14 Day Transatlantic – France and England
Daily Blog
#TravelBlog
Thursday 4/24/2025 Embarkation Day
As usual, we took the bus to the pier. Not many with us, just 9 on the bus. That was not the case when we entered the terminal building. The queue was quite full, but we got through relatively quickly. No waiting once we checked in, we boarded right away.
We are on the Norwegian Pearl this time. This is a Jewel class ship, unlike our usual Breakaway Plus transport. The Pearl is much smaller, with most activities on decks 6 and 7.
Our stateroom is also a bit tight. Not a ton of storage, but we will make do, of course.
I’m not sure what’s up, but the crew seems a bit more confused than usual. We had to hunt for our muster station. We were told to go to the wrong side of the ship, and to used doors that were cordoned off. In the end, the station was 10 yards from where we boarded. We got through that and headed to O’Sheehans for lunch, as tradition dictates.
Friday 4/25/2025 A day at sea
This is the first of many sea days, 5 in total. We explored the ship and did a bit of shopping.
We generally hang around the smoking area. This time it’s The Sky High Bar on deck 13. It has wind shielding and overhead cover, which is nice.
This is a small ship (did I mention?). Most activities are on decks 6-8. There are three bars in a row, a music venue, and the casino all on deck 6 near a main dining room. The atrium and guest services, including Starbucks, Bliss, and bowling are on deck 7, with O’Sheehan’s overlooking the Atrium fun from deck 8.
Deck 13 also has the Spinnaker Lounge, with lots of comfortable seating and a dance floor. Exercise classes are held in the morning, bingo i the afternoon, and dance parties at night. It’s just around the corner from Sky High, so I like to duck in there out of the wind to write this blog and have a beer.
We have been on. Several NCL ships now, The Pearl is by far the prettiest. Extensive woodwork on each deck and louvered stateroom doors add a nice touch. The lounges have big padded chairs to help you relax.
Note the lack of forward swimming fish. Miss them!
The theatre hall is quite lovely.
Saturday 4/26/2025 Halifax NS
Today’s port is Halifax, Nova Scotia. We took a bus tour called “Behind the Scenes: Titanic’s aftermath.” Halifax provided crucial help in the rescue and recovery operations. Many of those retrieved from the sea are buried in Fairlawn Cemetery.
Titanic graves at Fairlawn Cemetary. Some just have the date: April 15, 1912
We visited the Maritime Museum, where many retrieved artifacts are on display. Here’s one of those famous deck chairs that always seem to get rearranged by upper management 😀
Aside from the Titanic, there were other exhibits. I like this one of an old radio room. My first foray into tech was in radio, so this caught my eye.
The museum is in an historic building. They restored a chandler’s shop. A chandler was much like a marine oriented hardware store.
We had a quick lunch of pizza and a local brew across from the pier. After reboarding, the weather took a nasty turn, high winds and rocking seas had closed the pools and hot tubs. Of course the Sky High was open for the smokers!
Sunday, 4/27/2025 A Day at Sea
You know it’s going to be rough when you see the bags out by the stairs!
And rough it was. We had near gale force winds, but it was oddly warm at 50℉.
The pools and hot tubs were closed due to the high winds. They even drained the pools!
Days at sea are generally uneventful. We did go to a show. It was Rock and Roll Broadway, where they sang Broadway hits arranged to a rock beat. I’m not big on Broadway, but the 4 singers sounded good and harmonized very nicely.
Monday 4/28/2025 A Day at Sea
The weather is calmer this morning. 65℉ and not as rough sailing.
We are not alone!
Tuesday 4/29/2025 A Day at Sea
Well, sea days are usually uneventful, except when they cancel a major port o’ call: Reykjavik is weather-bound, so we’re not going there.
I was wondering why we were headed east, and are in the middle of the North Atlantic instead of skirting the Canadian coast on the way to Iceland. It seems the weather on the east coast of Labrador an Newfoundland is really rocky, and ICEBERGS!!! We just went through a Titanic re-education in Halifax, so yeah, hard pass.
