Visiting God in Gotland… Visby, Sweden!

On Tuesday, June 27th, Regent Splendor called on Visby, Sweden. Visby is a place I’d never heard of when I booked this cruise, but it’s actually a pretty cool place to visit. Located on Gotland Island, off the eastern coast of the Swedish mainland, Visby is a well-preserved walled medieval town, with beautiful gardens, historic homes, and a huge, majestic church.

It looks like there were only two tours offered during our Visby stop. We ended up taking the Medieval Visby tour, which appears to be very much like the other tour, Visby Walk & Historical Museum, except the tour we were on did not include a visit to the museum.

I kind of liked our tour guide, an older lady who was a native of Visby. She was very knowledgeable about Visby, and enthusiastic about her job. I heard her say that she taught classes in a university. I could believe it. She really knew her stuff, and she was entertaining, too. We were all given headsets that made it easier to hear her. The one I had didn’t seem to work very well and with every step, it bounced against my boobs, so I just listened to her live.

Although Visby has a walled in old town, most people no longer live in the town proper, as the historic museum has a lot of rules about what people can do to the historic homes there. There are rules about construction, painting, and even what kinds of windows people can install. Our guide showed us the smallest house in Visby, which she said sold about ten years ago for about $200,000. It’s so small that one can’t even stand up straight in it. The guide, who appeared to be short like me and said she couldn’t stand up in the house, explained that the buyer was actually the next door neighbor, as buying the tiny house was the only way to have more space at his house!

We learned that Visby used to have a train, but it was stopped in 1960. People are apparently still kind of bitter about losing the train, but the guide explained that it wasn’t really practical to have it. Using buses is more efficient. The old train station still exists, and is now used for a different purpose.

We also learned that there are homes in Visby that are built entirely of wood, including the nails holding them together. And when Visby was conquered, residents were encouraged to build stone houses. They were given excellent tax incentives to use stone, rather than wood, as the wood was a valuable commodity for sales abroad. Some residents tricked the tax authorities by covering up their wooden homes with stone facades. To this day, it’s possible to spot homes that are actually wooden, covered up by stone to fool the taxmen.

As interesting as Visby is, I think some people on our tour were a bit frustrated, as the guide moved at a slow pace. I heard one woman loudly complaining to her husband that the guide only went a few yards at a time before she would stop to tell a story or explain something. Also, I know some of us really needed to pee. At one point, I followed a fellow passenger to a restaurant, which kindly allowed us to use their facilities. The toilets were pretty nasty, though, especially the one the other lady used. It reeked of something very foul! She looked horrified when she came out. I held my breath and was spared much of the olfactory torture.

We were only able to visit the chapel in Visby Cathedral, as the main part was not open. I understand there are toilets at the cathedral, too, but they weren’t open, either. I think people who didn’t go when I did used another restroom at a restaurant.

My favorite part of the tour was probably the botanical garden, which was very beautiful and well-tended, with many different trees and smaller plants. We also visited Gallows Hill, and our guide explained how condemned people were treated back in the day. The hill is located well outside of the walled city’s gates, which our guide told us were closed every night, and made it impossible for people to go in or out. For many years, no one lived outside of the walls of the old city, so much of the island was “wild”. Obviously, that’s no longer the case today.

Below are some photos from Visby!

*Of all the places we visited, Visby’s port was the most bombed by seagulls!*

The photos are actually a little bit misleading. Visby was pretty crowded when we visited. I couldn’t help but think that as charming as the town is, I would think all the tourists and tour groups would get very old for the locals. But I guess they do provide some valuable economy for the island. Below are some more photos I took… and as I look at them now, I’m amazed by how pretty they are. Visby is very interesting and charming, but like I said, quite populated with people like us– tourists! However, everywhere we went, except for that one bathroom, smelled heavily of fragrant flowers. The roses and linden trees were especially intoxicating.

