Regal Princess Review - Baltic 6/14 - 6/25

[relic2]

I am thoroughly enjoying your review in spite of having no plans to repeat that itinerary. I have always packed some of each of our clothes in each bag, so neither of us will have to shop, unless the airlines loses both bags. Yet, good friends with whom we often travel, and who fly abroad several times a year, refuse to take my advice.

I love your paint by number comment about the nesting dolls.

 

 

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[FraudBroad]

I have enjoyed your review.

 

One man at our dining table on a 7 day Scandanivan capital cruise, had his luggage lost for the whole cruise. He had a hard time finding clothes to fit an American size man.

 

Ouch...I totally understand his pain...not fun at all!!! I just can't imagine losing it for the ENTIRE cruise! That would have put me over the edge!!! Or maybe forced me to throw someone else over...either or...take your pick!

 

I agree with your point that every roll call seems to stick with one tour guide, our seems to be SPB. We are 4 Aussies and we are doing our own private tour with Insider Tours, and they allowed us to pick what we wanted to see. I tried a few companies and Insider Tours always answered promptly and it seems always the same person responded, the other 2, I heard from one and they just quoted their normal tour and even after I emailed and advised we did not want to spend too much time at The Hermitage or too many churches the other never replied. We are also doing a private Berlin tour with Insider. After reading your experience with TJ, I will make sure I email Insider again about a week out before our cruise to confirm all the details. Again this is the best review I have ever read.

 

 

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I really think they're all about the same...and it seems like all of the guides contract so you could go with a totally different company than I did and still get the same guide I did!

 

Keep in mind English is their second language.

 

I don't blame you for wanted to cut down time at the Hermitage and churches...we only did a photo stop at St Iaasac's and the only one we truly toured was Church of the Spilt Blood - a can't miss if you ask me.

 

If you asked my kids they would probably say skip all museums and churches!!!

 

I think the mark of a really great company is how the deal with problems that arise. In our case, TJ's was exceptional....we were very happy!

 

I'm sure you'll have a great experience with Insider Tours. Enjoy your cruise...you will love St. Petersburg!

[FraudBroad]

Thank you so much for the info. I'm loving your review.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read it!

 

Really enjoying your review. We did the Baltic cruise aboard the Regal last year. Yup - got rained on quite a bit. We juggled our plans for Oslo and did the ship museums with a Princess tour during our time in port. We went back to Oslo after the cruise and got to see "Penis Park" when it was sunny out. We walked out there and took the bus back.

 

Lucky you! Penises when it's sunny out! I can only imagine the glee!

 

Thanks for following along!

[FraudBroad]

Just love reading your review .You make the bet out of any situation you fnd yourself in.

 

Keep it coming.

 

Scotslizzy

 

Thanks so much! I really do appreciate all of the positive responses! Glad you are enjoying!

 

Hi Fraudbroad!

I am SO loving reading your posts! We are sailing on the Regal on August 30, then the TA to NYC. Bucket list cruise for me!

Thanks for sharing your adventures - you have a "book in the making"! I am looking forward to reading your posts on the remaining ports, since I'm making a list of some of your ideas, e.g. take a cab or shuttle in Talinn, and buy a doll in St. Petersburg, and needing umbrellas (plural) and maybe even a second raincoat? I don't even want to THINK about "bad hair/hat hair" days!

And regardless of the gripes and complaints of your teenagers, you are making memories with/for them that they will cherish - our adult daughter often talks about our travels, and she now works for a travel company and is "travel-holic"!

You have given us a gift with your posts!

Mary Anne

 

Thanks so much Mary Anne! I'm so jealous! I really do want to do the TA from Copenhagen next year...it's just way out of my price range right now! I'm hoping it goes down in price so I can go back and really SEE Copenhagen!

 

I knew when I booked this cruise that the kids might not have the greatest time...although my oldest does seem to have the "travel" bug now! The main thing is in 50 years when I'm dead and gone they can look back on this and say "that was the coolest thing mom ever did with us." And the fact they got to experience the Baltic with their Graham Cracker and Pop-tart...totally priceless!

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my diatribe! Enjoy your cruises next year!

[FraudBroad]

Still loving your post!

 

Awww..thanks so much!

 

Really enjoying your review. Great to reread about places we visited.

If anyone is visiting Copenhagen I recommend the free walking tour from outside the City Hall. You top the guide what it is worth. It was an excellent way of seeing the city.

