Cruise Review / Comments - Baltics Cruise on Celebrity Century

x-no-archive: yes

Following is a compilation of comments that I sent home about our Baltics
and St. Petersburg Cruise on the Celebrity Century. It's not really a
review. Nor very well proof read. If the comments are somewhat disjointed
and tenses mixed up (present vs. past), it's a collection from about 6-7
different e-mails. But it gives a flavor.

Our Itinerary was as follows:

Embarkation: Amsterdam
At Sea
Copenhagen, Denmark
At Sea
Stockholm, Sweden
Helsinki, Finland
St. Petersburg, Russia (2 days)
Tallinn, Estonia
At Sea
Oslo, Norway
At Sea
Disembarkation: Amsterdam

Pre Cruise Stay in Amsterdam.

After my all night flight from Newark to Amsterdam, I checked into the
Sheraton Hotel at the Amsterdam airport. It connects directly to the
airport terminal via an escalator. Very convenient. The airport is about a
20 minute train ride to Central Station in Amsterdam.

I met all the members of our group in the hotel lobby at 9:30 am. Since my
room wasn't ready, I stored my luggage in one of the other's rooms. They
had arrived a day earlier than me.

We bought train tickets and took the train to downtown Amsterdam. We
wandered the town for hours, ultimately making it down to the Rijks Museum,
which has 3 Vermeers and a number of wonderful Rembrandts, including The
Night Watch. Personally I prefer the softer feel of the Vermeers. Many
experts consider Vermeer the greatest painter of all time. He's my favorite
at this stage. I used to prefer Monet. but my tastes have changed over
time.

For dinner we went to one of the restaurants in Chinatown. So-so. Kind of
marginal at best.

After dinner we walked with everyone else all around the red light district.
It's the thing to do in Amsterdam. It's a beautiful area in Amsterdam,
along tree lined canals. 5-6 Story gabled 17th century buildings of various
colors, their reflections in the canal waters. Like my book says, many tour
the red light district, not to sample it's multifarious wares, but to
experience a few harmless visual thrills before heading back to the real
world.

Part of the charm of Amsterdam is that it is a bit "seedy". Girls in teeny
tiny white outfits glowing in blue lights, posing or sitting behind store
windows. most talking on their cell phones.

The city has an eclectic style. Flower markets include kits to grow your
own "weed". Amsterdam is kind of the place where. if you don't fit in other
areas of Europe. you make your way to Amsterdam. and you'll fit in just
fine.

Tuesday, Embarkation

In the morning we took a bus to the ship. Check in didn't take more than 5
minutes. I had pre printed the bar coded sheet. After boarding, we walked
the ship for a few hours, checking out all the changes. Favorite new areas
include the Martin Bar, and the AquaSpa Café. To add the Café, they removed
the Thalassotherapy Pool.

Some members in the group negotiated a cabin upgrade from an inside to a
balcony, but it didn't comfortably sleep 3. I got one of the large new
cabins in the aft, up on Deck 12. They asked of I wanted to switch.. So I
traded my large triple with extra room for a balcony. Good trade. I got a
balcony and they got extra space. Even though we spent a LOT of time in
port, I generally kept the balcony door open all night - even though it
never really got dark at night for most of the sailing.

Left Amsterdam and sailed trough the canal/river to the coast. Went through
a set of locks during dinner (Amsterdam is below sea level so you go upward
to get to the ocean). We've got a table upstairs and near the back, so we
could see us going through the lock.

Wednesday, At Sea

We woke up to 8 ft waves and 35 mph winds. It's 1:30 and we're sailing
northward along the west coast of Denmark. Ship is bouncing around
somewhat. Not bad, but not calm either. I took a Bonine in the morning,
and am OK. Others are walking around feeling a bit queasy.

Wednesday was a sea day for us on the ship as we sailed from Holland, around
the north of Denmark, and down to Copenhagen.

There was a Captain's Club Elite High Tea in the Murano's specialty
restaurant in the afternoon that we all attended. Plus I got an
invitation to dine with the Staff Captain. He's the assistant to the
Captain, and had previously been a Captain with both Premier and
Renaissance. He's only been with Celebrity 2 years. At the dinner table
there was a couple from Lakewood NJ, and the wife used to be a teacher in
Woodbridge NJ. Also at the table with the Captain was a lady who apparently
is the Oprah equivalent on Amsterdam TV. She was a piece of work. Rejected
3 bottles of wine at the Captain's table because she said they smelled of
cork. During the day, there was a Texas Hold-Em Poker Tournament in the
Casino and Alan, one of the members of our group won it. And John won the
first Black Jack tournament.

Thursday, Copenhagen.

We docked at 7:00 am and were scheduled to leave at 4:00 pm, so it was just
a day there this time, as opposed to an overnight stay last time (when we
could do Tivoli Garden at night).

Celebrity is now charging for the shuttle bus to take you to center city,
not like last year when it was free. We caught a shuttle at 8:00.

We went down to Nyhavn, and walked around the city for most of the day.
Some of us took a canal boat ride. The street that runs from Nyhavn is a
strolling type street that eventually leads to Tivoli Garden. I made it
that far, and stopped in the Hard Rock Café there.

Later that evening, after dinner, the gang started up a Texas Hold-em game
in the card room. We sailed away at 4:00 pm.

Around 11:30 we passed under a huge bridge that connects the 2 major parts
of Denmark together. About a half hour later I was in my cabin and heard a
large vibrating type town. I looked outside to see if was the thrusters on
the ship (Century is the ship with the vibrating dining room when the
thrusters are activated). Instead there was a helicopter shining a light on
the water near the ship. and it continued approaching. It got to the front
of the ship where it started hovering. They did a medical evacuation. The
Captain said this morning that the gentleman was stable, and his wife would
be taken off the ship and brought to him once we get to Stockholm tomorrow.

Friday, At Sea

Friday was another day at sea. Yesterday there was no satellite connection
for internet access, and as a result the computers are all crowded today.

This morning they held wine blending and tonight is the Captain's Club
party. The Captain's Club Hostess left me a message yesterday and asked if
I'd like to come up for one of the repeater awards (vs. remaining
anonymous). I said it sound like fun. so I'll see what happens tonight.
Tonight we made a reservation for the specialty restaurant.

Saturday, Stockholm

The sailing in the Baltic Sea was ultra calm. Even more calm than the
waters south of Cuba. It was kind of like a sheet of glass with just a few
ripples. But filled with ships going in every direction. Any time you
looked you could see 5-10 ships within view. Mostly cargo ships and some
tankers. Very crowded shipping lanes. It looks odd seeing the ships on the
calm water.

Stockholm is a very pretty city. A nice mix of new and old, plus in
between. The city is made up of many islands. The sail into Stockholm is
through an archipelago of like 4000 islands or something like that. Lots of
summer homes on the water. The area has a look very similar to the area
around Lake George, NY, only it's salt water. Rocky coast line on the
islands. Houses have the same look as the camp houses. Some are very nice.
A few huge. It's about a 2-3 hours sail past (through) the archipelago.
Once inside Stockholm there are many small bridges connecting all the
islands. The Deutschland was in port with us.

