I originally had booked 18 days in Buenos Aires. Excitement soon turned to dread after too much reading about their volatile inflation, 40% of the population living in poverty and crime on tourists, I decided not to go. I wrestled with the decision after drinking from the "well of fear" for a month before cancelling it all. Anyway, I got a credit for my airfare which had to be used by July 2024 and a full refund for my VRBO condo... I hope to visit BsAs in the future, depending on their economy... I started to look for new destinations and one of my bucket list trips I've wanted to do showed up; Great Britain, Scotland & Ireland!
I stumbled upon this 10 day cruise that was super cheap, in my opinion! It was on Norwegian (Star) who I've never sailed with before, by choice not to. This would be my ninth cruise. Anyway, for $1600 CAD all in I got my own inside room, WiFi, drink package, 1 specialty dining restaurant credit and $50 off any excursions (which were ridiculously priced and nullified the discount). I found airfare for the same price as Buenos Aires credit ($1100). I forgot I had bought trip/medical insurance for BsAs and it costed me $205 all-inclusive and it was non-refundable. I called the company and they kindly agreed to switch the insurance to this new trip, so I booked immediately in mid-August.
I quite liked the number of ports the itinerary had. I would be busy/see a lot everyday and it would help with the boredom (otherwise known as excess eating and drinking) I sometimes feel on ships while cruising. I booked a "National Express" bus to Southampton from LHR (Heathrow) for $41 CAD which included a seat with my name on it 😉. The drive was 60 miles or two and a half hours. I booked return with Norwegian, $98 CAD return to the airport after the cruise. I also booked a cheap Holiday Inn ($110 CAD) in Southampton (Industrial area, lol) the day before the cruise. I learned afterwards that the IBIS hotel would have been a better bet (cheaper) and 10 minute walk to the pier. As I was flying overnight, I wanted a day to acclimatize to the time change (8 hours ahead). Also, not to stress about time if the flight was late, etc. etc...
Planning what to do in ports took a chunk of time and I don't know if I was really happy with anything I booked other than my wish to kiss the Blarney Stone which I hoped I'd have time to do on the tour. I only booked one excursion from the ship which was the last day. I figured I'd be tired out by then anyway. I also booked 2 more pay restaurant dinners on the ship that costed $110 CAD for both. I did book something for every port except Kirkwall which seemed to be sold out. I finished two weeks prior to leaving. Phew! 9 ports is a LOT of research and I really only did it half-assed as I found it exhausting, especially after two private tours didn't pan out in the end...
For money I exchanged some to GBP, some to Euros and some to USD. UGH!!!! My CAD dollar SUCKS and this was painful. I bought as minimal as possible ($400 USD, $200 GBP & $100 EURO) but that still cost me $1043 CAD which made me cringe. This was mostly for tips in port and gambling in the ship's casino. I planned to use my travel credit card for any other expenditures in ports. It has no fee and just charges the exchange rate of the day.
This was my first time using an "esim" which has data only. I had originally planned a UK esim but discovered that wouldn't cover Dublin and Cork, Ireland. I looked around and found a Canadian company that covered both the UK and Ireland in one esim so I bought that: 3 gigs (30 days) for $9 USD which was $13.20 CAD. I had trouble installing it but got online AI BOT help from their website and after about an hour was told I'd be good to go when landing in the UK once I could connect to a tower... 🤞I felt hopeful as I could now see the esim in my mobile settings...
Wednesday, October 11, 2023:
I had a direct red-eye on Air Canada for the flight. I taxied to YVR airport 3 hours prior to my 7:45pm flight. I was hoping to sleep on the plane but it has never happened other than a short nod off so I didn't actually expect to. I did doze in-between shows on the t.v. but it was cramped and uncomfortable. At least booze was free, so I took advantage of it though it seemed to have zero effect, sigh. It seems the older I get, the smaller those airplane seats get. 😉
Thursday, October 12, 2023 - London, England:
We arrived early. Customs was a long walk, though done with passport scan and face picture only, much like at home - no customs agents to deal with. Luggage took a while but I wasn't in a hurry anyway as my bus didn't leave till 3:45 pm. I found the station okay, it is well marked and straightforward to find.
