We awoke this morning to calmer seas, but gray and rainy skies, with a temperature of about 50 degrees. I guess we are getting closer to the British Isles, and this will probably be typical weather for a good portion of the trip. It ended up raining all day and into the evening, just a steady drizzle.
Large Chocolate Easter Egg Decorating Demonstration
After breakfast, we attended a demonstration on how the chef’s make the large decorated chocolate eggs that had been on display for Easter. It was very interesting to see and hear all of the different techniques used to make and assemble the eggs.
Real Chocolate Decorated Easter Eggs
The remainder of the day we spent going to a future cruise presentation, looking at items for sale in the atrium area, and watching the ocean pass by before going to our normal late afternoon hot tub session.
Afternoon Hot Tub Session by the Spa
We went to dinner and again had a great time with our wait staff, both for our table and the station next to ours. We enjoy talking to the staff and learning about their lives both on and off the ship.
We listened to music in the atrium, and then retired early, there was just not a lot going on this particular evening, and we were a bit tired from the previous night’s birthday celebration.
This morning, we were awakened by room service at 8:00 am. They brought me a small birthday cake, compliments of Princess. Earlier in the cruise, we had picked today day to celebrate my “belated” 50th birthday on the ship.
Early Morning Birthday Surprise Cake
Unbeknownst to me, Stephanie had called the Pursers Desk earlier in the cruise to let them know it was my “birthday”, but we were both surprised by the cake delivery, and for it being delivered at 8:00 am. I tried to convince the waiter he had the wrong room at first, thinking it was just someone’s breakfast being delivered. However, after I saw it was a cake, I realized it was for my birthday. We had planned on sleeping in today, but the cake was a nice, but early surprise. I went ahead and got up and walked to the buffet area for two coffees, to go.
It was another cloudy and foggy morning; the temperature was about 49 degrees. Throughout the day, it looked like it would clear up, but had not done so by 1:30 in the afternoon. The temperature did rise into the high 50’s, and it did not seem to be too chilly. The sun actually appeared briefly a couple of times. I guess we are getting more used to the lower temperatures, but we hope to once again see the sunshine.
We did a load of laundry, and then headed to one of the specialty restaurants for a “Pub Lunch”. The lunch was nice; they had several typical pub choices, fish and chips (which we had), bangers and mash, cottage pie, and another dish we had not heard of.
After lunch we went to a quiet lounge area to work on the blog. Tonight is the second formal night, the Captain’s Circle Reception, and my Birthday Celebration Day. Nice of Princess to go to all of that trouble just for me!
At 7:00 pm, we headed to the Captain’s Circle Reception, and ran into a couple we had met on Stephanie’s birthday, Ruthe and Brian. from Lakeland, FL. After the reception, Stephanie and I went to dinner, where it was lobster night. Of course, we ate too much (well I did), and then we had my birthday celebration with the dining staff. Once again, they did a great job helping us to celebrate, and I even got another small Birthday Cake.
Chuck Celebrates a Birthday with the Dining StaffFoil Swan “To Go” Container
Since we had some of the birthday cake left over, along with a few of the assorted sweets that had also brought out, we asked for a “to go” container. One of the nearby wait staff actually put it into a handmade foil swan. We had fun taking pictures with our new pet!
We caught up with Ruthe and Brian later on in the Explorer’s lounge, and then we all went up to the Skywalker’s Night Club, which is located in the very top and rear of the ship, giving it the appearance of a car spoiler.
We danced some and just had a fun night talking about things we have in common, and various different cruises and trips we have been on. We had a great time, just ended up staying up late, and we had another hour time loss again to make it even later. We are now 4 hours ahead of Eastern Time, with one more hour to go before we are on London time.
Today we woke up late from the previous nights birthday “celebrating”. The wind had picked up, but at least it was somewhat sunny. According to the noon weather report from the bridge, the winds today are blowing about 30-35 knots. However, the seas are not that bad. The water temperature is now at about 53 degrees, and today’s high is supposed to be in the low 50’s.
Gray, Cloudy Weather in the Atlantic
It is nice to have the glass covered pool on the Sun Deck, towards the middle of the ship, and also nice that it is no longer empty due to maintenance. It is a comfortable place to sit out of the cool and windy weather.
