Sunday In Belfast

Mural on side of Protestant Home

Don and Judi and Bushmills Distillery

This morning 13 of us from Cruise Critic met for a tour of Belfast. There was light rain, but not too cold. We drove north along the Irish Sea coast toward the Giant Causeway. The scenery was nice, again lots of green fields, sheep and cattle. In places we could make out the coast line of Scotland. There were many seaside villages and they were all quaint and beautifully laid out. The style for the Presbyterian churches was established here. They started with the tall steeples, but the Vikings quickly figured out that there was gold in them there churches and raided and blundered them. So the Presbyterians started building their churches with fortress type roof line and the Vikings stayed away. Because of persecution in England some Scotsmen came to Ireland and not being treated well moved on the US. These people were known and Scotch Irish.
Our first stop after reaching the northland was Bushmills Distillery, which was high on most everybody’s list. The tour was very interesting. The Bushmills whiskey is distilled 3 times compared to 2 times for Scotch and once for Bourbon. The water is from the local Bushmills creek. Nothing is wasted as the waste products are made into feed for cattle and pigs. I must say that the hot Toddy that I had was very good and I have the recipe for it.
Leaving there we went over to the Giant Causeway. It is rumored that a giant used this to either look for a mate or to step over to Scotland and fight another giant. It is something to see once and then say you have been there.
Leaving causeway we headed back to Belfast and a short tour of the troubled area of the city. We saw the wall separating the Catholics and Protestants, also the flags and murals that are painted on the side of buildings. They say there hope is in the children, but there are still a lot of flags flying on both sides.
Getting back to the ship, it was time for dinner and a show. A full day, but interesting.

Saturday in Glasgow

It was windy on the crossing to Glasgow last night, but once we got close to the harbor the winds died to about 6 knots.
Joe Mooch had arranged a tour with Gordon Ross for the Highlands and Rob Roy country. Anyone wanting a good guide in Scotland should contact Mr. Ross. He is the best we have had in a long time, very knowledgeable and funny.
We left Glasgow and headed for Loc Lomond. We stopped at a quaint little village on the Loc. It had some of the prettiest flower gardens and flower boxes you would want to see. In the Highlands you see a lot of sheep and cattle. The sheep are black faced and the cattle are the special Scottish cattle with the beards and long hair. The country side is beautiful with lots of trees, green grass and spectacular rock formations. Rob Roy McGregor ruled this country side, not by law, but by force. He was judged an outlaw and so was his kin, but he really was trying to get back at the Lord of Montrose for cheating him out of his land and cattle.
We visited Stirling Castle, which has the largest surviving Banquet hall and the Chapel Royal where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned as a girl of 9 months. We also visited Doune Castle, where we purchased an Explorer Pass to enter all the historic venues. Doune is just a shell, but very impressive. We passed other ruins but did not stop.
The Highlands are very interesting and the stories Gordon told were fascinating. Especially the Fairies of the Highlands. They believed that fairies stole children and replaced them with children with infirmaries. They build their houses with a stone sticking out near the roof line for the witches to rest on. This country was very superstitious and I am not sure that they are not still that way.
We ran from 8:15 until 6:15 and when we got back to the ship we were too tired to go eat, so we just had room service, and a hot bath.

Friday in Liverpool

The Crown in Liverpool

We made it into Liverpool about 4 hours late after we were able to get off the dock at Dublin. It is hard to believe that the winds were strong enough to keep the ship dockside. It is a huge ship and very powerful but even two really big tugs couldn’t help us move. The winds blew all night and are still blowing. The Captain did a great job of docking here with the gale force winds blowing.
After breakfast this morning we decided to skip the Hop on Hop off bus and walk up the harbor to Albert’s dock. We had a somewhat difficult time with the wind. It blew my hair all around. Ha, Ha. We went to the Maritime museum which was very interesting. It had models and stories about the Titanic, the Lusitania and the maritime story of World War 2. They told the story of the Merchant Marines, the German U-Boats; they also covered the pursuit of the Bismarck battleship. All very well done and of great interest to me.
After leaving the museum we stopped for lunch and then some local sightseeing. The buildings along the wharf are quite interesting, but because of the wind we headed back to the ship early.
Judi had a hair cut after we got back, and said it was better than the one she got before she left KC.
Aftr dinner we attended the show in the theater, which was very good. The singer was Eva Sheratt, who I had not heard of but her range of music was very impressive. If you get a chance to hear her I highly recommend it.
As you can see it was a laid back day, mainly due to the gale force winds outside.
We sail for Greenock around 7:00 PM. I think we will need a tugs help to get off the dock again.

