British Isles Explorer Ocean Cruise
Day 7: Monday, April 13, 2026 - Deal and Dover, England
The day's statistics:
⛅ Weather: low 50s, overcast and drizzly
👟 Steps: Linda 12,550; Steve 14,656
At breakfast - after waking at 7:00 and getting ready for the day - we saw, though there is a large ferry ship
in the way - the famous white cliffs of Dover.
Our group, 7, was scheduled to depart at 9:15 for this morning's excursion called "Deal & Dover Castle".
The excursion guide was Jane, and our driver was Lynn.
As we began, we found out that Dover - one of the closest points to Europe - was merely 35 kilometers (21 miles)
from France.
The Dover castle, by land area, is the largest castle in the UK, with 20 foot thick walls, and a 75 foot tall tower.
We were driven through the town and out the other side, and to a parking area in the shadow of Dover Castle.
The bus pulled into the lot and we debussed in order to get some pictures of the castle. Most passengers did that,
and we also took a selfie.
Jane told us that there were two spots for good photos: the one we used for our selfie, and another on the other
side of the parking lot.
I thought this bird was black-and-white, but there is some blue in it.
There are separate tours - and an excursion - that provide visits inside the castle if one so chooses.
As the bus drove past the castle, we also passed St Mary sub Castro, a heavily restored Anglo-Saxon church located within
the grounds of the castle. Next to the castle is a Roman lighthouse, which is one of the best-preserved Roman structures
in the UK, dating back to the early 2nd century.
The 15 minute drive to Deal took us through some countryside.
We drove through the town to the waterfront area.
After arriving in the town center near the waterfront, we debussed for a bit of a foot tour.
In town, there was a building called the Timeball Tower, that was built in 1855. The timeball, like the Greenwich time
ball, fell for 15 seconds, at precisely 1:00 pm, triggered by an electric signal directly from the Royal Observatory.
This timing allowed the synchronization of "what time it was", especially helpful for sailors.
Our guided tour took us to and down the main street of the town.
It wasn't a very big town, but it was cute.
After the brief tour, we were set free for an hour - and had to be back on the bus at 11:15.
We needed to get some change as we only had a large bill. We stopped by the bank because, well, they have money.
(We didn't want to make a purchase for the sake of change either.) The teller told us that without an account,
they couldn't help. She pointed us to the post office around the corner and down the street a little.
We set off but couldn't find the PO. And it started raining a little. I pulled out the Google machine to see
where it was. It was... across the street. Mm hmm.
We got the change we needed and headed back out, knowing where we wanted ot go.
Right on main street was a library.
We like libraries because A) they are quiet, 2) they usually have wi-fi, and D) they have restrooms.
The visit to the library was only a half hour as we had to make our way to the bus.
Near the bus parking zone, along the waterfront, was a sculpture.
As the bus pulled away, I tried to get this mileage sign indicating how far away things are. They are usually something
like "X-hundred miles to wherever", but these were in the hundreds-of-yards distances.
It is riddled with pigeon poop, so it was very hard to read, but some of the markings are "Town Centre 300 yards",
"Timeball Tower 310 yards", "Deal Castle 750 yards".
The route back - now that we on the correct side of the bus - brought us back past the Deal Castle. We could
have visited the castle on our free time, but we wouldn't have had too much time there if we tried to.
The castle looks a bit like a rose when viewed from above. But we were in a bus on the ground.
Near the waterfront, where people can rent beachfront tiny hones, was a go-kart track.
There was a lifeboat house that is still in use.
Every coastal town has one of these. And this one is operated by volunteers.
We passed a couple more sights on the way back to the port.
After debussing, we passed through port security.
Someone - it wasn't me - was having a problem locating their boarding pass. After what seemed like five
minutes but was probably five minutes, it was located - in a pocket it shouldn't have been put.
We were finally granted passage.
At the top of the escalator and around the corner was a seating area.
After embarking, we grabbed a cup of coffee at the Living Room bar before heading to the cabin to drop off our
excursion items.
The only restaurant open for lunch is the World Café - so that's where we went.
We only had entrees so we could finish our anniversary cake.
From the 7th deck with the camera - instead of the phone (like above) - it was a little easier to
get a good quality picture of the white cliffs of Dover, even with the ferry still in the way.
We had learned on the excursion that the cliffs are calcium carbonate (similar to chalk). It is from the shells
and bones of sea creatures and took millennia to develop.
We decided to go into Dover after lunch.
The shuttle took people from outside the port terminal - next to the excursion busses - to one of two drop off
points: 1) in the middle of town, and B) near the Dover Castle.
Across the street from the bus drop off was St Mary's Church.
I plugged the Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery into the Google device and we headed off. We walked into
the town, past a restaurant, around the back, into a breezeway sort of passage, and entered the museum.
The clerk told us about the three floors, that the museum was free, and to have fun.
The first room contained some items that were found while local development took place.
Some of the artifacts included evidence that Roman's lived in the area for a while.
After view the artifacts on the first flow, we headed to the elevator to take it to the 3rd floor.
In this hallway section was a taxidermized lion.
The third floor - the largest of the three - had two wings separated by a hallway that had the elevator.
