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

[RNGALNG]

Thank you for the most 'human' review ever! You are someone I would love to cruise with! The glass is always half full! Have been reading parts to my husband as well and we have both enjoyed all of it! Thank you for sharing and making your girls sound like real teens too!

 

Reading the first few days of your trip with no luggage reminded me of my aunt and uncle's river cruise in Russia. Their luggage - all of it, never arrived. They did have time to go to a mall in Russia before boarding to find a few things to get them through their trip. When they returned, they found all their luggage sitting on the front steps to their home, it had been returned and had sat there the whole time!

 

And toothpaste! When we had just left LA for our two week Hawaii cruise, there was a man in the sundry shop, buying all things one would bring along such as toothbrushes and paste, deodorant. . . Turns out they sat on their plane that day and watched as the handlers took their bag off the plane due to weight issues. It never arrived as they were rushed to the ship once they landed in LA to get onboard. Their line gave them 4 disposable diapers for their one year old to help them get through the 4 days till we reached Hawaii! Once onboard, they were given a list of other families with toddlers to try and find diapers for their child to last those days at sea. This family was part of a full family reunion so they had clothing to share but not baby clothes!

 

Oh, the stories you see and hear about. You were just so positive!

 

Happy fourth to you!

[sunsetbeachgal]

I'm with you, absolutely no more Hoho buses, I'm 0 for 3 with good experiences on these buses, my experience with them is sitting in traffic.

 

We went to the Baltic last June and had terrific weather, dry but cool, perfect for sightseeing. This year we did a river cruise in mid June and had much more rain than normal in Germany. Weather is just the luck of the draw

Edited July 4, 2016 by sunsetbeachgal

[janetcbl]

Still loving your amazing blog...I will be sorry to see the end.☹️

Regarding the shopping at the Stockholm City Hall souvenir shop: I was a guide some years ago and we insisted on no shopping there due to a serious problem with pickpockets. I don't know if that was the reason.

[IECalCruiser]

I'm with you, absolutely no more Hoho buses, I'm 0 for 3 with good experiences on these buses, my experience with them is sitting in traffic.

We went to the Baltic last June and had terrific weather, dry but cool, perfect for sightseeing. This year we did a river cruise in mid June and had much more rain than normal in Germany. Weather is just the luck of the draw

We found the Baltic ports very easy to DIY but we were only traveling with our adult and cooperative [emoji4] DD. Oslo was a transit pass using ferries and subway to see the sights, we skipped Berlin and took the train to Schwerin, Tallinn was actually a fairly easy walk from the ship all the way to the top of the hill, Helsinki was the trams and Stockholm was a Princess shuttle to the Gamla Stan for several hours of shopping, wondering, shopping, snacking and shopping. Did I tell you DW is 100% Swedish and with my 25%, DD is 5/8ths Swedish. There were in their shopping element [emoji6]

On our cruise we were fortunate to see that big orange ball in the sky every day. We had 15 minutes of rain in St. Petersburg during a shopping or was that a pee stop and it didn't impact our day. FraudBroad deserves a couple dozen medals or is that drinks for shepherding her multigenerational group [emoji966][emoji954]'s or [emoji484][emoji483][emoji485][emoji481]'s

Edited July 4, 2016 by IECalCruiser

[sunsetbeachgal]

Yes, agree IECALcruisr, FraudBroad does deserve a medal!

 

We have taken a few multi-generational cruises, my DH is the grandfather and the two of us by far are the most physically fit and ambitious independent travelers. Our ground rule when traveling with family or friends is that we will not be joined at the hip 24/7, and that in some ports we won't tour as a pack. We have found that sometimes it is fun to do separate tours based on different interests and activity levels, and then compare stories over dinner. But for some groups I do understand that this strategy is not possible or feasible.

Edited July 4, 2016 by sunsetbeachgal

[diane.in.ny]

Great review and gave me a lot of information about doing a Baltic cruise.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write this.

[Steelers0854]

After following along with this awesome review and journey I find myself wanting a Trevor t-shirt as well, maybe you're onto something here.......

Edited July 4, 2016 by Steelers0854

[superlou]

Thank you so much for sharing your travel adventures. I'm truly enjoying reading them. Especially, the teenage daughter experiences. I have a daughter who is (most of the time) an adult now but I know those teenage years can be very trying at times - no matter how much you love them. And you have two! It's still a wonderful experience for them.

 

Marlou

[diane.in.ny]

Trevor t-shirt :eek: I missed this?????

 

:D:D

[Mom33]

Thanks for your candid review of your cruise experience. It was most amusing.:D

[Cruising Italians]

Berlin Day

 

Berlin is the whole reason for this itinerary. My oldest was graduating from high school and I told her I wanted to take her on a cruise, destination of her choice. And she chose this itinerary…well, not really, she wanted Australia and I told her that was out of the question because it was too much money. I suggested the Mediterranean (you know, with the nice, warm, sunny weather) and she asked if she could see a concentration camp there. The kids’ pretty smart, has always been interested in WWII and the Holocaust, but evidently needs to take a Geography class so she can figure out they don’t have concentration camps in the Med. That’s how we landed on the Baltic itinerary.

 

Anyway, back to my saga. The highlight of this entire trip for her was going to be Berlin and our time at the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. After much research on Cruise Critic I booked a private tour with Heidi Layton. We’d have a driver meet us at the ship and Heidi would join us once we got to Sachsenhausen.

