The southern shores of England run approximately 400 miles. Thankfully, after our few days in Brighton, we only had to go 62 miles to again reach Southampton for our cruise departure. By train it was an easy two hour trek with no train transfers required, with an Uber at the end to get from Southampton Central to the cruise port. 

Emerald Princess was at the Mayflower Terminal waiting to greet us, the Barrs. Even though this was our 6th cruise of the year, it was the first with Corey’s parents since we sailed on Westerdam a few years ago. 

Falmouth, Cornwall, England 

Cornwall is an rural, coastal area of southwest Great Britain. While part of England, it has Celtic heritage and a distinct flag, making it more similar to Wales and Scotland (part of Great Britain but not part of England) than it is to London.

The city of Falmouth has the third-largest natural harbour in the world, and the geography sets Falmouth up for trading with Ireland as well as continental Europe.

There is only a small pier for cruise ships in Falmouth, so most ships will tender. Since the ship anchors a ways from the harbor jetty, the tender ride is long: about 30 minutes each way. Although this was the first port, it seemed like the other passengers were sleeping in, as the early announcements were incessantly begging passengers to just head down to the tender boats. Since we had just obtained Elite status on Princess, we decided to try the Elite Lounge for “priority water shuttle access.” This turned out to be a special ticket provided, sort of a skip-the-line system. It was not necessary for this trip, but would be useful for an in-demand tender.

Falmouth had the nicest port staff and volunteers that we have ever seen. They were friendly, knowledgable, and ready to talk about the area and guide passengers to a great day in port. We spoke with one and learned about the Cornish flag, his mining ancestors who moved to Butte, Montana, and also received a recommendation for a pasty bakery. More on that below!

The weather was perfect. We had read about “coaster” bus service that utilized an open-air double-decker bus, but that service was discontinued earlier in the year in favor of standard buses. Still, the 67 route is the Coastal Circular, which took us on a nice loop around the city. There were fantastic views of the coast, the ship, and cute houses, and the bus eventually came into town and dropped us at the town square called The Moor. The bus is paid by tap-on, tap-off credit card service with a daily fare cap, so no need to worry about which ticket to purchase.

We enjoyed cheap espresso and ciders at The Packet Station, a Wetherspoon’s location with a patio overlooking The Moor.

One of the highlights of Cornwall was trying Cornish pasties. While we have had meat pies all around the UK and Ireland (as well as in former British Empire countries like New Zealand), pasties in Cornwall were new for us. Although this does not reflect our feeling for the pie, “pasty” rhymes with “nasty,” and doesn’t rhyme with “tasty”.

Multiple locals recommended Pip’s Pasty Shop, just off The Moor. They just opened their Falmouth location in 2024 but their original location in Penryn dates to 2002. We had a lamb and mint pie, and later Corey and Dale (Corey’s father) went back for the traditional beef pies. The pasties are made in an open area, and we learned about the process: raw beef is chopped and seasoned, then put on top of pieces of potato, onion, and rutabaga (called swede or yellow turnip locally). The pasty is closed up and then baked, with the meat and veggies creating the gravy inside the shell. The end product exceeded expectations. We liked both types but preferred the lamb because we are fans of lamb and enjoyed the flavor of the mint with it.

There are more than a dozen pasty shops in Falmouth, and an enterprising gourmond could spend the entire day just eating beef pies and people-watching.

After a walk around the area, I parted ways with Corey and Dale. They continued on a jaunt down the waterfront high street, which carries different names as it continues. The high street goes from The Moor to the Falmouth Docks area, which is right around where the ship tenders were boarding. It is slightly above the water line, and there are many opportunies to walk down to the marinas and waterfront restaurants and pubs. It was quite busy with cruise passengers, as it is an obvious choice to walk from the Docks area.

I met up with a friend I have not seen in nearly 20 years! Suzy and I met in South Korea and have stayed in touch over Facebook. She lives in Plymouth, which is in Devon, just east of Cornwall. With us going to southwest England for the first time, it was a great opportunity to meet up.

We relaxed at the Hotel Royal Duchy using their “swim and dine” promotion, which offered time at their pool along with an afternoon tea service. Although the hotel had great views of the ocean, the indoor pool overlooked the parking lot. Fortunately, the restaurant terrace afforded nice views of the sea and of Emerald Princess. 