While on the luggage theme it is a great suggestion to pack some of each persons things in the other case it was no good to us when our luggage was lost for 5 days. All we had was a change of underwear and T shirt. On that cruise over 30 families had no luggage, some for the entire time. Ours travelled to places that we didn't, Rome and Athens, and finally caught up with us in Santorini.

I look forward to the final stage of your trip.

 

Thanks so much!

 

I knew about the Free Walking Tour but opted for the HoHo buses due to jet lag and limited mobility of my Aunt. Funny thing is...she can walk when she wants to but if she doesn't she'll make EVERYONE miserable! It is what it is!

 

I know of many on our trip that did the free walking tour and said it was outstanding! Thanks for sharing with everyone and thanks for following along!

[FraudBroad]

Thank you so much for the info. I'm loving your review.

 

Thank YOU for taking the time to follow along!

 

We really didn't have "shopping" time in Russia. You may have to buy the first set you find and like! I would have like to shop around a bit but knew that wasn't going to happen. I am quite pleased at the ones I did end up purchasing!

 

I am thoroughly enjoying your review in spite of having no plans to repeat that itinerary. I have always packed some of each of our clothes in each bag, so neither of us will have to shop, unless the airlines loses both bags. Yet, good friends with whom we often travel, and who fly abroad several times a year, refuse to take my advice.

I love your paint by number comment about the nesting dolls.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Oh my...let me just say...no way in heck would I paint one of those dolls any other way! Way too beyond my artistic limits! And I am so freaking limited!

 

Trust me...next time I fly a little bit of me will be in every single solitary bag that flies...wouldn't have it any other way!

 

Thanks for reading along!

[FraudBroad]

Lots of discussion the night before our arrival in Helsinki on what time we’d get off the ship. We were docking at 8. I wanted to meet at 9, kids wanted to meet at 10. We settled on 9:30.

 

Our group of 6 met in the IC and promptly walked off the ship towards the HoHo bus. Once again we’d booked the HoHo, and at this point I’d figured out we should have just done tours in each city. It is what it is, hindsight is always 20/20.

 

We waited only about 10 minutes for the bus, but evidentially other passengers had been waiting much longer…and I really thought there was going to be a mutiny as one passenger was screaming at the top of his lungs at the poor guy from the HoHo Company. His response was priceless…”I don’t take complaints.”

 

Oh Heaven’s to Besty…what have I gotten us into today….

 

Once the bus arrived we easily found seats…and OH MY GOSH…that BRIGHT ORANGE THING WAS BACK!!! What’s it called again? Oh right, the SUN…it was shining and it was BEAUTIFUL OUT!!!!

 

I’d learned after Copenhagen to bring my own earphones…the ones the bus company supply suck. I was pleased to see on the HoHo in Helsinki they actually had headphones that went over your head and covered your ears. They were much more comfortable, and hey, unlike Oslo, THEY ACTUALLY FREAKING WORKED….This was going to be a great day!

 

We weren’t on the bus for long before we got off at the stop for the Rock Church. We walked a couple of blocks uphill before arriving at the church….with every other tourist in Helsinki that day…no lie…the place was freaking packed to the gills. When we finally made it into the church we came to a dead stop when trying to walk up the aisle. There it was again…the dreaded SELFIE STICK….that freaking stick was EVERYWHERE on this cruise and it had gotten to the point that I was going to start throwing them overboard. I don’t know how people think it’s okay to stop dead in their tracks in the middle of a walkway and fiddle with the darned thing until they get the perfect picture. Downright annoying if you ask me!

 

The Rock church really is amazingly beautiful. Would have loved to have been able to make out the acoustics but with 10 million people there (okay…may I exaggerate just a bit) it was impossible. We sat in a pew for a bit and just admired our surroundings….the selfie sticks, crying babies, obnoxious children that had no desire what so ever to be there…it was truly a lovely, moving experience.

 

We walked back down to the HoHo stop just as the bus was leaving…just our luck…we’d stand there for over 30 minutes waiting for the next bus to come. We’d wanted to go to the Sebalius monument, and it would have been walkable from the bus stop…but I was vetoed by the group.

 

Because we waited so long for the bus to arrive, and because of the mass of humanity that was also taking the buses that day, I made the executive decision NOT to stop at the Sebalius monument. We did see it as we drove by…along with another 150 selfie sticks…the monument isn’t that far from the road, but I knew if we got off, walked to see it, then walked back…we’d waste another 30 minutes waiting for the bus. No thank you….

