We have arrived onboard! Beautiful weather for the 4 days we were in Amsterdam. Great to spend time with part of the group! Looking forward to getting cruising!

Kim & Alice, So happy you're on board !

We'll be ubering to LAX shortly on our way to Dublin to tour Ireland for the next 9 days with Sue & Ray before boarding the Cloud on Thursday the 23rd.

I will be following closely and looking forward to seeing everyone who is staying onboard for part 2. Kim and Alice, are you getting off in Dublin? And did George tell you he is coming to Reno next month?

Uh, no! We have not heard anything from George. So please let him know we want to hear from him! We’re happy for him to stay with us or at least visit.

We are getting off in Dublin, so we won’t see you, probably.

I will tell George. He definitely wants to see you both.

Relaxing day on board, our only sea day on this trip. We had a mandatory briefing
re the zodiacs and there was a surprisingly large number of people who have not ever been on an expedition cruise before. Of course Ngaire has ensured that we are all in the same zodiac group so we should have no problems.

Looking forward to Guernsey, our first port tomorrow
———————-
Helen

Unfortunately I cannot post pictures on LCT with our new format. So not sure if it will start working or not

Today at Guernsey a beautiful island. So green and lots of flowers. We visited a small church that was covered with pieces of China, absolutely charming. We also went to museum about when the Germans occupied the island for four years. Interesting but the highlight was the island itself. Fabulous weather. Looks good fir the next five days as well as far as the sea are concerned.

Tomorrow two landings. So far we are using local tenders.

Most people in this group we know well so it is very nice catching up with everyone.

June, Ngaire and Ken outside the little chapel and one of the shrines inside.



A puffed up pigeon right at the tender boarding sight.

So happy this is working after all. Will post more as the cruise continues.

This morning at St. Mary’s island. There were two tours. A walk to the Garrison and a birding walk. We decided to just go independently as did many other guests. Really cute little town. Really enjoyed wandering the village. We were looking for real english scones but none were to be found.

Puffin gifts everywhere. June and I bought a puffin beanie hat



Lots of beautiful cottages. Quite strange to see working phone booth.

I think this is the Silver Cloud behind the big ship?

Yes Karen, great stalking. The ship in front is the Marco Polo.

Visit to Picton Castle a miracle happened. Ken grew a head full of white hair. Took a picture to prove it but unfortunately the hair disappeared. Gorgeous gardens.







Love this process of posting pictures doing this in a bus

So busy all the time I am getting behind.

These pictures are from a farm in Galway it was a wonderful day. First we saw a castle in the perfect spot for defense with water on three sides. Then a drive through the green countryside to a farm. Here we were served with very yummy scones with rhubarb and ginger jam and fresh cream. Totally yummy. Then the farmer did a sheep dog demonstration and had the various breeds of lambs in Galway. There was a 12 hour lamb so tiny.

We finished up with a 10 minute visit of a unique cathedral built in the 1958 it took 4 years to complete. Pretty flowers everywhere.






Ngaire, sheila and Carolyn

Ngaire, can you post pictures of the ship; reports on dining, bars, and entertainment (where is Jerry performing); and anything else you think useful for those of us sailing on Silver Cloud in the future.

This morning we woke to totally calm seas and brilliant sunshine. Absolutely perfect day and we are in Kikronan. There is a population of 300 here. We took our zodiac ashore and we were taken by local transport to a drop off point to walk to an old fort.



This fort is really just a circle of stones probably for religious ceremonies but built at the edge of a steep cliff. Little rocky and steep at the end but most of us made it to the top. It was really worth the hike the steep cliffs on each side and the view was incredible. This is final pathway to the top.



I was thrilled to get to the top.


The cliffs from the fort, very rugged and steep.


Such a small and remote place. They have a bank open 2 days a week in the summer and 1 day a week in the winter. This was a neat sight. Look at the hair around the horses hoof. Lots of horses on the island.



Here they sell Aran sweaters. Each clan has a unique pattern. I was considering buying one but too heavy so I decided against it.

