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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part ten…

On Friday morning, we had plans to visit Londonderry, the second largest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth largest city in Ireland as a whole.  Although the city is officially called Londonderry, it is popularly known as Derry and that is how it was tagged in my iPhone photos.

Prior to our visit, the only thing I had ever heard of regarding “Londonderry” was the song “Londonderry Air“, otherwise known as “Danny Boy”.  I have sung that song many times, but never thought I would one day visit the walled city known for its architecture.  The cruise officials had arranged for us to meet the mayor, who was presented an award by Hebridean Princess.  We had a brief tour of the Guildhall, a gorgeous building that houses a very impressive pipe organ.  Too bad my mom wasn’t on this trip, since the guide asked if anyone played organ.  My mom was a church organist for over fifty years, although I don’t know if she played a lot of pipe organs.

Derry’s Guildhall.

The gorgeous pipe organ in Derry’s Guildhall.

Stained glass was everywhere!

After a coffee and tea break, we took a tour of the city given by a local guide who wore a bright yellow jacket.  Our guide’s surname was McCrossan, which made Bill perk up.  For all we know, he could have been a relative of ours.  Local guides can be hired for four GBP and Hebridean Princess hired one for our benefit.

Derry is right next to County Donegal, which is where Bill’s people are from.  It’s very close to the border of the Republic of Ireland and, in fact, our guide pointed out where the border was.  He also explained that Harvey’s Bristol Cream, a favorite sherry of Bill’s and mine, had a connection to Derry.

I learned a bit more about religion in Northern Ireland, too.  Prior to our tour, I had no idea that there were so many Presbyterians in Northern Ireland.  I was born and raised Presbyterian by a family full of them, so that part of the tour was especially interesting for me.

A charming block of shops near the Guildhall and the Bishop’s Gate.

David Indge presents Londonderry’s mayor with an award.

 

A kid unwisely walks by the fountains, which I observed to shoot geyser like sprays of water at random intervals!

Part of Derry’s famous wall.

These jets randomly sprayed water.

This was a settlement of the city inhabited by Catholics.  The ground was very marshy, which the guide described to us in detail.  In the distance, you can see the Catholic church.  We learned that back in the day, poor Catholic households in Northern Ireland could only be represented by one person when they voted.  That was one reason why they were so oppressed.  It wasn’t until 1968 that this rule was changed.

 

A very famous Presbyterian church in Derry.  The history surrounding this church was very interesting.  I wish we could have gone in for a look.

I seem to recall taking these pictures because they reminded me so much of Lexington, Virginia, where my dad went to college and Bill and I got married.  I felt as if I were standing there.  It was kind of eerie.

Bishop Street Within… meaning it’s within the walls of the city.  There’s also a Bishop Street Without, I believe.

I wish I could have taken some photos inside of this church, but you had to pay a fee… which I would have done, except we were running short on time.  The guide recommended we come back and get a proper tour of Saint Columb’s Cathedral.  It really is beautiful.  He also told us a funny story about a woman getting married there when they had turned on the floor heating.  As she was passing the grate in the floor, a gust of wind blew up her dress, Marilyn Monroe style.  Now, when people get married, they make sure to turn off the heat.

A couple of shots of Bishop’s Gate.

And a pretty rainbow in Larne, after our drive back to the ship.

I would like to visit Derry again sometime, perhaps not while cruising.  It appears to be a very charming city with plenty to see and do.  I would have liked to have had lunch there, but the ship had arranged for us to eat at a golf resort about a half an hour away.  To be very honest, I probably would have preferred lunch on the ship.

Our buffet lunch consisted of a bowl of vegetable soup, which was good, and a side of soda bread, also good.  We also had wine.  The main courses were Irish stew with beef, which I skipped because I was afraid of the dreaded fungus.  There was also a chicken dish that was loaded with mushrooms.  They had pasta and salad, mashed potatoes, and chips, too.  I avoided the meat and liked the dessert, which was either chocolate lava cake or apple crumble with warm vanilla custard.  I love a good crumble, so that pretty much made the meal for me.

By the time lunch was over, it had started raining.  We were supposed to visit a house and some ruins, but it was mid afternoon and people were tired.  Our intrepid purser arranged for a small bus to take some of us back to the ship.  Bill and I decided to take the short bus rather than visit the ruins and the house.  It turned out we were smart to do that, since the ground was really messy at the ruins and they didn’t stay long anyway.  It gave me an opportunity to come back to the ship, relax, and try a few more local beers… and other boozy delights.

This appears to be a smoked salmon roulade starter.

Sole for me at dinner.

 

And Bill had veal, which I know was tasty.  

A snifter of brandy…

And more dessert.

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part nine…

After our exciting trip to The Giant’s Causeway, we had to rush back to the ship.  We all needed to get dressed up in our “glad rags” for the first of two “galas”.  Now, when I refer to “galas” on Hebridean Princess, I don’t mean there was a band and dancing or anything.  Basically, everyone gets decked out in formal wear or at least dresses up a bit and there’s special food and such.  It’s a chance for everyone to mingle and get to know each other and hear from the purser and captain.  The first gala is intended to allow the staff to welcome everyone properly.

On all four of our Hebridean journeys, Bill has worn his Army Service Uniform, also popularly known as “dress blues”.  Bill still manages to look good in the uniform, despite having retired three years ago.  However, there is some doubt as to whether or not he should be wearing the dress blues on a ship.  I came across an interesting thread on Cruise Critic about U.S. military retirees wearing uniforms outside of military events.  Although I doubt anyone would bust Bill for wearing his blues on a tiny British cruise ship, I think we may have decided that this was the last cruise during which he would be wearing his blues, especially since he will soon have a custom made kilt of his very own.

