June 5, 2016 - Magic Goes to England, Ireland, Scotland and France

[chip&dale&fun]

Good luck for all those booking this weekend.

 

[chip&dale&fun]

Good luck on booking this weekend! So exciting. We don't book until beginning of March.

Newcastle is only port that have nothing planned. What DCL has so far is nothing that interests us. May end up being another day to help fight jet lag and do laundry!

Still deciding on Liverpool.

Agree that we are disappointed in DCL port adventures for Newcastle.

 

[nzdisneymom]

We got the information from Explore Orkney for doing a "cruise tour" with them - it hits everything we want to see there. I just need to verify their return time to make sure it has the gap we want between returning and the ship leaving - I think it must as they say they can drop you off in town or return you to the ship. Here's the information:

Views of Scapa Flow
The first Churchill Barrier
The Italian Chapel
Rennibister Earth House - situated on a working farm and access in to it is down a small ladder - well worth the effort!
View point for photo's if time/weather allows
The Standing Stones of Stenness
The Ring of Brodgar
Skara Brae - a 5000 year old village, this visit requires a 60 min stop where you see an introductory video, an information centre complete with artifacts found at the site, a visitors shop and restaurant, a replica house and the Skara Brae village itself. Included in the ticket is a visit to Skail House a military type house dating back to 1600's. To get the best enjoyment from this site we will leave you to wander at your leisure giving you a time to be back at the vehicle.
We will then drive to the Standing Stones Hotel to enjoy a traditional lunch of soup and sandwiches. ( All freshly made on the premises from Orkney Produce )

 

[kwork11]

how is everyone getting form Ashford train station to the port. We are going to do Paris before hand and will take the Eurostar in the Morning but I don't know what we do once we get to Ashford.

 

[nzdisneymom]

• how is everyone getting form Ashford train station to the port. We are going to do Paris before hand and will take the Eurostar in the Morning but I don't know what we do once we get to Ashford.

See if this helps: https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/dover_train.htm
Transfers Between Cruise Terminals & London Buses & Trains
No shuttle buses are provided between the cruise and the train station or London bus stops at Dover. You therefore need to get a taxi between the cruise terminal and the train station/bus stop. The fare should be around £8.

Taxi cabs at Dover come in a wide range of sizes and shapes, the image tight is fairly typical. If you have two cases per person and more than 2 people you may end up with multiple taxi cabs.
Its just a 5 minute drive between the cruise terminals at Dover to/from the railway and bus stations and ferry terminal.

The cruise terminals are far too far to walk with luggage from the train stations.

All fares within Dover should be on a meter.

For longer journeys outside Dover never leap into a taxi without agreeing the price before hand.

Although drivers may offer to accept your Euro or Dollar currency it will almost certainly be at a very, very poor exchange rate. Only do so as a last resort.

The taxi rank at the cruise terminal is well marshalled. Porters from the ship will normally take your luggage as far as the taxi rank immediately outside the front doors of the cruise terminal.

It is customary to leave a small tip with cab drivers, (assuming they provide a good service).

 

[MandJHuff]

So we got a hotel booked for the three nights prior to the Cruise. Chose the Park Plaza Waterloo. Gives a great opportunity for the wife to get some wonderful night shots of Big Ben.

 

[kwork11]

We got the information from Explore Orkney for doing a "cruise tour" with them - it hits everything we want to see there. I just need to verify their return time to make sure it has the gap we want between returning and the ship leaving - I think it must as they say they can drop you off in town or return you to the ship. Here's the information:

Views of Scapa Flow
The first Churchill Barrier
The Italian Chapel
Rennibister Earth House - situated on a working farm and access in to it is down a small ladder - well worth the effort!
View point for photo's if time/weather allows
The Standing Stones of Stenness
The Ring of Brodgar
Skara Brae - a 5000 year old village, this visit requires a 60 min stop where you see an introductory video, an information centre complete with artifacts found at the site, a visitors shop and restaurant, a replica house and the Skara Brae village itself. Included in the ticket is a visit to Skail House a military type house dating back to 1600's. To get the best enjoyment from this site we will leave you to wander at your leisure giving you a time to be back at the vehicle.
We will then drive to the Standing Stones Hotel to enjoy a traditional lunch of soup and sandwiches. ( All freshly made on the premises from Orkney Produce )

This sounds good I am going too look this up!

