Tag Archives: Hebridean Princess

Hebridean Island Cruises

Welcome home… Hebridean Princess sure feels like it!

Awesome purser David Indge came on the bus to welcome us all to Hebridean Princess. It was raining, and we were informed that some of us had to have a bag randomly searched. Naturally, Bill and I were selected. It appeared that anyone not from the U.K. was required to go into a little guardhouse and have a bag searched. Two adorable little Scottish ladies dealt with me. I had to open one of my bags for them and answer security questions. They were very sweet and apologetic, which I have to say was a nice change of pace after the Frankfurt Airport.

“Dirty underwear.” I helpfully explained when one of them looked in a side pocket. She laughed; they wanded me and I came up clean, so they sent me on my way.

Every Hebridean Princess cruise begins with being piped on board by a real live Scottish piper. Years ago, Hebridean owned another ship called Spirit, which sailed all over the place. We spoke to one couple who took several cruises on Hebridean Spirit and they said they were piped on even when they boarded the ship in Oman! Sadly, Hebridean was forced to sell Spirit and all the wild adventures that could be had on her in lands beyond Scotland, Norway, Ireland and northern France. I’m sorry we missed out on that.

I never manage to get great photos of the piper.

As we walked on the ship, someone told me that they’d show me where my room was. I laughed and said, “Unless you upgraded us, I know exactly where to go!”

She laughed, too, and assured me no changes had been made. Back to the bowels of the ship we went. But if you have to be in the bowels of anywhere, Hebridean Princess is not a bad place to be! We were escorted to Loch Torridon and our bags were brought aboard for us. Then we went to the Tiree Lounge, the living room of the ship. I spend a lot of time there, since it’s where the bar is. I was handed a glass of my favorite champagne, Taittinger, which Hebridean started pouring last year, according to Egita, my favorite Food and Beverage Supervisor. On our last cruise, she handled pouring wines, but she got promoted. It was a well-deserved promotion, too.

Wioletta was there, too, and she remembered me and gave me a big hug. So did Egita. In fact, I was amazed by just how many people remembered us from last time. One gentleman in the kitchen even remembered me from our 2012 cruises. I don’t think he was faking it, either, since he told me he remembered me in 2016, too. It’s my laugh, I tell you!

A somewhat better shot of the piper.
They refurbished Loch Torridon since our last cruise!
The vanity.
Our first briefing with hilarious purser David Indge.
Bill at dinner. You don’t have to dress up for the first dinner.
It’s not open seating…
Lentil soup…

I mentioned Queen Elizabeth II in a previous post. She once had the Royal Yacht Britannia at her service, but it was decommissioned in 1997. She’s since sailed twice on Hebridean Princess, including for her 80th birthday in 2006. She enjoyed chief purser David Indge so much that she made a personal request for him to be the purser on her second cruise. She left a signed portrait of herself and Prince Philip, which is proudly displayed at the reception desk.

There are royal touches all over this ship.

I can’t blame Queen Elizabeth for loving Dave. He’s truly a rare and special breed. He’s never met a stranger and is always smiling. Again… I would love to have a personality like his. Alas, I was born a crank.

We unpacked our bags, had our muster drill, and were soon on the way to our first port of call, Wick… where we would enjoy Old Pultaney whisky and Stroma, Old Pultaney’s sweet liqueur. More on that in the next post.

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Rocpool Reserve, a nice place to get in the luxe mood…

I really wish we’d gone straight to Inverness. It turned out to be a cute little town with lots of shops and restaurants. I also scored us a nice basic room at Rocpool Reserve, a twelve room property in a residential area of the city. Rocpool Reserve is also home to Chez Roux, a restaurant that uses Scottish ingredients with a French twist. I only booked one night at this hotel, but I could have happily stayed a couple more. In stark contrast to the Kimpton property in Edinburgh, our room at this hotel had air conditioning that worked and a really comfortable mattress.

A nice gentleman checked us in, took our bags, and invited us to go to the bar, where food is served all day. I was glad to hear that, because after our long train journey, I was hungry! Turns out Rocpool Reserve is popular with Americans. We noticed the same American couple who had been on the train with us and complained about the backwards seating were also booked at our hotel. There were also two American couples from Florida who had just done a trekking tour. Inverness seems to be a popular jumping off spot for tours.

I had smoked salmon with a buckwheat pancake and a glass of Sancerre to start. Bill had a really delicious ham and cheese sandwich that was impregnated with a sinful amount of butter. Once again, I ordered the wrong thing! The salmon was good, but Bill’s sandwich really ticked off the comfort food rating. After lunch, I decided to take a much needed nap. Actually, naps were a predominant feature on this trip. I took tons of naps! The weather helped put me in the mood.

I booked our table at Chez Roux for 7:00pm, but we were told to go to the bar, where we would be served canapes and have aperitifs before dinner. I’m not sure why they do it this way, but I kind of liked it. The two American couples from Florida were there at the same time we were, so it kind of made for good socializing.

Here are some photos from Rocpool Reserve and Chez Roux restaurant, where we enjoyed a beautiful dinner.

  • After a nap, we had dinner at the restaurant.
  • Bill has a Campari and soda.
  • I had sparkling rose.
  • Canapes!
  • Chez Roux’s classy dining room.
  • Snowpea “panna cotta”
  • Halibut…
  • I went with a chocolate dessert.
  • Bill loved his lemon tart.
  • They always soften the blow of the bill with chocolates.

After a restful night, we had breakfast, which is included in the room rate. As we were eating our Eggs Benedict and pastries, I noticed a girl sitting at a nearby table wearing a t-shirt advertising The Inn at Tabb’s Creek, a bed and breakfast in Mathews, Virginia. I grew up in neighboring Gloucester. Neither Mathews nor Gloucester are well known outside of the Tidewater area of Virginia, so I was very surprised to see someone who had been there in Scotland.

  • Rocpool Reserve… we’d go back to this hotel. Parking is free, too!

