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

[bigeck]

Well, it was time to get back and I was set to get one of the last three shuttles back according to my bus schedule. I made my way down the monument knowing the bus was only a few blocks away at St Andrews Square, taking my last look back at the Scott Monument before heading up and away from Princess Street

 

 

You can see now that midday St Andrews Park is being enjoyed by many locals as I make my way across the park to the bus stop

 

 

The bus was there waiting to take on passengers, and my timing couldn't have been any better as within 5 minutes were were on our way back to Brilliance. The bus turned down Princess Street and I had another look at the Scott Monument, Princess Street Gardens and also my last look through the bus window at the Edinburgh Castle way up on the Hill

 

 

40 minuter later, and a pleasant drive back, the bus pulled up into South Queensferry and the tender pier. Many thumbs up to Lothian and this service for cruise passengers

 

 

 

So glad you had a good time in Edinburgh. Often wonder how tourists will see what I see everyday and take for granted.

I posted a couple of pics from my garden of you leaving on your roll call page.

Weather was good

[bigeck]

Sitting next to Claudio during the Chef’s Table, I have to concur - it was, arguably, one of the best meals I’ve ever had in MY LIFE!!

 

Now, mine was slightly modified, as I am Celiac, and must eat gluten-free. With that said, the Chef did a fantastic job of ensuring I felt included - I even enjoyed a modified version of the Wonderland chocolate ball for dessert.

 

Thanks for sharing your photos, Claudio - bringing back memories of a very, very perfect night! :)

I though t you would do a review as well. I remember reading your Barcelona review

[maxs mom]

Claudio.....What was the full charge for Chops?

[Alaskan Joe]

*Book Mark*

[Hoopster95]

Claudio.....What was the full charge for Chops?

 

Hey Jane. Specialty midcruise was being offered (unadvertised) at 30% off, so Chop's bill was $22.40 + $4.03 "service charge" = $26.43.

 

There's a story behind this... both my receipts for day 1 + day 2 were $0.00. I didn't question it, thinking that either venue (Chop's or Giovanni's) thought I had paid for my D+ BOGO on one or the other nights and made a mistake. Thinking further, that doesn't make sense as they make you pay on the first night regardless. So for some reason they comped me that first night (Chops) and I didn't question it, I was just grateful and thought that was super nice, thinking perhaps they wanted me to come back as a solo with Mike & Sherri again.... and it turned out I did.

 

Thus I went to Chops the 2nd time with Mike & Sherri.... again my bill came as $0.00. Stupidly I questioned them this time, thinking I'd magically see a bill on my account later anyways when they figured out they made a mistake. As I questioned, I immediately could tell by Ciprian's body language and facial expression that he wished I didn't say anything, but now that I did he had to make the change (plus I had mentioned the so-called "error" aloud at our table right next door to the Capt's 6-top). Leaving, I thanked Ciprian and said quickly & quietly to him "I shouldn't have said anything, should I?" and all he did was raise his eyebrows and shrug his shoulders with a smile. Bottom line is they would've comped me this meal as well. No clue why and didn't try to find out. The only reason I could think was that Mike & Sherri were on the Ultimate Package and "bigwigs" on the ship in an OS, so perhaps they were simply just being super nice to me. It was the thought that counted once I realized what was going on, and the benefit they gave me the 1st two nights.

 

Bottom Line: if you see $0.00 on your bill don't question it! Just be grateful and leave a great tip ;):D

[Hoopster95]

Amazing review (as always) so far Hoopster!! Looking forward to the rest :)

 

Jen & Dave!!!! How the heck are you guys?! I really hope you're doing well.... we need to cross paths again someday.

Thx for saying hi on this review my friend. Say, I'm on Ovation next year so I'll be going back to your review to poke around and look at all your great ship pics again my sailing draws nearer. Have fun on Jewel!

 

Say... ever thought of doing Alaska? Plenty of non-stop flights from Gatwick or Heathrow to Vancouver next May 13 ;)

(I'll show you two around Vancouver for a day :D)

[Hoopster95]

Now, mine was slightly modified, as I am Celiac, and must eat gluten-free.