We bought tickets for a hop on hop off bus by the ship and used that to get
around. There are a lot of streets closed to traffic with only pedestrians
allowed.

I walked up to the Hard Rock Café, which is up by Stockholm University. The
area up there looks a bit like Paris. The area further down by the harbor
has architecture more like buildings in Rome.

On one of the islands near the harbor is the "old town", with "old timey"
winding streets. somewhat like Edinburgh, Scotland. Heard that some people
saw pick pockets there. There turned out to be a Hard Rock Store at the old
town, so my long walk up to the Hard Rock Café wasn't necessary. but still I
had a beer there so it was still fun.

The weather today was perfect. About 78 degrees and sunny. I've been
keeping my balcony door open for fresh air, but today it's too warm to do
that.

Sunday, Helsinki, Finland.

The ride on the ship continues to be ultra calm. Not really any ripples in
the water, it's that calm. No need for Bonine since the first day.

Last night it was still light after midnight.

After Copenhagen and Stockholm, Helsinki was quite a bit of a let down.

We again took the hop on hop off bus from the ship to the downtown area.
The road to the downtown area passes several cruise terminals for the Baltic
Sea Ferries, such as Silja Line, Viking Line, high speed ferries, etc. The
Deutschland was again with us in port. So was the Aida, the ship with the
big pink colored lips painted on the hull.

The downtown area in Helsinki has a flea market type area. There's also
several nice areas where people hang out. A few streets with sidewalk café's,
but not nearly as many as in Stockholm, or as upscale as Copenhagen. On the
bus ride we went past the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.

John and I got an invite with the Captain's club gang to go to Murano's, the
specialty restaurant, tonight. The note came to me since I have the most
sailings of anyone at early dining. I'm taking John as my guest. I'm not
sure I'll be that hungry. we've eaten so well the past few days, I wouldn't
mind something light like taco's or whatever. But the price is right. Don't
know if wine will be included or not (it was).

Tomorrow it's Russia. We've all packed rolls and peanut butter and jelly
packets to bring with us. They are supposed to give you some kind of box
lunch. but we're not trusting that.

Monday, St. Petersburg, Russia

We had pre booked an excursion for 2 days with the local company Red
October. They told us we should get off the ship at 7:00 am. Earlier in
the week, the ship sent paperwork for where we were supposed to meet.
Apparently they do that in order to delay you from getting off the ship
until the ship excursions get to go. Red October told us to disregard that
and just come off as soon as the ship is cleared.

At 7:00 we walked down to the gangway and were told by the cruise director
that we couldn't get off, and should have been given papers on where to meet
until we were "cleared" to go. At that point we showed him paperwork where
people had documented that the cruise lines intentionally sabotage the local
companies by holding you up, even though local Russian officials will let
you enter port. About a minute after we showed him the paper, he told us we
were now "cleared" to disembark.

We went through passport control (they keep a paper copy of your passport
that you get printed at guest relations), and had our passports stamped.
They also gave us red cards of some kind to keep with us and our passports.
We were advised to keep our valuables in our front pockets to avoid getting
pick pocketed. We made a code (somebody would say 288 - inside story behind
the number that we picked) that we all used to alert others in our group
while we were in crowded areas.

The Hermitage is closed on Monday, so we visited Catherine's Palace,
including the famous Amber Room, and the Peterhof Palace including the
gardens and fountains. After that we visited several churches including the
Peter & Paul. Our tour guide was Aliana, who used to be a flight attendant
for Aeroflot. Here English was very good, and her knowledge of St.
Petersburg, it's history and even the art collections in the Hermitage were
superb.

Catherine's Palace is simply magnificent. Total opulence. Very easy to see
how the phenomenal opulence of the royals led to the revolution in 1917.
Just like France, where they took care of Marie Antoinette in a similar
fashion to the way the Russians took care of the Romanov's. It was about a
ride of 45 minutes or so getting to Catherine's Palace. We left our good
watches in the cabin safe, rather then wear them in Russia, so times were
kind of "approximate". I'm thinking we stayed for maybe 2-3 hours at
Catherine's Palace. Then we got into the bus and drove to Peterhof's to see
the gardens. The palace isn't anything phenomenal, but the gardens and
fountains are breathtaking. And the water in the fountains is all
"naturally" run. No pumps. The water comes from holding areas above the
level of the fountains, so it requires no electricity to run them. The
water isn't recycled, so it's instead diverted to the gardens on the
property.

After Peterhof we drove back into town and visited the Peter and Paul
fortress and church, where a number of the Romanoff's are buried, and the
Church of Spilled Blood, where Alexander was assassinated. We also
visited the Church of St. Isaac. I think our guide mentioned that Isaac was
the patron saint for one of the rulers.

They even took us to a brand new supermarket - kind of a cross between
Costco and an A&P, where we used the free restrooms. In other places they
charge US Dollars to use the restrooms.

On the way back to the ship, we stopped at a souvenir place for some coffee,
vodka, and shopping for matryoshka dolls, lacquer boxes and the like. They
don't really have the tee-shirt type tourist places there. Along the ride,
we spotted. again. the Deutchland.

We were gone from about 7:30 am until about 5:00 pm. It was just about
dinner time when we got back on board the ship.

Tuesday, our Second Day in St. Petersburg

After our first day, we were much more comfortable our second day in Russia.
Our guide asked us to meet at 8:00 outside the ship.

Our first day in Russia was a bit.. I'll use the term "trepid". We weren't
quite sure what to expect. We didn't know our guide. We didn't know what
the country would be like. How things would be after all the decades under
the hammer of communism. I think we were all a bit nervous. A bit anxious.

But by the second day, we were much more relaxed. We really liked our
guide. And Russia, while unique, wasn't that different from other large
cities. There are café's along the streets and rivers/canals. The
architecture reminds me most of Rome. I wasn't sure how many pictures I'd
take. I wasn't sure if I'd be limited in taking pictures. Not sure if
there were even things I wanted to take pictures of. Well. I think I shot
about 600-800 photos of Russia alone. The people, particularly the younger
ones, are very nice and very friendly. All spoke excellent English. All
seemed very enthusiastic. Sure there were the pick pockets that you need to
be careful of, and the guys trying to sell you fur hats, communist hats
filled with pins, books, dolls, etc. But I really liked the people once I
lost my trepidation. It took about a day to do it. maybe if we were there
only a day, I wouldn't have come away so favorably impressed.

I'm not saying it's a place I'd want to live. I wouldn't mind living in a
place like either Copenhagen or Stockholm. I don't think I'd want to live
in St. Petersburg. But it's an area that I wouldn't mind visiting for a
longer period. particularly the Hermitage.

Anyway. back to Day Two.

Since the Hermitage was closed on Monday, we were going to Hermitage on
Tuesday. We stopped off some quick sightseeing of the city, and planned to
get to the Hermitage at 9:30. When we arrived, there was already a long
line at the museum. Our guide called someone on the cell phone. and about a
minute later we were rushed inside the front door, past everyone else
waiting.

