100 days

[turtlemichael]

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

Yes, we are quite remote. The shuttle takes at least 20 minutes to get into town. We have had a nice day in Belfast doing a few domestic things and decided to leave the Titanic Experience fro another visit.

 

[turtlemichael]

It's nearly 20 years since we were in Dublin and has it changed! Much more lively, clean, attractive. I somehow doubt there will be an RoIexit here any time soon! It is an amazing contrast with Cork even allowing for it being much bigger.




Trinity College Dublin


Temple Bar hopping on a Friday afternoon


The Halfpenny Foot Bridge on the Liffey. It once had a toll of....a halfpenny!


The oldest church, St Audoen's, in Ireland.

 

[turtlemichael]

Dublin again.


St Audoen's




I was wondering why there would be statue of Elvis outside St Stephen's Green but, on closer inspection, it turned out to be an early Irish patriot.


Merrion Square


Looking back into town along the Liffey from our docking point.

 

[turtlemichael]

We are now steaming out into the Atlantic (well, maybe not steaming) on the first of two sea days. It's cool and bleak and we are doing some serious rolling. It is sure to confine a few to their cabins!

In Belfast yesterday we ended up going with the chef to St George's Market. There were a couple of spots left at the last minute so we grabbed them.

I thoroughly enjoyed the hour there even more than the market in Dublin. There was great interaction with and response from the stall holders even though the chef did not buy much. Most of the produce was great quality.


St George's Market dating from the mid-18th century. It was derelict for a long time but has been restored with "lottery" money.

A puff ball mushroom. The chef is going to give us a demonstration of how to use it in the next hour or so.


I can't remember the name of the cheese but I loved the Irish Young Buck blue behind it.


The butcher is carving T Bones from a piece of Irish Dry Aged beef. We'll get to sample it shortly.


Market entertainment.

 

[Milboo]

The cheese is a cheddar with porter.

Quite tasty!

 

[turtlemichael]

The cheese is a cheddar with porter.

Quite tasty!

Yes, that's right. Just been to a culinary demonstration and got to taste it. It goes down with a glass of Guinness. The cheesemaker said it was "plain" rather than Guinness in his cheese.

 

[turtlemichael]

We are glad we have two sea days ahead as the cruise has so far been a bit of a rush. We have done a number of tours but in recent days have decided to just go walking in the ports. This is fine for us as most of the recent ones we have visited before.

Belfast became a walking day and catching up on a few domestic things eg a haircut, buying toothpaste, posting postcards.

We have been here before and I do today regret that we did not see more. I had no real desire to go to the "Troubles" areas as it sort of struck me as gawking but it would have been nice to have seen the Titanic exhibition. Or well, next time. On a cruise you have to make decisions at every port what you will see and what you'll miss.

The city was bustling on a Saturday afternoon but did look a bit more down at heel than Dublin. However, there are plenty of cranes on the skyline and the shops were full.




I felt like grandad waiting my turn. Some of these guys were there for ages and I could not understand the accent when two were talking at full bore.


Emphasising the Britishness of the place.




A loyalist banner outside City Hall.

 

[turtlemichael]

In the North Atlantic on the way to Iceland.

A rolling sea which is forecast to get a lot rougher during the night.


A coughtail (or two).


And an entree of monkfish wrapped in prosciutto for dinner. We helped the chef buy the monkfish in Belfast yesterday.


Very enjoyable!

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

I agree with that in certain parts of the UK you can not understand certain WORDs THEY ARE Saying !! And we are all speaking english :shock:

 

[turtlemichael]

I was going to ask OZDUCK, drron or mrs.dr.ron whether these eyesores were on board when you sailed. They had been in that position since we boarded in Stockholm 2.5 weeks ago. I thought they were for storing pool stuff etc but, no, they were removed yesterday and someone appears to have been working on the deck surface replacing boards. This is about all I can raise any indignity about on this cruise

 

[OZDUCK]

I was going to ask OZDUCK, drron or mrs.dr.ron whether these eyesores were on board when you sailed. They had been in that position since we boarded in Stockholm 2.5 weeks ago. I thought they were for storing pool stuff etc but, no, they were removed yesterday and someone appears to have been working on the deck surface replacing boards. This is about all I can raise any indignity about on this cruise

View attachment 105038

I haven't actually been on board your vessel - it was just in port when we visited Belfast (by car).

