SUNNY BELFAST AND THE RMS TITANIC!

Regal Princess/Belfast
Saturday, September 28, 2024
Sunny, 58F

Janie on the bow of the Titanic

Port of Belfast

Early this morning, 8:30 a.m., we disembarked the Regal, hopped on the Princess shuttle ($17 RT each) to the Belfast visitor center, bought tickets for the Titanic Museum Experience (25 GBP each), and easily caught a bus (1.80 GBP each) to the site where the Titanic was built, and the museum was created. 

First, I couldn’t believe we were in Belfast, and it is a lovely big city with a population of 348,000. Béal Feirste in Irish, it is the capital city and the principal port of Northern Ireland and stands on the banks of the River Lagan, connected to the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Exterior of the RMS Titanic Museum

This was one of the cars for the ride

Furnace for ironwork

Chain

Launching the Titanic

The launch, witnessed by 100,000 people

This is a partial view of a first class stateroom

My photos of other staterooms did not turn out 

and because of my photo issue I cannot edit them

By the time we were finished with the experience we felt as though we had helped build the Titanic and joined the passengers on its maiden voyage.  

Since this ship was the largest ever built at the time, many people from Ireland and Belfast were involved, from metal workers, carpenters, to seamstresses, officers, and crew, and so much more.  The story, shown in enlarged photos on the walls, drew us in.

One could easily imagine the noise, the need to finish the work on time, the last minute details.  There is even a ride reminiscent of an amusement park ride that takes the rider up and down several stories of the hull as it is being built.

After the building of the ship, one sees the first, second, and third class staterooms, china, carpeting samples, tickets, handbills, and so on that make one feel part of the ship.  TK and I were thoroughly engaged with the workers and the passengers, and then the ports of call as the Titanic picked up passengers in Southampton, Cherbourg, and Cobh. 

Everyone knows the ending to this story.  Toward the end of the museum experience, Robert Ballard’s film of the Titanic undersea as it rests today was shown in the most unique way, two stories down, under glass. We could see the fated ship as the camera passed over it—it was almost as if we were viewing it from beneath the ocean too.

 On a nearby wall was a list of the survivors and those who died. I noted that there were three Phillips men who died, and two Phillips ladies who survived.  There was a Bennett woman who survived, and a Walker male who died. An estimated 1517 people died and 712 survived, 32% survivors.  When one is introduced to this ship so personally while walking through, and then feels the impact of the sinking ship and the results, it is very very overwhelming.  The people of Belfast, who so proudly created this ship were monumentally affected too.

At the very end there are placards that state causes and changes since the Titanic:

• Weather-- I did not realize that the weather had been a little warmer and the icebergs floated further south into the planned route of the Titanic.   The warm and wet year 1908 created the conditions for a huge iceberg to travel in the early autumn of 1911 near southwest Greenland.  Today the U.S. Coast Guard monitors icebergs.
• Ice Warnings—necessary but not done
• Binoculars—no binoculars in the crow’s nest. That is a maritime regulation today
• Speed---the captain did not feel the ship should slow down, that it could plow through the ice
• Flooding—bulkheads were not high enough to prevent water from flowing over them
• Lifeboats—there were 20 lifeboats, but they were sent off with few people in them. Also, there weren’t enough lifeboats. Today there has to be lifeboats with capacity for every passenger and crew.
• Evacuation—lack of safety drills. Today cruise ships cannot leave port until every passenger has viewed the TV safety drill and reported to their Muster Station (this is how Princess does it)
• Distress Calls---the nearest ship did not hear the distress call because the crew member had gone to bed. Today someone must monitor the radio system 24 hours in every ship at sea.

 After this emotional visit, we toured the SS Nomadic, the last remaining White Star Line ship in the world. It served as a tender boat for the Titanic and other White Star ships.  It was much larger and opulent than any tender I have been on!!

SS Nomadic, a Tender boat

A beautful interior on a tender, like I have never seen!!

I really hate to say this, but now TK has caught the same disease I have--taking photos in the bathroom, today on the Nomadic---------------

I don't know if this is the sink or urinal and I 

am not going to ask

Toilet paper holder

Toilet part

Aside to Donna: We need to lobby for tenders like this again!!

