The Royal Yacht Britannia — Attraction in City of Edinburgh

The Tour, was professionally done and gave a great insight into life onboard Britannia ,also how they lived, entertained and relaxed whilst visiting the many countries, How they managed to cope with the many staff and living quarters. That were available very cramped. The Tour starts on the upper deck, turning left into the wheelhouse/ Bridge area, when you board, even though there is no wheel it was actually steered below deck, via command's, given by the captain while sitting on an old wooden chair, looking out at sea, the original wheel for steering the Britannia, is actually located in the exhibition area on land before you board the royal yacht. Before the tour starts, you are handed a cordless telephone device and while moving through certain parts of the yacht, you are prompted to press the number on the device which corosponds with the area you are in marked visible on the walls, moving from the front of the Britannia to the stern with a talk through explanation of the area you've entered into, certain areas of Britannia, is showing its age and had areas on the deck levels next to the lifeboats, showing signs of rust, which is purely an ongoing maintenance job for the restoration team as it is open to the elements of nature. We found it clever how you were guided and promted to move to the next level down via the handheld device. To do this you had to leave Britannia, going back on land to the staircase at which you started, here there is also a lift option to assist you to the next level down. In summary and not to spoil the tour, let you finding out for yourself when you visit Britannia. When you purchase your online tickets for the specific time slots of the tour you also get free parking in the ocean complex. There is many food and drink options in the ocean complex and has a frequently running tram service outside, which is good if you are actually staying in the city of Edinburgh or need to travel to the airport. There are many hotel's nearby, wine bars, also high class hotels, such as the Fingal and ocean mist. We would definitely recommend to visit Lieth and experience the tour of Britannia, it was actually much better than we expected for the price of the tickets,...

Myself and my partner for Valentine's decided to venture to the Royal yacht as it's something we both had been looking to do. What a beautiful yacht! And I can tell it would have been of magnificent majesties in its prime.

I was sadly let down by its dilapidated state, very dirty and dusty. Now, I appreciate the elements play a factor in some mild debris but to this degree on the Royal yacht! Is unsavory to me.

It's a self-served tour where you are given a handheld to walk around with to hear information about the yacht however, 70%-80% of the yacht is off limits, locked and "do not enter" signs displayed. I appreciate for the preservation of the yacht that glass peep areas into rooms are essential however I'd have liked a more "free roam" feel to it with 70-80% available to see and embrace.

The yacht is old, but beautiful nevertheless. A real step back in history with a lovely sweet shop inside.

The tearoom was a huge let down and extortion came to mind. I didn't even take a photo of the scone and coffee I ordered as it was quite frankly, pathetic. For £5 or close too, you get a tiny tea cup size of latte!! Half of it was froth to add to the blow. The cheese scone was average, I've had better from my local coffee shop so to charge me again £5-£6 for A scone! Was unbelievable when I could get better from M&S for £1.70. if the quality was superior, or above average then id understand but it wasn't. It's one thing covering overheads but it's another taking advantage of guests. I saw a few walking out probably due to it being £20!!!!! For a sandwich and soup.

If I have any advice for the tea room in particular, it's to charge fairly for the quality you provide or get better menu items and produce.

I won't return or recommend the Royal yacht sadly and look forward to visiting it's...

Well worth a visit. We were staying relatively nearby but took the tram to the Ocean Terminal stop, very convenient and the stop is right outside the shopping centre entrance. Go through the centre and the way to the Yacht is clearly signed. We had prebooked, and once our tickets were checked we were given instructions on the included electronic audio guide and how to start our tour. All very straightforward and easy. I had never realised how large the Yacht was. There is a lift tower next to it for guests to travel up and down from the ground to the 3rd level, and you take this to start at the top and work your way down. The audio guide was excellent. Factual and to the point, unlike some guides which seem to insist of lots of dramatic sections when all I want to do is to be given information and facts. Whether you are a fan of the Royal Family or not, this tour is something worth doing, from seeing how the sailors lived on board and operated the vessels, to how the Royal Family made use of the Yacht for themselves and for entertaining dignitaries, including presidents. We spent a lot longer than I had anticipated. The tour route is well organised. There are some staff on hand if required, and everything is well presented and cared for. We finished by going to the tea room. It is waited service and you may have to queue at busy times, but the prices are not unreasonable, not a lot different to cafes at other attractions. Scones and cream for us, plus hot drinks.

There is a lot of demolition and building work going on at the surrounding buildings, I understand there will be a purpose build visitor centre once the work is completed and, if it is done to the same standard as the existing tour, it should be an...