Has anyone done a British Isles cruise?

I investigated Saga for my mother-in-law.

Great reviews and "free" pick-ups

travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/ocean/where-we-go/british-isles-cruises/island-hopping-in-the-british-isles.aspx

Has anyone done a cruise around the Orkney and Shetland islands? I thought I’d had enough of cruises but I’ve just finished a book about such a cruise and the islands sound lovely. The smaller the boat the better!

Dr Watson I agree with everything you say especially about the expensive tours. The only problem is that if you go independently and are then late back to the ship(through no fault of your own) it may well go without you but it will wait for an organised tour. For example, several years ago our cruise ship docked on Mull . Lots of us went on an organised tour to Iona. On the way back the coach got stuck behind a broken down dustcart. Mobile phones were of no use as we were in a valley with no signal. The coaches eventually decided to take a long detour along roads totally unsuitable for such vehicles arriving back to the ship 3 hours late.No problem. The ship had no option but to wait.

For all re Cruises, first differentiate between the round Britain ones, and others to say Baltic or sunnier climes. Cruise regulars will know a lot of the key points, but not 'newbies'.

Tendering is NOT to everyone's taste, and it can severely slow up your day. The bigger ships invariably have to use that method in smaller ports.

THE biggest criticism on cruise blogs and forums is certainly SHIP's TOURS! Yes, easier to select one or two, get on the bus, etc, but they get castigated for being poorer value than doing your own thing, and you may get stuck with being talked at by a well-meaning guide for hours on end?! [IF you're somewhere like Greece, funny alphabet, you may have little choice as using public transport may be tricky?!].

Saga is popular with the older generation, lots included, but NOT cheap! Fred Olsen is a line that is geared to the more mature British customer -- and they usually have smaller ships. Azamara is an excellent 5 to 6 star line, smaller ships, great service at not quite the eye-watering prices of say Oceania, Seabourn and the like.

Most of that class of lines are 'smart casual', so if you don't like the formal dining thing on some nights, you don't have to. HOWEVER, almost every ship (any type, the elite, or Olsen, Royal Carib, Celebrity, Princess, P&O etc) has a 'buffet' restaurant, for evening meals beside b'fast and lunch, and they do NOT REQUIRE dressing up! And, what may be a plus for some (?), in the buffet you will have the option of selecting from most of the Main dining room choices - but it's not compulsory! - or even, if you like, you can select say 3 starters and 4 puds, mix and match as you like.

Lots of cruise websites to help choice, Cruise co uk has masses of info, IGLU Cruise is a terrific agent but plenty more.

Oh and DH hates holidays but will agree to go with some reservations which I am happy to accommodate.
No more than 4 hours flight so this ticks that box. Must have half board as he prefers not to eat out.No more than a week away (I could push it to 8 days

Lots of great suggestions here which I will go through.
I never thought of a UK cruise before but there are some beautiful places to see and would never make the trip to Shetland by land / ferry.
I have a great aversion to formality and being told where and when to eat or what to wear, that's why I liked the Marella cruises.
We live near Hull so would prefer to set off from a Northern port and I don't mind tenders.

Booked Newcastle to Scottish islands with Marella II ...cancelled because Nicola refused to let anyone dock (just AFTER the Covid restrictions were lifted !) been on Fred also ...loved it, but not now as a solo they are SOOOOOO expensive ! So now I go elsewhere for cruises (Princess, Celebrity, Hurtigruten, etc ) still double as a solo (unless you book through Passion for Cruises if you are a solo ...they find better prices for single travellers !) (BUT check carefully ....I booked Antarctica with them but had to cancel as they sent me all round the world to join my next cruise, whereas I found my own flights ...only 2, as opposed to FOUR changes of planes !?

Try Princess done a nice one with them

I have been on several round Britain cruises, both with Cunard and Saga- very enjoyable

Try noble Caledonia. They have just sent one about the UK. Small ships and very comfortable.

Cruised with Ambassador Ambiance last September, anti-clockwise from Tilbury. Lovely itinerary but had to book independently from Mull to visit Fingles Cave (Staffa) which was a bucket list to do. Went on ship’s excursion to Giant’s Causeway from Belfast to see other end of Basalt stretch. Other highlights were Scilly Isles, Guernsey, and Orkneys, also Honfleur in France. It was early days with Ambassador and we found issues with organisation on and off ship at ports of call, but may have been resolved now. We are booked on Regal Princess Sept 2024 clockwise from Southampton. We will call at some different destinations, but will most probably make our own arrangements for visits. Having cruised for many years we are quite used to tender ports, and the larger ships often have to employ this as harbours are not able to accommodate them.
Best advice is to peruse different cruise lines’ brochures/itineraries as to which will suit you best.

