Semi-LIVE from Venus British Isles Explorer 4/19 with Churchill Pre-extension

[formernuke]

Sea day today. Mostly usual stuff. Key exception was Q&A with the captain. He is outstanding! Personable, honest and very funny. Very enjoyable session. Also attached list of officers since I know some are interested. 

[deec]

your are VERY lucky to Katy onboard as Cruise Director I was hoping she was going to be on  Saturn for our British Isle Cruise!

[DesertCruiser2000]

We had Katy for Australian Coast and Komodo Island. I don’t know how that lady does it. She is in the highest heels ever most of day (except when doing laps of the deck each morning with us pax) into the late night. Always smiling and willing to make someone’s day. I guess she won’t be with us on the Neptune. ☹️

[formernuke]

First tender day at Dun Laoghaire (for .Dublin).

Tender only took about 15 min to the pier. Loaded tender at 8:20 for 8:45 tour. Note that those wanting to explore independently in the morning were staged and added to tenders once ship excursions were loaded.
 

We did the included tour. Not very good, in part because we did not use the quiet box which was completely unworkable with a group of 43! Crazy in St Patrick’s cathedral.
We left at the end of the tour. Had a very good
lunch at Kennedy’s pub. Chose to go to the Jeanie Johnston replica potato famine ship.
Very interesting. 

Took the Viking provided shuttle back to the ship. Shuttles ran from 9am hourly until 6pm. Shuttle drop off point was Merrion Square West, which is a decent location. About 45min to the pier. Tenders ran about every 30 min until 7 pm. 

[allyg]

What a beautiful day! 

[Peregrina651]

Tender and shuttle information most helpful!!! I'm taking notes because we are doing things on our own.

 

One question. Since the day we booked at the end of 2022, our invoice listed departure time as 11 pm. Today, someone on the roll call reported that the time on their invoice is now 8:30pm (and 8 pm in other places like MVJ Calendar). Did something like this happen for your sailing or has your departure always been 8pm. TIA

[Twitchly]

On 4/18/2024 at 8:45 PM, deec said:

what an absolutely wonderful extension and your descriptions brought it alive!!!

Hoping our Gin, Gardens and Grand Homes extension is as wonderful.

I really want to hear about yours. It sold out very quickly for our ‘22 cruise, so I’d love to live vicariously!

[SteelCity Cruiser]

8 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

Tender and shuttle information most helpful!!! I'm taking notes because we are doing things on our own.

 

One question. Since the day we booked at the end of 2022, our invoice listed departure time as 11 pm. Today, someone on the roll call reported that the time on their invoice is now 8:30pm (and 8 pm in other places like MVJ Calendar). Did something like this happen for your sailing or has your departure always been 8pm. TIA

we used the train service from the port instead of the Viking shuttle. It was 5 pounds for a round trip ticket and runs about every 30 minutes and only took about 15-20 minutes each way.  The train station is a short, easy walk from the dock.  Ticket booths are right inside the station entrance

 

[Peregrina651]

3 hours ago, SteelCity Cruiser said:

we used the train service from the port instead of the Viking shuttle. It was 5 pounds for a round trip ticket and runs about every 30 minutes and only took about 15-20 minutes each way.  The train station is a short, easy walk from the dock.  Ticket booths are right inside the station entrance

 

 

I was wondering about using the train.

 

I just checked the routing on Google Maps and while it may be a shorter time compared to Viking's shuttle by the Google Maps' estimation, I walk slower than the Google estimation. So for us, it is 50-50 -- and Viking shuttle gets us closer to where we want to be.

 

Regardless, now that I see what the shuttle schedule is,  I am glad that I booked I booked our tour at the Little Dublin Museum for 11 am, because with the tendering, I don't see us arriving much before 10am, even if we are on the first shuttle at 9am.

 

Here's the link to Irish Rail for timetables and tickets: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/

[formernuke]

Had what turned out to be a lovely day in Liverpool. Didn’t start out that way. Noticed about 7am we were dead in the water and no where near the pier; unusual since we were supposed to moored by 8. Expected an announcement at 8 and that’s what happened. Captain reported there was a “technical issue “ with the propulsion system that occurred after we picked up the pilot and prevented us from entering port. He reported the issue was now resolved and we’d be mooring at 9:45. Luckily the team was able to reschedule all the excursions and delay our departure time. Great recovery. Our luck with the weather continued. Mostly sunny but a bit cool in the low 50’s. According to locals this has been the first sun in some time. 
 

