Baltics Review - July 2 - 14, 2005 Jewel of the Seas

[Host Anne]

Just returned from a 12-night Baltics cruise on Jewel of the Seas. Here's a copy of my review. ENJOY!

 

Jewel of the Seas Review

 

July 2 – July 14, 2005

 

Baltics Cruise

 

Cabin 9076 – Category D1

 

 

 

It’s always the same. Nothing compares to the anticipation of a cruise. First, it’s the decision of what itinerary to take, what ship to sail, when to go. For us, we typically book a cruise about a year out. We like getting our choice of cabins (we generally prefer aft balconies) and our travel agent generally gets us a great deal. Plus if rates drop after we book, we’ve always been able to get our cruise rate adjusted. One of my rules of thumb is to always have another cruise booked by the time one is over. That way, I know I have the next one to look forward to.

 

This cruise is a special one. It’s in celebration of our daughter’s graduation from high school. We let her select the itinerary of her choice (within reason). She chose the Baltic because she had traveled to Sweden and Finland with the People to People Sports Ambassador program five years ago and loved it. Andy and I had never been to any of the ports of call so it sounded like a great choice. We booked the cruise a little more than a year out. We chose Jewel of the Seas because when we booked we had just sailed on Brilliance of the Seas and loved the ship. We’ve never had a really bad cruise and while we like some lines better than others, we think most cruise experiences are what you make them.

 

I just took my first sunset photo out of the plane so we are now “officially” on our way. We used frequent flier miles to book our airline tickets so we were somewhat at the mercy of Delta as to the dates we flew. We will actually have five days in England before boarding the ship. While it makes for a lengthy trip (longer than we would have normally taken), there are some definite good things that have happened. We are spending our first two days in Stoke-On-Trent with cruise friends that we met several years ago on a Caribbean cruise. We have sailed with them again since then and have kept in close contact. We are looking forward to our visit with them and know it will be a great start to the trip. We will then spend three days in London before boarding the Jewel on Saturday, July 2.

 

Planning has always been half of the fun of cruising for me. My involvement with Cruise Critic allows us to “meet” others cruising with us and build friendships over the months before the cruise. This cruise proved no different. We will be dining; sharing tours and enjoying a wonderful cruise with other passengers we met on Cruise Critic.

 

For me, pre-planning for this cruise proved tougher than usual. I purchased Rick Steves’ London and Scandinavia books (fabulous stuff) but I still have a tough time keeping the Scandinavian capitals straight. I’m sure that once we visit, it will be easier. We pre-booked our two-day tours in St. Petersburg with DenRus. One of our Cruise Critic friends had already made arrangements and kindly offered to have us join them. The only other port I pre-booked a tour in was Tallinn. I had read so many wonderful things on Cruise Critic about Ahti Arak that I booked him months in advance (probably six). There will be 11 of us doing a private tour with Ahti in our last port of call. I mention the pre-planning here because if you think you want to do private tours in ports, I highly recommend doing your research and booking early in the planning process. That way you can secure the guides that have gotten great reviews and have a level of comfort knowing you will be well taken care of.

 

 

 

ENGLAND

 

Stoke-On-Trent

 

We arrived in Manchester on the morning of June 27. We disembarked the plane, picked up our luggage, and went through customs in less than 15 minutes. We’ve never seen anything like it. After a short drive south, we arrived at friends’ house in Stoke-On-Trent.

 

Peak District – After getting settled in, we drove to the Peak District. We got to take in the lovely English countryside, take photos and stop at the Issac Walton Inn in Ilam. The rolling hills

 

 

Chester – We spent our second day in the lovely town of Chester, a walled city dating way back to 78 AD when the construction on the wall was first begun. It was a fascinating town and a great start to our trip.

 

London

 

We stayed at the Sheraton Park Towers Hotel just down the street from Harrod’s Department store and across the street from London’s Hyde Park. We could see the back of the main stage for Live8 from our hotel window. Great location and we were able to use our hotel points for our stay here.

 

 

Wimbledon – We were lucky enough to secure tickets to Wimbledon through a friend for two days the second week of the tournament. We arrived after traveling by train from Stoke to London on Wednesday, June 29. We were lucky to see some doubles (our favorite thing to watch) before the rains arrived (Wimbledon “ambiance” according to our daughter). Unfortunately, the rains lasted for the rest of that day and the next. While we got to “sit” in the Centre Court stadium, we never got to see a ball hit there. But we still counted ourselves lucky to see Wimbledon during the tournament.

 

 

London Walks – We’d highly recommend taking one of the many “London Walks” tours that are available before or after your cruise. On Friday, we decided to do the Westminster Explorer Tour guided by Tom Hooper. No reservations are needed for any of their tours. You simply show up at the designated time and place and pay the tour guide a small fee (currently 5.50 pounds for a two hour tour) and you are on your way. Our tour (which lasted six hours – you could do a half day only if you wanted) took in the Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guards, the Banqueting Hall, and Westminster Abbey. An hour break for lunch allowed us to stop in a pub for a bite to eat. Our guide, Tom, was outstanding. You could tell he loved London and hosting the tour. He was funny, informative and led a terrific tour. We were sorry that time didn’t allow for us to take another of their tours. Total cost of our tour with admission fees to attractions came to about $22 per person. Visit www.london.walks.com for more information. An important note about London Walks – they do NOT take reservations nor pre-payment. You simple show up at the time and location of the tour and pay in cash.

 

Brick Lane – Indian Food – On Friday evening, we decided to join friends for drinks and dinner on Brick Lane. This street is known for its abundance of Indian restaurants. The food was very good and spending the night with people from London was a fun experience.

 

Transfer to & from the Ship -- We were up bright and early on Saturday, July 2 to catch a van to the cruise port. We pre-booked with Eddie Manning -- www.limo.co.uk/cruise.htm -- to transfer us from London to the port in Harwich along with the return. Eddie was kind enough to have one of his drivers pick us up at our hotel on Saturday morning and then stop at the Rubens to pick up Susan and Bob, another couple sailing with us before heading to the port. Working with Eddie was a breeze. Quick response, fair prices (I comparison shopped) and great service. You can’t ask for more. On the return, Eddie picked us up promptly just before 8:00 AM in Harwich and transferred us back to London where we were staying two additional nights. After dropping us off, he transferred Susan and Bob onto Heathrow (at no extra charge). On Saturday morning, July 16, Eddie returned to take us from London to Gatwick for our return flight. Eddie’s vehicle was a new Mercedes van, which could comfortably accommodate up to six people. We were able to get all of our luggage into the rear of the van – quite an accomplishment for the five of us who were traveling for nearly three weeks.

