Tag: cruise

“THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – DAY 10 SS NIEUW STATENDAM – Cork“

After sailing from the Isle of Man, we headed toward a former British dependancy – Eire and the city of Cork. We have been to Ireland previously but despite it being tiny compared to home, 4 weeks was not enough to get everywhere and Cork was one of those places. We have become quite adept at finding our own way. But it becomes tiring so we took the easy way with the hop on hop off bus. I have attached our map of Cork – things to see and do in Cork. We had been to Blarney castle and I had kissed the “Barney stone”. Its supposed to give the kisser the gift of elequence – some might consider that to be an overkill in my case. And thats why we did not go to Cork – we went to the castle only all those years ago.

2026.01.10 Map of CorkDownload

The port for Cork is actually a town called Cobh and a pretty town it is with a good connection to Cork by rail. So our day started with a train ride. The ship passed some of the pretty houses as it docked but once we docked and entered the Port of Cork we then had to pass through the Cobh Cruise Terminal – now that’s Irish. On arriving at Cork rail terminal we crossed the road to Station View Tavern (it looks at the station) and awaited the hop on hop off bus.

Having boarded the bus, we occupied seats on the open roof of the bus. The following photos follow the ride. Firstly we moved through the docks area to an old bridge which had street lighting where all the lights appeared to be arching over the road similating dockside cranes. There were church spires on the horizon some like the one photographed below adorned with a sign of the occupation of its parishoners – in this case a fish atop the weather vane. We had no particular things we wished to see so we were taking the full tour before deciding. We came to the entrance of the old gaol and the bus had an exagerated lean towards the footpath. After some passengers got off the bus the cry went out, “Stand up and move over on top”. Well that had me puzzled until I realised the bus had to be righted so that it could leave its parking place – you see all of us moving as instructed. The bus then carefully made its way to the Courthouse.

We planned to hop off the bus at the English Market. We passed some graffitti on the way – some in the street style and then a full size portrait but there was little else of interest before reaching the Market. I am not sure what we were hoping to find. As the name implies its a market and there was nothing that we could take back to the ship.

We left the market and waited in the square for our bus. Kerry stopped a local bike rider for some directions. We felt like fools (I was taking the picture).

There was some time wasted waiting for the bus. I took some further photos of surrounding buildings and ultimately the bus arrived. Our tour was coming to an end. We got off at the Station View Tavern and then returned on the train to the port. Nothing much to do when Kerry noticed the cabs lined up offering tours and one was to the Jameson Distillery. That sounded promising. We climbed into the cab and shot off expecting this would be nearby. Well we were wrong. Firstly he stopped to show us a castle tower converted into a dwelling before turning into a place called Middletons which turns out to be the maker of Jamiesons Whiskey and some other labels. They offered tasting paddles at a price of course but I picked up a bottle of Redbreast single pot stilled 12 year old whiskey and saved paying for the paddle. I also obtained a whiskey taster. Many years ago, probably 10 years ago, Doug and Neirda travelled with us to Oban and Doug and I did the tour and obtained an “Oban” labeled taster. So I also obtained a Jamieson’s taster. I have shown both tasters below.

We were returned to the dock in Cobh and boarded the ship with our booty. Tomorrow would be at sea and our last day would result in our returning to Dover and disembarking. So this is what its like to be at sea. The only vessel we passed between Cobh and Dover.

We had planned to take a taxi to our hotel in Heathrow following which we would fly to Singapore for a short stay before travelling home. However, the ship was providing a bus to Heathrow which meant we could make a saving of over 100 pounds and a more reliable way to travel or so we thought. My next blog we return to Heathrow Airport then go to Singapore. Stay tuned for the trip home – “THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – Heathrow overnight and arrive in Singapore“

“THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD –CHATEAU RHIANFA PLAS RHIANFA, TO DOVER AND DAY 1 ROTTERDAM.”

DOVER

Our plan to travel to Dover was going smoothly until we arrived in Dover and got an understanding of the location of the bus terminus and the Cruise Ship port – they are a long, long, long way apart and there were no taxis due to the backed-up trucks collecting goods from the shipping port. With no other choice and time to spare , we set off on foot dragging our luggage. Fortunately, we met some passengers returning on foot to the same vessel and with their guidance we knew we were pointing in the right direction. Along the way we picked up another couple dragging their suitcases and the six of us were able to help each other to handle this tortuous walk. It seemed such a long trip on foot.

