The Sisters Go Royal--Our Scandinavia and Russia Cruise

[GolfMom321]

Enjoyed seeing your picture from the subway station.

 

When we had our subway ride we were not allowed to take any pictures of the stations.

 

Wow, really? Everyone was taking pictures! I wonder why you weren't allowed. Maybe they are protective of their transit, due to terrorism? But no one bothered us at all.

[GolfMom321]

Day 9—Helsinki

 

We had breakfast at the Horizon buffet. Gotta love those chocolate croissants! Grabbed a hot chocolate to go from the International Café and we were off! We have a family friend who lives in Finland, and he was meeting us in Helsinki, along with his new wife. We took a transfer bus to the Swedish Theater, and sat down at an outdoor café (it was closed) to wait. We had free WiFi for awhile, til a guy came and kicked us out so he could set up.

 

Esa and Niina soon arrived, and we set off to walk around the city. We went to a huge Farmers’ Market in the middle of a square along the water. Everyone was selling berries, vegetables, fruits, and other prouduce—it was really cool. We sat and had tea and strawberries, which were delicious.

 

Market in the square

 

There was a pretty church just up the hill, and we walked up to see it closer. Then we walked over to the Senate Square and the beautiful Helsinki Cathedral. From there, we caught a tram and went to a section on the outskirts of town where the houses were all made of a rustic wood paneling. Back on the tram, we rode back into the city to see the Rock Church, which is built into a huge rock of granite. It looked more like a concert venue than a church, but it was pretty cool.

 

Senate Square

 

Helsinki Cathedral

 

Esa and Niina

 

Inside the Rock Church

 

Our tram

 

We wanted to try some authentic Finnish food, but were a bit worried about some of the things we’d heard of—particularly anything involving blood! So we went to a nice Finnish restaurant where Esa and Niina helped us choose local foods that weren’t too far out of our comfort zone. I had a delicious dish of meatballs with a creamy sauce, mashed potatoes, ligonberries and pickles. Dessert was a dish of rhubarb and meringue—YUMMY!

 

Unfortunately, we had a short stay in Helsinki, and all too soon it was time to say goodbye. On line for the bus back to the port, Deb overheard a family speaking Turkish (she lives in Istanbul, and obviously speaks Turkish). She surprised them by asking a question in Turkish, and thus began a conversation that continued all the way to the ship. Small world!

 

Back onboard, we were too late to make it to Afternoon Trivia, and since I had practice for Princess Pop Choir, I had to go to that anyway. The dance moves were much more difficult, and I was really feeling like I was in over my head.

 

It was our second Formal Night, but we had already decided to dress down a bit. So we wore our nicest non-formal clothes, and headed to the dining room. We requested to NOT be seated in the center section, and ended up going upstairs to the Concerto again. Service was much, much better there. After dinner, we went down to the Piazza to watch some amazing acrobats.

 

Evening entertainment consisted of the “Majority Rules” game show, the “Marriage Match” game show (like the Newlywed Game, but with couples married 2, 19, and 50 years), and karaoke. The Marriage Match was a hoot, with some rather racy questions asked. It was fun to watch the husbands squirming in their seats!

[GolfMom321]

Wow, its been awhile! I suppose I should finish this cruise review before I go on my next cruise!

 

Day 10—Nynashamn/Stockholm PART ONE

 

We had signed up for the Royal Stockholm tour through Princess. It turned out to be our worst tour choice of the trip. The port of Nynashamn is where the bigger ships dock, since Stockholm has nothing large enough to accommodate them. We boarded a tour bus with a huge group. Our guide was Margaret. We had no headsets, so it was nearly impossible to hear her. Instead of holding up a sign for us to be able to follow, she held up a limp red rose, which didn’t quite cut it. She was very disorganized. We drove through the city a bit, with some commentary, but it wasn’t really helpful or interesting.

 

Our first activity was a boat tour of the harbor. It was the best part of our tour and we were able to get a nice view of the city. We got off in mass chaos, and had to find our way back to the bus on our own, since it was impossible to follow her. We stopped at the Royal Palace, and practically ran through it. We could hear the other guides better than we could hear her, standing practically next to us.

 

Harbor

 

Houses along the water

 

Palace guard

 

Palace

 

After the palace, we were given a short time on our own for shopping and lunch. We got some souvenirs, including some wonderful “Teddy Blankets”, which are soft and lined with sheepskin. These made perfect gifts for our kids. We had lunch at a sidewalk café—some nice sandwiches, but lousy service. People watching was fun as we were right on the square. There was a parade of some young musicians, and everyone crowded around to see them.

 

Houses on the square

 

Nobel museum

Edited September 8, 2014 by GolfMom321

[GolfMom321]

Day 10 Nynashamn/Stockholm PART TWO

 

Parade

 

Margaret left us in the city and we returned to the port with just our driver, who was really very good. Since she wasn’t there to tip, we gave her tip to the driver, who had done a much better job of earning it!

 

Tender/Lifeboat

 

Back onboard, we did most of our packing, and went to afternoon trivia. It was really hard this time, and we did not do too well. We were missing our teammates’ help! We went up to Deck 16 for sailaway again—it’s always nice to see the views.

 

We met Michael and Tessa for dinner at the Horizon buffet—very good as always. There was an international song and dance show in the Piazza that was excellent.

 

International show

 

Then it was time for English Pub Night—trivia and then a show. The trivia was impossible unless you were a Brit, so we did very badly. The show was hilarious, with all the CD staff, plus the dancers and singers from the theater. Last was the “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” game show with Robert. So many times we were off by just one word, but it was great fun.

 

English Pub Night

 

With Michael &Tessa, and Robert, Michele & David of the CD staff, and our water bottles!

