Our Magical “Welcome Back” 11-Night Northern European (Norway, Iceland, Scotland) Cruise ~ w/ pics ~ August 2022 ~ Completed 10/09!

[disneyfaninaz]

Day 15 Continued.

The Grand Shaft. This is a triple helix staircase built in the early 1800’s through the cliffs to get troops to the beach quickly in case of evasion.



This is a statue of Admiral Ramsey who spearheaded Operation Dynamo, the Dunkirk rescue operation, from the tunnels underneath Dover Castle.





There was a huge line for the tunnel tour, but we had already decided not to go down into the tunnels. DH is tall and is not comfortable in tight, close quarters.







After a couple of hours of touring and a very early breakfast, we headed towards lunch. Glen took us to a beachside restaurant in Dover.







Not quite sure what this is.



We had fish and chips and enjoyed it very much.

After lunch, we headed towards Canterbury. After we arrived and found parking, we started walking through the town.



St. Thomas of Canterbury Roman Catholic Church.





Then we arrived at the Cathedral. There was a bit of line to buy tickets, so I quickly when online to purchase them and bypassed the line.















The Martyrdom, the memorial to St. Thomas Becket.













To Be Continued. . .

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Day 15 Continued.

The residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury.



The Water Tower was built in the 12th Century. It piped in water through lead pipes from a spring outside of Canterbury so the monks could bathe.



The cloisters.







Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.



After touring the cathedral, we continued our tour of the town.











It was time to head towards London, via Greenwich.



Glen and I had a very interesting conversation on the way to London about the monarchy and the prime minister situation. At the time, BoJo, as they call Boris Johnson in London, had resigned but the replacement had not been announced yet. I got a very interesting civics lesson on how the Prime Minister is elected. Anyway, we got talking about the royal family, especially Harry and Prince Andrew. We also talked about what name Charles might take when he ascended to the crown. Not realizing that it would be a mere days later that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would pass. Charles III was not what he expected.

We also got a lesson about the Congestion Tax placed on vehicles that enter certain zones within the city at certain times of the day. It is 15 pounds per entry. We were about 8 minutes shy of missing the congestion tax by the time we entered the city. There is also a 5 pound drop off charge at the airport for every car that drops people off, each time, not per day.

We were then dropped off at our hotel next to Westminster Bridge. We got checked in and went up to our room.

This was the view from our room. The last time I saw the tower, recently named the Elizabeth Tower, it was covered in scaffolding. Unfortunately, Big Ben was not chiming.



Next: Best laid plans and all that.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Loved your Scotland days! I really wish they were going there in 2023 but apparently the Dream is to big to dock in Kirkwall. I’m a big outlander fan and have read all the books I feel like Scotland deserves it’s own trip. I hope you DNeighbor recovered quickly what a bummer! We will be on the magic this summer first cruise I’ve booked for the ship rather than itinerary.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Loved your Scotland days! I really wish they were going there in 2023 but apparently the Dream is to big to dock in Kirkwall. I’m a big outlander fan and have read all the books I feel like Scotland deserves it’s own trip. I hope you DNeighbor recovered quickly what a bummer! We will be on the magic this summer first cruise I’ve booked for the ship rather than itinerary.

Thanks! Years ago DCL did a British Isle cruise that pretty much circled the island and had a couple more Scotland stops. I can't wait to go back to Scotland! You'll love the Magic!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Days 16 and Beyond
August 29 – September 3, 2022
London, England

Well, we made it through the cruise and arrived in London. This is when the wheels came off!

Remember back on my Day 3 post that I said I had avoided Covid, well it final caught me.




I tested positive for Covid on Monday morning. The rest of our DNeighbors tested positive Monday evening. DH did not test positive and had the best time in London touring the Churchill War Rooms, the Horse Guard Museum and the Imperial War Museum. Things he didn’t do on our last trip in 2018.

Our original plan was to spend Monday in London. DH and I were going to tour Buckingham Palace and the gardens. On Tuesday, we were going to fly to Edinburgh and tour that area for a few days before heading home on Saturday.

Needless to say, our Edinburgh plans got shot out of the water. Our Edinburgh guide would not tour us with Covid, obviously, and the hotel would make us isolate. Fortunately, we were able to cancel London tour tickets, Edinburgh flights, Edinburgh hotel and Edinburgh tours and extend our hotel stay in London.

The worst part of Covid for me was just the exhaustion the first 2 days. Other than a loss of appetite, I didn’t suffer from a sore throat or extreme stuffiness. It was just a cold. After spending a couple of days cooped up in a hotel room, I felt well enough to go out and walk a bit. DH and I, masked up, walked to Westminster Bridge and took some pictures of Parliament and The Elizabeth Tower with Big Ben. We walked to the London Eye and found a place with outside dining for lunch.



It was so nice to be able to see the famed tower. When we were in London in 2018, the entire tower was covered in scaffolding.



The London Eye.



The next day, I was feeling even better, so, masked up, DH and I walked over to Buckingham Palace, up The Mall, over to Horse Guards Parade and through Horse Guards Tunnel. Little did we know that a couple weeks later, the Queen would take the same route on our journey to Westminster Hall.

I like how they returned the clock to the blue color.



St. James Park.





Buckingham Palace. Little did we know that just over a week later, London would be in mourning for the Queen.

The Horse Guards Parade.



We caught the changing of the horse guards.





We walked through the tunnel to Whitehall. Looking back to Trafalgar Square.



We found some lunch and ate it in the Victoria Embankment Garden before heading back to the hotel.











To Be Continued. . .

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Days 16 and Beyond Continued.

On Friday, we bought tickets for one of the Thames river cruises up to Greenwich. Again, I was masked up and we sat on top of the boat outside. However, I was amazed at how many people were not wearing masks. So, I probably stood out.

St. Paul’s Cathedral.



The Shard.



The Tower of London.





The HMS Belfast.



Tower Bridge.



We arrived in Greenwich.







We had lunch at Zizzi’s.





The Old Royal Naval College.



We made our way back to Westminster. The Monument to the Great Fire of London.



The Shakespeare Globe Theater. Fun fact, it’s the only building in London allowed to keep its thatched roof.



The Tate Modern Museum.



The Westminster Palace Parliament from the water. The red awning represents the House of Lords. The green awning represents the House of Commons.



We made the best of our extra time in London. But, based on recent events, it would have been really nice to have seen Edinburgh and visit the venues that played such an important part of the Queen Elizabeth II’s final journey.

We flew home on Saturday. We had absolutely no problems with Heathrow and all of our luggage, including our carry-ons, which we checked, made it home too!

However, DH finally came down with Covid the minute we got home! We have since all recovered from our bouts of Covid. I’m thankful we were vaccinated and double boosted.

All and all, it was a wonderful cruise and we loved all of the destinations that we saw. I was not as enamored with the cruise staff as I have been in the past. But to be honest, I’m sure that they are all totally worn out due to the pandemic and short staffing. I was also disappointed in the lack of onboard activities that I have seen in the past. I hope our transatlantic cruise next year will be a better onboard experience. We are looking forward to being on the Dream for the first time.

Thank you for reading. I hope this report helped those who are planning a similar cruise in the future.

Until my next trip report from our Baja Cruise in 2023, stay safe and cruise on! See ya real soon!