Wildlife & Culture Of The Scenic Scottish Isles - S2409 Borealis departing 7 May 2024

Southampton offers fast and efficient check-in areas, spacious departure lounges with seating areas, café-bars and smart washrooms. If you wish to travel by car and park for the duration of your cruise, you can pay for and reserve parking in advance directly with the relevant company. Alternatively, if being dropped off or collected by taxi or private car, they can drive right up alongside the terminal building.

From beautiful coastlines to a fascinating industrial heritage, Belfast is a modern, vibrant and stylish city. Famous for being the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, Northern Ireland’s capital offers visitors the chance to visit the Harland and Wolff shipyard and the fascinating Titanic Experience. Only in Belfast can the Titanic story be traced to its source, and the excitement of an era when the city was at the height of its powers relived.

Close to Queen’s University lie the fascinating Botanical Gardens, established for over 180 years. The unique Palm House was one of the world’s first cast-iron glass-houses and displays a wide range of tropical plants, ranging from bananas to rubber. Alongside, the Renaissance-styled Ulster Museum tells Ireland’s 9,000-year history through art, ceramics, costume, and prehistoric archaeology. To the city’s northern edge is the impressive Belfast Castle, offering wonderful views of the city as it stands 120m above the Irish Sea.Show less
Belfast is also perfectly placed to discover the stunning Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland’s only UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site and an incredible natural wonder steeped in myths and legends.

Thanks to its sheltered location, Stornoway, on the island of Lewis and Harris, is the largest town of the Outer Hebrides islands of Scotland. The port offers a warm welcome to those visiting Lewis as part of their exploration of one of the UK’s remotest locations.

A stroll along the quay reveals local fishermen on traditional fleets landing the catch of the day, before shipping it to one the island’s amazing eateries. There is an unmistakeable odour of peat in the air as the smokehouses turn the seafood into island specialities.

Historic Lews Castle and the adjoining museum are key cultural centre for the islands’ heritage. An Lanntair Art Centre samples local arts and a good programme of art events, while a unique shopping experience awaits at the Harris Tweed Hebrides Outlet and Lewis Loom Centre, where traditional weaving methods can be discovered. Alternatively, a wander through the surrounding woods and a visit to the Woodland Centre can while away a pleasant hour or two.

Sturdy little Lerwick is the friendly capital of the 100 islands and islets of the Shetland Islands, northernmost outpost of the British Isles (located almost halfway between Scotland and Norway, to which they once belonged) – and setting of ancient archaeological sites, intriguing Viking echoes and, in more contemporary vein, the renowned Shetland knitwear!

Southampton offers fast and efficient check-in areas, spacious departure lounges with seating areas, café-bars and smart washrooms. If you wish to travel by car and park for the duration of your cruise, you can pay for and reserve parking in advance directly with the relevant company. Alternatively, if being dropped off or collected by taxi or private car, they can drive right up alongside the terminal building.