A Baltic boating adventure TRIP REPORT COMPLETED 11/19 - Page 118 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Well if you have to transition back to reality, that's the way to do it. Easy off the ship, virtually no traffic, cows!, and a beautiful garden. Although you could have done without the illness. I'm glad they could see you right away as that was something that needed to get kicked out of your system!
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What a lovely garden to brighten the end of your great cruise. I'm so sorry your illness got worse, but extremely glad you were able to get in to the doctor and get some relief.
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The cliffs of Dover did certainly look like they had snow on them. Glad that getting off the ship was simple and easy and you were on your way home 15 minutes later. Sorry to hear once you got home you got worse, but at least the doctor was able to get you in and figure out what was wrong.
Well I certainly recognized the port! Our debarkation there was about that easy - although we got onto a motor coach bound for Windsor Castle. Your garden looked just as lovely as the Queen's!
Well, a couple of days after returning from this trip, my mind has turned to final thoughts and summing up our experiences over the couple of weeks we were away. I think it says something for how much we enjoyed ourselves on board the cruise that the memory of forgetting our passports is now a dim and distant one, although my goodness, that had to rank as a pretty bad start to a trip. I won’t say it was the worst, as that happened (I hope) with the start to our New England trip last year with the death of a good friend. That does put it into perspective – a four hour round trip to retrieve your passports is nothing compared to that.
Despite that, I found our day trip on the Isle of Wight and then our time the next day in the New Forest to be really relaxing. It helped that we had beautiful weather, and perhaps some of the best weather of the whole trip before we departed. I must admit when it came to departure, I was wondering what the heck we were doing, given the level of disorganisation. Mark was a lot fairer than me, and said it was probably down to the fact they were having to completely disinfect the ship, following the outbreak of Norovirus (we did find out that was what it was) and I’m sure that had something to do with it. However, it wasn’t a great introduction. As a result, our whole first afternoon and evening on board just felt very rushed.
Having said that, our room was a very pleasant surprise. I remember always being told how big the staterooms were on Disney Cruise Line, and assumed every other cruise line would be a disappointment after that, but not a bit of it. There were some great plus points – we liked the shape of the bed (slightly rounded at the end) and the size of the TV and the lack of split bathroom didn’t bother us, although I can imagine for more than a couple, it might prove problematic. However, the downsides were a lack of storage space, and if you had a bigger party, there was no way to divide up the room, so again that might not be great for a family. I was very happy with the location of our cabin – it was easily accessible to everywhere on the ship. so much not-so-evil travel agent Sara!
So what about the ship in general? I will confess there were a lot of areas that we barely saw. We might have walked through some parts, like the shops and the casino a couple of times and that was it, but that was fine, we found the places we liked – particularly the Persian Garden relaxation area in the spa (although it was frustrating that things didn’t always work properly in there), the Solarium, the upper decks and particularly the Sky Lounge. I think we spent the most time there outside of our room. It was such a lovely relaxing place (outside of the ABBA night and the football being on ) with some truly wonderful views.
The major disappointment for us was the main dining room. We gave it a couple of tries, but it just didn’t do anything for us. The food and service were Ok, but nothing special, and as we’re used to Disney, I think we were just expecting a bit more. However, their counter service buffet completely outshone Disney. The food up there, by comparison, was excellent. If anyone had told me before this cruise that we’d be eating so many meals up there, I’d have thought they were crazy, but that’s exactly what happened.
The speciality restaurants at least made up for the main dining room, although it is frustrating that you have to pay extra to get good food at a table service restaurant. QSine was my least favourite of the three, although I’m glad we tried it, but it was a bit bizarre even for our tastes, and we’re quite adventurous eaters. The other two restaurants, the Tuscan Grille and Murano more than made up for it though, and I’m so glad we got to eat at them both more than once, as they warranted return visits.
I was very glad we had the free drinks package, as otherwise I’d have been very frustrated at the extremely limited variety of drinks that were available free of charge. Equally, I would never have paid what Celebrity were asking for the drinks package. Trust me, we made the best of it, and I don’t think we came close to breaking even. You would seriously have to be drinking alcohol from dawn to dusk every day to try and get your money’s worth out it…
The activities on board didn’t do that much for us, although we did sample a couple of things. That’s why we spent so much time in both the Solarium and the Persian Garden (as well as the Sky Lounge as well ) as there wasn’t that much else that appealed to us. It was a shame in a way, as when we’re on a Disney cruise, we have that excitement when we get back to our room every night and look eagerly at the Navigator to see what we might like to do the next day. Usually, we’re having to pick and choose, as there are so many things we want to do. It definitely wasn’t like that on this cruise.
