May 10, 2015
We were awake
at 7 when the announcement on the hallway speakers broadcast that we had
arrived at St. Peter Port, Guernsey and the tender boats would soon be ready to
take passenger to shore. On the ship’s closed circuit TV there is a morning
show that tells you the main events for the day. It is produced in the ship’s
TV studio and you can be a member of the audience. Another channel gives you the current weather
and the ship’s location. There are some American and British news channels. The
day is starting with cloudy skies, some wind and a temperature of 9 C. We went
for a two lap walk on deck 17 as we were a bit early to meet Peter and Karen for
breakfast. There is a huge 300-square foot, 69,000-watt movie screen on deck 17
that can be viewed from most of the pool deck 16 and deck 17. The audio is
broadcast on speakers on the two decks. You can even get popcorn to munch as
you watch the show. There are three new movies each day that can later be
ordered on the stateroom TVs later in the cruise. After breakfasting with Peter
and Karen, we met them to wait for the tender boats to ferry us to the St.
Peter Port pier. Steps 2,903. We checked at the Information Centre as to where
and when the Roman Catholic church service was held and then decided to explore
the town and area separately.
The Channel
Island of Guernsey is just 30 miles west of the Normandy coast of France and 75
miles south of the English south coast town of Weymouth. We ventured to find
the Guersey Tapestry, but the gallery is closed on Sundays. Then we walked to
the Nazi German Underground Hospital, in nearby St. Andrew. The walk took only
45 minutes. The German Underground Hospital built into the side of a hill
during the 1940 to 1945 German occupation of the island. It was built by slave labor, digging the rock
out and using it to build a flat roadway at the front, then pouring concrete in
the excavated area or using bricks to cover the rock to create caverns for
using as 28 to 30 bed wards or operating rooms for injured German soldiers or
as storage for ammunition. It is damp,
cool and has some lighting. It had three escape exits. Two were 75 feet and 40
feet ladders to the surface and there was also a stairway to the surface, as
well as the two camouflaged ground level entrances. It took 3 ½ years to build
and was only used for three months to treat injured German soldiers after the Allied
forces June 1944 D Day invasion of France. It was closed from noon to 2 pm so when
Peter and Karen arrived by bus shortly after noon it was closed. We took a 20
minute bus ride back into St. Peter Port and visited the Castle Cornet, about
half a kilometer from the pier. The temperature was 14 and the sun was shining when
we arrived at the 800 year old Castle Cornet which had additions to it in the
1690s after the 1672 lightning strike which caused a fire in the Inner Ward
which housed the ammunition storage, which explored and destroyed the center of
the castle. The last addition was in the
early 1940s when the Nazis added gun batteries. It houses five museums and was
a 20th century prison as well as in earlier times. We took pictures
including the 13th century Prisoners Walk. We walked back to the
pier in less than 10 minutes and browsed the Farmers Market on the pier. There were about 15 stalls with local produce
and crafts as well as cheese and wine from nearby France. We waited in a long
line for over 40 minutes for the tender boat transfer back to the ship. There was also a smaller ship, the Marco Polo,
in port, with its own tender boats. Once back n the Royal Princess we had lunch
with Peter and Karen in deck16’s Horizon Court buffet. At 3:15 the four of us went to a wine tasting
of five different wines. Before
returning to our stateroom to get ready for the first formal evening of the
cruise we stopped on deck 5 at the International Café for cappuccinos. The ship’s photographers have stations set up
on decks 5 and 6 and also took pictures of people at the dining room tables and
as couples. There was a special 50th Anniversary menu and as a
special item for Mother’s Day, the ladies were presented with a copy of the
menu. We selected as appetizers Risotto cakes or Porcin Mushroom Cappuccino Soup,
then entrées were Grilled Salmon with mashed potatoes and vegetables or Beef Fillet
Medallion with roasted potatoes and vegetables. The 50th anniversary
dessert was Chocolate Raspberry Mousse with Vanilla Brule and crunchy
shortbread. After dinner went danced at the Vista Lounge on deck 6 then met
Peter and Karen at the Piazza, but the New Deal’s 60s music set had not yet
started so we decided to go back to the stateroom and read. There was a Captain’s announcement that we
were passing Land’s End, England and entering the Celtic Sea which would have
stretches of rough water. Total steps for today 18,941.
May 9, 2015
Watching the
BBC news before breakfast, we learned that on VE Day 1945, the Channel Islands
were not surrendered until the evening and each of the three main islands was
surrendered individually. Our stop
tomorrow is in St. Peter Port, Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands in the
English Channel off the north western coast of France. Today is cloudy, windy
and a morning temperature of 12 C. We had a full English breakfast buffet in
the hotel dining room. We needed to have our luggage ready to be picked up to
be taken to the storage room until our ship transfer arrives at noon. Used the
tablet to send emails to as many people as we can remember that there will not
be any blog entries until the end of May when we return home. Ken and
Evangeline were introduced to the group, they had arrived in London after we
did yesterday. We were in the bus on our
way to Southampton just after noon. We
recognized some of the buildings near the hotel from our drive yesterday. A light rain started as we crossed the
Lambeth Bridge but had finished before we left Kensington. The clouds started
to ease as we got closer to Southampton. We arrived at the Southampton Dock
Gate 4 about 2:40 p.m. and after being sure that our luggage was on the
conveyor belt to the ship, we entered the terminal, registered, waited about 15
minutes for our number to be called to board the ship, Royal Princess, and were
in our deck 10 stateroom by 3:30 p.m. plus a bonus, the luggage was already
delivered. This the first time that the luggage has arrived in our room before
a life boat drill! This year Princess Cruises is celebrating its 50 year anniversary. The Royal Princess was launched in June 2013 with
a capacity of over 3,500 passengers. We were able to go to the Deck 16 Horizon
Court buffet for a quick lunch with Karen and Peter before the 4:15 mandatory life
boat drill. By 4:30, the drill was over, the quickest drill on any cruise ship on
which we have travelled. We then unpacked
and there were over a dozen hangars each and plenty of drawer room in the
stateroom. Our stateroom attendant, Michelangelo, introduced himself after the
lifeboat drill. The lights only come on when your cruise card is inserted in
the holder by the door. Our London hotel had the same system. There is a one
minute delay before they turn off when you remove the card. We were able to dance to the Rick Kilburn
Quartet in the three storey high Piazza atrium to several tunes before going to
the 6 p.m. dinner seating in the Allegro Dining Room with 12 of the group.
Karen and Peter had anytime seating in another dining room. Steps 8,723. Our
server is Jelena and the assistant waiter is Aurelio. Tonight for dinner we
chose for appetizers Red Snapper Mojito with a mint, mango and avocado mixture
or spring Rolls followed by a Watercress & lettuce salad or Caesar Salad. The
entrées were Crawfish Soufflé with rice and vegetables or Leek and Ricotta
Cheese Tart. The 8 o’clock show in the Princess Theatre, which is smaller than
in other ships which have with fewer passengers, was a preview of the next few
nights entertainment. The comedian, George Casey was quite funny. The cruise
director is Lisa Ball. After the show we explored decks 5, 6 and 7 where the
cafés, bars, casino and boutiques are located. We met up with Peter and Karen
and arranged to meet for breakfast and explore St. Peter Port in the morning. The
party band, New Deal returned to the Piazza for a 45 minute set of dance tunes,
so we danced with about ten other couples until they finished playing then
called it a night. Total steps for today 13,538.
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