British Isles Cruise 2026 - Reflections (09/08/26)

A little over two weeks ago, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to go on my cruise.  It'd have been a great shame if I had not done so.  In it's own way, this cruise opened up my eyes a bit more in seeing the world.

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When I went off to take this cruise, I was not sure if my legs and back would hold out through the cruise and get me home.  While on the cruise, my leg/back problem was always on my mind.  I'd get up in the morning and wonder whether I'd be able to make it to breakfast, not even sure if I'd have the ability to go on any of the upcoming shore excursions.  And I had good reason for doubt.  

In Cobh (the port for Cork), I could barely move.  It was a long walk from the ship to the Cobh Heritage Center, and I was constantly looking for places to sit while touring the museum.  Would I be able to make it on other shore excursions we had already paid for?  Dublin would prove that with a little help, I could make it through a long day's shore excursion, as I was able to tour Malahide Castle by using a portable collapsing stool provided by the castle.

Now that I had proof that I could deal with the pain, Liverpool may have been the worst pain I had to deal with before things got easier for me.  We had scheduled a walking tour of Beatles' Liverpool, and knew we couldn't keep up the pace.  We still walked over to the Beatles Museum on Mathew Street (about 1 km away), and got a little lost going back to the ship.  When I looked at the fitness tracker on my phone, we had walked about 2 miles that day.

Things started to become easier for me when we went to the Giant's Causeway and to Skara Brae.  Walking a distance wasn't that bad, as long as I found places where I could take a rest now and then.  By the time we were ready to go home, I could have walked a couple of miles and survived the effort.

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Strangely enough, on our trip home, RQS had arranged for us to get mobility assistance from the airline, getting us from the check-in counter, through Heathrow security, to the Handicapped persons' waiting room, and then to the gate.  And in New York, the same assistance was provided getting us from the plane to customs, luggage pickup, and to the ride share pickup.

In short, I found that I was capable of much more than I thought I was capable of doing. And by taking on the challenge of this trip, I enjoyed experiences I never would have enjoyed had I given in.

 

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Disembarkation / Flight Home (09/07/26)

Today was a lot of "Hurry up and Waiting."  RQS and I had requested special help from the airline to get us through the airport, and I'm glad she did so.  

But first...

We got up around 6 am, so that we could get showered and dressed, and out of our cabin by 7:30 am.  And we did just that, even though we had a disembarkation time of 9:15 am.  Our first stop was the restaurant at the back of the ship, so that we;d be able to have a leisurely breakfast and have a place to wait until our disembarkation group was called sometime after breakfast.

Waiting, waiting, and waiting....  We moved closer to the gangway around 9:00 am and waited.  At 9:15 am, we took the long walk through another restaurant at the back of the ship, through the long ramps to enter the cruise terminal, then on another path to the luggage pickup area.  Once we found our luggage, we then started another long process to find the bus to take us to the airport.  And that was a stop and go process until we got to the bus that would take us to the airport.

They were loading buses based on the departure terminal, and we had to wait again to get a free bus and have our luggage loaded for the trip to the airport.  Unlike most buses, this one had a trailer to hold our luggage - and ours was loaded in the rear, meaning first in, last out.  This would be a problem later on, as both of us needed to take bio-breaks before we reached the airport, and couldn't do so until we got our luggage back.

When we finally had our luggage in hand, we rushed to the toilets for our much needed bio-breaks.  And then to the desk to check in for our flight.  RQS had requested wheelchair help, knowing that it was both a long distance to walk through Heathrow to get to the plane, and a long distance to walk through JFK in New York to get to the ride share area.  And again, we had to wait for wheelchair assistance which would take us to and through security, and then to the handicapped waiting room.  Unfortunately, we were escorted through security by two different people and deposited to two different destinations.  And RQS had problems finding me.

Our hurry up and waiting at Heathrow didn't end there.  There is a cart that is used to take mobility challenged people to the gates, and they wanted us to share the cart with 3 other people, with no provisions for our luggage.  They thought it strange that we'd each have a carry-on and a personal bag, and for both of us to be carrying medical bags of different sizes.  (My bag was bigger, as I use a CPAP machine.)  So we had to wait again to get a cart to deliver the 2 of us to another waiting area near the departure gate.  And that still wasn't the end of our waiting, as another person had to deliver the 2 of us to the departure gate, and to the plane.

