Anthem of the Seas

The weather was not at its best for the arrival of the Anthem of the Seas as it appeared out of the gloom before most of Guernsey was awake. Apart from two early morning joggers there was no one else to see the liner off St Martins Point. Any guests on board hoping to get a English newspaper when they come ashore this morning will be disappointed as the low cloud and fog precludes any flying.

As one of the top 5 largest liners in the world the Anthem of the Seas towered above the lighthouse on the Castle Breakwater. Just under 5,000 guests could come ashore today, but only a dog walker saw the liner maneouvering into its mooring position. 

Plenty of tenders today for the guests who want to come ashore, although time is running out for the guests who want to enjoy the facilities on the liner. who will be back in Southampton on Saturday morning. With the North Star ride, the bumper cars and robotic bar tenders the Anthem of the Seas is a wonderful sight to see in Guernsey. The liner that was delivered in April 2015 is on its only visit to Guernsey this year and will spend 2016 sailing from New Jersey.

What a difference a few hours makes. The fog has gone, the sun is shining, its hot and  the English papers and post have arrived. The enormous size of the Anthem of the Seas makes it tower over Castle Cornet. The North Star ride is down at the moment as more guests get on, soon to see a unique view of St Peter Port.

The soldiers manning these bunkers seventy years ago would have seen very different shipping during the Occupation. Today the view was the Anthem of the Seas bound for Le Havre.

Queen Elizabeth

The Queen Elizabeth is on a short cruise from Southampton with the only port of call being Guernsey. She left Southampton on Saturday and spent Sunday moored between Sark and France. This morning she arrived in St Peter Port giving her guests a full day to enjoy Guernsey. As the liner left the anchorage tonight there were not many balconies occupied but a crew member was busy clearing a table.

Any independent guests may have made it on to the cliff paths as far as Saints Bay, only accessible by foot, with a cafe that sells good cakes!! Just beyond is Saints Harbour, inhabited this summer by local fishing boats and kayakers.  For generations it has been a haven for small boys and their fathers.

The Queen Elizabeth sailed early this evening to the south of the Island. In the foreground is Bec du Nez, basking in the last sunlight of the day, with the trees of the Pine Forest much denuded by winter gales. By tomorrow morning she will have arrived in Southampton ready for her next departure to the Western Mediterranean.

Azamara Quest

Not the best day for a visit to Guernsey for the Azamara Quest with the rain and mist not clearing 'til late afternoon. The guests had a full day with an early morning arrival and a late evening departure. Visibility was not good and the views from the liner were not the other islands and French coast but a grey sea and mist. Castle Cornet had few visitors looking at the Azamara Quest this afternoon, not the June weather we are used to!

If the guests had taken a Fortifications tour they may have seen the "V" for Victory symbol used in the Second World War, created on one of the Mirus ammunition bunkers in St Peters as part of the Floral Group initiative. The Mirus battery was built by the Occupying Forces and is the largest coastal gun battery in the Channel Islands with a range of over 45kms.

The Azamara Quest left late evening for Falmouth and will be in Cobh on Sunday following in the wake of the recent visitor, Celebrity Silhouette. What a difference a few hours makes with the bad weather now cleared and visibility increased the rocks and islets to the north of Herm are clearly visible. With the last tender coming aboard the liner will shortly be on her way.

Celebrity Silhouette

The Celebrity Silhouette came to St Peter Port today on a British Isles cruise from Amsterdam. One of the Solstice class, launched in 2011, her sister ships also include Celebrity Eclipse. This is her first season in Northern Europe spending her others in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.

There were no queues at the end of her visit with a good number of tenders running. The weather was kind enough to allow the guests to enjoy the sunshine on the short ride to the liner.

Not sure who provided the seating but the guests enjoyed the outdoor facilities, and the water provided by Celebrity. It would not have been so enjoyable two hours later as thunder and lightning struck Guernsey with heavy rain causing localised flooding. The liner departed at tea time heading for Cobh, the port for Cork.