After our tour, we went back to Splendor and prepared for our 6:30 PM dinner reservation at Chartreuse, the ship’s French specialty restaurant. I got the feeling that of the three specialty restaurants, Chartreuse might be the least popular. I enjoyed it, although I felt the food was a very Americanized version of French cuisine. I was especially delighted, though, to get somewhat early reservations. Bill and I are not night owls. I probably would be more of one, if not for Bill, but he’s very much an early bird. His brain goes down with the sun. 😀

Here are some photos from Chartreuse…

*The champagne glasses were a little “sweaty” when we got them.*

As we were leaving, the waiter presented me with a little box. Inside were two fresh pistachio macarons. Very nice, but since we live next door to France, it probably wasn’t as exciting for me as it is for other passengers. But they had no way of knowing that! 😉

After dinner, we had a nightcap in the Observation Lounge. I had some of my favorite Armagnac. Bill had a gin and tonic. We rushed back to the stateroom so I could get shots of the incredible sunset. That was when we noticed the “mail” in the slot by the door… an “invitation” to the following night’s dinner in the other speciality restaurant, Pacific Rim. We also got one for Chartreuse, and I’m sure we had one for Prime 7, too. I just neglected to take photos.

The sunset really was incredible…

We decided to try breakfast in the room on Wednesday, so we made our selections of what we wanted and hung the sign on the door. More on that in the next post!

Champagne Bucket trips, Finland, Regent Seven Seas Cruise Lines

Helsinki! Helsinki! Our first look at Finland’s capital city!

Years ago, Bill and I were big fans of the British comedy show, Little Britain. That show featured various character skits by comedians David Walliams and Matt Lucas. One skit they did consistently involved characters named Lou and Andy. Lou asked Andy where he wanted to go on holiday, and Andy insisted that he wanted to go to Helsinki…

Lou suggests Florida, but Andy reiterates he wants Helsinki… but then changes his mind.

I didn’t change my mind about Helsinki. I was genuinely curious about it. On our first day aboard the ship, we were to take a short bus trip into Finland’s capital and enjoy a harbor cruise. This was one of the “free excursions” offered by Regent. But first, we needed to fuel up with breakfast. So we went down to the Compass Rose restaurant and enjoyed some very hearty fare, delivered to us by warm and attentive wait staff.

*Sparkling water… we had to request it a lot!*

We were arriving in Helsinki during the late morning hours, so we had time for a leisurely breakfast and, as it turned out, a quick lunch. I’m glad we had lunch before we got off the ship, as our excursion took place during the time when we might ordinarily have a midday repast. There’s a reason I mention this, and I’ll get to it in a couple of posts. 😉 Suffice to say, we went to La Veranda again and grazed the humongous buffet so we’d be well-fortified for our trip to the city of Helsinki.

*Looks like a ham and cheese baguette for Bill…*

Cruise director Jude made an announcement that Finland’s authorities had cleared the ship and people could get off the vessel. There were complimentary shuttle buses into town, or those who had excursions could go to the Constellation Theater and trade their tickets for group numbers, which they would then give to the locally hired tour guides.

One thing I immediately liked about the Regent experience is that they do have the complimentary shuttle buses. Regent bills itself as the most “all inclusive” cruise line available. Actually, I think Hebridean Island Cruises is (or was) more all inclusive than Regent is, but it’s a lot less famous and goes to far fewer places than Regent does. For a well-known cruise line that goes worldwide, I do think Regent probably does offer the most bang for the buck. But I caveat that by saying this as someone who hasn’t experienced a lot of different cruise lines.

On both Royal Caribbean and SeaDream, if we weren’t signed up for excursions, we had to find our own ways into the cities. Sometimes, that wasn’t a problem, but other times, not signing up for excursions meant being stuck at an ugly port, walking into town, figuring out and taking public transportation, or hiring a cab. Regent does have buses for those who want to do their own thing. I also want to mention, in fairness to Royal Caribbean and SeaDream, their policies may have changed since we were last aboard their ships. I honestly don’t know.