The flight was uneventful.  But there was one thing of note.  A large number of ultraconservative Jews were on the plane, and one was standing up and praying in the middle of the flight.  If that wasn't strange enough, another man came along the aisle and was asking every man he found whether he was Jewish or not.  By the time the plane landed, my butt was aching and I couldn't wait to get to RQS's place.

Neither of us were in a rush to get off the plane.  We had nowhere to go but home.  And, when we got off the plane, two wheelchairs were waiting for us.  And then, we were separately wheeled through customs, then to the baggage claim area.  The gentleman wheeling me around shared a conversation about dual citizenship, and I mentioned my foreign birth registration, and he noted his dual citizenship.  Eventually, we were dropped off at the ride share area.

The Uber ride to RQS's place was quick, and the driver helped us deposit our bags at RQS's front door.  I was lucky - my legs weren't failing me, and I had all the strength I needed to get ALL our bags upstairs.  It was a long day, and I was glad it was finally over!

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Le Havre (09/06/26)

Today, I had no plans to get off the ship.  Visiting Paris on a curated shore excursion might expose me to leg pain that I couldn't manage.  And I had to save myself for the flight home tomorrow.  Instead, it was another day on the ship, where I could eat and drink (usually diet cokes) as I please, and be able to go back to my cabin to rest.

RQS has been a doll about this, taking care of little things when my legs didn't want to cooperate with me.  I'm grateful to have her around.  But I digress....

Although I started packing last night for the return home, I still have much to do.  Somehow, even with only a teddy bear for my neighbor's child as a souvenir, I have to fit ALL the stuff I brought with me into the luggage I have with me.  And that may be an effort with compression bags and the like. 

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RQS was interested in getting off the ship and exploring the town for 30 minutes or so.  After seeing the price of the shuttle bus that would take her to town ($20), she considered it not worth the price.  (Even if my legs and back were feeling up to it, I likely would not have bothered with this port stop for reasons of my own.)   About the only thing I might have made the effort to visit here were the D-Day beaches at Normandy, and to pay my respects at the American cemetery there. 

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Sea Day #3 (09/05/26)

 

Another sea day, and it's time to do some laundry before we leave the ship.  Tomorrow, the ship may empty when it makes port at Le Havre, but we won't be taking any excursions from that port.  It's a long trip to either Paris or Normandy, and I'm not in the mood to suffer another bus ride to see any part of France right now.  Bur, if I had to make a choice, it would be the D-Day beaches at Normandy, where America last did something worthy of our ideals. But then, I am a little disgusted at the current VPOTUS who claimed that POTUS (also known as the Orange Monster in this blog) has won the war with Iran, while claiming we're not in an undeclared war.  (I'm glad I qualify for a second citizenship in a land which is both free and respectful of human rights.)

For the most part my back and my legs have been behaving.  I shudder to think what will happen if they give out before I return home.  But I'm not going to think much about that for now.  Instead, I'm going to think back on this trip, and be thankful that I was able to enjoy it as much as I did.

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RQS sent me a Facebook post about a lady who made an authorized deviation from her cruise itinerary, and got burnt because of it.  Yet, she may have an amazing adventure to talk about when she returns to the ship....

One lady made arrangements with the cruise line to depart the ship in Greenock and board again in Edinburgh. This would give her an extra few days in Scotland to be with her friends.  One problem: We couldn't make port in Edinburgh due to high winds.   So, she was stranded, even though everyone did everything according to the rules.  So now, she had to find a way to make it from Edinburgh to London, London to Paris, and Paris to Le Havre before the ship leaves for Southampton.  I hope she makes it.

This is why I'm extra careful about shore excursions.  They can and will go wrong.  Somehow, a person must be able to get back to the ship as planned. 

 

PS: I met this woman as she was at guest services while in Le Havre.  She ended up flying to Paris and then took the train to Le Havre to get back on the ship.  Hopefully, she'll post more of her story online soon. 

 

  

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Edinburgh (Cancelled) / Sea Day #2 (09/04/26)

 

Due to high winds, our port stop for Edinburgh / South Queensferry was cancelled.  In its place was another sea day.  Given how many ports this cruise has stopped at already, this cruise was still well worth the money spent.  Sadly, our next port stop is in Le Havre, France, a port where I have no intentions of getting off the ship.

