Baltic Cruise June 12

[carolmb]

Great trip report and pictures. I think my son sat next to yours on the bus ride back to the ship in Stockholm. He apologized to Wyatt for his legs being so long.
Carol

 

[WeLoveABD]

George’s Trip Report: Disney Magic in the Baltic

June 8-11: Pre-Cruise
Delta very strict with weight; one bag is 2 pounds over the 50 pound limit, which would cost us $90. We quickly rearrange and are on our way: San Diego to Minneapolis, then on to Heathrow. Storms in the Midwest and an uncertain volcano in Iceland make me slightly on edge, but once we are in London no worries. Arrive around noon on June 9, and after clearing customs take the tube from Heathrow to the Holborn Station (same tube line, so once we are on the train we stay put until the station comes up—about an hour trip, with 22 stops in-between—but much less than any other way to London, and only one flight of stairs to worry about with our bags which we manage with slight difficulty). We purchased Oyster Cards for three of us (Ashley, 9, rides the tube for free), which we could then use for tube rides until the value was exhausted; we ended up not using the cards much and have them for a future trip. Hotel for the pre-stay is the Renaissance, and easy block away from the Holborn tube station. This was the same hotel we stayed in on the ABD Knights and Lights trip in December 2008, so familiar territory.
We have two rooms (connected); Miriam and I head out on a walk (David, 16, and Ashley) stay and rest in the hotel. We end up at St. Paul’s and have tea and cake in the crypt café of St. Paul’s (after touring inside the church). Weather is brisk—brief light rain but not too bad. Pick up fruit at a fresh fruit stand for the kids, and then walk to the Hotel Russell and explore that area—dinner at a mall restaurant (“Giraffe”).
Up at 4 AM the next day (June 10), room service breakfast at 4:30 (I tip, although I am later reminded there is already a service charge added to the bill) and then a 15 minute walk over to the Hotel Russell to meet our tour bus stop for Stonehenge (leaving at 5:30). Since this is a specialized tour we are able to walk in among the 5,000 year old stone structure—breathtaking experience, and plenty of time at Stonehenge. From there the tour (Viator) took us to Lacock for an optional breakfast and walk-about (we opted for pastries and coffee at a small shop), admired the local old church and stone roofs before heading to Bath to see the Roman baths (hot springs discovered around 500 BC) and some of the town. A quick late lunch in Bath (Subway and a sausage vendor). We are dropped off near Hyde Park, so walk the park (including Speakers Corner), feed our teen at McDonalds (alas), take the tube back to Russell Square and have fish and chips at Cagney’s Restaurant. Walk back to the hotel from there.
On Friday, June 11, nice breakfast at the hotel and then off to meet our guide, David, for the Disney pre-cruise tour of Leeds Castle and Canterbury. Brief bus tour of London—noting the 280 plaster elephants all over town (for a save the Asian Elephant campaign). Leeds Castle was more notable for its lush grounds and maze (I was lost—Ashley had to talk me through it; I was worried I would miss the bus or cause a much frowned upon delay. Didn’t.) Canterbury was great—the Cathedral very impressive and the old section of town (within the walls) full of character. We had an hour in the Cathedral, and stumbled upon a small section to the side of wall murals that are 900 years old (a fake wall had hidden it from the Puritans, who otherwise would have whitewashed it). Then we swooped in and out for lunch at Tiny Tim’s (good local fare, but we were pressed for time)—then back to London. We got dressed up for a night of theatre in the West End (at the Adelphi Theatre to see Weber’s Phantom sequel, “Love Never Dies”—we purchased the tickets months ago). We walked there from the hotel, and ended up eating at a Pizza Hut across the street. (Alas, again). The play was excellent—very good staging, good story and a fitting sequel (although the music was not as memorable as that in the Phantom).
June 12: Dover and Beyond
