BRILLIANCE (British Isles) June 19-July 2,2018 REVIEW w/lots of photos

[Hoopster95]

Day 9 - Holyhead, Wales

 

The Compass

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we arrived in Holyhead Wales at the un-Godly hour of 7am... thankfully Sondra had set up our tour which I had signed up for to start at 9am like the rest of our port stops. I still was up early enough at around 7:20 to watch the port staff placing the gangway on the pier with a crane, and also to begin to watch the buses make their way along the one-way pier all the way back to the mainland. These red buses were shuttles for the ship, at no cost. There was no where to walk to get to the cruise pier terminal so these shuttles were mandatory for everyone unless you were on a RCL sponsored excursion bus

 

 

As planned, our small group met in the Centrum at 8:45am and we made our way out to one of the first shuttle buses. It was sure a tight fit out on the pier as the buses had to perform a three-point turn to line up in order... I'm sure those on excursions had to wait one-by-one to get going on this morning.

 

 

The bus ride was only about 4-5min to the mainland. The parking area was empty.... maybe 2-3 cars, and maybe one taxi. It was very easy to find our guide standing right there with the driver in our mini-van. I felt for those fellow cruisers who didn't plan anything as it seemed there was nothing close by... in fact I heard after there was nothing too close or open that was interesting to those who walked around somewhat aimlessly.

[Hoopster95]

In the very first post of this review, I provided a few "teaser" pics. One of them was from Wales... Caernarfon Castle. This would be our first stop of the day.

 

 

Initially we were supposed to view Conway Castle, however we were told by the guide that it was booked up with ship tours and also had much construction going on, so she made the executive decision to go here instead. After about a 1/2 hour drive we arrived to a mostly empty, but totally beautiful, castle.

 

 

Definitely one thing to keep in mind in these castles is the mobility factor.... thee were lots of round stairs, closed off and dark pathways, short ceiling claustrophobic cellar type areas... for those of you not into this, it could be an issue. I personally love this, and especially being alone with no one around me trying to figure out where I'm going in the dark. I had left the rest of the group behind as we had only an hour to explore and they were taking their time, so I went ahead in a different direction than most of them

 

 

Up a circle of stairs... up another... and another......... and another!!! Finally the top of one of the towers. The reward of the views were breathtaking.

 

 

 

Back down the dark stairs, through the courtyard and into the next building tower.... at some points a never ending labyrinth of hallways and doorways. Very very cool castle here, and demanding on your fitness. Some of the towers were connected by pathways on the walls of the castle itself, but some you had to all the way down to the grass level and start all over again

 

[Hoopster95]

The museum area had some great displays.... these weren't the only ones, with descriptions of the history, a chronological timeline, various furniture (seats of the throne for example) and other things to look at. I had zero time to stop for any of the museum areas other than to take a few quick photos. I would've preferred more time here to learn and understand the story of this castle in the moment of being right there.

 

 

 

 

I was able to make my way through both ends of the castle. This place is beautiful and deserves more than 60min visit in my opinion. The town center itself just outside the castle walls looks appealing as well to visit, would be great for lunch or dinner spot if on a land trip for example. In the meantime I was able to stop and take in the views before our deadline time to go to our next spot to visit.

 

Just standing up here for a few minutes enjoying this.... best part of this day by far... before running down the winding stairs and out the courtyard to catch up to my fellow cruisers gathering to get ready to leave.

 

 

[Hoopster95]

We made our way through countryside roads to a little town called Beddgelert, more of a local tourist spot to get away from the city for example. It has a few shops, bars and hotels. The bridge itself is supposed to have some history and appeal. We walked around a bit and received some history, however I found that the guide seemed to be just walking with us at random rather than giving us any knowledge of why we were there.

 

 

 

In hindsite, I did not find this stop rewarding... maybe I had been amazed by all the previous days all the way to Amsterdam that this seems to be a little bit of a let down after 11 days of amazingness (... that is a word, right?? Lol).

