Our day-to-day activities on Tauck’s British Isles cruise.

Rickee Richardson 5/1/18 Rickee Richardson 5/1/18

Day 7 - Cork, Ireland

We visit the city of Cork and Blarney Castle.

It is cold and raining this morning when Le Soléal docks in Cork, Ireland. All of the Tauck excursions are scheduled for afternoon departure, so we have free time this morning to sleep in, or do some self-guided discovering of Cork. I chose the latter. After my daily blogging duties, I disembarked the ship at around 9:45am for a short walk. Whenever you disembark, there is a table of bottled water available for the taking at the gangway.

bottled water on Le Soléal to take on excursions.png

The ship has also provided umbrellas for guest use, and they will be needed today.

Tauck guests with umbrellas in Cork Ireland.png

Several guests have the same idea: to walk to St. Patrick street, a major shopping street in Cork. The walk only takes about 10 minutes from the ship. Fortunately, thanks to the small size of Le Soléal, the Captain was able to dock the ship right in town on the banks of the River Lee.

I have no real objective in walking into town other than to get some much needed exercise. It just feels good to get out and walk, even if it is in the rain. When I arrive at St. Patrick Street, I find it is almost deserted. There are very few pedestrians this morning.

St. Patrick Street was re-developed in 2004 and has been considered Ireland's premier shopping street ever since. The wide sidewalks make it perfect for walking; however, it is not a pedestrian street. There are a few cross streets which are controlled by traffic lights. The street is lined with local stores and high-end Irish and British shops. Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, they are all here. I found a nice souvenir shop where I was able to get a few goodies to take home.

After about 45 minutes of walking both sides of the street, I headed back to the ship to get ready for my afternoon excursion. After lunch, groups began boarding motor coaches for a variety of local tours. I chose to visit Blarney Castle. The drive to Blarney Castle takes about 45 minutes, and of course, our local guide takes that time to educate us on the Cork area. Our guide is quick to point out all of the American companies that have located in Cork because of the low corporate tax rates (12.5%). Apple, Facebook, Bristol-Meyers, and Intel, are just a few of the companies mentioned. She seemed grateful for all the jobs provided to Irish citizens.

When we arrived at Blarney Castle, we were dropped off near Blarney Woollen Mills, a massive store selling every sort of Irish-made woollen items. There is a small pub, an ATM, and restrooms.

After allowing guests to make a "comfort stop", our local guide leads the way to the castle, which is about a ten-minute walk away. The castle was much smaller than I imagined it would be.

Of course, the main reason for visiting Blarney Castle is to "kiss the Blarney stone", which requires a walk up 127 uneven stone steps to the top of the castle. Then, you lay on your back and are placed in a position, sort of upside down, so you can kiss the stone. Uh, no thanks. I am not kissing anything that has been kissed by thousands of tourists!

*The opening at the top through which you kiss the stone*

Instead of climbing the steps, I decided to get my exercise by walking some of the many paths that surround the castle. There are several gardens on the property which are quite nice, and lots of tree-lined paths. You could easily walk for two hours on these paths.

Path on grounds of Blarney Castle Cork Ireland

I walked for about 45 minutes in total solitude. It was nice, albeit still drizzling and cool. There are plenty of signs along the paths so you cannot get lost. After walking back to the castle, I decided to go back to the drop-off point and visit that little pub. I sat with a few other Tauck guests and we all enjoyed a pint of Guinness and swapped stories about our journeys.

All in all, it was a great day in Cork. Even though I did not kiss the Blarney Stone, I got to see the castle, enjoy a great walk, and make some new friends.

Tomorrow, we will be in the Isles of Scilly.

Rickee Richardson 4/28/18 Rickee Richardson 4/28/18

Day 4 - Belfast

A Panoramic Highlights tour visits the city center, Belfast Castle and the botanical gardens before the Captain's Welcome Reception and Dinner.

After breakfast this morning, guests began to gather in the Main Lounge on Deck 3 aft. On this cruise, there are six Tauck Tour Directors as well as a Tauck "Ship Liaison", and, all are on hand this morning to make sure guests get on the correct excursion. On a "typical" cruise, both the onshore and onboard elements are presented by the cruise company. Understandably, the cruise line’s focus is primarily on the onboard experience. On a Tauck small ship cruise, Tauck can focus on providing the ultimate destination experience, leaving the onboard experience to the cruise line, in this case, Ponant. It's like getting the best of both worlds!