We hung out at the hotel until about 11:00am, then checked out and got a cab to the Royal Highland Hotel in Inverness. This hotel is where we would be meeting our coach to the ship, and we were allowed to drop our bags there and have refreshments if we wanted them. I was delighted to find Bryan Hogge, one of two guides on our cruise. Bryan was our guide on our last Hebridean cruise to Northern Ireland, so I knew we’d be in great hands. During the winter, he teaches people how to ski. In the summer, he does tours for Hebridean. I also saw Mariusz, the Polish steward who waited on Bill and me on our September 2017 cruise. He didn’t quite remember me at first, but then I laughed. My laugh always jars people’s memories. As we talked, he told me his beautiful wife Wioletta was also going to be working. I was glad to hear that, since we bonded on the last cruise.

After we dropped our bags, we walked around Inverness, where we were charmed by two buskers. One was a cute blonde girl who appeared to be doing some kind of Japanese anime thing. She was wearing a pink tutu and dancing and singing in the town square. I thought it took a lot of guts to do what she was doing, so Bill left her a tip. She beamed at us as we continued on our way and ran across a pint sized bagpiper. He was adorable and really raking it in, despite not being the most competent piper I’ve ever heard. Actually, for his age, he was very good. Give him a few years and he’ll be a star… and probably a stud, too.

As I was getting a clip of him playing “Scotland the Brave”, some old biddy came over and chastised me for where I was standing, since I was getting people passing in front of the camera. I told her it was okay and she said it wasn’t okay for her. I probably shot “fuck off” lasers at her with my eyes… I’m really good for a dirty look, and she quickly beat it after that. She still ruined my clip, though, so I had to start over.

After we finished watching the cutie pie on the bagpipes, we went into a shop and picked up a proper shirt for Bill to wear with his new kilt. We also got him a bow tie, which requires actually tying. That was a new skill he didn’t quite master this trip. We forgot to get cuff links, so that was something he bought during the cruise.

  • I love the “polite notices” in Britain…
  • Very game girl!
  • Pint sized piper!
  • Oor Wullie again!
  • Someone didn’t pay attention to the sign…
  • But it wasn’t me!
  • This bridge was kind of scary. It swayed a lot.
  • And again… and I noticed someone disobeying the sign and sitting on him.

We didn’t really want to hang around in the hotel lobby, since it was full of both cruise passengers and actual hotel guests. Instead of taking the ship’s offer of refreshments, we went to the restaurant next door, Filling Station, and had lunch. Filling Station is a chain restaurant, but they have good roasted chicken there. Bill went with some kind of salad with sheep’s milk cheese in it. He’s always got to show me up by eating healthy.

  • I had this beer in the hotel. It comes from Orkney and was also on the ship. It became a favorite.

Finally, at about 4:45pm or so, we were invited to board the coach. We were scheduled to leave the hotel at about 5:00pm, but ScotRail was delayed. Big surprise! But finally, at about 5:15 or so, we were on our way to Invergordon, a town that isn’t known for its beauty. Since it hosts a lot of cruises, they’ve been trying to make it more inviting for tourists. The guide pointed out some of the murals local artists have painted. We saw a huge German AIDA ship in port and were grateful to be boarding tiny Hebridean Princess, where we were to be coddled and cosseted to an amazing standard. On the other hand, my husband coddles and cossets me the same way on the daily. My lifestyle is a study in ridiculousness.

Next post… boarding the Princess after almost two years. Gee, it’s good to be home! Indeed, a couple of the staff members immediately remembered me and reacted with pleasure and hugs hello, which is always a pleasant surprise!

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Cruising Scotland for the fifth time! Hebridean Island Cruises does it again!

We’ve got spirit! Yes, we do!

It’s hard to believe that less than 24 hours ago, I was still aboard Hebridean Princess enjoying the last precious moments of coddling that keeps Bill and me coming back to Scotland again and again. We just spent eight glorious nights aboard the tiny luxury ship. The cruise, which originated in Invergordon and ended in Oban, was fully booked. That means there were 47 other passengers sharing this experience with Bill and me. I like to think of the Princess as the anti-mega ship. I’ve got no use for huge floating cities so popular these days. Give me a little vessel with lots of good food, flowing champagne, superb service, beautiful scenery, and like-minded guests.

Bill and I decided to book our cruise in April of this year. Because Hebridean Princess is an all inclusive luxury experience with matching luxury prices, we usually plan much further in advance. Because we booked just four months out, I got us a “cheap” room on the Hebridean deck, in the “bowels” of the ship. Each stateroom on Hebridean Princess is named after a special place in Scotland. I knew what to expect, since we always book the “cheap” rooms. To date, we’ve stayed in all three of the double sized “cheap” rooms: Loch Torridon (three cruises), Loch Crinan (one cruise), and Loch Harport (one cruise). I’m hoping to upgrade us to a higher deck the next time we cruise, although there is absolutely nothing wrong with the “cheap” rooms. They are very comfortable, even though they lack windows or portholes and require a steep climb up and down stairs. At age 47, I was still among the youngest of the passengers and, at least for now, my knees can take the abuse.

We began our trip on the second of August, flying from Frankfurt to Edinburgh. This was the first time I’ve ever managed to score direct flights to and from Scotland. Although Frankfurt is an incredibly obnoxious airport, living close to it does have its advantages. We could have flown to Inverness, but that would have required a layover. I had never been to Inverness before this trip, but I’d heard it wasn’t all that exciting. I also wanted a “do-over” of Edinburgh, which we last visited in 2012 after our first Hebridean experience– two back to back five night cruises in November, during which we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary.

We loved Edinburgh when we visited for four nights in 2012, but our time there was shrouded in sadness. On our last night of the second cruise, we learned that our sweet dog, MacGregor, had collapsed at the dog hotel. Unbeknownst to us, he had a highly aggressive malignant tumor invading his spinal column. Before we left for Scotland, we had been led to believe that he’d had a much less serious condition. We’d had him on prednisone and he was being weaned off, when the tumor suddenly got worse.

