British Isles with European Delivery Pre-Trip

[keighttf]

9/4/18 Cobh, Ireland (Continued)

Lunch also included vegetable soup, chicken with potatoes and vegetables, apple pie, and a pint of Guinness. That is actually my DH's. My DMIL got wine!



There was a small shop there where DMIL did some shopping and almost missed the bus! There were other tour groups there including one of Rick Steves groups which we thought was neat since we use his guide books and audio tours a lot when we travel.
Then we got back on the bus for a drive to Cahir Castle.



We had a guided tour by one of the local castle tour guides.
We saw the holes they could pour hot oil onto intruders above the doors.



This castle was much more intact than the other one we saw.



There were still cannonballs in the side of the castle from old attacks.



After that we had a little free time in the town. We went to the TI for free maps and they had free postcards too. We also went across the street to the pub where DH and DMIL learned how to "pour the perfect pint" of Guinness.



I stopped and got a hot chololate at a nearby cafe and then we got back on the bus. On the trip back to the port we listened to Irish music. I also read a book and DH listened to an audio book.
We got back on board and DH and I relaxed in the room some while DMIL explored the deck.
There were hundreds of locals who came to the port to see the ship off.



Our dinner that night was in Lumiere's.



To drink DH had coffee and chocolate milk, DMIL also had chocolate milk and coke, and I had a coke.
To eat DH had the iced lobster and jumbo shrimp, salad, and the chateaubriand roasted filet steak. DMIL had a pierogi dish, salad, french onion soup, and the chateaubriand roasted filet steak. I had the french onion soup, farmhouse salad, and chateaubriand roasted filet steak.
For dessert DMIL and I had the tahitian vanilla creme brûlée. I also had the grand marnier soufflé. DH had a berry pudding cake.
After dinner we checked out the ugly duckling takeover in O'Gills and then looked in the shops. DMIL bought an Animator's Palate butter knife. Then we relaxed in the room.

 

[keighttf]

9/5/18 Dublin, Ireland

We of course started the morning with room service breakfast including croissants, cereal, juices, and coffee. And of course watched the good morning Disney Magic show on TV. Then we were off to Dublin. We choose to not do a port excursion today and had our own plans.
We first took the free cruise/port sponsored shuttle into the city center. We stopped at a bakery and DH and DMIL got coffees and DMIL got a jelly cookie. We then headed to Trinity College.



This was our first stop on a gps audio walking tour that we had previously downloaded and was our plan for the day. DH had done a great deal of research beforehand on how we could all listen to the audio tour at once and ended up with a system of DH's phone, two splitters, a phone dongle, headphones, a bluetooth device, and two sets of wireless headphones.
They were having a club fair at the college and there were a lot of students out and about. Trinity College is where the book of Kells is but we didn't go see it. There was a large line.
We then stopped at a sweater shop down the street.



DMIL bought me a green sweater jacket. She also bought herself a sweater and two scarfs for her aunts. She had them shipped to her house so we didn't have to carry them that day or back in luggage.
With our audio tour we then walked by many places including Merrion Square. We then went in the natural history museum.



We learned about some native Irish animals. This was not a planned stop but we discovered it through the audio tour and it had free admission.
After that we walked by St. Stephen's Green and then went to the pedestrian street, Grafton Street.



We went to the Disney store were they had some nice merchandise that said Dublin on it. We got a mug and a notebook and DMIL got a mug, notebooks, some bags.
DMIL also went in a souvenir store across the street and got some pins and looked around jewelry store.
We used the free wifi at the Burger King down the street, but didn't go in.
For lunch we went to Bewley's. It was delicious.



DH had a poached egg and avocado open sandwich and a cappuccino. DMIL had zucchini soup and a scone and I had carrot soup and a scone.
While there we charged up our audio devices with our power banks.
Then we were off to continue our audio tour.



We made our way to St. Patrick's Cathedral and spotted some clovers in the lawn.



DMIL went inside the cathedral.



After that while continuing our walking tour we happened to see our tour guide from the day before, Roger, at a stop light. He was leading a group in Dublin from our ship that day. We then went by Christ Church Cathedral on our way to Temple Bar area. My DH had previously see a web cam on Earth Cam app which is set up there and we figured out how to get on the camera.



After which we made our way over the river Liffey on the Ha'penny bridge.

 

[keighttf]

9/5/18 Dublin, Ireland (Continued)

After crossing the river we continued on our audio tour but made a brief stop at a chocolate shop where I got a cold hot chocolate which came with a chocolate on the side. It was delicious! We next stopped in a sporting goods store where DMIL got a Irish jersey for her nephew.



The big surprise was that they had Pittsburgh Steelers gear. My DMIL and DH are from Pittsburgh and DMIL still lives there so they were excited to see that.
We continued on the tour past the spire.



We stopped at the general post office where DMIL got post card stamps.