Jerry, Helen, Ngaire and Kim

Marc saw your post and will get to that eventually right now i cannot post pictures, they are loading too slowly. Recap in a few minutes then a landing,

So in a nutshell personally I love the ship. Cabins, public areas are wonderful. The main lounge offers a great view from all the seats. The two main bars are very comfortable and my lemon drop martinis outstanding. Trivia has been very good and so happy to have this onboard.

Food is a LOVE for some and others are not as happy. Very different dishes for instance last night they had guinea fowl and rabbit. They also had cod and tenderloin. But these unique offerings many love. Sometimes not enough beef for the red meat eaters. But they have an extensive room service menu with a filet, sirloin and great salmon that are all good. Once people figure this out there is ample choice. They are excellent at lactose and gluten intolerance with special menus.

I really like the new zodiacs and the expedition leader is South African and outstanding. Good expedition team. However only one zodiac cruise so have not had the opportunity to really get to know them. The zodiacs are really our water taxis.

No issues at all on getting people on the zodiacs. We are a pretty full ship and they load three groups at a time and everyone is off in about 30 minutes. Two landings a day.

It is truly a blend of expedition and regular cruising. So many landings and so busy we are doing recaps after lunch sometimes two days at the same time.

This has been such a busy trip. Most mornings start really early and often there is a second port in the afternoon as well. The expedition leader has taken to doing the recap/precap for upcoming ports days ahead of time rather than the usual late afternoon of the prior day. The ports have been quite interesting. Yesterday we were in the Aran Islands. I am still trying to wrap my head around a place where the bank is only open one day a week! Clare Island has only had one other cruise ship come ever and in fact that was the Silver Cloud last year. We were received with open arms. The pub offered drinks and snacks of local delicacies and the island’s children put on a wonderful show of Irish music and dancing. It was really a special place and wonderful experience.

Generally I agree with Ngaire’s assessment of the ship itself but I would add the the Cosmos are pretty good too! We have been enjoying the company of a great group of Puffins.

Mark, Jerry has not had an opportunity to sing. We asked the cruise director for a Karaoke night but he feels no one would come given how early our days have started. We told him we had a whole group who would show up but alas no Karaoke.
———————
Helen

Yesterday afternoon we went to Clare Island. This was a highlight landing as the expedition leader had explained it might be. The sun was still shining but a little windy at the landing site. There was a fabulous Abbey that most of us (including me and Ken) did not see. A few smart people got a local to drive then to the Abbey.

There was the ruin of an old castle and stories of Grace O’Malley who was a pirate and daughter of the King, who ruled over all the men of islands and was tough as nails. We are all going to research Grace O’Malley.

150 people live here and there are 20 children. We were invited to their Pub and it was full of locals. Irish music by two musicians and then the children started Irish dancing. Riverdance by children. They were really good. I think all 20 of the children were there. Three drinks per person were included and of course they had Guinness beer. Then the food started tray after tray of tasty appetizers. Just an amazing fun experience. Ken found a New Zealand woman who was living in this island. Beautiful remote island, friendly locals, green grass fields, rock fences, fishing boats and calm blue ocean.



The walkway to the pub.




Topped off with dinner for six at Hot Rocks. The ship was not moving leaving more “pub time” for the wild bunch. So it was perfect condition to sit outside and cook your own large steak.

Again we wake up to sunny brilliant day. No wind. It was so warm even at the top of the mountain people took off their coats. The sea looked like glass. We saw spectacular cliffs followed by me waiting for the first fresh lobster roll from a little food van. Lobster caught this morning. Followed up by tea with fresh baked scones. Life cannot get any better. Pictures will tell the story I will post them as soon as I can.

Ngaire looking after Ralph in June’s absence


Ken found a magical spot (photo by Kim)



Barb and Ngaire. You can see what a glorious day we had.



The food fest. Lobster roll on the mountain top and final course tea and scones

The Silver Cloud is a good step up from the Explorer for expedition cruises, Marc. The cabins are larger and more what you’re used to, with walk in closets, real sitting area, much more storage, lots of outlets, verandas (although it’s been too chilly to enjoy them on this trip, but I like the illusion of more cabin space plus fresh air.) Bathrooms are ok, but light is too dim for Brad and storage options in there aren’t ideal.

