By:Marcia Abramson
It doesn't matter how many times I've seen the White Cliffs of Dover, it still evokes many memories.. In the past my daughter, Jill Wasser, and I have crossed the English Channel from Calais, France to Dover, England in a packet boat, in an attempt to recreate Charles Dicken's "Tale of Two Cities" and now we were looking forward to embarking on the inaugural luxurious Renaissance 8 Cruise ship for a 15-day sea voyage from Dover to Stockholm with loads of foreign city stops in between.
Meeting the ship from the city of Dover is particularly interesting for a myriad of reasons. First, it's close to the town of Rochester where Charles Dickens was born. Second, it is the site for the historic planning place where Sir Winston Churchill and Vice Admiral Ramsey schemed during the darkest days of World War II in 1940. From Dover Castle, these two leaders masterminded what was considered one of the war's best kept secrets, the evacuation of Dunkirk. They worked day and night, underground deep within a labyrinth of tunnels where military personnel were stationed during the most foreboding days of World War II. Here, Vice Admiral Ramsey was able to set in motion the plans to rescue an estimated 45,000 British troops from the beaches of Dunkirk, but in reality 388,000 troops were able to escape from certain slaughter by the Axis military machine to the comparative safety of the shores of Kent in England.
For World War II buffs, that wartime atmosphere has been recreated with dimly lit tunnels and the terrifying sounds of bombers can be heard overhead. A Command Center has been reconstructed where the sound of people at work in the Anti-Aircraft Operations Room, the Telephone Exchange and Repeater Station is highly audible. Dover Castle did play one of the most vital roles in its 2000-year history during the 1940s. Unfortunately, there was a great loss of lives during that war which did ultimately end in 1945. The optimism of the American troops was expressed in the popular song of that era aptly named the White Cliffs of Dover with the refrain:
"There'll be bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover Tomorrow when the world is free.
There'll be songs and laughter and joy ever after Tomorrow, just you wait and see."
The third reason for a visit to Dover is witnessing the pomp and circumstance of a royal visit to the Castle by the Tudor Court of King Henry VIII. You can see a Watching Chamber, the King's Presence Chamber and the Royal Bed Chamber in addition to all the accouterments necessary for royal travel. This is quite a treat and a fitting end to a day in Dover with the anticipation of passing a security check to board the Renaissance R8.
After identifying our luggage, my daughter and I were greeted by a very personable jovial young man from Australia named Andy who took our luggage and guided us to our stateroom. He carefully inspected the cabin to see that the beds were made properly, that the air in the room was satisfactory, and that our ice bucket was filled. What a delight after a long day of travel and sightseeing! Since we were repeat sailors on the Renaissance, our surroundings were very familiar and required no additional time for orientation. The furnishings of our suite are identical in all the Renaissance R ships. They have rich mahogany English Regency furniture with elegant draperies and bed spreads in a lovely blue and ivory scroll pattern. Then we heard the loud
speakers announce a mandatory "life boat drill." We donned our life vests and headed for our assigned life boats. The drill did not last for more than 30 minutes with just enough time for us to head for one of the four restaurants. The dining experience on the Renaissance is "country club casual" with open seating and no reservations at the Club Restaurant or the Panorama Buffet. We enjoyed the informality of the Panorama our first night at sea, but did look forward to the Italian and Grill Restaurants where reservations are required.
My next column will describe the important port of Le Havre where our Gl's landed for our successful invasion of Nazi dominated France.
Copyright by Marcia Abramson