We proceeded to the boat side first because on display is what is considered the largest and oldest substantially
intact boats in the world as it dates from ~1550 BC, making it more than thirty-five hundred years old.
The boat was discovered when a section of roadway was being dug up and the crew stumbled upon this boat. A large
investment was made to salvage the vessel, and it had to be resubmerged in water after unburying it to protect
the wood from the air. Then the restoration process began and it was eventually put on display here.
(It's behind glass and I did the best I could to capture it - especially since it is 9.5 x 2.4 meters [31 x 8 feet]).
We reviewed more artifacts in the boat wing on the third floor.
This bear was in the hallway between the two wings.
The wing opposite the Bronze Age Boat wing had aviation and military related artifacts, including a number of model ships.
There was a device called the "Praxinoscope". This was used to simulate a moving picture - and for its time,
it was successful. While looking at a mirror, spin the spinner and watch the images go by. By today's standards,
it was very rudimentary. But for its time, it was rather impressive.
The second floor just had some miniatures on display. But having been to
The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures,
we weren't as impressed as would otherwise might have been. So we sort of passed through this section.
And it wasn't that long - just about an hour - before we were done with our tour.
We returned to the lobby to talk to a clerk about the Roman Painted House and were told that it was closed. She then suggested
visiting the Maison Dieu, the town hall with Gothic interiors and stained glass. But it may or may not have been open. And it
was at the far end of the street - in the other direction. After perusing the gift shop, we stepped outside.
We decided to not bother trying to go all the way to town hall in case it was closed.
So we headed back toward the bus stop. When we saw the sculpture in the middle of the plaza, we realized that we had walked
past that and around the back of the building we were now standing in front of. Oh well.
We made the couple block walk back to the shuttle bus pick-up spot.
Since we were early, we decided to pay St. Mary's a visit.
Surrounding the church was a plethora of old graves with aged headstones - one readable from 1836. And some flowers.
We walked along the one side of the church to the front - to find the doors locked.
Across the street from the church was "The Best Kabab & Pizza" - so you can choose whether you want Italian or Middle Eastern.
The shuttle bus pick-up spot was on the other side of the church, so we completed our loop around it, and waited for
the pick-up.
Unbeknownst to us at the time, the shuttle route back to the ship wasn't direct.
When the shuttle got started, I tried - but failed - to get a picture of the shop we passed. It was a Tattoo & Haircut place.
But a banner also included "Whether you want something taken off or put on".
After driving through town, we were driven to a pick-up stop near Dover Castle.
Then the shuttle returned to town and the stop near the church.
I got up and asked the driver if we should get off the shuttle or were we going to the ship. She said to stay on as we were
heading to the ship now.
The beginning of the afternoon was passed playing Pinocle in the lounge.
Then we decided to do some exploring - or, specifically, going to the Torshavn Lounge (for the pictures).
For an entire four week cruise on the Mediterranean, we didn't do the 4:00 afternoon tea.
On this cruise, on the second full day, we did.
Tea is served in the Wintergarden. We took seats in the same spot as the group did in the photo from yesterday.
Wintergarden is well appointed, with fancy woodwork above, and a small waterfall feature too.
While we enjoyed our tea and snacks, the resident classical duo performed too.
Linda had the Rose Petal tea, and I had the Strawberry tea.
Each pair (and assumedly solo travelers) gets a three tier server with scones, tea sandwiches such as cucumber and salmon,
and little pastries.
The tea and snacks were very good. And a little filling.
Time for a little more walking around the ship.
We came across a life preserver with the ship's name on it.
We made our way to the 9th deck where the games are. There shuffle board, lawn bowling (no bocci), ping-pong
(aka table tennis), and a small nine hole putting green.
Dinner time!
Once again we paid the World Café a visit for dinner. It is the third dinner on the ship and we've already eaten
dinner in the World Café twice - nearly matching how often we at there over four weeks on the last cruise.
While Linda's dinner was more restrained, I took advantage of the seafood on the buffet - do note that there ARE greens
on my plate... along with a king crab leg, some jumbo shrimp, and some seafood salad.
Somewhere - probably the cabin, but I'm not entirely certain - we were and I had the camera. And the ship was pulling
out of port. And we got one final view of the white cliffs of Dover - and this time there was no ferry!
I also happened to notice that there was a lighthouse on top of the cliff.
It was trivia again tonight.
We gathered in the Explorer's Lounge, sitting with Linda and Leo (NM). We didn't win, scoring 11 of 15.
As we chatted in the lounge, the sun began to set - at 7:45. Time to run to the window with the phone. It didn't
quite make it all the way down, but it was close enough.
As the ship continued on, it proceeded further offshore and then headed west. In the distance was France (which I thought I got
a picture of...). However, I do believe it is to the left of the setting sun above.
In order for the texting to work while we were at sea, we needed to have our cell phones on airplane mode and
connected to the ship's wifi. We realized that we needed to turn them on airplane mode as we were now leaving
port and no longer in cell range. Apparently, though, somehow, Linda's phone connected to a tower in France
because her phone's time was now an hour ahead of mine (and France's time zone is an hour ahead of England).
The time had come to retire to the cabin for the evening.
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