Now Live From The Infinity

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Can you bring wine on board? Would like to at embarkation and Paris.

 

The rules state that two bottles of wine/stateroom may be brought on at embarcation. People have reported differing experiences with bringing wine on in subsequent ports. So know that it may be confiscated.

[What A Market]

Time flies while....

 

Hard to believe it is Sunday. We arrive in Liverpool this morning to another absolutely glorious day. I can't stress enough how beautiful the weather has been. Almost full sun and light winds while we were in Cork (Cobh) and Dublin. For the first few days (Harwich, Le Havre, and St. Peter's Port) we had a light mix of clouds and strongish winds. Along with the perfect weather, we have also had extremely calm seas. You would think we were cruising the inside passage of Alaska.

 

The port high points so far are certainly Le Havre where we did a Normandy Beach tour and Dublin where we did a city walking tour. In both ports I booked private tours with Overlord Tours and Sandemans, respectively. While costly, Overlord provides a very intimate way to see the D-Day landing beaches. I have to say that standing on Omaha Beach with my children and nephews, who range in age from 18 to 27, was extremely moving. The perspective from being down on the beach and looking up at the hilltops was overwhelming.

 

In Dublin our guide was a university student who had just completed his masters degree. Because of his young age he was able to connect with all the "kids" in our group, and as such, this walking tour of Dublin ranks as their favorite port. After the tour we made our way to a few different pubs and enjoyed some time with locals and tourists both. It was Saturday afternoon/evening so many of the pubs were slammed busy, particularly if they had live music.

 

Time for my usual cruise rant: Why don't more cruise lines do overnights in port? I know, I know. Port costs are expensive. (It isn't because we need to travel long distances. At least not on this cruise around the UK.) Spending two days in Dublin with an overnight, particularly on a Saturday, would have made all the sense in the world, and I'm sure many (maybe most) of my fellow cruise passengers would not have been upset with trading out Liverpool for the second day in Dublin.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Time flies while....

 

Hard to believe it is Sunday. We arrive in Liverpool this morning to another absolutely glorious day. I can't stress enough how beautiful the weather has been. Almost full sun and light winds while we were in Cork (Cobh) and Dublin. For the first few days (Harwich, Le Havre, and St. Peter's Port) we had a light mix of clouds and strongish winds. Along with the perfect weather, we have also had extremely calm seas. You would think we were cruising the inside passage of Alaska.

 

The port high points so far are certainly Le Havre where we did a Normandy Beach tour and Dublin where we did a city walking tour. In both ports I booked private tours with Overlord Tours and Sandemans, respectively. While costly, Overlord provides a very intimate way to see the D-Day landing beaches. I have to say that standing on Omaha Beach with my children and nephews, who range in age from 18 to 27, was extremely moving. The perspective from being down on the beach and looking up at the hilltops was overwhelming.

 

In Dublin our guide was a university student who had just completed his masters degree. Because of his young age he was able to connect with all the "kids" in our group, and as such, this walking tour of Dublin ranks as their favorite port. After the tour we made our way to a few different pubs and enjoyed some time with locals and tourists both. It was Saturday afternoon/evening so many of the pubs were slammed busy, particularly if they had live music.

 

Time for my usual cruise rant: Why don't more cruise lines do overnights in port? I know, I know. Port costs are expensive. (It isn't because we need to travel long distances. At least not on this cruise around the UK.) Spending two days in Dublin with an overnight, particularly on a Saturday, would have made all the sense in the world, and I'm sure many (maybe most) of my fellow cruise passengers would not have been upset with trading out Liverpool for the second day in Dublin.

 

I actually loved Liverpool although the weather was not good. On a good day it would have been fabulous! Would not have wanted to trade for another day in Dublin. Lucky that you're getting good weather. We had calm seas as well. I agree, overnights would be good, but then the cruise would have to be longer. Actually, a few sea days sprinkled in between all those port days would have been nice! And I really wish Celebrity would go to Edinburgh as Princess does. Just add one night to the itinerary.

[What A Market]

Off the ship now. Sitting in the British Air lounge at Heathrow waiting for our return flight to Phoenix. We disembarked just after 9:00AM. I had arranged for transportation from the port to Heathrow previously, and at that hour we had no traffic for the drive. Travel time was less than two hours "door to door."

