Just Back from British Isles / Grand Princess

[LargeWake]

By way of background, hubby and I are in our early 40s. This is our fourth European cruise (three with Princess, one with Holland America) and although it was very enjoyable, I'd still rank it fourth behind Western Europe, Scandinavia/St. Petersburg and Mediterranean.

 

Why? Well, although the landscapes are beautiful and the people very friendly, I just found that all the ports seemed very similar ... lots of rolling green hillsides, sheep, and charming people. I guess I prefer bouncing from Italy to France to Spain with totally new sensations every day.

 

So: here's what we did ... and what we wish we did:

 

ST. PETER PORT: high winds and rough seas made it impossible to tender in, so we unfortunately had to miss this port.

 

HOLYHEAD: high seas continued in the morning, so we were unable to tender in until the afternoon. We were SO happy we booked full-day tour independently with Busybus (at a fraction of the shore excursion price by the way), because they very patiently waited all morning for us to get off the boat and then filled our afternoon with a visit to Snowdonia and Cawdor Castle. We had to skip Caernarfon Castle, but hey -- the folks who booked the Princess full-day tour got nothing at all that day!

 

DUBLIN: We've been to Dublin before so we chose to take the ship's shore excursion to Glendalough, through the Wicklow Hills. Beautiful drive, and very scenic ruins of St. Kevin's Monastery. On the way back, the driver let people off in Dublin so they could spend some time there and take the shuttle back to the ship.

 

BELFAST: One of my favorite stops. Independent tour operator Mini-Coach gave us an excellent full day tour that was a combination of several of Princess' shore excursions -- a quick overlook of the Rope Bridge, a scenic drive along the Antrim Coast, a few hours at Giant's Causeway (amazing! -- long walk down and up, but there's an inexpensive shuttle if you don't want to tackle it) and then a very interesting city tour of Belfast, the murals, the peace walls and the history of "the troubles." Outstanding value for the money.

 

GREENOCK: Here we took the train to Glasgow -- it was a very easy walk to the train station, and the round-trip fare is only 5.75 pounds sterling. Once there we took the hop-on-hop-off open-top city tour bus for 9 pounds sterling. We basically stayed aboard the bus and did the full circuit, hopping off at the University of Glasgow where there are several museums devoted to science and art. We also went to the Gallery of Modern Art. I wish, though, that we'd gotten off to see the cathedral, and also the very large Kelvingrove Art Museum.

 

KIRKWALL: We didn't book anything here, thinking that the town would be interesting to explore. Actually, there wasn't much -- we saw a few nice jewelry stores and craft shops, caught a charming concert of local schoolchildren at St. Magnus Cathedral, and we climbed the turrets of the small castle across the street. I wish instead we'd gone to the neolithic settlement of Skara Brae.

 

INVERGORDON: We took the ship's shore excursion to Loch Ness and Castle Urquhart, very beautiful and fun to climb to its various viewpoints. We considered the independent route of catching the bus to Inverness and then taking the boat tour to the castle but it seemed like a lot of effort and potentially tricky timetables for not a huge financial savings so we went with the safer, easier route. We weren't sorry, it was a very enjoyable trip.

 

SOUTH QUEENSFERRY: In researching taking the train to Edinburgh, I ran across some people's warnings -- steep climb with lots of steps to the station, construction with some stations closed, etc. Combining this with the tender scheduling issues mentioned by other posters, we decided to take the Princess transfer. Princess materials claim it's a 45-minute bus ride, so we thought the $64 per person round-trip price wasn't too outrageous. But it was just 20 minutes, even with some traffic! An hour sitting around waiting to get off the darned boat and onto the bus, then a quick 20-minute drive ... with no commentary or tour guide info at all ... and that's $64?!! This was the one time I felt truly ripped off. I would DEFINITELY do the train on my own if I could go back in time. On a positive note, Edinburgh is a wonderful city ... dramatic castle looming over the town, gorgeous flower-filled gardens alongside, amazing history. Again, we did the hop-on-hop-off bus with live guides and loved it.

 

LE HAVRE: We took the ship's shore excursion to Rouen and it was fantastic. This was another favorite stop. The city is gorgeous with fascinating history. The site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake and the magnificent cathedral immortalized in Monet's many paintings were highlights. We had a very interesting tour guide who walked us around town and then let us have some free time to explore on our own.

