New York And Home

     Typical final day today. Up early and down to breakfast in the Dining room .

Statue Of Liberty

We needed to clear our room by 8 and we had an 8:30 departure. I finally had a chance to get outside as the day was warm and sunny, From where we were docked we could see the Statue of Liberty and the downtown core with the rebuilt Trade Centre. We were ashore, found our luggage, cleared U.S. Immigration in no time, found our bus and were seated for our transfer to La Guardia airport all within about 30 minutes. The bus driver was a hoot. He gave us a running commentary on everything happening in

Downtown Core

Brooklyn.

     La Guardia is an old style airport. We suppose to take a late afternoon flight but we were at the airport so early that we were about to jump ahead 2 flights and left on the late morning hop to Toronto. That saved about 7 hours of waiting which is very appreciated.

    So that ends cruise 23 on Princess. The Regal Princess is a very clean modern ship. We found the crew to be very happy and I think that is a reflection of the attitude that Captain Tracey has. He always gave the noon report and went far beyond what we have seen in the past in terms of communicating with the passengers. We would gladly sail on the Regal again. We have a few ideas about a future cruise (Greenland anyone?) but that is in the future. Cheers!

Heading To New York

    We finally have some nice warmer weather. It is sunny and warm as we head to New York for a 5 am docking. We are scheduled to leave the ship at 8:30. The day was much like all other sea days with an early breakfast and the 45 minute Zumba exercise class. That seemed to help with my ongoing cold. We are getting better but still sniffing! A ballroom dance class review followed. The instructor (from Ontario) did a great job on both zumba and the ballroom class. We reviewed 4 dances and hope that we can remember the steps.

      Packing followed. I think leaving ship is as hard as arriving because you can't

Sunrise

seem to be able to get everything in the suit cases! However, they are packed and will be gone from the room very soon. Lunch in the dining room and then another “eating” lecture - this one on stress and stress relief. We both could see some of our stressers in the talk. Later in the afternoon we had another line dance class and I am glad to say that Princess has finally gotten away from the “oldies” that they taught for years. I think the instructor did 4 different dances every class. They were simple but at least they were new. We did pick up a line dance for a “standard” dance song that all the bands in Highland Lakes Florida play. The rest of the afternoon went quickly.

 

Photo of Photo

  I took a photo of my photo that is framed on deck 8 of the Regal. I submitted it years ago and found it on our last trip. Night routine was the usual, cocktails, a Voice of the Ocean sing off, dinner and finally a very very funny comic in the Princess theatre. We gain an hour tonight and we hope the extra hour helps our colds. We fly to Toronto Tomorrow.

Touring Halifax

   When I looked out at 2 am this morning we were already anchored off Georges Island waiting for the royal Caribbean to sail so we could go alongside. The extra speed and the hours that the Captain made up in the crossing allowed us to be here 6 hours early. Got to the hospital in time. We were docked by 7:30. The day turned out to be sunny and warm in contrast to the overcast skies that we has had for 5 days.

    We were to meet our friends (B & L) at 9:30 and as we walked to the statue,

Peggy's Cove Lighthouse

they were already in the parking lot. What followed was a wonderful relaxed day going to Peggy's Cove. Rather than rush around to other spots we spent the entire morning in that area. We thought that we would get there early but the tour buses were rolling in and out the entire morning. There was a Holland America and Aida ship in so it was hard to get to the Lighthouse. Instead we

Peggy's Cove Harbour

just wandered around the rocks in the area. It was close to noon so instead of going somewhere else to eat, we ordered Lobster rolls from a local vendor. The lobster was very tasty and better than the lobster that we have had on the ship. After we drove around the bay for a stop at the memorial for Flight 111 which went down in the bay. It is a very simple stone memorial and a private tour was there at the same time so we heard about how the 2 stone slabs were orientated with a third

marked to triangulate the exact location where the plane went down.

