Review: Jewel Baltics Cruise July 2-14, 2005

[NH Cruiser]

Before leaving, I made copies of our passports (required in St Petersburg) and copies of each credit card we planned to take. I also called the credit companies to let them know the countries we were visiting. I checked with the travel clinic on required immunizations (recommended: up-to-date tetanus/diptheria and Hepatitis A). We also purchased currency for each port, except St Petersburg where we used US dollars. Oanda (http://www.oanda.com/cgi/convert/cheatsheet) provides excellent cheat sheets you can print for each port.

 

Precruise

We flew Virgin Atlantic Boston/London with only a slight delay arriving due to heavy fog at Heathrow. Our driver was waiting for us outside Baggage Claim and drove us to our hotel.

 

We stayed at The Rubens at the Palace (http://www.rubenshotel.com/). Our room rate included a full English breakfast served buffet style in their dining room. The hotel is directly across from The Mews, and a short block from the front of Buckingham Palace. Victoria Station is two blocks in the opposite direction. The hotel staff stored our luggage and put our valuables in the hotel’s safe. Our room (I called it the Tailor’s Room) overlooked The Mews. The walls were covered in a soft brown wool suiting with a fine cream stripe. Pictures on the walls showed various suit designs from the late 1800s.

 

London Day 1

After freshening up, we headed to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. We arrived at the Main Gate at 10:30 and stood behind the black railing to the left of the gate. Crowd control officers, including horse patrols, cleared the gate area and maintained order during the ceremony. Our location what perfect to see inside the gate and outside on the street. The ceremony took about an hour and started at 10:45 when mounted regiments rode up the Mall and around the Palace. The ceremony included marching bands and guard regiments, with a short band concert inside the Main Gate.

 

Following the ceremony, we walked down Birdcage Walk to the London Eye, located on the south bank of the Thames in front of County Hall. I used http://www.londoneye.com/ to prebook our flight time. An email confirmation included a voucher and instructions where to pick up our tickets, which must be claimed 30 minutes before your scheduled flight. To get the tickets, we went inside the County Hall building across from the Eye, inserted the credit card we used to prepay, and our tickets were printed out. While we waited for our 2:00 p.m. flight, we ate lunch in a small café in County Hall. There was no line when it was time to board.

 

The London Eye has 32 enclosed capsules each holding 25 people. The complete flight took about 30 minutes. For a list landmarks you can see in each direction, go to http://www.londoneye.com/ and select Eye View -> London Scene from the menu. My only disappointment was that the sun was in our eyes as we looked at the Parliament buildings, which affected some of the pictures.

 

Following our flight, we walked across Westminster Bridge, taking one last look at Big Ben and Parliament before walking to Parliament Street to the Cenotaph, which commemorates WW I soldiers. We continued down Parliament to the entrance to Downing Street (you cannot go into Downing Street but you can see #10), passing the Ministry of Defense and Whitehall on the way to the Horse Guards (originally the main entrance to Buckingham Palace). We arrived in time to see the Changing of the Guard, which takes place every hour. From there we walked to Trafalgar Square, through the Admiralty Arch, and up The Mall. We passed Carlton House Terrace and stopped at St James Palace for pictures (Princes William and Harry live there when in London). Clarence House, home of the Queen Mother until her death in 2002 and now the residence of Prince Charles and Camilla, is also located on The Mall. Buckingham Palace is at the end of the Mall and a quick half block to our hotel.

 

For dinner, we walked to ASK, an Italian restaurant on Victoria Street. The restaurant was crowded with Londoners (always a good sign), but the wait was less than 15 minutes. A nice way to end a very busy day.

 

London Day 2

We booked a tour to Greenwich/Leeds Castle/Canterbury/Dover through Golden Tours (http://www.goldentours.com/). We were picked up at the hotel at 8:30 a.m. and taken to a central area where all Golden tours depart.

 

Greenwich. This stop is no longer included in the tour. If you want to see Greenwich more than a drive through, there is a Thames River cruise from Westminster pier to Greenwich.

