Tuesday July 14, 2026
I planned another HOHO bus here and after yesterday we hoped
today would go better. Belfast Hop On Hop
Off Bus Tour | *Belfast Open Top Bus Tour
The tourist board operates shuttle buses throughout the day,
which run back and forth from the cruise ship ports & Belfast town center.
($20.00pp and preserved through Princess)
We easily got on the shuttle, and it dropped us outside the
tourist office, facing Stop 1 @ Donegall Square West for the bus tour of
Belfast. There were quite a few employees guiding people to the various HOHO
buses.
My main focus here was to see the many Wall Murals, the Crumlin Road Jail and the Titanic Museum.
The Troubles were a 30-year violent conflict in Northern Ireland lasting from the late 1960s to 1998. The struggle was fought between Protestant unionists/loyalists who wanted to remain in the United Kingdom and Catholic nationalists/republicans who wanted a united Ireland. It ended with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. So, there are many murals reflecting the various points of view.
It was another live commentary HOHO and unfortunately, he was speaking so low we couldn’t hear him and he didn’t announce stops (like the bus yesterday) and would only let you off if you pressed the button. Buses didn’t automatically stop at stops if you wanted to reboard as you had to wave them down. Most HOHO’s we have done stop at all stops to let off and pick up or not.
The website said that if you didn’t have reservations for
the Crumlin Road Jail, going when they first opened possibly you could get in
without one. We rode the bus there directly and we were there before it was
supposed to be open and they were open already and only one other couple was
there and we got right in. It was self-guided and a very well-done museum. It
was laid out like you were the prisoner and a trial was held and you were convicted
and sentenced. Each cell was both visual and auditory and told a story of
different prisoners. (told in their own words) Even the helicopter outside was
playing sound to simulate one sitting there running. The hanging room had you
stand on the spot under the noose and simulated the sound of the floor opening up
under you. (a room you could bypass)
We thought it might be faster to walk back to the streets
with the murals than to ride the bus all the way around (since we passed all
those stops). That worked pretty well but it was lunch time and the restaurant
at the Jail was closed for a private function and the area with the murals had
only 1 small café with about 6 tables and it was packed. We walked for eons
trying to find a place. Everyone Google Maps took us to was no longer in
business. We finally got to a more populated area and stopped at the first
place we came to. John Long’s Fish & Chips. We walked in and the lady told
us to have a “wee sit”, and she would be right with us. We ordered 1 fish
dinner and 1 fish & chips and when they came out they looked the same. They
were different kinds of fish, but we had no idea which was which. Didn’t matter,
we were hungry and both were good.
While we were searching for food, we stopped at the Belfast
Peace Wall, Shankill Road & Loyalist Murals, Shankill Memorial Garden,
Queen Elizabeth Murals.
After lunch we walked to the International Wall Murals.
We still had time to visit the Titanic Museum but not time
to ride the bus all the way around to get there. We grabbed an UBER and had
plenty of time at the museum. It’s considered to be the best Titanic Museum,
and it was really crowded. They had it laid out in a timeline from being built
to sinking. From a shipyard ride, mockups of the staterooms (impossible to take
pictures through the glass) the sinking, and the first images of when it was
discovered on the ocean floor almost 75 years later.
We UBERED back to City Hall to walk around the park. Then we
realized that we couldn’t tell the cruise shuttle buses from the city buses as
they were the same. (the shuttle said “not in service”) We asked several people
and finally one guy said where to meet it and it was marked not in service. We
hadn’t seen one yet and when it came it did have Ship Shuttle on the front.
Phew!
We had a late dinner and planned on skipping the Show, which
was Magical Bones and checking out some of the other music venues on the ship. Not
much appealed so we figured we could pop in and see the last of the Magician,
but there wasn’t a seat left. So, we went back to the cabin and watched some of
the World Cup. Scott and I were texting each other since we were both watching.
It was a nail-biter! (Spain vs Argentina) All the games were broadcast on their Movies Under the Stars screen as well as inside at various locations and on TV in your room.
Tomorrow, we visit Glasgow.
Web Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vVeLU1CaLx2m38XC6
