07-02-2023 High Seas, High Winds, and a Tiny Port, Visiting Bantry, Ireland

Beautiful Bantry Bay with scallop traps floating on the water

It took some time and a bit of research before we figured out what all these black floating things were.  That research led us down a rabbit hole of information about scallop and mussel farming in this part of Ireland and the effects on the salmon industry.  Many of the articles were from the early 2000’s so I assume the environmentalists backed down and the beneficial economics of a good industry for this part of Ireland won. 

If you look at the map of our cruise route around the southern edge of the Republic of Ireland, you will see that even though Cobh and Bantry might be more than 100 sea miles apart, they are quite close together on land.  This might explain why the shore excursions for Bantry were very limited and didn’t entice me to purchase one when we planned our outings for this cruise.  Much of what was offered was similar to excursions offered the previous day from Cobh.  In addition, departures were very early for a few hours touring the countryside in a bus with few stops.  

Bantry looked quite beautiful in the early morning light as we cruised in the picturesque Bantry Bay.  The winds were blowing and the seas were still quite rough.  In fact, the previous night I took my first meclizine tablet to be certain that I didn’t get seasick.  I had a prescription for the scopolamine patch, but really wanted to avoid them if possible.  It turns out that I never needed the patch during the entire cruise for which I was grateful.

As we watched the tenders rocking and rolling on their way to the port, we were very happy that we hadn’t signed up for anything.  Our plan was to take our time, and perhaps ride a tender into town later in the day to explore a bit.  Reading up on the sights to be seen in Bantry, we weren’t very impressed with the possibilities available to us on foot. Later that evening we learned that the tenders had a very difficult time getting back to the ship that afternoon, with some trips taking more than 90 minutes while they tried to line up with the ship for the passengers to return.  The ship was a couple of hours late departing the port that evening as well. 

The bay is deep and large, with one of the longest inlets in southwest Ireland.  There are several islands in the bay where there are small villages and a castle.  There was no way to see these islands without more time than we had to spend.  Whiddy Island is at the head of the bay and is the main petroleum terminus for Ireland, with the harbor suited for large oceangoing tankers.  The historic Bantry House and gardens are high on a hill overlooking the town.  There is a rope walk that leads along the shoreline for a few miles that would have offered dramatic views, but I wasn’t sure I could manage that kind of hike. The town has a lively Friday market, pubs, restaurants, and some shopping.  However, it was Sunday, and we were warned that most establishments might be closed.  The Currents newsletter offered daily on the ship touted the lively nightlife and music in Bantry that echoes through the summer night.  Not an option for us, since we were sailing at 5pm.

Even with the strong winds, it was a perfect day to stay on the ship with time to explore more of the nooks and crannies tucked away on the different decks.  After breakfast, we tackled one of my favorite things to do on a ship, get to the very topmost deck for the views.

This time around, we stopped to play 9 holes of miniature golf.  The game involved much laughter because the combination of the rocking ship and the high winds made predicting where the balls might go impossible.   The winds even blew the balls several feet away from their intended course.

We saw the cute little pickleball court but weren’t the least bit inclined to play after our bout with the winds for our golf game.

By lunchtime, we had enough of the wind and rolling seas and decided to explore the several lovely spaces available to us.  We were especially impressed with the library.

Just two of the six well-appointed rooms of the ship library

The game room was enticing as well, with comfy chairs and four square top tables for games.  There were all sorts of games in the cupboards.  We actually found several Dowdle puzzles, one of our favorite brands, and before the cruise was over managed to complete a 500-piece puzzle of the Bahamas.  It was a relief to discover the puzzle as we had left it when we returned the next day to finish it.

On another afternoon we played cards in the room of the library in the photo above when we found all four tables of the game room in use.  It might be a good idea to convert one of the library rooms to a game room in my opinion.

We explored the Horizons Lounge, where afternoon tea at 4 is an elegant affair, with scones and little sandwiches.  Sadly, we never made it to afternoon tea on this short cruise, with too many choices taking our time.

Mo and I are not night people, preferring the early mornings, so we never made it to the nightlife affairs of music and dancing that are held after 11 PM in this lovely lounge.

Instead of going to “tea” on this day aboard the ship as we originally planned, Mo and I napped a bit and prepared for an exciting evening of dining and another great production show.

One of my favorite photos of Mo from our cruise

Our reservation for Toscana, the Tuscan-style restaurant on the 14th floor, was for 6:30.  I planned that hour specifically for dinner so that we would have plenty of time to eat before the 9:30 production show. 

Dinner was every bit as wonderful as I expected, without the tiniest imperfection in the food or the service.  Mo had a Tuscan-style filet and I enjoyed a treat that I only eat once every decade or so, Osso Bucco.  Don’t remind me that I am eating a baby cow.  Please.  It was perfect, as was Mo’s steak.  

We loved the fancy Italian-style breads but the favorite of the evening was the rolling cart loaded with some of the finest olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars that Italy has to offer.  I found one that was very similar to the treasured bottle I brought home from Italy in 2018 and have yet to replace.  Drizzled in the olive oil for bread dipping, and over my delicious roasted veggie salad was a bit of heaven.  

Oh, I mustn’t forget my second course of pasta carbonara, possibly the best thing I ate on the entire cruise.  A truly epic dinner at a lovely table with a view of the Atlantic Ocean as Riviera departed the Bay of Bantry.

Our sea day aboard the ship ended perfectly.  We were well rested and ready for the next three days of the cruise, with an excursion booked for each of those days.