New Cruise Terminal for Edinburgh

I saw a really interesting article the other day about a new proposed cruise terminal for Edinburgh. This caught my eye as its just down the road from me.

We already have 3 ports that the ships come into that you have probably heard of before so where is this new one that is being talked about?

There is talk from locals that the former Cockenzie power station site could be turned into a new cruise terminal offering easy access to East Lothian and Edinburgh City. Its in an area known as Prestonpans although the locals call it the Pans! Its a town on the outskirts of Edinburgh but offers easy access to the city centre.

Does Edinburgh need a new cruise terminal? Im not sure to be honest having 3 already I think we are doing Ok however it would be nice to see some larger cruise ships and if the new cruise terminal has more space and facilites for the bigger ships then yes I think its a great idea. I know already the time it takes to get off a large ship when there is only a tender availble. I heard there were riots on the NCL Jade late last year as it took so long to get everyone off. The only positive was that the ship docked at Newhaven Harbour so very central. Imagine if it took an hour to get off the ship and another hour to get into Edinburgh.

The closest to the city centre is Port of Leith (also sometimes known as Newhaven)  This is in the city centre and from here it’s really easy to get around. Edinburgh has a fantastic bus service and it will cost you only £4.00 for a day ticket on the local bus you could use the local bus service to get you to the National Museum of Scotland FREE to get in, Botanical gardens FREE to get in and Holyrood park or Arthurs seat as its locally known.

Next we have South Queensferry this is around a 20 minute drive from the centre of Edinburgh a taxi will cost around £20. On days when the ships are in a local company often provides a shuttle service into Edinburgh for around £10 per person. There is a local first bus service from South Queensferry to Edinburgh which departs every 25 minutes and will only cost £5.10 per person for a day ticket. If you don’t fancy travelling far then stay in South Queensferry it is a very pleasant place on the southern shore of the gaping Firth of Forth. The two huge bridges that traverse the Forth to Fife dominate the town.

Then onto Rosyth this is the furthest port from Edinburgh a bit naughty to say it’s in Edinburgh in my opinion! It is across the Forth road bridge and a good 30 minute drive from Edinburgh on a good run. You can get a local bus service into Edinburgh or take a train from Inverkeithling which would be a quicker option than the bus.