 

[nzdisneymom]

kwork11, we booked with Susan this morning. They take up to 8 people on a tour (two have to sit up front with the driver). We paid via PayPal.

http://www.exploreorkney.com/cruise-tour.php is the link to the tour we're going to do with them.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Gold gets to book Onboard activities and excursions tonight. For those who booked as Platinum, did you do it via PC or tablet? Just wondering if one method is easier than the other. We have a new modem to install from our internet provider but we are waiting until tomorrow in case it's more complicated than expected so we won't be disconnected when it's time to book things tonight.

 

[kwork11]

kwork11, we booked with Susan this morning. They take up to 8 people on a tour (two have to sit up front with the driver). We paid via PayPal.

http://www.exploreorkney.com/cruise-tour.php is the link to the tour we're going to do with them.

Awesome! I will look right now!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Still sorting everything out but here's what we are planning so far:

Newcastle - tour with Newcastle City Tours
Invergordon - booking through DCL - Cruise Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle
Kirkwall - tour with Explore Orkney
Greenock - booking through DCL - Edinburgh On Your Own - but we have put a request in with someone for a private excursion - we'll book DCL now though in case it doesn't work out.
Liverpool - booking through DCL - In the steps of the Beatles - adult departure - but we have something in the works for a possible private excursion - but if that doesn't come through, this is the one DH wants the most. Since we are in Liverpool for a very long day, we'll have time to explore some on our own too.
Dublin - just going to take the shuttle into town and do the hop on hop off bus - they also have a walking tour that's part of it that sounds interesting. https://citysightseeingdublin.ie/
Le Havre - private tour to Normandy
Guernsey - not sure yet.

 

[GreenDress]

I've read several trip reports about Liverpool and everyone was surprised at how much they enjoyed it. So, I'm now looking forward to spending time in your city. I was afraid it would be all about the Beatles, and I'm not a huge Beatles fan. From what I gathered from the trip reports Liverpool is a great city for walking and is a great city to do on your own. These are the places I read that are must do's, please let me and everyone else know if something else should be added.
1 - St. John's Gardens - and make sure to see the back side of St. George's Hall.
2 - Mathew Street - home of the Beatles
3 - Albert Dock - Merseyside Maritime Museum
4 - Anglican Cathedral - take lift to top of tower for awesome views of Liverpool
5 - Try to visit Penny St. and Strawberry Fields. (Not sure what the Penny St. thing is, I guess refers to the Beatles. What can I say, I'm a child of the 80's)
6 - Look for the Superlambanana's - one is outside of Boodles, a jewelers.

Would love anything else you could add.

The lambananas are fun to spot although after reading g your message I went to town and couldn't see one by boodles. I did see one by where we went to eat.
Strawberry fields and penny lane are Beatles related. I haven't done Beatles tours since I was little but if you are interested I try and pick up leaflets when I'm next in town. There is also the statue of Eleanor rigby by Matthew street.
You could easily do a walk around town fitting in most of the stuff you mentioned. if you want I will be happy to plan out the best route for you to walk around it all. We've wasted many an hour in port getting lost!

Thanks. We were looking at the Cathedral. Is it within walking distance or a cab ride!

The cathedrals are about a 20 minute walk (depending upon your pace) there are two, the Anglican and Catholic. If you don't mind the walk you could spot q few sites on the way and pick up a spot of lunch if wanting to eat off-the-ship. If you are looking for lunch options I'll happily suggest a few that aren't chains. We like to try new places and eat out a bit too much! You could even stop for afternoon tea.

What day are you in Liverpool? I hoping to see the ship when she's in but knowing my luck I'll be in work.

