British Isle Cruise--Day 19

August 13, 2015—Day 19, Disembarkation and Homeward Bound

My alarm went off at a very early 4:30am so I would have time to shower, get dressed, finish packing, have breakfast, and get ready to get off the ship by 7:15am.  It was another cold, cloudy, and windy day (welcome back to England), so we had to dress in layers again knowing that when we landed in LAX it would be hot.  All went smoothly until we presented our cruise cards to be scanned one last time before getting off the ship. 

Just after we were scanned off, but before we had actually left the ship, the line came to a stop and we stood there waiting…and waiting.  Finally after about 20 minutes, one of the security guards told us that the gangway was broken (not sure what exactly was broken on the gangway) and that an engineer had been called.  In the meantime, the crowd behind us that was waiting to be scanned off the ship had grown larger and larger, and the passengers were getting angry saying they had a flight to catch—there were hundreds of people behind us all waiting to get off.  After another 10 minutes, the crowd behind us had been directed down to Deck 5 where another gangway had been opened.  Finally, with the crowd behind us clearing away, we were turned around, had to be re-scanned back on board the ship, then directed down to the other gangway where we were scanned off the ship again and made our way into the terminal.  We found our luggage right away (it usually takes us a few minutes) and we were out of the terminal less than 5 minutes after finally leaving the ship.  There were no immigration or customs lines to go through like we usually did when leaving a ship, so we ended up outside sooner than planned even with the unexpected delay. 

I had hired Smiths for Airports to take us to Heathrow Airport with a 1-hour stop at Stonehenge on the way.  Our flight wasn’t due to leave until 4:15pm, so we had time for this last sightseeing stop. 

The drive to Stonehenge was only about 45 minutes, and we arrived before most of the tour buses.  I had booked an hour at Stonehenge, and asked the driver how much it would be if we went over the hour.  He said since our flight didn’t leave until 4:15pm we had plenty of time and not to worry about any additional charge, that we could safely take over 2 hours if we wanted and still be at Heathrow in plenty of time.  He told me had to stay at the airport for a pickup at 5:00pm, so he was in no hurry and it didn’t matter to him if we took longer.

I had pre-purchased the tickets for the tram out to the stones on the Stonehenge website before leaving home and only had to present the receipt to collect them.  The visitors center is quite a ways from the actual stones and you couldn’t see them from there, but the tram bus only took a few minutes to take us out.  We walked out to see these famous stones which are even larger than I had thought.  I can’t image how they were moved, or how the large cross stones were placed on top of the others, especially over 4,000 years ago (without cranes to lift them).  Visitors aren’t able to walk among the stones themselves, and there is a small roped line to keep tourists out.  This actually is a very good thing since you can take pictures without having a bunch of people in them around the stones. 

After taking the tram back to the visitor’s center, we wandered through the gift shop, then to the café for a warming drink (tea, hot chocolate, and cappuccino).  By then, several tour buses had arrived and it was starting to get crowded, so we decided we’d better leave.  Just as we were walking back, it was starting to sprinkle, and by the time we were well no our way to Heathrow, it was raining hard.  The drive took a little longer than usual as everyone was driving slower. 

With visibility down, I decided to check my emails on the drive to the airport (there were quite a few since I hadn't checked in a while).  Air New Zealand had a program where you could place a bid for an upgrade and I had placed a very small bid of $300 to be upgraded from premium economy to business class.  I had received an email a week ago saying that they had noticed that my bid was extremely small and did I want to increase it in order to have a better chance of getting an upgrade—guess they pretty much laughed at my bid.  I had another email a few days ago saying that unfortunately, my bid was not accepted (no surprise), but that we would be placed on the standby list (I guess in case they didn’t receive any other bids).  During the drive to the airport, I received a “Congratulations, your bid has been accepted and you have been upgraded to business class.”  This was a very happy surprise since there was no way I thought they would upgrade the three of us for such a small amount (I guess that from their standpoint, it’s better than giving away a free upgrade).  While we had enjoyed the experience of flying in their spaceseat on the way over, now we would be flying in business class on the way back (Air New Zealand was quickly becoming a favorite airline—too bad they don’t fly all over).

We had also been very lucky with the weather.  While it was cold, and windy, and cloudy, and certainly not typical August weather, we hadn’t had any rain at any of the stops while we were actually outside and sightseeing and taking pictures.  Oh, it would rain while we were in the cars, but not whenever we stopped to get out. 

Unfortunately, our luck had run out and it was pouring rain at the airport.  We unloaded the luggage and wheeled them into the airport and we were really wet by the time we got inside (there is no protective covering roof which seems strange in a country that gets lots of rain).  Finally, we check in and were assigned seats 9J, 9K, and 10J.  We were also able to use United’s business class lounge since Air New Zealand is in the Star Alliance.  How nice to get complementary food and drink in a very nice setting while waiting for our flight. 

Once on board, our flight attendant offered us Champagne or orange juice, and explained all the seat controls.  As I mentioned, when we flew out, economy seats were configured in a 3-4-3 design, while premium economy was 2-2-2, but business class was 1-2-1, so much more room.  The seats were like little pods that you had all to yourself and they were lay-flat seats, meaning they would convert to a fully flat bed!  Service on the flight was beyond compare.  After such a long day with disembarkation, the stop in Stonehenge, and getting to the airport, we were all tired.  How wonderful to be able to stretch out completely, covered with a nice quilt, and fall asleep to the droning of the plane’s engines.  While I can’t imagine paying 3-5 times as much for business, it sure was nice to be able to experience it on this flight (probably the only time I will ever be able to—unless I win the lottery or megabucks of course).

I think we all slept a good 5-6 hours when growing activity in the cabin woke us.  My dad had no sooner lifted his head, when the flight attendant handed him a glass of orange juice!  I think he could definitely get used to that kind of service! 

Debarking the plane, going through immigration, getting our luggage, and clearing customs went fairly quick, and we found someplace to sit while we waited for my son to pick us up.  Unfortunately, the traffic into LAX airport was horrendous, but he finally made it and we loaded up the van and drove to my house for the night, getting here around 11:00pm California time (while it was Friday morning in England).  My parents' continuing flight from Orange County airport to Sacramento on Southwest was leaving at 8:00am, and I had to go to work the next morning, so we all tried to get some more sleep. 

This trip to England had been a bucket list item and we were able to see all the places we wanted to see.  While there were some issues with the ship, and the weather could have been warmer with less wind, there were so many other things that went well and we enjoyed being able to see so much including Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, and Windsor Castle in London.  Especially memorable was the trip to Leominster, visiting the town, walking the same streets as family members long gone have done hundreds of years before, and finding the graves of our ancestors.  The private excursions we took were wonderful and exceeded our expectations!  We visited five countries:  England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and France.  We saw numerous castles and churches and cathedrals, and visited the Outlander sites we wanted to see.  We saw the Champes-Elysee, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre Dame Cathedral, and cruised down the Seine River.  While I had seen some of these places before, when I lived in England (over 30 years ago) and in Germany (almost 20 years ago), it was nice to be able to visit them again, and it was especially nice to be able to share all of this with my parents! 

It had been a memorable vacation, another once-in-a-lifetime experience, and yet, it was good to be home.

Till next time….

British Isle Cruise--Day 18

August 12, 2015—Day 18, Paris (Le Harve), France

The weather report said it would be in the 70s in France with rain showers.  Since it was going to be warmer, we didn’t have to dress in quite as many layers as we had been, but with rain projected, we weren’t sure, so to be safe, we did wear a couple of layers.  We were booked on a ship’s excursion this time, “Paris on Your Own.”  A Princess bus would drive us from where our ship was docked in Le Harve, France to Paris, drop us off, then pick us up for the drive back.  We would have about 4 hours in Paris on our own to do and see whatever we wanted.