We were able to do our cruise check-in at the hotel the day before. We got our bags out early on the 12th for transport by the Disney folks, had breakfast and then boarded the bus for Dover. When we arrived we went to the Supervisor Desk to see if there were any upgrades available (we were all 4 in a standard room, porthole, room 2106)—and for $1200 we were offered an upgrade to Deck 8, forward with veranda. We took it. (Wasn’t tough on this trip, as the ship was about 1200 guests short of being full). It made all the difference having the extra storage and space inside and the veranda outside. (Tip: if you change rooms your bags may linger outside your old stateroom—we went and got ours, and noted over the next few days that disboard gifts were left there as well. We finally put up a sign indicating where we had moved to). This was our 5th cruise on the Magic (the only Disney ship we have been on), and our stateroom host was Clifford, who we knew from one of our prior trips. Excellent service! Went to the 6:30 “Welcome Aboard” show, and then dinner. Our dining staff (late seating/8:30): Sandor (from Romania) and Sergio (from Spain). Ashley went right off to the Oceaneer’s Lab and David slept. Miriam and I headed for a quiet evening at Sessions. We also lost an hour, due to a time zone change.
June 13: Sea Day
North Sea was rough, and Miriam was sea sick. Lost day for her. I rustled up crackers, ginger ale and seasickness pills from medical (and wristbands from one of the stores on board). Mostly, she slept. We had a couple’s spa appointment which I cancelled and converted to a massage. David went to the teen club (The Stack) and enjoyed it—he was there most of the time we were on the ship. Ashley enjoyed the lab, and made fast friends with another 9 year old (so they were gone most of the time we were on the ship). I pretty much saw the kids at dinner, and on the excursions. On this day, we saw windmills along the shores of Denmark, and the sun set around midnight. I went to the show (Twice Charmed) and to lectures on Copenhagen and St. Petersburg. (We were one of nine families randomly selected to provide daily feedback to Disney reps on board, regarding just about anything having to do with the cruise—ship issues, excursions, improvements, show reviews. Some days—mostly the busy excursion days—we called in a report; other days we spent about 30 minutes with the rep.) This was a “formal night” and there were some in tux, but most of the men were in suits. I lugged a dark suit all this way so I sure as heck was going to wear it! Our formal night photos did not turn out very well, as Miriam was still in recovery.
Tips: having a highlighter was very useful—the “Personal Navigator” daily schedule was full of activities, many overlapping so you have to pick and choose. It was easier to keep track of the things we wanted to do with the highlighter. Also useful: travel alarm clock that lights up, as the clock in the room is not lit and with the long daylight hours you’ll wake up wondering what time it is. Also, this time we stored two of our bags under the bed, which saved a lot of space inside the cabin.
June 14: Oslo
Up early to watch the ship sail into the Oslo harbor. We port alongside Akershus Fortress (1300).
Tip: I bought the Rick Steves book “Scandinavia” which covers all of our ports except Berlin and St. Petersburg. Very nice maps and excellent advice regarding what to see. When we were trooping around on our own the maps saved us from getting lost. Also, Steves’ has good advice regarding local food. As for currency, I bought $50 worth of each of the currencies for each day; a little more Euros to cover tips on our Berlin private tour. This was about right; we never used an ATM and used our credit card only a few times. (Because of our bag weight limits, we opted to go minimal re purchases).
Having reviewed all of the Disney trips, the Steves’ book and trying to balance the interests of our family members, we opted for a mix of Disney tours, private tours and on our own time, and in the end I thought it worked out pretty well.
For Oslo, we did the Viking Heritage Tour. This started with a tour of the City of Oslo (9th largest—in size—capitol in the world, 600,000 population). Then to Vigeland Sculpture Park (80 acres, 212 sculptures by Gustov Vigeland—the city gave him the land and room/board in exchange for his work). On the top of a hill was the Human Pillar (14 years to make, with three helpers, 200 tons, and 1 stone). Three million visitors come to this park each year—it is Oslo’s biggest tourist draw. Next, to the Ski jump (originally built in 1892, rebuilt 19 times since and used in winter Olympics, including 2011). Great views. Then over to the Viking Museum to see three ships, 2 in good condition, 1100 plus years old. Nearby was the Folk Museum (collection of houses, churches, school houses representing different centuries, from 1200 on up to 1800s). Small snack provided.
Back to the port, we got a quick bit to eat and then headed on a walking tour of our own, going to City Hall (where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented, and which has a Munch painting), Lutheran Church with its 1000 year old cornerstone depicting good and evil, walk down the main shopping street (Karl Johans Gate), past the train station and over to the new Opera House (you walk up slanted walkways up to its rooftop—kids thought this was the best part of our tour that day). Back to the ship for comedy show by ventriloquist Timmy Tamley, and then dinner.
