Review and Travel Journal of Our Regal Cruise to England/Guernsey/Ireland/Scotland and Wales-A Crowning Achievement

[JimmyVWine]

4 hours ago, ldtr said:

Basically it was in mid process when you spotted it.

That's what I guessed. Thanks.

[JimmyVWine]

Day 1 (Continued)

With dinner completed, it was now time to venture out for an evening of entertainment, and this provides a convenient opportunity to discuss the offerings for this cruise.  The two live bands were “The Prestige Quartet” and “The Voyagers”.  Both were very good, but there can only be one winner in this competition and the nod goes to the latter.  They tended to be the band that hosted the parties in the Piazza.  Which brings up a point.  Perhaps it was the weather on this itinerary (not bad, but not conducive to holding deck parties outside due to the temperature and threat of rain), or perhaps this is the new normal, but there was entertainment, (especially these bands) almost non-stop in the Piazza, all the way through 11:30 p.m.  As a result, Crooners was like Dean Martin’s glass of Scotch--put on ice.  Over the course of an 8 day cruise, Crooners was not used as an evening entertainment venue except for a brief time on the very last sea day.  This disappointed us as live music in Crooners has become our staple entertainment on most evenings.  Maybe when the weather improves, the live bands will head up top opening up the possibility that Crooners will rise from the ashes.

 

The ”piano man” for this cruise was A. J. Clarke.  He played in the Vista Lounge every night except the last night when he staked out the Wheelhouse Bar.  He is very, very good in a “Bert with an E” sort of way for those who remember Bert.  But his library is more diverse, and his shows are pretty much non-stop requests.  He has an encyclopedic knowledge of music and will tell you who wrote each song, when, why, and what they were wearing at the time.  His piano playing is top notch and his singing is more than adequate for the task.  His performances in the Vista Lounge were always well-attended and by the time the last evening rolled around, he had enough of a following to make his appearance in the Wheelhouse Bar a tough ticket to come by.

 

Other musical performers (who served more as background music as opposed to featured performers) included Acoustic Guitar player Christian Bispo, the “Gold Strings Duo” (who had the honor of being one of the performers to headline in Crooners on that last night, and we enjoyed their set very much), and pianist Olena Konstantinova.  She was the only holdover entertainer from our prior cruise on Regal.  The Cruise Director Staff led by Allie Ambriano was well organized and did a fine job with the typical cruise entertainment of trivia, game shows, Jenga, karaoke and the like, as well as adding an additional splash of Coronation fun here and there.  There was one particular entertainment staff member with whom we did not connect.  I won’t name names as this will undoubtedly lead to a chorus of: “But s/he’s my favorite.”  To each their own, but we found several of this person’s trivia/quiz emcee duties to be painful to the point of ruining the event.  To the extent possible, I will try to upload the Patters so that you can see for yourself what was going on onboard the ship each day.  We did not attend any of the big production shows.  Part of this was due to the timing or our dinners, where we were seated each night at 7:30 once our “same table each night” had been offered to us at that time.  That eliminated any chance of seeing early shows, and for the later shows, there was always something else that K and S wanted to do.  So I have nothing good or bad to say about those performers and performances.

 

On this first night we headed to the Vista Lounge to see what was up with this AJ Clarke dude.  We enjoyed his performance enough to stay to the end.  We carried in with us the last of the wine we had ordered at dinner, and for the rest of the evening we ordered cocktails through the OceanNow feature of the app.  We found the ordering process to be easy, fast and accurate.  On our Bingo Card for this cruise we intended to have a drink at every bar and lounge on the ship as well as use the delivery service, and here we were able to cross off the Vista Lounge as a venue and OceanNow as a drinking option.  As our day came to a close, we had eaten and ordered drinks at both Alfredo’s, and Concerto MDR; had coffee and pastries at the International Café; had wine at Vines and cocktails via the delivery service in the Vista Lounge.  Not a bad start.  Our Old Plus “scorecard” showed that between the three of us we had had 15 glasses of wine and 3 cocktails.  The retail value of these had we paid out of pocket would have been $319.78, ($106.60 per person).  With Old Plus we paid $23.60, ($7.86 per person).  And had we had Premier we would have paid $0.  