We met our tour group, disembarked the ship together, and walked to our bus—a very nice double-decker bus.  The drive to Paris was about 2-1/2 to 3 hours depending on traffic.  Our tour guide, Claudia, pointed out some of the sights along the way, and also went around to each person to see if we had questions or to offer suggestions on what to see, or how to get to the different places.  I had already done the research on what we wanted to see and how to get there, so I didn’t have any questions until Claudia suggested that we might want to take a Seine River cruise for a good overall view of Paris.  I asked her where to catch the river cruise and how long it would take in case we decided to do that.

My parents and I had discussed what to do and see in Paris well before the cruise (after all, we’d been planning this trip for almost a year), and there were two things on our list:  the Eiffel Tower (of course), and a small monument called Vel’ d Hiv.  We had planned to take a taxi instead of trying to navigate the bus or underground subway system, and I had actually printed Google maps of the places we needed to go and also where we would meet the bus when it was time to return, and had the question, “Can you take us here?” written in French (with the help of one of the folks at work who speaks French) printed on the maps in case we had any problems.  Turns out they came in very handy to get us where we needed to go.

Our bus let us off near the Grand Palace and the Petit Palace.  The weather was hot!  It was not in the 70s, but more like in the 90s with high humidity—a huge change from the previous weeks.  We shed some of the layers we had on and were told we could leave our jackets, sweaters, and umbrellas on the bus since it would remain parked there (thank goodness since otherwise we would be sweltering or would have to lug them around with us).

We caught a taxi to an intersection near the Vel’ d Hiv monument and asked the driver to follow the route I had on the printed Google map.  We drove up the Champs-Elysee (the famous shopping street in Paris) then around the Arc de Triomphe (taking pictures as we circled) and finally to the intersection I had indicated on the map. 

The monument is not a well-known monument, and is kind of hidden.  It is a monument to the Jewish families who were all rousted out of their homes one night during WWII.  There were over 13,000 people arrested that night including 4,000 children.  The reason we wanted to see the monument was primarily because we had read about this night in a book called Sarah’s Key.  In the book, Sarah describes what happens on this night from her perspective as a very young child.  The monument honors all those children and families who had been a victim of antisemitism during those dark days.  The monument itself is at the end of a wide path with flowers on each side, and consists of bronze cast children huddled together with parents.  The words underneath read:

“La Republique Francaise

en Hommage aux Victimes des Persecutions

Racistes et Antisemites et *es Crimes

Contre L’Humanite Commis Sous L’Autorite de Fait Dite

Gouvernement de L’Etat Francais   1940 – 1944

N’Oublions Jamais”

(* not sure if a letter was rubbed out here)

This monument certainly isn’t common knowledge based on the research we did on it (we were actually looking for anything to do with the book Sarah’s Key when my dad came across the reference to this monument).  While we were there, we didn’t see anyone visiting (except one lone runner going by).  Since this monument is only a couple of blocks from the Eiffel Tower it was also a great place to take pictures of the tower (difficult to take a picture right in front of it since it’s so tall). 

We had planned to walked to the tower and have lunch, but instead walked along the banks of the Seine River instead of at the street level.  We then found a place to have lunch sitting outside.  Service was very slow and the food was just OK, but that was probably due to the fact that we were just under the Eiffel Tower and hence a high tourist area (no need to provide either great service or food, just look like a quaint sidewalk cafe to draw the tourists in who no doubt pay higher prices than the locals). 

Afterward, we decided go ahead and take the Seine River tour.  The boat trip lasted an hour, leaving the Eiffel Tower past the Louvre Museum and Notre Dame Cathedral before turning around and heading back.  Our guide was right that the trip did allow us to see more of Paris including all the different bridges as we cruised under them.

We had to meet the bus at 3:00pm, and got off the river cruise at 2:30, so we had only 30 minutes to get there.  I knew the taxi ride should only take about 5 minutes and that there was a taxi stand just up the stairs under the Eiffel Tower (and I had another printed Google map I could show to the taxi driver so we would get to the right place), so we had no problem getting to the bus on time.  Our tour guide had given us all her phone number in case there were any problems, and apparently a taxi driver had called her at 3:00 saying that he had someone in his taxi wanting to go to our bus, but didn’t know where the bus was.  Lucky for that person that Claudia had provided us her number!  We ended up waiting until 3:30 until that person arrived, saying she was sorry she got lost. 

We made the 3-hour drive back to the ship uneventfully after another 1/2-hour delay at a rest stop when a family of four decided they needed to buy something in the gift shop at the rest area instead of just using the toilet (this is one of the reasons a private tour was so much better than being on a bus with 50 others).

We were finally back on board at 6:30pm after a very long 11-hour day.  We had a quick dinner in the buffet, then headed to the cabin to finish packing and setting out our luggage in the hall for pickup, leaving our carry-ons for the next day when we would be disembarking the ship and making our way home.

British Isle Cruise--Day 17

August 11, 2015—Day 17, At Sea

Finally, a sea day at last—a much needed respite after the early morning wake-ups of the past few days.  Of course, my body clock said otherwise, and I was still awake very early. 

The night before, my dad had problems turning the TV off.  In the middle of watching a movie, the screen turned a bright neon blue with the words “Please stand by.”  When he tried to turn off the TV, none of the controls would work, neither the remote, nor the buttons on the TV itself—the TV remained on with that bright blue screen.  He called Passenger Services and was told that they were aware of the situation, that it was throughout the ship, and that they were working on it.  Hoping it would be resolved soon, my parents tried to go to sleep.  Unfortunately, when there is a really bright blue neon screen facing your pillow and pretty much glaring into your eyes even when they were shut, it’s really difficult to get any sleep.  At around 3:00am, my dad got dressed and went down to visit Passenger Services to tell them that the TV is still not fixed and asking when it would be since neither of them could sleep.  Unfortunately, the conversation didn’t go well as the only person at the desk told him that he wasn’t the only person on the ship having a problem, and that her computer wasn’t working and she didn’t have WiFi, and that if he had a problem with the TV going off why didn’t he just unplug it.  My dad informed her that he was a passenger on the ship and that he wasn’t about to go messing around with their TV and that if he did something and the TV was damaged or fell, then no doubt, Princess would blame him for messing with it.  She finally agreed to send a maintenance person up to his cabin.  When the maintenance person got there, he had problems getting to the back of the TV to unplug it, but finally was able to do it.  The TV was finally off, the glaring neon blue light gone, and my parents could finally get some much needed sleep, although not much since unfortunately, I woke them up at the usual time. 

The issue of not being able to turn off the TV was a topic of conversation around the ship.  Throughout the day, I heard people talking about it and this seemed to be just one more issue to add to the others that have occurred.

After breakfast, we headed for the casino since it was one of the few times it would be open.  The afternoon was spent packing—yes, this vacation was nearing the end, and we needed to start getting ready.  On almost all other cruises I’ve been on, there seemed to be a sea day before disembarkation day, but for this cruise, we would be at our last port of call, so we needed to get the packing done today.  Packing when there are still a couple of days left means trying to juggle what to leave out and what to pack, but by late in the afternoon, we were done.

We had dinner once again in the buffet, and since we were scheduled to meet for our excursion early, we made it an early night.  Tomorrow, we would be in Paris!

British Isle Cruise--Day 16

August 10, 2015—Day 16, Edinburgh (South Queensferry), Scotland

We set our alarms, had breakfast, and quickly got ready for another long day ashore.  Many of the passengers would be heading toward nearby Edinburgh, but we had booked another private Outlander tour.  Our ship anchored off the coast of South Queensferry where the tender boats would dock, and we made our way down to the Symphony Dining Room to get tickets for the tender that would take us to shore. 

Getting off the tender, we were greeted on the pier by three men and one woman dressed in traditional kilts and playing bagpipes.  After taking a few photos, we walked down the rest of the pier to meet our tour guide.  Jim, from Discrete Scotland Tours, met us at Hawes Inn just across the street from Hawes Pier where the tender boat dropped us off.  He too was dressed in the traditional Scottish highland kilt. 