Since we only had a morning planned for the Hermitage, we focused on the
major areas and major pieces. We spent time with the Rembrandts, the
Michelangelo sculpture, the Monet's the Renoirs, the Leonardo Da Vinci's,
the Picasso's, the Matisse's, Rubens, Rafael, Goya, Velazquez. the list goes
on and on. I think I could spend a week there. The only problem was the
museum was so totally packed with people. I think there were more people
there per room than when we went to see the Vermeer exhibit in NYC. Tourism
is now the biggest thing in St. Petersburg, and the Hermitage is by far the
biggest draw. Catherine's Palace and the Peterhof Palace are nice. but the
Hermitage is the Star of the show.

After the Hermitage, we went on a boat ride down the side rivers and along
the Neva River. It was a lot of fun. people on bridges waved and smiled at
us. Not like Amsterdam where the totally ignore you on a canal boat ride.
I think the Russian people are really enjoying things these days. Our guide
said that things are still very corrupt, especially with the current
politicians in office.. But 10 years ago she wouldn't have been able to say
something like that. She talked about things like the "corruption tax".
Like if you wanted to buy a house. it costs 60% more. because of all the
people you needed to pay off. Same with buying a car. During our boat
ride. again we saw the Deutchland.

After our boat ride, we visited the Yusupov Palace, where Rasputin was
assassinated. That was a pretty eerie place. They have wax figures in the
basement where the assassination occurred.

After that, it was off to a place for a last few souvenirs and a sip of
vodka and back to the ship. We gave Aliana and our driver a nice tip from
our group, and the driver actually started crying.

Our group exchanged handshakes and hugs with Aliana, and we all took a group
photo in front of the bus. By 4:30 or so we were back on the ship, ready to
sail by 6:00 pm.

Wednesday, Tallinn, Estonia

After our two long days in St. Petersburg, we had a short visit to Tallinn
Estonia, because our next port, Oslo, Norway is a long distance away. The
sea travel time exceeds what we can do in a normal period, so we left
Tallinn early on Wednesday and arrive in Oslo late on Friday. If you look
on a map, it's a long distance to cover. We've been in port the last 5 days
in a row.

Tallinn, Estonia is one of the Baltic States that is doing tremendously well
after the fall of the Soviet block. The town has an old city area that is
simply charming. Very similar, but more quaint and charming, than the old
city area of Stockholm. Each street has pretty colored buildings. There
are street café's with umbrellas everywhere. Souvenir ships with all kinds
of things. Even a number of antique ships selling all kinds of metal things
like wooden handled knives and forks. Tools like grandpa had in his
basement. Even swords. Many had extensive sword collections for sale. And
many priced at hundreds or even thousands of $US.

The town area was rather quiet at 9:00 in the morning, but by 11:00, it was
bustling with thousands of people. all having a great time. The locals seem
to be relishing in their freedom. They've been under Soviet and even
Russian domination for so long. One of the old churches in town is actually
built on the site where a famous Estonian was buried. But that's not the
whole story. Turns out that the Czar had a Russian Church constructed on
top of where the person was buried. to show that the Russians were in
charge!!!

We stopped for a local beer at one of the places under an umbrella. It wasn't
very good. Not nearly as good as the local beers in Denmark or Amsterdam..
which are of course much more famous (Carlsberg, Royal, and Heineken).

After our beer, some of the gang wandered back to the ship while a few more
of us stayed nearly until we sailed (2:00 in the afternoon). We stopped at
a little shop and had a local dessert - strudel with cheese filling and
cherries. Really excellent.

I was totally impressed with the charm of Tallinn. Without a doubt, the
most charming place on the entire cruise. Just a wonderful place for a
cruise ship visit. Places like Stockholm were so large that you felt you
didn't see enough in a single day. Tallinn would be the kind of place that
you didn't need a few days to see. but would be a fun place to stop for a
day every year or so. So a cruise is the ideal way to visit Tallinn. In
fact, there were 4 ships in port with us today - ours as well as the
seemingly ever present Deutschland, the MSC Lyrica, and the Le Daimant. The
Deutchland was actually following us almost the whole cruise. Everywhere
except Copehnagen.

Tomorrow we're still at sea, sailing back up the coast of Denmark. And
Friday we'll be in our last port - Oslo, Norway. Then it's back to
Amsterdam, and home.

Friday, Oslo, Norway

With Oslo at the tail end of the cruise, and with only a short stay there
(1:00 until 7:00 pm), it had all the makings of being overshadowed by all
the previous ports. Kind of how Bergen Norway was a let down after seeing
the Geiranger and Olden Fjords.

The sail into Oslo is through a fjord. The Captain told us what time to be
up on deck. The fjord here was a baby fjord compared to the Atlantic coast.
Cute, but nothing dramatic like the 3000 foot cliffs out of the water by
Geiranger. It didn't start out well with baby fjords.

But as we sailed into Oslo's harbor there's a gorgeous castle right there
across the street from where the ship docks. No need for a shuttle to the
good stuff, like in Copenhagen, or Stockholm. Everything is within a 5
minute walk of the ship. The hard rock is about 5 blocks from where the
ship docks. There are side walk café's everywhere. Gorgeous parks.
Beautiful plazas. While Tallinn was charming. Oslo was charming with Rolex
style. Beautiful shops. Classier than Tallinn. And much more accessible
than Stockholm, which is much more spread out.

While St. Petersburg is obviously the reason to book this itinerary, and the
Hermitage is the Star of the sailing, I think I may have actually liked Oslo
the best, (discounting Copenhagen, since we didn't have an overnight stay
like on our Norwegian Fjords sailing last year).

Someone in town told one of the people in our group, that because it was
Friday, everyone was out today. It was a vibrant, small city.

I first walked to the Hard Rock café and got shirts. They didn't have any
of the traditional white shirts in either large or medium, so I got brown
shirts in those sizes instead. After getting shirts, I sat at one of the
street side tables and had a local beer. Then I went to a place to get a
Norwegian sweater to play golf in during the fall and winter. I brought the
stuff back to the ship (and stopped at the VAT return place before getting
on the ship), and then went wandering the town and wharf area for the next
few hours. At 5:45 I started back to the ship to have dinner at 6:00. One
of the best dinners on board all week. Escargot, mushroom soup, and
chateaubriand.

Tomorrow we're at sea, and Sunday we fly home.

Saturday, At Sea

The last day on the ship was uneventful. Packing and the like.

Sunday, Disembarkation and Flight Home

For my flight home, I had a 7:30 pm flight from Amsterdam to Newark. We
were off the ship by 7:00 am, so I checked my luggage at the airport, and
had the person at the Sheraton where we stayed the week before hold my carry
on bag. Then I wandered Amsterdam again for the day, until I caught the
train back to the airport around 4:00 pm for my evening flight home.

--Tom

Exellent and very interesting review. Thanks!

