Just off Golden British Isles

[cwtravel]

Hello,

I am on the 7/31 sailing. We go to Greenock (for Edinburgh) and I was planning on doing the "Edinburgh on your own" tour. However, given traffic and travel time, is it a better idea to take the tours offered at the Pier in Greenock. How are the tours and do they go outside the Greenock arear?

 

Thanks!!

[spongerob]

Did anyone experience cancelling a Princess excursion onboard without a penalty? I wonder how flexible they are if you change your mind at the last minute.

You can cancel tours on board up to about the day before the tour. There will be a note in each day's patter stating that your tour plans need to be finalized by a certain hour. Up to that point, they are very accomadating. You might have to spend some time standing in line, though.

[ggo85]

ggo85 -

 

Thank you for your feedback about my excursions. I'll be sure to ride that tram at Giant's Causeway. The previous poster said it was such a lengthy drive. Well, I guess most of these tours have long drives.

 

Question: Your itinerary ended with Falmouth being your last port of call? It is the first one for our sailing on August 30th. Hmmmm ... interesting. Our TA advised selecting a cabin on the starboard side, but I like to face the port/dock. Perhaps it will work out for the best. Everything does!

 

Did anyone experience cancelling a Princess excursion onboard without a penalty? I wonder how flexible they are if you change your mind at the last minute. :)

 

The tram ride at Giant's Causeway isn't that long -- maybe 5-10 mins each way. If you feel up to walking -- walk DOWN and take the tram back. Tram runs every 15-20 mins. However, if you start walking, beware b/c I don't think were any benches along the way. The drive to/from the Causeway is about 75 mins -- mostly highway.

 

Your cruise has the reverse itinerary for some reason. Thus, if you take a starboard side cabin on your itinerary, you will probably face the pier/dock for those ports where there is no tender. However, you can never be certain exactly how the ship will anchor or, in some ports, which side will be facing the dock. As you know, it can vary with tides, berthing location, other ships in port, etc. I truly think it makes no difference which side you have on this cruise. We were on the non-dock side and loved the quiet, the expansive views, etc. So, as you said, you'll probably be happy either way.

 

You can cancel a shore excursion now on-line and, as Spongerob said, up to 7:00 p.m. two nights before the tour on board (i.e., 7:00 p.m. Monday for a Wed tour) w/o any penalty. I wouldn't push past that as they claim there are no refunds or exchanges after that time. The only exception I heard was for some folks who spent all day on an non-air conditioned bus. When they weren't guaranteed a/c for the next day's tour, they said they wouldn't take the tour and demanded a refund. They were given one. However, that was an unusual case and I wouldn't count on the leniency.

[wisscruiser]

We certainly appreciate the information you both have provided. It helps with out planning for our cruise later.

 

A few more questions, if you do not mind:

 

Was Dublin the only port with a shuttle to town?

 

Did anyone do the Lands End with St Ives (bad or good)?

 

Any feedback on the tour out of Glascow that goes to the Yacht Britannia and gives an overview of Edinbough?

 

Did anyone do the Loch Ness--how was it?

 

Thanks for your help

 

I too would like to know about the Lands End/ St. Ives tour... good or not so good? Thank you.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

A few odds and ends answers:

 

Our cost for a cab from the pier in Edinburough to the castle was 18 pounds. That was a cab price, not per person and the cab will seat 4.

 

There was a free shuttle in Belfast. Dublin had a shuttle but it was $5 per person each way. Tickets could be purchased onboard or the bus. I do not recall there being a shuttle at any other ports.

 

Yard goods of tartan fabric. There is a great shop (whose name I can't remember) on the Royal Mile in the first block or so from the castle. As you walk away from the castle it is on the left side of the street. It sells full Scotish suits of clothing, many types of tartan in wool and blends and in varying widths. But best of all is watching the four looms weaving the tartans. It was quite a process.

 

We did Loch Ness. If you check my review you can get the details.

 

Currency. There are two machines for changing money on board. One does dollars (or other currencies) to pounds, the other dollars (or other currencies) to euros, and vice versa. They are on either decks 5 and 6 or 6 and 7. There is a $3.50 fee per transaction so go ahead and do all your money at once.