Thursday in Dublin

Sunset out of Cork Moley McGee Memorial to immigrants leaving Ireland

Yesterday in Cork we took umbrellas and jackets, today we took neither as the forecast was suppose to be partly cloudy and fairly warm. Wrong. There was light rain early on our ride into the city and then cool and windy the rest of the day.
We had a great bus driver going into the city to pick up our Hop on Hop off bus. He said that he was not a tour guide, so don’t report him. Well our tour guide should have been a bus driver and our bus driver should have been a tour guide.
He pointed out many sites and had good commentary to go along with them. We drove along the river Liffey where the sailing ships left from to bring the Irish to the USA. There was a replica of one of the ships on the river and I am amazed at the conditions they must have lived under to cross the Atlantic. The river is a tidal river, so it fills and drains with the tides. If and when the sun shines and the tide is out the river has and odor. The Irish love rhymes and they call this Sniffey Liffey.
We drove past the monuments to the poor people who fled Ireland during the famine. It is a very moving and sad monument. The sad thing is they did not have to starve. The blight left a dark spot on the potatoes and they could have cut that part off and eaten the rest. However being uneducated and superstitious they thought the whole potato was poisoned and they threw them away.
We also drove pass the statue of Molly McGee. She sold fish during the day and supplemented her income with the sale of other “goods” at night. Again the Irish have a rhyme. They call her the Dish with the Fish, or the Tart with the Cart.
We took the Hop on Hop off for the tour of the city. Basically it is a big city and that is about all I have to say about Dublin. We ate at an Irish pub called O’Neil’s. If you are ever in Dublin we highly recommend it. The food was good, too much. Judi’s Fish and Chips was delicious, but it was the size of a small whale. I had Irish stew and there was enough to feed a family. The portions that our friends had of other dishes were the same. Of course we had to have some Irish beer to wash it down. Even Judi had a beer. The Pub was typical old Irish pub, lots of dark wood and dim lighting and very friendly people. Along with that, let me say that the people we have me in Ireland are very friendly and helpful.
Back on ship we had dinner and watched as the tugs pulled and the ship shook as we tried to leave Dublin docks. To make a long story short, we didn’t. The wind was 35 knots and 90 degrees to the boat. Too much pressure on this big ship to move away from the docks. Then we missed the tide, so we will be here until at least 2:45 tomorrow morning.

Wed. in Cork

Cork along the riverLee

Blarney Castle

Last night we had a little rock and roll, without the music. It rocked me to sleep, but Judi tried to help Cork, actually it was Cobh, pronounced Cobe. This is the port serving Cork and southern Ireland.
The weather was misty and cool. We had our breakfast in our room, so we could get to our buses on time. We loaded up and headed for Blarney Castle. It rained the whole time we were there. We were with friends and the 4 of us decided that going up those steep steps, lying on our backs with someone holding our feet and kissing the Blarney stone was not in our plans. We walked around the castle, over to Blarney house and then through some gardens. We headed back to the Woolen Mill to look at some goods and souvenirs.
Leaving Blarney Castle¸ we drove through the country side. The farms are beautiful and well maintained. The roads are narrow and they drive on the wrong side of the road. Sometimes when we met another bus or big truck, one of us had to stop and pull on to what shoulder there was and let the other vehicle pass.
We went to the village of Kinsale and had lunch. I had seafood chowder which was very good. However although they have a brewery in the town, they only had Bud and Heinekens beer.
After leaving there we went back to Cork to visit another Cathedral. We have seen about all of those we care for, for awhile.
Leaving the Cathedral we proceeded back the Crown. Judi went to have her nails done and I took a nice relaxing bath and got ready for dinner. We decided to eat in the Horizon buffet. Probably will not do that again. As the sun was setting we had the most beautiful sunset. We set on the deck, had some Bailey and coffee and just relaxed and enjoyed it.
We are on our way to Dublin and the Captain just announced that it may be another rock and roll night.