After Dale went back to the ship, Corey walked over to the hotel. Together we continued west down Cliff Road, exploring the impressive hidden grotto of Gyllyngdune Gardens, all the way to Gyllyngvase Beach. The beach was a fun scene with the lovely weather, and Cliff Road is an easy walk from the ship tender jetty.

Cork (from Cobh), Ireland

Cobh is the port town for the city of Cork, and where cruise ships dock. I docked there previously as a crewmember, and have explored the town. As a passenger, we had more time and so we took the train into Cork. The train station in Cobh is right next to the port so this is a very convenient trip. The online ticket process was cumbersome (required entering names for every passenger), but buying tickets at the machine was easy. Trains run to Cork every 30 minutes and it takes about 30 minutes.

We rambled about town all day taking different short walking tours. The highlights were Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral and the English Market.

Our morning walk led us to one of the oldest bars in Cork, the Mutton Lane Inn. We had a round of Irish coffees and Corey enjoyed a stout.

Cork is the historic home of two Irish stouts: Beamish and Murphy’s. Both brands can be seen on old pub signs and billboards throughout the city. At this point both brands are owned by Heineken, and both are brewed at the same Cork brewery. The town also has microbreweries like Rising Sons and Franciscan Well.

Mutton Lane featured four(!) stouts on tap: Guinness, Beamish, Murphy’s, and Rising Sons’ Midaza. It also had a full selection of Rising Sons’ beers, so it is a good stop for Irish tipples in a classic pub environment.

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Old Town Whiskey Bar, which bills itself as Ireland’s largest whiskey bar. It is also part of the Cork Heritage pub walk which we unintentionally found ourselves following! I was able to try two whiskeys from distillers I’ve never heard of before, including the Teeling single grain whiskey (like bourbon, made mostly from corn) and the Dingle Pot Still (2nd Release).

We spent the afternoon continuing to walk around, especially the scenic area around the River Lee, which runs through the middle of the town via two channels.

Cork is a fine city but there are far more beautiful and interesting places to see in Ireland. If we were docked at Cobh again we would go to one of the cute waterfront towns like Kinsale. 

Cobh is a cute town and some of the best views are from the water. We experienced that at sailaway, where the port side sails by the town, the coastline, and a lighthouse.

Bangor (via Holyhead), Wales

The last time we visited Holyhead, the poor tender operations caused us to miss the train. We were stuck in town and we discovered that Holyhead is not an interesting place to spend the day. 

But since that time, Holyhead has repurposed a jetty as a cruise pier. This pier is called the DWB (deep water berth) or the Rio Tinto Jetty. The pier itself is a bit out of town, but there is a mandatory free shuttle. That shuttle drops passengers right in front of the train station! That makes a journey out of Holyhead a piece of cake! I was worried about making a train to Bangor but we ended up arriving at the train station with 10 minutes to spare, where Corey bought tickets on his phone.

The train through the countryside was pretty: rolling green hills, cows, sheep. Bangor train station was also cute. 

We took a slow stroll down High Street doing some light shopping. As it was Sunday morning, many of the businesses were not open yet, but fortunately the local Wetherspoon’s was open. We stopped there for breakfast and coffee, and also tried some of the Welsh beers they had on tap.

Located at the far end of the High Street from the train station, we attended church service at Bangor Cathedral, aka Saint Deiniol’s Cathedral. They offer bilingual services (English and Welsh!) but this Sunday service was fully in English. The Church in Wales service was similar to the Anglican services we have attended, with a small choir.

The site has been a Christian church since the 500’s, and portions of the building are more than 500 years old.

We continued our leisurely walk down to the waterfront and Garth Pier, a very-long Victorian pleasure pier that at one point brought steamship traffic into Bangor. Entry to the pier was one pound, and there are various vendor kiosks along the 1,500 foot walk to the end.

Following this we took a bus back to the train station, and then the train back to Holyhead. The train whizzed by the Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch train station, where I snapped a quick photograph. Back on the shuttle and back to the ship!

The Deep Water Berth and train shuttle is a game-changer for Holyhead port, as it opens up so many possibilities for a day out in this part of Wales.

Liverpool, England

This cruise featured six port days back-to-back before a sea-day break. Not to complain, but this can be exhausting! For Liverpool, we slept in a little and went ashore at half past 9.