I think they could freshen the decor some to look more contemporary, but that’s a personal preference.

Food has been very good. Having the four restaurants options is a big improvement. The Italian restaurant is quite good (buffet by day) and we’ve enjoyed the regular restaurant options. Hot Rocks is fine, but you just do that once. We are going to La Dame tonight so the jury is out on whether it’s worth the add on per person, but even though we’ve had massages, mani pedi for me, had some laundry done, we are still not going to burn through all of our shipboard credit at this point.

The two bars are good - Panorama at the front and La Dolce Vita, on deck five, before the theater. Lots of seating options, without the rather odd bar layout on the Explorer. They have a duo (singer, keyboard/piano) in the Dolce Vita bar and piano player up top. Having a real tiered theater with clear sight lines is also a big plus, rather than that lecture space on the Explorer that always smelled quite funky every time we were onboard.

Staff is impressive as always. We’ve seen quite a few familiar faces from the Explorer. And it is always impressive when so many greet you by name, know your preferences, etc. which we haven’t personally found to be the case on Regent, understandable with many more passengers.

This particular cruise is more of a regular cruise than an expedition, other than that almost all stops have involved anchoring and zodiacs (local tenders in the Scilly Islands, docked today in Killybegs.) There has only been one zodiac cruise, and very few naturalist talks. Recaps have been “precaps” describing the next day or two’s activities. They have a large expedition staff but mainly they seem to be assisting with logistics and zodiac driving as they are transitioning up to the Arctic itineraries when I assume their skills and knowledge will be put to use.

Passenger average age is quite a bit older than we have experienced on our past trips on the Explorer. We went on an all day excursion a couple of days ago and over lunch there was quite a bit of talk about it not being what they expected, and some difficulties in boarding zodiacs.

Overall the itinerary has been good. Love the stops at the small islands, especially yesterday at Inis Mor and Clare Island. Guernsey and the two stops in the Scilly Islands were charming. Today we had a lovely walk in the foothills of the Bluestack Mountains.

Our stop in Galway and Valentia Island were more traditional cruise stops with typical shore excursions. From Valentia we went to Derrynane House - a lovely hour drive away along the Ring of Kerry, but the time there was too short to see the woodlands and gardens after a quickie tour of 4 rooms of the house and a 20 minute film about the owner, there was only 10 minutes to take a quick peek at the extensive gardens, pathways, beach etc before we had to be back in the bus. From Galway we did the day in Connemara tour, an 8 hour excursion which included not enough time at Kylemore Abbey. Lots of driving, albeit through beautiful scenery. There was only enough time to see the Abbey and church OR the extensive walled gardens and grounds. Then off to a town for lunch and a bit of free time. There was a restaurant at Kylemore so it would have made much more sense if they felt they needed to feed people to just do it there as it was a lovely place.

Can’t post pictures on board but the weather has been beautiful - only a bit of drizzle a few days ago.

So, thumbs up Marc if you’re considering coming back to Silversea in the future.

Looks like lots of fun Ngaire.

Sue, Ray, Tom and I have had a great time touring most all of Ireland with a fabulous local guide we'd highly recommend. We would never have seen what we've seen the past 8 days without a local guide.

We've taken lots of photos but I don't know how to post them here so look on my Facebook page, Marcie Mills Matassa (or Sue's under susan downs henry) and you can see some photos. Last night we stayed in a fabulous Castle hotel, it was VERY special indeed. It's from the 1500's so not as old as some but huge and absolutely gorgeous. We've loved visiting the pubs and heard great music there as well.

We LOVE Ireland !

See you soon ! Hope June is ok since she didn't go with you on your excursion.

Marcie, June went on the excursion, she just went climbing the mountain and left Ralph below. I do not do Facebook but look forward to seeing your pictures when you get here.

Sunshine AGAIN today and calm seas. We have been blessed with amazing weather. Off to the Giants Causeway today. This is the last port for this segment. We say goodbye to some friends (boo boo) and welcome new ones onboard tomorrow.

Leslie, thanks. We will be going on one Silver Cloud sailing (Quebec City to Ft Lauderdale) in the fall to use up our 40%; they wouldn't let us use it for PUFFIN thus the change.