[ggo85]

I too would like to know about the Lands End/ St. Ives tour... good or not so good? Thank you.

 

As I've posted previously, I didn't take the tour so have no personal experience. I rode the tender back with folks who'd gone to Land's End only (morning tour). They said it was not worth doing. 75-minute bus ride each way and nothing there but a couple of very touristy booths/shops.

 

In fairness, this was the 5th day in a row of ports, the day after a formal night, and our last day of the cruise. People were tired. Tired of buses. Tired of long tours. Needing to pack. So, if this is your first day, you might find the tour better than our folks did.

 

As I've also recommended, I would not take all-day tours every day of your 5-day port run. If you do 8 or 9-hour tours every day, I can virtually guarantee that you won't enjoy the last one. I would vary full day tours with 1/2 day tours some days, explore on your own, or just take one day off. Again, just my humble opinion.

[wisscruiser]

As I've posted previously, I didn't take the tour so have no personal experience. I rode the tender back with folks who'd gone to Land's End only (morning tour). They said it was not worth doing. 75-minute bus ride each way and nothing there but a couple of very touristy booths/shops.

 

In fairness, this was the 5th day in a row of ports, the day after a formal night, and our last day of the cruise. People were tired. Tired of buses. Tired of long tours. Needing to pack. So, if this is your first day, you might find the tour better than our folks did.

 

As I've also recommended, I would not take all-day tours every day of your 5-day port run. If you do 8 or 9-hour tours every day, I can virtually guarantee that you won't enjoy the last one. I would vary full day tours with 1/2 day tours some days, explore on your own, or just take one day off. Again, just my humble opinion.

 

ggo85, That sound like sound advise we have already cancell a couple based on what has been said. Thanks for all of your help.

[spongerob]

As I've also recommended, I would not take all-day tours every day of your 5-day port run. If you do 8 or 9-hour tours every day, I can virtually guarantee that you won't enjoy the last one. I would vary full day tours with 1/2 day tours some days, explore on your own, or just take one day off. Again, just my humble opinion.

That is great advice, no need to be humble at all. Some of the port days are quite long and if you do it all, it's easy to be burned out before the end of the cruise. Fortunately our last day was a sea day and we got a little relaxation in. We had hired a private guide for our final port call, and about halfway through the tour, we had to tell our energetic guide that we really just wanted to find a pub, rest, eat, and have a drink. I think all of us snoozed on the way back to the ship and missed viewing much of the Kingdom of Fife.

 

Sorry to keep butting in, but reading the comments from this year's cruise really brings it all back for me. :o

[msmeltz]

Are you sure you do Edinburgh out of Greenock? We did Glasgow out of Greenock.... it was very far away and we heard it was nothing special . That is why we opted for the pier tours, which we were so happy with...very personal, great guides etc.

Edinburgh was special, but also a distance away. We were docked in S. Queensbury. A lot of people walked up the big hill to the train station. We hooked on to a morning tour and then was taken into the city. There were great gift stores about 1 block down from the castle, on both sides.

We didn't take any Princess tours...they all came back to the ship at the same time , so the tender lines and lines to go aboard were very long.

As I said, don't expect Fred on Busybus. His son, Peter ,said that he is only in the office.

 

The best bet for money was taking along some from a bank at home. We had about £375, which lasted us through 2 days in London and the whole cruise. Everything else was charged. Don't forget you need Euros in Dublin, but no tour was needed...the off/on bus took you everywhere...good shopping there too.

 

The 10:30 PM show in Dublin was very nice. We had reservations for Sabatinis that night and only 2 tables besides ours were occupied. A lot of people went back out to Dublin to pub hop, as we were there until 2:00AM

 

Giant's Causeway took us over 2 hours to get to, because our driver opted for the scenic shore road, not the highway. The walk up and down was very steep, and the line up for the tram was very long. Never could get it the first time around.

 

In Falmouth there was a shuttle that met the tender, but it wasn't a big walk...just a very disappointing place.