We did luck out with our sailing, as we only had one day of rougher waters, and that was on the return journey crossing the North Sea. Even then, it wasn’t terrible, it was just swaying. We’ve certainly had much worse on other cruises.
As for the length of the cruise, it was our longest one to date, as previously we’d only done up to 11 nights. I didn’t even realise that until we were on board, but it was lovely to be able to unpack for a whole two weeks, and to have so many days at sea. The itinerary generally was pretty relaxing, with the exception of St. Petersburg, which was pretty tough going, but then again, that was our fault for picking such an exhausting tour.
As for our ports of call, they were all wonderful, although of course I can’t speak for Zeebrugge, given we didn’t get off the boat then. I was relieved to essentially have an additional day at sea at the start of our cruise, as it meant we started things off in a very relaxing way.
Our next stop Stockholm started with the taxi driver from hell, but thankfully things got better after that. The ABBA Museum was a huge amount of fun, and we covered a lot of ground on our own walking tour of the city, seeing some familiar sights from our previous visit there 11 years earlier, and even seeing some new bits. I just wish I’d been able to plan a bit more for this stop, so that we didn’t have to spend a fortune on cabs, one of which wasn’t very good.
The one thing that really made our visit to Stockholm was the absolutely stunning scenery for hours on the way in and the way back out. One of my fondest memories of this whole cruise was our evening in the Sky Lounge, just admiring that beautiful view outside, and sipping Bailey’s. It really reminded me of Alaska or the Norwegian fjords, and it’s something I’d happily do again.
I was very excited from this point on, as we’d be approaching some new capital cities and countries, and even after the amount of travelling we’ve done, I still get a really happy feeling at the prospect of heading somewhere new. I’d heard good things about Tallinn for many years from someone I used to work with who visited it way before there were even regular direct flights there. It didn’t disappoint, and to me, it was the perfect cruise port of call, as you can easily explore the centre of the city in just a morning, which is what we did. I was really pleased with the shore excursion we booked, and thank goodness we had it, otherwise we’d have been literally drowned on the way back to the ship, given the torrential rain they did. Trust me, we saw a lot of people in that position!
St. Petersburg for many is the highlight of a Baltic cruise, and we got to see all the main sights. I know, for some, the Hermitage is somewhere you just breeze through, and you can’t really see the collections contained in it, but for me, the tour we did was perfect. It allowed me to see the beautiful architecture inside this amazing palace, and that’s what I wanted to see. That was the definite highlight for me, as the Church of the Spilled Blood, beautiful as it was, was somewhere I just didn’t feel 100% safe in. In fact, that went for St. Petersburg the whole time we were there. I think it was probably something to do with Elena’s constant warnings about pickpockets, and knowing we wouldn’t be able to get back on to the ship should anything happen to our passports.
The second day in St. Petersburg was tough, given it was after our long day in Moscow, and the weather wasn’t exactly cooperating. However, the cruise around the city on the canals was fascinating, and I did really enjoy seeing St. Catherine’s Palace, even if the amber room wasn’t genuine. I need to say a word here about Elena and our driver Daniel. They were such a wonderful team, and I still cannot believe how many lines we were able to cut as a small group. It was definitely well worth going down this route, rather than with the cruise line. I was very impressed with SPB Tours in St. Petersburg and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.
I wish I could say the same about Moscow. Our guide did come alive when we went down into the subway (and we all agreed that was the highlight of our day – thank goodness she suggested it and I reacted so enthusiastically! ) but apart from that, we struggled with her, and weren’t impressed with our driver, particularly after the smoking incident.
The train there and back was very efficient, although four hours each way in a day is a lot to be sitting on a train, and it was a hideously long and exhausting day. However, it was more than worth it. Despite the fact Red Square and the Kremlin were closed, we still got to see a fair few sights around there, and as I’ve always wanted to visit Moscow, this was like a real dream come true. You need to be fit to do this trip, but if you are, then it’s well worth giving it a go, and I’m so glad we were on an itinerary that gave us three days in St. Petersburg (most cruise lines only have two), allowing us to do this.
