Costa Magica Baltic Capitals 2nd July

[blowers]

Hi All back again

(Jeff /JimJoe hope you are well)

 

Just booked for above cruise in 2 weeks

Know the ship well from Caribbean earlier this year

 

Can anyone give me any tips /advice/ suggestions on what to do on the ports of call:

 

• Copenhagan
  
• Tallin
  
• St Petersburg
  
• Helsinki
  
• Stockholm

Mant thanks

 

Geoff

[joetrizeo]

hey geoff! welcome back! hope all was well while you were gone. dont worry, jeff and i held down the fort. congrats on another booking, from my sig you can see i booked another cruise too! Carnival this time.

 

sorry i cant help with your ports of call, just wanted to say hi :)

 

-Jim

[blowers]

Hi Jim

Good to hear from you

Carnival should be good for you I guess not so many old fogies like Jeff and I.

Jan has been up and down with her treatment for terminal C and as she is on an up now off we go on another venture in double quick time!

 

Looking fwd to seeing the Magica again -our balcony cabin is a couple of along from where we stayed -the 2 weeks in the Caribbean were fabulous

and I just can't work out how some people can't handle the minor niggles of very day life -especially on board this fabulous ship

Best wishes

Geoff

[packercruising]

Hey Geoff, when you going to learn how to spell your name? :)

 

Great to hear from you again and especially glad Jan is on an up!!

 

I just can't work out how some people can't handle the minor niggles of very day life -especially on board this fabulous ship ...

I have no idea what a niggle is but this is a very profound statement!

 

I have no idea what to do in those ports either, but would sure like to find out!

 

Take care buddy and keep in touch. Tell Jan it was a please meeting you both.

[blowers]

Hi Jeff great to hear from you and trust you are both well.

Now a Packer convert (I think) strange lot you supporters!

 

I shall have to teach you proper English (like wot I speak) sometime!

 

The Packer beer mats are in pride of place (ok in truth they are probably still around the house somewhere)

 

I'll have a Guiness and maybe read my first Dick Francis novel soon!

 

Very best wishes

 

Geoff

[packercruising]

Lynette reminded me that I should be wearing the shirt you gave me during World Cup (before it's too late perhaps?). :)

 

Good luck on the Dick Francis book. You'll have to get Jan to get you one.

 

Our daughter got him to autograph Dead Cert for me when she was in the Caymans. That was his first published novel.

 

Keep in touch before your trip. I know Jim and I won't be on the Magica with you this time but try and have fun anyway.

 

Cheerio old chap (dod they really say that in England?)

 

Coasters, Geoff, they are called coasters. :)

[joetrizeo]

"Coasters, Geoff, they are called coasters. "

 

I was wondering what a beer place mat was...:)

 

and what the heck is a 'niggle'? A hassel, shortcoming, small problem?

 

-Jim

[SailingOceansBlue]

Geoff:

 

We just did this cruise a few weeks ago. Outstanding! We stayed in Copenhagen one night each before and after. Tivoli is a must and the entire surrounding area (Stogert) as well. Lots of shopping, cafes, interesting architecture. It's quite walkable. If you are not staying here at all, you'll most likely have to take a cab to this area as it's not walkable from the port.

 

Tallin: We just walked around the Old City. It's about a 10 min walk from the port. Lots of shopping and cafes there as well. Very quiet town and almost surreal. Check out the bakery on the main Old Town drag on the way in or out!

 

St Petersburg: We didn't want to gets visas for just one day so we took the Palace/Canal tour through Costa. It was nine hours and included lunch. We're not the bus tour kind of guys but we were very impressed with the structure of the tour, the number of sites we saw, and the wealth of information (both historical and present day) that the excellent tour guide provided. It was an incredible day. Very, very memorable.

 

Helsinki: Downtown is within walking distance from the port. Beautiful city. We were there on some local holiday so nearly everything was closed. We just walked for the entire afternoon (the only sunny day that week) and enjoyed several coffee stops as cafes were about all that were open.

 

Stockholm: Another beautiful city within walking distance of the port. Gamala Stan (the Old City) is beautiful. Lots of narrow, winding streets with shops and cafes. Cross a street and you're in the new part of town. Big department stores and restaurants and hotels. We just walked the entire day.

 

We used a Foror's Scandinavian Guide Book and did all the walking tours they had for Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen so you'll get all the visual highlights. This itinerary was one of our favorites because with the exception of St. Petersburg, all the cities are pretty compact and very walkable. Bring your umbrellas, though! We had only one day were it didn't rain pretty much all day. But it never dampened our spirits.