During the drive to Falkland, he explained that he was wearing the MacKenzie plaid as he was distantly related.  I told him that we had just visited Castle Leod yesterday, and he said that while he was in Inverness, he didn’t attend the Clan Gathering since he had been guiding a family on a 3-day holiday around Scotland.  (What a coincidence that we had seen the Clan Gathering for Clan MacKenzie yesterday, and our tour guide for today was a distant member of the MacKenzie clan!)

Our first stop was the town of Falkland, which was where the first part of the Outlander series was filmed.  The town itself is a picturesque village reminiscent of a small Scottish village from times past.  There was a beautiful old cathedral, an old palace, and of course, the square with the fountain and the bed and breakfast hotels shown in the TV series.  After taking lots of pictures, we followed Jim to a small park where he pointed out a bench with a plaque saying it was donated to the town by Johnny Cash.  It seems that Johnny Cash’s family originated from Falkland and he frequently visited and even gave small concerts or sang at a pub while he was there—a little bonus information about the town.  I was really coming to appreciate having a private guide for these excursions who could point out some of the things we would never have known to look for.

We then headed for our next stop—Doune Castle, which was used in the filming of the Outlander series as Castle Leoch.  (Yesterday, we saw Castle Leod, the actual home of Clan MacKenzie and which would have been portrayed as Castle Leoch in the books, and today, we saw the castle that was used in the filming of the series.  It does get a little bit confusing:  The author, Diana Gabaldon, wrote the books several years ago, and during her research she visited most of the places we saw yesterday, and described those places in her book; when the TV series was filmed, other places were used, so the book and the TV series don’t always agree on how a specific place actually looked.  Today we visited the places that were used in the TV series.)

Doune Castle is a very old castle which has been designated a historic site.  It is in fairly good condition with all the walls, ramparts, and turrets still intact.  The only modern convenience that has been added are handrails on the circular stone steps up the towers.  There is a large courtyard with a well (another modern addition is a grate that covers the well for safety reasons).  I could almost feel as though I had been transported back in time as I walked around Doune Castle, and it definitely gave me an appreciation of the modern conveniences we enjoy today as I imagined what life must have been like back when the castle was occupied.  I could also envision the furnishings and the characters from the TV series in the courtyard, the kitchen, and the great room. 

As we left Doune Castle, it started to rain.  We had expected rain all day, and were glad that it hadn’t rained during our visit at either Falkland or Doune Castle.

During the somewhat long drive to our next stop, Jim, told us more about the history of Scotland, and tied it all to what is portrayed in the Outlander books.  He said that he admired Diana for doing her research since he could only find a couple of things that weren’t quite accurate.  Apparently the horses described are not correct, since back in the 1700s, there were only the sturdy highland ponies, and not the horses that she describes; she describes the tartan plaids for the clans and apparently that actually didn’t come about until much later.  Clans back in the 1700s were identified by a brooch on the hat and not by the color of the tartan.  He said that he couldn’t believe that she didn’t know that since all her other research was so meticulously accurate.  I said that she may have consciously identified the clans by their tartans to make it easier for her readers to understand, instead of trying to educate them regarding the brooches.  After all, almost everyone who thinks about the clans of Scotland would have assumed they were identified by their tartans.  Jim also told us about the politics of the time of Outlander, and about the different factions; it wasn’t the English versus the Scots, but the government versus the Jacobites.  A lot of the Scottish people supported the government side and a few of the English supported the Jacobites.  (Laura, our guide from the day before also told us this when she told us about the battle of Culloden.)

Although it was lunch time, we weren’t hungry, so instead of stopping for lunch, we went directly to Blackness Castle.  Luckily, it had stopped raining by the time we got there.

Blackness Castle was depicted as Fort William in the TV series.  The castle sits along the channel (our ship was anchored just a few miles up).  The back of the castle overlooks the channel and is shaped like a large ship’s prow.  The idea was that when enemy ships entered the channel, they would see what looked like a very massive ship and would turn away thinking the channel was well guarded.  Blackness Castle is also an historic site and is intact.  The grounds themselves were rocky and uneven, but lights had been installed in several of the rooms.  My dad and I climbed the stairs to the ramparts and walked around.  We also saw the great room and could envision Clair there with several of the English officers.  In the TV series, this is where Clair is almost raped by Capt Jack Randall, but rescued by Jamie.  The rooms we walked through were the rooms that were filmed (although none of the furnishings from the show were there when we walked through them of course).

As that was the last place on our scheduled itinerary, we thought we would be heading back for the ship, but Jim said he had to make a quick stop first.  He pulled into a parking lot in a town somewhere between Blackness Castle and South Queensferry (where we would take the tender back to our ship) and asked us to wait in the car.  He came back a few minutes later, smiling and excited.  He said he had a surprise for us—someplace he wanted to show us.  He also said he didn’t tell us about it earlier since the place he was taking us to isn’t open to the public, and the owners of the property didn’t want word to get around, or it would become inundated with tourists.  But he had just received permission to take us to visit.  He said he wasn’t going to tell us where he was taking us, but wanted to see if we would recognize it when we saw it. 

Jim turned down a very narrow road that seemed to lead to nowhere.  After meandering down this long driveway, all of a sudden ahead was Lallybroch!  This was the Jamie’s home shown in the TV series where his sister, Jenny, lived with her husband Ian.  Here was the stone gate leading to the house; there were the steps that Jenny and Clair were sitting on waiting for there husbands.  Yesterday, we had seen a house that “most resembles Lallybroch; today, here it is in front of us, exactly as depicted in the TV series (of course it looks just like it since it was in fact filmed here).  Despite all the research I had done on Outlander sites, I knew nothing about this place, and it isn’t listed by any of the tour companies that conducted Outlander tours.  Jim had certainly surprised us, and he had exceeded all our expectations.

The house itself is uninhabitable, but the outside is in fairly good condition despite having been built sometime in the 1600s (16 something something is all we could make out of the date above the doorway).  We were the only ones there and we wandered around and took pictures.  My parents, especially my dad, were ecstatic.  I know my dad was a little disappointed in seeing the house yesterday that “was most like Lallybroch,” so seeing the real thing today when we didn’t expect it was wonderful!  

We finally left and headed for South Queensferry just a few miles down the road, thanking Jim all the way for everything he had shown us, and especially for his surprise stop at the site of the Lallybroch filming!  I also mentioned that he did an incredible job with the weather since he managed to get it to stop raining every time we stopped to visit someplace.  He grinned and said that he had put in a good word with the man upstairs who, lucky for us, wasn’t cross with him that day.  He also said he was glad he was able to get permission for us to visit as it’s not usually granted, but since this was a once in a lifetime trip for us and we were such ardent fans, he wanted to make it special (I got the impression that he had either called in a favor or he told a really good story).  He also gave me the written permit that allowed us to enter the grounds for my scrapbook.  What an incredible finish to a wonderful day!

Since we hadn’t stopped for lunch, we were back early and were soon on the tender and back on board the ship.  We headed straight for the buffet for a very late lunch, which of course meant that we would not be hungry for dinner.  I spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with some folks, and reading, then met up with my parents for a late evening snack in the buffet, before heading back to our cabins to call it a day.  Tomorrow was a much needed sea day!

British Isle Cruise--Day 15

August 9, 2015—Day 15, Inverness (Invergordon), Scotland

Another very cold day and the high today was forecasted to be 58 degrees.  Although it’s August, it sure feels like the middle of winter for those of us used to much warmer climates.

We were up early, had breakfast, then was off the ship a little after 8:00am to meet our tour guide at 8:30.  Laura met us outside the port gates and off we went.  We had booked Inverness Tours for its Outlander Tour, which stops at some of the places featured in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander books, and in the Starz TV series.  Since this was a private tour, we had enough flexibility to stop anywhere else we wanted to visit taking into consideration that we needed to be back on board no later than 5:30pm, although our targeted return time was an hour before that at 4:30pm. 

