Sailing the Marina: Five Ports in 12 Days | Mighty Cruise Ships S3E6 (Full Episode) | MIGHTY

This vessel shines with opulence. The moment you set foot on the ship, you see the special. And the finest tastes. This is wonderful. It has everything you could ask for. Marina cruises the isles of the UK and Ireland. I've been seeing things I never thought I would ever see. Stomping. For the guests. Titanic was right here. It's a grand adventure. Awesome! For the crew, it's a test of precision and pressure. It is not easy. We need to follow their orders. Marina is a jewel of the seas. Everything here says indulgence. This is very good. The rooms are beautiful. Service is outstanding. Every night, it is the best thing I've ever tasted. From the palatial suites to the splendor of more than 600 state rooms. With veranda views like this. The majesty and the size and the scope of the ocean to me is just fantastic. I love being on this ship. For every guest we have on board, we almost have one crew member. Big enough to host more than 1,200 passengers. With a power plant geared for both comfort and agility. I do my job to gain performance. Marina is still nimble enough to navigate through narrow channels. Hold on the stern line. And tight ports. Okay. Don't stop it. Don't stop, Captain. Perfect. Captain Leo Strazicic is the cool hand at the helm of Marina. I never raise my voice. I'm very calm in difficult situations and it makes them feel more secure and confident. It feels good. I mean, a great responsibility, but it feels good. He grew up beside the sea and quickly became an ace. I was a decadent. After I collected some sea time, I could pass my exam for the master. Then I was captain first time when I was 13. The captain will guide Marina on an 11-day journey featuring the treasures of the British Isles, where guests will have the chance to see ancient castles and legendary landmarks. This is like a way to see the world and experience things you'll never see if you stay in America. Exactly. The cruise begins in Amsterdam, sailing out to the North Sea to reach Edinburgh, the first of three stops in Scotland, before crossing the Irish Sea to Belfast. Then Marina will zigzag between England, Ireland and Wales, all leading to a final stop in the South of England, where guests get to marvel at Stonehenge. At the cruise port in Amsterdam, Marina's crew brings more than 1,200 guests aboard, delivers 3,000 pieces of luggage to rooms, stocks the pantry with dozens of pallets of the freshest foods, then sails 24 kilometers down the North Sea Canal to exit the port. Okay, take command in the center. Take command in the center. To navigate the canal, Marina gets the help of two local pilots, Bart Urend and Bart Blocker. Cruise ships are designed for the Caribbean and the trade winds in the Caribbean mostly go up to 20 knots of wind, and today we have gusting winds up to 30 knots. The ship's not designed for this. Those driving winds have the bridge team on its toes as the ship approaches the Amauden Locks, which keep the water level in the canal at a constant 15.5 meters depth. Marina has been assigned the North Lock. It's 400 meters long and 50 meters wide. We'll be around six meters on each side. Two tugboats are called in to position the ship in the lock. We will have side winds stronger than we can cope, so they will assist us to keep us in the middle of the lock. We can be able to enter without scratching the ship. It's a tightly focused 20 minutes. Steady four meters. Keeping steady in the lock. Stop the tugboat aft. Five zero to go. Three hours after leaving Amsterdam, they enter the North Sea. The pilots make a daring departure and Marina begins a 790 kilometer, 35 hour journey to Edinburgh. Evening everybody. Senior executive chef Laurent Trias has a busy night ahead of him. When they cook, the thing is moving too much. So now we're going to Mengale. Tonight we have the sixth galley which is open because the day at sea and it's very busy. We have about 40 cooks now working in Mengale including the pantry and we expect to be extremely busy tonight. There are nine dining experiences on board. The company's reputation is based on the culinary and we need to have the high standard of this. Guests revel in their surroundings. For a smooth seas and a good health. Cheers. And look ahead to sounds and flavors of Scotland. By 6 a.m on day three, Marina is approaching Edinburgh. But they can't dock there. Our raft is 7.4 meters so they don't have a pier for us. Smaller cruise ships dock at the pier in the inner harbor. But Marina is too big to pass through the lock to get there. Instead they'll have to anchor in the outer harbor and shuttle the guests ashore. On the north cantilever