First cruise ship of the season arrives

Just so you get an idea of size, that is a tour bus on the right of picture






From the Dublin Port website.

Arrival of "Grand Princess" marks the launch of Dublin Port's 2012 cruise season

The first grand cruise liner, the 109,000 tonne, 290 metre “Grand Princess” with almost 4,000 passengers and crew sailed into Dublin Port at 7am this morning to launch Dublin Port’s multi-million euro annual cruise season. The ship is the epitome of luxury with a magnificent array of facilities that include swimming pools, whirlpool spas, restaurants, bars and cinemas.

Grand Princess is the first of the grand cruise liners that will form part of the 90 cruise visits that Dublin Port Company has secured for Dublin following its marketing efforts to attract this valuable business. The arrival of these ships will generate a major boost to the city of up to €50 million for the local economy, bringing over 100,000 high-spend passengers to the capital this year along with significant numbers of crew who can experience the city during their shore leave.

The Grand Princess is 17 decks high and 290 metres long, the equivalent in length of three football pitches and carries almost 3,000 passengers and over 1,000 crew members. The $450 million vessel offers the latest in cruise luxury with over 710 staterooms, on-board shopping mall, cinema, a range of restaurant facilities, casino, swimming pools and even a nine hole golf putting course (see notes to editor below).

The cruise sector has become a hugely important part of the city’s tourism product since Dublin Port Company first targeted this trade in the mid 1990s. It is estimated that cruise liners have contributed over €350 million to the city in the last decade alone so Dublin Port Company is pleased to have played its role in attracting this business for the city.

Dublin Port Company recently announced it will invest €110m over the next five years implementing projects under its Masterplan 2012-2040 for future development at Dublin Port. Among the major projects identified in the Masterplan is the construction of a new cruise facility adjacent to the east of the East Link Bridge to accommodate the growing number of passengers and cruise ships coming to Dublin each season, bringing high spending passengers and crew within easy reach of the Luas, city center shops, eateries and attractions.

To progress the project, Dublin Port Company has formed Cruise Dublin, a joint initiative with Dublin City Council and Dublin Chamber of Commerce aimed at further developing the cruise tourism trade in Dublin. A study of the needs of the cruise industry and best practice elsewhere on how a suitable cruise terminal can be provided in Dublin is currently underway. The estimated cost of the development is €30 million. This study will be concluded later this month with a view to having a cruise terminal in place by 2015.



There was I driving along when I stopped to let a pretty girl cross the road.
She smiled waved and then jumped in !
"Any driver who is as courteous as you deserves not to have to wait at the rank" she said.
(Instant Karma)
She is an actress so we headed to the Gate theater where she was to hand in her CV.
A bright girl with a very clear distinct pronunciation. I reckon she will go far, at least I hope so. Amy Flood was her name, so when you scrool back in a few years her name was here first.
Talking about actors.
I picked him up in Booterstown going to Clontarf, we spoke about this and that. His girlfriend had given him the "Dear John" treatment and he was going to straighten things out with her,It turned out he was an actor as well, no no not plays, films.
Now he looked the part. A kind of younger Brad Pitt so I knew he was not bullshitting me. He had just come back from spending some quality time with his friend Colim Farrell in LA.
Colm Farrell is a really nice guy, he has helped him with his career which is something he did not need to do.
I would never push someone to tell me their name, if they tell me that's fine, if not that's their business.
Another story where the taxi driver comes in in the middle and has to leave before the end.

There's always someone much worse off than you she told me.
At the bottom of Clarendon St. she got in going to Sandymount.

I noticed by the way she lifted her leg into the car that she was an amputee.
Being ever so diplomatic I remarked on how well she walked !
A wonderful insight into her life opened between us, she had been involved in an accident with a train while on holiday and lost her leg below the knee.
Everyone deserves a good kick on the arse to sweeten themselves up and learn to appreciate their lives. Every time she has to go to the hospital she sees people who are so much worse off than herself,children, double and even quadruple amputees.

Do you know what? They are getting on with life and living it to its fullest extent.

There was a wonderful RTE radio program on the internet about a doctor from Northern Ireland who has a hospital in Cambodia, it went into the sad history of Cambodia and how the population were settled in mine infested land.
Constantly people are maimed, children and animals as well.
He was a wonderful enthusiastic man who realized that rather than fitting false limbs he would have to teach the people how to make and fit the limbs themselves.
So now he runs the biggest training hospital in that part of the world. Students come from the "Axis of evil" where their populations get bombed and maimed from babies to grandparents. But by being there he can help.

So you see things are not quite that bad, even when they are worse you have to look for the silver lining on the clouds ahead.
So you see things are not quite that bad, even when they are worse you have to look for the silver lining on the clouds ahead.

I spoke of a restaurant in Sandymount to her, she had worked as a restaurant manager in her younger days.
I go there for take away coffee and the guy said 3 sugars, No I said 2 spoons.
Driving down the road I found he had put in 3 spoons of sugars.
So the next day again he said 3 spoons. No only 2 spoons, but he put in 3 again.
A week later I stood at the coffee counter and told him that he has been putting in 3 spoons of sugar when I only want 2.
"If you asked for 2 you would get 2!
End of story".
So driving away I was pleasantly surprised when the coffee was not as sweet as poison.
That is until I swirled the coffee around to get the froth off the sides of the cup.
The fecker hadn't stirred it at all.
So that place is right off my list!

She had brought a friend in there and had had 2 terrible experiences there as regards food.
Being an ex manager she knew what she was talking about, but her protests were badly handled.

I don't think it is all that hard to do things well or right. I also think that if someone has a problem and you resolve that problem that your business will improve as a result.
Ignore complaints and the word will soon get around.



I am away for a short while ....Good luck to you all.