There are still bullet holes in the outside of the post office from the Irish rebellion!
We proceeded along the river and saw statutes in remembrance of the famine.



Then we walked back to the port.



We saw many people with Disney store bags in line to get back on the ship. It was clearly a popular stop. I'm not sure why they don't offer that merchandise onboard.
After boarding we relaxed on deck 4 for a bit.



The Irish musicians we had heard the other day were planning in the lobby today so we listened to them on our way to Animator's Palate for dinner.



It was the frozen themed menu tonight.



For dinner I had the Anderson's Baby Field Greens and the Kristoff's Rosemary Marinated Strip Loin with a coke to drink. DH had the Duke of Weselton's Favorites, the Anderson's Baby Field Greens, and Kristoff's Marinated Strip Loin. DMIL had the Anderson's Baby Field Greens and the Han's Juniper Marinated Pork Tenderloin.




For dessert DH had the Oaken Warm Apple Pudding Cake and a coffee. I had Elsa's Raspberry and Chocolate Tart and the Norwegian Pancakes. DMIL also had Elsa's Raspberry and Chocolate Tart.
After finishing dinner we played music trivia in O'Gills. We did much better with DMIL on our team than we do on own own. Matt from the UK was the adult club host. He was pretty good, better than the host on our previous cruise.
We then relaxed in the room and played Uno Attack. DMIL won one game and I won the other.

 

[keighttf]

9/6/18 Grenock, Scotland

We again started the day with a room service breakfast of croissants, cereal, juice, donuts, and coffee.
We met early in the D lounge for our excursion, Panoramic Scottish Lochs.
It was a little chilly so I wore the sweater DMIL bought for me the day before in Dublin.



We first stopped in the village of Luss on Loch Lomond.



It was a quant old village.



We then drove through the Agyll Forest, part of the national park and stopped for scenic pictures.



We traveled by additional lochs and then took the car/bus ferry across the water to the cruise terminal.



My DMIL thought this was the classic Scottish man.
We went back on board for lunch at Lumiere's.
I had chicken tenders and lemon meringue pie with coke. DH had romaine leaf salad, steak frites, and coffee. DMIL had romaine leaf salad, fettuccini pasta, and coffee.
We had our sever from our last Mediterranean cruise!
We then headed out on foot through Greenock. It wasn't a huge town.
We walked by a kilt store and then through a small mall.



We then went to the Tesco grocery store and explored. At first my DMIL thought it was a little weird we wanted to go to the grocery store but soon realized it was neat to explore the differences. DH and I do this often when traveling.



We got a variety of biscuits/digestives, some strongbow, and some other drinks.



We then walked back to the ship and got a room service snack of the all hands on deck cheese platter and lemonade.

 

[keighttf]

9/6/18 Grenock, Scotland (Continued)

Dinner that night was in Palo!
The bread and antipasto, especially my favorite the parmesan cheese, was excellent as usual.



DH and I had coke to drink and DMIL had a glass of wine.
For the appetizer our waiter brought me a salad (I hadn't ordered anything because I knew I would be too full with the rest of the meal), DH had the fritto de calamari e gamberi, and DMIL had the tomato mozzarella caprese salad.



This was followed by the palate cleanser.
For the main course we all had the grilled prime beef tenderloin with the wine sauce and gorgonzola cheese sauces.



There was also a fresh fish special which we got to share. DH and DMIL enjoyed the fish. The beet risotto that came with it was also delicious.
For dessert the waiter brought us out palo's homemade tiramisu and limoncello tart to share.



DMIL also got the amaretto soufflé.



DH and I both got the chocolate soufflé. Which was as good as ever!



We enjoyed the after dinner "shot" and then spent the rest of the evening in our room.

 

[ThePies]

I'm loving your posts! I would love to visit Great Britain and Ireland someday. I chuckled at the "no yoga" sign

 

[buteraa]

Following along.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Thanks so much for sharing. Looking for tips for our British Isle 2022 cruise. I had not thought about using a gps walking tour guide. Which one did you use?

 

[keighttf]

Thank you for starting your report!!! Can’t wait to read the rest!

Hopefully I’ll get the last few posts up soon.

I'm loving your posts! I would love to visit Great Britain and Ireland someday. I chuckled at the "no yoga" sign

You should absolutely make it a priority! I love traveling everywhere but it is neat to go somewhere where they also speak English. You can pick up more on the less obvious cultural differences.

Following along.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks so much for sharing. Looking for tips for our British Isle 2022 cruise. I had not thought about using a gps walking tour guide. Which one did you use?

We love audio tours to go at our own pace and not be part of a large group.
We use the Rick Steve’s audio Europe tours when available. They are free and not gps but have good maps and are timed to play at the right time if you walk the map.
For Dublin we used pocket guide audio travel guide. We have used it in other cities like Helsinki on our Northern Europe cruise as well. They are fairly inexpensive and the gps works well. You can use them without cell service if downloaded in advance too.
Some cities have their own app too through their visitor center or similar. We have used these in Montreal and Tallinn.
That’s so excited you have a cruise planned.
Feel free to ask any other questions.