We walked around the ship and also played some cards in the afternoon before heading out to meet up with Ruthe and Brian in the Atrium area.
The Atlantic Ocean Slips By
We sat around chatting with them before Stephanie and I went for Vigil Mass at 5:30 in the Explorer’s Lounge. We then got back together with our friends for drinks before we all headed in to get ready for dinner.
After dinner, everyone met at the Explorer’s Lounge to listen to music. Later on, we all went to the Skywalker’s Nightclub for dancing.
As we are approaching Ireland and Scotland, we have seen more small ships and birds. Once again, it is somewhat cloudy and overcast, and of course, cooler as we continue to head North-Eastward to Scotland.
Seeing More Ships As We Approach the British Isles and Ireland
We went for lunch at the buffet, and walked around the atrium shops. In the afternoon, we attended a champagne art auction, where the ship’s navigation chart was auctioned off for charity for $500.
Relaxing on the Promenade Deck
We took it easy today, mostly resting for our first port of call tomorrow in Scotland, and knowing we still have one more hour to change on the clocks tonight. We realize it will be tough getting up early for the first day in a while, we were getting used to sleeping in. The ship is scheduled to dock in Greenock, Scotland tomorrow at 7:00 am, and with the time change, it will seem like 6:00 am to us. We certainly questioned the logic of making the last time change on the night before our port call instead of the night before, but since we are not in charge, will have to accept it. It means that not only do we have to get up early, we will also lose an hour of sleep at the same time.
Later in the afternoon, in the distance, we could see a lighthouse on the western coast of Ireland. It was the first land we had seen in six days since leaving Bermuda.
Irish Lighthouse – First Land Sighting In 6 Days
We went to a casual dress night dinner and turned in early. Tomorrow will be our first port of call, Greenock, Scotland. We will be getting up early to catch our trains for the trip into Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.
We arrived in the port of Greenock this morning, it was a long transit up the firth (river) from the ocean. It was also the first morning in a long time where we had sunny skies, although it was a little foggy during the early morning sunrise.
Foggy Sunrise in Greenock, Scotland
Foggy Sunrise in Greenock, Scotland
We were tied up at the pier by about 7:00 am, and we got off the ship at about 7:30.
We asked for directions to the Greenock Central Train Station from the wonderful port staff that had set up in a building to greet us and provide maps and directions of the various cities around Greenock. However, the first order of business was to find an ATM machine so we could get some British pounds sterling money for the train. It was about a 15 minute walk through town to the train station, and we passed by several ATM machines, one of which we used to get our money. Upon arrival at the station, we bought our return tickets (round trip) to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The trains connected through the city of Glasgow, where we actually had to walk to a different train station to make our connection.
There were signs to follow, but somewhere along the way, we took a wrong turn. We think one of the signs was turned slightly, and we thought it pointed in a different direction. Thank goodness we had a Glasgow city map, and we found that we had only gone a couple of blocks out of the way; we chalked that up as an unforeseen sightseeing trip in Glasgow. Once we got to the station we caught the train to Edinburgh, we had only lost about 15 minutes being on our extra sightseeing side trip, and missed just one train connection (the trains run every 15 minutes).
We traveled through some very beautiful countryside, where all of the grasses were growing, and the flowers were blooming for springtime. There were many herds of sheep, and there seemed to be an awful lot of baby sheep running around. In all, it was a pleasant train ride, taking us a little over two hours total from Greenock.
Once we figured out which exit to take from the train station, we were off to climb the hill to the Edinburgh Castle.
Heading Up To Edinburgh Castle
It was very pretty, with views of the entire city from the various vantage points, most of which were areas made for mounting cannons. We went through and saw the Scottish Crowned Jewels, and learned a lot about their interesting history. There were several museums and chapels in the castle, which we also toured.
Inside The Edinburgh Castle Walls
After spending a couple of hours there, we walked the street knows and the Royal Mile, which is lined with various shops, hotels, and restaurants. and the St. Giles Cathedral, which we toured.
Inside St. Giles Cathedral
We made our way back down the hill and walked through some of the beautiful gardens.
By that time, the temperature had warmed up considerably, and during the lunchtime hour, many of the locals were sitting on benches, the grass hills, and blankets. Apparently, it must have been one of their warmest spring days yet, probably in the mid 60’s, which was about 10 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year.