Tuesday in Guernsey

St. Peters Port, Guernsey

We arrived in St. Peters Port, on the Isle of Guernsey around 7:00 AM. We had smooth sailing coming from Southampton. The weather is beautiful today. Clear, warm and a slight wind.
Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands and is independent of both France and England and as such is an Off Shore banking location. There is evidence of lots of money by the fact of expensive boats in the marina and expensive homes.
We had breakfast and then caught the tender into St. Peters Port. On the way we met Bob and Betty and we went looking for the bus around the Island. Instead we decided to take a 3 hour tour of the island. Our driver and guide was from the island and gave us a very good tour. The country side is beautiful and the roads are narrow. We went to the Little Chapel, built by a local priest. It started as a model chapel and grew into a small Chapel. The Bishop was invited from England to bless it. When he arrived it was found that he was a little too rotund to enter. The priest tore down the Chapel and made it larger. It is now called the Little Chapel.
We continued on to the coast and saw many of the coastal defenses the Germans set up during WW2.
We returned to the ship and had a meet and greet for our CC group.
Tonight was Formal night, so Judi and I got dolled up for dinner. The food was good.
It looks like we are headed into stormy weather this week.

Monday Getting underway

No pictures today. I did not have time to take any of the ship and the views of Southampton were not too great.
We had breakfast at the hotel and met Heiner (Bob and Betty). For those of you that this does not make sense to, this is a blog name for Bob and Betty from our Cruise Critic Blog. At breakfast it was decided to share a van to Southampton. We left at 11:15 and were on board by 12:30. Check-in was very easy and well organized. Our cabin is great and we are going to enjoy it a lot.
We met Bob and Betty for lunch in the Horizon Court. A large choice of food was available. The Life Jacket drill was at 4:15 PM. This drill was the easiest that we have done. Sit in the lounge and listen to the Captain and let the crew members demonstrate the procedure.
They messed up our table request. They had us at a table for 2 and we had requested a table for 6. The Maitre d was helpful and placed us at a table for 6. A couple from Vancouver, BC and a young couple form Denver. I feel sorry for them and hope they can find a table with people their own age. Not that we did not enjoy them, but they seemed a little uncomfortable, being with 4 old fogeys.
Some of the meal was very good and other parts were ok. I ordered the prime rib and Judi says I should not compare being from KC, but it left a little to be desired. Judi had a pasta dish which she enjoyed very much. Of course desert was good.
We went to the opening show, it was not especially exciting, but the ventriloquist was pretty good. After the show we worked our way back to the cabin and finished straighting up. Ordered some coffee and opened the bottle of Baileys, we smuggled on board, to add to it.
We are now reading some of the literature that you end up with and then it is off to bed. Tomorrow is Formal night and the Captain’s Champaign waterfall party.
Tomorrow we are on the Isle of Guernsey No tour planned, just looking around and maybe a bus ride. When we return to the ship we have a CC meet and greet.

Sunday in London

The Queen's Guard Band Bubble on the Eye The London Eye

Today we slept in a little. Up for breakfast and then out the door for a walk down to Westminster wharf. On the way we stopped to check out the Queen’s Guard Mews. The band was forming to begin the changing of the guard ceremony. After watching them play and begin their march we continued on our walk. Reaching the wharf we boarded a river boat and rode it over to the London Eye.
Judi finally talked me into riding this big Ferris wheel. It is about 410 feet high and never stops. Never stopping is a good thing. It takes about 30 minutes to make a full revolution. You get on the bubble, which holds 28 people, as it passes where you are standing. The movement is very smooth and the view is incredible. The pictures I took did not come out too well, what with shooting through the glass and some haze in the area. When you are getting off you just walk off as it is moving, then security comes on and checks the bubble for anything that should not be there. A note for those of you planning a trip on Eye. Do the fast track ticket for the ride, otherwise you will be in line forever.
After the Eye we got back on a river boat and rode it round trip to Greenwich. When we were at Greenwich we saw the observatory where Greenwich Mean Time is kept. Along the way we passed London Bridge and London Tower where the bad guys and gals lost their heads. If they really didn’t like them, they put their heads on a spike and placed it on the Tower Bridge for all to see. We saw the New London Bridge as the old one is in Arizona. The round trip took about 2 hours. The commentary from the guide on board was quite interesting. A piece of trivia, the word wharf is an acronym for warehouse at rivers front. A lot of the old warehouses have been converted into condos. These little gems start at around 1.5 million pounds.
Returning to Westminster pier we took a taxi back to the hotel to freshen up. We were both tired and hungry as we had not eaten since breakfast. So off to a pub for fish and chips again. For those coming to London and saying near the Palace, I recommend Shakespeare pub. No relation William.
The weather yesterday was outstanding. Temperature in the high 70, few clouds and a nice breeze.
Monday we put our bags in a car and head for the Crown. London has been a great adventure and now we are looking forward to the next one.