 

A final note on the costs.  We have cruised many times without drinks packages and never, ever have we run up a tab equal to what the out-of-pocket cost of this day presented.  There are two reasons for that.  First, when paying cash, we would have been far more frugal with our consumption.  And second, with the increased wine allowance under the Plus package and the corresponding increase in drink prices, the current cost of drinks on the ship makes it almost foolhardy to not have a package if one plans to do any sort of drinking at all.  Clearly this is Princess’ goal, Even if we had consumed 6 glasses of wine and 3 cocktails, our total cost would have far exceeded the single highest tally we had ever incurred onboard a ship. By almost double.  So keep that in mind when calculating whether “It Pays To Plus.”

Patter Day 1.pdf

[coo359a2]

What a great job of attaching the Patter.  I think that this is the first patter I have ever been able to read on a "Live".  Most  print is too small to read or way too blurry.

[JimmyVWine]

 Day 2-Portland UK

One of the great joys of travel is going to a place you never thought you’d visit, that you never knew you wanted to visit, and learning that this place exceeded your most humble expectations in its beauty, culture and most importantly, it’s people. And you wonder why you had overlooked such a wonderful place and conclude that it is because of nothing less than your own ignorance, yet you are comforted in knowing that this ignorance can be so easily overcome if only you let it.  So it was with much of this itinerary.  The driving force behind the selection of this cruise was not the itinerary per se, but the date, and ease with which S could join us for a week+ of family together time.  At the time of booking, the actual port stops were a mere afterthought.  And then I began doing what I always do, which is compulsive research.  The Portland/Weymouth area (as well as Guernsey) was completely unknown to me, and no “must see” or “must do” adventure jumped out at me upon first blush.  But after a fair amount of investigation, I concluded that the best way to approach an unfamiliar area would be to immerse myself in it.  So I happened across a company by the name of “Dorset Tours” which offered cruise passengers small van tours including one called “The Jurassic Coast Adventure.”  This was to be a 6-7 hour tour guided by an area specialist that would, well…I’ll let them tell it: “This is a fun packed day along the stunning Jurassic Coast from Portland.  You’ll travel through England’s first UNESCO World Heritage site the Jurassic Coast, discovering sites dating back 180 million years with perfectly formed coves and archways carved into the natural limestone.  You’ll then navigate through Dorset exploring hidden villages, thatch cottages and castles built by William the Conqueror, not forgetting a stop Weymouth and Portland’s Olympic Rings overlooking 18 miles of Chesil Beach.”  Seemed pretty immersive to me, so I booked it.  Another popular option at this port stop is a trip out to Stonehenge, and while a number of tours will get you there, S (with a Masters in Classical Archaeology) warned me that we would be underwhelmed by Stonehenge, especially if visiting with thousands of other cruise ship passengers.  We would see that some other time.  For today, it would be the Jurassic Coast.  I was particularly excited to discovery what sort of dinosaurs we would see, and perhaps get a chance to meet Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern.  See?  I really didn’t know anything about this area at all.

 

We were emailed instructions that we were to take the free blue shuttle bus that would meet us shipside and instruct the driver to drop us off at Portland Castle.  The port of Portland is a working port with no convenient access for cruise passengers, so as a result, you will either be taken from the disembarkation area by your Princess-organized tour bus, or, if traveling on your own, by a blue shuttle bus that whisks you out of the commercial port area.  Our meeting time was 9:00 so for this morning, all we could manage for breakfast was a few “to go” items from the IC and some coffee for K.  We walked off the ship, boarded a blue bus and in minutes we were at the Portland Castle where we were greeted by Terri, (not Laura Dern) who was to be our guide for the day.  Terri is a Dorset native and experienced traveler, has a wealth of fascinating stories and is clearly passionate about the Isle of Portland and surrounding areas.  The Isle of Portland where the cruise ships dock is a small almost-island, with the “almost” being a strip of rocky sand that connects it to the mainland.  But for all practical purposes it is an island, and the more bustling tourist area is the town on the tip of the mainland called Weymouth.  If the blue bus will continue on to Weymouth if you are not getting off at Portland Castle. 