I don’t generally like wearing formal dresses because I don’t enjoy shopping for clothes.  I’m short and fat and it’s hard to find dresses that are really flattering, yet comfortable.  I bought a couple of dresses for this cruise that were okay, I guess, but really didn’t make me feel pretty.  Still, I gamely wore a purple velvet get up for the first gala.  Bill squeezed into his blues and we went up to the cocktail party.

I think I will miss seeing Bill in his blues, especially on Hebridean Princess.  The uniform is a conversation piece and we have ended up meeting some fascinating people on the Princess who have military backgrounds themselves.  In attendance on our cruise was a man in his 90s named Ian.  Ian got a look at Bill in his dress blues and immediately chatted him up.  It turned out that Ian had joined the British Army in 1937, when he was a very young man.  He served in the British Army for thirty-five years, eventually ending up in Baden-Baden, a German city not far from where Bill and I currently live.

Ian met and married a German woman and was recruited by the Canadian Army, which allowed him to stay in Germany with his wife.  He served the Canadian Army for another fifteen years.  Then, he retired in 1987.  His wife preceded him in death and Ian has apparently become a return guest on Hebridean Princess.  I heard a staff member talking about what a lovely man he is.  And he repeatedly apologized to me for “stealing” Bill away to talk about the military.  Frankly, it was an honor for Bill to get to talk to another soldier with such an amazing history.

On our first Hebridean cruise, we met a man who was 89 years old and had served in World War II as a young man.  He was still amazingly lucid and had all kinds of stories about what it was like to serve in those days.  Bill and I both enjoyed meeting the man.

Anyway, after the cocktail party, we went to dinner.  Below are some pictures from that night.

Bill in his blues.  He said he was a little afraid to sit down because the jacket is a bit tight.  He bought a new one last year, but it needs to be tailored.  I think he still looks good.

The starter… bacon makes everything better, right?

I had lobster for my main course.  It was a treat, since it’s hard to find lobster here in Germany.

Bill went with pork.  The pork was good, although I get enough here!

This was dessert!  Naturally, I had the chocolate…

And Bill went with panna cotta, I think.  

 

After dinner, we went back to the Tiree lounge for drinks and conversation.  I don’t remember all I had, but I do know I tried one of the local beers…

I managed to ramp up my Untappd entries on this cruise!

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Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part eight…

I’ll be honest.  Until I took this cruise, I had never heard of The Giant’s Causeway.  Or, maybe I had heard of it only in passing.  It meant nothing to me when our guide, Bryan, told people to make sure they wore sturdy shoes.  Also, I wish I had known what we were going to see so that I could have made sure the battery for my good camera was fully charged.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t, so I had to rely on my iPhone and iPad for the pictures I took.  I think they turned out pretty great regardless.

I also had my trusty five year old Canon Powershot, which I like because it takes good photos and fits neatly in my beaded bags at formal dinners.  Sadly, that camera, which I purchased in advance of our 2012 Hebridean Princess voyages, is no longer holding a charge like it used to.  The good camera is another Canon that was bought in the spring of 2017, but it’s very cumbersome.  I may need to invest in a smaller one, which will mean the fancy big one will be neglected.

Getting to The Giant’s Causeway involved riding on a coach for a couple of hours.  Actually, we could have gotten to the site sooner, but our guide wanted to take a route that would give us stunning views of Northern Ireland’s coastline.  Ordinarily, I would have been all for that, except we went on this trip right after lunch.  Given that I drank a lot of wine and water during lunch and ate half a bowl of soup, my kidneys had a lot of work to do.  Also remember that I was on the rag… which is an indelicate way of putting things, but also adds some insight as to how desperate things could become.

The coach we used was unusual in that it did not have a toilet on board.  Consequently, many of us were squirming in our seats as Bryan described the splendor of Northern Ireland’s dramatic scenery.  I was getting grumpier and grumpier as we passed a number of public toilets, all just waiting for me to make a deposit.

The trip to The Giant’s Causeway involved a couple of miserable hours, though I did get some nice photos from the bus.  Once we arrived, I sprinted to the building where tickets were sold and headsets explaining things were granted.  A lot of us were in line for the bathroom before we boarded a shuttle bus to the Causeway.

Useful info.

Here’s a word to the wise.  It costs 1 GBP per ride to take the shuttle bus to the end of the road where the Causeway is.  Because we were wearing our lanyards, we didn’t have to pay for the bus ride, but we saw a lot of people who didn’t know the bus ride is not included in the ticket price.  Had I to do it over again, I would have simply walked.  The bus was jam packed with people, some of whom really needed the ride.  Also, the walk is very stunning and, to be honest, I could have used the exercise.  Bill and I did walk back after our visit, which allowed me to take more pictures and work off lunch.

I wore a pair of new ankle boots I got from Dansko, which is a shoe company that specializes in comfort.  They did pretty well on the rocks by the Causeway.  I would highly recommend good, sturdy, waterproof, non-slip shoes for your visit.  You will probably be tempted to climb on the rocks and they can get slick.  Also, make sure you pay attention to where climbing is allowed, lest you get yelled at by one of the minders standing by to make sure no one messes up the site.

The Giant’s Causeway was pretty busy when we visited and it was probably an absolute madhouse a couple of days later, when we encountered a couple of huge cruise ships in Belfast.  You may want to take into account when you plan your visit.  Make sure it doesn’t coincide with the arrival of a big cruise… although at just 45 people, some of whom didn’t even come on the trip, I think Hebridean Princess isn’t too taxing.