As I had so much time to kill I thought I'd have a coffee and sandwich at a cafe in the bus station. Wow, me and others had sooo much trouble ordering and figuring out what was meant, lol. A lady and I tried to figure out self-ordering and then she finally walked away, lol. I ended up getting the sandwich but my Americano coffee never turned up. I asked for it and they told me I only ordered a sandwich ($11.55 CAD!), ? Alrighty then...
The bus was comfortable enough, free wifi and I did doze for most of the ride. I was really dazed and confused (sleepy) when we arrived. The driver had said cabs would be waiting for us but there were ZERO taxis, lol. All the other people were as confused as I pretty much. Anyway, I managed to order an uber. It was slow, but it worked and YES, my esim worked upon landing! I was able to msg my son telling him I arrived while on the plane! It has been a godsend already! Uber, after tip, the fare cost £14.98 or $25 CAD. Ouch. 😠
The hotel was busy when I arrived. A lot of cruise guests had also booked this. The room was so stuffy and there was no A/C! The window was already open but it did not make a difference. At least it was only for a night and I was dead tired. I freshened up a little and went down to have dinner and a drink. I started talking with a solo diner who was also going on the cruise. We agreed to share the cab tomorrow which was good for me. He was from London and it was interesting conversation...loved the accent! He had curry and said it was good so I ordered the chicken makhani (butter chicken we call it) as well.
It was tasty. I also ordered a bottle of wine. I don't know why I didn't bring one in my suitcase (Oh wait, I do know, because I packed a ridiculous amount of clothes I'd never wear), but oh well. That and dinner cost me £38.20 or $64 CAD. I drank about half the bottle then retired to my room to type the report, taking my wine with me of course. Oh, the bar in the hotel is open 24/7 - huge selling point, lol.
Friday, October 13, 2023 - Southampton, England:
I had my alarm set for 6 and 8 am. I had to adjust my medication times for UK time and 10 pm medicine turned into 6 am. I just wanted to be up by 8 to have breakfast and get ready for departure. I was kind of sad I didn't have a couple days in Southampton to explore a little, but with the money exchange it was probably best I didn't.
I was packed, showered and out of my room by 10:30 so did not make breakfast, it was a rough morning with sleep/time change. I sat in the lobby/restaurant and waited to go. The taxi showed up exactly on time and off to the port we went. It was £11.98 ($20.03 CAD) which he kindly paid and would not accept half the money from me. We started to wheel our luggage over to the porters when one stopped to help out and take them. He told us to go on inside and confirmed we had all our meds and passport. I nodded yes but my new friend David said he did not have his passport with him. I thought he was joking, but he was not. I guess because he was local he didn't think it was necessary. Anyway, they did NOT let him board and I guess he didn't work it out by getting it from London in time. I never saw him again. I felt so bad for him as he was so looking forward to the trip...he had lost his one and only love of his life wife 10 years ago to cancer and was still living the deep loss. The empath in me felt his pain. 😔
I boarded and went to the Irish pub O' Sheehan's for first of many Jameson Irish coffees. Below was an Irish Violin Trio playing in the upper Atrium which can be seen in the Irish pub. Below the string players was the "Starbuck's" coffee shop which was pay and not free. This ship had the worst tasting coffee ever, but I never did buy a Starbuck's while on board...
I sat there until the rooms were ready at 3 pm. I fully unpacked and then headed to check out the bars. I wandered around and went to the pool deck for a bit. This is the first trip where it hasn't been full of people and activity. I met a couple of ladies who are Canadian but now live in Turks & Caicos. Lucky them!