 

Loved the Magica, too. Sailing the Carribbean on her this fall.

 

Brian

[packercruising]

Blowers when does England play Sweden?

 

Hi to Jan!

[blowers]

Now the quarter finals having beaten Ecuador!

[blowers]

Brian

Thanks a lot

Not sure whether to do the St P Tour you did or the Summer Palace Petrovergs? and Hermitage

Did you get on and off bus much ? Much queing?Any more info?thanks

G

[packercruising]

Now the quarter finals having beaten Ecuador!

 

Congrats on England winning today Geoff!:) We were up at our cabin and unfortunately the jersey you gave me was back home.:(

 

Brian thanks for the desription. It sounds great!:D

[SailingOceansBlue]

G:

 

We got off of the bus several times and had about 1.5 hours for lunch. The canal cruise was a real highlight and lasted about 1.5 hours. There were no lines anywhere (which I heard was not true for the Hermitage) but then again, mid-May isn't peak season.

 

Brian

[blowers]

Thanks again Brian -looking forward to it.

 

 

Jeff/Jim

 

Those lines have appeared again...don't forget I am teaching you the Queen's English (only joking Brian)...it's queues !!

 

Coasters are stylish upmarket beer mats (Ok Jeff maybe the Packer beer mats have a style of their own)

 

Niggles

Yes small anoyances

 

Gas is what we cook with..petrol makes cars go...etc etc

 

I'll get there Jeff!! Not too late for you !

[blowers]

Brian tell me more re the canal cruise-what did you see?

Thanks

[blowers]

Oh Jeff by the way.....three more matches to win the world cup...get that shirt on next Saturday please

 

(In truth the realists here think we have two chances...Bob Hope or no hope!)

 

Th Argies and Brazilians look too good for our over paid Prima Donnas

[SailingOceansBlue]

G:

 

Basically the cruise shows you many of the sights (several palaces, churches, parks etc.) you see on the bus tour but from the river perspective instead of the street. It was really a nice change after touring by bus most of the day.

 

Brian

[blowers]

I see the buses are not air conditioned Brian-was that a problem?

[packercruising]

Thanks again Brian -looking forward to it.

 

 

Jeff/Jim

 

Those lines have appeared again...don't forget I am teaching you the Queen's English (only joking Brian)...it's queues !!

 

Coasters are stylish upmarket beer mats (Ok Jeff maybe the Packer beer mats have a style of their own)

 

Niggles

Yes small anoyances

 

Gas is what we cook with..petrol makes cars go...etc etc

 

I'll get there Jeff!! Not too late for you !

 

No wonder you blokes lost the war! You should have listened to the King:)

 

Yes Packer mats have thei own style.

 

Count on me wearing the jersey Saturday

[SailingOceansBlue]

G:

 

No A/C in the bus a problem? Let's see. The day we were in St. Petersburg (end of May), it was cold, windy, and rainy. No. Didn't miss the A/C at all!

 

B

[blowers]

Accepting that teh credit card shoud be king Brian what currnecies did you need to arange in advance for drinks/snacks etc

[blowers]

Good man Jeff -we need all the support we can get -and also need to start playing football!

(Hey I saw Brett Favre on the Golf channel this week and thought of you!)

[SailingOceansBlue]

The EURO is the ship's currency. They do not exchange currency.

 

Denmark, Sweden, and Estonia have their own currencies. In each of those ports, we withdrew enough local currency from an ATM to cover our expenses for the day and used a credit card for shopping. I'm sure they all accept Euros, however, as I saw many people paying for purchases with them.

 

In Finland, the currency is the Euro.

 

In Russia, all the businesses we visited only wanted Euros or US Dollars. NO rubles were wanted!

[packercruising]

Yeah but I don't golf :(

 

When are you leaving and where do you start out from?

 

Hi to Jan. Is she still chipper (is that correct term?)?

 

Brian do yo think you could post some pics?

[blowers]

Hi Jeff

Leave for Copenhagen this saturday (and hunting for a television showing the q final as soon as we arrive) and board Sunday pm

 

Jan is doing well (hunky dory...or chioppe to you)thanksJeff. Dropped back badly after the Caribbean Cruise and it all looked a bit grim but the chemo has kicked in and shes is doing well despite some nasty side effects that I won't go into here

 

Onwarsd and upwards. Daugheter has jsut graduated from uni so something else to look fwd to on our return (graduation ceremony)

 

Love to Lynette

 

Geoff