For our second Irish port of call, the original schedule was 8am to all aboard at 3:30pm. At 8am we were still moving so we were obviously a little late in. As we berthed, a large painted sign on the dockside stated 2012 was 100 years since the Titanic left Cobh (then named Queenstown) on that ill-fated April journey. Cobh makes the most of that particular event but more importantly for us, they always welcome the Dawn Princess by making it "Australia Day".
After a hearty breakfast, we just strolled off to a sign proclaiming that it was just 200 metres to the town centre. What they obviously didn't say was that it was only another 400 yards to the other side of town.
On the quay there were self-drive rental cars at €70 or you could catch the train into Cork, as the railway station was also alongside the quay. Walking into the town was easy enough and it wasn't long before we were at the far end, so we turned around and called in at Murphy's Supermarket. Appropriately enough as Paula's maternal Irish ancestry is indeed Murphy. We picked up a bottle of Sandeman's port for €17 - about the cost of two small glasses on the ship and a tube of Colgate toothpaste. Why toothpaste? Simply because in NZ it is imported from Thailand. Mr Murphy himself served us as he opened up another checkout to serve the constant stream of cruisers stocking up.
Into the centre of town and past the Gilbert Hotel. Paula's paternal ancestry is Gilbert…
For the first time ever, I'd taken the laptop ashore, as internet access on board was non-existent. This was extremely frustrating, but we didn't expect to find a Starbucks or McDonalds with free Wi-Fi and at the port, it was something like €5 for 24 hours. We did find a small coffee shop that had 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi with the coffee, a tea and a Danish pastry at €4.
I managed to upload the previous blogs but I just have to accept that regardless of when I write them, they might not be posted for a while. Just time to wish Ros a belated happy birthday and a quick email to Julie (who is in the USA) and that was it. The weather in NZ sounding distinctly grotty as there was a welcome email from Marilyn.
Onto the sea front to enjoy a bit of fresh air and the local entertainment of a pipe group then a team of young dancers. Very colourful, though it wasn't long before our view from the steps was obscured by the new travel pests – i-pad users, standing right in front of us as we were seated on the steps. We moved to the railings by the sea and watched the rest of it from there.
Back on board OK and the ship due to sail an hour later than originally scheduled.
Even though there were only about ten teams at trivia, we still didn't win.
On the quayside, there was a great farewell from the locals, with a band, lots of flag waving etc. During our stay, Paula had chatted to some locals on the sea front, who said they loved it when the Australian based Dawn Princess arrived, as the passengers were so much quieter than when ships from another rather brash country arrived.
To deck 5 with Darryl and Sue for a hot chocolate and I wandered over to the front desk to see if the bright green strap that was around Paula's case had been handed in. It had!
Just after dropping off the pilot, the ship stopped for about half an hour. Later, Mal assumed we'd touched a mudbank… Better than hitting an iceberg.
Dinner was a joyous affair as our table reallocation had been approved (second sitting often has spaces, first sitting does not). Waiter Don and assistant Abdul seem to be fine and our head waiter Portuguese Vassau (I think that is how you spell it) a real hoot.
The Princess theatre had a variety act – Nolan Dean and Emmanuelle Adda. We thoroughly enjoyed it as it was a mix of song, dance and comedy, backed by the Princess orchestra. Probably an 8.5 out of 10.
Clocks back again tonight as we hit our five consecutive sea days. Already, the weather is a bit cooler as we round the southern tip of Ireland and head across the Atlantic. Although the Captain stated that it wouldn't be a rough crossing, the 'motion discomfort devices' have appeared on the stairwells…
No comments:
Post a Comment