Our first stop was Clava Cairns, a site that pre-dates history as it is reputed to be 4,000 years old.  There were three cairns with a circle of standing stones surrounding each cairn; each cairn looked like a mound of rocks with a hollow area in the center.  Laura told us that the archaeologists have determined that the center cairn was used to cremate people who had died and that the two outer cairns had contained pots with the ashes of those cremated.  Amazingly, the center cairn had three mounds in the shape of spokes leading to the cairn; these were apparently air tubes which allowed the fires to burn hotter (necessary when cremating bodies).  Considering the site was thousands of years old, the workmanship to build these cairns was incredible, especially for that time in history.  The two outer cairns had a narrow opening and originally the entire cairn was covered over.  The pots containing the ashes were presumably brought in by someone, perhaps a family member, who had to crawl through the opening and place the pot in this circular room which had no light and was probably pitch dark.  Each year, during the winter solstice, the sun was positioned in such a way that the light shone directly through the entrance, and legend has it that the people of that time believed the light from the sun shining through into the cairns led the spirits of the dead to another world.  (Hmmm, maybe that was the beginning of the phrase, “go into the light.”)  Whether it is true or not, it was a very interesting story about the cairns.  As far as the Outlander tour, the standing stones included the one Claire, a WWII British nurse, touched when she was whisked away to the past and wound up in Scotland in the 1740s.  (If you haven’t read the books, I very much recommend them.)

Our second stop was Culloden Battlefield, where the government’s forces fought and defeated the Jacobites in April 1746.  Laura did an incredible job bringing the stories alive for us, making this important part of Scottish history so interesting.  Tying it all to the Outlander books, she pointed out both the MacKenzie and Fraser clan stones marking the mass grave where those clans fell and were buried.  The field has an eerie feel to it which is understandable since it is a memorial to not just those who died in this major battle, but also a symbolic memorial to the end of a way of life in Scotland with the defeat of the clans.  I saw some of the clan stones had flowers placed there presumably by descendants of those clans.

Leaving Culloden, we drove along the coast of Loch Ness.  The benefit of a private tour is that we were able to set the itinerary, and while this part wasn’t tied to the Outlander books, I wanted to see this famous lake.  After all, what visit to Inverness would be complete without a visit to Loch Ness to see the Loch Ness monster?  We drove along the coast looking for Nessie, then stopped to have lunch in a quaint little pub.  Unfortunately, we didn’t spot anything that could possibly be mistaken for Nessie, the infamous Loch Ness monster. 

We made our way to the town of Beauly and visited the 13^th century priory where many of the gravestones had names that were common in the Outlander books.  Beauly was the town where Jaimie Fraser’s dad had come from and Lord Lovat (the lord of Beauly) was Jaimie’s grandfather.  We also visited a small hotel that was supposed to resemble the description of Lallybroch in the Outlander books (but looked nothing like the Lallybroch featured in the movie). 

Our last stop was at Castle Leod, which was the home of Clan MacKenzie (Castle Leoch in the Outlander books).  This is a private home and the head of Clan MacKenzie still resides here, so we would not be able to actually visit, but was making a photo stop.  Laura explained that Inverness Tours (her company) had an agreement with the owner that they could bring people by the house for a photo stop.  We drove down a secluded tree-shaded road and parked near a sign that said “Private Property” but where the castle was clearly visible.  Several other cars were parked nearby and others arrived while we were there.  There was a large tent in a nearby field and it looked like there was going to be a large party.  All the people getting out of their cars and walking up to the castle were dressed in the tartan plaid.  Laura asked if it was a clan gathering and was told that it was.  Laura explained to us that all the members of Clan MacKenzie gather once a year, and it turned out that today happened to be the day.  The field was set up for the highland games and a large banquet. Being there at the beginning of a Clan Gathering was certainly an experience we hadn’t planned, but how exciting to see.  Of course, since we weren’t invited guests, we finally left and made our way back to the ship.

We thanked Laura and said our goodbyes—she was a great guide and had provided us so much information in a way that made the people of Scotland, both past and present, come alive. 

We were back on board the ship by 4:00pm, earlier than scheduled which was great.  We looked at the dining room menu, and again it didn’t really appeal to us, so at a little after 6:00pm we headed for the buffet.  Afterward, I talked with a few fellow passengers and we exchanged stories of what we had done at the various ports. 

I was back in my cabin by 9:00pm and curled up with my Kindle before falling asleep.  It had been a long day, and while it had been cold, we were lucky that we had periods of sunshine between cloudy skies.  We had another Outlander excursion planned for our time in Edinburgh tomorrow, and the weather was projected to be rainy all day.

British Isle Cruise--Day 14

August 8, 2015—Day 14, At Sea

It was a sea day—finally!  And the sun was shining again when I woke up, but it was still very cold out.  We decided to go to the dining room for breakfast for a change instead of the buffet.  There were very few people up early so the dining room was pretty empty when we got there at 7:30 in the morning. 

After breakfast, we hung around a little while waiting for the casino to finally open at 10:00am.  Unfortunately, we were told that due to the ship’s navigational position, the casino would not be opening at all this morning, and it may not open this evening either.  It was originally scheduled to be open from 10:00am-noon, then again from 7:30pm-8:30pm—not much time for a sea day—guess the captain decided not to go too far from the coast. 

The public areas on the ship have been very chilly, probably due to the norovirus situation.  Because it’s been so cool around the ship, the only really warm place is in our cabins.  This was also the reason we decided not to participate in formal night—none of us wanted to take off the multiple layers we had on to dress in a thinner formal dress.  This will be the first time that I didn’t participate in any of the formal dinners on a cruise (so it looks like I have definitely over packed). 

Since we weren’t going to do the formal night, I decided to just relax the afternoon away in my cabin (where it was much warmer) to read and I ended up taking a short nap.  The next two days would be very busy, so a nap was just fine.  It was nice to be able to curl up in a warm bed for an hour and just doze off. 

We left our cabins at a little before 6:00pm and were headed toward the buffet when the cruise director announced that the casino would be open for an hour, so we quickly turned around and headed there.  Since it was formal night, and since some folks had already gone to dinner, it wasn’t very crowded.  I ended up losing a little of what I had won previously, but still enjoyed it.

Afterwards, we had dinner in the buffet, then back to the cabin to curl up in bed with another movie.  Tomorrow we would be in the port of Invergordon, near Inverness, and we had another all-day private excursion planned.  Thinking about the next day, I let the ship rock me to sleep.

British Isle Cruise--Day 13

August 7, 2015—Day 13, Glasgow (Greenock), Scotland

Sunshine!  Beautiful sunshine!!  The high today is forecasted to be only 54, but the sun was warm and the wind had died down, so it felt so much warmer.  Our ship had tied up at its berth in Greenock, Scotland, by 7:00am; once again, our cabin faced the sea instead of the port, but the sun shining on it this morning made it very nice. 

After a late breakfast, my mother and I did the laundry we had planned to do yesterday.  Then I wandered around on the Lido Deck (Deck 16) and higher, all the way up to Deck 19 just to walk around outside and take a few pictures of the ship itself while it was both sunny and a little warmer.  Most of the passengers had left for various tours, some of them really long tours since our ship would remain until 2:00am tomorrow morning. 

We had no specific plans for this port either.  Greenock is a small port town about ½-hour by train from Glasgow.  Most of the tours were into Glasgow or into the Scottish countryside, but since we had the two private excursions into the Scottish highlands from Inverness and to see several castles from Edinburgh, we decided to stick close by for this port. 

Since the sun was out, we took advantage of it and had pizza for lunch out on the Lido Deck.  Surprisingly, there were even a couple of people in the pool!  Personally, I think they're crazy since the temperature was only in the 50s; while it was warmer, it wasn't THAT warm and we were still wearing several layers of clothes topped with a sweater. 

