A Baltic boating adventure TRIP REPORT COMPLETED 11/19 - Page 89 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Oh boy, I wonder what's in store for your tour today that you must be in shape for it! The boat cruise is a nice way to start it out though. Always nice how cities look different from the water.
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Tanya
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Looks like a great water tour with some amazing scenery and photos from along there!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
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Monday 13 June – part two: braving a second hydrofoil ride…
Our St. Petersburg cruise then turned down one of the city’s many canals, and we got a very different perspective of the city from the water, as suddenly we were so much lower than the buildings we were seeing…
It really did remind me of Venice and I could see why this city is called the Venice of the North.
One turn we had to navigate was particularly tight – look at how close we got to the wall!
We finished off back on the main river…
They were having a competition for building sand sculptures on the beach beneath the St. Peter and St. Paul Fortress that we’d visited a couple of days earlier…
As you can see from some of these photos, it was now raining again.
When we docked, Elena advised to use the restrooms. Jay already had, but the rest of decided to as well, after her warning, and as there was only one, that took quite a while, during which time, the crew were shooting us dirty looks. Elena had already told us to take our time, as it wouldn’t be that warm waiting for the hydrofoil, which was due in a few minutes’ time. When we were all done, she said to the crew that we’d be staying on board (at least I guess that’s what she said) and we found out the reasons for the dirty looks. They apparently were getting ready to go out on another cruise, so we needed to get off. Ok then…
We made our way over there…
… and found seats on board:
Jay, Stephanie and Ethan took the three seats in front of us, and we grabbed the row behind, assuming Elena would be coming to join us. She didn’t. This was the only thing I found a bit odd. Every time we had the opportunity to sit together, at lunches for example, she would avoid doing so. I don’t know if it’s something they’re told to do and, if so, that’s fair enough, but I found it a bit of a shame, given we were a small group and had built up a good rapport with her.
Anyway, it meant that we unfortunately ended up with one of the last passengers to board, and he plonked himself next to Mark, who immediately turned around to me and said “I think I’m going to be sick”. I asked him why and apparently the guy stank of cigarette smoke. Ugh!
I think we were both apprehensive about this hydrofoil ride. We’d only ever taken one before and that was the doomed journey from Naples to Sorrento on Disney’s inaugural Med cruise all the way back in 2007. For those of you who perhaps weren’t with me on trip reports that long ago (and my goodness, it is almost a decade ago now – where the heck does the time go? ), a bit of background.
We’d booked the Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii all day tour from Naples. We were told when we gathered to be escorted off the boat that we wouldn’t be able to go to Capri today, because the water was so rough, the boats weren’t running, and that didn’t bother me at all, so I don’t like rough boat rides. Well, that should’ve given us an indication that we might have a problem, as the first element of the trip was a hydrofoil ride to Sorrento. We were told however that this would still be running as it was all in “sheltered waters”….
Let’s just say that approximately 70% of the boat were physically sick during that trip through not-so-sheltered waters, and the smell, as you can imagine, was appalling. I had taken some new seasickness medication that sadly is no longer available and it was like a miracle. Somehow I wasn’t physically sick, although I felt terrible. We saw people turning literally green, including someone who’d worked in the navy for 20 years, and said it was the worst sea they’d ever encountered.
Remember how Pope Jean Paul II used to kiss the ground whenever he arrived anywhere? Well, that’s how we felt when we got to Sorrento. It was just an appalling experience. So that’s our experience with hydrofoils to date…
The announcements they had scrolling round kept us entertained. It was a case of how many mis-spelt words and bad grammar we could spot!
We set off, and I got a few photos as we headed out…
As you can see, they’re not the greatest, given that it had been raining, and we had a lot of spray on the windows.
However, soon tiredness overcame me, and that was it, I was asleep, along with Mark, and apparently Jay, Stephanie and Ethan ended up doing the same. I did wake up a couple of times and saw there was nothing to photograph, so I promptly went back to sleep again.
As a result, I have no idea of how rough or not the crossing was, but all I know is that when we arrived at Peterhof, it felt as if we were literally pitching from one side to the other, and that was moored up!
That seems like a good way to avoid getting sick - sleep through the whole thing!! What a fun way to get to Peteroff, though!
I always say I'm going to volunteer to live someplace I really enjoy visiting, to be employed as the English sign editor. As you can imagine, there's lots of that kind of thing in China. Cracks me up. And then I wonder how bad the grammar may be to visitors to the US on our signs with translations!
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A tale of two water journeys. The first one looks wonderful! The view from the water is so different. You really see the detail on railings and bridges that you don't necessarily see from the ground. It's slightly more peaceful too, somehow.
The second one though.... perhaps it's best that you fell asleep!! The seats did look comfy, so that sure helped. And I agree, that is strange that Elena doesn't chat with anyone on her tour. Not confident in her English? I wonder.
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
A Baltic boating adventure TRIP REPORT UPDATED 10/11
When I read "hydrofoil" I immediately recalled your first med cruise and began to feel queasy myself! I'm glad you survived this one in a better state.
I think I assumed a hydrofoil was more like a speedboat but this looks more like a commuter style?
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I have no idea what a hydrofoil is but at least the seats on board look comfy!
Hmmm.... now there's a good question. I looked on Wikipedia, but it was very complicated. It's a fast boat and they sort of skim across the water, if that helps?
That seems like a good way to avoid getting sick - sleep through the whole thing!! What a fun way to get to Peteroff, though!
I always say I'm going to volunteer to live someplace I really enjoy visiting, to be employed as the English sign editor. As you can imagine, there's lots of that kind of thing in China. Cracks me up. And then I wonder how bad the grammar may be to visitors to the US on our signs with translations!
Yes, that thought has often crossed my mind too - let's face it, they're only as good as the person who translates them...
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This was the only thing I found a bit odd. Every time we had the opportunity to sit together, at lunches for example, she would avoid doing so. I don’t know if it’s something they’re told to do and, if so, that’s fair enough, but I found it a bit of a shame, given we were a small group and had built up a good rapport with her. 
At least you fell asleep for this ride and you made it!
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