 

So we rode…we passed the Olympic Stadium (which was originally on my list of places to see but was closed for renovation), Parliament, City Center, Swedish Theater and finally got off at the Esplanade/Market Square. The fact of the matter was, my kids were sick to death of museums, churches, palaces and castles. They just needed a day to chill out and souvenir shopping would do the trick…and food…they need to be fed on a regular basis or they become nasty tiny humans.

 

Finally, we were off the bus and on our way and the kiddies are going to have fun…and then…we head those words…you guessed it….

 

“I’ve got to pee”

 

So across the street we went to some huge building that has public toilets. And waited in line 10 minutes for everyone to pee. I spent more time waiting for people to pee on this trip than I care to count and the bottom line is I’LL NEVER GET THAT TIME BACK!

 

Once done we headed over to the Market Square and immediately it became painfully obvious that the six of us were not going to be able to stick together. Everyone had different things they wanted to look at and nobody wanted to wait for anybody.

 

I told the old folks that the kids and I were off to do our own thing…and the girls breathed a sigh of relief that they’d not hear the words “I have to pee” for the rest of the day.

 

We found souvenirs for our friends back home and sat for a bit and ate some lunch. My youngest and I had a platter of sausage and fries while my oldest got a barbecued beef sandwich. And OF COURSE I made sure she had ice-cream. Although I was reminded I’d already ruined the trip since she didn’t get any “RUSSIAN” ice-cream!

 

My youngest had the most difficult time finding something to bring home for her boyfriend. She really wanted to get him a stuffed husky dog but then the oldest said “you got something like that in Alaska for your OLD boyfriend and you can’t do that again!”

 

Well, that just put the youngest into a funk and I feverishly spent the day shoving stuff in my youngest’s face saying “how about this? How would he like this? I think you should get him this!!!”

 

The bottom line is I’m 50 which makes me stupid to teenagers. I obviously have NO taste and I’m just down right dumb.

 

Welcome to my world folks…

 

The kid pretty much moped for the rest of the day, dejected by the fact she had nothing to bring home to the love of her life…

 

We hopped back on the bus which then took an HOUR to get back to the ship. We arrived at the port at 3:00, thirty minutes ahead of our 3:00 all aboard time.

 

Since there was shopping at the port and I had 16 Euros to spend I convinced my youngest to look for something for the boy toy. I picked out a cute stuffed animal and asked her if she liked it. She did! I also told her I didn’t think it mattered that she’d given the old one a stuffed animal two years prior. Big deal…I’m sure current boyfriend doesn’t know that ex-boyfriend got a stuffed animal.

 

She finally consented, I spent my last 16 Euros and once again all was right with the world.

 

Once back on the ship I attended afternoon trivia at 4:15 then went back to the cabin to clean up for our daily cocktail hour. Tonight was the second formal night so we had to get all snazzed up!

 

We actually all ate in the dining room together tonight as they had Chateaubriand and lobster. I wasn’t about to miss that. The lobster and prawns were excellent, the Chateaubriand not so much. Oh well, you win some and lose some!

 

I spent a couple of hours in the casino and actually walked away with money….there’s a first time for everything!

 

Final thoughts on Helsinki

 

Lovely, lovely, lovely super clean city...

 

The Rock Church is AMAZING...or so it looks in the pictures I saw because with 10 million people and a ton of freaking selfie sticks it was impossible to enjoy...

 

The HoHo buses just SUCK...I don't care what city you are in. Save yourself the hassle and take public transportation.

 

I can now locate each and every public toilet in Copenhagen, Berlin, Tallinn, St Petersburg and Helsinki. A new talent I never imagined having.

 

The Sebalius Monument looks wonderful...when you see it through the bus window as you drive by...

 

And then your kids say they don't mind missing it because they have no idea who Sebalius even was...

 

You really get irritated when you drive by the Olympic Stadium, one of the top places on your list to see...and realize they've chosen now, the first time since 1938 to renovate...just my stinking luck...

 

When you suggest 9000 things for your kid to bring home to her boyfriend NONE of them will be the right size, type, kind or cool enough. You're still old and your taste still sucks.

 

There are a LOT of food choices at the Market and you'll spend 30 minutes walking back and forth until you realize each places offers virtually the SAME food.

