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| We didn't anticipate being back in Cobh, Ireland but things don't always go as planned! |
We were in no rush to disembark the Norwegian Prima since our only objective for the day was to get from one ship to the other. We reached the pier where the Regal Princess was docked a little before the embarkation process began. In less than an hour we were on board.
The Regal Princess has been in service since 2014. It can accommodate up to 3,560 passengers and a crew of 1,346, making it roughly the same size as the Norwegian Prima. Its design is more "traditional" than the Norwegian Prima which was built in 2022. It was comfortable, and as we made our way farther south towards the Caribbean, we were able to enjoy more outdoor time on the open decks.
Regal Princess
Around 5:00 PM the mooring ropes were cast off, the ships horns blasted out the theme from the Love Boat (a tradition on Princess ships) and we were on our way.
Unlike the 10-day voyage on the Norwegian Prima, which had lots of ports and a few sea days, this journey had lots of sea days (13), with a few ports mixed in. Not a problem because we enjoy the sea days. There's plenty to do on board if you want to participate and certainly plenty of time to relax. Beth read around 10 books while we were making our way across the Atlantic. As for me, I finished one book (read a couple of pages, rest my eyes for a while, etc.).
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| Our scheduled itinerary |
Le Havre, France-Le Harve is located in the Normandy region of France. It provides easy access to the historic sites from World War II such as Omaha Beach and the American Cemetary. We have had the privilege of visiting these sites before, including visiting the grave of my uncle who is buried in the American Cemetery. It was an unforgettable experience. If you have a chance to visit this region of France, I would highly recommend it.
A little less easy, but another popular excursion from Le Havre is Paris, which is about three hours away. If you try to do Paris from a cruise docked at Le Havre, you'll spend more time on the bus than you will enjoying Paris. It's possible to do it, but just be aware.
Le Havre is a nice place to spend a day roaming around. Due to extensive bombing the town suffered during World War II it is a bit more modern than many European cities, but enjoyable. Since we had spent a day in Le Havre recently, we took the train to Rouen (about 50 minutes away).
Rouen has a long and rich history. The city of close to 750,000 is filled with cathedrals, museums, and historical sites, most of which are just a short walk away from the train station. Among the most popular sites are the Rouen Cathedral, which was depicted in numerous Monet paintings, as well as sites related to the captivity, trial and execution of Joan of Arc in 1431. Our day in Rouen was on a Monday and several of the museums were closed, however we had a great time roaming around, content that we didn't have to fill our brains with too many facts!
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| It's now known as the Tower of Joan of Arc. It is the only remaining part of a mid-evil castle built in the 13th century. It is believed that Joan of Arc was held captive and interrogated in the castle. |
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| A few of the many "split wood" buildings in the historic district. |
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| Rouen's Notre Dame Cathedral |
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| Rouen Cathedral |
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Rouen Astronomical Clock
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Cohb, Ireland-Florida wasn't the only place dealing with hurricanes in October. Our next two ports of call were scheduled to be Bilbao and Vigo, Spain. However, due to an approaching hurricane in those areas the itinerary was changed. We skipped the two Spanish ports and diverted to Cohb, Ireland. Based on what we learned about the weather on the Spanish coast, this was a good call.
Cohb is a really nice port city that was the last port visited by the Titanic before it started its ill-fated voyage across the Atlantic. Since we had visited Cohb recently, we opted to share a cab with another couple and visit the colorful small town of Kinsale. For us it was a good call. We enjoyed learning about the history of the area from our driver and returned to Cohb in time to enjoy a bit of roaming around before sailing onward.
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| On May 7, 1915 about 11 miles off the coast of Kinsale the passenger ship Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat. All 1,1915 passengers (including 123 Americans) were killed. Although the US didn't enter the war until a couple of years later, it is widely considered one of the main reasons that we became involved. |
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| Downtown Kinsale was filled with multiple brightly colored buildings. |
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| The Kinsale Harbor from James Fort. |
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| Downtown Cohb. We were glad we got back in time to enjoy walking around the small town for a while. |
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| Cohb continues to honor the memory of the Titanic with a small museum and several historical markers around the port. |
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| Another view of Cohb, this one from the ship as we were heading out. One of the interesting things about the change in the itinerary was the supply chain issues it caused. The Regal Princess was scheduled to pick up a large quantity of food in Spain. It had to be reordered and delivered to Cohb on short notice. We were told that over 100 tons of food was ordered, delivered and loaded to make sure we didn't miss a meal. |
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| Sailing away from Cohb. |
Funchal, Madeira, Portugal-Funchal is a city located on the island of Madeira, which is an autonomous region of Portugal. It's a popular destination for Europeans as well as cruise passengers. We've visited there several times over the years and always enjoy it tremendously. This time, while we didn't do anything new, we enjoyed our day tremendously.