I ended up enjoying the harbor cruise excursion, as Gail and Ger were also on the boat with us. One group got off about midway, because they had paid for an extra segment of the tour. We were just fine with the boat, which had three guides offering commentary about life in Finland. When they mentioned that Finland had just joined NATO this year, everybody cheered!

The harbor cruise boat was comfortable, with seating available on top and inside the cabin. There was a bar serving snacks and beverages, including local beers. They also had clean toilets, which was a huge plus. In fact, the guides encouraged everyone to use the toilets on the tourboat, since public restrooms in the market area in Helsinki are scarce.

I thought the tour guides on the harbor cruise were basically good. There was one who did a bit of rambling. It was as if she wanted to keep talking to prevent people from talking among themselves. I know that once people get to talking, it can be hard to get them to be quiet again. But the rambling was noticeable.

Nevertheless, we did learn a lot about how cold it gets in Finland in the winter, as the guides showed us the ice breakers that keep the shipping lanes open. The guides also said that the ice gets hard enough that people can walk or even drive on it, although global warming is changing that reality. Personally, I think I’d be afraid to walk on the ice!

The guides also spoke at length about sauna culture in Finland. Apparently, many people have their own saunas at home. Sometimes you find homes with private saunas in Germany, too, but in Finland, it’s evidently very common. Lots of people own boats and second homes, too, even if they aren’t very wealthy. Or, at least that’s what we were told.

Below are some photos…

*Waiting in the theater to be invited to our bus.*

After the boat tour, we walked around the marketplace, where vendors were selling everything… There were a lot of really nice souvenirs. I bought a silk scarf for myself, and a couple of wooden toys for Bill’s youngest grandson. I wish we’d had more euros on us, although a lot of places also took credit cards.

There was also a ferris wheel and live music playing. I would have liked to have spent more time in Helsinki. We’ll have to go back, if only because I also noticed an Armenian restaurant near the port!

Here are some more pictures of Helsinki, some of which were taken with my digital camera, as opposed to my iPhone.

Some of the above photos have a glare on them. I am still learning how to edit photos, so I need to find a way to get rid of the glare on the above shot. It’s a keeper.

There seemed to be a lack of open deck space, which made taking photos of scenery challenging. I could take pictures from my balcony, from the top decks, or on deck 5. But if I happened to be sitting in the observation lounge and noticed a particularly beautiful sunset or leaping dolphins, there was no way to easily get outside to get a good shot. And getting to a place where taking a good photo was possible would take a lot of time. That’s one thing about Regent Splendor I don’t like. I wish they had an outdoor area near the Observation Lounge. Even the pool area was kind of enclosed on the sides, though it didn’t have a retractable roof.

Oh well… another first world problem…

When we went back to our suite, our laundry was waiting for us, boxed up and gift wrapped. And again, because we were concierge guests, there was no extra charge!

Each item of clothing had a little tag in it with our suite number. It was all expertly cleaned, pressed, and folded. Very, very nice!

For dinner on the 24th, we decided to try Sette Mari, which I had read gets very crowded as people discover it. We went early, to make sure we’d get a seat. A poised young woman with black hair and a braid over the top of her head took care of us. She was very polished and professional, as she brought us Italian dishes. Sette Mari does offer table service, but there’s also a buffet for salads and desserts. I noticed it got a bit rowdy in there, but the food was good. We enjoyed it. I wish we’d had another chance to dine there. Maybe on another cruise.

Here are some photos from our visit to Sette Mari.

After dinner, we spent a little more time in the Observation Lounge. I had a Brandy Alexander. Bill had ginger ale, because he wasn’t feeling well. We decided to go to bed early. At about 9:30 PM, a steward brought us the beer I requested. He seemed surprised to catch me in my nightie.

So… that about does it for Helsinki. Stay tuned for Tallinn, Estonia!

