BadPinkTink
Republic of Ireland is not part of UK
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2015
- Messages
- 7,739
hey everyone, I'm from Dublin, Ireland and in 2016, Disney Magic came to my home city Dublin for the first time. I started posting in the 2016 Cruise Meet Thread, helping people plan their port visit to Dublin but I thought it might be a good idea to put all the Dublin information in a separate thread. There is so much info in the general Cruise meets threads, that specific port information can get lost. In 2017 Disney Magic returned to Dublin and again I participated in the Cruise meets thread. This first post has been updated in July 2017 and has the most current information
ok, first off Dublin is a city of two halves, divided by the river/ port.
The official main street is O'Connell Street on the north side, which connects to the south side by O'Connell Bridge. The main shopping / tourist areas are the streets around O'Connell Street on the north side, across O'Connell Bridge to the south side and then the surrounding streets.
Ireland is a bilingual country, so all road signs, official documents etc are in both English and Irish. Dont worry we speak English as our day to day language
The ship will dock at Alexandria Dock, which is about 2k from the main central part of the city. The port is a commercial and industrial shipping port. There is nothing much in that area, There is a miltiplex cinema and concert venue near the port buildings, but other than that its all warehouses and docklands buildings.
Disney in 2016 and 2017 provided a shuttle bus from the ship to Dublin city centre. The return pick up point in 2016 and 2017 was at the James Joyce statue at the corner of Merrion Square. Before you leave the ship, check at guest services for departure times and the last pick up time.
If you have to make your own way to the city centre
Taxi approx €10. There will be taxis at the port when you get off the ship.
Tram
The tram is called LUAS and the end of the line / start of the line is located about a 20 minute walk from the ship. I have done this walk and it is very straightforward. If you need further information about getting the tram from the ship or back to the ship, send me a PM
The Disney Store is located on Grafton Street, which is one of the main pedestrian shopping streets in Dublin. It is on the south side of the river. Grafton Street and the surrounding streets would be very like 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. I would say maybe 2 miles from the port, but as Grafton Street is pedestrianised, you cant get a taxi direct to it. The taxi will drop you at one end of the street.
Pubic transport in the city is actually quiet good, its only when you have to deal with it for commuting that the problems start, lol. We have 2 types of transport, buses and trams. The buses in the city are very frequent, if anyone is thinking about using public transport I would advise checking out https://www.transportforireland.ie/leap-card/leap-visitor-card/ this is the prepaid card for using the bus and tram network. Buses only accept coins for the single journey tickets and I have seen many tourists caught out as the bus drivers don't give change or accept notes. Also the cash fares are more expensive than the prepaid card fares. I use a prepaid card all the time on public transport.
Taxis are all over the place, just like in New York. Taxis in Ireland have a green stripe on them that say TAXI and they have the roof sign. There are ranks in various places or you can hail one on the street. You can use the AP called MYTAXI for taxis https://ie.mytaxi.com/hailoisnowmytaxi
I always recommend the hop on hop off bus tours to visitors, we did one with my sisters inlaws a few years ago. This is the one we did http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tours/ireland/dublin.htm
There are two routes and it goes to the main places of interest
The Book of Kells, in Trinity College http://www.tcd.ie/Library/bookofkells/
This is a 9th century manuscript of the the Gospel, hand drawn by monks. It is located in the campus of Trinity College, which is right in the hart of the city, just beside Grafton Street.
Kilmainham Gaol http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/kilmainhamgaol/
This is a former jail, now open to the public and on the route of the hop on hop off bus tour. It is very important to Irish history, as it played a part in the rebellion which led to our country becoming a Republic in the 1920s.
Christ Church Cathedral / Dublinia http://www.dublinia.ie/
This is another important part of Dublin History. Dublinia is an exhibition / heritage centre located beside Christ Church Cathedral which tells the story of the founding of Dublin by The Vikings in the first and second centuries and during medieval times. The exhibition leads you into Christ Church Cathedral which was found in 1028
The Ark http://ark.ie/
Dublin Zoo http://www.dublinzoo.ie/
The Viking Interactive Museum called Dublinia http://www.dublinia.ie/
The Viking Splash Tour http://vikingsplash.com/
Why not take a trip to a grocery store. There a few big ones located in the city centre. Irish candy and chocolate is different to American candy and chocolate, even though the names may be the same. Soft drinks are different too, we have Coke and Pepsi but we also have many that are not available in America. Irish Brown bread is another thing, again in the normal grocery store.
