12 days in the British Isles: Photos and info aplenty!

[beachgirl50]

Wonderful review and amazing pictures! You have a real gift. We would love to do this itinerary sometime; thank you for posting your experiences!

[ohhbother]

I love reading your review. On the motor coach to Paris you said you stopped once for a bathroom break both ways. Do they not have a bathroom on the motor coach or are they just stopping for people to stretch their legs?

 

There's what was called an "emergency toilet" on most of the buses we took during the cruise (not all but most), but I can't imagine anyone would ever want to use one. It was like a miniature port-a-potty in the middle of the bus. Icky!

[IrishLassie]

LOVING your review, especially your pictures of Giants Causeway. I have been there 3/4 times as my DH's mother was from Co. Donegal, Ireland. The castle you passed was probably Dunluce Castle. We had a wonderful picnic in front of the castle with our Irish cousins on one of our trips. Ireland is my favorite place in the world & hoping to go back nx year for a cousins wedding.

Looking forward to the rest of your review & more pictures. Thanks for taking the time to do it. :D

[Psychedout]

Fantastic pictures, we will be taking that cruise next July. My wife and I were in N. Ireland in 2003 and stayed at the hotel next the City Hall in Belfast, your pictures bring back many memories.

 

Hugh:)

[Genessa]

Giant's Causeway was one of the high points of our British Isles cruise, too.

 

But, I hate to admit it, your pictures are much better!

 

Love your review!

[ohhbother]

Our fantastic day in Belfast really had me looking forward to our visit to Dublin. Once again, our day got off to an early and delicious start with breakfast at Sabatini’s. This time, I even splurged on hot chocolate. They bring you a whole pot, and it’s so, so good. After eating, we made our way to the Princess Theater for our 8:20 a.m. excursion meeting time.

 

As you’ve probably noticed by now, Mark and I enjoy exploring nature more than exploring cities. So, for this port, we chose an excursion to Glendalough, where we’d have an opportunity to see sixth-century monastic ruins nestled in the beautiful Wicklow Mountains.

 

By now, we knew the drill. Meet in the theater, walk as a group off the ship, and board a bus. Once again, our bus wasn’t completely full. Mark and were able to snag the very back seats -- lots of space to spread out and nap. Before heading out of the city, our bus driver took us on a 30-minute tour of Dublin. We saw some of the highlights, including Trinity College. Traffic was terrible in Dublin, but it began clearing up as we made our way out of the city.

 

The drive to Glendalough took about 90 minutes, and the scenery was just breathtaking. I’d always heard how green Ireland is, and seeing was believing. We saw beautiful forests, blooming wildflowers and, of course, plenty of sheep. It was like a living postcard. As we climbed into the mountains, the roads became incredibly narrow. Somehow, our big bus lumbered through.

 

 

Soon, we were at the ruins. As we got off the bus, our tour guide let us know we’d be going to a visitors center to watch a 17-minute video before going out to explore. She made mention of a beautiful upper lake but said we wouldn’t have time to see it. Really? I told Mark I hadn’t come all this way to watch a video. So we went rogue -- sort of. First, we checked in with the tour guide to make sure we knew what time to meet back at the bus (we learned we had two hours). And then we headed out on our own.

 

The ruins were just a short walk from the parking lot, so we stopped there first. I fell in love with this place instantly. It was so beautiful and serene, and there was a sense of ages gone by. The ruins are surrounded by a cemetery with graves both old and new, so it was a place for quiet reflection. The entire aura was quite spiritual. We spent about 40 minutes exploring the ruins and then set out on our quest to find the upper lake.

 

 

 

I really can’t even begin to describe how terrible our guide made this hike sound. It was so far and would take so long to reach. Umm, not really. We immediately saw a sign that said the upper lake was 1.6 kilometers away -- following either a wooden boardwalk along the shores of the lower lake or a paved path. I’m telling you -- unless you’re a snail, reaching the upper lake takes no time at all. And it was absolutely worth the walk. We followed the boardwalk by the lower lake and were immediately surrounded by nature’s beauty. There were wildflowers in abundance, birds darting back and forth and even deer grazing in a meadow. I don’t know what the 17-minute video had to offer, but I’m pretty sure it couldn’t have beat what we were seeing.

 

 

 

 

Continued in next post...

