Dublin & Wales – Day 6 continued can be found here.
After an early morning wake up we loaded up all our gear in our rental car (and our very kind great-grandmother’s car).
But we had one last chance to say goodbye to stunning Wales!
Then back on the ferry – this time with an extra passenger as one of the children insisted on purchasing a Welsh, blobble-headed sheep. Since they used their own money it was hard to argue – at least it’s small.
Disembarkation went smoothly until we checked where our taxi was – cancelled. Okay, that’s annoying. Let’s try another company. Declined. And another. Unavailable. At this point we were getting really frustrated. Yes, were were four people with a bunch of suitcases so we needed a van but there must be one somewhere in Dublin – we hadn’t had this issue earlier in the trip.
Lesson learned for next time – we should have just booked another ride through Corporate Chauffeur Services, the same company that had brought us in from the airport.
We finally ended up snagging two taxis and splitting up the group (and the bags), but this was a headache and everyone was cranky by the time we finally made it to the hotel.
But what a hotel it was! For Silversea expedition cruises they often put you up for a night at the beginning of the cruise and a night at the end (although that does depend on the itinerary) and for our trip that meant Anantara the Marker. We were in the Financial District – a completely different area of Dublin from our last stay – which meant new parks and places to explore.
Since we’d already done most of the tourist-y things in Dublin we decided to have a low-key afternoon and explore Sean Moore Park which was on the nearby waterfront.
Nearby was relative, it was a 20 minutes walk according to Google Maps, but turned out to be closer to 30 minutes. Thankfully there was plenty of shade at the park and enough equipment to keep the kids occupied for over an hour.
Photo courtesy of the playground builder Hawthorn Heights
For anyone with children it’s worth noting that there were no toilets at this park, and indeed it was remarkably difficult to find any nearby. We eventually swung by a cafe and picked up a coffee to use their washrooms.
Then back to the hotel and a quick swim in their pool. Children are only allowed in the pool at certain times so it’s worth confirming that in advance.
Photo courtesy of Anantara the Marker Dublin
Then we headed off to a lovely dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. The cocktails were inventive and truly outstanding. Service was slow but since the restaurant was at capacity we weren’t surprised. Given that we knew many other cruise ship passengers would be present in the hotel we had made dinner reservations weeks in advance, which we’d highly recommend doing. Even on the smaller cruise ships such as Silversea’s Cloud the capacity is 254 passengers and they are almost all on the same itinerary for check-in and boarding – which means they’re fighting for the same restaurant tables.
The rooftop bar is the perfect spot to enjoy a tasty libation while enjoying the stunning view of downtown Dublin.
Old buildings and new rub shoulders in Dublin’s Financial District
We’ve now caught up to our original posts from last summer!
To continue reading about our Dublin to Greenland adventures please check out British Isles & Iceland – Day 1.