 

We boarded our van and began our journey to our first stop, called Durdle Door.  Along the way Terri explained the history and geology of the Jurassic Coast.  This really is an incredible area of geologic interest, and if you are a fan of the show Broadchurch, know that its exterior coastal shots were filmed just around the bend from the places we would be visiting. 

 

Durdle Door is a natural arch formation created by thousands of years of tidal erosion.  It stands out along the beach like a sea monster guarding its lair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And while the sea monster is the star of the show, one cannot help but be overcome by the sheer beauty of the sheer cliffs.  S has been to Dover and she said that she preferred this over that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there we went to a charming village called Lulworth Cove where we walked around the village, got close up with some beautiful houses covered in tightly woven thatch, saw some more forming arches, and experienced the beauty of Spring in action with wildflowers and gorce blooming everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terri then pointed out something that should have been obvious.  The rock layers of the earth had been visibly displaced in a number of areas showing where continents collided and broke apart as Pangea became the world as we know it now.  Note how the rock layers clearly form a vertical pattern in what used go be horizontal sedimentary layers. 

 

 

 

 

And of course, Lulworth Cove would be nothing without a cove.  This one a near perfectly formed circle.

 

 

 

 

 

The village itself has more ice cream shops per square foot than any other place I have been!  There was time for a bit more walking and picture taking before heading off for our next stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JimmyVWine]

Day 2-Portland UK (Continued)

Our next stop, after a nice drive through the countryside, was to the Village of Tyneham.  Tyneham tells a sad but interesting story of a coastal village set too close to the dangers of WWII.  The residents of the village were required to abandon their town and relocate so that the British Armed Forces could use the area for training and bombing practice.  Even to this day the village is engulfed in an active military training and bombing base, and Terri told us that Ukrainian forces are brought here to be trained to use the weaponry being supplied by Western nations.  Today the village sits as a ghost town, but there are some heartwarming plaques commemorating the return visits of some of the children who were born here, only to return 50+ years later to see what was left of the village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there we were off to Corfe for a visit to a more lived-in village, and a medieval castle.  Along the way we were able to glimpse Lulworth Castle from the moving van.  This castle has always been “residential” as opposed to one built for defensive purposes.

 

 

Corfe Castle was built by William the Conqueror in the 11^th Century as a strategic and defensive stronghold, but the geopolitics of the medieval times have taken their toll on the structure.  Still, it is fascinating to be looking at something that was built before 1100.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aside from the castle itself, the village of Corfe and its adorable train station are worthy of a bit of time and souvenir shopping, and perhaps a pint. Coronation bunting and flags were everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

And I swear that Thomas the Tank Engine stops at this station!

 

 

 

After some more countryside sightseeing, we made our way to Weymouth where we had time on our own for lunch.  My research led me to a local favorite “chippie” called Fish ‘n’ Fritz which did not disappoint.  The haddock was battered with a crisp, craggily crust of goodness that we enjoyed al fresco along the Weymouth Quay.

 

 

After lunch we wound our way back to the Isle of Portland itself to take in a fantastic view of the surrounding area, see the Olympic Rings commemorating Portland’s claim as the host of the sailing events for the 2012 Olympics, and to see some real live, (well, not really live) fossils that help give the Jurassic Coast its name.

 

A view of the strip of rocky sand that connects Portland to Weymouth.

 

 

 

 

And here is a nautical fossil that is almost the size of a car tire.  I can’t imagine seeing one of these things swimming by me!

 

 

Our last stop was the Portland Bill Lighthouse with some more unbelievable coastal views.

 

 

 

 

 

We used the full 7 hours for this adventure, and were returned to the Portland Castle where we started, and where a blue bus picked us up to take us back to the ship.  After we were settled in our cabin, we heard the beautiful tones of what sounded suspiciously like the Andrews Sisters.  We opened up our balcony slider, stepped outside and saw this!  What a great way to send us off to our next port.