I ended up sitting in the "Whiskey Bar" and drinking "Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned's until I thought I better get dinner. I decided to share a table (my first and only time this trip) in the main dining room and sat with two other couples. Conversation was fun and animated. I had a good time. Then I went to "Gatsby's Champagne Bar" where I met a fellow from Indiana. We decided to to go "all in" for drinks as it was the only sea day tomorrow and really the only night to truly misbehave without having to get up early. We were soon joined by a couple from Mandeville, Louisiana. We had a LOT of fun, in fact we closed every bar (last call is 2 am) and sat drinking and talking till 5 in the morning. They left and I started talking to another gentleman who was getting breakfast coffee (Canada vs. US healthcare; he called me a socialist and I got schooled, LOL) until past 6 am before retiring to bed (my wake up alarm went off while I was sitting with him and we both laughed)... I walked 4.5 km today and probably drank that much, if the empty glasses were lined up in a row...🤮
Saturday, October 14, 2023 - Sea Day:
I awoke to the phone at 2:30 pm. It was guest services checking on me and asking if I was okay as my room steward was worried. Really they just wanted to know if he could not clean my room today. I told them I was fine and hung up. As expected, I didn't feel awesome. In fact, I barfed twice before I could even shower and get ready. Once I was ready, I was off for "hair of the dog". First person I saw was Mr. Louisiana and he looked great. I told him I was looking for a bowl of soup, lol. He said his wife had only slept 3 hours and was entertaining her mom and aunt. Wow - I felt a zillion years old that day and sure didn't look as good as them! Anyway, I started to come alive about 3 or 5 drinks later... the soup was horrible from the Irish bar (salty black bean chorizo) and that didn't help me feel better...I ended up having to eat at this place the majority of the trip because of my weird "off" hours and that I refused to eat in the buffet, period. The Irish bar served food 24/7 though very limited fast food options.
I had dinner at the pay French restaurant (serviceable) and was planning to go to bed after for a good night's sleep...
Escargot in Garlic Butter
French Onion Soup
Lamb Shank/Chops and Sweet Potatoes
Cheese Plate
However, as I left the restaurant, the Louisiana couple were right there and beckoned me to sit down with them. That decision lasted till last call at 2 am again, but was worth it for the fun... I walked 4 km today.
Sunday October 14, 2023 - Edinburgh Scotland:
We had to line up for tender tickets at 6 am so that was painful with 3 hours sleep, to say the least. Then it was hurry up and wait to disembark. I had met another pair of couples from my province (BC - British Columbia) so we finally decided to go up to the Irish bar to drink while waiting. It was a beautiful day but bitingly cold. The ride over was a little rough but when I was greeted by this site, I was truly happy - I think I have a thing for men in kilts. 😍.
Newhaven Harbour
I lucked out as the hop on/hop off bus I had booked was right at the pier and I was able to board and get going. I took the blue line first and then transferred to the red line. Below, Edinburgh Castle was an amazing site to look at. I have never seen anything as sprawling and majestic.
The next photos are all random what I saw while on the hop on/hop off bus:
Mansfield Place
St Paul’s and St George’s Episcopal Church
The Conan Doyle Pub
General Register House
Melville Monument
The Hub (Tolbooth Kirk)
Canongate Kirk
I ended at the "Royal Mile" to do some shopping and have lunch at this historic place est. 1820, below.
My "cullen skink" soup was served cold but at least the "hot toddy" was indeed hot.
I asked them if it was meant to be served cold and they said no, picked it up and it disappeared for a while. When it returned it was still cold so I just ate it and let the matter go.
I took an uber back (£7.96 or $13.50 CAD) to the pier where the driver had a horrible cough and hacked away the entire time. I had my window down the whole ride sticking my head out as far as I could, lol. I didn't want to catch whatever she had!
Back at the pier I walked the seawall to see where our ship was parked. It was about a 30 minute tender ride away. I lined up to get back and it was freezing, so icy windy while waiting there. I guess they hired some boats to help because I got on some small cruise tour like boat that had tables and was much more comfortable to ride in. Due to the wind/weather the ship had a hard time with the tenders coming back and we left late.
Asian Ribs & Spring Roll Appetizer
Baked Flounder
Back on ship all I wanted to do was sleep but I toughed it out and waited till 6:30 to go to dinner in the main dining room (above). I went solo and at 7:30 I snuck off back to my room and stayed in bed the entire night. 6 km walked today.
Monday October 15, 2023 - Inverness Scotland:
It was nice just to walk off the ship at sunrise today and I had prepaid a tour to see the Loch Ness and castle. I was told the bus depot was a 4 minute drive from the pier (google maps) but now an uber was saying £35 ($59 CAD) which was waaaay too expensive in CAD, so I asked what was going on at the visitors help desk. They told me that the bus stop was close but then I had to take a bus from there to get to the bus station in Inverness (where the tour left from), and that drive was 45 minutes away and if I took a taxi it would be £50 or $84 CAD!
