Visiting the Baltic with Friends

 

And Having the Time of Their Lives

One day, Mike Roberts called me about a possible cruise to the Baltic. What a great destination, I thought. Wish we could get away!

I’ve known Mike for many years and had lost touch with him. During that time, he met and married a wonderful woman, Louise, whom I’m happy to call a friend. After seeing Mike’s photos and hearing about this trip, I regret not being able to go on this cruise with them! You’ll see what I mean.

A few days after our first conversation, Mike called to say that he’d need three more cabins for friends. Cruising with friends is arguably the best vacation one could take. You have so much opportunity to create lasting memories with people who matter to you.

Friends aboard the Serenade of the Seas

For Louise and Mike’s Baltic cruise, another couple that we know and love to travel with would be joining them—Barbara Giardina and Bill Smagala. The six of us had previously cruised down the Danube along with other friends. My husband Bill and I still talk about this vacation.

Louise and Mike wanted as many nights in St. Petersburg as I could find. Fortunately, Royal Caribbean was offering a “10-Night Ultimate Scandinavia-Russia” cruise. This would offer three days in St. Petersburg. Perfect!

So, in June 2019, Louise, Mike, Barbara and Bill and two other couples who are friends of Louise and Mike boarded the Serenade of the Seas. She was built in 2003 and then completely refurbished in 2012. With 12 decks featuring three pools, a casino and a spa, Serenade of the Seas is part of the Radiance Class of RCCL ships. You could say this is a mid-size ship as less than 2500 guests can cruise on her.

Serenade of the Seas in port

This was Mike’s first experience with an ocean cruise, and (he) “loved it!” Typically, people start with an ocean cruise and later try a river cruise. Mike did it the other way around; so I was really interested in his perspective. Louise and he, in addition to Barbara and Bill, did the tour of the ship’s kitchen and learned about everything the culinary crew does to ensure food safety.

Louise, Barbara and Bill would have liked less people on the ship. In fact, Barbara saw the ship in port in Copenhagen and commented that she "wouldn't want to be on that ship!" The three of them like the size of the river cruise--approximately 180 people on board vs 2500. (To add to the perspective, some ocean-going cruise ships accommodate 6000 people. I've cruised on two of those ships, and it's an experience!) 

Louise scored the food on the Serenade at seven out of a possible 10. Barbara and Bill said the food was "okay but not great." There were several bars on the ship for entertainment in the evenings as well. 

A Tip

If you’re taking a cruise, it’s a good idea to build in time at the front and the back. What if your flight is delayed? What if your luggage is lost on a connection? Wouldn’t you like to explore the embarkation port? Can you get back into port, off the ship and to the airport in time to catch your departing flight? If you’ve docked in a city with which you’re not familiar, you may want to build in more time or an overnight.

Most of this group of friends arrived in Copenhagen two nights early. The flight can take nine or more hours; so you’re arriving the next day. Copenhagen is a “beautiful city”, according to Louise and Mike. They stayed near Tivoli which is the second oldest amusement park in the world.

Tivoli Garden--the second oldest amusement park in the world

Flying over early, gave them time to sightsee and visit Nyhavn. This area is the famous waterfront area, known for its cafes, bars and the Royal Playhouse. They also visited the Rosenborg Castle. Once a summer home for the royal family, Rosenborg Castle is open to the public now so you can feel like a king with tapestries, art work and beautiful glass collections—in addition to seeing the king’s quarters and wax figures of the royal family.

Nyhavn, Denmark

Barbara and Bill had a slightly different experience. They were going to arrive at 8 am on the day before the group so they'd have a full day to explore Copenhagen. Someone said to me once "always expect something to go wrong when you travel!" 

You know what's coming next--their flight was canceled and rebooked by the airlines. Barbara and Bill weren't notified. Then, the new flight was delayed. Instead of having an extra day in the city, they arrived around 5 pm, tired from travel and time zone changes. 

They took the subway from the airport to town, and Barbara said this was "not too hard to do" as the Danish were helpful and some spoke English.

At their hotel, someone recommended that they walk six blocks to an area that offered various restaurants. They discovered a "not inexpensive, but very good" restaurant called The Host (https://cofoco.dk/en/restaurants/hoest/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb-website&utm_content=hoest).  
The hospitality, food and wine served to them was just what they needed to transition into their vacation after an exhausting experience. 