 

[Sailorsgirl]

OMG I am so glad I fumbled across this . . thank you for sharing. My adult daughter and I are booked for the 9/11/22 British Isle cruise. we have never been to Europe and are so excited . . praying all will be good with the pandemic and all by then.

 

[oufpat]

Thanks for sharing, my DH and I did this cruise in 2019. We enjoyed it so much we re-booked for 2021 and that was cancelled. Re-booked for 9/11/22 and really looking forward to it!

 

[keighttf]

9/7/18 Liverpool, England

We slept in a little today and then started the day with a room service breakfast of bagels, croissants, donuts, cereal, juice, and coffee.



We then got off the ship and wandered around the port area.





We stopped at the Costa and got lattes for DH and DMIL and a hot chocolate for me.



The area was very nice.
We then walked over to the Liverpool One shopping center and went to the Disney store and the North Face store. We didn't get anything but the North Face store did have Liverpool shirts. We went to the Liverpool "football" store and DH got a jacket and DMIL got a shirt from the sports store across the walkway.



We headed back to the ship but first stopped at the Beatles' statues for pictures.



We got back on board and grabbed a lunch on deck of coke, chicken fingers, gyros, fries, sausage, and fruit.



Our meeting spot for our port adventure was in Fathoms. We took the port adventure In the Steps of the Beetles.
Our first stop was A Beatles Story at the Albert Dock.



It was a multimedia museum.

 

[keighttf]

9/7/18 Liverpool, England (Continued)



After that the port adventure continued with a bus drive around Liverpool seeing historical sights and the Beatles childhood homes and schools.



We walked down the street where the Carven Club is.



The tour also stopped at Penny Lane.



Back at the port DMIL did some more shopping. DH and I hung out in the room and had some Strongbow.



Dinner that night was in Lumiere's with one of the special menus. DH had a shrimp appetizer, salad, and sirloin steak. I had the oxtail soup and a sirloin steak. DMIL had a salad and a pork dish. For dessert I had the raspberry creme burlee and chocolate lava cake. DH had a coffee and russian honey cake. DMIL had the raspberry creme brulee.
We then went up on deck for a huge send off from the city of Liverpool. There were probably thousands of people on the dock and there was a fireworks show put on by the city of Liverpool.



That evening we went to the variety show "Just John and Paul" in Fathoms. They were a Beatles cover band and were very good. DMIL stayed in Fathoms for trivia and another show. DH and I went to the shops and bought DCL luggage! I had been looking at them for a long time and we had a tentative plan when we were packing for this trip to buy one to have an extra bag on the return trip. We then relaxed in the room for the rest of the evening.

 

[shananigans]

9/1/18 London, England (Continued)

After that we wondered around a Boots and went to a Tesco express to get a drink and Walker's crisps. Which we ate while strolling though St. James Park.

View attachment 585323

We walked to Buckingham Palace.

View attachment 585324

And of course took a lot of pictures.

View attachment 585325

View attachment 585327

After that we walked to Harrods. It was actually a long walk. The store is massive with everything imaginable.

View attachment 585328

We walked though the food hall.

View attachment 585329

Then ended up at a coffee shop, Egypt themed. DH had a spiced coffee and I had a water.

View attachment 585330

After that DMIL and I did some shopping. We wondered around the Harrods souvenir shop and DMIL brought some postcards and tea towels. She also got some tea and biscuits. We then went to the electronics floor. Someone was buying a phone case that was $4000! They also had the sunglasses you can take pictures with. DH would love those.
We stopped at a Starbucks nearby and DH of course got a latte and then we took an Uber to the Disney store.

View attachment 585332

We got what is sold as a mirror but the back says Disney London on it and has a related drawing with London sights and Mickey and Minnie. We got it to put on our souvenir shelf. We discovered the city specific Disney store items on our Mediterranean cruise and they make great souvenirs for the related cruises. DMIL got a Disney London bag. The store had a large Mickey dressed as a London guard and a full size Cinderella carriage.
We then took an Uber Exec, another Mercedes, back to our hotel. We switched rooms because there was a wedding reception going on with a really loud music base. After that we went to a nearby pub and had a traditional dinner. DMIL and DH had fish and chips and I had bangers and mash.

View attachment 585333

DH had a pint, DMIL had some wine, and I had a coke.

View attachment 585334

After dinner we walked through the train station, conveniently connected to our hotel, stopping at M & S just food and a beer/wine store so DH could get some beer and DMIL could get some wine to take on the cruise. We also bought our train tickets to Dover for the next day!

Bangers and Mash is my FAV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are doing a British Isles cruise Sept 2023 and I am devouring this thread! Thank you for posting!

 

[LoveMickey]

We did the inaugural British Isles cruise, love seeing your adventures