After lunch, we left the ship and wandered into the port tent where several vendors were selling Scottish goods and souvenirs.  After looking around and doing some shopping, my parents headed back to the ship and I decided to walk to town.  The town wasn’t very far, but the walk to the gates out of the port was a little ways, and very boring.  Once outside the port gate there were only a few streets to wander around.  I did visit the old cathedral and took pictures of some of the other older buildings.  Then I visited the grocery store, Aldi.  I think grocery stores in other countries are interesting and actually enjoyed wandering around the aisles looking at the food.  I also bought some lemon Scottish shortbread for my mom and Scottish mint chocolate candy for my dad.  Everyone should sample some of the local food, and Scottish cookies and candy seemed a much better choice than the local haggis (for some reason, minced meat packed into a sheep’s stomach just doesn’t appeal to me…lol).

I returned back to the ship mid-afternoon and found my parents engrossed in another of the movies offered on the on-demand TV.  The nice part about a cruise is that you really can be as active as you want, or you can just sit back and relax and do pretty much whatever you want on board.  Of course, it’s also nice to have all the food available in either the dining room or the buffet, or the outside pizza and grill, or the inside pizzeria, or the International Café (and I haven’t even mentioned the specialty steak or Italian restaurants, or the gelato and ice cream bars—unfortunately, too cold for ice cream on this cruise).  Not having to cook or clean up is always a plus!

We finally made it to the dining room for dinner!  It was Italian night (which wasn’t exactly my parents’ favorites but was one of mine).  I had the eggplant parmesan, then a little spicy pasta the chef was making, and finally the veal scaloppini, followed with tiramisu and the wonderful lemoncello.  I was absolutely stuffed. 

After dinner, I watched another movie.  It was strange to still be tied at the our berth and we wouldn’t be leaving until 2:00am.  Tomorrow was a sea day and we were looking forward to the casino opening at last, although only for a very short time from 10:00am-noon since we would be sailing close to the coast.

Although we wouldn’t be sailing and the ship wouldn’t be rocking me to sleep, I was asleep by a little after 10:00pm.

British Isle Cruise--Day 12

August 6, 2015—Day 12, Belfast, North Ireland

Our intent was to spend the day relaxing and doing laundry while most people were off the ship since we had no excursions planned; unfortunately, we weren’t able to do either.  The ship continues to have an issue with gastroenteritis (noro), and we were told the ship would undergo another sanitation while we were in port in Belfast. 

We were told we needed to vacate our cabins early in the morning and most likely would not be able to get back in them until late in the afternoon, so instead of sleeping in, I had set my alarm.  We were also instructed to take everything off all the surfaces in the cabin and put all our belongings away.  This meant that after taking a shower, I had to pack up all the toiletries and also put away everything else.  Since we wouldn’t be able to get back into the cabin, I packed up a few things into a bag that I might want during the day, like a wrap that could double as a coat or even a blanket if we wanted to sit outside (it was still very cold and likely to get colder as we went further north), my laptop (so I could go ahead and write up yesterday’s activities), and my kindle.  Of course, I had to lug all of this around the rest of the day.

After breakfast, my parents found a place in the hallway of Deck 7 to sit, and I headed to Club 6 for trivia as something to do to pass the time.  The questions were not just difficult, but almost incomprehensible as the member of the cruise director’s staff conducting trivia spoke with such an accent that none of us could understand the question.  There were only about 11 people there and we had to help each other try to figure out the question before we could try to answer it.  “If cats are no-ed as feelens, what are ships?”  Huh??  We finally figured our that the question was “If cats are known as felines, then what are sheep?” and we only figured it out when he started saying ships, ships—baaaa, baaaa, oh, sheep!  Yes, ships!  

Afterward, I headed to plaza deck thinking I could get a coffee and start typing my journal from the day before.  Not only were our cabins being sanitized, but also the public areas of the ship, so shortly after getting there, a team of around 30-40 crewmembers armed with buckets, wipes, and a couple wearing tanks on their backs with a spray nozzle attached (looked a lot like the kind my pest control person uses) started sanitizing that area liberally wiping every surface down and spraying everywhere (including the walls).  A few of the other folks there moved out of the center of the piazza over to the side area, but I decided to move to another area of the ship and headed back to Club 6 where the trivia had been held.  I was there just a short while, when another team entered that area, so off I went to where my parents were on Deck 7.  A little while later, we could see still another team of crewmembers working their way forward from the stern of the ship, wiping and spraying everything in sight.  So back to the piazza we went.  This time the side areas on piazza deck were taped off so no one could enter them, but we did find a table near the International Café in the center.  We continued to move from area to area as the sanitation teams worked their way around the ship.  Unfortunately, everywhere they went, the chairs and tables, and even the couches and other seats that were cloth-covered, were soaking wet.  Pretty soon, the only place left was outside, and it was cold. 

We spent all morning and half the afternoon just trying to find someplace to sit.  Usually we are told to avoid using the public restrooms when possible and that it is better to use your own in your cabin, but today we couldn’t go back to our cabins, so we had to use the public restrooms and I found some of those were blocked with yellow tape since those had to be sanitized as well.  Areas of the ship such as the Vista Lounge, Wheelhouse Lounge, Princess Theater, Club 6, Alfredos were all taped off or closed as well.

A lot of the passengers were off the ship on various excursions so it does make sense to try to do the sanitation while in port, but a few (including us) hadn’t planned to get off the ship.  Since the ship was berthed in an industrial area of the city, there was nothing close by that we could just pop out to visit or see.  If you wanted to go anywhere, you had to take a bus or taxi somewhere.  Since we hadn’t already planned anything previously, we were pretty much stuck along with a few others, and spent the time waiting to get back in our cabins and moving from area to area.  After the initial morning trivia, I found all other activities were pretty much cancelled, so it was a good thing I had my Kindle with me.

We were finally able to get back into our cabins mid-afternoon.  Since we hadn’t had lunch, we ended up going to the Lido Deck to the grill and had hamburgers and French fries.  The sun was out and the wind had died down, so even though it wasn’t warm, it wasn’t too cold either, so we actually ate outside on the deck sitting in the sun.  Later, we went to the buffet for dessert.

After the stressful day, I was back in my cabin at a little after 7:00pm, changed into my comfy PJs and watched a movie (Woman in Gold, which was really good), and was asleep early as soon as the movie ended.

While I understand the need to take precautions and to sanitize the ship, it does make it less than enjoyable or relaxing.  Of course, getting upset about it all doesn’t help anything, so I tried to make the best of it, and instead of trying to find things wrong, I’ll try to find things that I do enjoy and appreciate.  One disappointing day doesn’t change the fact that we’ve had some very enjoyable days in London, in Leominster, and in Wales, and I’m glad that I’m able to spend time with my parents, and we're all looking forward to the excursions we have planned in Scotland. 

British Isle Cruise--Day 11

August 5, 2015—Day 11, Liverpool, England

We got up early and quickly had breakfast so we could be off the ship on time to meet our tour guide at 7:30am.  We had originally booked this private tour so we could visit Wales, and cross another country off our list of places we’d been to.  Little did we know that our little drive from Leominster to Southampton would include a drive through Wales, so technically, this would be our second visit to Wales.

The excursion was everything we could hope for.  Our tour guide, Judy, met us at the cruise terminal as promised and we were quickly on our way.  The first few miles were on the motorway and A-roads (which are primary roads), then after entering Wales, we started winding our way through green hilly countryside. 

Our first stop was at an aqueduct dubbed “water in the sky.”  This area of Northern Wales had been a coal mining center as well as a center for the manufacture of bricks.  In the beginning, the coal and bricks were transported via pack animals, but this took a very long time, so an extensive canal network was built to transport the products quicker and easier via the canal boats.  One part of the canal system crossed between two small mountains (or two very high hills) by means of an aqueduct.  Today, the canal boats are motorized, but originally, pack horses were used to pull the long canal boats and there was a pathway along side the aqueduct just wide enough for one horse to walk along.  Our guide told us the horses had to have blinders on so they wouldn’t see over the side of the aqueduct—it was a very long way down to the valley below.  We walked halfway down the path (which is now a sidewalk) admiring both the beauty of the landscape as well as the canal boats that flowed passed us. 

