COVID-19 has put quite the dampener on the travel industry, and the cruise industry has been hit particularly hard, but with Boris’s lockdown roadmap being announced, we’re looking forward to travel restarting. UK domestic tourism is set to restart from 12th April, with UK cruise travel given the go-ahead from the 17th May (although cruises are likely to start a few weeks after this).
P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises have announced they’ll be doing UK coastal cruises – it’s a case of waiting to see what those itineraries will look like, but we can start looking forward to cruising again!
It’s unclear at this stage whether these coastal cruises will include port stops. I hope they do, because British Isles cruises are brilliant, even if you are a UK resident!
I did a British Isles cruise a couple of years ago on Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess. It was an amazing experience, and although I never would have considered a cruise around the British Isles before, it’s certainly an itinerary I’d consider again! Here just a couple of reasons why Brits should consider a British Isles cruise!
Reasons why Brits should book a British Isles Cruise
No language barrier!
The first and most obvious advantage is that there’s no language barrier, although you might come across some unfamiliar dialects!
I love being abroad and hearing new languages, but it does make me a little anxious when it comes to explaining my gluten allergy – thankfully with no language barrier it’s easier to find amazing places to eat gluten free around the UK!
Discover amazing new cuisine…or stick to home comforts
Speaking of eating, one of my favourite parts of travelling abroad is finding amazing food and drink, but you can still do this in the UK! Seek out incredible independent eateries and cosy traditional pubs….or stick to your usual franchise restaurants if you prefer! I loved finding cute coffee shops, although we did have a Carluccio’s or two!
While we ate lunch ashore we had some incredible food onboard – the gluten free food on Princess cruises was one of the reason I loved Royal Princess!
All your usual money saving tips will work ashore
Ship’s excursions can be SO expensive, but as a Brit on a British Isles cruise you can easily work out if it’s worth it! When eating and drinking ashore, you know you can use you Gourmet Society (affiliate) or Taste Card (affiliate) to get up to 50% off your food, or you can use your loyalty cards in your favourite coffee shops. For days outs and visiting tourist attractions, save money by using Tesco vouchers for tickets or seek out a cheaper entry on sites like Groupon (affiliate).
Explore the country’s history
Of course by visiting the UK you’re seeing centuries of history, with Roman ruins and medieval castles.
While I’m not generally one for museums, the UK has some really good ones. We visited Belfast’s Titanic museum on our British Isles cruise – a really interesting journey through the building of the ship and the incredible engineering behind it as well as the disaster itself.
If you’re a music fan, Liverpool has a wealth of Beatles heritage to explore, as well as lots of maritime history! Wander the Albert Dock, see the old Cunard Building, pop over the road to the old White Star Line building at 30 James Street and grab a drink at Carpathia!
Don’t forget to also check out the Maritime Museum and International Slavery Museum, focusing on the atrocious history and legacy of the transatlantic slave trade and the part that Liverpool played in it. Not all history is pleasant but we must learn from it!
See another side to famous cities!
You might be visiting cities that you’ve been to before, but a day in port is a great opportunity to explore a side of the city you’ve never seen before. Why not skip the Ho-Ho buses and opt for an amphibious bus tour of Dublin, a ghost walk of Southampton or a film location tour of Liverpool?
Check out my blog post about Viking Splash Tours in Dublin!
..And see places you’d never thought to visit
Of the ports we visited, Belfast, Dublin, Cobh, Glasgow and Inverness were all new to me! I loved visiting Cobh – this tiny Irish town was the final port of call for Titanic – we visited the beautiful memorial garden and saw the pier where the passengers would have boarded tenders to get to the ship.
Jacqui (one half of Jacqui & Rob Seas The Day…who also happens to be my mum!) says of British Isles cruises “I would do another BI cruise (on a nice ship!) because it gives you a fresh perspective about your own country. Arriving at a port is not what you do when travelling in the UK and that alone is rather exciting! It feels as exciting as disembarking at any port – the fact that it’s in your home country is rather irrelevant. We were lucky on ours because we loved Royal Princess and the weather was really good (for the UK).
Explore sparkling blue island bays…yes really!
There’re few things I love more than sitting somewhere with a view of glittering blue sea with a G&T in my hand – well, there’s certainly a lot of places to do this around the UK!
