Azura

A sunny Tuesday welcomed the Azura to St Peter Port where she spent the whole day at anchor. Sark Shipping provided an extra tender in the shape of the Sark Venture to transport guests ashore as quickly as possible. The Azura left Southampton last night and will return next Sunday morning.

Guests who stayed on board had a good view of the islands including most of Herm's north coast at low tide. Sandy beaches, good places to eat, wonderful views; no wonder Herm is a favorite with many locals and visitors. Less crowded than the buses on route 91 and 92 that I saw this morning with standing room only.

The final tenders head into St Peter Port as the forecast bad weather starts to hit the island. When the Azura leaves she will head for La Rochelle where the guests who go ashore will not have to worry about the fuel shortages that are hitting France at the moment.

Celebrity Silhouette

If you wanted to see Guernsey you had to come ashore. The Island was shrouded in fog, cancelling flights at the airport and not making for the best experience for the guests of the Celebrity Silhouette on a British Isles cruise. Having arrived from Dover the liner left mid afternoon for Cobh in Southern Ireland.

Guests on the tenders did not have a much better view as the fog thickened around the harbour. The range of nationalities that cruise liners bring to Guernsey is surprising and  today included a family from Venezuela, who appreciated the kindness of Islanders and who saw the beauty of the Island even with today's inclement weather. As it always seems to happen, withing two hours of Celebrity Silhouette leaving, the fog lifted, and the sun came out giving a lovely end to the first day of this bank holiday weekend.

Last year was a different experience with the sun reflecting off the sides of the liner as she left St Peter Port.

Hamburg

The summer weather brought on the urge for a visit to Herm which coincided with the arrival of the German Liner Hamburg on her way from El Ferrol, on the north west coast of Spain, to Honfleur in Normandy. With the sun shining from a cloudless sky and calm seas guests had good conditions for the short tender ride to St Peter Port. Behind the trees is Les Cotils, shortly to host one of the displays from the Chelsea Flower Show and only a 20 minute walk from the landing pontoon.

The first ferry to Herm always carries a good mixture of cargo; luggage for guests at the White House hotel, necessities for the running of guest accommodation, camping supplies for the visitors camping on one of the island's two campsites and the wine for tonight's dinner.

The Hamburg carrying just over 400 guests is one of those liners that can visit smaller destinations. In September 2014 she made a Great Lakes cruise, the first by a liner for many years. Milwaukee welcomed the liner commenting how she brought tourism money to the city. One of her destinations was Sarnia, the Roman name for Guernsey, with a local blogger reporting how she caught the eye of motorists on her way south to Detroit. Different surroundings today with the many German guests enjoying the sun-drenched island.

Voyager & Serenissima

They left Portsmouth together last night and now they are at anchor together at St Peter Port. The Serenissima arrived first and as normal is anchored closer to the harbour entrance, with the Voyager further out. Even though the sun is shining not many yachts are out this morning as the Voyager prepares to put her guests ashore for their day in Guernsey. Tonight she will continue her cruise towards Madeira and the Azores

High tide at Rousse Tower on the North West corner of the Island, one of the 19th century fortifications restored by the States of Guernsey. Nearby is Rousse Kiosk a favorite place to eat, sit and enjoy the views. It is a short walk from a stop on the 91 and 92 bus route around the Island.

Even these two liners, small by today's standards, are world players. Voyager will spend early 2017 sailing in the South China Sea visiting Vietnam as well as Indonesia. The same dates will see Serenissima sailing through the Panama Canal after visiting Colombia. Amazing, two well traveled liners in our small Island.

Caribbean Princess

Let's hope the next 10 days bring better weather for the guests on board the Caribbean Princess than what today had to offer. On one of her regular cruises around the British Isles, I don't think guests on board had the best of Guernsey on their short visit in this unseasonal weather

Even the decks of Condor Liberation look empty as she arrives from Poole on her way south to Jersey. The approaches from the sea show off St Peter Port at its finest as you can appreciate the town rising from the harbour towards the heartland of the Island.

On the back of the Visit Guernsey helper it says " Great Things Happen in Guernsey", not too sure how many guests agreed today! Many of them took advantage of coach tours of the Island which were departing and returning very close to the liner pontoon. An advantage in this weather.

Minerva & Sea Adventurer

Two smaller liners today with Minerva and Sea Adventurer calling at St Peter Port for the day. The Minerva is on a two week cruise out of Portsmouth visiting ports in Brittany and Normandy before heading for Amsterdam and London. She will spend two nights at Greenwich giving guests the opportunity to visit the Chelsea Flower Show.  The range of the tides in Havelet Bay are clearly shown in this image with the darker patches on the harbour wall.