Docking location is close to town. A bit of a walk down the pier and through the terminal. Floating pier that rises and falls with the tide(up to 10m). As a result, there can be some very steep ramps that could be problem for some. There is a small cart service for those who need it. 
 

We did the Viking Beatles tour in the am. Very knowledgeable guide. I’m not a big Beatles fan (DW is), so I wasn’t expecting much. To my surprise I really enjoyed. Would definitely recommend it. 

Afternoon tour was western approaches and maritime museum.  Good tour with great WWII history. 

[SteelCity Cruiser]

17 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

I was wondering about using the train.

 

I just checked the routing on Google Maps and while it may be a shorter time compared to Viking's shuttle by the Google Maps' estimation, I walk slower than the Google estimation. So for us, it is 50-50 -- and Viking shuttle gets us closer to where we want to be.

 

Regardless, now that I see what the shuttle schedule is,  I am glad that I booked I booked our tour at the Little Dublin Museum for 11 am, because with the tendering, I don't see us arriving much before 10am, even if we are on the first shuttle at 9am.

 

Here's the link to Irish Rail for timetables and tickets: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/

Nice to have the option though, particularly if you find you just missed the shuttle by 5 minutes and have to wait another hour for it (when we were there last year, the shuttle only ran once an hour), you CAN take the train 1-way if you want to.

[puppymama1]

Trying to decide whether to do the Viking excursion to the Maritime and western approaches museums after the Beatles experience excursion or do those museums on our own... Since it looks like both are reasonably close to where the ship docks, the only advantage to using Viking might be to avoid a long line to get tickets and get inside.... Were there long lines to get in when you were there? Would you recommend doing the Viking tour instead of just visiting the museums on your own?  Thanks!

[formernuke]

2 hours ago, puppymama1 said:

Trying to decide whether to do the Viking excursion to the Maritime and western approaches museums after the Beatles experience excursion or do those museums on our own... Since it looks like both are reasonably close to where the ship docks, the only advantage to using Viking might be to avoid a long line to get tickets and get inside.... Were there long lines to get in when you were there? Would you recommend doing the Viking tour instead of just visiting the museums on your own?  Thanks!

Certainly the maritime museum you could easily do on your own. It wasn’t very crowded, but that maul be a function of when we were there(close to closing) and the time of year. The western approaches museum is small and you only go through (ut appears) via guided tour. I don’t know how hard it would be to schedule that when you need to. I suspect it is possible with some research. Certainly it is an easy walk back to the ship (this was a walking tour). 

[formernuke]

Very nice day yesterday in Holyhead. Docked in very large industrial/ferry port. As such, you are not allowed to walk to town. Instead there is a port provided shuttle from the ship to port entrance. Seems to be short walk to town from there. Buses are able to (barely) make it down the narrow causeway. 
 

We did the Viking Castles of Wales excursion. Two very different castle experiences! The first, Caernarfon is a large 13th century ‘proper’ military-style castle that has seen battle. It’s pretty much what you imagine when you think of when you say ‘castle’.

Lunch in a restaurant just steps from the castle. 

The second, Penrhyn, is a 19th century immense ‘party estate’ built by the money from the slate quarries. Incredibly ornate and lavishly decorated. Both castles well worth the visit. 

Port security on return is a bit weird. The guide says it is kind of random what they ask for. Today, with 31 on the bus they asked for 3 males and 3 females to search. I was one of the volunteers. Full bag search and full body pat down, then we were on the way.

[formernuke]

Belfast today. A little drizzle first thing this morning then pleasant but a little cool for the rest of the day. Viking provided a shuttle to town from 8:30-4:30. Drops off at Donegal Square North by the Belfast welcome center. 
 

We did the City drive, Crumlin Jail and Titanic excursion. Includes a pretty thorough pano city tour en route with a couple of photo stops.

The jail has a self guided tour showing the history of the jail from mid19th century to the 1980s. Multimedia presentation including videos holograms and some artifacts along the way. Very informative. Then a good lunch at the jail restaurant. 