After boarding the SS Nieuw Statendam and accessing our cabin, we were able to look back at the path we had traveled or at least a small part thereof. We were jealous of those arriving by coach and later found out these were returning passengers from cruise excursions. My photos below show the very last part of our walk, the terminal building and the vessel departing from Dover Cruise Terminal.

We spent the rest of our time that afternoon acquainting ourselves with the ship – which was fore and aft, and which was port and starboard and registering that we had found our way to our evacuation station. Where things were located on the ship remained a point of annoyance for the whole trip. Many times, we were confused as to whether we were on the SS Nieuw Statendam or the SS Noordam.

Our voyage was 14 days circumnavigating the United Kingdom – Scotland’s isles, bits of Northern Ireland, the Isle of Mann and Eire returning to Dover. For ease I have broken the cruise into 3 – 4 day blogs. So my next blog will be “THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – SS NIEUW STATENDAM – Queensport & Edinburgh then Shetland Isles.”

SS NIEUW STATENDAM

First I will give you a short tour of the ship the SS Nieuw Statendam.

Our cabin was nice and roomy with bathroom and cupboards, bedroom, TV/Lounge room and a deck. We had spent a bit more than usual with our choice of cabin to give ourselves a treat. We were about one third of the way from the fore deck and 9 floors from the water line with floors 10 to 17 above us. Set between two sets of lifts our position was reasonably good. Our cabin steward seemed like a ghost – we would rarely see her and we only knew she was there as things continually moved in the cabin.

The dining was split between 3 decks – decks 11, 7 and 6 with the a la carte restaurants on 6 & 7 and the banquet style on 11 with multiple bars, a disco on deck 17 and one coffee shop. Deck 11 had 2 pools/spas, one for adults only the stern had 3 verandah decks overlooking the adults only pool. More about the ship later.

After a big day we needed to rest but there was no coffee shop with views of the ocean on this ship and we missed Deck 12 of the SS Noordam.

ROTTERDAM

With the morning we found ourselves at sea on our way to Rotterdam; the ship’s home port. We continued to find our way around the ship which rocked a bit too much for some guests. The following morning we arrived in Rotterdam and here are a few snaps I took where the ship tied up. Note there are swans swimming in the river – I have not seen flocks of birds other than gulls this close to the ship.

We did not know much about Rotterdam other than Kerry thought the city had some unusual architecture and I thought of canals and sailing ships from the centuries before. So we were both interested to see the city but not excited about the ship’s excursions. We decided we would explore by canal boat and on foot.

On disembarking from our ship, we made our way on foot to the Holland America building – the design was from centuries past – to the canal ferry station to travel into the CBD of Rotterdam. Our ferry took us past our ship and under the bridge we had observed from our deck and into a different world of architecture and history. One building we passed seemed to have had an extension built on top but they had made it too big. Then we turned into a canal proper (we had been on the river before hand) and passed the canal gate to prevent flooding (the boy with his finger in the dyke inspired this) in the CBD. Boats of all shapes and sizes were tied up in the marina many with murials of the sea adorning their hulls. Our stop and disembarkation point for the ferry was in the midst of the maritime wharf museum. Cranes of many various discription struggled for space amongst all the other parafenalia of sailing the ocean.

Part of our day at sea prior to arriving in Rotterdam had included a talk by the Tour director about seeing Rotterdam on foot and it had proven very useful. We learnt that in this part of the CBD there we some buildings of the more extreme architectural design so we did have some clues about where we were going. One building we were looking for was the market which had been designed as a large hangar with residential units built into the side walls. Now we were there on Sunday and the markets did not open but we found the building and it is as remarkable as its description. Just nearby is the building that could be mistaken for a pencil or a rocket and another building where it appears to have been built by 3 different builder each with the position of the floors being displaced. Finally the buildings we sought – the cube houses.