Champagne Bucket trips, Finland, Regent Seven Seas Cruise Lines

Our first impressions of dinner on Regent Splendor…

Our first night aboard Splendor, we had dinner reservations in Prime 7 (the steakhouse) for 8:30 PM. We don’t usually eat that late in the evening, but there were no earlier times available. Since I wanted to try all three of the specialty restaurants, I took that time. It wasn’t a bad plan, as a lot of people don’t book the specialty restaurants on the first night. Also, at this time of year in Scandinavia, the sun still shines brightly at 8:30 PM.

Bill could have put an eye out when he opened our sailaway champagne!

We had plenty of time to kill before we went to eat dinner, so Bill and I went to the Observation Lounge on Deck 11 for the welcome party. As we were sitting there listening to a guy name Rick “tickling the ivories” and sipped wine, we heard someone call our names. We turned to our left and there were Gail and Ger, whom we met on our second SeaDream Yacht Club cruise in November 2011.

We got up and hugged them, then moved to their table for four, where we caught up on things. Ger and Gail live in England, and like us, they’d moved since our last in person meeting. Ger is a pilot and is about to retire. When I asked him if he was okay with that, he seemed very honest and happy when he reported that he truly is. Now he can travel for fun even more often!

Gail and Ger were also booked in Prime 7, but they had an earlier reservation. So after a little more catching up, they took their leave, and Bill and I hung out in the lounge a little bit longer. Rick, the pianist, had packed up and left by then, so we listened to the easy listening/jazz/mellow R&B that seems to be piped in all over Regent Splendor. I didn’t mind some of the jazz selections they were playing. I even Shazamed some of them. As I type this, I’m listening to music by Diane Kirkwood, a jazzy singer I discovered on Regent Splendor. I even downloaded her album.

Some of the other music they piped in was decidedly “elevator music” style, which I like a lot less, and sometimes even find a little “triggering”. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous, but some of you haven’t been forced to ride for hours in the back of a van with a hyper-controlling musician wannabe father who hums, and it shows. 😉 While it’s true that Regent has a number of “senior” folks aboard, most of them seemed far from needing a nursing home. I think if anyone from the cruise line asked me for my opinion, I’d advise Regent to ditch the “beautiful music” style tunes and stick with a more adult contemporary sound. But, that’s just me.

When it was time for our reservation, Bill and I headed to Deck 10 on the starboard side, where we were met by a smiling man named Aras who said he had a table, but not one that was by a window. We said that was okay, since we were there to eat, rather than look out the window. Bwahahahaha… Actually, I like looking out the windows when I travel, but I knew we would certainly survive dinner without direct window access. So we sat down and enjoyed a very beautiful meal… See below!

After dinner, we waddled back to Suite 964 and watched the sunset as we left Sweden for Helsinki, Finland. Helsinki is, of course, the original place we were going to visit. Finland won the champagne bucket draw, after all. I was looking forward to seeing a new place in a country I had never visited before. But first, we had to get there, and it would take all night, as Regent Splendor gently made her way…

We tucked ourselves into bed and soon fell fast asleep. No joke… Regent Splendor’s linens are absolutely exquisite. It took no time before we were sound asleep.

Regent Seven Seas Cruise Lines

Our first impressive impressions of Regent Splendor…

Bill and I followed the crowd up the gangplank, where several ship staffers of obvious Asian descent smiled brightly and welcomed us aboard. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t mention this, except that I noticed that it seemed like so many of Regent’s crew members hailed from Asia. I always find it interesting to talk to people who work on cruise ships, because I like meeting people from other countries. I never really got a chance to talk to a lot of the Regent crew, as they were all working very hard. But on Hebridean Princess, most of the crew were from Eastern European countries– especially Latvia, Poland, and the Czech Republic. SeaDream seemed to have a lot of crew from the Philippines and South Africa. Our waiter on Vision of the Seas was Bulgarian. And Regent had a smattering of people from all over the place, but it seemed like the crew mostly came from Asian countries.

