2009 Baltic Cruise Trip Report

Scandanavia and Russia Cruise
May 17 – 29, 2009

Sat – May 16 Pre-Cruise
We wanted to spend at least one day to see London so we did a 1 night pre-cruise stay at the Holiday Inn at Heathrow Airport. The main reason we chose this hotel is strictly financial. First we used our Priority Club points so it was free and second, we didn’t have to pay for transfers into central London. There was a local bus (again free) right outside the hotel that took us back to the airport and the London underground or Tube rail system. Despite its name, it was interesting to find out that about 55% of the network is above ground so we had a chance to view the neighborhoods on our way to Central London.

We purchased a pass good on all public transportation and were on our way to Piccadilly Circle. I was surprised that everything was so close together. We got off at Hyde Park and walked through Green Park to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral, Tower of London, Big Ben, Parliament Square, London Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, London Eye, and St Paul’s Cathedral. After all this walking we were hungry and wanted to try English fish and chips and ended up at the Red Lion on Parliament Street.

As far as location is concerned the Red Lion was a great find as it is midway between the House of Commons and Downing Street. We found out that this is a classic late 19th century pub. The long narrow bar was once divided into Public and Saloon, with the counter running along the back wall serving both. The Red Lion still serves as watering hole for civil servants and journalists, so it can get very busy especially when Parliament is sitting. Good thing we were there on a Saturday.

We were probably the talk of the town because we were the only ones in the restaurant that did not use a knife and fork to eat our French fries. They knew we were foreigners from a mile away. It was okay because it gave them something to talk about other than the 2 month long protest by the Tamils calling for an end to the civil war in their country that was going on outside their window. Never did quite understand why they were protesting their government in the London square.

Other than the sightseeing, London was not what I expected. It is a real cultural and ethnic melting pot. We found out later, that none of the English people actually live in London as it is too expensive to live there.

Sun - May 17 Embarkation at Harwich Pier
Since Harwich pier is about 2 hours from Heathrow Airport, we arranged for a private driver take us to the pier. Our driver, Matthew, arrived promptly and we had wonderful conversation on the drive to the pier. It is always nice to talk with someone from the area who can explain how the “real” people live.

Embarkation was great. We arrived at the pier at 11:15 and were onboard by 11:45. The Jewel of the Sea is a beautiful ship with a real feeling of light and space. We had an interior cabin but I must say that a Baltic cruise necessitates a window or balcony cabin because cruising through the scenic entry is a sight not to be missed. Just think a scenic Alaska cruise multiplied by 3.
We second dining and although we prefer dining early, because the sun did not set until 10:30 or 11:00 pm, it worked out fine. We enjoyed dinner in the dining room and had one night in Chops and the service was wonderful as usual. We went to all of the shows but enjoyed the ones which were predominantly music based. We loved this itinerary and thought the ports were scenic, clean and the people friendly. Biggest surprise of all was Tallinn, which we'd expected to be a bit grim but was quite pretty and interesting. The sail into Stockholm was well worth getting up at 6am to see and we loved the city.The weather was kind to us and we only had light rain on two days and most of the dreary weather was on sea days. Despite horror stories about potential high waves in the North Sea, the seas were generally very calm. We met some great people which really added to our cruise experience.

Most people enjoy ships tour and it has its advantages. For example, if a ships tour is late, they hold the ship until all the ships tours have returned. On the flip side, doing a bus tour with 40 usually is a lot of hurry up and waits and the costs of the tours can be high. On this trip we did a combination of city tours through RCL, hop on hop off bus tours, and private tours.

Mon – May 18 Day at Sea

Tues- May 19 Copenhagen, Denmark - 8 am to 5 pm
Copenhagen. - The ship docks within walking distance of the Little Mermaid statue. And let me just say that it is little. We probably would have missed it had we not taken the Hop on bus to get an overview of the city. Home of fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen, Copenhagen is chock full of attractions, including Strøget, Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping street. Don’t miss the dazzling display of the Danish crown jewels at Rosenborg Castle. I particularly liked the bicycle clock in the town square. Tivoli is an amusement park with a twist -- even the merry-go-rounds are special, using a fleet of Viking ships instead of the usual horses. The Danes love this place and frequent it often.

Copenhagen is considered the "fun" capital of Scandinavia and is also the most affordable. We found the city full of charm, with all its canals, narrow streets, and old houses. It’s a city that is very beautiful and lovely to walk around. Although our guide kept apologizing that the city was dirty, we found it to be very clean. Bill and I decided that we would definitely like to come back one day.
Wed – May 20 Day at Sea

Thur - May 21 Stockholm, Sweden - 9 am to 5 pm
At about 6:30 am we cruised the magnificent archipelago, which lines the coast and leads into the city of Stockholm, Sweden. This is a sight to behold and worth waking up early to witness. Sailing into Stockholm through the archipelago was smooth as glass and reminded us of Alaska's inside passage without the really tall mountains. Beautiful, expensive homes all along the coast and with the early sunrise we had great views

Stockholm - Appearing to “float on water,” Stockholm is situated on 14 islands, with meandering shop-lined streets in the old town, Gamla Stan, palaces and parks. The ship docks away from the town. Rather than buy shuttle tickets, the Hop On Hop Off bus people pull right up to the ship. Shuttle bus was $12 per person round trip and the Hop On bus was $25 per person for the day. You can also pre-purchase a Stockholm card which provides admission to the Vasa Museum, City Hall tour, Canal Boat Tour and the Museums of the Royal Palace.