 

In Loch Ness try to make sure you see Loch Ness 2000, a very interesting disney type place that gives all the info on both sides about the monster.

 

Marilyn

[CruiseNut7]

That is great advice, no need to be humble at all. Some of the port days are quite long and if you do it all, it's easy to be burned out before the end of the cruise. Fortunately our last day was a sea day and we got a little relaxation in. We had hired a private guide for our final port call, and about halfway through the tour, we had to tell our energetic guide that we really just wanted to find a pub, rest, eat, and have a drink. I think all of us snoozed on the way back to the ship and missed viewing much of the Kingdom of Fife.

 

Sorry to keep butting in, but reading the comments from this year's cruise really brings it all back for me. :o

 

spongerob - I appreciate your "butting in" ... for those of us getting ready to sail this itinerary, it's a huge help to hear all the comments and recommendations -- even yours (I particularly appreciate your humor)! ;)

 

With all the suggestions, I have re-vamped my tours as I don't want to wear myself out ... this is supposed to be a vacation, right!?

 

QUESTION ABOUT SAILAWAY GET-TOGETHER LOCATION ........

 

Our roll call group for 8/30 is planning to meet after the muster drill at Skywalker's for a sailaway get-together (67 cruisers so far). Good idea? I know they don't officially open until the evening, but will they have bar service? Will it be open so we can at least have our get-together there? Other ideas? It's one of my favorite places on the ship ... what a vantage point your have from that location.

 

My only concern is that when I sailed on the Star several years ago, Skywalker's was closed for sail away as a private party was in progress ... that could feasibly happen. We would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.

 

CC's are the best ... have I mentioned that! :)

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Yes, you're right. Edinburgh was out of So. Queensferry.

 

I ditto ggo's comments about long tours. We did two 9 - 10 hour tours and several of the others were 5 or 6 and we were crispy critters by the end. I was longing for a nice day at sea. We spoke to several folks who after the first couple days onboard and long excursions who had cancelled their excursions later in the trip. Since we did Belfast on our own we were back onboard by 1:30 or so, which was nice but we probably should have skipped Belfast and rested.

 

But . . . there was so much to see! This has been a great lesson for us since we are doing a 12 day med cruise next year.

 

Enjoy!

MagnoliaBlossom

[spongerob]

Thanks, I'm glad to help. About Skywalkers, it was open for our sailaway last summer. Usually the Outrigger bar at the base of the ramp to Skywalkers is open, but I guess the weather in S'hampton can be iffy so they were using Skywalkers instead. We had quite a large group on our roll call so I think it actually worked out better being inside. It was such a nice day, though, that many of us just took our drinks back downstairs and enjoyed the view from outside.

[dawnprincess]

Hello all,

 

This has been SUCH a helpful thread with just 2 weeks to go for us on the Aug. 10th sailing. We've cancelled our Land's End Tour and a Photographic Tour in Invergordon/Inverness (the 2nd one because of midges). Is it worth tendering over to Falmouth? Anything to see? What about Invergordon (some small shops?). We previously did a bus tour of Scotland and so have seen most of the big attractions like Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, etc. I vividly remember on a port-intensive Med. cruise, our last stop was Rome and we were all just too tired to care! :)

[CruiseNut7]

Hello all,

This has been SUCH a helpful thread with just 2 weeks to go for us on the Aug. 10th sailing. We've cancelled our Land's End Tour and a Photographic Tour in Invergordon/Inverness (the 2nd one because of midges). Is it worth tendering over to Falmouth? Anything to see? What about Invergordon (some small shops?). We previously did a bus tour of Scotland and so have seen most of the big attractions like Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, etc. I vividly remember on a port-intensive Med. cruise, our last stop was Rome and we were all just too tired to care! :)

 

dawnprincess - you make a good point. I don't want to end our 8/30 sailing with a "too tired to care" feeling. These port intensive cruises can be very tiring .... even our California Coastal last year was that way and I felt like I needed a vacation when I returned!

 

FALMOUTH - is it worth tendering into? Did anyone take the ferry to St. Mawes? If not, did you just tour the town?