June 15: Copenhagen
We opted for the half day tour that included a few hours in Tivoli Gardens (on my bucket list), and then a canal cruise. What sold this tour for us was the early entrance into Tivoli, giving the Disney tours a run of the place before the public was allowed in. Our guide walked us all over the park, with a nice history of the place (started in 1843; Disney there in 1952 and inspired; 4 million visit each year), and then we were given two tickets each for rides (one was only for the Hans Christian Andersen ride; the other was for a ride of your choice—David used my ticket and his to ride the extreme airplane ride and one of the roller coasters, so he was a happy camper). Great pastry here. Some on the ship took the full day tour of Tivoli, but just being there was enough for me. The canal ride was fun—took in a lot of the city (founded in 1167). We got off and left the tour, to walk back to the ship and see more of the town. (The Steves book saved us from getting lost). Bikes everywhere—2/3rds of the population use bikes. We ate Polse (Danish hot dogs) from a stand in a central square off the Stroget (main ped shopping street); while taking a photo I knocked over a bike which started a chain reaction for other bikes—my family was ready to run and leave me to this sure ruin, but only a few fell. We walked to the end, then up the harbor area past a number of outside restaurants (Nyhavn); we got caught in a hail storm and found shelter in a wonderful free museum called the Royal Cast Museum (an old three story warehouse dating from 1797, with 2500 plaster casts of the world’s finest sculptures—from 2500 BC to 1600. The David, Venus de Milo, the Bronze Boar, the Pieta and on and on). From there, when the rain stopped, we walked past where the Little Mermaid is normally situated (her twin, by the same sculpture, is in the lake in Tivoli Gardens). Instead, there was a screen with a live video feed from Shanghai where the LM is on loan for the World’s Fair. Nice walk from there to the port, where we spent off the remainder of our Danish coin on danish and coffee.
That night, a new Disney musical (Once Upon a Song)—with some old favorites but mostly more obscure Disney film songs. Nicely done by the cast, but the general consensus: more of the better known songs. (I admire their effort to sing outside the box). Next day was Berlin, so we tried to hit the hay a little early (no luck, as the kids headed to their clubs and friends, so Miriam and I headed for a quiet evening in Sessions with the piano man).
June 16: Berlin
The ship ported in Warnemunde, and our group of 12 (three families—all having met on the 2008 Adventures By Disney China tour) met up at 7 AM with our driver (minimal English) and a 2.5 hour van ride to Berlin. We opted to go with a private tour company as the expense was much less than the Disney options, and the guide was able to tailor the trip to maximize our wish list. As it turned out, we crossed paths frequently with Disney tour groups and other private tours—there is a general route most guides will take you on. Beautiful day, and upon arrival we went to the King’s Palace and met our guide—who grew up in New Jersey, but had lived in Berlin for many years. And then—we are off! First to explore the Kaiser Wilhelm Church (rebuilt after extensive war damage), and a beautiful French memorial next door with deep blue glass tiles behind the alter. We drove past the huge central park (Tiergarten—former royal hunting ground) along the Spree river, close to the Berlin Cathedral (1870s, gutted by air raids), saw the TV tower (symbol of East Berlin) and over to Museum Island. We walked by museums—no time to go in one!—although we did stop to see a very touching memorial to war victims (mother holding son), the only statue in a small building with a circular hole in the roof (Neue Wache). Down Unter den Linden to see Frederick (the Great) Plaza, including state buildings and St. Hedwig’s Catholic Church. Berlin University (formally a palace) on the other side of the street; Einstein taught there. Nearby was the Bebelplatz, scene of the May 10, 1933 Hitler Youth book burning (20,000 books in one night) with an underground setting (seen through glass) of empty bookcases. A quick glance and photo of Friedrichstrasse ( the 1920s cabaret mile), past the Russian Embassy and down into the S-Bahn to see the “ghost station” (trains from the West not allowed to stop during the Berlin division). At the end of the Prussian Royal Mile was the Brandenburg Gate (very impressive), built in the 1700s and one of 14 entrances to Berlin. Nearby the new American Embassy and the Hotel Adlon (where Michael Jackson dangled his baby).
