Last full day at sea

Well tomorrow morning at around 0730 the ship will arrive back in Dover and by 0830 is we hope to be able to collect the car and head off for home. But as for today it started with breakfast and we met our mate Ted Collins who was have some trouble with his flash unit on his Leica camera and then realising it must be the battery and o soon after he went back to his cabin to charge it up, probably see him later over lunch.

OUR ROUTE AROUND UK

After breakfast we headed to Seabourn Square and noticed that shop was already open and after about 25 minutes had pretty much spent all of our on board credit. The lady totally the bill was getting rather confused and ended up trying to charge us for somebody's else stuff but she did correct it. We then decided to return to the cabin with our goodies and finish our ablutions with Jennifer reading and the undersigned keeping the blogs, banks account checks, monitoring email, in fact all the usual stuff.

We had lunch on the patio deck but it was quite windy as of course we were moving when in the past we have mostly been stopped over lunch time. Because it was so windy there were few passengers there, perhaps about 10/15 and presume the rest were in the restaurant or Colonnade. Following lunch we returned to the room and started packing our suitcases which will be collected this evening for us to reclaim tomorrow morning in Dover Harbour.

 So as we have to dress smartly tonight as we will be going the the Thomas Keller Chop House, reminiscent of the original New York Chophouse style..

 

It was a very nice dinner and Jennifer had the lobster and Noel the veal chop washed down with a couple of glasses of something.Following dinner we went to the Observatory bar as we did not fancy the show and wanted a quiet night as Jennifer is still suffering from her cold.

Upon returning the the room we finalised the suitcases and placed them outside the cabin door to await overnight collection.

Well that about it for this series of travel blog as tomorrow we get up and have a quick breakfast and be off the ship around 0830 collect the car and head off with a stop via Costco to pick up some basics and bbq stuff for Sunday as our daughter in law and grandchildren will be joining us.

Its been an enjoyable and interesting trip and you meet some really interesting people on these more expensive cruises and apart from Noel tummy issues and Jen’s cold all was well in the Groves camp. We will move down a groove for the next break will be in the caravan, what a comedown!!

Its Wednesday so must be Newcastle

The overnight sail from Edinburgh was peaceful and smooth and we pulled into the port at North Shields overlooking some very nice newish houses on a small boat marina.

Unfortunately Jennifer was not feeling to good as a result of having a cold with lots of coughing and so we cancelled our booked trip on the bus into Newcastle. Noel was also still having some issues down below caused we think due to a tough steak being swapped over rather quickly without following the NO GARLIC rules, well that's the only thing that we think it could have been. When cancelling the bus trip they said we would still have to pay buy they did in fact credit us which was good and kind. 

 

The Medical centre on board has limited stock and so Noel took a taxi downtown to a pharmacy to gather stocks, also to post the letter to my sister, and then back to the ship. Around 1pm Jennifer was feeling a little better and so we went up the the patio for lunch and sat with the elderly gentleman and his Chinese wife  who we had met the previous day. I had located some photos of the Hecny Transport Hong Kong guys with me as he also new these two brothers well. We then had a further general chat about Hong Kong. It became known that his wife Margaret Lui Collins was also an author and also quite religious and she had published a book some while ago called ‘GOD IS GOOD’ which she is hoping to have made in to a film as she had to dash of for a conference call on the subject. She asked about my religion which I explained I was an atheist and the reason for this is that religion has caused so many wars without the various religions working together and so that's my view but of course I respect other people right to a religion. I hope I did not upset her as in the past if you say you are an atheist to somebody quite religious they can get quite upset. Each to his own me thinks!

She has a website       www.victoryglory.com

In the afternoon Jen had a rest and Noel caught up with Blogs and photos but due limited internet capacity many Blog things re photos I cannot do ,so will do over the next few days once home. Then Noel also had a rest…

In the evening we were both feeling a little better and went for uneventful dinner in the main restaurant before returning to the room so Noel could watch the European Cup game between Manchester City and Real Madrid and what a cracker it was to. This was a brilliant game by Man City and in the first half they left RM looking lost, wonderful to see. However the bad news is that Man City host my team Chelsea at home and if Man city play like this again the scoreboard will not have enough noughts  on it.