Invergordon Church of Scotland
I would miss the tour for sure now, so I let it go and just walked around in town where I saw other cruise people waiting for the bus. So I followed them and got on. It was £13.50 ($23.00 CAD) return ticket which I tapped with my Visa.
Once there I went in the bus station (above) and found my tour kiosk. I explained what happened and they said they could reschedule me for 2 pm. I couldn't as the tour was 3 hours and we had to be back on board by 5 pm. He asked if I wanted a refund then. I wasn't expecting that so was very happy.
Gothic East Church 😍
I proceeded to walk around town and had a very nice day. I enjoyed it. One thing I noticed while walking around this town was that a lot of the Scots smoked and said "fuck" a LOT. 😆
Inverness Town House
Columba Hotel Inverness
Greig Street Bridge
Walking the bouncy Greig Street Bridge
Glenalbyn Bar: "Friendship is like whisky, the older the better. Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whisky is barely enough.”
Downtown Inverness
Downtown Inverness
I finally stopped at a pub for lunch.
I kept waiting for service but after a half hour finally asked her if I had to go to the bar for it. She said yes.
I got an Irish coffee and Tikka Masala for £15.00 ($25 CAD).
I meandered back to the bus and just missed it by it pulling away and me running after it. I waited for about an hour for the next one. I met a wonderful lady on the way back (Jan from Essex, UK) who was on the cruise. She gifted me a beautiful pin she made (said it was the last one) and that touched my heart. 😀 She told me each charm had a special meaning and spelled out our cruise ship name:
S - shamrock for Ireland
T - thistle for Scotland
A - for the ships anchor
R - for the Rose of England
Plus a cruising duck (people were hiding them), star and Gordon Tartan as they were celebrating a family members birthday and it’s his clan (poor man was at stage 4 cancer). I made the gift into a magnet on my fridge.
Back on the ship I found the couples from my province BC in the Whiskey Bar. We watched sailaway together and a Scottish band gave us a send off. Apparently we were the last cruise ship to be in port till next year. I might have teared up a little bit as they were as Scotland is their roots. It was awesome except the cruise director decided it was a great time to upsell buying ship crap on the loud speakers while the bagpipes played. 🙄 Unfortunately you can hear her on the video below:
We drank and then all had a nice dinner together in the main dining room. They retired to bed and I went to look for Louisiana. I found them and we again laughed, danced and partied. He got the whole place hopping and got the band full of energy as well, it was quite a sight and everyone commented at how he raised the roof of the party that evening. The gift of charisma is his for sure. He even got the band to do an encore, making the audience participate as well. We ended up at the Irish bar until 2 am and they walked me back to my room... I think they were looking to see if I had killed "Indiana" as we hadn't seen him since our first all-nighter drinking bash, lol. I walked 11 km today!
Tuesday October 16, 2023 - Kirkwall, Scotland:
This was an early port (6 am till 1 pm) and I regretted staying up till 2 am, again... It was rainy. I had breakfast in the main dining room and caught the free shuttle bus. Originally I was going to walk the 4 km into town but decided to be lazy and stay dry. Kirkwall is a city in Orkney since 1046 and is a royal burgh. I sauntered around town, went into the beautiful cathedral and admired its glory.
It's called St. Magnus and was founded in 1137.
Pictures can't do it justice. I went down to the harbour and back and decided that was all I had in me today.
No shopping at all today for me. In fact, I realize how much ridiculous clothing I packed and my suitcase weighed a tonne! With all the souvenirs I bought already, I feared I couldn't do anymore.
Bishops Palace
Town Hall
The town itself was like being caught in ancient history. I took the bus back to the ship and went to my room to nap, which I did for 4 hours. I awoke at 4 pm and went to the Irish bar to start working on the trip report.
That evening I had dinner plans at the Teppanyaki restaurant and that reservation was at 9:30 pm. It was good thing we weren't getting into Belfast until noon tomorrow. And with my long afternoon nap, dinner at that time was fine. I saw the two BC couples and they said they were partying tonight so I said I'd find them later.
I was sitting at the champagne bar when someone from staff asked if I could come to dinner now, which was a half hour early. I asked how he knew where I was and he said it was by my key card. Big Brother is watching. I agreed and saw only 3 of us seated around the grill. Below, the seaweed salad they served was really bagged coleslaw with a dollop of seaweed on top. Strange...