The cruise ships dock within easy walking distance to the city center. There are numerous parks along the waterfront as well as throughout the city. We always manage to find a few nice benches to sit and take in the scenery. We enjoy walking through the old city with its numerous painted doors and relaxing with a beverage and snack at the Barreirinha Bar Cafe (outdoor tables overlooking the city and coastline).
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| So many great benches along the waterfront parks and throughout the city! |
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| A few of Madeira's famous painted doors.............. |
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| City Center Park |
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| Santa Catarina Park |
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| another view of Santa Catarina Park |
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| Barreirinha Bar Cafe, our favorite watering hole in Funchal. |
As we pulled away from Funchal, we waved goodbye to land. The next six days would be "sea days" as we made our way southwest across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. Below are a few of our favorite shots from the crossing:
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| On the Sea Days there were plenty of activities. This one gave you 15 minutes to "create your own masterpiece". |
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Beth is so talented it took her only about five minutes to complete hers. Not wanting to set the art world back, I chose to be a spectator, not a participant.
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Antigua, Antigua & Barbuda-We were fortunate to have smooth seas on our six consecutive sea days. In addition to smooth seas, we had temperatures that were rising daily as we entered the warm Caribbean waters. Antigua is an island in the lesser Antilles. It is one of two islands that make up the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Approximately 100,000 people call the islands home. Around 25% of the population live in the city of St. John's, which is where the Regal Princess docked.
It was our first visit to Antigua, so we decided to do an island tour which we booked once we were off the ship. It was a nice way to see the island and learn a little bit about its history, which included being named by Christopher Columbus in 1493. We learned that thanks to favorable conditions, the islands are able to provide a majority of their own food, which helps keep food prices and dependency on other countries down. In recent years tourism has taken off with visitors from the US and Europe coming to the islands to enjoy the white sand beaches and warm waters.
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| A pirate and a pirate wannabe hanging out in Antigua |
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| Nelson Dockyard on Antigua is a UNESCO World Heritage Site |
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Great beaches and warm waters are driving Antigua's growing tourism
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St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands-The islands of St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John are the three main islands that make up the US Virgin Islands. The islands are considered "unincorporated territories" of the United States. This means that the islands can elect a delegate who can participate in debates in the United States House of Representative, however they cannot vote. I didn't take time to delve into all the implications of this, however, it was pretty apparent that the economy is vibrant and they're doing well without much assistance from Washington..............imagine that!
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There was a great waterfront promenade from the pier to downtown. We enjoyed the walk so much we didn't stop to take too many pictures!
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Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands-Georgetown is the capital and largest city in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman's are known for two things, tourism and banking. The popularity of tourism is obvious. There are beautiful beaches, great resorts, a large port for cruise ships, championship golf courses, fishing, diving and much more. Banking and finance are a little less obvious, but thanks to favorable regulations, offshore banking in the Cayman's is so popular that there are over 600 banks and financial institutions that account for over 35% of employment!
We didn't need to do any banking, so we opted for beaching it for our day in Georgetown. Getting to the beach was easy and inexpensive. We bypassed the tours and taxi's and used the public bus system. The buses are actually clearly marked vans that are color coded for various routes. While there are a few bus stops, you can simply flag one down along the route and let the driver know where you want to go. We went to a public beach on Seven Mile Beach. We paid $2.50 per person each way and they accept US dollars. The water at the beach was warm and refreshing. Since we knew we were going to the beach we left our phones on the ship. Hence, no pictures from Georgetown. It was a great way to spend our last port day on this 21-day adventure that took us from the UK to Texas.
We enjoyed smooth seas and had a great time all along the journey. There was a little excitement as we left Georgetown and headed for Galveston. The ship lost power a couple of times. It was never for long and there was no panic since the generator lights kicked in quickly. We're not sure what the issue was, but we do know that the next three scheduled Regal Princess cruises were cancelled while repairs were made!
Travel is always an adventure!