 

 

 

One last photo to capture the mood. (And yes, they did sing “In The Mood”)

 

 

 

Shipboard activities, dining, drinking and entertainment to be covered in the next post.

[nini]

5 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

It's not difficult.  K uses a "beach bag" style of bag for her airline carry-on "personal item" allowance, stowing her purse in her rolling carry-on.  In it she carries reading material, a collapsible bottle for water that is filled up at a bottle filler, and that still leaves room for 3 nice glasses, each wrapped in a tea towel placed at the top of the bag. This bag stays under the seat on the plane, and is carried on her shoulder as she boards the ship.  As long as you remember that there is glass in there and handle the bag accordingly, all is well.  We have been taking glasses with us on all of our cruises.  We used to buy them at our embarkation port and then donate them to the ship upon our departure, but we decided to give transporting them a chance and that has worked out well. This is a shot of one of our glasses that we are now using to give some perspective to the size.  We bought them in Athens a year ago and they have been back and forth across the Atlantic twice now.

 

 

Tank you so much. I think this is a doable plan.

[nini]

Your narration and photos of Portland are lovely. Now, I want to visit there as well.

[Lady Arwen]

I have to say that is probably the most interesting and well thought out review that I’ve ever read on these boards.  Thank you, Jimmy, for taking the time to not only share, but engross us in your family’s adventures.  Can’t wait for the next instalment!

[nini]

31 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

I have to say that is probably the most interesting and well thought out review that I’ve ever read on these boards.  Thank you, Jimmy, for taking the time to not only share, but engross us in your family’s adventures.  Can’t wait for the next instalment!

 

What she said!

[Musky Ike]

Thanks for the informative posts. We board on the 20th for the 12 day. Even more Excited to see it all in-person now.

[Martha1974]

1 hour ago, nini said:

 

What she said!

Me too! I’ve commented on other threads about how much I like reading reviews and live reports of British Isles / UK cruises as they often include places I’ve never been (even though I live in the UK). Your descriptions of your day in and around Portland are inspiring, and your comments about your on-board experiences have me counting down to our next Princess cruise in September (even though that is Sky Princess round France & Spain, but hey, a ship’s a ship, right?) 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Martha1974
Grammatical correction

[JimmyVWine]

Day 2-Portland UK (Continued)

Skipping back in time just a bit from the last photo which was taken from our balcony, (and as an aside, not that it can be counted on for future trips, we were on the port side and at every port stop except Holyhead, our side of the ship faced the land/disembarkation area) before we headed back to our cabin we sat (collapsed, really) in seats in the Piazza to enjoy some well-earned refreshments.  K got some espresso, but it was too late in the day for me to indulge. We all got a sweet from the IC and we used this opportunity to cross the Good Spirits at Sea bar off of our BINGO card.  So we sat, relaxed, had a cocktail and then made our way up to our cabin to shower and change for dinner.  This was another Smart Casual Night.  As 7:00 approached the Celebrity ship beside us was preparing to leave and after the Andrews Sisters finished their set, we heard the thunderous booms from a cannon placed at the end of the pier. I thought that we were being besieged by pirates, but Penzance was too far away for that to be an issue.  It was just the locals saying farewell.  We would receive the same treatment just a bit later.

 

As became our habit, we made a stop off at Vines to load up on a nice glass of wine to take with us to the Concerto MDR.  The wine list in the MDR is just OK, and nothing compared to what one can find at Vines.  We had checked out the menu on our TV while getting ready and had a pretty good idea what we were going to order, so each of us opted for a glass of Belle Glos Pinot Noir.  I don’t think I recall seeing that wine on the Concerto list, but on the first night the sommelier did come to our table with a bottle in hand after she noted our Burgundy glasses and suggested that we might enjoy that wine.  We let her know that we were familiar with the wine and to keep a bottle (or 4) handy during the length of the cruise, so we were able to get a second glass of that in the MDR later during our meal.  Incidentally, it was this evening that I checked the lines at the MDRs (Symphony and Concerto) to see how things were shaping up and found no waits at either at 6:15 and 7:30.