Keep the reports comings; really interested in all the Scottish stops as planning a return land trip (with ferries to the islands) in the future.

Marc

Another great day. Bright sunshine and no wind. Conditions could not have been better.

I have always wanted to go to the Giants Causeway but never wanted to take the full day tour from Belfast. The drive was only 25 minutes from the dock. Loved the Giants Causeway. Will post pictures that will tell the story.

Kim, Ngaire and June



June and Ngaire on the causeway


Ken at the top


Kim and Alice at the top


On the way back we stopped at the Dunluce castle ruins. We had about an hour there with a short video first on the history of the castle. What I liked is that this castle is they had pictures of what each room would have looked like. It really bought it to lights. Right on the sea in the top of very steep cliffs and originally had a drawbridge. Cannot imagine how anyone could be successful attacking this formidable castle.





Taken from inside the castle

Iona today. Not brilliant sunshine as we have had recently but still good conditions. Short zodiac ride and not too cold. Sun broke out now and then during the morning. We visited the Iona Abbey and it was a nice morning. There was the happiest little girl from the Netherlands who Was having a grand time. She is pictured below.

Jerry and Helen



The little girl I thought was so precious



Iona Abbey




This afternoon LUNGA for the puffins and conditions look favorable.

Some ship pictures.

The loading dock for boarding the zodiacs


The spacious boot room

Ngaire, thanks!!!

For some reason, I am not able to see the pics posted yesterday. I can see the previous ones.

Should we start a new thread for the second half of the voyage?

We are having a great time. So good to see everyone, and weather is perfect so far. I am blogging on CC, but will check in from time to time here as well. Link to blog:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2664903-dublin-to-london-aboard-the-cloud—live—may-23-2019-to-june-4-2019/

I tried to change the subject line so you can use this thread instead of starting a new one. But it didn’t seem to carry through; it just changed on the first post. Maybe Karen can fix it if you think it’s good to just continue this thread.

Kim, it seems your edit only worked for the very first post, which I find odd!

Oh well. Maybe they can just “go with it”. Alice and I returned to Dublin after 2 nights in Newcastle, Northern Ireland on the coast. We did some things in the afternoon, came back to the hotel for a short time before going to find some dinner. When we were heading out to dinner, we saw the woman who was in the cabin next to us on the cruise in the hotel lobby! They have been here in this hotel since Thursday and having a good time. No idea how they got booked in this hotel. Our booking was through the golf tour operator. Small world.

Lunga, Scotland, UK - Puffins:

Rachel the earlier pictures were downloaded before you got on the ship. Once you are on the ship unless you pay for the enhanced internet you will just see links. That is why you cannot see them now.

Let’s keep this thread going as it is a back to back we have Iona posted and Ken posted his Lunga Island puffin pictures. I will do the write up on Lunga today.

I can show you them on my iPhone or iPad.

Lunga island. I have seen a lot of puffins but always on cliffs or on the sea. Lunga island allows you to see puffins in their nesting sites. I have wanted to come to Lunga island for years having read many times this one of the best places to see puffins.

This area is known for rain, wind and bad weather. Odds of a nice day are not good. But the weather gods were kind again. It was calm, overcast but clear and no rain forecast.

We were warned constantly that the landing was going to be hard. Landing on steep rocks we had to climb up to get to the grassy area. They were not kidding and advised only people that could achieve this should go. Steep and slippery.

The expedition team did an amazing job with a person helping you all the way up. Without their help I am sure someone would have slipped. Then was a gradual climb up a grassy hill to the puffins.

An amazing experience. So many birds of many types. The noise level reminded me of a penguin colony just a different sound. But of course the highlight was the puffins. You could get really close to them. I was in absolute puffin heaven.

Pictures will tell the story.

Photos from Nikon Ken:



Getting back on the zodiac

Ok, got it. I will just have something to look forward to when I get faster internet on land.

Rachel- I found that if I switched to cellular data I could see the photos.

St Kilda Islands:



















The sheep here are not good looking! A unique breed to this island.

Gorgeous photos, Ken! Alice and made it to Atlanta. Next stop Salt Lake City. Then home. Taking the “scenic” route. Will be good to be home. Although it was a marvelous trip!