Tom

Tom K wrote:
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> Following is a compilation of comments that I sent home about our Baltics
> and St. Petersburg Cruise on the Celebrity Century. It's not really a
> review. Nor very well proof read. If the comments are somewhat disjointed
> and tenses mixed up (present vs. past), it's a collection from about 6-7
> different e-mails. But it gives a flavor.
>
> Our Itinerary was as follows:
>
> Embarkation: Amsterdam
> At Sea
> Copenhagen, Denmark
> At Sea
> Stockholm, Sweden
> Helsinki, Finland
> St. Petersburg, Russia (2 days)
> Tallinn, Estonia
> At Sea
> Oslo, Norway
> At Sea
> Disembarkation: Amsterdam
>
> Pre Cruise Stay in Amsterdam.
>
> After my all night flight from Newark to Amsterdam, I checked into the
> Sheraton Hotel at the Amsterdam airport. It connects directly to the
> airport terminal via an escalator. Very convenient. The airport is about a
> 20 minute train ride to Central Station in Amsterdam.
>
> I met all the members of our group in the hotel lobby at 9:30 am. Since my
> room wasn't ready, I stored my luggage in one of the other's rooms. They
> had arrived a day earlier than me.
>
> We bought train tickets and took the train to downtown Amsterdam. We
> wandered the town for hours, ultimately making it down to the Rijks Museum,
> which has 3 Vermeers and a number of wonderful Rembrandts, including The
> Night Watch. Personally I prefer the softer feel of the Vermeers. Many
> experts consider Vermeer the greatest painter of all time. He's my favorite
> at this stage. I used to prefer Monet. but my tastes have changed over
> time.
>
> For dinner we went to one of the restaurants in Chinatown. So-so. Kind of
> marginal at best.
>
> After dinner we walked with everyone else all around the red light district.
> It's the thing to do in Amsterdam. It's a beautiful area in Amsterdam,
> along tree lined canals. 5-6 Story gabled 17th century buildings of various
> colors, their reflections in the canal waters. Like my book says, many tour
> the red light district, not to sample it's multifarious wares, but to
> experience a few harmless visual thrills before heading back to the real
> world.
>
> Part of the charm of Amsterdam is that it is a bit "seedy". Girls in teeny
> tiny white outfits glowing in blue lights, posing or sitting behind store
> windows. most talking on their cell phones.
>
> The city has an eclectic style. Flower markets include kits to grow your
> own "weed". Amsterdam is kind of the place where. if you don't fit in other
> areas of Europe. you make your way to Amsterdam. and you'll fit in just
> fine.
>
> Tuesday, Embarkation
>
> In the morning we took a bus to the ship. Check in didn't take more than 5
> minutes. I had pre printed the bar coded sheet. After boarding, we walked
> the ship for a few hours, checking out all the changes. Favorite new areas
> include the Martin Bar, and the AquaSpa Café. To add the Café, they removed
> the Thalassotherapy Pool.
>
> Some members in the group negotiated a cabin upgrade from an inside to a
> balcony, but it didn't comfortably sleep 3. I got one of the large new
> cabins in the aft, up on Deck 12. They asked of I wanted to switch.. So I
> traded my large triple with extra room for a balcony. Good trade. I got a
> balcony and they got extra space. Even though we spent a LOT of time in
> port, I generally kept the balcony door open all night - even though it
> never really got dark at night for most of the sailing.
>
> Left Amsterdam and sailed trough the canal/river to the coast. Went through
> a set of locks during dinner (Amsterdam is below sea level so you go upward
> to get to the ocean). We've got a table upstairs and near the back, so we
> could see us going through the lock.
>
> Wednesday, At Sea
>
> We woke up to 8 ft waves and 35 mph winds. It's 1:30 and we're sailing
> northward along the west coast of Denmark. Ship is bouncing around
> somewhat. Not bad, but not calm either. I took a Bonine in the morning,
> and am OK. Others are walking around feeling a bit queasy.
>
> Wednesday was a sea day for us on the ship as we sailed from Holland, around
> the north of Denmark, and down to Copenhagen.
>
> There was a Captain's Club Elite High Tea in the Murano's specialty
> restaurant in the afternoon that we all attended. Plus I got an
> invitation to dine with the Staff Captain. He's the assistant to the
> Captain, and had previously been a Captain with both Premier and
> Renaissance. He's only been with Celebrity 2 years. At the dinner table
> there was a couple from Lakewood NJ, and the wife used to be a teacher in
> Woodbridge NJ. Also at the table with the Captain was a lady who apparently
> is the Oprah equivalent on Amsterdam TV. She was a piece of work. Rejected
> 3 bottles of wine at the Captain's table because she said they smelled of
> cork. During the day, there was a Texas Hold-Em Poker Tournament in the
> Casino and Alan, one of the members of our group won it. And John won the
> first Black Jack tournament.
>
> Thursday, Copenhagen.
>
> We docked at 7:00 am and were scheduled to leave at 4:00 pm, so it was just
> a day there this time, as opposed to an overnight stay last time (when we
> could do Tivoli Garden at night).
>
> Celebrity is now charging for the shuttle bus to take you to center city,
> not like last year when it was free. We caught a shuttle at 8:00.
>
> We went down to Nyhavn, and walked around the city for most of the day.
> Some of us took a canal boat ride. The street that runs from Nyhavn is a
> strolling type street that eventually leads to Tivoli Garden. I made it
> that far, and stopped in the Hard Rock Café there.
>
> Later that evening, after dinner, the gang started up a Texas Hold-em game
> in the card room. We sailed away at 4:00 pm.
>
> Around 11:30 we passed under a huge bridge that connects the 2 major parts
> of Denmark together. About a half hour later I was in my cabin and heard a
> large vibrating type town. I looked outside to see if was the thrusters on
> the ship (Century is the ship with the vibrating dining room when the
> thrusters are activated). Instead there was a helicopter shining a light on
> the water near the ship. and it continued approaching. It got to the front
> of the ship where it started hovering. They did a medical evacuation. The
> Captain said this morning that the gentleman was stable, and his wife would
> be taken off the ship and brought to him once we get to Stockholm tomorrow.
>
> Friday, At Sea
>
> Friday was another day at sea. Yesterday there was no satellite connection
> for internet access, and as a result the computers are all crowded today.
>
> This morning they held wine blending and tonight is the Captain's Club
> party. The Captain's Club Hostess left me a message yesterday and asked if
> I'd like to come up for one of the repeater awards (vs. remaining
> anonymous). I said it sound like fun. so I'll see what happens tonight.
> Tonight we made a reservation for the specialty restaurant.
>
> Saturday, Stockholm
>
> The sailing in the Baltic Sea was ultra calm. Even more calm than the
> waters south of Cuba. It was kind of like a sheet of glass with just a few
> ripples. But filled with ships going in every direction. Any time you
> looked you could see 5-10 ships within view. Mostly cargo ships and some
> tankers. Very crowded shipping lanes. It looks odd seeing the ships on the
> calm water.
>
> Stockholm is a very pretty city. A nice mix of new and old, plus in
> between. The city is made up of many islands. The sail into Stockholm is
> through an archipelago of like 4000 islands or something like that. Lots of
> summer homes on the water. The area has a look very similar to the area
> around Lake George, NY, only it's salt water. Rocky coast line on the
> islands. Houses have the same look as the camp houses. Some are very nice.
> A few huge. It's about a 2-3 hours sail past (through) the archipelago.
> Once inside Stockholm there are many small bridges connecting all the
> islands. The Deutschland was in port with us.
>