Tomorrow, we must use up our ‘on board credit’ . What this is when they want to offer you a lower price to help fill the ship they don't like to offer a lower price directly but give you an amount which you can spend freely on board at the SPA or shops and so we have about £ 600 to spend before leaving the ship or you lose the money so Hey-Ho lets go shopping tomorrow..

And so to bed

Edinburgh and the sun is shining

No real rush this morning but we wanted to take the shuttle to the local station and then take a train to Edinburgh but then found out that the shuttle was going to Dunfermline and so the next choice was taxi to the station and their was an American couple that had already ordered a cab and so we joined them but after a short discussion agreed to halves by taking the taxi directly to Edinburgh City centre. And so off we went with me in the front of the vehicle trying to hold a conversation with a Scottish gentleman with a strong accent and so I understood perhaps 40% and just nodded and said yes several times which kept him happy. Somehow we got on to politics which he said he had no interest in and that all this blarney about the Scots hating the Brits is all SNP and newspaper talk and he hates it.

 

However we also talked about football and we reached a good agreement on how bad Chelsea football club is these days. We don't think the driver new downtown Edinburgh to well as he dropped the American couple about 400 metres from where they wanted to be, ah well. However we found a Weatherspoon's pub and stopped for a cup of tea and a technical stop. before then walking further in to the centre to locate the open top tour bus which we intended to take  as Edinburgh is rather hilly and Noels knees are not in good shape for lots of walking. 

We picked up the tourist bus and it took us on a tour around the town with stops at the Castle, Government House and the various museums and it is quite busy with many cafe’s and bars looking quite busy particularly up by the castle. There did not appear to be many, if any, empty shops  which is always nice but we understand that this is actually the exception as many smaller towns are suffering with closed shops according to Trevor the Head Chef. Noel took quite a few photos but to upload them using the ship Wi-Fi would take forever and day and due to the file size may not be possible and so I decided to review and correct them when i get home later this week and then will add them back to the blog.

 

We decided to take a taxi back to the ship and located an Uber at a good price only to run into big traffic jams caused by road marking and then entrance to the Port/Cruise Terminal is not well signposted and so we got lost for about 15 minutes. Well I said Cruise terminal which actual rather a large tent with absolutely nothing in it, rather a misnomer.

I am a bit cross with myself after running around to get the letter to my sister printed and ready for posting we arrived back at the ship with it still in my bag, damn!! so will have to post in Newcastle tomorrow. Sorry Annette.

Having returned to the ship we went for a cup of tea and biccies in the lounge and Jen did some reading and Noel catching up with yesterdays blog and starting on todays. What I have learnt over the years that if you do not complete it at the time but leave it for a couple of days you forget stuff.

We went back the Colonnade for dinner with Noel watching what he ate as he has had some problems today and following dinner we went to see the comedian Steve Stephens again and puts on a good show and then back to the room for bed before 1030

Today we arrived in Invergordon gateway to Inverness

The usual early morning arrival in to the Invergordon inlet and there are day trips to Inverness if you are interested, but Jennifer and I prefer beautiful scenery rather than a town and so our day started with Jennifer visiting the on board SPA for a 50 minute massage and the she joined me in the Seabourn Square where I had been updating the blog etc at around 11.00. I think she may be ready for bed again soon as she looks very relaxed.

At one time we did think about taking a train ride but actually with the requirement to be back on the ship by around 16.00 otherwise it leaves without you I think our plan to relax on board is a good one. I started writing the travel blog back in 2004 as a trial whilst were touring China but when I retriered I thought it would be great to continue and so when visiting our friends last Friday in Norther Ireland the question was raised about what was the date that we last visited them in their home and very quickly we could find out. Its also very nice to look back and relive experiences and its a great catalogue of our life since I retired in 2005.