Both RQS and I have been getting over colds.  I caught mine about a day or two before her, and I'm hoping that we've recovered enough to be comfortable on our flight home.  Over the next three days, we'll try to take advantage of venues on the ship that I would have missed due to shore excursions keeping us off the ship if we were in port.  One thing I know: We will be doing another load of laundry soon.

For the most part, we stayed inside our cabin, except when it was time to eat.  RQS wasn't feeling well, and I was restoring work I was doing on my cruise blog.  And on a sea day, rest is always the order of the day.

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Kirkwall / Orkney Islands (09/03/26)

 

 

This would be the last port day in an English speaking country, though I didn't know it at the time.  We had scheduled an excursion to see the Ring of Brodan and Skara Brae, and that wouldn't leave until 11:15. So that meant we would have room service deliver breakfast to the room, and we could enjoy it at leisure.

At 9:15, our breakfast came, and we feasted.  (It's nice to have room service for breakfast!)  Then, we were off on our shore excursion.  I didn't know much about the Orkneys, especially about its ancient settlements.  It was good to hear the tour guide talk about the Ring of Brodar and Skara Brae on the way to these sites.

 

The Orkney islands are beautiful, and the road to these heritage sites was alone worth going on the shore excursion.  Our first stop was at the Stones of Stenness.these stones are a henge similar to that at Stonehenge.  And next was the Ring of Brodar.  This ring was older than Stonehenge, and likely served a similar function.  It's hard to believe that these stones were moved to these sites without the use of modern technology. Finally came Skara Brae - a settlement site that is 5,000 years old.  This was the most the most interesting site on the tour, but not the most photogenic one.

Finally, it was back to the ship, and we were among the last to board the ship. 

 

 

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Sea Day #1 (09/02/26)

 

It was not the best of days outside, and we had nowhere to go except for lunch and dinner.  So, we took advantage of the option to have Room Service breakfast to start our day.  And we found that the quality of the food delivered to us was slightly better than would be found in the buffet, as the hot food we had was a little warmer and fresher. 

After breakfast, we had to rebook our Edinburgh excursion.  Our original shore excursion was cancelled, and we had to find (and book) one that would both fit our interests and our budget.  Luckily, we found one, and were able to book this excursion without any complications. 

We had nothing left to do until lunch.  And this would be a hearty one, as we had reservations at the Crab Shack pop-up.  This restaurant is not part of our fare, so it is the one time we're paying extra for our meal.  And it is generally worth it on all Princess Cruises' ships.

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 Around 1 pm, we sauntered down to Crab Shack, where we had a filling lunch.  Unlike the last time we ate at Crab Shack, I was unimpressed with the Clam Chowder.  But the Signature Seafood Pot made up for it, even though they had to substitute Snow Crab Legs for Dungeness Crab.  By the time 2 pm came, we were filled to the gills, and not in the mood to contemplate dinner at 7 pm.

At 7 pm, we went to the ship's casual dining restaurant to have some pizza.  It was good, and we didn't have to suffer the slow service we had in the ship's main dining room.  Additionally, it was a much shorter walk for me as well - less wear and tear on the legs.

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While editing my cruise blog, I lost the entire contents of an entry which I've been writing for the better part of 10 days.  AARGH!  Now, I have to take the time to reconstruct it from notes I made in this blog.  Wish me luck! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 British Isles Cruise 2026 - Sea Day #1 (09/02/26)

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Glasgow / Greenock (09/01/26)

 

The day started off with my usual problems with my back and with my legs.  I wasn't totally crippled.  But I was glad that I didn't have to walk far, as today's shore excursion would take us on a 1 hour cruise on Loch Lomond

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RQS and I went for a late breakfast, picking up items from the ship's coffee and light pastry shop.  It was not much, but it was what we needed to get moving.  After we got back to the room, my GI-Tract began to tell me that it wasn't in love with me anymore.  I didn't pay it much mind until Lunch time, and then it demanded my attention.

30 minutes later, we were off to our shore excursion, and I was glad to have taken care of business when I could do so.  But this would not be the end of it.  Walking to the tour bus was an effort, especially since the weather was gloomy and that the rain would be coming down at any minute.  30 minutes into the trip to Loch Lomond, the bus stopped to give people a chance for a bio-break and to do some shopping.  As for me, I stayed on the bus and tried to rest.