 

DISEMBARKATION: We took the ship's transfer to Heathrow that included a shore excursion to Stonehenge (again -- wow -- mindboggling accomplishment) and a drive through the English countryside with peeks at Buckingham Palace, Salisbury Cathedral, Ascot, etc. A nice ending and pleasant way to get to the airport.

 

Well, that's all that comes to mind at the moment... if anyone has specific Q's about the ports/excursions, just let me know... happy to try to help!

 

Nancy

[starskyfan]

Thanks for posting this, I've been waiting for someone to post a recent review of the British Isles. We're not going until next year and the more research I do, the more I wonder about it. Most of the excursions we are interested in (we will take Princess for everything) involve long drives on the bus. I take it you thought the Giant's Causeway was worth the drive? It sounds like you had a nice tour though that maybe broke up the drive somewhat? For the 9 hour tour we are looking at, they say 6 hours (total) on the bus! I really want to see that and the Antrim Coast, but if we have too many tours with long bus rides we will need to reevaluate a few. Paris is the other that involves 6 hours on the bus and several others are more like 3 hours which is still a lot. I wish I dared to do an independent tour but I'd be sick with worry which would make it pretty hard to enjoy any tour:) Brenda

[LargeWake]

Hi there! I hear you about long bus rides... it can be tiring. I can't say for sure how Princess will do the drive, but our independent company Mini-Coach took the Antrim Coast route on the way there (sit on the right side of the bus for the best views) and it was beautiful. On the way back we drove an inland route, with lots of mountain/valley views. It really was lovely; I don't recall feeling antsy or annoyed with the length of the ride.

 

We had a very entertaining guide who shared lots of stories along the way; He played Irish music when he wasn't chatting. I'm sure that helped.

 

Giant's Causeway is remarkable ... almost impossible to believe that the earth can naturally generate those hexagonal stone formations ... it's very beautiful and definitely worth the drive, IMO.

 

I understand your anxiety about the private tours, but I've never had a moment of worry using tour companies that Cruise Critic members recommend. These tour organizers are professionals and they'll take good care of you. They're careful to leave plenty of time to ensure you get back to the ship in time.

 

As for Paris, my very first taste of the city was via a ship shore excursion with that 2.5-hour ride each way... and I thought it was absolutely worth it. We got there and strolled the Champs-Elysees, took a narrated bateaux mouches boat ride along the Seine, walked to Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, ate a crepe in the Tuileries gardens and just generally drank in the unbelievable beauty of one of the world's great cities. It was a brief but memorable visit that inspired return trips.

 

Have fun planning your journey ... if there's anything more I can share, just let me know!

 

Nancy

[calmac]

Glad you enjoyed Edinburgh. DH, DS and I drove down about 5pm to South Queensferry to see the Grand Princess sitting out in the Forth.

[starskyfan]

Thanks for your input. I thought Giant's Causeway did look like the best excursion. Just a shame it's so far away. I would hope the bus would stop for photos of the coast, but it doesn't sound like they do. That's the other problem with bus tours, you watch the best scenery pass you by.

Paris is the last port, so we'll probably both sleep the whole way there, and back. I typically love to run myself ragged on trips, but I think this one is going to be more than I bargained for.

Brenda

[HeinBloed]

Some souvenirs from Belfast.

 

Your ship called on Sunday July 8, 2008 on the same day like ours:

 

 

It was interesting to see the ballett your ship and the SuperCat made for us:

 

 

One after the other turned around a loop for us:

 

 

After all buses from GRAND PRINCESS arrived at Giant's Causeway it was a nightmare - so we get back with our taxi to Belfast and made the TITANIC TOUR by boat so we were able to make great pictures from the GRAND PRINCESS.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[ex-Freeporter]

Lovely pictures of Belfast (my home town), Heinbloed, so glad the sun shone for you!:) I had a tour of the Grand Princes the previous Monday when she was in port, very enjoyable. Tonight I will be aboard the Mersey Viking for the crossing to Liverpool (Birkenhead), and was on the HSS to Stranraer a couple of months ago - it makes the crossing 4 times a day in each direction (sailing time 99 mins).

 

So glad you enjoyed your visit around Northern Ireland, LargeWake, and particularly the Giants Causeway. Did you not manage to pop into the Bushmills Distillery for a quick one?;) I'll look at your photographs later - got plenty to get sorted out right now!

 

Cheers!

[spongerob]

WakeLover, thanks for your comments. We are on the July 28 sailing. We cruised the British Isles on Golden Princess during the summer of 2005. And yes, you did miss out by not going to see Skara Brae and the other neolithic sites at Orkney. It's something that I encourage everyone to visit.

