Cobh, Ireland

Hello from Cobh (pronounced Cove), Ireland!

It was a bit of a blustery day today. While not too cold it was most definitely windy but it didn't stop me from making the rounds around town. 

Cobh (previously called Queenstown) was the final port stop for the Titanic with the ship picking up 123 passengers here before it made its way towards New York. Today I wanted to get to the Titanic Experience before I did anything else. Looking at the plentiful availability of tickets online this morning (tours begin every 15 minutes) I knew I could chance it and go on down early. It was just a few minutes from the ship but took me a little longer once I was out of the port area as I had to manage cobblestones and curbs and people trying to sell me taxi tours.

Follow the walking man to get out of port

When I arrived and asked about the next tour with availability her answer was...in four minutes. Talk about great timing!

Each person is given a boarding pass representing one of the passengers who joined the Titanic in Cobh on April 11, 1912. I had Bridget Driscoll, a 27 year old third class passenger. At the end of tour we would find out whether our passenger was one of the few survivors. 

The tour was part video, part live tour guide, and part self-guided tour. We saw a cabin for third class passengers,

a first class passenger cabin,

and viewed what is left of the actual tender dock where the passengers last stepped foot on land.

We heard stories of both families and individuals. As we stood listening to our tour guide talk about the Titanic it seemed strange to have my ship in the background.

Between the guided and self-guided parts I spent about an hour there. I contemplated whether I wanted to pick up anything for Scooter while I was there (didn't want bad Titanic luck), but when I found out my passenger was one of those who did survive, I made a purchase. 

Can't leave Ireland without more extra luck, too!

By the time I left the gift shop it was packed with people waiting for their tours. I checked the online ticket situation when I got back to the ship and it made me really glad I had gone early.

Yep, it was another
early bird gets the worm situation

I spent the rest of my time in Cobh wandering the streets while trying to avoid the hills. Flowers were abundant and looked nice when paired with the colorful buildings.

As you would expect in Ireland, pubs were everywhere. Need to call a ride?

Several crew members were heading to the churches and cathedrals but with the steep hills I knew wouldn't be able to make it so my pictures were taken from below.

Update: One of the crew members who helps me on and off the ship with the scooter sent me up-close photos he took today. So beautiful!

It was another day of wandering not too far from the ship. After a few hours on Scooter my bum was more than happy to have a nearby home to return to.

We have a couple sea days coming up. We'll have the Most Traveled Guest lunch on one of those days and the other? I'll probably just relax and catch up on the new movies they added to the TV for August. Then on Monday we'll be back in Iceland. See you then!

Falmouth, England

Hello from Falmouth! Well, not exactly. When we were here two months ago we arrived to this:

June 11

Early this morning I heard the fog horn blaring so I almost expected to see the same view. Then when the ship's thrusters/engines kept running even after we anchored offshore I thought we would see the same foggy view.  I found out they were needed to keep the ship in place while we were tendering.

But we had blue sky. And wind. And sailboats!

We had to take a very bumpy, very long 30 minute tender ride (each way!) to get to shore in Falmouth. After talking with some crew members we all decided to stay onboard the ship. It wound up being a great decision. I was able to sit on the balcony in the sunshine watching the sailboats.

Until I couldn't. 

By midmorning the clouds had moved back in.

Followed shortly by the fog.

Once in a while I could see a few more boats here and there.

But by afternoon it was nothing but pea soup. I could occasionally hear people on the sailboats but couldn't see them. Just a sea of voices.

The Falmouth harbor cam showed things were similar onshore.

By the crowds left here onboard it looked like I wasn't the only one who made the decision to stay put. 

At the end of the day our location (according to marinetraffic.com) looked like this. Can you imagine the ship and tender operations without using thrusters/engines?

Crossing my fingers for better weather tomorrow when we're in Cobh, Ireland. See you then!

Southampton Turnaround and a New Cruise

Hello from Southampton! Here at 8 PM I just realized I didn't even take a picture of port today.

I DID take a photo of the White Cliffs of Dover last night. Thankfully the rain stopped just long enough for me to finally get a picture.

I DID take a picture of the bunkering barge as it was getting ready to pull up alongside the ship this morning.

I DID take a picture of the laundry room where I spent some time getting everything I owned washed.

I DID take a picture of the Internet cafe where I printed off some important papers.

I DID take a picture from inside the glass elevator when the ship was empty.

I DID take a picture of a beverage I made (and consumed) while sitting on the sunny balcony.