 

Hey Sherri, Yep, it will be awesome for the many people who read & post here on CC about food modification re celiac or other issues (lactose, etc), to see how well they accommodated you when you do your review. It was awesome you were still able to get your own World Ball, let alone the modifications throughout the dinner made a la minute for you.

 

I also noted the copious amounts of wine still left in your glasses... What a lightweight! :evilsmile:

(Too many "Sherri Martini's" pre -dinner?) ;p

[maxs mom]

Hey Jane. Specialty midcruise was being offered (unadvertised) at 30% off, so Chop's bill was $22.40 + $4.03 "service charge" = $26.43.

 

There's a story behind this... both my receipts for day 1 + day 2 were $0.00. I didn't question it, thinking that either venue (Chop's or Giovanni's) thought I had paid for my D+ BOGO on one or the other nights and made a mistake. Thinking further, that doesn't make sense as they make you pay on the first night regardless. So for some reason they comped me that first night (Chops) and I didn't question it, I was just grateful and thought that was super nice, thinking perhaps they wanted me to come back as a solo with Mike & Sherri again.... and it turned out I did.

 

Thus I went to Chops the 2nd time with Mike & Sherri.... again my bill came as $0.00. Stupidly I questioned them this time, thinking I'd magically see a bill on my account later anyways when they figured out they made a mistake. As I questioned, I immediately could tell by Ciprian's body language and facial expression that he wished I didn't say anything, but now that I did he had to make the change (plus I had mentioned the so-called "error" aloud at our table right next door to the Capt's 6-top). Leaving, I thanked Ciprian and said quickly & quietly to him "I shouldn't have said anything, should I?" and all he did was raise his eyebrows and shrug his shoulders with a smile. Bottom line is they would've comped me this meal as well. No clue why and didn't try to find out. The only reason I could think was that Mike & Sherri were on the Ultimate Package and "bigwigs" on the ship in an OS, so perhaps they were simply just being super nice to me. It was the thought that counted once I realized what was going on, and the benefit they gave me the 1st two nights.

 

Bottom Line: if you see $0.00 on your bill don't question it! Just be grateful and leave a great tip ;):D

 

Ha Ha!! That’s hilarious. That has happened to us before......but we kept our mouth shut!!!

[Hoopster95]

Day 6 - Greenock (Glascow)

 

Today's Compass

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was looking forward to this day mas this would be the first day of 3 that I'm joining with Sondra Ettlinger's excursion group, the cruise lecturer. She had offered a small group tour to a few people and had mentioned she had a connection to a guide named Andy, who has also appeared on the Outlander Series as an extra. She sent her initial email looking for participants with Andy's file photo from Outlander.

 

 

Was I interested? Was that a rhetorical question?!? Uhm, YA... of course I was interested!

Sondra confirmed my participation and I was set. Having called us and left a message the night before in our cabins, we were to meet Sondra in the Centrum deck 4 (just like my tours I set up) at 8:45am so that we can all leave together and find Andy in unison. This is 100% the way to go if you ever try to set up a private group tour... never ever try to meet at the pier or beyond the pier gates, someone will always be clueless on exactly where to go or how to find you if you do that.

 

In the meantime, I got to enjoy my normal routine Macchiato up at the DL, say hi to Mario and chat with him a bit, and enjoy our sail in the port

 

[Hoopster95]

It's interesting to note for those of you planners out there that this was the first day over the next few where RCL security pretty much shut down 80% of the Centrum area for disembark/all aboard for the entire day. I squeezed through the R Bar to get to the elevators rather than detouring all the way around, and asked the security of that was ok and to remember me as my cabin was right there. It was no problem... all the fencing was for crowd control, so they knew me right off the bat , and I would always smile and thank them when I pulled a gate open to let myself quickly through to the other side.

 

 

Heading out of the pier area was a short walk to the main gate. And as promised, we could see a chap in his Outlander kilt/attire holding up Sondra's name on a sign.... There was Andy with a huge Scottish grin! This guy was Mister positive, I tell you what. What an awesome guy to be around the entire day, lifts the spirits every time he speaks and laughs. Off we went to hop into the minivan and get going for the day.