Chuck & Stephanie Enjoy a Spring Day in Edinburgh, Scotland
We then walked back to the train station for the return trip to Glasgow, again having to make a station change for our connection back to Greenock. This time, we actually took about 30 minutes to walk around Glasgow, not really seeing anything in particular, but we had some time to kill before we had to make our connecting train.
The Glasgow Central Train Station was very nice inside; it is all covered in a roof of glass domes.
Glasgow, Scotland Train Station
We found our platform, and took the 40 minute train ride back to Greenock. Once back in Greenock, we took some time walking around the small city, and we actually found a Scottish Wal-Mart look alike store, and went inside. We always like to look and see what there is in the stores, and how different things are, especially drinks and sodas.
We made It back to the ship around 4:45 in the afternoon, and enjoyed some bag pipe players that assembled on the dock for our sail away.
Bagpipers On The Pier for the Sailaway
The weather remained sunny for the entire day, and it was a very scenic transit back to the ocean, there were many nice houses, and lots of sheep grazing on the green grassy mountain sides.
Our friends Brian and Ruthe had taken an excursion to Loch Lomond, and came back with some very funny hats that resembled the Loch Ness Monster. We had a lot of fun wearing them on the ship for the sail away, and then later after dinner.
The Loch Ness Monsters Are Discovered
We then had a beautiful sunset to cap off the day.
Sunset Over Scotland
It was an enjoyable day, and we turned in early to be rested for our next port tomorrow, Dublin, Ireland.
This morning we woke up to clear skies with an early sunrise at 6:00 am. The ship was in the final stages of our approach into the port of Dublin.
Sunrise in Dublin, Ireland
As we were getting tied up at the dock, it started to rain. I guess the weather is like that here, sunny one moment, and raining the next. We got prepared for our day of sightseeing, and then went to breakfast.
At about 8:30, we met up with Ruthe and Brian, we were all going to spend the day together. The plan was to use the Hop-On/Hop Off bus to tour the various areas of Dublin. Stephanie had never done one of those, but they are in almost every European tourist city. It is a nice concept, you pay for the day, and you can ride around and get on and off as many times as you want. They typically are set up for stopping at most of the popular sights, and are on about a 15 minute time spacing between buses, but we found out that that varies between 2 minutes and about 25 minutes at times.
It remained cloudy for most of the morning, and was cool riding the open top, double deck bus. However, it did not rain any more after what we saw first thing in the morning
We rode around and stopped at the St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and went in for a look around and to take some pictures.
St. Patrick’s CathedralInside St. Patrick’s Cathedral
We boarded the bus once again and headed over to the Guinness Brewery. We got off the bus and went inside the gift shop, but decided against taking the 15 euro per person brewery tour. Our logic being that at some point in the day, we would rather drink some Guinness than pay that much just to see it made.
We hopped back on the bus and continued our loop around the city. We went through a very large (0ver 1,700 acres) park, and saw all of the blooming flowers, and large, old trees.
Large Park and Gardens in Dublin
Next stop was an area of Dublin called Temple Bar, where we went to the actual Temple Bar and had lunch. The “bar” used in the description of that area of Dublin does not stand for a drinking establishment, but a section of the city.
Lunch and Guinness Beer at the Temple Bar
When we left the Temple Bar, we found that it had cleared up outside, and was sunny, and less windy. It ended up being a very nice afternoon, even a little hot.
We walked around the city, occasionally stopping to look in shops.
Walking Around Dublin, Ireland
We stopped in another pub and had one more Guinness, (well the girls had something a little less “stout” ) We had decided to take a taxi back to the ship in lieu of the shuttle bus we had taken from the ship to the city center in the morning.
They had changed the time in and out of port, so the ship was not scheduled to leave until after 7:00 pm, but the last shuttle was at 4:30. As it ended up, it was less expensive for the four of us to taxi than it had been for the shuttle, and a lot quicker.
Once back on the ship, we went ahead and got ready for dinner and the sail away.
Today’s port of call is Cobh, Ireland. Cobh is famous for being the last port that the Titanic left before it started its ill fated trip to New York. Cobh was the port where most of the Irish immigrants departed from to start anew in America. It was also the port that the Lusitania was closest to when it was sunk by a German U-Boat, so there were memorials in Cobh for both of these ships.