 

Leeds Castle was our first stop. Set in 500 acres of parkland in the middle of the Kent countryside, Leeds Castle started as a wooden castle in 857 with the first stone castle built in 1119. In 1926 the castle was sold to Lady Baillie, who filled it with fine furniture, tapestries, and paintings. We walked to Fairfax Hall, a 17th century barn adjoining the Terrace room. The patio offered great views of the castle across the moat. We then toured the gardens, aviary, and castle on our own, taking time to watch the graceful black swans.

 

Dover was a quick 15-minute stop for pictures The fog and mist gave us a limited view of the cliffs and Dover Castle. The white cliffs are actually chalk that began 65-80 million years ago when microscopic single-celled animals and plants died and their lime shells fell into the sea bed.

 

Canterbury, home to the Church of England, was our last stop. After lunch on our own, we met the tour group in front of the Canterbury Cathedral, where Thomas Beckett was martyred in 1170. We had 90 minutes to tour the Cathedral and town on our own. You might want to print a map of the cathedral before you leave. There was also a fee to take pictures inside. We returned to London around 6:30 p.m.

 

For dinner, we walked several blocks down Victoria Street to The Albert, a pub recommended earlier in the day by our guide. We waited about 30 minutes for a table. Members of Parliament often eat at The Albert. A bell hanging on the wall is rung to let members know when they need to return to Parliament to vote.

 

London Day 3

We booked The Best of the Cotswolds through Golden Tours. The Cotswolds, 60 miles west of London, is famous for its honey-colored limestone villages that haven’t changed since the medieval wool trade in the 15th and 16th centuries.

 

Our first stop was Burford, a quaint village where the main street is lined with old houses, cottages, and shops from Tudor times. After lunch at The Cotswolds Arms, we visited St John Baptist Church, where church records date to the late 1100s. It is believed the first church was built on this location in the 900s.

 

We made drove through Stow-on-the-Wold, a market town sitting on a 700-foot hill, on our way to Bourton-on-the Water. The river winds through this picturesque village with several low bridges crossing the river. Shops and cafes line both sides of the river.

 

Our last stop was Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill and currently the home of the Duke of Marlborough. We could have added a visit inside the palace to our tour, but we opted to just tour the Formal Garden, Water Terraces, Rose Garden, and Secret Garden. Our visit was cut short due to a concert that evening by Diana Ross. People on the palace tour saw the Duke escorting Diana on a personal tour of his home.

 

We met Cruise Critic friends (Mary/Tim and Susan/Bob) at hotel and when to the Fish Café on Rupert Street in the heart of the theatre district. A great restaurant for English fish and chips.

 

Jewel of the Seas

We met seven Cruise Critic members for breakfast at The Rubens and shared a transfer to Harwich. Our driver picked us up at 9:00 a.m. We arrived in Harwich at 11:00 and we were on board a little noon. Check-in at the Platinum/Diamond line was slower than last year. We went directly to our cabin 9582 (category D1 on the bump) to store our carry-on bags. Elroy, our steward, introduced himself before we headed to the Windjammer for lunch. Elroy did an outstanding job during our cruise. Our luggage was delivered by 1:30, allowing plenty of time to unpack before meeting our Cruise Critic group on the Pool Deck for an informal sail-away party.

 

We also sailed on the Jewel in June 2004 to the British Isles/Norwegian Fjords. I’ve updated my album Jewel of the Seas 2004/2005 to include a few new pictures taken this cruise.The rest of my pictures will be posted over the next week or two.

 

Captain Thorolvsen left the Jewel in Stockholm for vacation and was replaced by Captain McDonald. The Cruise Director was Karen Maybury. We had 2167 passengers from 38 countries and 866 crew members from 68 countries.

 

We had early seating at 6:00 p.m. Our table (482) was on Deck 4 close to a window. Our waiter Ignatius was from India and his assistant Rosanne was from Chili. They provided excellent service throughout the cruise. The Jewel has new menus with a varied selection each night. The food was very good to excellent. We ate breakfast in the Windjammer and lunch on sea days at the Seaview Café.

 

Throughout the cruise the staff were cleaning the railings, computer keyboards, and almost every surface that you could touch. When we entered the Windjammer, there were two dispensers with liquid soap to wash our hands. Part of the cruise we were served in the Windjammer, while other times we could serve ourselves. We were never told if the Norwalk virus was on board and I never heard of anyone being sick.

 

Tonight we set our clocks ahead one hour, the first of the three hours we lost during this cruise.