 

And even though you remember to purchase the ice-cream the kid will still complain about missing it in Russia.

 

Up next…our last stop….Stockholm

[diane.in.ny]

 

The HoHo buses just SUCK...I don't care what city you are in. Save yourself the hassle and take public transportation.

 

I never really thought too much about the HOHO buses until we decided to use public transportation in Barcelona. We saw people lined up just waiting to get on the next bus. It was sunny. It was HOT. And you were out of luck if you didn't want to sit on top with the sun beating down on you.

 

We got a public bus route map at a tourist information booth, went all over, and it cost us a LOT less.

[IECalCruiser]

We don't do HoHo buses. Fortunately we don't do multigenerational cruises [emoji33] The trams in Helsinki will take you almost anywhere you want and run frequently. On our Baltic cruise on the Emerald there was a tram stop on the dock and it was very convenient. That is not the case on all of the docks in Helsinki.

Edited July 3, 2016 by IECalCruiser

[CanadaDeb]

I am absolutely loving your review, thanks so much for sharing...and I actually punched the air with yay! when your luggage was found lol

[Tedferg]

Thanks for a great review - we are thinking of doing it next year. Somewhat concerned by the amount of rain - not so sure now.

[anteaters]

Hi! I have been SO enjoying your funny but well balanced review. We did the same cruise right before you. I think we were a bit luckier with the weather though. Although we had about two hours of rain the first day of our 3-pre-cruise days in Copenhagen and a lot of rain the first day of our SPB St. Petersburg tour (we didn't get to do the hydrofoil because of that), the other days were pretty rain-free with temperature probably in the low-mid 60's for the most part. We even got to spend some sunny time on our balcony near the beginning and ending of the cruise. But like you, we had an absolute amazing time and we loved our combination of on-our-own, Princess excursions, and SPB excursions. Again, thanks so much for sharing and all of your humor!

[nanabananna]

I must add to all the other comments posted by CC members, this was such an enjoyable, and enlightening review. Thank you so much your time writing and posting the review.

 

(that should have said Deserved, and not served.)

Edited July 4, 2016 by nanabananna

[Cruisin' Along]

Thanks for the fantastic review! I'm enjoying both the humor and the descriptions of what you saw and experienced. Also appreciate you telling it like it is when things were less than perfect.

[caber]

We went to Walt Disney World in Florida last year and selfie sticks were banned in the parks. Keep the review coming.:(

[Grego]

I also am enjoying your descriptive account of your voyage and I feel for your efforts to "herd cats" when dealing with multi generation family unit. Been there - done that......but never again.

 

Our plan is to do our own "Rick Steves" walking tours of most of the ports in this itinerary - Oslo, Tallinn and Helsinki. The others are with either SPB for Germany and St. Petersburg and Princess for Stockholm since we might be docking far away from the city and we want to see the Vasa Museum and then on our own.

 

Looking forward to your Stockholm experience.

[cherryharley]

Hope you make it back today. Can't wait to read your next post!

[greenie082756]

FraudBroad you are so whimsical in the face of adversity (potty breaks)!

 

Like many before me, I find your writings and descriptions to be sarcastically truthful and would travel with you anytime! :D

 

My kids are grown, however I get the "your to old to understand Mom" attitude..Oh yeah? Well you will get where I am some day...hehehe :p

 

Sounds like all in all you had a wonderful time and thanks so much for sharing it with us!!

 

I doubt I will ever be able to go on this cruise however I would love to see the architecture!

 

Again, thanks for sharing :)

[FraudBroad]

I never really thought too much about the HOHO buses until we decided to use public transportation in Barcelona. We saw people lined up just waiting to get on the next bus. It was sunny. It was HOT. And you were out of luck if you didn't want to sit on top with the sun beating down on you.

 

We got a public bus route map at a tourist information booth, went all over, and it cost us a LOT less.

 

Exactly...and it doesn't surprise me one bit. You will never, ever, ever, ever, ever catch me on a HoHo again...as long as I live!!!

 

If it hadn't been for the size of my group, I would have done public transportation everywhere we went!

 

Thanks so much!

 

We don't do HoHo buses. Fortunately we don't do multigenerational cruises [emoji33] The trams in Helsinki will take you almost anywhere you want and run frequently. On our Baltic cruise on the Emerald there was a tram stop on the dock and it was very convenient. That is not the case on all of the docks in Helsinki.