So here are some pictures from our visit, including a few I got from the coach on the way there.  I must admit, the torturous ride was well worth the end result.  Now I know about The Giant’s Causeway and I think it may have been my favorite of all of the places we visited, despite the crowds!

This is a shot of the indoor museum area, which I will admit I paid little attention to.  Shame on me!  FYI: The Giant’s Causeway has free WiFi.

One parting shot before we got back on the bus.

 

Below are a few pictures from the ride up to the Causeway.  They are nice, but maybe not as much of a draw as the Causeway pictures are…

Ooh!  This one is especially pretty!

These three pictures are from the ride back to the ship.  We got a beautiful rainbow that I had to capture, even though we were on a speeding bus and it was raining.  The ride back, by the way, was  shorter and a lot less painful.

And a few more stunners…

 
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Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part seven…

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!

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Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part six…

The big clock, where everybody meets up in Glasgow…

 

And another British nanny sign!

 

In March 2016, when we took our Hebridean Scotch Whisky tour, The Spirit of Scotland, the train station had a couple of bars that were about to close.  They were open for our visit, but they had little stock.  We sat up in that bar for a couple of hours and drank beer until it was time to meet the ship.  Although the train station still has a place for beer drinking, we wisely opted to go to a restaurant outside of the station.  I think maybe next time, instead of meeting the coach, maybe it might be better to simply go to where the boat is.  A three hour ride on a coach isn’t all that much fun, even when it’s Hebridean Island Cruises offering it.

I think we were the first ones from our cruise to get to the train station.  Our guide, Bryan Hogg, was next.  He was easy to spot because he was wearing a kilt and had the telltale Hebridean luggage tags on his bags.  Hebridean Island Cruises employs qualified guides for each of its cruises.  Bryan lives in Edinburgh and is a freelance guide (and a marvelous one at that).  He guided our cruise and is also guiding this week’s cruise.  Here’s a link to his blog, which is probably more interesting than mine is.  It looks like his isn’t as updated as often, though.  He’s also on Facebook, though I don’t see a link to a business page.  We really enjoyed having Bryan as our guide this week.  He’s very friendly, funny, and relaxed… and he also knows a lot about Scotland and Ireland.

Just so you know, it’s not free to pee in the train station.  It costs 40p to pee…  

 

The view from our seat on the coach.

Bill is excited because the Brits have lap and shoulder belts on their buses.  You’re supposed to wear them because the Brits are pretty strict about safety.  However, I will go on record as being naughty all week because the damned things were too uncomfortable.  Bill was a good boy, though.  I’ll be sure to give him a cookie later.

After all of the folks who had arranged to be met at the train station were accounted for, we collected our lanyards, which basically served as our identification all week.  Wearing them around the neck identified us as members of the Hebridean Princess cruise, which allowed us admission to activities and coffee and tea breaks pre-arranged by the ship.  Yes, that’s right, the ship pays for your coffee breaks when you’re aboard Hebridean Princess.  You don’t pay admission fees to the activities arranged by the cruise line, either.  In fact, you don’t have to pay for anything once you get aboard, unless you want something from the tiny gift shop.  It’s probably the only cruise ship on the planet that does not require passengers to hand over a credit card immediately upon boarding.

We stopped at the airport to pick up a few other people, including a couple of perfumed ladies who acted as if they were long lost sisters.  They sat in front of us and immediately started chattering quite loudly, which quickly became annoying because I was also trying to listen to Bryan talk about points of interest on the way north.  I’ll also admit that Auntie Flow was putting me in a foul mood.

I noticed a spunky looking lady sitting across from us who had a can of gin and tonic.  I immediately thought she was cool as she sipped it.  I wish I had had the same foresight.  I ended up moving to another seat just before the rest stop and the lady with the gin and tonic congratulated me!  Below are a few pictures I got of our rest stop…

Looks like a nice town to stop in for a visit.  Maybe another time.  One of the passengers, a guy who is still aboard this week, purchased an ice cream cone during our stop.  He made everyone laugh when someone asked him if the ice cream was good and he said it was “Dee—light–ful!” in a very comical British accent.  All week, he was cracking us up because he was very comfortable in his own skin and not afraid to use a bib (a man after my own heart, for sure!).

The two pictures above are of Inveraray Castle, as we passed it on the way to Oban.  I wish I had gotten a shot of it on the way back to Glasgow, since the weather was a lot nicer that day.  Unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the bus! 

 

We arrived in Oban at around 6:00pm or so.  It was raining and rather grim outside, but there was still a piper out there waiting to welcome us properly.  It was at this point that I learned our purser was to be the legendary David Indge, who was our purser on our second Hebridean cruise in 2012.  He truly is fabulous!  Queen Elizabeth II has been on Hebridean Princess twice and she liked Dave so much that she reportedly specifically requested his services during her cruises.  I can see why she liked him so much!

Here’s a brief clip of the piper.  He piped each party aboard, though some had already arrived at the ship before the coach got there.  Bear in mind that the Hebridean Princess carries, at most, 49 passengers at a time.  I think there were 45 on our cruise.

Here’s a shot of Oban that I took as we waited for the obligatory muster drill…

And here is an obligatory shot of Bill in his life jacket.  I do this every time we cruise.  I think this may be one of the better shots of him in his life jacket.

