Still a Few Cabins Left for Celtic Genealogy Cruise May 2019

There are still a few cabins left for the Celtic Genealogy Cruise May 4-16 2019. There are research opportunities in Dublin, Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh. There will be opportunities to consult with genealogists in Dublin (from the Irish Family History Centre) Belfast (from the Ulster Historical Society) and on board for those with Scottish ancestors. 
Historic excursions will be available for those who don't have ancestors from a given port or for those who are accompanying researchers. These include: The EPIC Emigration Museum, The Titanic Centre, Loch Lomond, Culloden Moor, Clava Cairns and Fort George. 
In Edinburgh there is the chance to take an Outlander tour of the filming locations. 

Until September 5th, Princess Cruise Lines is offering a FREE drinks package for anyone who books a balcony cabin or a mini suite. This is worth $144 per day or $1725 for the entire cruise - so well worth the upgrade. 

To book YOUR cabin:

https://www.oconnelltravel.com/rw/cruise/38998

FREE DRINKS PACKAGE FOR CELTIC CRUISE

Princess Cruise Lines has announced their Sip and Sail program, which goes through Sep 5th, for all those who have booked a balcony cabin or above. This program gives cruisers booked in balcony categories or above a free beverage package. The beverage package includes juices, soda, milk shakes, specialty coffees and liquor (up to $12 per drink and up to 12 drinks per day) for free (including the taxes). Basically, any drink they would have charged you for onboard.

If you have any friends interested in joining you on this cruise, this is a great time to book a balcony level or above cabin. There is a cost savings of $68.99 per person / per day for this drink package. That adds up to $828 for the 12 days of the cruise. 

DISCOUNTED DEPOSIT IS BACK

Just in time for both Canada Day and the 4th of July, Discounted Deposits are back. This allows you to book your cabin for just $100 usd. Treat yourself to a trip of a lifetime. Visit your ancestral homeland by sea, just like your ancestors did. Immerse yourself in Celtic Culture. And revel in the deep and rich history of your Scottish and/or Irish heritage.

The discounted deposit runs from July 1-7 and can be used in conjunction with the FREE drinks package if you book a balcony or higher level cabin. 

LAST CHANCE TO SAVE

The Discounted Deposit Sale ends May 31. For just $100 usd you can reserve your cabin on the Celtic Genealogy Cruise. 

Come join us. Enjoy the rugged beauty of your ancestral homeland. Immerse yourself in the culture and rich history of Ireland and Scotland. Indulge your Inner Celt. Come visit your ancestral homeland by sea, much the way your ancestors did. Visit the ports they emigrated from. Deepen your sense of who you are as their descendant. 

To reserve your cabin: http://www.oconnelltravel.com/rw/cruise/38998

Discounted Deposit for Celtic Genealogy Cruise!

Just in time for Summer!

Just in time for the May Two-Four weekend, or the Memorial Day weekend, Cruise Planners is offering a discounted deposit. For only $100 (usd), you can book your cabin for the Celtic Genealogy Cruise.

Visit your ancestral homeland much the way your ancestors did, by sea!

Ports of Call: 

Dublin

The cruise begins and ends in Dublin. Arrive a day early and join us for a night of dinner, storytelling and folklore at Dublin's Oldest Pub. While in Dublin, there will be the opportunity to research at the Irish Family History Centre, to consult with experts from the Centre and to have a private tour of the Emigration Museum. Those who choose to research will get a goodie bag that includes free access to Findmypast. 

Belfast

Because we arrive in Belfast on a Bank Holiday, we won't have an opportunity to research at the Ulster Historical Society but we will have the chance for consultations by the experts from the UHF. There will also be the opportunity to tour the Titanic Museum. 

Glasgow

We will dock in Greenock, the port many Scottish ancestors departed their homeland from. While in port, there will be the chance to research at the Mitchell Library, home of the Glasgow City Archives. Other research opportunities can also be arranged. For those not researching, Glasgow is an amazingly historic city. There are guided walking tours, including a guided tour of the Glasgow Necropolis, free social history museums like the People's Palace, the Police Museum or the Hunterian Museum 

Inverness

Indulge in the rugged beauty of the Scottish highlands. Research opportunities will be available at the Highland Archives. History is in abundance at the Culloden Battlefield, the Clava Cairns or any number of castles. Enjoy a cruise on Loch Ness. or simply wander along the River Ness and enjoy the beauty of the heart of the highlands. 