 

At exactly 7:30 we walked straight in and headed to “our” table and received a warm welcome from John and Shashi.  Our first night at our designated table and we could not have been happier.  For starters I ordered the French Onion Soup from the Favorites board, S had the Traditional Caesar Salad and K had the Beets and Goat Cheese Salad.  We were all pleased with these dishes and the Onion soup was among the best I have had on a Princess ship.  K’s salad wasn’t quite as she expected, thinking that it would be mostly beets with an accompaniment of goat cheese, and instead it turned out to be the reverse.  That’s OK, as she enjoys goat cheese, but it turned out to be heavier and more filling than anticipated.

 

For Mains I rolled the dice and ordered the Pork Schnitzel. This isn’t something that I would ordinarily try from a mass-producing kitchen, but it turned out to be a wonderful dish that exceeded my expectation.  S had the Chicken Cordon Bleu which she declared a success and K had the Truffle Risotto.  The flavor of the risotto was fine, but the consistency was off.  It was not really a true, creamy risotto and more of a fluffy rice dish.  But the flavor overcame the texture issue.

 

For desserts we chose the French Vanilla Crème Brulé (me), the Frozen Chocolate Praline Torte (K) and the Lemon Meringue Cheesecake (S).  I am always amazed at how consistently excellent the Crème Brulé  is on Princess ships.  They never seem to have an off night, and tonight was no exception.  S enjoyed her Cheesecake.  But K’s frozen concoction was sort of like a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake.  She wasn’t expecting the “frozen” part of the dish to be just plain ice cream, but that is all it was.  The name of the dessert promised a more interesting preparation, but it was really just a dish of ice cream with just a little touch of extras.

 

So far we had two really full days and nights, and tomorrow we would have to get on an early tender in order to meet our private guide for our tour of Guernsey.  So we resisted the temptation to keep the party going and decided to relax in our cabin and get to bed early-ish.  Our drink scorecard for the day was: Good Spirits bar checked off; 3 cocktails and 6 glasses of wine.  Total out-of-pocket had we paid cash would have been $169.92. Total cost with Old Plus was $28.32.  Total had we had Premier would have been $0.

 

Some random notes while I am thinking of them.  On our first day when I was at the Guest Services Desk getting my Gift Cards placed on our account, a gentleman came up to the agent next to me and asked about the Special Desserts.  Specifically he wanted to know if his package qualified him for "just gelato" instead of the whole concoction.  He was politely told "no" and that the only thing that was within the scope of the package was the full dessert.  I could sense the frustration on both of their faces as each seemed to understand the idiocy of this policy.

 

As we sat in the Piazza that afternoon I explained the various packages to K and S as they know nothing about any of this.  Dad does all of the heavy lifting when it comes to planning family fun.  When I explained the Special Desserts to S, she said that she had to see one so I called up a picture of some on the internet.  Her response was one that I will never forget: "I prefer my desserts without pyrotechnics and moving parts. And you can leave the sound and fog machines behind as well."  K just laughed hysterically at the photos and insisted that no sane person would ever eat two of those a day.  For the record, despite spending a whole lot of time in the Piazza, we never saw a single Special Dessert being made, carried or consumed over the whole 8 days.  Not. A. Single. One.  I don't know if they make them at Swirls, but given the weather on the trip, not many people were hanging out around Swirls and we were only in that area for a brief time or two.  On our first sea day, we saw a crew member walk past us in the Horizon Court dressed up like she was stationed at Ice Station Zebra.  We saw her later that afternoon manning the station at Swirls!

 

As for internet, we never had any issues.  We aren't super-users and don't post "Live" updates or upload photos.  Nor do we stream or download content from Netflix or Disney+ while onboard.  For quick internet searches, texting, reading email and keeping our Wordle streaks going, the internet was perfectly fine.