However, we elected to do a city tour through RCL. Normally I prefer independent tours, but I must admit, RCL did a very good job on this one.

Most European countries have churches, but Stockholm has its city hall. This is where the Nobel peace prize is awarded. Don’t miss the Vasa Museum, which houses a royal flagship raised from the harbor more than 300 years after she sank in 1628 on her maiden voyage. This ship was commissioned 300 plus years ago by the King and was to be the grandest war ship of it time. Unfortunately, bad engineered coupled with an arrogant king who wanted to display his riches and not listen to the experts, it sank on its maiden voyage. It was discovered INTACT and brought to the surface 320 years later. It took 20 years just to prepare the ship for display after it was raised. It is an amazing sight.

Families were out enjoying the day all over the city since the day we arrived was a holiday. And there were bicycles everywhere. There are also free public bicycles for use. Just put in a coin, use the bike for as long as you want, return it and you get your money back. Now that’s what I call a good deal.

The Danes practice their own joie de vivre. According to our guide, they are a bit unconventional but affable, have big hearts, party to get drunk, love saunas, and are tolerant of all lifestyles and persuasions. She also admitted that that there is al rebellious streak of independence in them. She mentioned that their cartoonists will dare depict Mohammed as a physical person, which would get them into trouble in less tolerant societies. But at the same time, they tell their King what to do and consider him as nothing more than a figure head to be used to promote Sweden to the rest of the work. Kind of a contradiction to me. And the whole tolerance thing I could not really understand. Some may think this is good, but I could not help thinking. If they tolerate everything, does this mean that they don’t stand for anything? Just my thought.

Fri - May 22 Helsinki, Finland - 10 am to 6 pm
The dock is in a very industrial area and you would not want to walk into town as it was rather far with no clear path. We caught the HOHO bus right at the pier. We could have taken the shuttle into town for $12 round trip, but we always like to get an overview of the city so the HoHo bus it was for 24 Euros.

We boarded the “hop on Hop off” bus at the dock and did the tour of the city first and listened to the tour (earphones provided on the bus in 9 languages). Then got on and off at various venues. Saw the White Church, Olympic Stadium with views of the city from the tower, Sibelius Monument and again a traditional meal for lunch. A very cosmopolitan city. The bus got us back to the dock also. You can also pre-purchase a Helsinki card which provides public transportation, admission to the museums, and a bus tour. If you choose to see the city on your own, do take the shuttle bus into town.

Sat and Sun May 23 and 24 St Petersburg, Russia - 7 am to 6 pm
St Petersburg – The highlight of our trip. Founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, St. Petersburg is among the world’s most beautiful cities. The baroque Winter Palace known as the Hermitage boasts more than 1,000 rooms and 8,000 paintings.

I would like to pause a moment to stress the benefit of having a private guide in this country. For instance, at the Hermitage we went straight to the front of the line. Although the museum was extremely crowded, several times we would walk into a room and have it to ourselves. We also in the room alone to hear a wonderful men’s group sing and the acoustics were great. I felt bad that I left my purse in the bus and was not able to give them a tip.

The highlight of the trip. Please note that you can not enter Russia without a visa. However, it’s all good if you have either a ship tour or private tour and the tour company will handle your visa for you.

St. Petersburg Day 1 -
It was not a problem getting off the ship for our private tour. The only delay was RCCL trying to get the people off the ship who were on the flight to Moscow because they have a plane to catch and that was understandable. As soon as they were off, we were all allowed to leave. At the terminal there are two doors. One for RCCL tours and one for independent tours. Once inside the building, there are 5 kiosks with Russian immigration officers - 4 said they were for RCCL tours and 1 for independent guests. So, we all stood in line for a longer time than all the tours getting off with and after us - but it really wasn't too bad. Outside, we found the SBP Tours (Demurs and Red October guides were all there too) and our guide and driver. Tim, our guide, is a professor of Russian Literature at the St. Petersburg State University and very intelligent with excellent English skills and a lot of knowledge regarding the history of St. Petersburg and details about the royal families, the architecture and the buildings and interiors.

Our tour included a right on the subway metro station, hydrofoil, and canal ride. The escalator to the subway descended several hundred feet and the station was beautiful. No pictures allowed. It was rush hour and we had been asked to leave our belongings and passport in the car with the driver. The people on the subway didn't look very happy and didn't smile or make eye contact with us or even with each other. This began to make me a little uncomfortable so I made eye contact with a woman on the subway and smiled. After a brief hesitation, she smiled back and other smiled also. We rode two stops and ascended to meet our driver. The stations are elaborate and clean.