Arguably the best city on the planet, Edinburgh is full of history, full of culture, and a great place to spend a day. Research opportunities will be at the ScotlandsPeople Centre, the National Library of Scotland or the Scottish Genealogy Society. History abounds all along the Royal Mile all the way from the Castle at the top of the hill to Holyrood Palace at the foot of the hill. Wander along historic Princes Street where there is shopping, beautiful gardens and all sorts of street entertainment. 

Guernsey

We leave Edinburgh and enjoy a day at sea before arriving in the channel islands of Guernsey. Visit the home of Victor Hugo (it was here that he wrote Les Miserable), or the underground German war tunnel. This little island has lots of history to enjoy. 

Southampton

From Guernsey, we head to Southampton, another port where ancestors departed their homeland for shores unknown, full of the promise of new opportunities. The genealogy part of the cruise ends in Edinburgh but the history and beauty continues. 

Le Havre

From England, we venture across the Channel to Le Havre, France. This UNESCO heritage site was completely rebuilt after being bombed to bits in WWII. The apartment museum explains the impact on the city and the new build. Half an hour down the coast is Etreat where the natural arch bridge provides spectacular scenery. 

Cobh

Our final port is Cobh Ireland. This of course, is most famous for being the place from where the ill fated Titanic launched. There will be a chance to tour the Titanic Experience in the former White Star Lines Ticket Office or learn more about the ship at the Cobh Heritage Centre. The Centre also explores Cobh's history as a major port where people sailed from during periods of mass emigration. 

Ready to immerse yourself in the history of your emigrant ancestors? Interested in having the chance to consult with genealogists while in port, or even having a chance to research in local records? Why not take advantage of the discounted deposit sale, happening between May 24 and May 31. Just $100 usd holds your cabin. 

Here's the link to register: http://www.oconnelltravel.com/rw/cruise/38998

Limited Cabin Space for International Travelers

We have had a great deal of interest in the Celtic Genealogy Cruise and already have some bookings. We are delighted with the interest, but wanted to share some limitations to help you as you ponder and plan for the cruise.

We have secured a block of cabins and the cruise line has given us a group discount. As stated previously, once those cabins sell out, any additional cabins will be at the current market rate at the time we ask for the additional rooms. We are not there yet, so no need to panic.

However, we have a small number of cabins specifically for Canadian travelers that are offered in Canadian dollars. Once those are gone, they are gone.

We also were able to secure 5 cabins for international travelers - those from outside of North America. Once those go we can not get any more this year and international travelers will need to wait until 2020 to join the cruise. We have taken a booking for one of the international cabins and have one person who is considering booking an international cabin. At this moment, we have 4 cabins left for anyone from Australia, New Zealand, Europe or other countries who wish to join the 2019 Celtic Genealogy Cruise. If you are from one of those countries, you may wish to kick your planning up a notch so as not to miss out.

For more information: http://www.oconnelltravel.com/rw/cruise/38998

Join Us on a Celtic Genealogy Cruise

Our cabins on Crown Princess are reserved for the Celtic Genealogy Cruise and ready to be booked!

The cabins will be booked by genealogist and travel agent, Terri O'Connell (some of you may know Terri from the Unlock The Past Cruises or from Gena & Jean's Cruises).

The conference for learning ahead of the cruise and the shore excursions, including research trips will be booked through me.

Ports of Call:

• Dublin
• Belfast
• Greenock (Glasgow)
• Inverness
• South Queensferry (Edinburgh) 
• Le Havre France
• Southampton
• Guernsey
• Cobh 

Terri is ready for your info. Just head to the website and click on the button that says "More Cruise Details" which is on the How it Works Page.

We anticipate filling up quickly once the cruise opens up to my general mailing list and once the blog post goes out. Once the spots are gone, any additional cabins will be subject to availability and at current market prices, not at our group booking rate.