 

Most nights on Hebridean Princess, passengers dress up a bit for dinner.  On the first night, it’s permissible to dress casually.  That’s because there’s a lot to do once you get on the ship.  Before the muster drill, you have to unpack your stuff and leave your bags to be stowed during the cruise.  Depending on how light you travel, unpacking may or may not be a chore.  It usually is for me, because I am incapable of traveling light under any circumstances.

Another thing to know about Hebridean Princess is, again, almost everything is included, including booze.  That means you can drink all you want and no one will be making you sign any chits and you can try all sorts of stuff.

After the muster drill, it was time for dinner.  You can see below that we tried both the red and white wines with dinner… and had a little bubbly, too.

I had duck, which was lovely with potatoes and green beans…

Bill had salmon on top of potatoes and garnished with broccolini.

 

There was more to this meal, but it was one of the rare ones that I didn’t photograph completely.  I guess I was just overwhelmed by the abundance of excellence.  Our waiter last week was a friendly young Polish lad named Mariusz.  He took very good care of us… almost as good care as the bar staff!

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Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part two…

We left Stuttgart for our trip to Scotland and Northern Ireland on Saturday, September 9, 2017.  I was in a pretty edgy state, thanks to a full summer of worrying.  Although we probably take more trips than most Americans, I have gotten used to traveling a lot since we moved back to Germany in 2014.  Travel is one of the main reasons I like living over here, and we hadn’t had a trip since my birthday in June, when we drove to Belgium.  I was itching to get out of Deutschland, which only sounds crazy if you aren’t living here as an American.

As I mentioned previously, I booked a cruise on Hebridean Princess about a year ago.  It’s necessary for us to book well in advance when we cruise on the Princess because it’s very expensive.  We chose the Call of the Emerald Isle cruise, which would take us from Oban, an adorable city in Scotland, to ports in Northern Ireland.  We also had a couple of stops in the Republic of Ireland.

This was technically our fourth trip on Hebridean Princess.  Our very first trip on Hebridean Princess was in November 2012, when we took two five night cruises back to back to celebrate our tenth anniversary.  We took our third cruise with them in March 2016, a scotch whisky themed trip, which you can read about in this blog.  Fair warning.  That series was divided into fourteen parts and I imagine this series will be similarly lengthy!  If you like whisky and are interested in distilleries in Scotland, it might be worth reading.  I did write about our first trip, but it was before I had a travel blog, so it’s not a very detailed description.

Since Bill and I are in better financial straits than we’ve ever been, I decided to make this trip as upper class as possible.  I booked business class tickets on British Airways and got us a Club Executive room at the Carlton George Hotel in Glasgow, which is our hotel of choice when we’re in Glasgow because they offer a nice executive lounge and a free minibar ;-).  I did not upgrade our stateroom on Hebridean Princess, though, since doing so requires quite a lot more money.  We stayed in Loch Harport, a category H stateroom which is their cheapest “room”, all the way at the bottom of the ship.  The cabins in H have no windows or portholes, but they are otherwise pretty nice.  More on the stateroom in a later post.  We have now stayed in all of the “cheap” rooms with twin/king sized beds, so I can later offer a comparison of the three.

Because Bill changed companies in July, we weren’t sure if he was going to be able to accompany me on this cruise.  Had he not come with me, I probably would have either gone alone or Bill’s mom might have come with me.  Fortunately, Bill’s mom is a good friend and we get along great!  However, she did recently have hip surgery and I was a little concerned about the prospect of her staying in an “H” room, since getting to and from there involves climbing and descending a lot of steps.  Hebridean Princess doesn’t have any elevators.  As it turned out, Bill’s new boss was very accommodating, so we were able to take this unforgettable trip together.  If he is reading this post, I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart.

So Saturday, September 9th was the big day.  We dropped off our dogs, Zane and Arran, at Dog Holiday bright and early in the morning, then headed for the airport.  We checked in on British Airways, enjoying a brief wait since we were using their Club Europe (business class) service.  After we checked in, we were whisked through security.  One thing I noticed on this trip, our first using the airport since we visited Ireland last November, was that Stuttgart has invested in a new security method that only takes a couple of seconds and doesn’t involve any intimate scans or pat downs.  I liked it very much and hope to see its use become more common.

After we passed through security, went up to the very pleasant but small lounge in Stuttgart’s airport.  A delightfully cheerful German lady was running things that day.  I remember her well, since her extreme cheerfulness is kind of an anomaly in these parts.

For those who are curious about British Airways’ lounge in Stuttgart, here it is…  You get free WiFi, drinks, and snacks.  It was the smallest and least impressive of the lounges we used on this trip, but it was still pretty nice.

We were in Club Europe, which is British Airways’ business class in Europe.  Basically, the seats are the same as they are in coach, except you don’t have anyone sitting in the middle.  Instead, you get this cute little table thing in the center seat.  Business class also entitles you to a meal and free drinks.

A couple of aerial shots of Stuttgart as we took off.

This was the food they served us.  The first photo is chicken with some sort of potato salad, that I didn’t touch.  There was also bread, salad, and key lime pie (which was pretty good).

I also enjoyed champagne.  

Bill had the “beef panini” with red wine.  This was the same food they served us yesterday on our return flight from Glasgow to London, although the red wine was a cabernet.  

And here’s an aerial shot of London as we were about to land at Heathrow.

A word about Heathrow Airport…  This was probably my first experience there since the late 1970s, when my dad retired from the Air Force after his last job as base engineer at Mildenhall Air Force Base.  I seem to remember we flew Pan Am, which is a long defunct airline.  Because I was a small child in the late 70s, I have no memories of Heathrow during that time and only the vaguest memories of Dulles Airport, which was where we landed when we arrived stateside.  Consequently, I had no idea of what a zoo Heathrow is.  Sure, I had heard stories about it, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the madness of the place.  I thought Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris was bad.  Heathrow gives it a good run for its money.  I think I will try to avoid using it in the future, if I can.