    As the afternoon moved on we returned to the Halifax waterfront and said goodbye to our friends from Highland Lakes, Florida. They are leaving for Highland Lakes this weekend! We walked the waterfront trail which has had plenty of construction since we were here 3 years ago. We stopped at the Pier 21 museum where I got some material about my mother's landing in Halifax. We had my dad's information from a few years ago. The young lady was able to find the info quite quickly considering I had a few “facts” wrong! Pier 21 bills itself as one of the 7 wonders of Canada! Finally we made our way to the ship and had – what else – a pot of tea and a cookie. Then it was time to relax before we head to New York for our Saturday arrival. All in all it was a great way to spend our last port of call. Thanks to B and L!

 

Our Friends

  We sailed out of Halifax with memories of the '60's as we passed the

landmarks. It is basically the same except I think our cabin is bigger than those frigates that I sailed on. I much prefer this ship! No work and great food.

    The evening routine followed the usual pattern, a pre dinner drink and good food. The entertainment was “Magic Unhinged which I find entertaining but Judy not so much. The illusions were very hard to see in the large Princess Theatre. Judging from the reaction of the crowd I don't think they were impressed. Then at 11 it was the balloon drop, another not so much favourite. We stayed well away from the breaking balloons! We did receive our “leaving instructions” from New York and we off the ship at 8:35 for a 4 pm flight! Still fighting colds!

At sea Day 5 Wednesday - Medical Emergency Again

    After another cold and foggy overcast day we are only a few hours from 

Angry Sea

Halifax. There was some rolling in the night but I never felt any of it. There was quite a swell all day but the ship and the swell were both headed in the same direction which was good. We had slowed and with the stabilizers out the ship was pretty steady.

    We had a nice breakfast conversation with a retired U.S. Government employee who worked in the transportation department. We were able to converse about some things that I remembered from my navy days. We had the 40 minute Zumba exercise class followed quickly by a waltz dance class. Actually we did pretty well at it. I also met a line dance crazy woman (Judy is her name) from Australia and had a good conversation. They use the same Utube resources that are used here.

      Lunch was followed by a good eating lecture. This one was on exercise and how to approach it. Actually for us it seems that we are doing the right thing. It is

Judy At Wine Tassting

in the eating that we are way off base. As part of the elite package we went to the wine tasting that we have been to many times. They serve 5 wines from various parts of the world. That was in the middle of the afternoon so by the time it was over, we were ready to take a brake from the very little activity that we did today. I sat with the line dancer from Australia for awhile talking about dancing in the Sydney area. She was interested in how we did things in Canada. She said she dances up to 5 times a week with a social every weekend somewhere in Sydney and then a big state dance every year. She also dances with one of the Australian choreographers. It was an interesting conversation.

     We gain another hour tonight which is helpful. We are in Halifax tomorrow and will meet friends at 9:30. There was another Effy jewelry sale today call sip and sale. More champagne. That is just what our 2 budding colds needed! Early in the evening the Captain asked for blood donors as they were needed for a critically ill patient. Enough people did come forward. Later during dinner he announced that he had increased speed and would arrive in Halifax 6 hours early to land the patience. Since the berth is occupied, we will be going to anchor in the inner harbour and then move to the berth for or appointed arrival time of 8 am.

We decided to skip the singer and try to get some rest for our colds. Interesting, the last time we were here after crossing the Atlantic we both had colds!

At sea Day 4 Tuesday

    We continue to steam along on our way to Halifax. The seas remain about the same and the ship is relatively stable. The outside temperature is getting more comfortable and the sun seems to be shinning more. We are currently south west of Newfoundland approaching the Flemish Cap which is the edge of the continental shelf. We seem to be ahead of where we have to be with 36 hours to go before we dock in Halifax.

    We did have breakfast in the dining room and then headed to our zumba exercise session. It is getting easier. After zumba we stayed for the dance class which was the jive. Actually when the song was slower we did ok but when the speed picked up, we and most other dancers left the floor. Still it was a much better class on the jive that we have had in the past.