We hopped on another bus to go to St. George’s Market and Victoria Square. This time I found sfogiatelle, the best pastry on the planet—called “shell” here in Belfast, but the vendor was Sicilian.  Florida, Trader Joe's, Germany, now Ireland!  This little Italian pastry goes far!

Janie at the Market in Belfast

Cheeses

 

Italian baked goods, including sfogiatelle

Janie's favorite (top right)

Many items for sale at the market

On our way back to the ship-------------------

Victoria Square

The two great yellow-painted gantry cranes Samson and Goliath have

 become icons of Belfast, dominating the entire city skyline. 

Constructed to service the vast new graving dock at 

Harland and Wolff, Goliath (the smaller at 315 ft) 

began work in 1969, and the 348 ft Samson five years later

After dinner I went to the Production show, “John and Paul.” These two men from Liverpool sound exactly like Beatles John and Paul—and they played early favorites. Priming us for Liverpool tomorrow!!

I also stayed in the theater for Pete Best, who came on the ship for a program. TK knew who he was, and I bet some of you do too—the Fifth Beatle! He told wonderful anecdotes about how they played in his mother’s Coffee House, the Casbah, played in Hamburg, Germany, and some troubles they got into.   I read about him before the show at https://www.beatlesbible.com/people/pete-best/   

It is late now and I do have nice photos, but I fear I must get off to bed for another early start tomorrow.  I’m hoping I wake up to a text from my brother about the “Gender Reveal” party we are missing tonight in the States!

SUN, BUT NO DUBLIN!

Regal Princess/At Sea
Friday, September 27, 2024
Sunny, 54F

Our view of Dublin from the ship

Dublin  (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath)  is the capital of Ireland.

Our first sunny day since last Saturday in Pittsburgh! Then, early this morning, the captain announced that he was very sorry but our trip to Dublin was cancelled.  The sea on this tender port was too rough to safely take passengers ashore.  Apparently, some lifeboats used for tendering were lowered, but safety is paramount, and that was that. Captain TK of the Blazebuster for 15 years and four year Navy veteran agreed.

No Book of Kells, no Aran sweater market, no Irish cottage pie. We won’t be able to meet the 573,000 people we were hoping to meet.  We did not have a Dublin tour scheduled because we wanted to walk around the city, have a genuine Irish lunch, and enjoy a city we had never visited.

After the announcement, the crew was scrambling to arrange activities to do on the ship—can you imagine 3600 passengers with nothing to do? At least I have books!

First on TK’s agenda was visiting the Future Cruise agent to sign up for future cruise vouchers. Then, shockingly, he booked an Eclipse Cruise on the Sun Princess for August 2026 out of Southampton that includes Cherbourg, Bilbao, Malaga, Cartagena, Gibraltar, Lisbon, and Santiago de Compostela.  We need to stay healthy and truly determine if this is what we want to do in August 2026, but there was only ONE stateroom left in the category TK likes.  Now the room is reserved for us with a deposit, and we have until 90 days before the cruise to cancel without any penalty and our money back.  That’s my TK.

A day at sea, why not tea? That is what we will do this afternoon.

Tomorrow, Belfast! Let’s hope for sun and fun!

TK's Takes:  Sunniest day since we havea been here. Stuck on board with 3000 people, crowded.  That's bogus, man.

Note: Even though we are off on a great vacation, we are still thinking of the hurricane in Florida, and other things that are going on in the world.  We have a close friend whose home is in "The Bend" of Florida, and that area was already hit by two recent hurricanes.  Others, inlcuding family, also live in Florida and we know they have been affected. Prayers all the way.

NO KISSES AT BLARNEY CASTLE!

Regal Princess/Port of Ringaskiddy for Cork
Tuesday, September 26, 2024
Cloudy, 47F      

TK and Janie at Blarney Castle

This morning we joined 50 other people for a tour of Blarney Castle and the Blarney Woolen Mills’ shop filled with Irish items.  The brisk cold was not going to stop us.

