20230503 Celebrity Silhouette cruise - Day 14/21 - End of the cruise, on to Paris

Celebrity Silhouette cruise day 14 - Paris, here we come!

Trip day: 14 / 21

This is the last day that will reference the Silhouette as we disembarked this morning.  We enjoyed one last really tiny shower, and a quick breakfast in the Oceanview Cafe, and we were off - literally, off the ship.

Let's talk about the cruise one last time - it was a nice cruise.  The crew as a whole was terrific.  Excellent service just about anywhere we went, smiling faces, desire to help - it was all there.  Some of the communication left something to be desired.  The food has taken a turn for the worse from Celebrity's heyday. Still, overall, we like Celebrity as a cruise line and will be cruising it again.  Before the cruise ended, we booked a 16-day adventure for 2024 to the Galapagos and Machu Pichu on the Celebrity Expedition.

As we left the ship, we headed for the ground transportation area.  Our driver was standing there with our name on a board. This was our first time using a driver like this, and it sure was fun seeing your name in the hands of a waiting driver.

He walked us to his vehicle - a brand-spanking new BMW 7 series.  Spacious and luxurious, it was a lovely way to make it from Southampton to London's St. Pancras Station.  Traffic coming out of Southampton was insane. Our driver said it was typical.  Wow.

Eventually, traffic let up, but as we approached London, it picked right back up again.  The last two miles took 20 minutes.  I can't imagine what it will be like in two days for the coronation.

We checked in and breezed through security and passport control.  Then we got inside the station.  Craziness again. People everywhere, seats nowhere.  We finally snagged two in back-to-back rows and ate a quick and overly expensive sandwich from Pret A Manger.

The station was organized chaos.  They don't know what platform the train will be on until it gets there.  they announce what platform as soon as it is time to board.    

Then, everyone makes a mad dash to the correct moving ramp that goes to the correct platform.  People, suitcases, strollers, you name it, it was all jammed in together.

When you get to the platform, you find your car and hoist your belongings onboard.  You stack your big bags in luggage racks near the entrance to the car. You place your carry-on bags on a shelf above your seat.  The seats on the right side of the train are facing forward, mostly, and the ones on the left face backward, again, mostly.  There are some facing seats with a table between them on each side of the train.  The seats themselves, while generously large, are set on a bizarre recline angle – at least ours were – and they were not adjustable.  They weren’t horrible, but it was odd.

The train ride itself was smooth and relatively quiet.  You get occasional updates on the overhead screens.

For the metric-challenged, that's 181 miles per hour!

Only about 20 minutes or so are spent in the Chunnel.  The rest is a mixture of above-ground and tunnel sections.  We departed right on time at 12:31PM UTC+1 (London time) and arrived at 3:47PM UTC+2 (Paris time) on the dot for a total ride time of 2:16.

We were traveling on a standard ticket.  There is a business-class rate that comes with more frills and I expect a nicer waiting room.  There is also a pair of food cars – cars 8 & 9 – where you can get food and drink.  We didn’t bother during the two-hour ride.

It was an interesting experience, but I’m not sure I’d do it again.  We’ve heard that there are pretty cheap flights as well.  We’ll see if/when the opportunity arrives.

Gare du Nord - the station in Paris

Once again, a driver was waiting for us with a name board.  He grabbed Arlona’s bags and we headed for his six-passenger transport van.  Paris traffic was nuts as well and he expertly bobbed and weaved us to our hotel.

 The Mercure Paris Bastille Marais will be our home for the next week. It is located on the east side of Paris in the Bastille district.

That's us at the purple "A"

There is a Metro station right outside our hotel.  It is about a 20-minute ride into the center of Paris so getting around will be easy.

We’re in room 801 on the top floor of the hotel.  

The room itself is nicely appointed and comfortable.

Who doesn't like a robe and slippers?

Of course, all the TV channels are in French so the TV won’t get much of a workout this week

The balcony is only large enough for two to stand

The shower isn’t much bigger than the one on the ship – there is a towel-warming rack behind the door

We’ll call this a modest closet

We discovered that the climate control is heat-only – no air conditioning.  That’s not a huge deal as we have the balcony open tonight and will likely do so tomorrow as well.  Then, the temps are expected to plummet to the 50s and 60s with rain.

We stopped at a place right around the corner from the hotel, The Le Roy.  We both opted for a burger – a specialty of the house, and it was delicious.

After dinner, we took a walk around the Bastille district.  The streets were crowded and every café was packed with Parisians enjoying beer or aperitifs.  Unfortunately, they allow smoking at outdoor cafés, and smoking is heavily practiced here. We likely won’t be stopping.

Place de la Bastille - the site of the former prison

Opéra Bastille

We enjoyed the weather and the walk.  It has been a long day so we headed back to the hotel.  We’ll be up early tomorrow for the Eiffel Tower and then a lunch tour with our friend and travel Agent Lisa.

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.