Saturday in London

British Parliament and Harrods

Wow what a day.
We are working on resetting our body clocks. To bed at 10:30 last night, awake at 3, back to sleep by 4 and then up about 8:30. We had a nice breakfast here at the hotel and then caught a bus up to Marble Arch. I was looking for a camera shop, as I forgot one of my lenses for the camera. We were told that we would find one on Oxford Street. (The longest shopping street in Europe). There are 22 shoe stores for the ladies and ONE pub for the gents. So to make a long story short we did find a camera store. The kicker is we walked almost the whole length of Oxford Street to find one. Judi was also able to make a small purchase while making the walk. After purchasing the lens we got back on the bus and rode it to Harrods where we had lunch. Walked through Harrods for a few minutes and then caught a bus back to Westminster to visit the Churchill War Museum. The museum is very interesting and anyone interested in WW Two, will enjoy the history.
The bus we refer to is a hop on hop off tourist bus with either a guide or a recorded commentary about the area you are passing.
Judi commented that very few people in London speak English. This seems to be true as we heard a lot of foreign tongue which indicates that London is a very cosmopolitan City.
This evening we had a “carvary” dinner - Prime rib. We had some wonderful wine to go with it. The deserts were decadent, but we ate them any way. The Chef went all out to prepare a wonderful meal. The service was outstanding; they were always there but were not obtrusive.
After dinner we shared a cab to the Lyceum Theater with a British couple from Portsmouth. The lady was celebrating her birthday.
Seeing the Lion King in London was special the voices, the scenery, the costumes, the whole production was outstanding. We had excellent seats in the first balcony 5 rows back from the railing. After the show we caught a taxi back to the hotel where I started this day’s blog. The computer acted up last night and so you are getting this a little late. I was too tired to fix it then, so now it is done.
The weather was great Saturday. Mostly clear skies, temperature in the low 70’s and a light south wind.

Friday in London

Big Ben and the London Eye.

We arrived in London right on schedule. The flight was very nice and United treated us very well. Flying business class is the only way to fly!!
We were picked up at the airport and driven straight to the hotel. (Rubens at the Palace) After checking in we went up the street to the changing of the guards. Interesting with a lot of pomp and circumstance. A big crowd but pushy. We were there about an hour and half early and got by the fence. So we had a pretty good view and I got some great pictures.
After leaving the palace we grabed a sandwich at a near-by pub. We walked down to Westminister Abbey and saw the sites. Large crowd there. Our driver had told us that tourism was down this year, but we did not see it today. After leaving the Abbey we walked down to Parliament and Big Ben.
We caught a double decker sight seeing bus and sat on the second level while touring part of the city. St. Pauls Cathederal, Fleet Street, West End,(Theater District) past the Eye, Parliament again and then got off at our hotel. Time for a nap.
After the nap and cleaning up we ventured out again and found a pub and had some Fish and Chips, along with a pint.
The weather was nice today, a lite drizzle this afternoon but it cleared off quickly. The temperature reached 70 degrees this afternoon.
Well it is time to hit the hay. More to see tomorrow.

Thursday Mid Day

It is 2:30 PM and we are in Chicago sitting in the lounge having a coffee and Baileys while waiting for our 6:00 PM flight to London.
Judi did very well on the first leg. She helped the pilot and we got here safely.
Some of our travel mates ae getting upgrade to better cabins, which makes everyone happy.
Hopefully we will get off on time and it will be a smooth flight.
More from London.

Wednesday Evening

Judi and I are all packed and a friend is picking us up in the morning to take us to the airport. We fly from KC to Chicago and then on to London. The early evening has been spent trying to figure out what we forgot. LOL Oh well we will remember what it is when we get to London. Another CC member is flying out of Chicago on the same flight. We will try and hook up with her before we leave O' Hare. The flight is late tonight, hope it is on time tomorrow.
THE ADVENTURE BEGINS.

A View of our Cabin on the Crown Princess A-751

This is a view of the stern of the Crown Princess. Our cabin is A-751, which is the 2nd one from the right on the top deck.
We both enjoy having a wake cabin. There is not much hall traffic and it is great place to be leaving a port.