Cruising Ireland: Enduring Tropical Cyclone Agnes

You can read about Cruising Ireland: Pre & Post Cruise - London here and about our experience Cruising Ireland: NCL Star here.

Our first port of call was Cobh.  This was the final port of call for the Titanic, which you see on a memorial wall when you come into port.  The ship docks right in town next to a train station that takes you to the nearby town of Cork.  We decided to explore Cork first, re-board the ship for lunch, then go back out on foot to explore Cobh.  Cork is a bigger city than Cobh.  We walked around, checked out the public market, and found a fort, which was free to visit.

 

Cobh is small and easily walkable.  I decided to have pint in Cobh vs. Cork since we weren’t pressed for time, and it was later in the day.  As much as Ireland has a reputation for pubs, they were not open as early as I wanted to drink on vacation!  We picked Kelley’s Pub and enjoyed the atmosphere with a single musician playing guitar and the pub had a lively group.  I met an 80-year-old local, Joe, who you could tell was loved by all.

 

The bar next door had a great musician that drew a huge crowd.  I might have wished we had picked differently but with a lot of the trip still to come, I figured no rush.  Ah…famous last words!

 

We could see the catholic church from below and decided to follow the windy road vs. the straight shot up a huge hill.  The views were beautiful and worth the extra breath it took to reach it.  We also popped inside for a quick tour than visited an old fortress.  After a little more wondering, we boarded the ship saying goodbye to this quaint town.

The following morning, we received the devastating news that we would not be able to port in Dingle.  The weather and rough seas made it unsafe to transport passengers on the tender.  This was a port we were so looking forward to as it would give us a chance to see the Irish countryside.  NCL refunded the excursion we had booked, and I was able to book a last-minute excursion for later in our cruise in Killybegs.  It turned out to be a good thing because later that evening we also learned it was not safe to dock at the next two ports, Foynes and Galway.  We were told Tropical Cyclone Agnes was working her way up the coast and we were forced to move north between Ireland and Scotland to shelter in place until the storm passed.  In one moment, we lost out on visiting the entire western side of Ireland, the prettiest and the portion we were most excited about.  It was very disappointing. 

 

Three unplanned sea days later…

 

Our fifth second port of call was Killybegs. We had booked a Killybegs Walk & Talk Tour at 10am and so there was no rush to exit the ship.  When the time came we made our way into foot and search for a jewelry shop to get a ring my sister Jenny requested.  Again, I though we had plenty more stops along the way but after missing three ports, we found the ring in her size and bought it.  We then joined the tour group for an hour tour around the tiny town.

Our Walk & Talk Tour Guide Margie

We were pressed for time to meet our excursion at the pier so we popped into a hotel for a bite to eat and a pint as all other iconic pubs were packed with tourists.  We boarded the bus to see historic Donegal  as we drove to visit the thatched roof homes.  

While this was not our first choice in excursions, we really enjoyed it.  The countryside was beautiful and the homes were very quaint.  We also had scones and tea before boarding the bus to head back to the ship.

 

Our sixth third port of call was Northern Belfast. In lieu of an excursions, we chose to go on our own using the hop-on-hop-off bus.  NCL had a dedicated shuttle into the town center and we boarded the bus from there.  My first order of business was to get my Starbucks Ireland mug.  Since I had no idea if we would be able to dock at our tender port in Dun Laoghaire and visit Dublin, I decided I better get a Belfast mug just in case.  Once we arrived in Dublin the following day, I  much preferred the Ireland mug over the Belfast mug and brought home two from this trip!  Since the Ireland mug had the thatched roof homes on it, it made that excursion even more special.

I found a pub I wanted to visit and not only had a pint but also an Irish coffee since I missed that opportunity in Foynes.  It was amazing and if I lived nearby, I’d be in trouble.  

We rode the bus for a city tour, which stopped at the Peace Wall for anybody that wanted to sign and the driver shared the story of when there was turmoil between two neighboring towns where a wall had to be put up with entry gates to stop the violence. Afterward, we walked around Belfast a bit and after enduring several hours of rain, it was time to rebound the ship and warm up!

