dock in Cobh

The Cobh Heritage Center is wonderful!!!

Google “Cobb shore excursions”.

Walk up the street past the ‘deck of cards’ houses. Then go see St. Colman’s Cathedral. The Titanic exhibit was interesting. We took the train to Cork. It’s inexpensive and takes less than 30 min. The walk into Cork was not too long...maybe 20 min. We walked to the English Market.

Definitely go to the Cathedral. There was a docent there when we went and she gave us a lovely tour of the Church. The Cobh Experience is wonderful. We just walked around, dressed up like Titanic passengers for a photo op, had tea and scones on the main strip. It was a relaxing day.

There is also a short boat ride from Cobh Harbor out to Spike Island, where there is an old restored prison facility, kind of like Alcatraz in San Francisco. Very scenic, good tour guides, interesting history of the place. Tours leave the harbor every couple hours, information at a kiosk right in the main part of the harbor. We did that tour, and then a look at Coleman Cathedral, a stroll through town, and it was a nice day in an interesting city.

The port is pretty well in the heart of Cobh, and the train station is right there. We spent the day walking around the town (attractions as previously mentioned) and enjoyed a delicious fish 'n' chips lunch. Our ship was there in mid-September and the Cathedral was beautifully decorated with a floral show - an added bonus. Other passengers did go to Cork however we were not interested in Blarney Castle.

The city museum is kind of quaint and a nice visit. When I was there in 2002, my travel partner and I were treated to a private tour even though the museum was closed for renovation. I still remember the tone of the docent's voice (or maybe just some local that had a key) saying "and it was very sad for the town," when the bodies were brought in from the Lusitania. We visited again in 2016.

Never did make it to the Queenstown Story one. The entryway seemed sort of cheesy to me in 2002, with the reocorded cheering meant to evoke the luanching of a ship. I sort of regretted not visiting later though. When we were there in 2016 we were in a bit of a hurry and the whole area around that museum was overrun with cruise passengers. So we decided to pass again. This is one town that cruise passengers can overwhelm. The ship pulls right up to the town, as it's a very deep water port, and there is a big cruise reception pavilion. That is where the Queenstown Story museum is now. The cathedral is only around 100 years old but it's well worth a visit. In my opinion from the outside it does not improve the aesthetics of the town though. It's way too big for the size of the town.

I have been to Blarney Castle and in 2002 it was a nice enough castle for a brief visit, but not worth paying for an excursion to get there. It was not well kept up in 2002 as it was for profit. I can't believe I kissed the stone, I would never do that today!