 

Starskyfan, don't be nervous about independent shore excursions. We normally do a mixture of both ship's excursions and independent. I believe you get much more from independent tours. Being with a smaller group makes it much easier to visit more sites and do so more quickly. Plus you can tailor your tour as you see fit. Every operator we have had has been professional and highly knowledgeable. You might even save a pound or two - or not, sometimes you might spend a little more, but it's worth it.

 

Not all tours involve lots of driving. Some do, particularly those from Holyhead, Wales. If you read the descriptions you can find ship's tours that visit local sites, and also give you time to explore on your own if you wish.

 

Different members of our roll call took on the job of organizing tours for ourselves from several of the ports. It's all worked out well and we have several private tours that we are looking forward to. We are going back because the last time, we felt like we had only seen a fraction of all there is. We found that the ports were distinct and had their own history and character.

[lilsurfergirl]

Hello,

 

We're traveling on a similar cruise w/Celebrity in early Sept. We will go to London/Paris/Ireland (3 stops)/Wales and St. Peter's Port.

 

When I looked at the photos posted it appears that people were wearing jackets and jeans. I'm not sure what to expect from the weather in the first two wks of Sept. I hate to overpack but I'm sure I will!

 

Also, we're staying 3 days pre-cruise in Amsterdam if anyone knows what to expect from that?

 

Thanks in advance,

Mary

[Elaine0138]

Hello,

 

We're traveling on a similar cruise w/Celebrity in early Sept. We will go to London/Paris/Ireland (3 stops)/Wales and St. Peter's Port.

 

When I looked at the photos posted it appears that people were wearing jackets and jeans. I'm not sure what to expect from the weather in the first two wks of Sept. I hate to overpack but I'm sure I will!

 

Also, we're staying 3 days pre-cruise in Amsterdam if anyone knows what to expect from that?

 

Thanks in advance,

Mary

 

Hard to say what to pack but layers are the way to go, you never know we might even get our summer in September.

[LargeWake]

I totally agree about the layers... it was brisk and grey in the mornings and I wore a short-sleeved top, a lightweight cardigan and a light waterproof jacket. In most cases I needed all three when we started around 8 a.m., peeled off one layer by 10 or 11 a.m., and then the sun broke out and I was down to the short-sleeved top in the early afternoon. The layers were light/compact enough that I could stuff them in my bag (or, if we were on a bus tour, just leave them on my seat).

 

I think we all tend to overpack for cruises, as there are so many different clothing needs, from raingear to formalwear. But one of the great things about cruising is after you haul those bags through the airport, someone else brings them to your cabin, and you only unpack once! Luckily Princess has plenty of clothing storage space.

 

Enjoy!!

[spongerob]

No matter what you pack, good rain gear is a must. I suggest a lightweight, comfortable rain suit, such as golfers wear. Even if your top half stays dry, your lower half will get wet without a full suit. (any double entendres are purely coincidental and not intentional :)) That makes for an uncomfortable day.

[Host CJSKIDS]

WakeLover, thanks for your comments. We are on the July 28 sailing. We cruised the British Isles on Golden Princess during the summer of 2005. And yes, you did miss out by not going to see Skara Brae and the other neolithic sites at Orkney. It's something that I encourage everyone to visit.

 

Starskyfan, don't be nervous about independent shore excursions. We normally do a mixture of both ship's excursions and independent. I believe you get much more from independent tours. Being with a smaller group makes it much easier to visit more sites and do so more quickly. Plus you can tailor your tour as you see fit. Every operator we have had has been professional and highly knowledgeable. You might even save a pound or two - or not, sometimes you might spend a little more, but it's worth it.

 

Not all tours involve lots of driving. Some do, particularly those from Holyhead, Wales. If you read the descriptions you can find ship's tours that visit local sites, and also give you time to explore on your own if you wish.

 

Different members of our roll call took on the job of organizing tours for ourselves from several of the ports. It's all worked out well and we have several private tours that we are looking forward to. We are going back because the last time, we felt like we had only seen a fraction of all there is. We found that the ports were distinct and had their own history and character.

 

Rob, I'm going to miss you in London by a few days! What a shame, would have loved to have met you.

If you post live from on board, let me know how you make out with the fast track at Heathrow. We're flying club world on BA as well (I believe you mentioned you were in one of your posts) and would love to know how everything worked on that end.