The chariot on top of the Gate was taken by Napoleon, but later retrieved. The Berlin Wall was built behind the Gate in 1961, and an inner wall on the other side was built, so the Gate was within the “death strip.” Wall came down in 1989.
We spent some time walking among the black concrete tomb-like structures of the Holocaust Memorial (and then spent too much time waiting for pizza at a nearby shop). From there, we walked over to the area where Hitler’s bunker was built (and destroyed—just a field and parking lot now), and where Hitler committed suicide. From there we walked to the existing Berlin Wall (and location of Gestapo HQ), to Checkpoint Charlie (a recreated checkpoint is in the street, but mostly you relive it via photos on a wall). Our last stop was over to the Reichstag and its great glass dome (you can see people walking around it on circular ramps—they can look down from the down into Parliament, symbolic of a new open government). The building was built in 1800s and damaged by the war.
A 2.5 hour trip back and we were at the ship. Long day but fascinating albeit whirlwind look at Berlin. I would have liked to have had time in the Pergamon museum, but I don’t think the kids would have enjoyed it. We saw the essence of Berlin—at least, its Nazi history—and that made an impression on David, who had been recently studying the war in high school. We had a better flavor of traditional and modern Germany on our winter 2009 Adventures By Disney trip, so I was satisfied with this tour. (Tour cost was $544 per family of four—two adults, two students—plus tips).
Most on the ship took tours to Berlin (many by train), so people were pretty tired that evening. The juggling show (Mark Nizer) was fun, but not nearly so well attended as other nights. Nonetheless, everyone went out and about on the ship as the next day was a sea day.
June 17: Sea Day
We lost an hour (time zone change), but of no matter as it was a much needed sea day. Lots of people slept in; overall a quiet day on the ship. That night: Villains Tonight! Not a big turnout of villain costumes (I wore a pirate hat, but was nearly alone in costume and likely people thought I thought it was pirate night—but I was just trying to be economical, figuring a pirate was a villain too!). Anyway, not as big event as expected. The show, Villains Tonight, was fun; the lead character (Hades wanting his evil mojo back) was played like Jay Leno in look and voice.
Noted: no sunset—daylight well past midnight! The White Nights! And we lost another hour (time zone change).
June 18-19: St. Petersburg
You can’t get off the ship without a visa, or as part of a tour that has a group visa. We opted to go with the same families who arranged the Berlin tour. For St. P they selected Anastasia Travel Company, which has gotten high marks in the travel blogs. Our guide: Irena; our driver (unknown—same guy, but never talked to us and we never caught his name). Irena learned English starting at 8 years old, and spoke with an English accent. St. P is Russia’s 2nd largest city with 4.6 million people. You are warned many times to watch your personal items—to the point where you become very paranoid about it all.
We spend a good deal of time pre-trip mulling over sites we wanted to see. Since we don’t pull in until noon, our options are somewhat limited so we did the highlights:
1. Took the subway, dropping 250 feet down on the longest escalator I have ever seen. There are 5 lines in the system and 55 stations. No photos allowed—and watch your wallet! The scary part was, with work day crowds, making sure all 13 of us made it on and off at the designated stops. (We say some of the very Communist-style stations and some of the more Imperial-designed stations). Made it out and up to Nevskiy Prospekt street (main shopping street), along the Neva River.
2. Tip: I brought along Eyewitness Travel Top 10 St. Petersburg book—handy, small and provided me with details I wasn’t getting from the fast-paced tour. I’m using it now!