 

Day 2 – Sea Day

This was a day to sleep in and relax. Cloudy, chilly weather kept many cruisers inside. We attended the Cruise Critic get-together at 11:15 and a great a destination lecture in the afternoon. The lecturer had just boarded and his slides didn’t make it. He did his presentation using a large map.Tonight was the first of three formal nights and the Captain’s Welcome Aboard reception.

 

Day 3 – Oslo

We arrived in Oslo at 7:00 a.m., docking across from Akershus Fortress. We were off the Jewel by 7:45 and were greeted by a bright, sunny day with temperatures reaching the low 80s by midday. Oslo can easily be done on your own with a little planning.

 

We took a cab from the port to Vigeland Park (US$15 charged on a credit card). Vigeland is a 75-acre park that represents the lifetime work Gustave Vigeland. The park has five main sections: Main Gate, Bridge, Fountain, Monolith, and Wheel of Life. We spent about an hour walking from the Main Gate to the Wheel of Life. At the end of the park, you can see Holmenkollen Ski jump, built for the 1952 Winter Olympics. We walked back to the Main Gate and took cab to Central Station (US$17 again charged on a credit card). Neither driver would accept a tip.

 

We walked up Karl Johans Gate, Oslo’s main street leading from Central Station to the Royal Palace. Our first stop was Domkirke (Oslo Cathedral). Completed in 1699, it still has its original bronze doors and stained glass. The cathedral’s cornerstone (to the right of the entrance) is a 1000-year old carving from Oslo’s first cathedral. The cathedral opens at 10:00 a.m. and is worth a visit. Behind the Cathedral, the courtyard is lined with stalls from an old market. Across the street from the Cathedral is Stortovet, a cobble-stone market square started in 1736.

 

Many of Oslo’s sights are along Karl Johans, including Parliament (free guided tours available at 10:00, 11:30, and 1:00). Across the street from Parliament is the Grand Hotel, a Louis XVI revival building with a clock tower dating to 1913. We walked through Studenterlunden, a small park across from the Grand Hotel, to the National Theatre. The University of Oslo, also on Karl Johans, is Norway’s largest university with more than 30,000 students. The palace is at the opposite end of Karl Johans from Central Station. Changing of the guard takes place at 1:30 p.m. (the Palace is not open to visitors). There is a great view down Karl Johans from the top of the Palace steps. We walked through the Royal Gardens before heading toward the harbor to City Hall.

 

The Oslo City Hall, a modern twin-tower landmark, opened in 1950 to celebrate Oslo’s 900th anniversary. We visited the Main Hall where the Nobel Peace Prize is handed out every December. You need a guided tour to visit other areas. As we left City Hall, there was a 24-gun salute from Akershus Fortress to honor the Queen’s birthday. We walked across the street to Aker Brygge, a wharf area along the harbor converted into cafes and shops. The Jewel was directly across the harbor from Aker Brygge. We ate lunch at Druen, an outdoor café near the entrance, and then walked to the Eternal Flame for Peace at the end of Aker Brygge.

 

The Jewel held a 4th of July celebration tonight in the Safari Club.

 

Day 3 – Copenhagen

We arrived in Copenhagen at 8:00 a.m. and were off the Jewel by 8:15. We docked at Langelinie Pier, which is within walking distance of the major sights. We planned our own walking tour and had a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 70s.

 

Leaving the Jewel, we walked less than 10 minutes along the harbor to the Little Mermaid, a present from the founder of Carlsberg Breweries in 1913. The Little Mermaid faces Kastellet, a star-shaped fortress built in 1660. A windmill inside the fortress is visible from the pathway. We continued through the park to the Gefion Fountain, built in 1908 and depicting the mythical story of the creation of the island of Zealand on which Copenhagen sits. Next to the Gefion Fountain is Saint Alban’s Church. The church, built in 1885, is not open to the public.

 

From Saint Alban’s, we walked to Amalienborg, which is actually four palaces built around an octagonal square and is the main residence of the Danish Royal family since 1749. A statue of King Frederick V (1723) stands in the center of the square. With your back to the harbor, you can see Frederick’s Church (Marble Church) directly in front of you. The 200-year-old church, originally designed to rival St Peter’s in Rome, has one of the largest copper domes in the world. There are 273 stairs to an outdoor balcony, but access was closed for renovations.