    We finally met with a couple from Michigan and Florida that we have been wanting to meet. A friend who knows both of us suggested that we meet. We had lunch in the dinning room and had a great conversation with them. Today was the first time that we were able to get together. The port days were just too busy to get it done.

Formal Night

   We attended a lecture on the engineering of the Regal Princess. It was a 30 minute video that showed and explained the way the ships moves, the water systems, air condition, waste water, etc. Some of the information was a bit too technical. They did explain about the power surge that caused our delay in Norway as well as the new systems that will be in the newest ships. He mentioned that in 2023(?) some new bigger Princess ships will be coming out with some very environmentally friendly systems in them. We did catch the end of the line dance class. They have finally gotten away from all the old stuff that they have done for years. Still dated but at least a little more upbeat.

   Tonight was the last of the 3 formal nights. Our appetizers arrived at 5 as requested. Tonight will be a thank you and see you again party with complimentary cocktails. Apparently there are people leaving in Halifax. The captain who loves to talk gave a “farewell” speech for those who will be leaving (I suppose that includes us). He gave the statistics for the cruise such as the amount of sugar used, beers consumed, eggs, etc. The ship has gone through over 3000 bottles of wine. That works out to be almost 1 bottle per person. Effy had another champagne night which they seem to have every sea day. Last night I won a gift bag while having a glass!

Chocolate Journey Dessert

    Dinner tonight was a choice between lobster and chateau briand. We had another birthday party at our table as well. The last production show of the cruise called “Fiera” was tonight. It one of the better shows that we have seen in the past. One more sea day and then we will be in Halifax. We gain another hour tonight which is always welcomed but our cruise is quickly coming to an end.

At sea Day 3 Monday

    We were up early again today to see clearing skies. The wave height was up to 3

Morning Sea

meters today but the Regal seems to be able to handle it well. The wind on deck is around 45 knots and the Captain seemed to pick the best route for fair weather. Despite it being windy the temperature is around 65F. Maybe we will be able to get out on deck in the next few days. After a light breakfast, we did our 45 minute zumba routine. It was a good session as the leader is far better than the other 2 that we have had. It is good to get in some real exercise. I went to a presentation on using your camera. It was pretty basic but ended up as a “commercial” for their platinum studio where they do black and white photos. Judy attended her mindful eating lecture, then we attended the Rhumba dance class. It was pretty easy since we have that beat in line dancing.

     We ate at Alfredo's the pizza venue. They serve thin crust made to order pizzas, that is very good. We also attended another ship information lecture. This one was on the size, speed, engines, etc of the Regal as well as the navigation equipment and the layout of the bridge. Included was the watch system and the education that ship officers have before they proceed up the ladder of responsibility. It seems that these lectures are taking the place of having outside experts speak on a wide variety of topics. Perhaps it is another way that the company can save money?

   

Where's Judy

 A late (lame) line dancing session was held in the Atrium. It was crowded as usual! Because of the second captain's circle party, the lounge was not available for pre dinner drinks. We wandered around the atrium and did stop in at the Effy store for a few glasses of champagne. I won a draw prize. Just what I need. We decided to skip the late show and watch an on demand movie. We are considering booking another cruise while on the ship since offer extra incentives although we have not gotten a cost as of yet.

At sea Day 2 Sunday

     We were up early (another time change helped) today to see clear skies and

Sunrise

calm seas. The Captain took us well south out of the range of the disturbance and now we are headed on a more direct route to Halifax. In fact by adding 300 miles to the trip he will save fuel because he can pick up a favourable wind system that will help us along. Crossings are all about saving fuel. He is also speeding along so that he can save some time in case Florence is a problem as we approach Halifax. We will get into Halifax because he said his wife is waiting for him!

The routines for these sea days remain the same. We had breakfast in the dining room where we sat with a couple. The man originally grew up in Detroit although the couple now live in California. There were back in Michigan a few weeks ago visiting family in the Saginaw area and actually drove to New York where they left their car and will drive back across the country.