Making Fried Rice
Shrimp & Steak
Fruit Plate
The chef was very good, entertaining and the food wasn't too bad. I was pleasantly surprised, the fried rice was really tasty. As the casino was closed today I tipped him $20 USD as I had a couple in my purse. I didn't tip extra for the waiter as he was not pleasant or good and they already get 20% built into the price. I left and went looking for any of my new friends but found none. I ended up in "Bliss Lounge" and watched people dance for the 70's dance party. Oh, I actually watched some lame game show prior to that. All the people dancing were having a blast and were fun to watch. I lasted till midnight and went back to my room. I walked 6.5 km today.
Wednesday, October 18, 2023 - Belfast, N. Ireland:
I was up and ready for breakfast by 8:30 am. I was excited and wished we were getting into port earlier. I ate and imbibed a few Irish coffees at the Irish pub until it was time to go.
I found my tour bus and we were soon off to Giant's Causeway. All I saw on the couple hour drive was lush green grass and sheeps everywhere!
He made a stop at a gas station for potty break and to buy lunch.
I ended up just buying this bacon wrapped stuffed breakfast sausage. It was delicious and I wished I had bought a couple more. It was another beautiful day and clarity was good when we reached our destination. Our driver had told us a tale of lore/myth about how it was founded:
"As legend has it, Northern Ireland was once home to a giant named Finn McCool (also called Fionn Mac Cumhaill). When another giant – Benandonner, across the Irish Sea in Scotland – threatened Ireland, Finn retaliated by tearing up great chunks of the Antrim coastline and hurling them into the sea. The newly-created path – the Giant’s Causeway – paved a route over the sea for Finn to reach Benandonner.
However, this turns out to be a bad idea as Benandonner is a massive giant, much bigger than Finn! In order to save himself, Finn retreats to Ireland and is disguised as a baby by his quick-thinking wife. When Benandonner arrives, he sees Finn disguised as a baby and realises that if a mere baby is that big, the father must be far larger than Benandonner himself!
Following this realisation, Benandonner rushes back to Scotland, tearing away as much of the Causeway as he can in his haste to put as much distance between Ireland and himself as possible. And thus, the myth of the Giant’s Causeway was born."...
I walked down the hill to causeway which they said was a km. It felt longer on the way up, lol. Again, my pictures don't do it justice but this Unesco sight is a true beauty.
Our guide took us for one more picture stop below which was Dunluce Castle and also a "Game of Thrones" site.
Next we were off for the city tour portion.
Our guide Gavin gave us the history of "the troubles" in Belfast and we got to stop at the Cupar Way wall, on the Protestant side.
I signed the "peace" wall and found the story particularly sad.
I'm glad progress is being made and now even Protestants and Catholics can marry. Gavin said he would like to see a day where that wall comes down and that he'd party like never before...
We continued through downtown on our return journey.
Back at the ship I said goodbye, tipped £20 for him and driver Joe, then rushed up to my room to pee and freshen up. It was time to eat and I was starved! I was seated solo but wound up beside my Louisiana friends. I had the lamb shank which was decent.
We agreed to meet later in the "Whiskey Bar". I ran into my other BC friends there but they were heading to dinner. They invited me to come along but I told them I just ate and would wait for them there. I got tired of waiting for both parties so decided to go to my room for a bit at 9 pm. I never came back out. I snuggled under the covers and went to sleep. I awoke at 4 am and typed the trip report and then tried to sleep till my 6:30 am alarm for tender tickets. I walked 6.5 km today.
Thursday, October 19, 2023 - Douglas, Isle of Man, Sea Day:
I cued in line and got my tender ticket, but then a couple hours later I heard on the speaker system that we would not see this port due a storm and the tenders could not make it over safely. They said we could use our tender tickets for Dublin tomorrow so at least that was good. I was a bit sad as I didn't want to miss any ports this trip, but not in my control... But then I got this letter. 😞 Dublin kindly refunded my hop on/hop off tour there and replied immediately so that was appreciated.