I DID take a picture of the new Bayou Cafe menu. It's similar to Crown Grill but they're still calling it the Bayou Cafe.

I did NOT take a picture of my dinner because it was a flop. My split and grilled with garlic lobster tail was not split - and not cooked. Like raw. Thank goodness for a tiny baked potato or I would have gone hungry. And thank goodness it was a complimentary dinner anyway because there is no way I would pay $39 for that. It was their first night with the new menu and I heard the cooks were struggling with it. Yep, I can confirm.

I DID take a picture of my view at dinner. 

So, where are we going this cruise? Greenland, I'm finally coming for you!

But first, tomorrow we're in Falmouth, England. See you then!

Newcastle, England

Hello from Newcastle! Sort of. Actually, not at all.

This is another one of those ports where the city is listed on the itinerary but you're not exactly docking there. Newcastle is nine miles away but with the free shuttle it should be easy to access, right? Nope, not for me. Today's shuttle didn't drop off in the city but instead dropped off at the train station where you could then take the train into the city. A little more complicated but doable. Except...as I've seen before on this trip, mobility scooters aren't allowed on the trains. So no Newcastle for me.

When we first arrived in port I went on Deck 15 to take a picture of what I thought was Newcastle. So pretty. Nah, it was just the river we came up to get to the dock. 

Not even close to Newcastle

Once I got my bearings on where things were I found out Newcastle was out here somewhere, nine miles past the ship and the containers and the industrial area. Not nearly as picturesque.

Somewhere out there

Not sure why here at the Port of Tyne they consider themselves the UK's best port of call, but they do.

There wasn't a lot to do in the area. I went to the outlet mall but found it wasn't much different than those back in the US with so many stores closed up. 

Still can see the ship from the mall

I wandered through a park.

Watched a bumblebee working in the butterfly bush.

Rolled over several types of pavement, sometimes almost all at once.

Found trash on the ground with a message for me.

Tried to follow bike trails.

Followed a different path and somehow found my way back to the ship.

Dodged a storm.

Worked my way around the marina until I really made it back to the ship.

Not the most exciting of days for the last port of call on this cruise but at least I did go out and about. We have a sea day tomorrow and then we'll be in Southampton on Wednesday for yet another turnaround day. See you then!

Edit: Big restaurant news for the ship…As of Wednesday, Bayou Cafe will be no more. I recently heard from a waiter it’s going to be turned into the Crown Grill and by the notice I received tonight it looks like the change is on its way.

Honningsvag, Norway

Hello from Honningsvag!

Today the only exciting things of my day happened before 8:00 AM. The first one occurred at about 4:30 this morning when I opened my eyes and saw this out my balcony door. This big cliff is Nordkapp, the North Cape. It's the northernmost part of Europe (that you can reach by car) and the farthest north we'll be traveling.

It's a popular tourist destination with the ship charging almost $200 for the opportunity to ride a bus to get to it from Honningsvag. Or, you can do like I did and save my money and take pictures from the sea. It's not always sunny at the North Cape and all I have is an iPhone but...

I'll take Blurry Monuments for $200, Alex. 

Zoom in and you might be able to see the monument on the right side

My second most exciting thing of the day happened at breakfast. I've been experimenting with all kinds of foods in order to find something with flavor. Today's experiment was a side by side taste test of an English Muffin with orange marmalade versus one with strawberry jam. While I couldn't taste the bread, the butter, or the fruits the jams were made from, I was able to determine one difference between the two. Sweet and sour have arrived! Well, at least for today.

Marmalade = sour
Strawberry jam = sweet

The remainder of my day didn't involve doing much but staying put, sometimes on the balcony and sometimes on the bed.

Almost reminded me of Kauai

Rain moved in and out today

Yesterday's adventurous adventure in Tromso took all my energy and added a whole bunch of joint pain. Getting dressed, climbing on and off the scooter, and even trips to the bathroom are difficult right now so I knew it was best not to push it but give my body a rest. Anyway, I took plenty of pictures when I was here back in June so I don't feel too guilty about skipping out on today. You can read the blog post about my June visit here.

Lucky for me we have three straight sea days coming up. This bod is more than happy to use all three to work on recovering in order to be ready for Newcastle, England on Monday. See you then!

Post-Covid tastes and smells: 

Tastes - sweet and sour, occasionally garlic

Smells - Rosemary, lavender, sunscreen, fresh varnish, strawberry body spray, pine body spray, lemon hand sanitizer