One thing of which to be careful in Copenhagen, Barbara noted, is the bicyclists. When you step off the curb, you're in the bike lane. It's typical for us to stop where we are and wonder which direction we want to go (because we're in a new place and this is what we do as tourists). In Copenhagen, you could easily get hit by a bike if you step off the curb. So, it's important to be mindful of your surroundings. 

The group had pre-purchased the Copenhagen Card (https://copenhagencard.com/). This card gets you free admissions into museums and sites. So, on the first full day in Copenhagen, the group took the Canal Tour and highly recommend this excursion. They also visited the Copenhagen City Hall which houses the most accurate astronomical clock in the world, and they saw the crown jewels of Denmark.

The Start of the Cruise

Once aboard the Serenade, the group cruised to Aarhaus, Denmark which Mike describes as a “quirky” town that everybody loved. Here, they toured Den Gamle By. Located in the Aarhaus Botanical Gardens, this old town museum features historic homes relocated from all over Denmark. You’ll get a good idea of Danish culture through three centuries.

Den Gamle features a collection of historic Danish houses

From Aarhaus, they sailed to the port of Warnemunde, Germany. They had two choices for excursions:  a three-hour ride to Berlin (150 miles from port) or an excursion to Rostock and the Schwerin Castle. Guess which one they chose?

In Rostock, Germany the friends arrived early enough in the day to see the town square  market open up. They had a private tour and lunched at a restaurant frequented by locals vs tourists. 

They visited the astronomical clock at the Gothic St. Mary’s Church. This clock was built in 1472 by Hans Duringer.

The Astronomical Clock in Rostock

I wondered “what is an astronomical clock?” It’s a clock that shows the position of the sun, moon and constellations, in addition to telling time. The oldest one in the world resides in Prague. There are close to 100 of these clocks around Europe.

From Rostock, the friends visited the Neo-Renaissance castle of Schwerin. Mike called this a “fairy tale castle”. Located on a small island, Schwerin Castle is also an art museum. Barbara enjoyed seeing the two weddings occurring at Schwerin Castle during their visit. 

Schwerin Castle

Following a day at sea, the ship docked in Helsinki, Finland. Due to the shorter port time, the friends walked to the town square from the ship for shopping and sampling local culinary. Barbara noted that this walk took about one hour. Then, they walked to sight see. They were able to get a cab back to the port so they didn't have to walk another hour. It was hot also since their cruise was in late June.

Don’t miss the Temppeliaukio Church a/k/a the Church of the Rock because it is built directly into rock. Lighting comes through a skylight in the church’s copper dome.

The Church of the Rock in Finland

The Highlight of the Cruise

The Peterhof, favorite residence of Peter the Great

Without a doubt, the highlight of this cruise for the group was St. Petersburg! Generally, I recommend that people use an excursion vendor vs. the cruise lines’ shore excursions. 

By reserving your excursions through a separate vendor, you have a small group—or the best option—a private tour. Since this was a group of eight, they experienced a small group tour. Their van held only 15 people. These were “skip the line” tours so instead of waiting 30 minutes or more to get into a venue, they entered immediately—very important when you’re making the most of your time in port.

I’ve heard people question whether the excursion operator won’t get them back to the ship on time. I’ve never heard of this actually happening. To stay in business, a tour operator must get you back to the ship well before it leaves port. Especially with social media, the reputation of a company who literally missed the boat would be ruined. 

Cruise Planners vets travel vendors, and so does Allianz Global Assistance. In this way, we can assist you in creating vacations with vendors who are financially stable and have very good reputations.

The friends' private guide enabled them to make the most of the gardens at the Peterhof (see fountains in photo above). The group was there early to watch the workers "turn on" the fountains which use gravity and elevation to function. So many tourists waited in line to enter the former residence of royalty, designed by Peter the Great in the early 1700s. The guide, knowing that the group would see similar furnishings in other sites, helped them use their time wisely to see the spectacular fountains.

The group agreed that their guide was “amazing." When they reached the State Hermitage Museum, they skipped the line while hundreds waited and waited and waited…

The second largest art museum in the world, the State Hermitage Museum was created by Empress Catherine the Great in the late 1700s. It is part of a six-building complex, including the Winter Palace which was a royal residence for 150 years up to the Russian Revolution in 1917. Louise and Mike said there is so much to see in this museum that if you viewed each piece for only one minute you would spend eight years doing so.