    We did zumba with a third cruise staff doing it. The floor was not quite as crowded as the yesterday but there is not much room to move. We stayed on for the Salsa lesson after that. Talk about a small world. A woman was looking at us do the salsa. I though she liked the way I did it but it turns out Sandy recognized Judy's shoes (and of course my dancing!) Actually she was a part of a group that danced together on our Pacific crossing. We discovered they did line dancing in Skywalker's Lounge every day for about an hour. That group is not on this cruise but we sat and talked for a long time. They live in the Toronto area and cruise all the time. I would sure have liked it if she had recognized me from my dancing! Judy went off to the food lecture and I stayed behind with Sandra and helped her with the line dancing. A cup of tea and a light snack followed.

Waiting For Coffee

    The Captain gave a talk of the North Atlantic Weather Routes. He is very personable and likes to talk unlike some of the captains that we have had in the past. He now lives in Nova Scotia which is why I am sure we will get into Halifax. He was very detailed about the patterns that develop and the background to the systems. A lot of high school geography class was involved. How and why routes are picked was the real focus of the talk. He did explain why we are not taking the shortest (great circle route) to Halifax but rather a modified one. It was all very entertaining.

   A brief rest was followed by afternoon tea in the dining room. It was the first time we had been to tea on this trip. After it was time for relaxing before we went to the Captain's Circle party. The usual happened there – a few nibbles and a few drinks before dinner. The 2 ladies behind us in line live in the Leamington area. Talk about a small world! After dinner we went to the late show tonight which featured a musical madman that used one of a kind instruments. With the help of a computer he even played a laser beam instrument. It was the type of show that blends modern technology with music. It was unique and entertaining. In all we had a very good day.

At sea Day 1 Leaving Ireland

     We were now well out into the Atlantic with the Irish coast about 300 miles behind us. We are on a slightly deviating course from what we would normally take but the captain is steering us well away from the tropical storm that is in the Atlantic. He says we will be about 300 miles from it when it passes to the north and then he will get back on track for Halifax. This afternoon with the wind blowing up this afternoon the ship was rocking a bit. However after a few hours it was relatively calm again. The hour gained last night is followed by another one tonight. They are appreciated!

 

Ready for Formal Night

  Today was a typical day at sea. We did the 45 minute zumba class in the morning and the stayed for the ballroom cha cha class after that. Both were a good way to start the day. I sat and did a puzzle while Judy did a hula class. All the classes are held in the Atrium and with over 3000 people on the ship it gets pretty crowded.

    We had lunch at the Pub lunch which Princess offers on a regular basis. It serves

Our Table

pub fool like fish and chips, prawns, etc. The first of the enrichment lectures took place today was called The Mindful Eating Cycle by a doctor who has some interesting ideas about a balanced approach to eating. There are more lectures scheduled. Judy stayed for a movie and I carried on to line dancing. I should have gone to the movie. However all movies are shown on demand on this ship. We tried to watch the Lady Antebellum concert on the big screen outside but the wind was blowing and the temperatures are still on the cool side.

   

Chocolate Journey

Tonight was formal night and our appetizers arrived at 5 and after a glass of wine we were dressed and off to night time activities. We had a bit of time before dinner so we had our formal photographs done. We always like to see what we look like! It was lobster night with the “chocolate journey” dessert! We attended the production show Born to Dance in the Princess theatre. It is one of the newer shows that we have seen before. It is a far cry from some of the shows in the past!

Cork And The Spike Island Visit

   We were in Cove at 5am this morning with a sailing time of 9:30 tonight. We had

Cove Ireland

a noon reservation for our trip to the island so we had breakfast in the dining room and went ashore by mid morning. We have been to Cove many times on our crossings so there was not much new here. We did follow the Titanic trail as Cove was the last major port before it headed out across the Atlantic and there are reminders of that wherever you go. Just offshore the liner Lusitania was torpedoed by a u-boat in World War 1. The main street is active with bars and souvenir shops. By afternoon they were full of passengers from the ships.