We wanted to explore the city on a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus to take a break from walking around. Liverpool has two HOHO companies, one red and one yellow. The routes and prices are similar. We bought tickets to the red bus company, Liverpool City Sights. I used an map that I found online to go to what I thought was the nearest stop to the cruise port. The map was out-of-date and the stop ended up being a little further than anticipated, but we arrived in time for the first bus of the day. Unfortunately, both the first and second buses of the day were completely full. The drivers both told us to walk back a stop and board the bus there. This defeats the purpose of a bus that you can “hop on” to! And it also doesn’t make any sense! If the bus arrived full, that means the prior stop was at capacity and they left potential passengers there. So we’d be waiting at one stop or another.

After wasting an hour at a bus stop, we gave up. We were able to obtain a refund, but cannot recommend Liverpool City Sights as a HOHO bus, at least not on days when a cruise ship is in town. They sold more tickets than they had bus capacity for. We were able to obtain a refund but nothing further for our time.

We switched gears and took an Uber to the Liverpool Cathedral. On our last visit, we went to the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, an interesting modern building for a Catholic congregation. This is the classic-looking large Anglican building, the largest cathedral in the United Kingdom. But while it looks old, it was built in the 20th century.

Unfortunately, graduation ceremonies were taking place that weekend (not mentioned on the website), and the cathedral was closed. We went to the Welsford Bistro, the cathedral’s cafe around the corner, and from there we were able to peek into the church between ceremonies.

Scouse is a meat stew so famous in Liverpool that the inhabitants are known as Scousers, and their accent a Scouse accent. It is the English version of a Nordic stew known as lobscouse. The Welsford prides themselves on having one of the best scouse recipes in town, and although we were hardly hungry, we ordered it up along with a scone. It was decent: a hardy beef stew with a side of pickled cabbage to add a sharp acidic bite, along with a chunk of fresh-baked bread.

We were able to enter and tour the Lady Chapel, a large portion of the building that opened in 1910, and the size of many full-size churches! Stained-glass windows and displays throughout commemorate historical women.

It was a short walk to St. Luke’s Bombed Out Church. The grounds were closed for the day, but from the sides you could see the destruction from bombs dropped in WWII by the Nazi Blitz.

The rest of the day we spent moseying around the city and around the Liverpool Docks area, which is adjacent to the cruise terminal. Liverpool is a nice city to walk around.

Dale and Linda went back to the ship while Corey and I did a quick Costco jaunt. It’s only a half mile from the cruise terminal. We finally tried the jacket potato with chili and cheese (what we would call a baked potato). So good! We have visited several Costcos while abroad and will soon have some more Business Insider articles to publish on our Costco visits!

Belfast, Northern Ireland

We rented a car through Enterprise, who offer a “meet and greet” service at the cruise terminal. This saves a ton of time, as your car is waiting for you at the cruise pier! If you rely on a credit card for rental car insurance coverage, not that most cards do not cover rentals in Ireland or Northern Ireland. We chose to pay a little extra for coverage for the day, although we did not do this on our previous Irish rental (and then had to fight Budget for a tire damage charge).

Our start was a drive through West Belfast, through the Republican neighborhood around Falls Road, the Loyalist neighborhood around Shankill Road, and the Peace Wall that divides the area. There are a variety of interesting murals on both sides. Since we were there not long before July 12 (Orange Day), it seemed like the entire Loyalist side was decked out in Union Jack and orange flags, bunting, etc. This area was well worth a drive through, and with more time there are other memorials, gardens, and murals to be discovered. While the Troubles may be over, there are still two sides to the city of Belfast.

One of the places I was excited to visit was the Dark Hedges. It’s a beautiful lane, now closed to traffic, that was featured in Game of Thrones. These creepy twisted trees used to block out the sun which is how it got its name but over time the elements have decreased the number of trees. The weather was nice while we visited so it doesn’t look dark at all!

The Old Bushmills distillery has a long and somewhat fractured history back to 1608. The current distillery was built in 1885, with a second modern distillery opened in 2023. We took a tour and we learned about the three ingredients that make great whiskey: water, yeast from Scotland, and barley from Kildare.

Bushmills only produces single-malt at their distillery, but the white-label base Bushmills product is 50% single-malt and 50% grain alcohol. We learned that the source for this grain alcohol is the Old Midleton Distillery, i.e., the Jameson distillery! In turn, Bushmills also supplies Midleton with some of their single-malt product, and the two distilleries will cooperate on bottling and other industrial tasks. It truly seems to be a friendly rivalry.