 

Beddgelert is located within the Snowdonia area. Snowdonia is a region in northwest Wales concentrated around the mountains and glacial landforms of Snowdonia National Park.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowdonia

We were now taking a drive up and over, through the mountain pass, and admiring the views of the hills and valleys. It was at the bottom of this valley we were able to stop and get a clear look at a portion of the park before we climbed higher to see Snowdon Mountain.... Wales certainly has beautiful scenery and country

 

 

Up.... up.... up we go, and arrive to a lookout point with a very rare site indeed.

 

 

Our guide let us know on average the highest peek in Wales, Snowdon Mountain at 3560ft, is usually cloud covered even in good weather.... not today! We had this picture post card view. Snowdon is the pointy peak dead center in the distance. You can see several trails in the meadows and leading up the hillsides as there are plenty of hiking opportunities here in the park.

 

 

[Hoopster95]

Driving beyond the viewpoint and into the valley away from Snowden and the National Park, we arrive at a town called ....er .... I'll let you read it and say it the you want: "Betws y Coed".

 

 

In googling this town, again not a whole lot comes up... it seems more of a local tourist town in order to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city for example. Don't get me wrong, it's a picturesque little town, however I was hoping to get a better experience of the culture and people of various historical sites and areas... this wasn't giving it to me. All we did here for about 20min is have a bathroom break, walk across a bridge while taking a picture of the river below, and then head across the street to this grocery/bakery.

 

 

It's sad when one of the most interesting things to take note is this flavor of Pringles I had never seen before.... YUCH!

 

 

One good thing did come out of this stop at least, these little Welshcakes! They're delish.

 

 

That was it.... back to the minivan we went. If the tour guide's goal was to show me that Wales is a quiet country with not much to do and see, with just a little bit of history, then she's accomplishing her goal... and also giving me thoughts that Scotland and Ireland have so much more to offer.

[Hoopster95]

It was still relatively early'ish in the day as we were at the halfway point or so of our day I estimated, yet were were arriving at our final stop of the day according to the itinerary laid out before us, Bondant Gardens.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodnant_Garden

Bondant is a protected national Trust property developed in the late 1800's.

First, we stopped at their cafe for lunch. We were all told about the most famous welsh dish to try.... rarebit.

 

Be careful. Check that spelling.... it's not rabbit.... it's rarebit. Most of us in the group thought it was actually a rabbit dish, however all Welsh rarebit is a dish made with a savoury sauce of melted cheese & spices, served hot over slices of toasted bread. Pretty much an open faced grilled cheese! And with salad and a small dollop of chutney on the side, a bargain at 16.50 pounds {add sarcasm here)

 

 

Ok, I had to say I actually tried it before I judged, so I ordered it anyways. They also had other Welsh treats, such as Bara Brith.... a Welsh fruit cake.

 

 

And of course home made Welsh cakes

 

 

I also picked a local brew which I normally love to try when in different parts of the world. This one was great! All of the UK has excellent ales to be sure

 

 

And then lunch was delivered to our table. Thankfully I wasn't overly hungry as I had a good breakfast....

Yep, just as described.... cheese on toast with a side salad. If you ever decide to visit here, eat before you come

 

[Hoopster95]

So, I had a set of photos and descriptions to share about Bondant, however I think I'll limit my thoughts and pics to this one post.... this visit to Bondant ended up being the largest part of our day spending about 2 hours here, but it shouldn't have been the focal point whatsoever. The focal point of the day should've been both Caernarfon and Conway castles, and the history of why Wales is Wales, like the learning and experiences we had in both Scotland (Culloden Battlefield, Edinburgh, Doune Castle, etc) and Ireland (GPO, Trinity College, Glendalough). Is this private Garden giving me any story on Wales? There was nothing here to tie in the country and it's people.

 

However I had to make the best of it, yes? So I did enjoy the pleasant walk around the gardens and hung out more with our group members enjoying their company. Here's a few photos for you

 

 

 

 

 

 

The most interesting thing about this property is the 100's of Sequoia's that were planted when the gardens were originally built. They are now full grown monsters everywhere on the property, dated/tagged back to the first days of this property.... this one 1867

 

 

So yes, pretty property, however this could've been anywhere in the world and not Wales. I wanted to see and learn about Wales. Not once did I voice any displeasure.... heck, I signed up for this! Too bad I hadn't done the homework I normally do for port stops, however having done a ton of homework for my last vacation a short time ago, and going through some home issues (mother passing, estate issues, mega work hours, etc) I had trusted joining a small private tour as the way to go. This is the very first time ever on any cruise that a private small group tour had not turned out well for me...

