100 days

[turtlemichael]

Brugge looks wonderful. I would have liked to have travelled there.

A couple of days, as we did in the 70's, would be justified.

 

[turtlemichael]

We come to the last day of the first leg of our cruise. 11 days have vanished like a puff of smoke.

We docked early at Southampton at Mayflower dock. Apparently this is not the main terminal which is a relief given that it was very third world. We seem to have done a lot of dockside arrivals on this cruise and in fact have been only in one good terminal - Amsterdam. Station Pier doesn't look so bad after all!

We started with a face to face interview with the British immigration authorities which, for us at least, was a lot less arduous than the lines at Heathrow. But Silversea did get the process mucked up. As transit passengers we expect to wait until near the end so that those catching flights etc can get a clear run. Colour coding of departure documents is the way that normally is handled. Instead Silversea ignored the colour codes they had issued and requested that anyone with "early" travel arrangements should head to the lounge to be processed. Well, unsurprisingly, nearly everyone headed immediately to the lounge and the queue quickly was the length of the ship! Chaos reigned as people tried to jump the line. I've never seen that.

We were off the ship by 9.40am at the end of the process and grabbed a cab into Southampton Central where we caught a train to Portsmouth. The trip, on the faster train, took 45 minutes and cost 11.20 pounds round trip.

The purpose of this was to go to see the Mary Rose in its new surroundings at the Historic Naval Dockyards. This was Henry Vlll's ship which went down in a battle with the French in the Solent in 1545. It was eventually rediscovered in the 1930's and raised in the 80's. It took until 2016 for the timbers to completely dry out and now it has a multi-million pound museum to display its remains and the many things discovered with it.

I have to say that this was one of the highlights of the trip to date. It is beautifully done and the whole Naval Dockyard is a treasure trove. It's well worth a day for anyone interested in history or the sea. Unfortunately, we had just a few hours and limited ourselves to the Mary Rose but here you can see and go over ships used at Gallipoli, warships such as HMS Warrior from the mid-1800's and, of course, Nelson's ship HMS Victory.

Great day.


HMS Warrior


HMS Victory


HMS Victory's cannons




MS-33 built for the Dardenelles and Gallipoli.

 

[turtlemichael]

Now the Mary Rose. It is a pity that my photos don't do it justice. To some it is probably just some old wood but I thought it was breathtaking as were the artifacts displayed with it. Only 35 survived the sinking and 500 went down with the ship. It appears to have been a navigational error rather than being struck by French cannon.

When we were allowed through the air lock into the room with the ship I thought you could actually smell the wood but maybe I was imagining it.


The Mary Rose Museum






Shoes recovered.


The skeleton of the Head Carpenter's dog who had been used on board to catch rats.

 

[turtlemichael]

And now it is on to Montreal. There have been a large number of crew changes and now we have to train another butler! I never thought I'd find myself in that situation but this is not real life!

As well as crew changes there has been a big passenger turnover with only 35, about 10%, continuing on from the previous leg. My breakfast observation is that the numbers of American and British are up and the numbers of Australians and Europeans are down. Also we have gone up a few years in age.

Here is the map for across the Atlantic.

 

[Pushka]

It's funny timing you post this about the docks you've been at TM. Silversea is doing a lot of promos in the Qantas entertainment app onboard and their focus is because the ships are smaller they can berth at the best docks right in the city. They look wonderful. I even think they showed them under London Bridge? Makes no sense so maybe not, maybe there's a similar one somewhere.

 

[turtlemichael]

It's funny timing you post this about the docks you've been at TM. Silversea is doing a lot of promos in the Qantas entertainment app onboard and their focus is because the ships are smaller they can berth at the best docks right in the city. They look wonderful. I even think they showed them under London Bridge? Makes no sense so maybe not, maybe there's a similar one somewhere.