Officer's Quarters

 

Judy In The Prison Wing

       The main attraction of the day for us was a visit to Spike Island. It was not even an attraction when we were here a few years ago but it is now ranked as the #1 Tourist attraction on trip adviser. It is slowly being supported by the local governments. Our visit was very interesting. Spike island started life as a fort for the protection of the harbor which is apparently one of the best in the world. The shuttle ferry to the island took about 25 minutes. We were immediately met by our guide who gave us about a 90 minute tour of the fort. It started existence as a fort along with 2 other facilities built at the same time. This was in addition to some Martello Towers which were built throughout the British Isles. After it was a fort, they turned it into a prison which like the Dublin jail, held prisoners for transport to the developing colony of Australia and Tasmania. During WW2 it again became a defensive position for the protection of the harbour. It still contains 2 - 6 inch guns for protection. After the war it was again turned into a prison. At that time some new cells were built. It was finally abandoned about 20 years ago and fell into disuse. It is currently being updated and rebuilt.

Housing in Disrepair

        One of the interesting things about the fort was that there was housing for solder's families. In addition to the houses there was a school and a church all of which are in terrible disrepair. There was a fire in the Officer's building years ago and today it remains a shell. While serving as a prison, a riot broke out and a cell block was set on fire. Interesting enough after breaking out the prisoners got down to the dock only to find that the boats were chained up. The guards had locked the prison gates and the prisoners had to

Spike Island Church

break back into the prison to escape the army which was being sent to quell things. Our guide for all this (John G) was a great story teller mixing facts with humour. He did an absolute great job.  We did have about 90 minutes to explore the grounds after the tour which was too short to fully explore the place. 

    When we returned to Cove we walked up the hill to the large church for a quick visit. Then we stopped around the corner at Doyle's bar for a drink. Away from the town center, Doyle's is a neighborhood bar with about a

Deck Of  Cards Housing Cove

dozen people in it. Only 2 other cruise passengers were in there. We met a woman who was born on Spike island and attended school there. What are the chances! She filled in some of the story about the families that lived there.

   Returning to the ship, we dressed and went to an Irish folkloric show and then after dinner attended the Pub Night show. This is a “new” show put on by the staff that we saw for the first time last spring. We gain an hour tonight which is a good thing. We have started our 5 day crossing of the Atlantic heading for Halifax.

Dublin And The Old Jail

   We docked in Dublin at 5am this morning. The sail time was 3:30 which means that our actual time ashore was quite short. We were on the shuttle bus and at the drop off point before 8am. We needed to get going early because we were going to the old Jail which is a bit out of the central area of the city.

Cell Door

Old Jail 

   We had seen the big attractions (St. Patrick's, Trinity College, etc.) on our previous visits and so we chose to do something off the beaten path. We spent a bit of time looking once again at the painted doors of an older area of the city. We have visited this area on our last 2 visits but they are so interesting I wanted to do a quick walk through. We needed to get to the old jail and had a few choices. The hop on hop off bus did stop there but because we needed to get back to the ship so early, we would not be able to take advantage of all the stops. We tried to take a bus but we needed coins to pay the fare so we decided to walk. It took over an hour (a few wrong turns) but we were there in time to have a tea before our 10:30 tour time. We had booked online weeks ago.

 

In A Cell

  The jail (Kilmainham Gaol) is a “historic” site no longer in use. It is over 200 years old and had a long history. It did house many political prisoners over time and there were a number of public view hangings in the jail. The guide gave us an excellent review of Irish history with a riot against the British, separation from the empire and then the civil war with what became “northern” Ireland. In all it was a very well used place. We sat in the “court” where people were tried and saw the trial holding cells. The youngest prisoner ever was 5 years old and many children were interned there due to stealing food, receiving 10-15 year terms. It also held prisoners that were designated for “transport” to the colonies – Australia. The cells were designed for 1 prisoner but sometimes held up to 7 in the small dark damp cold spaces. Prisoners were in their cells 22 hours a day and had 1 hour of exercise and 1 hour

Hanging Courtyard

of hard labour (breaking rocks”). In all the tour lasted over an hour. The visit to the Kilmainham Gaol although off the beaten track was certainly worth it. I am surprised that Princess does have a visit as part of a local tour.