Ringaskiddy is a commercial port, but the usual port, Cobh, was already taken. Cobh is pronounced like Cove.  We are in County Cork, which is one place my long long ago ancestors lived, I believe.

Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) is the third largest city in Ireland, the county town of County Cork. The city’s population is about 224,004.

Founded in the 6th century by St. Fin Barre, the region around Cork is also home to one of the densest concentrations of prehistoric monuments in Western Europe.  Our tour guide, Ben, gave us another history lesson, starting with the Vikings who invaded the area of Cork in about 606 A.D., mostly because they liked the gold and other valuables in the monasteries.  The Danes arrived in 900 A.D., then the Anglo Normans. Ben said Ireland was never invaded by the Romans.  The Irish language is 1000 years older than English, and it is one of the oldest written languages after Greek and Latin.

Few Irish speak Gaelic Irish today—I would love to hear this language. Street signs and other signs seem to be written in Gaelic Irish too.  I am very interested in language, but I don’t really have the circumstance to dig deeper right now.

Other info I was interested in:

• Cork is famous for Kerry Gold Butter, which we do use at home! There is good farmland – we saw lots of cows!
• Their preferred beer in this area is Murphy’s. Cork is in a fierce rivalry with Dublin, where Guinness is made.
•  Cork’s city flag is red and white—for the white lime and the red sandstone in the county.
• 
• The first motor car company overseas was Ford Motor company—they were making tractors for WWI. Henry Ford’s father was from Cork, thus the interest.  The company closed in Ireland in 1984.
• Apple Computers is one of the largest employers in Cork, with 7500 employees and growing.
• We saw Pfizer's huge factory near our ship at the port
• Cobh was the single most important port of emigration from Ireland.
• Ben mentioned the 1840-1850 famine when the potato crop failed. Two million people left Ireland during that time.
•  Hurling is their national game, then soccer, then rugby union. 

Blarney Castle

One of Ireland's greatest treasures

Built 0ver 600 years ago

Blarney Castle

TK and Blarney Castle

The purpose of this tour was to visit Blarney Castle. Several people wanted to kiss the Blarney Stone, but that was not on our bucket list. We wanted to see the fabulous castle which stands so proudly despite its ruins.  A bagpiper greeted us at the castle, a pleasant surprise. I did not realize the castle was built upon huge rocks, as solid as it could be. The nearby cave would be a great place to play if the castle was not under siege. It turned out that the wait to kiss the Blarney Stone was 2 hours!

Cave and rocks the castle is built on

Blarney Castle is a medieval stronghold in Blarney, a town in Cork, Ireland. Though earlier fortifications were built on the same spot, the current keep was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, a cadet branch of the Kings of Desmond, and dates from 1446. 

Blarney Woolen Mill shop is very close to the castle, and guess who really wanted to visit this shop, full of colorful merino wool sweaters.  Merino wool sweaters are gorgeous and of great quality. We may have purchased a few.  TK found Butler’s chocolate, supposedly the best in the land.

A couple of weaving/knitting machines were on the second floor. Much is done by machine now. A lady was demonstrating making a sweater.

Skeins of Merino Wool Yarn

This lady is working on a sweater

Another view in the mill demonstration area

Baskets of wool!

More skeins

A display in the Blarney Woolen Shop

A display in the Blarney Woolen Shop

As I write, it is only 3 p.m. in Ireland, but this is the highlight of the day.  Yesterday was a sea day, and we did not really do anything of note.  Tomorrow (Friday), Dublin!!

By the way, this is back to our roots for both of us.

• TK:    2% Welsh, 5% Scottish, 23% English according to Ancestry
• JK:    11% Welsh, 10% Scottish, 38% English, 13% Irish/Ancestry—both sides of my family were in America as far back as the Mayflower, the Revolutionary War, and the rest in the early 1800s.  I have not traced back yet to the “Old Country.”

Despite the cold, this was  a good tour. Seeing the Blarney Castle in person was terrific.  Nephew B and his wife K kissed the Blarney Stone a few years ago. 

Note: Someone dear to us is 41% Irish, 15% Scottish, 11% Welsh, and 10% English. Roots in County Connacht—you would love Ireland!!