The Captain made the announcement that the seas southwest of Iceland are really rough, as in 30’ swells rough, and have icebergs. We will not be stopping at Reykjavik, but will call on Liverpool on May 3d instead. This adds 2 additional sea days, now 6 consecutive, before we alight on Great Britain.
Great disappointment all around, but most folks I’ve met are seasoned cruisers who know these things happen.
La Cucina for dinner. I had the Pollo Cacitorre, which was excellent.
I do hope they have more than just Bingo and Trivia on offer!
Great News! NCL has given us $100 and 15% Future Cruise Credit per stateroom to make up for missing Reykjavik. With this, and the new information on what to do in Liverpool, I’m feeling less disappointed. As I write this blog, in the bar (O’Sheehan’s, if you know), I was paid a visit by the hostess. She told me “no working!” She mentioned that it is rare that NCL calls on Liverpool. So this may be a bonus in disguise. I doubt I would go there on my own.
We did a lecture in the theatre on Doggerland. The geologist focused on a huge iceberg break off and the resultant tsunami. Doggerland, the area under the North Sea that was land during the last Ice Age, was inundated instantly with the water from the tsunami. The folks there didn’t stand a chance. That was around 8800 BCE.
Wednesday 04/30/2025 Guess what? Another Sea Day!
Another lecture in the theatre, this time on Liverpool and Belfast. At least we have an idea as to what to do when we dock in Liverpool. It seems the city is fairly walkable, with a lot of attractions near the pier. NCL could have billed this cruise as a Titanic based vacation. Halifax, Liverpool, Belfast, and Southampton all have connections to the ship. I guess they didn’t for their own reasons.
The seas was exceptionally calm today. It’s unusual to see no whitecaps at all.
We finally, after all these cruises, had dinner in Le Bistro. I see what all the talk is about. I had the beet and endive salad with goat cheese croquettes that were superb. Then the Filet du Beouf was perfect. The most amazing part of the meal was the fuss they made over Lynn and her aversion to alcohol. Not only did they make sure nothing served to her in Le Bistro had alcohol, they took her orders for our subsequent speciality dinners to give to the chefs ahead of our reservations, so nothing they served had alcohol either. Impressive customer service.
Thursday, May 1, 2025 Yes, you guessed it! another sea day.
Not much to add here, but I’ll mention the crew. NCCL hires mostly from the Philippines. These folks work hard, are exceptionally friendly, and seem to enjoy their work. All across the fleet, they are there to make your vacation the “trip of a lifetime.”
Post blog update: After the running from Liverpool to Belfast to Dublin, La Havre, then spending most of a week exploring London et. al., I rather missed the quiet stillness of these sea days!
Friday, May 2, 2025 Lat Sea Day!
I woke this morning to a damp foggy sea
The wind was mild and not too chilly
We steamed along to the constant splash
Of the bow breaking through the ocean’s wash
This old tramp steamer has no real home
Destined to exist in a salt water roam
Brine at the stern and smoke in the sky
From seaport to stockyard to docks never dry
Our cargo is loaded, transferred, and passed
Its contents a mystery, for no questions asked
Our passengers discuss the meaning of life
While tramping beyond the everyday strife.
-William C. Johnston May 15, 2025
Saturday, May 3, 2025 Liverpool, England (UK)
Our unexpected stop turned into a holiday highlight. We disembarked onto a wonderful dock area, with shops, museums, pubs, and Beatles. There was a Fab Four Shop, a set of statues of the lads, and “The Beatles Story”.
First stop was the Fab Four gift shop where we picked up a few items. Then we walked down to Albert’s Dock, which is quay surrounded buy pubs, eateries, and shops. We hit the confectionery and grabbed some tea, British sweets, and of course Pez.
We then did the Beatles Story as it was inside out of the wind. The museum tour takes you from The Quarrymen and George’s first guitar, through explaining the Cavern Club’s birth, the hard work in Hamburg, and their first contract with Decca Records. We saw the heyday of Sgt. Pepper’s and Magical Mystery Tour, and then the breakup and their solo careers. A replica of the White Room, where John wrote Imagine is there as well.
It was truly a day in the life.
