RachelG

Agree about Stockholm-Arlanda and the no signs. Ridiculous. We wandered around there not knowing where to go several years ago. Finally went in an employee only area where someone yelled at us. George had the first part of your steak on our flight to LHR. Totally inedible. Uncuttable. He is not sure it even was beef. If so, very old cow.

Really enjoying all your posts as we did a very similar itinerary a few years ago, and I have been to almost all the stops. Brings back good memories. As far as free laundry, 100 nights, and it is yours, the holy grail.

Our flight from Hamburg to LHR was uneventful. We landed at terminal 5, and had to go back through security again even though our next flight was out of terminal 5 as well. The board didn't show a gate for our onward flight to Boston even though it said gate would be open at 1600, and it was 1620. Flight was to leave at 1715, so we headed to the BA lounge to find out more information. The first lady said no gate yet, but flight was still listed as on time. We waited a few minutes and asked another lady, who said go to the gate now, it is boarding, so we hustled on down. There had been a change of aircraft, so my carefully chosen seats had been changed and not in a good way, but we survived. We landed in Boston, collected our bags and went to the Hilton Airport and crashed. We got a good nights sleep. Back to the airport next morning, we found our flight was delayed, but only 30 minutes, so not a big deal. We eventually boarded, and waited, and waited. The pilot said there was paperwork to be done. After an hour (1 1/2 hr delay total),, we finally pulled back from the gate. I had been watching our once comfortable connection get smaller and smaller. Now we only had 30 minutes to make our connection, doable in DFW but tight. And a girl in her 20's comes running down the aisle demanding to be let off the plane as she was going to miss her connection in DFW and didn't want to stay in Dallas by herself over night. She was having a melt down, crying and running back and forth down the aisle. The flight attendants finally got her settled down, and we took off, but that took 15 minutes. So we missed our connection in DFW, but got the last 2 seats on the next flight. and our luggage arrived with us. And first night home, Tulsa had a huge windstorm with winds 100 mph, not a tornado, just straight winds. We didn't lose power but most of the city did. Still over 150,000 without power as of this am. one son lost his fence. The other was without power for 2 days. I slept right though the storm!

JP, have you scheduled your cardiac bypass surgery yet after that meal?

definitely would fly in a day early. We always do our own air.

9 nights is a lot to add in Iceland if your cruise is going there as well. It isn’t that big a country. We have been 4 times, once on land and the others on cruises, and much as I love Iceland, it would probably spend that much time elsewhere.

It does help to have a “kid” or at least a younger person on your trivia team, so you should be able to find some old folks like me who will welcome you and your son to the team. love your pictures, but that hamburger looks nothing at all like what they served on the Wind this past week. I should have taken a picture to demonstrate how bad it was.

Yes, it has been known that Explorer has been sold for quite a while. Cloud will be doing the Kimberley cruises next year.

Interesting that you found the hamburger at the grill good, as we just got off Wind and the hamburgers were borderline inedible. My husband even talked to the chef about this. He had said they had many complaints, but that they weren’t able to source American beef, and that the beef they were getting was Italian.

I agree as far as the veranda suites. They have not been updated at all. The upper level suite have been. The restaurants and lounges look updated but there were missing pieces of wood upstairs on the deck railing

That is a great itinerary. We just got off Wind today so following along will prevent me going into withdrawal

