British Isles Cruise

SAT., SEPT. 2 thru FRI., SEPT. 15, 2023

After our final morning of wandering around Amsterdam with our international pod, we walked back to the hotel to pick up our bags and catch an Uber to the Amsterdam Port to board Celebrity Apex, our home for the next 12 nights. After a busy 5 days exploring Amsterdam, we were looking forward to chilling on the balcony of our stateroom for a little while and, of course, exploring the ship. We managed to do both and were completely blown away by how gorgeous the ship is… beautiful art installations throughout the ship, a stunning theatre, and many unique bar/entertainment venues. 

We finally re-connected with Linda & Phil in front of the Cypress restaurant in time for dinner. There are 4 main dining rooms on this ship, which is very nice because there are 3,000+ passengers. Between the 4 main dining rooms and 7 specialty restaurants you don’t feel like you’re having dinner in a ballroom. After dinner we listened to a saxophonist, Tommy Proulx, in the amazing theater, who was accompanied by the “Apex Orchestra.” All were outstanding musicians! They played a variety of jazz, pop, and R&B instrumental tunes. Afterwards I headed with Linda & Phil to Eden, one of the many entertainment/bar venues on board ship, to listen to music while Gary played some blackjack. 

Sunday, Sept. 3rd, was a Sea Day, which meant sleeping late, listening to an “enrichment talk” in the morning on the sinking of the Bismarck (a tad dry), enjoying the pool, and listening to another enrichment talk in the afternoon regarding the first 3 ports of call. Gary did some afternoon gambling and was entertained by a guy who lost over $2,000 at the blackjack table and then got another $10,000 in chips. Wow! Gary left the table about then so not sure how that turned out. 

Our intn’l pod had dinner at Cosmopolitan, one of the four main dining restaurants. This evening’s show was a Scottish singer, Hannah Howie, doing broadway hits. She was fabulous. We ended the night by watching the Chandelier Light Show in the Grand Plaza… picture a gigantic chandelier with lights blinking on and off in synch to music with bartenders performing tricks and you get the idea. They do this twice every night! 

 

On Monday, Sept. 4th, the port of call was Portland (Dorset), UK, situated on the southern coast of England. Upon completion of Portland’s harbor in 1872, it was the largest manmade harbor in the world. It remains one of the largest in the world today at a 1,300 acre surface area. There are 250 boats that call the Portland Marina home. 

Gary and I headed to the Minterne Estate & Gardens in Dorchester on a shore excursion. We felt like we had a Downton Abbey experience! We were greeted by Lord Digby who regaled us with his family’s history including ancestors who fought in the Battle of Trafalgar and his colorful Aunt Pam who was married to Winston Churchill’s son. The house was rebuilt in 1906 because of dry rot issues but it still sits on the same original footprint. There are tapestries hanging in the dining room that came from the original home and were owned by the Churchill family.

We had tea and scones in the beautiful dining room (along with 25 others!) then toured the gardens. 

Minterne Estate has been in Lord Digby’s family for 250 years. His ancestors bought it from the Churchill family with the contents. Lord Digby’s Aunt Pam was quite the colorful character and was once married (unhappily) to Winston Churchill’s son. She was a force to be reckoned with and Winston used her to help convince the Americans to join the war effort. She had affairs with many notables, among them the correspondent Ed Murrow. She eventually married Averell Harriman, the American politician and was very active in the American Democratic Party. She became the Ambassador of France under Bill Clinton and he even gave a eulogy at her funeral.

The estate sits on 1200 acres, and has one of the best rhododendron gardens in all of England. Unfortunately it wasn’t rhododendron season when we visited but still a lovely walk thru Lord Digby’s gardens. 

Afterwards we headed to the town of Dorset to see the Cerne Abbas Giant, a towering hillside carving that is 180 ft. high. It depicts a standing nude male “well endowed” and wielding a large 139 ft club in his right hand. Thus he’s also known as “Rude Man.” He wasn’t all that easy to see! He is outlined by shallow trenches cut in the turf and backfilled with chalk rubble. Apparently he’s a big deal in these parts! We thought he was over-rated! The origin and age of the figure are unclear. He’s either a few hundred years old or a few thousand. Nobody knows. It’s said if a woman spends the night underneath the giant, she will conceive. Don’t think I’d bet the farm on that one. 

