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Old 08-10-2016, 02:16 PM   #736
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Hey, maybe we should suggest that for a future Celebrity cruise for their list of daily activities?
You got my vote!
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Old 08-10-2016, 03:50 PM   #737
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It'll be hard to choose which photo to frame. Stunning sunset!
That would have been hilarious to see people fighting over the lounger. My goodness, get a grip.
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Old 08-10-2016, 04:10 PM   #738
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It'll be hard to choose which photo to frame. Stunning sunset!
Oh it was - I am going to have a lot of trouble picking what goes on to that page of the photobook.

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That would have been hilarious to see people fighting over the lounger. My goodness, get a grip.
I know!
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Old 08-11-2016, 01:49 AM   #739
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Friday 10 June – part one: a new country comes into view

When I got up this morning, I was worried about what time it was, given it was 11:00pm when we went to bed. It felt like we were still moving, so I figured we hadn’t docked yet, which was good. I realised Mark had left the navigation channel on, which was helpful, as that gave a time, so I pulled on my glasses, and it was 6:20am, so we still had plenty of time before docking.

We both got up and got going, and had our traditional cup of tea. We were running low on sugar supplies by now, so I left some empty packets out as a clue for our room steward. We’ll see if he picks up on the hint…

We headed down to breakfast, and as we did, the phone let me know that we were in Finnish telephone space. Ok… I thought we were heading to Estonia. Five minutes later, my phone let me know I was now on the Estonian phone network. Now that’s more like it!

We headed up to the Oceanview Café, and got breakfast, while admiring the scenery. I love it when we get to see a new country for the first time, and never having been to Estonia before, I was particularly excited to be visiting here.

Once we’d finished breakfast, we walked along deck 14, getting some more photos. I’m pretty sure this is Tallinn Old Town from photos I’ve seen…



We headed into the Sky Lounge, and got some more photos there…



… before returning to the room for a slightly different view:



We watched as we sailed closer to land…



…. And then as we came up to the dock…



I never cease to be amazed by how smooth a process this is. You don’t even know when you’ve physically docked, even if you are watching. Amazing!

Another cruise ship was coming into port…



… and then we watchd the Celebrity crew getting us ready to go ashore…


This was one of the photographers – they would offer to take your photo with the “ship’s wheel”!


Next: can’t you multi task?
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Old 08-11-2016, 10:07 AM   #740
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There goes your phone again, undecided where you are! Always exciting to arrive to a new destination. Can't wait to see what you find!
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Old 08-11-2016, 10:28 AM   #741
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Yep, that's Old Tallinn! Such a beautiful place, I can't wait to relive it with you over the next installments!
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Old 08-11-2016, 10:35 AM   #742
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I'm with you, it's always so cool to be pulling up to a new Port and watch the giant ship maneuver on in. How'd the weather fare today, the photos look a bit overcast?
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Old 08-11-2016, 10:59 AM   #743
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Great photos coming into Tallinn and the docking! I thought the docking was amazing to watch on my cruise.
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Old 08-11-2016, 01:31 PM   #744
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There goes your phone again, undecided where you are!
It was insane the whole trip!

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Always exciting to arrive to a new destination. Can't wait to see what you find!
It is, and I love arriving in new places. Don't get me wrong, much as I love our Disney trips, I always like to try and combine it with something new as well to get that thrill of visiting another place in the globe.
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Old 08-11-2016, 01:31 PM   #745
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Yep, that's Old Tallinn! Such a beautiful place, I can't wait to relive it with you over the next installments!
It is stunning.
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Old 08-11-2016, 01:32 PM   #746
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I'm with you, it's always so cool to be pulling up to a new Port and watch the giant ship maneuver on in. How'd the weather fare today, the photos look a bit overcast?
It was a bit overcast at that point. As for the rest of the day... well, you'll see in due course...
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Old 08-11-2016, 07:05 PM   #747
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So neat to see a new country as the ship is pulling in to dock!
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Old 08-11-2016, 07:06 PM   #748
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Just catching up again, (where DOES the time go?)
How exciting to be going to a new country, even if your phone isn't too sure about giving up on Finland! The port looks quite inviting and it doesn't look too hilly in the town, so hopefully not too tiring for you.
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Old 08-12-2016, 01:36 AM   #749
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Just catching up again, (where DOES the time go?)
I know - we'll be seeing you in less than a month now!

