Holyroodhouse Palace and Stirling Castle are both in Scotland. They both have historic importance and have been royal residences for centuries. However, the two present quite different visitor experiences.

To begin with, Holyroodhouse is located in Edinburgh whereas Stirling Castle is in the countryside not all that far from Glasgow. Thus, a visit to Holyroodhouse is an urban experience, something that you can do as part of a day in that rather unique city. Stirling Castle requires a drive through some pretty countryside from where the cruise ships dock in Greenock. Although there are other things to see nearby, the castle is the focus of the journey.

Stirling Castle sits majestically on top of a stone crag. Perched on essentially vertical stone cliffs dominates its surroundings. Holyroodhouse lies in a valley. Overlooking it is the enormous rocky crag Arthur's Seat, part of an extinct volcano.

Architecturally, most of the buildings at Stirling date from the Renaissance. The palace building that we see today at Holyroodhouse reflects the Baroque style of the time of Charles II, although there are sections which are much older.

Both palaces were important in the life of Mary Queen of Scots. She was crowned at Stirling and spent her early life there before she went to France to marry the heir to the French throne. She came to Holyroodhouse as a widow and some of the most important events of the later part of her turbulent reign occurred there including her two subsequent marriages as well as the murder of her private secretary, which was carried out in her presence.

After King James VI became King James I of England as well, royal interest in both palaces declined precipitously. Eventually, Queen Victoria revived Holyroodhouse as a royal residence. Stirling Castle was allowed to become first a prison and then a military base.

This history has an impact on what you see at the two palaces. Holyroodhouse, as the official residence of the monarch in Scotland, contains items of art and furniture from the Queen's collection, many of which have been at Holyroodhouse for centuries. At Stirling, most of its royal contents were dispersed after the royals moved elsewhere. However, as a result of a 12 million pound restoration project, the Royal Palace has been returned to its Renaissance look with high quality replicas of the art and furniture.

As a functioning royal residence, Holyroodhouse is not just a museum. People live there and it is used for other things. Consequently, like Windsor Castle in England, it has the feel of a living enterprise. Stirling Castle is essentially a museum. However, to bring it to life, the Royal Palace has guides who while dressed in period costume and assuming the identity of members of the court of James IV tell the story of the Palace. It is not only educational but entertaining.

Beyondships' article with photographs on visiting Holyroodhouse Palace is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination-scotland-holyroodhouse.html Our illustrated article on visiting Stirling Castle is at http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination---scotland---stirling-castle.html

Cruise destination Venice, Italy

Venice is one of the world's great cruise ports. To begin, sailing into Venice ranks with sailing into New York City as a spectacular experience. You sail past world famous landmarks which one would think it impossible for a big ship to come so close to. In addition, you see small backwater canals with ancient buildings that seem to embody romance.

The city has purpose-built cruise terminals. In fact, many cruises begin and end in Venice. That means that when your ship docks, you are not stuck in a container ship area that is designed for moving freight rather than people.

While the cruise terminals are a nice convenience, what makes Venice a great cruise port is that Venice is a legendary city. Perched on a series of islands, the automobile plays little part in the life of the city center. Nor are there tall glass box skyscrapers or flashy electric signs. It is a city unlike any other.

On top of that, Venice is a cultural feast. You can walk down a backstreet and find a forgotten Renaissance church or building that would be the pride of many other cities. Museums and public buildings hold works of art by some of the many masters that have lived and worked in Venice. There is history everywhere. But more importantly, there is the overall ambiance of romance that has inspired artists, authors and composers.

If one needs a break from this rich diet, there are the fine sand beaches of the Lido – a name now inextricably associated with resort living.

Venice has many moods. On a sunny summer's day, the great landmarks can be teaming with tourists. At the same time, the backstreets and side canals can be almost deserted. Venice in the rain is more mellow. Similarly, as the sun sets and the majority of the visitors leave, a timeless enchantment takes over.

We have posted an extensive section on Venice. There is a Venice home page with an overview and a brief history. http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination---venice.html There are articles about visiting St. Mark's and the Doge's Palace http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination---venice---st-marks.html as well as on experiencing a gondola, that most Venetian of vessels. http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination---venice---gondola.html We have a page about the cruise terminal http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination---venice---cruise-terminal.html and a page with some links for further information about Venice. http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination---venice---links.html Accompanying all of these are photos and there is a slideshow devoted to showing some of the sights one may encounter walking around Venice. http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination---venice---slideshow.html

Talking with the Captain of Enchantment; Chops Grille Review

This week, some of the members of the senior management team talk about what makes Enhantment of the Seas work.