 

Have the great time, hope your cruise is fantastic!

[Jasminedog]

This is a great summary Nancy:

Could you respond to a few more questions?

 

DUBLIN and BELFAST:

= Did you notice if the cruiseline or the city provide shuttles or taxis from the pier into the cities?

= Approximately how much drive time would it take to get from the pier to the city centers?

 

SOUTH QUEENSFERRY:

= Were taxis available at the pier?

= Is the train station visible from the pier or is it difficult to find?

 

LE HAVRE:

= Did you notice which car rental agencies at the pier where the Grand docked?

 

OTHER PORTS:

= Of the ports not mentioned, were the town centers easily accessible on foot directly from the pier?

= Do you recall which ports, if any, offered free or inexpensive shuttles from the pier?

 

Your kind reply to these detailed questions would be appreciated!

 

 

 

DISEMBARKATION:

= What time did disembarkation begin at Southampton?

= Did the ship offer an early self-disembarkation option for those who only had carry on bags with them?

[LargeWake]

This is a great summary Nancy:

Could you respond to a few more questions?

 

DUBLIN and BELFAST:

= Did you notice if the cruiseline or the city provide shuttles or taxis from the pier into the cities?

= Approximately how much drive time would it take to get from the pier to the city centers?

 

Yes, Princess provided shuttles to both Dublin and Belfast... I believe they were $5 each way. I didn't take the shuttles, but based on my tour bus experiences, I'd say the ride wasn't far to either of the town centers... 15 mins? (perhaps others can chime in here)

 

SOUTH QUEENSFERRY:

= Were taxis available at the pier?

= Is the train station visible from the pier or is it difficult to find?

Yes, this port had a little town center and I did see some taxis there, though it wasn't an organized big bunch of cabs at a stand or anything like that. This is a tender port, and you dock at the base of a huge railroad bridge; I believe the port lecturer said the the station is a climb up 150 steps or so at the base of that bridge. I don't think it's too hard to find, but a little hard to get to if you're mobility challenged at all. I should also point out that folks in all these ports are extremely friendly and very happy to help you find things.

 

LE HAVRE:

= Did you notice which car rental agencies at the pier where the Grand docked?

 

I'm sorry I didn't... however, I did investigate booking a car before our trip with National; they had an office in town (shuttle into town here, too, by the way) BUT ... car rental agencies are CLOSED on SUNDAYS and that was the day we were in port. I believe most major car rental agencies had a branch in Le Havre. Whether there's one at the pier itself, I don't know.

 

OTHER PORTS:

= Of the ports not mentioned, were the town centers easily accessible on foot directly from the pier?

= Do you recall which ports, if any, offered free or inexpensive shuttles from the pier?

 

St. Peter Port and Kirkwall can be explored on foot right off the ship. Greenock also is walkable, and there are some volunteer tour organizers at the pier who will take you on free tours. Le Havre, Dublin, and Belfast have a shuttle into town for a small fee. The locals in Kirkwall also had a shuttle to another town, Stromness; not sure if they do this all the time or just the day we were there. I don't recall if Holyhead and Invergordon were places you could explore on foot; in both cases, I hopped right on a bus and went off on tour.

 

Your kind reply to these detailed questions would be appreciated!

 

 

 

DISEMBARKATION:

= What time did disembarkation begin at Southampton?

= Did the ship offer an early self-disembarkation option for those who only had carry on bags with them?

 

We took the shorex/airport transfer to Stonehenge and were instructed to meet at 6:45. While waiting, we heard several color/number groups called to disembark... starting around 7 I'd guesstimate. However, I'm not sure how they prioritized the groups of people disembarking.

 

But, wow, if you can do a 13-day cruise with only carry-on bags, I think they should reward you with early disembarkation!!! :p

 

Hope that helps a bit... sorry I can't recall everything. I'm sure others will chime in!

 

Have a fabulous trip!!

 

Nancy

[Jasminedog]

Your response are greatly appreciated and valued! Yes ... we managed with carry-ons on our Med cruise last summer and did not regret it. We used the laundry facilities onboard the ship a couple times, but was worth the peace of mind having our cases with us. Thanks again!