Someone handed us glasses of champagne as they scanned our IDs for the first time. We walked into the impressive atrium with its prominent wooden staircase, and another staffer directed us to go to our muster station near the Pacific Rim restaurant (one of Regent Splendor’s speciality restaurants). I must say, the “muster drill” was extremely easy on Splendor. Instead of having the entire ship gather at the muster stations wearing life jackets, we simply went to the muster station as we were; then, a crew member asked us if we’d watched the one minute safety video Regent sent us before we embarked. When we answered affirmatively (we’d watched it twice), he scanned our IDs, and that was that. Embarkation was very quick and simple, with a minimum of waiting around in crowds and lines. That’s a plus!

Our stateroom was 964, which was on the portside aft of the ship. I chose the suite not knowing where we might rather be on the Splendor. It wasn’t a bad choice, except that it was at the ass end of the ship, which gave us some good opportunities to stretch our legs. That wasn’t a bad thing for either of us. One of our next door neighbors had a Master Suite, which is one of the most expensive and luxurious staterooms aboard the Splendor. The other neighbor was in a Concierge E stateroom like ours.

Regent Splendor does not have any inside staterooms for passengers, and all rooms have private balconies. Most of the staterooms are like the one we were in, which is a “Superior Suite“. We were in a Concierge E stateroom, which means that the room was just like a superior suite, except we got some extra perks, like the “free” night at the Nobis Hotel, “free” bus transfer from the hotel to the port, a small discount on premium booze and choice shore excursions and experiences, “free” professional laundry services, “free” unlimited WiFi for up to four devices (although this didn’t really work out for us), and “free” porterage. I put quotes around the word “free” because it’s not really free. You pay extra for these perks.

In our case, I’m not sure concierge class was totally worth what we paid, since we booked so late that we couldn’t really book any “choice” excursions or experiences (like the gourmet cooking class). But it was convenient to have the Stockholm hotel and transportation to the port arranged, and I definitely appreciated the laundry service after our six sweaty nights in Norway! Regent Splendor also has self-service launderettes, but we never needed to use them. I’m sure they were fully engaged as the voyage wore on, as people did laundry while on the cruise.

There is a smaller stateroom available called the Veranda Suite. These are the cheapest cabins aboard, but even they are very nicely appointed with queen sized beds and private balconies.

We weren’t able to go directly to our suite after the muster drill, as the stewards were still preparing them after the previous cruise had ended. We were instead invited to go have lunch. Regent Splendor has several restaurants aboard. The main dining room is called Compass Rose, and it’s on Deck 4. There are three specialty restaurants which require reservations: Prime 7 (a steakhouse), Pacific Rim (Asian cuisine), and Chartreuse (French cuisine). There’s also a buffet area called La Veranda (breakfast and lunch), which, at night, turns into Sette Mari, an Italian restaurant (does not require reservations). And there’s also the Pool Grill, which offers table and buffet service outside. The Pool Grill (and its accompanying bar) is the only venue we didn’t have a chance to try during our week on the Splendor.

We chose to have our first lunch at La Veranda. We hesitated for a moment at the entrance, but were then invited to sit wherever we wanted, as it’s open seating. That was a change from Hebridean Princess, where seating is assigned. I enjoyed prime rib from the buffet… the first I’d had in a very long time, and shrimp cocktail, also a rare treat.

Once again, we were seated near Americans who were quite loud and might not have realized that they were sharing so openly with everyone in the vicinity of their table. I asked for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and I’m pretty sure I got California Chardonnay. Meh… I don’t really like Chardonnay that much, but it’s a first world problem!

I did like most of the wines by the glass offered “free” by Regent. I noticed that they didn’t seem eager to sell any expensive fine wines. We saw the sommelier once or twice; he was casually advertising a wine pairing lunch for an extra charge. We might have been interested in booking that, except it took place during one of our excursions. Other than that, we didn’t encounter anyone trying to upsell the wines or anything else, really. That was one thing I really liked about our Regent experience as opposed to our Royal Caribbean experience years ago.

After a leisurely lunch at the buffet, we were finally invited to our stateroom. I must say, our room on Regent Splendor was absolutely fabulous. The bed was extremely comfortable and had wonderful linens… I wish I could have brought them home with me– the bed included!