 

When Sherri does her review you'll see she had a great day here in Holyhead, along with half of the ship it seems, who all booked on the large bus tour with BusyBus. They got to see both Conway and Caernarfon castles as should have been.

 

Ah well, not every day and every tour can be "THE BEST EVER!!!!" can it?

(As we drove back to port I privately wished I was back at Midhope Castle in Scotland with my kilt on, sword in one hand and whiskey in the other, )

[emdia43]

It was still relatively early'ish in the day as we were at the halfway point or so of our day I estimated, yet were were arriving at our final stop of the day according to the itinerary laid out before us, Bondant Gardens.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodnant_Garden

Bondant is a protected national Trust property developed in the late 1800's.

First, we stopped at their cafe for lunch. We were all told about the most famous welsh dish to try.... rarebit.

 

Be careful. Check that spelling.... it's not rabbit.... it's rarebit. Most of us in the group thought it was actually a rabbit dish, however all Welsh rarebit is a dish made with a savoury sauce of melted cheese & spices, served hot over slices of toasted bread. Pretty much an open faced grilled cheese! And with salad and a small dollop of chutney on the side, a bargain at 16.50 pounds {add sarcasm here)

 

 

Ok, I had to say I actually tried it before I judged, so I ordered it anyways. They also had other Welsh treats, such as Bara Brith.... a Welsh fruit cake.

 

 

And of course home made Welsh cakes

 

 

I also picked a local brew which I normally love to try when in different parts of the world. This one was great! All of the UK has excellent ales to be sure

 

 

And then lunch was delivered to our table. Thankfully I wasn't overly hungry as I had a good breakfast....

Yep, just as described.... cheese on toast with a side salad. If you ever decide to visit here, eat before you come

 

Your rarebit was £6.50 not £16.50...

[Hoopster95]

We were back on the ship with time to spare, so I was able to clean up and get ready for the evening. Not too much was going on around the ship prior to the 6pm sail away as I watched the process of the crane on the pier take down the gangway, and right on que at 6pm we were pushing off and away from Wales.

 

 

Sailaway was gorgeous again.... scenery everywhere here in the UK is fabulous from the ship. Here's my view from the WJ and my normal seat for dinner at the aft outdoor seating

 

 

Speaking of the WJ, they again offered two theme nights. The first I discovered was "Caribbean" night with Jerk Chicken, Rice & Beans, and Jamaican Beef Patties to name a few

 

 

 

And then I walked over to the Asian area at the back where they normally have the fresh Mongolian Grill, however the last several nights they had a different Asian night instead.... tonight it was Japanese and I didn't have to think twice about my choice as I grabbed my plate... Beef Hayashi, Tempura, Chicken Karaage.... very good! Great dinner tonight in the WJ

 

 

Tonight's evening events on board were pretty good.... with the only weird thing being the "Russian Bazaar" at the shops area. Uhm, we're on a UK sailing people! Lol. I won my one and only trivia prize at the Schooner Bar ....Classic Rock was the theme tonight, normally not my forte. However my partner, Lauren, was a star and carried me to the win... I thank her for my fortunes, WOW.... RCL blue/silver ball point pen #42!!!!!!!

 

The headliner tonight was a great female singer named Claire Maidin whom I've never seen before. She's British, however married a Dutch man and competed in Holland's Got Talent coming in 2nd or 3rd. Well, she certainly has talent and was very good.

 

 

Besides Claire on this night, the "Brilliance Rocks" Dance Party was held in the Centrum and stole the show for the evening. Other than CD Graham Seymour's "Rock Britannia" show, I had never seen another ship offer a Rock evening theme night. All the best singalong classic rock tunes were played.... Summer of 69, Livin' On a Prayer, Don't Stop Believin'... yes, this was absolutely the loudest I have ever heard the Centrum as this was the best attended event of the cruise I believe.... dance floor was packed as were the decks above. Plenty of fun to end this evening as I headed for bed and looking forward to tomorrow's sea day for a break.