The hotel staff took MacGregor to see his vet, who suspected he had a malignant tumor and had recommended euthanasia. We were thousands of miles away and there was nothing we could do but worry. However, the situation was not so dire that we needed to rush back to North Carolina, where we lived at the time. The vet loaded MacGregor up with painkillers and the dog hotel staff took excellent care of him. We finished our vacation, came home, and took MacGregor to North Carolina State University, where he eventually had a MRI that confirmed the vet’s diagnosis. We said goodbye to him on December 18, 2012.

Anyway, because our first visit to Edinburgh was marred by personal tragedy, we decided to go back this year. I’ll go more into detail in the next post, but let me just comment that next time, I’m going to check the calendar more closely before I decide on pre-cruise cities. Edinburgh was teeming with people who had come to to the annual Fringe Festival. It started on the day of our arrival and made the city even crazier than usual! I’m surprised we managed to get a hotel room! I’m glad we were able to experience the festival, but I think I prefer Edinburgh in November, when the city is not so crowded.

We took ScotRail to Inverness on August 4th and spent one night at the lovely Rocpool Reserve Hotel. In retrospect, I wish we’d come directly to Inverness. It’s a very charming city and I would have liked to have spent more time there. If we ever do another cruise out of Invergordon, we’ll suffer the layover required to get to Inverness. It deserves to be explored.

Our cruise began on August fifth and ended yesterday morning. As I finish this post, I realize that it’s still been less than 24 hours! How am I going to get used to life without my daily dose of champagne? Writing helps me prolong the joy. I hope you’ll join me as I digest our latest spectacular trip to Scotland!

Part two

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Yet another Scottish whisky cruise…

Well, we finally did it.  We booked another proper vacation, the first one we’ve had since September 2017, when we visited Scotland the last time and cruised to Northern Ireland.  A lot has happened since that cruise occurred, although there have been a few things that are still the same.  For instance, we now live in Wiesbaden instead of Unterjettingen… but lingering issues that actually occurred right around the last time we were on the Hebridean Princess conspire to keep us connected to our old stomping grounds near Stuttgart.  That, and we kept our dentist down there.

Anyway, lately I’ve been feeling a bit crabby about life in general.  I will be the first to admit that everything that troubles me is, for the most part, a first world problem.  I still need a break sometimes.  So does Bill.  So in the past few days, we decided to book our vacation for 2019.  We gave some thought to going on a French barge cruise, which I’ve been wanting to do for ages.  But when we called about the specific one we were considering, we were told it was fully booked for when Bill had time off work.

I also want to go to Armenia… but Armenia in August is not the best idea, even though it looks like they are now embracing air conditioning.  It’s really hot there in the summer.  I’d rather go in late September or October.

So that led us to Hebridean Island Cruises again.  Although I’ve had a mishap every time we’ve been on that ship, it still remains my favorite of the ships I’ve tried so far.  It costs a mint to get onboard, but once you’ve paid, you’ve paid.  On four previous cruises, we’ve never had a bill at the end of the voyage.  And the voyage we booked is one that will take us to parts of Scotland we haven’t yet seen.  It will start in Inverness, when the coach picks us up and takes us to Invergordon.  Then, we’ll sail to Wick, through the Orkney Islands, and over the top of Scotland back to Oban eight nights later.

The cruise departs on August 5, 2019, so we had to pay for the whole thing yesterday.  It was a bit of an oucher… but they gave us a good discount.  We’ll be visiting eight distilleries.  Hopefully, this time, I won’t get norovirus like I did at the end of our first Scottish whisky cruise in 2016 (which, by the way, I think I picked up at a tasting off the ship).

This may be our last Scottish cruise for awhile, because I am really wanting to see some other parts of Europe.  We’ve been here for several years now, but the first time we lived in Germany, we made an effort to see more of the continent.  This time, we’ve stayed pretty close to Germany, with trips to Italy, France, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Belgium, Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands.  I’d like to visit Spain, Scandinavia, and more parts of eastern Europe.  I’ve been trying to do a real trip to Croatia for years.

Here’s a video about this awesome ship that started out as a car ferry in 1964, and for the past 30 years, has been the ultimate luxury experience.  Queen Elizabeth II and her family have sailed twice!

Prayers that this time, nothing bad will happen… I will come home healthy.  Bill will be healthy.  The dogs will be healthy.  And we won’t be too broke or inconvenienced!

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Every girl’s crazy ’bout a kilted man…

Three months ago, Bill and I were in Glasgow, Scotland, about to embark on our fourth cruise on Hebridean Princess.  While we were in Glasgow, we stopped into a kiltmaker’s shop and got Bill fitted for a kilt of his very own.  We decided to do it because we both love visiting Scotland, especially on Hebridean Princess.  Kilts are very welcome on that ship.  On all of our previous cruises on Hebridean Princess, Bill wore his dress blues on the formal nights.  The uniform, like kilts and tuxedos, has always been well-received on the ship.

Bill retired from the Army in 2014 and there comes a point at which it gets harder to do justice to the Army dress uniform.  I also learned that it might not even be appropriate for a retiree to wear the uniform on a cruise, though I doubt anyone would “bust” Bill on such a British cruise.  On each of our voyages, we have been among a very small number of Americans, none of whom have been affiliated with the military.  In fact, we have found that the Army uniform is quite a conversation starter, especially among the Brits who have also served in the military.  However, I was dying to see Bill in a kilt and kept pestering him to get one.  He finally gave in and indulged me.

While we were in Berlin, the finished kilt arrived.  Our very kind neighbor accepted our box for us while we were out of town.  Bill got the whole package, which included everything except a shirt and a belt and buckle.  Last night, he tried on his new Scottish duds.

Bill decided not to put on the Ghillie brogues (shoes), although they were included.  Below is a video I made of the kiltmaker showing us how the shoes should be tied.  He also didn’t put on the kilt pin, which was included.