Dun Loaghaire (is pronounced Dunleary!) So, this would be day drinking on the ship now... I started right after I got tender tickets at 7 am (main dining room is the only place you can get booze - Irish bar at 8 am)! Below was my breakfast:
I hung with my fellow BC friends and we drank, and drank and then drank more. Earlier, I found my Turks & Caicos friend and we went to the casino. I won and was up $300 so I walked away and took the win which was about $220 US after what I put in. Yeah!!! Back to my BC friends. We walked a few laps - it was like summer out on the deck. Hard to believe we had to miss the port, but whatever... I lasted till 4 pm before bailing on them and passed out cold in my room. I woke about 9 pm, had a shower and then the only food option was the Irish bar so I made my way there. Everyone was loud, lively and having a good time. I just ate and then went back to bed for the night. I did stop at guest services to see when my passport would be returned, they said after Republic of Ireland cleared them tomorrow. I walked 5 km today.
Friday, October 20, 2023 - Dublin/Cork/Cobh, Ireland:
This port is infamous for being the last stop for the Titanic's maiden voyage and they host a museum there. We were cleared to get off the ship at noon.
I was first off and first to the train station to get ticket into the town of Cork. It was €7.50 return or $11 CAD. The Republic of Ireland uses Euros and the rest of Ireland uses GBPounds... The rail was easy to navigate as the port was Cobh - pronounced Cove and first stop. The last stop ended in Cork.
I was hungry so I decided to pick a restaurant. I was too nervous to go to a pub by myself so thought I'd get my first Guinness there instead.
I picked a place called Isaacs. They kindly gave me a table without a reservation and everyone was dressed up! I don't know if they all do to dine or whether it was because I was in a business district but I felt a little embarrassed. Unfortunately, I found my first Guinness beer underwhelming. I got through half before I gave up on it.
The stroganoff was delish and I thoroughly enjoyed lunch. I asked how to tip and she said 10% at most so that's what I gave. With tip it came to €23 or $34 CAD .
From there I continued onto City Centre and wandered pretty much every street downtown.
I found my Christmas ornament and magnet and walked back to the train. I was achy breaky at this point. When I got off I realized I had to explore the quaint town of Cobh. It was a beautiful seaside gem.
Titanic Museum & Bar
Cobh Museum
Back on board the BC couples and I ate dinner in the Asian restaurant. We agreed we're obviously very spoiled living in Vancouver by the Asian food. The food in this Ginza restaurant was NOT Asian food, it was maybe the worst Asian food I've ever eaten, next to the Asian restaurant on Celebrity cruise lines. Horrible.
Chewy Calamari
Kung Pao Chicken (Not!) & Lo Mein Noodles (Blech!)
I told my friends that the only good thing about this dinner was the company. 😊 We went and watched a band in the lounge and laughed and sang and had a great time. I didn't stay too late as I had to be up early for my tour...I walked 10.5 km today.
Saturday, October 21, 2023 - Cork/Cobh, Ireland:
I was out waiting for the bus at 7:30 am along with a lot of other people for an 8 am departure on Paddywagon Tours. We were headed to Blarney Castle & Kinsale (€89 or $138 CAD).
Our bus didn't show up till 9 am and there was a lot of pissed off people now, including myself.
It took about another half hour to sort as it was overbooked. Anyway off to Blarney Castle we went. On the way he showed us Belvelly Castle "De Barrà" (below) and remarked how tacky the gold tree on top was, lol. I kinda liked it.
The BC couples did Blarney Stone yesterday and told me to run up to the castle when I got there and don't stop to take pictures till I was done. I was up the castle in a short time with not many other people and I did take this picture below on the way up.
Inside, it was a winding little claustrophobic stairwell that provided a rope to hang on to to get up top. Once up top someone told me not to look down but I did and whoah...my fear of heights kicked in.
Nevertheless, I got down on my knees, then my back and scooted backwards to kiss the stone. I had a hard time with positioning my hands on the bars correctly while my head was upside down. I got to within an inch of the stone and then accidentally looked down and freaked myself out. So, I blew a kiss (my lips missed the stone by a few millimetres and scrambled off and up.
I bought my picture and really felt elated that I had done this! I felt kind of spent too because it was the one and only thing I wanted to do on this trip, so it was kind of a relief exhaustion.
I briefly stopped by the Poison Garden.