One of the apartments was opened as a gallery and we chose to look inside to see what space the building provided. My pictures below give you the idea of the space and the unusual aspects seen from the windows. As we left the unit we noticed some commercial space and people playing chess outside of a chess piece museum and a coffee shop. I don’t know which came first the chess players or the museum but I was taken back and excited. I have not played chess for years and it was only this year while visiting Son #2 and his family that I had sometime with 2 of our grandchildren and they were playing chess. So bravely I engaged them in competition and realised the enjoyment I used to get from competition. We ordered some coffee and I went to inspect the museum. Had a long chat with the proprietor who said she had over 1,000 chess sets. Something truly unexpected.

We continued to make our way through the cube apartments until we came upon another branch of the marina. We decided we should make our way back to the ferry uncertain how far we had travelled whilst exploring the architecture. The mixture of the styles of architecture kept us enthralled – we had not expected anything like this. As we made our way along the canal bank Kerry saw a local working on his boat and innocently asked him about his boat and she was met with a rude and hostile responce. Not aware that he was telling her to “piss off” Kerry continued her enquiry. Gradually he softened his tone and engaged with Kerry explaining that this was a particular style of sailing ship developed in Rotterdam and he and his father had started work restoring it. His father had died but he had continued with the restoration using the ship as his accomodation. He also explained that he thought tourists were rude asking questions as though he was part of the tour. At one stage I was certain he was going to climb the ships rail and clock her one but in the end they chatted happily ignoring my presence entirely. He had found that Kerry was genuinely interested in the history of the ship and his determination to save the vessel. Ultimately Kerry acknowledged me and he lost interest in Kerry.

We had seen the unusal architecture but now we were amongst all the house boats, boats making believe they were hotels and boats making believe they are “B&B’s”. Rotterdam has it all. By the time we made our way back to the ferry and then to our ship the sun was going down and I was able to photograph the sunset on a interesting day.

As the sun set in the west we sailed north west to Queensport and Edinburgh. We have been to Edinburgh a few times so we had decided to catch the Hop on Hop off bus rather than take in the main attractions. So be prepared for “THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – DAY 2 SS NIEUW STATENDAM – Queensport & Edinburgh then Shetland Isles.”

“THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – “ROME TO TOKYO”

TOKYO

Our Finnair flight was unremarkable which is a good rating – no problems were encountered. So my first picture is our plane. We allowed ourselves two days in Tokyo to ensure we arrived in time to catch our ship. I think we made good use of our time there and we only saw what was immediately around our hotel, Hotel Villa Fontaine Tokyo – Hamamatsucho and what we saw on a trip into the centre of Tokyo. Our arrival was marred by our cab driver not having a clue where our hotel was located. Unknowingly his GPS took us to the rear staff entrance to the hotel which confused him and us but fortunately some locals on the street showed us the lane way to the front of the hotel. The second photo is the front of the hotel, and the following pictures show how close we were to the 3 levels of railway rushing around us. We noticed that several businesses had their own shrine for staff and passersby, and the first one below was immediately across the road from the hotel and alongside the Japanese version of a café – a drink dispenser. Note they also dispense Kirin Beer.

We obtained a tourist map from our hotel. We were checking the location of the dock for our departure on our cruise and became worried that the instructions as to the location of the dock for boarding our ship were somewhat vague – “Yokohama Dep. 4.00 pm”. Believing the dock was nearby, we took a walk to the waterfront. There was a considerable amount of renewal happening/being constructed underneath rail overpasses and vehicle expressways and in between the enormous city towers around us along the path to the waterfront. The photos below show the way in which the Japanese used all space available.

We made it to the dock but there was no sign of any ship terminal. Tugs and ferries but no cruise ships. We continued our search passing through wharf industries harbour side units and canals but no cruise ship terminal. Push bikes were popular even with the public transport available. As we returned to our hotel we were surprised by the architecture of one building: a domed area under an office tower. It proved to be a shopping centre at the base of an office block, but it seemed to be “dead” with no people activity inside the building. It seemed to be a cross between a plant hot house and a shopping centre. Not sure how successful it has been.

On returning to the hotel, we decided we would call our travel consultant and get the complete street address and directions for the dock. A very helpful consultant gave us an address (we were rather suspicious that the address said nothing of a terminal or dock number), but we felt assured that the instructions for the taxi would get us to our ship. Our concerns eased we took a ride by train into the city.

