ALWAYS FIND TIME FOR THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY TO BE ALIVE
Southampton, England
Cobh (Cork), Ireland
Dun Laoghaire (Dublin), Ireland
Belfast, Ireland
Liverpool, England
Greenock (Glasgow), Scotland
Invergordon (Inverness), Scotland
Queensferry (Edinburgh), Scotland
La Havre, France
It's been a long time since Lady and The Pirate had such an adventure packed cruise as they experienced on this British Isles cruise. With eight ports of call plus a full day to take in Southampton, England, they enjoyed beautiful castles, macabre medieval tales of battles and strife, new friends, tasty beverages and even tried their first haggis. Yum!!! There's a lot to share, so come along as the Pirate takes you on a two week journey to the old country...
Southampton: The Moxy Hotel, a walk around the port area, and a tasty pint at the Duke of Wellington.
After a 9+ hour flight from their home in Las Vegas to Heathrow Airport in London, England, Lady and The Pirate climbed inside a Pink Berry Cars Taxi and headed for Southampton for two nights in The Moxy hotel. They stayed in London on their first cruise out of Southampton, but wanted to familiarize themselves with the port city of Southampton this time in preparation for future extended stays while cruising out of the port to other destinations. The Moxy provides almost instant access to Westquay Mall and close proximity to many pubs and activities for tourists. Seeing that Lady and The Pirate would need a place to hang out on rainy days in the south of England while they waited on another cruise, right next door to a mall seemed ideal. Westquay is a huge mall with a lot of restaurants and good walking to work off those pints of beer and fish and chips.
After a good night's rest at The Moxy, Lady and The Pirate headed out for a full day of exploring the area one day prior to the cruise. It wasn't long before they walked the mall, discovered a great deal of history in their exploration and even opened a pub, the Duke of Wellington. Downing their first pint, Lady and The Pirate made for Dancing Man Brewery for another pint, and even ventured back to "The Duke" for lunch, fish and chips and a meat pie. One of the pics below is in "The Duke" and is Bartender Tristan serving Lady and The Pirate another pint with local regular Keith photobombing them from the bar. Tristan was a wealth of knowledge on the local history. After some more discovery, Lady and The Pirate made their way back to The Moxy and even joined some new friends at "The Duke" for dinner. It was a perfect weather day. In fact, to their astonishment, it never rained the entire cruise. It was quite a different story from the previous group that did the same cruise. They missed four ports due to terrible weather. Another night at The Moxy and it was off to the ship the next day for Lady and The Pirate.
The Ship:
Every cruise ship has pros and cons, but Regal Princess had a lot more pros than cons. Let's start with all the things Lady and The Pirate loved about the ship. Regal is fairly new and she showed no signs of ware. The crew always tops the list of pros and Regal had outstanding crew. From Jacinta and Newton in the Wheelhouse Bar to Randy, our cabin steward and Francis in Crown Grill, the crew's service was over the top. On port heavy cruises, Lady and The Pirate generally hang out a lot at the bars and solo entertainer venues because they are just so tired and want to relax. Emma Sundvik was the ship's piano entertainer and Lady and The Pirate rarely missed a song she did. Besides that, both Lady and The Pirate performed a lot of karaoke and The Pirate was runner up in Princess' Voice of The Ocean. Lady and The Pirate never made it to the theatre shows but heard they were all fantastic. They did catch one comedian early on and he was very funny. Besides the crew and the entertainers being pros, the specialty restaurants were absolutely some of the best food Lady and The Pirate have had at sea. Both Crown Grill and Sabatini's shined along with Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar. Lady thought the food in the buffet was to her liking, but The Pirate found the selections and quality dwindled as the cruise progressed. Neither of them thought the main dining room was to their liking. The only con that really stuck out to both Lady and The Pirate was that it seemed at times that organization around port disembarkations and embarkations seemed a little confusing. As to their cabin, both Lady and The Pirate thought the bed was very comfortable and the cabin spacious. The Pirate only likes the newer Princess ships because they have spacious showers with hand wands.
