We won't be here very long (approx 7 hours by the time we get off the ship & then need to get back on an hour early!).
Do you have any ideas for how we can best spend our precious time here?
I'm probably not going to rent a car, maybe take a local bus somewhere OR just walk? (YES, we are walkers!!)
WHAT do you suggest that we see or do?
THANKS in adavance!!
What sort of things do you like doing/seeing?
It looks like there are trains every 10 minutes or so that will bring you into Dublin City Center in about 25 minutes. Get off at Pearse or Tara Street for Trinity and St. Stephen's Green. Connolly for EPIC.
Stuart (isn31c) may have another suggestion.
My thought is the DART gets very busy on cruise days.
For walkers I might look at taking the DART the other way down to Bray.
Curious to know if there are specific days of the week or specific dates when ships dock near Dublin? We’ll be in the city for a few days 6 weeks from now, and would like to make some plans understanding when things will be most crowded with cruise passengers.
Ditto for Belfast.
Thanks!
Ruth you can check the cruise schedule on many websites, like this one https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/dublin-port-555 Just google the name of the port with "schedule" and that should help you out.
merryvm none of the cruise excursions suit you? With such a short time and being a distance from the historical center, that might be an efficient option. If it were me, I might look into a walking tour and make sure to stop in a pub for a proper pint, but aside from walking not sure what you might be interested in doing.
Ships dock in Dublin itself (as opposed to Dun Laoghaire) about three miles out of the city deep in Docklands and are then bussed into the city to a stop near St Stephens Green.
Between those who stay on board, those like me who do independent exploration and those on out of town bus excursions cruise ship passengers make little or no difference in what is a big city which is always very busy.
The same is true of Belfast where there are three different possible cruise terminals in different parts of the city, very rarely all in use on the same day.
People just dissipate around the city.
I've been in both cities on cruise and non cruise days, both on and not on cruises. And can't tell the difference.