Once back in the van I asked Tim if there was prejudice or racial inequality in Russia. He explained that although the rest of the world thinks capitalism is a good thing, after years of communist rule, it is very hard for many Russian people to adapt. This helped me to understand the unhappy faces and my perception of coldness on the part of the people in the street.

From there we drove to Catherine's Palace. At all stops, Vicktoria obtained our tickets and said the magic words "SBP Tours" to get us past any lengthy lines. The palace was under renovation in some areas, which is understandable when you see the size of the palace. Next we drove to Peterhof town, to visit Fountain Park. Don't miss it. Thousands of tulips were in bloom and there were fountains, ponds, statues and people everywhere. We had lunch at a small restaurant that only locals visit. We had pancakes, but not the ones we are used to. I thought they would be like crepes but they were much heartier. Mine had chick and mushroom. Yummy. Next stop was Yusopov's Palace and then return to the ship.

Day 2 - We met SBP Tours on the pier at 9:00 am and took excursions to St. Peter and Paul Fortress, the Hermitage, Church on the Blood and St. Isaac's Cathedral. Each and every stop was breathtakingly beautiful and ornate. We stopped at a local souvenir shop that had the best deals of our trip. Just wish I had more money and more time.
Lunch was at another place that only the locals go to. I know this to be true because there was not a tourist in site. This time I had hot borscht (made with beet root as its main ingredient which gives it a strong red color, and rabbit pie. It was delicious and loved it.

Tim was knowledgeable about the history of the families (all the Peters and Catherines and Alexanders began running together and I was wishing we had a diagram of a family tree). There were huge tour groups and many different countries and languages all around us. The Hermitage is so large we were told it would take 8 hours a day for 8 years to see all the exhibits. Original masterpieces by Gauguin, Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Matisse, and many, many others. Fabulous rooms with magnificent chandeliers, painted ceilings, gold, mosaics, malachite and lapis vases and tapestries everywhere!

Our guide and driver were wonderful, the city is full of unbelievably beautiful buildings and artifacts, and the history is complicated and sometimes tragic with invasions by the Swedes and Germans, wars, murders within royal families and other political assassinations. We can't even imagine how much time and money were spent to restore St. Petersburg after the Germans occupied the palaces and bombed them on their way out.

Mon - May 25 Tallinn, Estonia - 7 am to 4 pm
Tallinn is a beautiful medieval city. We took the HoHo bus for a tour of the city. After Bill went back to the ship, I just wandered the cobble stone streets and took copious pictures. No set itinerary for me, just wandered in and out of churches etc; munching on roasted almonds distributed in the city square by girls in authentic dress, enjoyed the parks and old city walls.
Finland is only 53 miles across the Baltic and this is probably a great weekend getaway for them.

Tues – May 26 Day at Sea

Wed - May 27 Oslo, Norway - 2 pm to 8 pm
Oslo - Sunrise today at 4:28 am and setting at 10:00 pm. We sailed into Oslo early, passing beautiful hillside and coastal homes and the vegetation is beautiful and green. The Jewel docked downtown across the street from Akershus Castle, situated on a cliff just above us. It looks more like a fortress than a castle, and has beautiful grounds and cannons pointing to the harbor.

We decided to use local transportation so we could get an overview of the city, so we purchased tickets for the local trolley at the local currency exchange booth right on the pier. It was only a short walk to the train stop and we were on our way to Vigeland Sculpture Park.

The Vigeland Park is the largest sculpture park made by one single artist in the world. The park is separated into 7 sections – The Main Gate, Bridge, Children’s Playground, The Fountain, the Monolith Plateau, The Monolith, and the Wheel of Life. The park houses more than 300 intricately carved sculptures signifying human life on Earth. Very green and graceful and the artwork was fastinating.

We lots of families so decided to leave the park and walk through the surrounding neighborhoods. The first thing we saw was the Greek embassy and walked upon a family preparing for a party in a church converted into a restaurant. After our leisurely stroll, we took the trolley back through the centre of Oslo to the pier. Bill decided to go back to the ship and but I wanted to continue to explore. I ran into a lady I met on the ship and the two of us went exploring.

We discovered Oslo’s brand new opera house. You can even walk on the roof! There were many locals out and about in the parks and on the square. Lots of families pushing baby strollers. There is a small mall just as you exit the ship, but I was told there was no bargaining and they weren't cheap. They did, however, accept U.S. $ or pounds or local Kroner. A word of caution - Food is very expensive in Oslo. We saw Pepsi for $5.00 and a simple salad for $30. Therefore we came back to the ship and had lunch in the Windjammer.

Thurs – May 28 Day at Sea

Fri – May 29 Debarkation at Harwich, England
Although expensive, we purchased RCL transfers from the pier to Heathrow Airport. Our trip was over but our memories will last a lifetime.