> We bought tickets for a hop on hop off bus by the ship and used that to get
> around. There are a lot of streets closed to traffic with only pedestrians
> allowed.
>
> I walked up to the Hard Rock Café, which is up by Stockholm University. The
> area up there looks a bit like Paris. The area further down by the harbor
> has architecture more like buildings in Rome.
>
> On one of the islands near the harbor is the "old town", with "old timey"
> winding streets. somewhat like Edinburgh, Scotland. Heard that some people
> saw pick pockets there. There turned out to be a Hard Rock Store at the old
> town, so my long walk up to the Hard Rock Café wasn't necessary. but still I
> had a beer there so it was still fun.
>
> The weather today was perfect. About 78 degrees and sunny. I've been
> keeping my balcony door open for fresh air, but today it's too warm to do
> that.
>
> Sunday, Helsinki, Finland.
>
> The ride on the ship continues to be ultra calm. Not really any ripples in
> the water, it's that calm. No need for Bonine since the first day.
>
> Last night it was still light after midnight.
>
> After Copenhagen and Stockholm, Helsinki was quite a bit of a let down.
>
> We again took the hop on hop off bus from the ship to the downtown area.
> The road to the downtown area passes several cruise terminals for the Baltic
> Sea Ferries, such as Silja Line, Viking Line, high speed ferries, etc. The
> Deutschland was again with us in port. So was the Aida, the ship with the
> big pink colored lips painted on the hull.
>
> The downtown area in Helsinki has a flea market type area. There's also
> several nice areas where people hang out. A few streets with sidewalk café's,
> but not nearly as many as in Stockholm, or as upscale as Copenhagen. On the
> bus ride we went past the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
>
> John and I got an invite with the Captain's club gang to go to Murano's, the
> specialty restaurant, tonight. The note came to me since I have the most
> sailings of anyone at early dining. I'm taking John as my guest. I'm not
> sure I'll be that hungry. we've eaten so well the past few days, I wouldn't
> mind something light like taco's or whatever. But the price is right. Don't
> know if wine will be included or not (it was).
>
> Tomorrow it's Russia. We've all packed rolls and peanut butter and jelly
> packets to bring with us. They are supposed to give you some kind of box
> lunch. but we're not trusting that.
>
> Monday, St. Petersburg, Russia
>
> We had pre booked an excursion for 2 days with the local company Red
> October. They told us we should get off the ship at 7:00 am. Earlier in
> the week, the ship sent paperwork for where we were supposed to meet.
> Apparently they do that in order to delay you from getting off the ship
> until the ship excursions get to go. Red October told us to disregard that
> and just come off as soon as the ship is cleared.
>
> At 7:00 we walked down to the gangway and were told by the cruise director
> that we couldn't get off, and should have been given papers on where to meet
> until we were "cleared" to go. At that point we showed him paperwork where
> people had documented that the cruise lines intentionally sabotage the local
> companies by holding you up, even though local Russian officials will let
> you enter port. About a minute after we showed him the paper, he told us we
> were now "cleared" to disembark.
>
> We went through passport control (they keep a paper copy of your passport
> that you get printed at guest relations), and had our passports stamped.
> They also gave us red cards of some kind to keep with us and our passports.
> We were advised to keep our valuables in our front pockets to avoid getting
> pick pocketed. We made a code (somebody would say 288 - inside story behind
> the number that we picked) that we all used to alert others in our group
> while we were in crowded areas.
>
> The Hermitage is closed on Monday, so we visited Catherine's Palace,
> including the famous Amber Room, and the Peterhof Palace including the
> gardens and fountains. After that we visited several churches including the
> Peter & Paul. Our tour guide was Aliana, who used to be a flight attendant
> for Aeroflot. Here English was very good, and her knowledge of St.
> Petersburg, it's history and even the art collections in the Hermitage were
> superb.
>
> Catherine's Palace is simply magnificent. Total opulence. Very easy to see
> how the phenomenal opulence of the royals led to the revolution in 1917.
> Just like France, where they took care of Marie Antoinette in a similar
> fashion to the way the Russians took care of the Romanov's. It was about a
> ride of 45 minutes or so getting to Catherine's Palace. We left our good
> watches in the cabin safe, rather then wear them in Russia, so times were
> kind of "approximate". I'm thinking we stayed for maybe 2-3 hours at
> Catherine's Palace. Then we got into the bus and drove to Peterhof's to see
> the gardens. The palace isn't anything phenomenal, but the gardens and
> fountains are breathtaking. And the water in the fountains is all
> "naturally" run. No pumps. The water comes from holding areas above the
> level of the fountains, so it requires no electricity to run them. The
> water isn't recycled, so it's instead diverted to the gardens on the
> property.
>
> After Peterhof we drove back into town and visited the Peter and Paul
> fortress and church, where a number of the Romanoff's are buried, and the
> Church of Spilled Blood, where Alexander was assassinated. We also
> visited the Church of St. Isaac. I think our guide mentioned that Isaac was
> the patron saint for one of the rulers.
>
> They even took us to a brand new supermarket - kind of a cross between
> Costco and an A&P, where we used the free restrooms. In other places they
> charge US Dollars to use the restrooms.
>
> On the way back to the ship, we stopped at a souvenir place for some coffee,
> vodka, and shopping for matryoshka dolls, lacquer boxes and the like. They
> don't really have the tee-shirt type tourist places there. Along the ride,
> we spotted. again. the Deutchland.
>
> We were gone from about 7:30 am until about 5:00 pm. It was just about
> dinner time when we got back on board the ship.
>
> Tuesday, our Second Day in St. Petersburg
>
> After our first day, we were much more comfortable our second day in Russia.
> Our guide asked us to meet at 8:00 outside the ship.
>
> Our first day in Russia was a bit.. I'll use the term "trepid". We weren't
> quite sure what to expect. We didn't know our guide. We didn't know what
> the country would be like. How things would be after all the decades under
> the hammer of communism. I think we were all a bit nervous. A bit anxious.
>
> But by the second day, we were much more relaxed. We really liked our
> guide. And Russia, while unique, wasn't that different from other large
> cities. There are café's along the streets and rivers/canals. The
> architecture reminds me most of Rome. I wasn't sure how many pictures I'd
> take. I wasn't sure if I'd be limited in taking pictures. Not sure if
> there were even things I wanted to take pictures of. Well. I think I shot
> about 600-800 photos of Russia alone. The people, particularly the younger
> ones, are very nice and very friendly. All spoke excellent English. All
> seemed very enthusiastic. Sure there were the pick pockets that you need to
> be careful of, and the guys trying to sell you fur hats, communist hats
> filled with pins, books, dolls, etc. But I really liked the people once I
> lost my trepidation. It took about a day to do it. maybe if we were there
> only a day, I wouldn't have come away so favorably impressed.
>
> I'm not saying it's a place I'd want to live. I wouldn't mind living in a
> place like either Copenhagen or Stockholm. I don't think I'd want to live
> in St. Petersburg. But it's an area that I wouldn't mind visiting for a
> longer period. particularly the Hermitage.
>
> Anyway. back to Day Two.
>
> Since the Hermitage was closed on Monday, we were going to Hermitage on