 

The disembarkation process was a piece of cake at that time. I was sitting in Cafe al Bacio just before 7:00AM and things seemed pretty quiet even at that hour.

 

I promise to post more on the cruise when I get home. Sorry again for not keeping up the daily blog.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions.

[patca]

Sounds like you had a nice time. What was the earliest time you could have disembarked? Thanks

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Off the ship now. Sitting in the British Air lounge at Heathrow waiting for our return flight to Phoenix. We disembarked just after 9:00AM. I had arranged for transportation from the port to Heathrow previously, and at that hour we had no traffic for the drive. Travel time was less than two hours "door to door."

 

The disembarkation process was a piece of cake at that time. I was sitting in Cafe al Bacio just before 7:00AM and things seemed pretty quiet even at that hour.

 

I promise to post more on the cruise when I get home. Sorry again for not keeping up the daily blog.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions.

 

I agree, disembarcation in Harwich was the smoothest I've ever experienced. Piece of cake.

 

Did you ever find the closet in the living room?

[julia]

Off the ship now. Sitting in the British Air lounge at Heathrow waiting for our return flight to Phoenix. We disembarked just after 9:00AM. I had arranged for transportation from the port to Heathrow previously, and at that hour we had no traffic for the drive. Travel time was less than two hours "door to door."

 

The disembarkation process was a piece of cake at that time. I was sitting in Cafe al Bacio just before 7:00AM and things seemed pretty quiet even at that hour.

 

I promise to post more on the cruise when I get home. Sorry again for not keeping up the daily blog.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions.

 

How were the lines at Heathrow for BA check-in and getting through security? We have a 4:40 pm return flight and will be out touring that day, so wondering what time to plan for airport arrival. Thanks!

[What A Market]

Home! Let the jet lag begin.

 

Some quick responses...

 

patca: Cruise was great. Having a chance to travel with your adult children is a blessing. My mom and mother-in-law.... not so much. :). I'm not sure what the earliest disembarkation time was, either officially or unofficially. I heard one couple talking about having a 10:00AM flight out of Heathrow. Our official arrival time at port was supposedly 6:00AM. Not sure when the first passengers were disembarked.

 

Happy Cruiser: I did find the small closet in the living room. The addition of about eighteen inches of extra hanging space was certainly needed.

 

julia: Clearing security was a breeze. I think all eleven of us made it through in only a couple of minutes. Probably the fastest I've experienced in the past four summers. Particularly surprising for a Friday. Ticketing was fast as well.

[julia]

Thanks for the airport info, and for sharing your trip with us. It sounded wonderful!

 

Now..... try to get all caught up with yourself so you can enjoy this lovely cool spell (90's!) that we are having here in the southwest! :)

[What A Market]

Here are some high points regarding the cruise. These are not necessarily listed in any particular order.

 

1.) Espressos first thing every morning in Cafe al Bacio served up by Alex. The whole staff in al Bacio were by far the most engaging staff on the ship, but it was a real pleasure chatting for an hour or two with Alex.

 

2.) Cocktails at Martini's served up by Sheldon, Wayan, (hope I spelled that correctly), and Randy. As with al Bacio, the service level in Martini's far surpassed anything we experienced elsewhere on the ship.

 

3.) Godfrey and our cabin steward (extremely embarrassing that I can't remember his name) who took care of us in our Royal Suite. We are not big users of the services provided by the butler, but one item is worth noting. We were booked for the trip using Select Dining. This was probably the only option that made sense when you are traveling with eleven people over three generations. One night I asked Godfrey to make a reservation in the MDR for just the six "adults." The designated time we were given was 8:00PM, which was perfect. When we arrived at the designated MDR check in point for Select Dining guests on Deck Five, there was Godfrey. He was clearly there to intercept the MDR hostess and make sure we had a table by a window. It's was a special touch because it was so unexpected.

 

4.) Last but not least, the wine service provided by Alexander in the MDR. We ordered some special bottles of wine every evening. It was fun to trust his recommendations for some "old world" options. He made the dining experience in the MDR special. Sadly, without his service I would have pretty unhappy with the service level in the MDR.