Tokyo has a rail ring road making it easy to get to the centre of town. We were looking for Tokyo’s highest building to get to the roof top for a grand view of the city and beyond – as the tourist literature promised. Getting to where we wanted to go was trouble free. Finding our destination from the train station not so easy. Passage ways, footpaths and aerial walk ways had us confused but we got there in the end. We found that building but to get to the roof top was ticket only access and all tickets for today were sold out. So, we took in the sites from ground level. That’s it 1st picture left to right.

When walking to our station to catch the train we walked past an open garage containing go-carts. No idea what that was about and there was no signage in English to inform us. So we were very surprised when we encountered go – carts full of jubilant tourists came rolling past us in the centre of the city. I have provided a photo below then follows a photo of the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing. As well as street level pedestrians there are pedestrians aloft – yes 3 storeys above ground and connecting everything. It is hard to find anything old world Japanese, but we found it in a restaurant with shrines in its front yard – what must that land be worth!

We had a burger in Hungry Jacks (very Japanese) and decided to explore further passing over a canal with houseboats and a new stretch of pedestrian and bike pathway and gardens on our way back to the hotel. The following day – “sailing day” – Kerry had spotted a large garden space on our map within walking distance and we thought we had time to explore a bit more.

The pictures below start with a different form of shrine to the one across the road from our hotel – an upright tablet with two temple urns beside it – then surprisingly our first cherry blossom tree in full flower. The park seemed closed at every entrance, so we traveled to the walkway 3 levels above ground for the view of the park. More than a park it is a religious sanctuary set out in traditional Japanese style. As the park seemed closed, we went in the opposite direction towards the harbour. The pictures show you the grand scale of these walkways. We passed a high school and its sporting fields and ended up on the harbour boardwalk with ferry terminals spaced along it and ferries plying the harbour and trains passing by. The buildings around us towered above and I have taken some photos of some of the more impressive. I was even able to grab a picture of the look-a-like Eiffel tower – the last photo but its a long way off.

We turned around and went back to where we had come form. I cannot recall what made us walk to the opposite end of the walkway, but I am glad we did so as we found the entrance to the park – there is a fee to enter and that explains the closure of all the other entrances. The photos below show you around the gardens. We were now pressed for time so we did not get to every point but we saw the cherry blossom grove in full flower with a traditional bride walking through and an Australian lass enjoying the sunshine.

We made our way back to the hotel and collected our suitcases. The receptionist called the cab driver and handed to him our piece of paper with the address for the cruise terminal – we thought – but our concerns were well founded. The address was the HQ of Holland America lines in Tokyo and the cabbie had no English-speaking ability and was completely oblivious as to where the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal might be. We have not had the need for using our phone for translation so we were left to go to charades to tell the cabbie what to do. He wanted to put us and our luggage on the street, but we insisted that he find out where to go and to his credit he did that by questioning every parking centre and hotel security he could find and struck it lucky.

Meanwhile I was on the phone abusing (politely) the HAL staff to find out where the dock was. My efforts seemed to be languishing but then the cabbie turned a corner, and the vessel MS Noordam was at anchor at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal. The cabbie thought that we would leave him alone if he dropped us off but we were still a kilometer from the ship so he endured found the road to the reception of the terminal gladly took my Yen 7,000 (should have been Yen 500 for a 15 minute trip but it was HAL fault for the misleading information – my complaint to HAL resulted in an apology and refund of the cab fare.)

Relieved we boarded the ship with a good story to remember this trip. However, we were soon to learn many other people had the same misfortune. We settled down and then we were shown to our stateroom, whilst we awaited our luggage there was some noisy bumping coming from the hall and I stuck my head out. The bloke in the adjoining cabin was bumping in with their luggage so I asked if he needed a hand, and an Aussie accent answered that he was right. This was Barry and his wife Sandi from Indooroopilly just arrived in their taxi from Yokohama – they had also been given a bum steer by HAL. From there and occasions where we shared a dinner table, we became acquainted and did quite a few things together. We still keep in touch with them – our next adventure was to be to Nudgee Beach but for reasons forgotten we ended up at Indooroopilly.

So the next and last leg of our adventure was about to commence. Read on as we relax on the high seas south of Japan to Taiwan and back again in my blog “THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – “TOKYO TO ABURATASU, PORT NARE AND PORT NAHA OKINAWA”.