[ohhbother]

We didn’t hike. We strolled -- leisurely -- and stopped often for photos. And we still made it to the upper lake in 25 minutes or so. All I can say is wow. If I had missed seeing that lake because a tour guide scared me off, I would have been so disappointed. It is truly one of the prettiest things we saw on our trip. The lake stretches out in front of you with mountains rising up behind and beside it. We strolled along the lake’s shores for quite a long time, just taking it all in while mallards swam in front of us.

 

 

 

Finally, we decided we’d better head back. Since we took the boardwalk to the upper lake, we took the paved path back. This was an even easier and quicker walk. The path took you through the forest, and the views were amazing.

 

 

 

Again, we strolled slowly. And even with lots of photo breaks, we made it back to the bus with 10 minutes to spare. Our tour guide remarked that we must have run. Seriously, this woman had some kind of weird misconception about the upper lake. We just smiled and headed to the back of the bus. :-)

 

As was the case with most excursions, the drive back was a quiet one. It took awhile, though, because we ran into heavy traffic in Dublin. When we came back into the city, we drove past a lovely beach area and were rewarded with great views of our ship.

 

 

We made it back to the ship around 1:45. Mark and I thought about catching a cab to the Guinness Storehouse but finally decided against it. It sounded like a long drive, and we were hungry. So it was upstairs to the Horizon Court for lunch instead. We polished off lunch with a stop at Scoops for ice cream and then headed back to our stateroom to nap.

 

I now have to confess I got a little lax in my journal-keeping, so I’m not sure what we did the rest of that evening. I know we ordered dinner in the room, and my guess is we read books and watched some movie on TV. We watched Jack Reacher one night and Life of Pi another-- could have been one of those. Both were better than I expected.

 

I do know I started packing a bit, as sad as that was. How could it be that the end of our cruise was only three days away? But it was true. Our luggage tags had been delivered and everything. I also went to the fitness center for the metabolic assessment that came with my Boot Camp package. This was a quick test in which electrodes are placed on you. I learned I was properly hydrated, and I have a naturally high metabolism. Good news for someone who's lost 110 pounds and still has 75 more to go! I was able to withstand the obligatory sales pitch and say no to $2,000 worth of supplements to help me "detox." No thanks -- I'll just stick to healthy eating and exercise!

 

As we went to bed that night, the inevitable "end of cruise sadness" started creeping in. Luckily, we still had two more full days. Our next stop was Cobh, where we stumbled on an unplanned experience that made for lovely memories. Until tomorrow...

Edited June 9, 2013 by ohhbother

[calif girl]

Thank you so much. You are just amazing and I have enjoyed each and every one of your lovely messages about your trip. I am taking this cruise on July 23rd and I have learned so much from you. I can't wait to read the next one.

Marianne

[chloe kitty]

Thanks again. I am really enjoying your posts. If you love scenery, I would suggest a Norway Cruise. It was the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen!

[ohhbother]

Thanks again. I am really enjoying your posts. If you love scenery, I would suggest a Norway Cruise. It was the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen!

 

Norway is absolutely on the list. I just know I'll love it. Thanks for the encouragement -- I might just end up in Norway sooner rather than later!

[Steph27]

Love the going rouge part! Smart girl to skip the video and head to the lake. The guide probably worries about stragglers. Had you been to Dublin before? In August we are doing the Powerscourt tour in county Wicklow and then the self tour in the city. I am a county girl too so spending part of the day seeing gardens and landscapes and the rest enjoying Dublin is appealing.

 

Congratulations on your weight loss. That is incredible. I wish you much success on the rest. I have found that I do a lot more exercising cruising than at home!

[Genessa]

I'm so glad you skipped the video and let us all get a glimpse of the scenery you saw!

[Host Jazzbeau]

The on-site guides there have a good sense of priority. When we arrived the near-constant rain had paused so the guide said go see the ruins and come back for the video later. We did and missed the later shower while we watched.

 

The video is worthwhile, by the way.

[lovevacadays]

Our fantastic day in Belfast really had me looking forward to our visit to Dublin. Once again, our day got off to an early and delicious start with breakfast at Sabatini’s. This time, I even splurged on hot chocolate. They bring you a whole pot, and it’s so, so good. After eating, we made our way to the Princess Theater for our 8:20 a.m. excursion meeting time.

 

As you’ve probably noticed by now, Mark and I enjoy exploring nature more than exploring cities. So, for this port, we chose an excursion to Glendalough, where we’d have an opportunity to see sixth-century monastic ruins nestled in the beautiful Wicklow Mountains.

