Thursday night was killer rough! You know it’s bad when a ship this big shakes and shudders for hours. I woke a little after 4, and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I was out on the balcony as we came in to Cobh around 6. We crept up the St. Charles channel at the mouth of the Lee River till we were dead stopped beside the dock. Before we could tie up, the Captain had to get the ship facing in the opposite direction. It was an amazing evolution – using only the azipods (google if you don’t know what they are) he literally pivoted the ship in the narrow channel, coming alongside with the bow facing out for a hasty departure. At one point, a tug did nudge against the stern on the starboard side of the ship, but mainly, Ruby came in unassisted. And I got to witness it!!
After breakfast, we went ashore in Cobh, bought a few gifts, then walked in the town. We climbed a rather steep hill to St. Colman’s Cathedral, took a bunch of photos, then headed back down to the waterfront via several side streets, just looking around. It started spitting rain as we got back to the ship.
After a quick lunch, we got ourselves together for our trip to Charles Fort and Kinsale. Honest to goodness, I don’t know how they squeeze those massive busses thru those narrow streets, but they do. We had a quick talk at the fort, and we had a little time to walk around. Then back on the bus for a quick ride to the town of Kinsale, where we just wandered around, looking in shop windows and taking photos for about an hour. Then back on the bus for a ride back to Cobh in Friday rush hour traffic. We arrived just before 5:30, which is when the ship was supposed to leave. That’s the advantage of taking a ship-organized excursion – they won’t leave without you. So yay!
After a quick clean-up, we headed to the DaVinci Dining Room. We dined with 2 other couples – one from Scranton, the other from somewhere in Kentucky, and had some fun conversations. Much nicer than our first dinner with the group of lumps. And we finished dessert just in time to head for the theater for the Fireworks on 4 Strings concert.
Once again, an amazing performance!! I even bought a copy of Chris Watkins’ CD which he autographed. He said he performs on 30-40 cruise ships a year, and he’ll be getting off in Liverpool tomorrow. Then next week, he’ll be making the crossing on a ship bound for Boston. Ah, the exciting life of a performer!!
So, clutching my CD to my heart… OK, not, since the ink was still wet, anyway, back to the cabin to get comfy and get ready for bed. We had chocolates waiting on our pillows – this cruise line is a class act!
Mom is crashed as I write this, and I’ll be crashing myself shortly. We’re not supposed to get to Liverpool till 1230 on Saturday – the tidal range here is pretty big, and we need to transit when there’s enough water. Our excursion is for 1:30, and if we’re not too exhausted, we may explore Liverpool when we get back.
Meanwhile, I need my beauty sleep. MWAH!!