Eventually, we got to Loch Lomond for the 1 hour cruise.  It rained a bit, but not enough to ruin the excursion.  On our return to the ship, the tour guide asked us: "At what time does the ship leave port?" And I answered: "15 minutes after the bus drops us off."  I wasn't joking.  The bus was running late due to traffic, and we were among the last people to return to the ship.  As I expected, the ship did leave port shortly after we returned to the ship.

Once back in our room, our cabin attendant had a complaint to make.  We made his life harder for him when my GI Tract caused me trouble.  Although there was nothing I could have done differently, I won't have to worry about this happening again.  And - I know he'll be getting an extra special tip for going above and beyond when cleaning up the room. 

  

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Belfast (08/31/26)

 

Today's port stop was in Belfast, where we had a shore excursion taking us to the Giant's Causeway.  The trip was scheduled to start at 11 am, arrive at the National Historic Site, and return us to the ship by 5 pm.  

But first....

I haven't getting a full night's sleep since we started out to take this cruise, and last night was no exception.  After I woke up at 4 am for a bio-break, I couldn't get back to sleep.  Around 8:30, we had gotten dressed, and went up to the buffet.  While there, we encountered a crowded buffet area, with staff telling us that the downstairs dining area was open for breakfast.  After the last time there, we didn't want to deal with slow service when we had a shore excursion to go on.

Around 11, we left the ship and found the bus that would take us on our excursion.  The tour guide kept our minds occupied for the 2 hours it took to reach the Giant's Causeway.  We reached our destination shortly before 1, and proceeded to the welcome center, and then to the bus that would take us to the lower  part of the causeway trail path.  Both of us were very glad that we brought cool weather gear, as it was quite chilly outside.

We walked around a little bit (my legs were feeling better than the usual normal), and decided to take the shuttle bus back to the welcome center.  It was a 20 minute wait with no place to sit and wait.  (Actually, I did find a seat, while RQS held our places on line.)  Strangely enough, we were not the last people back to the bus.

On the way back to the ship, the tour guide told us more about the history of Northern Ireland and its separation from the Irish Republic. And then, when in Belfast, he told us about Belfast's RMS Titanic heritage before reaching the ship.  (We could have done without this part of the tour, as we had no opportunity to get a bite to eat.)

We were in our cabin by 6, and then having dinner by 7.  It was a good day, but a little bit too long.... 

  

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Liverpool (08/30/26)

This was the image that was on the Bridge Cam when I got up this morning.  RQS and I decided to sleep late, and not bother with the shore excursion we booked for Liverpool, as we were not sure if our legs could handle a 2 1/2 mile walk.

Around 10 am, we went to the buffet for breakfast.  I saw a message from the tour guide asking us if we were coming, and I said to go ahead without us - we were feeling sick.  In reality, we could never have kept up the pace in walking to the Mathew Street area where all the Beatles related stuff was going on.

Once done with breakfast, we decided to go outside and head for the Beatles museum.  (Later on, RQS said it wasn't worth the effort.  But that's another story.)  Both of us worked up a sweat going there, as my legs didn't want to carry me the mile I needed to walk from the ship to the museum.

We arrived at Mathew Street a little before noon, and it was mobbed.  (Did I happen to say that it was "Fab Four" weekend in Liverpool?)  We walked down the street, passing the current site of the Cavern Club and the original site of the club, and finally to the museum.  For £40 for the 2 of us, it felt a little pricey.  But it had one of the largest collections of Beatle memorabilia that one will find in a single building.  So it would be a Must Visit place for hard core Beatle fans.

Once done with the museum, it was another long walk back to the ship.  Both of us were exhausted by the time we reached the cruise terminal, and I needed a shower.  We were lucky that there was a courtesy shuttle that would take us from the terminal to the ship's gangway.  This saved us a lot of walking.

When we got back to our cabin, RQS said "It's Laundry Time" and threw a big load into the washer while I took a much needed shower.  And then it was time to rest for a while.

After our clothes came out of the dryer, RQS had to deal with a cancelled shore excursion.  She went to the shore excursions desk and got a bus tour that would be much easier for me.  By the time she returned, the tour didn't appear as having been registered to us.  So, down she went again, and returned with two tickets.  This time, they charged our onboard accounts for the tickets.  Yay!  Now, we know we're going to do something each of the remaining port days, save for Le Havre, France.

 

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Dublin / Dun Laoghaire (08/29/26)

 

This was a day we knew we had to get up before dawn. We had a shore excursion that left for Malahide Castle at 7:45 am, and that we'd be away from the ship for an entire day.