This is actually not as chaotic looking as the airport was at the time.

We landed at Heathrow at about noon and had to go through border control.  The guy who stamped us into the country had one of those mustaches that curls up on either side.  He was very charming and we had no problems getting through.  Next, I’m pretty sure we went through customs, then another very obnoxious turn through security, which was complete bedlam.  After that, we found our way to British Airways’ enormous south lounge.  I say “south lounge”, because there is also a smaller north lounge, which apparently gets very busy.  There is a sign out front that says if you have a long layover, you should use the south lounge, so that’s what we did.  It, too, was a total madhouse, though slightly less obnoxious than the airport’s facilities for the masses.  Imagine being a captive audience at a large mall which is completely overrun with people, most of whom are walking slowly and not watching where they’re going.  It reminded me of Breuningerland in Sindelfingen during the Christmas season.

We spent our four hour layover trying the many drinks and snacks offered in the lounge.  There wasn’t a lot of seating available, since apparently a lot of people are either frequent flyers or booked business class on British Airways.  We sat near a man who spent over an hour on the phone speaking what must have been some sort of East Indian language.  He was pleasant enough, but it was like eavesdropping on tech support, since he was clearly talking business and seemed to be instructing someone.

There are a couple of other lounges for first class passengers.  They are closely guarded by staffers who shoo away any lowly business class passengers trying to sneak in.  The British Airways lounge also has a spa, which I was tempted to try.  I never got around to it.

At about four o’clock, it was time for our flight to Glasgow.  We had to go through yet another annoying security feature.  When we first arrived at the airport after our Stuttgart flight, we had to go through a scanner which involved showing our tickets and having a photo taken.  When it was time to board our flight to Glasgow, we had to go through the same type of scanner and another photo was taken.  Of course, the second photo came after I had spent four hours in a packed lounge drinking wine.  And, naturally, it didn’t work properly when it was my turn.  I had to have an agent help me through, which was irritating.  I probably looked pissed off in my second photo.

Once we were settled into our seats, it was time to lift off.  We enjoyed an uneventful flight to Glasgow after a short weather related delay.  I enjoyed British Airways’ new safety film.

They showed this on three of our four flights…  It’s pretty clever.  Sadly, at first, I only recognized Thandie Newton.  After the third viewing, I also recognized Gillian Anderson, even though I never watched the X Files.


Upon landing in Glasgow, we collected our bags and took a cab into the big city.

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part one…

If there ever was a time when Bill and I badly needed a vacation, I think September 2017 might go down as one of those times.  I can think of a few other times when we needed a break.  Oddly, they were also in September.  I remember September 2008.  It was the first time we lived in Germany together and Bill had been working very hard on some stuff for EUCOM.  Later, he was surprised by a mandatory trip to the Republic of Georgia.  He was burned out and pissed off and he sent me an email that read simply, “I think we should go to Belgium and see Mannekin Pis.”  And we did.  We went to Brussels and spent that Labor Day weekend completely loaded on Belgian beer and we visited Mannekin Pis.

The other trip that comes to mind happened over Labor Day weekend in 2005, right after Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans.  Again, Bill had been working hard and was totally exasperated with his job.  He decided to take me on my first (and at this time, only) trip out west.  We worried that the trip would have to be cancelled due to the hurricane and the fact that Bill was in the National Guard at the time.  Fortunately, we were able to go on our brief trip to Anacortes and Seattle in Washington State and we had a fantastic time.

2017 is different.  Bill has been working very hard.  It’s been a pretty stressful summer.  Lately, we’ve had to travel with our dogs because it’s hard to find good doggie care.  Over a year ago, I booked us a cruise on Hebridean Princess, a wonderful Scottish luxury cruise vessel that we have had the great pleasure of sailing on three times before.

For months, we’ve been wondering if Bill would get to go on the trip, since his company changed and he hasn’t built up any leave yet.  We’ve had a number of other recent nuisances and mishaps that made us yearn for a vacation.  It was with great pleasure that we boarded our British Airways flights to London and Glasgow for this year’s cruise, which will take us round trip from Oban to Northern Ireland.  Neither Bill nor I have ever been to Northern Ireland, although we did visit Ireland last year for our anniversary.

Hebridean Island Cruises owns just one ship, the tiny Hebridean Princess, which hosts just 49 passengers at a time.  Hebridean cruises are quite expensive, however; once you have paid your fare, you don’t have to pay for anything else.  You don’t pay for booze, excursions, entry into attractions, or tips.  You can spend money on something from the ship’s tiny shop or if you want an expensive wine or something, but really, once you’ve paid, you’re done worrying.  They even pick you up in Glasgow and either take you by coach to wherever Princess is leaving from or fly you to where you need to be on a chartered flight.

I should mention that Hebridean also leases the Royal Crown river boat and they offer several river boat cruises in the summer.  But, for the most part, the Princess, which was built in 1964 and was originally a car ferry, is where the action is.  The staff on the ship consists of many Scots, along with crew from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic.

For this trip, I decided to go all out and booked business class air on British Airways.  It was our first time flying on British Airways, so we had no idea what their business class would be like.  After experiencing the hell of Heathrow Airport, I will say that it’s probably worth it to shell out the extra bucks, if only because you can use their lounge.  The lounge is probably going to be crowded, but it won’t be as bad as the rest of the airport.