   

Guernsey is on the way as soon as I get my photos sorted out.

Patter Day 2.pdf

Edited May 12, 2023 by JimmyVWine

[PurpleTraveller]

I am thoroughly enjoying your review and was delighted to see your beautiful photos of the Jurassic Coast. This is one of our favourite areas of England and when we are departing from Southampton we spend an extra couple of days there so that we can hire a car so we can revisit the area. The coastal walk from Lulworth Cove to Durdle Door is wonderful to do.

 

Thank you for your review and I look forward to following along. 🛳️

 

[trinitygirl]

I rented a thatched cottage (Cobweb Cottage) in Winfrith Newburgh for six weeks in June 2010 - you most likely drove through the village to get to Lulworth Cove. I spent those six weeks cycling all over Dorset, and I just loved the entire county; your post brought back a lot of very happy memories so thank you for that!

[qoap24]

On 5/11/2023 at 6:04 AM, JimmyVWine said:

for item cast as the “Mari” part of the performance, that was a horrid looking salad of mostly mayonnaise with a few micro-shrimp tossed in that looked like they have been extracted from a dissected eggroll from your nearby take-out stand.  It honestly looked like the disemboweled innards from an alien autopsy.  S said that she would take one for the team and give it a try.  She tried a small forkful and sweated out the process of swallowing it.  She said: “You know me.  I can eat pretty much anything.  But that is the closest that I have come to spitting food back onto the plate in a very, very long time.”  No further convincing was necessary.  The rest remained untouched.  Not sure if this was a new recipe, a bad batch, or the same thing that many others love.  Either way, it was not for us.

 

 

I was on this same sailing and when they put my plate down, I wasn't sure what to think. But that shrimp salad was HORRIBLE. I couldn't get it out of my mouth fast enough. We really enjoyed the pizza though. 

Edited May 13, 2023 by qoap24
my response was blank

[julie3fan]

I'm really enjoying your review.  We're booked on the Regal's last BI cruise of the season and bringing her back to Florida in October.  I'm taking notes!  Thanks for so many nice details.

[Cajuntraveler]

I'm really enjoying your travel journal!  I hope you post pictures of your cabin, either here or on the cabin review thread. It appears from one of your pictures that you are in cabin 429, but I can't tell which deck.  We will be in B429 later this year and would love to see pictures of the cabin/balcony.  Thanks!

[jwattle]

Thank you for your travel journal. As always, your attention to wine details is excellent! 

[loge23]

On 5/11/2023 at 5:55 PM, JimmyVWine said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Day 3 I asked for a glass of the Red Burgundy (Bouchard Hautes Cotes de Nuits) and not only did the bartender not understand my (correct) pronunciation, he swore that they never had that wine.  I showed him my phone with the menu in the browser telling him that I grabbed that screenshot on the first day and his response was that the menu changed earlier today.  So I zapped the QR code again and lo and behold he was right, and the wine list was very different.  Very frustrating. 

 

Another frustration was the inability to get certain wines by the glass even though the full bottle price fit right within that parameter.  For example, I asked if we could get the Vall Llach Priorat by the glass and was told “no”. 

As for glassware…

 

 

The QR code menu, we found (Nov '22 on the Regal), was totally obsolete. Useless.

No more Vall Llach Priorat by the glass?? That was always our go-to red at the Vines.

The glassware thing would be comical if it weren't so frustrating. Fortunately, we found that they changed the juice glasses in the MDR to real wine glasses, albeit not Riedels.

Up until our last Regal cruise, we always found the Vines staff to be unique servers - very cordial, congenial, and eager to please. That didn't show as much last Nov. They were pretty by-the-book - no lending the Riedels out (fairly standard on past cruises as long as we brought them back, which we always did), and little banter. We never warmed up with them even after several weeks onboard.

The Cotes de Nuits was available throughout the cruise, thankfully.

Back a few years, pre-COVID days, the Vines were a blast! I can recall being given the whole bottle of Priorat to take with us to the MDR - they would just comp us out by-the-glass. There were other perks that I won't go into - but let's just say that they certainly earned their tips!

