HOY, Orkney, Scotland - The MS Caribbean Princess steamed north from Belfast, toward the North Sea and into the northernmost waters of the British Isles. We finally reached port in the Orkney Islands, the windswept and seemingly treeless archipelago just north of Scotland. Orkney is about as Viking as it is British, as it has been a crossroads and a safe haven for travelers for thousands of years.
Amidst Orkney's 70 islands is Scapa Flow, a body of water that became the focal point of naval warfare in both World Wars. Throughout its history, the Royal Navy had always operated out of ports on the English Channel, but in 1904, concerned by the rapid buildup of German Kaiser's High Seas Fleet, the Admiralty decided to construct a northern base to counter a potential menace.
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