A fun excursion! BUT, the air conditioning wasn’t working well on the bus for the return trip back to the ship. It was a warm day! Gary and I were in the mid-section of the bus and didn’t think it was all that bad. Others at the back of the bus were dying. A few women stripped down to their bras and camisoles. One guy sat on the steps at the front of the bus where the A/C was flowing better with his shirt pulled up and his head between his legs. Later that same day we received a letter of apology from the Shore Excursion Department with a 50% refund on the excursion “as compensation for your bus experience.” That was nice. It can go towards the purchase of a new visor for me since I left mine on the bus… never to be seen again!  It was a favorite that I’d had for years! 

Once back on the ship we enjoyed the pool and hot tub and linked up with Linda & Phil over dinner at the Tuscan restaurant that evening. We had lots to talk about since they had done a different shore excursion. The show in the theater that evening was Crystallize. It was like a Cirque du Soleil production and was phenomenal! 

 

On Tuesday, Sept. 5th, the ship docked at Cobh (pronounced Cove) in the Republic of Ireland. A very picturesque port with colorful houses along the shoreline called “Deck of Cards.” Cobh was made famous for being the last port of call for the ill-fated Titanic voyage in 1912. As luck would have it another ill-fated ship, the Lusitania, was struck by a U-boat near Cobh in 1915 which resulted in 1200 deaths. On a more positive note, Cobh is also the home of Annie Moore, the first immigrant to have her name written down at Ellis Island Station in New York Harbor. There are bronze statues of Annie at Ellis Island and Cobh. 

In hindsight we should have stayed in Cobh and explored that charming seaside port. But the allure of Cork, the 2nd largest city in Ireland, was calling. (Dublin is the largest city.) We had signed up for a Cork City Walking Tour & Irish Pub. It was a brisk walk through the city with about 45 people. Too many people. We got spoiled in Amsterdam with our tiny tour groups. But we did see some of the 29 bridges that cross the city center, lots of art deco architecture, St Patrick Street which is the main shopping thoroughfare, and the English Market, which is the largest market in Ireland… unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore it. The city also has very interesting street lights all around the downtown… they resemble sails. Very unique. (Photo below.) We capped off our walk with a visit to an Irish pub for some Irish brew… although I actually had a Heineken instead. In addition, we were treated to some pretty Irish countryside on the drive to and from.  

Some facts about Ireland. In 1949 the Republic of Ireland gained its independence. Northern Ireland (including Belfast) is still controlled by the UK. There is 7 million cattle in Ireland, and 6 million people so there are more cattle than people! Ireland’s retirement age is 66 and it’s going up to 67. (France’s retirement age is 60 and they want to increase to 62 and everyone is pitching a fit.) Average age of farmers in Ireland is mid-60s and most have 80 acres and about 100 head of cattle so fairly small farms. 

Linda & Phil did a different shore excursion and had a longer outing. Gary and I got back before they did and hung out by the pool. Then the two of us had dinner in the Cypress Restaurant (mediterranean cuisine which was very good). We eventually caught up with L&P at the theater and saw the Shamrock Tenors who were outstanding! 

 

On Wednesday, Sept. 6th, at 7AM our ship docked in Dunmore East, Ireland in complete fog. It felt like we were on the Titanic! After waiting almost an hour, the fog finally lifted and we were able to tender to shore. We then traveled by bus to the town of New Ross for our shore excursion to see the replica of the Dunbrody Emigrant Ship. The “new” Dunbrody is an exact replica of the original, although the bell is the only artifact from the original ship. The town of New Ross is where emigrants started their journey to leave Ireland.