Sea Cloud II

A slow sail or motor from Honfleur overnight brought the Sea Cloud II to St Peter Port. She sailed down the Big Russel between Herm and Sark before turning towards the Lower Heads buoy to pick up the pilot.

A strong north easterly wind was blowing mid morning as the Sea Cloud II anchored  off the harbour. The Herm Trident was full as she sailed past bound for Herm, a 20 minute ride away. Although looking like a 1930s sailing vessel Sea Cloud II only entered service in 2001. With a capacity of 94 guests this is a rather exclusive liner, for this cruise on charter to Noble Caledonian.

The guests on board waiting for their departure had plenty of ferry traffic to contend with including inter island ferries as well as the Commodore Clipper arriving from Portsmouth.

With a small capacity there are no long queues for tenders and within 30 minutes of the last guests boarding Sea Cloud II sailed. Her next port is St Malo, where she should arrive late tonight.

Prinsendam & Aurora

The Aurora is back on a short cruise from Southampton to Zeebrugge and then onto Guernsey. A quieter time than her last visit when she had an "air display" as a helicopter was exercising with the St Peter Port lifeboat. Anchored on Saturday afternoon the Aurora showed off her new colours to those enjoying the sun.

If any guests want a snack whilst they are in town there is a good selection along the sea front of St Peter Port, some with a view and some in the narrow shady lanes. The number of visiting yachts is beginning to rise as the summer season gets under away.

For company the Aurora had the Prinsendam, anchored closer to St Peter Port. This Holland American liner is on a two week Celtic Explorer cruise, which will include a circumnavigation of Ireland. These two liners are both part of the Carnival Corporation providing very different experiences of cruising. The home port of Aurora this season is Southampton with the Prinsendam based in Ijmuiden in the Netherlands.

Europa 2 & Royal Princess

Any local hurrying to work today had a good view of the Royal Princess as they walked down into St Peter Port. The hills that surround the harbour provide many vantage points looking out over the other islands or nearby coast of France. The Royal Princess is on a Round Britain Cruise from Southampton for the next 11 days.

At the anchorages today the Royal Princess had the Europa 2  for company which provides a very different aspect of cruising. The Royal Princess is a large capacity resort ship with over 3,500 guests. Among its many attractions is a "Sea Walk" that extends out over 30ft from the hull of the vessel. The Europa 2 with just over 500 guests is a all-suite, all-balcony liner that is at the top end of luxury cruising. Candie Gardens, in the foreground, is one of those places that you have to visit many times throughout the year to enjoy its variety of gardens and plants.

The passengers on board the Condor Liberation have a good view as the fast ferry leaves St Peter Port bound for Jersey. The ferry has not had a good start to its service in the islands. not living up to the early promises made by the company, though now all seems to be settling down. Europa 2 left early evening for St Malo and will finish her cruise in Lisbon next Tuesday.

Balmoral & Bremen

On her way north from the Antarctic, and now on a "Circumnavigation of Western Europe" cruise the Bremen arrived in St Peter Port today along with Fred Olsen's Balmoral on her "Superbikes and Scenic Hikes" cruise. She will be in the Isle of Man for the TT on the 6th June.

In August the Bremen will start her cruise from Tromsoe, sail through the legendary North East Passage and end her cruise in Alaska. On the 7th September she will cross the International Date Line and the guests will "put their clocks back". Not looking quite so adventurous here the Bremen sat at anchor for the day in changeable weather from blue skies and sea to rather grey by the time she left.

If the guests of these liners were alert on the Guernsey Vaeux bus service as they went pass Port Soif, they might have seen the Conservation Herd of Guernsey cows. The local Societe Guernesiaise have bought the animal to graze its overgrown grasslands to enable the return of wild flowers and wildlife,

As the final tenders were returning to the ships the guests on board the Bremen's zodiac tenders might have appreciated the more traditional type of the Balmoral as a cold wind started to blow. The Balmoral, in the background, was built in the Meyer Werft yard in Papenburg, in 1988,  now the builders of many of the larger liners that visit the island.