May 20 - Departure and home

Full disclosure: I'm writing this part almost three weeks since we returned.  I hope no one was in suspense wondering if we made it back.

Not much to do on the last day, except have breakfast in the buffet and then wait for our time to disembark.  Our deck was scheduled to leave at 10:30, but our tour guide said she wasn't leaving until later.  I didn't understand why, so we left when we were told, picked up our luggage, and headed to the airport on the  shuttle bus.  We arrived at Dublin airport, and then I understood why she waited: airline check-in for our flight didn't open for another hour or so.  Oh well.  I was ready to get off the ship by then, and we had a nice coffee at the airport cafe while talking to another couple in our group who also left when we did.

I guess I would start counting my international travel adventures as beginning when I went to the Philippines the first time in 1995.  Back then, flying was a relatively new experience--I always wanted a window seat and the flight time didn't matter.  I know a lot has changed since then--not least myself--but flying now seems to be a dehumanizing experience (in economy class, anyway).  At least Ireland has a pre-clearance agreement with the US where you can get through customs there instead of your arrival back home.  It may not have saved much time, but I wouldn't have wanted to go thorough that in Dulles after a seven-hour flight.  It was my first time in flying through there, but it seemed a chaotic mess.

Planes on the tarmac at Dulles

It was nice to get from DC to Pittsburgh in about 45 minutes though.

We left Pittsburgh at about 6:30 pm and dropped my dad off at his place around 8 or so.  Instead of driving another 2.5 to three hours on the Turnpike to get home, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Donegal.  I'm glad we did because it made for a nice, leisurely drive back on Monday.

Final thoughts?  Again, I'm glad we got to spend time with my dad on the trip.  He looks forward to travelling, and as most of you know, I like to travel (internationally) as well.   It's a good way to share our interests.  This was our first cruise, so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I think I'd do it again.  A river cruise (which my wife will be going on with her aunt and some other girlfriends in October) may be more my style since I think you have more time to explore your destination on your own.  

We'll see what happens.

Shipspeak:  Voyage - an outbound and homeward passage; a complete round trip.

May 19, 2018 - Dublin

The last port of call on this cruise is Dublin, where we started.  It's the second time Fe and I have been here (the first time was in 2011 with my dad and the boys), but we still wanted to see the city on our own a bit.

First--we had to pack since the bags had to be ready for offloading on the pier tomorrow.  I hate packing, but I'll admit it was easier this time than on our last trip.  Probably because we were were always at the same "hotel" every night and not moving around so much.

Our excursion this time was Malahide Castle.  I was a little worried we'd miss it because our bus broke down just outside Dublin, but there was a backup on call and we continued.  Before we got to the castle though, we stopped at the Abbey Tavern in Howth for an Irish Coffee.  This was a neat little town, and since we were waiting just a bit for the replacement bus, I got some pictures of the place.

Church of the Assumption, Howth Parish

Howth Harbor

Seaside View

Forest near the Castle

Castle Tower

One of the oldest rooms in the castle

Detail of ceiling beam

Banquet Hall

Fe and I outside the castle

Ruins of the abbey.  It was destroyed by Cromwell.

We were able to get off the excursion bus at a taxi stand Dublin.  We were also with one of the ladies from our little tour group who wanted to see some of the town with Fe and I.  The first place we wanted to stop was Hard Rock Cafe, but it was closed for "employee training"!  So we made a quick stop at Trinity College, went up  O'Connell Street to see the Post Office (where the 1916 Irish Uprising began) and the Spire, ate dinner at O'Shea's Hotel (where me, Fe, and my dad often ate when we were here in 2011), did some souvenir shopping (of course), saw the Ha'penny Bridge over the River Liffey, and then headed back to the ship by cab (where  the Nigerian cabbie and I discussed Irish history, driving in Dublin and Waiting for Godot as we passed Samuel Beckett Bridge.  Fascinating!)