All of our dockings have been central but some (Stockholm, Southampton, Zeebrugge) have been the secondary locations and facilities. Stockholm was out of a tent. Maybe this is not a Silversea issue but rather a port authority matter and in the end it probably doesn't matter too much - all else has been generally good to excellent.

You can't complain when you are served a lobster tail like the one in La Terrazza tonight. (I know you aren't in to seafood but it was superb!)

 

[Pushka]

Being so damn tempted by Silversea currently. Damn you TM and drron . Trouble is, once you've tried them you won't want to return to the dark side.

I did try lobster flambé in Murano on Celebrity. Not obviously because I like lobster but because I wanted to watch the table side preparation and performance.

I'm currently looking at a dark side New England Fall cruise next year that calls into Maine. And of course the selling point being the lobster.

I love the beauty of that Lobster TM. Just for the photo opp!

 

[tgh]

Pushka, we are on the Whisper shortly after michael… NY>Montreal.
It's a different spin on normal fall cruises as the ship is circumnavigating Nova Scotia.
To make up for missing the Maine coast , we are picking up wheels in Plattsburgh , driving across to Bar Harbour via Mt Washington, and then following the coast back to NY.
I plan to consume vast quantities of lobster…...

 

[Pushka]

Pushka, we are on the Whisper shortly after michael… NY>Montreal.
It's a different spin on normal fall cruises as the ship is circumnavigating Nova Scotia.
To make up for missing the Maine coast , we are picking up wheels in Plattsburgh , driving across to Bar Harbour via Mt Washington, and then following the coast back to NY.
I plan to consume vast quantities of lobster…...

Not another damn Silversea report to tempt me. Seriously can't justify the cost right now but the bucket list just grew a bit heavier.

 

[turtlemichael]

The first full day of the new cruise saw us in Fowey, which is on the southern Cornwall coast, down the way from Southampton. It is a very small village but very picture post card. Some chose to head out into the wilds of Cornwall and Devon but we decided to do what the majority were doing which was to go for a wander. From one end of the town to the other took 20 minutes but there was a pretty church and shops full of Cornish goods such as pastries and fudge. There was also a decent secondhand book shop.

It was also the first stop on this cruise we have used the tenders rather than docked. The tender trip to the jetty was only 3-4 minutes. Apparently we have one trip in Greenland which is over 30 minutes each way and that will test the stomachs of some people.





Cornish pasties.

 

[turtlemichael]

More Fowey.








Thought this a good doorknocker for a seaside village.


The locals farewelling us.

 

[turtlemichael]

It's Friday in Dublin where we docked on the Liffey a couple of hours ago. The weather is grey and a little threatening but forecast to be a bit brighter this afternoon so we think we'll go out for a few hours after lunch. The OH has planned a little walk around the city. We were in Cork yesterday and we are in Belfast tomorrow. After that it is two sea days before we get to Iceland. Assuming we have reasonable connectivity on the sea days that will give me the chance to post some photos from around the ship without the pressure to do some more touring!

So Cork.

We had a tiny bit off roughness across the edge of the Atlantic as we sailed overnight from Fowey to Cork. It was just about the first rocking of the cruise. We docked at the Cork port, Cobh which, from a distance is quite pretty.

Cobh, is remembered as the last stop of the Titanic before it ventured out for the only time into the Atlantic. It was also the place where many deceased and injured passengers were brought after the German U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania in 1915 just offshore.

Silversea did something today which I had only seen on Seabourn. The chef took a group of quick enrollers to a market in Cork called The English Market to do some shopping. I've done this a couple of times on Seabourn and it is fun to go local markets, in my case, in places like Salalah in Oman and Trapani in Sicily.

The English Market in Cork is small and old. It dates from 1788. We sampled some superb cheeses and smoked salmon but the highlight was at the fishmongers where we sampled some excellent Kinsale oysters. Thirty-three of us travelled into Cork on the train. It was a good hike to the market but well worth it when we got there. Though we appeared to be in the way of the genuine shoppers at the market, it was an excellent experience. The chef, David, spent a lot of time explaining the various fish to us and how he prepares them. We look forward to tasting the booty in the next few days. We did lash out and buy some Irish Heggarty Cheddar for the suite fridge!