Sadly, the Vines are apparently being eliminated from the new ships and downsized on the existing ones. 

[Kay S]

Great photos.

[mskaufman]

Keep the review coming!!!

[JimmyVWine]

8 minutes ago, mskaufman said:

Keep the review coming!!!

Will do. My photos are being held hostage on my wife's computer and she has needed it for work over the past day and a half!

[mskaufman]

We are on this in late July and am always looking for the good photo spots and tips.

 

[PescadoAmarillo]

I am late in joining your many avid followers as I was traveling myself, but I am now caught up and thank you so much for your (always well written and informative) review. These ports are all new to me and that makes them especially interesting. 

[JimmyVWine]

Day 3-Guernsey

We now begin Day 3 which is the tender port of Guernsey.  And by that I do not wish to imply that the Isle of Guernsey is somehow fragile or overly sensitive.  Rather, one must board the ship’s lifeboat (tender) to reach the island.  The stopover is a tad short, with arrival expected at 7:00 and the last tender back departing at 3:00.  As this was yet another place with which I was not the least bit familiar, I did my homework, read up on some private tour options, took everyone’s advice and watched “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” on Netflix, and landed on a small group tour called: “Highlights of Guernsey with German Underground Hospital (4 hours) - SPECIAL SMALL GROUP TOUR” run by an outfit called, appropriately enough, Tours of Guernsey. 

 

Our instructions were to take one of the first tenders off the ship so that the group could assemble by 9:00 and depart by 9:15 for a full morning of adventure, leaving us just enough time for a sit-down lunch before heading back to the tender dock.  Now, the instruction to “make sure that you are on one of the first tenders” is easier said than done, especially when priority for shuttle departure is given to guests in Suites, who are Elite, or are booked on a Princess tour.  We did not qualify for any of these ranks.  The stated process for tender departure is to go to the Photo Gallery on Deck 6 once your entire group is ready to disembark, collect a paper ticket with a silly aquatic animal name printed on it (and often misspelled), and wait until your misspelled nautical animal name is called which signifies the “all clear” to march down to Deck 4 for tender boarding.  Past experience has ranged from: “Make your way down to Deck 4. We are not handing out tickets at this time”, to “Sit and wait for over an hour to hear your nautical animal’s name called.”  Because of this, I had a heck of a time answering K’s question of: “What time do we need to leave our cabin in the morning?”  I tried to explain that if we found ourselves in the “Head straight down to Deck 4” scenario, 8:15 should be fine.  If we found ourselves in the “Wait to be called” scenario, 7:30-7:45 would be better.  She gets very frustrated when I cannot give her a straight answer about what time she needs to finish her morning routine in preparation for being seen in public, but I was doing the best I could.

 

We settled on 7:45 and at that time, K and S headed to the IC to get coffee and takeaway pastries while I ventured up to the Photo Gallery.  Luck was on our side (in terms of timing) as we were told to head straight down to Deck 4 because nautical animal groupings were not being formed at this time.  This was good in terms of ensuring a timely arrival for our tour, but bad in terms of incurring the wrath of K who moaned that she could have slept an extra 30 minutes.  Oh well.  We headed down to Deck 4 and were ushered onto a tender with much of a wait.  S and I went up top for the view and fresh air and K stayed below thinking that this would be more conducive to keeping the hair she had just spent 20 minutes on in a condition suitable for public viewing.  While up top, I was able to snap off a quick shot of Regal as we made the 20+ minute trip to the main dock.

 

 

 

We arrived at the dock and walked to the Private Tour meet and greet area and soon found Amanda, the Tours of Guernsey agency owner.  She paired us up with our guide and we then had to wait about 20 minutes for the last of our group to arrive.  They had obviously opted for the extra 30 minutes of sleep and were on the tender after ours.  Because tenders do not leave until they are full, this can take some time.  So it goes.  In all I think there were 3 “small groups”, each taking their own van to the various sites.  Whether by luck or design, the guide with whom we were paired, Soo Wellfair, wrote the book on visiting Guernsey.  No.  Really.  She literally wrote the book, and “Soo” really is how she spells her name.

