scubacruiserx2

Fantastic review scubacruiserx2!

It feels like we are there cruising with you!

It's very interesting to read, even though this is my neck of the woods.

 

 

 

This is one of the Stockholm-Helsinki ferries. It departs in the evening and arrives the morning after, stays in port during the day and then back again the next night. You can bring your car onboard if you want. For being a ferry it's rather nice.

Here are some photos from one of my trips with this ferry:

http://www.cruise-addicts.com/forums/threads/photos-from-a-baltic-ferry-cruise.241790/

 

Looking forward to the rest of your cruise review!

 

/Erik

Hello Erik , thank you for writing and your encouraging words . I would also like to commend you and excellent review : Photos from a Baltic ferry cruise ! You did a great job and have some excellent photos !! I especially like the night photos . Did you use a tripod ? Also may I share a couple of your photos here , so the readers can see what we're talking about ?

Thank you for taking us inside of the ferry , and what a great idea to be able to take your automobile along ! I hope that the readers will look at it when they have some time , and I hope that you will share some photo reviews and photos for future visitors to Stockholm , here on CC ! :) :D

From the video, it looks as a very late change of plan, as so few buses were waiting.

Were you told the reason for the change of port?

I'm not sure if it was a change of port , but I'll tell what we did see and hear . Where we thought that we would berth is Stadsgarden # 167 , seen here with the NCL ship . It is about a 30 minute walk to Gamla Stan , the old town , which is seen in the distance .

Closer to old town , in berth 160 , was a Viking ship . Old town is a 15 minute walk from there .

This photo has old town to the right , out of the photo .

In between is a brick building , Fotografiska , a photo museum . Just above is an flat overlook with 4 flags where I wanted to climb and take a photo from ( which I didn't get to take ) . And so in this map below , the ships should be closer to old town with the museum between them .

On the Hoho boat that I took the photos from were some people from the Emerald Princess . Their ship could not enter the archipelago and so they went to a port more distant than ours , requiring about an hours bus ride ! :(

As we approached the Stockholm harbor , Pat woke Tyler and took him to the buffet breakfast .

Our plan was simple :

1 .Berth at point E

2. Rapidly exit the ship

3. Use our pre - purchased HoHo boat tickets , following the blue route and after exiting the HoHo , walk to our points of interest .

As we were approaching our berth it , it didn't look quite right :

Recognizing the problem , I hurried down to buy shuttle tickets , just in case . We had been told on the ship that we could walk to the city by following a blue line painted on the ground after we exited the terminal area .

We were some of the first people to leave the ship and walked quickly to see if we were near the HoHo boat , and I stopped to take a photo quickly .

Tyler came running up to me and explained that Pat's card wouldn't allow her to exit the boat . We backtracked and talked to security to find out what was going on . After about 15 minutes she exited and is seen waving in the center of the photo .

By the time that we arrived at the pick up point , there we several hundred people in line and no buses on the horizon . We thought that we would cross the street and see if we were in the right place for the HoHo , or walk the 20 minutes to town , which we had been told on ship . After 20 minutes we stopped and recognized our demise . A man standing nearby asked us , in English , if he could help . After we explained , he told us that it was a 20 minute ride from there !

He asked where we were from and after telling him , he explained that his sister was married to an American and now lives in the US . He then asked if we would like a ride to the city ! As we chatted along the way , we found out that he had visited Florida and liked to SCUBA dive ! What a fortunate meeting !! Before he dropped us off at the Opera House , he also told us that he is partner in a catering service and gave us each a bottle of water .

And so we want to say thank you to Plurre - our Guardian Angel in Stockholm !!!

It took almost 5 hours from the time we entered the archipelago until we left the ship .

And we weren't alone

We spent some of the time reviewing Rick Steves popular Northern European Cruise Ports .

And enjoying Eggs Benedict in the big room before Tyler woke up .

Earlier we reviewed the Beatles Celebration tribute band on the Eclipse . I saw on the www today another band who has an absolutely spot - on John impersonator.

His version of You've got to hide your love away :

I thought that I was watching the real John Lennon !!

As soon as Cafe al Bacio was opened we and a couple of other Americans from CC were there for our fix

And with a 10:00 arrival , we could sit and enjoy it there while chatting with the fellowship of the coffee ring

This is where we prefer the Princess International Cafe to the Celebrity version . The Princess IC is open 24 hours a day !!

Time for some photos

We passed very close by this island

And here's the video clip :

I wish that I knew how deep the water was at this point .

Our pilot soon bailed out

Leaving us to follow the other ship(s) ahead of us

We headed down for a different angle and some liquid stimulation

However , at 6:40 Cafe Al Bacio was still asleep .