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As usual, I didn't get enough good sleep last night, and was awake since 4:30 am. Luckily, I found that laying/sleeping on a pillow sitting under the weak part of my spine made it possible to walk without intense pain the next day. So, when I got up, I found I could get around and get showered, dressed, and out the door with more than adequate time to have breakfast before the assembly for our shore excursion.

We were off the ship by 7:45 and on the tender boat to Dun Laoghaire. This was an easy process, as we met at the assembly point in the ship's theater, then took the boat to the tender boat dock. From there, it was a little bit of walking until we reached our coach.

Our tour guide regaled us with vaudeville one-liners combined with tidbits about Irish history to keep us occupied during the trip to Malahide Castle. When we didn't know was that there would be a bit of walking involved, with no place to sit and rest. If I had been able to change to a different excursion, I would have done so. But I was already in for a penny and in for a pound, so I ended up walking up and down several flights of stairs while at the castle.

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After an hour and a half, we got on the coach and went to have a traditional Irish lunch at the Abbey Tavern. We were entertained by traditional Irish music and Irish dancers. The show was interesting at first, but got monotonous after a while. We couldn't wait for the bus to come and take us back to the ship. With a brief pit stop in Phoenix Park for a bio-break, we were off to the tender boat dock and back to the ship.

 
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After a short break to rest, it was off to dinner. When we were done, we went to the photo studio area to pick up a compact cell phone battery pack. There was a minor delay in RQS getting her battery pack, as the salesman had to go to the ship's internal warehouse to replenish the supply in the public store.

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Cork / Cobh (08/28/26)

 

Like yesterday, we had no pre-purchased shore excursions.  However, we wanted to step off the ship and put our feet on Irish soil for the first time.  Instead of getting up at the break of dawn, we decided to sleep "late" (to 8:30 am), and have breakfast at the ship's buffet.  This is when we would make our plans for the day.

Again, I didn't sleep that well.  But I did find that I could put a small pillow under my back, and that would ease the pain I'd feel when getting up in the morning.  (It didn't eliminate the pain, it just made things easier to bear.)  We got up around 8:30 am, and were in the buffet by 10:00 am.  We figured that we'd get off the ship sometime after 11:00 am, and see "The Titanic Experience", one of the historical venues that had some meaning to me.  (Neither of us wanted to walk far today.) 

We ended up at the Cobh Heritage Center, less than 100 yards away from the ship, and spent an hour exploring the exhibition of Cobh's maritime history (Criminal Transports and Voluntary Migration to North America and Australia, as well as being a stopping point for Transatlantic Crossings).  My legs started to give out after this, so it was back to the ship for the day.

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This would be a night where we'd dress up for dinner.  (Don't look for any photographs of me in Mario Mode in this blog)  Dinner was OK, but we were both glad to get back to the cabin and get comfortable after dinner. 

 

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Falmouth / Cornwall (08/27/26)

 

Yesterday, I felt comfortable walking around much of the day.  By the time I started my morning ritual today, I could barely walk to the bathroom without the support of my cane.  And taking a shower, well, don't get me started about the pain I endured to do that.

But first....

I've been noticing that the pain in my lower body tends to ease off the later in the day it gets.  Laying down on the bed may set my spine off kilter, and cause the problems I've been having as of late.  So, when I got up, I needed to lean on things to move anywhere.  Getting dressed has been difficult for me lately, as I don't have the leg flexibility to put on a pair of trousers the way I'm accustomed to doing.  

Walking to the back of the ship for a served breakfast was a little painful.  When I sat down at the table, I accidentally pulled the table cloth and pulled my plate and flatware off the table.  And this was the least of issues.  Even though we got to the restaurant 30 minutes before closing, they should have been ready to serve us throughout the meal.  Instead, it felt like they forgot about us until I used my "New York Voice" that always commands attention (by surprise).  Then, a few minutes later, our main breakfast course arrived.

Once done with breakfast, it was off to the stern of the ship for a few pictures, and then to our cabin to rest again.  On the way back, we found the laundromat we'd be using several times during the cruise.  And this made our morning complete.

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After a long nap, we found ourselves strangely not hungry.  Although we missed the chance to explore this port, we both were grateful not to have attempted to walk far when our legs (for different reasons) were bothering us.  Yet, we made it upstairs to the buffet for a small snack before going to the steakhouse for dinner.