 

Day 1 – Embarkation

We arrived at the port around 10:45 AM. We were far from the first passengers to arrive. There was a nice waiting area with a concession area where we had coffee while we waited for embarkation to begin. By 11:15 the doors were opened to accept passengers. We are Crown and Anchor Diamond members so we proceeded to the check-in line marked Diamond members (suite guests were also in this line). I’m not really sure why, but the check in process here was considerably slower than normal. They had four staff checking people in, however, an officer with his family walked to the front of the line and they were immediately helped. There was a problem with their check-in and suddenly two of the four staff left their positions to help with the officer and his family. That brought the check-in process for this line to nearly a complete stop. It was just about noon until we were processed and received our keys. Then there was another fairly long line to get your sea pass photo taken for the security system. We were on board around 12:30 PM. While this wasn’t a problem at all, there was little or no benefit in having a separate check-in for Diamond members and suite passengers. If anything, our process took longer.

 

We did our regular routine upon boarding. Dropped hand luggage off in our room at 1:00 PM; went to make spa appointments; specialty dining reservations and then toured the ship from top to bottom. While we have sailed on Brilliance of the Seas (Jewel’s older sister), we still like to check out the entire ship. This class of ship remains one of our favorites (more on the ship later).

 

Luggage arrived very quickly. By the time we did our little ship tour, our luggage had arrived. By 2:30 we had everything unpacked – I think this was the earliest we have ever gotten luggage. There was plenty of space in our cabin to accommodate all of our clothing and on a Baltic cruise, you typically have more clothing due to the unpredictable weather.

 

We met our cabin attendant, Michael while we were unpacking and I made two special requests – a feather pillow and a pool lounge chair for our veranda as it was oversized. He told me he couldn’t promise he could obtain these items but within an hour, both had been delivered to our cabin.

 

Our muster drill was held at 4:00 PM. It was quick and efficient and we didn’t have to go outside to our lifeboat station.

 

At sailaway, we were joined by Cruise Critic members where we all finally got to meet one another after a year of talking and planning on the message boards. It was great to put faces with names, and we would see many of the members all throughout the cruise.

 

We chose late dining and were seated at a table with seven other Cruise Critic members (a request we made through our travel agents prior to the cruise). We met our dining room staff, Murat and Darek, and knew we would have a great time at dinner each evening.

 

Day 2 – At Sea

A quiet and relaxing day. Royal Caribbean hosted a Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle party for us at 11:00 AM in the Hollywood Odyssey lounge on deck 13. Deborah, the Crown and Anchor Loyalty Ambassador, hosted the party. A nice array of snacks and tea and lemonade were available. We got to meet some additional Cruise Critic members who didn’t make it to the sailaway the day before.

 

Day 3 – Oslo

We really saw a lot in Oslo for the amount of time we were here. I originally was going to pre-purchase the Oslo Pass on-line but they emailed me and told me that they offer a discount to cruise passengers who purchase the pass on the pier upon arrival. So we waited and purchased the passes once we disembarked. The passes cost approximately $29 US dollars and provided access to everything we wanted to see and transportation to get there. Our day in Oslo included:

 

We walked from the ship (no more than 15 minutes) to the ferry dock for the short trip over to Bygdon where the following four museums are located. We spent the morning touring these four museums:

 

Folk Museum – www.norskfolke.museum.no/ -- A short 10-minute up-hill walk from the ferry drop-off. I think many people skipped this museum but it was well worth the stop. It’s not what Americans would typically think of as a “folk” museum. First, it’s all outdoors. They have a rather extensive collection of log homes that were several hundred years old. They were brought here and re-assembled from all over Norway. They contained original furniture and items such as pots, farm tools, etc. You could walk in many of them. The hand carved wood furniture pieces along with the many painted wooden objects (including ceiling beams) were beautiful. One could easily spend an entire day here if time permitted.

 

Viking Museum – http://www.khm.uio.no/english/viking_ship_museum/ -- A short walk from the Folk Museum found us at the Viking Museum. This was one of my favorite stops. The museum contains the remains of three Viking ships. Stairs that lead to viewing platforms allow you to get a look into the middle of these amazing ships. To think that people actually sailed in these vessels hundreds of years ago – and survived – is hard to believe.

 

Kon Tiki Museum – www.kon-tiki.no/Museum/ -- Yet another fascinating story of seagoing vessels. This museum contains two of Thor Heyerdahl’s sailing rafts – the Kon Tiki and the Ra II. A movie (approximately 20 minutes long) provides background information on Thor and the rafts.

 

Fram Museum – www.fram.museum.no/en/ -- This museum houses a totally different type of ship from the others we saw. This was a large 1800s arctic-going vessel. Housed in an A-frame structure, three levels provide information and remnants of the ship. On the third level, you can actually board the Fram and tour the entire ship (This was the only museum where you could get on board a vessel).

 

Lunch in Oslo -- We returned to the center of Oslo by ferry and started looking for lunch. We chose one of the many floating restaurants along the wharf. The menu was completely in Norwegian although we could pretty much determine what the items were. Our only mistake was not paying attention to the prices (lessons learned), which were in Norwegian. It turned out to be our most expensive meal of the entire trip (two fish and chip lunches, a cheeseburger, a beer and two cokes were nearly $100). I’m sure if we had gotten away from the water we could have cut that cost in half. Check prices carefully ;-).

 

Akershus Castle – Our final stop after lunch was Akershus Castle, a medieval fortress that overlooks the harbor.

 

Day 4 – Copenhagen

We pre-purchased the Hop On/Hop Off Bus tickets on-line (www.visitoslo.com). I printed out my pre-paid voucher, which is handed to the bus driver the first time you board the bus. My confirmation stated that the buses began running at 9:15 and that they stop at each location on the route approximately every 30 minutes. I wasn’t quite sure if the bus stopped at the ship so we walked to the Little Mermaid statue where I knew for sure the bus made a stop. We arrived there at approximately 9:30 thinking that a bus would arrive within 15 minutes. However, it was after 10:15 until the first bus arrived. People from the ship who had been waiting longer than us gave the bus driver a hard time about being so late. She stated that the buses didn’t begin running until 9:45 so this was her first trip by. She refused to sell them tickets stating that she didn’t take American dollars and she didn’t sell tickets on this bus. She told the passengers they’d have to “walk” into town to the “main” pick up area to purchase their tickets (a good 30 minute walk from where we were). After they walked off, I then gave her our pre-paid voucher and we were allowed to board. At the very next stop several blocks away, the driver allowed two Americans to board the bus and purchase tickets directly from her in American dollars. I’m sharing this story to remind everyone that they need to be cautious in how they approach a situation in a foreign country. While I found the bus driver to be extremely rude (she was rude to passengers all along the route), she had the upper hand in this situation by refusing to sell tickets to the other cruise passengers and there wasn’t anything they could do about it.