As we were going to sleep on the night before Stockholm , an announcement on the PA informed us that due to the high wind , a ship of our size may not be able to sail through the Swedish Archipelago !

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_archipelago

I was up about 4 am and it was already light outside . And as I looked through our front window , our ship slowed almost to a stop , just outside of the entrance of the archipelago where there was another ship .

Would they (and we ) go in ?

A video clip :

I headed out on to the balcony ( It was COLD and windy )for some more photos .

And we were in !!

The first structure on shore

Back inside , where it was warm !

Wow - that must have been amazing!

It was ! After entering it we stopped and picked up the band . The land along the canal was flat , mostly farmland and people would ride along with the ship on bicycles and horse drawn carriages on the road next to the canal . They would wave different flags and hands and yell greetings to us as we went along . All of the photos that I have from that trip were film and so the photo , is a photo , of a photo . :confused:

Not sure how to tell you this, but I don't think you went under the Orsund bridge!! Your picture is actually of the great belt bridge which is the other side of the Island that Copenhagen is on. If you google pictures of the two bridges you will see that the bit at the end of the suspension is different. I believe that there isn't sufficient clearance for large cruise ships to go under the Orsund bridge! This means that if you are coming back from the Baltic and calling at Copenhagen, you have to go all the way round the west and north of the island to get to Copenhagen. Sorry!

Oops ! :o

Thank you for the clarification as we had not used this route before .

On our last trip to the Baltic in 2006 , we used the Kiel Canal both ways . And the NCL Dream had to flip it's funnel , to clear the bridge , while the band played on ! :) :D

We were told that we would be sailing under the Orsund Bridge just after midnight and that it was something to see .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98resund_Bridge

It's a bridge which connects Copenhagen , Denmark and Malmo , Sweden .

We went to bed early and I slept restlessly . After looking at the clock I saw that it was time and jumped up in time to see the bridge right in front of us through our window ! And after throwing on my clothes and grabbing my camera , I ran up forward and up to the Solstice Deck . It was packed ! and there was no place to take a good photo . Plan B was our balcony and as I was entering our cabin door I heard a very loud , audible Oooooh , from above as we slid beneath the bridge . Drat , I missed it !

And by the time I reached our balcony , this was the best that I could manage . Not my best photo , but something to see !

The article from Cruise Critic

Sushi on Five Replaces Bistro on Five Across Celebrity Cruises Fleet

June 10, 2016

Celebrity Reflection's Bistro on Five

(9:40 a.m. EDT) -- Celebrity Cruises is replacing its popular creperie, Bistro on Five, with Sushi on Five, after a four-month test onboard Celebrity Reflection. Three ships, including Reflection, Celebrity Millennium and Celebrity Silhouette now have the Japanese restaurant, which offers for-fee sushi and cooked items.

Sushi on Five will be rolled out to the rest of the fleet as follows: Celebrity Solstice (July 1), Celebrity Infinity (July 24), Celebrity Equinox (August 6), Celebrity Constellation (August 28), Celebrity Eclipse (September 17) and Celebrity Summit (October 16).

The entire Sushi on Five menu can be found on Cruise Critic's Celebrity forum. Appetizers start at $4 and include chicken ginger gyoza ($7) and beef tenderloin tataki ($9). Hot pots and noodles range from $9 to $12; sushi, sashimi and nigiri range from $4 to $12.

Another great pic...out of interest, do you know what the contraption on the far right is? I've looked at it for some time now and can't work out what it is?

It's an aerial work platform .

Isn't it obvious? It's the milking machine ;)

If the cow is large enough ! Perhaps the UK equivalent of Bessie the yeller cow .

I'm assuming that this was an April Fools joke. I can't imagine the amount of pats and pee would be good for the grass.

 

Pull the udder one!:D

Fresh milk is udderly delicious !! :) :D

A great review.....we will be on the 31st July sailing and have done the same itinerary two years ago so the photos are reminding us how great the ship is, providing us with valuable information - and - making us very excited for our forthcoming trip.

 

One question - how is the grass looking at the moment?

It seems as though the two cows cited below , from an April 1st advertisement , had been doing their job :

New moo-vers join Celebrity

Chewing the cud becomes full time role for new recruits

Two Jersey cows have been appointed as lawn keepers on-board Celebrity Eclipse when it returns to Southampton on 30 April 2016. The cows ‘South’ and ‘Hampton’, will be responsible for maintaining the real grass lawn on the top deck of the ship as well as producing fresh milk and cheese for guests during their cruises throughout Europe.

Celebrity Eclipse will be returning to Southampton in 2016 with its first European sailing departing on 30 April where both ‘South’ and ‘Hampton’ will begin their new roles on-board. To celebrate their first day on the ship, guests will be invited to the lawn for a cheese tasting meet and greet with the new employees.