there's like a big cross like that and behind it is a tower. If you have those in transit it's a really nice anchor position. For dropping an anchor you can't beat a visual transit like that. It's at least as accurate if not more accurate than any radar or electronics. In position three kilometers from shore, Captain Strazicic can drop the anchor. Go starboard anchor. Pretty much buying all the money. You can start to open starboard side tender platform. With most of Marina's 1,200 guests heading ashore and only 70 spots in each tender boat, there's not a moment to waste. You can lower tender number seven. Please come in. Copy that, thank you. Rene Rosas Mancia is Marina's destination services manager. It's all about visiting new places and Scotland has such a beautiful countryside so they go and explore. The rush is to get everything ready. How you see the port is very small and what we do is to set up all these vessels right here. Do you know how many the guests are bringing with you? No, I don't. We have all the tenders coming. The next one is already on the way. Good morning group number two. Group number two. Did you get some counts from the theater? Okay, very good. You can go. The guests head off to explore Edinburgh Castle, home of Scotland's crown jewels, and the alleys and pubs that weave through the old town. Back on Marina, a day in port means a busy day for the engineers. This ship is equipped with four diesel engines. At sea, two are needed to power the ship and two stand by as backup. But three engines must always be operational in order to sail. The engine department, we are the heart of the ship. Francesco Iorio's team is the invisible hand that keeps this ship running. From the bridge, they can be the brain but we are the heart and without our job, the ship cannot live. But on this cruise, there's a twist. One of the four engines is shut down, awaiting a replacement part. That makes it critical that the other three are kept in tip-top shape. Today, the chief's first engineer, Vedran Kratch, is the one applying the elbow grease. Each of these hatches covers one of the engine cylinders. Two engines have 12 cylinders, two have eight. If the injector in any one cylinder breaks down, it can shut down an entire engine. This is the fuel injector. This is the injector nozzle. As the engine is running, this is injecting the fuel. They have just eight hours to take every injector out, clean the surrounding area, lubricate a new injector and install it. For the chief, there's no cutting corners. By 7 p.m., all the passengers are back on board and the last tender boat is hoisted and secured. It's anchors away for a 400-kilometer overnight journey to the Scottish Highlands. With sunrise, a new port with its own obstacles. The narrow 400-meter wide channel leading to Invergordon is lined with oil rigs. We have an anchorage which is often full of rigs with chain systems and things of that nature, so there's obviously a lot of restriction. Okay, take command on the port. It's day four of Marina's voyage around the historic ports of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The low water is only going to be nine o'clock, so we will push through the tide, yeah? Is that all right? This morning, they're approaching Invergordon, Scotland. Here in the north of Scotland, on the eastern coast, we are very heavily geared into the oil industry. The channel is lined with oil rigs awaiting repair or deployment on their next job. It's up to local pilot Bruce Tucker to guide the bridge team through this obstacle course. On your port side, we will pass all these oil rigs now. Scottish waters have the largest oil resources in the United Kingdom, worth up to $33 billion. This is the last oil rig that we pass here. We just have to remember that there's a chain system. Each rig has eight chains that anchor it in place. We have an anchorage which is often full of rigs with chain systems and things of that nature, so there's obviously a lot of restrictions at times. Some of those anchor lines spread out 500 meters from the rigs. Marina needs to steer clear. On this south side, you have a yacht and a mooring here. They pass the last rig, one and a half kilometers from the dock. The winds are calm, so Captain Leo Strazicic decides he'll turn the ship around to park at the pier. If I didn't turn now, I need to turn on departure. With higher winds forecast for this afternoon, it's a good move. If I have wind pushing me, there is limit like 20 knots for me that I can fight. Otherwise, I would need to call the tug. Calling in a tugboat would cost more money and take more coordination. In this case, I will manage to do it with ship's power. From the starboard side bridge