knotheadusc

Yesterday we visited Riga, Latvia, and went on an excursion to see Turaida and Sigulda Castles and the Sigulda Cave, which is the largest in Latvia. I signed up for this lengthy tour because we didn’t book until late April and there weren’t many choices available. I knew nothing about the places we went before we visited. Overall, I found the tour very interesting, and it was nice to get out into the country. We found some nice handmade souvenirs there, too. I even bought a new wallet, so I can finally retire the ten year old leather SeaDream cruise wallet I’ve been carrying around for so long! I do wish we had spent a little more time in Riga itself, but we did get a lovely impromptu opera concert by a busker with a beautiful baritone voice near the town hall. We will have to come back to Riga for a land based trip, maybe after the new railroad is built that links the Baltic capitals to Berlin. Sometimes living in Germany is pretty handy! Last night was also karaoke night, which is an activity I generally enjoy. I did manage to do one song before we called it a night. We were both pretty tired, and karaoke was running a bit past our usual bedtimes! Unfortunately, we did come back to our room to find the door left wide open after turndown service. I’m not sure what happened there, and we weren’t worried about theft or anything, but it was a definite slip in service. Today, we are in Visby, Sweden. This is a new place for me, so I am eager to see it. We have a weak Internet connection this morning, so I'll try to upload a few photos later.

And a few more photos from beautiful Tallinn...

Yesterday was a great day! We enjoyed a tour of Tallinn with a hilarious tour guide named Raul, who reminded me very much of Robin Williams! He was dropping one liners non stop as he told us about Estonia, and mercilessly teasing a Swiss couple, who gracefully took his jokes in stride. We were in a Lutheran church and about halfway through his presentation, the organist launched into “Amazing Grace”. It was beautiful! Yesterday, we met two couples. One is from Scotland and the other comes from Germany and happens to liver very close to where we live. They even frequent the Italian restaurant in our neighborhood! Today, we are in Riga, and we will take a tour that takes us into the countryside. Or so my husband tells me, anyway. I would still love to come up to the Baltics on our own and see some of these places in a land based vacation. Yesterday was our second visit to Tallinn, but Latvia is new to me. My husband has been there for work. Below is another photo from yesterday!

GOARMY, my husband is a thirty year Army vet. I bet he’d love to chat with you! I am very interested in the Soviet Union years, as I spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia back in the mid 1990s. I was in the third group to go to Armenia, so it was very soon after the fall of the Soviet Union. But, I also love good beer, and so does my husband. 😄 We will be going to Latvia on this cruise and will visit Karosta, which was a Soviet prison, but is now a museum and quirky B&B where people can pay to get the prisoner treatment. 😮 Below is the current view from our balcony as we pull in to Tallinn.

Today we went to Helsinki and took a very interesting cruise around the harbor. We learned that in the winter, all of the water around Helsinki is completely frozen, and people just walk or ski across it. The guides also mentioned global warming, which made me think I would be nervous walking on the ice. But I don’t know just how cold it gets here in the cold months! For dinner, we tried Sette Mari, which was very good. I read about how it gets packed, so we came early. My favorite course was the asparagus risotto. Tomorrow, we go to Tallinn, Estonia for a beer tasting. We went to Tallinn on our first ever cruise in 2009, so I already know it’s a very pretty town. I had trouble choosing which freebie excursion to do on this stop. There is also a visit to a museum about Estonia’s Soviet past, which I would have wanted to see. But my husband and I both know Estonia has good beer, so the tasting won out! We really enjoyed shopping at the marketplace in Helsinki this afternoon. I would definitely like to come back sometime and explore even more. Below is a picture of our nightcaps. I had a Brandy Alexander. My husband had ginger ale, because he decided to teetotal after dinner..

I slept so well last night. I think this bed is the best one I’ve encountered in a very long time. I’m usually awake by 5AM, but I slept until 8AM today. We had a wonderful meal at Prime 7 last night, although I was pretty full afterwards. And we ran into a couple we met on SeaDream I in 2011! Last night’s sunset was beautiful!

That is awesome! Thanks for the tip!

It’s definitely the newest ship we’ve been on. Very beautiful! My husband gives high marks to the Indian food at the buffet!

My husband and I are on our very first Regent cruise. We have previously sailed once on Royal Caribbean (Vision of the Seas), which was our first cruise. It was a four night break in the Baltic Sea, circa 2009. We’ve done three SeaDream cruises— two in the Caribbean and one in Europe. And we’ve done five cruises on Hebridean Princess, which is very tiny and mostly only goes to Scotland and the environs. Regent is a big change for us. I booked this cruise because Finland won our champagne bucket draw and this cruise was the most expedient way to get to Finland and see other some places we wanted to see. So, here we are, taking it all in… We’re waiting for our suites to be ready, enjoying cocktails. Lunch in the Veranda was excellent! I like the observation lounge.