Then on to the Titanic experience. Again a self guided multimedia presentation covering Belfast, building the Titanic, the disaster and post event history. Includes a short ‘ride’ taking you through the construction in the shipyard. Well done. Two hours to go through, which was about right. 

[formernuke]

Our luck continued today in Ullapool. Bright skies, calm seas and mild temps as we sailed in this morning. Tender port. Tender fakes only about 5 min and you are in the center of town (such as it is). Cute little town. We took the included walk about, that lasted a little over an hour. Ended with tea, coffee and biscuits at a local restaurant. Then  short walk around before back to the ship. A very light rain started just as we were queuing up for the tender. 

[Ready to Sail!]

2 hours ago, formernuke said:

Our luck continued today in Ullapool. Bright skies, calm seas and mild temps as we sailed in this morning. Tender port. Tender fakes only about 5 min and you are in the center of town (such as it is). Cute little town. We took the included walk about, that lasted a little over an hour. Ended with tea, coffee and biscuits at a local restaurant. Then  short walk around before back to the ship. A very light rain started just as we were queuing up for the tender. 

We have been following along as we just booked this cruise for 2025.  We returned a week ago from 12 days independent trip to Scotland and loved it.  You were very lucky today weather wise.  We were in the Highlands for 3 days including Isle of Skye and weather was a real mixed bag of showers and sun but strong winds, especially Skye.  Question: Have they served Sticky Toffee Pudding in either WC or Restaurant so far?  I'm addicted!  We look forward to the rest of your stops.  

[formernuke]

Re: sticky toffee pudding 

I agree one of my favorites. 

Yes, they served it but it was just ok. We did have it on the pre-extension and it was great. 

[Ready to Sail!]

5 minutes ago, formernuke said:

Re: sticky toffee pudding 

I agree one of my favorites. 

Yes, they served it but it was just ok. We did have it on the pre-extension and it was great. 

We must have eaten it 6 of our 12 nights and definately some we liked better than others but none we didn't like!  Best was in St. Andrews at our hotel/pub restaurant.  If you are going to SA I will send you the name.  One of the highlights of the trip was walking the Old Course.  Also, hope you have a up close encounter with a cute Hairy Coo!  Looks like you are making the most of every port.  Great pictures.  Thanks for sharing.

[Peregrina651]

@formernuke A request for Edinburgh. May 9 would like to know more about the shuttle bus. Where it stops, how often it runs; whatever you can share with us would be appreciated. TIA.

[shipboy]

3 hours ago, Ready to Sail! said:

We have been following along as we just booked this cruise for 2025.  We returned a week ago from 12 days independent trip to Scotland and loved it.  You were very lucky today weather wise.  We were in the Highlands for 3 days including Isle of Skye and weather was a real mixed bag of showers and sun but strong winds, especially Skye.  Question: Have they served Sticky Toffee Pudding in either WC or Restaurant so far?  I'm addicted!  We look forward to the rest of your stops.  

I am Scottish and we only have 2 seasons in the year, winter and July 😁

[fruitmachine]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

@formernuke A request for Edinburgh. May 9 would like to know more about the shuttle bus. Where it stops, how often it runs; whatever you can share with us would be appreciated. TIA.

The Viking shuttle from Newhaven Harbour (where you tender to) runs to Charlotte Square in the New Town.  "New" is a relative term, it's 200-250 years old!  It takes 15-20 minutes and runs every half hour on the hour and half hour.

[Ready to Sail!]

2 hours ago, shipboy said:

I am Scottish and we only have 2 seasons in the year, winter and July 😁

Well it’s a lovely country with lovely people and we enjoyed it all, no matter the weather!

[formernuke]

9 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

@formernuke A request for Edinburgh. May 9 would like to know more about the shuttle bus. Where it stops, how often it runs; whatever you can share with us would be appreciated. TIA.

Will do

[uktog]

11 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

The Viking shuttle from Newhaven Harbour (where you tender to) runs to Charlotte Square in the New Town.  "New" is a relative term, it's 200-250 years old!  It takes 15-20 minutes and runs every half hour on the hour and half hour.

And if you want to pay for a transfer at point the Edinburgh teams run from the disembarking at Newhaven to the New Town and further on