> Tuesday. We stopped off some quick sightseeing of the city, and planned to
> get to the Hermitage at 9:30. When we arrived, there was already a long
> line at the museum. Our guide called someone on the cell phone. and about a
> minute later we were rushed inside the front door, past everyone else
> waiting.
>
> Since we only had a morning planned for the Hermitage, we focused on the
> major areas and major pieces. We spent time with the Rembrandts, the
> Michelangelo sculpture, the Monet's the Renoirs, the Leonardo Da Vinci's,
> the Picasso's, the Matisse's, Rubens, Rafael, Goya, Velazquez. the list goes
> on and on. I think I could spend a week there. The only problem was the
> museum was so totally packed with people. I think there were more people
> there per room than when we went to see the Vermeer exhibit in NYC. Tourism
> is now the biggest thing in St. Petersburg, and the Hermitage is by far the
> biggest draw. Catherine's Palace and the Peterhof Palace are nice. but the
> Hermitage is the Star of the show.
>
> After the Hermitage, we went on a boat ride down the side rivers and along
> the Neva River. It was a lot of fun. people on bridges waved and smiled at
> us. Not like Amsterdam where the totally ignore you on a canal boat ride.
> I think the Russian people are really enjoying things these days. Our guide
> said that things are still very corrupt, especially with the current
> politicians in office.. But 10 years ago she wouldn't have been able to say
> something like that. She talked about things like the "corruption tax".
> Like if you wanted to buy a house. it costs 60% more. because of all the
> people you needed to pay off. Same with buying a car. During our boat
> ride. again we saw the Deutchland.
>
> After our boat ride, we visited the Yusupov Palace, where Rasputin was
> assassinated. That was a pretty eerie place. They have wax figures in the
> basement where the assassination occurred.
>
> After that, it was off to a place for a last few souvenirs and a sip of
> vodka and back to the ship. We gave Aliana and our driver a nice tip from
> our group, and the driver actually started crying.
>
> Our group exchanged handshakes and hugs with Aliana, and we all took a group
> photo in front of the bus. By 4:30 or so we were back on the ship, ready to
> sail by 6:00 pm.
>
> Wednesday, Tallinn, Estonia
>
> After our two long days in St. Petersburg, we had a short visit to Tallinn
> Estonia, because our next port, Oslo, Norway is a long distance away. The
> sea travel time exceeds what we can do in a normal period, so we left
> Tallinn early on Wednesday and arrive in Oslo late on Friday. If you look
> on a map, it's a long distance to cover. We've been in port the last 5 days
> in a row.
>
> Tallinn, Estonia is one of the Baltic States that is doing tremendously well
> after the fall of the Soviet block. The town has an old city area that is
> simply charming. Very similar, but more quaint and charming, than the old
> city area of Stockholm. Each street has pretty colored buildings. There
> are street café's with umbrellas everywhere. Souvenir ships with all kinds
> of things. Even a number of antique ships selling all kinds of metal things
> like wooden handled knives and forks. Tools like grandpa had in his
> basement. Even swords. Many had extensive sword collections for sale. And
> many priced at hundreds or even thousands of $US.
>
> The town area was rather quiet at 9:00 in the morning, but by 11:00, it was
> bustling with thousands of people. all having a great time. The locals seem
> to be relishing in their freedom. They've been under Soviet and even
> Russian domination for so long. One of the old churches in town is actually
> built on the site where a famous Estonian was buried. But that's not the
> whole story. Turns out that the Czar had a Russian Church constructed on
> top of where the person was buried. to show that the Russians were in
> charge!!!
>
> We stopped for a local beer at one of the places under an umbrella. It wasn't
> very good. Not nearly as good as the local beers in Denmark or Amsterdam...
> which are of course much more famous (Carlsberg, Royal, and Heineken).
>
> After our beer, some of the gang wandered back to the ship while a few more
> of us stayed nearly until we sailed (2:00 in the afternoon). We stopped at
> a little shop and had a local dessert - strudel with cheese filling and
> cherries. Really excellent.
>
> I was totally impressed with the charm of Tallinn. Without a doubt, the
> most charming place on the entire cruise. Just a wonderful place for a
> cruise ship visit. Places like Stockholm were so large that you felt you
> didn't see enough in a single day. Tallinn would be the kind of place that
> you didn't need a few days to see. but would be a fun place to stop for a
> day every year or so. So a cruise is the ideal way to visit Tallinn. In
> fact, there were 4 ships in port with us today - ours as well as the
> seemingly ever present Deutschland, the MSC Lyrica, and the Le Daimant. The
> Deutchland was actually following us almost the whole cruise. Everywhere
> except Copehnagen.
>
> Tomorrow we're still at sea, sailing back up the coast of Denmark. And
> Friday we'll be in our last port - Oslo, Norway. Then it's back to
> Amsterdam, and home.
>
> Friday, Oslo, Norway
>
> With Oslo at the tail end of the cruise, and with only a short stay there
> (1:00 until 7:00 pm), it had all the makings of being overshadowed by all
> the previous ports. Kind of how Bergen Norway was a let down after seeing
> the Geiranger and Olden Fjords.
>
> The sail into Oslo is through a fjord. The Captain told us what time to be
> up on deck. The fjord here was a baby fjord compared to the Atlantic coast.
> Cute, but nothing dramatic like the 3000 foot cliffs out of the water by
> Geiranger. It didn't start out well with baby fjords.
>
> But as we sailed into Oslo's harbor there's a gorgeous castle right there
> across the street from where the ship docks. No need for a shuttle to the
> good stuff, like in Copenhagen, or Stockholm. Everything is within a 5
> minute walk of the ship. The hard rock is about 5 blocks from where the
> ship docks. There are side walk café's everywhere. Gorgeous parks.
> Beautiful plazas. While Tallinn was charming. Oslo was charming with Rolex
> style. Beautiful shops. Classier than Tallinn. And much more accessible
> than Stockholm, which is much more spread out.
>
> While St. Petersburg is obviously the reason to book this itinerary, and the
> Hermitage is the Star of the sailing, I think I may have actually liked Oslo
> the best, (discounting Copenhagen, since we didn't have an overnight stay
> like on our Norwegian Fjords sailing last year).
>
> Someone in town told one of the people in our group, that because it was
> Friday, everyone was out today. It was a vibrant, small city.
>
> I first walked to the Hard Rock café and got shirts. They didn't have any
> of the traditional white shirts in either large or medium, so I got brown
> shirts in those sizes instead. After getting shirts, I sat at one of the
> street side tables and had a local beer. Then I went to a place to get a
> Norwegian sweater to play golf in during the fall and winter. I brought the
> stuff back to the ship (and stopped at the VAT return place before getting
> on the ship), and then went wandering the town and wharf area for the next
> few hours. At 5:45 I started back to the ship to have dinner at 6:00. One
> of the best dinners on board all week. Escargot, mushroom soup, and
> chateaubriand.
>
> Tomorrow we're at sea, and Sunday we fly home.
>
> Saturday, At Sea
>
> The last day on the ship was uneventful. Packing and the like.
>
> Sunday, Disembarkation and Flight Home
>
> For my flight home, I had a 7:30 pm flight from Amsterdam to Newark. We
> were off the ship by 7:00 am, so I checked my luggage at the airport, and
> had the person at the Sheraton where we stayed the week before hold my carry
> on bag. Then I wandered Amsterdam again for the day, until I caught the
> train back to the airport around 4:00 pm for my evening flight home.
>
> --Tom