With sea fog forecast for tonight, there was no sign of it at the liner pontoon with plenty of Zodiacs waiting to take Sea Adventurers guests back to their liner. The Minerva sailed early evening for Caen, The Sea Adventurer will leave later tonight to continue her cruise of the Channel Islands, with visits to Jersey and Sark.

Both these liners have history; the Minerva should have been a Soviet Research Vessel and the Sea Adventurer, built in Yugoslavia, is one of those rare Liners to have sailed the North West passage. Most of the guests on board the Sea Adventurer were from the USA having flown to Portugal on May 11th. They will fly back on May 26th from Holland having visited ports of Western Europe  in Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium and finally the Netherlands

Ventura

Not a lucky day for guests on board the Ventura which cancelled its visit to St Peter Port. She is on a short cruise from Southampton to Guernsey and Bruges but conditions outside of the port were not suitable for tender operations. As Ventura left St Peter Port fishing boats were still returning to harbour where some of their catch will be enjoyed in the restaurants tonight.

The weather yesterday on Guernsey was sunny but blustery with the clear skies on the west coast giving a good sunset. The bunkers of Fort Hommet continue to keep watch over the beaches although time and tide take their toll 70 years on. This one on the north side of the headland has its wooden shuttering still in place after all this time. Armed with a 10.5 cm gun they kept watch over the bays of Cobo and Grandes Rocques. On the opposite side of the headland one has been restored and is open  to the public at specific times.

Ventura is not due into Zeebrugge, (where guests will travel to Bruges), until Saturday leaving guests on board time to enjoy Ventura's large Arena Theatre as well as its many restaurants. With good visibility there would have been views of the Normandy coast as the liner headed north past Flamanville. Her next cruise will be to the Mediterranean journeying as far east as Santorini where hopefully tenders will be running in kinder weather.

Aurora

Aurora arrived early this Sunday morning on a short 3 day cruise out of Southampton for Bruges and Guernsey. The misty conditions of the last few days have all but disappeared and summer is on the way. Aurora was built for P&Os traditional British market and entered service 16 years ago. Herm is in the background with the white Rosaire steps standing out, the low tide landing for the island.

Early evening is quiet in most of Guernsey, but at any time of day it is rare to see anybody on this seat on the East Coast of Guernsey. Set at the end of a dead end path, on a clear day it has views of every Channel Island and the coast of Normandy, with only the birds for company.

The Union Jack is shown to advantage in this image as Aurora clears the Lower Heads buoy and turns on course for her home port of Southampton. Tomorrow teatime she will leave for a very different cruise with her first port of call being Bergen in Norway.

Arcadia & Emerald Princess

The Arcadia arrived yesterday morning and stayed overnight hosting a IT Directors Spring Conference. Its a non-landing cruise from Southampton returning first thing Saturday morning. The mist of the last few days persisted although clearing somewhat during the day. Last night the views from the liner could not have been good.

The Arcadia was joined by the Emerald Princess today. She was returning from her cruise to the north coast of Spain and was due to leave early in the evening for Southampton. The Arcadia slips away in the background with the delegates on board no doubt getting ready for the "Gala Dinner". Emerald Princess will follow her back.

Saints Harbour on the south coast of Guernsey cannot be visited by guests on a tour bus. Best accessed on foot it a small fishing harbour also favored by anglers and kayakers. Today the sun shone on the harbour and these fisherman are making good use of the clear waters.

Celebrity Eclipse

A varied cruise for today's guests on the Celebrity Eclipse who left Southampton yesterday. When they leave St Peter Port, they go on to Southern Ireland and then cruise all around Iceland, many contrasts. Yesterday's fog had thinned somewhat and at least allowed the liner to be visible from the shore.

The around island bus trips seem to be one of the most popular for the independent guests with queues at the bus station for most of the day. Other bus services cover only some of the west coast and don't attract the same numbers.

The short tender ride from the new landing pontoon is clearly visible in this image. A short walk into St Peter Port, or along the sea front to the Tourist Information office, show the benefits of this re-location from the other side of the harbour. With calm seas for the tender ride to return to the Celebrity Eclipse, she left late this afternoon bound for Cobh in Southern Ireland.

Arcadia & Ocean Endeavour

Not the best of days for liner visits with the Arcadia and Ocean Endeavour anchoring at St Peter Port. Through the mist, fog, rain and drizzle the liners were occasionally visible but not a lot. The Arcadia guests had the longest tender ride into town but sea conditions were not too bad.

Ocean Endeavour with its ice strengthened hull is more suited to Arctic and Antarctic seas and the end of the year will see her in the Falklands and South Georgia. Built in 1982 she spent her early years in the Baltic before heading to the Mediterranean. She was sold to her current owners in early 2014. Ocean Endeavour left for Dover in the late afternoon with Arcadia also disappearing into the fog by early evening, bound for Southampton.