For lunch we went to the patio and were joined by an elderly American guy and where we had a long chat and he mentioned that he had lived in Hong Kong in the mid 1970’s working for a Bank. He lived their for about three years and during our discussions we discovered, yet again, that there were several people we both knew including the Lee Brothers of Hecny transport fame. It turned out that he was also a lawyer and now lives in San Francisco with a nice old 65 foot boat kept in the bay. He clearly likes to travel and recently stayed in the Hotel du Cap in Cap d’antibes which he reckons to be the best Hotel in the world and he stayed with his Chinese wife in the Savoy whilst waiting for the ship. A most interesting couple and hope we meet up with them again.

In the afternoon Jennifer did some necessary washing whilst did  few emails. Tonight we have planned to go to the Colonnade as although it’s Chinese food night, that would be good for Jen but I would order the basics. Jen enjoyed her food and Noel opted for some smoked salmon and prawn, which was great, and then a steak which was a New York strip and unfortunately it was B awful and they had to take it away and bring me a filet mignon instead which was fine.

After dinner we went to see the show and song and dance evening of mostly from stage shows and it was quite good and finished around 9.45 pm and so we had a nightcap in the observatory then back to bed as tomorrow go to Rosyth Port for a visit to Edinburgh.

Nite nite

        

We arrive in Scrabster

The usual early morning arrival in to Scrabster Harbour, we were told it was a Tender Location but actually we moored right inside the Harbour instead. We planned to have a quiet morning and so we took refuge in the Square for a while but Jennifer was booked to go on a trip to visit the ex Queen Mothers Castle, The Castle of Mey which she used from 1952 until 1996 when Her Majesty donated it to a trust. The castle is situated on the North Coast of Caithness about 15 Miles from Thurso and six miles from John o Groats ( the most Norther part of the United Kingdom.

So we had a early light lunch and then Jennifer left on the tour at about 13.00 Noels afternoon was to spend some more time in the square and then at 14.00 I returned to the cabin to watch Manchester City play Everton and the result would always be forgone conclusion with MC beating Everton by three goals to zero. Everton actually played some good football on the break but were let down by the final ball in front of goal, sounds a lot like Chelsea and more…

The game finished around 16.00 So a little cabin tidy to get rid of all the excess paperwork which we had accumulated.

Jennifer returned from the castle tour , see following history of same

The Castle of Mey was built by George, the 4th Earl of Caithness, for his second son William Sinclair. When visiting the family seat Girnigoe Castle in 1573, William was murdered by his older brother John, who had been imprisoned there for about six years by his cruel father.  John had been planning an escape but William found out about it and told their father.  John was in turn murdered and the castle went to the third son, George Sinclair, who founded the family of the Sinclairs of Mey and whose descendant succeeded to the Earldom in 1789. He changed the name of the castle to Barrogill Castle.

The castle then became the seat of the Earls of Caithness for the next one hundred years.

In 1819 the twelfth Earl commissioned the architect, William Burn, to make various ambitious alterations to the castle. This was when the grand entrance and the dining room were added. His son, Alexander, was responsible for erecting the monument, now known as Lady Fanny's seat as a tribute to his friend, Charles John Canning, who later became the first Viceroy of India.

George, the fifteenth Earl died at the age of 30; he had never married and having no children he left the castle to his friend F G Heathcote, on condition that he changed his name to Sinclair.  His widow eventually sold it to Captain F B Imbert-Terry, who subsequently sold it to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1952.Royal Ownership

In 1952, HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother saw what was then known as Barrogill Castle while staying with Commander and Lady Doris Vyner at the House of the Northern Gate on Dunnet Head, a short distance to the west.  Despite its poor condition, Her Majesty purchased the castle that year and set about renovating and restoring both the castle and its gardens and parklands, which extended to about 30 acres. She also restored the castle's original name changing Barrogill Castle back to The Castle of Mey.

Her Majesty opened the gardens in aid of Scotland's Gardens Scheme on three days each year, a tradition which the trustees have been pleased to continue.

Apparently they were aloud inside part of the castle but were able to walk freely about the gardens which were beginning to to start looking nice but apparently most of the planting is designed to come in to bloom in a about a months time when the Queen Mother traditionally visited during this period.