    We opted for public transportation to get back to the city centre. With a bit of help we easily got our tickets and were on the tram. Because of the limited time in the city, we did not visit the St. Mary's laundry which the nuns ran for abused children. The girls were virtually held as prisoners in a work camp environment. A crossing of the Ha Penny bridge brought us to the famous Temple Bar area. It is really the place to visit for the many tourists in town. We stopped at the Quay Bar – we had been to the actual

The Quay Bar

Temple Bar before - where we finally had a nice cider and a local beer. It was a good place to sit down for a bit of time and watch the tourists go by. Finally we made our way back to Merrion Square which was the pick up location for the shuttle bus. We were back on the ship by about 3pm. It was quite a hectic day with the amount of travel and limited time frame.

Quay Bar Rest

    We rested for a few hours and the headed off to the crab shack, a “specialty” restaurant. Stacey at CAA included that in our travel package. We could have used the voucher for the steak or Italian restaurants but opted for the sea food. It was excellent and we managed to get through most of the king crab legs and the shrimp. It was better than on the last cruise. 

      One entertainment venue today had a selection of Irish music by one of the house bands. The lead singer is from Ireland. It was very entertaining and she sang 2 songs that I use with line dancing. We are in Cove early tomorrow with a very late sailing so we can relax in the morning. We are going to Spike Island (Island Prison) tomorrow).

Finally Greenoch

     We finally made it to Scotland! We slowed down during the night as the strong winds caused the ship to take longer to get here. Apparently we were rocking a bit from the waves but it was during the night! The end result was that we were almost an hour late getting here. It was probably a good decision not to take a tour.  

 

Scottish Countryside

   All systems seem to be back to normal today.. The Medallion system is now being used on this ship. It means faster internet and that is great for us. Gaining of an hour meant that we had a really good long sleep.

  We did 45 minute zumba class with a different instructor. She was better than the instructor we had yesterday but it is basically zumba gold which is a good thing. At breakfast we met university professor/actress who lives in Los Angel but grew up in Detroit.

In Greenoch

She has very fond memories of Windsor. She said that once through the tunnel and into Windsor, it was very quiet. That probably is not a good thing. We had a very lively and interesting conversation with her. She is on sabbatical and will stay in New York to see if she can find some acting jobs. The others 2 at the table were 2 Australian women who were the most miserable people we have met. We don't usually find Australians like that.

     Greenoch turned out to be a very nice little town. The entire area is very green! The waterfront

Horse Power

has been cleared of the old shipbuilding structures that were here 4 years ago and in their place a very nice area has been developed. We picked up a walking map of the city and spent about 3 hours walking the streets. The waterfront now has a large indoor pool, parks, walkways, college buildings, etc. We found a statue of Ginger, a work house from the shipbuilding days. Interesting was the fact that James Watt inventor of the steam engine worked in this town. That is where the terms watts came into use during the industrial revolution. Down some of the old streets took us to the town square. I was looking for a pub to have a pint but we seems to

Bank Street

keep going. It wasn't really a problem. In all a very nice little stop and it was unfortunate that our tour of Sterling Castle was canceled.

Is There Beer In There?

     There was a Scottish folkloric show in the Princess theatre before the ship sailed at 5:30. We think that we seen this show before but it was quite entertaining. It contained a piano, accordion, a fiddler 3 dancers 4 pipers and a drummer. They seemed to be well received. It was sushi night in the lounge where we chatted with our friends from Hamilton. The Country and Western party was held in the Atrium but was well underway by the time we finished dinner. The main show was an encore by a singer we had seen before. He does put on an enjoyable show.

  We have an early arrival/early departure in Dublin tomorrow. We intend to get into town as early as we can but expect the wait for the shuttle will be long.