First, we have Captain Gus Andersson, the master of the vessel. Captain Gus clearly enjoys his role. He can be seen out and about in the passenger areas of the ship, walking about and keeping his eye on how things are going and also participating in light-hearted activities such as a cake making competition. His announcements from the bridge inform the guests of the usual nautical information such as the ship's position and the weather but also about places of interest the ship is passing and some relevant history. The announcements always end with “words of wisdom” - - little sayings that elecit a smile but also have a lesson embedded in them.

Enchantment is Captain Gus' first permanent command. However, his resume includes expereience as an officer on several Royal Caribbean ships. Especially noteworthy is that he was First Officer on the team that brought Allure of the Seas into service. I sailed on Allure's maiden voyage and was struck by how incredibly motivated the crew of that ship was.

Micael Landry is the Hotel Director on Enchantment. One of the few American hotel directors in the cruise industry, his experience in hospitality includes both land-based hotels and ships. On Enchantment, he is in charge of the ship's largest department including such things as the dining, the entertainment and the accommodation. Like Captain Gus, he is not one to hide in his office. Rather, he too gets out and about amongst the guests and passengers. His forays are low key and designed to ensure that the operation is running smoothly.

Snezana Katic is the Guest Relations Manager. Included in her area of responsibily is management of the Guest Relations Desk. Equivalent to the reception desk at a hotel, the Guest Relations Desk is where passengers go when they have a question or a problem. On too many ships, the attitude of the people manning the desk is quite defensive. They seem to regard questions and reports of problems as a personal criticism. This, of course, is not very helpful.

On Enchantment, the Guest Relations Desk is just the opposite. The people behind the desk are friendly and endeavor to be problem solvers.

Enchantment is now 15 years old, which makes her approaching middle age. Yet, she still provides a good vacation experience and has a legion of followers who sail on her regularly. I asked these members of the senior team why that is. Their answer is posted at: http://www.beyondships2.com/enchantment-of-the-seas-interview.html

In addition, this week we have my review of the Chops Grille on Enchantment. Chops is Royal Caribbean's urban-style steakhouse. The menu of this specialty restaurant is the same on each of the Royal Caribbean ships that has a Chops. However, just as the same brand of restaurant can differ in different cities, so do the Chops. The review is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/enchantment-of-the-seas-chops-grille-review.html

Enchantment of the Seas Photos and Review

Two weeks ago, I returned from a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas. Enchantment is not the newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet - - she entered service in 1997 and was extensively refurbished in 2005. She is also not the largest ship in the fleet although she is significantly bigger than RCI's other Vision class ships - - the result of the insertion of a 73 foot section into her midsection during the 2005 refit. Still, she is nonetheless capable of providing a very nice cruise experience.

In some ways, the cruise experience reminded me of how cruising used to be before the turn of the Millennium. Although some very good things have happened to cruising since then, some things have also gotten lost along the way. Take Enchantment's theater for example. In the 90s, the primary entertainment venues on ships were changing from show lounges to theaters. On Enchantment, the theater still has traces of its show lounge antecedents with large padded chairs and comfortable arm rests. They are like living room lounge chairs. In addition, the room has a bright, roomy atmosphere.

The activities onboard are traditional cruise ship activities. There are the captain's reception and past passenger receptions, trivia contests, cooking demonstrations, enrichment lectures, bingo, etc. You also have Royal Caribbean staples like the Quest game and the Love and Marriage game. Although the newer ships have the same or similar activities, the scale of Enchantment makes these events somehow more intimate.

The entertainment could also be described as traditional. Like the cruise directors of old, Cruise Director John Blair seemed to be everywhere and not only took on the role of emcee but also performed a concert of Neil Diamond songs and gave an enrichment lecture. We had two production shows by the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers during this eight night cruise. Three of the singers also did a cabaret concert and displayed impressive strong voices. During the course of the voyage, we had two stand-up comedians and a comedy juggler. I enjoyed Carl Banks' performance the most. It was an adult show but did it relied on clever material rather than four letter words for the humor

I like to watch big screen movies. Enchantment does not have a big movie screen. But using a large gauzy backdrop that was designed for the stage shows, the staff has improvised a big screen in the theater that works quite well. On it, they showed a series of recent releases each afternoon and on various evening after the stage show. I thought this was very clever and showed initiative.

Food is always a big part of cruising. Enchantment's main dining room, the My Fair Lady Restaurant, is quite charming with a décor themed after the musical of that name. Service at dinner was very good as was the food. Breakfast and lunch (sea days only) was good but the service and food was not as consistently good as dinner.

