I am wanting to tour the British Isles on a cruise. I see Princess has a 12 day that looks perfect, but I am wondering about shore excursions. We have a special needs son who is 15 and can't do the normal "excursions". Has anyone done these ports? Are there things that we could do within a simple taxi ride from the different ports?

We have cruised out throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas, Alaska and Mexican Riveria and always found things to do within a taxi ride from the port.

Thanks so much for your assistance.

You need to post the names of these ports in order to get worthwhile info. You might also post on www.cruisecritic.com and also Fodor's Cruise forum. cruisecritic.com is the absolute best for cruise/port/ship info tho.

Holyhead, Wales 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
Dublin, Ireland 8:00 AM 6:00 PM
Belfast, Northern Ireland 8:00 AM 6:00 PM
Glasgow (Greenock), Scotland 8:00 AM 7:00 PM
Inverness/Loch Ness (Invergordon), Scotland 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
Edinburgh (South Queensferry), Scotland

These are the main ports we are interested in. I will also check the other 2 websites you gave...thanks!!

Looks like a tour of Scotland and Ireland, leaving from Wales. I would sooner spend 8-9 days driving around Scotland, a short plane hop from Glasgow to Dublin, and the rest of the time driving Ireland. Much cheaper and you'll see so much more.


Easy driving as there is little on the roads once you leave the big cities, and lots of nice little towns, sights, and such. The law says that most places must be disabled friendly.

kaneda, ihp mentions she has a special needs child with her. I know in Ireland it is very hard to find accessible rooms.
ihp, I'm sure you'd find a taxi in to Dublin. Hopefully one of the Irish posters will tell you more. Good luck, Joan

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Our son is autistic and does not have any physical limitations.

I will check into a land tour as well, thank you. If I ever win the lottery, I would love to do one of those private car tours! Now that would be nice!!

You have cruised before w/ your son so you know what works and what doesn't. But the round-the-isles cruises are pretty expensive. And the main ports are not the most scenic of places.

I wouldn't think an organized guided ground tour would work out very well - too much stimulation, too many people, stuck to a strict schedule, etc.

How does your son deal w/ car travel? If it is OK, you would save a fortune and be able to go where you want, when you want, if you just went to Scotland and/or Ireland on your own and rented a car to tour around.

lhp. My foreman where I used to work has an autistic son and they always took him away on a driving holiday each year. He was happy watching the scenery going by and the places they visited. Too many new people in the area, like on a cruise ship would have upset him though so they never went on one.

http://www.hebridean.co.uk/

Thanks so much for the info. I love forward to checking out the "renting a car" scenerio. We did that in Alaska and had a great time. We were even able to find a place that he could walk on a glacier (without all the equipment) for $30 for all 4 of us. You drive right up to the glacier. It was so neat.

Princess sends out a shore excursion book about 1-1/2 months before the cruise with little icons showing what level of walking or amount of activity is involved, alternatively you can also see more detailed information online on Princess.com. Most tours include time on your own also. I'm sure most people would be very attentive to your son's situation. We take the ship's tours exclusively and there is always special seating for someone that may need it and fellow passengers are thoughtful. I have only cruised out of Southampton but I can tell you that Princess's guided tours are very well run. Can you try a walking tour? Those tours generally entail a short bus ride and a guided walk around the tourist areas. Hope this helps. Have cruised the Diamond, Grand, and Golden(Europe). If you have any specific ship questions please don't hesitate to ask