We had a short rest and departed for the Colony which was serving Dover Sole which Noel enjoys and Jennifer had a Lamb shank which she really enjoyed. Following dinner we went to see the show and it was a British Comedian called Steve Stevens ( not to be confused with the American rock guitarist) . He was really good and he had the mostly American guests really laughing and applauding his trumpet and banjo playing his impressions of other well known singers. A really enjoyable evening .

And so to bed

A tour of the North part of Isle of Skye

This tour necessitated another early morning and we had to meet in the main room at 0830 and so we had a quick and small breakfast so that Noel is not affected by having the wrong thing.

We had to use the tender from the ship to Portreath and it was about a fifteen minute crossing where you arrive just on the outskirts of the town in a small harbour. On the hill overlooking the harbour was a Hotel where Jennifer stayed with her father some years ago on a private tour of Scotland. We were met by the tour guide who was a nice guy with a good sense of humour and he introduced himself as our tour guide for the day, this we discovered whilst waiting for the coach to arrive.. 

 

So we all got onboard and off we went and then out of nowhere a lady of Asian Origin introduced herself as the tour guide and what a complete and utter disaster she was to. Whether she was reading from a script but she was unable to pronounce the correct names of the Scottish Towns and names of important people and then kept duplicating what she was saying and then halfway though talk about something else. Not only that she kept this non stop talking  for about 100 minutes on our route around the Island and it was driving me crazy. I suppose its not her fault she was given this job but when you are supposed to be a tour of Scotland surely there should be someone is Scottish and can speak and and can pronounce the names correctly. Eventually the driver kept interrupting her to put her on the straight and narrow and she mostly ignored his advised and suggestions. She talked about the people who spoke in GARLIC , not Gaelic and the said a closed mine produced DYNAMITE and not  DIATOMITE. For those who are interested Diatomite comprises fossilised remains of diatoms; single-celled aquatic algae. It is a sedimentary deposit consisting almost entirely of silica. It is of low density and high porosity meaning it has high insulating and absorption properties. Whilst Dynamite blows things to pieces.

 

We also learnt a lot about new car parks and toilets that we cannot use??? really interesting stuff . T her German Gentleman a and another chap in the coach in front of us each time she started speaking put their fingers in their ears to reduce the amount of rubbish she was spurting

I am sure that the many American are now confused with the Scottish language after this debacle.  When we arrived at the first stop I was so cross and waited to be the last person of the bus and and approached the driver and said does the courier work for your company which was NO and I said this was worst commentary on any bus tour I have ever taken and he agreed and looked up to heaven. Immediately afterwards the lady approached me and told her the same that really with all the Scottish words, quite frankly a Scottish tour guide would be better due to the reasons I mentioned earlier. I said to her it was not her fault that she had an ASIAN or Chinese background and of course it would be difficult to say the works correctly, me as a Brit would have the same problem. I said I likened it to an Irishman leading a tour to China and unable to pronounce the words.

She became very upset and said he was BRITISH and I had been rude to her and that I was a racist, what I said I spent 15 years in Asia working the locals and no way was I anywhere near a racist. I said I would report this discussion which I did to once retuning the ship. The good news was once we re-joined the bus she stopped talking altogether, my German friends in front were delighted.

We finally returned to Portreath at 1245 and the town was packed with tourists with lots of local junk for sale at  extortionate prices I suspect. At this point they announced that the coach could not return to the port due to the traffic and parking problems so we could either walk downhill to the ship or wait for a shuttle which we did and then via the tender return to the ship.

We went straight to lunch as we were both hungry after a small and early breakfast and immediately after discussed the mornings events with the Guest relations officer who would pursue the matter further.

After lunch Noel watched some football on the TV and then up came a repeat of the Kings Coronation Concert at Windsor and then we went for dinner and met a nice Californian couple who now live in Hawaii , he was an ex nurse who works in surgery units. Clearly we are building a medical team here what with a Pathologist and now a Nurse, wow.

We decided not to see the show and went to the Observatory bar which is at the front of the ship and at 2140 it was still quite daylight, of course being lot further north than Byfleet makes a difference. And so to bed. Noel will stay on the ship tomorrow whilst Jennifer is off on a tour to the ex Queen Mothers castle.

