And me and Mrs TC will be heading to Dover to board the Carnival Legend for 12 nights of comfort and luxury as we head up to Finland, Russia, Denmark and Estonia. See you all in a couple of weeks, keep it rubber side down and between the hedgerows
Enjoy! Just prepare for a weighing scale horror moment when you get back, I stuffed on 4 pounds on our cruise this year, and that was after 2 sessions a day in the gym
I actually lose weight (well I have on our previous 6 cruises) mainly because we are so more active and we eat far more sensibly that we do at home. But in any case, I am beyond redemption on the weight side of things, so I don't care anyway
Well after 12 days of luxury cruising the Baltic, now back home But what an experience and something I want to do again. My perception of Russia (or at least St Petersburg) has turned 180 degrees. Vibrant, colourful, friendly people, and the history? No mention made of the communist era, Estonia is a pretty country, and the little Mermaid in Copenhagen was the biggest disappointment. I thought it would be much bigger than it actually is. Best of all, temperature never fell below 25 degrees, and the Bridge in Denmark is an interesting experience as is the lock to allow the large ships to sail into Amsterdam. All I have to do now is gear up in readiness for a return to work on Tuesday and start planning and saving for the next trip which at the moment is looking like either the eastern Med (Croatia) or the Norwegian Fjords.
It was 100% chill Superb food, cabin steward was terrific, and for those who have cruised, entering a country by sea is so different to entering by air or road. Going under the Great Belt Bridge (twice) was a hell of an experience, and entering Amsterdam via the lock was different, but most spooky was passing the Russian Naval bone yard as we left St Petersburg. It was just as if at the end of the cold war the Russians just upped and left leaving everything as it was to rot and rust. That was spooky seeing these warships just sat in the harbour rotting surrounded by disused sea defences. Would not have seen that coming in by air. Then we got buzzed by a couple of Nato fighters as they came to look at us at sea top level, passed a German Nuclear Sub returning to base after its patrol. Yep, 100% chilled
Glad you enjoyed your cruise, I was a safety officer on board Princess Cruises ships for 16 years and gave it up five years ago, and miss it like hell. St Petersburg certainly is one hell of a place and as you say totally colourful. I'm guessing you berthed close to the bridge, opposite the palace. You probably didn't go to the places the ships crew went too though........LOL.
I don't know if they were rebuilding when you were last there, but they have reclaimed a lot of the sea and built a brand new cruise terminal which on the telly map makes it seem like we were anchored out at sea. It is about 1 mile from where they used to dock, very modern and state of the art. There was no bridge anywhere near us When we arrived in St Petersbourg, the Emerald Princess and Crown Princess were already in port, both lovely looking ships, and ironically the mother in law is sailing on the Crown Princess to the Med at the end of this month. You are right about not seeing the places the crew go to though. We had to go through immigration and on a 2 day visa whichh only allowed us out on official trips, we were limited, whereas the crew could wander off when they wanted and had their own spots they went to. Fair play to them, one of the perks, and the last thing they probably want is to go where there are loads of tourists and passengers.