One million people died in Ireland beginning in 1845 because of the potato famine. Two million people emigrated to the U.S. over a 10-year period including Patrick Kennedy who left New Ross via ship in 1849. 112 years later, his great grandson, John F. Kennedy, Jr., became President. An amazing American immigrant story. JFK visited New Ross while he was President to visit relatives still living in the area and to see the memorial that was completed in his honor near where the Dunbrody is docked. 

The Dunbrody was built in Canada and could carry 200 to 300 passengers making 3 or 4 voyages per year. A ticket to Canada was cheaper than a ticket to the USA so many passengers opted to disembark in Canada to save money. However the Dunbrody did travel from Ireland to New York City and Savannah, GA as well as Quebec. The ship returned with cotton or timber making both Atlantic crossings profitable. It carried thousands of Irish emigrants to their new lives between 1845 and 1851. There were berths for 10 first class passengers who enjoyed such perks as dining with the captain. While it was not an easy crossing for them, it was still a much better experience than for those without their financial resources. 

While many of these ships were known as “coffin ships” because the conditions were so deplorable for steerage passengers, the Dunbrody’s young captain John Williams (age 27) had a much lower mortality rate than the standard 40%. He made sure food was distributed fairly. Captain Williams also quarantined the sick so as not to infect other passengers, a revolutionary concept at the time. Following standard practices of the day, steerage families were allowed 1 bunk per family, and were allowed 30 minutes a day at the top for fresh air. The 20-person crew was paid well but had to wait until they returned to Ireland to receive payment so they didn’t jump ship in NYC. The crew made double that of an Irish farmer. 

Our visit included a tour of the museum, a walk on the dock to see the JFK Memorial, and a guided tour of the Dunbrody complete with “passenger re-enactments” by actors portraying actual passengers. Gary & I came away with a much better understanding of the immigrant experience and the hardships they had to endure. 

Afterwards we enjoyed a bus ride back thru the countryside, then lounged by the pool, before joining Linda & Phil for dinner at the Normandie Restaurant (French cuisine) and the evening’s entertainment who was Ralph Harris, a comedian who appeared on Seinfeld, In Living Color and was in Dreamgirls. He was fabulous. We’re soaking up the cruising lifestyle while we’re here! 

 

Thursday, Sept. 7th, we docked in Liverpool. What an impressive city! Home of the Beatles and so much more! It has an amazing waterfront area called Pier Head with its three stunning historic buildings called the “three graces”… Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building. There’s also Albert Dock with its ancient cobblestones. The whole port is striking as you cruise in.

The Royal Liver Building has a clock face bigger than Big Ben’s. There are birds at the top of the building’s towers. They are named Bertie and Bella. The male, Bertie, looks over the city and the female, Bella, looks to the sea. The building, headquarters to the Royal Liver Assurance, was opened in 1911.

There are two Beatles museums and over 20 stops on the Beatles tour including an Eleanor Rigby sculpture, a Brian Epstein sculpture (the famous Beatles manager), and Mathew Street… where the Beatles got their start! Also The Cavern Club, where the Beatles played 292 times between 1961 and 1963. 

We had signed up for a Liverpool Walking and Beatles Tour. In hindsight the city was so easy to navigate, we should have just wandered around on our own. As it turned out, we got left behind at one of the stops on our walking tour! For the record, this was not our fault! We were all given a 20-minute coffee/pee break. Gary and I sat outside in the front courtyard because it was hot inside. The rest of them ended up going out the back courtyard. We never saw them. The guide mentioned we could sit in the front courtyard, but he didn’t do a sweep before leaving. There was another couple that also got left behind! 

We used Google maps and headed to the Beatles museum on our own, hoping we’d meet up with our tour since the guide had our entry tickets. It worked out! The Beatles Story (museum) had many iconic displays including a Yellow Submarine plus airplane seats marking the Beatles trip to NY and their famous appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. Brian Epstein, their manager, negotiated with the producers of the Ed Sullivan show for a lower appearance fee but more air time, knowing that exposure was more important than a one-time cash payout. Once we toured the museum, we finished the walking tour on our own! 