Weather in Ireland is unpredictable in June. I would always advise carrying an umbrella and sunglasses. I keep both in my work bag at all times. Temperature wise expect between 15 to 20 degrees C, no idea what that is in F. This week we have what Irish people call a heatwave, today reached 17 degrees C and tomorrow is expected to be 20 degrees C. When it rains, though it can rain for days and the temperature drops to under 15 degrees C.
It stays bright here until nearly 10 pm and in the morning the sun rises about 4 am
Dublin city centre only comes to life at 9am. It depends on what interests you. Dublin city centre is like a living museum, every street corner is a part of history. As you have such a short time, I would skip a sit down meal and just snack on the go to maximise time. You can always have a decent meal when you get back to the ship.
I would say you will time to do The Book of Kells, Kilmainham Jail and Christchurch Cathedral. I would skip Guinness Store House.
Kilmainham Jail is the farthest out, so I would get on the Hop On Hoff bus and stay on the bus direct to there. Then come diectly back to the city centre, get a sandwich in Starbucks or other sandwich place and then go to Trinty College and the book of Kells. Walk from there up Grafton Street, a pedestrian shopping street to Disney shop, which is right beside St Stephens Green Park.
This is my APPROX estimate for Dublin, all prices are in Euros € so you just need to convert to USA Dollars. All prices are based on 1 adult
Hop On Hop Off Bus €20
Morning snack €10
Kilmainham Gaol entrance €6
Souvenir shopping €20
Guinness Store House €20
Souvenir shopping €20
Afternoon meal €30 (approx, depends on restaurant)
Book of Kells €10
Souvenir shopping €15
Disney Shop
Souvenir shopping €50
Random other Souvenir shopping €15
Question about Day Trips from Dublin
Ireland is a small country, about the size of the state of Indiana, so using Dublin as a base, you can basically do a day trip, for example leaving at 7am and returning at 10pm to most parts of the country. I have got the bus to Belfast for example to see The Titanic Quarter Museum , journey time from Dublin 2 hours.
You can do organised day tours with
Bus Eireann http://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=359
http://www.paddywagontours.com/tours/Day-Tours-from-DUBLIN
and many other companies
or you can use regular bus service http://www.buseireann.ie/ or http://www.citylink.ie/ or http://www.aircoach.ie/ and do a DIY day trip to a city or area
or you can use the DART http://www.irishrail.ie/about-us/dart-commuter a train service which runs North to South in Dublin along the coast
Restaurant Recommendations
My family likes this restaurant http://www.salamanca.ie/ it can get busy and we usually make a reservation, even for lunch
My sister went here for lunch with her friends in the summer, she said the food was really good http://www.marketbar.ie/
I pass this restaurant on a regular basis, its on my to do list, haven't got there yet http://www.brasseriesixty6.com/
ok, first off Dublin is a city of two halves, divided by the river/ port.
The official main street is O'Connell Street on the north side, which connects to the south side by O'Connell Bridge. The main shopping / tourist areas are the streets around O'Connell Street on the north side, across O'Connell Bridge to the south side and then the surrounding streets.
Ireland is a bilingual country, so all road signs, official documents etc are in both English and Irish. Dont worry we speak English as our day to day language
The ship will dock at Alexandria Dock, which is about 2k from the main central part of the city. The port is a commercial and industrial shipping port. There is nothing much in that area, There is a miltiplex cinema and concert venue near the port buildings, but other than that its all warehouses and docklands buildings.
Disney in 2016 and 2017 provided a shuttle bus from the ship to Dublin city centre. The return pick up point in 2016 and 2017 was at the James Joyce statue at the corner of Merrion Square. Before you leave the ship, check at guest services for departure times and the last pick up time.
If you have to make your own way to the city centre
Taxi approx €10. There will be taxis at the port when you get off the ship.
Tram
The tram is called LUAS and the end of the line / start of the line is located about a 20 minute walk from the ship. I have done this walk and it is very straightforward. If you need further information about getting the tram from the ship or back to the ship, send me a PM
The Disney Store is located on Grafton Street, which is one of the main pedestrian shopping streets in Dublin. It is on the south side of the river. Grafton Street and the surrounding streets would be very like 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. I would say maybe 2 miles from the port, but as Grafton Street is pedestrianised, you cant get a taxi direct to it. The taxi will drop you at one end of the street.
Pubic transport in the city is actually quiet good, its only when you have to deal with it for commuting that the problems start, lol. We have 2 types of transport, buses and trams. The buses in the city are very frequent, if anyone is thinking about using public transport I would advise checking out https://www.transportforireland.ie/leap-card/leap-visitor-card/ this is the prepaid card for using the bus and tram network. Buses only accept coins for the single journey tickets and I have seen many tourists caught out as the bus drivers don't give change or accept notes. Also the cash fares are more expensive than the prepaid card fares. I use a prepaid card all the time on public transport.
