Thursday, April 27, 2023
At Sea
I used today’s sea time to finalize everything for Dublin and Kilmainham jail. It got more complicated as Dublin is a tender port for us, after all. We, the Shore Excursions Manager and I, had been hoping for a dock, and had been told we were getting it, but – not to be. So everything had to be tightened up. I adjusted the Newsletter accordingly and got the thing out.
It’s Dutch Kings Day, so it was Dutch high tea, which doesn’t look much different from English but did surprise the guests.
It was also Wells Wescott’s 86th Birthday Party day, so here he is in the Pinnacle in Orange
For the Orange Party with the Crew after dinner, I had an orange dress and fascinator, but never got a picture. That’s Cristel on the far left.
Friday, April 28, 2023
Portree, Scotland
Portree is a tender port, with a floating platform, steps down, yada, yada, and the weather wasn’t so hot, so I took another work day. I needed to get started on arrangements for my next trip.
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Oban, Scotland
Oban is another charming Scottish town that you reach by a not-so-charming tender – read lifeboat. And it had Scottish weather, cold and wet. Plus, tomorrow was Dublin and I wanted to be very sure everything would be perfect for that. So, I stayed in. One of the things I did, was point my phone at my trophy display: I thought they were fun.
I also got a great email from a Napa friend, who is writing her diary from the Seabourn Sojourn. It contained this gem: “The first item under activities on the daily news sheet on 4.1 was: -“Nude trampoline exercises for the over 70s to be held in the retreat area of the spa. After thinking that that would definitely not be a pretty sight, we remembered the date!” She didn’t include a picture, though. Methinks I am on the wrong ship. They are having a lot more fun than we are.
Dinner was a treat. We had the comedian, Sid Davis for a guest. The entertainment was good after dinner, too. It was Jonathan Johnston, Irish personality, Musical entertainer.
Sunday, April 30, 2023
Dun Laoghaire (Dunleary), Ireland
Port for Dublin
The weather was better in Dublin for our big day. I got up and out early, but not before someone had checked in sick with a cold, which was later tested and found to be COVID. I didn’t know it then, but had tested myself as a precaution before leading a tour. Everybody checked in on time, bless them, including our sparkling Addy. When we got to the bus, Peggy told me that Vicky had stayed behind with Addy, who had been whisked off to the Medical center, after feeling faint and nauseous. I had been so busy checking everyone else in, that I hadn’t noticed what had to have been happening not 20 feet away. Good on Vicky. That was very sweet of her to step up to the plate.
In the end, 58 people came on the tour, which was excellent. Both of the tour guides received high praise from the participants. All Irish tour guides are fabulous. It’s a nation of tour guides. Every Irish person is well-educated and steeped in Irish history, from the cradle. You can’t be going wrong, now. Ireland also made a disproportionate contribution to Irish literature. That was discussed, too. And we stopped by this whimsical statue of Oscar Wilde, who was born in Ireland, but not happy about it. Don’t miss it if you go, now.
Our tour ended with an Irish music and dance show in the Arlington Hotel, on the river Liffey. There we were met by my old high-school and later, friend, Mary. I include this selfie for a few of you who have had the pleasure of meeting her. It’s still, and always will be, a great pleasure.
I am not all that good with selfies. Sorry about that.
After the show, the people who hadn’t signed up for Kilmainham Gaol, went back to the ship in the buses, and those who had, went upstairs for a good pub lunch. I had a steak and Guinness pie. Lovely, now.
At 2:25pm, the bus I had hired separately picked the 27 of us up and took us to jail, without passing “GO” or any of that. Mary had vouched for the fact that it is the best tour in Ireland, and I truly believe it or I wouldn’t have tee’d it up. It’s quite moving and a lot of us have Irish roots. I got a lot of good comments on it.
Back on the ship, after dinner, there was another River Dancing demonstration. You gotta love it.
Monday, May 1, 2023
Cobh, Ireland
I found out early that Addy had gone off the ship for medical evaluation and the faithful Vicky had accompanied her. When they came back, without having been able to get the cat-scan required because it was a public holiday, I assured Vicky that I would take the next shift. She should not be ruining her vacation for someone she had just met on the cruise. They are both part of about six single women who hang together a lot. I am part of the group now and then, too.
I went out in Cobh with Nona and Lenora. There was a lot to do, very near the ship, and we did a lot of it. First there was a fair, where I purchased an Aran sweater tea cozy and a home-made gluten-free carrot cake for my 4PM breakfasts. It was this kind of a fair:
Check the horse shoes.
