The Royal Yacht Britannia

This self-​guided tour was one of the highlights of my visit to Edinburgh. From the luxury of the salons, the dining room with it’s silver room and china room, to the fastidious engine room to the operating suite. One can go at your own pace. Photographs of the royals brought back lovely memories. I’ll be back in Edinburgh next summer and intend to return to soak up the great atmosphere once again!

It’s very clear why Britannia has a 5 star rating from VisitScotland. The tour is detailed, in loads of languages and easily signposted. The staff are attentive and the content is interesting. I’m not a huge Royals fan, but if you are, you’ll love the glimpses behind the scenes of their life on the sea. My favourite part however was counting the number of bars on board!

Being a lover of ships this was an amazing treat. Seeing where the Royal family spent a lot of their time when traveling abroad really gives you a personal perspective into their lives and the history of the British monarchy. The tour is self guided and you receive an audio guide in the language of your choice. The tour can get crowded at times and some of the small hallways below decks where the crew worked can be claustrophobic. It’s really half royal yacht and half military vessel as there were more than 200 sailors onboard.

Didn’t know what expect — have to say — a great tour of HM yacht. The audio guide led you through the entire well and gave informative details. The yacht is amazing. Absolutely go have afternoon tea in the restaurant — nice atmosphere and service is terrific

With such elegance it seemed strange to step on board this beautiful lady via the entrance of Debenhams. It costs £14 an adult and takes about 1 ½ hours with the use on an audio handset to explore the five decks. The audio headset is very well done with just enough information and pace to enjoy and follow in the footsteps of Sir Winston Churchill, Gandhi and the Royals.
The last time I saw her was in 2011 when she was moored in London before her decommission. I put it on my bucket list to go see her in Leith and take full advantage of going aboard this wonderful yacht, that served as a floating residence for 44 years for the Royal family.
I loved the State Drawing Room used as a place of relaxation, a favourite of Princess Diana. The style is elegance and grace with a country fill not ostentatious or overly regal.
If I remember correctly the first double bed to be placed aboard the yacht was for Charles and Diana’s honeymoon.
The Sun lounge favoured by the Queen was informal and the Royal family enjoyed breakfast and afternoon tea here. Relaxed atmosphere with a fully stocked cabinet of drinks it was my personal favourite on the yacht, stunning vista.
in the Royal Deck Team Room we enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea. The royal family enjoyed drinks receptions, sumptuous buffets or played deck games here previously. Chocolate Fudge cake and toffee cake was our order along with an iced Britannia coffee and green tea served in a sterling silver tea pot. The setting was immaculate with a grand piano and back ground music, delightful.
Christened and launched by the Queen on 16 April 1953 smashing a bottle of Empire wine and declared «I name this ship Britannia… I wish success to her and all who sail in her». What a treat to be able to walk in the Royal footsteps. xoxo

Certes excentré, la visite du Royal Britannia vaut la peine. Après 30 minutes de bus vous rentrerez dans un centre commercial pour accéder à l’entrée du ferry qui est amarré au port à côté.
Le service est très accueillant et vous pourrez bénéficier des 10% de réduction en montrant la promo disponible sur le site VisitScotland.
Pour 10£ vous aurez droit à la visite accompagné d’un guide audio très détaillé à travers les nombreux étages du bateau.
Certains pourront trouver décadent tant de richesse pour la famille royale, le Britannia reste cependant un monument à visiter.

This was far more entertaining and enjoyable than I was ready to give it credit. Worth the time.

Very nice place, superb view on the harbour. Service royal. My father had a champagne and my mother a white wine a Sauvignon if I remember well … they really enjoyed their drink. I don’t drink so I had a pot of tea with a piece of Carrot cake… very generous and delicious. Oh yeah before I forget… my tea have been served in a sterling silver tea set… I felt like a princess! You have to try the experience even if it is expensive … 27£ for the three of us! The service was more than excellent. Staff are very helpful and look happy to work there! I could be too!

