Thank you so much for the offer - we absolutely want some help! Since we are less than a year away, now is when I start looking at each port in more detail to get an idea of what we can see / do in the limited time we have. If you have any links to information about Dublin, the port area, etc., please share them with us (as long as they aren't in violation of any DIS rules). We do both ship sponsored excursions and private tours, so we first need to figure out what we want to see / do and then figure out the best way to do it.
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
I know we want to go to the
Disney Store there. Hey, you should hang out there the day we're in port and be the official Dublin DISBoard greeter! How far is it from the port to the Disney Store? ( 60 - 61 Grafton Street, DUBLIN, LEINSTER 2)?
Im not sure where exactly the ship will dock, but it is very easy to get from the ship to the Disney Store. 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.
hmmm, now thats an idea,lol,
Also, what about transportation in Dublin? Are there plenty of taxis?
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 the have the roof sign. There are ranks in various places or you can hail one on the street. You can use the AP called HAILO for taxis.
What about a hop-on, hop-off tourist bus?
Yes this something I always recommend 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
If you had to recommend just two things to be sure NOT to miss while we're there, what would they be?
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
If there was one food we HAVE to try, what would that be?
oh geez, you know what I would actually say 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.