wing, he rotates the ship 180 degrees to port. Then he crosses to the control panel on the port side wing and uses the ship's thrusters to move sideways with a clear view of the pier. We are in position. It's always something different for us. Every new pier is kind of a challenge. Station one tied up a little more and make fast. The captain did very well. Now we can go ashore. The lines are tied off. The gangway is lowered into place. Room number 14. Morning, good morning. Marina's guests are eager to explore. Welcome to the highlands and 1215. Some head one hour inland in search of the Loch Ness monster. The Sirlenjack family has arranged some folklore from Adrian Shine of the Loch Ness Center and Exhibition. He's a local legend in his own right. Yes, Nessie does. In British Columbia, you've got Lake Okanagan, Ogopogo. I saw that. Ogopogo, you've heard of that? Adrian even built a submersible to explore the Scottish lochs, seeking to solve the mystery of monsters. I rode a rowing boat around the loch with a big camera with a light on it. So is Nessie real? That's a lot more complicated than it sounds. The witnesses tend to be honest. The cameras tend to lie. What I want them to do is to go away thinking about what sort of animals could live in Loch Ness. Back on Marina, General Manager Mark Varmenhoven is making his rounds. How are you today? All good. Ensuring that the ship is perfect. This needs to be fixed. And ordering repairs on anything that doesn't meet Marina's high standards. Okay, let me know what the carpenter says. Including the millions of dollars worth of custom teak all over this ship. You're the glue between all the departments that need to work together. While a few guests stay aboard to relax, others hit the roads that lead to one of the oldest Scotch whisky distilleries in the world. I urge everybody to come and experience the whisky. To see how it's made over 10 years. That's what makes it special. Chef Laurent Trias has come for a tasting with guide Aidan Bremner. So chef, we're really glad you're here. And I heard that you love Scotch whisky. I do indeed. Grab a glass. This is our 10-year-old Glenmorengie original. The water we use is actually hard water from a spring high in minerals that's bubbled up through the Scottish limestone and sandstone. Our barley sourced from the fields around us. It's very good. Perfect. Another one I'm going to get. Thank you. With that, Marina's guests say farewell to the Scottish highlands. And enjoy an evening with all of the luxuries the ship has to offer. Early the next morning, there's a surprise for First Officer Boris Radev. Morning, sir. Just to inform you, in 10 minutes, we are entering in the channel. And on our port bow, we have one military submarine. Marina can't contact military vessels like this directly. We cannot communicate with them because since they are military, they don't have name on our radars. So we just try to stay clear from them. Until the submarine reaches out, there's nothing to do. It's before 7 a.m. on day five of Marina's cruise around the British Isles. We will have about two knots current, which will be on the bow as we're berthing. They're due to arrive in Greenock, not far from Glasgow, in two hours. But the ship is at a standstill. Submarine on our beam now. A Royal Navy submarine has caught First Officer Boris Radev by surprise. They're military and when they call us, we reply and we follow their orders. Boris and Third Officer Fergus Ervin are on early morning watch. So it's up to them to handle the situation with local pilot John Teel. Straight up ahead, close to our berth, we have quite a large naval base. So it's a common occurrence to have a submarine navigating up and down the channel. Long time I didn't see even military ship, especially a submarine. For now, the sub calls the shots. Marina must slow down and await its orders. If they want to stop, we will stop. If they want to overtake them, we will overtake them. Yes, sir, it will be 67 knots, correct, and 1.5 metres, correct? In this case, they advise to speed up and overtake them. And this is what we did. OK, very good. Thank you. Proceeding. With the submarine now behind them, it's smooth sailing to Greenock, the gateway port to Glasgow. It's looking good, Captain. We might have to shift a few more metres ahead. Very nice, Captain, very nice. The Captain manoeuvred his vessel very safely and in a nice controlled manner. It's always good when my heart rate does not increase as a pilot, so today I could sit back and have a cup of coffee. Clearing skies now begin to reveal the hills leading to Glasgow. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is Peter, your cruise director, and we would like to welcome you to our next port of call in Scotland. Passengers eager to explore get a little help from cruise director Peter Roberts. I do this every day. I assist in the tour dispatch so that all the guests know which gangway to use and that they've got all the right documentation, and then we send them off on their tours. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Scotland. Step in this way. Peter has personality. Have a wonderful day ashore. I love your shoes. Thank you very much. And 50 pairs of shoes to match. He's the star of the cruise, so he has to have the perfect shoes. Lots of people who come from North America have heritage either coming from Scotland and definitely Ireland, and they're very excited to go to all these places that they've just read about in a book or seen on TV. Hello. Good morning. Have a great day in Scotland. One of those places is Loch Lomond. It offers incredible vistas of the Scottish lowlands and highlands and lies within one of only two Scottish national parks. We are just above Loch Lomond here, a very unspoiled natural terrain here. We're right on the edge. It's called the Highland Fault Line, so you can see the lowlands to your right and the highlands to your left. And a little fun fact, there's one of the islands that's actually got a colony of wallabies on it, which were imported in for an exotic wildlife reserve, and they've actually survived and bred, and you can still see them today. We want to see parts of the world that we haven't been to, so this was on our bucket list. Back at the dock, the chef is fishing for some help. We are waiting for you on the outside. Wait, wait. I have one guy from the port here. He's trying to get a local seafood supplier he knows through the tight security at the front gate. The guy is at the entrance here, but he doesn't know where to come yet. We need to talk to the security at the gate. I'm trying to get some fresh fish and delivery, and it seems to be a bit challenging in regards of security to come in through the pier. Okay, fine, I'll be waiting for you. Because you cannot just walk in and drive into the pier, you know? It's completely forbidden. After 15 minutes of negotiation, Stuart Wilson and his fresh catch make it through to the dock. Wow. Do you want name as well? We check with the quality if it's fresh or what we order, but of course, when you see a thing like this, you cannot say no, it's just beautiful and alive. We have lobster claw, lobster head. This should be the monkfish cheek. Perfect. Very nice. No hassle. If it's not fresh, once you touch, it will not come back up. This shows that it is fresh. We have to supply, of course, and have the best for our guests. With the water the way it is, it's just the best quality you can get. Yeah, I source everything myself, so I try and get the best quality, and if I don't think it's good enough, I won't take it. Great product. What does this? Inside? Yeah, yeah. That's 3,500? Yeah. The price is not necessarily super good, but the fish is super fresh, and we know even if it's more expensive, we still have excellent quality that we couldn't find somewhere else. So it's very good. With today's catch on board, the galleys are hopping. Every dining room abuzz. By 10 p.m., things are also heating up on the bridge. Just singling up at the moment, and we're still all clear to depart. For a night departure that will require Marina to navigate through dark waters. Estuary, Marina, we're ready for departure now. And avoid some big obstacles. It's 10 p.m., and Marina is departing the port of Greenock near Glasgow. Just getting ready to depart from GOT now. Leaving at night has its own challenges. When it's dark outside, it needs to be dark inside. Our vessel's outbound for Belfast. Even the smallest amount of light on the bridge can make it hard to see what's nearby. With a container ship parked behind Marina, they'll need to move sideways well off the berth before backing into the channel. We move from the berth to clear the container ship behind us and the crane. We have about 25 meters from the container ship. When we clear, we back half a mile, and then we turn to starboard, and there we go. Marina backs up for nearly a kilometer. Then Captain Strazicic swings the ship around to sail forward. All clear, sir. Station one and station two, slowly, slowly, we are starting to swing them out of starboard. All counted off number one buoy now, and proceeding outbound. At least to 12 knots, please, Captain. Coming up. They clear the channel and are on their way. It's not just the bridge that's busy tonight. Marina's onboard bakery is a point of pride for the ship. Each morning, thousands of croissants and pastries are rolled out, rising