Years ago, in the Navy, I was on the Dartmouth (Officers) Training Squadron. Each autumn we took the young trainee officers on a cruise, alternatively Baltic and Round Britain. Both are brilliant, but both are better in May than September. When we finished either of these cruises, at Dartmouth, we swopped the young officers for Royal Marines and, in company with DFDS Ferries and Fred Olsen ships, on both of which I served as liaison, we steamed up to Norway to land the marines for winter exercises. I can hugely recommend both merchant shipping lines, especially Olsen, and both cruises - we did a Royal Caribbean Baltic (Northern European Capitals) cruise for our 40th wedding anniversary and while the Kyle of Lochalsh is absolutely stunning, it cannot really compare to the entrance to Stockholm by sea, but you ‘pays your money and makes your choices’ !! Get to it, you have so much to gain and nothing, apart from a bit of cash, to lose, and have fun.

Fred Olsen are great. Cruise Maritime no longer exist but have been replaced by Ambassador. We haven’t been with them yet but they are cheaper than Olsen and have a few round Britain itineries.

We did two such cruises from London Tilbury with Cruise & Maritime. Both very good. As said by others sometimes tenders are needed and if sea is too rough it’s not possible to go ashore. We missed visiting Jersey one time which was disappointing.
More recently did a Saga cruise visiting Highlands and Islands of Great Britain. Expensive but excellent.

We did a wonderful Hurtigruten Expedition cruise last year visiting small ports and islands on the western side of the British Isles - the best ocean going cruise we have ever done. It is very relaxed, no having to dress up, but plenty of time ashore each day, most excursions included and amazing food. Most days we were taken out in Zodiacs to see some special sights, such as Fingal's Cave at sunset, Eagles flying overhead at Islay etc. There are opportunites to learn lots of things, comfortable cabins and everything is very eco friendly. We even had one day in Ireland at Waterford, and for us the highlight was landing on St Kilda, which can never be guaranteed. The company have just changed their Expedition cruises to call them HX which differentiates them from their ferries around the Norwegian coast.

One of my friends did a cruise round the Scottish isles and England. Not sure where she boarded. She said it was absolutely marvellous. Too far for us now, can’t stand sitting on a plane for 24 hours.

If it's suitable for you, there are a number of small companies that do cruises for about a dozen people. A friend recently went on one to the Scottish islands that allowed time to do walks at the different places where they stopped. The advantages are that the boats can go to smaller ports, the food is often good, it's friendlier and the captain can vary the route if the weather is bad.

The big cruise liners often dominate the small ports (Orkney is aiming to limit the number of big liners that visit at the same time) and you possibly only get trips to the main visitor attractions. It wouldn't suit me as I prefer to get away from people when on holiday, but some of these cruises do give you the chance to see places you wouldn't otherwise get to. And there are cruise lines which fall in between in size, with hundreds rather than thousands of passengers.

Hope you find something to suit you.

Yes, we have done two, the first covered the north of England and Scotland. The second covered Belfast and somewhere near Cork. Both with Ambassador and very enjoyable. We like Ambassador, a smaller cruise line. The only thing I didn't enjoy second time was the tender procedure.

Seabourn do a Jewel of the British Isle cruise. Fabulous cruise line. Highly recommend.

We've cruised but not the Britush Isles. We know two couples who have and they loved it!

We also did this with Cruise and Maritime who are now I believe are Ambassador Cruises. It was marvellous. No problems with tenders. It is great stopping at so many interesting places that you want to see (especially the Scottish Islands) that would be difficult or expensive to get there on your own. I totally recommend it. However have a good look round at prices as some seem very expensive yet only offering the same as the cheaper ones.

We did the Scottish Isles with Fred Olsen on Balmoral last year and really enjoyed it. We went to Inverness, Orkney, Shetland and Isle of Lewis,plus scenic cruising. The destinations were stunning and Fred Olsen were excellent.

I think Riviera do this - they used to. We have had lots of River Cruises with Riviera and would recommend those.

Swan Hellenic and Sovereign Cruises do British Isles cruises that may be worth a look

We did this years ago with Cruise and Maritime. The only problem I found were that some of the ports of call were what are called anchor ports and had to be approached by small tender boats which can be a bit difficult to get into. Stornaway was particularly difficult as the weather was stormy and the crew had to help us in. OK for the able bodied.