We are currently staying in the Carlton George Hotel in Glasgow.  We have stayed here twice before. I keep coming back because the rooms feature “free” minibars.  I got us an executive “Club” room, which allows access to the hotel’s executive lounge.

We have been in Glasgow for three days now and will leave for our cruise tomorrow.  I already have lots of material for posts to come.  I look forward to writing the story of this trip.  For now, I just want to say that my posts may or may not be regular since we will be on a ship.  When we get back to Stuttgart next week, there will be plenty of updates.  Stay tuned!

This is one place we’ve visited…
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anecdotes

Big cruise ships vs. small ones…

Tiny SeaDream 1 next to a gigantic P&O ship in Antigua…

 

My husband Bill and I have done seven cruises, six of which were on very small ships.  Our very first cruise was on Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas, which is one of their oldest and smallest vessels.  I think Vision of the Seas carries about 2400 people max, which makes her pretty small for a Royal Caribbean ship.  Compare Vision of the Seas to Royal Caribbean’s enormous Oasis of the Seas, which carries over 5000 people, and Vision of the Seas seems positively dainty.

Bill and I enjoyed our first cruise on a big cruise ship, but we didn’t like the huge crowds and nickel and diming that went on all the time.  Though there’s plenty of do on a big ship and it’s easy to escape the crowds if you are so inclined, we determined that we liked the idea of small ships and all inclusive cruising better.  So we tried SeaDream Yacht Club and, to date, have been on three SeaDream cruises.  Either of SeaDream’s mega yachts only carries 112 passengers at a time.  So the staff gets to know your name.  So do the other passengers.

Later, we tried Hebridean Island Cruises, which is an even smaller ship.  Only 49 passengers are aboard at a time.  That means even more personal attention and even more inclusiveness.

Bill and I had a great time on our most recent cruise, but once we disembarked, I couldn’t help thinking I’d like to try another cruise line.  There are several I’m interested in.  One I’ve been wanting to try for years is Un-Cruise Adventures, which is an American line.  If we hadn’t moved to Germany, we might have cruised with them this year instead of Hebridean.  I’ve also been wanting to try Seabourn for a long time.  Azamara has kind of piqued my interest, too.  So has Paul Gauguin Cruises, though I doubt we’ll be trying one of those until we’re back in the States.  It takes way too long to get to Tahiti from Germany!  None of these cruise lines have ships that are super huge, but most of them are smaller than anything you’d find on a mainstream line.

Some people love the really huge ships with many restaurants, shopping venues, waterslides, rock climbing walls, Waverunners, and the like.  Me?  I like a ship that has really good food, all inclusive pricing, and excellent service.  I also like ships that don’t pressure me to tip.  One thing I like about Hebridean is that they operate on a strict non tipping policy.  SeaDream also doesn’t pressure passengers to tip.  Instead, those who want to tip are encouraged to donate to the crew fund.  The only exception is when you use the spa, where tips are expected.

Don’t get me wrong.  When I go out to eat or get personal services, I tip.  I have waited tables before and understand how it is, especially in the United States.  However, I find tipping rather awkward.  I never know how much to tip or how to go about doing it gracefully.  I would rather cruise lines (and restaurants, for that matter) pay their people appropriately.  I know it’ll probably never be popular practice in the United States not to tip because servers like being in charge of what they can earn.  But I think the people who employ servers should be paying them and not putting that duty off to the customer.  I thought this when I was a server myself, too.  I would seriously rather pay higher fares than deal with tipping.  I remember being on Vision of the Seas and noticing the video about tipping on the ship’s television channel.  I thought it was really tacky.

Another thing I liked about the smaller ships is that a lot of times, what you pay up front is what you pay.  At the end of a SeaDream cruise, we usually have a bill.  It’s never been as big as it was when we cruised on Royal Caribbean.  When we’ve been on Hebridean Princess, we have never had a bill at the end.  We don’t even give them a credit card when we board.  I like that.

I’m not sure when our next cruise will be.  Bill has said more than once that he wants to try river barging.  I am definitely up for that.  That means an even smaller boat.  I think most barges only carry about a dozen people.  Tipping is also expected and you don’t tend to cover as many miles on a barge.

There are drawbacks to small ship cruising.  For one thing, smaller ships don’t tend to be as stable as the big ships are.  You can end up getting pretty seasick on the small ships.  I never have on Hebridean Princess because they mostly stick to the lochs, which are usually pretty calm.  They also anchor at night.  I have gotten very seasick on SeaDream 1 on more than one occasion, often in the middle of the night when they move to the next port.

Another drawback is that it can be hard to escape people who get on your nerves.  If you happen to be on a cruise where a large group has booked, you can end up feeling a little like an afterthought.  Big groups on small boats can overwhelm the ambience a bit.  If there’s someone you clash with, it can be hard to avoid them.  On the other hand, the small ship also allows for very personal attention and service.  For instance, I got a big kick out of one of the bartenders on Hebridean Princess going out of his way to make me a Brandy Alexander.  That probably wouldn’t happen on a huge ship.

Anyway… my guess is that the next cruise we book will be a barge somewhere in France or perhaps Ireland.  Things will get even smaller!  But I haven’t ruled out Seabourn or another SeaDream cruise. I may even get crazy and try another line.  We’ll see.

Tiny SeaDream one in the foreground and a huge Celebrity behind it.  Actually, this photo makes me want to book a SeaDream cruise…  

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Hebridean Island Cruises, whisky distilleries

Part 11… Oban Distillery, the captain’s farewell, and disembarkation…

After our visit to Jura Distillery, it was time to venture to Oban, the town where most Hebridean cruises begin once the season gets going.  The early spring and late fall cruises usually start in Greenock, probably because the weather is milder down that way.  Bill and I had never been to Oban before this cruise and, I must admit, it’s an awfully cute town.  I think I’d like to go there and just spend a few days shopping and eating.