 

https://www.amazon.com/50-Gems-Guernsey-History-Heritage/dp/139810356X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VKJ2J8094HPS&keywords=50+gems+of+guernsey&qid=1684079927&sprefix=50+gems+of+guernsey%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-1

 

Soo is an incredible guide who loves what she does almost as much as she loves her adopted home of Guernsey, and I can see why.  Here is a place that I knew nothing about, and after 4 hours of driving the entire length, width and depth of the island, I could honestly see myself retiring here, if only I could afford some real estate.  Each house we saw was nicer than the next and it really looked Utopic.  I can see why Victor Hugo spend his days in Napoleonic exile on this island where he wrote some of his most important works including “Les Misérables.”  The island’s beauty and charm are reasons enough to visit, but as one learns from reading (or watching) the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, the island’s occupation and eventual liberation during WWII is the defining history of this place, and the common thread for much of what is the fabric of this Channel Island Crown Dependency.  (The first thing Soo tells you is the answer to the most-oft asked question, which is: “Is Guernsey part of the UK?” and the answer is “No.”  But please do not ask me to explain what a Crown Dependency is, how it operates separate and apart from the UK, and why Coronation bunting and UK flags were everywhere to be seen on the island.  Soo explained it, so don’t fault her.  I am just too dense (or too American) to understand it all.) 

 

Indeed the WWII history informs much of this tour, which is described on the website thusly:

You will be picked up from your hotel or the tender pier, by your accredited guide and separate driver, from where we will start our amazing adventure.  Drive past Victor Hugo's House, to see where this famous writer once lived, and onwards to a photo stop (for small vehicles of 7 guests or less) overlooking Castle Cornet, nearby islands and any visiting cruise ships.  Travel through the parish of St Martin before arriving at the unique and beautiful Little Chapel where you will have time to visit inside.  A short drive will then take us to The German Underground Hospital, the largest construction in the whole of the Channel Islands by the Germans during WWll, you will be provided with a private tour inside this amazing attraction.  On leaving, a short drive will take us to the German Occupation Museum, explore with us a private museum which we consider to be the best in Guernsey.  On leaving the museum, drive through the beautiful countryside and along our west coast to view some of the best beaches on the island.  We will then continue back to St Peter Port where we finish the tour at your tender pier or hotel.

This very accurately describes our four hours.  The company offers other options, but this is what we chose to see.  We began with a lovely drive that did indeed take us right past Victor Hugo’s beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood.

 

Of course, prior to my research, I associated the name “Guernsey” with only one thing, which you can probably guess.  Cows.  And at our first stop at the Little Chapel, we were greeted by some namesakes right by the Chapel itself.

 

 

 

 

 

We learned that all of the cows are privately owned, used only for dairy purposes, and all of their milk combined and processed/sold through an island cooperative.  S took some time to make new friends as she truly is an animal whisperer.  Animals take to her like, well, flies to a cow.  Spinning around from the bovines, you see what is accurately described as a “Little Chapel.”  This was started in around 1914 as either a labor of love, a labor of lunacy, or both.  It is a toy-shaped chapel made from broken ceramic mosaic and sea shells, but just big enough for humans to duck in for a look-see, a prayer or a candle lighting.  However I would not recommend this venue for a wedding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a small gift shop beside the chapel (because, of course there is), and outside it, and just as you enter the chapel driveway stand two five-foot puffin statues that are part of a local community fundraising campaign entailing 60 decorated puffins placed in various spots around the island.  The one by the giftshop is appropriately decorated in the style of the chapel.

 

 

 

After some more scenic walking and driving where the full bloom of Spring could be experienced…

 

 

 

…we arrived at our next major site, The German Underground Hospital.  The name is a bit misleading, as it seems that 90% of this tunnel system was designed and used for munitions storage and hiding armaments from aerial attack.  A more full description and photos will appear in the next post.