 

The dock we were at in Helsinki didn't have any type of public transportation near by...I know others did as we dropped those cruise passengers off first.

 

No more HoHo for me!!!

 

Unless it's the Hostess variety!!!

[FraudBroad]

I am absolutely loving your review, thanks so much for sharing...and I actually punched the air with yay! when your luggage was found lol

 

You punched the air and I found the closest bar...I needed a drink after that experience!!!

 

Thanks for following along!

 

Thanks for a great review - we are thinking of doing it next year. Somewhat concerned by the amount of rain - not so sure now.

 

Don't let the rain stop you! This was the MOST incredible trip I've ever taken...I'd do it again and again if I could afford it! It is simply a can't miss...just amazing! Just bring a waterproof jacket and an umbrella...you won't be dissapointed!

[FraudBroad]

Hi! I have been SO enjoying your funny but well balanced review. We did the same cruise right before you. I think we were a bit luckier with the weather though. Although we had about two hours of rain the first day of our 3-pre-cruise days in Copenhagen and a lot of rain the first day of our SPB St. Petersburg tour (we didn't get to do the hydrofoil because of that), the other days were pretty rain-free with temperature probably in the low-mid 60's for the most part. We even got to spend some sunny time on our balcony near the beginning and ending of the cruise. But like you, we had an absolute amazing time and we loved our combination of on-our-own, Princess excursions, and SPB excursions. Again, thanks so much for sharing and all of your humor!

 

Honestly the only time I used our balcony was to walk out in the morning and see how cold it was! We were going to do an inside cabin but my Aunt flat refused..thus the balcony..and I paid for three people...tell me again how this worked out to my advantage???

 

Despite the rain, it truly was an amazing cruise and I'd go back again in a heart beat.

 

Thanks so much for following along!

 

I must add to all the other comments posted by CC members, this was such an enjoyable, and enlightening review. Thank you so much your time writing and posting the review.

 

(that should have said Deserved, and not served.)

 

You are all much, much too kind. Thank you for all of your nice comments. They truly do mean a lot to me! Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow along!

[FraudBroad]

Thanks for the fantastic review! I'm enjoying both the humor and the descriptions of what you saw and experienced. Also appreciate you telling it like it is when things were less than perfect.

 

And thank you for following along! I really do appreciate it!

 

We went to Walt Disney World in Florida last year and selfie sticks were banned in the parks. Keep the review coming.:(

 

They should ban them EVERYWHERE!!! What a total pain in the arse those darned things are! I'm so over them after this trip!!!

 

Thanks for following along!

[FraudBroad]

I also am enjoying your descriptive account of your voyage and I feel for your efforts to "herd cats" when dealing with multi generation family unit. Been there - done that......but never again.

 

Our plan is to do our own "Rick Steves" walking tours of most of the ports in this itinerary - Oslo, Tallinn and Helsinki. The others are with either SPB for Germany and St. Petersburg and Princess for Stockholm since we might be docking far away from the city and we want to see the Vasa Museum and then on our own.

 

Looking forward to your Stockholm experience.

 

Work with SPB and they'll do a customized tour for you in Stockholm..that's what TJ's did for us and it was perfect!

 

Great idea to stick with the walking tours in the other ports. Again, would have loved to have done it that way but couldn't with this group!

 

I hope you have an amazing cruise. It truly is a once in a lifetime experience!

 

Thanks for following along!

 

Hope you make it back today. Can't wait to read your next post!

 

I'm here...and it's coming in just a few minutes! Thanks for following along!

[FraudBroad]

FraudBroad you are so whimsical in the face of adversity (potty breaks)!

 

Like many before me, I find your writings and descriptions to be sarcastically truthful and would travel with you anytime! :D

 

My kids are grown, however I get the "your to old to understand Mom" attitude..Oh yeah? Well you will get where I am some day...hehehe :p

 

Sounds like all in all you had a wonderful time and thanks so much for sharing it with us!!

 

I doubt I will ever be able to go on this cruise however I would love to see the architecture!

 

Again, thanks for sharing :)

 

Oh no..I hope you can someday do this cruise! It is just incredible!

 

Of course there are things I would change....but I'd do it over again in a heartbeat...it's simply amazing!

 

And thanks for your kind words....I am truly the dumbest person on earth...or at least according to my teens...but they are stuck with me...like it or not...and they do love me :)

 

Or at least I think that's what they're saying each time they roll their eyes at me!