A comparison—veranda suite vs medallion suite on Silver Wind I thought I would write up a little side to side comparison of these two, since we had opportunity to experience both on the same cruise. Some things may surprise you. Background: we booked a veranda suite as usual-616. Unfortunately, every night at about 4 am, we would be assaulted by a strong cigarette smoke smell. The GM and staff did their best to figure it out and fix it, but it kept occurring, so after 4 nights, we were moved to a medallion suite—803, which features no smoke smell. Size—obviously medallion wins here as there are completely separate bedroom and sitting/dining areas. The balcony is much larger with 2 loungers, table and 3 chairs vs 2 chairs and a table. Unfortunately it was too cold most of the time on our cruise to use it other than to pop outside for a quick picture. Bathroom is considerably larger as well. Closet is configured differently but about the same size. More hanging space in the medallion. Bathroom—medallion is the clear winner here as the bathroom has been totally redone with double sinks that are inset into the counter. The veranda suites have a larger single sink which is above the counter and just not practical at all as, if you are brushing your teeth and don’t hold the toothbrush just right under the water, water goes every where. In the medallion, there is a proper shower with a shower door that closes completely. In the veranda, they have converted the TU to a shower, and there is no door, just glass half way across, so there is potential for water to go everywhere there as well. Veranda bathroom sometimes a sort of sour sewage smell. There is no smell other than that of soap in the medallion bathroom. However, the lighting is better in the veranda. Sitting/dining area—medallion has a sofa, coffee table and chair plus a dining table and 2 dining chairs. Veranda has sofa, coffee table and chair only, BUT the sofa in the veranda is a proper sofa length, while the one in medallion is very short, just large enough to seat myself and George side by side. Not long enough to stretch out on at all. The chair in the medallion is quite upright and uncomfortable as well. There is another chair at the desk which is the same type. These could be placed at the table too, if you had guests come in to dine. If you were a person who liked dining in the suite a lot, medallion would be better, but for us, I actually preferred the veranda sitting area. Veranda wins on this one. Bedroom area—basically the same, though the medallion one can be completely closed off which is nice if one person likes to sleep late and the other is an early riser. We liked this. So slight edge to medallion. Noise—medallion is the clear winner as it is almost too quiet. It is hard to hear announcements, particularly if you are in the bedroom, and there is no traffic at all in the hallway. Storage—surprising, but there is more usable storage area in the veranda suite. The drawers are deeper and larger in the veranda suite. I was barely able to put 2 sweaters in one of the drawers in the medallion suite whereas 4 easily fit in the veranda drawers. And there are more drawers in veranda. Windows—again, veranda wins here as there is a larger window and door to the balcony. In the medallion there are two, one in the sitting area and one in the bedroom, but they are smaller. The other issue is that, in the far north in summer, it doesn’t really get dark. In the veranda suite, there is a curtain between the sitting and sleeping areas which you can pull to make it very dark. That is not possible in the medallion suites. Accessibility—not an issue for us, but if a person has any issues with going up or down stairs, the medallion suites on 8 forward would not be for them. There is no forward elevator, and if the pool deck is closed off for cleaning or bad weather, you have to use the stairs as you can’t get to the elevators. So—bottom line is we enjoyed the medallion suite, but we would not pay extra for it.

june 16, 2023–disembarkation in Hamburg when we awoke, we were docked at the Altona Cruise terminal. It is a passenger terminal, though there is a huge industrial port across the way. We had a moment of panic when George thought he might have packed all his shirts in the luggage we set out last night, but fortunately he found one. we had a very quick breakfast as ours were grey tags, which they said would be called between 8:30 and 9:30, and were actually called at 8:25. So we were out the door with our luggage and in a taxi (there were plenty waiting) at 8:30. we had to fly home today, but our flight isn’t until 2:35 pm, going HAM-LHR and LHR-BOS today on BA, staying overnight in Boston at the Hilton, then going BOS-DFW and DFW-TUL tomorrow morning, using FF miles for the entire ticket which was actually a very good use of miles, and we don’t mind breaking up to trip in Boston. we drove through areas of Hamburg that were not particularly attractive. Lots of graffiti everywhere and weeds and overgrown shrubbery. I hope there are areas which look better. We had hoped to be able to drop off our luggage at the BA counter then go to the botanical garden, but the BA counter wasn’t open yet. There is a left luggage counter, but it was looking like rain, so we just decided to wait at the airport. George was able to do some work. i am a bit annoyed with Silversea though as they would not refund us for the non-use of the hotel in Hamburg and transport to the airport (hate the door to door pricing but it was all that was offered), and they wouldn’t let us just take their transport to the hotel and store our luggage while we went sightseeing or provide transport to the airport. I think they could have been more accommodating since they were happy to take our money.