The town of Cobh, Ireland Seen From Our Balcony
We took the train from Cobh into nearby Cork, and from there, took a bus into Blarney to see the castle and kiss the famous Blarney Stone. It was unfortunate that the weather was very cool, and very windy in Cobh. It was overcast and less windy at Blarney, but still not that great for taking photos. There were some beautiful gardens around the castle, and it was an interesting walk up to and then up into the castle to the top area where the Blarney Stone was placed.
The Famous Blarney Castle
We waited a little in a line and finally, it was our turn to lie on our backs and bend over backward and kiss the stone.
There are assistants there to help out and a permanently mounted camera for them to take pictures for you to purchase for 10 Euros each.
Chuck Kisses The Blarney StoneStephanie Kisses The Blarney Stone
We did take some of our own, and opted not to purchase theirs. We walked around the grounds and then started back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Cork.
In Cork, we had a little time to wonder around before our train back to Cobh. We went up to a church, but they did not allow photographs, and it was not that pretty anyway. It was supposed to be famous for allowing you to ring their steeple bells, but of course for a cost.
We wondered back and caught the train back into Cobh, where we went back to the ship for lunch. The ship was literally parked next to the train station, so it was very convenient to get to the train and back to the ship.
After lunch we went up to the St. Catherine’s Cathedral in Cobh, and it was very nice inside, and they allowed pictures, which always makes me happy.
St. Catherine’s Cathedral, Cobh, Ireland
Stephanie was excited because there was a cat inside the cathedral. Obviously it was the “house cat”, he was very friendly and had a collar. By that time, the wind had picked up, and there was a little drizzle starting as we wondered through the town. We stopped at a few shops, and then went back to the ship, and shortly thereafter, we left the port.
Irish Countryside As We Leave Cobh
After taking a few pictures while leaving the port, we went back to the room and got ready for dinner.
Lighthouse Marking The Entrance to Cobh Harbor
Tonight is the last Formal Night of the cruise, and they served lobster , and this time they also combined the lobster tails with some very large prawns.
Out For Drinks – Last Formal Night
After dinner, we headed out to meet up with our friends for a nightcap. Another good day exploring Ireland. Tomorrow’s stop will be in the port of Falmouth, Great Britain.
Today was a tender port day, there is not a large dock at Falmouth to tie up to, so we had to ride a tender into a dock in the harbor, which took about 25 minutes.
The City of Falmouth, Great Britain
We had decided to spend the day mostly in and around the city, with the exception of taking a 20 minute ferry boat ride across the inlet to the town of St. Mawes. It is the end of a peninsula, but only feasible to reach by ferry from Falmouth.
We had about 45 minutes to wait before the next St. Mawes ferry left from the City Pier in Falmouth, so we spent that time walking around the town. It was a sunny day, but windy, and a little cool.
Sailboats in the Falmouth Harbor
Right before we got on the ferry, a fog bank blew in off of the ocean, and made for a cool and windy ride over to St. Mawes.
Fog Rolls In Off of the Ocean
On either side, there are twin forts built by Henry VIII, one is called Pendennis Castle, which is on the Falmouth side, and the other is called St. Mawes Castle.
St. Mawes Castle From The Ferryboat
We opted to visit the one in St. Mawes since we were going over there. Both require a hike of about a mile up the hill from their respective cities, but once we got there, we found that it was a very nicely maintained attraction, and a very good spot for photos.
Stephanie & Chuck Outside St. Mawes CastleCannon Inside St. Mawes Castle
We spent about 2 hours getting there, walking around the castle, and walking back down the hill to the ferry boat dock. we made it just in time to load that hours ferry back to Falmouth.
It is interesting that the tidal range is about 12 feet, so the handrail along the stone steps we used when we got off the ferry earlier was now completely submerged under about four feet of water
Town of St. Mawes Seen From Ferryboat
The ride back to Falmouth on the Ferry was much warmer, the fog had lifted, and the wind was at our backs. St. Mawes was quite a beautiful seaside town, and we were glad that we had chosen to visit.
Once back in Falmouth, we had a Pasty, which is flaky baked dough filled with various meats and veggies. They were very good. Then we walked back to the tender area, along a street filled with shops and bakeries. Then we waited in line to get on a tender, and spent about 35 minutes riding in rough seas back to the ship.