 

 

I wasn't 100% in tune with the full itinerary or schedule of the day, and it wasn't util we were rolling away that Andy said we were first heading to the Outlander production studios and "hopefully" the gate would be open.

 

 

Nope....

 

 

Ah well... this was to be short stop for those who wanted that notoriety photo of actually "being there" where the magic happens in the studios. We were all given the opportunity to take the obligatory touristy photo with the full size cardboard prop with the main character of the series Jamie Fraser

 

 

We drove around the back to see if there was any action or gates open.... again, sealed tight. We could see several props used in the series within the fences, but that was about it

 

 

Somewhat disappointing as we detoured for about 15min to get here and had to go back to get to our "regular" route for this tour, so a bit of a waste in the first hour'ish. If you're a major Outlander fan, then I suspect this would've been very awesome for you.

[Hoopster95]

After some time on the highway, we veered inland through small roads and some beautiful scenery, arriving at the 16th century built Midhope Castle.

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

 

This is actually the castle featured in Outlander as the main character's home (Jamie Fraser) called Lallybroch. It's actually closer to Edinburgh than to Glascow, so you can get a feel for the drive time. Also for you planners who wish to do an Outlander excursion, this castle should be included from an Edinburgh port stop (but you miss the town of Edinburgh itself and I really don't recommend that!)

 

We turned into what seemed like a somewhat overgrown and not well kept property and I wondered why are we turning in here? However, as we got around the corner from the bush/trees, the castle came in to view

 

 

As with all castles, there was some signage so you can have a quick read

 

 

How cool! This was a very small "Castle"... in fact, with the stone walls and greenery/gardens surrounding the property, it was more of an old farm house to me. Nonetheless, I was raring to go visit and check it out as I walked up to the main gate

 

 

Not so fast! I was called back.... coming from the mini-van I had helped carry out some whiskey he had for us as well us various props. What I did not see him come with from behind us as we walked up to the castle was a huge box. In it Andy began pulling out large pieces of fabric and began laying the first one down on the grass. He looks up and said "everyone take one... I'm teaching you all how to put on a kilt!" Lol!!! Awesome. What an incredible setting to be doing this

 

 

The cool thing is all the tartan patterns are from the original Outlander Series. Even though these patterns are copyrighted, he was allowed to purchase direct them from the production studio, and now we get to wear them. He first showed us how to pleat the fabric to a certain size, this is what I'm doing here.

 

 

He showed us how he puts his on everyday... it's an art! There's no way any of could've done it on our own without some kind of practice/training. So of course he helped each one of us individually.... basically you lay down in the middle of it and roll over it as it wraps around you, cinching it tight with the rope you just pulled underneath the pleated fabric while it was on the ground

 

[pspercy]

If you go back and do your driving tour here's a catalogue of rather different places to stay a day or three :)

https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk

[Hoopster95]

Andy continued to complete my kilt by folding over the extra fabric in a certain way...

 

 

It had to be a certain way in order to stay folded properly and not come "unglued" during fighting, yet easy to take apart so that you can use this apparel to keep yourself warm in the harsh winter and rainy Scottish climates. Andy had me model how the fabric was used as an "overcoat/shawl" so to speak and the body of the kilt below stays in place, not coming apart at all.

 

 

And there it was.... all done! He had Scottish period hats to wear as well, but I wanted to wear my tweed hat I had bought in Edinburgh, it fit in quite well I thought. I didn't do a bad job with the pleating

 

 

Here's Barb with her's all done

 

 

Everyone's kilt done, he handed out props and we grabbed whatever we wanted... of course I had to have the manly sword & shield, and he fitted me with a period white shirt. Don't mess with me! Haha

 

 

Here's a video of John (Barb's DH) having his kilt put on with Andy's assistance and you can get a greater feel of what I just explained above. Sondra, the lecturer, is there on the side taking video and pictures as well.

