Reflections on Our Family British Isles Cruise, June 24 - July 10, 2023

Burt and Marlene Braunius, Stephen, Lisa, and James Braunius; Danny and Petra Gonzalez

Following is a day-by-day summary based on the notes and Facebook postings of Lisa Braunius along with my own comments and edits.

Day 1: Saturday, June 24

After an 8-hour flight from Detroit, we landed at Heathrow Airport, where we took the London Underground to Victoria Station. From there we walked to our motel, Comfort Inn Victoria. By around 3:00 PM (London time), we were on a double-decker, hop-on-hop-off bus to see the city’s highlights (Big Ben, London Bridge, Parliament Buildings, Westminster Abbey, etc.), and finally, a boat ride down the Thames River.

Day 2: Sunday, June 25

Our previous day's bus tour did not go past Buckingham Palace. So, at 6:00 AM, on a beautiful, quiet sunny Sunday morning, we hiked to the Palace from our hotel and got some great cloudless and crowd-less pictures. After breakfast, a coach took us from London to Windsor Castle, where we saw St. George Chapel and marching royal guards. From there we were transported to the Southampton Cruise Terminal to board the Regal Princess, our home away from home for the next 12 days, for a 5:00 PM departure.

Day 3: Monday, June 26

We arrived in the Channel Island, St. Peter’s Port ,in Guernsey, England and took a tender into the town. We hiked to the Underground Military WW 2 Museum (all uphill, especially when your map app brings you to the topside of the museum, but we all got our steps in).

There was a lady we read about, Mrs. Warren Caine, who spoke “Heil Churchill” and was then sentenced to 4 months imprisonment by the Nazis. She became known on the island as Mrs. Churchill. We had a formal night for our dinner and enjoyed a musical show.

Day 4: Tuesday, June 27

Our next stop was Port of Cork, Ireland, where we visited the Blarney Castle and Kinsale were the places we visited. Marlene and Lisa walked the beautifully-manicured grounds of Blarney Castle, while the rest of the group climbed the Castle tower and kissed the Blarney Stone. We then traveled to the quaint town of Kinsale and had the most incredible fish and chips at Kitty O’Shea’s. This is such a beautiful country with green rolling hills dotted with happy cows and sheep in the fields.

Day 5: Wednesday, June 28

Dublin, Ireland was the next port of call. Burt and Marlene stayed on the ship to rejuvenate from the intensity of the previous days. Stephen, Lisa, Petra, Danny, and James took a train into the city and had a bit of rain, but it did not prevent them from thoroughly enjoying the city. They visited Trinity College, Christ Church Cathedral, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), the author of Gulliver’s Travels, preached at St. Patrick’s and was known for his 4-hour sermons. He had his pulpit put on wheels and would have himself wheeled up to people who were sleeping.

Day 6: Thursday, June 29

Back in England, we were at the port of Liverpool, the birthplace of the Beatles. We had been immersed in their music over the previous few days with evening productions on the ship. In Liverpool, we all went to stroll through “The Beatles Story,” an interactive experience about their beginnings and the evolution of their music and their lives.

Then we hopped on a double-decker bus and explored the city of Liverpool, saw James Street, along with several churches and beautiful architecture. The evening show aboard ship was a hilarious British comedian. People often arrived late to the shows, so this comedian called out to one of the latecomers, saying, “Can I get you anything…..like…..a watch!?!” Another good day!

Day 7: Friday, June 30

Belfast, Northern Ireland and the Giant’s Causeway were on our agenda for today. We left the ship and took a bus through the most beautiful landscape of rolling hills, green meadows, and rock walls. Sheep and cows were grazing in lush fields. The Causeway is a UNESCO site, comprised of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns. Burt and Marlene took a shuttle, while the others hiked down to the shore and walked around on the columns. We then stopped for lunch in a little town, where we had our takeaway fish and chips. We ended the day with dinner together, at which time the ship's multicultural staff sang a rousing rendition of happy birthday to Steve (3 times…a little slower each time, yes, he was blushing). What a gift to have this dinner time each day where we share pictures, stories, and memories!