3. Over to the Hermitage (1852) for about 1.5 hours dashing around. The place is huge, jammed with people and you just have to pick and choose what you want to see. 50 cats live there, although we didn’t see any. Went through the Statue Room (including 17 ton statue of Jupiter), part of Catherine the Great’s collection. (Part of the Hermitage was her Winter Palace—to the people in the 1917 overthrow--part was home to the czars, part was government buildings). Three million exhibits overall; would take you 11 years to see each exhibit. Saw Rembrandt’s acid damaged Danae, other paintings of the Dutch collection (“Jan Steen House” etc). Peter the Great and Catherine both loved paintings; 1400 paintings of theirs are part of the collection. Alexander’s Hall (blue), Gold Room (Alexander II’s wife used 24 k gold paint), sled of the Royal Family, Gallery of 1812 (long hall of portraits of Generals; green squares means no likeness available); Throne Room (receptions and balls), Peacock Clock (given to Catherine the Great—solid Jasper stone, 19 tons). Whew.
4. Outside, past the Ballet and Opera House over to Yusupov Palace. Rasputin was murdered here—great recreation of his meeting with the people who poisoned/stabbed/shot him as they were fearful of his power over the royal family. The tour of the palace was interesting, but too long—the kids were very bored. This was the only place that required a camera permit ($15 a camera). There was a chandelier made out of paper, a theater from the 1800s with box seats and maybe 50 seats, and lots of bedrooms, sitting rooms. Those royals sure sat a lot.
5. St. Isaac’s Cathedral (Peter the Great commissioned this huge church, built in 1858). 48 columns around the building, but up before the walls built. Humidity has slowly ruined the murals, so they are bit by bit being replaced by tiles.
6. Canal and Neva River cruise: Champaign and chocolate provided by our guide. Very relaxing time (we had the boat to ourselves—nice time to relax, and the weather was perfect). Past the Peter and Paul Fortress (60 foot walls, czars buried there), Treaty Bridge, ship where first shot of the 1917 revolution was made, many bridges and weddings galore. (This was a very busy time in St. P—lots of evening weddings in June, with its long days—and it was graduation weekend, so lots of military graduation ceremonies. Great! Newly minted drunken soldiers!)
7. (Back to the ship that evening—many went to the very expensive Princess Ball at Catherine’s Palace; others, like us, ran around on the ship. The meal schedules were altered to accommodate as best as could be done the various late excursions—I hear that those that went on day excursions and then the ball had little time to eat, and no dinner at the ball! I caught some of the Disney Theatre act “Men in Coats” which was very funny and clever. )
8. The next day was a full one. Met up at 8:40 AM, paid Anastasia for the tour and then off to Catherine’s Palace (Tsarskoe Selo), which wasn’t too trashed from the ball. It was damaged in WWII. On the way, we stopped at St. Nicholas Church (poplar trees were constantly losing small white flowers which made it seem like summer snow all over St. P).
9. At the palace: long line. (I think I saw a Disney group go right up to the front). After a one hour wait, we went in and did the tour (dining room, queen gown reproduced with paper, Alexander I’s study, etc).
10. Walked from there to Alexander Palace (Catherine the Great’s gift to Alexander I). Became state property after 1917, and damaged in the war. Consequently only some original furniture, but clever reproduction of rooms: large backdrop photos of the time, with original furniture placed where possible). Best room: beautiful two story wood paneled study.
11. Snacks on the bus (we learned in Berlin: no lengthy meals!), then to the beautiful and stunning fountains and gardens of Peterhof. From there, hydrofoil across the Gulf of Finland and up the Neva River to a port stop near the 1881 Sacred Church on the Spilled Blood (location where Alexander II assassinated).
12. The guide “knew” a quiet place for shopping—and indeed, it was a huge store with all sorts of stuff, and you had to be let in. We got a couple of small things (our only use of a credit card in Russia, other than to pay for the tour), and went off to a nearby coffee shop to burn off the rubles we brought with us. Back to the ship.
13. We were able to eat dinner (a Russian themed dinner—finally, a meal themed to the Baltic!) and make it to the prem-ear of Toy Story 3. Yes, it made me cry. We didn’t mind staying up late—even with a new port in the morning—as we were gaining back one of our lost hours.
Overall, a great port. Gritty, majestic, urban and full of contradictions. I would not go out and about on my own, and greatly appreciated the efficiency of our tour guide in getting us to all of the above within the day and a half that we had. Well worth the cost (roughly $1100 for the 4 of us, plus tips).
June 20: Helsinki