Lighthouse on Peninsula Across From Falmouth
As the ship got ready to depart, the sea fog rolled in and visibility was reduced to about a mile. It was the first time we had been on a ship in that much fog, and we were surprised that they actually blew the ship’s horn about every 2 minutes.
I guess that was for smaller vessels that might not have radar, or show up on the ship’s radar. While we were getting underway, we had some time to start packing our luggage for tomorrow’s Disembarkation in Le Havre, France.
We got dressed and went to share our last bottle of Spumanti with Ruthe and Brian before we went our last dinner on the ship with our dining staff, Nicoletta and Rommell. They were sad to see us go, as were some of the other staff we had met at the serving station next to ours.
We went to the Explorer’s Lounge to have a final drink with our friends, Ruthe and Brian, and said goodbye to some of the other people we had met. Then it was off to finish packing and retire early, we have to get up at 5:00 am to be off the ship in time for our train into Paris.
We had a good, but short sleep before getting up at 5:00 am. The skies were clear, and the sunrise was beautiful. We did happen to notice that we seemed a bit far from the port to get there by 6:00 am, but did not think anything more if it.
Sunrise at Le Havre
We got ready and went for a quick bite to eat before going to the Pursers’ Desk to check out and wait on our Passports to be returned from French Immigration. Again we were thinking that it seemed that we arriving in port later than scheduled, and this was confirmed when we arrived at the Pursers’ Desk. At first we were informed that due to leaving late from Falmouth yesterday, we would be an hour late arriving this morning at Le Havre. In almost the same sentence, the staff person we were talking to also said that there were engine problems and that was the reason for the delay in arrival at Le Havre.
A short time later, it was announced that the delay was due to other ship traffic at the port, which seemed more likely. In any event, we were not going to be able to get off the ship in time (7:00 am) to make our 8:00 am train into Paris. This was all further confused by the difference in ship’s time and France time, which was an hour ahead. That was the reason we needed to be off at 6:00 am ship’s time, it was really 7:00 am France time. Fortunately, there is a train every hour, but now we were not certain our pre-purchased ticket would still be usable. Then 7:00 am came and went and still we had no passports, although other passengers were now getting off. Finally at about 8:00 am (really 9:00 am in Paris), our passports were returned, and we were cleared to get off of the ship. If you are confused by all of this, you are no different than most of the crew and passengers that we talked with this morning!
We disembarked and took a taxi to the rail station in Le Havre. Stephanie went to the ticket office to verify if our tickets were still good, only to find out they were not, and we had to purchase new tickets. Due to the uncertainly of the ship’s port arrivals in general, I suppose now that it would be more prudent just to get tickets that are good for travel at anytime of a particular day, not on an exact schedule.
However, we had thought the ship would be on time for this port since a lot of people are going into Paris, a three hour trip each way, and the 2 hours lost were substantial for the overall amount of time available to tour Paris.
We wondered if the ship’s departure would also be delayed, but no announcements were made to that effect. We will have to check with Ruthe and Brian after we get back to see if it was. The only announcements the ship made were that “tours would not be affected”, but I can’t see how that would be the case.
As I am writing this, we are on our train to Paris, and it is a beautiful and sunny day, so we will just make due, and forget about the extra ticket cost, it was not that much anyway.
We made it to Paris without any issues, but had a little trouble getting to the Metro to ride to the stop nearest to our hotel. Once we bought our Metro tickets, we found that all of the escalators going down to the Metro (subway) were broken, which meant a lot of stairs, and then more stairs, and just a few more stairs, all with our luggage in tow. Once we got on the Metro train, we had to change to a different line, and that meant, yes, more stairs. Finally, we got to the correct station and once we exited, we just had a few blocks to walk to our hotel. The room was not yet ready, so we stored our luggage at the hotel and went for a bite to eat at a local restaurant nearby. Once we were checked in, off we went to see the sights of Paris.
Notre Dame Cathedral
Our first stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral, where we walked around inside the church. We did not climb the tower as we had planned, there were too many people in line. The cathedral was very large inside, and very ornate. We spent about two hours walking around and looking at all of the beautiful interior sights.