One of my surprise favourite ports was St Peter’s Port in Guernsey, which we visited on Royal Princess.
It’s a tender port so depending on the weather you often don’t get it (which has happened to us a few times) but it’s a gorgeous island to explore if you can.
Once you disembark, head off to the left past Castle Pier and up La Valette to reach Clarence Battery, where on a sunny clear day you’ll see gorgeous view across to the other channel islands and down into beautiful bays!
It’s so much easier to pack!!
Let’s face it, we know what our weather is like, and seeing as you’re not even changing time zones, it can be pretty easy to plan what to pack for a British Isles Cruise. We were actually lucky enough to have gorgeous sunshine on our Royal Princess cruise – we were too busy for sunbathing on deck but I know people have enjoyed amazing sunshine on other UK cruises! Just remember a coat, fold up brolly and some comfy shoes and you’ll be sorted!
Check out Emma’s tips on what to pack for a British Isles Cruise!
Hop aboard a festival at sea!
I don’t think festivals in the traditional sense would be my cup of tea – too many crowds and too much mud and dirty portaloos! A festival at sea though, that I can get on board with!
My first festival at sea cruise was Marella Cruises‘ Electric Sunsets 90s cruise – I went with my mum and we had SUCH a laugh. This cruise sailed from Newcastle, going to Ijmuiden and Zeebrugge then back to Southampton. We were supposed to be doing the 90s vs 00s cruise in September 2020 but with the UK lockdown that of course didn’t happen – we’ll definitely booking the next one though!
If you want a more cultural affair at sea that’s ok too – P&O often does Strictly Come Dancing cruises, and Cunard is planning on running an Oliviers featuring performances from darlings of the West End.
No flying!
It seems like an obvious statement but a lot of cruisers prefer to cruise from the UK for Mediterranean and Fjord cruises anyway! With ten main departure ports for cruising from the UK, with most cruising from Southampton, it’s perfect for those unable to fly for whatever reason.
What are the UK cruise ports and what cruise lines sail from them?
- Southampton – the largest UK cruise port – this is where the majority of UK cruises depart from.
- Dover – the second largest port – hop onto a Saga Cruises, Fred Olsen or Princess Cruises voyages from Dover.
- Port Leith – three miles away from Edinburgh, this is the starting port for some smaller cruise lines operating cruises to the Scottish islands.
- Port Greenock – traditionally a container ship port for Glasgow, you can hop on a CMV, Hebridean or Ponant cruise from Greenock.
- Harwich – this Essex port is a turnaround port for the likes of Costa Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Fred Olsen.
- Hull – this East Yorkshire port does mainly CMV mini cruises from the UK to Holland, Finland or to Belgium.
- Liverpool – my home city(ish) doesn’t have an awful lot of turnarounds – it’s mainly Fred Olsen (and the now shut down CMV), but it’s getting more and more ships stopping each year. The Disney ships always get everyone talking! There’s actually a new cruise terminal being built in the next few years so hopefully we’ll get some more cruises departing from Liverpool soon (super convenient from me!)
- Newcastle – The port of Tyne sees a lot of Fjords cruises – we set sail on our Marella Cruise party cruise from Newcastle – you’ll also find the likes of CMV, Fred Olsen departing from the Port of Tyne.
- Portsmouth – this cruise port tends to cater for smaller and posher ships than Southampton, with the likes of Ponant, Hurtigruten, Noble Caledonia and Sea Cloud cruises doing cruises from Portsmouth.
- Tilbury – This cruise port often gets referred to as London’s cruise port, despite being outside the M25 at the mouth of the Thames! Cruise & Maritime Voyages often does British Isles cruises from Tilbury Cruise Terminal
Who runs British Isles Cruises?
Fancy trying a Princess Cruises British Isles cruise like mine? They’re all being upgraded to include OceanMedallion for a contactless cruise experience, and have great itineraries on the new Sky Princess, like this one including Liverpool as a call!
If you’d like a smaller ship experience, why not try one of Fred Olsen’s British Isles cruises starting in Liverpool, Southampton, Dover and Edinburgh, like this itinerary on the new Borealis.
Would you consider a British Isles Cruise? Or have you done one before? Comment below or find me on social media!
I’ve never done a UK cruise, but I’d love to! Great post!