Full day tour in Helsinki. I decided on a full day as I had read that the port area itself was relatively new, and not all that attractive (and that was the case). The metro area of Helsinki has a population of 1 million (560,000 in the city itself), and 5.3 million in all of Finland. (I hummed the Monty Python “Finland” song most of the day). It is a land of coffee and saunas (my kind of place), and there are 10,000 boat slips and a lot of dedicated lanes for bikes (including special signal lights for bike riders). Hot water tubes run under the streets to keep the snow melted. Finland was under Sweden for 650 years, until 1809 when its neighbor, Russia, took over (until 1917, when Lenin agreed to its independence—and now it is part of the EU, and uses the Euro). Hence the heavy Russian influence in buildings. You can go by train to St. P from Helsinki (3.5 hours). There are 188,000 lakes. In the winter it is dark for 2 months solid.
Our tour started with a drive to Porvoo, stopping at Sipoo Church on the way (dates to 1450 as a Catholic Church, later Lutheran). Beautiful countryside setting, popular wedding spot. Inside to the side was a punishment bench; the alter area was simple and the floor dirt and rock. Nearby was the port town of Porvoo (“Castle by the River” in Swedish), and is the 2nd oldest town in Finland dating to 1346. The big product is tar, known as Finnish gold. The town has burned down a number of times (wonder if that has something to do with tar?); the national sport is, of course, ice hockey (with Nordic Walking a close second). We had Porvoo on our own for an hour or so—we went to a wonderful pastry shop for coffee and treats, and then shopped a bit. (Most stores accepted credit cards; we used our remaining Euros on small food items, etc.—notably on locally made chocolate sold at Brunberg) Lunch was at an old manor house started in the medieval times but mostly dating to the 1880s as a distillery (Kiala Manor). Very nice lunch (although Ashley was served an adult meal, and there seemed to be some confusion about having a “kid’s meal” as promised).
Back to the city, we stopped at Sibelius Park named for a local famous composer who died in 1957. The middle centerpiece is a giant sculpture of 600 stainless steel pipes which are said to chime in different tunes depending on the wind (I didn’t hear anything, but maybe it was a light wind day). This piece was controversial in its day (1967)—first abstract art in Finland. Next up, the Rock Church (Temppeliaukio Church) built into rock by two brothers in 1969 (the blasted out a cave and then built a church into the cave). The ceiling is a coil of copper said to be 13 miles in length. We arrived while a service was taking place and waited about 15 minutes before going in (it was Sunday after all). Beautiful place.
After the Rock Church, we went to Senate Square which is dominated by a long series of steps up to the Lutheran Cathedral which towers over the area. We went inside to admire the simple beauty of the Church. Hard to remember specifics now, after seeing so many churches on this trip! We had a little bit of shopping time close by at an open air market, and then returned to the ship. That evening, a young magician in the Disney Theatre, and then Pirates Deck Party. It was freezing—so while there was a good turnout for the dancing, it was too cold and windy for Mickey to zip down from the middle stack to the pool deck. Food was outside, but it was too cold to linger so people grabbed a bite and headed inside. We gained another hour this evening as well; back to Sessions to see our piano man. As to the kids, they showed up eventually.
June 21: Stockholm
The original plan was to take a half day tour and then spend half a day on our own. That plan ended when Disney announced that, due to tidal conditions, we had to leave at 1 PM for Dover. So we did a tour that covered what we wanted to see: Old Town (Gamla Stan), City Hall (where the Nobel Prize winners have their banquet) and the Royal Palace. We wanted to see the Vasa Museum, but there was no way to fit it in. Well, as luck would have it, one of the Royals got married over the weekend (the County had been celebrating nonstop for about a month), so the palace was closed (probably for massive cleanup). The tour company substituted Vasa in place of the palace! Hooray!