TK’s Takes: Ben, our tour guide was one of the funniest—telling Irish jokes. He could be a stand up comedian.

Ben

TK's contribution

He did not purchase these socks

A SPIRITUAL STONEHENGE! REGAL PRINCESS AT MAYFLOWER TERMINAL!

Regal Princess/Southampton to At Sea
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Sprinkles, then clear/62F

TK at Stonehenge

International Friends picked us and all our luggage up this morning for a tour of Stonehenge and then delivery to the Regal Princess.  The two hour drive to Stonehenge was peaceful, yet cold. When it was 60F out, it was time to turn on the air-conditioning on the bus.  I feel like the only person on the planet who is cold. Our tour guide Valentina did a great job of preparing us for Stonehenge with another history lesson. I do like this review of English history, the Anglo Saxons, the Jutes, the Picts, Celts, Normans, all after the Romans.

Valentina compared the history of the area of Stonehenge (Wessex) to the Game of Thrones.  There was King Alfred, or Alfred the Great, who brought the languages together into what is now called Old English.  All these things interest me, but before I lose my readers, I will move on.

The stone circle, Stonehenge, predates all of that—estimated to be about 5000 years old, and no one knows how some of the stones were moved from Wales, 150 miles away, to this location to Wiltshire, England. Another fact is that the stones were moved several times over hundreds of years to new configurations.  Scientists think that the stones were a  way to keep track of seasons.

A view of Stonehenge-the Sarsen Circle

Visitors are not allowed inside the circle

Janie at Stonehenge

Another view

Visitors can walk the circumference of the circle

The vertical stone and lintil are locked together 

with a joint like a mortise and tenon

One cannot help but feel the spirituality when looking at such a marvel.   It is a technological wonder that seems to create energy from of the people who built it.  The exhibit hall was very well done, with some artifacts from the archeological sites, including human bones, tools, even pottery.  I am so glad that we visited this site.

The Heel (or Hele or Heal) Stone, outside

the circle

This stone marks the place on the horizon where the summer solstice sunrise appears when viewed from the center of the stone circle.  This one weighs 30 tons.

The Beaker people, so called because of the pottery beakers

found at the site, lived in such huts

Reconstructed

Another type of hut (Beaker people)

Reconstructed

I read reviews online written by people who were unimpressed by the site. I asked TK if he thought he and I could move 30 ton stones over 150 miles—I am impressed just thinking about that.  I can say for sure that I would not know where to start.  The creators of this site did not just move the stones, they shaped them and put notches into them so they would fit with each other (the standing stones and the lintels). [Note: it is estimated that over 400 men moved each stone using wood rails—and boats were used to carry the stones from Wales.] 

TK and I will start this task by walking to Wales from Wessex to find the stones to bring back to Wessex. Tomorrow!

We spent two hours at Stonehenge, then boarded the bus for the Port of Southampton. About an hour later the Regal Princess showed us her profile at Mayflower Marina Terminal.  Ironically, my ancestors sailed out of Southampton on the Mayflower to travel to the new land.

I have been in Southampton twice before, in 1967 and 1968, as I traveled to France for school/1967.  It was the first port we reached from NYC before we left the ship at LeHavre.  When we left LeHavre in 1968, we stopped at Southampton on the way back to NYC. 

By the way, from the middle of the 1800's, Southampton has been famous for being a liner port. In 1912, the world's most famous liner, The Titanic, embarked from here on its fateful maiden voyage, carrying seven hundred Southampton residents in her crew, over five hundred of whom would never return.

This is the 5^th time we have been on the Regal, so we basically know the routine.  Dinner was tasty, steak for me, pot roast for TK, and the most delicious berry cobbler for dessert.  Off to a good start. We are unpacked, ready for a restful sea day tomorrow!

Stateroom Aloha 212 or 12212

A212

Our favorite configuration--a curtain

divides the sleeping space from the

couch, chair, and desk

TK’s Takes:  He saw a raven at Stonehenge and ring-necked pheasants is the field while riding the bus. Stonehenge was a sight to behold.