 

****DISCLAIMER****

 

I did a LOT of research for this trip and I understand that some do not feel that Sachsenhausen is a “good” concentration camp. Don’t gasp, I’ve actually had people say that to me. Sachsenhausen was not a death camp but a work camp. They didn’t immediately kill people, they worked them to death over a matter of weeks or on the rare occasion months. I understand that people feel that other camps make more of an impact, but this is what we could see by cruise ship. I’m just not brave enough to traipse through Europe on my own with two teenagers in tow. The end…

 

Our driver was there exactly when he was supposed to be and we hopped into a nice VW van, more than enough room for the six of us, the driver and Heidi when she joined us. Sachsenhausen was an approximately 2 hour drive from the port. The drive was uneventful and the scenery reminded me of southern Wisconsin.

 

We picked up Heidi at the train station and as soon as she entered the van she started giving us the background on the camp and pointed out the prisoners were made to run this same route from the train station to the camp. My daughter was surprised to see the camp was literally in the middle of a neighborhood. Heidi told us the town looked much the same when the camp opened in 1936. She said there are stories of townspeople lining the root and yelling and throwing objects at the prisoners as they marched/walked/ran to the camp.

 

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp was constructed as the first purpose-built camp of its kind. It housed the Inspector General, making it the administrative center of the entire concentration camp system. Amongst other things the Forensic Institute there researched killing process efficiency, and on-site SS training included perfecting methods for subjugation and terror. In the camp itself more than 200,000 inmates were imprisoned, tens of thousands of whom did not survive.

 

The camp is located in former East Berlin thus was under Soviet rule after the war. Much has been dismantled, but a few barracks still stand and where the remainder stood they are outlined and filled with gravel. Heidi explained that the Soviets felt that if it didn’t exist, it never happened. We started out at one of the barracks that was a living quarters. Over 500 people lived in each barrack, sleeping three to a bunk. It was almost impossible to imagine that many people living under such a small roof let alone sleeping three to each small bunk.

 

As we walked throughout the camp the rain continued to fall and the temperature continued to drop. There was something so appropriate about walking through the camp cold and wet.

 

We then entered another barracks that had been turned into a museum. It was here that we saw devices they used to haul away bodies, a device they made that would shield the guards from actually seeing the people they were shooting to death, the crude beginnings of what they used to test a gas chamber at Sachsenhausen as well as actual uniforms the prisoners wore. At the end of World War II the prisoners were liberated, but for five years the camp lived on as an internment camp in the Soviet occupied sector under the new name of Special Camp No. 7. A further 12,000 people lost their lives during this post war period.

 

The time at the camp was full of history, horrible history, it was draining, it was exhausting and it was something that I think every single human being on earth should have to see. In fact, all German students between the ages of 12 and 14 are required to visit a concentration camp. I can tell you that of all of the sites we saw over our 14 days in Europe, none, rightfully so, made an impact on all of us the way Sachsenhausen did. We headed back to the van, cold and wet, for our one hour drive into Berlin.

 

Because it was raining so much, we ended up pretty much “driving by” almost all of the sites in Berlin. We started off driving by the UNESCO World Heritage site Museum Island – a relic of great Prussia, housing; the Berliner Dom, the Altes Museum, the Pergamon Museum, the Neues Museum, the National Art Gallery. We saw Angela Merkel’s residence (she’s the FIRST Woman PM and the first PM born in East Germany and the German’s call her Mamma Merkel) and as we drove along saw the famous TV Tower.

 

Then we saw Babel Platz the site of the famous **** book-burning, a square that started out with enlightened purpose; the Royal Library 1785, Stadt Opera House (1742), St Hedwick Cathedral (1940) and the crowning glory - Humboldt University (1801) - where Einstein lectured and Karl Marx was expelled for his anti-monarchical politics.

 

It was getting close to noon so we stopped to eat at an “authentic” German restaurant. Problem was, we were 15 minutes early and it wasn’t opened yet. Did I mention it was raining? We walked a bit and stopped at a café. My parents split a beer while my youngest and I had milkshakes that weren’t by our standards milkshakes. It was hot chocolate with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and can I just say it was fabulous!!!

 

We walked back to the restaurant which was finally open. And boy did Heidi pick the right place to eat. We ate a full-on authentic German meal including fabulous rye bread and delicious beer! We didn’t stop for too long as there was much more to see.

 

After lunch we headed to Unter den Linden a Royal Boulevard with the Princes Palace and the Princesses wing, the former Royal Arsenal, now the German History Museum with I.M. Pie's extension and a former Guard House and then the Memorial to the Victims of War and Tyranny. We were able to get out at the memorial and were moved by the beautiful sculpture.

 

As you drive through Berlin you cannot discern between what was once West Berlin vs what was once East Berlin. I guess I thought you still could. What’s most disconcerting as we drove through the streets is the number of building that you see with the facades still riddled with bullet holes. We stopped and viewed a parking lot which beneath lies the Führer bunker, on top of the very room where Hitler finally ended his life. The site is marked by a sign, but Heidi explained that a private group put the sign up, the German people did not in any way want to mark that spot. We then drove down the street to experience Peter Eisenman’s iconic ‘Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe’.

 

We then drove by the Reichstag, Parliament Library, Chancellery, Paul Löbe Haus, Swiss Embassy and Memorial to the Murdered Members of the Reichstag. We saw post-war commercial modernization of iconic architecture at Potsdamer Platz and the euphoria of the 1990's. We saw the famous Sony Center, and a hidden Guard tower. Heidi explained to us the guards could not know each other and they must have family. The guards always walked with their backs towards each other never seeing each other’s faces and forbidden from speaking to each other. They took every precaution against any type of collusion.

 

We stopped at a remaining piece of the Berlin wall and were able to see both sides. I guess I didn’t know or never remembered the space in between the wall. If you made it over, you still had a distance to go to get over another wall before you were truly free.

 

We drove by Check Point Charlie and Heidi did offer for us to stop. But it’s seriously in the middle of a busy street. And did I mention it was raining? We settle for pictures through the window!