 

The tartan used is County Donegal, since our last name is Irish.  Bill’s surname originated in Donegal.  The jackets are made in Donegal.

 

It took just under three months for the kilt to be made.  I think it’s because the tartan we used had to be ordered.  Otherwise, we probably would have had the kilt in late October or early November.  The kiltmaker made the kilt by hand and the quality is excellent.  It set Bill back about 900 GBP (approximately $1300).  But again, everything except the shirt was included in that price, even socks.   And Scots are not supposed to wear underwear under the kilt.  On the other hand, Bill is Irish.  😉

Anyway, for those who are wondering who made this marvelous outfit, here’s the link to the man responsible.  We are very pleased with the finished product, even though we probably could have had it made faster and cheaper at one of the other, larger kiltmakers.  I would highly recommend James Robertson Kiltmaker if you’re ever in Glasgow and looking to be kilted.

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Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part fifteen…

I think this will be my last post in this series, mainly because it’s always sad to get back to real life after such a fabulous cruise.  Actually, I was a little ready to go home.  Being sick on vacation is no fun and I was missing my dogs.  Also, as nice as it is to be coddled, it can get a little tiresome after awhile.  We had plans to get on the coach to the airport in Glasgow.  Thankfully, this time I didn’t end up with norovirus, so I was perfectly ready to get on the coach after a breakfast consisting of oatmeal with a wee dram and some fruit.

Our waiter, Mariusz very kindly said goodbye and I got hugs from Sergei, the bartender, and David, the purser, even though I was sniffling up a storm. I also bonded a bit with Egita, a fabulous waitress from Latvia who was also on our scotch cruise, and Wioleta, a lady from Poland who offered me hors d’oeuvres and laughed at my jokes.  I will miss them all and probably stalk them on Facebook.  Mariusz even seemed to hope we’d come back.  We’re probably among the easier guests he’s dealt with, my mushroom phobia notwithstanding.

We had nice weather in Oban on the morning of disembarkation, so the drive back to Glasgow was very pleasant.  I wish I had sat on the other side of the coach.  I could have gotten some more photos of the beautiful scenery on the way back.  As it was, Bryan continued advising us of points of interest and when we stopped for a potty break, they broke out the tea, coffee, and biscuits for us.  While we were stopped, we talked to another passenger who was on our first cruise.  She said this was her 26th time on Hebridean Princess since 2002 and she had never cruised on another vessel.  Yes, I’d say that little ship has her fans and we are among them.

Nice morning!
 

We stopped by Loch Lomond for a potty break and some coffee and tea.

 

We arrived at the airport in Glasgow at about noon, which was two hours before check in at the Glasgow Airport Holiday Inn.  After we said goodbye to those who were on the bus and headed for the train station, we picked up our bags and walked to our next hotel.

The Holiday Inn at the Glasgow Airport is super convenient.  You can easily walk to it, which is a blessing when you have four heavy bags and a purse to carry.  There is also a Holiday Inn Express at the airport that is a little further away.  I am left with the conclusion that both properties are a bit mediocre, especially after a week on Hebridean Princess.

There weren’t any rooms open when we arrived at the hotel, so we sat in the lobby and surfed the net. We had lunch… I had a cheeseburger and Bill had a sandwich of some sort.  We both had beers.  Once we were finished, we were able to check in.  I had booked an “executive room” and it wasn’t cheap.  However, I can’t say that the executive rooms at the Holiday Inn at the Glasgow Airport bring to mind an executive class.  The room was tiny… smaller than our room on the ship.  And the bathroom floors had cracks in the tile.  I couldn’t even get the shower to work, although Bill managed to after fiddling with it a bit.

The bed, which was adequate.

A chair Bill couldn’t sit in because I really needed a nap and every time he moved, it squeaked and made a terrible racket.

The bathroom floor.

The shower was the same kind we had on the ship, but I never could get the water out of the sprayer.  I took a bath.  Bill got it going later.

And the real kicker…  the minibar, which we couldn’t use if we wanted to, because we couldn’t get the damn thing to open.  I don’t know if it had a key or what, but it wouldn’t open for us.  We did get two bottles of water (one sparkling, one still) and a Mars Bar with the room.  That was nice.

After I took a two hour nap, we went to the airport for dinner because the Holiday Inn’s restaurant was packed.  The airport had a few other options besides what the Holiday Inn had, as well as a few different beers.  I will say that their breakfast was impressive and run by a very cheerful lady named Pat who made me smile.  She was probably my favorite part of the whole experience.  I think next time, we’ll just get a cab and stay in Glasgow or go to Edinburgh for a couple of days.

I did leave a somewhat negative first impression on Expedia.com and the general manager responded promptly.  I believe they are going to renovate the Holiday Inn, which is good news.  It badly needs renovation.  At least the WiFi worked well and we could watch TV.  I think the inn has a good staff, but it needs to be brought into this century.  But if you need a hotel close to the airport, it’s definitely an option.

Bright and early Wednesday morning, we checked into British Airways and went directly to the lounge at the Glasgow Airport, which was the nicest of the three we tried.  It was bigger than the one in Stuttgart, but a whole lot less chaotic and obnoxious than the one in London at Heathrow.

A couple of shots of the Glasgow British Airways lounge.  It was a lot less crowded and annoying than the one at Heathrow.

We had a good flight to Heathrow and went to the lounge, which was marginally less zoolike than it was on September 9th.  We spent a couple of hours there, got on our flight to Stuttgart, and landed safely at about 6:30pm.  Fortunately, we told Max that we’d get the dogs on Thursday morning.  There is no way we could have gotten them before he closes at 7:00pm, even though he’s close to the airport.  It took forever to get the car.  Once we got back home, the driveway was torn up because our landlords decided to redo the bricks.  The work is done now and it looks really good.

Ah well.  We had a very good trip.  I am now eyeing future cruises on Hebridean Princess and we’re also looking at barge cruises in France on French Country Waterways.  We’ll see where life takes us.  For now, I’m here to say we had yet another wonderful time in Scotland and Northern Ireland and it’s largely due to a great, underrated cruise line.  I hope it won’t be long until we’re back onboard lovely Hebridean Princess again.

