DAY 10 DUBLIN IRELAND & FIRST OF TWO DAYS IN DUBLIN

Before dinner last evening we had a pre-dinner drink at the Crystal Cove as we listened to pianist Scott Mitchel play the piano.  Olga who is one of the women who now lives on the ship joined us.

We always kid around when the canapés come around and usually we'll ask what they are serving and then say thank you but maybe tomorrow.  However, last night was a different story for Keith as for the first time he could remember there was a tray of raw vegetables so Keith helped himself to a few of them.  Rest assured a few minutes later another tray appeared of small hamburgers (sliders) and we did say thank you but maybe tomorrow.  LOL.

Another running joke we have with Raymond is about Bananas.  Years ago when we would have our breakfast at the Lido Cafe for one day they were out of Bananas as we were at sea for several days and it was not possible to bring additional bananas on board until our next port stop.  So, often when we see Raymond at night, either we ask or he asks if we want a Banana.

We then went to the Crystal Dining Room for dinner.  It was quite quiet as many guests were on tour and others were eating at one of the three Specialty Restaurants.

Keith had the Caviar as an appetizer.

Anne Marie had the Fresh Artichoke Appetizer.

We bathed the Heart of Boston Lettuce Salad as our next course.

For our entree Anne Marie had the Sablefish.

Keith had Salmon which is available every night.

For dessert, it was a fruit plate for Anne Marie and Strawberries and Blueberries for Keith.

We skipped the show so we could read and write and get to sleep earlier than last night.

Serenity departed the port at around 10:00 PM.  We both slept well as we headed to our next port of call in Dublin.

Keith was up first and worked out at the Fitness Center and then had coffee at the Lido Cafe.  Anne Marie walked for one hour before we had breakfast in our room.

We then got ready for our visit to Dublin.

Shortly prior to our arrival in Dublin Captain Birger spoke from the bridge and spoke about a couple of weather situations.  One of them is that the forecast called for heavy wind due to a low pressure system moving up the coast which would prevent tender service from running on our planned August 3 visit to Londonderry,  Northern Island on August 3 and as a result we will have an overnight and second day in Belfast.  

While we have had the pleasure of visiting Dublin, Ireland on several previous voyages, we decided that we would do a tour.  Crystal Cruises was kind enough to arrange this private tour for us.

Our tour began at 11:00 AM as we were met at the pier by our tour guide and our driver for a drive into Dublin City which included a panoramic drive through Dublin en route to the Cliff Townhouse.

Our tour guide was Dave and our driver was Paul.  Both were great.  Dave has been conducting tours for about ten years and has a wealth of knowledge.

We walked through a city park on the way to our first stop.

Our first stop was the Cliff Townhouse which is now a restaurant in a former house.

Upon our arrival to the Cliff Townhouse we attended a private Seafood Master class with the head chef and this was followed by lunch at the Cliff Town House.

We then enjoyed lunch at the Cliff Town House.

We began with a starter and we each chose a Brie Tart with Meat and Jelly.

We both chose the Organic Salmon with Peas and Onions.

Anne Marie had part of the Cream Brûlée dessert while Keith had some Fresh Strawberries.

After lunch we visited the Mansion House which is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin and which was hosted by the Lord Mayor herself; Criona Ni Dhalaigh.

We chatted with the Lord Mayor for about thirty minutes and then we were taken on a guide tour of the house.

Our next stop was Trinity College where we visited the Book of Kells accompanied by the Visitor Services Manager. Her name is also Anne Marie.

We then made our way over to St Patrick's Cathedral with the Cathedral Manager & Dean's Verger.  This included a visit to the ringing room and to the top of the tow for views of Dublin City which are not normally available to the public.

Our Guide.

This is the area where the bells are rung and is not an area that the public gets to see.

After an absolutely amazing tour we were driven back to the Crystal Serenity.

This evening we have been invited by the Crystal Society Hostess to dine at a Crystal Society Dinner at Prego and we will post about that tomorrow.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY........

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." - Robert Francis Kennedy

Keith & Anne Marie

DAY 9 - GREENOCK, SCOTLAND

We had mentioned yesterday how much we enjoyed our tour of Liverpool.  A couple of items made it very special.  One was our tour guide Jackie and her extensive knowledge of The Beatles, her organization of the day and her kindness.  She put together a most memorable tour for us and we learned so very much from her.