 

We stopped and wandered through the Holocaust Memorial while Heidi asked us why we thought the cement blocks were at varying heights, why were they in perfectly straight rows? Did that signify soldiers marching? Jews marching into concentration camps? She asked us questions to make us think about what we were seeing, simply priceless.

 

We stopped at Europe’s largest department store, KaDaWe, in order to pick up some chocolates to bring home. My oh my… is that place HUGE. Puts Macy’s in NYC to shame FOR SURE….Of course it gave time for ANOTHER potty stop….

 

We drove by the bombed out Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the center of town that will always be a reminder of what happened here so many years ago. We should never forget.

 

The traffic throughout Berlin was pretty heavy. Heidi explained that due to the European Cup they had what they refer to as the “football” mile blocked off. This is mile stretch of road behind (or in front of depending on how you look at it) the Brandenburg Gate. They have a jumbotron set up to watch the games as well as rides, vendors, etc…But not everyone was listening….

 

When we finally made it to our last stop, the Brandenburg gate, my Dad got out of the van and said “Are you freaking kidding me? What do they have set up behind there? How ridiculous is that?”

 

Shaking my head folks…just shaking my head….

 

Right next to the Brandenburg gate is the American Embassy. Our day in Berlin was only 5 days after the Orlando attacks. In front of the Embassy were flowers, candles, notes of condolences, flags…it was both heartwarming and heart wrenching at the same time. It was a beautiful to see how much the German people think of Americans and how they too were grieving.

 

We then got back into the van and headed to drop Heidi off at the train stations. We said our good-byes and began out 3+ hour drive back to the port. As a note, Heidi doesn’t have a set rate for her tours. She tells you to pay her 55 to 95 Euros per hour based on your satisfaction. That is a per hour rate, not a per person rate. The cost for the driver was 480 Euros and we tipped him another 50. We paid Heidi 665 Euros for the day as she was downright amazing. I wouldn’t tour Berlin with anyone else!

 

The drive back to the port was LONG…bad traffic getting out of Berlin and construction once we were outside of the city. Of COURSE we made a potty stop of the way back to the ship and finally arrived at 8:00. Well ahead of the 8:30 All Aboard time!

 

Once back we learned that the second train into Berlin that day was delayed so the people onboard that train would be delayed coming back. We would later learn that one of the passengers from our ship had a medical emergency on that train and later passed away. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the passenger and his family.

 

After having sat for 3+ hours in the car none of us were looking forward to the dining room that night so we all did our own thing for dinner. Some ate at Alfredos, some the IC and others the buffet. Rest assured NONE of us went to be hungry!

 

At 9:15 my girls, my Dad and I made our way to the Vista Lounge for “Sherlock Homes Musical Murder Mystery.” I hadn’t seen this one before so I had to give it a try. Before they started Corey asked for a volunteer and I (much to the appall and chagrin of my children) gleefully volunteered by raising my hand. As I rose to walk to the stage I could here behind me….”She’s going to embarrass us…what is she thinking???” God how I do love my children…and how I do love to make an arse out of myself in front of them.

 

Corey took me backstage and handed me the script and informed me that I’d be doing the “sound effects” for the show. Seriously? Are you kidding me? Me? Sound effects? This outta be interesting….

 

The show was a scripted murder mystery and the cruise staff members all read from the script and occasionally I’d make some odd sound…some odder than others….a clock ticking, footsteps walking, footsteps running, easy stuff…and then it happened….they wanted me to make the sound of a seagull squawking…so not in my bag of tricks…I mean really so not in my normal sound effects repertoire (like I do this for a living or something). But I tried….I think I sounded my like a sick cat, but I tried….all the while watching my darling children covering their heads with their arms trying to become inconspicuous and hoping nobody knew we were related.

 

And then….in the script…seriously…in the script…I was asked to not speak, but YELL a…a….a….BAD WORD…oh my…who would I offend? Would any of the little old ladies in the audience run screaming? Report me to guest services for inappropriate and offensive behavior? Would they make me walk the plank? I gave Corey the look of “Dude, you’ve got to be kidding me….” He just looked at me, nodded yes, and stood there and laughed while I yelled “OH SHIP”…or something very similar ending with a different letter.

 

Believe it or not people actually laughed at me, I survived the entire ordeal without being slapped in the face, got a free bottle of champagne and found that my kids had left before the end of my performance. They are just both so freaking supportive. Of course, I’d find them at the bar afterwards…

 

I shook hands with my adoring public before making my way out of the Vista Lounge and to the casino for my nightly deposit. I didn’t deposit much because after the long grueling day in Berlin it was time to call it a night.

 

Final thought on Berlin

 

Every human on earth should be made to tour Berlin, see the bombed out cathedral in the middle of town, buildings with facades still bullet ridden and visit a concentration camp. May then the world would be a nicer place.

 

Up next…another sea day….Tallinn and the crown jewel of the Baltic…St Petersburg

We love your posts and want to follow your path in Berlin. Would you please share how to communicate with Heidi? We would like to hire her. Thank you. Susan

 

s u s a n @ p e l l e g r i n i dot com. ( YesWeTookTheCruise).

[Steelers0854]

Trevor t-shirt :eek: I missed this?????

 

 

 

:D:D

 

Here is the part on the t-shirts

 

When we arrived at the restaurant, solo Aussie sailor Trevor realized he’d lost his credit card. Poor Trevor!!! If you remember he was the one that lost his passport the first day in Copenhagen! He was pretty sure he must have dropped it when we stopped to pay for the tours at the beginning of the day so Inna called to see if they could located the card. Long story short, they didn’t located Trevor’s card for two more days. He was traveling with ONLY one credit card! When he got back to the ship his brother sent him OBC. He was able to close out his shipboard account and would have enough left to get him through his overnight in Copenhagen the last day (Trevor stayed over on Saturday and didn’t return to Australia until Sunday). For the rest of the trip everyone kept saying “where’s Trevor, we can’t lose Trevor). If we ever all cruise again together we will all have “Where’s Trevor” t-shirts.