 

[nzdisneymom]

What day are you in Liverpool? I hoping to see the ship when she's in but knowing my luck I'll be in work.

You may be in luck -
Sunday, June 12, 2016, LIVERPOOL, Ashore 7:45 AM, Onboard 9:45 PM
It's a long day for us there, so I'm betting you can get by!

I'm not sure if you can request ahead of time a "visit" to the ship - when we sailed in the Baltic in 2010, the captain told us that sometimes it is possible but you have to arrange it ahead of time. Just putting that out there in case you were interested - I'm not sure if it's still allowed or how to go about it but I bet someone here on DIS would know.

 

[GreenDress]

Oh I'll be there! I'll have to look into a visit, we are onboard the week before but yoy can never have too much Disney. Thanks for that tip.

 

[Alohagirl73]

Can't believe it but only 15 weeks left until we set sail around the British Isles!!!

 

[nzdisneymom]

No Palo Brunch available last night, but we booked the other things we wanted. Hope the rest of you were also successful.

 

[hygienist999]

The lambananas are fun to spot although after reading g your message I went to town and couldn't see one by boodles. I did see one by where we went to eat.
Strawberry fields and penny lane are Beatles related. I haven't done Beatles tours since I was little but if you are interested I try and pick up leaflets when I'm next in town. There is also the statue of Eleanor rigby by Matthew street.
You could easily do a walk around town fitting in most of the stuff you mentioned. if you want I will be happy to plan out the best route for you to walk around it all. We've wasted many an hour in port getting lost!




The cathedrals are about a 20 minute walk (depending upon your pace) there are two, the Anglican and Catholic. If you don't mind the walk you could spot q few sites on the way and pick up a spot of lunch if wanting to eat off-the-ship. If you are looking for lunch options I'll happily suggest a few that aren't chains. We like to try new places and eat out a bit too much! You could even stop for afternoon tea.

What day are you in Liverpool? I hoping to see the ship when she's in but knowing my luck I'll be in work.

Thanks for the information. The trip report I read about the statue in front of boodles was made in 2012, so not recent. We booked our excursions and decided to go ahead a book a Disney tour that last about 3.5 hours, it leaves at 8:45 and will be done about lunch time, so we will take off on our own then and explore the city. I think this tour stops at the Anglican Church, but not the other, so we may just walk to it. We are in port til almost 5pm I think, so this should give ample time. Thanks again for answering my questions.

 

[hygienist999]

No Palo Brunch available last night, but we booked the other things we wanted. Hope the rest of you were also successful.

We were not able to book Palo Brunch either. I guess we will try to once on ship. I'm hoping they are waiting to see the demand for the brunches and open up another morning or add extra times. I was very disappointed too. We were able to book all of our excursions and a dinner at Palo's.

 

[hygienist999]

We booked everything last night we wanted except for Palo Brunch. I'm hoping we can book once on the ship. But we did book a Palo Dinner for the night of the 2nd Sea Day. The excursions we booked were-

1 - Newcastle - DCL - Leisurely Durham Dales Scenic Drive and Blanchard - Adults Only - leaves at 9:30 am.
2 - Invergordon - DCL - Wild West Highlands & Romantic Eilean Donan Castle - leaves at 9:30 am
3 - Kirkwall - DCL - Orkney's Neolithic Heartland - Adults Only - Leaves at 1:00 pm.
4 - Greenock - DCL - Edinburgh Castle & Holyrood Palace - Adults Only - Leaves at 7:45am
5 - Liverpool - DCL - Liverpool City Panaramic - Adults Only - Leaves at 8:45
6 - Dublin - DCL - Dublin City Highlights - Adults Only - Leaves at 8:15
7 - LeHavre - Booked a private tour with a few other people for Normandy
8- Guernsey - Not sure - We may just get off the ship and look around a bit then enjoy the ship.

 

[MandJHuff]

We also weren't able to get Palo Brunch, we did get everything else we wanted though so that was good.