Cobh (pronounced "cove"), Ireland: The Pirate's Birthday, Blarney Castle, the Titanic Experience, and some Dead South.
Cobh and Cork in Ireland would be the first of many ports that Lady and The Pirate would find themselves saying the same thing at the end..."We have got to come back here." Blarney Castle was the planned excursion, but Cobh was the pleasant surprise. If your cruising plans include this port, you really don't need an excursion. You'll find everything you need to see, do, and enjoy the day right next to the ship. Lady and The Pirate began their day venturing off to Blarney Castle for a chance to kiss the Blarney Stone. That plan was soon quashed as The Pirate ran into a 4 hour long line. But not all was lost. The castle from the outside was spectacular and a great time was had by all as Lady and The Pirate opened another pub...Christys Bar!
But Cobh is where Lady and The Pirate ended their day and it more than made up for not kissing the stone. Quays Bar provided some tasty beverages along with fish and chips, and the Titanic Experience is not to be missed. Although much smaller than the Titanic Museum in Belfast, it is still very much worth your time. They give you a ticket when you enter of an actual person that boarded the doomed vessel right there in Cobh. At the end, you find out if you lived or died. Lady's person lived. The Pirate's person died. Below you'll find a pic of The Pirate's person. The street was vibrant as Lady and The Pirate made their way back to the ship. It was alive with the sound of a solo guitarist cranking out Dead South's "In Hell, I'll Be In Good Company". Pints were being poured and the scene was surreal. It was a perfect day to be in Ireland.
Dun Laoghaire, Ireland (port for Dublin)
Dublin, Ireland has a rich history begun by Vikings and considered a vibrant port, the largest city, and the capital of the Republic of Ireland. As a lover of Stout Beers, it was a no-brainer that The Pirate would convince Lady to spend their time at the Guinness Storehouse and Brewery, home of Guinness Beer. Quite a lot of literary greats came from Ireland and Dublin in particular. During their excursion, Lady and The Pirate got to learn a great deal about one of them, Oscar Wilde, whom grew up and was educated in Dublin. The Pirate appreciates Wilde's quotes. Some of these are: "The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame." And..."You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit." And, finally..."Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing." The Pirate believes he would have liked Oscar Wilde.
The Guinness Brewery was a lot of fun for Lady and The Pirate. The bicycle riding fish was pretty cool and the other sculptures a blast as well. The tour allows you to see how the beer is created but the real fun is the pint, or two, you get at the top where you can spend your time with a 360 degree view of Dublin.
Belfast, Ireland
The excursion Lady and The Pirate took in Belfast was called The Best of Belfast, but honestly, they could have labeled it The Worst of Belfast. Not that the excursion was bad. Honestly, it could have been one of the most impactful and fantastic excursions Lady and The Pirate ever had. But the highlights of the day all centered around some of the worst, most macabre, and disastrous things that either came out of Belfast, Ireland or happened in Belfast. It was most certainly an excursion with death as a central theme. There is little doubt that Belfast has seen some strife through its years.
Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland, the Ireland that still associates itself as part of the United Kingdom and therefore a part of Brexit and also using the British Pound as currency. Religion still plays a great role in Irish division, especially in Northern Ireland where Protestants and Catholics do their best to get along. A quick history lesson awaits on Belfast, Ireland's Wikipedia page.
Liverpool, England
Greenock, Scotland (port for Glasgow)
Invergordon, Scotland (port for Inverness)
Queensferry, Scotland (port for Edinburgh)
La Havre, France (Lady and The Pirate skipped this port to take a restful day on a relatively empty ship)
Notes on this cruise:
Note 1.
Note 2.
Southampton, England
The Ship: Regal Princess
Cohb, Ireland (Cork)
Dublin, Ireland
Belfast, Ireland