 

From Amalienborg, it’s a short walk to Nyhavn, where we took a 50-minute canal ride from DFDS. The colorful houses surrounding Nyhavn Canal are more than 300 years old. Hans Christian Anderson lived at #20 and #18. Old sailing ships are moored along Nyhavn and both sides of the canal are lined with cafes and small shops. If you are ending your day at Nyhavn, there is a water taxi to Langelinie Pier. We walked back to the Jewel after visiting Rosenborg Castle later in the day.

 

We crossed Kongens Nytorv at the end of Nyhavn in search of what else—Danish pastry! We found a wonderful shop on Stroget, Europe’s longest pedestrian street. We walked the length of Stroget to City Hall Square, only to find the City Hall draped in protective covering and under restoration. Tivoli Garden is across from City Hall. We did not visit Tivoli, deciding instead to look for a place for lunch. We headed toward the University and down side streets before reaching Ristorante Italiano on the corner of Fiolstraeda and Kobenhavn. This restaurant was a real treat.

 

After lunch, we walked to Rosenborg Castle, built in 1606 as a Royal summer residence. We opted to just see the Crown Jewels, although three floors of the castle are open to the public. You cannot take pictures of the jewels and none of the descriptions are in English.

 

Day 4 – Sea Day

We slept in, waking to the sound of the Jewel’s fog horn. We skipped breakfast and headed to the Concierge Lounge for coffee. After lunch, we went to poolside activities and the horse race. Tonight was our second formal night.

 

Day 5 – Stockholm

We were up and on our balcony early to watch the sail-in through the Stockholm archipelago. There were plenty of Kodak moments on the almost five-hour sail-in. Stockholm gave us yet another beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the low 80s.

 

We prebooked a guide/driver for three hours through the Stockholm Visitors Board (http://www.stockholmtown.com). Our guide met us at 9:30 a.m. and drove us first to Fjällgatan for views of Djurgården, Östermalm, and Old Town. We also stopped to see homes of early Stockholm residents built in the 1700s.

 

We visited the Stockholm City Hall, built in 1923 with more than 8 million bricks. Three golden crowns at the top of the 106-foot tower have been the symbol for Sweden for at least 700 years. City Hall houses the Municipal Council and each winter hosts the Nobel Prize Banquet in the Blue Hall. The Golden Hall, decorated with over 18,000,000 glass and gold mosaic pieces, can seat up to 700 people. The hall is dominated by the Queen of the Lake Mälaren, representing Stockholm being honored by the East and the West. We climbed the 106 stairs to the top of the tower and were rewarded with a panoramic view of Stockholm.

 

Our last stop on the guided portion of our day was the Vasa Museum. Built for the 30 Years’ War (1618-1648), the Vasa set sail on August 10, 1628 from the Royal Palace. A wind caught her sails and the top-heavy ship sunk in the 105-foot deep channel. Discovered in the 1950s, salvage operations began in 1961. NOTE: The museum is very dark. If your camera has a Night setting, make sure you use it. As we left the museum, our guide received a call telling him about the London bombings. People on the street were talking about it, but since it had just happened information was limited until later in the day when we returned to the Jewel.

 

Our guide dropped us off at Storkyrkan Cathedral in Old Town. The Cathedral was first mentioned in writing in 1279 and which became a Lutheran church in 1527. There is a fee to visit this Cathedral. We also stopped at the Finnish Church to see the smallest statue in Stockholm, a fist-size iron boy. In the winter, Stockholmers knit caps for him when it’s cold.

 

We walked through the Storkyrkan Cathedral church yard to Stortorget, the main square of Old Town with buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries that now house cafes and restaurants. The Stock Exchange, also in the square, houses the Nobel Museum. We walked around Old Town and ate lunch before returning to the Jewel.

 

Note: The Jewel appears to be quite close to Old Town; however, it was a long walk after a busy day and took us 45 minutes.

 

We turned our clocks ahead another hour tonight . . . that’s now two hours we’ve lost.