Today, some of these long canal boats can be rented for a week’s vacation and included a kitchen, living area, and bedrooms (how many depended on how long a boat you wanted).  Apparently, all it took was an hour’s instruction and a map of the canal system, and off you could go winding your way around the country stopping at different mooring areas for night, or just to get off and enjoy a meal at a restaurant or pub.  Others, without the bedrooms, could be rented for a daytrip.  Seems like it would be a very relaxing vacation (but I think it would be easy to get bored very quickly).

Our next stop was the town of Llangollen where we would board an old-time steam train to the town of Carrog.  Since we were early, we were able to walk through the town, and once we arrived at the train station, had tea, coffee, and Welsh cakes which were recommended by our tour guide as something we should try.  The Welsh cakes were very good—it was something like a cross between a biscuit that didn’t rise and a cookie.  There were raisins baked into it, and it wasn’t very sweet.  Most of the English, and European, desserts aren’t very sweet (which really makes them more dangerous since you feel as though you could eat more of them—lol).

The train station is very quaint and reminiscent of the train stations from a by-gone age.  Judy had prepurchased the train tickets and had reserved seats for us, which was great since one of the cruise ship’s tours arrived to take the same train.  She saw us settled on the train, then got off to drive her car to Carrog to meet us.  We had an entire compartment by ourselves and enjoyed taking the old steam locomotive train through the countryside stopping at a few stations along the way, passing fields with grazing sheep, and just enjoying the views.  My dad is a train aficionado, so this was a treat for him. 

Judy was waiting for us with a couple of umbrellas (it was sprinkling) when we got off.  She then drove us back to LLangollen to the canal boat station where we boarded one of the horse-drawn canal boats for a leisurely float down one of the many canals.  I was right that this would be a very relaxing thing to do…and I was tempted to take a nap, it was so relaxing. 

When we got off the canal boat, Judy asked us if we would prefer to take the scenic route back to Liverpool, or take the more direct route via the motorways; we elected to take the scenic route.  The Wales countryside consisted of green hills with hidden vales, was sparsely populated, but dotted with quaint little villages, and in between the villages were pastures with sheep and lots of trees.  There was no litter along the streets and no billboards anywhere to be seen. 

Our guide was very informative and regaled us with history, legends, and general information.  It was obvious she loved Wales and was happy to share it with visitors.

Driving through Liverpool, she told us the story of the two half bird, half dragon statues that were perched on a building near our ship.  The half bird, half dragon creature was a symbol of Liverpool.  She then said that the one facing out to sea was female and looked out to sea as a symbol of the women who waited for their men to come back from sea, hoping they would return safely.  The other one was male, and faced inward toward land, and being male, was, of course, looking for the nearest pub.

Judy dropped us off at the Mersey Maritime Museum near our ship as we had asked.  She offered to stay and wait for us, but since we weren’t sure how long we would stay, we told her we would walk back to the ship; it wasn’t that far along the wharf and we could see the ship from there.  Judy had been a wonderful guide and I would highly recommend her for anyone visiting Wales.

The maritime museum, like most of the museums here, was free to enter.  There was an emigrant exhibit we wanted to see since our ancestors boarded their ship in Liverpool, as most of the emigrants did, and sailed to America.  It wasn’t a large exhibit, but it was interesting and provided some idea of the conditions they must have endured, both in port when they arrived and while they waited, sometimes days or weeks, to board the ship that would take them to the new land.  I can’t imagine the courage it must have taken to face the unknown voyage and life in an unknown country (especially without the luxuries we were enjoying on our cruise). 

We were back on board around 3:30, and stopped by the piazza for a warming cappuccino and tea, with a little snack (since we hadn’t had much to eat).  We made plans to meet up at 5:30pm, just before sailaway to have a sailaway pina colada in honor of Sarah, my great grandmother, who boarded a ship in Liverpool along with her six children, including my grandfather who was just a 9-year old child at the time.  I’m sure her sailaway wasn’t nearly as pleasant as ours, but we felt we had to remember her and her bravery in facing an unknown future.  (I wouldn’t have sailed with six children even on today’s ships, let alone back then!)

We thought about going to the dining room, but then I read in the Princess Patter (this ship’s daily schedule of events) that the buffet would be serving Mongolian BBQ.  Since both my mother and I really like Mongolian BBQ, it was back to the buffet once again for dinner.

Surprisingly, the casino opened later in the evening, and we all went there for a short time.  It was packed with passengers, probably because it isn’t open much on this itinerary.  Unfortunately, we all lost. 

Tomorrow, the ship would port in Belfast.  We had not made any excursion plans, and instead we were going to relax, maybe watch one of the many first-run movies in our cabin, and do some laundry.  Unfortunately, plans don’t always work out.  Due to the on-going incident of gastroenteritis (noro) on the ship, we were told they would do another complete sanitation of the ship while it is in Belfast and that we would need to depart our cabins early the next morning.  We’ll see how it goes…and hopefully, the sanitation will help.

British Isle Cruise--Day 10

August 4, 2015—Day 10, Dublin, Ireland (or not)

Our ship was scheduled to arrive in Dublin at 5:00am, an early arrival due to the tides.  I woke up at around 5:30, and looked outside and we were still at sea with gray clouds and rolling swells.  I had heard the approach to Dublin wasn’t an easy one, and I guessed that with the swells, we would most likely miss this port.

Finally, this was confirmed around 8:00am while we were having breakfast with the captain saying that by now, we may have noticed that we weren’t docked in Dublin (ummm, really?).  He said that due to the sea state and because the approach to Dublin required the ship proceed backwards into the channel for 6 miles (the ship is too big to turn around in such a small channel), the decision was made not to port in Dublin for safety reasons.  Instead, the ship would proceed to Liverpool and we would arrive this afternoon around 4:00pm and remain overnight until our scheduled departure at 6:00pm on Wednesday. 

So we would finally have a day at sea.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t very good (cold and windy), so everyone remained indoors and the ship’s public areas were very crowded.  There were no tables or chairs available in the piazza area on Deck 5, nor along the piazza on Decks 6 and 7.  We ended up going back to our cabins where my parents watched one of the many movies on demand that were available.  I went to participate in the trivia games—first the regular trivia, then later to the Discovery at Sea trivia (which was based on facts from shows presented on the Discovery Channel—Princess has an agreement with the Discovery Channel).

We decided to go to lunch at 1:00 thinking the buffet might not be as crowded then as most people would have had lunch earlier.  Unfortunately, after wandering around through the crowds for ½ hour, we gave up as there were no tables available at all.  Some folks weren’t even eating, but were simply sitting there reading or whatever, but were unwilling to move.  Instead, we headed down to Deck 6 to try out Alfredos, the pizzeria on board Royal Princess.  We did get seated and ordered salad and individual, made to order pizzas.  It took over an hour to get the pizza and our waiter apologized and said it was because they were so busy and the pizza ovens were too small.  So we had a late lunch, not finishing until after 3:00pm. 

We watched the ship proceed down the channel and approach Liverpool—from the less crowded area of our balcony.  The ship was docked along her berth on the port side, and since our cabins are on the starboard side, we couldn’t see the actual landing area and docks, but we could see across the channel to the other side of Liverpool.  And wonder of wonders, the sun came out, although the clouds also moved in again and it was still pretty breezy.  In any case, the sun was actually warm, and I’m hoping that the wind will die down and the sun shines tomorrow when we are booked on the first of our private excursions (keeping my fingers crossed). 

After it was announced that passengers could go ashore, we decided that we would go down to the piazza on Deck 5 for a cappuccino and tea.  There were plenty of tables available since a lot of folks had gotten off to visit Liverpool.  We talked about going to the dining room for dinner, but since we had such a late lunch, none of us were hungry.  Since we knew we really should eat something (or we’d be hungry late at night when it was time for bed), we just decided to get a light dinner in the buffet later. 