Beautiful (former) royal yacht, definitely worth a visit.
The Royal Yacht Britannia (which was in use until a few years ago) is a superior tourist attraction in Edinburgh, located at the Ocean Terminal, a 20+ minute bus ride from the Royal Mile (no changes) — look for the big Debenhams to find the entrance. The yacht has been perfectly preserved, and as a visitor you will have access to every deck (if not the actual cabins, which are shielded by glass panes). To get the best out of your visit I definitely recommend the audio guide, which provides a lot of information not otherwise available in any form on the yacht itself.
The Britannia experience will indeed provide an accurate representation of what life must have been like for the Queen, her relatives and her staff on trips overseas — the yacht was in use for more than 40 years, traveling more than 1,000,000 miles. The change to another yacht is understandable, considering the quaintness of much of the furniture and décor. Which actually enhances your visit.
You can take photos anywhere on the yacht, which I consider a big plus. A visit doesn’t come cheap though — UKP 14.00 for an adult single ticket.
Opening times: January, February, March, November, December* 10.00am 3.30pm
April, May, June, July, August, September 9.30am 4.30pm
October 9.30am 4.00pm.

First and foremost the trust that looks after the yacht are to be congratulated on the way they have presented the experience, parking is easy and free, a short walk take you the reception, from there you have an interesting museum, pick up an audio guide. The tour starts on the bridge and goes through the living quarters, state rooms, crews quarters, hospital and kitchens, the engine room is a must it does not look as if it has done a million miles. Well worth a visit.

Interesting and fun attraction with quite a nice meal/​restaurant at the conclusion.

This was exceptional. The seemingly unlimited access to an historical artifact was a pleasant change. Often one can only view limited portions of an exhibit.
The audio handset (included with the admission price) was exceptionally helpful.
If you are in the area don’t miss this opportunity to see how the «other half» lived.

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of this ship yesterday. It is quite unfortunate that it is retired from service. It looks so well kept that it could probably return to service at any time!
Our first delight was the ease and accessibility that we could take our daughter through in her stroller and not have to carry her around. This allowed all if us the ability to enjoy the audio tour and many sites to be had on the boat. The staff are quite courteous and knowledgeable, willing to share other information and snap a family photo if asked.
Was a highlight of our trip to Edinburgh.

If you find yourself in Edinburgh and you don’t take time to your the Brittania, you truly are missing out on a treasure! This was the Queen’s Royal Yacht until 1997 when it was decided by the people of the UK that it was too expensive to run and was decommissioned. The Queen was pissed and heck! I don’t blame her. This is one fantastic yacht! They show you the royal apartments and the bedrooms including the one where Chuck and Di spent their honeymoon. They have a tea room inside and I highly recommend getting tea and a scone for the added bonus of having tea on the Queen’s Yacht! They serve a nice Edinburgh blend too! Definitely go here! Only £17 to enter and a giant gift shop!

The first thing you need to know is, that you need to walk into the shopping mall and go up to the 2^nd floor, to find the entrance for the yacht. Then first you have a small museum with history information and ship staff information, before you can enter this marvelous yacht.
We did spend 2,5 hours on the ship within a half hour of lunch in the restaurant on the top of the yacht. We took a wild mushroom soup and a sandwich with bacon and mustard. Both of the meals were absolutely delicious. The sandwich was gluten and dairy free. My soup was vegetarian.
On the ship you can use an audio guard, there are 15 languages you can choose for. And if you’re hard of hearing, there is a possibility to put a headset in the audio guard. If you’re deaf or hard of hearing they have the oral given information also in written languages (in books) also in 15 languages!!!
What you can see is: the sleeping rooms of the royal family; those for the staff and the guests. The other ships, the car on the ship, the marvelous dinning room where the staff need to spend over 3 hours to put every spoon, glass and chair completly the same and right.
In the yard is just to much to see, you definatly need to see it when you’re in town!

