Dress accordingly for the ferry ride and activities sure to send chills up your spine, then set off on a half-day adventure on Spike Island, a 104-acre complex commanding a strategic position within the mouth of Cork Harbour. Your private, guided, behind-the-scenes tour introduces the history of the island, which includes a 7th-century monastic settlement, 18th-century artillery fortifications, and the 1850s punishment block with its spooky prison cells. The rugged Spike Island shoreline served as a hiding place for smugglers, and in 1847, the island became a prison soon housing over 2,000 convicts. Today, it is an interactive outdoor museum. Your guide will regale you with stories of the island's infamous dark history. Wet your whistle at the Captains Bar in a tasting of some of the local Spike Island rum. Return to Cork via the ferry and then walk back to the ship.