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Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part fourteen…

Monday morning, I awoke with a full-fledged cold.  I was coughing, hacking, and had woken up several times during the night to blow my nose and drink some water.  I was legitimately sick (and still am, though I’m getting better).  We had plans to visit a distillery on the beautiful island of Islay.  Bill and I visited Islay on our last Hebridean cruise and had the chance to visit a couple of whisky distilleries, Laphroaig and Kilchoman.  This time, we were supposed to visit Bowmore, but that was cancelled before we boarded the ship.  Then it got switched to Lagavulin, but since we didn’t do our itinerary as planned, that tour, too, was cancelled.

Islay happens to be rich with whisky distilleries, so the folks at Hebridean fixed us up with a tour at Bruichladdich, an old distillery that makes both whisky and gin.  Before we got on Islay’s schoolbus for a trip out to Port Charlotte, we had time to walk around.  Bill and I went to a tiny grocery store and bought some cough medicine and candy for me.  I’ve been sipping Covonia Chesty Cold formula ever since Monday.  I don’t know if it works like NyQuil, but it’s got booze in it and tastes like Jaegermeister.

With that taken care of, we were ready for our trip to the distillery.  Thanks to our whisky tour last year, Bill and I are very well versed as to how scotch is made.  I was pretty happy our guide did not take us through the process, but rather told us the distillery’s history and showed us the equipment.  The tour was short, sweet, and ended with some rather generous whisky tastings.  Bill and I left with a bottle of scotch, a bottle of gin, a wool throw for me, a music CD by Islay native Angela Paterson, who performed on our last cruise, and some soap.

We got back on the ship in the early afternoon, just in time for lunch, a ham buffet.  The captain would be taking us closer to Oban during the day.

A beautiful morning in Port Ellen.

I got a kick out of the sign… it’s perfect if you like your whisky.

A shot of Hebridean Princess in port.

Distillery time!

And the distillery shop, where I parted with some cash.

We were invited to try the barley.  I did, knowing that it wouldn’t make me sick like the wort did last time we did a distillery tour.

Mash!

Those vats were full of some very alcoholic brew…

The gin still, which the distillery picked up when another distillery was closing.

The spirit safe.

We visited the warehouse.  Lots of scotches in different barrels, everything from bourbon to sherry casks.

Bill enjoys a taste.  They were quite willing to let people try different whiskys.  We were told if there was one we wanted to try under 200 GBP, they would oblige.  I think the distillery was rewarded, because I witnessed one passenger spending over 500 GBP on whisky.

 

Down the hatch!

Moody skies for the drive back to Port Ellen.

The beautiful ham.

Lots of salads and pasta.

And more seafood… including oysters, shrimp, smoked salmon and trout, and the like…

I had a crab salad as a starter.

Bill had a sundae for dessert.

I had warm rice pudding with raspberry jam.  It was very satisfying… took me back to my childhood days in England.

After lunch, I was feeling a little under the weather, so I went back to our stateroom, packed my bags, and took a nap.  Two hours later, Bill woke me up to tell me to get ready for dinner.  I was tempted to go back to sleep.  Then he showed me a picture of dolphins he managed to get.  It’s not the best picture, but it’s still cool.

Too bad I was sleeping when this happened.

Monday night was the evening of our second gala.  I broke out my blue sequined gown, which rained shiny sparkles all over the place.  In retrospect, it was a little fancier than I usually go for.  The one thing the dress had going for it was that it was floor length, so I didn’t have to wear control top panty hose.  I wore knee highs instead, and pinned the top of the slit so my cheating wouldn’t show.  I felt a little silly at first in my sparkly gown, but eventually relaxed.  It’s not like I haven’t seen worse at any Army ball (sorry, it’s the truth).  And besides, Bill was there in his blues.

David Indge mingles with guests at the Captain’s Farewell Gala.

I was absolutely enchanted by the sunset in Castle Bay, so I had to go take pictures while Bill explained to another passenger that the Pentagon really was hit by a jet airliner on September 11, 2001.  I always defer to Bill when it comes to 9/11 because he was actually in the Pentagon that day.

David addresses everyone and introduces our captain, Trevor Bailey.

More gorgeous sunset pics.  I could look at these all day.

Bill is smiling because he doesn’t have to wear that jacket anymore!

Prepped for haggis.  They bring out the whisky beforehand.
 

Haggis!  This ceremony is a treat!  I got a good view this time, but my camera died and I had to switch to an iPhone.

I happened to be sitting under this bell, so I got to ring it a couple of times.  I think I almost went deaf the second time.

Haggis!  I couldn’t really taste it due to my sickness.  I have had it enough times to know it wasn’t a bad thing not to taste it, although haggis is not as horrible as it sounds.

Because I didn’t like the liver starter, our kind waiter, Mariusz, brought me smoked salmon.

Bill bravely tried the liver.  I don’t think it was a hit; we had some in Germany that actually tasted like chocolate of all things.

A nice palate cleansing sorbet.

I had turbot filet, which is a favorite.  

Bill had venison, which he loves…

Then we had creme brulee and a biscotti for dessert.

Our one selfie together.  Maybe I should have gotten someone to take our picture, but I don’t photograph very well, especially when I’m sick.

One more shot of my dashing Bill in his blues…

And Toby was kind enough to make me a Brandy Alexander.  It was fabulous.

Goodbye, folks…

 

The castle in Castle Bay.

A few more spectacular pictures!

 

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part thirteen…

Sunday was to be our last day in Northern Ireland, with a stop at Mount Stewart, a beautiful home and gardens in Portaferry.  This was the only stop on the whole cruise that required us to tender in.  All of the other stops were in places where the ship could dock.  On our other Hebridean trips, we’ve had to use the tenders many times.