[Hoopster95]

Your rarebit was £6.50 not £16.50...

 

Ugh! edit edit!

Thank you for catching that typo.

[CarolRoy]

Hoopster - When Sherri does her review you'll see she had a great day here in Holyhead, along with half of the ship it seems, who all booked on the large bus tour with BusyBus. They got to see both Conway and Caernarfon castles as should have been.

Claudio: We also did the BusyBus in Holyhead. We had the smaller van with 10 of us (including Steve in Philly and Jane). We saw all the large coaches and just kept on walking until we got to the front of the line and got on the mini-van with all the decals of BusyBus. We had a great time with "crazy Frank" our driver. We went off-roading in the Snowden area where the large coaches could not go. Ended up by one of the hiking trails areas. You're right about the views. Just gorgeous!

Enjoying your review and re-living our cruise with you.

[Hoopster95]

Hoopster - When Sherri does her review you'll see she had a great day here in Holyhead, along with half of the ship it seems, who all booked on the large bus tour with BusyBus. They got to see both Conway and Caernarfon castles as should have been.

Claudio: We also did the BusyBus in Holyhead. We had the smaller van with 10 of us (including Steve in Philly and Jane). We saw all the large coaches and just kept on walking until we got to the front of the line and got on the mini-van with all the decals of BusyBus. We had a great time with "crazy Frank" our driver. We went off-roading in the Snowden area where the large coaches could not go. Ended up by one of the hiking trails areas. You're right about the views. Just gorgeous!

Enjoying your review and re-living our cruise with you.

 

Ah, great to hear you had an excellent day.... wish I was with you guys! ;)

I would've loved more time around Snowden

[Hoopster95]

Day 10 - at sea

 

Wow.... day 10 already! Here's the compass for our final day at sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you remember, on the 1st day at sea prior to arriving at Edinburgh, our passports were required to be held by RCL.

Today, they were to be given back to us. Here's the notice we received last night in our rooms with the compass

 

 

Also, I had zero plans today other than some personal time in the gym, so I had signed up for all 3 freebie D+/PN/suite tours offered to me. More on these as I continue through the day

 

[Hoopster95]

So today I woke and leisurely made my way upstairs for coffee and breakfast. It really felt like the last day of the cruise with all the touring of the previous two weeks... in a way it was weird knowing we still had two ports of call to go before the end of this sailing.

 

First thing to start the day was a tour of the bridge... I rarely say no to this offer as I love it up their with the view of the helipad. Some of you have had a bridge tour, some haven't. This bridge tour offering is only about 20min long tops, and out of the 6 or 7 I've had, only once has the Captain been present.... no exception here either. On each occasion the 1st or 2nd officer runs the tour and explains the bridge

 

 

As usual, most of the bridge was closed off to us, only the starboard side wing was available. That is wear the 2nd officer explained some of the mechanics of the ship and controls

 

 

The view down the side of the ship is lucrative here, especially (as you can imagine) when getting close to a pier for example. there are also glass panes in the floor below in order to see the ship directly below you

 

 

Besides the azipod controls, speed/distance indicators and the many other variables affecting the sailing of the ship, the 1st officer explained the radar. On the photo below I circled the Brilliance (traveling in the downward direction) and the closest vessel to the right (also traveling downward in the same direction)

 

 

And below is a frame of reference of where exactly that other vessel is... a freighter in the distance. This gives you a good idea of the range of the radar, with the other vessels on the radar out of site beyond the horizon line or needing the binoculars to see.

 

 

Here's the Meyer Werft (Shipyard/builder) technical drawing of Brilliance (and thus Radiance Class ships)....

• Air draft 173 feet.... Keel to mast 200ft
  
• The bridge wings are the wideat part of the ship at 131 feet... wiodth overall "outside tenders" is 106 ft
  
• Total length 965 feet
  

 

The last couple of bridge tours I've had have been very quick, this one no exception. There was barely any time to speak with the officers and chat about life on board, if they're aspiring to be Captain, and any other questions. Up to about 2 years ago the bridge tour was so much better and involving, this is just no longer the case unfortunately.

