cold seafood buffet | The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

After dinner, we all gathered in the Tiree Lounge for after dinner drinks and announcements by the captain. Our captain for this trip was the ever charming and frequently hilarious Trevor Bailey. This was the first time Bill and I had Captain Bailey at the helm and, I must admit, he made quite an impression. The first thing he did was tell us that thanks to Hurricane Irma, which by that time I thought had become history, was going to affect our itinerary. Yes, you read that right… a hurricane that hit Florida had ripple effects up in the British Isles.

Originally, we were supposed to visit Islay, a beautiful island in Scotland, on the way to Northern Ireland. However, because of the waves expected to be caused by Irma, Captain Bailey decided we would go straight to Northern Ireland. Although it’s hard to imagine a hurricane that struck my homeland was going to affect us in Scotland, I trust the captain’s judgment, especially since I do have a tendency to hurl on cruise ships when things get too rough. We went straight to Larne, Northern Ireland, but not before we hung out in the bar and got to know the staff on duty… notably Sergei and Toby, who made sure we had plenty of tipples to sustain us.

That first night I also happened to get the results of the genetic test Bill and I did with 23 and Me. I got mine, that is. Bill’s has to be redone because apparently they didn’t have enough genetic material from his sample. Anyway, my results were not too surprising. I’m pretty much 100% white.

And yes, I am very British.

In a way, it was pretty cool to be reading my results on Hebridean Princess. In another way, I really wished I could be at home looking at them on my iMac, since there’s so much information included and the ship’s Internet isn’t always reliable… although I will say that on this cruise, we had almost zero Internet issues whatsoever! I was even able to surf in the Internet in my cabin at the bottom of the ship, which has NEVER happened before. So I don’t know if work has been done to improve the Internet or if our proximity to Northern Ireland made it better for us. In any case, it was a mixed blessing. I spend too much time online, but then, I practically live online.

Here is a shot of our stateroom, named “Loch Harport”. It was on the opposite side of the ship our other cabins have been on. This is one of the “cheap” rooms, priced low because they are at the bottom of the ship and have no windows or portholes. They also only have a shower, while some of the posher rooms have bathtubs, although all bathrooms are outfitted with Molton Brown toiletries. Having been in all three “cheap” rooms, I have to say I think I like Loch Torridon the best… but next time we sail, I think we’ll move up a deck or two.

This time, I believe our cabin steward was a guy. He was very good at figuring out when we were not in the room and always had it tidy for us. He also left our decanter of whisky in the room and kept it topped up, which was much appreciated. Yes… every room gets a small decanter of whisky, at least on the first night. 😉

Anyway, it took all night to get to Larne. We woke to sunny skies and I got a few nice pictures.

Lovely rising sun…

Northern Irish coastline…

A memorial off the coast of Larne. Looks pretty phallic.

Pretty berries at breakfast our first morning. We had these every morning and they were so beautiful!

Once we were in Larne, we had a brief break to get out and walk to the town, such as it is. We had to be driven across the port in a car and I was immediately impressed by how very nice and friendly the folks at the port were. They gave us a very warm welcome to Northern Ireland and were kind enough to point out how to walk to the town closest to the port.

The cruise terminal.

I can’t say I was overly impressed by Larne itself, although the people were very nice. Here are a few pictures of the place.

Just a few feet away from this sign, I found a used condom…

Sorry, but I believe in truth in advertising. At least the guy was practicing safe sex, right?

Typical Northern Irish staples at the Tesco!

This sign made me smile.

For some reason, those flowers smelled rather “assy”.

That being said, Larne gave us access to a couple of attractions. We stayed docked at Larne for a couple of days, mainly so we could avoid very rough seas caused by Irma. After an incredible seafood buffet on Wednesday, we were off to Giant’s Causeway, which I understand is “Game of Thrones” territory. I am not a “Game of Thrones” fan, but Giant’s Causeway is a beautiful place. I will include pictures and a write up of our visit in my next post. For now, here are some pictures of the awesome cold seafood buffet, probably my favorite of all the lunches.

Every time I board the ship, the salmon is decorated in a different way.

David Indge, the fabulous purser doing what he does best!

Smoked salmon, shrimp, oysters, and smoked trout…

Salad and cold cuts…

I started with a little ham and split pea soup. I only ate half because I was so eager to get some of that fresh fish. I love seafood and miss it here in Germany.

Bill had a Spanish tortilla, which he really enjoyed.

This was a custard made with white wine… it was creamy and sinful.

And here is a stewed plum dessert for Bill. It was also delicious!

These two shots were taken in 2012. I am including them in this post because they are pretty and I didn’t have a travel blog back then… Sadly, the Scottish flag is now gone.