A visit to Northern Ireland and see friends

We arrived in Greencastle quite early in the morning  and we are planning to leave the ship around 0900 and walk a short distance to connect with the Greencastle to Magilligan  car and passenger ferry where we are due to meet our ex Weybridge neighbours and spend the day with them. 

 

So off the ship we went and within five minutes we were at the ferry terminal. actually a concrete ramp in to the sea and a small hut with seats and a loo. After waiting about twenty minutes the ferry turned up and we were about to board and they crew advised us that there was security alert on the other side and the ferry was suspended. Then I realised that I only the home and mobile numbers from our neighbours at their last house in Ireland, so I sent an email. Shortly afterwards they called and we discussed that as the ferry was likely to be superseded until after 1200 that they would drive round the inlet and meet us in about 90 minutes and so we then went of to find a coffee.

 

We were just about to enter the café when they phoned again to say that the alarm was over and so we rushed back to the terminal by which time all the cars that had been waiting had cleared off and changed their plans we suspect and so we were the only passenger on the ferry. Its a ten minute ride with the ferry held together with  rust and paint , no Loo’s and wooden ribbed seating and a lovely strong smell of diesel. We arrived safely the other side and met with our friends who live about 20 minutes away in a place called Castlerock where they had designed and built a brand new fully eco house on the plot of a house which was falling down.Following a brief tour of the town which has a lovely long beach we headed to their home.

Upon arrival we had a tour of the new house and its really great with lots of space and light and very eco what with solar panels, heat pumps etc.  After a cup of tea and a long chat and also talked about the chance meeting with on a Silver Sea cruise from Alaska to Japan some years ago and then we left by car to return to the ferry as we had planned lunch at a fish restaurant called Keeley's in Greencastle and so over on the ferry we went again and this time it was quite full with cars and lots of motorcycles as there was a event for bikes taking place called the Northwest 200 and there are hundreds of bikers all over the route we were on.

After lunch our friends returned to the ferry and we re-joined the ship and went back to the cabin for a rest and then a shower before dinner. Neither of us were really hungry and so with a light bite in the main restaurant and then returned to the cabin for another proper early night. No disco tonight folks.

A day on the Isle of Man ( British Protectorate)

We sailed in to the harbour and parked away from the sure and this port requires that we use the tenders to go ashore. we are booked on a tour which puts us the Tram from downtown Douglas I.O.M. up to the highest peak on the Island. So we headed for an early breakfast at 0745 as we need to meet the tour leader at 0815 with the tour starting at 0845. So at shortly after 0815 we are on the tender to the Cruise Port and shorty afterwards boarded a bus for a short drive to join the Manx Electric Railway  .

Se Wikipedia for more detailed info   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manx_Electric_Railway

 

However when we arrived at the station at 0850 for a 0900 departure no train was to be seen and it did not turn up until about 0940 with the excuse that a cable had broken??? Ah well we all got on board and went along the coast on very bump rails for about 35 minutes until we reached a pace called Laxey where we had to change to the Snaefell Mountain Railway to go up the mountain to reach the summit at just over 2000 feet. The type of tram was not dissimilar although the seats were not very wide and one person only had enough for about half a cheek! anyway after a further 35 minutes we rattled and scraped our way to the top where it was planned to have about 30 minutes allowing a cup of tea and a general walk around but due to the late departure this was cut to ten minutes which really was not time to enjoy a cuppa then we had to board to return to a stop called Bungalow where we left the tram and re-joined the bus.

  

It was originally planned to take straight back to the cruise terminal  but due to the original delay they decided to take us on a local tour which was more interesting as the TT racing is due to start in about two weeks and there are major preparations underway with roads ready to be closed etc. There were some lovely views on the way back although trying take photos from a moving bus is never great.

Some cruise guests wanted to get of the bus prior to it arriving back at the terminal they could take a walk around but we decided against that and head back to the ship. After a short rest we went for a light lunch and then back to the cabin for Noel to blog etc and Jennifer take a rest, thank heavens she is feeling a lot better.

In the evening we went for dinner and then early to bed.