Gamla Stan was fascinating—world’s thinnest street (Marten Trotzigs Grand), 800 plus year old buildings—just a fascinating walk among cobble streets. In one courtyard is a tiny statue of Iron Boy (the tiniest of the 600 public statues in Stockholm). We were able to go inside the old Cathedral (Storkyrkan), the oldest in Stockholm (13th century) and sight of the Royal Wedding; a free bathroom, but a very long and slow moving line. Maybe it doubled as a confessional. In any event, the guide tried to cram in too many details while walking (she grew up in the area, her father had a shop there)—but the atmosphere was great. Sweden has 24,000 islands in its archipelago, with lots of bridges; one in five Swedes lives in Stockholm, which has 14 islands. Our tour stopped at an overlook, where the river hits the Baltic Sea (via a series of locks). Unlike Finland, Sweden outlawed wooden homes which cut down on the fires—so more older sections survive. If you had more time there, you could tour the various museums, take boat rides and hit the amusement park. By the way, Stockholm started as an island built up on poles—hence, Stockholm (holm means island). Near the harbor is a large statue of St. George the dragon slayer, in this case the dragon is Denmark which ruled over the area until the 1400s.
We drove past the Grand Hotel (flies flags representing the nationality of current guests), Opera House, Palace…and then went into City Hall, made of several million bricks (1 million made locally). Three crowns are on top (symbol of Sweden—the old original castle had three crowns). The Nobel Prize first given in 1901, with a dinner at the Grand Hotel. The winners are announced and have a banquet at City Hall on December 10. We walked the Blue Hall (dinner site) and the Golden Hall (ball). City Hall was completed in 1923; the work was rushed and the art was miscalculated so that one of the kings depicted in the wall mural does not have a head—worked out, as he was one of the kings beheaded. Norway and Sweden were a union until 1905; hence, the Nobel prizes are split between Oslo (peace prize) and Stockholm. Ironically, Nobel best known for inventing dynamite; one of the first winners of a Nobel Prize was his mistress.
Best to come: Vasa Museum! Now, we had an older guest on our tour who was getting frantic about getting back to the ship before 1 PM. The guide thus became frantic as well and we only had 10 minutes inside the Vasa Museum (we returned to the ship with 45 minutes to spare!). Alas. But the site of the huge ship is memorable. In 1628 it was on its maiden voyage, but was top heavy with 60 canons and sank in Stockholm’s harbor. It stayed below until 1961, 333 years later—and its 14,000 pieces were reassembled (the ship today is 95 percent original). Much to see in the museum, so I hear.
The afternoon sail away went through the islands of Sweden—lovely.
We relaxed on board, taking advantage of our veranda, the exercise equipment in the Vista Spa, sleeping, pool etc. That evening was a new show in the Disney Theatre—“Walt Disney The Dream Goes On”—which I loved. I think it was best received by the adults. Nice mix of live performances, history and film clips. That night at the Rockin’ Bar D we enjoyed the adult performance of comedian Andy Ford, who was great.
June 22-23: Sea Days
I was skeptical of having two sea days in a row. But it worked out. We spent the first day slumming a bit, going to lectures and reading at the Cove. Semi-formal dinner that night, allowing us a “do over” for our family formal photo (Miriam was feeling much better for this one!) Next day was relaxing, but we had to start packing and needed to have our bags out before going to our 8:30 dinner—so it added a bit of stress (we had a lot more to pack leaving than when we did upon arrival, even with our policy of buying small etc). Plus, while we were ready to head home there was a touch of sadness that the trip was coming to an end.
June 24: Dover and Home
Chaos at first—huge line in the morning to leave the ship. But once off, very smooth—bags well organized according to tag, quick line up for the next available bus to Heathrow (or other destinations—many guests were staying extra nights after the cruise). We had plenty of time in Heathrow and managed to spend off our remaining pounds on lunch (one last fish and chip meal for me!). Onward to Minneapolis, then to San Diego. We recovered in a day or two, and now as I write this it seems so long ago.
I hope Disney keeps the Baltic Cruise in its offerings. It would be nice to have the ABD add-on (as was done in the Med this year), to take the stress out of selecting tours, etc. I would have liked an overnight in Copenhagen and more time in Stockholm. The time in Berlin—even with the long car or train ride—was sufficient, and I had sufficient time in St. Petersburg (another half day would have been welcomed, though). The dinners were not themed to the countries we were visiting until mid-way through the cruise, which was surprising—maybe that has been corrected since.
For my family, we had the right mix of free time and tours. We had nice dinners together—time we often don’t have at home. So as to this trip: highly recommended!