[diane.in.ny]

Steelers0854

 

Thanks! :D

[JHLH821]

We cruise on the Regal in August, departing from Berlin and have contracted with Heidi for an entire day. Thank you for the review and your insights.

Leta

[FraudBroad]

We cruise on the Regal in August, departing from Berlin and have contracted with Heidi for an entire day. Thank you for the review and your insights.

 

Leta

 

 

Heidi Leyton is the BEST tour guide I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. She surpassed all expectations. She's warm, witty, fun and full of knowledge. You will have a spectacular time!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[FraudBroad]

Thank you for the most 'human' review ever! You are someone I would love to cruise with! The glass is always half full! Have been reading parts to my husband as well and we have both enjoyed all of it! Thank you for sharing and making your girls sound like real teens too!

 

 

 

Reading the first few days of your trip with no luggage reminded me of my aunt and uncle's river cruise in Russia. Their luggage - all of it, never arrived. They did have time to go to a mall in Russia before boarding to find a few things to get them through their trip. When they returned, they found all their luggage sitting on the front steps to their home, it had been returned and had sat there the whole time!

 

 

 

And toothpaste! When we had just left LA for our two week Hawaii cruise, there was a man in the sundry shop, buying all things one would bring along such as toothbrushes and paste, deodorant. . . Turns out they sat on their plane that day and watched as the handlers took their bag off the plane due to weight issues. It never arrived as they were rushed to the ship once they landed in LA to get onboard. Their line gave them 4 disposable diapers for their one year old to help them get through the 4 days till we reached Hawaii! Once onboard, they were given a list of other families with toddlers to try and find diapers for their child to last those days at sea. This family was part of a full family reunion so they had clothing to share but not baby clothes!

 

 

 

Oh, the stories you see and hear about. You were just so positive!

 

 

 

Happy fourth to you!

 

 

I can't begin to imagine losing luggage WITH A BABY!!! Makes me, with my whining about two days of lost luggage, look like a total loser! That would be the worst of the worst!!!

 

And to come home finding it at my door step. I would have shot myself!!!

 

Thanks so much for your kind words and comments! I do appreciate everyone putting up with me!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[FraudBroad]

I'm with you, absolutely no more Hoho buses, I'm 0 for 3 with good experiences on these buses, my experience with them is sitting in traffic.

 

We went to the Baltic last June and had terrific weather, dry but cool, perfect for sightseeing. This year we did a river cruise in mid June and had much more rain than normal in Germany. Weather is just the luck of the draw

 

 

I'm exceedingly jealous over the great weather you experienced. I'm figuring it was like Alaska was for me...the third time will be the charm.

 

I just don't know how I'll afford doing it two more times!!!

 

Thanks for your nice words and following along!

 

Still loving your amazing blog...I will be sorry to see the end.☹️

 

Regarding the shopping at the Stockholm City Hall souvenir shop: I was a guide some years ago and we insisted on no shopping there due to a serious problem with pickpockets. I don't know if that was the reason.

 

 

Wow...our guide didn't mention pick pocketers there...we just needed to exit quick and get back to the van to head to our next stop.

 

It would not surprise me though with the number of people. As that's where they make you exit. All roads lead to shopping after all!!!

 

Thanks for taking this ride with me! Appreciate all of the kind words!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[FraudBroad]

We found the Baltic ports very easy to DIY but we were only traveling with our adult and cooperative [emoji4] DD. Oslo was a transit pass using ferries and subway to see the sights, we skipped Berlin and took the train to Schwerin, Tallinn was actually a fairly easy walk from the ship all the way to the top of the hill, Helsinki was the trams and Stockholm was a Princess shuttle to the Gamla Stan for several hours of shopping, wondering, shopping, snacking and shopping. Did I tell you DW is 100% Swedish and with my 25%, DD is 5/8ths Swedish. There were in their shopping element [emoji6]

On our cruise we were fortunate to see that big orange ball in the sky every day. We had 15 minutes of rain in St. Petersburg during a shopping or was that a pee stop and it didn't impact our day. FraudBroad deserves a couple dozen medals or is that drinks for shepherding her multigenerational group [emoji966][emoji954]'s or [emoji484][emoji483][emoji485][emoji481]'s

 

 

 

My kids were very fortunate to get to share this experience with their grandparents. As frustrating as some times may have been...those memories are worth every stinking minute. Wouldn't have changed it for the world! I am blessed to have amazing parents and lucky that at their ages they're able to keep up with two teenagers!

 

And I'll take liquor over medals any day :)

 

Thanks so much for following along!

 

Yes, agree IECALcruisr, FraudBroad does deserve a medal!

 

We have taken a few multi-generational cruises, my DH is the grandfather and the two of us by far are the most physically fit and ambitious independent travelers. Our ground rule when traveling with family or friends is that we will not be joined at the hip 24/7, and that in some ports we won't tour as a pack. We have found that sometimes it is fun to do separate tours based on different interests and activity levels, and then compare stories over dinner. But for some groups I do understand that this strategy is not possible or feasible.

 

 

There were a couple of times (Helsinki and Tallinn) that we did break into two groups. In SPB and Stockholm we were with tour guides and a larger group so that made it easier on everyone!

 

And every evening everyone did their own thing...like my kids...sitting at the bar...every night...all night long!!!!

 

I have amazing parents and am blessed that they could come with us!!!

 

Thanks so much for following along!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[FraudBroad]

Great review and gave me a lot of information about doing a Baltic cruise.

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to write this.

 

 

Thank you for following along! I do appreciate all of the kind words!