June 15, 2023–Kiel Canal, Germany The cruise is nearing an end. We have today on board then home tomorrow. Today is a sort of sea day, which I prefer at the end of the trip to get everything packed, etc, but George is sad because we won’t be going on land. When I got up, looking outside I could see a huge windmill farm in the sea to one side, literally hundreds of windmills. We were in a marine traffic lane now, so seeing more ships than the entire previous cruise. The weather was pleasant, in the low 60s with some wind, but it was hazy. We had morning trivia, and we came in third, mainly due to not paying enough attention to the facts about the island we were on yesterday. When I went back to the suite, suitcases had already been laid out. There was to be a pub lunch buffet on the pool deck. However, the wind had really whipped up, and it was pretty chilly, so they moved it indoors to the restaurant. The fish and chips was just ok—fish was tough, and the chips were not hot. But I had good pea soup. The steak and ale pie was pretty good. George thought the best part was the Eton Mess, which is a dessert. As we neared the entrance to the canal, we saw literally hundreds of sailboats, big and small. There was some sort of regatta going on. There was announcement that entry to the lock was delayed an hour and a half. I have been through a lot of locks, and I think this is not that unusual. I remember a lot of waiting around going through the Panama Canal. They have to have enough ships clumped together to go through at one time. Some other ships, all cargo, turned up from both directions, and we went through the first lock. The weather had significantly improved, and it was warm and sunny with little wind. Perfect for sailing through the canal. There were fields and forest on both sides, with lots of birds chirping, swans and ducks in the water. It was really peaceful and relaxing. We finally were able to sit on our balcony. The captain’s farewell was really nice, particularly since he is leaving the ship and going to Endeavor. He gave a great talk to the crew. Dinner was in Hot Rocks or whatever it is currently called with JP, Chris, David and Laura. It was a great meal with wonderful company. My steak was perfectly cooked, LOL, since I cooked it. We had to return to the room to finish packing. Very sad.

They don’t exchange them onboard.

Didn’t take pictures of the buffet as I didn’t have my iPhone with me.

June 14, 2023–Christianso Island, Denmark Another bright sunny day. When I awoke, we were chugging along across the smooth Baltic toward Christianso Island, the easternmost island of Denmark, and Frederikso, a tiny adjacent island connected by a bridge. We don’t arrive until 4 pm, so there will be lectures today, etc. Christianso used to be a Danish naval fortress, and the fortifications are still there. About 90 people live there now, and they have a grocery, a pub, a school, and even a doctor, who brews beer in his spare time since there aren’t that many patients. Frederickso used to be a prison for political prisoners, and there is a graveyard where cholera victims were buried. I did a bit of work as internet has almost recovered, then a walk around the top deck. It was very pleasant with little wind. George slept in then went for a workout in the gym. He came back flustered due to culture shock. A German couple came in the sauna where he was sitting, and proceeded to take off their towels, having nothing on underneath. We are used to the separate saunas for men and women on Regent. There was a seafood buffet for lunch on the pool deck. Lobster and crab legs, p,us a bunch of other seafood. George and I had already eaten salads and shrimp in La Terrazza, but he had to have a second lunch and said the crab was great, but the lobster was small and over cooked. (Seafood buffet on Regent no longer included crab legs, so it was nice to see those.). While we were eating, we noticed a naval ship sailing along beside us. They sailed parallel for quite a long time very close by, then turned and went to the other side and sailed parallel on that side though not as close. Then a fighter jet again flew over us from both sides, not nearly as close as the other day though. Early trivia—another win with only 2 missed answers out of 21, and one of those was the year the first automobile was invented which we were only off by a year. As we were finishing up, we started seeing a cute little island off to the side of the ship. We anchored and zodiacs were dispatched. Soon our groups were called. George was first off, anxious to explore. It is such a beautiful island. Every direction and step is a photo op. Lots of birds,bullfrogs making a racket, some seals. The old fortifications are mostly intact, and you can hike around and go Inside the towers. In the large one, they have some historical info, but the small one is a gem. Lots of old stuff with every hand tool you can imagine, a medical exhibit with a gyn table and obstetrical forceps that I could use today if needed. It was really interesting. We walked all over both islands. We were given 3 types of herring and the locally brewed beer. I hate beer, but this was tolerable. I also thought I hated herring, and I still wouldn’t order it off a menu, but this wasn’t bad. Back on board, we had dinner at the main dining room. We both had the asparagus and goat cheese salad which was great. I had gazpacho which was delicious and spicy. George had smoked salmon. I had ordered mushroom risotto as my main dish, very rich but yummy. George’s fish was inedible, so he sent it back and got the risotto as well. Then we both finished off with the raspberry soufflé watching a beautiful sunset.