[Hoopster95]

Between the bridge tour, I enjoyed my "me" time.... gym, sauna, steam room, another macchiato up at the DL and lunch sitting out at my favorite spot of the WJ out back enjoying the aft wake view. However, 1:30pm came up pretty fast as I made my way down to the Pacifica Theatre for the Backstage Tour.

 

The theatre is no longer offered on the All Access Tour, as the AAT has been greatly dumbed down from about two years ago to a 1 1/2 hour tour from about a 3 hour very exclusive and excellent tour about everything on the ship we don't see as the public. Such a shame.

 

On a positive note, this Back Stage Tour was the best out of the three for the day.

 

 

The dance team Captain and Lead vocalist led this tour, and they spent a good 15-20 minutes answering many questions out in the theatre before inviting us up on the stage, they were very gracious with their time. I had met them on Jewel last September as well, and they were just as gracious on that cruise too.... good on them. I for one really appreciated that.

 

The group we had was bigger than normal, probably around 40 fellow cruisers, so we were in tight quarters as we headed around back.

 

 

Here we were explained how the changing from costume to costume works, timing of the shows, props, timing of getting back on stage, shifts, etc

 

 

Anyone know how they keep the costumes from stinking of body odor/sweat? After all, they can't wash them day in/day out.

Here's the answer.... vodka water. This is one thing I hadn't picked up on from previous ship tours

 

 

This was fun to see... a blooper list they document! there were some pretty funny ones listed... I have a close up, however can't post it as they are a couple of expletives mixed in the text as they roast each other for their mistakes, quite funny actually

 

 

Here's what they see when they look out at us.

 

 

I thought this tour, at about 45min long, was sincerely done as well as they could by the group leaders.

[Hoopster95]

The Galley Tour wasn't until a late 4:30pm start time, so I had plenty of time to chill out and walk around the ship. I took note of a few things that may be worthy of mention....

 

Here's the starboard side of the spa hallway. Why is this noteworthy? Because this (as well as the thermal loungers) no longer exists on Jewel of the Seas.... Here on deck 11 on Jewel is the hallway to the newly added balcony cabins 1140-1162. Jewel is the only one of the 4 Radiance Class ships with the new deck 11 cabins ... wonder when the other 3 will get them?

 

 

As usual on sea days, the sales team was out in full force on the pool deck. Besides the typical $10 T-shirts (all of them Baltic ports lol!!) they offered other clothing at 50% off as well as this RCL logo glass wear.

 

 

Salsa/merengue/bachata classes were offered in the Centrum. If you're a dancer (or not, but interested in learning) and if the ship has professional dancers on board, dance classes are usually offered somewhere on the ship. Check the Compass.

 

 

I headed back top deck to walk around deck 12.... the sun in the morning was starting to give way to cloud and a cool breeze. Surprisingly only about 5-6 kids down on the Sport's Court and mini-golf was sparse as well

 

 

Talk about sparse.... where is everybody??

 

 

Well, a small number were here, at the pool deck. Take note of the lifeguard... as noted on several recent threads here on CC, the lifeguard stands right at the edge of the pool looking right down at you, even if you're the only one in the pool at the time.

 

[Hoopster95]

Earlier in this review I was asked about the cafe Latitudes food offerings and menu/prices. I knew I had taken photos but couldn't remember when... ti was here while walking around and arriving at the MDR for the Galley Tour that I stopped by while nobody was standing there.