I was really excited to get to visit Sanda Island on our cruise. In 2012, Bill and I paid our first visit to this tiny, uninhabited island not far from the Northern Irish coast. I remember not being that excited about it that first time because it was really cold outside and I didn’t feel like walking around. I was so glad Bill convinced me to get off the ship, since we were treated to an up close and personal visit with several seals. Plus, Sanda Island is just plain beautiful. We weren’t sure if we’d be able to get to the island, since sea conditions are not always cooperative. Fortunately, we were able to see Sanda Island again on our most recent trip.

Sanda Island’s lighthouse from the top of a hill…

Sanda Island was recently sold, so there have been a few changes to the island. First off, there used to be a Scottish flag on the island. I noticed that it’s not there anymore. Also, there was a pile of discarded appliances that were supposed to be picked up by a vessel that had delivered a herd of deer to the island. Unfortunately, the appliances were left there. On the plus side, I did manage to spot the herd of deer as Bill and I hiked across the boggy island. I was really glad I’d brought my rubber LL Bean boots with me.

A natural bridge…

A seal was playing hide and seek with us…

Sanda Island is home to no one but sheep, deer, seals, birds, and whatever swims in the surrounding waters. I was very enchanted by our first encounter with seals in 2012 and hoped to see more on our most recent trip. I was not disappointed. I spotted the first seal when we reached the lighthouse, which is notable for its beauty as well as the adjacent natural bridge next to it. Four more seals appeared in another area nearby. They seemed to be as curious about us as we were about them, though they were terrible teases! They’d pop their heads out of the water, then do something interesting just as I put the camera down. I got a huge kick out of watching them.

Seals on the beach…

As we headed back to the ship, I looked over a cliffside and saw even more seals. They were lounging on the beach. I zoomed in as much as I could with my digital camera. As soon as I’m finished writing up this trip, I will make a video with the footage I shot of the seals. They really were fun to watch, especially since they were in their natural habitat.

No dogs allowed… 🙁

I never saw a bull. Wonder if this sign was bullshit?

At the end of our walk, there was a most welcome sight… The ship’s purser, Bobbie, had set up a table with cookies, coffee, tea, and whisky. Iain, the very handsome hotel manager from Islay who now lives in Mexico when he’s not working, handed me a cup of hot coffee spiked liberally with Bailey’s Irish Cream. It was so good after hiking in the cold, damp weather! Bill and I stood around chatting with a couple of other passengers about recent baby naming trends! Then we donned life vests, got in the tender, and went back to the Princess. On that particular day, the captain had allowed the ship’s speedboat to be used as a tender. I didn’t try it myself… Maybe if it had been warmer outside?

Taken in 2012, I saw them break out the picnic basket again for us in 2016…

On our first visit to Sanda Island, there was to be a hotel that appeared to be open seasonally. The building is still there, but I don’t think it operates anymore. I have a feeling the abandoned appliances next to the refreshment canopy came from the abandoned lodging.

Another shot from 2012. I think this sign has since been taken down.

Welcome refreshments…

Now, for this next bit, I have to confess I’m a little mixed up. I’m not sure what we had for lunch on Friday. It could have been fish and chips or it could have been the cold seafood buffet (based on my photos, I’m thinking we actually had the buffet on St. Patrick’s Day). I’m going to write about the seafood buffet, though it could be that we had it the day prior to our Sanda visit. It was one of the highlights for me.

A close up of the fresh salmon booty…

Very fresh salmon, smoked salmon, cous cous, salad, smoked trout, and a little prosciutto… We enjoyed this with a bottomless glass of wine.

Eton mess! This has become a favorite dessert of mine.

I love fresh fish. There was an abundance of fresh fish on Hebridean Princess. In fact, there was so much fresh fish that I actually got a little sick of eating fish! But the one meal that stands out to me was the day we had the cold seafood buffet. We ordered starters, which consisted of soup or salad, then lined up for fresh salmon, smoked salmon, smoked trout, shrimp and crab legs. There were also salads and breads. For me, it was such a treat to have fresh salmon for lunch, especially since it was very beautifully presented. Having done three cruises on Hebridean Princess, I can say that each time they’ve served the cold seafood buffet, the salmon has been presented differently, but still beautifully. This time, the two huge fish were decorated with either beets or cucumbers. I was amazed by the artistry of the chef and his staff!

A side view of the salmon…

This was the fresh salmon on one of our first cruises.

I probably took this in Rothesay or Campbeltown…

These photos were taken in November 2012. There were several baby seal pups on Sanda Island when we visited the first time. I didn’t see any babies on this latest visit, but wanted to include these photos for those who want to see a baby seal up close!