Our seventh forth port of call was Dun Laoghaire, which is a tender port where you then can make your way to Dublin. I much preferred Dublin to Belfast and wished we had more time.  The tendering process was a mess and long delays meant a short port day.  We will for sure have to visit Dublin again on a future visit.

We purchased an NCL excursion for the hop-on-hop-off bus as it also included the transfer into Dublin from the cruise port.  This saved us from having to navigate the train station and turned out to be a wonderful idea.  Although our time was short, we rode the bus listening to the city tour, had a bite to eat at a local pub, and visited the Jameson Irish Whiskey Distillery.  

I chose Jameson over visiting the Guinness Storehouse as the distillery had a more interactive tour vs. the self-guided tour of the brewery.  On a future visit, I will for sure stop into Guinness.  Our city tour on the hop-on-hop-off bus took us by the entrance.   

I’ve heard the saying “A bad day on vacation is better than a good day at work.”  We had a great time with some overshadow of disappointment that separated it from being the trip of a lifetime to just a vacation.  I guess this means in the remainder of my lifetime, we need to get back to Ireland.

Cruising Ireland: NCL Star

You can read about our Pre & Post-Cruise here ß

The atrium on the NCL Star is the highlight of this ship.  It is beautiful.

 

The Highs:

There is something nice about smaller cruise ships.  I enjoy how easy it is to get to all amenities by taking the stairs.  It takes only one time taking the stairs from deck 7 to deck 14 on a big ship, to appreciate smaller ships. 

 

We were able to collect on our platinum benefit of a behind the scenes tour (no photos).  This tour did not include the bridge, which would have been awesome to see.  We started at the theater where we learned about how and where they source their main production shows and their rotating entertainment acts, how the contracts work, and what life on cruise ship is like these staff members.  The production supervisor took us down the employee stairwell to the dressing room so we could see all the costumes.  It was a very time room for so much production crew.  Our next stop, accessing the stairs and I95, the main corridor that employees use, we walked through the kitchen galley and then saw the laundry.  After we spotted them making a delicious looking sandwich, we headed to the buffet for lunch which made it extra special.

 

After seeing behind the scenes, it once again brings home the point of how hard employees in the cruise industry work to ensure vacationers are happy, well fed, thoroughly intoxicated, and have clean linens and towels.  What a massive machine floating on the water.  This is a fantastic perk that we look forward to redeeming on future cruise ships.

We did just fine in an inside room.  We have not sailed an inside room since our first cruise on NCL Pearl to Alaska.  This was our test to see if we could start cruising at a lower cost and I think we passed the test.  The only thing I missed was not being able to see the water and/or pop out and be on the balcony anytime.  We kept the bow camera on when in the room and apart from being unable to get to outside decks (more on that below), I was still able to wonder and not feel stuck in the room.  I think I also slept better too!

 

We always love our Cagney’s dinner and this cruise we tried Le Bistro and La Cucina.  We won’t be back to Le Bistro as this type of fine dining doesn’t appeal to us, but we enjoyed La Cucina and we will dine there again.

 

I loved my morning baristas at the Atrium Starbucks.  They were a highlight of this trip along with a few of the service staff.  We had met a waiter named Fabian who stood out to me.  I spotted him again in the buffet and he let us know which restaurant he would be later that night so we could request to sit in his section.  There was some confusion on making this happen but we it was nice to see his smiling face throughout the remainder of the cruise.  I also enjoyed the friendly bar staff.

 

The Lows:

A smaller ship meant less seating in the public areas and with the weather that impacted our route, the ship felt overcrowded.  The outside decks were closed a good majority of the time and the inside areas packed.  It was hard to find a place to sit at breakfast and lunch and with so little indoor space, we felt the impact of the closures.  It also meant we were not able to see the Northern Lights (weather dependent) because you could not get out to any outer deck away from light.  This is the one time having a balcony would have benefited us. 