 

After following along with this awesome review and journey I find myself wanting a Trevor t-shirt as well, maybe you're onto something here.......

 

 

I just emailed your comment to Trevor to let him know he's now a celebrity!!

 

Honestly he's a super guy...came all of the way from Australia by himself. You can't help but love him!

 

More on Trevor coming up in the next section! Thanks for following along!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[FraudBroad]

Thank you so much for sharing your travel adventures. I'm truly enjoying reading them. Especially, the teenage daughter experiences. I have a daughter who is (most of the time) an adult now but I know those teenage years can be very trying at times - no matter how much you love them. And you have two! It's still a wonderful experience for them.

 

Marlou

 

 

Yes it is! But I'm the lucky one to get to spend such precious time with them. I'd never tell them that, mind you...but they are pretty incredible kids!

 

This time next year I'll be getting ready to send them both off to college. I'm blessed to have been able to share this journey with them.

 

Thanks for following along!

 

Thanks for your candid review of your cruise experience. It was most amusing.:D

 

 

Thank you for the nice words and taking the time to read this, what is now becoming...a freaking novel!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[FraudBroad]

We love your posts and want to follow your path in Berlin. Would you please share how to communicate with Heidi? We would like to hire her. Thank you. Susan

 

 

 

s u s a n @ p e l l e g r i n i dot com. ( YesWeTookTheCruise).

 

 

I just emailed you her website. It's heidileyton dot com

 

Tell her I said hello!!! She's simply the best of the best!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Daddysbaby]

Thanks for taking us on a fun ride. I was on the Regal last Christmas & New Years and love the ship (I ate lunch in Alfredos almost every day). And the gang in the Wine bar treated me like Royalty. Can you please post a few pics. And BTW how old is the infamous Trevor???;)

[Wiz-Oz]

Thank you for following along! I do appreciate all of the kind words!

 

 

 

 

I just emailed your comment to Trevor to let him know he's now a celebrity!!

 

Honestly he's a super guy...came all of the way from Australia by himself. You can't help but love him!

 

More on Trevor coming up in the next section! Thanks for following along!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Hi there, yes I must jump in here. I'm still alive and kicking. I also love Natalie's epic 'self-deprecating' travel story. It's very entertaining, since I was there witnessing most of it. Note the group had a lot of fun at my expense. Instead of where's Wally? It's where's Trevor. Okay, I had a few issues. Kept loosing things and they were worried I'd loose myself. Well I did in the Oslo "Penis Park". (actually I prefer the Jewish word 'smeckle') Because as everyone drapes 10 different poses on statutes with umbrellas everywhere. it takes time to get a photo. Meanwhile the guide keeps walking on. So I'd have to catch up. I hit on the strategy of keeping one of our group - young Gabi's bright purple hoodie in sight. Only problem I followed the wrong one and lost the group. So headed for the exit and the bus. So of course, "oh we wondered what happened to you?" and of course the class clown for following wrong hoodie.

 

Natalie and her folks are a lovely family and made me feel like a part of their family. Her two girls are a great credit to her parenting skills and can vouch she's an expert "Car herder", including collecting strays like me.

 

Despite having had my passport & cash stolen in Copenhagen (I think pickpocketed somewhere between Tivoli and central railway station), I have to say I had the best time on excursions and on board ship. Including the 3 days in Copenhagen. I love the city.

 

I don't want to steal Natalie's thunder, so will only say:

 

(1) don't ever loose your passport, you might not get the help you need and have all the required docs to get another, in a non-speaking english country.

(2) I was impressed with TJ Tours efforts, even when things didn't go to plan. They reacted quickly and given English their 2nd language communication good. I'd have no hesitation in recommending them and their guides are passionate and excellent people. Eg: When I left credit card at TJ's office, Inna the guide paid for my lunch, because the shop wouldn't take US$ and she refused to take any money as well.

(3) Wakeup Borgergade is relatively basic and cheap. It's best features are it's clean, staff helpful and centrally located. One tip is you can sometimes get an early check-in before 3pm, by paying an extra fee of US$30. They don't advertise this and via email said no early check ins.

(4) Regal Princess lived up to my expectations, except for the thin, small bath towels and no centre stairs/lift. I went and got the large Pool towels to use. My inside cabin was very good as it was lengthways on Deck 8 and 3 doors down from centre fwd lifts/stairs. The ship experience was great, due to the people I met on board, which made it a very memorable experience.

(5) As for the loo stops. We were thinking of renaming it: "The Baltic toilet stops tour." Because as soon as we hit a site, the guide would point to the free toilets. Since you don't know when the next stop is going to be on a long day and have change, everyone takes off.

 

Back to the passport issue, for those who haven't experienced it, this is how it goes:

 

I went to the Central Station Police post on a Sunday and filed a report. They had a steady stream of "customers" as I filled out the paperwork. Then reported online passport lost to cancel it, as required by law. Fines apply if you don't. Make sure you have a hard copy as you need the details.

 

The Police were friendly and helpful. I said "I thought Copenhagen was safe". The Officer said (paraphrasing) with no border controls the criminal gangs skip from place to place to avoid getting caught. But having said that I felt quite safe walking around on my own and most people helpful and friendly.

 

Next step was to get some passport photos. The Central station has a booth except voice instructions and text are all in Danish of course. So I'm feeding money in, pressing buttons and eventually ended up with two different sized sets of photos. Hoping one is right. Remembering to take off the glasses and not smile (that part was easy).

 

So armed with police report, p/port photos, a copy of my lost p/port and reference no for reporting lost p/port, I head off to the Australian embassy which opens @ 8:30am and bearing in mind I have a 5hr Castles tour starting at 10:30am.