We had a great tour from Anne and then a lovely single-malt tasting. The higher-grade Bushmills products are made using exclusively their single-malt juice, aged in ex-bourbon barrels. Bushmills does not offer to-go bottles for designated drivers (like me), so I took a tiny sip of each whiskey then passed the rest to Corey. The tasting and tour was about 30£ each. I did not appreciate whiskey when I was younger so I’m glad to have toured Bushmills now in my 40s. If you want to just taste and not tour, go straight to the bar for drinks, tastes, or even sodas. 

After our “brunch” of Irish whiskey, we stopped for a delicious lunch to soak up the spirits. We continued driving along the northern coastal route, enjoying stunning sights from various viewpoints.

Then the clouds and rain rolled in right as we arrived for our outdoors tour of one of Ireland’s top attractions, Giant’s Causeway. 

Giant’s Causeway is an area of the Northern Irish coastline known for approximately 40,000 interlocking hexagonal basalt columns. It is a popular shore excursion for cruise ships and other tourists in Belfast. The UK National Trust operates a visitor center and parking lot there, but neither are necessary to visit the shoreline, which can be reached simply by walking under the visitor center and down the hill (or via a small shuttle bus that charges one pound each direction).

The area was hectic and busy when we arrived. We had a loose plan but the heavy drizzle dampened it. We dropped off Corey’s parents at the entrance and we drove off to look for parking. Several minutes east by car was a free parking lot for a coastal walk. But that walk would take an hour each way, and the trail was muddy. I flat-out said “no way.” I did snap this photo of an old castle. 

We drove back and parked at the Railroad Museum, just west of the visitor center, for £10. A trail leads back up to the visitor center, and then we took the short walk down and met Dale and Linda there. They were in line to board the shuttle to go back up.

As we expected, the tours were departing for the day, and by 4 PM there were much fewer people than when we started, and there was no line for the shuttle bus. We enjoyed the scenery for about a half hour before taking the shuttle back up the hill. As we were leaving the rain had stopped. Even with the traditional Irish weather, it was a fantastic place to visit.

The hexagon shaped stones are impressive. I didn’t trust my shoes on the wet rocks so I did not do as much exploring as I would have liked but Corey was more adventurous than me. 

We casually drove the coastline for a bit then headed south for Belfast. We retraced our drive around West Belfast and looked at the murals again, this time for pausing for photos. 

Driving in Belfast is not my favorite. Lots of one-way roads and large multi-lane traffic circles make it stressful – especially while driving on the left. But we made it through and back to the ship right on time. Enterprise rental car charged a lot for port pick up but it was so easy to drop off the car right at the cruise terminal. Including the gas and rental car (with insurance), we spent around $175 USD. A much better value than the ship excursions!

Glasgow (via Greenock), Scotland

The port for Glasgow is about an hour away, but the journey is easy by either bus or train. Our destination was Queen Street Station, one of the two major train stations in town. The train from Greenock goes to Glasgow Central. The McGill’s bus company was at the pier offering a direct bus to Glasgow, but that ticket would not include local buses in Glasgow, and it also went to Glasgow Central.

We chose to take a little walk through Greenock to a nearby bus stop for the 901/906, a local McGill’s bus that provided a pleasant ride along the coast. The number of zones and ticket options for McGill’s was quite confusing. We purchased two of the “Clydeside Duosaver,” a ticket for two people that provided all-day rides on McGill buses between Greenock and Glasgow, as well as within Glasgow.

The idea was to split up at that point, with Corey and Linda (his mother) walking and busing around town. They found that the problem with the bus plan was that McGill’s only operates some of the bus routes in Glasgow, with at least three other companies also operating routes. The pass was useful to get up to the Glasgow Cathedral, but the rest of the day was walking for them.

Glasgow Cathedral was slowly built in the 1100’s and 1200’s, with various restorative efforts in the centuries since. For being nearly 1000 years old, the church is enormous, with an upper church and a lower church that houses the remains of Glasgow’s patron saint. It is well worth a trip.

They also visited the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), a free museum in a historic building. The galleries were thought-provoking. Since I am the main photographer, and I was not there, there are no pictures to include.

Dale and I took the train from Queen Street Station to the town of Stirling, where we walked up a hill to Stirling Castle.

Stirling Castle

This behemoth historic castle is perched on the top of a ridge in the city of Stirling. 