 

Thanks for following along!

[FraudBroad]

Stockholm Day

 

Just a bit of background before I get going with our day. When we initially booked this cruise, we were going to dock in Nynashamn. Not happy about that….it’s an hour and a half away from Stockholm. You tender there then have to take a train in. Nope, not happy at all.

 

I scheduled a private tour with TJ’s and opened it up to the Roll Call. 15 others were just as crazy and warped as I am and we had the tour scheduled. Low and behold…the heaven’s opened and the angels sang…and Princess changed the schedule and we were now going to dock directly in Stockholm….can I get a collective WOO HOOO????

 

Hang on, hold you horses…WTH????

 

When we were initially scheduled to dock in Nynashamn, we were scheduled to be there from 7:00 in the morning until 7:00 at night….and that would be great.

 

But now we are in Stockholm…get this…from 7:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon.

 

Which means we will have an “all aboard” time of 1:30…and no tours are going to start until 8:00. Just shoot me now.

 

Are you kidding me? My dreams come true and are then dashed…run over by a Mack truck…flatter than a pancake.

 

This sucked

 

I actually had lunch one day on the ship with the Manager of Guest Services and said the words out loud…”I kind of hope we can’t dock in Stockholm…if we dock in Nynashamn we will have more time to see Stockholm.”

 

Wow….that man almost came across the table and strangled me right there an then….he said “Are you kidding me? Do you have ANY idea what that would do to my department if we weren’t able to dock directly in Stockholm? The tours that have to be rescheduled, the angry passengers….”

 

So, that’s when I decided it would be best if we docked directly in Stockholm.

 

We all gathered in the IC at 7:30. Once all of the men stood up and decided they had to pee we waited then all walked off the ship together. Gotta love men and their prostates.

 

When getting off the ship I ran into the my BFF, the Guest Services Manager...with a big smile on my face I say "WE MADE IT!!!"

 

He leans over an laughs and then says "I almost called you...we almost didn't make it in!"

 

Sailing into Stockholm on a ship the size of the Regal is a feat in and of itself. The Swedish Archipelago has over 300 island and is very narrow in spots making navigating a ship that size darned near impossible. But our captain did it and we were there and the Guest Services Manager was happy so let's get going!

 

We promptly met our guide for the day, Marina. She was excited to get going. I gave her all of the names and that’s when it happened….

 

She only had 14 names and we had 16 in our group.

 

And she didn’t have poor solo Aussie sailor Trevor on the list. And she didn’t have one couple’s daughter on the list.

 

No way was this happening on the tour I arranged!

 

I threw myself in front of Trevor and screamed “NO, WE CAN’T LEAVE TREVOR BEHIND!!!”

 

At this point we were all feeling more than a bit protective of poor Trevor…he’s like my brother from another mother. The peanut butter to my chocolate…the ying to my yang….you get the picture.

 

The big deal was we had plans that day to go to the ABBA Museum. They’d only pre purchased 14 tickets and we needed 16. The ABBA Museum tickets are sold by time slot. Getting two more tickets for the same time might prove to be problematic.

 

Marina was a bit flustered and I felt bad for her….after all, this isn’t her fault…she’s contracted by TJ’s…the fault was theirs and theirs alone. She decided that we’d go ahead and get the tour started and see what could be done about getting the tickets.

 

On the bus we went and started our way to downtown Stockholm. Can I just say that Stockholm is probably one of the MOST beautiful cities I’ve ever seen? It is just downright delightful!

 

As soon as we were on the bus I emailed TJ's with my dissatisfaction over the mess up with the number in the party. As soon as I sent the email that's when someone in the group asked how much we'd paid for the tour.

 

Seems that TJ's charged different people different amounts for the same tour. Some paid as much as $142 and some as little as $115. I was, to say the least, furious...thus another terse email was sent.

 

I cleared my head and was determined that we'd all have a GREAT day!

 

Our first stop of the day was at City Hall. What a freaking surprise that turned out to be. I knew it was supposed to be nice but how nice I hadn’t a clue. The place is BEAUTIFUL!

 

Our first stop once entering was the “Blue Hall.” Which, incidentally, doesn’t have a lick of blue. When the City Hall was built, the room was to be painted blue. That never happened but the name never got changed.