[pj-atsea]

Largewake; can you tell me how the tour to Stonehenge was at the end of your cruise. We are thinking about taking it as we are not flying out that day. Do you happen to know if the bus only drops you off at Heathrow or do they offer an alternate spot in town? I notice you said that you have to be ready by 6:45 am - what time did you actually leave? The tour description on-line says that you only go to Stonehenge, do you stop any place else too? Thanks...pj:)

[LargeWake]

Largewake; can you tell me how the tour to Stonehenge was at the end of your cruise. We are thinking about taking it as we are not flying out that day. Do you happen to know if the bus only drops you off at Heathrow or do they offer an alternate spot in town? I notice you said that you have to be ready by 6:45 am - what time did you actually leave? The tour description on-line says that you only go to Stonehenge, do you stop any place else too? Thanks...pj:)

 

Hi there! We enjoyed ending our cruise with the Stonehenge transfer. Here's how it went:

 

We assembled in the Princess Theater, showing up a little early for the 6:45 call and were given group C6 tickets. That meant there were five groups ahead of us (though not necessarily full busloads -- the groupings were by airport, terminal, and flight time).

 

We sat there for about an hour before groups 1 through 5 were all called to depart at once. We left another 20 mins or so later. At the pier we had to collect our bags and bring them out to the bus. I'd say it was around 8:30 before we actually drove away.

 

Our guide had lots of interesting stories about English history and scenery we passed. Though we only got out of the bus at Stonehenge, we saw sights from the bus along the way: some charming villages with thatched roof houses, wild ponies, Ascot raceway, Salisbury Cathedral, a glimpse of Buckingham Palace, and Sting's country estate.

 

We spent about an hour at Stonehenge. They give you a little recording device that you can listen to at your leisure as you walk around the site. I found it absolutely fascinating and beautiful. The adjacent fields were filled with sheep, lambs and cows.

 

The tour is only for people with flights at 3 p.m. or later. We got to the airport at 12:30, plenty of time for a leisurely lunch before our 4:00 flight.

 

They did not offer to let anyone off anywhere other than the airport. They do have transfers into London, but I don't think they combine them with Stonehenge.

 

Hope that helps! If you have any other Q's just let me know.

 

Nancy

[pj-atsea]

:) Thanks for all your info Nancy, and the promptness of your reply. We are going on the Aug 9th cruise. We don't see all the same places that you did, but some of them. I don't think I have any more questions as you pretty well told me everything. The only other thing I have to ask is, do you have to be there at 6:45 am if you don't disembark for a while. I guess we'll take a taxi into London from the airport. I think we'll have too much heavy luggage to lug it on the train. Thanks .pj

[LargeWake]

:) Thanks for all your info Nancy, and the promptness of your reply. We are going on the Aug 9th cruise. We don't see all the same places that you did, but some of them. I don't think I have any more questions as you pretty well told me everything. The only other thing I have to ask is, do you have to be there at 6:45 am if you don't disembark for a while. I guess we'll take a taxi into London from the airport. I think we'll have too much heavy luggage to lug it on the train. Thanks .pj

 

Hi again... I think part of the long delay in disembarking our group was precisely because some people DIDN'T make the 6:45 meeting time. They kept checking attendance and finding some folks not there... it was pretty annoying. So it's possible we would have gotten off quicker and seen more on the tour if everyone had been prompt.

 

I'm pretty sure Princess offers transfers to London (rather than the airport) that have a shore excursion element... whether it's Stonehenge or not, I'm not sure. But you'll get a flyer on board that offers disembarkation options, airport and city transfers with and without tours.

 

Happy cruising!!

 

N.

[pj-atsea]

:)Thanks, Nancy.. I will ask about the different options open to us at the shore excursions desk when I get onboard.. Since it is around a 2 hr drive to London, I suppose most people will have to be off the ship pretty early. Thanks again....pj:)

[coxswain]

Heinbloed i'm glad you had a great time in my City !!

 

 

Anyone looking info on Belfast do a quick search i posted a whole page with links.

 

 

 

jj......

[jstducky]

Thanks for posting.. this is exactly the cruise I am contemplating booking for next year.

 

Can you tell me, now that you've been there, which cities you would feel comfortable doing on your own and which cities you think that a cruise ship excursion would be best?

 

Thanks

[jstducky]

For your mini-coach tour in Belfast, did you buy tickets for their daily tours that depart everyday? Or did you customize a private tour with them? Was it just the 2 of you on the private tour if it was customized? In reading their website, somehow I get the impression that their smallest tour groups are for 16 passengers.

 

Thanks for the info.

[coxswain]

Don't forget about the lagan boat company - for harbour or river cruises !!

 

 

 

 

jj......