The Royal Yacht Britannia Review
Reviewed by Debbie Douglas
The Royal Yacht Britannia is docked on the side of Ocean Terminal shopping centre in Leith, Edinburgh. It is really easily accessed by bus and a bus goes down here every 5 minutes. There is also a large multi-story car park which is free of charge so you can easily make a day of it. The centre has a cinema, great soft play and lots of shops and eating places.
The first thing you notice about your visit is the staff, not only are they immaculately presented in smart uniforms they are so friendly. Every single member of staff was kind, had time to speak to you and were genuinely interested in making sure you had a good time. My daughter who is six was called a princess by one of the members of staff and was floating on air. The exhibition is very well laid out so even before you set foot on the boat you feel you have learned some interesting facts about the Royal Family. Once you have passed through the initial exhibit you are shown how to use the telephone like contraptions to listen to information about each part of the boat. The great thing is that they have adult ones and children ones. My son had great delight in telling me things he was told on his earpiece that were not on mine. I think this is a great touch. The boat is accessed via stairs and ramps or there is a lift. The boat is spotless, it is kept in such pristine condition it is a credit to the staff who must work tirelessly to do this.
Moving on to the boat, the tour is well signposted which way to go and flows in one direction so even though it is very busy it never feels too crushed as the people are kept flowing through. Even if you are not a massive Royal Family fan it would be impossible not to be impressed by this boat. The layout, the décor and the history it must have seen make it totally fascinating. It is really well laid out inside with furniture and actual items that the Queen and her family have touched and used. There is a fantastic café on the boat too and even if you just go for a cup of tea I think it just makes your visit that little bit special and the views are stunning.
There is so much to see on the boat and we spent about 2 and half hours on it and could have spent longer. You get as long as you like to wander round and I cannot praise the staff highly enough. There are also toilet facilities at regular intervals; I do think they have thought of everything.
I think this is one of my all-time favourite places to go, we will definitely be back. There are not many places where all the family enjoy going but this is definitely in our top 3. We all absolutely loved it! We cannot recommend the Royal Yacht Britannia highly enough.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets: £8.50 (Child 5-17) / £15.50 (Adult) / £44.50 (Family 2 adults & up to 3 children)
For more information or to book tickets visit www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk.
The Royal Yacht Britannia, Ocean Drive, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6JJ | 0131 555 5566