The “heads” were my favorite: carved wood medallions made around 1540 with wood brought from Poland, and used to decorate a ceiling of the castle. 38 of the medallions are on display, with replicas having been carved, painted, and reinstalled in the castle.

Mary Queen of Scots was born at this castle and the entire royal palace is so historical. It’s one of the best castles I’ve ever toured! We tacked on the audio guide for a few bucks more and it was so worth it. We each used our own ear buds to listen to descriptions of each place. We covered just about everything in a little over two hours. Here is a video on Instagram of our day at Stirling Castle. It was just too epic to try and share only a few photos.

The town of Stirling was really cute and I wish I’d had more time to walk around the city. I would definitely go back and explore more around the area of Stirling and Glasgow. 

Stornoway, Scotland (cancelled)

This was an unplanned sea day. We were up and caffeinated when the announcement was made that we were unable to enter the harbor due to 30 knot winds at the harbor entrance. So we matched movies and took a nap. I think we all benefited from another relaxing day at sea. The sun poked out and we even enjoyed an afternoon of sunning by the pool.

On a previous trip to Stornoway, we found it lacking in things to do. This time we planned to rent a car. There were two independent rental car facilities and no major chain companies. That meant no online bookings, and both companies said they were sold out for advance rentals, but to come by and they may have something available. Car rentals for cruise guests are a difficult proposition: If the ship doesn’t dock, the cars go unused for the day. In any event, if you want to drive the countryside outside of Stornoway (which looks lovely), either book well in advance or plan to get to the rental car locations when they open. Either way, good luck.

Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland

A thick fog surrounded the ship and bay near Lerwick and delayed tender operations by an hour. Thankfully it burned off quickly and we had a bright sunny morning that continued throughout the entire day. Shetland Islands are closer to Norway than you’d think and are known to have a cloudy gray climate. We felt so fortunate, and even got a little sunburned! 

I had two goals for the day: find puffins and Shetland ponies. I met success early on with both. Because of our Princess Elite status we were able to board the first tender boat going ashore. Guests were greeted by a contingent of locals, including high schoolers dressed as screaming Vikings. 

Lerwick is the largest town in the Shetlands, although the population is only about 7,500. It is a sparse, rural area. The island Lerwick is located on is called Mainland, and it is the largest island in the Shetlands.

Dale and Linda stayed in town, visited some museums, and enjoyed a leisurely day in Lerwick.

We boarded a bus from Lerwick running down to Sumburgh Head, the southern tip of Mainland island.  

We exited the bus just after the Jarlshof archeological site but before the bus terminated at the airport. There are three ways to get from the road to the southern tip: eastern trail, western trail, or just hiking the road. All of them involve some elevation gain. Everyone else got off the bus at Jarlshof and either took the western trail or the road. The bus driver told us that there was no trail on the east side, but this was mistaken. So we had the east side mostly to ourselves!

The first thing we saw while hiking were Shetland ponies! Then, a steep incline, with an ancient stone fence the only thing keeping the sheep from falling off the cliffs. The views kept improving as we climbed, and my complaining kept getting louder. We were surprised by the swift pace of a Scotsman with a long beard and a crook that he was using as a walking stick. What a sight! The better sight was the cliffside sea panorama. Sea birds soared and swooped at eye level and we peeked into their cliff nests. Eventually we spotted our first puffins. The pudgy adorable birds almost blend in if it wasn’t for the bright orange beak and feet. 

After spending some time watching puffins on a cliff face, we descended into the lighthouse parking lot, which was full of buses from organized tours. As we walked up the path to the lighthouse complex, I overheard several folks saying they had to get back to the bus soon. So we sat on a bench and enjoyed the views while the crowds scurried around and eventually back down to their buses.

Ship tours are often split between morning and afternoon sessions, and we were there right as the morning sessions were being shepherded back to their buses. When we made our final approach to the lighthouse, it was almost deserted! Here’s a short video of all the puffins we got to see.

The skies were clear and we had beautiful views over the sea, island, nearby beaches, and the old Viking settlement. Corey even thinks he spotted a minke whale! 

We took the western coastal path back up to Jarlshof, the Viking settlement. With only 40 minutes until the bus arrived, we decided it was too short to tour Jarlshof and too long to wait by the side of the road. We spent a little time at the rocky beach in the area (where families were enjoying the sunny weather), then waited with about 50 other Princess guests at the bus stop and boarded a very crowded bus back to Lerwick. 