Its time to meet the Beatles

We arrived in to the docks at Liverpool very close to the Liver Building and on the Mersey. After breakfast and Jennifer was feeling better we left the ship at around 11.00 and wandered around the Old docks and all the local area. The Eurovision Song Contest is taking place in the town and and there are signs and people everywhere involved with this event.I do not think we have seen so many police in their ,looks like, new yellow jackets and also loads on volunteers to help the tourists.

We stopped for a tea in Costa in the Albert Docks and sis some people watching which is always quite interesting for a while and then as the wind was gaining strength and lots of black clouds heading in our direction we would start walking back to the ship where we arrived just after 1.45 and in time for lunch on the Patio and as the sun was shining was quite nice then half an hour later it became darker and windy and the temperature dropped it was time to return to the cabin for a quiet afternoon.

Liverpool is a great city and they have spent a lot of money cleaning up old buildings as well as the local council officers also helping themselves from dodgy dealings etc  and I believe the UK Government had to move in and take over the running of the council and try to put it on a good footing.I beleive it was a Labour Council.

 

In the afternoon we had a quiet time and spent a little time reading and watching TV and then in the evening we went for dinner in the Colonnade where we both had the Port Chop and a few veggies before departing back to the room to watch the football game between Milan and Inter-Milan so great rivalry here. In the end. Inter-Milan this first leg but next week will be the decider as will Man City with real Madrid.

Posting letter to Noel's sister

 

We had an early night as we have to be up early tomorrow as we are on the Tram ride from downtown Douglas till the highest peak, should be nice if weather stays good..

Arrived in Fishguard in the heavy rain

Well, not the best of mornings as apart from the rain Jennifer had been ill overnight and not feeling great and so we planned a quiet day. After breakfast we returned to the room and Jennifer checked out the bed until lunchtime and then we visited the Patio for a light lunch and surprisingly the sun was beginning to break thro although it was not very warm.

Noel finished of the blog for yesterday and also wrote a letter to his siter who was also celebrating their wedding anniversary although the circumstances for it were not great but we sent email to both Peter and Annette. Following lunch we went to the back of the ship and sat outside under the heaters and watched, or slept, as the world went by.

Returning to the cabin we watched another episode of the ‘Succession’ series which was good and then Noel arranged for some private letters to be printed by the ships printer so we can post a letter tomorrow. It has been interesting reading the various newspapers today with differing views on HAIRRY and also the coronation which we think was quite good and well produced. If only the economy could be handled so efficiently. As I write this piece the sky is turning blue with hazy clouds as we are now on our way to Liverpool which is the next stop. Liverpool is currently hosting the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine and I understand the the city is very crowded, we shall see tomorrow and hope Jennifer is feeling better.

We enjoyed a quiet afternoon and then went for dinner in the main restaurant where we met a couple who live in Las Vegas and it was nice chatting to them for about thirty minutes or so, I think he was involved in the banking business before retirement.

Returning to the cabin at around 8.45 pm we discovered that the Champions League semi final between Real Madrid and Manchester City was on and so watched that until bed time.

Nice to be noticed

Following drinking to much water yesterday Noel had some usual issues overnight and then remembered it happened on the last cruise that drinking the water created issues, so no more from now on.

For breakfast a usual trip to the Colonnade and shortly after we sat down the Maitre D being aware of all my eating challenges had asked the Head Chef called Trevor Connell to come and have a chat with me about my food allergies. Trevor who is Scottish and comes from near Perth has been on Seabourn ships for some years and clearly full of experience.Trevor spent about twenty minutes with us offering many ways for me not to have problems so what ever I want I can have irrespective what is on the menu. I had indicated yesterday evening that I fancied a New York Steak and he said it should have been on the menu tonight but quite frankly it was not up to par until new stock arrives today or tomorrow but in the the meantime how about rack of lamb with mixture of vegetables for this evening. U cannot fault the service at all that they go out of there way to make certain that I am enjoying myself.