Afterward, we made plans to meet up early in the morning for breakfast before meeting our tour guide, Judy, for our excursion into Wales, then called it a night.

British Isle Cruise--Day 9

August 3, 2015—Day 9, Cobh, Ireland

As we entered the channel leading to Cobh, Ireland, I knew why the country was called the Emerald Isle—the countryside we passed by was beautifully green.  We passed several smaller isles off our starboard side, then turned and berthed port side to the dock.  Since our cabins are on the starboard side, we didn’t have a view of the town, but could look out over the channel to Spike Island. 

It was extremely windy out, and that wind was extremely cold!  A lot of the passengers had excursions booked to Cork or to Blarney Castle (in hopes of kissing the Blarney Stone), but we had already decided we would simply enjoy the port town of Cobh.  Cobh (which sounds like it's pronounced somewhere between “Cove” and “Cobe”) is a picturesque town clinging to hillsides down to the shore.  St Coleman’s Cathedral dominates the view as it towers over the town with an impressive spire that seems to reach up to heaven itself.  Colorful buildings dot the hillside down to the wharf.  The town looked very quaint and would be a great place to spend the day exploring—if only the wind wasn’t so strong.  We decided to wait till afternoon in the hopes that the temperature would raise a little and the wind would die down.

A little before noon, we ventured out and walk the short distance to the middle of town.  There are monuments and plaques dedicated to both the Titanic and the Lusitania.  Cobh was the last stop for the Titanic and 123 Irish emigrants boarded the ship for its fateful maiden voyage. 

We visited the Titanic Museum which was located in the original White Star Line’s ticket office.  Instead of regular museum tickets, we were each issued a Titanic boarding ticket with the name of one of the embarking passengers.  We were told that at the end, we would find out of we had survived the sinking, or not.  The museum was very interesting, and included videos of one of the Titanic officers welcoming us on board, and pointing the way to Third Class Steerage (most of the emigrating passengers had booked third class with only three booking first class and seven booking second class).  The museum had a replica of both a third class cabin and a first class cabin (very different cabins of course), as well as menus from both third and first class (again, very different menus).  Overall, I thought the museum, although small, was very well done and very interesting.  At the end, a large plaque listed all the Cobh passengers who embarked and whether they were saved or lost.  My ticket was for Mary Lennon, aged 18, who perished at sea when the Titanic sank. 

After visiting the museum, we walked around the town.  The buildings were colorful, with pots of flowers hanging everywhere.  We took some photos, then made our way back to the ship.  The sun actually felt good when the gusts of wind fell or was blocked by a building, but unfortunately, that wasn’t often.  The wind gusts were strong enough to push you along and you had to brace yourself if you wanted to stop to take a picture. 

We had had enough of the biting wind and hurried back to the relative comfort of the ship, stopping in the piazza for a warming cappuccino for my dad and I and tea for my mom, along with a little snack from the International Café (the tiramisu I had was wonderful).

The dining room menu listed several French dishes (coq a vin, stroganoff, etc.), while the buffet had German food along with all the other options they normally have, so we opted for the buffet once again.  I had sauerbraten, red cabbage, sauerkraut, and spatzle along with zucchini and it was all very good, while my parents had minute steak and baked potatoes along with a little of this and a little of that, and dessert too of course (my dad definitely has a sweet tooth). 

The buffet on this ship is huge, but we find it a little confusing.  Because the buffet is so large, it’s not easy to find where everything is.  The food is laid out in little cross hallways (across the width of the ship) of which there were several, but to get from one cross hallway to another, you had to go lengthwise (up and down the length of the ship).  You almost have to walk the entire buffet going into each cross hallway to see what they had, and then go back to where you started (halfway down the length of the ship) to get to what you saw at the beginning.  While some things were duplicates, others were not, so you never knew if there was something different in one of the cross hallways.  If you started filling your plate at the beginning, then you’d miss out on the offerings at the other end.  To complicate matters, there are no self-serve plates or utensils (due to the on-going health precautions), so you had to go past the first "cross hallway" before you could get to the crewmember who was handing out plates and utensils.  I know a lot of people have said the buffet is much better on this ship than on others, but I’ve found it a little bit confusing.  The food has been alright—typical buffet with some things very good and others just OK.  Here we are, three days into the cruise, and we haven’t gone to the dining room yet.  At some point, I’m sure we’ll go, especially when there is a menu that appeals to us.

Our ship left Cobh while we were having dinner and the captain announced that the swells were projected to be 3 meters (almost 10 feet) on our way to Dublin and that they would try to sail as comfortably as possible (which means they would probably have the stabilizers deployed to minimize the roll). 

We sat around for a little while just talking, then I headed down to order an after dinner cocktail and sat talking with a few folks.  Later, I once again fell asleep to the gentle rocking of the ship.

British Isle Cruise--Day 8

August 2, 2015—Day 8, St Peters Port, Guernsey

Since we had no specific plans for today, we had intended on sleeping in.  Good intentions don’t always work, and I was awake before 6:00am (despite not going to sleep until late).  After getting dressed, I stepped out onto the balcony (I’m really going to be spoiled with a balcony instead of my usual inside cabin); it was fairly warm out, not warm by California standards, but definitely warmer than it has been.  My dad said he had been up since a little after 5:00, and my mother was just waking up.

We headed up to the Lido deck for breakfast and afterward, I headed aft with another cup of coffee to enjoy the nice weather and to log on and post.  There is a very nice deck at the back of the ship and I know I’ll spend a lot of time here just writing up my journal and posting on line, especially early in the morning.  Since it’s at the back of the ship, it’s out of the wind and the sun was shining (keeping fingers crossed and knocking on wood that we continue to have good weather). 

Our ship was anchored at St Peter Port on the island of Guernsey.  Guernsey is the only part of the United Kingdom that had been occupied by the Germans during World War II.  Since this was a tender port, and I had heard that the tender ride was fairly rough, we decided to just stay on the ship and relax. 

Since many of the passengers had gone ashore, the ship was fairly empty and it was a great time to explore.  This ship is huge, much larger than any other ship I’d been on!  We spent a good part of the morning and early afternoon walking around the three decks that surrounded the piazza area, then sat near the International Cafe for tea and cappuccino. 

We had a late lunch in the buffet, which started to get crowded with the returning passengers.  The ship was scheduled to leave at 3:00pm and as we started to sail, my parents headed down to the cabin while I went aft to join up with the other Cruise Critic folks for the meet and greet that was scheduled—it was nice to meet a few folks and put faces to the names I had “met” on line. 

It was formal night tonight, and the menu was the special 50^th Anniversary menu which really didn’t appeal to us.  So we decided to skip the formal dinner and the Captain’s Champagne Waterfall.  Instead, we visited the casino which was finally open for the first time this cruise from 5:30pm till around 9:00pm.  Since this itinerary has us sailing so near the British Isles, the casino won’t be open very much (in order to open the casino, the ship has to be in international waters).  My parents had lost their designated “play money” the first hour and headed back to their cabin.  I was down to my last $20 out of the $60 I had allowed myself when I started winning, and by the time the casino closed, I cashed out $300!  Woo hoo!!

When I headed back to the cabin for bed, the ship was moving quite a bit and I was rocked to sleep as we made our way toward Ireland.

British Isle Cruise--Day 7

August 1, 2015—Day 7, Embarkation

Today would be both exciting and frustrating:  exciting since we would be boarding the Royal Princess for the British Isle Cruise; frustrating since we had been notified that there would be delayed embarkation due to the need for deep cleaning and sanitation of both the ship and terminal due to the gastrointestinal virus (commonly known as noro) on board during the previous cruise.