 

We were going to ride the entire route and determine what we wanted to see; however, when we got to the main pick up area, she made us all disembark and get on another bus (I’m not sure why). We switched buses however, the audio portion of the taped tour (there are headsets in every seat) was very bad – you really couldn’t understand what was being said; so we hopped off at the next stop (across from Tivoli Gardens). The bus company had several employees at this stop and we asked them for directions to a restroom and a pastry shop so we could find a “Kringle.” Kringles are wonderful Danish pastries. As rude as the bus driver was, these staff members were terrific. They directed us across the street to restrooms and a fabulous bakery where we quickly devoured a Kringle with coffee. You could purchase the entire Kringle or individual slices (we shared a slice). These are the kinds of things you come to Europe for ;-).

 

After our “snack” we hoped back on the bus and rode to Rosenborg Castle. We spent about an hour here (got to view the crown jewels) and then walked back to the canal area that was filled with street side cafes. We opted to hop on one of the canal boats and took an hour canal tour. Very scenic and informative. After the tour we decided that we were going to walk back to the ship as I wanted to see Amalienborg Palace and we would have had to do the entire hop on hop off bus route again to get there as we were one or two stops beyond the palace. The palace is a series of buildings built around a circle with monument. We didn’t go in but enjoyed the walk. The street we walked down was filled with foreign embassies. A bit further down, we arrived back at the Little Mermaid statue that sits just off shore. She’s small in stature but she sure does draw a crowd.

 

We went to the Seaview Café upon arrival back on the ship around 3:00 PM for lunch.

 

We decided that the hop on/hop off bus ticket wasn’t worth it for us. Armed with Rick Steves’ Scandinavia guidebook, we could easily have walked to everything we did. While it was a good walk from the ship, it wasn’t unreasonable. I think the city pass (such as the Oslo Pass) is a much better buy as it gets you transportation AND admission to the various sites you want to see.

 

Day 5 – At Sea

Another quiet day. We visited the spa today and had a 50-minute massage. I was reminded that someday I want to go into ship design as the jogging track was directly above the spa on the Jewel. The pounding of runners above your head doesn’t exactly make for the most relaxing experience. I feel particularly bad for the massage therapists who have to work all day with the thumping from the jogging track above them.

 

Day 6 – Stockholm

This was probably my favorite port. It was picturesque from the long sail from the sea into the port. We purchased the Stockholm Pass when we disembarked here. It was a little more expensive than Oslo -- $32 per person for the day. Once again it provided most transportation and admissions to attractions. The first thing we did was a Canal Tour (the 10:30 AM tour is free with the Stockholm Pass). It was an hour ride that took us around the island where the Vasa Museum and Skansen is located. It was a good introduction but it doesn’t stop at the Vasa (our next stop) so we had to return to the harbor and catch the ferry back out to the island where the Vasa was located.

 

The Vasa (www.vasamuseet.se/Vasamuseet/Om/Museet.aspx?lang=en) is definitely worth a visit. Upon entering, this huge warship from the 1600s greets you. The first thing we did was take in the 30 minute movie that told the story of the Vasa – how it was built; how it sank in the harbor shortly after leaving Stockholm on its maiden voyage; and how it was recovered and reconstructed to its current day structure. While you cannot board the ship, you can go up to a walkway that is above the ship so you can see down onto her deck. It’s an amazing site.

 

While we saw what seemed like a lot of museums and attractions in Oslo and Copenhagen, Stockholm was a little different. I had made lunch reservations at a restaurant in Gamla Stan (Old Town) that was recommended by a fellow Cruise Critic member. She didn’t lead us astray. We went from the Vasa to the restaurant, Michelangelos, for what was possibly the best food we had on the entire trip. We shared lasagna, tortellini and pizza. It was outstanding and fairly reasonable (but then anything seemed reasonable after Oslo). The restaurant is located at Västerlånggatan 62. Visit them on-line to make a lunch reservation -- www.michelangelo.nu–. It was very crowded while we were there.

 

Gamla Stan is a wonderful area. Small streets; old buildings; shops and restaurants. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around in this area and did a little shopping (I found a really great little shop that sold all kinds of angels – Christina’s Bod & Salong on Storkyrkobrinken St – I collect them). We walked back to the ship and spent the afternoon out on deck as we sailed away. Sailing out of Stockholm back to the open sea takes about 3 hours. It’s a beautiful ride through narrow straights with vacation cottages dotting the countryside.

 

After we got back on the ship, the Captain made an announcement regarding the terrorist bombings in London that day. We had not heard about them up to that time. Of course everyone was shocked and saddened. Many of us were riding the tube just last week before boarding the ship. Even though I had left my itinerary back at home, loved ones tend to worry when they know you are traveling overseas. It’s a good thing to check in back home (email worked most of the time on the ship) and let everyone know you are OK when something goes awry.

 

Day 7 – Helsinki

Our daughter had spent a week here several years ago so she was our tour guide for the day. We opted to take the ship’s shuttle ($4 US dollars each way) as the ship was docked further from the city center than in other ports. After getting off the shuttle, we walked four or five blocks to the Market. Fresh fruits and vegetables; flowers; pastry; food stands and many fine arts and crafts. We walked the market and decided we’d return here later in the day.

 

From here we took the short walk up the hill to the Lutheran Cathedral. This spectacular white church with green domes is a sight to behold. The large Senate Square at the bottom of the steps provides a panoramic view of the large church at the top of the steps. Be sure to walk up the steps (it’s really not as many as it seems) and go inside. The organ is a masterpiece. About an hour after we were there, the choir from Cambridge in England was going to perform. I’m sure it was spectacular.

 

We then walked from the cathedral to the Rock Church. It was a fair distance (probably 20 – 25 minutes). We walked past the hotel where our daughter stayed on her previous visit before getting to the church. The Rock Church is located in a quiet neighborhood but is easily found with a good map and the ability to follow signs. The church, completely built out of rock (seems obvious, doesn’t it?) was an amazing site. After the cathedral, it was rather small but totally different from anything else we saw on this trip. I found the ceiling beams particularly interesting with the way the sunlight crept in.

