LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Our cruise began in Copenhagen, where my daughter & her fiancé met a day early to do some sightseeing. We stayed in the Quality Hotel Dan which was very nice and the large room was very comfortable for 3 adults. They are located on a bus route that will take you downtown in about 10 minutes. The hotel also provides a nice buffet at dinner time and wonderful breakfast; both are included in the price of the room. Since we were very anxious to begin our cruise, we left around 10:30am, by taxi (approximately $30 for 3 people and tons of luggage), for Frihavn. The embarkation procedure is extremely organized and we were on the ship within 30 minutes of are arrival.
Our cabin was on the Aloha deck, 721, which we found to be an excellent location. We were right around the corner from the elevators, or we could quickly take the aft stairs (approximately 30 steps from our door) to the Lido deck and Terrace pool. That part of the ship seemed to be used less than the mid-ship pools and we felt like it was our own private place. We also became very good friends with the bartenders of the Outrigger bar by the Terrace pool. There was never a delay in obtaining adult beverages. We had been on the waitlist for the main dinner seating but never made it. Instead, we had Personal Choice dining and it did turn out to be for the best. It was nice not having to schedule our daily plans around a fixed seating time. We really enjoyed the freedom of eating whenever we felt like it. There was never a wait for us when we arrived at the dining room. I don’t know if this is the norm or if we were lucky. The food was good and we enjoyed every meal.
Leaving Copenhagen was fun with lots to see. We also had a little excitement when a small sailboard thought it could make it past our bow and the bridge sounded a very LONG blast to get their attention. They finally turned when they were much closer to our ship than I feel was safe. In all my cruises, I’ve never seen that happen before.
Our first day at sea was our planned meeting of fellow Cruise Critic members from our roll call. I had e-mailed John Lawrence to invite him to our meeting and he had already planned a get together at noon in the Wheelhouse Lounge. He, his lovely wife, and his assistant met with us and served mimosas. It was a lovely meeting and enjoyed by all. I will say John is the best Cruise Director I have ever met. He is a wealth of information and a gentleman in every sense of the word. If you do nothing else, be sure you meet him and watch his port talks if you can’t attend them in person. He is superb.
Our first sea day was also the first formal night. Everyone in the dining room was appropriately dressed and dinner was terrific. My daughter & I wore gowns and her fiancé wore a tux. I would say the tux/suit ratio was approximately 50/50. I do love a man in a tux and it was great seeing so many onboard.
The production shows were about what I expected. No better, no worse. I was pleasantly surprised with the comedians, however. I’m not good at remembering names but the guys they had were terrific. I can’t remember when I laughed so much.
Since this cruise is port intensive, I hadn’t planned on attending many shows but forced myself for the comedians.
Service onboard was a bit of a disappointment to me. This was my first Princess cruise and I had expected a “step above” what I was accustomed to. Unfortunately, service was actually a step down from my previous cruises. I was also extremely disappointed not to receive the birthday decorations and cake that I had ordered, via internet, three months before sailing. My daughter’s fiancé celebrated his birthday during our cruise without any fanfare. Unfortunately, it occurred on the first day we were in St. Petersburg. After 10 hours of sightseeing, I was too exhausted to go to the purser’s desk and complain. I did, however, mention it in my evaluation of the cruise.
I was also disappointed in the tactics used by the Spa. My daughter had booked a massage which was listed as $175. I was paying for this as a gift to her. Without her knowledge, they included services that amounted to $297. We did not realize what had happened until we got a listing of our shipboard account from the purser’s office. This seemed dishonest to me but I did not let the $100 overcharge spoil my cruise. I paid it but I can guarantee I’ll never use any Princess Spa services in the future.
I booked a ship’s excursion for Stockholm even though several of my CC friends did this on their own, using the train. I really wanted to visit the Vasa Museum without having to worry about getting back to the ship on time. Since this is a port that uses tenders, I didn’t want to worry about a delayed train causing me to miss the last tender back to the ship. I believe the price for the ship’s excursion was very fair and I was completely satisfied with the services. After visiting the museum, we had about 4 hours of free time to see Stockholm on our own. We saw a reproduction of a Viking ship on the canal and went down to take pictures. We found they give a nice tour of Stockholm on the ship and have food and drink available. We took the cruise and loved it. I feel the price was very reasonable and we loved the 1 ½ hour tour. The food was excellent and plentiful. We definitely enjoyed our time in Stockholm In Helsinki, we purchased the round-trip bus tickets for $8 each. We were dropped off in town near Stockmann's Dept store and the Swedish Theatre. There was an ATM immediately across the street where we obtained local currency. We then got tickets for a tour on a double decker bus which went to Temppeliukko (church in the rock), the Sibelius monument, and Senate square. The day was beautiful and our guide was terrific. I believe her husband was the bus driver and they worked great as a team. The tour cost less than ½ what the ship’s tour cost. After the tour, they dropped us back where the Princess busses were running. It was simple to hop on one to head back to the ship. We really enjoyed our day in Helsinki.
We booked a two day private tour with DenRus in St. Petersburg. This was by far the favorite port of the cruise. We had a fabulous guide named Nadya who spoke perfect English and was unbelievably knowledgeable about her country. We had received a letter from DenRus telling us to go to the gangway as soon as the ship cleared customs, take our passport & a copy of our passport as well as our DenRus ‘ticket’ and there would be no problem with immigration. This was a simple task. We were off the ship and through immigration in about 5 minutes. Nadya was waiting for us, holding a sign that says DenRus. Slovic was our driver of the 9 passenger Mercedes van. The van was extremely comfortable and Slovic was an excellent driver. Since it was about 6:45am, we first drove around the entire city, seeing all the places we would later tour. It was nice to be able to take photographs without any people around. During the two days, we saw more than those on the ship’s tours. I highly recommend DenRus for anyone taking this cruise. One of our tablemates used Red October and they were equally pleased. DenRus will customize your two days to do anything you want. Small groups are easily slipped into the main attractions where huge lines exist for the large busloads of people. We were also able to move quickly within the palaces and cathedrals since our group was so small. We were able to ask as many questions as we wanted and adjust our schedule to our needs. Everything about the two days in Russia was perfect.
When we ported in Tallinn, we were so tired from our two days in St. Petersburg, we decided just to get off the ship and stay around the port. There was a huge semi truck parked at the port that sold wonderful candies which we bought. There were also some private individuals selling souvenirs out of their trunks. We heard thunder in the distance and saw a huge black cloud approaching so we headed back to the ship. Just as we boarded, the skies opened and it poured. I felt bad for the folk who were still touring and for those running along the pier, trying to get back on the ship. I hated the fact we didn’t get to see any of Tallinn but the extra day of rest was worth the sacrifice.
see part 2
Reply With Quote
I've found numerous people who know about the mushroom soup. It really is to die for. Nothing here in the states can compare with those flavors. Yum! I'll have to go back to Poland just for the soup.
I'm doing the 'soup dance' just thinking about it.
Bookmarks