 

By now, we knew the drill. Meet in the theater, walk as a group off the ship, and board a bus. Once again, our bus wasn’t completely full. Mark and were able to snag the very back seats -- lots of space to spread out and nap. Before heading out of the city, our bus driver took us on a 30-minute tour of Dublin. We saw some of the highlights, including Trinity College. Traffic was terrible in Dublin, but it began clearing up as we made our way out of the city.

 

The drive to Glendalough took about 90 minutes, and the scenery was just breathtaking. I’d always heard how green Ireland is, and seeing was believing. We saw beautiful forests, blooming wildflowers and, of course, plenty of sheep. It was like a living postcard. As we climbed into the mountains, the roads became incredibly narrow. Somehow, our big bus lumbered through.

 

 

Soon, we were at the ruins. As we got off the bus, our tour guide let us know we’d be going to a visitors center to watch a 17-minute video before going out to explore. She made mention of a beautiful upper lake but said we wouldn’t have time to see it. Really? I told Mark I hadn’t come all this way to watch a video. So we went rogue -- sort of. First, we checked in with the tour guide to make sure we knew what time to meet back at the bus (we learned we had two hours). And then we headed out on our own.

 

The ruins were just a short walk from the parking lot, so we stopped there first. I fell in love with this place instantly. It was so beautiful and serene, and there was a sense of ages gone by. The ruins are surrounded by a cemetery with graves both old and new, so it was a place for quiet reflection. The entire aura was quite spiritual. We spent about 40 minutes exploring the ruins and then set out on our quest to find the upper lake.

 

 

 

I really can’t even begin to describe how terrible our guide made this hike sound. It was so far and would take so long to reach. Umm, not really. We immediately saw a sign that said the upper lake was 1.6 kilometers away -- following either a wooden boardwalk along the shores of the lower lake or a paved path. I’m telling you -- unless you’re a snail, reaching the upper lake takes no time at all. And it was absolutely worth the walk. We followed the boardwalk by the lower lake and were immediately surrounded by nature’s beauty. There were wildflowers in abundance, birds darting back and forth and even deer grazing in a meadow. I don’t know what the 17-minute video had to offer, but I’m pretty sure it couldn’t have beat what we were seeing.

 

 

 

 

Continued in next post...

 

Loved your post about your time in Dublin. You definitely made me want to go. I am 1/4 Irish and both my Aunt and Step Mom traveled in Ireland. They had so many wonderful things to say.

[ohhbother]

When we woke up Wednesday morning, I was overcome by that bittersweet feeling so common when vacation is drawing to a close. I couldn’t believe it was our last day in Ireland -- it seemed like we just got there! For this day, Mark and I had booked a ship’s excursion to Blarney Castle with a scheduled departure time of 12:30 p.m. But we decided not to sleep in -- we wanted to see as much as we could see.

 

So it was another early breakfast in Sabatini’s, and then we walked off to the ship to explore Cobh. This is a lovely seaside town, with colorful homes dotting the hillsides and looking out over the water. We made our way up and down the main street, poking our heads into various little shops -- doing a lot of nothing, really. Without really thinking about it, we headed toward the town’s most dominant feature -- St. Colman’s Cathedral, perched on a hillside above the sea.

 

 

 

St. Colman’s, in a word, is breathtaking. It demands your attention with its imposing granite exterior and towering spire. The cathedral is also home to Ireland’s largest carillon, with 49 bells. When we got to the entrance, we were happy to see the cathedral was open for tours. But then we noticed an exception -- no tours during 10 a.m. mass. And what time was it? 9:59, of course. We started to walk away, but at the last second I changed my mind. Mark and I slipped into the back row of the cathedral to observe the service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later on in our trip, we would visit the more famous Salisbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. But I have to tell you that St. Colman’s was my favorite of the three. The interior is astonishing in its ornate beauty -- made all the more amazing by the cathedral’s location in this small town. Neither Mark nor I are Catholic, but we were moved by the beauty of the religious service. It was a wonderful time of reflection and a moment to truly pause and appreciate all that we’d been blessed to see and experience on this trip. Mass ended about 10:30, and we were happy to have attended. It was one of those special vacation moments that wasn’t planned but became a favorite memory.

 

Following the end of the service, we spent a few minutes exploring the cathedral. Then, it was time to make our way back to the ship so we could grab a quick bite before our tour.

 

Continued in next post...