Having skipped lunch, we stopped at the local supermarket to scarf down some mediocre sandwiches (don’t get the corned beef in Scotland), then visited a local pub for a round. The day finished with a quick walk through town admiring the stone buildings. We actually had some time to spare but with nothing else to do we boarded a tender back to the ship.

The Highlands (via Invergordon), Scotland

Our plan for the day was to drive around the Scottish Highlands, stopping at a couple of scotch whisky distilleries. This one gets confusing. The ship stops in Invergordon, which is the port for the city of Inverness. There are no rental car facilities in the town of Invergordon, meaning to rent a car we needed to get into Inverness. We planned to go to Invergordon and then take either Route 25 or X25 into Inverness to get the rental car. But when we got off the ship, we were lured by a sign that pointed the way to the “bus to Inverness.” That bus was Route 925, a cruise ship special. So far, so good. The problem is that even though we were some of the first folks off the ship, the bus waited until it was almost full before departing. So although it was an express into town, it probably would have been faster to walk into Invergordon and just take the normal buses, which would have allowed us to stop closer to the rental car facility. Finally we made it to Enterprise Invergordon, which had some of the friendliest service we have ever seen at a car rental.

We drove back to the port through gorgeous scenery and picked up Corey’s parents. We headed straight for the country roads. Our first stop was a whisky tasting at Balblair. We ordered two flights for the four of us. 

We then continued on to the Falls of Shin. There were no salmon running that day, but it was a small and pretty waterfall. Ignore the reviews that say that it is hard to figure out the parking situation: just type your plate number into the machine and pay the fee with a credit card (£2 for the first hour).

Our scenic drive took us through charming villages, rippling rivers, and castles perched in the tree line. Eventually we made it out to the beaches along the North Sea. It was breezy! We ordered a tasty seafood lunch at a stand called Highland Larder and ate in the car. Slightly expensive but freshly-made with a ton of flavor, we enjoyed a fish burger and lobster roll.

We spent a little bit of time in Dornoch which is a cute town with a long history – just like many other places in Scotland. The church in town was pretty impressive and it’s always incredible to see elaborate and ancient churches in cities of all sizes. 

The afternoon was waning and we made a stop at Glenmorangie on our way back to the ship. The tasting room decor was elegant and so was the whisky. It was easy to taste without touring, as they had flights and single drams available from across their lines of whisky.

Our last stop was the Seaboard Villages, a set of cute waterfront villages with a sculpture trail. It was our last opportunity to travel on the narrow country roads taking in all the Highland scenery. I had hoped to see a “harry coo,” i.e. the Highland Cattle with the emo fringe, but we only saw angus that day. We did spot a mermaid though! (The Mermaid of the North sculpture, which we were looking for on land for a while until we realized that if you want to find a mermaid, you have to look in the water!)

The rain rolled in as we approached Inverness to drop off the car. We were running short on time but Enterprise gave us a ride to the bus terminal. We arrived just as the driver was heading out for the last run, bringing the cruise passengers back to Invergordon. 

Edinburgh, Scotland

I was last in “Auld Reekie” 15 years ago. It’s a fantastic old European city with so much history, massive museums, and bagpipes. 

Ships for Edinburgh anchor in the Firth of Forth waterway outside the city, and use tender boats to hit land. Our ship brought us ashore in South Queensferry, about a 30 minute drive west of the center of Edinburgh. Because of our Elite status we were again able to board the first tender without waiting in line. Huzzah! 

A company called Lothian runs the buses in Edinburgh, and they did a great job. Right off the cruise ship were employees with ticket machines, selling tickets for £12.50 (via credit card) that include all-day access to all buses in Edinburgh as well as trams. And unlike Glasgow, the pass did include all buses: both Lothian and East Coast Buses. And there was a lineup of X99 buses, a cruise special that dropped us directly in St. Andrews Square in Edinburgh. It left quickly and brought us into the city.

The “normal” bus stop, and the train station, are not far off from the tender pier, but they involve a rather brutal climb up a hillside. By Corey’s reckoning, someone cheap could probably climb the hill and take Route 43 into town and use tap-on/tap-off to pay no more than £5.50 for the day for unlimited bus rides. A round-trip train ticket is as cheap as £6.30 but would not include buses or trams.