 

From here, we made the trek back to the Market (a pretty good walk from this point). Along the way, we passed Stockmann’s, the huge department store, and found a wonderful string sextet of young men playing marvelous music on a street corner. They sounded like they were an orchestra. Back at the market, we grabbed a bite to eat (very reasonable) before doing just a little shopping for some gifts to take home. After an ice cream bar (Amanda loves the Magnum brand, double chocolate caramel bars), we headed back to the ship. The really busy days were about to be upon us.

 

Day 8 – St. Petersburg

It was up at the crack of dawn for our first day of touring in St. Petersburg. We chose to join several other Cruise Critic members on a tour with DenRus, a private tour company in St. Petersburg. DenRus (www.denrus.ru/) arranges for your visa requirements and sends tickets to you prior to leaving for your cruise. While Royal Caribbean repeatedly tells passengers who are not on a Royal Caribbean tour in St. Petersburg that they cannot disembark here until 9:30 AM due to Russian immigration, this is simply NOT TRUE! Our DenRus host had informed us that we should simply walk down to the gang plank at 7:30 AM and proceed ashore. Which is exactly what we did. We actually walked down around 7:15. We inserted our cards into the machine to check off the ship. We walked into the immigration building at the pier and were directed to a line marked “INDEPENDENT VISITORS.” We showed our passports, they were stamped and we were given a red immigration card (don’t lose this, they take this back when you return to the ship at the end of the day) and we were on our way. They never looked at our visa letter and tickets sent by DenRus. Royal Caribbean’s constant statements that you couldn’t get off the ship until 9:30 if you weren’t going with them are a flat out mistruth. I think they do it to intimidate passengers to use their tours. I encourage everyone to write RCI and ask them to stop making statements that aren’t true. It makes them look veruy bad.

 

Our host, Elena, met us just outside the immigration building. Gura, our driver, was with her. We were in the van and on our way before 7:30 AM. I’d call the vehicle we were in a “mini-bus. There were 18 very comfortable seats and large windows for seeing the sights. There were 11 people in our group, coordinated by a Cruise Critic member, and it made for the perfect size to tour the sights of St. Petersburg.

 

On day 1 we visited Peterhof, the summer palace built by Peter the Great; the Hermitage; Peter & Paul Fortress and the Church of the Spilled Blood. The only thing I can say is that it was all overwhelming. The opulence was never ending. It’s hard to describe in words and photos; I can’t really give you the sense of awe you get when you walk from one room to another in these places.

 

The fountains a Peterof were spectacular and we didn’t go inside the palace here. That was OK because by the end of day two, we were definitely on palace overload. We stopped at an outdoor concession area at Peterof where we ate sandwiches before heading onto our next stop.

 

While the Hermitage was crowded, it wasn’t unmanageable. Besides the gold, glitter, murals, moldings and furniture, I was amazed how you could walk up to masterpieces by Monet, DaVinci, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, etc. that were unprotected. No barriers, no ropes, nothing. You could walk right up to them and photograph them (if you had paid the photo taking fee).

 

The Peter and Paul Fortress was the church that contains the remains of the great Russian czars including Peter the Great and Nicholas and Alexandra and their children.

 

The Church of the Spilled Blood was spectacular on both the outside and inside. The colorful turrets and paintings on the outside make you take photos from every angle. Inside, the individual mosaic tile work has to be seen to be believed.

 

By the end of this ten hour tour day, we were ready for a rest. We had decided to stay on board that evening and dine at Chops, the ships’ specialty steak house. Since it was open seating in the main dining room, we thought this was a good chance to try one of the two alternative dining rooms on board. The meal in Chops was delicious. A $20 service fee is charged to dine here. But it was definitely the best meal we had on the ship. Andy and I started with the French onion soup while Amanda had crab cakes. Filets were cooked to perfection and Andy had a veal chop that he said was wonderful. The Mississippi mud pie for dessert was decadent. Overall, this was the perfect way to spend our evening. Others who ventured off the ship to take in the ballet or folk show said they were very enjoyable. I’m just not sure I would have been able to get up on day two.

 

Day 9 – St. Petersburg

We didn’t start quite so early on day 2 and that helped everyone recover a bit from the very hectic first day. When we walked off the ship (RCI was again telling us we couldn’t get off before 9:30 but again that wasn’t true) and entered the immigration building, the Independent Visitor Line wasn’t open. So we just walked through the line that was marked Ship Tours where all you had to do was show your passport and get your red immigration ticket. There is no checking to see if you are on a ship tour or with an independent. We were back in our mini-bus and on our way at 9:00 AM.

 

Today began with a visit to Catherine’s Palace. If we thought day one was overwhelming, this palace just blows you away. It’s a good thing we didn’t visit here on the first day. I don’t think the senses could have taken it. It’s about a 50 minute drive to the palace (about the same distance as it was to Peterhof). We parked about a block or two from the palace and walked from there. When you round the corner and see the palatial blue building, you simply can’t believe it. It was more than twice the size of Peterof and it seemed to go on forever. Painted in sky blue and while, gold glistens from every corner, every window, every molding. And that’s just the beginning. Once inside, the rooms are more opulent than anything we saw on day one. It just doesn’t seem possible. Here rooms are complete with dinner settings, bedroom furniture, couches, chairs, desks, and dressers. It seemed as if every room contained a Delft porcelain 16 foot high “stove” for heating. Ceilings, chandeliers, pillars and walls dripped with gold. While truly amazing, one has to wonder why anyone needed such over-the-edge extravagance. Several of us commented that we could understand why there was a Russian revolution.

 

After the 50-minute return ride to St. Petersburg, we visited Yusupov’s Palace. Much more subdued than the two previous palaces, this palace contained some unique things such as a theater (OK, the theater was pretty opulent, too) and the basement room where Rasputin was murdered.

 

Our final stop was St. Issac’s Church. The frescos are magnificent. Once again, it’s really difficult to express in words the sheer magnitude of this beautiful building and its content.

 

While the sights of St. Petersburg are something to behold, the apartment buildings and stores where Russians live, work and shop seem bleak. We did visit several very nice souvenir shops that offered complimentary coffee, vodka samples and restrooms (which were extremely clean and new). But still, one gets the feeling that every day life in St. Petersburg is far from the glamour of the palaces and churches we visited. You didn’t notice many smiles on the faces of people walking on the sidewalks or working in the tourist sites. Here’s hoping that life for the average person continues to improve as time goes on.