So Many New Resources for Irish Research

With the opening of the new PRONI centre in Belfast, there has been a great deal of activity in digitizing and making accessible, items of interest to those searching Irish ancestors. The PRONI centre allows onsite access to Irish records in much the same fashion as the Scotlands People Centre in Edinburgh at Register House.  There has never been a better time to be researching your Irish roots. Here is a list of what is available online – most of it FREE:

Thousands of eyewitness accounts from the bloody Catholic uprising of 1641 have been transcribed and put online for the first time. The uprising ultimately resulted in half the land owned by Irish Catholics being confiscated and given to Protestants from Britain. This land redistribution, based on some 5,000 sworn statements given by the eyewitnesses, make this free collection a valuable resource for genealogists. Here’s the link: http://www.1641.tcd.ie/index.php

The Irish Newspaper Archives has expanded their list of newspapers that can now be searched for free. There is a cost to view the actual article. http://www.irishnewsarchive.com/Default/Skins/SEARCH/Client.asp?Skin=SEARCH&enter=true&AppName=2&AW=1304766319516

Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin has added burial records that go back as far as 1828, which predates the official opening of the cemetery in 1832. Officially known as Prospect Cemetery, it is the largest nondenominational cemetery in Ireland and contains an estimated 1.2 million burials. Both Protestant and Catholics are buried in this cemetery and this record set is an excellent place to look if you have ancestors from Dublin. Have a look: http://www.glasnevintrust.ie/genealogy/

The website Irish Genealogy continues to add more Catholic church records to their website. The most recent update includes church records for Dublin City, Carlow, Cork and Kerry. http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/

Ireland Genealogy also allows you to search through historic Irish Pension Records by surname. These records predate the 1901 Irish census. Although these records are currently held at the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland, many of these records are not indexed by surname. Thus, this website can save you time and effort. There is no cost to search but there is a fee to see the full record  http://www.ireland-genealogy.com/

The Guinness Brewery in Dublin has digitized historical employee records from the brewery spanning the period from 1759 to the present. Some 20,000 individual employee files have gone online, which represents about 80% of all employees who worked at the historic brewery. A typical file lists the employee’s name, date of birth, date of death, employee ID number, date joined the brewery, date left, occupation and department that the employee worked: http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/GenealogySearch.aspx

Here’s what’s new at PRONI:

• 93,000 wills from the district probate registries of Armagh, Belfast and Londonderry online for free. They can be viewed here:  http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives.htm

• probate registries for the districts of Armagh, Belfast and Londonderry. http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives.htm

• historic photographs online through Flickr. The first batch of images is 15,000 pictures taken by a photographic studio in Armagh from 1900 to 1952. Many of the images are wedding and family group photos. The collection can be searched by family name. This is a good resource to check if you have ancestors from County Armagh. http://www.flickr.com/photos/proni

The Heritage Council of Ireland has launched a major new web portal called the Irish Archives Resource. It allows researchers to locate archival collections in Ireland that are relevant to their research. A detailed listing is provided for each collection along with instructions on how to access the collection. Many of the major city and county archives in Ireland have already contributed to the website. This site looks like it will quickly become a must-stop for Irish genealogy researchers: http://www.iar.ie/

Belfast City Council has digitized 360,000 burial records from three city cemeteries:  Belfast City Cemetery, Roselawn Cemetery and Dundonald Cemetery. Each record contains the following information: full name, age, sex, last place of residence, date of death, date of burial, grave section and number and type of burial.  http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/burialrecords/index.asp

Queen’s University in Belfast has created a virtual library on the history of Irish migration. The Irish Emigration database contains more than 33,000 records from various sources, including letters, diaries and newspaper ads. The Voices of Migration and Return database contains 90 life interviews conducted with migrants from the Ulster region. http://www.dippam.ac.uk/

FindMyPast Ireland has recently launched. Searchable records include land and estate records, Griffith’s Valuation of Ireland, directories, military and rebellion records, migration records and wills that go back as far as the 13th century. Here is just a sampling of what can be found on this subscription based site:

Marriages, Deaths, Wills (The Index of Irish Wills (1484-1858), Dublin Will and Grant Books Index (1270-1858), Philimore & Thrift Idexes of Irish Wills (1536-1858)

Sir Arthur Vicars Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland (1536-1858).

Census substitutes such as the Griffith’s Valuation, Tithe Defaulters of 1831 and the

Census of Elphin 1761

Treble Almanack & Dublin Directory 1783

City of Dublin and Hibernian Provincial Directory 1824

Thom's Irish Almanac & Official Directory 1884

Bassett's The Book of Antrim (1888)

The William Smith O'Brien Petition 1848-49

1798 Claimants and Surrenders

Ireland's Memorial Record: World War 1: 1914-1918