[ohhbother]

A snack in the Horizon Court did the trick, and then we made our way back off the ship to meet our tour group on the dock at 12:30. Again, I’d picked the last scheduled departure time. And this once again worked to our advantage. It was another half-full bus. Yea! The drive to Blarney Castle was about an hour, and we had a fantastic guide. He was an avid birder, so he talked quite a bit about wildlife in the area. Plus, he had a great sense of humor. We really enjoyed the drive, which took us from Cobh to Cork to Blarney Castle.

 

 

Truth be told, Mark and I almost canceled our excursion to Blarney Castle. We were afraid it would be too “touristy.” In fact, we tried to cancel, but the cancellation deadline had passed. I’m so glad we missed that deadline! Blarney Castle and the surrounding grounds were among the most beautiful places we visited during our cruise. I’m not sure what I expected, but it was acres and acres of lush, green land surrounding majestic castle ruins.

 

 

 

 

 

Now, don’t get me wrong. This is definitely a tourist destination, and there were people everywhere. The Blarney Woolen Mills across the way was the equivalent of an outlet mall, and there were tour buses everywhere. But it didn’t matter. This place was gorgeous! As we left our tour bus, our guide cautioned us that the wait to kiss the Blarney Stone could be as long as two hours. With that in mind, Mark and I took off at a very fast walk and headed straight for the line. When we got there, I was cautiously optimistic -- the line didn’t look “that” long. So we got in line and hoped for the best.

 

 

Continued in next post...

[ohhbother]

At this point, I need to mention that Mark is a bit of a germ freak. And he had absolutely zero interest in kissing a rock that has been kissed by a gazillion other people. But he came along with me anyway. He's sweet like that. :-)

 

The line started at the bottom of the castle’s main tower and soon began snaking up a very tight circular staircase. If you’re claustrophobic or terrified of heights, this might not be the best place for you. We seemed to have timed our arrival well, because the line moved right along. We found ourselves at the top of the tower in about 20 minutes.

 

 

 

 

This was where the fun started. As you made your way up to the spot to kiss the stone, it became clear this was a well-oiled machine. When it was your turn, a man helped you lie flat on a mat. You then grabbed two metal bars behind your head, leaned your head back and kissed. Another guy snapped your photo. To keep the line moving, there was no time for hesitation. It was down on the mat, smooch, snap and be on your way. Once we were there, Mark, of course, decided he needed to kiss the stone as well. So we have now both crossed that off our bucket list. It was quite an adventure!

 

 

 

 

Continued in next post...

[ohhbother]

After we made our way down from the tower, we spent some time exploring the grounds. There’s a garden of poisonous plants that was interesting, and there’s a lake nearby. We made the decision (mostly me) to leave the grounds and go spend some time at the Woolen Mills. It was a fine place to buy some souvenirs and try the local Beamish stout, but looking back, I would have rather spent more time on the castle grounds. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our visit to the Woolen Mills, and we bought some tasty Irish fudge to bring back for family members and co-workers.

 

 

 

The ride back to the ship was brief (an hour or so). Because of our 12:30 departure time, we were among the last groups to return. Once on board, we made our way to Deck 15 all the way forward to watch sailaway from up top. It was a beautiful, warm afternoon -- not chilly at all out on the open deck. This was a beautiful sailaway -- the scenery was stunning. We stayed on deck an hour or so just soaking it all in.

 

 

That evening, we once again enjoyed dinner and a movie in the room. We also did some more packing -- we determined we were going to have to get creative to accommodate all the souvenirs we bought! We turned in early, excited for our next and final port -- the Channel Islands. Little did we know as we went to sleep that Mother Nature had other plans...

 

Have a great night!

[bobber08]

Great review....patiently awaiting the "rest of the story"!

[harrodsfan]

Great review....patiently awaiting the "rest of the story"!

 

Me too!

[h3rjp]

And me :)

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[beachgirl50]

Me, too!

[ohhbother]

Sorry, all. Life got in the way this week. I'm flying tomorrow but will wrap up the story this weekend. We still have our unplanned day at sea, disembarkation and our day tour to Salisbury, Stonehenge and Windsor and, finally, our whirlwind visit to London before flying home.

 

I promise to finish this weekend! Thanks for sticking with me.

[Gettingwarmer]

Looking forward to it. Wonderful report.

[Steph27]

I know what it's like. I did a blog after we returned home from 2 different cruises. It is very time consuming doing the photos and writing about the trip. It is fun to get to re-live it though.

I enjoy your writing style and the fact that you are well traveled. You are willing to be more adventurous and do lots of stuff on your own. It is a fun read. You have done a superb job so far. It is worth the wait!