Tenders ready for our last day.

Before we went to Oban, we stopped to tour some pretty gardens in Ardfern.  It was a bit overcast during the morning, but we managed to enjoy about an hour of walking around.  Afterwards, we had tea and shortbread in the cafe attached to Loch Melfort Hotel, where the gardens were located.  I also managed to get a picture of a Highland cow, though I probably should have gotten closer than I did.

Highland cows.

Pretty flowers!

After the garden tour, we had lunch.  It was a ham buffet, kind of like the fresh seafood buffet of a few days earlier, only with ham.  I enjoyed the ham buffet, but I am more of a seafood fan.

The ham is ready for carving…

 

A close up of the 2012 version…

Oban does, of course, have a distillery.  It’s right in the middle of town.  According to our very cool guide, Catriona, the town of Oban was pretty much built around the distillery, which dates from 1794.  Of all of the distilleries we visited during our weeklong cruise, I think Oban has some of the most interesting history.  Catriona told us that the distillery can’t expand too much because of its location, as well as the fact that there are caves in the cliff behind the distillery.  Some excavations were done during the distillery’s early years and some very old– prehistoric maybe?– bones were found back there.  Also, there is a Roman style amphitheater on the cliff over the distillery and people had started to live up there, so more room could not be carved out of the cliff.

Oban Distillery.

 

Bill checks out the visitor’s center.

Because of Oban Distillery’s location, it’s one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland.  It’s known for producing a 14 year old malt.  In 2014, Oban introduced “Little Bay”, which is a non-age statement whisky.  Oban actually means “little bay” in Gaelic.

I thought Catriona did a great job telling us about the Oban Distillery, though I was pretty much distilleried out by the time we got to her.  She also showed us a part of the process that no one at the other distilleries did.  It was basically a three layered box used to separate the grist of the malt… I think, anyway.  Although all of the distilleries supposedly use this rather unsophisticated tool, no one else told us about it.  So, as Catriona said, “Score one for Oban!”

During this particular tour, the whisky expert expounded on the wonders of whisky making in such a way that Catriona had to stop him.  There was another tour coming behind us that needed use of the room.

After the distillery, we walked around Oban and I did my best to try to talk Bill into getting a kilt.  But he demurred, as usual…  One of these days, I’ll have him wearing a skirt.

Oban sunset.

We went back to the ship and put on our finery for one last gala dinner.  Bill squeezed into his uniform and I squeezed into pantyhose.  I also put on a blue wraparound dress I ordered from Amazon on a whim two years ago.  I have another one that is identical, except it’s in red.  I brought it with me, but bright red makes me feel too loud.

Haggis!

The second gala on Hebridean Princess always involves eating haggis.  I tried haggis the last time we cruised and didn’t remember hating it much.  I am pleased to say that it was actually pretty delicious this last time, although it’s not something I would choose to eat outside of Scotland, especially when no one is reciting Robert Burns.  I had turbot for dinner and Bill had venison.  It was actually a very nice meal.  Little did I know that later, I’d be tasting it again.

Hilarious original poetry by a passenger…

 

A rare photo of both Bill and me…

 

Haggis… it was surprisingly good!

 

Gin and tonic sorbet!

 

Bill looking smashing.

After dinner, we all had the chance to see the galley and chat with the kitchen staff.  Much to my delight, one of the guys in the kitchen claims to have remembered me from 2012.  I guess that’s possible, since I doubt too many Americans cruise on Hebridean Princess and I do have a distinctive laugh.  Anyway, it was nice to be able to thank them for a job well done.

Someone had an accident on the steps, so we were asked to take a detour to the Tiree Lounge for cocktails.  Bill and I went there and Philip, one of the bar staff members who had also worked on The Royal Scotsman, made me another Brandy Alexander, some of which I ended up spilling on my shoes.  I have to admit, my mood was beginning to sour due to a personality clash I had with someone else on the cruise.  I just wanted to go to bed.  But we were met with a road block on the way there, as the person who had had the accident was being evacuated.

I assured the assistant purser that I just wanted to go to bed and wasn’t interested in rubber necking.  So she let us go; we went to bed; and I promptly fell asleep until 3:00am.  I woke up, felt queasy, and began the first of about twelve hours of vomiting.  As I mentioned in the very first Scotland post, I wrote a rather detailed account on my main, more R rated blog.

In the interest of keeping my travel blog somewhat benign, I will dispense with going into great detail here…  except to say that germs are no joke on cruise ships!  Wash your hands!  Don’t share eating utensils or towels with strangers.  Use the alcohol hand sanitizers, but realize that they are no substitute for thorough and properly done hand washing.  Also realize that sometimes no matter what you do and what precautions you take, you will sometimes get sick.  Rather than beat yourself up over it, just simmer down and let the sickness take its course.  If you’re lucky, your illness will be rather short lived.  I was mostly back to normal within 48 hours, though those 48 hours were definitely not much fun.

In any case, by about 6:00am, I really looked like death warmed over.  I was sitting there wondering what we were going to do, since our plans had us going back to Glasgow, picking up a rental car, and driving to the Stoke on Trent area, where we had reserved a room at the Shawgate Farm House for two nights.  Had I been completely healthy, that plan would have been doable, if not making for a long day of travel.  But I was repeatedly vomiting, had diarrhea, and really bad stomach cramps.