before the sun does. After a 170-kilometer passage, Marina approaches the port of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Julie, give me steering here. Wings, steering engaged. No need to touch anything, she goes. Docking here is a cinch. Feel like matrix sometimes. She knows the way. Just steps away from the cruise pier is the dry dock where the most famous ship in the world was built. It's a must-see for the guests, but not so appealing for the captain. I didn't even see the movie. Welcome to Titanic's dry dock and pump house. It is the last place the Titanic rested on dry ground, her physical footprint in history. And it's from this spot that Titanic left for that tragic, infamous, and sadly cut short maiden voyage. Titanic sank some 12 days after leaving this area. What a tragedy for the biggest ship in the world deemed to be unsinkable. It took three years to build and outfit this mighty vessel. Titanic and her sister ships were really something special to come out of Belfast at that time. Harland & Wolfe was the biggest shipyard in the world, producing huge, big ships both for the Navy and for the White Star Line. For guide Susie Miller, this place holds a special connection. My great-grandfather was one of thousands of men who helped to build Titanic. But not only that, he actually sailed on her as an engineer. He was heading over to America to start a new life for him and his two sons. Of course, Tommy, as one of the crew, my great-grandfather, didn't make it. 269 meters long, 28 meters wide, and 10 decks high, Titanic was an epic giant of its time. But Marina's guests might be surprised to learn their ship is quite similar. A little shorter, but wider, and at 16 decks, taller, with far more space per passenger than the fabled ocean liner. It's amazing to see the actual dry dock. It's amazing to think that this was filled full of water and that Titanic was right here. It's something unique and it's something special that we didn't really expect that we would see. Great shot. You wonder, you know, what do cruise ship passengers think? Why are they fascinated with a ship that sank when they are on a ship themselves? But I think there's a certain type of cruise ship passenger who just loves maritime stuff. Titanic's story is the pinnacle of all things maritime. But the dry dock is just one of many historic sites in the capital of Northern Ireland. After a day of taking them all in, Marina's guests return to the ship. As they sail out, a posh experience awaits a dozen special guests in La Réserve. Pairing vintage wines with a seven-course meal. I'm pretty confident it's going to be the best dinner of the whole cruise. It's a medium body wine. It's very rich and very fresh on the palate. This dinner includes a velouté with pistachios, the best of the fresh catch. Lobster soufflé and stuffed Dover sole topped with black truffle. Very nice. And for an added touch... Hello, good evening. ...an appearance from the ship's master. This is the best place to be on the ship at this time. So lobster soufflé, correct? Correct. That was the last one. Did you prepare it? I tried. I started three o'clock this afternoon and I couldn't do it. Keep your day job. I go back to the bridge. To my personal concept, I think we enjoy quality of life and food and wine come with quality of life. If you enjoy life, you enjoy the food, you enjoy the meal and you enjoy sharing it with friends. So that's what it's all about. The next day dawns with the flames of an offshore oil and gas platform and a demanding approach to one of the most famous cities in Britain, Liverpool. Very challenging port with the strong tides and the sandbank, which are changing all the time. So it makes it quite difficult for a vessel of this size. Alignment. It's 7am and a burning sky greets Marina on day seven of its grand voyage around the British Isles. How's the endurance, Marina? Alive and clear? The approach to Liverpool is a 40 kilometre long passage along a channel that is much narrower than it looks. Between the markers, it's only 200 metres wide with shallows and sandbanks lurking on either side. Very challenging port with the shallow part, which they call the bar. And then we have another shallow part at Crosby Boy just here, where we're approaching now. Local pilot Simon Wood is aboard to help steer through the tight turns and stay clear of the ferries and pleasure crafts passing in close proximity. This is probably the most critical part of the channel. When ships are coming in and out, large ships, they're not allowed to pass in this area here because it's so tight. It takes another 15 minutes before the pier comes into view. So in the middle, we can have up to seven knots of tide