 

Following breakfast we sat in the Seabourn Square and a Philippine member of staff from the Spa had recognised Jennifer and starting chatting and then she mentioned that she had been looking for a Pharmacy in Bristol but all closed for the Bank Holiday. I checked around to see if there were any open but at that time the mobile signal was poor and so did not have any success. However as a thankyou for our help and chat she offered Jennifer a free eye treatment. This was her first time on board a cruise line and she was clearly finding it hard being away from home.

We had a snack on the Patio we went back to the room for Noel to do blogging and Jennifer some reading and then we watched two parts of an HBO series called Succession which we both though very good.

For dinner we had been invited to join two crew members both of whom were involved in the Jewellery trade on board ship , there was also a Father and daughter who lived in Swindon but the table was to long and so not easy to talk. Then there was this American business lady who was somewhat interesting but to be honest it was difficult to keep the conversation flowing , but we tried with the usual chat about Politics, different country culture etc.

Following dinner we went for a short while to the club to listen to the music but en-route we bumped in the Scottish Chef again and had a long chat, interesting guy and clearly very capable. 

And so to bed

A day all at sea

After leaving Cherbourg the previous evening its a 36 hour cruise to the next Port of Call which is Bristol. So after the usual breakfast in the Colonnade we wen spent some time in the Seabourn Square which is the hub of the ship and where also they have some really lovely comfy relaxing chairs. Whilst there we bumped in to the couple from Burton on Trent who we had been chatting to the previous evening and compared notes on the food and the ship in general and we were all very happy with our last minute decision to join this cruise around the UK.

As lunchtime approached we went for a pre-lunch drink at the SKY bar and chatted initially to the barman and then a couple for Connecticut turned up and over the next hour we discussed travel, politics, Coronation and many other subjects and it was quite a really interesting hour.

For lunch we went to the Patio grill and sat outside as the weather had suddenly changed for grey and miserable and we now solid blue sky and sitting in the sun it was really nice and warm, so no coats required. They had ribs with salad, one choice, but of course they had some sauce on making it impossible for Noel to eat and then senior staff member having understood my eating challenges said he would get on of the chefs to cook me some plain ribs which I had with a salad, so thoughtful.

 

In the afternoon Jennifer and I listened or read until around 1730 when Jennifer had her first massage of the trip and she returned in time for us to get dressed for a formal night and off to the main restaurant for dinner. For a change we decided to join a table for six and we had really interesting people on the table. I sat next to a Pathologist from Steamboat Springs in Colorado, which we had visited many years ago on our US travels. This gentleman also owns a apartment in London and is a frequent visitor and has travelled and cruised a lot so one can only assume that pathology in the USA is a profitable business.

Following dinner we went to the see the show of four Northern Irish lads known as the The Shamrock Tenors, a four man singing group were quite good and after the show back to the room for bed. Tonight they change the clocks back to UK time which means an extra hour in bed.

A day in Port but we watched the Coronation

They changed the clocks by one hour which was bit of a bugger but anyway we got up around 0900 and headed up for breakfast and then we would decide what to do. We could have taken a walk in Cherbourg but the weather was not good and also we knew that the coronation of Charles would be showing in the main lounge area and so we opted for that.

So after breakfast where Noel took  few local shots of Cherbourg from a distance and headed briefly back to the room and then off to the main theatre room where w then spend the next four hours watching the compete event on TV. We have to say it was clearly a success but unfortunately the weather was against us as is had been raining in Cherbourg as well as the City of London.

We thought the event was great but felt very sorry for the military and other forces that had to stand out in the rain for hours on end. Also many of the guests were having to be seated for about five hours which would have me crazy however it was better than getting saturated. We watched the parade until the coaches reached Buck Pal and then left to get some food for a late lunch. They did serve some snacks and cakes during the show but who knows what is in it. 

 

The Patio bar and restaurant had been kept open for those people who had been watching the coronation and Noel had a cheeseburger and Jennifer a salad. After our late lunch we retired to the cabin for Noel to listen to some music and Jennifer to read a book. In the evening we had planned to eat at the Colonnade again as they were serving Dover Sole which we both had and it was really excellent. Following dinner we went to the theatre to watch an English pianist who was very good, and was apparently Shirly Bassey musician and orchestrater and he was an excellent piano player but after a while the style of music he was playing changed and so Noel left to listen to the Ukrainian duo ln the Observatory Bar who played nice relaxing music.

