Celtic Explorer Part 1

Plymouth Barbican courtesy of WikiVoyage

Once again, I am looking at cruises for 2016 before even going on my cruise for this year. I started by checking out the new itineraries on the Holland America Koningsdam, which will be new in 2016. It is the largest vessel HAL will build at 2,650 passengers. It has some wonderful itineraries including a Greek and Turkey itinerary. There is also a cruise that departs from and returns to Amsterdam, actually Ijmuiden - that does Iceland, Norway, Scotland and England. It is a great itinerary, but I keep getting drawn back to a cruise on the Prinsendam. The Prinsendam is Holland's smallest vessel and also its oldest. It was built in 1988, formerly known as the Seabourn Sun and the Viking Sun. More info on this Elegant Explorer can be found here on Wikipedia.

Plymouth Sound courtesy of WikiVoyage

The itinerary I am interested in is called the Celtic Explorer and goes to Antwerp, Guernsey, Isle of Scilly in the UK, and Dublin, Belfast, Donegal, Galway and Cobh (Cork) at Ireland. I have been searching for a land tour in Ireland and I just don't like bus tours. I don't mind day trips on the bus from the cruise ship, but bus tours spend too much time on highways on the bus ... and I end up packing and unpacking more times than I can count. 

To stay in nice places, the prices become cost-prohibitive. Mind you, the price for this cruise for a single in a single cabin is almost $5,000 dollars. But the beauty is the room is nice with an ocean view, the food is good and I unpack once and the ship takes me where I want to go.

Mayflower Steps at Plymouth courtesy of WikiVoyage

 This cruise is all about history, from the Mayflower steps at Plymouth to the last place the Titanic sailed before its fateful end. But the best part is it takes me to my family roots. Being a bit of a genealogy buff, I get to go to most of the places my family was from ... Dublin (my father's grandfather on his mother's side) and Donegal, Galway and Cork - from my father's father's side. 

Cobh Port entrance to County Cork

There is even a place to see a room on the Titanic at the Titanic Experience at Cobh.

Titanic Experience at Cobh Ireland

Celtic Explorer Part 2

St. Peter Port Guernsey courtesy of Fraser Hall/Getty Images

This is the 2nd part of my discussion on the Holland America cruise Celtic Explorer on the Prinsendam next August, 2016. The first port of call is St. Peter Port on the island of Guernsey. I had no idea it was so pretty, until I started looking for images. And also, who can resist a place where the first thing that comes to mind is a cow? Who doesn't love the Guernsey cow? I know I do. More information on the Guernsey cow can be found here.

Guernsey Cow

What I didn't realize until researching this port is that Guernsey is located in the Channel Islands between France and England. If this area is at all similar to the Normandy area that I went to on my cruise from Barcelona to Dover, I know I will love it. What is especially great about this cruise is that I would be going to ten places I have never been before. After having cruised quite a bit in the Med, I can't normally find one cruise that I haven't been to at least half the stops. 

Isles of Scilly courtesy of Wikipedia

The next stop will be St. Marys, Isles of Scilly - an archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall. The water looks amazing! Now this looks like God's country to me! Then on to Antwerp.

Cathedral at Antwerp

My thought was to revisit Brussels from our stop at Antwerp. I always promised myself I would make it back there. I loved it so much the first time. My post here on Gargoyles & Graffiti, "Brussels: Better than Brussel Sprouts" has some wonderful photos I took in 2011. I wanted to go back and visit some of the museums this time. But after seeing this amazing photo of the Cathedral area at Antwerp, I might just have to stay there. Decisions, decisions.