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How exciting to be going to a new country, even if your phone isn't too sure about giving up on Finland!
No it wasn't, was it?

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The port looks quite inviting and it doesn't look too hilly in the town, so hopefully not too tiring for you.
It was fine as far as walking went... you're right, not really any hills, which was a very pleasant change from many cities.
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Old 08-12-2016, 01:37 AM   #750
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Friday 10 June – part two: can’t you multi task?

We docked around 9:00am, which was supposed to be the all ashore time, so I was very surprised when just 10 minutes later, they gave us the all clear to go. Impressive.

We headed down to the Celebrity Theatre, the first time we’d made it there this cruise, so it was nice to finally see it.



We were doing the Tallinn Old Town walking tour, and we were tour group number three, due to go out at 9:30am. I think we left a bit before that, as I checked my watch when we boarded the bus, and it was only just past that time then.

We didn’t have too long to wait before we were called, and here’s where you do miss the Disney difference. You don’t get escorted off the ship, you’re just left to your own devices, and are told where the bus will be waiting for you. That was a bit of a shock to the system.

Just as we were getting to the point where they swipe your cards to let you off the ship, the guy got a message on the walkie talkie, but rather than listening to it and continuing to scan people, he decided to stop, and take the message. For goodness sake, can’t you multi task?

Finally, we were off the ship, and I got a few shots as we headed for the bus…


This was the Tallinn mascot, but for the life of me, I don’t remember the details now – and I’m sure it was a clever play on words


When we got there, I was convinced that the young girl standing outside was going to be our guide, but it was an older woman. At first, I wasn’t sure about her level of English, as she was sound checking in Estonian, but I was to discover that she had a wicked sense of humour, and we absolutely loved her. We learnt so much from her.

Once everyone was on the bus, we made our way over to the upper old town, which was nice, as we were going to start at the top, and then head downwards – just how I like to do things.


A very nice idea, but we didn’t do this… you’ll see why later


On the way there, she explained how Estonia is exceptionally European and that’s what led them to ditch their own currency (the Estonian krone) about four years ago now and adopt the Euro. She talked quite openly about how important it was for Estonia to be a member of both NATO and the European Union and how they wanted to be accepted one day into the G7. Although our guide was always very light hearted about it, there was definitely an edge to her voice when she spoke about the Russians. The whole point of being members of these international organisations was to protect them from any future Russian aggression basically.

It certainly seemed to be a thriving city, and I suspect a lot of that is down to Estonia being one of the first countries to get independence from the former Soviet Union and to join those international organisations.

As we drove, we got a little light rain. Earlier on, we had been warned that the forecast was for rain, and that’s what the BBC had said too. I was hoping it would hold off until we were back on the boat.



We were dropped off here…



… and made our way into a nearby park, the Palace Garden, which was first created in 1773, when the former Toompea Castle was reconstructed as a seat of government. It’s appropriate, given the building you can see here is the Parliament building.



Next: learning more about Estonia and seeing its old town
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My Countdown Counting down to: 2019
Happy New Year!
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My Previous Trips21 trips to WDW, 6 to Disneyland in California, 9 to Disneyland Paris, 1 to Hong Kong Disneyland, 1 to Tokyo Disney, 1 to Aulani, 1 to Hilton Head, 2 to Vero Beach and 13 Disney cruises on the Magic, Wonder, Dream and Fantasy
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Celebrating 19 Years of Making Dreams Come True
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