 

Thanks again!

 

Diane

[msmeltz]

The ferry/tendering to Falmouth really wasn't worth it. It was about a 30 minute ride.We were planning to ferry to ST. Mawes, but the day was overcast, drizzling in the early AM, and we were just tired. You might feel differently if it is your first stop. We were just "toured out" and we decided to go back to the ship and pack.

 

We took the free tram to the center of town, didn't see one shop worth going into(woolworth etc.), thought we were walking toward the ferries and found ourselves back near the pier. We went into the Maritime museum, but unless you are really interested in small boats it is not worth it.

 

Marilyn

[Nymue]

We are booked on the August 10th sailing and a few of us are wondering. Did they offer any Excusions that ended at the Airports at the end of your cruise? We already have our transfers booked, however we have later flights, it would be a lovely end to the cruise to not have to sit around the airport for 4 or 5 hours ;)

 

Anne

[msmeltz]

Near the end of the cruise they offered a 5 hour tour ending at Heathrow at 1:00 PM and stopping at ..I think....Stonhenge(a waste) and windsor CAstle(wonderful).

We had a private tour and didn't take advantage of it.

[chasetf]

I have added some pictures http://www.interactivecruises.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=878

Thanks for sharing the pictures. They were great. Hope we have the same weather. ;)

[Casshew]

Hey recent cruisers, what is Heathrow like on arrival (been years since I've been there)

 

Is customs a zoo? how about the luggage carousel area? lots of walking?

[insidecabin]

Anyone remember what the exchange rate was in the machine on board especialy for £->$. last year it was fantastic so I used £ to get my casino money.

[ggo85]

Have to disagree on Falmouth. I took the tender and walked around town and had a great time. Ms. Meltz is right that the shops are not geared to tourists. However, there are some neat bakeries, there is an "Cornwall" shop with a few locally made souvenirs (coasters, T-shirts, etc.).

 

I thought the pier was nice and very picturesque, especially for any shutterbugs. There is a very pretty church as well.

 

I remember one shop that sold artwork. There was a sign on the shop saying that the owner had worked there for 50 years and was now 79 and had decided that was enough. So, he was selling either the business or the shop. I found that so neat. Unfortunately, the shop was closed for the day.

 

If you'd be interested in seeing a typical local town that is NOT geared to tourists, it's a really fun place and worth a couple of hours, especially on your first day. If you're looking for great shopping, souvenirs, museums, interesting history, etc., stay on the ship.

 

Heathrow was fine on arrivals. However, our flight landed very early (around 6:30 a.m.). We got through very quickly, although it's a blur. For departures, arrive 2 hrs ahead of time, more if you want to do a lot of airport shopping. We waited about 45 mins to check in (and were flying business).

[spongerob]

Hey recent cruisers, what is Heathrow like on arrival (been years since I've been there)

 

Is customs a zoo? how about the luggage carousel area? lots of walking?

 

First advice: Go potty before you get off the plane. Restrooms were a long way away from the gate, and pretty disgusting. It took us quite a while to get cleared for entry. We were a bit late arriving and were mixed in with a flight arriving from somewhere in the middle east. Our pre-arranged private transportation almost gave up on us because it took so long to get through. You can't get to your baggage until you've been cleared for entry to the UK.

 

And yes, there is a lot of walking! The nice thing is that once you do get to the baggage area, there are lots of free smart-carts available.

[canadagal]

Great practical advice Spongerob. Although I don't like the airplane toilets either it sounds like they are luxury compared to the bathrooms upon arrival at Heathrow. Good to hear that there are lots of free luggage carts once we hit the baggage area. Will have to look for those kittens on the way to St. Ives too. Thanks!

[Casshew]

Wow, that post made me want to pick up a pack of Depends™

[MagnoliaBlossom]

re: exchange rate for onboard machines.

 

I can't find my receipt for pounds but I think it was 1.8 something. At the airport it was 2.0091

 

Euros onboard were .7400 according to my receipt.

 

There is a flat $3.50 per transaction fee.