One thing I can say about the ship's specialty restaurants is that the food is both plentiful and good.  And tonight's steakhouse dinner was no exception.  We both ordered rib-eye steaks and were unable to finish them!  (The appetizers were just as good and just as plentiful.) 

When we were done with dinner, we went to see a comedian perform.  Although most of the audience was laughing, I found his act to be dull and predictable.  There was no magic that would make me go out of my way to see him again.  Yet, it was a serviceable 1/2 hour of entertainment. 

 

 

 

 

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Embarkation Day (08/26/26)

 

We got up at an ungodly hour for us (6 am) and prepared for the bus ride to the Southampton terminal to board the Majestic Princess (pictured above).  We knew to leave our "checked" luggage at the door, as the next time we'd see our bags would be on the ship, outside our cabin door.

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Neither of us had much sleep the night before, and started to get ready to leave the hotel around 5:45 am. For a change, I showered first, and started to repack my carry-on with too much stuff.  It was bursting at the seams!  After a quick breakfast, we made one last pass in our room, placed our checked bags outside our door, and went downstairs to await the bus that would take us to the cruise port.

Once on the bus, it took 2 1/2 hours to reach Southampton and the Cruise Terminal.  Unlike most cruise terminals, this one had me remove all metal from my person (including my belt), take my computer out for separate screening, and surrender my cane while I passed through the scanner.  TSA screening at JFK airport was much less of a hassle.  At least, we skipped much of the line due to our needs to use canes for walking and for support.

After boarding the ship, we made it to our cabin while the cabin attendant was finishing up his work.  He noted that we would need to surrender our passports, so that Irish authorities could stamp them.  In the almost 30 years I've had a passport, I've never had a stamp - this would be my first.  (And it could be my last, given the second passport that I hope will be coming soon.) 

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Both of us were tired, so we took a nap around 3:00 pm. At 5:45 pm, the cabin attendant appeared, and took our passports for processing.   A couple of hours later, we were off to the specialty seafood restaurant for the first of our dinners.  The dishes were all expertly prepared, but the service was slightly too leisurely for my taste.

Shortly after dinner, we were back in our cabin for the evening.  Our cabin attendant visited us 3 times in succession: (1) to tape down the extension cord that I had to use to keep my CPAP unit by my side of the bed, (2) to deliver a pair of bathrobes we could use on the cruise, and (3) to deliver a pair of shore excursion tickets not originally left in the room when we arrived.

It was a busy day, and I'm glad I can finally get some sleep. 

 

British Isles Cruise 2026 - London Day #2 (08/25/26)

I couldn't get much sleep the night we arrived, as my body was still trying to live on New York time.  Although I had a couple of naps after arriving, I was up early for New York, but late for London.  And that's the time zone I'd be in for the next two weeks....

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We went downstairs to have breakfast around 8 am, and the restaurant was crowded with people - many of whom were going on our cruise.  Luckily, a breakfast was included with the hotel stay, and we had a filling meal that should last us until snack time.  Once done there, we went to the Princess Cruises representative, and got ourselves front seats on the bus that would take us to the cruise terminal.  This would make things much easier for us when arriving at the terminal, as we'd not have to walk far in the bus before getting our bags and walking into the terminal.

And then, we took a nap for a little bit....

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Instead of going to the Jack the Ripper Museum (a .3 mi. walk), we decided to stay in our room and rest a bit.  Sadly, we didn't think of buying tickets at the door, but the rest was worth more than the experience of going to the museum.

Around 7:00, we started getting to meet my niece for dinner.  We told her to find a place within my walking tolerance, and she made reservations for 8:00.  We met my niece and her hubby at 8, then walked about 1/3 mi. to get to a nearby Chinese restaurant.  Conversation flowed like water, and I had more beer in one night than I usually have in a couple of months.  (Please, don't tell my doctor about this.)  We closed down the restaurant around 10:30, and walked back to the hotel, tripping on a curb along the way.  I was glad that I had the help of my niece's hubby to get up and back to the hotel.

Sadly, at 11:00, we had to break up - my niece and hubby to their home, and us to our hotel room.  It was an extended day, and one I was glad to stay off my feet when I could do so.  I dreaded the next morning a little bit, as I expected to be walking quite a bit again.  

But as Scarlett O'Hara once said: Tomorrow is another day. 

