The day before we move from one hotel to another, Madeleine, our tour director, would always announce two critical times for the next day:

1. The time that our bags will be picked up from (inside) our rooms. That’s correct, we never had to handle our suitcases at any point of our trip, Tauck took care of all the bag handling, it was awesome.

2. The time the bus would leave.  Madeleine was very clear about the time and emphasized that she ALWAYS leaves on time.  I call this “Wheels-up”, based on my years in the aviation industry.

   • Luggage Collection: 7:45 AM

   • Wheels Up: 9:00 AM

We departed for Northern Ireland and a visit to Belfast's Titanic Quarter, which was developed on the site of former shipbuilding docks from which vessels like the RMS Titanic were built and launched. We were dropped off at the Titanic Experience which showed life in the early 1900s in Belfast and the experience of sailing on the Titanic.  This included what it felt like to be on the ship when it encountered an iceberg. The exhibit was very well done and interesting.  It even included a short ride with the sights and sounds of what it was like to build the Titanic.  There were millions of rivets used in the construction of the Titanic, all put in by hand and hammered by hand.  One man would hold the rivet in place while two other men would hammer, or swage, it to a tight fit.  All of this was done without ear protection or and safety gear. The exhibit was incredibly informative and realistic.  The exhibition ended in a filming of the actual underwater wreckage.

We had travelled from Ireland, where the currency is the Euro, to Northern Ireland, where the currency is the British Pound.  In true Tauck fashion our tour director handed us 40 British Pounds cash for lunch at the Titanic Experience when we got off the bus.  This is just another example of how well Tauck takes care of you.

We spent several hours touring the Titanic Experience and having lunch at their facility.  We then joined our bus again and received a narrated tour of Belfast from a local guide.  Again, I was amazed at how intense and how violate the conflict in Ireland really was between the Catholics and Protestants.  I am continued to be amazed at the quality and skill of our bus drive, Gerry.  Typically, streets in cities that are centuries old are narrow have tight corners.  Gerry navigated them flawlessly.  We ended up at our new hotel in Belfast for the next two days, The Merchant Hotel.  As with all the hotels that Tauck chose for this tour it was fantastic!!!

This evening was a special dinner, a Titanic tasting menu dinner.  The entire group sat together at a long table and were served samples of the menu that would have been served on the Titanic.  It was very formal, petite servings and very, very delicious.  The main course was lamb, at least for us, and it was some of the best lamb that I had in Ireland, and I ate a lot of lamb dishes in Ireland.  It was a formal evening with many of our travelling companions dressed up with coat and tie, and evening dresses.  Carol and I don’t really do “formal”.  After I retired, I got rid of my coats and ties, I don’t do formal anymore. Formal for me is just a long sleeve knit black shirt and whatever pants I have that are clean.  Nevertheless, it was a special evening that allowed us to get to know more of our fellow travelers.