 

Our guide and driver were outstanding. Elena’s English was perfect and she guided us through all the attractions to avoid crowds and see the most we possibly could. I wouldn’t hesitate to use DenRus again and recommend them to others doing this itinerary. Your tour is much more personal, much less crowded and you can save some money as well. Visit www.denrus.ru/ for information.

 

Day 10 – Tallinn

Our last stop. How sad that this wonderful cruise was nearing the end. But Tallinn was the perfect way to end our ports of call. I had pre-booked a private with Ahti Arak -- www.hot.ee/tours/ind_eng.html. We had been corresponding for months and eleven of us were planning to tour with him. We had a miscommunication on our meeting spot (they recently restricted who can enter the parking lot at the pier. I thought Ahti meant the pier access was restricted but he meant the entire lot (which was quite a way from the check point into the pier) was off limits to him. Since there were lots of buses and other private vans and taxis in the lot (apparently arranged by the two ships in port), we couldn’t find Ahti. After 30 minutes, everyone decided to head out on their own as Tallinn is easily walkable. I like to have a local guide because they can give you so much insight that you can’t get on your own. While Andy was taking my bag back to the ship (so I didn’t have to carry it) Ahti walked into the enclosed parking lot area where we had been waiting. He had been outside the gates (which aren’t within site of the pier) with his van. I felt very bad about the mix-up. We decided that we still wanted to tour with him so it was just the four of us. But it was a wonderful day.

 

We started with a van tour of Tallinn to see some sights outside of the Old Town. We briefly visited another palace that Peter the Great had built for his wife Catherine (you can never have enough palaces, apparently) but Catherine wasn’t fond of Tallinn so she never went there. It was on a much smaller scale than anything we saw in St. Petersburg and is now an art museum.

 

After the van tour, we were dropped off at the gates to Old Town. We had a private tour of the Town Hall, which was built in the 1600s. The guide was terrific and it was very interesting to learn the history behind this medieval city. Reservations are required for this tour. The TownHall is situated in the middle of the Old Town Square. After that, we dined at “Grandma’s” Restaurant for lunch. The meal was fantastic and along with our lunch in Stockholm was among the best food we had on the cruise. After lunch, we toured the alleys and streets of Old Town before heading up the hill to Toompea castle for a look down on Old Town. I wish we had more time here. I needed at least another day to really explore. The day went by far too quickly.

 

Again, I’d highly recommend using Ahti as your guide. He is very reasonable ($25 per day and that included the van if you are a group of ten or more – slightly higher if you are less than 10 people; if you just want the walking tour, his cost is even less). You can tell that Ahti loves his city and his country and you get a unique perspective that you can’t get touring on your own. It’s funny, some passengers said they didn’t like this port at all. It was one of our favorites.

 

Day 11 – At Sea

Thank goodness for the two days at sea before getting off the ship. Everyone needed some recovery time. I haven’t talked about weather up to this point because our weather was so unusual for this itinerary that I hate to make everyone think they might have the same good fortune we did. The weather was unbelievably good. It rained as we were pulling away from Copenhagen (and it on the chilly side the entire day in port); but other than that, it was warm and sunny every single day until the last day at sea (which was overcast and windy). Temperatures averaged in mid 80s for the most part and locals were saying it was too hot. Our only problem was that we lugged some sweaters and sweatshirts that we didn’t need.

 

Our days at sea are relaxation time for us. We usually walk at least a mile around the promenade deck (one of the great things about this class of ships – the promenade goes all the way around the ship); play some of the trivia games, eat, take a nap.

 

Day 12 – At Sea

Time to pack. It’s always sad when you pull the suitcases back out. While the final day on board was lousy weather, we still had a great day. Time to exchange addresses with newfound friends (there were plenty on this cruise); one final get together of the Cruise Critic group; finish writing postcards (hey, at least we mailed them before leaving Europe); and start thinking about the next cruise.

 

LONDON – POST CRUISE

We had two days in London after getting of the ship and decided to stay at the Marriott County Hall on the banks of the Thames River. A great location. The view of Big Ben (did you know that Big Ben is actually the “bell” inside the clock tower and not the clock itself?) and Parliament to our left and the London Eye to our right was terrific.

 

Upon arrival in London, we walked to Leicester Square to the ½ Price Ticket booth and purchased tickets to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for that evening. Friends we met on the Jewel were going to join us for dinner and the show. Tickets were really half price and we had great seats. Well worth it.

 

On the walk back to our hotel, we stopped with all of London at noon for two moments of silence to honor the bombing victims. Workers poured onto the streets from office buildings and hotels; buses, taxis and cars all stopped and turned their motors off. It’s hard to describe the sound of silence in a city this size. We then stopped for lunch at a small Italian restaurant in the theater district before heading back to our hotel. As we walked through a park just south of the theater district, a memorial had been set up for the victims of the bombings. There was an area where you could also sign a book of condolences. It was a somber and sad sight.

 

Before heading to the show, we met with Paul and Hung (friends from the Jewel) at the London Eye for the 30-minute trip that allows you to take in all of London. This oversized Ferris wheel that was built for the Millennium celebration has bubble cars that hold 15 – 20 people each. There were about 10 in our car when we did the ride. Security officers check the bags of all individuals before they board and two other guards with mirrors inspect each car after it is emptied and before it is refilled. It’s amazing how far you can see, especially since our good weather fortunes were continuing.

 

On Friday, we decided it would be a walking day….and walk we did. We walked from our hotel to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. We turned around and walked back to St. Paul’s Cathedral where we ate lunch at a pub called Centre Page just south of the church. Our waitress was an American college student working in London for the summer. After lunch, we paid a short visit to St. Paul’s and then walked back to the Thames and across the Millennium Bridge. This dead-ends into the Tate Modern Museum, which I convinced my family to go into. I heard they had Monet paintings on exhibit. This was definitely an interesting place. We only found one Monet (a very large water lilies painting from 1916) but one is better than none. The really odd “art” item was a glass of water sitting on a glass shelf about ten feet up in the air. The description said the artist felt it was an “oak” tree. Sometimes I just “miss” the art in things.

 

Getting back to the hotel around 4:30, we crashed for awhile before deciding that the only thing we wanted to do that evening was dinner. The concierge made us a reservation at a wonderful little Italian restaurant called Orso in the theater district. A great way to end a great trip.

 

The Ship

CABIN

9076 – Our cabin was located just off the atrium on the ninth deck. While the atrium was usually very loud with music, our room was very quiet. The cabin was nicely laid out with the bed next to the veranda door and a sofa bed was across from the desk/dresser. There was plenty of storage space for clothing (we packed for three weeks and had plenty of room to unpack everything).