Taxis are all over the place, just like in New York. Taxis in Ireland have a green stripe on them that say TAXI and they have the roof sign. There are ranks in various places or you can hail one on the street. You can use the AP called MYTAXI for taxis https://ie.mytaxi.com/hailoisnowmytaxi
I always recommend the hop on hop off bus tours to visitors, we did one with my sisters inlaws a few years ago. This is the one we did http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tours/ireland/dublin.htm
There are two routes and it goes to the main places of interest
The Book of Kells, in Trinity College http://www.tcd.ie/Library/bookofkells/
This is a 9th century manuscript of the the Gospel, hand drawn by monks. It is located in the campus of Trinity College, which is right in the hart of the city, just beside Grafton Street.
Kilmainham Gaol http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/kilmainhamgaol/
This is a former jail, now open to the public and on the route of the hop on hop off bus tour. It is very important to Irish history, as it played a part in the rebellion which led to our country becoming a Republic in the 1920s.
Christ Church Cathedral / Dublinia http://www.dublinia.ie/
This is another important part of Dublin History. Dublinia is an exhibition / heritage centre located beside Christ Church Cathedral which tells the story of the founding of Dublin by The Vikings in the first and second centuries and during medieval times. The exhibition leads you into Christ Church Cathedral which was found in 1028
The Ark http://ark.ie/
Dublin Zoo http://www.dublinzoo.ie/
The Viking Interactive Museum called Dublinia http://www.dublinia.ie/
The Viking Splash Tour http://vikingsplash.com/
Why not take a trip to a grocery store. There a few big ones located in the city centre. Irish candy and chocolate is different to American candy and chocolate, even though the names may be the same. Soft drinks are different too, we have Coke and Pepsi but we also have many that are not available in America. Irish Brown bread is another thing, again in the normal grocery store.
Weather in Ireland is unpredictable in June. I would always advise carrying an umbrella and sunglasses. I keep both in my work bag at all times. Temperature wise expect between 15 to 20 degrees C, no idea what that is in F. This week we have what Irish people call a heatwave, today reached 17 degrees C and tomorrow is expected to be 20 degrees C. When it rains, though it can rain for days and the temperature drops to under 15 degrees C.
It stays bright here until nearly 10 pm and in the morning the sun rises about 4 am
Dublin city centre only comes to life at 9am. It depends on what interests you. Dublin city centre is like a living museum, every street corner is a part of history. As you have such a short time, I would skip a sit down meal and just snack on the go to maximise time. You can always have a decent meal when you get back to the ship.
I would say you will time to do The Book of Kells, Kilmainham Jail and Christchurch Cathedral. I would skip Guinness Store House.
Kilmainham Jail is the farthest out, so I would get on the Hop On Hoff bus and stay on the bus direct to there. Then come diectly back to the city centre, get a sandwich in Starbucks or other sandwich place and then go to Trinty College and the book of Kells. Walk from there up Grafton Street, a pedestrian shopping street to Disney shop, which is right beside St Stephens Green Park.
This is my APPROX estimate for Dublin, all prices are in Euros € so you just need to convert to USA Dollars. All prices are based on 1 adult
Hop On Hop Off Bus €20
Morning snack €10
Kilmainham Gaol entrance €6
Souvenir shopping €20
Guinness Store House €20
Souvenir shopping €20
Afternoon meal €30 (approx, depends on restaurant)
Book of Kells €10
Souvenir shopping €15
Disney Shop
Souvenir shopping €50
Random other Souvenir shopping €15
Question about Day Trips from Dublin
Ireland is a small country, about the size of the state of Indiana, so using Dublin as a base, you can basically do a day trip, for example leaving at 7am and returning at 10pm to most parts of the country. I have got the bus to Belfast for example to see The Titanic Quarter Museum , journey time from Dublin 2 hours.
You can do organised day tours with
Bus Eireann http://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=359
http://www.paddywagontours.com/tours/Day-Tours-from-DUBLIN
and many other companies
or you can use regular bus service http://www.buseireann.ie/ or http://www.citylink.ie/ or http://www.aircoach.ie/ and do a DIY day trip to a city or area
or you can use the DART http://www.irishrail.ie/about-us/dart-commuter a train service which runs North to South in Dublin along the coast
Restaurant Recommendations
My family likes this restaurant http://www.salamanca.ie/ it can get busy and we usually make a reservation, even for lunch
My sister went here for lunch with her friends in the summer, she said the food was really good http://www.marketbar.ie/
I pass this restaurant on a regular basis, its on my to do list, haven't got there yet http://www.brasseriesixty6.com/
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