 

 

So besides the cakes/desert offerings, note both the top and bottom shelves here.... top shelf with various fresh fruit cups, the bottom with various paninis and wraps, all free of charge

 

 

And here's the menu board for coffee drinks

 

 

 

I made my way into the MDR on deck 5 to join the others waiting for our Galley Tour, first getting a photo of the MDR with tables set, ready for first seating

 

 

Dinner service was being prepared. Here you can see the Caesar salads.... hmmmmm, it's 4:30, so those of you being seated at 5:30, then ordering, then waiting to be served are getting your "fresh" Caesar salad an hour and a half later after being prepared. There's no other way to do this "fresh" the very moment you order for a thousand people ion the MDR folks, it's inevitable at some time during your cruising career that your entree or starter will not be hot, or will be too cold, or the salad will be wilted, or or or.... meals in the MDR are not prepare a la minute and not to perfection to your specific tastes. They are mass produced on an assembly line. The chefs simply do their very best.

 

 

The Galley is divided into stations so that servers can pick up various entrees at specific locations. The paper hanging there below the signage was interesting... it shows the expected numbers of people booked for MTD every 15 minutes, as well as expected walk-ins (who had not reserved). 6pm and 7:30pm were by far the most popular... after 9pm there were only a total of 6 reservations. Also note out of the hundreds "booked" there were only about 70 walk-ins "expected"

 

[Hoopster95]

We were afforded a quick stop at the bakery area. I jockeyed for a position against the racks to take a photo when I noticed something at the far end of the racks.... can you see?

 

 

Savoury Bites!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have not seen these in the MDR for over a year, and I have asked for them, being told "no, we don't have them anymore". I pointed them out to the Chef, and mentioned aloud now I know that they hide them and that I'll ask for them every time.... the waiters could not say "no" anymore. He simply smiled but did not comment. A couple in our group said they had asked on previous sailings and received them, a couple said they have asked and like me, were told "no" they were not available. Like every RCL ship, there's no consistency... just know they have them and refuse to take "no" for an answer.

 

 

We entered the staff hallway area to go down the staff staircase (steep) from deck 5 down to deck 4

 

 

Dinner service was getting much closer now.... and yes the mass production line was at full speed getting ready for everyone to show up

 

 

The most they are allowed to stack the plates and covers is 6

 

 

Entrees were already out on the counters under the heaters... I really hope all of these were for room service (my gut tells me not so). I suspect they were the first entrees prepared for MTD/MDR ... it was just after 5pm. I did not ask.

 

 

Our tour ended as we were ushered out into the MDR deck 4 as the waiters were huddled in meetings with the Maitre'Ds out on the floor getting ready for the doors to open for dinner

[Hoopster95]

Tonight was the 2nd and final formal night... Mike did not bother with the tux whereas I donned my newly purchased tie from the Book of Kells gift shop from Trinity College. Sherri was a beautiful as always (.... bonus points for me!!! I know she'll read this and laugh, lol)

 

I decided to go totally different this night, so I ordered the "Grande Seafood Tower" for the 3 of us to share. This was the smaller $19 tower... wow, lots of food here, and super fresh!

 

 

Bottom level had lobster tails and crab legs

 

 

Top had mussels, clams, & shrimp. Note.... albeit fresh and delicious, the "jumbo" shrimp are no longer as jumbo as they used to be here at Chops. Was it the sourcing of the product here in Europe? Are the Jumbo shrimp still "jumbo" as they used to be in years gone by on North American Sailings?

 

 

I stuck with the seafood theme on this night as I also thoroughly enjoyed the lobster bisque.... a staple starter here in Chops for me (along with the forest mushroom soup). So for an entree I ordered something I had not tried yet.... the Branzino. I was unfortunately not impressed. Don't get me wrong.... it was good, it just wasn't great.

 

 

The Red Velvet Cake is long gone from Chops menu, so Ciprian (waiter) recommended this.

The sad thing is I don't remember what it was on the desert menu and I can;t find it on line at this time either.... like my entree, it was just ok, not spectacular. I should've walked over to Chef Brown at the grill and asked if he had any spare "World Balls" left over from Chef's Table...

Oh heck!!!!.... now that I've just said this, I should've done just that

 

 

Still overall, especially with the seafood tower, a very good dinner with the best company I could asked for.