 

Marina explained this was the hall where the Nobel banquet was held every year. She taught me more about Alfred Nobel and the Nobel prized than I learned in the wasted 45 minute tour at the Nobel Museum in Oslo. I also learned the reason why the prized are given in both Sweden and in Norway. I never knew (or I may have at one time…a LONG time ago) that Norway was once part of Sweden. Hence, the Peace Prize is awarded in Norway and the remaining prizes in Sweden. And the banquet for the winners in Sweden is held in the Blue Hall of Stockholm’s City Hall. Don’t you love today’s history lesson kiddos?

 

We went upstairs and saw the beautiful Gold Hall covered in gold mosaics. I mean it is COVERED IN GOLD MOSAICS. Boy, were my kids EXCITED to once again see MORE MOSAICS!

 

In all honesty, the hall is totally freaking amazingly beautiful.

 

We made our way through another couple of rooms and then back outside. IMHO…Stockholm City Hall is a total CAN’T MISS!

 

Boom, we are all back into the van on time and all together. We have Trevor, we are good to go.

 

And I have an email from TJ's...they're working on getting the extra tickets for ABBA and are looking into the disconnect over how much people paid. I sent them a list with the names of each party and how much everyone paid for the tour.

 

Next stop is the Vasa Museum. Wow…totally cool and awesome…

 

Unbelievable that this ship sat at the bottom of the Stockholm Harbor for over 300 years (333 to be exact) and was brought up almost completely intact. Marina explained it was due to the brackish water in the harbor. Had it been salt water, it never would have survived.

 

Marina gave us our history lesson…the King kept making changes, the boat builder knew there’d be issues…they sailed it anyway and it promptly sank to the bottom of the harbor where it would remain for the next 333 years.

 

We had approximately 45 minutes to explore on our own…and that’s when Marina said that downstairs there were skeletons. My kids were all over that in a freaking heartbeat. Who knew it would take some skeletons to get them excited?

 

So we looked at the skeletons and learned who they belonged to and what their jobs were on the boat.

 

And then my oldest told me she’d seen and ice-cream stand outside and wanted to make sure she got her Swedish ice-cream.

 

Nothing better after viewing skeletons that a bit of ice-cream!

 

We all made it back to the van on time and Trevor was there…and we had GREAT NEWS…they’d gotten two more tickets and we were on our way to the ABBA Museum!

 

Not only that...TJ's said since we were 16 people the price should have been $120 per person. They refunded everyone's money immediately...everyone had the cash (thru pay-pal) or credit on their credit card before we even returned to the US.

 

Marina told me that when she’d gotten the tour itinerary from TJ’s she’d just laughed. She didn’t think there was anyway we could do all we wanted to do in such a short period of time. She was impressed at how well trained we were and how well we listened.

 

After almost 10 days of this we knew how to tour together in an efficient manner...we knew how to stay together, count heads to make sure everyone was there…and we KNEW how to be someplace ON TIME!!!

 

Gold stars for everyone!

 

We actually arrived at the ABBA Museum EARLY!!! As our tickets had specific times we were to enter, we thought we’d spend around 20 minutes in the gift shop before we could go in. But lucky for us…we had the most awesome tour guide ever…Marina actually WORKS at the ABBA Museum as a guide…she knew the guy at the door and he told us to GO ON IN!!!

 

Let me tell you what…we got into that museum and Marina just LIT UP LIKE FIREWORKS ON THE FOURTH OF JULY!!!...wait a minute…that’s actually today! Happy 4th everybody!

 

Seriously…this was her forte…she was in her element and you could tell how much she loved this band….the members of ABBA are like national heroes in Sweden!

 

The museum is oh so cool...the motto is “Walk in…Dance out…” and that’s exactly what we did.

 

They have a huge display of their costumes, there’s a phone that they say if it rings it’s one of the band members calling (the girls have both called on several occasions but neither Benny nor Bjorn have ever called), they have a replica of the recording studio and inside there is a player piano. They say when the piano begins to play its Benny playing in his home. The whole place was fun and by the end we all knew that Marina was secretly in love with Benny. Too cute, too much fun…we had a great time! And we all danced right outside and into the van.

 

Everyone was there…even Trevor and we headed downtown to old town – Gamla Stan….

 

On the way we ended up behind the guards and the band that were headed to the palace for the changing of the guard. Marina said the ceremony takes about 45 minutes, and we only had about 45 minutes to explore. Some of the group stayed with Marina for a history lesson…I took off with my mom, aunt and kids to, of course, do some more shopping.