The room featured a walk in closet, a marble bathroom with a bathtub that was deep, but looked a bit “short”, a rainfall shower, his and hers sinks, and a fridge stocked with beverages. I requested that the Budweiser be replaced with Stella Artois or Grolsch and was surprised when a steward brought both! There was a fruit plate that was restocked daily, and a beautiful balcony with a table, two chairs, and a lounge chair, each with cushions.

The flat screen television offered information about the ship, as well as movies, news, and television shows. It could be swiveled so that we could watch from bed, or from the small couch in the sitting area. There were PLENTY of electrical outlets for both US and European plugs. Since we have electronics with both types of plugs, it was handy to have so many outlets.

Yes, when I think about the cruises I’ve been on, Regent Splendor’s superior stateroom– even though it’s not the best on board– easily tops the list of the most luxurious I’ve ever experienced, personally. The most expensive stateroom on Regent Splendor is the size of a 4000 square foot house! Our suite was one-tenth the size of the Regent Suite, yet it was extremely posh and comfortable.

Below are some photos from our first impressions onboard Regent Splendor.

*The beer selection could use some work… InBev’s best.*

One thing I think Regent gets right on the Splendor are the staterooms. We definitely were right at home in ours. I loved the balcony, and managed to get some pretty nice selfies on it, including the one below… It’s not so easy for me to look relatively pretty in photos these days, so this alone was probably worth the price of the first night.

*The sea breeze does wonders for the mood… I did edit out the sore spot under my nose. Darn colds!*

Below are a few more photos from around the ship… including some of the beverages we enjoyed while waiting for our room. We never did get the chance to try the pool or hot tub, as it was a little too chilly for swimming. Plus, we were pretty busy during the days, enjoying our “free” excursions.

Hebridean Island Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruise Lines

I’m looking forward to writing up this cruise…

As someone who usually opts for small cruise ships, I’ve definitely been noticing a lot of pros and cons related to being on a much bigger ship, like Regent Seven Seas Splendor. To be honest, I think I prefer the smaller ships, and will probably stick with those, unless there’s a specific destination I want to visit.

I do want to comment, though, on an experience I had a few years ago. I even blogged about it here. There was a thread on Cruise Critic about luxury lines. I had mentioned that I was surprised Hebridean Island Cruises was not listed as luxury. Some snobby woman argued with me about my classification of Hebridean as a “luxury” line. Her reasons that it wasn’t mainly had to do with things like the ship’s lack of a spa or casino, or lower thread counts on the sheets (although the Princess has wonderful linens). I thought her definition of luxury was pretty limited and said so. She’d never been on Hebridean Princess, and I have. Now I’ve been on Regent, which is her favorite line. And, I gotta say, I think I much prefer Hebridean and, yes, even though it lacks a spa and a casino, I think it’s more luxurious by far.

When I have more time, I will explain my many reasons for feeling this way. To be sure, Splendor is a BEAUTIFUL ship, and most everything has been very good. But in many areas, Hebridean Princess and even SeaDream (although it’s been ten years since my last SeaDream cruise) outshine Regent. But… I also realize that both Hebridean and SeaDream might be different post COVID. I’ll just have to cruise them again to know for sure. 😉

Anyway, for some reason, I’m having trouble linking the post I referenced, so here’s an ugly link if you’re interested in that original discussion. I’ve been thinking about that exchange a lot, though, since we’ve been on Regent. I intend to flesh it out some more when I’m not so pressed for time. Maybe I’ll even get to it today, since we have a shorter excursion planned.

Luxury is personal and subjective…

I think this trip will keep me busy blogging for a long while…

Hebridean Island Cruises

Part 6… Magnificent Sanda Island and a cold seafood buffet!

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

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

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

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

A natural bridge…

A seal was playing hide and seek with us…

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

Seals on the beach…

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

No dogs allowed… 🙁

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome refreshments…

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

A close up of the fresh salmon booty…

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

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

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

A side view of the salmon…

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

I probably took this in Rothesay or Campbeltown…

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