Sunday, May 4, 2025 Belfast, Northern Ireland Ireland (UK)
Today our excursion is “Let’s Take a Selfie, Belfast”. It would have been better described as “Let’s Do a Belfast Walking Tour.” We expected to drive to areas, pop out of the coach, take pictures, then ride to the next point of interest. well, we went to a drop-off spot, then walked the city for four hours. Not what we expected, but brilliant nonetheless. Our guides were very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. We got a street view education of the city, the history of the main buildings and monuments, and we ended at the Titanic museum. Titanic was designed and built in Belfast, and we was the dockyards where that happened.
Monday, May 5, 2025, Dublin, Republic of Ireland (EU)
Dublin is the capital city of Ireland, and also a tender port. This means there is no pier large enough to take the cruise ship, so we anchor in the bay and take small boats ashore. The tenders can be the ship’s lifeboats or a local carrier that is hired for the job. We had both types.
NCL is demonstrably not good at wrangling large groups of people. The tender process took hours and so our excursions and shore time were cut short.
Our excursion today as “The Irish Countryside and Glendolough.” We took a coach bus out of Dun Laoghaire (done leery), where we tendered in, to Glendolough (glen du lock) and the site of the ruins of a medieval monastery. You can see from the photos that this was an isolated place used for religious reflection.
Tuesday, May, 6, 2025, Plymouth England (UK)
Unexpectedly, Plymouth was a very lovely city. We tendered over and found the largest intact cobblestone city in England. W didn’t have a plan other than to stroll around and see what’s to see. We found an award winning Cornish Pasty shop and had a nice lunch. We say several construction workers in the queue, so we figured it must be good. 50p for the public toilet is a bit steep, though! We chatted with a local couple, who were appreciative of the help the ships bring to the economy.
England’s oldest gin distillery is in Plymouth as well.
Did I mention this is where the Mayflower left for the New World?
Wednesday, May 7, 2025, Le Havre, France (EU)
An early morning today. We docked at 7:00am and met our tour at 8:00. We are in Normandy, France. Our first stop is a visit to the American cemetery where those soldiers who died on or because of the D Day invasion are buried. Interesting that this ground is still part of France, but is gifted each year to the United States. While we visited we saw a commemoration for a soldier. The Star Spangled Banner and Taps were played. Very somber indeed.
We then visited Omaha beach. We saw old German pillboxes and cannon emplacements.
Our tour guide was a very astute young man from Bayeux. After a lovely lunch at a French diner, we headed to Bayeux. We went into a cathedral that will soon be 1000 ears old. By a deal made with the American army during WWII, Bayeux was spared any bombings, and so the city survived intact from medieval times.
I was delighted to hear that we were to visit the Bayeux tapestry. This is an 11th century embroidered work depicting, much like a medieval comic book, the rise and fall of King Harold of England. Harold sword fealty to, and was supposed to declare William the Bastard as king, but kept the crown for himself. This caused William, the Duke of Normandy, to attack Harold at Hastings in the year 1066. William won the battle, Harold was killed by an archer’s arrow to the eye. William earned the title of William the Conqueror, and was crowned King of England.
Following Bayeux, we took a short stop at a medieval port town of Honfleur. I was able to take some photos before we traveled back to the ship. Long day!
Thursday, May 8, 2025 Southampton and London,, England (UK)
Another early day. We put our bags in the hall the last night and collected them in the terminal in the morning. Room Service breakfast is a great treat when mornings are short. We’re not at Ching a bus or plane, and our train tickets are for anytime al day, so no rush. That’s a big difference from landing in New York.
We got the train from Southampton to London. It was fairly seamless, but we did have to change at a station; we almost missed that – almost.
The hotel gave us cookie, which wet well with the tea we ordered at the restaurant. We had a simple lunch at a cafe in Victoria station while we waited for the room to be ready.
Time to rest up.
Catholic church in London.
Friday, May 9, 2025 London, England (UK)
This is our first of four full days in London. We had grand plans of visiting several sites around the city. We got to about half of them. London is huge!
First stop was Buckingham palace. There were security barriers everywhere, and a lot f folks seemingly waiting for something. Then I heard the clop-clop of horses on cobblestone. The King’s Guard rode past in all their regalia. Everyone left after that happened.