When more than 2% of the population on board become ill with the noro virus, cruise ships report it to the CDC.  When more than 3% become ill, the ship goes into code red, which consists of enhanced sanitation procedures during the cruise, including no self-service at the buffet, passengers are handed their plates and utensils, and there are no salt and pepper shakers on the tables (instead passengers are handed little paper packs of salt and pepper when requested)—there are other procedures too, of course, but these are the ones that seem to be noticed by the passengers the most.  When that cruise ends and the passengers from that cruise disembark, the ship undergoes deep cleaning and sanitation.  Once those departing passengers clear through the terminal, the terminal is also sanitized to prevent re-contamination by the embarking passengers.  Unfortunately, that means the terminal is closed until the sanitation is complete and there is a long delay before the embarking passengers (us) can process through the terminal and board the ship.  While the delay is for a very good reason, it does throw the entire embarkation process off track resulting in some chaos.

I had received an email from Princess notifying us of the delayed embarkation and that boarding wouldn’t start until 3:00pm.  Also, to minimize congestion at the terminal, there would be staggered boarding by deck number.  Since we were on Caribe deck, we were scheduled to board at 5:00pm.  Checkout from our hotel was no later than noon.  We needed to find something to do until it was time to board.

Since we would not be on board for lunch, we decided to have a late breakfast.  That actually worked well since none of us were hungry when we first woke up.  Instead, we went for a walk early in the morning.  Our hotel was one block up from the road that ran parallel to the dock area, so we decided to walk that way to see all the ships in port.  There were four ships:  a P&O ship, Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas (one of the largest ships in the world), the Caribbean Princess, and our ship, the Royal Princess (one of the largest Princess ships).  By the time we got back to the hotel it was 10:00am and we went to the hotel restaurant for their breakfast buffet. 

After breakfast, we finished packing up, then took all the luggage downstairs where the hotel would hold them for us until it was time to go.  Then we walked over to the mall just to kill some time.  I saw a lot of folks just sitting around with carry-on luggage and later found out that the Princess buses from Heathrow had dropped off the passengers at the mall and would then pick them up later for the transport to the terminal.  Unfortunately (lol), killing time at the mall meant that I ended up spending some money (and will have more things to pack in my luggage).  We then went back to the hotel and ordered something to drink just to have someplace to wait.  Since we had priority boarding due to our loyalty status with Princess, I had prebooked a taxi to take us to the port at 2:45pm.

When we arrived, there was already a very long line outside the terminal since they hadn’t quite opened.  We joined the line and finally made our way inside the terminal.  Once inside and up the escalator, we were able to go to the preferred boarding lines to check in.  This part went fairly quickly as there were very few people in this line (I felt bad for the hundreds of people waiting in the general boarding line, but not enough to give up my preferred boarding).  From the time we entered the preferred boarding line through check-in and security, we were on board and at our cabin in about 30 minutes.  

We met our cabin steward and had him open the divider between our balconies so we could go back and forth between our cabins through the balcony doors, and also have a longer balcony (the balconies on the Royal Princess are much narrower than on other ships).  Our luggage showed up within 20 minutes, so we spent the next hour unpacking.  Our steward had told us the passenger safety drill (muster drill) was scheduled for 6:30pm and by the time we had unpacked it was less than an hour away, so not really time to eat dinner in the dining room.  Since we were hungry, we went up to the Lido deck to check out the Horizon Court buffet which we heard was really huge on this ship. 

The buffet is incredibly long—twice as long as on other ships.  On the other Princess ships, there is an inside swimming pool mid-aft, just outside the buffet; on the Royal (and presumably on her sister ship, the Regal), that swimming pool doesn’t exist and instead, the buffet continues into this area making it twice the length of other ships.  This means there was plenty of seating, but also it isn’t easy to find all the food in the different areas without walking half the ship (from aft to mid-ship). 

Code red procedures were in place as everyone entering the buffet area had to wash their hands (there is a wash station set up at the entrances to the buffet with sink, soap, and paper towels) and use the hand sanitizer.  This was being enforced much better than I’ve seen on other ships (although this morning my dad said he did see a couple of people who managed to avoid it by walking in the “out” door—I don’t know why is this such an issue with some folks).

Since it was getting close to the time for the muster drill, I just had soup and my parents had a salad.  As we were getting ready to leave, the captain announced that the passenger services drill would be delayed until further notice.  I knew this meant that sailaway was also being delayed since the safety drill is required to take place before the ship sails.  We headed back to the cabin and stood out on our balcony watching as more people were still boarding.  Finally, it was announced that the drill would take place at 7:30pm and we gathered our life jackets and headed to muster station E in the Princess Live theater. 

At the beginning of the drill, the captain told us about the need to maintain strict sanitary practices and that the additional precautions would continue until it was determined the ship was in the clear.  Hopefully, there would be no new cases of noro on board, and we would come out of red—I guess we’ll know in the next few days.

By the time the muster drill was over, it was time for sailaway.  My dad and I quickly went to get three pina coladas and we sat out on our balcony with our “traditional” sailaway pina coladas as the ship pulled away from the dock and headed out.  Unlike other ships, the Royal’s ship horn wasn’t the normal horn you hear, but instead plays a portion of the song from the TV series, “The Love Boat.”  The three of us sipped our sailaway pina coladas and watched as we headed out.  After a stressful, chaotic day, we were finally under way at 8:30pm—very late for a sailaway that was originally scheduled for 5:00pm.

After finishing our pina coladas, we headed back to the buffet for a little more food since we hadn’t eaten much.  But since it was so late, we only ate a little, then headed back to our cabin.  Unlike other cruises, I didn’t head to my favorite bar, but instead finished unpacking the toiletries and getting a few things organized, then finally at 11:00pm climbed into bed.  

The ship was under full power headed to our first port call at St Peter Port on the island of Guernsey—the captain had said we would make the port on time despite the late departure.  Although the ship was steady and wouldn’t rock me to sleep, the slight vibration of the ship sailing at full power was comforting and I fell asleep thinking of the days to come.

British Isle Cruise--Day 6

July 31, 2015—Day 6, Leominster to Southampton

We had breakfast in the Talbot Hotel restaurant, which looked like the old coaching inn it had once been with low timbered ceilings and antique furniture.  Afterwards we visited the market in the town square, then wandered around the town one last time before loading up the car and checking out. 

I programmed the GPS to take us to Hampton Court Castle and Garden just outside of Leominster, then on to Southampton, and off we went following the directions. 

It only took us a few minutes to get there and we arrived just as they were opening.  Hampton Court Castle should not to be confused with the Hampton Court Palace outside of London.  The Castle was originally built in the 1400s and is much older than the more famous Hampton Court Palace by about 100 years.  The grounds included a typical English garden, a maze of hedges, and even a sunken garden with a small waterfall.  The tour of the castle itself took an hour and our guide was very informative about the different parts of the castle and which areas were restored and by whom.  A lot of the restoration was done by an American who bought the castle when it was in very bad shape and had it decorated to look like a medieval castle.  It did look very much what you would imagine a medieval castle would look like.

Then it was back in the car for the drive to Southampton.  I had printed a Google map as a backup to the GPS which said the drive should take almost 3 hours.  We followed the directions the GPS provided and it was soon apparent that it was not the same route I had printed.  I know that happens on my GPS at home too, so I wasn’t worried.  After an hour of driving on very, very narrow winding roads when I thought we should actually be on a motorway (freeway), I started to wonder where we actually were.  After another half hour, which means we should have been halfway there, I still had no idea where we were when all of a sudden we saw a sign that said “Welcome to Wales.”  This was clearly not the route I had intended to take, but at this point we had no choice but to continue on what must have been the “scenic route.”  We finally reached Bristol and were back in England and on the motorway headed towards London when the traffic came to a very slow crawl—and I do mean a very slow crawl.  A drive that should have taken 3 hours ended up taking over 5 hours due to the traffic jam.  The good news is that the GPS did actually get us here, and once again, my dad survived the nerve-wracking drive without having a heart attack. 

We checked into the Premier Inn West Quay Hotel, then walked across the street to a shopping mall and had dinner.  After the long stressful drive and the hectic pace of the past few days, I think we all need some time to unwind—good thing we’re going on a cruise!