Dublin by cruise ship???

I've been following your questions with interest. I can't offer specific advice as I've never done this cruise before but here's a link for What's in Port. I found it handy to get a better idea of how to navigate through the cruise porrts when I wanted to do locations myself. https://www.whatsinport.com/Dublin.htm

Sometimes the cruiseships don't like to tell you that the port offers a shuttle service until arrival at the port. This way they have a better opportunity to sell you one of their excursions. Keep digging, research is your best friend.

Yes i know

That is why I asked here.. Cruise ship tours are a bit over priced. a bit crowded and on tight scheduled with limited time to enjoy where you are going. But good if where you are going is a little far from port.. I do cruises a lot and that is part of where they make their money.. I know that if something is close by better off to go on your own. Often you can get where you want to go in a cab or some places locals sell tours right at the dock. That is why I asked here. always better advice from ppl more experienced than me with a port.

Michelle

I think it has been mentioned before that Cruise Critic could be a good resource for you. It is the sister site of TripAdvisor and cruise focused only. You would have to join (free) in order to get full benefit of their posts and forum system. There is one specificially for Ports Of Call, where you can read past posts and ask new questions. They also cover reviews and recommendations of activities in the ports.

If it was me I'd skip the excursion. Figure out the best way into central Dublin and then just go. We spent 3 nights there in 2018 and for the most part walked between the sites we wanted to see.

We did a British Isles cruise a few years ago. We were 2 couples. In Belfast we prebooked the titanic museum. We walked around the city and saw a few sites. We did a HOHO bus with live commentary so we could ask questions etc. it took us around to see all the murals and the explained about the conflicts today. We also took it because one stop was the titanic museum. I believe we took a cab to and from the port. I will recheck my journal notes and update.
In Dublin we hired a private guide who picked us up at the pier. We went to the Goal, guiness storehouse, trinity college, st Patrick’s, and a little shopping on grafton street. We had fish and chips at Leo Burdocks. Fabulous. There are a few around the city. He returned us to the pier in plenty of time. We hired him through Tours by locals.com. We find the ship excursions too crowded and slow moving. Also, if we want to linger we can. Tours by locals has a banner at the top of their website for ship excursion tour guides. We used them in Cuba, Scotland and Croatia and the guides were always very knowledgeable, and pleasant.

We cruise a lot and understand your situation. Having spent several nights in Dublin, we are confident that, with some research, you'll have plenty of time to either do it on your own or with a local guide. A really great city. Enjoy your visit.

Haven't been on a cruise that didn't provide some means of getting to the central city area. Sometimes free or a small fee if local bus. Do you homework you know what you wan to see and do and various options. For us the first stop is almost always the TI. Pickup information on local tours, book a tour or two if something is attractive, get recommendations for lunch and your case you might consider dinner ashore. We only do ship excursions when the time line is tight or if it is something that requires advance reservations. And sometimes we will negotiate with a taxi driver for a half day tour of the places we want to go.

Out of curiosity I did a quick Google map search. The cruise port is about a 30 minute public bus trip from Dublin Castle. St. Pat's, Trinity College, Grafton Street, etc. are all within a 1 km walk from Dublin Castle. It's a 15 minute trip from the port to the Castle by car. My bet is that there would be taxis waiting at the port to take folks where ever they want to go. And given the port's proximity getting a taxi back in time for your departure should be easy.

Note that just because ship docks at 4 AM, doesn't mean they will let you disembark right away.

I was in Dublin for a day 20 years ago ( yikes ! ). My friend and I took a hop on / hop off bus tour which was very good. In general ship excursions are over priced, but with the new Covid rules ships are trying to require that any shore excursion be a ship sponsored one. How long that will be the rule is anyone’s guess.