 

I get to the embassy early and wait in the cold for 8:30am. I press the buzzer as it's a high security compound and ask for emergency passport assistance. The voice says, "have you got an appointment?" (Natalie can relate to that - like we plan ahead for these events.) and I said "no." He then cuts me off. I press again and say, "you just cut me off. I leaving on a ship tomorrow and need a p/port to get into St PBurg.

 

Meanwhile I'm joined by 3 shocked people, none of them with appointments. He cut's me off again. I buzz again. He says, "the consulate officer isn't here yet." I said:"listen mate! I've been standing out here for nearly an hour freezing my balls off. Please extend me some courtesy and allow me to wait inside." With that he opens the door and I said: "quick let's all go in together".

 

The consulate officer was there, offered us coffee and got us all to fill out paperwork. All went well 'til I produced my credit card to pay. They have no credit card facilities. So consulate called a cab for 3 of us to go to a railway station 2kms away to a cash machine. We then ran over the road and grabbed a cab back. The nice couple with me, refused my offer to pay half the fare, saying that I got them into the embassy, which they didn't think was going to happen.

 

With time ticking away towards 10:30am, made it back to the embassy, paid the $150 and grabbed a cab back to City Hall with 5 minutes to spare for the excellent Castles tour. Phew!

 

An email was sent by the embassy to say the emergency p/port would ready to pick 11:00am next day, just before I needed to board Regal Princess. So all worked out in the end.

 

I was nervous about the immigration point at St PBurg with a "dodgy" passport, but the Russian Immigration lady smiled at me as she handed it back. The only one to get a smile in our group. That means she either: (a) felt sorry for me, or (b)thinking another dumb tourist got taken.

 

Over to you Natalie to continue the story.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Wiz-Oz

[FraudBroad]

Thanks for taking us on a fun ride. I was on the Regal last Christmas & New Years and love the ship (I ate lunch in Alfredos almost every day). And the gang in the Wine bar treated me like Royalty. Can you please post a few pics. And BTW how old is the infamous Trevor???;)

 

Alfredo's is the BEST!!! I flipping LOVE their pizza!

 

I have no idea how old Trevor is as I never asked...I don't like people asking me my age so I don't ask theirs!

 

I just like to think we are all 28...old enough to have a good time and be responsible about it...with great bodies!

 

Thanks for following along!

[FraudBroad]

And there you have it folks…the infamous Trevor HIMSELF jumped in to tell part of his tale! Thanks so much Trevor for joining in! Love and miss you my friend….stay well!

 

And back to our regularly scheduled broadcast…

 

And then…the inevitable happened…it was time to pack…we were going home tomorrow and I was bound and determined not to waste one second of this day. And I needed to get back to the poker table…I was on a winning streak and THAT hadn’t happened all cruise!

 

I’d actually started putting things into my bag after Tallinn and again after Russia. Since I’d purchased a huge, heavy sweater in Tallinn I knew that packing would be problematic and I’d be overweight…nothing new here. I ended up packing part of my stuff in the kids suitcases…..

 

I know…I don’t even want to hear it...should have done that on the way OVER not the way back! Lesson learned folks…you’ve schooled me….I’ll never pack the same again!

 

I attended the final morning trivia with my sweet mamma, and daddy and Aunt…only to find them sitting with another group so I joined some of my cruise critic friends. We didn’t win, of course, but we had a great time.

 

During trivia (which was at 10:15) the crew was having an emergency drill. The announcements kept interrupting Ian, the cruise director’s staff member running trivia that morning, and I realized that the announcements were being made in the cabins as well.

 

So much for not having over tired crabby teenagers today….Good morning girls! You’ve just had your wake-up call!

 

Not much that interested me was going on so I headed back to the poker table. I didn’t much care for the dealer (no straights, no flushes, no three of a kinds) so I was out. I went back to the slots where I promptly won $300….hello??? Things are finally looking UP on the casino front!!!!

 

I headed to Alfred’s for my LAST slice of pie. I do love that place. It’s a can’t miss…make sure you go and try it on your next cruise! IMHO…much better than the pizza on the pool deck!

 

At 2:45 I joined my CC group for the “Fill in the Blank” game. My mind was in the gutter for that game…always is…but Ian was running it and the words had to match EXACTLY…for instance…for one answer we said “sex” (I gave you fair warning about where my mind was during this game folks…and are you really surprised considering the number of times I wrote PENIS in this review?) and the staff member wrote down “whoopee”…so it wasn’t a match and we didn’t get points.

 

We didn’t feel that bad though when another team ended the game with only 1 point. Made us look freaking brilliant!

 

I went back to the cabin to work more on my packing then stopped again at the casino for a few hands of 3 card poker. My favorite dealer was there so it was all good…until she left after 3 hands. Once again, I was out.

 

At 4:30 I attended the final afternoon trivia and it was then time to get ready for our last cocktail hour and dinner.

 

Around this time I started trying to check in for our flights home. We were flying from Copenhagen to Stockholm and from Stockholm to Chicago. For, whatever reason, it let me check in for the Copenhagen to Stockholm portion, but wouldn’t let me check in from Stockholm to Chicago. And remember, I’m doing this for 5 people. My mother, somehow, ended up with a different Record Locator number and had NO problem checking herself in. I made a note to go by the Internet Café later and try on a PC.

 

We decided over cocktails that the girls and I were going to have dinner tonight with Pattie, Steve and Trevor. Oh my goodness did we laugh…what an absolutely great group of people!

 

After dinner Pattie, Steve and I sat down at the poker table to try out luck again. We played for a bit, but I wasn’t feeling the dealer so I folded and headed back the slots. The slots were once again kind and I ended way up for the day. Note I said “day” and not “cruise”…it is what it is….

 

At 10:15 we all attended “Entertainment Trivia” together and said our goodbyes to the beloved cruise director’s staff. This was absolutely one of the BEST groups I’ve ever sailed with. They were all so nice to everyone…much better than the staff I sailed with on the Royal in January. And I must note, Sarah was there in January and she was the ONLY one I really liked!!!!