You'll have to click the links or visit my previous blog to see some Dublin pictures--we were rushing, and had seen all this before.  I was also enjoying myself because we were acting as tour guides to our friend from the group.  She had never seen any of these things, so it was like we were looking at them through fresh eyes.  

Shipspeak: Anchor ball - round, black shape hoisted in the forepart of a vessel to shoe it's anchored.

May 18, 2018 - At sea

Another day at sea gives me time to reflect on the nature of cruising (again, remember that this is our first one):

• The ship is designed to separate you from your money.  I understand this--Disney World was the same way--but it seemed to be all the time.  Before I even got to the gym door on Deck 12 (it was a good gym), I was asked if I wanted a massage, a haircut, and a spa treatment.  Yikes!  If I was any more sensitive, I'd think they felt I was a mess.

• Everyone who has cruised told me about the food.  It really was good.  We had table seating for dinner but breakfast, lunch, and any snacking was at the Oceanview cafe.  This was the buffet area, and any readers that know me know that I like a buffet.  I don't know if I could have had food there 24 hours a day, but I got all I wanted--and the coffee (Lavazza) was 24 hours.

• We were swimming in antibacterial hand sanitizer.  I understand this too--I've read the stories about norovirus on board ships--but even with this, I'd estimate that about 20 percent of the people I saw had a cough or sore throat as we were nearing the end of the trip.  Fe got both a  cough and a sore throat, so now I'm counting on my caffeine and preservatives regimen to keep me strong.

• Another similarity to Disney--the international make-up of the crew.  I (of course) was fascinated by this and tried to read everyone's name tag to see the nationality, but to my tired old eyes it was written rather small.  I'm sure some of them thought it was weird of me squinting at their chest.  I expected a lot from the Philippines, but I think there were even more (at least in the areas we were) from Indonesia.  A lot were from India too, which I wasn't expecting.  Mauritius was the most exotic country I saw staff from.  A good number of them sang as they were working and I heard that Celebrity was one of the better cruise lines to work for.  I'll bet it's hard to be away from home for so long though.

• Seeing a new shoreline become clearer as you approach by ship is very different than landing at an airport.  It gives me time to think about who might be living there; what they do in these islands, mountains, and fjords; will the natives be friendly?  Silly, I know.  But if I go around saying that I'm a liberal arts major trapped in an engineer's body, I have to live up to it.

May 17, 2018 - Lerwick

Lerwick (Shetland Islands), Scotland was today's destination.  Not only did it allow me to check another box on my bucket list (visit every nation that makes up the United Kingdom) but after the highlights of Iceland, I was prepared for some disappointment.  How wrong I was!  Iceland is still the highlight but I can see us coming back here (probably the Scottish mainland) sometime soon.

Coming in to port

View of town

Fe and I signed up for a short afternoon tour, so we had time to do some exploring on our own (if I didn't say so earlier, these are my favorite times of the trip),  The Shetlands have a strong Nordic influence but the architecture style seems thoroughly British.

Welcome plaque

Town Square

House near the sea

A garage in town.  We found out later that when boats are beyond seaworthiness, they are turned into a roof.

This house attracted a lot pf tourists'attention for the plants.

Anderson Institute, a high school for 11- to 18-year-olds.

Our tour this time was a bus trip around the southern part of the island.

Offshore Island

Seals sunning in the beach

Shetland pony

Lighthouse as we leave

Shipspeak: bilge - the area on the outer surface of a ship's hull where the bottom curves to meet the vertical sides.

May 16, 2018 - At Sea

Today is the second at sea day as we leave Iceland and head to Lerwick (Shetland Islands), Scotland.  It seems that these are the days most everyone relaxes--I notice a lot more sleeping in, less crowds in the breakfast buffet, more swimming (even in the cold).

Remember, this is our first cruise so most of this is new to me.  Celebrity works hard to keep you entertained and busy:  there are shows every night, a library, computer room (of Apples), gym, hot tubs, swimming pools (indoor and outdoor), and contests.  Food is plentiful, and there is coffee 24 hours a day--though even I haven't gone out at 330 am to check.

