Cloud WWII cruise Lisbon to Dover

[spinnaker2]

Victoria

We plan on the TA

But one never knows what the fates will allow and if the spirit moves us

But expect to be peppered with

questions from Larry about the details of your cruise and what you saw and experienced if we are there

He was intrigued and has heard from others about the locations you visited.

 

Sorry you aren't feeling well

Hope it improves

Best to bob

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[duct tape]

Thanx again and keep posting!

[Silver Spectre]

Echoing everyone else's thoughts. Thanks so much for sharing with us.

[oregon50]

Superb writings.....thank you, very much!

[Emtbsam]

Saturday, we went back to Omaha Beach starting on the plateau above the beach. There were remnants of bunkers, but by far the most striking thing was the pock marked terrain where bombs had fallen. The craters were about 8 feet deep and varied in width from 15 to 20 feet or so. There was not much land that did not have a crater on it. While we were there, a squadron of C-130's flew slowly over head two times. I was told that it is very rare to see so many of them still flying. We also saw a number of C-47's on the ground.

 

After a box lunch in the bus, which is the only thing that Silversea really did poorly, we went down to the beach and listened to two vets Major General John C. Raaen who wrote the book Intact about his battalion and Cosmo whose last name I did not get talk about what it was like to be on Omaha Beach on June 6. Their stories were quite moving as they talked about the death all around them, the difficulty of making any progress, and the challenge of going up the cliff. One of the high points of this trip has been all of the vets that the Museum has brought together to speak to us. Their stories have made the war real, not just something we studied in a history class.

 

Back to the ship for a few hours, and then we were off to the Abbaye de Caen which is now the Caen city hall for a reception hosted by the Mayor of Caen. Our buses were escorted by police on motorcycles with blue lights flashing. When I was introduced to the Mayor, I greeted him in French. He seemed truly surprised since later in the evening, he said that his English is not very good and used a translator. When I spoke French to one of the servers, she thanked me for speaking French. All those French classes 50 years ago paid off! It was a lovely reception, and the vets got more medals and other presents. Then back to the ship, again with police escort.

 

Dinner in La Terrazza where I opted not to have the duck ragout – I know what some of you are thinking – but since I had had it several times already on this trip, I branched out to the prosciutto ravioli in a cream tomato sauce which was wonderful. I forget what I had for a main course since I was stuffed from the foie gras mousse at the reception and the ravioli. Also, fatigue had set in.

 

Sunday was the last full day of the cruise, and I opted to take the shuttle bus to Caen and visit the city. Bob went on the tour to Bayeux and a chateau where they make Calvados. His bus back to the ship left 30 minutes early even though they knew they were one person short! He was lucky to cross paths with the chaser van that went along on the tour, so he didn't have to find his way back to the ship on his own.

 

The Sunday market in Caen was wonderful. Lots of simply beautiful produce, food of all types from French to Asian to Arab being prepared and sold, cheese vendors which huge assortments of cheese, fish mongers, clothing new and used, leather goods, furniture and water purification systems. It felt fairly safe despite the crush of people. The majority of the people were doing their weekly shopping. I was unaware that there are at least 5 varieties of strawberries. Each one looked tempting. The artichokes were the size of small cantaloups. If this had not been the last day of the cruise, I would have bought some things and brought them back on board.

 

I then went to the Cathedral, but a mass was in progress so I couldn't really walk around and see much. It is a beautiful building and appears to have not been damaged in the war. That is not something one can say about most of Caen where the majority of the buildings are post-war and not all that attractive. There is also a fort which has wonderful views over the city. I had a croque monsieur and a Stella Artois pression at a cafe alongside the market and then went to wait for the shuttle bus to go back to the ship. Twelve of us waited, and waited. One of the historians on board was in the group. He had a number of phone numbers which he tried with no success, so 8 of us decided to walk back to the ship – about 2 miles. This wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been really hot. As we were within sight of the ship, a shuttle bus came by. I declined the ride figuring if I had gotten than far I wasn't going to give up. Some of the others took the shuttle back. We were told that the bus had been waiting for us at a location different from where we had been told to meet in the morning. My opinion on that subject is not printable. That is the only real snafu that we have had on this trip and that was under control of the French shore tour company. The delay on D-Day was not under anyone's control except possibly the secret service and the French gendarmes. I would also say that the emergency contact numbers given by Silversea are fairly useless on a Sunday. The next time we travel on Silversea, I will be sure to ask for a number which is direct to the ship.

 

Sail away from Caen was interesting since we proceeded down the Caen Canal past Pegasus Bridge to the Orne River. There were many people along the banks of the canal cheering and playing sirens as we went past. We had the farewell dinner in the maian dining room which was bittersweet and then a round table discussion with Rick Atkinson, Don Miller, and Rob Citino. Each of the historians personalized the history of the war with stories of individual soldiers was quite emotional is speaking about the war and its impact on the country.