[Hoopster95]

Tonight's music trivia at the Schooner Bar was Michael Jackson, which is trivia I would've scored my second pen... however walking out of Chops they were already half way through. I listened and watched the winners (19/20) get their pens, then made my way to the theatre early to get a close seat up front for the last Production Show by the RCL singers and dancers: "Center Stage". They did great tonight, excellent show

 

 

Abe came out to give his usual corny jokes, and again the routine to expect for tomorrow's arrival in St. Peters Port, Guernsey with regard to the tendering process. Thee was still things going on around the ship, but obviously not like on a sea day

 

 

There were no further game shows or events offered after the production other than a singalong at the pub, so i decided to hit the hay way early

 

 

I was set & determined to get up early to grab my tender ticket.... Guernsey is a 7am arrival time, and with previous reports of tendering issues, my plan was to be on that very first tender in the morning, needing to grab my tender ticket at 6:30am.

[joand452]

I have finally caught up. This has been a wonderful review, and I’m certainly looking forward to more. I’ll also be looking for Kanscoca’s review .

 

Our youngest daughter is flying to London on Saturday for the start of her British Isles land tour. She’s a huge Outlander fan, so (hope you don’t mind) I’ve been texting her some of your photos and points of interest. They’re spending 3 days in Dublin, but don’t know what they’re doing yet. I know they’ll find a good pub to hang out in!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Hoopster95]

(hope you don’t mind)

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Wow, she's in for a great trip!

Of course, don't mind at all. If I can I help anyone enjoying these reviews with even only one small thing, then I'd be happy :D

[Hoopster95]

Day 11 - St Peter Port, Guernsey

 

...... Huh? Where??

 

The Compass for today

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll start by saying that by now I was getting somewhat "toured out", with yesterday's feel and vibe all around the ship really to be the actual end of the vacation and Guernsey as an afterthought port of call. Most everyone had no clue about St Peter Port... many I spoke to were just going to walk around town, and several had a 2 hour walking tour booked, but that was it for the day. I had either planned to walk myself around town without a tour, or better yet rent a bicycle and get out of town altogether! Guernsey looks to be one of those places (like Amsterdam) where you can bike and/or walk everywhere. Bottom line: I was not going to be involved in a tour, I wanted my freedom today.

 

You'll see in the map below where the tender pier is. I also let the cat out of the bag a couple of posts early as to where the bike rental van was located (yep, guess what I ended up doing today?). To the left is a view point where I stopped for a photo before heading up the very steep incline road (Le Val Des Terres) to get out of St Peter Port. You'll see this area clearly (as well as Castle Coronet) in my sail-in photos.

 

 

Letting more cats out of the bag, I'll post the following map now so easy for anyone to reference back to. More on this as we go, as a summary I traveled inland and all along the coast visiting various points of interest along the way that I had mapped out... I was not targeting specific buildings/sites like other large historical cities, but instead a great scenery ride and view points for today.

 

Following the black diamonds from the top right (St Peter Port), I followed predominantly the green line (Connecting to red line Fort Road & Fort George) taking me south to Doyle's Column & Jerbourg Point at the tip, then west to both Moulet Huet & Saint's Bay, then back up inland to Sausmarez Manor.

 

[Hoopster95]

I knew where the Channel Islands were, however I had no clue of their names other than Jersey. I knew of Jersey (you probably do too!) from "Jersey Cow" fame, and that's where Guernsey turned a light bulb on for me as well... they too have a small breed of cow called the "Guernsey Cow" which I had heard of. Open up a google map... although closer to France than England, English is the dominant language in Guernsey. Also of note, Guernsey is not part of Great Britain... nor the UK.... nor the EU! Guernsey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency.

 

There, got it? Good! I had to look that up on my phone the night before lol!