against us, which is very strong for when you're docking on a cruise terminal. That tidal current is certainly in play today. So the captain makes the decision to park the ship bow in. Bow in, because usually ships, we go with bow into the current because it's much easier to manoeuvre that way. He will turn Marina into the current, pulling just ahead of the berth. Then he'll rely on the wind and waters to parallel park the ship. The tides are free and the wind, so we just use the elements. Don't use the fuel then. Yeah, everything's green. Lined up, the wind and current take over, moving the ship toward the pier. But the captain stays ready at the controls, just in case things move more suddenly than planned. While the mooring crew unravels the lines to secure the ship, the bridge team reflects. Fantastic job. Really good job this morning. One of the best. One of the best I've seen. Thank you. I know him from before. On the long and winding road they took to get there. It's famous mainly for football. And Beatles. And the Beatles. But it's not just the guests who are excited. Peter, Marina's cruise director, can't wait. He hits the town with his assistant cruise director and crewmate Jason. Hey, good morning. Hi, morning. We're excited to be in Liverpool, ready to see the Fab Four. Lots to see. Okay, brilliant. Let's do it. The Beatles changed the face of music history. So to be able to go on the Beatles journey has been absolutely fantastic. This is Matthew's seat. The cabin's down here. And this is where the Beatles were discovered, primarily. This is where the Beatles played 293 times. Oh, wow. Last time was August 1963. Within 12 months, of course, you had Beatlemania, Conquered America, and the rest was history. Okay, this is the shelter in the middle of the roundabout in the Penny Lane song. John and Paul would have to get off here and change to another bus to take them into Liverpool Institute and the Art College. Strawberry fields forever. We don't really know if there's any significance in Alan O'Rigby's grave. Who's your favourite Beatle? Lennon was my favourite. I think because he was a little bit edgy. And he lived here until 1963 until he had to move to London because this road here was swarming with young ladies. This is Forthlyn Road. This is where Paul lived upstairs in the bedroom when they stripped off some of the wallpaper. He found some of his song lyrics that he and John had written scrawled on the wall. So they've been left. It's just nice to be off the ship on such a sunny day and seeing all these places. For crew and guests alike, it's safe to say Liverpool is a hit. Awesome! Highlight of the trip so far. I love the Beatles. And I was like a little girl back as a teenager standing in the cavern where they got started. I couldn't stop jumping up and down. I had goosebumps. It was just incredible. I can't describe it. Topping off this good day, sunshine. But the bridge team is focused on tomorrow's approach to Dublin, the busiest port in all of Ireland. To get there, Marina sails 200 kilometers overnight across the heart of the Irish Sea. Yeah, you're still looking good there. Nice approach. Yeah, good speed. Half of Ireland's trade flows through the port of Dublin. And up to 150 cruise ships visit every year. Today, Marina will squeeze in to join three other ships in an already tight space. The captain has been assigned this berth. Marina is 239 meters long, but the channel is only 260 meters wide. So they will need to poke the bow in toward two other berths before moving alongside the dock. Well, we're just coming up to the turning position, which is quite tight for the length of the ship and the width of the channel. So we're just getting ourselves ready for the swing so that when we do complete the swing, we do it safely with good distance forward and aft. To five forward and to five aft. Pass the minimum now on the forward. Let us know when the bow is clear at station one. Lookouts on the bow in Stern report 25 meters of clearance. But from the bridge, it sure doesn't look like that. Station two, distance? To five forward and to five aft. Perfect. OK, now it's easy. While some stay on board for leisure, many of Marina's guests head to the most popular tourist attraction in Ireland, the Guinness Storehouse. When you drink them, they taste totally different. I need a pint. The first pint of Guinness includes a perfect clean, dry, cold glass that when you're pouring the pint, it comes out nice and swiftly. When you get it to the top of the little gold harp on the glass, leave it to settle for roughly 119.5 seconds. Once that's done, you top it off. When it's presented on the bar, it has a lovely dome on top of it. That is your perfect