France ~ Le Havre, Honfleur, Vieux Bassin, Lieutenance, St. Catherine’s Church, and a bucket of mussels

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Wednesday July 9th ~ Le Havre and Honfleur France

Vieux Bassin, Honfleur

Vieux Bassin, Honfleur

Today is the last full day of our British Isles Cruise.

Our ship docked in Le Havre, France early in the morning. Many on board were taking the ships tour to Paris, or to Versailles Palace, or the Louvre Museum, or Notre Dame, or to see the Normandy Landing Beaches. These tours were offered with prices ranging from $199 – $279 per person ($398 to $558 for the two of us). Since we spent 10 days in Paris a few years back, were more interested in seeing something new. Besides the high prices to sit on the bus for three hours in each direction turned us off.

So what were our options?

Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, France | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Lazy day onboard, future planning, “D” and more Gus pictures

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Tuesday July 8th ~ A day at sea

Vampire Gus

Vampire Gus

A full day on board the Ruby Princess with nothing in particular planned except to sleep-in, relax, maybe read a little, and of course eat a meal or three. We also wanted to look at a map and try to figure out where we are going once our cruise ends early on the 10th. As of right now we have ZERO plans, other than our transatlantic cruise from London to Boston leaving on August 31st. No reservations, and frankly no idea of what we want to do, or where we want to go next.

We will truly be “winging it” when we walk off the ship on Thursday morning. We are leaning toward catching a train from Southampton going Northish (made that word up, but it is the best I can do at the moment) toward the central West coast of England. We would like to catch a ferry to Dublin and stay there for a week or so, them maybe head down toward the Ring of Kerry area. Continue reading →

Posted in England, Europe | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Scotland ~ Queensferry, Edinburgh, Scotch Whiskey and Edinburgh Castle

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Monday July 7th ~ Edinburgh, Scotland

Scotch Whiskey

Scotch Whiskey

We anchor just off shore in the small port of Queensferry, located on the Firth of Forth, an arm of the North Sea. We are about a 45 minute drive away from our destination – Edinburgh, Scotland. Monday went like this:

Get off ship, tender ride, walk and climb many steps, train ride, walk, hop-on hop off bus, walk uphill, walking tour, walk downhill, train ride, walk back down steps, tender ride, back on ship, and that was our day.

Well, I might have left out a FEW details…

Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Scotland | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Scotland ~ Kirkwall, Orkney Islands

Posted on July 6, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Saturday July 5th ~ Orkney Islands

Most of the homes are built out of stone

Most of the homes are built out of stone

There are 70 islands in the Orkney Islands chain, 20 of which are inhabited. With a population of 8,686 people, Kirkwall is the capital of the archipelago in Northern Scotland. The islands are believed to have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years! Orkney was a Norse Viking settlement until it became part of Scotland.

The islands are low-lying and have few trees

Our ship anchored in the harbor as two other good-sized ships were already docked. It took about 10 minutes via tender to get to the dock located right on the edge of town. Within a few minutes, we doubled the number of inhabitants. It reminded me of rats running off of the old ships and invading an otherwise peaceful village. Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Scotland | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fourth of July ~ A day at sea on board the Ruby Princess

Posted on July 6, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Friday, “Fourth of July” ~At Sea off the coast of Scotland

Ruby Princess Atrium decorated for the Fourth of July

Ruby Princess Atrium decorated for the Fourth of July

I love “at sea” days.  I have a chance to really relax.  But today I was more in hibernating mode.  There seems to be a pattern developing, I am more home-sick on holidays.  I spent the morning thinking of friends and family, envisioning how they are spending the day. Some will be at the beach, or watching a parade, or having a BBQ.  Some will be entertaining a crowd, having a drink or two, and anticipating the evening fireworks.

