surface. 

When I am complete, the entire great entity of Great Britain will be accomplished with vigor, thoroughness, deep dive, food, pubs, scotch breweries, bus on the ferries to Ireland. Will see the dock where Titanic was constructed etc.

I note some cruise only posters who say, I can not imagine packing every day - well our tour is not every day and plenty of free time.

The history of Great Britain is much in the interior - so you will not get the real history of this amazing historical geography if you cruise.

PS - on the way home, taking the QM2 to New York.

Up to you, depends what you want to see and how deep you wish to experience Great Britain.

For your consideration.

 

 

[Harters]

2 hours ago, Tsunami74 said:

We are ready to see Great Britain

If you want to have a quick look at several parts of my country, then a cruise would be fine. But, if you want to actually feel you've visited my country, then it has to be a land tour. 

[ORV]

31 minutes ago, QuestionEverything said:

To the OP - it is always your choice.

Cruising is good, but it does not provide a deep dive into any geography.

We have a Globus 24 day Great Britain land tour booked, most of June. Aimed at North Americans with all the hotels, breakfasts etc aimed at us and all the must see venues booked and paid for.

Time is precious - I want to see the 5 countries and no way will a cruise even scratch the surface. 

When I am complete, the entire great entity of Great Britain will be accomplished with vigor, thoroughness, deep dive, food, pubs, scotch breweries, bus on the ferries to Ireland. Will see the dock where Titanic was constructed etc.

I note some cruise only posters who say, I can not imagine packing every day - well our tour is not every day and plenty of free time.

The history of Great Britain is much in the interior - so you will not get the real history of this amazing historical geography if you cruise.

PS - on the way home, taking the QM2 to New York.

Up to you, depends what you want to see and how deep you wish to experience Great Britain.

For your consideration.

 

 

Any idea how many people are on these bus tours?

[AMHuntFerry]

I concur with the land tour option. When we travel, we prefer to use the "spoke" method...stay in one hotel and take day trips to surrounding areas...much better than packing up and moving every couple of days. If looking at group travel, my parents really liked the Rick Steves concept (my spouse and I tried one OAT small group tour and decided DIY was our thing).

[clo]

3 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

All in one trip?  How long?

Oh, no. Maybe three. We had friends who lived north of London and we would start with a little visit with them.

[clo]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

Any idea how many people are on these bus tours?

Allow me to answer on our history. We've done a number of escorted land tours. They varied from about 20 to 45. Some were terrific: Turkey, Israel and SE Asia. Some meh. But they were busy and structured. Not a lot of free time. I doubt we'll do one again.

 

[clo]

3 hours ago, halfapair said:

Driving is great, but can be scary (little windy roads and driving on the other side of the road, etc). You can get to many of the best sites by train, and then take specialty tours (eg. take the train from London to Bath, then do a tour to see Stonehenge).

 

Or you could do a combo-trip: part cruise, part land tour. Do a British Isles cruise, then do a land tour on your own - the best of both worlds!

We're talking about - due to our age 🙂 - about doing European train trips. Parts of Italy and Northern France.

[clo]

3 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

In general, the maximum age for rental cars is 75. 

In the UK? We're actually flying domestically soon and renting a car. I kinda freaked 🙂 when I read that but that's not here in the US. No limit. BTW the trip is to Flagstaff where we're going to check out a senior living place!

[1985rz1]

48 minutes ago, clo said:

In the UK? We're actually flying domestically soon and renting a car. I kinda freaked 🙂 when I read that but that's not here in the US. No limit. BTW the trip is to Flagstaff where we're going to check out a senior living place!

Yes...Although it was UK thread, I realized that I needed to qualify the region to the UK, so I reposted with the qualification.  Sorry for the confusion.

 

Which Senior Living Place are you visiting?  When are you visiting?

Edited March 15 by 1985rz1

[cruisemom42]

My two cents:

 

Ideally, for an island nation like Great Britain, it would be best to see it by land AND by sea. Why? Because neither one alone will give you as clear a picture as doing both.