Those guests who took the cliff path just outside St Peter Port heading for Fort George, will have found the path lined with bluebells and 'stinking onions', still in bloom this year due to recent cold weather.  They brighten up even the dullest day. 

Caribbean Princess

On the 1st May, Caribbean Princess completed her Atlantic Crossing from Fort Lauderdale to Liverpool, then Hamburg and Le Havre before arriving in Southampton. Yesterday she commenced a round Britain cruise with St Peter Port her first port of call.

71 years ago Royal Navy ships were off Guernsey when the occupying forces surrendered and the Island was liberated after 5 years of occupation. The guests on board the Caribbean Princess were able to enjoy some of the celebrations as she did not depart for Cobh until mid afternoon. Liberation Day is Guernsey's national holiday and the Stars and Stripes flying outside of some Guernsey homes would have been a welcome sight to the American guests on board.

Some American guests joined the liner in Southampton having flown across the Atlantic. The liner will visit Guernsey many times this summer on Princess Cruises programme of British Isles cruising. Castle Cornet becomes a music venue today with various concerts being played throughout Liberation Day before a firework display brings the celebrations to an end.

71 years ago tonight would have been the first night of freedom for the Islanders for 5 years.

Ocean Nova & Britannia

Two different ends of the scale with the visits of today's Cruise Liners. St Peter Port is the last port of call for the Britannia on her way north from La Coruna in Spain on the way back to Southampton. Ocean Nova, the diminutive liner in the foreground, was here earlier this week and has returned, making St Peter Port her first port of call from Portsmouth.

Ocean Nova left at lunch time bound for Alderney taking the passage that the larger liners cannot past St Sampson's and the Corbette D'Amont beacon. Later this year in November she will feel more at home as she sails to Antarctica, having been built in Denmark for the waters of Greenland.

There is quite a contrast in the number of guests on each liner: 80 on the Ocean Nova, and over 4,000 on the Britannia. The last tenders are being hoisted on the Britannia as she prepares to leave for Southampton, with a Trident ferry in the background on the last trip of the day to Herm. 

Albatros

Today is the day after a Bank Holiday in the Islands and as is normal a glorious sunny day, after the previous dull and dismal one, a fine welcome for the Albatros of the German Line Phoenix Reisen. With under a 1,000, mostly German guests on board she arrived this morning for a full day visit to Guernsey. She left Bremerhaven on Friday night and her last port of call was Torbay on the South coast of England.

Originally entering service in 1973 she was refurbished in 2004 but looks so different from the larger "resort" liners favoured in current years. The tenders also look more traditional as some of the last ones of the day return guests ready for the departure to Honfleur.

Not too far for the tender ride today with the Albatros anchored just outside the harbour. The scene takes on more of a summer look with the French ferry, Victor Hugo, now running most days from the Normandy coast. Unfortunately the eastern arm of St Peter Port harbour with its portacabins is not as attractive as it could be.

Serenissima

First impressions count for a lot, so I don't think it went well for Guernsey as guests on board the Serenissima arrived at the anchorage early this morning to an Island covered in mist and drizzle. It's a Bank Holiday on Guernsey, and this is traditional weather for such a holiday.

There was a good crowd for the horse racing at L'Ancresse but not too many horses for the race in this photo.

THV Galatea is still at anchor and kept the Serenissima company for most of the day as the weather improved briefly. The 100-passenger liner is on an Island Life cruise of the Channel Islands and Isles of Scilly. The guests on board should enjoy Herm this afternoon, before leaving early tomorrow morning for Alderney and Sark. Let's hope they see some sunshine.

Britannia

Bank Holiday Sunday in Guernsey today and the first of the sea front closures in St Peter Port. The guests on board the Britannia,which was on a short taster cruise from Southampton, appreciated the market and various attractions that were available a short walk from their landing area.

If they ventured to the north of the Island or took an Island Tour they may have seen Guernsey's own race course which is looking good for tomorrow's meeting, although the weather may not be the same as the photo. Taken on Saturday night from the kite, this image looks towards the Braye du Valle, the area of water which originally split the Island in two.

Almost an on time departure for the Britannia as she headed to sea past the Trinity House vessel, Galatea. She is in local waters to look after navigation aids. The Union Jack bow seems to suit this liner better than some others in P&Os fleet, fittingly so as the Lines flagship.  In the background is the Normandy coast at Cape de la Hague.

As the guests on board see their last view of Castle Cornet and Guernsey thoughts will be turning to the choice of dining on board, with ten options and then which entertainment venue to enjoy. By tomorrow morning they will disembarking in Southampton. Britannia then prepares to leave on an Iberia cruise that will see her back in Guernsey next Sunday returning from Spain.