 

Day 6 – Helsinki

We docked in Helsinki at 9:00 a.m. and were greeted by another beautiful day with temperatures in the low 80s. We prearranged a car service from http://www.kovanen.com for three hours. The driver met us at 9:15 a.m. You need some kind of transportation to reach more remote sights.

 

Our first stop was Kaivopuisto Park, developed in the 1830s as a health resort and offering views of the archipelago. We then drove to Temppeliaukio Church (Rock Church), built in a large hole in the granite and covered with a concave roof. The dome spans 70 feet and is covered on the interior by 15 miles of copper. There are no ornaments, belfry, or altar, but the acoustics are superb. We arrived in time to hear an organist playing a concert.

 

Our next stop was Sibelius Park, honoring Jean Sibelius, Finland's famous composer. The grounds are maintained in a natural state with birch trees and rocky outcrops reflecting Finland’s rugged natural beauty. A brass trio was playing Sibelius’ music. The sculpture, made of more than 100 rough steel tubes, stands on a granite block. When the wind blows, it sounds like an organ is playing.

 

We visited the Olympic Stadium built for the 1952 Olympic games. We took the elevator to the top for a panoramic view of the Olympic complex and Helsinki. The stadium grass is absolutely beautiful . . . wouldn’t ind their lawn keeper paying a visit to my house. We stopped at Finlandia Hall, used as a conference/concert center (visitors cannot go inside). The hall is made of Carrara marble, which warped and broke in Helsinki’s harsh winters and was refurbished in 1990. We made a picture stop at Parliament. Our last stop was at Uspenski Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church built to replicate a 16th century cathedral near Moscow. The inside of the cathedral is definitely worth a visit.

 

Our driver dropped us off at Senate Square where we continued on our own. The Lutheran Church dominates the north side of the square. Built in 1852, the famous steps were not completed until 1872. We climbed the steps only to find a choir concert in progress and we could not enter. On the east side of the Square is Council of State, where the cabinet convenes every Thursday at 1:00 p.m. On the south side are homes of 18th and 19th century merchants. On the west side, opposite the Council of State, is the main building of Helsinki University.

 

We left Senate Square and walked a short block to Market Square, located at the harbor end of the Esplanade. The open-air market sells fruit, flowers, vegetables, fresh fish, and handicrafts. We then walked the length of Esplanade Park, which is lined with cafés and restaurants. After lunch, we walked to Senate Square and took a cab back to the Jewel.

 

We ate dinner tonight at Chops. It was excellent and, in our opinion, offers a better menu than Portofino’s. Tonight we turned our clocks ahead another hour: we have now lost three hours. I am also beginning to notice that the sea air is shrinking my clothes :(

 

Day 8 – St Petersburg

The Compass had a section for several days prior to St Petersburg that guests who booked independent tours could not leave the ship prior to 9:30 a.m. (per Russian Immigration authorities). You can ignore this warning and leave the ship as soon as it clears; however, this is the only port in which they do not announce that the ship has cleared. When we saw RCI tours start to leave, we went to Deck 2 and left the ship without a problem. Russian Immigration for independent travelers is a separate line (Line 1). You need to bring your passport and a copy, which is left with Immigration. You receive a red card you need to carry with you. It’s returned to Immigration when you return to the ship each day and your passport is stamped.

 

Day 1 Sightseeing St Petersburg

Eleven of us from the Cruise Critic board formed a group and toured with Denrus (http://www.denrus.ru/). We were off the Jewel by 7:15 a.m. and met our guide Elena and driver Gera outside the Immigration building. We started with an orientation tour of the city that included several stops for pictures. We also stopped at St Nicholas Church and Lt Schmidt Bridge, where we got our first view of the Winter Palace and the Hermitage.

 

Following the orientation tour, we drove to Peterhof, a spectacular Imperial estate nestled on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. We elected to tour only the park and Monplasir. The park has more than 120 fountains, statues, and pavilions. When we arrived the fountains were not operating (they start at 11:00 a.m.), so we walked to Monplasir, built in 1714-1725 and one of the original buildings at Peterhof.

 

When we left Monplasir, the fountains were flowing. The unique fountain system was designed in the 18th century and does not use pumps to operate. For lunch, we stopped at the small outdoor café just outside the main gate. The owner only requested that we purchase a drink to sit at their outside tables. We brought our lunch with us.