The Hermitage of Catherine the Great

The group also visited the site where Rasputin was murdered. Remember Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin? A self-described healer and mystic, Rasputin became influential to Czar Nicholas II and his German wife Alexandra after “curing” their son of hemophilia. Later, Rasputin predicted problems for Russia as it entered World War I, and then he predicted his own death.

Part of the famous Faberge egg collection

One night in 1916, a group including cousins of the Romanov family tried to poison Rasputin by serving him wine and cakes laced with cyanide, when they invited him to Yusupov Palace. Rasputin got drunk, but he didn’t die. So, they shot him three times and wrapped his body in a rug, throwing him into the river. Three days later, he was found dead.

Before his death, Rasputin had predicted to Czar Nicholas that the Romanov family, consisting of Czar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their four children (Olga, Maria, Anastasia and Alexi) would be assassinated. When the Russian Revolution began in 1917, the Romanov’s were indeed shot and bayoneted to death.

The group visited the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul as well. This is where the Romanov's are interred. Memories of this famous landmark caused Mike to say, "there's a lot of gold in St. Petersburg!" Of the gold and enormous residences, their guide remarked that it is easy to understand why the revolution occurred. 

In the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul

A site not to be missed is the Church of the Resurrection also known as the Savior on Spilled Blood. This cathedral was built in memory of Alexander II who was assassinated in 1881. The Cathedral took 24 years to built and it is decorated with topaz, mountain crystal, jasper and other semiprecious stones, but perhaps that’s not too much for one of the most famous Russian Czars—known for freeing the serfs five years before the emancipation proclamation in the U.S.

The Church of the Resurrection a/k/a the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

Everyone agreed that St. Petersburg was the highlight. There was more to see here, but in the three days allotted, they were able to see most of everything they had wanted. 

Barbara noted "you can't stray from the group--period" in Russia. Tourists also should be aware to the pickpockets here. As in many major cities, pickpockets will cleverly distract you and then pat you down, searching for your valuables. 

Again, their guide did a great job of helping them navigate through St. Petersburg. She even took them on a brief subway ride so they could see the gorgeous mosaics on the walls and the cleanliness of the subway.

Upon departing St. Petersburg, the Serenade of the Seas made her way toward the medieval city of Tallinn, Estonia.

Here the friends ate at Olde Hansa, a 300-year-old establishment in the old town. Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia. You can see everything you need to see in one day, according to Louise. She loved the flowers and said the town was “so beautiful”.

Barbara and Bill did the ship excursion of Tallinn. They would not recommend this because the guide couldn't answer several questions posed by the group. 

The 300-year-old restaurant Olde Hansa is in Tallinn.

Welcome to Sweden

The end of a cruise is usually mixed—you want to get home and you don’t want to leave. For the final port of call, the Serenade approached Stockholm, Sweden. 

The Captain told everyone that they should get up early and watch as the ship came into port. So, they did! The group saw “thousands of islands as you come in to port,” Louise and Mike said. In fact, Stockholm consists of approximately 30,000 islands in its archipelago. 

They took a cab into town.They visited the Nobel Museum. Mike was disappointed. Barbara and Bill really enjoyed learning about the history of the Nobel award. The friends also visited the Gothic Cathedral and the island of Gamlastan where they explored the square, full of all kinds of vendors. 

Louise and Mike suggest spending an extra day in Stockholm to soak up the atmosphere and interact with the warm, friendly Swedes. Barbara and Bill had a 1 pm flight back home, and would have liked another day in the city too. 

Maybe then, everyone could have visited the ABBA Museum (https://abbathemuseum.com/en/) which is less than two miles from the cruise port (https://youtu.be/xFrGuyw1V8s). You can take a bus, taxi or walk there. Don't worry about having cash to purchase your entrance ticket:  they only take credit cards.  

Currently, RCCL is not offering the 10-Night Ultimate Scandinavia-Russia cruise. That's disappointing, but hopefully, this will return at a future date. We wanted to share the itinerary of this great cruise:  Copenhagen, Denmark--Aarhaus, Denmark--Warnemunde, Germany--Day at Sea--Helsinki, Finland--St. Petersburg, Russia (3 days)--Tallinn, Estonia--Stockholm, Sweden (2 days).

Would you like to see a slideshow of some of Mike’s photos from their Baltic cruise? Here you go!