20230502 Celebrity Silhouette cruise - Day 13/21 - serious history - Normandy

Celebrity Silhouette cruise day 13 - Le Havre, France - traveling back in time to Normandy

Trip day: 13 / 21

 Today is the last full day of the cruise along with being the longest day of activity we have had on this trip.  Our 10.5-hour excursion took us to Juno Beach - the main site for the Canadian involvement in the D-Day landing - plus stops in towns like Courseulles sur Mer and Arromanches, a drive-by at Gold Beach, and stops at Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc.  It was a busy day.

I am not going to present a history lesson here.  Omaha Beach was the main site for the US invasion on D-Day.  Pointe du Hoc is where 225 US Army Rangers scaled a 90-foot bluff and took out a major German installation.  Only 90 survived.  I will share photos of what we saw.  You can always Google D-Day and get the full history.

Le Havre is a busy commercial port. Even with that, there were three cruise ships in port today – the Aida Prima, a Mein Schiff ship, and us.  Still, things went smoothly and we departed on bus #15 at 9am, right on schedule.

The port has a major wind turbine operation.  Blades, rotors, and risers were everywhere.  It is amazing how big these things are.

It took about two hours to drive to our first stop at Juno Beach.  There is a relatively new museum dedicated to the Canadian soldiers that fought here on D-Day.

Germans put these in the water so they were hidden during high tide to stop ships from approaching

A bunker

Juno Beach

Of course, Arlona checked out the English Channel water

We continued on, driving by Courseulles sur Mer and Gold Beach, ultimately stopping in Arromanches for some free time and lunch.

Rapeseed (canola) fields

The Allies built two make-shift ports during the D-Day invasion by first sinking merchant vessels and then sinking these concrete blocks to form a break wall.

Part of a floating bridge

Overlooking Arromanches

More of the concrete blocks in the water

We enjoyed tasty crepes with Nutella and whipped cream for lunch.  One issue we had was regarding lunch.  We specifically asked the excursion desk whether lunch was included.  They checked and said yes, lunch was included on this tour.  It turns out that it was not.  I’ve said it before – it’s the little things that tarnish an experience.  The money isn’t the factor, it is the fact that we asked and were given bad information.

After Arromanches, we headed to the Normandy American Cemetery.  It is an amazing place and extremely respectful of the sacrifices that were made on that day.

Omaha Beach from the cemetery

The cemetery is divided into sections. If you want to find a marker, they provide assistance and direct you to a section, row, and location

Even in the solemn atmosphere, nature finds a way to make you smile

Next, we made the short drive to Omaha Beach – the site of the major US effort in the D-day invasion, along with efforts at Utah Beach and Point du Hoc.

The beach at low tide is huge.  Imagine storming across this as you face relentless gunfire from above.  It is unfathomable.

Our final stop was Pointe du Hoc – a 90-foot bluff that Army Rangers scaled to knock out German guns.  The place is littered with abandoned bunkers and bomb holes up to 20 feet deep.

Finally, it was time for the 2.5-hour return trip to the ship.  Of course, we hit rush hour, so it was slow going but we made it back before 7:30pm.  We did catch this unusual sculpture just outside Le Havre.

We hit the Oceanview Café for a quick dinner before packing the suitcases.  We’ll have a quick top-off tomorrow morning with last-minute items to pack.  We hit up the Martini Bar for a couple of last rounds.  At least we get an hour back tonight as we’ll flip back to London time at UTC+1 tonight.  That will make tomorrow morning easier.

A trip like today’s really makes one think.  The incredible coordination of the D-Day invasion, the mistakes that could have derailed it all, the lucky accidents that went the right way – if anything happened differently, the world today would be a very different place.  And the thousands that made the ultimate sacrifice that day must always be remembered for what they did for the world.

Tomorrow, we disembark, head to London, and then to Paris for a week.