I have to admit that I am not used to the relaxation.  I usually take vacations to expose myself to a different type of stress--not to relax.

Fe and I miss the boys.  She will FaceTime with them and we've sent IMs.  There has been some severe weather in Carlisle this week, so I worry a bit also.

Sunset

A scene from Topper, a musical

Shipspeak: Chock - a metal casting with curved arms for passing ropes used to moor the ship

May 15, 2018 - Akureyri

Our second port call in Iceland is Akureyri, the "capital of northern Iceland.  It is the second largest urban area in the country.

Approaching the port

In the fjord

Today's tour is called "Jewel of the North".  First stop was the Skutustathagigar along the south shore of Lake Myvatn.  This is an area of "pseuso-craters", which means they were formed by steam explosions, not meteors.  It took an hour to get here from Reykjavik.

A view of Lake Myvatn

Another view

The information board,  I usually don't post these, but this gives you a good look at what the craters look like.  From the ground, they look just like hills.  We were along the road on the southern edge of the lake.

The second stop was Dimmuborgir.  It is an area of rock formations formed about 2300 years ago when lava pooled over a small lake.  I had read that the astronauts trained n this area before the moon landings because it was so desolate and rocky.  There are walking paths all through it now.

Lava tube

Rocky ground

Lava formation

Fe and I at the overlook.  You can tell I am enjoying the buffet.

The Namafjall Geothermal Area was the next stop.  Our guide said it was where the magma came closest to the surface of the earth, which causes mud pots to form.  The minerals in the area caused a reddish color and it reeked of sulfur.

The steam and fumaroles

Mountains in the background

Fumarole

I think Gothafoss Falls are the most famous in the country.  It was my favorite stop on the tour.

The falls

Rapids downstream from the falls

Another view of the rapids

Another view

After this, it was back to the ship for departure--no time to explore the town.  We did see this though:

Our guide said that this was done to help depression during the 2008-09 financial crisis.

Shipspeak: Stowage - the amount of room for storing materials aboard a ship.

May 14, 2018 - Reykjavik (Part II)

Today's tour was longer and titled the "Ring of Fire".  It took us all around the southwest part of the island and each stop was an illustration of how Iceland uses and is affected by the volcanic forces that lie beneath the surface.  It was a longer tour than yesterday, but we saw a lot.

First up, the Nesjaveller Power Station, the second largest in Iceland.  It's located 743 meters (2438 ft) above sea level which means spectacular views.

Clouds over the mountains

Steam coming from the earth

Iceland sits astride the fault line that separates the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates and the next stop was the Hakith overlook of the Almannagja fault.

The fault from above

Down in the fault

The valley floor

Next stop, lunch in Hveragerthi.  The restaurant was a place that used geothermal heat to bake the bread and (I assume) heat the other food.  We were told that all the food had at least some connection to the geothermal heat.

The restaurant, Kjot and Kunst

Proof of the heat

Behind the restaurant was a path through geothermal pools as well as a greenhouse.

Steam from the Earth

One of the pools

A nearby church.  The place was right in the middle of a residential area.

Flora near the hot springs.

Banana plant in the greenhouse.  Iceland is the second to the Canary Islands in the production of bananas in Europe.

When travelling on a guided tour, you get to see a lot.  But when it's time to move on, you'd better be on the bus.  I would have liked to explore this little town a bit more.  Maybe some other time.

The final stop was another geothermal power station, Hellisheiði Power Plant.  They did a good job of showing the potential and use of geothermal energy.  Not too many pictures here, but there was an interesting mineral display.

Mineral Display

Back to the ship in Reykjavik before setting sail for Akureyri,

Big rock near the port in Reykjavik

Shipspeak: Tender - a vessel used to provide transportation of people and supplies between ship and shore.