Cobh was the port from which most of the Irish sailed who were coming to North America. There is an extensive heritage museum right near the ship and the Titanic Museum in the very offices if the White Star Line, which owned and operated her. We decided to tour that. The ticket was very interesting. We each got a replica of one belonging to a real passenger, and inside, after the tour, we would be able to access the record of what had happened to our person. We had a little time before our time slot and spent it, of course, in the shop. There they were selling 4-quid bookmarks and I was sucker enough to buy one. It had part of my passenger’s story on it, you see. She had survived and only died in 1944, the year I was born. I was convinced I was the re-incarnated Nora Keane:
Well, I’m not, because she lasted until December of ’44 and I was born in October. So much for that. I’ll use the bookmark, though. There was a lot of information on the ship herself and how she sunk, who rescued the passengers and why more of them weren’t rescued. It was very interesting and monumentally sad, but I can recommend it.
It was a cold, sunny day, which meant you could eat and drink outside if you could find a table in the sun. The pub with the live music was full, but we found a coffee shop across the street next to a place that sold beer, so Nona got her beer and I got my hot chocolate and a pastry to break my fast. It was a very good day.
Dinner was good and we had another fine production show, “Rockin’ Roadhouse”.
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
At Sea
Luggage Forwarding are on board and everyone has a zillion questions. So I got ahead of it and got most of the answers to help my people. Many people treat a world cruise like a second home. They don’t pack lightly. They bring most of their clothes and a lot of other stuff, too. It is four-and-a-half months, after all. Even I checked a bag and will have two on the way home, because of my trophies and all. But I don’t deal with Luggage Forwarding. It was a day full of baggage questions, though.
I made a bunch of birthday cards, and got out a Newsletter because I had a Distinctive Speaker tomorrow. The entertainment was nothing short of weird. You were to wear your jammies to the pool, where stories would be told “Once upon a time…” I had a little look at it and retired to my cabin to read my book.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
A Sea
I spent from 9am to 10am in Medical with Addy, making sure we had an appointment for her cat scan tomorrow in the Azores. There was not to be a repeat of the day in Cobh, where Addy and Vicky taxied all around the place and never found one. My COVID patient is still feeling badly and has a really sore throat. I had some Strepfen in my pharmacy and she pronounced it way better than what the Medical Center had given her (Strepcils). I’ll get more of that.
Pat sanders gave his Distinctive Speaker talk to a full house. It was excellent. Just to give you an idea of the kind of talent you find in a DV group:
Pat Sanders learned how to survey underwater with the US Naval Oceanographic Office. In 1985 he formed HYPACK to provide PC-based mapping and search software to oceanographers and hydrographers. HYPACK® is commonly used to maintain shipping and boating lanes at specified depths to ensure safe passage of marine vessels. It provides hydrographic surveyors with the needed tools needed to design their survey, collect, and process data, and present it in a variety of output formats. After several unsuccessful attempts by others, over the years, since the Titanic sunk in 1912, it was finally located by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, using HYPACK software. Pat was president of the company from 1985 to 2015, when he sold the company and retired. He has served as President of the Hydrographic Society of America and was elected to the Hydrographer Hall of Fame in 2018.
His presentation looked at the tools used in searching underwater for hazards to navigation, shipwrecks, cars, etc. It explained how they found the Titanic and looked at some items found for a NOVA TV special on surveying wrecks from the D-Day invasion. He even told us what happened to Malaysian Airlines flight 370.
The show was Jim David, a pretty good comedian.
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Ponta Delgada, Portugal – The Azores
Addy and I were up and out at 9am and off to the Hospital Internacional dos Açores. It is a very nice facility, all that you would want a hospital to be. It took until about one-thirty, but we got the scan and the doctor’s evaluation, everything but the bill. We were told it was being taken care of by the ship and she would pay them. The driver reappeared to take us back to the ship but Addy wanted to go shopping. I haven’t told you. She’s 88 and rides a scooter but she’s the hippest cat on the ship. So, we had ourselves let off downtown, had lunch and went shopping. It was fun and we needed that.
When we got back on board the documents staff were waiting for us. It seemed like we had skipped out on the bill and would have to go back to the hospital and pay it. Neither of us wanted anything to do with that. So, we stood out ground, saying we had offered before we left the hospital and they would have to find a way to get the bill to the ship, where Addy could sign it onto her ship-board account and the ship could pay it. It took another three or four hours, but we weren’t sailing until 11pm, so it did get done in time.
The entertainment was a movie called “80 for Brady”. Since I am not into sports films, I passed. If they had advertised the cast I would have gone. I heard it was good it starred:
- Lily Tomlin, 83
- Jane Fonda, 85
- Rita Moreno, 91
- Sally Field, 76
- Tom Brady, 45
I’ll have to find it on Netflix some day.