Once again Linda & Phil had done a different shore excursion so we reunited that evening at one of the “specialty restaurants” on board ship called Eden. Delicious! The evening’s entertainment was a “Beatles Celebration.” How fitting!

 

On Friday, Sept. 8th, we docked in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Until this trip, I did not realize that Ireland was still split in two. Northern Ireland part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland a free and independent country. Although both Irelands are part of the British Isles. Confusing! 

Our excursion today was a Small Group Titanic Trail & Belfast City Tour. Belfast is where Titanic was built and is home to the Titanic Belfast Museum and the Titanic complex, considered one of the best tourist attractions in the world. As our guide said… the three known names around the world are God, Coca Cola and Titanic. 

Harland & Wolff built Titanic; they were the largest ship builders in the world at the time. The Thompson Dry Dock, built in 1904, was the biggest dry dock in the world and best known for having accommodated Titanic during her fitting-out. 

The outdoor exhibits visually showcase the height and breath of the ship. The vertical poles in the courtyard show the height of Titanic and how it would have blocked the view of everything else when it was here. The grass plots in the courtyard symbolize the number of deaths for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class passengers plus crew. Third class passengers suffered the most deaths at 709, almost 75% died… the crew suffered 696 casualties…. 77% perished. So sad… the statistics are heartbreaking. 

The original pump house is still on the property, although part of it is now being used as a distillery. There is also a WWI ship on display, HMS Caroline. One of three remaining warships that served with the Royal Navy during WWI.

The exterior of the Titanic Museum is clad in 3,000 individual silver anodized aluminum shards to reflect and resemble water. The building stands 126 feet high, the same height as Titanic’s hull. The indoor exhibits give you a sense of how Titanic was built (over 3 million rivets were used) and the furnishings, beautifully appointed… even 2nd class passengers received much better accommodations than other ships at the time. They had an interactive exhibit where you could sit in a two-seater car and move through the noise and confusion of the shipbuilding. There was also a lot of information on the sad statistics… for example the youngest death on Titanic was 4 months and the oldest death was 72 years. 98% of men who worked in catering were lost. On a more positive note, there were industry-wide changes implemented after the loss of Titanic so it would never happen again… life boats for every soul on board and lifeboat drills, radio rooms manned 24/7, reducing speed or altering course near ice and many other improvements. Sobering but an extremely well done museum. 

Afterwards, we did a City Tour via bus and saw Belfast City Hall, the Titanic Memorial, and the Grand Opera to name a few of the sights. Then back to the ship for dinner at the Cosmopolitan Restaurant with Linda & Phil, music, and another amazing theater production called Tree of Life. The entertainment on board has been phenomenal.

 

Saturday, Sept. 9th, we visited Edinburgh, Scotland and walked the Royal Mile from Edinburg Castle to Holyrood Palace. Gary, unfortunately wasn’t feeling great so he passed on this 8-hour excursion. But Linda, Phil and I thoroughly enjoyed Edinburgh. A very busy city with lots of historic buildings, tourists, street performers, and multiple brides on the Saturday that we visited. We were part of a walking tour. I tended to be the one bringing up the rear in our group since I was taking photos (Linda was a close second), the tour guide looked for me, the “woman in blue,” then she knew she had everybody. Haha.

Edinburgh Castle, unoccupied now, was a military stronghold several centuries ago set strategically on top of a large hill… hard to sneak up on its inhabitants. Every August for three weeks the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes place, a very large and popular military display. Remnants of bleachers were still visible when we visited. Apparently it’s quite something to see! 

Holyrood Palace is the official residence of the British Monarch in Scotland, and has served as such since the 16th century. We toured inside but no photos were allowed. It was beautiful and stately with lovely gardens. The Holyrood Abbey founded in 1128 is still on the property… it is ruins now but sooooo gorgeous.

Edinburgh (pronounced Edinboro) is the capital of Scotland and home to the largest Scotch grain whisky producer, The North British Distillery Company. When first entering the city near the distillery, a smell of burnt toast pervades the air which is from the roasting malt. 

