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Celtic Lands

Program Overview

Discover the legacy of the Celts in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and France on this carefully curated itinerary. Enjoy two full-day excursions to the historic D-Day beaches of Normandy—each accompanied by acclaimed historians Dwight David Eisenhower II and Allen Packwood OBE, in Cherbourg, France. Continue your cruise to Dublin, Ireland, Wales, and onward to the Isles of Iona and Tobermory before concluding in Glasgow, Scotland. Complement your journey with the Paris and Honfleur Pre-Program and/or the Edinburgh and Glasgow Post-Program Options.

 

Program Details

May 18 to 27, 2023 (Le Bellot)
From $6,495 plus air View Terms & Conditions
  • Uniquely designed travel program offered exclusively by Gohagan & Company in the tradition of innovative programming and educational travel.
  • Cruise for eight nights aboard the exclusively chartered, five-star small ship Le Bellot into ports inaccessible to larger vessels.
  • Two full-day excursions to the D-Day beaches of Normandy with visits to Utah and Omaha Beaches.
  • City tour of Dublin, featuring St. Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals.
  • Visit to the Isle of Iona, featuring the historic Iona Abbey.
  • Visit 13th-century Eilean Donan Castle and enjoy a scenic excursion across the Isle of Skye.
  • Complimentary alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages throughout the cruise; complimentary Wi-Fi aboard ship (conditions permitting).
  • Paris and Honfleur Pre-Program and Edinburgh and Glasgow Post-Program Options.

Day 1 - Depart the U.S. or Canada

Day 2 - Paris, France / Honfleur / Embark Le Bellot

Day 3 - Caen for Arromanches and Omaha Beach

Day 4 - Cherbourg, France

Day 5 - Tresco, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom

Day 6 - Dublin, Ireland

Day 7 - Holyhead, Wales, for Caernarfon

Day 8 - Isle of Iona / Tobermory, Isle of Mull

Day 9 - Kyle of Lochalsh

Day 10 - Glasgow, Scotland / Greenock / Return to the U.S. or Canada

View detailed program itinerary >

This program also runs in the opposite direction.

Le Bellot

Exclusively Chartered, Five-Star Luxury Small Ship

Le Bellot, launched in 2020, ushers in a new generation of five-star small ships, combining revolutionary design and a new standard of luxury for unparalleled cruising. Dock in smaller ports inaccessible to larger ships, where authentic cultural experiences and majestic scenery await you.

Learn more about the Le Bellot >

Paris and Honfleur Pre-Program Option

This three-day exploration of the “City of Light” and Monet’s cherished gardens in Giverny features a city tour of Paris, including Montmartre, and a visit to Monet’s Gardens. Enjoy accommodations in the five-star Intercontinental Paris Le Grand.

Glasgow and Edinburgh Post-Program Option

Explore two of Scotland’s greatest cities and their histories of clans, medieval knights and royal and religious intrigue on this three-night itinerary. Visit Glasgow’s 12th-century cathedral, the only medieval church in mainland Scotland to survive the reformation of 1560, and historical Edinburgh Castle. Accommodations in the five-star Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh The Caledonian. 

The Pre-Program and Post-Program Options are available at additional cost. Details will be provided with your reservation confirmation.

Grandson of General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Professor David Eisenhower is a noted historian of World War II and the Cold War. His 1986 bestseller, Eisenhower: At War 1943–1945, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. Eisenhower received a B.A.in history cum laude from Amherst College. Following graduation, he served in the United States Naval Reserve for three years as an officer on the USS Albany; shortly afterward, he earned his J.D. cum laude from The George Washington University Law School. Today, Eisenhower is Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a Public Policy Fellow at the Annenberg School of Communication and the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches “Communication and the Presidency.”

Allen Packwood OBE Guest Speaker

Meet acclaimed guest speaker Allen Packwood OBE, Director of the Churchill Archives Centre and a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, England. He was co‑curator of “Churchill and the Great Republic,” a Library of Congress exhibition, and of “Churchill: The Power of Words,” a display at the Morgan Library in New York. Packwood is the author of How Churchill Waged War, has lectured extensively on Sir Winston Churchill, and organized a 2009 conference titled “The Cold War and its Legacy”—attended by senior representatives from China, Germany, Romania, the Russian Federation and the U.S.

Program Rates

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Program Itinerary

Day 1 and 2 Departure

Your trip will begin by departing the U.S. or Canada.

Day 2 Paris, France / Honfleur

Transfer to Honfleur and embark the Le Bellot. Attend dinner on board this evening.

Day 3 Caen for Arromanches and Omaha Beach

Drive to Longues-sur-Mer, where the coastal German artillery battery remains intact. Continue to Omaha Beach, where Allied forces landed on June 6, 1944, and walk the historic Normandy shores. In the company of Professor Eisenhower, contemplate the solemn commemorative crosses and Stars of David in the American military cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. Conclude your day with the Captain’s Welcome Reception.

Day 4 Cherbourg

Visit Pointe du Hoc and continue to the Church of Angoville-au-Plain to view its stained-glass rendition of the American Airborne parachute drop. Nearby, visit Utah Beach and the Utah Beach D-Day Museum. In Sainte-Mère-Èglise, one of the first French villages to be liberated by American forces during World War II, see its famous church, where American soldier John Steele caught his parachute on the steeple and “played dead” for two hours before being taken prisoner.

Day 5 Tresco, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom

Visit the family-owned island of Tresco, famed for its 19th-century Tresco Abbey Gardens, built around the ruins of a Benedictine Abbey. Explore the garden’s Valhalla Museum, home to an eclectic collection of 30 shipwrecked figureheads recovered across the Isles of Scilly.

Day 6 Dublin, Ireland

Enjoy a panoramic tour of Dublin, featuring St. Patrick’s and Christ Church cathedrals and grand O’Connell Street, lined with statues of Irish statesmen. Stroll through quadrangles of Trinity College, founded in 1592. Enjoy a traditional Irish music and dance presentation on board this evening.

Day 7 Holyhead, Wales, for Caernarfon

From Holyhead, transfer across the quaint Isle of Anglesey and over the Menai Strait to North Wales, the cradle of Celtic culture, where Welsh remains the mother tongue. Visit beautiful Bodnant Garden and experience the grandeur of the UNESCO World Heritage-designated Caernarfon Castle, a 13th-century fortress built by Edward I of England as a defense against the marauding Welsh.

Day 8 Isle of Iona / Tobermory, Isle of Mull

Visit the inner Hebridean Isle of Iona, the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland, to see its restored abbey and intricate Celtic crosses. Later, join Allen Packwood OBE on board the ship as he discusses the complexity of the D-Day operations and Sir Winston Churchill’s role in its undertaking.

Day 9 Kyle of Lochalsh

Enjoy views of the Black and Red Cuillin mountain ranges at Sligachan and the heather-woven hills and rocky shorelines of Sleat, the “Garden of Skye.” Visit 13th-century Eilean Donan Castle, magnificently sited at the entrance to Loch Duich. Conclude your evening with the Captain’s Farewell Reception on board.

Day 10 Glasgow, Scotland / Greenock / Disembark ship / Return to the U.S. or Canada

Following breakfast, disembark and continue on to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Post-Program Option or transfer to the airport for your return flight to the U.S. or Canada.