We arrived at 9:30 when it opened and we felt as if we had the place to ourselves. An informative audio guide is included with admission. Almost all parts of the yacht are open from state rooms to laundry to crew quarters to engine room. It took us about 1.5 hours to see everything. Afterward we went to the tea room and had tea, a slice of coffee pecan cake, and a slice of 12-​year-​old Glenfiddich whisky cake for 15£.
Several buses run from Princes Street to Ocean Terminal but the #22 is the most direct. You enter the Britannia from a lift in the Ocean Terminal mall.

The tour itself took between 2 – 3 hours (if you listen to everything). The fare includes the audio guide, which was very helpful and of a good quality content-​wise. The tea room should always be built into your itinerary. The food served was great and certainly a highlight of the tour. The Royal Yacht Britannia is docked beside the Terminus which itself is a very packed shopping centre.

Excellent Tour & very knowledgable staff. Considering the cost though, I’m sure they could buy a tin of varnish for the weathered deck…

Spent the afternoon on the Britannia doing the tour and sampling the food & drink in the Royal deck tea room. Definitely worth a visit!

Une visite du yatch de la reine
Excentré du centre ville, évitez d’y aller à pied, certains quartiers n’étant pas des plus surs, surtout que le site est bien desservi en bus.
Quand au bateau lui même, c’est joli, on peut même y prendre le thé mais c’est à mon gout sans intérêt, surtout qu’il n’y a pas grand chose d’autre à faire dans le coin (Ocean Terminal), si ce n’est du shopping dans l’énorme centre comercial.

You’ve got to love dear old Prince Philip haven’t you? Known for regularly making «innocent remarks taken out of context», usually about black or disabled people, and gruesomely butchering pheasants and foxes when his dodgy hip allows, he’s a shining example of all that is great about the monarchy. Lizzie and him used to take their holidays on this wonderful boat. Since you paid for each one of those holidays, and the boat itself, you’re now allowed to come on board since they’ve decided they don’t want it anymore.
That pretty much sums up the Royal Yacht. It’s basically a testament to the wonderfully lavish lives that the royals lead at the expense of you, me, and every other downtrodden taxpayer in the country.
The thought of Lizzie and Phil (with socks still on) going at it hammer and tongs in the state rooms made me feel a bit sick, so I didn’t dwell too much on the tour. Don’t think I missed all that much.

The Royal Yacht — there is no other way to put this — is a floating museum of the life of the Royals.
But dont stop reading now, because actually, the whole experience is a great one.
Not only will your admission fee get you on board this amazing piece of maritime engineering and treaure trove of Royal decadance that is berthed at Ocean Terminal (so it’s quite a way from the city centre — make a day of it), but the stories it tells are laid out like some form of amazing map of where this ship has taken its royal passangers and the reasons they went — ranging from holidays to diplomatic visits. Really, the history on board this ship is staggering — and as a bit of a history buff, thats my thing.
A great day out, and getting there couldnt be easier, even though it really is a bit out of the way.

Vous pouvez visiter le Yacht de la Famille Royale dans le port de Leith.
De la suite royale en passant par la salle des machine, la visite permet de découvrir à la fois la vie de la fammille royale et le fonctionnement général d’un bateau de ce type. c’est vraiment intéressant. Un petit bémol cependant sur le prix, assez élevé, de la visite.

Yacht people
On peut embarquer sur le Britannia. Le yacht de prestige est désormais parfaitement aménagé en musée, ce qui permet de visiter un navire insolite, la visite est à la fois celle d’un site royal et d’un navire, et l’alternance entre les contingences du quotidien des marins et le luxe sans anicroches des souverains est assez étrange. Ce navire unique au monde est ainsi une visite insolite, une agréable promenade maritime et royale, une jolie parenthèse entre musées et balade dans la ville d’Edimbourg…