Bill called the bridge to tell them that I was not feeling well.  The first officer came down to our cabin, took my temperature, and gave me water with electrolytes.  I later threw it up.  Bill explained to the purser that we were afraid what I had was contagious (and later it proved to be when Bill also got it).  I feared riding the coach and exposing others, even though they had probably already been exposed.  Also, I wondered if I would be able to make the ride to Glasgow without getting sick (I didn’t, but that’s explained in my other post about this).  I think had it been entirely up to me, I would have just found a hotel room in Oban.  But Bill and the purser determined we’d take a cab to Glasgow, which the ship kindly paid for.

Several very kind staff members expressed concern for me, which I appreciated.  I would have loved to have said goodbye properly to a few of my more favorite staffers.  Iain, the hottie hotel manager from Islay, said goodbye to me before we left the ship.  I hope he didn’t catch my sickness in those brief few moments.  I also really hope our poor stewardess, Katarzyna, did not get sick…  or the people who had the stateroom after us.  And the poor cabbie who drove us to Oban and the lady who ran the B&B where we stayed Wednesday night.  Despite feeling really miserable, I also felt pretty guilty about having a contagious illness.

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Uncategorized

Part 10… Jura Distillery

It took a couple of hours to cruise from Port Ellen to the Isle of Jura, where Jura Distillery is located. The weather was absolutely perfect.  We had sunshine and mild temperatures for the tender ride to shore, where a minivan was waiting to take us to the distillery.  Jura appeared to be a pretty desolate place.  I got the sense that the distillery was one of the few things going on there, though the scenery was beautiful and quiet.

John the guide offered to take a photo of Bill and me…  He’s not the first to do that.  I guess we look very sweet on each other.  I hate having my picture taken, though.  It usually depresses me.  So I declined.  I probably should have said yes, though.  Bill has a way of making me glow.

A small restaurant next to the distillery offered guests a chance for a potty break.  I walked in there and saw what appeared to be a bunch of locals shooting pool.  I enjoy small communities where people tend to know each other and I saw many of them while we were on our cruise.

We might have popped in for some cake if I wasn’t already worried about popping out of my pants.  

While we were walking around the grounds, a Scottish woman on our cruise was telling Bill and me about the “angel’s share” and how it turns trees around whisky distilleries black.  Apparently, the booze authorities in the UK know exactly how black the trees are supposed to be and pay close attention to the environment.  We heard over and over again how strict the laws about booze making are in Britain.  Of course, it all has to do with money… and health and safety.

I wish I remembered the name of our guide at the Jura Distillery, but I will say that I thought she did a fantastic job with the tour.  She had a warm personality and seemed to have the enthusiasm of a young teacher as she gave us the very interesting history of how the Jura Distillery came to be.  She mentioned that it was founded by the Campbell family.  The Campbells weren’t such good landlords, so the distillery ended up passing through a number of hands before it came to what it is today.

A pretty church in Jura.

Both Bill and I are related to Campbells… wonder if they’re the same folks?  I kind of doubt it, but it’s fun to wonder.  Bill happens to be a distant relative of Glen Campbell, the singer.  My Campbell connection was several hundred years ago.  Though Bill bears a passing resemblance to Glen Campbell, he can’t carry a tune in a bucket.

Anyway, a couple of folks were not able to take the tour because it involved climbing a lot of stairs.  They sat in the visitor’s center and drank whisky instead.  I think we were only supposed to taste one or two, but I heard they disregarded that guideline.  Meanwhile, our bubbly and adorable guide gave us a chance to smell some of the substances destined to be whisky and I got a hell of a shock to my schnozz.  Breathing the alcoholic fumes was like hitting the smelling salts after a faint.

Because the weather was so pretty, Bill and I decided to walk back to the ship.  It was a pretty decent stroll next to the shore.  As we were walking, several staff members passed us on bikes.  One thing I haven’t yet mentioned in these blog posts is that Hebridean seems fairly good about letting their staff members have some off time.  Egon the bartender attended a couple of whisky tours with us, albeit in his uniform.  Our waitress was mounted on one of the bikes and gave us a pretty smile as she passed. As someone who has worked in the service industry and witnessed how hard cruise ship employees work, I’m glad to see that Hebridean is fairly humane!

Later that evening, Bill and I went to the Tiree Lounge for a nightcap.  Philip, a Scotsman who had once worked on The Royal Scotsman luxury train and had even remembered a passenger on our cruise who had been on the train with him, asked me what I would like to drink.  I don’t know what got into me, but I asked for a Brandy Alexander.  I almost never drink Brandy Alexanders, though I do think they are tasty.  Based on the reaction I got from Philip and the rest of the crew, it’s not a drink that is commonly requested on Hebridean Princess.  But Philip was undaunted.  He studied the beverage and brought me one that was almost perfect!  I say almost because he didn’t have any nutmeg for the garnish and had to use chocolate instead (which is just fine with me!).  I said it was okay that it wasn’t perfect, since I am not that particular.  His response?  “But I am.”  Classic!

Philip shows other staffers how Brandy Alexanders are made!

Service with a smile!

It was a lovely after dinner drink.

A lovely walk back to the ship.

Scotland has a surprising number of palm trees.  Last time we cruised there, I heard it was due to its position on the jet stream.  I’m too lazy to Google it.

Sunday night, we had Hebridean’s awesome Sunday roast…

Good stuff.  This reminds me that I will need to make a Hebridean food porn posting after I’m finished writing up this trip.

Meals like this inspire Bill, my personal chef…

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