 

The good ones – you can’t always remember their names. The bad ones – you never forget their names!!!!

 

I was going to head back to the casino with Pattie and Steve when I remembered I still needed to get to the Internet Café and try and check us all in.

 

So...here are my thoughts on the Internet Café…

 

It sucks

 

It’s worse than dial up

 

It was excruciatingly slow

 

I thought the ship would arrived back in Copenhagen before I could connect to the SAS website. It was seriously THAT BAD.

 

And God Bless SAS….I don’t even know where to go with this one…

 

Even though we’d supplied ALL of the required documentation (name, address, passport number, passport expiration date) when we checked in for the flight over….they wanted the SAME information for our flight back.

 

Are you freaking kidding me? Like any of that has changed in the last 14 days since I left home? Seriously?

 

So I had to go back to the cabin where my aunt was sound asleep…get our passports out of the safe…search through my aunts bag to find HER passport….and go back down to the Internet Café and try again…which, by the way…meant purchasing another 15 minutes of wifi so I could complete the process.

 

Someone shoot me now

 

Don’t you all realize that by this time my ENTIRE FAMILY is sound asleep and I’m spending more money and time getting them all checked in.

 

And it didn’t work.

 

I spent the remaining 15 minutes of internet time trying to get us checked in and it never worked.

 

Dejected and totally pissed off…I finally headed to bed…at 12:30.

When planning the cruise we’d purchased the Princess Transfers to the airport. Originally, we were going to take a flight that left Copenhagen at 9:30. And before anyone tries to blast me for that…that’s the time PRINCESS SAID YOU COULD FLY HOME. Long story short, we changed our flight and were now leaving at 1:20. Even so, I’d read countless threads about what an issue it was to get cabs at the port so we stuck with the transfer.

 

Even with a flight at 1:20 we had to be in the Vista Lounge ready to disembark at 8:50. Pattie and Steve were in the same group so it was fun to spend our last moments on board with them.

 

Promptly at 8:50 they announced it was time to leave. We walked across the ship to the mid ship area and they had an elevator waiting. Down to deck 4 we went…they scanned our cards…and with that…we were off the ship and our 11 day Baltic cruise had come to an end.

 

Peter, the Guest Services Manager saw me as I was disembarking and came to say goodbye. About that time I was almost run over by a woman running at FULL SPEED with a STROLLER who didn’t care who was in her way, who she hit, who was run over or injured…that woman was on a mission.

 

I wasn’t going to miss the crowds.

 

Our bus was there and waiting. They took our carry-on bags and stowed them underneath and we were on our way to the airport.

First time I’ve ever disembarked a ship and did not have to go through Immigration when getting off.

 

They said it was a 45 minute ride to the airport and it took a scant 30 minutes. Once at the airport, they dropped us in an area with a huge tent with all of our luggage. I immediately went and got two carts, struggling to get them both to move because you had to hold the handle down to get them to go anywhere, and brought them back to the tent…where I got looks from certain people that their luggage wouldn’t fit on the cart and they’d have to go get their own….seriously folks…I can’t make this up…

 

Once we were ready we made our way across the street to terminal 3. Pattie and Steve were leaving from terminal 2 so we said our good-byes.

 

We only had a 4 hour wait before our flight.

 

We got into the airport and went to the kiosks to check in and get the tags for our baggage. Problem was, the baggage tags only had our bags check through to Stockholm, not Chicago….and you KNOW I wasn’t going to mess with THAT! A SAS employee who was helping people at the kiosk told us to go to the bag drop line and they’d print new tags. That didn’t stop people in my group from putting the bag tags on their luggage….just shaking my head….

 

So then we went to the line…and we walked…and we walked…and we walked…and the line stretched all of the way into terminal 2. Maybe being here 4 hours early was a GOOD thing.

 

We actually waited only 35 minutes in line and the representative was able to give us correct tags, but wasn’t able to check us in. He said we’d have to do that in Stockholm. Go figure…none of this is surprising to me…do you think I will ever fly SAS again?

 

There was a Burger King upstairs so I headed there with the kids while everyone else went to pee and got them some good old American food and I was finally able to get a diet coke WITH ICE….nobody serves ice in Europe.

 

One Whopper, an 8 piece chicken nugget, two fries and three soft drinks…. $30.

 

I wasn’t going to miss the food prices in the Baltic.

 

We were there about an hour before we decided to make our way through security. Thankfully, there were no lines. But they had HUGE signs that told you to take your iPad out and put it in a separate bin.

 

I mean HUGE SIGNS that said TAKE YOUR IPAD OUT OF YOUR LUGGAGE AND PLACE IN A SEPARATE BIN. Which I did….but others in my party did not…so we waited while luggage was searched. No biggie…we still have over 2 hours before our flight.

 

And then…we arrived at…the LARGEST FREAKING DUTY FREE STORE I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE….I mean that place was FREAKING MASSIVE….It had EVERYTHING…perfume, make-up, cigarettes, candy, chocolates…you name it…they sold it…so what did we do? We shopped.

 

I picked up my perfume that I forgot to get on the ship (and it was the same exact price) and the kids picked up MORE European chocolate to bring home for friends.

 

We finally had a gate assignment and once everyone was settled I went BACK to the main area to get myself something to eat.

 

I was lucky enough to score another delicious dog in a baguette and my tummy was happy and I was ready to head home.

 

The flight from Copenhagen to Stockholm was uneventful. Once on the ground in Sweden I found a desk where we could check in for our flight to Chicago. It would be nice to get to Chicago because I knew my suitcase was headed there and I had dreams of once again being reunited.