 

s-FCXU_PEII

[Hoopster95]

If you go back and do your driving tour here's a catalogue of rather different places to stay a day or three :)

https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk

 

Very awesome!!!! I just quickly opened the link (Fairburn Tower looks like is right up my alley)

Thank you soooo very much for this. Greatly appreciated :D

[Hoopster95]

Donned with our newly acquired Scottish Highlander dress, we cleaned up the grounds and made our way to the Castle through the main gate

 

 

And there we were... full view of Outlander's main character... Jamie Fraser's home, Lallybroch

 

 

 

Andy had a few things to add regarding Outlander and the history here. I set up my camera with a timer on a stump across the dirt/cobblestone for a group photo of all of us there. We make a fine clan of Scotts I do say!

 

 

And now Andy had another trick up his sleeve. Unbeknowst to us, he wanted us to re-enact an Outlander fight scene with him. LOL.... BRILLIANT!!! We grabbed the swords/shields and set up in front of the main entrance door of the castle

 

 

Obviously John and I were all over this right from the get-go. OMG did we ever have a total blast with this. Andy had an actual short set of moves from a scene he was in. Again, with my camera set-up .....

 

So without further ado

Claudio vs. John in Outlander - "Brilliance of the Seas invades Lallybroch!"

.

.

Ready

.

.

Set

.

.

ACTION!

 

k6FeAXTlRAk

 

(I'm grinning ear to ear watching this video a couple of times... what an incredible memory. A wee bit awesome!!!!!!!)

[Hoopster95]

Regarding my reference to "wee" in the previous post... everything's a wee bit.... a wee bit of this.... a wee bit of that.

Of course "a wee bit" more often than not means a whole lot of!!!! LOL

 

And really, Andy would not have been the incredibly generous and honorable Scottsman that he is with out bring out and offering us a wee bit of whiskey now, would he?

 

 

We first tried the Cardhu which was very nice. never heard/seen it before at home.

 

 

He then brought out the Deaston 12 year virgin oaked. This one was very very nice indeed, and Andy let us know that we were heading to this distillery for lunch as well, so an opportunity to shop for authentic Scottish Whiskey if we wish.

 

 

 

Ha! This next photo is one of my favorite of this vacation....

Andy, the jolly Outlander chugging on his whiskey on the stairs of his home... optimizes my inner thought of the Scottish people I had met so far in Edinburgh and elsewhere, simply happy, easy going, very generous and likely a hoot to party with at a pub

 

[delee78]

Ok, this is so cool Claudio!!!

 

I am a HUGE Outlander fan. How awesome! I need to get this cruise and tour booked, STAT!!

 

Now, is there any possible way to have Sam Heughan (the actor who plays Jamie Fraser) magically appear and help me with my kilt???

 

I know Claudio might not care, but I am willing to bet that more than a few ladies would pay big money for that one ;p.

[Hoopster95]

Looks like cruise lecturer Sondra had a few too many shots of Deaston whiskey and was out to make off with rest of the bounty!

 

 

Andy had a few more things to show us before departing Midhope Castle, including this real (and very blunt) full size sword replica of what was used back in the day

 

 

The artwork and detail is gorgeous

 

 

Always the Scottish gentleman, Andy asked us to give this beast a try. If I remember correctly, he mentioned that it weighed in the vicinity of 10 kilograms (over 20 lbs).

 

 

Both John and I got to hold these swords and swing them a little bit. Incredible to think the skill required... and fitness/strength... to wield these massive weapons without being killed themselves. We moved pretty slowly as we clanked the swords together

 

[Hoopster95]

Now, is there any possible way to have Sam Heughan (the actor who plays Jamie Fraser) magically appear and help me with my kilt???

 

BARF :o;p

 

(p.s. ok ok stop laughing now Denise)

(p.p.s. I'm emailing Patrick as we speak :evilsmile::evilsmile::evilsmile:)

(p.p.p.s. look out for Kanscocoa's review within the next week. They're my cruise pals Sherri & Mike on this trip. They did more Outlander stuff than me)

Edited July 19, 2018 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

It was time to leave Midhope Castle and head off to our next site...

