What a lovely day! When we awoke we discovered there were mountains overlooking our harbour! With snow on them! We couldn’t see them yesterday with the low clouds and rain. So we had an early brekky - we were there when they started at 7. Brekky and then the final touches of our packing. Our large suitcases had been collected last night. Our tag colour was called about 8.30 and we went down to the gangway where Noprada was standing - she’s another of the international hostesses - she’s a lovely Philippina who speaks at least five languages. She helps Colin with trivia and she runs the sudoku challenge. She hugged me as we left. Silversea had organised a marquee on the dock where our suitcases were waiting. From there we walked 10 steps to a ... read more

We awoke refreshed after another night in the open sea. The weather last night had not been as rough as I‘d expected, and that’s what I told the captain when I saw him at breakfast in La Terrazza. It was just a night at sea, but he said the bad weather will arrive when we are at Reykjavik. We thought it best to do the small bit of washing before we have to pack tomorrow, so I did that while Tom went to another enrichment lecture. After that we did some reading before it was time for the whisky and whiskey tasting down at the bar. We had a Bushmills Irish whiskey, Chivas Regal blended whisky and a Glenmorangie single malt whisky. They were the 3 that were planned, and then we had some Laphroig, Jameson‘s ... read more

We awoke as we were making our way through the Firth of Clyde to our port in Greenock. We had a leisurely brekkie and prepared to go ashore. There was a marquee set up on the dock of the cruise terminal, for both customs and security, and also for tourist and clan information. We were looking at a clan map on a board when a little man came over to assist us. Well, didn’t he have his work cut out for him? Of course he had a wealth of information on James Watt, and his grandparents who had been the ones to leave the Watt clan land and come down to Greenock. He also had a wealth of information on Tom‘s Cummings, Murrays and Bapties and my new Davidson and Rhind families. The Davidson tartan is ... read more

What a lovely day! We woke up gradually, knowing that it was Sunday in ireland and nothing much would happen before 11am. We went to brekkie in La Terraza and found that there were actually thousands of bike riders in the streets outside for the annual Great Dublin Bike Ride. We then retired to the observation lounge and read whilst our suite was being made up. Just after 12 we left the ship and boarded the shuttle for the 10 minute drive to the city centre and explored the streets around Trinity College. We found an Irish Pub (in Ireland!) and went in for lunch. We had Irish stew washed down with a pint of Temple lager, followed by an Irish coffee. We then continued shopping (well, I shopped, Tom carried) until we were ready to ... read more

After a really rough night we were relieved to find conditions much smoother on arrival at Cobb. Some staff said it was the roughest weather they’ve ever seen, but all was calm and serene as we motored into Cobh Harbour. After a quick brekky in La Terraza we joined our coach on the dock for our 1 1/2 hour drive to Cahir (pronounced care). We also saw Lismore Castle along the way, the Irish Home of the Dukes of Devonshire. The 9th Duke of Devonshire was married to Fred Astaire’s sister, and she lived there until her death in 1981. We’ll be visiting Chatsworth, their English Home, when we return to England next week. First featured stop was a guided tour of Cahir Castle. This castle now belongs to the government because the last owner had ... read more