My First “Live”- Zuiderdam May 11, 2024 TA

[mawvkysc]

From sailaway 

[mawvkysc]

6 hours ago, BetsyS. said:

Great menu! I LOVE HAL's pea soup!!   I like the brisket, Dover sole and halibut.

My favorite desserts are the fruit crisps. Thanks for sharing the menus, pictures, and daily programs. 😊

You’re welcome 😀 

[USN59-79]

We have docked at Cobh and taken the train to Cork.  However, I didn't really understand how to pronounce Cobh.  I know about ch and dh and sh and th and wh but never knew of a word with bh as part of it.  Was wondering if Cobh was actually pronounced Cork, but realized that they are two different cities, but close together.  Finally took the time to research it and found that Cobh, for non Irish people is pronounced the same as Cove.  Am I right @VMax1700?

Ray

[oakridger]

28 minutes ago, mawvkysc said:

From sailaway 

 

This is funny because I was sitting about 10 feet behind you for sail away and the pretty scenery going out!  It's the first time after the Meet and Greet I have been to the Crow's Nest!  very nice view.

 

I went to the Orange Party in the Rolling Stone Room and the crowd was having a great time! 

 

~Nancy

[mawvkysc]

Day 12-Falmouth 

[mawvkysc]

Day 12-Falmouth overcast. 
 

The tender operation made a bit of noise out our window. But it didn’t last too long. Pretty cloudsSaga Ship 

[VMax1700]

10 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

We have docked at Cobh and taken the train to Cork.  However, I didn't really understand how to pronounce Cobh.  I know about ch and dh and sh and th and wh but never knew of a word with bh as part of it.  Was wondering if Cobh was actually pronounced Cork, but realized that they are two different cities, but close together.  Finally took the time to research it and found that Cobh, for non Irish people is pronounced the same as Cove.  Am I right @VMax1700?

Ray

Correct.

Similar to the pronounciation of the girl's name Niamh! Yes, mh and bh have the same 'soft v' sound.

Cobh is not an Irish word, but an Irish version of the town's original name.  It was originally called 'Cove' and then changed to 'Queenstown' in 1849 to commemorate the visit of Queen Victoria to Ireland.  In 1921 it was changed back to an Irish version of its original name, so Cove became Cobh.  (and Victoria became known as the Famine Queen, but that is another story!)

With apologies for thread drift.

[mawvkysc]

We had a HAL excursion again, so we got priority tendering. It’s about a 25-30 minute tender. It was the Coastal Trek and Lunch. What a beautiful drive to the Lizard Peninsula. The bus was very modern and had a restroom. Nick the guide was great. 
 

This is a STRENUOUS shore excursion. It is marked as such but most didn’t realize how serious the warning was. It was absolutely gorgeous, stunning and historical (Marconi). It is a hike with a lot of elevation change. An ankle  could easily be twisted. One person did scrape up an arm. That being said you can do a short part of the hike to the southernmost point and then walk back to the little town and shop. We lost about 6-8 people at that point. It is a fast moving hike with some stops for pictures. 
 

Included lunch was fish and chips with peas at the Top House Inn. They have a wonderful homemade tarter sauce. Brownie  and a beer or wine were also included. There was about a half hour to shop. I got a rhubarb crumble ice cream. 
 

By the time we got back we needed to catch the tender. 

[mawvkysc]

[mawvkysc]

Falmouth HarbourPendennis Castle

[mawvkysc]

I forgot to mention that the overcast weather changed to sunny. We have had the most unbelievably perfect weather for this cruise  

 

PG for us tonight but here is MDR info 

[mawvkysc]

Gin update:

At some point I tried the special martini from the Ocean Bar. “Oil washed” gin. ???  I’m not a martini person but it was smooth. 
 

At Jameson I tried the Method and Madness micro distillery G&T. It was very good.  
 

Tonight at PG I had the tableside  G&T.  It was very good and a bit of fun having it made before your eyes. 