In the meantime I took note of the van and contact details for any of you taking notes for your future sailing

 

 

 

If was another longish drive back the same way we came on the freeway, and we passed by these two monstrous 30 meter tall horse statues called The Kelpies.

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

We had no idea what they were, and Andy offered a short explanation which I didn't totally understand.... luckily for all you CC'ers Kancocoa and DH visited this area and have some incredibly cool photos of what they did on this day when she does her review.

 

 

We made a quick stop at the David Sterling Memorial which is a World War II memorial. This was simply a very short stop roadside on the way to our next stop to get a lay of the land.

 

 

 

A short 10min drive from this memorial we arrived to Doune Castle for our next adventure

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

And now Andy had another trick up his sleeve. Unbeknowst to us, he wanted us to re-enact an Outlander fight scene with him. LOL.... BRILLIANT!!! We grabbed the swords/shields and set up in front of the main entrance door of the castle

 

 

 

Wow! This is just awesome! [emoji1319][emoji1319]

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Hoopster95]

Welcome to Doune Castle

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

 

 

Some very cool history here... believed to have been built in the 13th century (late 1200's), it's believed to have been damaged in the Scottish Wars of Independence (early 1300's), supposedly being rebuilt in the late 1400's and remaining about the same as it's seen today! Like any other large historical site, this site needs maintenance as well to keep it in good shape for years to come... no different here

 

 

 

With audio player in hand, we began our tour of the Castle ... maybe only around 40-45 mins long. Several of the chambers and main halls are grand, you could just imagine how they lived in here with massive medieval furniture. Here's the massive kitchen

 

 

Cooks of the day prepared their foods here by the window... note Andy showing how knives were sharpened on the stone walls. These are original markings from 7 centuries ago.

 

 

Sondra & John are inside the fire pit/cooking area. There are carvings/calligraphy on the stones here as well. Note some of the holes/grates on the sides and kin the walls. Could you imagine the heat of a huge fire here? Why not harness it and have it travel through the stone walls in "ducts" to heat the rest of the Castle?

 

[Hoopster95]

Wow! This is just awesome!

 

 

 

;p

[Hoopster95]

Could imagine dining in this great room with super long tables, medieval high back chairs, tapestries and ornaments on the walls? Would have been something else to see

 

 

 

The main bedroom was a fair size with what was back then an incredible view outward and a grand fireplace

 

 

The other "lesser" rooms? Not so much... try getting an furniture through here

 

 

The great hall was adorned with some original furniture of the time, roped off ("do not touch")

 

 

Having made our way through the castle, Andy gathered us at the exit in order to get to the minivan... we were slightly overdue for lunch. In the meantime he grabbed a bag of Scottish goodies for us to nibble on and off we went to our next destination.... The Deaston Distillery for lunch at the well known eatery.

 

[Hoopster95]

We headed for the Deaston Distillery for lunch

https://www.deanstonmalt.com/

 

 

I had yet to have a shot at haggis, and not yet had the time to see a distillery or shop for whiskey.

I had both opportunities here. This was a surprisingly well known stop for the food alone, and now looking on Tripadvisor very highly rated... and for good reason in my opinion.

 

 

I had mentioned to Andy that I just had to try the haggis no matter what, and he re-enforced that they prepare it extremely well here, served with "Neeps and Tatties".... uh.... ok? These are yellow turnip and potatoes

 

 

And with a side of onion rings, this came out looking like this.... and it was excellent!

Now if you need to know how to make haggis, I am not posting it here, and I don't want anyone else to post it lol!!

It'll ruin my memory of this great lunch

 

 

They also offered flights of various whiskeys, which they also sell next door in their shop. Since we already samples the Deaston which Andy served to us at Midhope Castle, I opted for the 3 dram "Taste of the Islands".

 

 

The first two were really nice, no complaints at all, however the third (Ledaig 10 yr) was out of this world phenomenal!!! It had this spicy and smoky taste, blew my pants off. Never tasted anything like it. I told Andy I'd be buying it when we went next door.