At Sea North Of Scotland

    Things seem to be back to normal today. There are still a few services that are not back on line but the internet and TV are now working fine. The Medallion system is now being used on this ship. It means faster internet and that is great for us. The information in the guide book did not mention what happens when you are elite.

    The captain has been on the PA system a number of times trying to keep the ship informed. The information is timely and complete and if anyone doesn't know what is happening, it is their own fault. Missing the tidal window and the 50 knots wind have added time to our passage. We just turned south towards the next port over the top of Scotland. Unfortunately the delay yesterday because of the computer problem led to the missed high tide added about 5 hours to our arrival time. So now we don't get to our next port until 11 am tomorrow. Our tour has been canceled and having already been to Greenoch 3 times so we could not find anything that we wanted to do. Since we will only be there for 6 hours, we decided to just walk around, something that should take about 30 minutes! Perhaps it will be pub time!

Formal Night

    We had to report to British immigration at 7:30 this morning. It was quick – look at the passport, stamp and go. Not like Japan at all! Breakfast with a couple from Texas followed and then the wait for the zumba class. Even I found it pretty mundane. We have experienced much better routines on other ships. We did attend the meet and greet Cruise Critics gathering where we sat and talked to people from Virginia. There wasn't any formal programme. That was followed by a port lecture on Scotland and Ireland. Afterwards I asked about 2 specific things in Dublin and he did not know what I was talking about. We hug around for the line dancing (hey NO electric slide! Yea) and then it was time to get ready for formal night tonight. Judy also found time to buy an evening purse an I ordered 2 bottles to take off the ship. We again met our Hamilton friends for cocktails in the elite lounge.

    It was the traditional champagne waterfall night but the rocking of the ship had

Happy Birthday Judy (1 Day Late)

little effect. The Captain gave his talk and again apologized for what has happened in terms of the schedule. He really likes to talk. He mentioned that there are over 300 Canadians onboard and about 2100 plus from the U.S.A. Not too many people seemed to be upset about it the problems that have occurred. The line up at the tour desk was long when we decided no to try to book something else. Dinner was good as usual and the waiters did sing the Happy Birthday song for Judy. After 2 champagnes , wine and some Baileys (not like Judy at all), we were ready for the production show called Bravo with the diva singing the lead. We saw this production last year and it is still one of the best shows we have seen on Princess.

    Finally we turn back the clocks an hour tonight. Tomorrow should be an easy day. Late arrival and a wandering of less than 1 horse town are in store!

Kristianstand Norway 5th Largest City In Norway

   Yesterday the excuse for getting up late was jet lag, today just because. The day

From The Hill

was cool with clouds still around. When we left the cabin balloons were hanging outside, there was a sign on the door and a card in the mail slot. Today was Judy's birthday.

    The Vikings and the big moose (reindeer?) were waiting for us as we left for the 20 minute walk into the city. We had been here 4 years ago but are at a different dock. This is what we call a one horse town. There is not a whole lot to see or do and the added off and on rain showers did not

Old Town

help. It seemed that all day we put on rain gear, took out the umbrella then put it away again. It took about 15 minutes to get downtown and about 10 minutes to walk through it. We had wanted to take the local ferry which visits 4 islands in about an hour but apparently it is shut down for the season. So we reverted to the oh well plan.

    They do have a hill and public park in the city, much like Bergen, so we walked up it. Good views of the city but the rain was back and the rocks were slippery reminding us of the time that Judy fell the last time we were in Norway. We headed to the old town -Posebyed- which has the largest collection of old, low-rise timber houses. That led us back to the central square where the Kristiansand Cathedral is located. We missed a concert by a few minutes. We

Cathederal

had not seen any indication that there was music in the church every time a cruise ship is in port. A walk to the waterfront park was next where the 2^nd largest fountain in Norway is found. It is not that big! The town visit ended with a stroll back to the ship past the very modern buildings of the fish markets and upscale restaurants near the cruise port. It had started to rain again.