Surely the hot water for your tea/coffee is a bit hot/cold - otherwise how can you ever attain the proper DYKWIA status

By the way, I notice that the weather in the photos you posted of Ireland were all of the same grey skies we experienced - I am beginning to seriously doubt the authenticity of those sparkling blue skies seen in the travel adds.

 

[turtlemichael]

Here are a few shots around our cabin and elsewhere on this ship. We sailed on her around 12 years ago and I am sure she has had a couple of refits since then. One must have been quite recent as everything is in excellent condition. The carpet in the suite is even still shedding. All the furniture is in very good condition.


The cabin, aka suite, is on Deck 4 near midship. We are one of those without a balcony and that was a deliberate choice on this cruise as we were not expecting the chance to use it much given the climate we were to experience. The saved dollars are getting used elsewhere.

I don't generally get too excited about suites. On this ship they are generous size and all the same except for the few suites at the top of the pecking order. The big plus of ours is that we have a lot greater stability in rough seas being near the centre of gravity. Overnight and today we have been in 5 metre seas and 40 knot winds. This is probably average for the Atlantic and certainly is not unpleasant for us. There are, nonetheless, quite a few people distinctly green in complexion.

The big disadvantage is that you take pot luck as to when your windows will be cleaned as they are only accessible from the wharf unlike a veranda window. At all our dockings since Amsterdam 10 days ago we have been on the sea side.The windows dockside have been cleaned at each port. At the moment we are viewing the ocean through a salt prism. Here's hoping for a wash in Reykjavik tomorrow.


La Terrazza set for lunch.


The Bar

 

[turtlemichael]

I haven't actually been on board your vessel - it was just in port when we visited Belfast (by car).

Surely the hot water for your tea/coffee is a bit hot/cold - otherwise how can you ever attain the proper DYKWIA status

By the way, I notice that the weather in the photos you posted of Ireland were all of the same grey skies we experienced - I am beginning to seriously doubt the authenticity of those sparkling blue skies seen in the travel adds.

The OH did complain about the tea temperature but now they are trained and bring near boiling water so that problem is fixed As to Ireland's weather - the barber in Belfast did say "It's not raining this morning - that's gotta be a plus!"

 

[drron]

No those things weren't there 12 months ago.
Hope weather improves and maybe even a view of the Northern Lights from Iceland to Canada-we were lucky on the Silver Explorer off Greenland.

 

[turtlemichael]

No those things weren't there 12 months ago.
Hope weather improves and maybe even a view of the Northern Lights from Iceland to Canada-we were lucky on the Silver Explorer off Greenland.

It has cleared up nicely now and still not dark so there might be a chance tonight. If not we have a few nights ahead.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

TM, if Vicki Van Tassal is still cruise director don't miss her show - it is hilarious !!! And do you play trivia ?

 

[turtlemichael]

mrs.dr.ron Vicki came on in Southampton. She replaced Alan (King?). I haven't seen her show listed yet but I can believe it! We haven't done trivia this time.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

............. We haven't done trivia this time.

You have missed the trivia-gate !!! There is mention on CC that a woman was cheating by using her Ipad to get the answers !!!! :shock:

 

[turtlemichael]

You have missed the trivia-gate !!! There is mention on CC that a woman was cheating by using her Ipad to get the answers !!!! :shock:

It's the talk of the ship. Trivia can become a blood sport!

 

[turtlemichael]

I got up early (for me) to see the sail in to Reykjavik. Although it was arctic on deck I wasn't disappointed. The air was crystal clear and the sky was largely clear. We had booked to go to the Blue Lagoon for a dip to but I had failed to realise that the tour was slap in the middle of the day in port therefore limiting our ability to do anything else. So at 9.00am we got the first shuttle bus into town go for a wander around before the visit to the Blue Lagoon.

The downtown was largely deserted and with a really strong icy wind blowing it was less than pleasant. The town itself feels like a small village. However, as tourism booms hotels seem to be sprouting everywhere. Also, much of the downtown is given over to restaurants which are in abundance. All up, it was a very pleasant feel though not much was opened. Reykjavik is a party town so I guess it starts late too.

As the day warmed up (it got to 11C) things improved and now Iceland has become one of the places I want to come back to for a much longer stay than a cruise allows. We liked the Blue lagoon and though it is very touristy it was fun to have a hot body and a cold head as the wind whipped across the water.