ThANk you Tom for that most interesting review.

We had done that same cruise a number of years ago
and your descriptions brought back all the memories
of that fascinating trip.

Did you get to see Frogner Park in Oslo or wasn't there
enough time That was one of our highlights.

rosaly

"Tom K" (tkanitra@) writes:
>
An excellent review. Thanks.

> The sailing in the Baltic Sea was ultra calm. Even more calm than the
> waters south of Cuba. It was kind of like a sheet of glass with just a few
> ripples. But filled with ships going in every direction. Any time you
> looked you could see 5-10 ships within view. Mostly cargo ships and some
> tankers. Very crowded shipping lanes. It looks odd seeing the ships on the
> calm water.

One time I was sailing from Ceylon (as it was then) to Singapore, and the
Indian Ocean was like that. If you half filled a bath tub with water and
left if for an hour, the water would be very still. That was how the
ocean was.

No ripples, no swell, just flat as 'water in a bathtub' :-)

No other ships though. We were all by ourselves.

Tudor Jones.

GREAT REVIEW Tom! I always enjoy your travel logs! Can not wait to see
pictures!
Tom K wrote:
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> Following is a compilation of comments that I sent home about our Baltics
> and St. Petersburg Cruise on the Celebrity Century. It's not really a
> review. Nor very well proof read. If the comments are somewhat disjointed
> and tenses mixed up (present vs. past), it's a collection from about 6-7
> different e-mails. But it gives a flavor.
>

will you be sharing your photos online?