 

NCL really dropped the ball this vacation when it came to managing the tender ports.  Our one tender port stop had long delays to exit the ship and a long wait time to get back on.  Also, the meeting point for excursions was unorganized.  Sometimes this happens on vacation, and you must make the best of it.  I tell ya, when waiting in line to board the tender for 1 hour and 20 minutes, I sure wished I’d bought that bottle of Irish whiskey at the port. 

 

Entertainment and things to do on small ships is always lacking.  We didn’t take in many shows and there were not comedians on this sailing.  Having such a fun group of friends make it just fine skipping the entertainment and we really loved the band, Exell.  They were great and most nights we listened to them sing. 

 

Some High & Some Low:

The bars on this ship were just so-so.  Sugarcane Mojito Bar was a small section inside a specialty dining area, so the best seating was at 5pm where I was first in line so I could grab a spot.

 

I enjoyed the selection of beer on this cruise which I am no sure if it was our sailing in Europe or I just didn’t know where to find it.  NCL is not typically known for their beer selection so I’m eager to see what our next cruise holds.  We stopped into the Proof Whiskey Bar often and I enjoyed many sidecar drinks in the Bliss Lounge by evening.  I mean, I can usually find a drink when alcohol is involved!

 

I would sail NCL Star again and am looking forward to getting on a bigger ship again in the future. 

Cruising Ireland: Pre & Post Cruise - London

Our vacation started about 9.5 hours before our flight check in when British Airways cancelled our flight from Seattle to London.  I should have guessed this would be an omen of what was to come (more on that later).  I called the representative who is able to get us on a flight that left Seattle earlier and arrived in London earlier, but it would be on Virgin Atlantic instead of British Airways. We were still able to get business class which meant we weren’t out the money weed already spent.  This turned out to be a really good thing because we enjoyed Virgin Atlantic, and we would look at flying them again in the future.

The food was really good and the service was spectacular. We did not feel the same when we flew British Airways on the way home.  Also, I may be in love with business class.  I know I can’t get my hopes up of being able to fly it in the future, but it was definitely nice.  I don’t feel like I got any better sleep than I would’ve but it was just nice to be able to lay flat and lounge with more room to get comfortable. 

We used our extra time making a practice run to the Victoria coach station so we were better prepared for cruise day.  After, we made our way on the underground to Bridgit’s Bakery.  I loved afternoon tea.  We were starving so we wolfed our afternoon tea down in a matter of moments. I think our server was surprised.  In hindsight, I wish we’d sat and enjoyed it longer, but perhaps on another trip.

We walked around the Covenant Gardens theater district before arriving at Arts Theater for Choir of Man.  I purchased my token to be able to go on stage and get my beer not knowing the cast actually came out and joined those on stage as I had already returned my seat.  The show is just as good as I remember it from our Alaska cruise. Although there was one song that I didn’t recognize.

We stayed our first night in London at the Hub Premier Inn by Kings Cross. It’s a budget hotel, but had nice accommodations. The seven dollar breakfast buffet was delicious. We would definitely stay there again.  On our return, we stayed at the Staybridge near the airport and also really enjoyed that location.

We used the National Express Bus as our transfer to/from Southampton. The bus was delayed on embarkation day due to a traffic nightmare in the city of Southampton. After making our way on foot to the cruise port to drop our bags, we decided to forgo the Solent Sky Museum. It was definitely a bummer but a relief to be able to be on board the ship and relax.

I’ll fill you in on the all the cruise details and NCL Star in future posts.

Disembarkation was a breeze compared to cursing in the US and we caught the bus back to London, no surprise, we encountered delays. The traffic going into London was a mess.  We checked our bags at a left luggage location near Kings Cross and made our way to the Royal Air Force Museum.  Kenyon was like a kid in a candy store seeing all these planes we don’t get to see in U.S. museums.

Our time in London felt too short and we wished we had a couple extra days.  We will have to continue to tackle it all on another trip.

More to come…