 

[Rogillio]

George’s Trip Report: Disney Magic in the Baltic

June 8-11: Pre-Cruise

Great report! Thanks for posting!

~Mike

 

[scrapycruiser]

Thanks, WeLoveABD, for the trip report ! Was happy to see you were able to leave the tour in Copenhagen after the canal boat tour. We wanted to do the same. Too early to go back to the ship. We also have Anastasia in St P. And we are going to Yusopov Palace too. Would love to hear more on David's experience at the Stack. Our 16 yo Grandson, Nick, will be with us. He's very outgoing so I think he'll be fine.

Thanks again for reporting. Glad you had a wonderful cruise and that you were able to get the upgrade ! We will be on the July 18 sailing !!

 

[WeLoveABD]

Thanks, WeLoveABD, for the trip report ! Was happy to see you were able to leave the tour in Copenhagen after the canal boat tour. We wanted to do the same. Too early to go back to the ship. We also have Anastasia in St P. And we are going to Yusopov Palace too. Would love to hear more on David's experience at the Stack. Our 16 yo Grandson, Nick, will be with us. He's very outgoing so I think he'll be fine.

Thanks again for reporting. Glad you had a wonderful cruise and that you were able to get the upgrade ! We will be on the July 18 sailing !!

Thanks! I wish I were going back--so hard to get into the routine of work; we just finished putting together a nice book of the trip (via Shutterfly), and I am gluing the trip report I wrote inside that book to keep it all within memory. David was resistant to the Stack at first--but after he went, he took every opportunity to go back. He said the counselors were easy-going and interesting (i.e. not like parents!), and that there were visits by some of the ship talent to do magic tricks etc; and the new smoothie bar there is very popular. I did see small groups emerge from the Stack for scavenger hunts (not David, not his thing)--but there seem to be plenty of different activities for all interests. We ended up communicating mostly by a note pad on the door, which was fine.

I loved Copenhagen--getting out and walking it on our own was just great!

Lastly...I apologize for the lengthy report without any photos; and my original report had nice spacing and boldface subtitles, but it all got crunched when I pasted it over to this site.

Oh..and: thanks to all of the disborders for the great gifts and trip ideas!

 

[scrapycruiser]

Does anyone know what time the Russian gift shop on the pier in St Petersburg closes ??

 

[Kouris_Family]

Does anyone know where the drop off point is for the Berlin on your own?