 

After leaving Peterhof, we returned to St Petersborg for a visit to Peter and Paul Fortress, the oldest and tallest church in St Petersburg and the burial site for most pre-Revolutionary Russian leaders. The multi-tiered cathedral bell tower is crowned with a copper-gilded needle and topped with a flying angel bearing a cross.

 

From Peter and Paul Fortress, it was a short drive to the Hermitage. We used the Hermitage website to prepare a list of rooms we wanted to see. Our guide supplemented our list as time and location permitted. We did not visit the Gold Room. The Hermitage and Winter Palace are must-sees when visiting St Petersburg.

 

From the Hermitage, we headed to the Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood, which has almost 7,000 square meters of Italian marble and mosaics by religious artists of the late 19th century--no surface is left bare. The bell tower has 144 individual mosaic coats of arms, representing provinces, cities, and towns of the Russian empire. There was a small outdoor market behind the church where you could purchase lacquered boxes, shawls, scarves, stacking dolls, and other souvenirs. They accepted US dollars.

 

We returned to the Jewel at 5:30 p.m.. We did not take an evening tour, although those who did enjoyed their evening at the ballet or on the white nights tour. There was no entertainment tonight, except the movie National Treasure. I went to the movie and then met my husband at the Russian Buffet and Chocolate Extravaganza at 10:30 in the Windjammer.

 

Day 9 – Sightseeing St Petersburg

Our second day started at 9:15 a.m. with a drive 15 miles south of St Petersburg to the magnificent blue, white, and gold Catherine Palace in Pushkin. As we left the van, a small brass band played the Star Spangled Banner. What a nice welcome!

 

The Palace facade stretches more than 1,000 feet and is decorated with columns, windows, and statues. There are two fronts to the palace: one faces the garden and the other a large parade ground. Just when you thought you saw it all, the next room was even more spectacular. The tour included the Amber Room, first installed in the Winter Palace (Hermitage) and moved to the Catherine Palace in 1755. In September 1941, occupying troops removed the amber panels and took them to the Konigsberg Art Museum. The location of the original amber is unknown; however, Russian craftsmen have recreated this spectacular room. You cannot take pictures in the Amber Room even with the photo permit.

 

We drove back to St Petersburg for a visit to St Isaac’s Cathedral, originally the city's main church and the largest cathedral in Russia, accommodating 14,000 standing worshipers. The cathedral's facades are decorated with sculptures and massive red granite columns. The interior has detailed mosaic icons, paintings, and columns made of malachite and lapis lazuli. A large stained glass window called Resurrected Christ is inside the main altar.

 

Our last stop was Yusupov Palace, said to be one of the most beautiful non-Imperial palaces in St Petersburg. Traces of Yusupov’s wealth can be seen in the sitting rooms, intricate chandeliers and candelabras, oak dining room, and the Baroque private theatre. An entire Italian palazzo was purchased just for its marble staircase, which is now the main entrance to the palace. The palace is also known as the location where Rasputin was murdered in December 1916.

 

Elena conducted the two-day tours without notes, all facts and figures committed to memory. She made our two days in St Petersburg a highlight of the cruise.

 

Tonight we got back one of our three hours . . . hooray!

 

Day 10 – Tallinn

You can walk Tallinn on your own, but we hired a guide through Private Tours in Estonia (http://www.privatetours.ee/) to make the most of our stop in this Medieval town. Rait, a college student, met us at the end of the concrete pier at 8:15 a.m. Unlike other tour operators, he was able to drive into the gated area to pick us up. His enthusiasm for his country and his pride in their long-sought-after freedom was a trait that endeared us to him immediately.

 

Tallinn is one of the best retained Medieval European towns. Old Town was added to the World Heritage list in 1997. Its defensive structures protected Tallinn from being destroyed during war and its lack of wooden buildings protected it from being burned.

 

We started our walking tour at Toompea Castle in the upper part of Old Town. The Castle is now fronted by Parliament House, a pink-and-white building rebuilt after a fire in 1918. Directly across the street is Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built on Toompea Hill in 1900. After a visit to the Cathedral, we made our way to one of many spots along the Town Wall overlooking the city below. We had a close-up look at Kierk in de Kok (Peek in the Kitchen), the most powerful cannon tower in 16th century Northern Europe. As we made our way through the colbble-stone streets to Town Hall Square, there were plenty of stops along the way to take pictures of the quaint buildings.