So then to bed after watching the news and catching a bit about Hamilton failure in qualifying for the Miami F1 event.

A busy day with interesting outcome

We both awoke early which is not surprising as we were due to leave mid morning for Dover to join the Seabourn Ovation for the start of the UK tour.Anyway after a light breakfast we finished the final packing and threw away the rubbish and left home at around 11.00 for the two hour trip to Dover Cruise Port. We knew we would be early but you can never trust traffic conditions on the M25 and also M20 so we did not want to be late for out 14.40 Boarding time. We  did a quick Loo stop en-route near Maidstone then carried on to Samphire Hoe which is a country park largely constructed of the Channel Tunnel boring left over earth from which they have created a country park.

We arrived at Samphire Hoe at about 1300 and bought a cup of tea and ate our home made ham and tomato rolls whilst overlooking the sea with strangely enough, te sun was shining which was a  bit of a shock. After completing this task we left there around there 14.15 and headed over to the Cruise terminal where it was quite well organised as we could drop of the car in front of the gate and they took the car away for storage nearby. After a few minor formalities we boarded the ship and headed toward our cabin and following the required visit to the muster station we were ready to unpack our suitcases for the next two weeks tour of the UK. By the time the unpacking was completed and the sun was shining we took a glass of wine on the balcony for a short while before deciding it would be good to have a shower before dinner and put on some smarter clothes.

For dinner we had already decided to go to the main restaurant just to lay the ground rules regarding Noels food issues but apparently it was stored on the Seabourn Computer all my do and don'ts and so we were happy. For dinner Noel had the prawn cocktail followed by a fillet steak, they did make a mistake on the green beans with spinach where there was some onion , but the plate was quickly changed with brand new steak and vegetables. Jennifer had chicken consommé soup and then followed by the prawn and scallop fettuccini which looked delicious together with a couple of glasses of a Californian Chardonnay, After dinner we went to the observation bar where noel tested the Jack Daniel and Jennifer had Tea?? . After being there a while we started chatting to the neighbours and just started talking bout how bad British Airways are and the another guy suddenly joined by apologising as he has heard us mention BA and Hong Kong and we subsequently we discovered that he had lived in Hong Kong at the same time as us working initially for BA and then went to work for Cathay Pacific and and it was at this point we knew many of of the same people and he even had heard of me??, what a small world. It was an interesting chat and then we adjourned at around 1030 to bed.

We were both quite tired by this time but an enjoyable and interesting evening.

Well we are off again in a few days

Its been rather a challenging month what with Jennifer falling over in the car park of Woking Hospital Car park, then both of us catching Conjunctivitis . In addition when Jennifer was having one of yearly Blood Test for her Hyper parathoidism they said she needed to have another infusion which eventually took two complete says at St Peters Hospital Chertsey. But the process is so very slow with staff being unable type fast, losing the bag of infusion in the chiller to waiting for Doctors the whole affair took far to long. About a year ago the same process which should take say a max of three hours required Jennifer to be in Hospital for 2.5 days, at least being released overnight. So as a result of all this we were unable to do many of the things we had planned like a trip to see friends, or visit the caravan and so we were pretty much fed up with all of this and so we have decided at the last moment to go away, but where to??

We looked at Dubai and that area but the the temperatures were running just under 40 Centigrade, so a bit to hot for us and not cheap. We then looked at Southern Spain but decent Hotels are expensive and at  the time we were planning to travel there are a number of of UK and French ATC strikes planned and so we don't want the hassle of this. So then we looked at cruises which did not need us to fly somewhere and we came across two one to the Baltic on Fred Olsen Lines and the other Round the UK on Seabourn at a good price and so on 5th May we leave from Dover on board the Seabourn Ovation doing a tour of the United Kingdom including the Isle of Man but with a one day stop in Cherbourg France.

So we have started to prepare all the things you need but a two hour drive down to Dover is a lot easier than flying with all the inherent strikes and delays you could expect. I will report on a daily basis for any reader.