 

We now own a shot glass from every single Baltic country we visited…the end…it’s time to go home.

 

We were arrived on time at the meeting place, even Trevor, for the short ten minute ride back to the port.

 

Once we arrived Marina was nice enough to take a picture of us all together…after all, we’d toured the Baltic together and needed a memento to remember all of our new friends!

 

The line, of course, was long to get back on the ship…but we’d had an absolutely BEAUTIFUL and SUNNY day in Stockholm that couldn’t have been any nicer….and once again we had an AMAZING tour guide and driver. It doesn’t get any better!

 

Once back on the ship I hurriedly ran to my cabin to change into my new “Dancing Queen” t-shirt and headed up to deck 16 for the “ABBA” sail away party. They were playing ABBA videos on the big screen and I didn’t want to miss is. I also grabbed my two bottles of champagne out of the fridge as we were going to have a good time.

 

I met my parents and my aunt on deck…for whatever reason my kids didn’t think it sounded like a good time. WTH…it’s freaking ABBA!!! What about that doesn’t sound like fun?

 

I opened the first bottle of bubbly, took a drink….and almost spit the whole mouthful all over the deck. This wasn’t even drinkable. Now I know why it was “free.” And you now have me to thank for the public service announcement about NOT drinking the free champagne they give you for winning a game on the ship.

 

I grabbed some OJ from the bar and we were able to finish the bottle. I saw Simone, the Cruise Director, on deck and I politely gave her BACK the second bottle. I was sure the staff would enjoy it at the crew bar that evening.

 

After the party I went down on deck 7 and grabbed my kids from the bar (this was getting to be a habit) and made them come outside and see some of the Swedish Archipelago as we sailed out of Stockholm. It’s interesting to note, the sailing in and out takes almost 6 hours each way. The pilot got on the ship at 1:00 in the morning and we docked at 7. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking.

 

The kids lasted 10 minutes…we took some pictures and they headed back to the bar. I stayed outside for a bit and enjoyed the scenery.

 

I skipped dinner with the old folks as I’d just eaten lunch at 3:00. At 8:00 I played “Word Tennis” in the Vista lounge…it was pretty fun…they gave a topic and you had to say a word that fit…like “color” and it went back and forth…blue…green…yellow…purple…pink…turquoise…you did this until a word was repeated or someone couldn’t come up with a word…had a great time!

 

At 9:00 I did “Big Screen Bingo”. They gave you 4 bingo cards and all had a different game on them. My favorite was “famous quotes.” They showed a famous movie quote and you had to figure out which movie it came from….things like….”THE TRUTH…YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH (A few good men)….”YO ADRIENNE…I LOVE YOU!!!” (Rocky)…you get the idea…I didn’t win any of the bingo games but we all had so much fun watching the old movie clips that Corey played the rest of them for us when Bingo was over with.

 

I stayed for the 10:15 “Passenger Bingo” but our team was never called. We watched a few rounds then headed for the casino.

 

Tonight, Steve and Pattie, my new BFF’s from Texas, were going to teach me to play 3 card poker.

 

All I can say is after playing with Steven and Pattie…they’ve created a monster. And I finally started to WIN in the casino. After they left I stayed and played even longer and didn’t make it to bed until 2:00 in the morning!

 

Final thoughts on Stockholm

 

We didn’t see nearly half the penises in Stockholm as we did in Oslo.

 

A better guide will give you better information and actually TEACH you something about the Nobel Prize and Alfred Nobel.

 

You can’t HELP YOURSELF….you will dance, dance, dance you way through the ABBA museum…unless you’re 17 & 19 an have to look “cool” at all times.

 

When the guide tells you “we don’t have time to shop in the City Hall souvenir shop” inevitably someone from your group will try and stop and buy something….until you scream their name and they are shamed into leaving immediately.

 

Skeletons are more interesting than a ship that rested on the bottom of the ocean for 33 years…or at least that’s the truth according to teenagers.

 

The Royal family of Sweden doesn’t actually LIVE in that big, huge beautiful palace in Stockholm…they only work there.

 

Sweden has the best ice-cream…or at least the kid thinks it does…because you didn’t buy her ice-cream in Russia she needs to come back and start the quest for the best Baltic ice-cream all over again.

 

Coming up…our last day on board the beautiful Regal Princes…traveling home and some final thoughts.