Day 8: Saturday, July 1

Scotland is another beautiful country. Our trip brought us to Glasgow. We started with the Glasgow Cathedral, the burial place of St. Mungo and also a memorial to John Knox. This former Roman Catholic cathedral was converted to and remains today a Presbyterian church. The second stop of the day was the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. One of its famous paintings is "Christ of Saint John of the Cross" by Salvador Dali.

July 1 is the day for the annual Orange Walk. The Orange Walk is a public parade organized by the Orange Order, an exclusively Protestant fraternal organization, celebrating the victory of the Dutch Protestant Prince William of Orange over the English Catholic King James, on July 12, 1690 at the Battle of the Boyne. There were many parades throughout the city that we were able to see and experience; obviously, this was a politically controversial event. 

The day ended with a double rainbow.

Day 9: Sunday, July 2

Today was a day at sea. We worshipped with our Fellowship Church family online, rested, relaxed, and had a special dinner on the ship at its Italian specialty restaurant, Sabatini’s.

Day 10: Monday, July 3

Our port was Invergordon, Scotland. Our bus tour traveled to Loch Ness, where we boarded a boat in search of Nessie. The views were breathtaking, from the rocky shoreline to the deep, dark water. This Loch is 22 miles long, one mile wide, and 750 feet deep in the middle. The weather was cold, windy, and rainy. We braved riding in the upper level of the boat for a short time, but then we gladly moved to the warmer inside seats. But, alas, no Nessie sightings!

We also explored St. Andrews Cathedral, still a very active church, including children’s activities and programs for seniors. Knitted mice were displayed throughout the church, part of a scavenger hunt for kids, which made us smile as we walked through the church's interior.

Day 11: Tuesday, July 4

A tender took us from our ship to the port, where we then boarded a bus into Edinburgh, Scotland. As we made our way into the city, we saw Princess Anne go by in an escorted motorcade. We found out that King Charles and Queen Camilla were scheduled to be in town the next day. Preparations included blockade gates and businesses painting their signs in order to get the city ready for the royal visit.

This was another historic and magnificent city. Some of us spent time at the National Museum of Scotland (Molly, the first cloned sheep, is stuffed and on display), while the rest of us enjoyed walking the streets and exploring the city. We learned that the architecture of public buildings, schools, and castles provided Edinburgh native J.K. Rowling's inspiration for the buildings in the Harry Potter series. The city is also the resting place of the body of John Knox.

Day 12; Wednesday, July 5

This was our second and final “at sea” day. We were nearing the end of the cruise. We welcomed the time to sleep in, kick back, and begin packing.

Day 13: Thursday, July 6

Our final stop was the port of Le Havre, France. From here, we boarded a bus to tour the landing beaches, cemetery, and visitor center of the Normandy invasion area. It was an overwhelmingly somber, yet rich, experience to walk the ground where 10,000 servicemen died, to be among the thousands of white crosses, and to view the artifacts of a war in which so many lives were sacrificed for the freedom that we enjoy today. Our last stop was Omaha Beach with the Le Braves Sculpture embodying "Wings of Hope," "Rise. Freedom!," and "Wings of Fraternity."

Days 14-17: Friday - Monday, July 7 - 10 

The ship returned to Southampton, and we disembarked by 7:30 AM for transfer to Heathrow Airport. Our plane left on time for JFK Airport and a connecting flight to Detroit. At JFK, however, we discovered that our flight to Detroit had been canceled due to "potential storms." The only next available flight was Sunday, July 9. This meant a two-night layover in New York City. We were able to get a Comfort Inn in the vicinity of the airport. Stephen, James, Petra, and Danny used the delay to explore NYC. Lisa, Marlene, and Burt stayed at the hotel to rest. 

On Sunday, we got to the airport and onto the plane, but the plane was not permitted to leave because of "weather issues." We sat on the runway for two and a half hours before returning to the terminal with instructions to take our bags with us. Finally, after hours and hours of exploring options (including two rental cars) with little success, our plane was finally cleared to board at around 7:00 PM. We eventually took off at 9:30 PM, arriving in Detroit near midnight, then driving back to Holland and getting home at 4:30 AM on Monday.

 We say, "Thank you, Lord, for an incredible, epic, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime rich family- shared experience!" 

Each of us concluded that we would do it all over again in a heartbeat!