By 8:20, the first group of guests begin disembarking for excursions in Belfast. Tauck gave guests seven different tours to choose from prior to sailing. All local tours are included in the Tauck cruise/trip fare, as are all gratuities (even gratuities for local guides).

In most destinations, Tauck will offer a "leisurely option" for guests who either have mobility issues, or simply want to go at a slower pace. I decided to see what the leisurely option was like, so I booked "Leisurely Belfast & Panoramic Highlights". Our excursion was scheduled to begin at 8:40am, and disembarkation was very smooth. No standing in long lines like on larger cruise ships. Within a few minutes, we were off the ship and boarding our motor coach. Upon boarding the coach, we are introduced to Linda, our local guide for the day.

Our first stop was the Parliament building of Northern Ireland.

Throughout the tour, Linda attempted to educate us on Ireland's troubled past, and how Northern Ireland became separated from the rest of the country. There are deep divisions in the country along religious lines that go back centuries. With the majority of the residents in the northern part of Ireland being Protestant descendants of colonists from Great Britain, the British Parliament divided Northern and Southern Ireland in 1921.

Our next stop was a visit to Belfast Castle where we had an opportunity to walk through the gardens. The skies are blue this morning and the sun is shining, making for some great photo opportunities. The castle is set on the slopes of Cavehill Country Park, in a prominent position 400 feet (120 m) above sea level. Its location provides unobstructed views of the city of Belfast

After our brief visit to the castle, we drive into the City Center where we can visit City Hall and the Titanic Memorial located there. The Titanic was constructed in Belfast. In fact, during that time, Belfast was the largest ship building center on Earth!

*The Titanic Memorial at Belfast City Hall*

Our final stop on our Panoramic Highlights tour is a visit to the Botanical Gardens, located next to Queens University Belfast. We had an opportunity to enjoy the scenery and actually sit and soak up some rare Irish sunshine.

Another benefit of Tauck tours is the smaller group sizes. Most cruise line tours will be so crowded that it can become an unpleasant experience. Tauck manages the size of the local tours to make them more manageable and enjoyable.

*Smaller group sizes and much more enjoyable*

We are back on board Le Soléal in time for lunch. I decide to try the Tauck Cheeseburger in the main dining room, and it was quite good! This afternoon, we were treated to a very informative lecture by Dr. Eamon Phoenix on "The Troubles" where he gave an in-depth history of Ireland's troubled past.

This evening is the Captain's Welcome Reception and Welcome Dinner. Guests lined up in the Theater to meet Captain Patrick Marchesseau (don't even ask me how to pronounce that). Afterwards, the L'Eclipse Restaurant was open for the Captain's Dinner.

Tomorrow, we will visit the Isle of Man.

Rickee Richardson 4/26/18 Rickee Richardson 4/26/18

Day 2 - Dublin, Ireland

We explore Dublin with Tauck, and, on our own.

After a restful night of much needed sleep, we started today with breakfast at the Conrad Dublin, the Tauck hotel for this journey. Tauck has arranged for guests to enjoy a complimentary breakfast at the hotel, and it was delicious. By 8:30am, we are boarding the brand new Mercedes motor coach for a city tour.

*Guests board the Tauck motor coach for the morning tour of Dublin*

The motor coach is so new it even smells new! And, it is very comfortable. Dale, our Tauck Tour Director introduces us to Carol, our local guide for the day and soon we are on our way through town with Carol providing insightful commentary along the way.

Our first stop is St. Patrick's Cathedral, the national cathedral for the Church of Ireland. The amazing structure dates back to 1220 and no visit to Dublin would be complete without a stop here.

Carol gave us a thorough tour of the Cathedral, pointing some very interesting historical facts.