 

 

 

British Isles Cruise 2026 - London Day #1 (08/24/26)

 

This is going to be a short entry, as there's not much to say other than we ate and slept, allowing our bodies to catch up and get in sync with a reset circadian sleep cycle.

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Continuing from the entry I posted yesterday, We arrived at the hotel at 3 pm.  Everything was paid for in advance, and no one asked for our credit cards.  But I always worry - what will happen if I use a credit card and it gets rejected while overseas?

Around 8 pm, we took the lift to the ground floor and walk to the hotel's restaurant.  The food was good, although it was pricey by New York standards.  Instead of my usual Diet Cokes, I ordered a beer, as it was cheaper to slowly sip my beer than to guzzle Diet Cokes served in 6 oz. bottles. Fish and Chips was the order of my day, and I even tried the Mushy Peas served with the meal.  As much as I might try, I doubt that I'll ever like this side dish.

Once done it was back to the room, and a night where we could fall to sleep with the BBC on the telly.  

 

 

 

British Isles Cruise 2026 - Flying to London (08/23/26)

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The flight to London, I hope, would be the most troublesome thing to happen on this trip.  Not only were we exhausted by the time we got to the hotel, but we were both at the end of tolerance for the little things that can plague a traveler on a trip to Europe.

 

But first...

 

Our flight was scheduled to leave New York at 11:55 pm.  I chose this late departure knowing that the London hotel would be hesitant to release rooms to new check-ins until 3 pm local time.  (See: Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/13/24 (Flying into London before the cruise) to reference our prior experience at the Leonardo Royal Tower Hotel.  And I'm glad we did so, given the minor headaches (for young, able bodied people) we'd have to endure.

 

We left for the airport at 7:00 pm, and arrived shortly before 8:00 pm.  I figured that being 3 hours early for being loaded onto the plane would be prudent, and boy was I right!  RQS had forgotten where she put her cell phone/wallet, and had only her passport to identify her to authorities before the flight.  So, I told her that I could handle all of the credit charges and balance things out later on.  She was happy with me, but not with the situation.

 

Next, we had to go through TSA security, and that was our second speed bump.  I sailed through the Pre-Check process easily, while RQS ended up going through the "Untrusted Traveler" lanes. And that's when her cell phone/wallet was discovered - it was in her trouser pocket all the time, and she didn't even notice it.  

 

Now that we both felt some relief, we walked over to the gates serving Virgin Atlantic (a Delta Airlines code share partner), and took a seat.  After an hour, we got text messages: Our plane went from departing from gate A3 to departing from gate B30 - a 20 minute walk for young people, but not for 2 people whose average age was over 70.  Luckily I found a Delta airlines cart that would bring us to our gate. And that's where we sat for the next 45 minutes.  But then we received another text - our departure gate had changed back to A3.  So we had to ask a nearby Delta airlines gate agent for help - and just in the nick of time, as the cart stops running at 11:00 pm.

 

Returning to gate A3, we could now rest - if we could find an empty seat. We asked the gate agent if we could get on the plane early (they could see we both used canes) and it wasn't a problem.  So, when the plane was ready to be boarded, we were among the first 10 people to get in our seats.

 

 

 

The flight wasn't much to talk about, save that the seat wasn't that comfortable to sit on, but I did have adequate leg room.  By the time we arrived in London, my knees were telling me that they didn't want to be friends, but that eased off a bit when I started walking.  And I was grateful for that, as we had a lot of walking ahead of us.

 

I don't know how many of my readers have flown into Heathrow airport, but it is a long way from where the plane discharges passengers to where passport control and baggage claim is.  Luckily, unlike many American airports, they have long moving sidewalks along this path - a blessing for the two of us.  And then we hit our next speed bump - passport control.

 

We were selected to lanes where we slide our passports into a scanner, have our faces photographed and compared with the passport.  If all goes right, "Welcome to the UK!"  In both of our cases, we had trouble with the scanning process.  I was able to go through after several tries, where RQS needed help for this process.  And from there, we went to baggage claim, and out of the controlled area to meet the person who'd be driving us to our hotel,

 

It would have been a nice thing if I could remember the name of the driver who took us to the hotel, but other things were on my mind.  For the next 60-90 minutes, we had a nice chat, followed by hotel check-in.  After 30 hours of being awake, I finally was able to connect my CPAP machine and get several hours of needed nap time.