 

I fully agree that a land tour really is necessary to see so many places that cruise passengers cannot get to on a daytrip. You need to spend a few days each in London, Edinburgh, Dublin. And also a few days in areas like the Cotswalds, the Yorkshire Dales, the Scottish Highlands, Lake District, etc. See at least one venerable university (I recommend Oxford). Visit Stonehenge, Hadrian's Wall, Loch Lomond. Spend a day each in York and Bath. Don't skip Cornwall and Wales.

 

But then a cruise gives you a better sense of the "seafaring nation" that is also Great Britain. From storied ports of the past (Belfast, Cobh) to unique islands with their own character and heritage, like Guernsey or the Hebrides. Kirkwall gives you the chance to visit the outstanding site at Skara Brae, the best-preserved Neolithic settlement in all of Western Europe.

 

I could go on and on. Like Japan, GB is an island nation that very much punches above its class in terms of things worth seeing. I've probably spent about 2 1/2 months exploring it in the past, on several different trips, and this June, for the first time, I am taking a cruise around the northern portion (mainly Scotland) where I'll visit some of the same ports you mention. I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[clo]

32 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Yes...Although it was UK thread, I realized that I needed to qualify the region to the UK, so I reposted with the qualification.  Sorry for the confusion.

 

Which Senior Living Place are you visiting?  When are you visiting?

The Bluffs. Mid-April, not a solid date yet.

[Woodrowst]

7 hours ago, Tsunami74 said:

 

 

The question is: for a first (although at our age, perhaps only) visit to Great Britain, would it be better to just go to the major cities either by plane or train - London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin - and take tours of city and surrounding countryside instead of visiting a different small port everyday.

 

 

 

I have traveled extensively to the UK.  It would be hard to imagine not spending any time in London on my first trip to England, Edinburgh on my first trip to Scotland, Dublin on my first trip to Ireland, or Belfast on my first trip to Northern Ireland. They are all amazing.   The good news is that each of these cities have wonderful day trips to smaller towns or rural areas so you can get the best of both worlds.  Next month my wife and I have an expedition cruise coming up that spends its time going around the lesser traveled outer Scottish islands.  But I would not do that as my first UK cruise. 

[Mareblu]

Just an important correction:  age limits in the UK differ between hire car companies.  My husband will turn 80 during our Cunard circumnavigation of the British Isles in May.  We are sailing in the Med on Oceania prior to flying to Scotland to collect our hire car. We embark Queen Anne after driving and staying in Scotland, England and Wales.  We have already arranged car hire.  We drove through Scotland and England 18 months ago when he was 78.  The age limit for the company we always use (Hertz) is 85.

To really immerse yourself in the diverse cultures of the magnificent British Isles and Ireland, a land tour is a must.  We usually anchor ourselves in one spot for a few days, exploring that area, then move on to the next.  

For a limited tasting sample of the culture of each port visited on a cruise, simply enjoy the experience each day brings.  For total relaxation and sheer pleasure, a sea voyage is a must for us, that’s why we’re bookending our land exploration with cruises.

 

wishing you an enjoyable adventure, whatever your choice.

 

 

 

[QuestionEverything]

6 hours ago, ORV said:

Any idea how many people are on these bus tours?

Hi ORV. It is a bus with 20 total, bus size is for 40. Lots of space and daily the seat assignment is rotated.

Globus and Trafalger do not pack buses, they are higher end tours.

 

[Vallesan]

Land tours are all very well and it would be a far more immersive trip than a cruise. However, just one word of caution if renting a car our motorways have become ‘nightmares’ in the recent past. The traffic has become really heavy in some areas add in the rain and it’s not something pleasurable. It’s not unusual for a ‘delay’ to make a short 2.5 hour journey into one of 3.5 or 4+. Just something to consider.

 

QuestionEverything … I like your idea of your bus with lots of space. Then at least somebody else takes the strain of driving and you can enjoy the scenery!

[Mareblu]

3 hours ago, QuestionEverything said:

Hi ORV. It is a bus with 20 total, bus size is for 40. Lots of space and daily the seat assignment is rotated.

Globus and Trafalger do not pack buses, they are higher end tours.

 

And for a truly luxurious experience:  Tauck tours.  They offer some superb experiences in the British Isles.