There is another market visit with the chef tomorrow in Belfast but we think we'll give someone else the chance and visit the market on our own.

Cork itself left me rather cold. It has a great river but it is mostly fringed by carparks. I kept thinking how it could be a better living place and visiting place. I struggled to find some decent views to photograph. The port of Cobh was prettier.


The English Market.


Seafood here struck me as about 75% of the Australian price.


Chef David explaining how to prepare skate.




The oysters we sampled were rich and creamy. The fishmonger knew how to shuck! Yummo!

 

[turtlemichael]

More Cork and Cobh.








Memorial in Cobh to the millions who left during the potato famine.


Cobh skyline.

 

[turtlemichael]

These are the oysters we purchased yesterday in Cork. I took pity on the chef who was in the middle of the restaurant shucking them and I only had a couple (well six, in 3 goes!) They were rich and creamy -really very good. The duck main course was very tasty.

 

[tgh]

Having cruised a bit , there isn't usually a lot of excitement any more…
We cruised on the old Oriana as youngsters but our later travels really started with a cruise from New Zealand to Australia on the Grand Princess.
A friend who was doing some pr work for P&O listed us on the manifest as VIP'S.
On embarkation there was a cold bottle of sparkling wine and choc strawberries in our cabin, and we were well cared for throughout the cruise
I was quite beside myself with excitement, like a kid in Willie Wonkers chocolate shop.
Many cruises and trips later , the novelty has sadly worn off somewhat, and even a good line like SilverSea fails to excite.

Michaels excellent reports and culinary images however, are overriding my apathy and I am now viewing that empty suitcase in the spare room with a little more interest……well done …

 

[Pushka]

In the early '80's we did a pacific cruise on the ORIANA that we hated and it was 30 years before we boarded another cruise ship. I think our cabin was one deck below the convicts.

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for some more nice photos. I agree with you about Cork. It has some nice spots but I also struggled to like it. Cobh seemed much nicer. (Though the rolls we bought from the English Market in Cork were very tasty.)

In Belfast you may well dock opposite the Titanic Experience. Here is the Silver Whisper in Belfast in June - behind a recreation of the Titanic Bow.

 

[turtlemichael]

In Belfast you may well dock opposite the Titanic Experience. Here is the Silver Whisper in Belfast in June - behind a recreation of the Titanic Bow.

We have just docked but can't see the Titantic recreation. It is a very industrial area.

 

[turtlemichael]

Having cruised a bit , there isn't usually a lot of excitement any more…
We cruised on the old Oriana as youngsters but our later travels really started with a cruise from New Zealand to Australia on the Grand Princess.
A friend who was doing some pr work for P&O listed us on the manifest as VIP'S.
On embarkation there was a cold bottle of sparkling wine and choc strawberries in our cabin, and we were well cared for throughout the cruise
I was quite beside myself with excitement, like a kid in Willie Wonkers chocolate shop.
Many cruises and trips later , the novelty has sadly worn off somewhat, and even a good line like SilverSea fails to excite.

Michaels excellent reports and culinary images however, are overriding my apathy and I am now viewing that empty suitcase in the spare room with a little more interest……well done …

Thanks TGH. Very kind.

 

[OZDUCK]

We have just docked but can't see the Titantic recreation. It is a very industrial area.

I have just had a look at the Port of Belfast Ship Tracking System and you are unfortunately berthed a fair distance away and with two sets of piers between you and the Titanic Quarter. The Maltese registered vessel "Berlin" of FTI Cruises is in the spot opposite the "bow".

Port of Belfast Ship Tracker / Tracking Map Live | View Live Ship Traffic In Port of Belfast, Northern Ireland