I also saw another kilted man. I made him smile with my smile while he was doing his thing (after the picture below) and I giggled.😉
I wandered around the grounds a bit, got a "kissing Blarney stone" Xmas ornament and an Irish coffee that actually had WHIP CREAM on it, which is how I like them at home. I needed that coffee to calm my nerves.
I made my way for more shopping at the bus pick up stop Woollen Mills and ran into Louisiana who I told were "ghosting" me. He replied that why would he holler at me then when I didn't even see him? Okay, lol. I joined him for another Irish coffee, he drank Guinness and wife was shopping for Irish hand sewn sock gifts and looking after mom and aunt. Time to go again and off I darted back to the bus. Mr. Louisiana told me later my enthusiasm made them go kiss the Blarney stone too but my story of running up to the top of the castle was not really true and when they stopped half way up for a rest, he said, "fuck you Christine". Hahahaha. 😃 In truth, I stopped half way up too in the "dining room" but it was hard to start again (less confident and harder to get up) so I decided no more stopping until I reached the top!
I got to ride up front with the driver Aidan on the way to the next stop which was a photo op at Charles Fort (above). As the bus was full, he offered me the seat as I was solo and I had the best view in the house.
We were off to Kinsale which he said was the "Gourmet capital of Ireland" and the "Irish Riviera".
I did have the best meal of my trip here (Dino's), simply fish (haddock) and chips with a side of curry sauce. YUM!
The town itself was cute but I preferred the seaside town of Cobh more. I thought it was more picturesque and charming. Anyway, both were lovely little spots and I was happy to see them both. I strolled Cobh again when we returned back to the port.
I had dinner in the pay steakhouse restaurant called Cagney's. I wasn't feeling steak today so hoped seafood would be okay. I know that you shouldn't eat anything but steak when you go to a steakhouse but how bad could it be? 🙄😉. I started with oysters Rockefeller and they were pretty good though slightly cold.
The wedge salad was also good. But, when the seafood platter came that was a horrible disaster. They served sweet & sour sauce as the dip and top right is supposed to be a crab cake. 😔
The trout (which I normally love) was like shoe leather, couldn't cut it with a steak knife! The calamari was like bouncy rubber balls, etc. etc. The creamed spinach was slimy and tasted only of nutmeg. The potatoes were okay but DRY. I gave up and said I didn't want anything else. They brought me a bottle of pinot noir to make up for it. As I was walking to my room with it I saw my Louisiana friends. They walked with me to drop it off and then we went off for our usual 2 am drinking binge...Indiana found us too so the original 4 were together again. I walked 8.5 km today.
Sunday, October 22, 2023 - Portland/Weymouth, England:
Last day! I was ready to go home. The AI drinking/eating part of the trip was over for me days ago. This was the only day I booked a ship tour ($120 CAD) which was going to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. It was a LONG drive there - 2 & 1/2 hours each way which was the majority of the day and I regretted it. I was pretty bitchy because I still had to pack, wanted to see the town of Weymouth and knew I couldn't get there. I did the "hurry up and wait" in the Stardust theatre (first time in there) and finally was on the road about 12:30 pm. I ate breakfast in the Irish pub before departure as I slept in till 9 am this morning. The tour guide said Stonehenge is one of the most studied sites in the world, to this day. He said they recently found a plague virus in some old bones which may explain why the people left. Anyway, he said if anyone tells you what happened here, they're lying as it's still unknown except for the facts they've been able to prove...
Stonehenge was located in a beautiful spot, felt mystical, magical and spiritual even...(or maybe it was just in my head?). Anyway, I'm glad I got to see it and did a full circle walk around it. If you want to know ALL about it, click this link here.
Texel Sheep
I stood in a horrendously crowded tourist shop and bought my Stonehenge magnet. Wow, the patience I have, lol. The driver took us for one more photo op before returning us to the port; Chesil Beach in Dorset. It runs for a length of 29 kilometres from West Bay to the Isle of Portland and in places is up to 15 metres high and 200 metres wide. It was really beautiful at sunset. Wow.
I had dinner in the main dining room when I got back. The WORST prime rib I have EVER eaten in my life.
In fact, I couldn't eat it. A sharp steak knife could not even cut through it - a tough stringy disastrous mess; impossible to slice or chew. It looked so good but was frankly inedible. I just ate the side dishes and called it a day. The strawberry spinach salad was the highlight of dinner.
