Day 14 - Sat - 11/15/2025 - Portland & Weymouth

 We arrived at 7am in Portland. England at 7am but that was too early to get up, plus nothing would be open.  We slowly got ready and enjoyed a lingering breakfast before gathering our things and scanning off the ship.  For once there was not a long walk off the pier.  In fact the city provided a fleet of double decker shuttle buses that made two stops: The Portland Castle and the neighboring town of Weymouth. It's aptly named because it's at the mouth of the Wey River.  I wish more cities would recognize the brilliance of these free shuttles.  


We got off at the first stop at 9:45am and the castle was not yet open.  So we walked down the street to the DDay museum.  Even though it was a small museum it was wonderfully curated with many volunteers.  Many boats and ships left from the Portland Harbor to heady for Normandy on June 6. 1944.  It's a very hands on museum and I held a number of the firearms and sat in vehicles.  After over an hour we left and walked over to the Portland Castle which was built by Henry VIII. There is a great audio guide which made touring the castle (former fortress) very enjoyable.  The castle was specifically opened because the cruise ship was in town.  We're one of the last to visit for the season.

 














We then hopped on the shuttle and rode it the 6 or so miles to the edge of downtown Weymouth.  We then walked into downtown.  Suddenly my camera messaged me that it was out of memory.  I inquired of a shop keeper as to where I might find a memory card.  He directed us to a nearby supermarket where I found one plus some nuts.  We then continued our walk in town, ate some fish & chips, and continued walking the core shopping area before making our way back to the shuttle pickup point for a ride back to the ship.  

         Sailaway singers

Back on the ship, we skipped dinner and found seats for evening show which was an Adele tribute singer, Becky Porter who was very good.  Afterwards we returned to the stateroom to attempt to plan the next day's activities in Cherbourg.  I stayed in the room while Angela went to her customary karaoke time.  I was well prone in bed by the time she returned.  This night our clocks were being advanced one hour to correspond with Cherbourg time.

And with that our day was over. They're going by so fast.

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