I am sitting in a hotel in Stockholm, eagerly awaiting my turn! Thank you for sharing your journey with us! It was very informative and entertaining! Enjoy your last night aboard!

Thank you! I hope you have a great time, too. We will be in Norway the week before we embark, so I expect it will be epic! We usually cruise on much smaller ships (SeaDream and Hebridean), so this will be a very new experience for us.

I'll be boarding the Splendor in Stockholm as you are disembarking on the 23rd! Hope you have a great time! This will be my first Regent cruise.

When we did our last cruise, we took the train from Edinburgh to Inverness on ScotRail. It was pretty no frills, although the scenery was very nice. Hebridean is all inclusive and you don't have to worry about anything at all. And you will see some incredible scenery, too. We're doing a Regent cruise next month, but I'm thinking about possibly booking the last couple of cruises on Hebridean this year for our anniversary. That was what we did the first time we cruised with them in 2012.

You won’t regret taking the plunge. My husband and I have done five cruises with Hebridean, and each one has been outstanding!

I was just telling Bill the same thing! Imagine meeting someone on a small cruise ship in the southern Caribbean in 2011, and then running into them again on a different line in the Baltics, 12 years later! What are the odds? Our last few cruises have been with Hebridean Island Cruises, mainly because of logistics and they were going to interesting places we had never been. I hadn’t been planning to do a cruise at all for this trip, either, but it just worked out perfectly. Regent is going to be shocking for us after SeaDream and Hebridean. Such a big ship! Looking forward to seeing you, too! I am sure we’ll be observing the differences of both experiences.

Bwahahaha! Yes, we are! 😄

Alas, I am about to cheat on SeaDream again. Gonna take my first Regent cruise in June. The ship is absolutely beautiful, but I can't help but think that I'm going to miss SeaDream's small ship vibe... and the piano bar, which is my FAVORITE part of a SeaDream cruise. 😉 But we did a champagne bucket drawing and Regent was going to the winning location (Finland)... it didn't hurt that they had a very attractive fare, that is even more attractive this week. Wish I'd waited to book. I am determined to get back on SeaDream, though, check out the new decor and toiletries, and get some more schwag. I still use the leather wallet they gave me in 2013 to carry my credit cards! I like the updated look of the PJs, too.

Nice post! Looks like you had a wonderful time! It's been ten years since my last SeaDream cruise, and now I want to book again. Thanks for the reminder!

Unfortunately, it been way too long since our last SD cruise! We have done three of them on SD1, and had a fabulous time each time. There are some truly wonderful crew members, though, who have been there for years. I've been pining to book again. I don't think you can really go wrong, unless things have changed drastically since our last cruise. In any case, the ships themselves are basically the same, and from what I've heard, the crew members are equally amazing on both vessels. We have always booked based on itineraries and dates, and that has meant we've only been on SD1. I hope to change that at some point soon.

They're pretty much identical. Some people prefer one over the other due to crew members they like.

I'm glad you had a great time! I was wondering how it went for you, after the whole COVID fiasco. We were lucky enough to have Dave the last time we cruised, which was in 2019. I'm sorry we missed having Iain again. I did get to meet him on our 2016 cruise, when he was the hotel manager. I'll never forget how he performed Ode to a Haggis for us. It was probably the best I've ever seen it done anywhere, anytime! Now that the COVID mess is settling down somewhat, and Germany is finally relaxing most of the rules, it may be time to go shopping for another cruise! I look forward to reading your review of your latest Hebridean cruise.

When my husband and I visited, one of our favorite excursions was El Yunque (rainforest). We rented a car and spent a few hours there. If you have the time and inclination, I would highly recommend it. Wear clothes you can get wet and good walking shoes with traction!

At this writing, I have sailed on Hebridean Princess five times since 2012. I remember when I was trying to decide where to spend my tenth wedding anniversary, and I read about how Queen Elizabeth had sailed Hebridean Princess twice. That helped seal the deal, as my earliest memories are of living in England when my dad was stationed there with the Air Force. I’ll bet the Tiree Lounge is humming tonight, as people pay their respects and remember Her Majesty. I will miss Queen Elizabeth. She was a wonderful lady, and she had wonderful taste in cruise ships and pursers. She was a big fan of retired Chief Purser, David Indge, who was always a very capable and personable representative for the ship.