[GolfMom321]

Day 11—At Sea

 

We slept in, since we had nothing we had to get up for. I woke up feeling really crummy—I have Lyme disease and it was at full throttle. It was one of those days where I could barely move. Thankfully, we didn’t have any shore excursions to deal with. But dancing was out of the question. I had to break the news to David that I would have to sit out the Pop Choir performance. He was disappointed, but more concerned about me, which was so sweet. He even gave me one of the Pop Choir pins, even though I wasn’t able to perform.

 

We had breakfast at the Horizon buffet, and headed to BINGO. Great fun, but we didn’t win. Someone did win the jackpot though, so that was nice. Then we played Who They Used To Be trivia with Nat, and it was super hard. I don’t know where he comes up with this stuff!

 

Me, Deb, Nat, Tessa and Michael

 

We went up to the buffet for lunch, but the lines were way too long so we decided to go up to the Trident Grill for hot dogs or burgers. Unfortunately, that line was very long too, and I had a massage scheduled, so I had to skip lunch until afterwards. The hot dog was good, and the fries were excellent. I had a wonderful massage with JoJo, and left feeling much, much better.

 

The Sea Walk—I don’t get the big deal about it.

 

After a shower, I finished packing, and went to the Atrium to watch the Princess Pop Choir performance. It was great, and at least I was able to be there to support them, and to sing along. I bought a tote bag at the shop to use for an extra carryon—didn’t want to have my breakables ruined on the way home.

 

We had signed up for the Fondue dinner up in the Horizon as soon as we heard about it. We love The Melting Pot, and were so looking forward to it. We had reservations for 6:00, but when we got there, they said they weren’t ready, and to come back at 6:15. We did, and we were the first people there. We let them know that we were in a hurry, since we got a late start and wanted to get to the show, which was supposed to be awesome. Well it seems like they really “opened” at 6:30, as it took that long to get any sort of service. We had several people there asking what we wanted, but it took forever to get our fondue. When it finally arrived, it was mediocre at best. We told them as soon as they brought it that we really were tight on time, and could they please put in the order for the chocolate fondue right away. Still, we had to wait. It was certainly worth waiting for—with strawberries, marshmallows, pineapple chunks, and other goodies to dip. We finished, only about 10 minutes late since we rushed, and stood to leave. No, we have to sign the check (it was a $20 per person charge). So we waited another 5 minutes for that, wishing we had just skipped the entire experience, or that they would have scheduled it sometime other than the very last night of the cruise.

 

We rushed to the theater, and discovered that the “Spectacular” wasn’t all that spectacular. Just OK. Fortunately, the rest of the evening was great fun, with the “Are You Smarter Than A Cruise Staff?” game show, and the “Blankety Blank” game show (fill in the missing word). We took photos with our friends from the CD staff, and laughed about how we would get all our water bottles home.

 

Are You Smarter Than A Cruise Staff?

 

David and Toby showing off their Travolta moves

 

Then it was time for the grand finale of Princess Pop Star. There were 5 of us competing, and they took us into the back room of Princess Live and gave us champagne. I stuck with my water, as the champagne would have had me on the floor. David would “interview” each of us afterwards, asking silly questions, which kept us from being too nervous. The crowd was small, since so many people were packing, but they were a good audience. Marla, who sang “I Will Always Love You”, was the winner, as I had predicted. We all had fun, and they gave us each a bag of Princess “trinkets”—including another water bottle!!

 

Princess Pop Star finalists with Robert, Michele and Gary

 

We headed up to our cabin to finish packing and put our bags out, and to sleep for the last time onboard.

[SeaTheWorldBySea]

Enjoying your review. We are looking at doing this on the Regal next year.

[GolfMom321]

Day 12—Disembarkation

 

It was a VERY early morning. Deb had to be in the lounge by 6:25, and I had only an extra hour. We both opted for breakfast from the International Café, and then said goodbye. As suite passengers, we were allowed to wait in the special lounge—really not a big deal. When my bus was called, I boarded for the trip to the airport. We had heard all sorts of horror stories about the traffic leaving the port, but we encountered very little traffic and no delays. Before I knew it, we were at the airport.

 

Our luggage was staged in a large hangar type building across from the terminal. It was organized by tag color, and it was very easy to find my bags. People have complained about having to take their bags “all the way” from the staging place to another terminal, but in reality, it was a very short walk, even with luggage. I can’t imagine a better arrangement.

 

I got my bags and headed to the terminal to check in. It all went very smoothly--or so I thought. I got a little confused about where to go, and then, as I went through security, I realized my BIG mistake. The attendant asked to search my bag. i said "sure", as I figured she wouldn't find anything. She pulled out a big jar of stuff I'd bought at the spa! I recalled thinking as I was packing the night before, oh, I'll put one of the 3 jars in my carryon, so if my luggage gets lost, at least I'll have one of them. DUH!!!! Now, this stuff wasn't cheap. I did NOT want to throw it away. I'd already checked 2 bags, so I would have to pay to check another. And the bag I had was full of fragile stuff. She suggested I go back to checkin and see if by some miracle my bags were still there. Of course, they weren't. I was trying to figure out what on earth to do, when a kind stranger suggested I speak to the woman who was "directing traffic" at the entry to the checkin lanes. I did, and she was just wonderful. All of a sudden, not only was I allowed to check a 3rd bag for free, I was even provided with a box to put the bag in so it wouldn't get crushed! I was so grateful for all the assistance. I went back through security, this time without incident, and headed for the Business Class lounge. I got settled in there, and lo and behold, here comes my sister! Turns out the lounge was for both terminals. So we got almost another hour together before she left for her flight. It was the perfect end to a really wonderful trip.