*Local guide, Carol, guides a tour of St. Patrick's*

We re-board the motor coach for a short ride to Trinity College Dublin for a tour of the Old Library Exhibition and the Book of Kells. Neither Rickee nor I had ever even heard of the Book of Kells, yet hundreds of people were lined up outside the exhibit to gain entrance. Fortunately, Tauck has procured VIP tickets for our group, so we go to the front of the line!

Photography is not allowed inside the museum, so you have to go in person to see the exhibit. The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. The fully developed style of the ornamentation of the Book of Kells places it either from the late 8th or early 9th century. The book (there are actually four of them) is quite small, but fortunately, the museum has enlarged photos of many pages showing the elaborate ornamentation.

A short walk upstairs takes guests to The Long Room in The Old Library. The Old Library serves Trinity College and the University of Dublin. It is the largest library in Ireland and, as a legal deposit or "copyright library", it has rights to receive material published in the Republic of Ireland free of charge; it is also the only Irish library to hold such rights for the United Kingdom (Wikapedia). The Library is the permanent home to the famous Book of Kells. The Long Room contains 14 busts of famous philosophers, and those who supported the College.

After our visit to Trinity College, we boarded the motor coach for the short drive back to our hotel. It is now lunch time and Tauck has given us the rest of the day to explore Dublin "on our own". The location of our hotel is perfect for short walks to many of Dublin's historic sights and points of interest. We spend the rest of the day enjoying Dublin, doing some souvenir shopping, and getting some walking exercise. We are convinced that Dublin is a city in which we would like to spend more time.

Tomorrow, we will board Le Soléal for the cruising portion of this British Isles adventure. Stay tuned!

Rickee Richardson 4/25/18 Rickee Richardson 4/25/18

Day 1 - Arrive in Dublin

Our British Isles adventure begins.

We arrived in Dublin, Ireland, after an all-night flight from DFW to London Heathrow (on British Airways), then a short flight from London to Dublin (on Aer Lingus). As we expected, it was cool and rainy when we arrived in Dublin. Our checked luggage was already on the carousel when we arrived at the baggage claim area. We exited the secure area of the airport and found TJ waiting for us with a Tauck sign, and an iPad with our names on it.

The ride to our hotel from the airport took about 30 minutes, but was quite comfortable in TJ's new E-class Mercedes. When we arrived at Conrad Dublin, check-in was quick and efficient. We were recognized as Tauck Guests and given a packet from our Tauck Tour Director along with our room keys. When you travel with Tauck, they take care of all of the details.

Inside our packet was a schedule informing us of a cocktail reception and dinner at 6:15. That only gave us a couple of hours for a much needed nap after having been up all night on our flight! By 6:15, we were back in the lobby of the hotel where 65 other Tauck guests had gathered for the short walk to our evening’s festivities.

Tauck has divided guests on this trip into three groups, with each group staying at a different hotel. This is a great technique to keep functions from feeling over-crowded. Soon, our Tour Director, Dale, was leading us on a short 15-minute walk past St. Stephen's Green, a beautiful park dating back to 1663.

Soon, we arrive at Cliff Townhouse where we find an open bar and some of the most delicious hors d'oeuvres I have ever tasted. There was a BBQ-glazed pork belly that was to die for. Guests mixed and mingled while enjoying their favorite cocktail, wine or pint of Guinness.

Our evening meal was held on the ground floor of Cliff Townhouse. The evening menu offered a choice of starter, main course and dessert. Complimentary red and white wines were poured during dinner.

Before dinner was served, we were entertained by Irish singers and dancers performing traditional songs and dances. A few Tauck guests even got into the act when they joined the dancers on the floor for a special Irish jig. During dinner, we sat next to a gentleman who had traveled all the way from Queenstown, New Zealand. His journey consisted of four different flights with more than 25 hours of flying time!

By the time dinner was over, jet lag was setting in and we were pretty tired. We decided to walk back to the hotel, even though we were not entirely sure how to get there. Tauck Directors offered to get taxis for any guests who did not want to walk back, but we decided to give it a try. We found our hotel after only a couple of wrong turns during the walk. Dublin feels like a "safe" city in which to walk, at least in this part of town. Once back in our room, we wasted no time climbing into the comfortable beds for some much needed sleep. Tomorrow, Tauck has a morning of exploring planned for us. More to come!