The buffet restaurant, the Windjammer, is located at the forward end of the superstructure. This initially confused some of the guests who, familiar with the larger Royal Caribbean ships, headed towards the back of the ship. The room offers great views but was always too crowded for me. I found a better alternative to be the light meal venue in the Solarium, which offers pizza, burgers, sandwiches, salads and desserts. Another nice room underneath the retractable glass roof that covers this pool area.

A dining venue that I found myself going to several times was Cafe Latte-Tudes. This is a specialty coffee bar that also sells Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I am not a coffee drinker and while I did indulge one afternoon in some ice cream, what drew me here again and again was the pastries. The muffins and cookies were excellent and better than anywhere else on the ship.

At this time, Enchantment has one specialty restaurant - - the Chops Grille. This is a steakhouse with a sophisticated urban atmosphere. The food is good quality and it provides a change of atmosphere from the main dining room on a longer cruise.

I booked this cruise late on a guarantee basis. As a result, I was assigned an inside cabin on one of the lower decks. It was clean and surprisingly large with with a surprising amount of storage space. The safe and television were older models but worked well. There was an initial problem with the telephone set but that was remedied before the ship sailed.

Enchantment sailed from Baltimore, Maryland. The rationale for basing a ship in Baltimore is to attract people who live in the surrounding area. However, I was impressed in talking to my fellow passengers at how many were not from the Maryland or mid-Atlantic region. There were quite a few from the mid-west and many from Canada. A large percentage of the passengers were repeat passengers. Thus, it was something more than the convenience of proximity that drew people to this cruise.

The itinerary was an interesting one. First, the ship sailed to Bermuda, where she spent two days. Then after a sea day she was in Boston and then in Newport, Rhode Island. This allowed passengers to have the island experience of Bermuda, the history and sophistication of Boston and the unique resort atmosphere of Newport. Thus, it was not a single vacation experience but a combination of experiences.

The weather throughout the cruise was good. We experienced a rain storm one night but the seas were calm. As a result, there was no real test of Enchantment's seakeeping abilities. She ran smoothly throughout.

I have re-done Beyondships' profile of Enchantment, adding copies of daily programs, information leaflets distributed onboard, and menus. http://beyondships.com/ENOS-Profile.html In addition, the photo tour of the ship has been updated and expanded. http://beyondships.com/ENOS-tour.html Finally, there is a new photo essay showing Enchantment in each of the ports of call she visited during this cruise. http://beyondships.com/RCI-ENOS-Bermuda.html

Serenade of the Seas Photos; Bermuda Travel Guide Update and Bermuda Beach Tennis

Three topics this week, two of which are related.

First, we present a new photo essay on Serenade of the Seas. Serenade is one of Royal Caribbean's Radiance class ships. These ships are known for their maneuverability and their speed. In fact, Royal Caribbean's Captain Herman Zini called them “the Maseratis” of the RCI fleet.

When I first went aboard Serenade a few years ago, I saw that there is much to like about this ship besides its mechanical qualities. The layout and the décor were well-thought out and eye-pleasing. In addition, although she is somewhat bigger than RCI's Vision class ships, she carries a similar number of passengers so there is more space per passenger.

Overall, Serenade reminded me of the Celebrity ships. This should not be surprising considering that she was made by the Meyer Werft shipyard, which built Celebrity's Century class and which is building the Solstice class.

Serenade spends time on both sides of the Atlantic and in this new photo essay, we see her in Venice, Italy and in St. Thomas, USVI. She has nice lines and so is a pleasure to photograph. The photo essay is posted at http://beyondships.com/RCI-SOS-photos.html

Next, we return to one of my favorite cruise destinations - - Bermuda. This island, actually a series of small islands, is unique in several respects. With regard to location, it is not in the Caribbean or in the Bahamas but rather off by herself in the Atlantic, a day's slow sailing from the U.S. east coast ports. As a result, the weather is more moderate than other islands.

While the island is very tourist friendly, it also derives income from the financial services companies located in Hamilton, the island's only urban area. Consequently, you do not see the severe poverty that one sometimes encounters in tropical paradises.

These factors combined with beautiful scenery and a culture that is a unique mix of its British and African heritages have attracted visitors since the earliest days of cruising.

Our photo tour of Bermuda has been updated and expanded with new photos and information. It is at http://beyondships.com/Ports-Bermuda-1.html

An activity that is growing in popularity in Bermuda is beach tennis. In fact, Bermuda just had its fifth annual beach tennis tournament, in which professional players from a number of countries competed for cash purses. I had had the opportunity to attend the tournament and talk to one of its organizers about beach tennis in Bermuda. That article is at http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination---beach-tennis-in-bermuda.html