 

I asked at the window if they had any upgrades available to SAS plus. Everyone in my group had decided after the flight over that that was the way to fly and EVERYONE wanted the upgrade and were willing to pay for it.

 

The woman told us they only had THREE seats left in SAS Plus and that we’d have to go to another desk after passport control for the upgrade.

We made our way thru passport control, not before my aunt rammed her cart into the back of my ankle, which, just for your knowledge, hurts like HECK….this was such a long.freaking.trip.

 

Once through Passport Control we found the place to do the upgrade. We’d decided that the girls and I would take the three seats. Thankfully, when we arrived at the desk, we learned they had 6 seats in a row in the bulkhead available. SCORE!!! Now everyone is happy, and this time my sweet Dad paid for the upgrades!

 

We stopped and got something to drink and made a potty stop before heading to the gate. We got there and were ready to go through when someone asked us if we’d filled out the “emergency contact form.” WTH?

 

Seriously?

 

I quickly grabbed 6 forms and filled them out for everyone. I didn't really think the plane was going down so I'm sure my sister in law wouldn't mind being the emergency contact for everyone.....

 

We walked through, thinking we were boarding the plane, but no…it was another holding area where we learned the flight would be delayed 30 minutes.

 

The time went quickly and we were some of the first to board. We got all comfy cozy in our nice SAS Plus seats…TV up, and warm and cozy in the nice blanket they provided…and the flight attendant came by and told us we had to put the TV’s down for takeoff….we were happy to do so…so we were all warm and comfy in our blankets….when she came by and told us the bags we had on the floor had to be stowed in an overhead. She wanted to move my purse 5 rows back and I said no way in heck was that going to happen…so she made room in the overhead above my seat. So we were nice and cozy…wrapped in our blankets, with our possessions stowed securely away….ready for takeoff…when she came back and told us the blankets had to be stowed for takeoff.

 

IF THE FREAKING BLANKET HAD TO BE PUT AWAY FOR TAKEOFF THEN WHY DID YOU....

 

A. LEAVE IT ON MY SEAT IN THE FIRST PLACE

B. NOT TELL ME WHEN YOU TOLD ME TO PUT DOWN THE TV

C. OR NOT TELL ME WHEN YOU TOLD ME TO STOWE THE OTHER BAGS

 

And why the HECK couldn't she tell us to put EVERYTHING AWAY the FIRST TIME she stopped?????

 

This was going to be a long 9 hour flight to Chicago.

 

We took off on time for our delayed departure. About an hour into the flight I stopped the flight attended and asked if she could help me with the wifi as I couldn’t get connected. I’d had the same problem on the way over and a flight attendant was able to get me logged in. Because we’d upgraded at the airport, the SAS wifi system didn’t recognize us as SAS Plus customers and wanted me to pay for the wifi (SAS Plus gets free wifi). The flight attendant told me she had no idea what I was talking about, threw the useless SAS wifi instruction card at me and started to walk away.

 

I politely told her I’d had the same issue on the flight over and could she pretty please, with sugar and a cherry on top, find someone who knew what to do and help me out. She said she’d see what she could do.

 

An hour later I stopped her again and asked if she’d found someone. She immediately said that someone had already been by. Are you kidding me? I haven’t left my set, no, nobody has been by.

 

45 minutes later a nice gentleman flight attendant stopped by, took my phone and was able to get me logged in. He didn’t look really excited to do the same for the teens who were going through internet withdrawal but he finally took care of all three of us.

 

A short time later I committed a cardinal sin...as we were in the bulkhead I used the restroom in BUSINESS CLASS....

 

I'm telling you...you would have thought I'd just ROBBED A BANK the way the flight attendant YELLED at me. How the heck was I supposed to know that the toilets on the flight were SEGREGATED???? I mean I even wiped down the freaking counter top when I was finished....I wasn't raised in a barn after all....

 

The remainder of the flight was uneventful (the best kind) and when I needed to pee again I walked all of the way to the back of the plane as to not upset the wonderfully cheery flight attendants. Before we knew it we were landing back home….Sweet Home Chicago….and we were all so freaking exhausted.

 

When we got to immigration they had these kiosks that I’d never seen before and neither had anyone in my group. My dad stared yelling “WHAT DO WE DO” and that’s about the time that my patience started to wane…”Give me a hot second Dad and let me figure it out and I’ll let you know.”

 

He walked away in a huff and I wasn’t about to go looking for him.

 

That’s when my youngest daughter took one look and walked me through the whole thing. Got all three passports scanned, picked up the receipts and headed to the baggage claim. All three of our bags came right off and my oldest started pulling everyone else’s luggage off with ours. I told her I didn’t know where the rest of the group was, put it back on the luggage carousel and we’d meet them outside when they were done.

 

We showed our passports and gave them our receipts and we were finally done!

 

The international terminal at O’Hare was a flipping mess. We got out to the curb where my friend was picking us up and no Graham Cracker, Pop-tart or Aunt to be seen. I finally called my mother who said….wait for it….

 

“We can’t find the exit.”

 

I cannot make this stuff up

 

So we waited about 10 minutes and my girlfriend showed up to pick us up. I told her I had NO idea where everyone else was so we started to load our luggage. Just then the rest of the group showed up…we got all 12 bags and all 7 of us into the car and we were on our way home.

 

I ordered pizza on our way so that arrived shortly after we did. It felt great to be home again and I couldn’t wait to sleep in my own bed…then I remembered my parents were still there…they were staying in my room…I’d be on the sofa bed in my basement for one more night!

 

I was exhausted...it was 10:00 Chicago time but my body thought it was 5:00 in the morning Copenhagen time...parts of me had been up all night long...and it's been a LONG time since I've pulled an all nighter!

 

Coming up…my final thoughts on multi-generational cruises…the Baltic...and the beautiful Regal Princess