 

This cabin has a terrific balcony. Because it was on the “bump” of the ship, it was angled so that you could see straight ahead like a conventional balcony but also up the entire side of the ship towards the front. This allowed for an expansive view of the sea. The balcony was oversized and easily accommodated two chairs, a lounge chair and a small table.

 

Our only complaint about our cabin was the noise we heard in the middle of the night (between 3:00 and 4:00 am) when they cleaned the concierge lounge above us. It took a couple of days to figure out the noise but it seems as if a cleaning person (why are they cleaning this lounge at this time of the morning???) would empty metal trash cans and then drop them back into the cupboards onto the tile floor right above our bed. It sounded like a gun going off. After the first four nights, I spoke to the concierge about it, then onto the Guest Relations desk and finally, I asked for the Guest Relations Manager. I actually went up to the lounge on the fifth night to find a crew member getting on the elevator next to the lounge with a large trash bag. From the sixth or seventh night, the noise discontinued.

 

SERVICE

Cabin Attendant – Our cabin attendant, Michael, was efficient and accommodating. While we didn’t not see him very much, he was quick to get anything we asked for. Our room was made up quickly once we left for the morning.

 

Dining Room – Our dining room waiters were very nice and friendly. We were rarely out of the dining room before 10:30 but that didn’t seem to really affect us. They worked hard to please everyone.

 

Cruise Staff – This was an interesting group. VERY hard working….just like the wait staff. The cruise staff is in charge of all the guest activities on board – everything from bingo to trivia; pool games (yes, they did pool games) to playing hosts at things such as the captains’ cocktail receptions. Like the wait staff, they are up from early in the morning to late in the evening and their work never ends. What we found odd about this cruise staff is how little we saw of the Cruise Director, Karen Maybury. She would introduce the shows in the evening and she’d be in the reception line at the cocktail parties but other than that, we never saw her around. Could have been the itinerary, I suppose. It just seemed a little strange. Felix and Charlene, two of the cruise staff members, were outstanding. And I was really impressed on the last night of the cruise at 10:00 PM when all of them (except the cruise director) were in the library sorting and placing library books on shelves.

 

Food

Dining Room – We had late dining (8:30) and most nights, meals were very good. The menus have been changed and while it seems that there are fewer choices, there was still plenty to chose from most nights.

 

Windjammer – I’d place the Windjammer food, especially for lunch, a step above the average buffet line food. There were plenty of choices (eggs/omelets could be cooked to order at breakfast) and we always found things at lunch that were good. Only complaint by Amanda was after the first day or two, the soft serve ice cream machines did not operate.

 

Seaview Café – Very good burgers, sandwiches, onion rings, smoothies and milk shakes. Loved the outdoor seating. We often stopped here for a snack after coming back from a port.

 

Solarium – Pizza is always available here (it’s much better than what RCI used to serve) and they were also making crepes to order here. Sandwiches and wraps were available, too.

 

Chops – As noted earlier, we had a great dinner here. Very nice menu, outstanding service and a good way to spend the night which was open seating in the dining room. We did not try Portofino’s on this cruise but have eaten there before and it, too, is very good.

 

Entertainment

We thought the entertainment on the ship was pretty good. We made it to most of the evening shows in the Coral Theater. The first evening was a very funny juggler/comedian; Domenick Allen, of the rock band Foreigner, was a headliner one evening. The Drifters appeared one evening close to the end of the cruise (we saw them last year on Brilliance so we skipped the show this time around). There were three Production Show – City of Dreams; West End to Broadway; and Tango Buenos Aries. The City of Dreams show was a little strange. Didn’t really have a theme or direction. West End to Broadway was a series of show tunes (very entertaining) and while we skipped Tango Buenos Aries, we heard great things about the show. We greatly appreciate the efforts of the entire cast of singers, dancers, musicians & production crew. They are very talented and performing on a ship is not an easy task.

 

Tommy McPhee who played the piano and sang most evenings in the Schooner Bar had a great voice and was a fun entertainer. There was a large contingent of Scottish passengers and they particularly loved Tommy as he, too, hails from Scotland. He’d entertain us with Scottish tunes that everyone was singing by the end of the cruise.

 

Currency Exchange

We used ATMs virtually everywhere. We did not take any foreign currency with us prior to the cruise. The only time we cashed travelers' checks was for dollars to pay DenRus in St. Petersburg (we cashed them on the ship). Everywhere else, we simply walked off the ship and located an ATM (they are everywhere).

 

CRUISE SUMMARY

 

THE DOWN SIDE

Lounge Noise at Night – The noise from the lounge being cleaned every evening in the middle of the night was a detriment that took too many nights to resolve.

 

Wine Package – Be careful when pre-purchasing the wine package for the dining room. While it can be a good deal, they neglect to tell you that many of the wines on the “package” list were not available. You weren’t made aware of this until you had already purchased the package. They should tell you this up front. Of course, they only substituted wines of lesser value….making the package not such a good deal.

 

Menu Alterations – Occasionally, menu items in the dining room were not available or the waiter would announce a “special” not listed on the menu or where something would be substituted for something on the menu. For example – orange roughy was substituted one evening for red snapper (quite a difference). The other odd thing about the beef on the menu was that our waiter would tell us how the “steaks” were being done that evening. Some nights he’d say we could only get them medium rare or medium. Other nights it was medium or medium well. It made no sense. They tell you to let them know whatever it is you might want to make your meal enjoyable but you couldn’t order your steak the way you wanted it.

 

Soft Serve Machines not Working – The soft serve ice cream machines were not operational after the first two days (and they had machines on either side of the Windjammer). Never figured it out. After that they served “hard” ice cream but the chocolate was very strange….tasted very “sandy.”

 

Loud Atrium – The bands that played in the atrium (it was the busiest atrium I’ve ever seen) were so loud all the time (day and night) that if you were trying to talk with the staff at the Guest Services desk (which was directly opposite the band stage), it was almost impossible to hear each other. I don’t recall this being an issue on the Brilliance.

 

 

THE UP SIDE

Weather – It couldn’t get any better. Sunny and high 70s nearly every day.

 

Ship – Jewel is a beautiful ship. Easy to get around. Big enough to have everything you need but not so massive that you don’t feel like you’re on a ship.

 

Cabin – We were in a “bump” cabin that had plenty of room inside and an oversized balcony. We’d opt to move down one deck next time to avoid the concierge lounge but overall, this was a great cabin!