We all walked over to St. James’ Park for a quick cuppa and a stroll about. Everyone of the thousands of people were sneezing from the massive amount of pollen in the air. We saw ducks!
Next we took the tube to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The cathedral was built in 1675, after the great fire of 1666. Several dignitaries, such as Admiral Lord Nelson and Florence Nightingale are interned there, as well as many many others. I won’t elaborate, other than to suggest reading the Wikipedia page on this magnificent structure.
A tapestry intended as an altar front is on display. The embroidery work is astounding.
A word on getting around in London: Oystercard. You can purchase these contactless TFL (Travel for London) cards from the ticket machines. They can be for a week, or you can put any amount of money on them. These are used at the turnstiles going in and out of the tube. Don’t forget to tap out or the money will be gone very quickly. The Oystercard is valid on the tube, National Rail trains, trams, and busses throughout London. Just mind the zones (and the gap, of course).
Our hotel is a 2 minute walk from Victoria Station, so we have a central location all points in the city.
Saturday, May 10, 2025 London, England (UK)
Hampton Court Palace is today’s primary destination.
The trains from London Victoria Station to Clapham Junction to Hampton Court took a quick and comfortable 45 minutes. A brief walk across the Thames and we entered the palace grounds. Once inside, we went upstairs to King Henry VIII’s apartments. There are feast halls and ante-rooms covered in tapestries. Each were hand woven and took about two years to create.
This entire palace is spectacular, and very well preserved. My personal favorite space was the kitchens. Multiple huge hearths where feasts were prepared show the extent of the luxury that the royals were accustomed to .
Menus for the royals and the others.
The wine cellar held many casks.
Outside of the kitchens are the still functioning royal herb gardens. There were posts with clever sculptures representing different regions of the kingdom.
Kings George I and II also lived at Hampton Court.
The Georgian era was all about the finery and ostentatious wealth.
Hampton Court’s backyard has a very extensive collection of yew trees, a fountain, and a canal for King Charles II.
On our train back, we decided to not transfer at Clapham Junction, but to end at Waterloo station. We then took the tube to Westminster. A trip to London isn’t complete without a visit to Big Ben and Westminster Cathedral.
Such a long day. Time for a pie and a pint!
The cask ale was especially good.
Sunday, May 11, 2025 London, England (UK)
Our last day on The London Pass, so we decided to do the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus. We picked it up outside of Victoria Station, and rode it to Oxford Circus, from which we took a walk to the British Museum.
In the museum, we saw the Sutton Hoo display. This was an viking era ship burial unearthed in England. The artifacts are quite astounding. My personal favorite is the set of knives,
but the helmet is most famous.
The Rosetta Stone also sits in the British Museum. It was used to unlock the Egyptian hieroglyphs, since the same texts are in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts, and Ancient Greek.
The British Museum would take days to explore. We were there but a few hours.
Monday, May 11, 2025, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath, England (UK)
Windsor Castle
To say that Windsor Castle is an imposing sight is a vast understatement. It dominates the landscape with it’s embattled walls, commanding view, and high turret keep. I can imagine an enemy being quite discourages from trying to attack this fortress.
We opted to not enter the apartments here, and use our time to visit St. George’s Chapel. Henry VIII and Elizabeth II are buried within.
Sorry, no photos allowed.
As we exited the grounds we were reminded of the power of the crown.
Stonehenge
II’m not sure what to say about it that hasn’t already been said. An enigma, for sure, and and enduring legacy of a long forgotten people. Stonehenge stands as a testament of the perseverance of man to work to understand the natural world on his own terms.
At the site, there are replications of stone age residences.
Bath
An old Roman city is at the heart of the city of Bath. There are actual Roman baths here, using natural springs. Many cities have been built on top of each other. The latest is the Georgian city of Bath, which stands today. This entire area is a UNESCO Heritage Site.
Lacock
Our final stop was the village of Lacock, which has an abbey and has been preserved from medieval times. We had a lovely supper before returning to London and ending our vacation.
I hope you enjoyed this trip as mush as we did. I bet you’re not as tired, though!
Carrick of Nordenhal 