George and the old boat

Saaremaa church

June 13, 2023–Saaremaa, Estonia Again, another time zone change-an hour forward again as we went back to the East.. This time I was prepared for what ever shenanigans my iPhone had in store. Sure enough, it didn’t move forward, but George’s did, and I had set the alarm allowing an extra hour just in case. It was another bright sunny day. Looking out, we could see a fairly flat and tree covered island, Saaremaa which is an island off the coast of Estonia. Our excursion for the day was to Harilaid, at the northwest corner. It is a peninsula that juts out into the Baltic and is a national park, mostly a bird sanctuary. There was actually, for the first time this trip, another cruise ship in port. The Amadea, which appears to be a German ship, was at the dock. It looks like a monstrosity compared to Silver Wind, and it is not pretty at all. Wind had to anchor, with zodiac rides to the pier. We boarded our little bus and went through the beautiful countryside to the park. Part of the drive was through pine forest, but there were also fields of hay, some cattle, horses, and cute villages. When we arrived at the park, we set off on a flat trail which goes around the peninsula, 11 km, partly packed dirt, partly sand, and some gravel. The sea was to our left, and pine forest to the right. We saw several pairs of swan and heard a lot of other birds. We passed a shipwrecked boat which has clearly been there a long while, and is rusting away, half covered with sand. There is a leaning lighthouse on a broad beach, and apparently sometimes, seals hang out there, but not today. It was a long hike. When we returned to the parking lot, we had a snack of a local bread which is sort of like a croissant. On the way back to the ship, we stopped at a village with a little store. There was a man splitting wood by hand, a old church, and several interesting buildings. Back to the ship, we were really hungry so had a late lunch at the Grill. George says the hot dog is better than the hamburger, but not as good as a quiktrip hot dog, and not nearly as good as the sausages we ate in Finland. We did terrible at trivia. Too many dates, which is a particularly weak point of mine, and soccer questions, another weak point. We had dinner again at La Dame as George wanted to try some different dishes. I again ordered the lobster salad, but then switched up and had quinoa followed by the steak. It was very nice, and the steak was perfectly prepared. George had fois gras, mushroom soup, followed by steak and he said all were good. He finished with the pistachio souffle while I had a strawberry and chocolate thing which was sort of like flan. It was good but had a gelatinous coating which was weird. There was a dance party outside after with all sorts of chocolate. I couldn’t eat any more, but it was fun.

George at the lighthouse

June 12, 2023–Gotska Island, Sweden At last, we were able to have a nice sleep in as we were not to arrive at Gotska Island until afternoon. We were sailing south, on a smooth sea with tiny ripples. The sun was out brightly, and the temperature was very comfortable in the upper 60s. Our destination for the day, Gotska Island, is mostly uninhabited, with a white sand beach on the perimeter and dense pine forest in the center. It is home to a lot of birds and also grey seals. They offered the usual assortment of lectures during the morning then had early recap and briefing at 11:00. For lunch, an Asian Fusion buffet was offered on the pool deck. It was the perfect day as it was sunny and not cold, but the food was disappointing. Not a lot of choices and not nearly as good as the one on Regent. We went inside and got ice cream for dessert. But while we were sitting outside, all of a sudden we hear this loud roar, and were buzzed by an F16 not once, but twice. Not sure what lol that was about, but he was very low and close to the ship. About 1:30 pm, we could see a long low island just ahead, with white sand beaches all around and forest in the middle. Shortly afterward, the anchor was dropped. We were on the first zodiac over, very smooth ride. The staff had made a makeshift dock from pallets on the sand. We did the long hike, which was a proper hike, 10 km over mostly sandy terrain with some steep hills thrown in. But before we took off, we were again buzzed by the jets, 3 times. Someone said they are doing some sort of NATO operations in the area, not sure why they are buzzing cruise ships. Then I heard our guide from the ship calling my name. I looked over, and there is George, driving one of the tractors the rangers use to keep the landing and paths in order. After we pried him off the tractor, we hiked through beautiful pine forest, then birch. There was a little chapel in a meadow. Apparently you can rent it for weddings and the like. We ended up at the little village which is where the rangers live and where there are some cabins you can rent in the summer. There is also a campground. The lighthouse was open, and one of the rangers was there giving commentary. George climbed to the top. We were ready to go back to the ship after all that. We had dinner in La Terrazza with friends. I felt my lamb was over cooked as did George , but we had plenty of food.

Dolebludger, I may not be reading 5is correctly, but it doesn’t sound to me like the husband is an employee. It sounds like he is an attorney, as is my husband. George has frequently had to do zoom calls while on vacation as a judge demanded it, OP is talking about a mediation, and to me that says lawyer, since he is the one leading the call.

They don’t have coins, but they do carry smaller bills

I would use my cellular service. In Vancouver, you should have a good connection. You can do that from wherever you like. I routinely attend zoom meetings using my iPad or cell phone.