My BC friends saw me and invited me to join them but I had to go pack so I could get my luggage out my door and then meet my Louisiana & Indiana friends for our final night. I was drinking martinis but they had no olives. The next one, they brought me this, lol:
Again, lots of laughs, drinks and we closed the evening at 1 am in the Irish bar, an hour earlier than as per usual. I walked 6 km today.
Monday, October 23, 2023 - Vancouver - there's no place like home!!!
I was up at 5 am, showered and ready to go by 6:30. I didn't leave my room, just waited for my color code to be called to disembark which was about 8:30 am. I tried to drink the free bottle of wine but it wasn't going down too good. When called to get off the ship, I found my way to my luggage, then my airport transport. I slept on the bus pretty much the whole way. At Heathrow security my boots beeped in walking through the doorway and they had me remove them and put them in a bin, and then I didn't beep. BUT, weirdly after I went through, a lady with a wand asked if she could check me. I said okay and she dropped to her knees. So strange as her face was level with my crotch! She spent a long time with that wand and I was creeped out. Anyway, I was finally cleared to move on. I walked forever to find my gate, 20 minutes in reality, but then discovered there was only one coffee shop there. It was either walk back to the restaurant area or suck it up and stay put. My carry ons were so heavy I decided to try the United lounge which was close by for a day pass. I was successful except couldn't spend my remaining GBPounds for entry there, only credit cards accepted so $59.99 USD or $83 CAD.
It was okay in there, a kind British guy told me how to navigate the place and pointed me to the "loo", lol. I wrote the trip report some more, had English breakfast and a couple glasses of champagne before boarding.
10 hour flight to SFO and then it was a shit show! I had 2 hours for connecting flight but had to go through customs, (90 minutes), then collect luggage, drop luggage, go through security again and then find gate which was in another terminal! I literally made it with 2 minutes left to board. Anyway, 2 & 1/2 hours later I landed in Vancouver at 9 pm. Was home by 10 pm my time... 6 km walked in airports, lol.
Trip Summary:
As far as the "Norwegian Star" thoughts, I really went in with zero expectations and while a lot of that zero was met, overall it's always the people I meet that win the cruise for me and in that department it was a 10/10. All the company I kept and spent time with were amazing and I enjoyed that part the best, truly. I hopefully have made new friendships that last going forward. P.S. "Fuck you Greg!" (a.k.a. Mr. Louisiana). He told me daily that was the only thing I said to him that didn't have a Canook (Canadian) accent and sounded American. 😆
Food was really hit/miss - mostly miss and the majority of it was downright bad to inedible. I enjoyed the breakfasts the most as that was usually a safe bet. I never ate at the buffet once. I wished I didn't bother buying the two extra "pay" restaurants, not worth it in my view.
The layout/design of the ship was horrible in my opinion. In 10 days I still never knew where I was going and walking through stateroom halls to get everywhere was my least favorite part of it. The best part of navigating someone taught me was that the fishies on the carpet told you which way the front was by the direction they were swimming, so I could always look at that them to see if I was going the right way...my cabin was all the way forward...
The entertainment was average that I saw (bands, singers, etc). I never watched one show in the Stardust theatre so can't comment on that.
I did find staff overall good (except my room steward) and they worked their butts off, like any cruise. I'd only sail Norwegian again if price was right with an itinerary too good to pass up. 5/10 I'd rate it.
Side note: The esim was wonderful. I ended up topping up another 3 gigs and the six gigs lasted me the 12 day journey. I will always buy one going forward, it was really a hot damn and I loved it!...10/10! It felt so good not to have to check for free wifi all the time. While sailing, I mostly could connect too, except for in my room where I used my ship wifi package if necessary.
PHEW! I'm finally finished (I know this was a long one once written)! - I had to sort through 400 pictures to put this trip report together. I wrote a lot of it while on the ship but it still takes so much time to add pictures AFTER the fact and fact check everything that was written. I truly loved seeing the British Isles, it was a dream come true. Anyway, I thought this was a good way to end the report, with what my current plan is until I start packing for Hawaii next week... 😏 Well, first I have a few new 2023 Hallmark Christmas movies to catch up on too...🎄
And lastly... I thought it only fitting that Mr. Louisiana close out the trip report with the video below. 😊
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