After that, things did go downhill, as I was sick for much of the remainder of the cruise, but I was determined to make the best of it. I do regret not going into Warnemunde, as we heard from so many people that it was a lovely town, but I just wasn’t up to it. The steam train was a huge amount of fun, even if the weather wasn’t wonderful, and the stop at the seaside was quite fun, although we all felt the abbey was just a bit too much, and as for the singing on the way back on the coach. Give me strength!
Our final stop was Copenhagen, and like Moscow, I’d like to return. We did a fair bit in humid weather, which did sap us, although we didn’t get inside any of the palaces, and I would like to go back and do that with at least one of them, if not more. I thought it was a lovely city, and very easy to get around on foot, which is always a bonus. Everything seemed to be quite nicely concentrated together, and fortunately we’re close enough that we can easily head back for a weekend, and I hope we get to do that.
I do just want to mention one final thing, and that was our passage through the English Channel. The white cliffs of Dover are such a stunning sight from the sea, and given we usually travel by Eurotunnel, it’s not one we often see. There was something very magical about returning home, and seeing this famous sight of our country’s coastline from the water. I felt really proud to be British, and be able to call this beautiful country our home.
All in all, we had a wonderful time, although I don’t think I’d do another Baltic cruise. A couple of people had said that to me before we went, and I wasn’t sure what they meant, but the weather is a bit too unpredictable. Ironically, the weather was apparently much worse at home while we were gone, with regular deluges and downpours. I was disappointed by the weather, given the forecast before we went, and that’s why I say I don’t think I’d do this itinerary again. I also felt that it’s now a case of been there, done that with some of the stops – notably Tallinn, St. Petersburg (with the exception of Moscow) and Warnemunde, and I don’t mean that with any disrespect. I would love to cruise into Stockholm again, but I’m not sure that’s reason enough to go back and do the itinerary again.
If you do get the chance to do a Baltic cruise, I would definitely recommend it, although be prepared for definitely changeable weather. As for Celebrity, would we cruise with them again? I would, although I would like a free drinks package again, as I wouldn’t want to pay for one, and the options outside of the package are severely limited. They had a lot of good things to commend them, although there are some things they could do with working on as well.
I’m glad we got to explore a part of the world that’s new to us, but thankfully not that far away, so we can easily return to explore it a bit more, should we want to…
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I love how you go back and recall everything - I'd forgotten some of it! Like QSine. Yep, that was odd.
What an experience for you both! Truly a fascinating trip and I feel lucky that you shared it with us too! As always, thank you for such detail. Truly like you take us along.
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Tanya
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What a great trip. Wade and I have talked about this cruise, but don't know if it will ever happen for us. It's definitely a possibility for us. I think we would try to aim for mid summer hoping the weather might be a little better.
I could not believe how quickly you were on the road after disembarking the ship! It went pretty much like this on my Disney Magic cruise last year as I was on the DME and on the way to the airport in just minutes.
I enjoyed this TR so much and thanks for sharing another amazing with us! You got to see and do so much and have some great meals, enjoy the spa and lounges as well. Although, there is one thing that will always stick in my mind id that surprise from the older man in the Solarium one day!
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Great final thoughts! Thanks for sharing this wonderful TR! I'd love to visit this part of the world someday, and in particular, sailing in to Stockholm stuck out as a real bucket list item!
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That does put it into perspective – a four hour round trip to retrieve your passports is nothing compared to that. 
) with some truly wonderful views. 
It really reminded me of Alaska or the Norwegian fjords, and it’s something I’d happily do again. 
I’d heard good things about Tallinn for many years from someone I used to work with who visited it way before there were even regular direct flights there. It didn’t disappoint, and to me, it was the perfect cruise port of call, as you can easily explore the centre of the city in just a morning, which is what we did. I was really pleased with the shore excursion we booked, and thank goodness we had it, otherwise we’d have been literally drowned on the way back to the ship, given the torrential rain they did. Trust me, we saw a lot of people in that position! 
) but apart from that, we struggled with her, and weren’t impressed with our driver, particularly after the smoking incident. 
Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. 
It went pretty much like this on my Disney Magic cruise last year as I was on the DME and on the way to the airport in just minutes.
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