Since we bought the all day bus we hopped on another bus to take us to the top of the Royal Mile, and we spent our day slowly making our way down this touristy corridor.

The Royal Mile starts where Edinburgh started, at Edinburgh Castle at the top of Castle Rock. The Castle Esplanade usually has views of the surrounding city, but in the summer a large temporary stadium is installed for concerts and the large military display known as the Edinburgh Tattoo. That stadium blocked our views but was itself an interesting site: an 8,800-spectator stadium that is constructed annually for 40 days and then holds 220,000 spectators over 25 shows. The Castle is available for touring (£21.50 for adults) but we ambled down the hill instead, following a Rick Steves audio tour.

The Royal Mile is crowded with tourists (and tourist traps) but it’s a fun medieval maze! 

About a third of the way down the hill is Parliament Square, and the large St. Giles’ Cathedral, mostly constructed between the 14th and 16th centuries.

After a few blocks we paused the tour to enjoy a brief visit to the National Museum. Entrance is free and although our stop was only one hour, an entire day could be spent here. 

We walked back over to the Royal Mile for a great birthday lunch spot called Arcade Bar, where haggis and whisky are the specialties. The food was outstanding and we were glad that we tried haggis. Presented in a parfait on top of mashed potatoes and rutabaga, haggis ws similar to a flavorful but mushy meatloaf. We also had a lamb burger and a Scotch egg. The scotch whisky selection was wide-ranging and we picked out a couple of drams to have with our meal.

(As an aside, the standard restaurant tip in the UK is around 10%, perhaps approaching 15% for exceptional service. It’s not strict like in the US. Many establishments will add a service charge in that range, and they put that on their menus. Arcade Bar was the first place we’ve seen in the UK that not only added a 12.5% “discretionary” service charge, but also had a server state that the service charge does not go to the service staff, but is entirely retained by the kitchen staff, with the implication being that we should tip separately on top of the bill. This is absurd, and we assume that the servers saw a table of Americans and decided they can try to freelance to get US-levels of tips. Other reviews state similar behavior from the servers. Arcade Bar had excellent food but this left us disappointed.)

The Mile continues downhill, marking the eras of Edinburgh construction like tree rings, with the post-modern Scottish Parliament Building (opened in 2004) at the bottom of the hill, next to Holyrood Palace, the royal residence of Scotland since the 16th Century.

Now fairly late in the afternoon, we walked through the palace’s garden, and then trekked up the path through the New Calton Burial Ground cemetery to reach a bus stop. The incline was a little steep but the views were worth it, and there were a number of interesting gravestones and tombs along the way. At the top of the ridge were a number of statues and monuments, including a large spire dedicated to Sir Walter Scott. We took the bus back to St. Andrew’s Square, and from the bus, we could see the Royal Mile, perched on its own hill just across the valley.

Edinburgh is so popular with tourists and it’s no wonder why. The buildings are gorgeous and the scenery is equally impressive. There’s tons of museums, castles, and palaces to explore. Would love to go back!

Emerald Princess

The ship was full but did not seem terribly crowded. Out of the more than 3,000 guests, there were nearly 1,000 that were new to Princess.

We sailed on Crown Princess a few years back, which is a sister ship to Emerald Princess.

Our few sea days had outstanding weather, and we liked to spend time laying out at the adults-only spa pool. It is sheltered from the wind and takes a little bit of finding, so it is rarely busy. It has padded lounge chairs, and is warmer, quieter, and more comfortable than the other pools. It also has two hot tubs. The upper sports deck had a bocce court and a good-looking putting course.

We went to the spa raffle and there were only six people there with five prizes raffled off. Corey ended up being the only one not drawn, but he received a pity prize of $50 to go with my $50, so we booked a couple’s pedicure.

The food was fine but like Crown Princess, the buffet was small and crowded. I found a package of crumpets on sale ashore for only 26 pence (around 35 US cents) so I brought them up to the lido buffet and they toasted them for me. On this cruise we had several examples of great lido service. 

What’s next for everyone

We all enjoyed a final breakfast together on the morning of disembarkation. Dale and Linda headed to London to enjoy a day there before departing for home in Tacoma, Washington.

We took a cab to Southampton Central then a train to Gatwick Airport, where we enjoyed a day in airport lounges before heading to Dubrovnik, Croatia. From there we crossed the southern border into Montenegro, where we will spend the summer in a small coastal village. Ciao for now!