nycfa
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Posts posted by nycfa
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After my husband finished the course we went back to the room and found the kids and talked the 13 yr old into trying. I decided to be brave and give it a try myself. :o
At the first beam and to my right being straight down to the ocean I kinda wondered what the heck I was thinking doing this
Beams were easier then anything that was a rope:
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Last Sea Day
Everyone slept in but me of course! I was up around 7 and went for coffee and relaxing at the Garden Cafe. It was a bit breezy and cool but as the day went on it warmed up nicely!
The kids missed breakfast but made an early lunch then we headed to the Captain and Officers Q&A
The kids went off afterwards to do their own thing while my husband gave the ropes course a try
My husband actually went out and took this photo twice....he realized he gave the guy the wrong room number :') So he went back to do it again. Needless to say we had to buy it!
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Filling up the water bottle before meeting up the Guide again for further walking tour thru Gamla Stan then meeting up with our bus.
One last photo stop on the bus before heading back to port. Selfie with someone taking a selfie
Heading back to the bus for the ride home. Our guide stayed in Stockholm.
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Next we made our way to Gamla Stan aka Old Town. Our guide walked us around a bit then left us in the main square with some free time to grab something to eat or shop before continuing the tour of Gamla Stan
Grabbing a bite to eat and I somehow got my headphones stuck in the strap of my purse (13 year old to rescue again! :*)
Lots of ships in port makes for a busy Gamla Stan:
A little shopping:
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We then made our way to the Vasa Museum. Honestly the lines here are crazy and if you aren't with a tour group it has to be a long wait to get in!!
Family Vasa Photo :')
The lines to get in as we were leaving:
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Stockholm, Sweden
When I booked the cruise we were docking in Stockholm but later on NCL changed all the bookings to Nynashamn. Anyone booking before the change was offered "free" transportation into Stockholm to tour on your own.
After seeing so many of the Getaway cruises end up in Nynashamn last season I decided to play it safe and book a tour who would come and get me regardless of where we ended up in Sweden. :')
I did receive a letter in stateroom saying we qualified for the free transportation and to check in with guest services as space was limited. Since we booked a tour thru TJ Travel we did not follow up on the NCL offered transportation.
Nynashamn was once a tender only port but they put in retractable floating docks for cruise ships (Thought some do still use tenders as we saw when we returned later in the day with what I believe was a P&O ship).
Departure time for our tour was 9:00 am so we were off the ship by 8:30 to meet the tour Our guides name was Christie and soon we boarded a coach bus for the 50 min ride to Stockholm. The bus was nowhere full especially in the back where each of us took a row to ourselves and there were still empty rows left
Soon we arrived and stopped at city hall for a photo stop
Our Guide
We did receive headsets for this tour however no one in my family cared much for the earpieces. They didn't seem to fit the ear well and made the guide difficult to hear at times. My kids ended up using their own headphones which they said helped somewhat but another issue was the guide's microphone seems to keep falling away from her mouth when she spoke which also added to the difficultly hearing. Not the end of the world but just made following along with the history and such difficult at times.
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And here is my second PSA.....Please Please Please.....do NOT throw food at the Seagulls on Sail Away.
First: It's bad for the birds. It's not good food for them.
Second: Guess where all that food ends up?
Yup, all over my balcony. We actually were getting HIT with it as we stood out there. It's rude. They even commented how they were hitting people but it didn't stop them. Ugh! Seriously people??? :rolleyes:
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Also on the island was a submarine you could tour:
View looking towards the museum from the sub
At this point its getting busy and we are hot and tired so we made our way back to the ferry dock. I checked the schedule I had taken a snap shot of and we hustled back to make the 12:20 ferry:
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We made our way to the Main Museum and hung out a bit until it opened at 9:30 am. We went inside and purchased tickets (paid by Credit Card)
The Museum is interesting and worth a visit.
There is also a 25 minute movie about the island as well. You listen via a headset and it comes in many langauges
After we had toured the museum we had a small snack and some water from the cafe and made our way down the path for some more sight seeing.
There is lots to see here and you could make quiet a day of it if you wanted to or just spend a few hours.