2023 – 4 – Grand World 4.4 of 5 More Europe – Scotland and Ireland
Thursday, April 27, 2023
At Sea
I used today’s sea time to finalize everything for Dublin and Kilmainham jail. It got more complicated as Dublin is a tender port for us, after all. We, the Shore Excursions Manager and I, had been hoping for a dock, and had been told we were getting it, but – not to be. So everything had to be tightened up. I adjusted the Newsletter accordingly and got the thing out.
It’s Dutch Kings Day, so it was Dutch high tea, which doesn’t look much different from English but did surprise Patrick Sanders.
It was also Wells Wescott’s 86th Birthday Party day, so here he is in the Pinnacle in Orange
For the Orange Party with the Crew after dinner, I had an orange dress and fascinator, but never got a picture. That’s Cristel on the far left.
Friday, April 28, 2023
Portree, Scotland
Portree is a tender port, with a floating platform, steps down, yada, yada, and the weather wasn’t so hot, so I took another work day. I needed to get started on arrangements for my next trip.
The entertainment was a film “Wild Mountain Thyme”. The description went: A pair of star-crossed lovers in Ireland get caught up in their family’s land dispute”. I even question the validity of the grammar in that, unless they were first cousins or something.
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Oban, Scotland
Oban is another charming Scottish town that you reach by a not-so-charming tender – read lifeboat. And it had Scottish weather, cold and wet. Plus, tomorrow was Dublin and I wanted to be very sure everything would be perfect for that. So, I stayed in. One of the things I did, was point my phone at my trophy display: I thought they were fun.
I also got a great email from a Napa friend, who is writing her diary from the Seabourn Sojourn. It contained this gem: “The first item under activities on the daily news sheet on 4.1 was: -“Nude trampoline exercises for the over 70s to be held in the retreat area of the spa. After thinking that that would definitely not be a pretty sight, we remembered the date!” She didn’t include a picture, though. Methinks I am on the wrong ship. They are having a lot more fun than we are.
Dinner was a treat. We had the comedian, Sid Davis for a guest. The entertainment was good after dinner, too. It was Jonathan Johnston, Irish personality, Musical entertainer.
Sunday, April 30, 2023
Dun Laoghaire (Dunleary), Ireland
Port for Dublin
The weather was better in Dublin for our big day. I got up and out early, but not before someone had checked in sick with a cold, which was later tested and found to be COVID. I didn’t know it then, but had tested myself as a precaution before leading a tour. Everybody checked in on time, bless them, including our sparkling Addy. When we got to the bus, Peggy told me that Vicky had stayed behind with Addy, who had been whisked off to the Medical center, after feeling faint and nauseous. I had been so busy checking everyone else in, that I hadn’t noticed what had to have been happening not 20 feet away. Good on Vicky. That was very sweet of her to step up to the plate.
In the end, 58 people came on the tour, which was excellent. Both of the tour guides received high praise from the participants. All Irish tour guides are fabulous. It’s a nation of tour guides. Every Irish person is well-educated and steeped in Irish history, from the cradle. You can’t be going wrong, now. Ireland also made a disproportionate contribution to Irish literature. That was discussed, too. And we stopped by this whimsical statue of Oscar Wilde, who was born in Ireland, but not happy about it. Don’t miss it if you go, now.
Our tour ended with an Irish music and dance show in the Arlington Hotel, on the river Liffey. There we were met by my old high-school and later, friend, Mary. I include this selfie for a few of you who have had the pleasure of meeting her. It’s still, and always will be, a great pleasure.
I am not all that good with selfies. Sorry about that.
After the show, the people who hadn’t signed up for Kilmainham Gaol, went back to the ship in the buses, and those who had, went upstairs for a good pub lunch. I had a steak and Guinness pie. Lovely, now.
At 2:25pm, the bus I had hired separately picked the 27 of us up and took us to jail, without passing “GO” or any of that. Mary had vouched for the fact that it is the best tour in Ireland, and I truly believe it or I wouldn’t have tee’d it up. It’s quite moving and a lot of us have Irish roots. I got a lot of good comments on it.
Back on the ship, after dinner, there was another River Dancing demonstration. You gotta love it.
Monday, May 1, 2023
Cobh, Ireland
I found out early that Addy had gone off the ship for medical evaluation and the faithful Vicky had accompanied her. When they came back, without having been able to get the cat-scan required because it was a public holiday, I assured Vicky that I would take the next shift. She should not be ruining her vacation for someone she had just met on the cruise. They are both part of about six single women who hang together a lot. I am part of the group now and then, too.
I went out in Cobh with Nona and Lenora. There was a lot to do, very near the ship, and we did a lot of it. First there was a fair, where I purchased an Aran sweater tea cozy and a home-made gluten-free carrot cake for my 4PM breakfasts. It was this kind of a fair:
Check the horse shoes.