On days like this I miss “home” and all that implies – comfort, familiarity, friends and family, the known routines and what have become traditions. Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Reflection, Scotland | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Scotland ~ Greenock, Inverclyde, Gourock, an old library, museum, vista point, and more Gus pictures

Posted on July 6, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Thursday July 3rd ~ Greenock, the “Gateway to Glasgow”

Deciding to just explore the small ports, and taking local transportation instead of taking the more expensive tours offered on board the cruise ship keeps us in town for the morning. Coming across an old library, we are drawn inside.

Library, Greenock

Library, Greenock

The multiple volumes of Lloyd’s Register caught my eye.  They had row after row, containing 100’s of well warn volumes.  For a quite small library, this gave added voice to the significance of shipping in this area.

Lloyd's Registry

Lloyd’s Registry

“The Society printed the first Register of Ships in 1764 in order to give both underwriters and merchants an idea of the condition of the vessels they insured and chartered…The Register, with information on all seagoing, self-propelled merchant ships of 100 gross tonnes or greater, is published annually. A vessel remains registered with Lloyd’s Register until it is sunk, wrecked, hulked, or scrapped.” ~ Wikipedia

Just around the corner was the entrance to the McLean Museum. Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Scotland | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Belfast, Northern Ireland ~ Stormont Parliament Buildings, Peace Wall, Shankill

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Wednesday July 2 ~ Belfast, Northern Ireland

City Hall, Belfast

City Hall, Belfast

The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast and she welcomed us with a sunny day that quickly turned to gray. Belfast offered a complimentary shuttle service from the port into the center of town where we then chose to take a hop-on hop-off tour bus to get an overview of the city. They divide the town up into four distinct regions – The Titanic Quarter, The Queens Quarter, The Troubles (Shankill) and the Historic area.

Belfast sculpture

Belfast sculpture

The Titanic Quarter covers the old dock area that used to be alive with ship building. The most well know, Harland and Wolf, is where the ill-fated Titanic was built in 1909-1911. Today most of the shipbuilding industry has shut down or been replaced with other businesses. Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Northern Ireland | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dublin, Ireland ~ Trinity College, getting connected again and more Gus

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Tuesday July 1st ~ Dublin, Ireland

Old Library - Trinity College, Dublin

Old Library – Trinity College, Dublin

We are still on board the Ruby Princess as we make our way around the British Isles. Feeling sluggish today, we took our time getting our act together and did not leave the ship until 10:00.  But before we left, Tim arranged for Gus to get some sun.

Gus working on his tan

Gus working on his tan

Princess had shuttle busses that left every few minutes for the 20 minute trip from the port into Dublin.  They charged $16 per person round trip which I thought was a little steep, but it was convenient.

I have been going through Internet withdrawal due to almost zero service on-board the Ruby Princess.  When we can get online, it goes in and out, and is never strong enough for me to upload pictures.  In an effort to appease his wife, Tim made it his mission to try to remedy the situation. Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Republic of Ireland | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Gus and “D”, our Cabin Steward

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Tuesday, July 1st – Evening at sea

Our first night on board the Ruby Princess, after unpacking and settling in we went off to dinner. As is normal, while we eat, our steward enters the cabin, turns back the bed and leaves a chocolate candy on the pillow. It is a nice custom, and one more example of customer service that makes me smile.

That evening we returned to find “Gus” wedged between the pillows as if playing hide-and-seek. I got a chuckle, and thought to myself, I wonder if he thinks we are nuts, two adults traveling with a stuffed toy. Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Republic of Ireland | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Cove, Queenstown or Cobh, Ireland ~ A city with three different names

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Monday June 30 ~ Cobh, Ireland

Cobh, Ireland

Cobh, Ireland

This is a city known by three names. Originally it was known as Cove, located in the harbor for Cork. In 1849, Queen Victoria first stepped foot on Irish soil here. To commemorate the occasion, the town was renamed Queenstown. In 1920, the town reverted to its original name, using the Irish spelling, Cobh (but pronounced as “Cove”). Confused yet?

Cobh sits on the second largest natural harbor in the world after Sydney. Sadly it is linked to several maritime heartbreaking stories. Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Republic of Ireland | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments