SUMMER CRUISE TO THE BALTIC - 2008

You think you know me, right?  And I thought I knew me.  Turns out, I didn't know me as well as I thought I did.  I am a planner.  I write tasks down and cross them off as they're accomplished.  I have lists within lists.  Rarely do I undertake a activity that hasn't been logged on the calendar weeks or months in advance.

So I don't have an explanation for what possessed me to suggest to Dawn that we take a cruise, one that would embark ten days hence!  Sanity would have returned immediately had Matt told Dawn that (for any of a number of logical reasons) he couldn't oversee the kids for almost two weeks.  But then, his folks, Nana and Pap, are living here in Ohio again, so he asked for their help.  And thus, 24 hours later, we had our tickets!  For a reasonable charge, I was able to book an inside cabin on the Crown Princess, a 19-deck behemoth built to accommodate 3080 paying passengers, plus a crew to support their care.  Where were we going?  The Baltic!!

This is an area I visited in 2002.  This time, however, the towns in Norway were eliminated and Tallinn, Estonia, and Warnemunde/Berlin, Germany, were added.  The highlight, however, would be a visit to St. Petersburg, Russia, a site I really really wanted Dawn to see.

Saturday, June 28 - We left Cleveland at 11:30 AM and arrived in Copenhagen 18 hours later, at 11:30 AM Sunday.  (There's a six-hour time difference.)  Once on the ship and in our cabin, we both took a nap.  Once awake, we unpacked and then went to dinner.  That evening the ship left for our first port, Stockholm, Sweden.  A trip into Copenhagen would have to wait until we returned in nine days.

Tuesday, July 1 - STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - After a day at sea we arrived in Stockholm.

The Stockholm archipelago extends 50 miles east of Stockholm and consists of 30,000 islands, islets and rocks.  Dawn was up early and took several pictures of islands we passed.

Our tour of Stockholm included a visit to City Hall where the Nobel Prize banquets are held.  There we saw the Golden Room where walls are covered with 18 million glass and gold mosaic tiles.  The mosaics depict portraits of historical figures and events in Swedish history.

Wednesday, July 2 - HELSINKI, FINLAND - Our ship's tour included a visit to Temppeliaukio Church.  The church is built into solid rock; therefore, it is also known as the Church of the Rock.

Natural light brightens the inside of the church through 180 glasses between the dome and the wall.  The ceiling is a giant disc made of copper wire.

Another stop was at the Sibelius Monument.  This sculpture in steel aroused criticism for its departure from the conventional type of memorial, so the sculptor later added a bust of the composer.

Thursday and Friday, July 3 and 4 - ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - For me, the highlight of the cruise was our two-day visit to St. Petersburg.  Both days were filled with views of the opulence of tsarist Russia in the 1700 and 1800s.

We began at the Catherine Palace, designed by Rastrelli and named for Catherine, the second wife of Peter the Great.

Once inside the gates, we were overwhelmed by the size of the building, its color and the amount of gold (once gilt, now paint).  Then we walked to the back of the Palace where there is one of many formal gardens on the grounds.

The formal approach to the Catherine Palace

The back of Catherine Palace

Then we were off to Peterhof, often referred to as "the Russian Versailles," built by Peter the Great to be the imperial palace.  The estate was equally popular with Peter's granddaughter, Empress Elizabeth, who ordered the expansion of the Grand Palace and greatly extended the park and the famous system of fountains, including the truly spectacular Grand Cascade.

The fountains of Peterhof

The Grand Cascade

Dawn at the River Neva with the Hermitage behind her

On Friday we headed to the Hermitage.  Originally built to be the Winter Palace, it is now a museum consisting of six buildings on the River Neva in the heart of St. Petersburg.  The collection of art contains three million items.

Inside the Hermitage on the Grand Staircase.

 Visitors were required to wear "booties" over their shoes in the Catherine Palace, but there was no similar requirement at the Hermitage.  The floors of the rooms we visited were either mosaic tile or inlaid wood.  Our guide could not explain why precautions are not taken to protect the floors.

A section of the mosaic tile floor from Pavilion Hall

Two churches were also on our list: The first was Church on the Spilt Blood, built in 1907 on the site of assassination of Alexander II who was one of the most progressive Russian Tsars of the 1800s and the second was St. Isaac's Cathedral. 

The "onion domes" of the Church on the Spilt Blood are well known.

The facade of St. Isaac's is imposing although less ostentatious than the Church on the Spilt Blood. However, both have interior walls and dome interiors covered with unbelievably detailed mosaic art.

Wall Mosaic

Interior of the Dome

Saturday, July 5 - TALLINN, ESTONIA - Dawn and I were ready to "chill" after two days of nonstop touring.  We took the ship's shuttle to the Old Town of Tallinn and strolled the cobblestone lanes before eventually sitting down to people watch.

Sunday, July 6 - GDANSK, POLAND - Gdansk is several miles from the port of Gdynia where we were docked, so we took advantage of the ship's excursion to Gdansk. The city was bombed during WWII but has since been restored and is now a favorite with tourists.

Monday, July 7 - WARNEMUNDE, GERMANY - Warnemunde was the port for excursions to Berlin.  Dawn and I were not interested in taking the 3-hour train ride to the city, and chose instead to walk around the quaint town.  Eventually we sat down for a German meal of mashed potatoes, cooked cabbage and sausage.  We also sampled the local beer.

We returned home on Wednesday, July 9.  Although Dawn had somehow hurt her back a few days before the end of the cruise, the ship's doctor prescribed medication that alleviated some of her pain and made it possible for us to continue our sightseeing.  We had a good time sharing this experience, and I am especially glad Dawn was able to see some of the sights this itinerary had to offer.

Copyright 2003-2008 Kitty Park

WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN - 2006

I enjoyed this trip and the itinerary so much when Teresa and I took this cruise in 2003 that I wanted to share the excitement with Dawn.  Therefore, once she got clearance from Matt that he would watch Brandon and Sophia while we were gone, I made reservations.

I was able to add our names to private tours where room was available and booked two tours myself with drivers we'd used before: Marcus in Athens and Gennaro in Naples.  I was pleased that although I'd anticipated seeing no more than what I saw three years ago, each tour included something new for me.  Dawn has reassured me many times that even though she did arrive home weary and needing a vacation, she thoroughly enjoyed herself -- the cruise and the itinerary.  (I hope so -- because she took over 900 pictures!)


PRE- AND POST-CRUISE ARRANGEMENTS 

Travel arrangements to the ship and back home were left to Celebrity. I noticed that under an hour was allowed for plane changes in both Chicago and Munich and I should have questioned my travel agent. Although we were able to make both connections, it was necessary to scurry and any delay in a flight's arrival would probably have resulted in our missing the connecting flight.

Celebrity's embarkation and disembarkation procedures were orderly experiences. Fortunately Celebrity takes folks flying out of Barcelona to the airport hours ahead of scheduled flights. (Read my October 2003 review for my experience then.) There are simply too many cruise passengers trying to get out of town at the same time. Queues were long and difficult to traverse as we pulled our luggage through the terminals. Getting through security was a nightmare as eight disorganized lines had to merge to become four before having luggage screened. Once past security, our gate assignment was changed twice. We needed every second of the four hours allotted.

The ship's officers and staff who we encountered were pleasant and helpful. On this cruise (as well as some earlier this year), the Millennium's visits to Athens and Santorini were switched. At least six ships were scheduled to visit Santorini on the same day: +/-2000 passengers X 6 ships = way too many folks on the tiny island! By arriving a day earlier, the Millennium had the island all to itself! When I became aware of this change, I contacted the concierge who called the independent driver in Athens and car rental agency on Santorini to change the reservations for us. Confirmation of the changes was in our stateroom when we returned to our cabin that afternoon.

Some of the ship's services have been altered since the '03 cruise. I recall there being a variety of foods (entrées, vegetables, etc.) to select from in evening visits to the Ocean Café. Now only pizza and pasta are available. The sushi bar is still a popular place. Casual dining on Deck 10 aft is a training ground for novice waiters and we joined a couple for dinner there one evening. I admire the on-the-job training concept but found the service poor. Before the appetizers were served, we began looking for the hidden cameras, thinking we were subjects for Candid Camera. The assistant maitre d' apologized for the multitude of mishaps and vowed service on our next visit would be flawless. Although we appreciated her concern, we didn't want to risk being guinea pigs a second time.

A formerly complimentary service was transportation between the ship and towns where the ship docked. Now there's a round-trip shuttle charge: Venice, $10 per person; Dubrovnik, $8 per person. There's also a charge in Barcelona, but since we had an independent driver, I don't know what the charge was.

There are many spots on the ship where you can get a bite to eat. I suggest you visit the spa when in the mood for a light meal. After enjoying multi-course evening meals, having a fruit plate and/or salad was refreshing and not overly filling.

Food in the Metropolitan Dining Room was generally good. Each evening our waiter Branko explained the ingredients and preparation of dishes about which we were unsure and voiced his recommendations if we were undecided. I found cake desserts to be dry, but those containing chocolate to be excellent! Our assistant waiter Edward is probably under a doctor's care now for bursitis of the elbow which he developed after pouring uncountable servings of water into my bottomless glass.

In an effort to eliminate gastrointestinal illness problems, the ship has placed dispensers of hand sanitizer throughout the public areas. I was happy to see people routinely help themselves whenever they passed one. They are prominent wherever food is available as well as in the Internet Café where so many hands touch the keyboards.

In the Internet Café passengers can download pictures from their digital cameras and then copy them to CD(s) on one of the last two days of the cruise ($15/disk). We took advantage of the service, downloading our photos, reviewing and sometimes deleting the less satisfactory ones at the end of each day. Café attendant Van was very patient and willingly helped as we sometimes floundered about through the routine.

Some of the ship's shore excursions are long, eight to ten hours, so space for the second seating dinner fills up quickly. Day-long private tours, however, had us back to the ship by 5:00 PM, a sufficient time to get ready for early seating dinner at 6:30.

Weather for the entire two weeks was sunny and hot, hot, hot  -- between the mid 80's and 90'sF! When passengers returned to the ship, we were often greeted by crewmembers who distributed iced towels as we waited to pass through security. It was a nice touch and very much appreciated!

I attended two or three evening shows, due in part to their being scheduled early, during first seating's dinner. The crew's first production show was very well done (the others were performed after my bedtime but I heard compliments about the dancers' and singers' enthusiasm and energy). Bob Arno performed one evening, showing the audience how a pickpocket works and then giving us pointers on how to remain safe from theft. On three other evenings guest musicians entertained the audience.

Celebrity will now charge a passenger's onboard account with the recommended tips for waiter, assistant waiter, cabin steward, assistant housekeeper and assistant maitre d' when completed forms for that purpose are submitted to Customer Relations.

TOURS

We took only one ship-sponsored excursion, that being the Secret Walking Tour of Venice. It was no surprise that our guide was knowledgeable and entertaining, and we enjoyed walking through the districts and hearing about their history.

In Dubrovnik we visited the ATM at the concession stand outside the wall in order to have kunas to pay for admission (50 kunas per person) to walk on the wall. The day was sunny and hot, so after walking only the portion of the wall along the sea, we returned to street level and visited Moby Dick's for a lunch of sea bream accompanied by a local beer. Great service (our waiter deboned the fish for us) and excellent food!

Following a sea day, we visited Santorini and rode the cable car (3.50 Euros each way) to the top. I'd reserved a car from Tony's Rent a Car (www.santorini.gr-santorini.com/rentals/tonys/) and two tablemates joined us for the day. We drove to Oia first to sightsee and shop and then found our way to Monolithos Beach where we had lunch at Scaramagas, an open-air fish tavern. The restaurant had been recommended and provided a welcome break in a busy day. As we ate, the proprietor/fisherman worked on his nets while other family members manned the kitchen and waited tables. Then it was back to Fira to return the car and shop yet again before returning to the ship.

Our next port was Athens. In 2003 we used Spiros Taxi Service (www.athenstaxi.net). Our driver had been Marcus and I requested him again. The day's first stop was the Acropolis so we could get up and down the hill before tour buses began arriving (thank you, thank you, Marcus!!). Next was the changing of the guard at Parliament. The ticket purchased for the Acropolis (12 Euros) included admissions to other sites (Ancient Agora and the Temple of Zeus) so we visited those as well. The balance of the day was spent visiting Cape Sounion's Temple of Poseidon (admission 4 Euros) and included a stop for lunch at a seaside restaurant on the way.

Day seven was a sea day. We lazed around, visited the on-board gift shops and mentally prepared for the next five tour-filled days.

Our driver in Naples was Gennaro of Sorrento Limo (http://sorrentolimo.com/) who'd also been our driver in 2003. Gennaro efficiently got us over the Amalfi Coast drive and allowed time for short stops in Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi. We opted for a light lunch and he recommended we take time for this in Ravello, a beautiful area a few miles beyond Amalfi. After lunch we visited Pompeii (admission 10 Euros) where he'd engaged Elvira to be our guide through the ruins. I highly recommend Gennaro's service and appreciated having Elvira as our guide again this trip.

Day nine was spent in Rome. Constantino ( Tino ) was the driver provided by Driver In Rome (http://www.driverinrome.com/). He did an excellent job getting us to the must-sees which included the Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Coliseum (admission 11 Euros). On our drive to the city, Tino asked if we'd discussed having a private guide at the Vatican (admission 12 Euros). We agreed it would be a good idea, and Tino was able to book a guide who spent two hours leading us through the museum's rooms and explaining some of what we saw. Our guide also accompanied us through St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel before taking us back to Tino for our return drive to the ship.

Day ten, next port, Florence. Our driver here was Claudio of Rome Limousine (http://www.limoinrome.com/). As we'd come to expect, Claudio seemed to effortlessly get us to the highlights of the area, beginning the day in Pisa. Then it was on to Florence where our stops included the Accademia Museum to see the statue of David (12.50 Euros for reserved tickets), Church of Santa Croce (5 Euros) and of course, Santa Maria del Fiore, more familiarly known as the Duomo. Following a two-hour break for lunch and free time, the group met to continue our tour and visited the Ponte Vecchio and shops in the area before returning to the ship.

Day eleven, Villefranche: Our driver here was Frederic of Dream Tours. (http://www.dream-tours.com/). Fred had also been our driver on my visit in 2003. He is very enthusiastic about ensuring his group has an enjoyable visit. It was an amazing day which started in Nice and included a stop at a city overlook and was followed by a visit to the flower market. Then it was off to St. Paul de Venice, a beautiful hilltop village, where we were able to spend some time exploring the winding footpaths and visiting a variety of small shops. Following our lunch there, we headed out again to visit two more medieval sites, Tourettes Sur Loup and Gourdon. The former is undergoing renovation and will certainly become as popular as Eze and St. Paul de Venice are. Gourdon, a small mountain-top community, appears to hang from the side of the mountain. We'd asked to see something different that day, and we got it!

Our final day, afternoon arrival in Barcelona: The private tour today was conducted by Jose Soler (http://wwguides.com/forums/member.php?u=243). No van this time: he provided the booked group of ten with a spiffy 22-seat a/c BUS! We started with a drive to a city overlook and then passed by some of the venues for the '92 Olympics. Along the way we saw well-known sites/sights including buildings designed by Gaudi and we walked around the Sagrada Familia (still unfinished and under heavy structural framework). The highlight for me was our stop for a walk through Gaudi's Parc Guell where Jose explained the development's concept to us. The tour concluded after a visit to the Gothic Quarter where we walked through the narrow lanes as Jose gave us a history of the area.

SUMMARY

This is not a cruise for anyone who wants to rest. But if visiting a variety of ports with multiple points of interest is what you seek, I highly recommend this ship and this itinerary. Even though this was my second cruise with these ports of call and many tours were with the same drivers as three years ago, I saw something new each day. And now that I am home, I can think about rest.

NEW ENGLAND AND CANADA - 2004

Teresa and I wanted to take a September or October cruise to see the New England fall foliage, but costs were considerably higher for those sailings.  Ultimately we realized that it would be nice to see the color the Northeast is known for, but that wasn't our primary reason for selecting this itinerary.  We were just as interested in the scenery.  Ports of call included Bar Harbor, Maine; Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; Charlottetown ("Anne of Green Gables"), Prince Edward Island; and Quebec City, Quebec.  Our "sea day" was spent on the St. Lawrence, with a side trip into Sanquenay Fjord with the hope that we'd see whales that inhabit the area.  And as we cruised from port to port, we were pleased that this had been our choice for a fall cruise.

PRE- AND POST-CRUISE ARRANGEMENTS

Over the years Teresa had traveled to Boston for business, but she'd never had the opportunity or time to see the city as a tourist.  Thus, we selected Boston as our port of embarkation.

Because travel was within North America, we made our own travel arrangements. Teresa and I live in different states and flew separately to Boston. Our plan was to meet at the hotel on Wednesday evening, spend Thursday and Friday touring the city and then taxi to the port on Saturday. We did purchase HAL transfers from the port in Montreal to the airport for our flights home.

BOSTON

We wanted accommodations that would be more or less centrally located in the city. Teresa placed a successful bid on Priceline for three nights, and we stayed at the Hyatt Downtown in the financial district. Boston is an easy city to tour by walking and we did a lot of it.

We purchased Go Boston Cards on-line (www.GoBostonCard.com) to take advantage of free or reduced rate admissions to many city attractions. On Thursday, we began touring by first riding the Beantown Trolley to get an overview of Boston. Later, when we were weary from on-foot exploration, we took a Boston Duck Tour using the Card. Most of Friday was spent using the audio guide (available in the Visitor’s Center in Boston Common) to follow the 2.5-mile-long Freedom Trail. The walk was easy, mostly level, but I'm glad we were able to hop on the trolley for a ride back into the city!  Without it, I'm afraid I may have had to crawl those last few hundred yards back to the hotel.

Our transfer to the ship on Saturday was flawless. Following hotel check out 11:30, the bellman loaded our luggage into a taxi and fifteen minutes (and $11 plus tip) later, we were portside. Luggage was turned over to a baggage handler, and we proceeded to check in where there was no line. Less than five minutes later we boarded the ship, had our first photo taken and were standing in line for lunch in the Lido at noon! It just doesn’t get any easier!

THE SHIP

Many cruise reviews include a description of the ship, public areas, cabin accommodations, general décor and food quality and presentation. These criteria are less important to me than the itinerary and experience in each port of call. To summarize in a few words, the ship is attractive although some wear and tear was evident in the cabin, the crew is attentive, and I didn’t lose any weight. The dining room dinner schedule has been modified from two to four seatings: Two early (5:45 and 6:15) and two main (8:00 and 8:15). Seatings one and three were in the upper dining area, two and four in the lower. Since our excursions were generally in the morning and our afternoons before sailing were spent shopping or relaxing on the ship, we chose early seating. This made it possible for us to attend shows or other evening activities and still get a good night’s sleep before the next day’s activities began. Since our shore excursions began shortly after docking, we ate breakfasts in the Lido. Lunches on days we had excursions were eaten in the Lido as well. On our one sea day, we ate breakfast and lunch in the dining room.

OUR CABIN

Our cabin was midship, port side on Veranda Deck (9). Cabin appointments were comparable to those of similar class ships: king bed split into two twins, a settee and coffee table, television with remote control, vanity and stool, a chair, mini-bar and refrigerator. The bathroom is equipped with a hair dryer, Jacuzzi tub/shower, electrical outlet for a razor and retractable clothes line. There is an electrical outlet at the vanity, but I neglected to take an adaptor and my hair dryer’s plug did not fit into the available outlet.

ON-BOARD ACTIVITIES AND ENTERTAINMENT

There were many daytime shipboard activities, but shore excursions and port shopping curtailed our taking part in them.

Beyond the Production and Filipino Crew Shows, evening performances in the Rembrandt Lounge included musician/comedian David Levesque and ventriloquist/comedian Mike Robinson. David also did two afternoon enrichment programs, one on the history of the Atlantic Provinces and another on the “Art and Science of Navigation”.

SHORE EXCURSIONS

We have booked private driver/guides for port tours in Europe and now prefer this method to taking ship-sponsored tours. However, we found no interest on the part of other Maasdam passengers who read the cruise message boards to join us for private tours on this cruise. As a result, Teresa and I booked only Bob MacLintock (http://tourbytaxi.com) for HALIFAX, willingly “biting the bullet” if we had to split the charge rather than divide it four ways. Fortunately a mother and daughter at our dinner table were interested the day’s itinerary and elected to share the day (and cost) with us. Bob began with a quick tour of Halifax (including the Citadel and the cemetery where many of the Titanic victims are buried) before heading to Peggy’s Cove, around Margaret’s Bay, Mahone Bay (where we stopped for a quick lunch) and Lunenberg, a particularly quaint town with many interesting buildings. Bob shares information about the area, has a quick sense of humor and is willing to stop for picture-taking as often as he’s asked. His “tour by taxi” is a great alternative to taking a ship’s excursion.

Our other tours were ship-sponsored:

BAR HARBOR – Acadia National Park (2.5 hours - $29) A scenic drive with stops along the way to enjoy the views and take pictures.

SYDNEY – We had originally scheduled Scenic Cabot Trail, but the ship’s late departure from Halifax necessitated the cancellation of this tour. We were able to switch to the Bras d’Or Lakes Grand Tour in its place (7.5 hours - $99). It was an enjoyable day which included a stop for a buffet lunch, short ferry ride, and visit to model Scottish village c1790 to 1900’s.

CHARLOTTETOWN – Island Drive and Anne of Green Gables (4 hours - $44) There’s plenty to see without the stop for AGG. It would be my wish that these could be separated into TWO tours, one with AGG and one without.

QUEBEC CITY – City Tour & Montmorency Falls (3.5 hours - $39) If you’ve been to Niagara Falls, there’s no need to visit Montmorency Falls. Spend as much time as possible in Upper and Lower Towns. Both are quaint, interesting areas.

MONTREAL – A City Tour (about 3 hours - $39) is available to passengers who purchase transfer from the ship to the airport and whose flights don’t leave until midafternoon. We drove through the city and some ethnic communities and made stops for photographs at St. Joseph’s Church and a city overlook.

SUMMARY

HAL’s cruises have never disappointed me. The ships, even if aging, are always clean. On-board activities for those who like to be busy are abundant. The crew is always courteous. Food is plentiful and appetizing.

During the cruise, we enjoyed some ports so much that we would have liked more time to tour, particularly the ports of Halifax, Charlottetown, and Quebec City. But understanding that a cruise like this one to New England and Canada is able to offer only a sample of scenery and local life, the Maasdam cruise met our expectations.

WESTERN CARIBBEAN - 2004

The first of two cruises planned for this year was on Princess Cruise Lines' recently christened 3,150-passenger Caribbean Princess.  This cruise, with Western Caribbean ports of call, was her fifth week at sea and any problems that can be expected with a new ship appeared to have been corrected.  The food was great (was it because Princess's executive chef was in the kitchen?), the weather fantastic and the port excursions what we expected.  Stops included Princess Cays (Princess's private island); Montego Bay, Jamaica; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel.  I didn't write a review of this cruise because I had nothing to add to the multitude already posted on cruise review sites.  It was a relaxing week compared to our European cruises.  We spent our time on the ship relaxing poolside or on our balcony. 

Photos of Tulum