   We lunched on a specialty pizza at Alfredo's where we tried to get in yesterday but found the lineup too long. The rest of the day was spent doing puzzles and reading. With the temperature around 15C it has been too cool to sit outside. There was not much planned for the ship in the afternoon except for Effy (more jewelry stuff), Spa specials, movies, etc.

   We were suppose to sail shortly after 3:30. At 4:30 we were still alongside. Apparently the ship was on shore power which knocked out some of the computer servers onboard. Safety systems were good but the accounting system for the staff and guests was knocked

Regal Princess

out. The CO could not verify if everyone was aboard. All guests had to remain in their cabins until a face to face verification was completed. It was completed quickly but once some people were counted, they left their cabins before the captain gave the all clear causing a bit of delay. Actually when all was over we were only about 90 late sailing. However this was enough to cause us to miss a high tide resulting in a further distance to go as the ship needed to take a different route. Added to the distance was the prediction of high winds and a 3 meter swell.

   The result of the computers being out lasted until we went to bed. TV reception and internet were still down. Dinner was disrupted because all is done using their data base.

Happy Birthday

The patter (daily log) was not available either. Frankly I think someone or something fried their system . However here we are at sea. I was waiting for an announcement “anyone who can do navigation please report to the bridge”.

    We did hear the diva sing in the atrium. Because of the computer problems fixed dining was canceled. We did not get a chance to celebrate Judy's birthday dinner at our regular table but we did have a bottle of wine between us. We decided to skip the late show since we have to report to Scottish immigration (onboard) at 7:30 tomorrow. It will be our first day at sea.

Ashore In Aarus Denmark

     After our short transit, we arrived early this Sunday morning in Aarhus Denmark. We were late getting up as the jet lag and activities in Copenhagen were probably catching up to us a bit. We did manage to get to see everything that we wanted.

    The city itself is the second largest in Denmark and but was very quiet. The port shuttle

Colored Alley

bus dropped us right at the start of a very long pedestrian way. These European cities have it right. Get the traffic off central area and let the shops, bars and eateries take over. Most of the day we walked along these car restricted ways. By afternoon, they were filled with people sitting, drinking a cold beer, eating and having a relaxing day. I wonder what Windsor would be like if traffic was restricted along the main core of the city.

We walked into the Latin Quarter (why it is called that we could not find out) which is a bit older that the main street but filled with interesting “crayon coloured” houses. The one small lane way that we found was brightly painted by the graffiti artists. It was typical of the bright colours in the area.

The Church

    There is a large cathedral where Sunday services had just finished by the time we got

Up the Tower

there. When we entered the Aarhus Domkirke baptisms were being performed. The church itself was very much in the reformation style. It is the longest and tallest church in Denmark built in the traditional red brick style that can be seen on many of the older buildings. There are over 200 frescoes from the 14^th and 15^th century with an alter that was carved in the 16^th century. Of course the church tower was open for climbing. It was only 200 or so steps up but the spiral was quite steep. There were ropes on either side of the staircase to use as grips. They ended in the belfry which was as high as you were allowed to go. Of course the views of the city were very nice but the constant overcast skies that have been with us took away some of the beauty. Unfortunately that seems to be the weather we can expect for the next few days.

Old Decorated Street

    Next we headed to city hall stopping a in the Mollestein area which again has some very old restored and colourful houses. Along the way we stopped at the Church of Our Lady, a 12^th century Dominican priory that survived the Protestant Reformation. That took us to a large park near the art museum. Behind it was the city hall area where a festival was going on. It was alive with people enjoying the food, entertainment and children's craft area. We headed back down the walkway along the narrow canal and by all the soccer fans enjoying their beer to the shuttle bus location. After a cup of tea and a bite to eat it was time to relax.

    The rest of the evening was a little more relaxed with a stop at the lounge for some Mexican salsa and chips. We meet a couple from Hamilton while there. Then it was on to the Effy store for the jewelry talk. They have it every day and night. We did not stay for the free draw (Judy has won the gifts before) as it was getting close to our dinner time. However the champagne was good. After dinner we did go to the show . The performance was quite good. Tomorrow we are in Norway for more wandering.