St Kilda was a great stop. Visiting an island where there are the remains of a very large settlement. A beautiful sunny day I took off my coat I was too warm. A little swell getting on and off the zodiac but the staff handled it well.

In the afternoon we sailed between two small but high islands that have large colonies of birds. Gannets were in abundance as shown by Kens pictures. Really spectacular with an island on each side and birds everywhere.

Last night we did the hot rocks grill. At first it was chilly but it warmed up and the sun started to shine. It was a great night.

Tomorrow we are in Kirkwall.

Ngaire, loving the reports. Especially interested in your (and others) report on Highland Park distillery tour in Kirkwall.

Marc

A group is going today but not being a spirits drinker we opted for a different tour.

We saw the Italian Chapel built by Italian prisoners of war. It is quite a story and our guide today was every good. Told the story better than any guide we have had before.



Then an overview of the island and drove over the concrete block barrier cutting off the North Sea to the towns bay. This was ordered by Winston Churchill after a German submarine entered the harbor here during world two

A fossil museum, which was somewhat interesting.

Then we left the tour in town and we saw the cathedral again. Only cathedral I have seen with a gun featured in a church. This man was a famous arctic explorer.



Been to Kirkwall quite a few times before. Today rained, then sunshine, then hail, then sunshine. Weather constantly changing but for most of the day is was sunny.

June and Ken found this in town



Picture from our refreshment stop.

We opted for a different tour today also but did go to the Talisker Distillery in Portree. Although the Talisker 18 gets good reviews, Ray found the one we tasted to be very smoky & somewhat harsh. We passed the Highland Park Distillery on our tour & it is about twice the size of Talisker. Hopefully, someone will have a review of it for you.

Wish I was with you. I love the smoky, peaty Islay single malt whiskeys like Talisker which actually is an ingredient of Johnny Walker Black. Certainly not everyone's cup of tea. Highland Park is much milder though still has some peat-they are on the Orkney Islands. The scotches from the Lowlands are the mildest of all. Have fun, everyone!!

We went hiking, so can’t report on the distillery either;however, last evening, a bunch of local girls put on a dance show for us, and they were serving a sampling of a bunch of local spirits at the entrance to the theater. I did not partake as not my thing, but it was there for tasting if you wanted.

Photos from John:

Dorothy, June and Ngaire flirting with handsome young Irishman.


The Silver Cloud needing a little repair

We stayed onboard in Lerwick. We have been to Lerwick multiple times and it was not a nice day. Last night we went to La Dame and had a wonderful dinner. We were with June, Ralph, Barb and Tim. I realized we had not taken any people pictures until after the dinner. Too focused on conversation and the food. We did take some pictures of the food and I will post these pictures.

We were all focused on the main courses, lamb, filet and lobster were our choices. Totally forgot about taking pictures during this course. All the dishes were excellent.

Lobster and Mango Appetizer.


The Mushroom Soup with caviar on the little crisp bread stick. The Lobster Soup also had the caviar and three large pieces of lobster.



Lobster Tail in a Pea Soup



Fanciest Fruit Plate


Chocolate Dessert

In a bus now leaving Aberdeen going to see Balmoral Castle. Beautiful scenery with stunning homes on huge lots with gardens with many flowers.

Really glad we went on the Balmoral Castle 7 1/2 hour tour. Far longer than I would normally do. Scenery on the way was beautiful and a great guide. Raining lighting intermittently.

We were only allowed into the ballroom that was featuring an exhibit on Queen Victoria. Of course I wish I could have seen more of the rooms but not surprised the access was very limited. The Queen was here last weekend.

There were exhibits in the stables and we enjoyed walking the grounds. Overall 90 minutes at Balmoral which was enough time and it started raining more as we left.

We then went to a small village where we had an hour to get lunch. We went to the closest place that was the Highland games museum.The cafe was GREAT. All home made goods and a nice faculty and only one other table taken.

Ken and Ralph at Balmoral



Couple of different angles of the castle





The cafe








Flowers

We really did not feel like getting up but we did. Then found out everyone decided to stay onboard. We were up so we went. Little sprinkle on boarding the zodiacs.