 

Staff – Outstanding staff. It’s probably easier to get to know more of the crew on a longer cruise because you spend more time together. The crew on Jewel, from the cruise directors’ staff to the wait staff, bartenders (Chiko and Luis), the Guest Relations Manager (Alin) and even the Crown and Anchor Loyalty Ambassador (Deborah) were terrific.

 

Fellow Passengers – One of our favorite reasons to cruise is to meet other passengers. We met many wonderful people on this cruise – from all those in our Cruise Critic group, to those in the concierge lounge and at trivia games. Thanks to everyone for helping to make this cruise a memorable one.

 

Overall – This was one terrific cruise and we’d recommend it and the Jewel to everyone.

 

HAPPY CRUISING TO ALL!

[NancyIL]

Excellent review, Anne!

[cruise'n]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a wonderful review!

[Host Anne]

Hi Nancy & cruise'n....thanks for taking the time to read through it. I know it's really long. Glad you enjoyed it. It was a wonderful trip!

[thecruisechick]

Spot on Anne! I actually felt like I was cruising again.

 

Thanks for posting so quickly, I'm still knee deep in photos.

 

Mary

[roysmith99]

Hi Anne,

 

What a great review, so much useful information we can'yt wait to get on-board.

 

.

[timmy1]

Thank you Anne, alot of information, We can't wait to August 19th for ours. If you can think of any other do's or don'ts please post

 

thanks again Debbie & Herb:D

[thecruisechick]

Debbie and Herb,

 

I have a few do's and don'ts since I was on the same cruise and would like to share them with you.

 

Don't use Airport Transfers in London, this is the second year they ripped us off.

 

If you go to any open market vendors DO count your change because I caught them short changing me.

 

Do wear the most comfortable walking shoes you can find because you walk for miles.

 

Do try Cafe Fish in London for a great Fish and Chips meal on a set menu. It's located at 36-40 Rupert Street, London at the Picadilly Circus stop. You won't be dissapointed.

 

Do watch the weather closely before you leave because we had a heat wave and lots of people did not pack properly.

 

Do have a great time!

[JodiBB]

Great review!! We are set to leave in 15 days for the Baltics on the 8/7 sailing of the Jewel with a 3-night pre-cruise stop in London!! Thanks for all the recommendations!!

[SaylorGirl]

Excellent review Anne, you gave great details and alot information. It is interesting how the cruise lines try to keep you contained if you are not on a ship tour in St. Petersburg.

[RonBrannon]

Anne - Thanks so much for the wonderful detailed review. I really enjoyed reading every detail. We are sailing on the 8/19 Baltic Cruise and can't wait till it is here. As you can tell, several of our group members have read your review and as a result, are much more prepared.

 

Can I ask you a couple of questions? The first being, who is the Captain, and second, what time did you get off the ship at the end of the cruise?

 

The only thing that I'm disappointed about is the use of Airport Transfers from London to Harwich. I know you didn't use this company, but we've already booked and paid for the transfer. Hopefully, we won't have as bad of an experience as the "CruiseChick" did.

[travelynn]

Hi Anne,

 

You have had a lot of people waiting for your review. Thank you so much for the detail you put into it. Lots of great info we will all benefit from.

 

I do have a question about your tour in Tallinn with Ahti. A group of eight of us have booked him for August 28, the day our Aug 19 Jewel cruise is in Tallinn. He had mentioned to me in a recent email that new restrictions had been placed on tour guides as far as meeting places and he would know more soon about where we would meet. I have not heard back from him yet, but it sounds like it is important to nail down the exact place where he will be. Could you be specific on where you had to walk to finally locate him? It sounds like at a minimum you had to pass through a parking lot that he was not in, but it was not clear where you did finally find him. Did he have a sign with your name on it?

 

Thanks so much for any help you can provide.

 

Lynn

[NH Cruiser]

Anne, great review. I will be posting mine tomorrow hopefully. Can you believe work got in the way of finishing it today:( Sorting through my pictures is very slow. I probably won't be posting pictures for another week or two. Takes a long time to sort through 1636 and decide which ones to post.

 

Ron: Our captain changed in Stockholm. The new captain is Capt. McDonald. As Anne said, the Cruise Director is disappointing after others we've have on RCI. Although Karen was better this year than last year, she just doesn't do the job we've seen on other cruises. We also paid Airport Transfers in advance. All the arrangements were fine until the pick up in Harwich when they didn't deliver on what was ordered and paid for. You might want to see if you can make other arrangements and cancel with Airport Transfers if you have time. I don't want to see anyone else have this happen to them.

[Host Anne]

Hi everyone ~ thanks for all the great comments. I appreciate them a lot :) .

 

Answers to questions:

 

Lynn ~ you're right about the meeting spot for Ahti. I felt just awful for him. When you get off the ship, you'll walk down a long concrete pier. At the end of the pier, you'll find the buses for the ships tours, taxi cabs and the ships shuttle to town in a very large parking lot. This is the area Ahti is no longer allowed to enter. If you look to your right when you get off the concrete pier, you'll see some white lines painted on the road that kind of lead you out of the parking lot. When you are standing here, you cannot see the end of the lot or the security gate where Ahti was waiting had been waiting for us. He did finally walk into the lot and found us at the end of the pier (he did have a sign with my name on it). If he had only walked in 15 minutes sooner. So, double check with him (you have plenty of time to touch base with him) to see if you'll need to walk all the way out to the security fence.

 

Ron ~ It was really strange to change captains mid-cruise. I guess when it's vacation time, it's vacation time. Captain James Macdonald was Canadian -- another VERY strange thing on a ship, but he seemed very personable. We got off the ship early (they started disembarkation -- I hate that word -- around 6:30 (really early). We got off at 7:15. Susan and Bob (our van-mates) had a 2:00 PM flight so we wanted to leave enough time. I think 8:30 was about the latest people stayed on.

 

I'd recommend reconfirming your travel details with Airport Transfers. Let them know that you are aware of recent problems other cruisers have had with them not delivering what was agreed upon (Mary and Jean were supposed to have a luggage trailer and different van than what arrived at the port on disembarkation day). It's always tough when they require pre-payment. I usually won't agree to a total pre-payment but it's tougher when you are traveling overseas. If you can cancel, I highly recommend Eddie. He was wonderful!

 

I agree with all of Mary's Dos and Don'ts. But the weather thing is unpredictable. I did watch weather and it ended up being much warmer than the forecasts were predicting when we left the states. When you leave home a week before the cruise, it's really tough to judge. But I agree -- don't overpack -- take less, it's less of a hassle for you and send a couple of things to the laundry on the ship.

