Baltics -shopping with the Chef- Which Port?

[juicyjuju]

We usually go shopping with the Chef while on board. Does anyone know which port they are doing it in on the Baltic cruises? We only have three ports on our cruise- St pertersburg, Tallin and Helsinki. Must be one of the latters?

[wripro]

Not sure if they do Shopping With The Chef in the Baltics.

[Chairsin]

I believe it is often done in Helsinki.

[zorro90068]

Not sure if they do Shopping With The Chef in the Baltics.

 

Last year on the Sojourn they were doing it in Helsinki.

[wripro]

I stand corrected.

[Winner]

Last year on Pride shopping with the chef (Jes) was in Tallin. It was on of the best shopping experiences I have attended. Jes was very popular with the vendors (perhaps partially due to his large supply of Euros) with lots of good-natured bargaining. The market was not enclosed and it was a beautiful day.

[JPH814]

How does one sign up for this? My wife and I would love it - no matter what city it is in. Is it something that is announced as on open invitation or do you need to mention to someone you are interested?

[Emperor Norton]

On my Pride cruise in the Baltics Tallinn was the port where we did shopping with the chef (like Winner is was Jes).

[Chairsin]

As soon as you board the ship go to the reception desk and ask if there will be a Shopping with the Chef. If so they will tell you when and where.They will then put your name on the list. If you wait until it is announced during the cruise you risk missing out as participation is limited. Enjoy!

[Winner]

On my Pride cruise in the Baltics Tallinn was the port where we did shopping with the chef (like Winner is was Jes).

 

Thanks, Baychilla, for the photos. I recognize the vendors--and, of course, smiling Jes. He is fun, isn't he?

 

Winnie

[Patti22]

I appreciate this information. It looks like fun. We leave in less than five weeks (Stockholm to Copenhagen). Still fussing with St. Petersburg tours!!

[Galpwr]

Patti, we will be on the same cruise and look forward to meeting you. We used Alla for a private tour during our stay in St. Petersburg.

[Patti22]

Galpwr,

Look forward to meeting you. We are getting excited and almost ready to start packing. Watching the weather (cruisoutlook.com) for trends, but it looks like we will pack a bit of everything! We booked our tours with Seabourn as we did not want all day tours. There are days when we can do two tours if we want but booked the ones we really wanted. See you soon.

[jenidallas]

Last week on Sojourn it was in Helsinki (at the market near where the ship docks).

[Chairsin]

Patti,

Of all the extended weather forecast site I have found http://www.inltellicst.com to be the most reliable. It certainly has helped me be an efficient packer.

[jenidallas]

I would strongly advise layers and really good walking shoes. We were told that these are some of the most walking-intense ports and the cobblestones are rougher than I've experienced in other parts of Europe. We had many days when I needed a jacket leaving the ship (or returning to it) but then it warmed up to a nice light cardigan temperature. And in some of the places in St Petersburg, it was warm and stuffy so I was glad I wore sleeveless/short sleeve tops with light cardigans and then a light jacket as I was peeling on and off all day. You'll definitely want something for bare arms in the evenings on ship if you want to go out on deck at all.

[Patti22]

Thanks so much, Chairsin and jenidallas for your suggestions. I was definitely thinking layers for clothing. One comment I read somewhere suggested a hat and mittens and that kind of scared me! Chairsin, we keep Intellicast on our phones and are having fun checking our ports every few days. Also, thanks for the info re: good walking shoes and the conditions in these ports. I am in PT right now for back issues hoping to be able to do and do what I want. Again, thanks.

[Chairsin]

The weather in that part of the world is very inconsistent --- monthly averages are less than useless. When we were in the Baltic's in June a few years ago it was so balmy that the group of 6 of us had lunch out on the Verandah most every day. And when we went to Norway in August it was in the mid 70's the day we were at the North Cape in the Arctic Circle.

[DUHCAR]

Last week on the Pride it was Tallinn. There were only six of us as it didn't appear in the Herald until the night before. I has asked Jes early on and he said it was going to be Tallinn. The signup sheet was at Reception for a few days.

 

W had a great guide on the bus and sampled fruit, cheeses, fish, bread.

Jes bought 20 salmon that apeeared on the menu a day later. Problem was that there was. Horrible green sauce that accompanied the fish. It wasn't a very good dish IMHO.

 

Highly recommend this. We got dropped off in Tallinn on the way back, walked around and caught the shuttle back to th ship.

[juicyjuju]

I was hoping Jes would be on our cruise on the Sojourn next month, but he's on the Pride obviously. We did shopping with the Chef with him in Italy on the Spirit and with a different Chef on the Quest (but Jes was on the Quest at the same time). He is so fun to be around. Hoping someone will post who is the Chef on the Sojourn currently. We board in four weeks.

[jenidallas]

I was hoping Jes would be on our cruise on the Sojourn next month, but he's on the Pride obviously. We did shopping with the Chef with him in Italy on the Spirit and with a different Chef on the Quest (but Jes was on the Quest at the same time). He is so fun to be around. Hoping someone will post who is the Chef on the Sojourn currently. We board in four weeks.

 

It's Martin Kitzing.

[Chairsin]

Shopping with Martin is great fun -- we have done it twice with him. The first time was in Bergen -- after tasting five different caviars we tasted smoked whale( I know -- we all have misgivings about the political correctness of doing it) . This past December we went to the Boqueriea in Barcelona with him -- after tasting all sorts of goodies, including one of my favorite treats Iberico ham, he bought a few of us a lovely thick hot chocolate to warm us up while we waited for our chartered bus to show up.