As we entered the bay we were welcomed by three seals one came really close and looked us over. He had a big head. The countryside was not as pretty as Aberdeen but still nice.

The Floors castle was magnificent. No way to get all of the castle in a picture. The inside did not disappoint. Many rooms full of pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe who still reside in the castle. The rooms were fully furnished with collections of paintings, huge tapestries, China, and collectibles. Also mannequins with ceremonial dress. There was a bird room with taxidermy of birds from all over the world. From tiny to extremely large birds. Very impressive.

The family is active in all horse activities including horse racing and their horses have won many races. After we toured the castle there was s lot of Porche cars outside.

Unfortunately we could not take pictures inside. But here are a few from the outside.

Last night we decided to change our tour to a massive house called Constable Burton. The house has been in the family for 700 years. When we got on the bus only one couple joined us on the 40 person bus.

It was a great tour. A fascinating house and the owner William Constable invented machines to create electricity 200 years before it was available for houses. The house had a lot of rooms full of many items it was impossible to absorb all we saw. Topped off with a cup of tea and a ham and cheese toasted sandwich. They ran out of scones.



y

Our last tour day today. We are going to the Canterbury Cathedral. Tomorrow we arrive in London and fly to Johannesburg for our two safaris.

OVERVIEW OF THE CRUISE
We have been incredibly fortunate with the weather. A few drizzly rainy days at the beginning of the first trip and a couple of drizzly rainy days on the second leg. Only one day where it was raining a lot when people were returning to the ship in zodiacs. But out of 22 nights that is not a lot of rainy days. The two bird cliff zodiac cruises offered the weather was not co-operating. I did not do either of those zodiac cruises. We have many glorious perfect days with sun and no wind, and today again the sun is shining. As far the seas go we had two nights of a little rocking but overall very calm seas. Amazing weather. Far superior weather than I had anticipated.

Overall tours have been good. With this many days you will hit some that are not as great but really ours have been excellent. There were some that people were not thrilled with a tour which to be expected. Lunga island the Puffin day was a highlight for me.

The Silver Cloud.
The positives. I love this ship. The ship is large enough to have great facilities but small enough for the small ship experience. There have been no issues getting out the zodiacs with this larger passenger size. In fact worked better than the Explorer. Not jammed up in a small space waiting to board the zodiacs as we did on the Explorer. The theatre for recaps is fantastic, More room than necessary and you can see so well from almost every seat. There are multiple dining options. The food has been really good with a ton of variety for everyone’s taste and a large room service menu. The cabin is very comfortable with lots of drawer and hanging space. Two cocktail longes with enough space for everyone to find a seat. There is a forward observation lounge that is not used much as you have to go outside to reach it. Four elevators centrally located that come so quickly. The two rocky nights the ship handled the seas very well. My “windy” website said 10ft waves and large swell and considering that I expected more motion on the ship than we experienced.

The negatives are on this trip people were expecting a classic ship experience and totally unaware that zodiacs are often used for the transfer to the shore. They were not happy and many should not have been booked on this trip. But I think overtime this problem will go away as the realization of what these new expedition ships are really all about. One thing many of us do not like is that most dining venues don’t open until 7.30 pm, only the main dining room opens at 7.00 pm and service can be slow so it makes for late dining. The bathroom does not have enough storage space and if you have a tub it is hard to get in and out. Some of the true expedition type people miss the intimacy of the Silver Explorer which I understand. You do get to know the expedition staff better.

But for me I am so glad this is our ship for Antarctica. Nothing is perfect but this ships positives far outweigh the negatives and I will always prefer to sail on this ship if I have a choice. I still have a soft spot in my heart for the Silver Explorer and always will. I definitely would sail on the Silver Explorer if it has the itinerary I want. Really looking forward to January Antarctica even more now. I want to be back onboard the Silver Cloud.

I have absolutely loved following you on PUFFIN. The photos and descriptions have been wonderful. I guess it struck such a chord with me because this is where my family is from. Every photo had its own tale to tell. It all looked story-book perfect....the country side, the steep cliffs, the sheep everywhere and those beautiful homes and castles and I couldn't leave out the Pubs!