 

OH ... I forgot to address one very important thing in my review (Jean, maybe you can cover it in your review).... the health situation on board. There were some ill passengers/crew the cruise before ours. When we boarded, they were cleaning everything (and I mean everything). The smell of bleach was overwhelming. It didn't stop the day we boarded. It pretty much continued all cruise (which is good for the most part). But what amazed me was that they could be so conscientious about the handrails on the staircases and the outer rails on the outer decks, but by 8:00 PM each evening, the women's public restrooms outside the dining room and the theater were disgusting. I called twice to report the sad state they were in. It was really odd. There were days when you could serve yourself in the Windjammer and then there were other days when you couldn't touch anything and the crew served all food. Bottom line, we stayed healthy the entire cruise. Andy came down with a nasty cold on the way home from London but we made it through the cruise.

 

ENJOY!

[Live the good life]

Anne,

 

What an incredible and detailed review! No wonder you are a "host"...

 

BTW, it was good to see you in St. Petersburg...Whenever you have a chance, could you send us the group photo you took of our family and Alan Jakzak's family?

 

We enjoyed reading both your review and NancyIL's reviews. The Jewel of the Seas folks who will be cruising soon are so lucky to be able to read detailed reviews like these. Makes me feel embarassed my review is so scanty! Anyway, when I have a chance to finish mine this weekend, I will gear it more towards infos specific to the Constellation...

 

Kim

[lamwnfa]

Great review Anne! Thanks so much. Like re-living my May cruise to the Baltics on the Jewel.

 

We used Denrus and Ahti. Enjoyed them both very much. We walked to the end of the pier and waited for about 15 minutes for Ahti. He came walking in the parking lot with a sign with my name. We then walked out with him. They did let us in the lot...just showed our seapasses.

 

Lori

[SF]

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to share your cruise experience with us.

 

I was wondering how many hours overall your day in Oslo was excluding lunch. We are thinking of touring on our own but the hours our ship is in port isn't too great or too long. We don't arrive until 1PM and with figuring the time to disembark and get the Oslo pass we're wondering if we have time to do all the museums plus see Akershus Castle. Our ship leaves at 6PM so we'd probably want to play it safe and be back no later than 5:15PM. That would only give us about 4 hours. Is your itinerary doable minus lunch in 4 hours?

 

Any info would be helpful. We really don't want to spend the extra for 4 people to take a ships tour.

[Host Anne]

Kim ~ thanks for the kind words. I have a journalism background so I tend to "write" alot. Your review is just fine....any review is fine. I find that you get good tips out of all reviews - short or long. I will email you the photo shortly. Andy just downloaded everything onto our server last night -- took 1 1/2 hours!

 

Hi Lori ~ thanks for your nice note. We were all talking about how great your review was. We found it very helpful! That's the great thing about Cruise Critic. You get so much information that helps make the cruise better.

 

SF ~ Boy, that's a tough question. I'd probably say four hours is probably tight. You can do the Viking Ship, Fram and Kon Tiki museums fairly quickly (especially if you skip the movie at Kon Tiki). The Folk museum was one of my favorites. We probably spent at least an hour there. Could have spent much longer. The nice thing is that these four museums are close to one another (it's perhaps a 10 minute walk from the Folk to the other three) so it's easy to do these together. I'd say you'd need 2 1/2 - 3 hours to do these four museums (including the ferry to and from the island they are on). Once you are back to the harbor, it's a short walk to Akershaus. This was definitely worth a stop and you could do this in an hour. Since you can purchase the Oslo pass right at the pier for a discount, I'd probably recommend seeing what time you actually get off the ship and then determining if you want to purchase it. The Oslo Pass may be worth it even if you only do the four museums (it includes your ferry transport). It's ashame you don't have more time here. Great stuff to see.

 

Off to work....have a great day!

[SaylorGirl]

Anne - Is there a charge for the Rock Church? Oh, those Magnum bars I remember them well!!

[thecruisechick]

Sf,

 

We did our own thing without the Oslo Card. If you are so short on time take a taxi they are not that much money. In fact they taxi driver takes a credit card , he has a computer right in his car and they would NOT accept a tip. The driver who took us to the park could not have been prouder of his city and gave a detailed description of everything. We took a taxi to Frogner Park (Vigeland) and spent about an hour there. From there we took another taxi to the Central Station and walked over to Karl Johans Gate (main st) from there we saw Domkirke (Oslo Cathedral), Stortorvet a cobbled stoned square in front of the Cathedral, we continued our walk up to Stortinget (Parliament), The Grand Hotel, The National Theatre, Univ, Of Oslo, The Royal Palace and Gardens, City Hall and then on to Aker Brygge on Radhusbrygge which is the water front across fromthe ship. We had a wonderful lunch a an outdoor cafe called Druen and thought about going to Akershus Fortress but decided to go back to the ship for a swim instead. We opted not to spend our time inside museums and happy we did so. Oslo is a wonderful city for walking and we saw alot. You may have to cut out the lunch or something else but you can cover alot of ground in the time you will be there.

M

[RonBrannon]

Hi Anne,

 

One more question. Myself as well as 13 other investors were wondering if they had the horse races on board during your cruise. We want to bid on a horse so we can win and become filthy rich! Just kidding, but we are hoping that this event is scheduled for the Jewel Baltic Cruises. We have a name for the horse and a decorating committee already.:D

[thecruisechick]

Ron,

 

The horse races were alive and kicking, in fact the auction went fairly cheap. I think the highest bid on a horse was around $25-30. For that price you can buy all of them and be assured of winning the race. :D

[sunprincess]

Anne, Thanks so much for your excellent review. Soon I am Baltic Bound :)

[Host Anne]

Saylor ~ there is no charge for the Rock Church. It was one of my favorite places we visited. So unique. They did have a donation plate and there was a small fee if you wanted to use the restroom. Definitely worth a visit. Got some great photos in here! ENJOY!

[SF]

Thanks Host Anne and Mary for your help and sharing information.

 

1.Do you remember how much the taxi cost?

2.Can you also take a taxi to the 4 museums or do you need to take the ferry?

3.What about the hop on/off bus, any comments in regards to that?

4.What is there to see at Akershaus?

5. What's at the Folk Museum and if we had to choose one or two museums which would you suggest?

 

Just looked at our itinerary and we're there from noon until 6PM but figuring we won't be off until around 12:30PM and have to be back no later than around 5:00PM to play it safe it still only leave us about 4 and a half hours.