pint of Guinness draft. Destination services manager Rene doesn't do half bad. It is. I think I have one of the best jobs that you can possibly have on board a cruise line because you get to see the world. You get to be with people. But it's really very light. It is very light. And you get to experience, you know, different activities every day. After a full day taking in Dublin's charm, everyone returns to Marina feeling the luck of the Irish. You're actually getting like a lifetime experience and memories that, you know, you'll hold on to and things that you actually cherish. But as the ship readies for departure, alerts are going off on the bridge. Stand by three engines, red manning. For a potentially crippling problem in the engine room. We have a technical issue with one engine. It's 9 p.m. Marina is due to leave Dublin just an hour from now. But alarms are sounding both on the bridge and in engine control. Chief engineer Francesco Iorio rushes to the bridge to confer with Captain Leo Strazicic. With one engine offline awaiting a part, they've been sailing this entire cruise with just three available engines. Now, a second engine is offline, leaving them without backup. If it's not fixed, they won't be allowed to sail out. The chief troubleshoots with first engineer Vedran Krec. We have had one diesel generator running that was just one injection pump stuck. We need to replace this spare, this component. Unfortunately, happened one hour before the departure. The timing could not have been worse. Vedran and his team replaced all the fuel injectors in engine number two earlier this week. But the problem is with engine number four. So they're rushing to replace a fuel injection pump as quickly as possible. We are waiting for engineers to replace one of the pumps down there. We are trained to work under pressure because anything can happen on board. But it's not easy. Honestly, it is not easy. After an hour of frantic work and an hour of testing, the engine has been tested, successful. We were ready to leave at 11 o'clock. BTS Marina, we have engines available again. We have engines available. We're striking the gangway now. With only an hour lost, they're finally on their way. Marina's guests completely unaware of the drama behind the scenes. Most people, they don't know. Behind of this hotel, there is another works that is working to move. They don't have any clue about this. Copy that. Thank you. The final days aboard bring great fortune. Like kissing the Blarney Stone, not far from Cork, Ireland. The Blarney Stone was actually an altar stone that was given as a gift to the lord of the castle. The lord at the time, he actually had a slight speech impediment and he saw a woman drowning in the lake. So he jumped in and saved her. This lady, who was the witch that lived on the estate, she said, if you kiss the famous Blarney Stone, it will get rid of your speech impediment. So that's where the gift of eloquence or the gift of gab comes from. Nearly half a million people make the pilgrimage here every year, waiting for hours just to give this stone a kiss. Where is the stone? Well, it's located at the very top of the castle. So that's why it's in such an awkward position. Oh my gosh, I'm terrified. Very tight squeeze. It's very just, oh my goodness, you're holding on to your life. Scary, but it was good. It was worth it. By day 11, Marina has arrived at the Isle of Portland in the south of England. From here, it's about a two-hour drive inland to see one of the world's greatest wonders, Stonehenge. Some of these massive stones date back 5,000 years. Mystery surrounds how they got here, especially considering some are nine meters tall and weigh more than 20 tons. After all these years of hearing about Stonehenge, it's so incredible that they don't actually know how it was built, why it was built, when it was built. The chief engineer has found time to come marvel with his family. How do they call it in English? Stone. The place is Stonehenge. Every day we are in a new place, in a new port. It is something that is a part of the life that I choose. A passion to explore shared by crew and guests. We love Oceania. Every stop has been wonderful. And Marina does it with luxury. They always grant our every wish. The food's incredible. The service is absolutely wonderful. On this voyage, Marina has navigated the jewels of the British Isles. It's okay. Seeking legendary giants. This is the stuff of dreams. Sampling age-old traditions. And chasing cultural icons. Through narrow channels and tough turns, Marina has delivered a cruise to remember. I'm proud of my crew. I'm proud of my team. And mission accomplished again. With stories to last a lifetime. We will come back.