Guest 715- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 2,438
Cracking photo John as always.
Audere est facere.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Have got John's picture on the frontpage now and looking very good indeed.
Many thanks John for that.
Today we have two further arrivals..the Ocean Princess and the Crystal Symphony...
I had a stab at catching the Crystal Symphony arriving in the dark and gloomy conditions just before 6am...very dark, very menacing sky....here she is...you can just make her out.
also..one more..
below is the scene over the harbour late yesterday evening. So we have pictures here from both extreme ends of the day. The sun was going down behind the camera and photographer (yours truly )...but its late rays were catching the clouds over the channel producing a spectacular light show and all natural too, what you see here is just reflected light...the gulls were soaring in the calm and unusual conditions...I like this one, it looks better larger than shown.
Guest 663- Registered: 20 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,136
Some great pictures on this thread and a cracking frontpage picture, as always our frontpages are topical and up to date with all that happens around here locally and sometimes further afield.
Guest 643- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,321
John,
Any chance I could have a bigger version of your gorgeous photo - please? I would love to have it as my desktop wallpaper.
You know how much I love ships and the Alert is one of my favourites along with Galatea of course. I was in Harwich last week and saw Alert towing a lightship out - roped together side by side.I did take some photos but not for here cos it's not Dover.
Spent a lot of time on the Ha'penny pier watching the comings and goings there and Felixtowe. Wonderful!
There's always a little truth behind every "Just kidding", a little emotion behind every "I don't care" and a little pain behind every "I'm ok".
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,895
I quite often use the wonderful pictures on here as they are, they blow themselves up if you know what I mean
.
I right click to download them to my Pictures folder and transfer them to the desktop (background) from there by again right clicking, I hope that makes sense.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Very turbulent conditions yesterday at sea. Felt sorry for all those families crossing, we will have some rough pictures in due course. Gloomy and dark as well...here is the Ocean Princess leaving last night in the gloom, escorted by both tugboats. Not a night for cruising!
Guest 718- Registered: 28 Jun 2011
- Posts: 195
Jacqui,
I've sent an E-mail to you. If your address has changed can you let me know and I'll send you the pictures in higher res.
John
Guest 643- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,321
Hi John,
Yes got your email and have replied - thanks xx
There's always a little truth behind every "Just kidding", a little emotion behind every "I don't care" and a little pain behind every "I'm ok".
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Here are a couple of shots from this morning..taken about 6.20 as the sun rounded the headland. They show the Costa Romantica, still cuts a fine dash even though we have seen her plenty of times.
First the wider view showing the sky and the weather prospects in store, then a closer version...
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
Hope the shops open for their passengers.
Roger
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
should be a few open roger,well most of the big ones anyway roger.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Although the ship yesterday, the Costa Romantica, was met by an ever larger group of multicoloured coaches whisking visitors away, there was still quite a few tourists around and about yesterday. While ambling up along the seafront yesterday early afternoon, we could see there were many enjoying Dover's very nice seafront in a nice bit of unforecast sunshine.
Also quite a few crew off the large ship were also enjoying our natural facilities and having fun...photographing each other a lot..so they must like it. The Kiosk cafe outlets were also doing well.
Whether visitors like these go further into the town I dont know.
The Dover Marina seafront hotel was possibly 60 or 70 % visitor during lunch.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
the numbers that visit the town grows year on year paul, not surprising with the cost of excursions run by the cruise companies.
as for the crew, they love market square for photographs - savers, argos and the hospice shop for their purchases.
Guest 663- Registered: 20 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,136
Yes while enjoying a very leisurely lunch in The Dover Marina hotel, which was busy with Guests and people just dropping in for lunch or a drink, also many others just enjoying a stroll along the seafront in the very plesant sunshine.
Many looked like passengers from the ship along with some of the crew as PaulB has said all taking photo's on their mobile phones, it was nice to see that some had not vacated Dover to go off else where.
Guest 762- Registered: 12 Jul 2012
- Posts: 21
Of the 1500 passengers ( plus crew) on the Costa Neo Romantica, 500 ( passengers and crew) travelled on the cruise shuttle buses into the town. Many more took taxis or walked. It is unfortunate that more shops weren't open. You are correct that many of these passengers will not take the over-priced ships excursions, so Dover ( as the second busiest cruise port in Britain ) must try harder to give them an opportunity to leave their money in the town.
Guest 718- Registered: 28 Jun 2011
- Posts: 195
As well as the Saga Sapphire and Braemar we have the pretty little Delphin arriving on the Admiralty Pier extension this morning at about 06:30 on one of her not-too-regular visits to Dover.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Very interesting posts there guys with very good points...yes looks like its going to be busy today. The Delphin as mentioned there by John ( nice pic again John ) is arriving as i write...here is an almost LIVE picture..
The Saga Sapphire as mentioned on previous post has been in for quite some time already...
slightly blustery slightly choppy morning.
Guest 697- Registered: 13 Apr 2010
- Posts: 622
As Dave commented, the town and its retailers really need to "up their game" if they are to truly capitalise on the potential spending power of cruise passengers. All too often our shops are shut (e.g. Sundays during the summer) at precisely the time they could be making money. Remember, cruise ships are seasonal trade only for Dover as the port hasn't managed to secure a year round operator. Retailers can't complain about passengers going to London or Canterbury if they can't be bothered to open, or think creatively about how to entice cruise passengers into their shops. There should also be more entertainment lined up during the summer cruise season, events in Pencester Gardens, etc. As I have said on this forum on many occasions, the cruise sector is expanding and a lot of other destinations around the UK have ambitions for the cruise trade. This is a competitive market and cruise operators will not hesitate to switch their allegiance if the destination "product" isn't up to scratch. There needs to be a strategy for Dover.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
the sea looked rather choppy looking down earlier this afternoon.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Good ones there Howard. I went for the extreme opposite.. the wide angle view of it all. Capturing hopefully the three ships of yesterday (Delphin, Braemer, Saga Sapphire ) and the approaching weather. All looked very gloomy and threatening there for a while. I had to brighten this picture up as it was even gloomier than shown. The sea was rough and is even rougher today...oh dear..some summer this is. My daughter braved all this to go to Boulogne yesterday..she loves that Nausicaa place and it sure does bring the visitors in..it's a goldmine for Boulogne.
The reason I mention Nausicaa is to take up Kevin's point about more needing to be done to provide entertainment and facilities for cruise passengers, to secure the vistor numbers and to secure their return at future times. I heard a managing director of a cruise company making a speech at a launch here a while back saying how committed he was to Dover, sadly the committment only lasted a short couple of years. His fleet is elsewhere now.
email: dover7@msn.com
email: dover7@msn.com
email: dover7@msn.com
