Live from the Prinsendam - 28 day Azores and Celtic Explorer - May 5th, 2018

[kazu]

Then it was time to head back and see the welcome home sign on the ship again (a nice touch) and face the music that kazu had to pack to change rooms. GRRRR.

 

Despite that, we still had fun with friends after dinner as I had most done and it's not really that hard when it's just drawers ;)

 

 

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[kazu]

Moving day was Saturday. (Dover - Wedding day)

 

The move itself was pretty smooth. I packed up my drawers and wine and flowers went in my wine carry bag and everything was moved over very quickly.

 

I lucked out as the room was being cleaned (people were gone) so I was able to drop the stuff in the safety deposit box and carry on.

 

If it hadn’t been available, friends had offered theirs and the front desk also has a safety deposit box.

 

I had my new key card (as instructed) and we were heading off to Dover and then the key malarky began.

 

We were told to use the old key to get off and the new key to get on. Well, guess what? The old key was blank. They had wiped it when they switched the keys. So, I had to tell security my room number - our pictures matched and then I had to dig out our new keys. Keys were flying back and forth and at the end we had to double check that we had the new keys. Sheesh.

 

But we were off the ship.

 

the key saga continued. when we got back on (and we did) and went to our room, our keys didn’t work. Neither. :(. So, I headed to the front desk and they redid the keys. They worked and then it was muster drill time.

 

We headed to our lifeboats and realized that our muster station is at the opposite end of the ship. Huh??? We are aft/centre ship and our muster station is the most forward one. Go figure! We aren’t alone in that situation.

 

Happy to say that my account carried forward with no problem, but I discovered that to log in I still use my old cabin #.

 

My internet plan carried over fine.

 

Our beverage cards were in my room that we had ordered for this segment. They have the old room number on them. LOL.

 

So, the move went fine but getting into the room was a tad of an issue for a bit.

 

But, were comfy and cosy in the room. Didn’t take me long to get things set up - just don’t ask me where they are for a couple of days. LOL.

 

 

 

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[kazu]

We headed off with friends to watch the Royal Wedding in town.

 

A word about on board - yes, they were showing the wedding in the theatre and they had some sandwiches, little scones and that type of thing. People who were there told me it was a very nice affair. But we wanted to “savour the flavour” and watch it with locals. After all, you’re not in Dover every day.

 

There was a hop on hop off shuttle that operated all day for 5 pounds that took you from the cruise terminal to the city centre and Dover castle and back. You could pick it up at any of the spots and use it as much as you wanted so in the end, we thought it was a good deal.

 

We headed in town first and came across what looked like a very promising place…

 

Oops, tapatalk isn't loading - back tomorrow with the details.

 

 

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[erewhon]

LOL at your new favourite Royal Shar. Charlotte was a darling as were the boys :)

 

Princess Charlotte has perfected the "Royal Wave" at such a young age.:)

[Vict0riann]

Our day in Cherbourg was a little different . Jacqui had kindly passed on to me the name of her favourite guide, so we had Eva and a small group of 6 to visit Bayeux and the D-day beaches. Eva was a very good guide and told us a lot in the car. Our first stop was Bayeux to see the tapestry. Of course, no photography so my picture is of a wall hanging in the shop!

 

 

It is an amazing work of art, over 70 metres long, and almost 1,000 years old. The plan is to present it in the future on a flat surface, as they feel that hanging is damaging the linen. While the work is being done, perhaps it will go to England for a visit.

 

After a drive around the town we headed for Arromanches, where the remains of the floating docks can be seen (best at low tide, but we had a pretty high tide). We also had a bite to eat at "Speed Food".

 

 

 

 

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[Vict0riann]

After lunch, we continued on through the beautiful French countryside to a Canadian cemetery, beautifully cared for, and every grave had a different plant it seemed.

 

 

We also visited the Canadian beach, Juno, and the Canadian museum, where one of our group discovered her father's name on a wall of remembrance. Very moving!

 

We were back at the ship in plenty of time. Evidently only one group was late, and it was a ship's tour, so we waited for them. A lady I spoke to said one man in the bus was late every time, and in one spot they had to send someone to find him. He should continue taking ship's tours!

 

 

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[Vict0riann]

We had to disembark in Dover, sadly, but everything went smoothly, and we were at our hotel in Kingston in time for The Wedding. Best seat in the house!

 

 

We hope the next segment continues smoothly for the passengers who stayed on. Let us know who the new CD and assistant are.....

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Jacqui and Ann

Wonderful reports and great pictures.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Princess Charlotte has perfected the "Royal Wave" at such a young age.:)

 

 

Yes she does!!

[kazu]

Dover...

 

Before I forget here is the "cruise log" we received.

 

It's very nice but I noticed there was no mention of breakfast times. A lot of people had to ask.

 

 

 

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[kazu]

So, we found this spot in Dover..

 

 

 

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[ski ww]

Loved the pictures. Jacqui we had the same problem with the key cards on a change over in Rome on the P'dam on the way home from out Black Sea cruise, after a little back & forth with the front desk it was finally sorted out. Looking forward to reading about the next segment of your cruise.

Allan

[kazu]

It's a very popular spot with the locals (always a good sign) and there was a great table with room for all 6 of us and a perfect viewing spot for the TV.

 

We followed the habit of the locals and of course ordered a beer.

 

 

 

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[puppycanducruise]

Love the pictures!

Keep up the good work.

Thanks all.

[kazu]

And of course we had to sample some of the local fare.

 

OMG the 'chips' are delicious. They are called chips here.

 

The fish was incredible. And the price was VERY reasonable even if it was in pounds.

 

 

 

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[kazu]

 

And yes we saw the wedding. TV was much larger than it appears. An Ipad shot.

 

 

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[kazu]

I really enjoyed this corner - very picturesque

 

 

 

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[kazu]

In that little square is a beautiful floral crown. Here's a closeup.

 

 

 

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[kazu]

A beautiful church in Dover

 

 

 

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[kazu]

After the wedding we grabbed the shuttle to take us to Dover Castle.

 

 

 

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[kazu]

Our plans were to walk around Dover Castle. But it turned out that the ticket booth was at the very beginning and even to walk around you would have to pay the entrance fee of 20 pounds.

 

 

 

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[kazu]

We opted not to pay the 40 pounds per couple. We wouldn't have had a lot of time after watching the wedding so we took a few pics and the next shuttle back to the ship.

 

It takes about 3 hours to do the castle if you are going inside which does make the entrance fee somewhat worthwhile but, for a quick visit it wasn't.

 

 

 

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[kazu]

 

 

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[kazu]

This shows you how high Dover Castle is. The shuttle is a really good deal as it takes some time to go up those steep hills. I imagine the cab fare would be much more than our 5 pounds each.

 

 

 

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[kazu]

Here is our menu from our Dover evening (embarkation/turnaround day).

 

 

 

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