 

YAAAAWWWWNNNN ... My 6am wake up call came waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early! I wondered how many fellow cruisers would be getting off much later just for an hour or so to stroll town, or not bother at all here at this port. I begrudgingly got out of bed and got ready to go upstairs and get my tender ticket. The staff was not there yet handing out tickets and there was no line (was I really the first one awake?) so I went up to the DL for my coffee. I was surprised to see another ship alongside of us

 

 

I headed outside to grab a photo as we came around the bow of the other ship, the Royal Princess. I immediately wondered why another ship, let alone a 4000 passenger behemoth, is in port with us today? Can St Peter Port handle this? And with all the reports of the tender issues, will this be a major issue? Their tenders were already in the water and it was barely 6:15am

 

 

The call for weather was for clouds and sun, with highs around 15-16 degrees Celcius, a little but cooler and not as nice as the previous week, however should still be comfortable. Well it wasn't.... it was quite cold on the deck with spurts of rain drops coming down. The skies looked angry. This may be the one day on this vacation where Mother Nature gets us (foreshadowing)

 

 

Heading back down to deck 11 I noticed the staff member with tender tickets, and only about 4-5 fellow cruisers following him to his spot. Hardly anyone was there to grab tender ticket #1, a sure sign that most didn't care to be up early or get off the ship here (unlike Edinburgh). Brilliance sailed much farther past the Royal Princess, coming in quite close to the port and Castle Coronet before dropping anchor

 

 

I headed down to deck 5 before going to my room to check out how far along RCL was with the tendering process.... as you can see one set of ropes was already empty with the tender out of site, so they were close to being ready to go.

 

 

I headed back to my cabin, got ready, and waited on deck 4 at the staircase with maybe only another 30-40 people. Tender #1 was announced and we headed downstairs. In fact, tender #1 waited probably close to 15 minutes before heading off in order to fill up... there definitely was no rush this morning by either fellow cruisers nor staff.

 

[Hoopster95]

So I had a dilemma while sailing in on the tender... try to find a bike rental as planned and perhaps be faced with poor weather and rain out in the middle of nowhere, or walk in the town on my own. I decided if the bike rental was inexpensive, I would start there and return the bike early in the day in order to hang around the town for a couple of hours before all aboard... best of both worlds.

 

 

There were plenty of volunteers awaiting for the tenders to unload, handing out city maps and providing information... they did a great job actually, and super friendly! More on this later.... like Scotland and Ireland, people here in Guernsey are awesome friendly, loved them.

 

 

I had emailed a bike rental/sales store prior to the cruise, and they mentioned they would have some bikes available at the pier for rental. As promised, their van was open and bikes were being taken out. Approaching them right away, they prepared a bike for me.... 11 pounds for the full day. Break the bank!!{sarcasm}.... no brainer at that small price, I took one right away.

 

I will note here that I had tried to contact Guernsey's more famous bike tour company "Donkey's Days Out" prior to the cruise, however their website was down the few times I tried and gave up, not wanting to be on a tour anyways. I met fellow cruisers who ended up having a blast on the Donkey's Days Out Tour, seeing a few things I did not have time to go discover, so I will mention their website now for those of you taking notes/bookmarks:

https://www.visitguernsey.com/donkeys-days-out-cycle-tours

 

 

Here's the website I used for the most part to plan my biking route. It's an excellent site, with various maps and options.

https://www.visitguernsey.com/cycle-guide.

The map I provided above with the sites I visited is "Route #7" on this website.

 

This was a pretty little town, would've been even prettier in the sunlight vs. the freshly rained on pavement and dark clouds in the sky. Here's the main roundabout in front of the pier with the Old Church in behind

 

 

Of course, being mindful of riding my bike on the "opposite" side of the street (like the cars) to what I'm used to at home, I headed south along the Esplanade to the beginning of the "Cliff Path". For any of you who really like walking, this cliff path can take you all around the island, and I come across it through all my stops I make. I estimate walking to the farthest point I got to by bike would be at least a couple of hours with stops..... so 2 hours there, 2 hours back... if you're a walker can be done during a port stop.

 

Note no bikes on the path whatsoever, strictly enforced. I was told by a few locals who helping me with directions that bikes on the path are a definite no-no... I had asked if at any point I could cheat if I wanted a short cut.

 

 

And a view of the port with Brilliance in the distance, just before I turn inland to climb a massive winding hill (ugh... that early in the morning?) to get up to the plateau. Thankfully the city also provides a bicycle path along this part of the road for that very reason to stay off of the street and away from traffic. There turned out to be a whole lot of sweating today as Guernsey has a high plateau elevation inland, with steep drop offs down to the viewpoints and bays at the ocean.