Bill, decked out in his finest lifejacket…

The plan was to take a local boat to Portaferry, where we would be picked up by a coach and taken to Mount Stewart.  We’d spend a few hours there, have lunch, and then meet the ship in Bangor, which was a bit further north.  The ride to Portaferry was nice.  Everyone fit in one tender, so it was easy for us all to get there.  The drive to Mount Stewart was quick and easy and the place itself offered a nice respite from being herded around on tours.  Mount Stewart in Northern Ireland is not to be confused with Mount Stuart in Scotland, another fabulous place we visited on prior cruises.  Frankly, I think I’m partial to Mount Stuart’s house, although the gardens at Mount Stewart are not to be missed.

Scenes around Portaferry.  It looked like a peaceful place.  It’s also really close to where a friend of mine grew up.  I met him at church camp in Virginia back in 1994.  He was a counselor and I was the cook.  He and another counselor married and now live in Northern Ireland with their five kids!  The funny thing is, a few years after I met my Irish friend, I was waiting tables in a restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia and a couple with an Irish lilt sat at one of my tables.  We got to talking and it turned out they were from Newtownards… and were actually neighbors to my old friend from summer camp.  I am forever running into people like that.  It’s one of my quirks.

Once again, Bill and I skipped the house tour and just wandered around the beautiful gardens, talking.  Bill was wanting to tour the house and I told him he should if he wanted to.  But once again, he decided to stick with me.  I was enjoying the beautiful sunny weather and relative peace and quiet.  Lots of people brought their dogs and I was starting to miss mine with a passion.

Once again, we had lunch off the ship.  Once again, I was thinking I would have preferred lunch on the ship.  The folks at Mount Stewart had prepared leek soup, some crumbly breads, beef bourguignon, and raspberry lavender ice cream with fruit.  There was also wine and water.  I knew the beef would have mushrooms in it, so I was a bit annoyed.  They found some stuffed chicken wrapped with bacon that looked a bit tired, but offered me mushroom gravy.  I said, much too quickly, that I didn’t want mushroom gravy.  Then I apologized quickly, because I realized I must have sounded like a nut.  One of the ladies serving the food smiled and said, “Don’t worry.  I don’t like them, either.”

They found a quiche for one passenger who was a vegetarian and I think I saw one or two people with fish, too.  Maybe I would have liked the fish.  I got plenty to eat, anyway, and several folks donated wine to me.  I was feeling fine when lunch was over.  Everyone else went on a guided garden tour while Bill and I wandered some more and took more pictures.  Here are some for your perusal.

Mount Stewart House in Northern Ireland.

The above photos were taken in the formal gardens near the house.

A giant sequoia.  I couldn’t fit the whole thing in a photo.

Here’s a video I took of some ducks enjoying dinner in the peaceful lake.  The ducks were not bothered by us standing there.  

Although we did not go on the guided garden tour, we did hear many of the passengers raving about it.  If you’re into gardens, this might be a good place to visit and be sure to take the guided garden tour.  As for me, I was content to people and animal watch and take pictures of all of the beautiful nature.  I was marveling at how beautiful the gardens were and wondered how they stayed so gorgeous without obvious gardeners going around fixing everything.

We took a nice bus ride to Bangor, which appeared to be a nice looking town.  I was starting to feel a little sick, so we headed straight for the tenders.  I had heard another lady onboard who was sniffling and hacking a bit, so I wasn’t surprised when I started getting sick, too.

Unlike our peaceful ride to Portaferry, we were in for a slightly rougher time.  This time, they used the small tenders from the boat, which required many trips.  The surf was also pretty rough and there was talk we might have to be bussed somewhere else because there was a risk of injury.  Fortunately, Hebridean Princess’s crew was on point and everyone made it back safely, though it took longer than usual.

We got back in time for tea.  I noticed the sandwiches were particularly popular on Sunday.  I guess I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t into the lunch.

A few dramatic shots of Bangor and the sea before dinner.
 

One really nice thing Hebridean Princess does on Sundays is provide a “Sunday roast”.  This time was no different.  For dinner, we had a choice of fish, a vegetarian selection, or the delightful roast beef.  Bill and I both had the Sunday roast.

A shrimp salad starter.  I believe Bill had a bleu cheese broccoli soup, which I neglected to photograph.

Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding and potatoes.  I really am a Brit at heart.  This was probably my favorite of all of the meals, as much as I love seafood.

This dessert was fabulous.  It was basically White Russian ice cream with chocolate.

Bill’s dessert reminded me of a raspberry Napoleon.  He loved it.
 

Of course, with Sunday roast comes the realization that the cruise is about to end.  We had one more full day onboard and would be returning to Scotland before the morning.

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part twelve…

After our beer break, we got dressed up for dinner.  I put on an old black dress and wore a pretty red wool shawl.  I kind of regret wearing the shawl, because as we were enjoying champagne, somehow I had a brainfart and accidentally spilled some on my shawl.  Now I have a small stain that also got on Bill’s jacket.  Nevertheless, we had a nice dinner.

A visible sunset as we left Belfast.

A self-portrait… searching for evidence of liver failure in my eyes.

This picture was taken right after the pilot disembarked the Hebridean Princess.  These guys are amazing.  They just walk off the ship as it’s moving and jump onto their little vessels.  I wish I had gotten it on film because it was really gutsy.  I wondered if any of those guys ever missed and ended up in the water.

More fish for me…

And more meat for Bill.

I enjoy cheesecake.

Bill enjoys a cheese course.

Incidentally, if you ever want tea in your room, Hebridean has you covered.

 

After dinner, we went to bed early.  Or, at least I think that’s what we did…  After you’ve been on the ship for awhile, the days start to run together.  I mostly hang out by myself with my dogs, so all the company was a little overwhelming.  But the nice thing about this trip was that most everyone was pleasant enough.  There weren’t any obviously obnoxious people onboard.  On our previous cruise, we weren’t so lucky and there was a woman onboard who demanded to be the center of attention the whole time.  I know I have my own obnoxious moments, but this lady had me beat by a mile.  What made it worse was that she was an American and seemed to resent that there were other Americans on the ship.  Anyway… we had a rather low key crowd this time and most people got along, at least on the surface.  That was a real blessing.