For those of you heading home, safe travels. For you lucky ones going on Safari, hope it's the best ever!

We were having coffee on our balcony this morning on the Seven Seas Explorer and we passed you guys in the English Channel!! Did you see us wave 😁?!?! I took a picture but can’t seem to post it and can’t find Ngaire’s instructions for the new way to post pics on the forum.

Sorry Cindy I missed the wave.

So today was Canterbury. Again a perfect day walked around today in a short sleeved tee shirt. We were able to get a PUFFIN bus it was nice to be altogether. About a 45 minutes later we were in Canterbury. The guide was good I felt like I was listening to Sandra Bowen for those of you that may remember Sandra.

What a massive cathedral and so much history. Really enjoyed finally seeing this very historic sight. I will add a few pictures below.

After we left the cathedral we went to have our last scones. We found the Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatters Tea shop. There was a group of girls having a tea party. The stools they were sitting on were tea cups. The decor and all the china had a mad hatters theme. THey had a true high tea. I took a picture of the top two tiers of cakes. I thought of our own LCT Alice in Wonderland and of course Kim as well. Wished they were with us. The scones arrived hot straight from the oven and they were lemon poppyseed. Talk about yummy! It was a fun place and we all enjoyed it a lot.

Packing now sad but looking forward to our upcoming safari now.



So many stunning and huge stained glass windows.


On the grounds outside the cathedral a huge horse. Constructed by children.


Mad Hatters Tea Room

The unique cakes


The cup stools


Peter Rabbit


The character outside the shop the little children just loved.

Goodbye to London taken from the Silver Cloud.

We are in the Virgin Atlantic lounge at Heathrow. So sorry that this trip is over! It was really a great voyage. It did sound a.little boring on paper but it turned out to be so very interesting. We have seen so much of Ireland and Scotland in particular that I do now feel like I have really seen these countries and not just their big cities. Bonus was all the great friends, old and new that joined on us each leg.

Yesterday after our fearless leader left us in London, some of us did the RIB Thames experience followed by Tea at the Ritz. What the heck is an RIB Thames experience you ask? Rigid Inflatable Boat which runs at very high speed down the Thames. This is an open boat and of course many of us got a bit wet. It was so fun! They blasted Queen songs and the themes from James Bond movies as we raced up and down the river. By contrast, tea at the Ritz was a bit more subdued 😀

We were on the Cloud back in 2006 when it was a classic cruise ship. I like it much better as an expedition ship. I echo Ngaire’s comment that there were quite a few passengers who should not have been booked on such a ship. Although the complainers seemed to me to be much more prevalent on the Amsterdam to Dublin leg. Maybe that was my imagination or maybe I just tuned them out after the first week?

The crew on the Cloud are just wonderful. They all were so warm and friendly. They seemed to a person to really be happy on this ship. Lots of hugs on our way out the door today.

To all the Puffins: thanks for the great company. Safe travels and hope to see you soon
———————
Helen

Agree with everything Helen says.... We had a great time on this cruise as well as our 8 days pre-cruise touring around Ireland with Sue & Ray. It was a great group of old and new friends on PUFFIN. The ship and ports were new to us and just great. We're looking forward to cruising on the Cloud again to Antarctica in January.

We're now at The Sofitel hotel at LHR (very nice hotel) for 1 night with massages booked for this afternoon. We'll fly home tomorrow morning.
Life is GOOD !

I tried to post a big long post yesterday, but it disappeared. Anyway, totally agree with everything above. I love Cloud as an expedition ship and am looking forward to the two more voyages we have booked on her. The crew was great. We had a bit of crappy weather, but that is expected in this part of the world, and we had fun despite.

Alice and I have been back to work for 2 weeks. I am actually posting now from the plane going home from the week of work back east. We would have loved to have been at the high tea in the Mad Hatter tea shop!!! How fun! Lemon poppy seed is one of our Alice’s favs. We loved the Puffin trip even though we could only do the first leg. It was all wonderful. Our pre-cruise in Amsterdam with part of the group and post-cruise by ourselves all was great! And we too are excited to be getting back on the Silver Cloud in January. Thanks for the continued posts from the second leg.