Afterwards back on board ship, the four of us had dinner at the open air Rooftop Restaurant… naturally it’s the one evening it was chilly, and we had a few raindrops. All part of the adventure. We were rewarded with a beautiful sunset! We capped off the evening with a fabulous Aretha Franklin tribute show in the theater. 

 

We had a relaxing Sea Day on Sunday, Sept. 10th. I found a quiet spot to sit and enjoyed reading, a view of the ocean, and watching dolphins frolicking while Gary did a little gambling. Afterwards our intn’l pod participated in Music Trivia and did horribly. The Activities Director mashed two songs together…. lyrics from one with the tune from the other, and you had to guess both artist and song title. Very confusing! We also played regular trivia and did better at that. In the evening we saw another Cirque du Soleil type show called Caravan, a twist on a circus variety show, which was presented in one of the ship’s smaller venues so you were up close and personal with the performers. Amazing. Later in the evening, we saw Davie Howes in the main theater. He played several instruments, was high energy, and featured the Apex Orchestra in solos. He even did a play-off with the Apex’s piano player where they were both performing at the same time on the same piano! Incredible! As if Mr. Howes’ musicality wasn’t enough, he had paintings that he had done rotating on a large screen behind him and they were amazing. Multi-talented individual. Then there was a “late night” off-color performance by comic Ralph Harris. Very funny. 

We woke Monday morning, Sept. 11th, to a green patchwork quilt of land. We had arrived at the charming historic town of Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland (located 110 miles north of mainland Scotland). Below is a short video of our view upon arrival…

 

There are 100 Shetland Islands but only 16 are inhabited. Lerwick is the largest town in the Shetlands and the capital with a population of 7,500. We had signed up for a Lerwick Walking Tour and had a no-nonsense, feisty local Scottish woman as our tour guide. She was a hoot! Linda and Phil joined us on this excursion and we all headed off the ship a little early so we could wander around on our own a bit before joining the tour. Lerwick is a quaint seaside town.  It has narrow cobblestone streets, a beautiful historic town hall (1883) with 30 stained glass windows, and the remains of Fort Charlotte, which was built in 1665 but never completed. There is a Viking ship that sits out in the harbor. Every January there is a big Yuletide Celebration where they burn an exact replica of this same Viking ship. “Up Helly Aa” is the name of the celebration and it marks the end of the Yule season. That would be something to see! And, yes, there are Shetland ponies in Shetland, Scotland…. about 1,000 of them… but they are not located in town so we did not see any. The town truly was something out of a fairy tale. Such a beautiful part of Scotland!

In the evening we ate at the French Restaurant on board ship, Normandie, and were entertained later with an illusionist Josephine Lee who I thought was quite good. Gary was less enthralled with her. After that we headed to Eden for “Night of the Arts,” a live music/art performance, which was unusual but good… there was a woman painting, a performer singing, dance numbers and acrobats. Phew! They covered everything!

 

On Tuesday, Sept. 12th, we docked near Inverness, Scotland, the largest city and capital of the Scottish Highlands. We were up for sunrise…a rarity… and were rewarded with a beautiful entry into port. The intn’l pod was headed out early to Dunrobin Castle & Gardens. Dunrobin is the ancestral home of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland and the largest castle in the Highlands with 189 rooms. The castle has been in the Sutherland family for over 700 years and a private wing is still home to the Earl of Sutherland. The earliest parts of the castle date from 1275. For inquiring minds, Dunrobin means Duke of Robert Hill. 

One of my favorite rooms was the dining room with its 22 embroidered chairs which were done by Duchess Eileen in the 1930s. It took her 7 years. The Library was also impressive with its 10,000 books and lined in sycamore wood. Tapestries covered many of the walls in the castle. I marvel at the work involved to create these.

The gardens were incredible, laid out in 1850 after the the Palace of Versailles, and along the Moray Firth Estuary. My favorite plant was Giant Rhubarb, also known as “Dinosaur Food.” They were huge! I’ve never seen anything like them! They even do falconry demonstrations on the grounds. Unfortunately, timing was such that we saw the falcons but not the demonstration. Ah well. 