“We are extremely proud to be the first cruise line to produce and serve fresh milk and cheese on-board Celebrity Eclipse and are very excited for our guests to experience this. As the new lawn keepers on-board, we are confident that our new bovine employees will keep the grass lawn extremely tidy and fresh for our guests who are keen to enjoy a game of croquet or a picnic at our Lawn Club. South and Hampton are great additions to our team and we are looking forward to welcoming them in April.”

Ali Forlop

Head of cows

However , an over zealous lawn keeper may have set his blade too low and beware of flying balls ! :eek:

Up on Deck it was deserted

Where were all the people ?

It was like a Ghost Ship !

And we loved it !

Our own private cruise ship

And doing what we wanted to do

In shades of Baltic Blue .

After our delicious dinner we returned to our stateroom for a camera and clothing change . I use my Sony pocket camera for food photos and convenience , and we wanted to change clothes and get my larger Canon DSLR to go up on the deck . We found our Celebrity today on our bed for our next day's visit to Stockholm .

A couple notes of interest :

1. We would be arriving at 10 am

2. We would need our passport

3. The sun would be rising at 3:34 am !

4. It was getting colder and windy - but clear .

5. Celebrity was selling shuttle tickets . Why ? This was not part of our plan !

Up on deck we could see that we had a travel companion .

It was the Emerald Princess who would be in the next 3 ports with us .

Here goes........

 

 

and

 

Thank you Greg ! :) :D

Ah but that is only the Shoreside Concierges teams opinion ....

 

 

 

Whos' opinion is right :confused: If you are in an RS or a PH whether you pay at So5 seems to be rather like visiting the casino.. Some times you win and other times you pay :D

Thank you for posting the menu for S on 5 which we linked . Can we post it on this thread ?

Shall we finish our dinner ?

Braised Beef Ravoli

Golden Saffron Riotto

I loved this stuff !

The Italian grill concept reminds me of Carrabba's .

Tyler's Shrimp and Scallop Brochette

With it's heavy sear , I was afraid that my Filet would be overcooked . But it was a perfect medium - rare .

Pat's Creme Brulee

Tyler's Tiramisu

Loving your report.. its our First time on the Eclipse later this year and we have a Baltic and St Petersburg booked for next year..

Thank you and welcome aboard . And if you have any questions or comments - don't be shy ! ;)

Loving your review, the Baltic cruises are a bucket list trip for us!

 

Regarding Bistro on 5, sadly Celebrity has decided to roll Sushi on 5 out across the fleet by October. I say sadly as I'm not a sushi fan and quite enjoyed Bo5, although appreciate it was under utilised and thus was up for a change sooner than later.

 

Looking forward to your next instalments!

 

Cheers

Matt

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thank you , we're glad that you enjoy it . We love your avatar - a great use of the photo space ! We would love to visit Melbourne , Australia the home of Kylie one day , but we will have to settle for visiting my mom in Melbourne , Florida until then !

I do wonder if Sushi on 5 will go the same way as Bistro on 5! Not something I have ever tried.

I would suggest they transfer the Aqua Cafe to this venue, as I can never get a seat in the Aqua Cafe!

That's a great thought Jackie ! This seems to be a hot topic on this thread and so you and the other writers on this thread have inspired us to launch another thread devoted to this issue . Thank you all for your input on this topic !! :) :D

Bistro or Sushi on 5 , let the people decide . It's found here :

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2376735

We just returned from a cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse where we enjoyed the Bistro on 5 at $ 10 per person .

Celebrity will replace the Bistro on 5 with Sushi on 5 , an a la carte Japanese Restaurant , on all of their ships . It's menu can be found here :

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=50174226&postcount=67

Ultimately , the people will decide with their money , but what do you think ?

I took this photo of the Tuscan Grille early in the morning when no one was there

Located in the stern of the ship it was quite bright in the dining room since the sun would be setting in our wake .

This photo was taken with a short exposure to make it look darker than it really was .

The dinner menu

Steak Tartare - no grilling required

Goat cheese salad

We had promised Tyler a trip to the hot tub before dinner and on the cold breezy deck it sure felt good in the water !

Shortly afterwards an announcement on the PA advised us that we would be receiving a Swedish S&R helicopter for training exercises . I dried quickly and ran down to our cabin to get my DSLR camera , but they had arrived already !

And after this video clip with my pocket camera I did retrieve my Canon for some closeups :

Seeing the crew member in the door reminded me of the good old days when I still had a job !

Please note that the crew member is attached to the helicopter with a gunner's belt - so don't try this at home without one !!

Next : Dinner at the Tuscan Grille .