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Day 13-Cherbourg

Yes! @westerdam

OP back to report. I ended going with the dynamic resurfacing facial. I took a before and after picture and could see a  small difference. Kind of a glow/dewy effect.  It was very relaxing. The shoulder and neck massage was excellent. Upsell wasn’t too bad. 

PG dinner was good but I think I preferred the service even better at Canaletto. The service at Canaletto had an elevated yet homey feel to it. 

The shrimp were huge. The crab cakes were good. Hubby had scallops which were good but a little salty. I opted to upgrade to the dry aged Delmonico.  I’d never tried dry aged before and figured it would be a treat/experiment. I could taste a little difference but honestly I should’ve gone with ribeye. There was a denseness to the meat that I didn’t like. Perhaps the cut, perhaps the dry aging 🤔 It was worth the experience though. 

The little chocolates etc were great  Hubby had sorbet. It was nicely presented. I had Baked Alaska The meringue was soft and creamy. I’d have preferred the ratio of ice cream to cake to lean more towards ice cream than it did. I would only do PG again with HIA. The MDR food is quite good. 

Inna Tolstova was very good. It was a modern, high energy violin performance with the show band backing her. 

Gin update:

At some point I tried the special martini from the Ocean Bar. “Oil washed” gin. ???  I’m not a martini person but it was smooth. 
 

At Jameson I tried the Method and Madness micro distillery G&T. It was very good.  
 

Tonight at PG I had the tableside  G&T.  It was very good and a bit of fun having it made before your eyes. 

I forgot to mention that the overcast weather changed to sunny. We have had the most unbelievably perfect weather for this cruise  

PG for us tonight but here is MDR info 

Falmouth HarbourPendennis Castle

We had a HAL excursion again, so we got priority tendering. It’s about a 25-30 minute tender. It was the Coastal Trek and Lunch. What a beautiful drive to the Lizard Peninsula. The bus was very modern and had a restroom. Nick the guide was great. 
 

This is a STRENUOUS shore excursion. It is marked as such but most didn’t realize how serious the warning was. It was absolutely gorgeous, stunning and historical (Marconi). It is a hike with a lot of elevation change. An ankle  could easily be twisted. One person did scrape up an arm. That being said you can do a short part of the hike to the southernmost point and then walk back to the little town and shop. We lost about 6-8 people at that point. It is a fast moving hike with some stops for pictures. 
 

Included lunch was fish and chips with peas at the Top House Inn. They have a wonderful homemade tarter sauce. Brownie  and a beer or wine were also included. There was about a half hour to shop. I got a rhubarb crumble ice cream. 
 

By the time we got back we needed to catch the tender. 

Day 12-Falmouth overcast. 
 

The tender operation made a bit of noise out our window. But it didn’t last too long. Pretty cloudsSaga Ship 

Day 12-Falmouth 

6 hours ago, BetsyS. said:

Great menu! I LOVE HAL's pea soup!!   I like the brisket, Dover sole and halibut.

My favorite desserts are the fruit crisps. Thanks for sharing the menus, pictures, and daily programs. 😊

You’re welcome 😀 

From sailaway 

I forgot to mention that on the last dressy night my husband made a lot of crumbs and the special crumb sweeping tool showed up! 😆 

The pea soup was great! The bacon in it was really good. 
Bay shrimp cocktail 👍 

Dover sole was good. 
Klapstuck was tender, tasty and the gravy was excellent. 
Bosche Bol was fabulous! The cream inside was light and not overly sweet. 
 

We went to the port talk and headed to the cabin. We’re tired! We watched the sequel to Fisherman’s Friends in prep for Cornwall. There are a lot of good movies on demand in cabin. So wish there had been a shore excursion to Port Isaac.  

Orange Night. Dutch Dinner

And it’s leaking!

Front row:And it just started pouring. 

Going through immigration was fast. We were group 2 because of having a HAL tour. This will cover us for the rest of the trip. So glad we don’t have to do it tomorrow as it’s a tender port. There is an agreement that covers us even though Great Britain is not EU. 
 

We did the Jameson Tour  which includes a drive through Cork. The guide was very clear. The countryside was beautiful. The bus was comfy and has USB ports fyi. I learned a lot about whisky. The Jameson grounds are lovely and historic. 
 

We were berthed right in town which was very convenient. The tour got us back in plenty of time to explore Cobh. Cobh is lovely.

We got fish chowder at The Quay restaurant on the water. It was tasty and had a fair amount of seafood. The soda bread was really nice. It reminds me a good bit of brown bread which is a traditional bread in New England. I also had delicious ice cream. 
 

If you’re into thrift stores there is one right on the main waterfront. I had to pop in. 
 

We are currently in the Crows Nest  We got a front row for sailaway. I’ve hardly been up here the whole cruise. I thought I’d be here often but fell in love with the promenade deck. 

Day 11- Cobh Ireland 

67 def. F. It started overcast and became sunny. A glorious day. 
 

6 hours ago, EJLobster said:

I will be boarding the Zuiderdam on Saturday- 1st HAL cruise. yes, excited!   Where is the best place for coffee/ espresso?  Any place to get it other than Lido Buffet?  Thanks!

Specialty coffee is available in the Crow’sNest deck 10 forward. Also for our cruise they have been serving specialty coffee all day in the Pinnacle Bar. 

The mozzarella salad was good. The spinach dip was as well but lobster was barely detected 

The cod was excellent! The pork chop was dry. 
 

Peach crisp was good. I didn’t like the flavor of the cream in the Paris Brest. I wish I could’ve had another cream puff from this afternoon. 
 

The Grasshopper was delicious from the Billboard bar. 

k