Cobh was the port from which most of the Irish sailed who were coming to North America. There is an extensive heritage museum right near the ship and the Titanic Museum in the very offices if the White Star Line, which owned and operated her. We decided to tour that. The ticket was very interesting. We each got a replica of one belonging to a real passenger, and inside, after the tour, we would be able to access the record of what had happened to our person. We had a little time before our time slot and spent it, of course, in the shop. There they were selling 4-quid bookmarks and I was sucker enough to buy one. It had part of my passenger’s story on it, you see. She had survived and only died in 1944, the year I was born. I was convinced I was the re-incarnated Nora Keane:
Well, I’m not, because she lasted until December of ’44 and I was born in October. So much for that. I’ll use the bookmark, though. There was a lot of information on the ship herself and how she sunk, who rescued the passengers and why more of them weren’t rescued. It was very interesting and monumentally sad, but I can recommend it.
It was a cold, sunny day, which meant you could eat and drink outside if you could find a table in the sun. The pub with the live music was full, but we found a coffee shop across the street next to a place that sold beer, so Nona got her beer and I got my hot chocolate and a pastry to break my fast. It was a very good day.
Dinner was good and we had another fine production show, “Rockin’ Roadhouse”.
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
At Sea
Luggage Forwarding are on board and everyone has a zillion questions. So I got ahead of it and got most of the answers to help my people. Many people treat a world cruise like a second home. They don’t pack lightly. They bring most of their clothes and a lot of other stuff, too. It is four-and-a-half months, after all. Even I checked a bag and will have two on the way home, because of my trophies and all. But I don’t deal with Luggage Forwarding. It was a day full of baggage questions, though.
I made a bunch of birthday cards, and got out a Newsletter because I had a Distinctive Speaker tomorrow. The entertainment was nothing short of weird. You were to wear your jammies to the pool, where stories would be told “Once upon a time…” I had a little look at it and retired to my cabin to read my book.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
A Sea
I spent from 9am to 10am in Medical with Addy, making sure we had an appointment for her cat scan tomorrow in the Azores. There was not to be a repeat of the day in Cobh, where Addy and Vicky taxied all around the place and never found one. My COVID patient is still feeling badly and has a really sore throat. I had some Strepfen in my pharmacy and she pronounced it way better than what the Medical Center had given her (Strepcils). I’ll get more of that.
Pat sanders gave his Distinctive Speaker talk to a full house. It was excellent. Just to give you an idea of the kind of talent you find in a DV group:
Pat Sanders learned how to survey underwater with the US Naval Oceanographic Office. In 1985 he formed HYPACK to provide PC-based mapping and search software to oceanographers and hydrographers. HYPACK® is commonly used to maintain shipping and boating lanes at specified depths to ensure safe passage of marine vessels. It provides hydrographic surveyors with the needed tools needed to design their survey, collect, and process data, and present it in a variety of output formats. After several unsuccessful attempts by others, over the years, since the Titanic sunk in 1912, it was finally located by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, using HYPACK software. Pat was president of the company from 1985 to 2015, when he sold the company and retired. He has served as President of the Hydrographic Society of America and was elected to the Hydrographer Hall of Fame in 2018.
His presentation looked at the tools used in searching underwater for hazards to navigation, shipwrecks, cars, etc. It explained how they found the Titanic and looked at some items found for a NOVA TV special on surveying wrecks from the D-Day invasion. He even told us what happened to Malaysian Airlines flight 370.
The show was Jim David, a pretty good comedian.
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Ponta Delgada, Portugal – The Azores
Addy and I were up and out at 9am and off to the Hospital Internacional dos Açores. It is a very nice facility, all that you would want a hospital to be. It took until about one-thirty, but we got the scan and the doctor’s evaluation, everything but the bill. We were told it was being taken care of by the ship and she would pay them. The driver reappeared to take us back to the ship but Addy wanted to go shopping. I haven’t told you. She’s 88 and rides a scooter but she’s the hippest cat on the ship. So, we had ourselves let off downtown, had lunch and went shopping. It was fun and we needed that.
When we got back on board the documents staff were waiting for us. It seemed like we had skipped out on the bill and would have to go back to the hospital and pay it. Neither of us wanted anything to do with that. So, we stood out ground, saying we had offered before we left the hospital and they would have to find a way to get the bill to the ship, where Addy could sign it onto her ship-board account and the ship could pay it. It took another three or four hours, but we weren’t sailing until 11pm, so it did get done in time.
The entertainment was a movie called “80 for Brady”. Since I am not into sports films, I passed. If they had advertised the cast I would have gone. I heard it was good it starred:
- Lily Tomlin, 83
- Jane Fonda, 85
- Rita Moreno, 91
- Sally Field, 76
- Tom Brady, 45
I’ll have to find it on Netflix some day.
Helen Megan 