 

Town Hall Square served as a marketplace even before the Town Hall was built in 1402. The Town Hall Pharmacy is one of the oldest still-functioning pharmacies in Europe. Documents from 1422 mention the pharmacy. Young girls dressed in traditional Estonian costumes were selling fresh strawberries in the square. Who could pass by without buying some!

 

After lunch, we drove a short distance to Kadriorg Palace, started by Peter I in 1718 as a temporary summer palace and designed by an Italian architect who later helped design Peterhof. We visited the 18th century style flower garden behind the palace but did not go inside. The palace is now used as an art museum.

 

Our next stop was Song Festival Grounds, a location with special meaning to Estonians. In 1988, the Grounds was the site of a united song festival which turned into a protest demanding the end of Soviet power. Nearly a third of Estonians participated.

 

Our last stop was Pirita, about 5 miles from Tallinn. The seaside town is known for its beaches, coastline, pine-forested parks, and picturesque Pirita River valley. On the way back to the Jewel, we made a picture stop at Fat Margaret Tower, a round tower built in the 16th century to protect the harbor. There was a truck at the end of pier selling Estonia chocolates. Don’t pass by the blue truck without buying some of the wonderful chocolate.

Tonight we got another much-needed hour back and two sea days to rest and recover.

 

Days 11 and 12 – At Sea

Day 11 was the Crown and Anchor Platinum/Diamond party and our last formal night. Once again we turned our clocks back, finally recovering our three hours. Day 12 was spent packing, taking a backstage tour, and meeting Cruise Critic friends in the Schooner Bar.

 

Our Last Day

We requested departure before 7:30 a.m. as independent travelers. We were assigned Orange 1 and a meeting place in the Schooner Bar. We were called promptly at 7:15 and found our luggage well organized in the large hall where we had signed in just 12 short days before. We were picked up at 8:00 a.m. by a private service for the two-hour drive to Heathrow.

 

Make sure you allow enough time to reach Heathrow before your flight departs. We encountered traffic heading into London and very long check-in lines at Virgin Atlantic (about an hour wait). They weighed bags and made people reorganize their suitcases right at the counter. There was a two-minute silence observed at Heathrow in memory of those who died in the bombing. We saw very little visible security other than two dogs in the check-in lines and plenty of stops along the way to the gate to check our passports and boarding passes.

 

Final Thoughts

This is a very port-intensive cruise. I was surprised to hear some cruisers complain about the number of consecutive ports without a break. I hope they read the itinerary before they booked their cruise. We were pleasantly surprised to see young families on board, as well as grandparents bringing their grandchildren on this outstaniding itinerary.

 

The more research you do before the cruise, the better you will appreciate and understand what you are seeing. I prepared detailed itineraries for each port that included pictures of significant buildings and a short write-up. This helped while exploring ports on our own.

 

Royal Caribbean does a first-class job . . . the Jewel of the Seas is a real gem.

 

Please check the link in my signature in a week to see a subset of the 1636 pictures I took on this cruise. The pictures will be in albums by port of call.

[sunprincess]

Jean, Thanks very much for your review. I will be doing the Baltic soon :)

[Ms. B]

Jean - As usual, an OUSTANDING review. Thanks for the details. Looks like I have a lot of planning to do before my trip next year! Thanks again for a great review.

 

 

 

Bev

[Host Anne]

Jean ~ what a great review! It's so much fun to read everyone's review. They are all different and each offer so much great information. Makes me want to go back. I'm off to look at your photos. Let me know when you get more posted.

 

Hello to Bill!

[lionheart]

Good Review!

 

 

In Oslo, the ship was their at 700 but you weren't able to get off till 745?

 

Thanks,

 

Kurt

[Host Anne]

Jean ~ loved the photos, too. Can't wait to see more. I especially loved the one of the costumes backstage....great stuff! I can't believe how you captioned each one. Tell Bill -- great note taking :) Can I borrow him for the future ???

[NancyIL]

Jean, thank you for a wonderful review! :) You gave so many great details about each port.

