Yesterday was a last lazy sea day, hence no blog post. I’d fully intended to take in the morning cooking show and take the subsequent galley tour, but it wasn’t enough of a priority to make me set an alarm. As a result, I missed the event.

We did, however, show up on time for our 11:40 a.m. face-to-face UK Immigration check appointment on deck 6 in the Club 6 casino bar. Tap our Princess identification medallions, show our passports to the UK immigration officer, and done! Less than 90 seconds total. From now on I want to do all my immigration processes in a bar. Just sayin’.

In the afternoon I cheered along as part of the theatre audience for THE VOICE of the Ocean’s grand finale – complete with an amazingly authentic set including 3 judges in spinning chairs.

Then a “meet the entertainment cast” session, a bit of laundry, drinks, dinner, pre-packing for our departure in 2 days in England, and power vocalist Janine Johnson’s show (check out her rendition of Goldfinger, which Ted recorded) in the theatre.

Time to head to bed – ready for Cherbourg today.

---

We’ve cruised into some pretty amazing ports (Valetta Malta comes to mind Episode 218), but the descriptions I’d read of Cherbourg certainly intrigued me.

Tourisme Normandie gushes, “The outcrop of granite cliffs overlooking the port gives your approach to Cherbourg a dramatic aspect, and the great embrace of the harbour roads – they say – are equally impressive. On either side are spectacular sandy beaches and rocky inlets.”

Unfortunately we cruised in while it was still dark, but nonetheless the port itself is picturesque, with its Art Deco terminal designed by René Levavasseur. It was inaugurated on 30 July 1933 by Albert Lebrun, the President of the French Republic.

---

All of the available Princess excursions offered in Cherbourg were focussed on the American battle sites of Normandy, except for one to see the Bayeux Tapestry. We weren’t interested in the former (we’ve previously visited the Canadian site at Juno Beach), and we saw the latter on our Paris to Normandy river cruise in 2018 Episode 6.3 Ooh-la-la. Interestingly, the Bayeux Tapestry is also the featured decor in the main staircases of all of Viking’s ocean ships, so we’ve seen it a LOT.

So, what to do with a full day in port? The Normandy/Cherbourg tourism website offers the information that “It is possible to walk into town, … to get a flavour of the local markets and cobbled streets of the Old Town.” That sounded great. Plus, I had a priority: café au lait and a REAL pain au chocolat, with layers and layers of crispy pastry absolutely laden with buttery goodness. (No photo, but mission accomplished!)

So off we went to explore on our own…

---

---

---

In the centre-ville is Cherbourg’s “Italian” Theatre.

---

Napoleon’s Square located very near the port features a statue erected August of 1858, inscribed with Napoleon’s promise to bring all the marvels of Egypt to Cherbourg.

---

Cherbourg’s Basilique Sainte-Trinité exhibits a variety of styles, some original, and some that are post WWII repairs.

---

The bell tower chimes every quarter hour; we were inside when it tolled noon.

---

---

---

Every church we see has some things in common, but each one is also unique. While the painted plaster columns here reminded me of Matthias Church at Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest, these colours were more muted, and the designs less intricate.

---

---

---

---

And then there’s the historic Quay de France cruise terminal complex itself, the Cité de la Mer museum with its aquarium, collection of boats and submersibles, a Titanic exhibit, and the tourable nuclear submarine Le Redoutable.

---

We didn’t go in, but did walk around the exterior of the building and the sub! I peeked over the edge of the enclosure to see just how huge it was.

After returning to the ship, slightly chilled despite the sunshine, we had one final spectacular speciality cocktail in Good Spirits: the Starry Night in Oslo. I had so much fun during the cruise attending Niño’s mixology presentations.

Just watch this video of how Paul presented it!

---

One final dinner on board…

---

…and one final show in the theatre: the Regal Princess Farewell Variety Show, featuring the band, full production cast, guest entertainers Nadia Eide and Janine Johnson …

---

---

…and a really touching farewell to the senior officers and the crew (over 1300 from 64 countries, represented by about 150 of them onstage, waving the flags of their home countries). It was a lovely sendoff after a really lovely cruise.

---

---

Overnight we’ll change time zones again, this time going backward one hour, and by tomorrow night we’ll be in London, which was our main reason for booking this cruise!