Live Caribbean Princess - Iceland , Ireland , England and Scotland

[scubacruiserx2]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That's funny! We boarded our 30-day South America/Antarctica cruise RT out of Santiago on the Sapphire Princess on Jan 20 (see my Live From in my below signature area), the day before your NCL Star cruise ended. And you're right, that part of the world down there is pretty awesome! FWIW we chose Princess because they cruise around the Antarctica Peninsula for 4 days whereas NCL and Celebrity just do it for two days.

 

 

 We had first visited Antarctica on the Zaandam at Christmas - New Years on the Zaandam 2018 - 2019 . We also did 4 days in Antarctica leaving Antarctica on New Years Eve 2019 .  

 The visit there this year was prompted by having booked a tour to Iceland on the NCL Star in May of this year which was to finish in Iceland . We had planned on spending a week there in an apartment in Reykjavik and 2 night at a hotel near the Glacier Lagoon . But the prices was so high and with a drop in prices 1 month before the Star sailed , we canceled Iceland and went to Antarctica - in the exact same cabin . It was by far the nicest cabin that we have ever had . 

 And so now , with a good price on Princess and the help of a payment plan - Iceland is back on the schedule .

[scubacruiserx2]

  Entering Cromarty Firth from the North Sea and passing Barbraville on the Port side .

 

 

 

 

 

 There a number of oil rigs here that may be destined for the North Sea . The was also another small cruise ship at another smaller port .

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 We're not sure what these stacks are

 

 

 

 Approaching the port

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of birds here and bird netting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving the gangway into place

 

 

Edited June 12 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 Meanwhile , in Invergordon , we were ready to disembark and meet our guide Matthew . He wore plaid pants instead of the Kilt like our TBL guide Cruin in Ketchikan  wore . And there's nothing like bagpipes to wake you up in the morning !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 We set out for the Highlands and Loch Shin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We came upon the Wee house of Loch Shin . I can't remember the story that Matthew told us but we found it on another site .

 

 

 

 

 

The story

 

A tiny house, which is appropriately known as the Wee Hoose (or the Wee House), sits on a mini island in Loch Shin, Scotland. Allegedly, it was built in 1824, by a gentlemen named Jock Broon. He was given a small plot of land by a local official, as a token of appreciation for Broon’s whisky distillation know how. Sadly, shortly after becoming a first time land owner, Broon perished in an unfortunate hunting accident: he unknowingly aimed his gun at his own foot.

 

 

 

https://unusualplaces.org/the-tall-tale-behind-the-wee-hoose-in-scotland/

Edited June 13 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 The next stop was the Falls of Shin to look for Salmon 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

None spotted except on the sign . Maybe this trip .

 

 

 

 But we will settle for a Florida Panther sighting and hopefully a win tonight in the Stanley Cup Finals in  Edmonton .

[scubacruiserx2]

 On the way down to the river we saw several flowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The last 2 are Foxglove I believe . Which is toxic and dangerous to touch or inhale . It produces the heart drug Digitalis which we used in the EMS system .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis

Edited June 14 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

  Our next stop was Dunrobin Castle which had a number of tour busses out front from the cruise ship . But the castle and grounds were so large that there was plenty of room for everyone . Including pipers .

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 Inside the castle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 Beautiful Tapestry

 

 

Our dining area on the cruise ship ( we wish )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

  The Gardens are similar to Versailles and walking through them allows good photos of the castle with the sun at our back . 

 

 

 

The plants in the foreground are Ruhbarb and the stalks when cooked can be used as food

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 We next went into the Museum . Our guide called it the Zoo and it features many trophies of animals killed on Safari .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was also a lecture on hunting with Falcons . He showed how the birds are trained for hunting . The bird was so fast that I couldn't take it's still photo , so we went to video . The Peregrine Falcon can dive at 240 mph !

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 Our next stop was our favorite . It was about a mile or 2 from the castle and we took it to the beach to enjoy some great fish and chips .

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 We had asked Matthew if we could see heather during our visit  

 He told us that August was the best time . We were there in June and are scheduled to be there on July 28th this trip , so we hope for an early bloom this year . He did look around before we came and found a patch on the way to our next stop . The purple is the heather and the yellow is Scotch Broom - an invasive plant .

 

 

 

 Our next stop was at the Glenmorangie Distillery

 

 

 

 The Cadillac painted orange was a 1960 model , 1 year older than my father's car . His was the first car that we had air conditioning in - almost a must in South Florida . With frequent  rain during the Summer the car windows would fog up making it hard to see and drive . It was paint pink so as teens my brother and I nicknamed it The Pink Panther .

 The company has the tallest stills in Scotland painted yellow called " Giraffes ".  We were not allowed to take photos inside of the plant .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We did take this photo of the giraffes from the out side , open to vent the heat from the inside which was quit warm from the boiling kettles of mash .

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenmorangie_distillery

Edited June 15 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

The next stop for a nature walk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Going fishing and fish but no chips . The first photo we had the Sun at our back and the second almost in our face .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 The last place that we stopped as Dornoch Cathedral . It's where Madonna and Guy Richey were married and also Elon Musk .

 

 

 

 

We could not go in because they were having a wedding there

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It turned out that it was the Still Master's daughter from Glenmorangie . What a reception that must have been !

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 A Happy Father's Day to all who celebrate it !

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

  As the church was in use Matthew showed us around the town pointing out the Gargoyles ( rain spouts ) .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Castle and shopping

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 On the way back to the ship we saw more wildlife

 

Seals sunning themselves on the beach 

 

 

Pheasant in the field 

 

 

 

We heard the pipers and drums and went to the Promenade Deck to video

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 Retracing our route back out the The Regent 7 Seas Navigator

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 Some previous photos of the Caribbean Princess . A princess at rest and returning to home port , Ft. Lauderdale in the morning  

 

 

 

 

 

 The Ultimate Balcony Dinner for 2 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 16 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 We were suppose to a similar cruise to this one in 2015  that included a return trip to New York City . Pat's accident forced us to cancel 2 weeks before the cruise . It was a very active Roll Call where we met Mic and Rosie Canberra and a number of others on Cruise Critic . So this is a redemption cruise for us .   Before the TA we had booked the CB for a number of short cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale to become comfortable with her and get in some Caribbean diving . Thus all of our cruises on the CB have been in the Caribbean and it's where the photos are from . We will start at the top of the ship in front of the Sanctuary where there is a small walk around at the Bow of the ship .

 

 

 

Heading aft

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then looking forward

 

 

 

Edited June 17 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Looking aft at Neptunes's Reef and Pool

 

 

 

Looking forward toward the Movies Under the Stars ( MUTS ) . The Slice and Salty Dog Grill are beneath the screen and the loungers are  terraced .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 The wake show

 

 

Skywalkers Lounge

 

 

Beneath Skywalkers in Cozumel

 

 

Cozumel means SCUBA diving for us .

 

 

 Into the blue , Scubacruiser times 2

 

 

Edited June 17 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 Spiny Lobster

 

 

Spotted Eagle ray

 

 

Turtle with 2 remora hitch hikers

 

 

DW taking a photo

 

 

DW swimming through a cavern

 

 

 

 

DW practicing for an underwater selfie