Let me start by saying a cruise around the British Isles is not something that was ever even on my radar of things to do. However now after doing one I am already trying to find another European cruise for us to hop on, it was an incredible experience to say the least! Celebrity cruise line was voted the best European Cruise line in 2021 and I can see why.
I have always had a huge list of places I want to visit in life. When Andrew and I were in our mid-twenties we went with another couple and backpacked around Europe. It is actually what started this entire blog. I started off wanting to be a travel blogger but that’s not exactly how things ended up. Now, whenever I travel I always love to do a blog post with a full recap. I truly enjoy sharing our experiences and find them very helpful. Prior to going on this trip I was on Pinterest looking for a British Isle cruise blog post. I hope you find this helpful and enjoy the read!
PACKING
Packing was a curveball. When I say it was all over the place I mean it. We went from Northern Ireland (cold and rainy) to the South coast of England (beautiful 80’s and sunshine). I packed a little of everything and hoped for the best. Will share what I wore in each place throughout this post. Starting from the top my goal was to pack ALL my toiletries in my carry on. I was convinced my bags were going to get lost and then how in the world would we get them when we were on a boat in the ocean. I used this bag and my L&L bag for my carry on. This Logan and Lenora one is 100% washable, it’s very large and could fit everything I needed inside. Next, I purchased this luggage, which has a lifetime guarantee. I have gone through 2 large bags in the past two months and was sick of them breaking, tried this one out and really am impressed with the quality.
PACKING MUST HAVES:
Mini umbrella
Cross body bag
Water resistant booties
Warm socks
Rain coat
Warm coat
Card holder
Portable charger
Good sunglasses
Mix of warm and cool weather clothes
Mix of dress and casual for dinners
Bathing suit
Workout and travel clothes
We flew Virgin Atlantic and the service was excellent. We got on the flight at 7:30 pm EST and arrived in England at 8:00. Running on VERY little sleep we took a shuttle from the airport to the boat (about an hour) and boarded in Southampton, England. Once we got on the boat we wanted to get the lay of land (it was a massive ship). The cruise line was Celebrity Excellence Silhouette . I honestly can’t say enough good things about our experience, it was incredible!
Day 1 – At Sea
I get pretty seasick so I used these patches from Amazon and they worked well. The good part of this trip is we only had one day at sea, every other day we were on land and so there really wasn’t much time on the boat.
I took this day to wake up and do the breakfast buffet, workout and find a good reading spot. I met up with some of the girls. We loved this indoor atrium, The Solarium, on the boat it was warm, cozy but full of windows so you had the most amazing views while you read. We called it our “book club spot “by the end of the trip!
That night we had a formal dinner at Tuscan Grill. I would recommend the calamari and lasagna.
Day 2 – Edinburgh, Scotland
We got off the boat and did not have an excursion booked this day. We knew we wanted to take this day to get the lay of the land. We got train tickets from Greenock to Glasgow to Edinburgh Scotland. It was about an hour train ride each with beautiful countryside views. We ate at a local pub called The Standing Order. It looked like an old library that was completely redone into a restaurant. The fish and chips were amazing!
We got off the boat and did not have an excursion booked this day. We knew we wanted to take this day to get the lay of the land. We got train tickets from Greenock to Glasgow to Edinburgh Scotland. It was about an hour train ride each with beautiful countryside views. We ate at a local pub called The Standing Order. It looked like an old library that was completely redone into a restaurant. The fish and chips were amazing!
If we had had time we could have done the Department of Magic potion making, but our train left around 2:30 so we had to get back. Definitely on the list for next time.
OUTFIT
That night we did Sushi at Sushi on Five which was my personal favorite restaurant. Heads up you do have to pay for sushi, it is not included with dining. We ended the night with the sunset, honestly pretty magical first day.
Day 3 – County Antrim, (Northern Coast ) Ireland
This day we did a formal excursion to Giants Causeway. This is EXACTLY what I pictured Ireland to look like. I kept hearing the Outlander soundtrack in my head. It took about an hour to get to on bus and we had an hour to view it while there.
We then were dropped off at Ballycastle for lunch. HEADS UP – meals in Europe take a very long time. We only had an hour for lunch, which here would have been enough time. However, we had only gotten our drinks and appetizers before we had to leave. We had already placed our orders and paid but never got to eat because we had to get on the bus to go back. That was a bummer (the one hiccup of the trip). If you only have an hour, order drink and apps and pay because it will take the full hour just for that!
We came back and had a little extra time that day so we read “book club time” and went to dinner at Le Petit. It was a traditional French restaurant that has a virtual show on your table while you eat.
Day 4 – Liverpool, England
This day was a free for all day, no plans just exploring. I love a mix of structure and freedom on trips like this!
First stop was brunch at The Brunch and Cocktail Club. Everything we did was walking distance which was really nice! 10/10 would recommend this place. The atmosphere, and food were amazing.
We then walked around the Liverpool Cathedral and Gardens; then ended up at the Toxeth. It’s similar to our Ponce City Market. Very trendy, hipster atmosphere. I feel like at night it is crowded but in the day, we had it to ourselves which was pretty amazing. We went to the Peaky Blinders Pub and did some shopping at a local market. We had enough time to finish the day with The Wheel of Liverpool, some food trucks and of course iconic Beatles pictures!
That night we ate in the main dining room (which is totally paid for already) and let me tell you it was SO GOOD. We never went to another restaurant besides this for dinner the rest of the time.
OUTFIT
Day 5 – Cork,Ireland
This was a slower morning which was pretty nice. I got to enjoy the balcony and room service, the coffee was wonderful. Pro tip – order room service. It is included and allows you to start your mornings slower! This was another day we had an excursion for the first half of the day. Try to get on a bus that leaves early because the line to kiss the Blarney castle rock was long. The drive to the castle wasn’t too bad and we got to learn a lot about the history on the way. We only had an hour and a half to get there and back and were cutting it pretty close but kissed the rock and ran/jogged back to the bus.
What was nice about the excursion in the AM was we got to explore the coast line the rest of the afternoon. At this point in the trip we are getting more south so the weather was beautiful! We got fish and chips again at Club Café & Grill. These were my favorite fish and chips of the trip and I really don’t like fried fish so that’s saying a lot.
We sat on the back of the boat before dinner and enjoyed the view, did some reading. It was really peaceful and ended the night with a group dinner in the dining room again and watched the sunset! That night they had lobster tails and it was sooo yummy.
Day 6 – Guernsey, England
This was our last stop and it came out of left field for me. We woke up with no plans and thought maybe we would just stay on the boat. The second I opened the curtains I knew we had to go! Pro Tip: you have to take a short ferry boat to get to the island. Go early and grab your tickets and then go get breakfast. The line for the ferry gets long, by the time you’re done with breakfast it will be your turn to go and you won’t have to wait as long!
We got there around lunch time and knew we had to enjoy the beautiful weather. It had a very nautical vibe and there were literal flowers EVERYWHERE. Someone in their government department is in charge of making sure the flowers are always beautiful and watered…..amazing right! We wanted a roof top café and ended up at The Terrace Garden Café, another 10/10 situation. I got this wrap I could have eaten everyday, it was incredible. The music, the atmosphere, the weather all could not have been better. We did some shopping and got ice cream before heading back to the boat. We ended the trip with a big dinner with lots of friends, and laughter.
Truly I started off not wanting to go, so nervous to leave the girls that long. But I cannot recommend it enough. It is so easy, and stress free I actually couldn’t believe how much fun we had. I can’t wait to do it again!
Thanks for reading!