In the morning, I decided to have oatmeal with a wee dram of whisky.  If you have never tried this and you like scotch, this is a nice twist.

Bill had poached eggs with back bacon.  The chef also threw in some “streaky bacon”, which I helped Bill eat.  

Saturday morning, we spent cruising southward to Carlingford, which is a border town in the Republic of Ireland.  To be honest, I’m not really sure why we went to this town.  It was probably the least popular of the stops.  I actually enjoyed our visit well enough for several reasons, but I heard more than a few people complaining about it.  I’ll get to why in a minute.  I took the opportunity to blog that morning while other people read books or sat around and enjoyed the scenery… or maybe had a gin & tonic.

It was time for lunch and Bill had a cauliflower soup that came with cheese toast.  He said it was really comforting.  I don’t like cauliflower much, so I skipped it.

I had duck confit for lunch, which came with a Thai salad with peanut dressing.  I probably would have liked the salad, except it was full of mushrooms.  Our waiter forgot my speech about how much I hate fungus.  Oh well.  I gave it to Bill, who enjoyed it.

Bill had a sandwich.  Love how they serve their sandwiches with no crusts.  It was like being back in kindergarten.

For dessert, I had Eton Mess.  I think on past cruises, it was made with raspberries, but this time it was made with strawberries, meringues, and berries.  It was very yummy!

Bill had bread pudding with chocolate ice cream, also very good and comforting as the weather turned wet.

 

After lunch, we all got on the bus and went to Carlingford.  It was raining and dreary, though a few local guides were hired to show us around the town.  The guide who spoke to us on the bus was an Irish guy named Dermott.  I noticed he spoke with a lot of “uhs and ums”, which I found rather distracting.  However, despite all the “uhs and ums”, what Dermott was telling us was interesting.  He told us he was born in Newry, Northern Ireland and grew up there, although he considered himself Irish.  This is an important revelation, given what happened next.

The bus let us off at the edge of town and we split into three groups.  Dermott was to take the people who didn’t want to see as much.  Because I really needed to pee and didn’t want to walk around in the wet weather, I chose his group, although Bill was wanting a longer walk.  I told Bill he could join another group, but he likes to stick with me.  So we followed Dermott around and he very excitedly told us about Carlingford.

 

Dermott started with this arch… and I was very glad I had an umbrella and Dermott explained the jail was in the arch and that people were routinely hanged there back in the day…

The entrance to the “jail”.  I didn’t venture inside because I had a feeling it has been used for something other than jailing people.  There was also a lot of trash in the cell.

More views of the town.  It was at this point that Dermott told us about the annual Leprechaun hunt that happens in Carlingford.  It is technically illegal to hunt Leprechauns in Ireland, except on one special day per year.  Have a look.  

The above three photos are of a house that belonged to a wealthy merchant.  Dermott explained that whoever owned the house, referred to as the “mint” in Carlingford, although no money was ever made there, was very rich.  

I think I was more interested in the pubs…

At this point, things started taking a bit of a turn.  Dermott was telling us Thomas D’Arcy McGee, a Catholic Irishman who had vowed that if he ever betrayed his country, he should “die like a dog”.  He hated British rule, so he worked to overthrow the British rule so that Ireland could be independent.  McGee later went to the United States and Canada and became wealthy.  Later, he was assassinated. 

 

To be honest, I wasn’t paying very close attention to Dermott, because the weather had gotten worse.  However, some of the elderly Brits in the group were listening and apparently getting a bit agitated.  Dermott made it clear that he had Nationalist leanings.

We walked around some more and checked out this old castle ruin…

Then we went into a small museum that was recently opened.  While we were in the museum, one of the other passengers took Dermott to task because he said he wanted to see Ireland reunited.

I stared at this exhibit as the atmosphere got a little bit more heated.  Dermott was unfortunately bull baited into a political confrontation.

 

For Bill and me, it was an interesting spectacle, not unlike some of the controversy surrounding the North and the South in the United States.  But, as we had no dog in the fight, we were free to simply observe without getting upset.  We could tell some of the Britons were offended by Dermott’s comments about how he wanted to see Ireland reunited.  I was interested in what he was saying, since he grew up when there was an actual physical barrier between Northern Ireland and the Republic.  Dermott’s ten year old son, who happened to be getting fish and chips while we were on our tour, waved to us.  Dermott explained how he had to describe to his boy how, when he was a young man, he had to go through police checkpoints to get to Ireland from his home in the north.  He said guards actually took the wheels off his car and took out seats to check for bombs and the like.

To be honest, I totally understood Dermott’s viewpoints.  If I were Irish, I would probably feel much the same way he does.  However, it was kind of clear that some of the British folks in our group were getting irritated by his comments and wanted to be rid of him.

As we were leaving the museum, one passenger said to me that she had felt like walking out.  As someone who isn’t British, I didn’t have the same feelings.  But I could see that quite a few people were upset.

Next it was time for coffee and cake.  We went into another tea room, where they were playing country music from the 60s and 70s.  I had to laugh when I heard the “Ballad of Jed Clampitt”.  I posted about it on Facebook because it cracked me up.  I had to laugh even harder when a Facebook friend, who doesn’t know me offline, tried to explain to me where country music comes from.  He doesn’t know I am myself a musician and a fan of a broad array of musical styles.  But thanks anyway, dude.  The above lemon cake was delicious, but we were a bit rushed in eating it (actually, lemon was just one of several choices, but it was a good one.)

 

Then Bill probably annoyed people because Dermott, who was still talking as we were waiting for cake and tea, had started talking about Irish folk tales he’d heard from his father.  Bill, who is a fan of Irish literature and studied it in college, piped up with more information which turned out to be superior to what the guide was telling us.  I have a feeling people would have been more willing to listen to Dermott had he not offended them, though Bill was enjoying talking to him about Irish folklore.  Later, a couple of passengers congratulated Bill on his knowledge.  I think they were being sincere, although it was probably because Dermott had annoyed a lot of them.