The whole estate is just magnificent! And we had a gorgeous drive to and from. On the drive back to the ship we even saw Highland Cows. They are shaggy, short-legged and males and females have horns!

We have been so very blessed with great weather on this trip! We had a beautiful sail away from this gorgeous port. For dinner that evening we ate at Fine Cut Dining, one of the specialty restaurants. Very fun to have a deliciously prepared steak with an abundance of side dishes brought to the table. The theatre production this evening was Rockumentary, and once again it was a good one! 

 

Wednesday, Sept. 13th, was our last Sea Day. We relaxed, played trivia (poorly), and listened to a presentation about “The Last Song,” the final song performed on board the Titanic and the controversy surrounding it. Interesting. We also enjoyed a matinee performance by the illusionist, a final dinner in Cypress with our international pod, and a final show in the theatre. 

Gary & I were awake early enough to see sunrise again on Thursday morning. This is becoming a habit, which will end once we’re home! Then it was off the ship early for a tour of Rotterdam before heading to the airport. Rotterdam is a beautiful city about 45 minutes outside of Amsterdam and filled with harbors. It’s the largest seaport in Europe. Our tour was conducted by a very knowledgeable guide. On this tour Linda was the one taking up the rear since she was picture-taking. Our guide put her in charge of rounding up any stragglers. Linda said “I’m herding my sheep” if we wandered off too far. Too funny!

We saw the building where the “Pilgrims” gathered before they started their journey on the ship “Speedwell” to North Hampton, England on August 1, 1620. Once in North Hampton, the adventurers boarded the “Mayflower” bound for the New World. Amazing. 

A more modern sighting in Rotterdam was seeing “cube houses” built in 1980. There are 40 in total… 20 are now offices and 20 are residential. The design is supposed to represent a “village within a city” where each house represents a tree and all the houses together a forest. So unique (photos are below)! We also saw lots of houseboats in Rotterdam… some even with laundry hanging out to dry. After all these are houses. 

Our guide explained that historic city center Rotterdam was bombed during WWII, while Amsterdam was spared. Thus the reason for newer construction in Rotterdam. 

One thing I have learned on this trip is that it doesn’t matter where you visit, people are unhappy with their government. We heard that in England, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. Our Rotterdam guide said 80% of the decisions are made by the European Union and only 20% by the Dutch. A definite cause for discontent. And yet we also heard from British citizens, that Brexit is not working. Nice to know that we’re not the only ones unhappy with our country’s politics. 

Once at the airport, we said our goodbyes to Linda & Phil. We’ve had such fun with them! This is our third international cruise together! Then Gary & I walked across the street to the Sheraton to spend the night there before our flights home on Friday. We had a quiet relaxing day at the hotel and had a nice dinner in the hotel lobby restaurant. I had a veggie lasagna that was probably the best I ever had. Gary stuck with the tried and true burger and fries. 

Our flights home went smoothly on Friday, Sept. 15th… with a stop in Frankfurt before the long 8.5 hour flight to Detroit. We booked business class so could stretch out on the long flight. Totally worth the money spent! We got to the Park & Go to find that our truck wouldn’t start! Luckily we keep a gizmo (battery jump starter) in the truck so Gary hooked that up, and we were good to go. 

Cheryl was a sweetheart and had dinner in the fridge waiting for us when we got home AND homemade pumpkin bread. Joe had made a “Welcome Home” card… in Dutch because he’s Joe! PLUS C&J hosted Happy Hour and dinner on Saturday night, too, so we could catch up!! Delicious meals as always! I think we owe them a dinner or two!!! Love these two! 

We thoroughly enjoyed our British Isles Cruise that was three years in the making with Covid cancellations. We especially enjoyed traveling once again with Linda & Phil, friends of 45 years. We are blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives that we get to adventure with! 

For now, we’re happy to be back in the USA and traveling in our tiny home with our original and amazingly wonderful pod members, Cheryl & Joe!!