Traveling to Amsterdam, Cork and Belfast Ireland, Lock Ness and Glasgow- Scotland, Wales and England (Liverpool)

[Alan Edward Klein]

My wife and I are considering an ocean cruise to these places in mid June this year. Weather conditions? Photography? Recommendations? We'll stay three days in Amsterdam before the cruise.

 

[koraks]

Sounds nice, have fun. Plenty of museums in Amsterdam to visit during your stay there. There's FOAM and "Huis Marseille" in particular if you're looking for photography-related museums. Both are worthwhile, and at walking distance from one another. You'll probably want to visit the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum as well.

I'm kind of surprised that the cruise will include Glasgow and not Edinburgh. The latter is the nicer city of the two to visit for a couple of hours IMO (apologies to any Glasgowegians!)

 

[Sirius Glass]

You should visit the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House.

 

[Tel]

Interesting destinations—you’re skipping many of the places tourists like to go (Dublin, Edinburgh, London, the Ring of Kerry, etc.) But the places you’ll be going are interesting and photogenic in their own right. Belfast used to be a wealthy shipbuilding city and there are remnants of that glory that survived the Troubles. I kind of like the southern parts out by Queen’s University and the coastal towns in Antrim, but the truth about NI and the coastal regions around Cork and Kinsale is that you can point your camera practically anywhere and get a good photo. It’s been a while since I was in Cork and environs so the city is no doubt changed, but again it’s got history and that makes for good subject matter. Ditto for Liverpool and Glasgow.

You’ll definitely get wet. It often rains nearly every day in the septic isles, but it rarely rains all day. Whatever you get in the morning will likely have changed by evening, so bring a waterproof jacket and camera bag and you’ll be fine. Some of the scenery is stunning but for my money, the people are more interesting. What are you expecting/hoping to find? And what gear are you taking?

 

[Bushcat]

I'm kind of surprised that the cruise will include Glasgow and not Edinburgh.

One heck of a detour, unless you plan on dragging the boat overland a la Diolkos.

 

[koraks]

One heck of a detour, unless you plan on dragging the boat overland a la Diolkos.

I (probably wrongly) assumed the cruise departed from Amsterdam and then would take them past the Shetlands and the Hebrides.

 

[Bushcat]

Actually, you're right: it does return to Amsterdam down the North Sea. But I still like my idea of dragging the ship overland.

 

[koraks]

But I still like my idea of dragging the ship overland.

Definitely - all passengers should disembark, will be split into two groups, long poles will be thrust through dedicated slots in the bow of the ship and then they'll do a portage together! Over the M8 from Glasgow to Edinburgh should take them no more than a week, give or take a few days.

 

[MattKing]

Sounds like Werner Herzog might be involved:

 

[Ian Grant]

There are going to be coach trips from the cruise ship into the cities, and Loch Ness. My wife worked on a few 10 day coach tours around the UK, and Ireland, it was all Turkish tourists, 2 nights in Glasgow and a coach trip around Edinburg then a few hours spare time in the city before going back to Glasgow. The North Sea & the Irish Sea can be quite rough if the weathers bad.

Aside from Loch Ness you are really only going to visit cities, so that limits photographic opportunities. Cruise ship use airport style scanners which you o though every time you board the ship.

Personally I'd fly over and hire a car, you very quickly get used to driving on the different side of the road. Early June before the school holidays accommodation is still reasonable prices, you can't go far wrong with Premiere Inns, and they are all over the UK and Ireland, but there are plenty of other choices, depending on your budget.

Ian

 

[RalphLambrecht]

My wife and I are considering an ocean cruise to these places in mid June this year. Weather conditions? Photography? Recommendations? We'll stay three days in Amsterdam before the cruise.

At the shore of Loch Ness is a hotel with a parking lot overlooking the lake; it is very convenient to shoot from, but watch it, the hotel owner watches it like a hawk and gets on anybody's case who takespictures without being a guest or having his permission. However, he knows nothing of photography, and playing with my camera gave me enough time to take my shots anyway.

 

[Sirius Glass]

While in Loch Ness, one can enhance that ability of see Nessie by imbibing a large volume of Scotch.

 

[MattKing]

Moderator's note - this thread changed greatly when @Alan Edward Klein posted that he and his wife changed their plans and switched to Mediterranean destinations.
I have split off posts about those new entirely different destinations to a new thread, found here: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...ple-of-greek-isles-barcelona-and-rome.212477/
I believe this is the purest example of radical thread drift this moderator has ever seen!
And hope that when Alan actually does travel, that the cruise ship doesn't drift near as much