Then Dermott said he didn’t like huge cruise ships and he thought perhaps the really big ones pump oxygen into the casinos to keep people awake and gambling.  Apparently, this is a practice in Las Vegas, although I have never been to Vegas and probably wouldn’t gamble if I did go there.  I have only been on one large cruise ship and it was my observation that the place was full of cigarette smoke, not oxygen.  He did say he’d live on Hebridean Princess.  I can’t say I blame him.  Aside from being a tour guide, Dermott is also a sound engineer.  Incidentally, Snopes says the oxygen pumping claim is false.

This was where we had tea, cake, and fractious discussion… while music from the 60s and 70s played.  It’s probably a nice place to spend an evening.

We got back on the boat, greeted by David and lots of little shooters of rum punch.  It was just enough time to get cleaned up and ready for dinner.  Damn, I ate a lot on this cruise…

I actually really enjoyed this starter, which was a breaded, deep fried, poached egg with asparagus and Hollandaise sauce and some kind of jelly I can’t identify at the moment.

Bill had a tart made of smoked trout, I think…

This was supposed to be lobster bisque and it was good, though it was missing cream.  

I had Dover sole with cream sauce and vegetables.

Bill had chicken with mushroom sauce.

Then a slice of pie for Bill…

And a delicious lemon pudding with an almond cookie for me.  They used another word other than pudding, but it escapes me at the moment.  It was kind of like mousse, only not as light.

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part eleven…

By Friday, September 15th, we finally left Larne and headed for our next port in Belfast.  As we pulled into the huge commercial port, we spotted two large cruise ships, Caribbean Princess of Princess Cruise Lines and Oceana’s Nautica.  Caribbean Princess is a huge ship that carries several thousand passengers, while Nautica carries a few hundred.  Hebridean Princess is positively lilliputian by comparison.  I couldn’t help but feel kind of grateful we weren’t on those huge vessels.

Lemon waffles with berries and sausage for breakfast.

On Friday morning, Hebridean Princess arranged for us to visit Hillsborough, a charming town in County Down which serves as home to Hillsborough Castle.  As we walked around the grounds, I couldn’t help but notice many people from one of the big lines, all wearing stickers indicating a group number.  I figured they’d have to make choices as to what they were going to see during their time in Belfast.  In a way, that might have been liberating, since you can choose what you want to see.  On the other hand, it was nice to be able to see Hillsborough Castle and the Titanic Experience on the same day.

As I mentioned previously, I’m not really huge on visiting houses or castles.  We ended up skipping the house tour and just walked around the gardens.  When we were finished looking around, we were invited to a tea house across the street for tea and scones.  It was a charming place with very nice scones and other pastries.  Unfortunately, the staff was so weeded that Bill and I ended up sitting there for about fifteen minutes before anyone acknowledged us.  We did enjoy tea and I had a very fresh scone that made me want to learn how to make them myself.  We were too late to get on the house tour, so we hung out in the parking lot and chatted with Bryan, the guide, and one of the other two American passengers.

Caribbean Princess in the distance.

Oceana Nautica.  I prefer Hebridean Princess.

 

I took this video after watching these guys try and fail several times to catch the rope so they could tie the boat to the dock.  I happened to catch them right after they finally caught the rope.  They were pretty patient.

A few shots of Hillsborough Castle and the surrounding grounds.

A view of the city of Hillsborough.

 

The tea room where we had our mid morning break.

Tea and scones… or one scone for me.  It was served with cream, butter, and preserves.  Yum!

After our visit to Hillsborough Castle, we went back to the ship and had lunch.  Although I was tempted by the fish and chips that were being offered, I decided to have a sandwich.  Bill had chili, which was surprisingly good.  I was particularly impressed by the guacamole.

Bill liked his chili!

I had a BLT with avocado.  I don’t usually like raw tomatoes, but these were good.  It was nice to have something comparatively light for a change.

However, I couldn’t pass up the chocolate orange mousse.  The chef on this cruise seemed to enjoy sprinkles.  He used them a few times.

 

After lunch, we took a very short trip around the corner to visit the Titanic Experience.  I am probably one of only a few Americans who never watched the film starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.  I had a very limited knowledge of the Titanic before I visited this huge exhibition in Belfast.  Let me just say, the place was a zoo!  It was very crowded.  But, I think if I had time to really explore it and it wasn’t teeming with crowds, I would really enjoy seeing it.

Not the best picture of the outside.  It’s a really huge building.

This is a “ride” you can take.  It lasts maybe a minute or two and gives a basic history of what it was like to build the Titanic cruise ship.

I took this photo of Hebridean Princess from one of the windows.

And here is another shot of the Caribbean Princess by contrast!

A replica of one of the staterooms on the Titanic.

Some of the heroes involved in the disaster…  perhaps?

Exhibits that tell the story.  There were many artifacts and interactive activities, but so many people were visiting that it was hard to really enjoy them.

Belfast.

Nifty diver’s suit.

The Titanic!

I really need to sit down and watch the movie, I guess.  Everyone’s seen it.  The Titanic’s story is amazing and tragic.  On the other hand, I almost have to wonder about a cruise line arranging a visit to an exhibit about another cruise ship’s untimely demise!  Just kidding.  Hebridean Princess has been in service since 1964.  She’s very seaworthy!

After we visited the Titanic Exhibition, we went back to the ship and enjoyed more locally produced beers.  While we were there, Ian joined us.  He had a beer and a dram of scotch, which Bill got a kick out of.  It’s heartening to see a man enjoying his whisky into his 90s.  When it came time for us to get ready for dinner, Bill gently took Ian’s arm and helped him down the stairs.  I wish I had gotten a picture of them because it was kind of a moving scene.  I was reminded of why I enjoy being Bill’s wife so much.  He’s a true gentleman.

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