The first stop on our cruise was the Isle of Portland, England. It's probably not at the top of places you've dreamed of visiting since grade school. More likely, you never knew it existed.
It's only about 68 miles from our embarkation port of Southampton, so if we missed our cruise embarkation, it wouldn't have taken long to catch up. It allowed us to risk possible unintended detours while traveling from Wales.
Initially we had thought we would take the train from Cardiff to Southampton, but the required rail bridge was closed for construction, so we had taken a bus to Bristol, England, and then caught the train there after a quick local bus transition. When we arrived in Southampton, we literally walked out of the train station and had an Uber within a minute.
From there to lounge chairs at Movies Under the Stars pool to enjoy the sunny afternoon, shower and change clothes, happy hour with violin music played by a talented duo in the Atrium, delicious multi-course dinner in the dining room, opening show featuring an emotive singer named Tom Ball, and we were ready to call it a night.
The next morning, we arrived in Portland. We could have driven it in an hour and a half, but who would want to?
Being that close to Southampton also means it is close to London, an extra hour and a half beyond Southampton.
The primary reason for the stop in Portland, I presume, is to allow guests to take Princess's shore excursion to Stonehenge, a top tourist attraction less than an hour and a half drive from Portland. We've already checked that off our Bucket List, so what would we do?
Portland is on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site because of being home of 185 million years of geologic history. Oddly, Princess did not have any excursions for this destination on our cruise available. Viator had Jurassic Coast tours, but not while we were there.
Perhaps it wasn't fossil hunting season.
Yes, you can go fossil hunting along the seashore on the Jurassic Coast using nothing but keen eyesight and a curious mind. A small hammer may be helpful, but you don't need to gear up like Detectorists. It's not treasure hunting. It's a chance to walk on the coast and look for seashells, mostly.
Highly rated Portland Castle isn't very far from the port, but we didn't stop there on our bus ride to town, having spent a long time wandering through splendid Cardiff Castle the prior day.
So, what did we do?
A free shuttle bus took us from the port to the seaside village of Weymouth, about six miles away. As we departed the bus, I asked a greeter where we could buy excursions to the Jurassic Coast, and she said that on the next block there would be drivers with signs offering private car tours.
We found them, and they offered to drive us for about $250 per car (some more, some less, depending on the exact destinations), which really is a pretty good deal for a local driver, although you are gambling that he knows something of interest about the area and is a good driver, which are usually decent bets. We decided to pass for the moment and walk into the village first.
Note that in a small port like this, these private tours can sell out quickly, so saying no is a gamble too.
As it turned out, Weymouth is a picturesque harbor town.
In fact, it is Weymouth, not those prehistoric sites, to which I refer in the title as one of the first tourist sites in Southern England.
I guess Fred, Wilma and Pebbles Flintstone might have been to the Jurassic Coast on a vacation, but only in cartoons.
Stonehenge almost certainly was the site of religious festivals that drew worshippers from far and wide, which is sort of like being a tourist destination. For modern tourists, however, Stonehenge only became of marked interest about sixty years ago. Prior to that, most average Americans and people throughout the world took trips to visit friends-and-family or stayed close to home. It was air travel that made distant destinations feasible.
Weymouth, on the other hand, has that seaside appeal everyone seems to love. That's why cruising and beach vacations are so popular.
Weymouth also had a reputation for the healing properties of the sea water. According to a faded inscription on The King's Arms, "King George III stayed in Weymouth in the Summer of 1789 on doctor's orders. He was taken across the Esplanade by horse drawn bathing machine, and a small orchestra would play 'God Save the King' as he stepped into the water."
Still licking his wounds from being unceremoniously booted by rabble-rousers in those ungrateful 13 colonies in the Americas, King George III made Weymouth his summer holiday home almost every year from 1789 to 1805.
Markedly different from in the USA, King George III seems to be generally held in high esteem in England, incidentally, based on statues and historical notes we saw during our trip.
Looking around Weymouth, you can see why the King would enjoy spending summers there.
The weather is mild, and the port town lovely, though it has undoubtedly grown considerably since George III was carried across the road to be lowered into the healing bay water.
We saw a sign for Jurassic Coastal boat rides and asked about it. The price sounded reasonable, so we said we would be back for the next departure in about two and a half hours.
Newer boats we passed later looked more professional and also had signs. Their prices were higher, though in retrospect perhaps they would have been worth the difference. I should have asked more questions rather than assuming all itineraries would be the same.
We walked around the village on both sides of the harbor, and content we had seen most of what was there, we took the bus back to get jackets for the boat ride. We soon caught one of the buses making regular runs to and from the ship. When we arrived, we saw a long queue of passengers waiting to board buses.
I decided to wait in line while Julie went to the ship, abandoning the idea of a mid-morning coffee onboard.
Julie returned and joined me in line just in time to board the bus, but it stalled around until the okay was given to go, which was longer than expected.
We knew our Jurassic Coast ride would be on an historic boat used in World War II and before, but I should have thought about the noise and chatter that boat's old engine might include as our old boat chugged its way out of the harbor.
It made the newer boats more appealing in retrospect. Once at sea, however, the engine became much smoother and quieter, though still not purring like a baby kitten by any means.
Fortunately, we had a rather knowledgeable seaman who provided a steady patter as we went, covering diverse topics including some geology, local history, glamping sites, English history, tourist misadventures, World War II, his life, gossip and whatever else crossed his mind.
His rambles were not unlike my blog.
He passed around a photo of a dinosaur or relative of the Loch Ness Monster that had been dug up there.
As with any boat ride on a sunny day, it was fun for the pleasure of the experience alone.
The changing light illuminated all around us in lovely ways.
The boat trip along the Jurassic Coast met my personal criteria of whenever possible doing something unique in each port that sets it apart from anything we had done so far on our trip or anything planned, making it a distinctive experience to make Weymouth distinctly memorable.
We don't want a cruise to become a blur, although that can be fun, too.
After the boat ride, we took the bus back to the ship for lunch.
With no line at Salty Dog poolside, we grabbed one of our favorite meals in America and around the world: hamburgers with French fries. De-lish!
It was a beautiful day to be on deck.
Despite King George III not being aboard Caribbean Princess, a small orchestra came to play songs at the pier and soldiers shot a cannon shot salute for our sail away.
It was a great day in a port you've probably never considered visiting. When you look at an itinerary, you should assume a cruise line or travel packager has a pretty good idea of why it should be included.
That is why cruise lines include these lesser-known stops with the big names everyone has on their bucket lists.
Another great night followed the lovely sunset, with wonderful wining, dining and entertainment throughout the evening.
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