August 19, 2007

We got up extra early 6:30 AM so that we could have a sit down breakfast (starts at 7:00AM) and then Karen could go to a meeting at 8:00AM and then we could get off the ship for our tour at 9:15.  As the waiter led us through the dining room to a shared table near the windows, we were thrilled to see Maureen and Truett with empty seats next to them!  We were brought right to their table.  Another couple joined us from Florida (originally Brookline, Massachusetts).  She talked a lot and he said nothing.  At 7:30 the captain announced that were anchored 2 miles off the coast of Ireland.  The winds were gale force, and he had decided not to try to dock because it was too dangerous.  This meant that we would have to wait till high tide came around again, at about 1:30PM, because the channel was not deep enough for us except at high tide.  We all took it well except for the Florida woman who complained bitterly.	We've been on eleven cruises, and this is the first time we have ever been delayed into a port!  But Ron, the saxophone guy, later told us that during his 3.5 months on the ship, this was the fourth port they had not been able to dock at on schedule because of weather.  The cruise staff put out a new version of the Patter with lots of additional activities.
So Lou took some pictures from the ship.  We were anchored 2 miles off shore, so close and yet so far.	We did dock successfully and all excursions (except for the dinner and Cabaret) were cancelled, and loads of busses were available to drive people into Dublin.
So we got lattes and watched people pile onto the busses to get into town. It was a 30 minute ride each way.  We could not get off because we had tickets to the dinner and cabaret -- and we would have just had time to ride into tow and then ride back to the ship!	Now we're on the bus headed for the dinner show, which is called Doyle's Irish Cabaret. Here we are driving along the River Liffey.
The streets were very quiet, because it was Sunday evening, our guide said.
	This looked like a lovely and romantic place to take a walk.
We had a good view of the stage.  It was not freaky and pink; don't know what happened to this photo.	Here we are at the dinner show!  Lou is in heaven because he has a Guinness.  Karen drank Diet Coke.
The show was excellent, well worth the price and well worth not being able to go into town that afternoon.   There were 7 dancers, 4 singers, a piano, an accordion, a fiddle, and one hysterical comedian.	Click here for a 16 meg QuickTime movie of a performance.
	The comedian.
They moved so fast that it was impossible to get a clear photograph of them!   The male dancer is 21, and the girls range from 12 to 17 years old.	This is the most clear photo we got.
	The comedian did two sets.  This is the second set.

 Go Home