 

Now I'm in our cabin waiting for the plumber to figure out why brown stuff is coming up through the drain in our shower. I'm glad I'm already packed just in case we need to make a hasty retreat. To my knowledge there has only been one incident of a leak in a cabin on this cruise and from what I heard it was minor.

 

This charter cruise was different from a regular cruise. For example, there were no Captain's welcome and farewell parties, no Venetian Society party, and alternate restaurants were closed the first and last night when the group had its welcome and farewell dinners in the main dining room. I'm sure the charter sponsor dictates much of what goes on, and we certainly had more than enough to keep us busy. The one thing I didn't like was that there were no small tables in the restaurant. All dinners were at tables for six or more which is fine if your hearing is good!

 

I can't say enough positive things about the World War II Museum staff. They planned and organized a wonderful trip, and the execution of it was almost flawless. They are a delightful, very knowledgeable group, and I encourage everyone to get to know the Museum.

 

I have over 3,000 photos which must be culled, but if there is anything particular you want to see, e-mail me at emtbsam at yahoo dot com and I'll try to respond.

[Stumblefoot]

What a wonderful voyage you have had. Thank you again for taking all of us along! I have sincerely enjoyed reading your posts. Safe travels home.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Great report ... thanks.

 

Re the Cathedral, it is impressive and in fact it was destroyed by us Brits and Canadian bombing and was rebuilt.

 

During the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War, Caen was liberated in early July, a month after the Normandy landings, particularly those by British I Corps on 6 June 1944. British and Canadian troops had intended to capture the town on D-Day. However they were held up north of the city until 9 July, when an intense bombing campaign during Operation Charnwood destroyed 70% of the city and killed 2000 French civilians. The Allies seized the western quarters, a month later than Field Marshal Montgomery's original plan. During the battle, many of the town's inhabitants sought refuge in the Abbaye aux Hommes ("Men's Abbey"), built by William the Conqueror some 800 years before. Both the cathedral and the university were entirely destroyed by the British and Canadian bombing.

[duct tape]

I understand from your posts and terrific descriptions that I made the right decision to stay home. The hub agrees. The disappointment is tempered by your writings which I have enjoyed and made me feel involved. Travel home safely and maybe I will see you both later this summer. Thanx again.

[Emtbsam]

It was a challenging trip both in terms of the schedule that they planned for us and the unexpected delays especially after the ceremony. I'm sure Mr. Duct Tape will fill you in on all the details. We were sorry not to see you this time, but I do believe you made the right decision.

 

Hope your next cruise is relaxing and hope to see you later in the summer.

[RachelG]

We have really enjoyed your reports. I think if George had know about this cruise, he would have tried to finagle a way onboard.

But as his consolation prize, we are going to the imperial war rooms in London and chartwell next week. So he should be happy!

[spinnaker2]

thank you again for taking us along. We enjoyed every moment of it, and experienced, through your writing, the good, the bad, and everything in between.

we await the photographs to match the images of our minds eye, with the actual.

Travel home under the wing of an eagle. We look forward to November!

[Emtbsam]

UK Jeff -

 

Thanks for correcting my comment about the cathedral in Caen. I should have checked a source before stating that it appeared not to have been damaged in the war but fatigue kept me from doing that. I am quite impressed that despite being damaged, it was subsequently repaired so well as to not show any obvious repairs. How nice to know there are still artisans who can do that quality of stone work.

[UKCruiseJeff]

UK Jeff -

 

Thanks for correcting my comment about the cathedral in Caen. I should have checked a source before stating that it appeared not to have been damaged in the war but fatigue kept me from doing that. I am quite impressed that despite being damaged, it was subsequently repaired so well as to not show any obvious repairs. How nice to know there are still artisans who can do that quality of stone work.

 

It is a remarkable repair job and a testament that you couldn't tell. There are some old pictures and indeed a newsreel of Caen during this time.

 

It is impressive but it was a terrible black mark in the war. The British and Canadian command incorrectly presumed without checking that all French people had been evacuated from central Caen and also then sent bombers into the wrong area where they presumed the Germans were. In fact they killed thousands of innocent French civilians accidentally.

 

Was this episode featured in the history you heard of Caen or is it "skated over"?

 

Once again thanks for your review of both the event and the cruise aspect. Did you ever discover what the slurry was in the shower - or shouldn't I ask?

[Emtbsam]

When we were at the Mayor's reception at the Abbaye de Caen there was mention made of the loss of life during the bombing, but no fingers were pointed.

 

I never did get a good answer about the slurry - I just wanted it to stop before it became my problem and not just theirs!

[spinnaker2]

I will tell u about the brown stuff

It's pretty gross

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[duct tape]

Emtbsam, get some rest. You did an admirable reporting job!

[caroak]

We're back from the most wonderful cruise and, as always, Bella Italia. Since Victoria did just a great job highlighting our days, and also a much better note taker with a better memory than I have, I'll just post some comments on the our Cloud experience. It's probably best if I start a new thread for those.

 

Carole