[mawvkysc]

PG dinner was good but I think I preferred the service even better at Canaletto. The service at Canaletto had an elevated yet homey feel to it. 

 

The shrimp were huge. The crab cakes were good. Hubby had scallops which were good but a little salty. I opted to upgrade to the dry aged Delmonico.  I’d never tried dry aged before and figured it would be a treat/experiment. I could taste a little difference but honestly I should’ve gone with ribeye. There was a denseness to the meat that I didn’t like. Perhaps the cut, perhaps the dry aging 🤔 It was worth the experience though. 

 

The little chocolates etc were great  Hubby had sorbet. It was nicely presented. I had Baked Alaska The meringue was soft and creamy. I’d have preferred the ratio of ice cream to cake to lean more towards ice cream than it did. I would only do PG again with HIA. The MDR food is quite good. 

 

Inna Tolstova was very good. It was a modern, high energy violin performance with the show band backing her. 

[westerdam]

I am just curious.  Does Ireland still stamp one's passport upon entry?  I know they are usually very big on that. At least they used to be.  I always receive one at the airport but my last arrival by sea into Dublin from Cherbourg I did not for whatever reason. 

[mawvkysc]

Yes! @westerdam

Edited May 23 by mawvkysc

[mawvkysc]

Day 13-Cherbourg

[VMax1700]

7 hours ago, westerdam said:

my last arrival by sea into Dublin from Cherbourg I did not for whatever reason. 

Probably because it was intra-EU travel?

[mawvkysc]

Another beautiful weather day. It did rain for about 30 minutes. Just enough time to pop into a cafe. 
 

We walked to town and the farmers market. It was fun to see a we bought some flowers and cheese. 

The vegetables looked beautiful.  Down a side street vendors with clothes and other products were selling things. There was even a thrift store table set up. 
 

At the cafe I got a cider and rhubarb tart. The rhubarb flavor was much stronger than the ship rhubarb. Cafe au lait et quiche for DH.

 

We then walked to the Basilique Sainte-Trinité de Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. We were interested to see the Tetragrammaton. 
 

Lastly we toured La Citi de la Mer museum. The submarine was interesting. Kids were on a field trip for the aquarium part but we enjoyed it. It’s not a major type aquarium though. The. We breezed through the Titanic part 

 

Hopped in the hot tub and am now parked on a lido pool lounger for sailaway. The hot tub was lukewarm. 

[mawvkysc]

[mawvkysc]

We had to really mess with the exposure to get the letters to show. That’s why it looks so dark. A relic from a Confederate ship sunk off Cherbourg

[BetsyS.]

Thanks for all the pictures! You both look great!  😊

[mawvkysc]

1 hour ago, BetsyS. said:

Thanks for all the pictures! You both look great!  😊

You’re welcome and thank you!😊 

[mawvkysc]

Sailaway:

We didn’t attend but there was a sailaway party with cheese and wine. It was moved from Seaview Pool to Crows Nest.  I mention that because there was no cheese plate in the menu tonight.  

[mawvkysc]

I usually screenshot the menus in the morning. By the time dinner rolled around the menus changed slightly so I took pictures. Escargot was removed from the menu and crab cakes added. Goat cheese was removed from the salad description. Eggplant was removed from the lamb chops. The crisp description changed too 

[mawvkysc]

I finally tried Caesar Salad. It was just average. My server didn’t ask if I wanted anchovies which I noticed other tables are given that option. My husband accidentally got the mixed greens and dates. It was ok but he ordered a vegetable purée. The assistant waiter got it wrong. We mentioned it to him but he was sure he served Steve the right thing. 
 

Lamb chops were so tender and had good flavor. Shrimp and grits were good and my Southern sweetheart said the grits were perfect. 
 

We both got chocolate cheesecake. It was good and not too heavy, but it’s not a typical cheesecake texture. It’s more of a mousse cake or a chocolate silk pie type of dessert.