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Map of Suomenlinna You can pick one up in several different languages as you get off the ferry on the island
Restrooms and Information as you get off the Ferry
If you look at the Map and follow the blue line that will take you across the main sights of the Island. We were early and it was very empty at this point by 12 it would be quiet busy
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Since we were out so early the ferry wasn't crowded. It's a pleasant trip over to the island.
Market Square from the Ferry as we were leaving:
Viking Line Ferry which we saw everywhere on this trip:
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As you exit the Tram turn left and at the corner of the street turn right to make your way down to the Market Square. Its a short walk. Before turning right at the corner you will see this building to your left.
FYI where you got dropped off by the Tram you will pick up the tram to go back to the ship on the opposite side of the street!
As you go down the hill you will soon come upon the water and market square. You can't miss it!
Now the tricky part is the find the Public Ferry HSL....stay on the water by the tent set up and walk PAST the tourist boats then you will come upon this:
The sign has the times of the ferry to and from Suomenlinna. I took a photo of the return times so we made sure we didn't miss a boat for the way back. Times are different if its a week day or weekend so pay attention to that. We were lucky and arrived just as a ferry was pulling in.
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The Tram:
This is the name of the station you board at.....here the tram only goes one way into town but it's good to know for the return so you are heading in the right direction
Before you board the tram you will need to purchase tickets from the ticket machine at the station. We purchased all day passes since it covered both the tram and the ferry. We paid with credit card and we needed a PIN to complete the transaction.
Once on board ride the Tram to the Senaatintori Stop
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Next Stop: Helsinki, Finland
This was a DIY stop for us and we planned on taking the Tram to the Ferry out to Suomenlinna
You get some great ship shots here:
by Sis, on FlickrSo to get to the Tram is quiet easy once you are off the ship follow the Green Line:
Looking for Tram 7
A view of the Tram from the Ship:
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After a WONDERFUL 2 days in St. Petersburg it was time to say Good Bye to our Guide and Driver :(
TJ Travel was wonderful to work with and provided us with a wonderful guide and driver for our private tour here in SPB.
FYI: We stopped by the office/store on day one and I paid via Credit Card our bill for all three tours. We also did a little shopping here as well.
When they dropped us off at the pier the line to get into the building was LONG! Everyone had to pass thru a security screening but it actually moved fairly quickly. Customs itself was quick even after the long line to get in. Soon we were back on the ship.
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When our guide announced we were headed to Catherine's Palace which was about a 40 min ride my family cheered and announced NAP TIME! :')
We were having a great time but between the business of the day and the heat....you were worn out.
Catherine's Palace:
Everyone must wear booties on their shoes in the palace:
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For lunch today we went to a restaurant that is attached to the Russian Vodka Museum. We did not visit the museum. We ate outside and enjoyed watching the world pass by while taking to our guide about growing up in Russia.
After lunch we made our way over to the Yusupov Palace (no photos cause I didn't want to pay the photo fee :'))
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Up Next Early Entrance to Hermitage:
Upon our arrived we found the Police Academy was having Graduation Day in the Square:
Entering thru the garden in the middle of Hermitage:
Beautiful inside as you would except a Palace to be!
The Throne:
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We met our guide at 7:30 which for my family meant a 5 am wake up! We need a vacation from the vacation! :')
Customs was quick this morning and we met Oxanna and Alexander out in front again.
First stop was a ride on the Metro:
We took the LONG escalators down and the tunnels into the station and rode it for one stop. It wasn't very busy for 8 am but our guide told us its because lots of people are away on Holiday this time of year.
Alexander picked us up at the next stop and we made our way to the canal ride:
NCL Breakaway Baltic Cruise Review July 13, 2018
in Norwegian Cruise Line
Posted
This is MUCH needed Sea Day of relaxing after a cruise like this....other then the ropes course we were pretty much people of leisure. I also worked on finishing up packing to have our bags outside our door by 11 pm.
Around 9 pm ish we pass under the Big Belts Bridge which connects the Danish Islands of Zealand and Funen. Use to only be ferry service. If you have ever set sail out of NYC it is like the Danish Version of the Verrazano Bridge.