[NH Cruiser]

Lionheart: Since nothing is opened in Oslo until 10:00 a.m. other than Vigeland, we decided not to rush off the ship that morning. When we got to Vigeland it was empty except for a few locals riding bikes and walking. By the time we got to Domkirke, our first stop on our walking tour, we still had to wait almost 20 minutes before the church opened.

 

Anne: Last night I posted some additional pictures to my Jewel of the Seas album, but I won't start posting the rest of the pictures until this weekend. I still need to add titles/captions. Check back later next week and most, if not all, of the pictures should be posted.

[tclowe]

Thank you for posting the great report. I had no idea it would be so hot in July (we live in San Francisco, any degree over 70 is hot). Maybe I need to re-think our plans to cruise the Baltics in August next year. We are traveling with two small children so maybe late June would be less "sunny".

 

Thanks again.

Cynthia

[NH Cruiser]

Cynthia, we had unseasonably warm weather and were delighted. Cruisers earlier this season had cold, wet weather almost the entire cruise. If you check http://www.weather.com, you can check monthly temperatures by port for July (actual/forecast) and then follow the temperatures through August. We didn't have high humidity and the weather was perfect for touring. Enjoy your cruise . . . it's a fantastic itinerary.

[cruise'n]

Thanks for the wonderful report!

[Host Anne]

Jean ~ thanks for the note on the photos. Can't wait to see them. You're way ahead of me. I have about 1/3 of our photos captioned and probably won't get back to them this weekend.

 

I highly recommend that everyone checks out Jean's photos on webshots. They are wonderful!

 

Have a great weekend!

[tinkerme1]

Sounds like you had a marvelous cruise! As always, you wrote up a beautiful review of the trip, Jean. I sure hope you will both email me some of the information you gathered during your investigation/cruise! Again, thanks for the review!

[Live the good life]

Day 10 – Tallinn

You can walk Tallinn on your own, but we hired a guide through Private Tours in Estonia (http://www.privatetours.ee/) to make the most of our stop in this Medieval town. Rait, a college student, met us at the end of the concrete pier at 8:15 a.m. Unlike other tour operators, he was able to drive into the gated area to pick us up. His enthusiasm for his country and his pride in their long-sought-after freedom was a trait that endeared us to him immediately...

 

The more research you do before the cruise, the better you will appreciate and understand what you are seeing...QUOTE]

 

Jean, I greatly enjoyed your review and photos...We had a very memorable experience too at the ports not only seeing the spectacular sites but also connecting to the people and culture... We are also lucky to have had great tour guides who exuded enthusiasm and pride for their countries (Russia, Estonia, Poland) and consequently very fond of them... Instead of finishing up my review on our experience in the Baltics on the Constellation, I keep on finding myself reading reviews on the Baltics from Jewel cruisers. You are such a great group (Anne, Nancy, Susan, etc...)! I can't wait to try the Jewel in the future...I must say that I am a little biased towards people who have teenage children and/or have a love for photography and/or very obssessive/compulsive in their pre-cruise research...

 

Kim

[Live the good life]

Day 5 – Stockholm

We were up and on our balcony early to watch the sail-in through the Stockholm archipelago. There were plenty of Kodak moments on the almost five-hour sail-in. Stockholm gave us yet another beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the low 80s.

 

We prebooked a guide/driver for three hours through the Stockholm Visitors Board (http://www.stockholmtown.com). Our guide met us at 9:30 a.m. and drove us first to Fjällgatan for views of Djurgården, Östermalm, and Old Town. We also stopped to see homes of early Stockholm residents built in the 1700s.

 

QUOTE]

 

Jean, prior to our cruise we had also considered booking for a licenced tour guide through the Stockholm Visitors Board (http://www.stockholmtown.com). We looked at their web sites and saw 30 plus photos of guides, but without prior recommendations from cc board members did not know who to go with.

 

Wondering whether you would be willing to share the name of the guide, and also how the tour went...We plan to return to Stockholm next year or so...

 

Thanks, Kim

[NH Cruiser]

Our guide was Bernt Nystrom. He was excellent . . . I would ask for him again if I were returning to Stockholm. I didn't ask for a specific guide. I just asked the Visitors Bureau for a driver/guide and listed the places we wanted to see. They assigned us Bernt. I guess we were very lucky. Enjoy your return to Stockholm.