Well the 5th Unlock the Past Cruise is underway, and having boarded the Marco Polo ship on Saturday 19th July, we are now currently up to day 3.
As I have intermittent internet access onboard I’m not going to give detailed day-by-day happenings but rather an overview of what has happened so far.
Day 1 (Saturday) – everyone boarded during the afternoon, and could then go to their rooms, unpack their bags and then had time to wander around, finding out what is where on the ship. We set up our registration table and our geneacruisers could collect their name tag, lanyard, and cruise kit from us during the afternoon. In the evening we had a meet and greet session, and all the guest presenters were introduced. After that it was a late tea, and more chatting.
CMVs Marco Polo ship
boarding the Marco Polo
Unlock the Past’s registration desk
Unlock the Pasts meet and greet on the first evening
our fabulous speaker lineup at the meet and greet session.
L-R: Jackie Depelle, Geraldene O’Reilly, Rosemary Kopittke, Marie Dougan, Helen Smith, Paul Blake, Leslie Silvester, Mike Murray, Eileen Ó Dúill, Sean Ó Dúill, Lisa Louise Cooke
Day 2 (Sunday) – the first day of talks was a solid one with 7 talks scheduled throughout the day. It began at 9am with Lesley Silvester talking about the Mystery of the standing stones, followed by Rosemary Kopittke talking on Government and Police Gazettes as well as The Genealogist. Eileen Ó Dúill kicked off the afternoon with a great introduction to Irish genealogy, and Lisa Louise Cooke wowed the crowd with showing how to create an interactive family history map, which is guaranteed to get even your non-genie friends and relis interested.
Rosemary Kopittke talking on The Genealogist
the opening screen on Lisa Louise Cooke’s talk on Google Earth
Paul Blake talked on British probate record on the 5th Unlock the Past Cruise
The second part of the afternoon saw Paul Blake discussing British probate records, and Marie Dougan talked about families that moved between Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. The evening talks were Mike Murray talking about crofts and crofting, and Sean Ó Dúill on Irish death and burial, and all the Irish rituals and folklore that goes along with that. All up there was heaps of information learned in just that one day!
Dinner in the main restaurant was “formal attire”. Some went for it, and some didn’t.
Lisa Louise Cooke and her husband Bill all dressed up for the formal dinner
Marie Dougan dressed up for the formal dinner
some of the food on the Marco Polo
Day 3 (Monday) – we docked at Invergordon, in the county of Ross & Cromarty in Scotland. Most people went off to do tours throughout the day, while some like myself, just hopped off the ship and went for a wander around the town of Invergordon. Here’s a few photos from my wander around the town. We were very fortunate with the weather, as it was a beautiful sunny, 24C day.
my first look at Invergordon, Ross & Cromarty, Scotland
Scottish flag at Invergordon
on the way to Invergordon’s main street
main street Invergordon, Scotland
the gangway of the ship is where you get off and back on the ship
And I couldn’t do a post about a cruise without having some lovely sea shots, could I? So here’s just a few …
It’s still Day 3 here – and we have one talk scheduled for this evening. so I will report on that, and others in my next post.
Sounds amazing. Hope yoou are nejoying the small ship experience.
Sounds a great trip and the weather looks perfect. Appreciate the blog posts as you go!
Sounds as if you are keeping up the great enjoyable tradition of UTP genie cruises. Keep on blogging.
Looks like a great time. I would one day lime to see live Lisa Louise Cook presenting Google Earth for Family History.