Another unique part of the tour was the three plus hours we had one on one with Freda who was secretary to Beatles Manager Brian Epstein and Secretary of The Beatles Fan Club, Len and Colin of the Quarrymen and Rory Best, brother of original Beatles drummer Pete Best.  They were all very informative and so good about answering all of our questions and we learned so much about John, Paul, Ringo and George from each of them.  

We thought we would begin today by including a video from a Beatles 1966 Live Concert in Munich, Germany.

Last night continued The Beatles on board Crystal Serenity.

We began the evening with dinner and decided to dine in our room given the time we had gotten back from our Beatles Tour and it just made it easier to freshen up for the rest of the evening.  We also wanted to arrive early for the show.  We ended up arriving very early to the showroom and we chatted with Karl who not only plays Paul McCartney in the show but is producer for the company that  has a total of five Beatles Celebration groups that perform on several cruise lines/ships.  

We first met Karl and saw the group perform on Serenity on three previous voyages including the 2014 World Cruise, a voyage that followed the World Cruise from London to Rome and earlier this year on the 2015 World Cruise.  

For those of you who saw them perform in 2014, the band members who performed last evening were the same ones who performed in 2014.  

The group was fabulous and yes we got there early so we could sit in the first row and we did dance. 

The show also included the Astoria Strings and three members of the Galaxy Orchestra on horns.

We enjoyed it so much we stayed for the second show at 10:30 PM.

Keith wore one of the two Beatles Shirts that Anne Marie had surprised him with.

Galaxy Orchestra Member David Ashley who was recognized as the fifth Beatle for all of the work he did in preparation of this concert and the ones earlier this year.

Cruise Director Gary.

We slept very well as we always seem to do when cruising as we sailed to our next port of call in Greenrock, Scotland.  Getting to sleep very late also helped too.

We began the day close to how we normally do except that Keith slept a little later and after he awoke he went directly to the Lido Cafe for coffee, skipping the Fitness Center.

Afterwards, we had breakfast in our room and then afterwards he  attended an indoor Cycling Class.  There were three other people in class and it was taught by Fitness Director Claire.  For the last song in the Playlist before we cooled down, Claire challenge everyone to a race as this song involved pedaling as fast as we could.  She said she would select who was the fastest and Keith ended up being the one she said was the fastest, even beating out one guest in their early 20's.  Not bad for an "old" man.  

Afterwards, we went into Greenock, Scotland.




This port serves Glasgow which is located about 45 minutes from the port.  While this was our first time visiting this port, we have been to Glasgow before as Anne Marie's sister (now deceased) lived there for a few years before moving to Edinburgh.  We have been to both cities multiple times.

Greenock is a former shipbuilding town on the River Clyde.  It is the birthplace of engineer James Watt who perfected the steam engine.  

Since we had been on an all day tour yesterday and have another all day tour for tomorrow in Dublin, and have been to both Glasgow and Edinburgh, we didn't plan any type of formal tour for today.  Rather, we just walked on our own.

We first walked a couple of miles in each direction on the Greenock Esplanade which offers nice views of the hills, and lochs of the Scottish Highlands on one side and views of several charming homes on the left side.

Our walk included a view of the Old West Kirk Church built in 1591.  It was originally in the centre of town but was moved stone by stone to its existing location in 1925.

Most of the homes we saw were built in the 1800's.

This home was built in 1840 and was home to ship-owners, wool manufacturers, and country owners.

This was the home to Captain Edward Scott and his family.  Scott was commander of the steamer City of Aberdeen which was sued as a transport ship for troops in the Mediterranean.

We then walked around the downtown area.

Some of the store front signs were humorous.

One of several churches in the downtown area.

The weather ranged from sunny to overcast and the temperature was in the mid 50's.  We spoke with some of the locals who were very friendly.

Back on the ship we enjoyed lunch at the Lido Cafe.

Anne Marie walked for an hour on the Promenade Deck.

Keith played Paddle Tennis. It was a lot of fun and with just four of us we kept playing.

We spent the rest of the afternoon, reading and writing and enjoying the ship.

This evening we will be back in the Crystal Dining Room.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY........

"One of my biggest thrills for me still is sitting down with a guitar or a piano and just out of nowhere trying to make a song happen." - Paul McCartney

Keith & Anne Marie