--
jtc
jtamchaym
"Tom K" <tkanitra@> wrote in message
news:bAYsg.103$Pg1.71@fe11.lga...
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> Following is a compilation of comments that I sent home about our
> Baltics and St. Petersburg Cruise on the Celebrity Century. It's
> not really a review. Nor very well proof read. If the comments are
> somewhat disjointed and tenses mixed up (present vs. past), it's a
> collection from about 6-7 different e-mails. But it gives a flavor.
>
> Our Itinerary was as follows:
>
> Embarkation: Amsterdam
> At Sea
> Copenhagen, Denmark
> At Sea
> Stockholm, Sweden
> Helsinki, Finland
> St. Petersburg, Russia (2 days)
> Tallinn, Estonia
> At Sea
> Oslo, Norway
> At Sea
> Disembarkation: Amsterdam
>
> Pre Cruise Stay in Amsterdam.
>
> After my all night flight from Newark to Amsterdam, I checked into
> the Sheraton Hotel at the Amsterdam airport. It connects directly
> to the airport terminal via an escalator. Very convenient. The
> airport is about a 20 minute train ride to Central Station in
> Amsterdam.
>
> I met all the members of our group in the hotel lobby at 9:30 am.
> Since my room wasn't ready, I stored my luggage in one of the
> other's rooms. They had arrived a day earlier than me.
>
> We bought train tickets and took the train to downtown Amsterdam.
> We wandered the town for hours, ultimately making it down to the
> Rijks Museum, which has 3 Vermeers and a number of wonderful
> Rembrandts, including The Night Watch. Personally I prefer the
> softer feel of the Vermeers. Many experts consider Vermeer the
> greatest painter of all time. He's my favorite at this stage. I
> used to prefer Monet. but my tastes have changed over time.
>
> For dinner we went to one of the restaurants in Chinatown. So-so.
> Kind of marginal at best.
>
> After dinner we walked with everyone else all around the red light
> district. It's the thing to do in Amsterdam. It's a beautiful area
> in Amsterdam, along tree lined canals. 5-6 Story gabled 17th
> century buildings of various colors, their reflections in the canal
> waters. Like my book says, many tour the red light district, not to
> sample it's multifarious wares, but to experience a few harmless
> visual thrills before heading back to the real world.
>
> Part of the charm of Amsterdam is that it is a bit "seedy". Girls
> in teeny tiny white outfits glowing in blue lights, posing or
> sitting behind store windows. most talking on their cell phones.
>
> The city has an eclectic style. Flower markets include kits to grow
> your own "weed". Amsterdam is kind of the place where. if you don't
> fit in other areas of Europe. you make your way to Amsterdam. and
> you'll fit in just fine.
>
> Tuesday, Embarkation
>
> In the morning we took a bus to the ship. Check in didn't take more
> than 5 minutes. I had pre printed the bar coded sheet. After
> boarding, we walked the ship for a few hours, checking out all the
> changes. Favorite new areas include the Martin Bar, and the AquaSpa
> Café. To add the Café, they removed the Thalassotherapy Pool.
>
> Some members in the group negotiated a cabin upgrade from an inside
> to a balcony, but it didn't comfortably sleep 3. I got one of the
> large new cabins in the aft, up on Deck 12. They asked of I wanted
> to switch.. So I traded my large triple with extra room for a
> balcony. Good trade. I got a balcony and they got extra space.
> Even though we spent a LOT of time in port, I generally kept the
> balcony door open all night - even though it never really got dark
> at night for most of the sailing.
>
> Left Amsterdam and sailed trough the canal/river to the coast. Went
> through a set of locks during dinner (Amsterdam is below sea level
> so you go upward to get to the ocean). We've got a table upstairs
> and near the back, so we could see us going through the lock.
>
> Wednesday, At Sea
>
> We woke up to 8 ft waves and 35 mph winds. It's 1:30 and we're
> sailing northward along the west coast of Denmark. Ship is bouncing
> around somewhat. Not bad, but not calm either. I took a Bonine in
> the morning, and am OK. Others are walking around feeling a bit
> queasy.
>
> Wednesday was a sea day for us on the ship as we sailed from
> Holland, around the north of Denmark, and down to Copenhagen.
>
> There was a Captain's Club Elite High Tea in the Murano's specialty
> restaurant in the afternoon that we all attended. Plus I got an
> invitation to dine with the Staff Captain. He's the assistant to
> the Captain, and had previously been a Captain with both Premier and
> Renaissance. He's only been with Celebrity 2 years. At the dinner
> table there was a couple from Lakewood NJ, and the wife used to be a
> teacher in Woodbridge NJ. Also at the table with the Captain was a
> lady who apparently is the Oprah equivalent on Amsterdam TV. She
> was a piece of work. Rejected 3 bottles of wine at the Captain's
> table because she said they smelled of cork. During the day, there
> was a Texas Hold-Em Poker Tournament in the Casino and Alan, one of
> the members of our group won it. And John won the first Black Jack
> tournament.
>
> Thursday, Copenhagen.
>
> We docked at 7:00 am and were scheduled to leave at 4:00 pm, so it
> was just a day there this time, as opposed to an overnight stay last
> time (when we could do Tivoli Garden at night).
>
> Celebrity is now charging for the shuttle bus to take you to center
> city, not like last year when it was free. We caught a shuttle at
> 8:00.
>
> We went down to Nyhavn, and walked around the city for most of the
> day. Some of us took a canal boat ride. The street that runs from
> Nyhavn is a strolling type street that eventually leads to Tivoli
> Garden. I made it that far, and stopped in the Hard Rock Café
> there.
>
> Later that evening, after dinner, the gang started up a Texas
> Hold-em game in the card room. We sailed away at 4:00 pm.
>
> Around 11:30 we passed under a huge bridge that connects the 2 major
> parts of Denmark together. About a half hour later I was in my
> cabin and heard a large vibrating type town. I looked outside to
> see if was the thrusters on the ship (Century is the ship with the
> vibrating dining room when the thrusters are activated). Instead
> there was a helicopter shining a light on the water near the ship.
> and it continued approaching. It got to the front of the ship where
> it started hovering. They did a medical evacuation. The Captain
> said this morning that the gentleman was stable, and his wife would
> be taken off the ship and brought to him once we get to Stockholm
> tomorrow.
>
> Friday, At Sea
>
> Friday was another day at sea. Yesterday there was no satellite
> connection for internet access, and as a result the computers are
> all crowded today.
>
> This morning they held wine blending and tonight is the Captain's
> Club party. The Captain's Club Hostess left me a message yesterday
> and asked if I'd like to come up for one of the repeater awards (vs.
> remaining anonymous). I said it sound like fun. so I'll see what
> happens tonight. Tonight we made a reservation for the specialty
> restaurant.
>
> Saturday, Stockholm
>
> The sailing in the Baltic Sea was ultra calm. Even more calm than
> the waters south of Cuba. It was kind of like a sheet of glass with
> just a few ripples. But filled with ships going in every direction.
> Any time you looked you could see 5-10 ships within view. Mostly
> cargo ships and some tankers. Very crowded shipping lanes. It
> looks odd seeing the ships on the calm water.
>
> Stockholm is a very pretty city. A nice mix of new and old, plus in
> between. The city is made up of many islands. The sail into
> Stockholm is through an archipelago of like 4000 islands or
> something like that. Lots of summer homes on the water. The area
> has a look very similar to the area around Lake George, NY, only
> it's salt water. Rocky coast line on the islands. Houses have the
> same look as the camp houses. Some are very nice. A few huge. It's
> about a 2-3 hours sail past (through) the archipelago. Once inside
> Stockholm there are many small bridges connecting all the islands.
> The Deutschland was in port with us.
>
> We bought tickets for a hop on hop off bus by the ship and used that
> to get around. There are a lot of streets closed to traffic with
> only pedestrians allowed.
>
> I walked up to the Hard Rock Café, which is up by Stockholm
> University. The area up there looks a bit like Paris. The area
> further down by the harbor has architecture more like buildings in
> Rome.
>
> On one of the islands near the harbor is the "old town", with "old
> timey" winding streets. somewhat like Edinburgh, Scotland. Heard
> that some people saw pick pockets there. There turned out to be a
> Hard Rock Store at the old town, so my long walk up to the Hard Rock
> Café wasn't necessary. but still I had a beer there so it was still
> fun.
>
> The weather today was perfect. About 78 degrees and sunny. I've
> been keeping my balcony door open for fresh air, but today it's too
> warm to do that.
>
> Sunday, Helsinki, Finland.
>
> The ride on the ship continues to be ultra calm. Not really any
> ripples in the water, it's that calm. No need for Bonine since the
> first day.
>
> Last night it was still light after midnight.
>
> After Copenhagen and Stockholm, Helsinki was quite a bit of a let
> down.
>
> We again took the hop on hop off bus from the ship to the downtown
> area. The road to the downtown area passes several cruise terminals
> for the Baltic Sea Ferries, such as Silja Line, Viking Line, high
> speed ferries, etc. The Deutschland was again with us in port. So
> was the Aida, the ship with the big pink colored lips painted on the
> hull.
>
> The downtown area in Helsinki has a flea market type area. There's
> also several nice areas where people hang out. A few streets with
> sidewalk café's, but not nearly as many as in Stockholm, or as
> upscale as Copenhagen. On the bus ride we went past the Helsinki
> Olympic Stadium.
>
> John and I got an invite with the Captain's club gang to go to
> Murano's, the specialty restaurant, tonight. The note came to me
> since I have the most sailings of anyone at early dining. I'm
> taking John as my guest. I'm not sure I'll be that hungry. we've
> eaten so well the past few days, I wouldn't mind something light
> like taco's or whatever. But the price is right. Don't know if
> wine will be included or not (it was).
>
> Tomorrow it's Russia. We've all packed rolls and peanut butter and
> jelly packets to bring with us. They are supposed to give you some
> kind of box lunch. but we're not trusting that.
>
> Monday, St. Petersburg, Russia
>
> We had pre booked an excursion for 2 days with the local company Red
> October. They told us we should get off the ship at 7:00 am.
> Earlier in the week, the ship sent paperwork for where we were
> supposed to meet. Apparently they do that in order to delay you from
> getting off the ship until the ship excursions get to go. Red
> October told us to disregard that and just come off as soon as the
> ship is cleared.
>
> At 7:00 we walked down to the gangway and were told by the cruise
> director that we couldn't get off, and should have been given papers
> on where to meet until we were "cleared" to go. At that point we
> showed him paperwork where people had documented that the cruise
> lines intentionally sabotage the local companies by holding you up,
> even though local Russian officials will let you enter port. About
> a minute after we showed him the paper, he told us we were now
> "cleared" to disembark.
>
> We went through passport control (they keep a paper copy of your
> passport that you get printed at guest relations), and had our
> passports stamped. They also gave us red cards of some kind to keep
> with us and our passports. We were advised to keep our valuables in
> our front pockets to avoid getting pick pocketed. We made a code
> (somebody would say 288 - inside story behind the number that we
> picked) that we all used to alert others in our group while we were
> in crowded areas.
>
> The Hermitage is closed on Monday, so we visited Catherine's Palace,
> including the famous Amber Room, and the Peterhof Palace including
> the gardens and fountains. After that we visited several churches
> including the Peter & Paul. Our tour guide was Aliana, who used to
> be a flight attendant for Aeroflot. Here English was very good, and
> her knowledge of St. Petersburg, it's history and even the art
> collections in the Hermitage were superb.
>
> Catherine's Palace is simply magnificent. Total opulence. Very
> easy to see how the phenomenal opulence of the royals led to the
> revolution in 1917. Just like France, where they took care of Marie
> Antoinette in a similar fashion to the way the Russians took care of
> the Romanov's. It was about a ride of 45 minutes or so getting to
> Catherine's Palace. We left our good watches in the cabin safe,
> rather then wear them in Russia, so times were kind of
> "approximate". I'm