Altar Inside Notre Dame Cathedral
Next, it was back on the Metro to ride to the Arc de Triumph, and again, just like at Notre Dame, there were too many people waiting in line climb to the top.
Arc de Triomphe
We figured that with the crowds, we would most likely have to wait in line for the Eiffel Tower, so back on the metro we went and rode over to the Eiffel Tower area.
Stephanie & Chuck at The Eiffel Tower
After a few pictures from below the tower, we got in the long line to get tickets and then ride to the top. The tower was being painted, so there were some nets hanging on a few of the levels. After waiting for about an hour, we rode to the second level, then waited in another line to ride to the very top.
View from the Top of the Eiffel Tower
After spending about 30 minutes at the top level, we descended down to the second level for more pictures.
Shadow of the Eiffel Tower Over Chuck’s Left Shoulder
It was just crowded in Paris today; we were trying to figure out if there was something special going on, or just the time of year. We then went to an area across from the tower to wait for it to get dark, and take some pictures of the tower at night.
Eiffel Tower at Night
With that accomplished, it was back on the Metro to go back to the hotel and find something to eat nearby.
After eating a late dinner, we ventured back to Notre Dame for some night pictures of the cathedral.
Notre Dame Cathedral at Night
We also could see the top of Eiffel Tower from there, and took a picture of the rotating light beacon.
Rotating Beacon From The Eiffel Tower
Finally, around midnight, it was time to turn in. This had been a long, but scenic day in Paris.
This morning we actually were able to sleep in just a little, getting up about 8:00 am. We got ready and completed our packing before heading out to find a pastry shop and getting some croissants and other goodies for breakfast. Our plan for this morning was to walk to the Louvre and just take some pictures of the outside grounds. It started out as a cool sunny morning, but then started to get windy and cloudy. The forecast was for rain in Paris today, but supposedly mainly in the afternoon.
Notre Dame Cathedral
After taking pictures at the Louvre, we just walked along the Seine River and headed back in the direction of our hotel. We stopped and looked in a few shops along the way, then headed back to Notre Dame. We had not gotten any pictures of the back of the church (actually the “front” end of the church where the altar is, opposite of the entrance), so we headed towards that area. There was a beautiful garden there, full of blooming tulips and other ornamental plants and flowers.
We then headed back to the hotel in order to complete our final packing and make the 12:00 noon check-out. Then it was time for another walk to the Metro underground station for the ride to the train station, where we would catch our Eurostar “chunnel” train to London, going underneath the English Channel in the tunnel.
Euostar Train Station In Paris
The train ride was smooth and fast and we arrived in London right on time about 2.5 hours after leaving Paris.
Stephanie and Luggage Waiting on the Chunnel Train
We purchased our underground tickets for the “Tube”, and picked up our pre-reserved tickets from a machine for the commuter train to the Gatwick Airport on Monday. We had a little difficulty finding the correct underground station, but once we found it, we made it to our stop successfully.
Our Euostar Chunnel Train in London
We had some difficulty finding the hotel, the directions were obviously written for someone familiar with the station. The hotel was very near, but we went the wrong direction out of the underground.
Once there, we checked in and then went out to the nearby Catholic Church, and went to Mass. Then it was off to walk around, going over the Tower Bridge, walking along the Thames River, and then back over the London Bridge.
We stopped at a Pub to get a bite to eat, and after waiting for a waiter for about 20 minutes, we got up and left. There was another Pub down the street, and so we decided to try it there.
When we went inside, there were large signs instructing that all orders are to be placed at the bar, including orders for food.
Since we had been downstairs in the first Pub, we had not seen the signs, nor did we get the benefit of seeing anyone else place orders.
Apparently, in these types of places, there is no service at the tables for ordering. We learned that you first get a table, then place you order at the bar, and tell them your table number. When the food is ready, they bring it to your table.
The Tower Bridge – LondonTower Bridge with the HMS Belfast Docked in the Thames River
Another thing that threw us off was having menu’s at the table, but we learned that once you pick out your food, you have to go to the bar and place your order. I guess it saves on personnel, and there are no tips.
After eating, it was back to the hotel room for some sleep. Tomorrow, we will spend the entire day sightseeing, it will be the last day of our trip before heading home on Monday morning.
