Baltic Capitals Cruise

BALTIC CAPITALS CRUISE

(français)

By : Édouard Robitaille & Adrienne de Burgos


2010/07/22 – 2010/08/02

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010 and Thursday, July 22, 2010

Today is “D” Day. We’ve been planning this trip for exactly one year. Adrienne has worked very hard to ensure that nothing is forgotten.

We’ve had a busy day. I’ve paid bills, called people, set my accounts in order, etc.

The taxi arrives to pick us up at 7:00 pm, right after dinner. The driver is a Lebanese who just loves to talk, and talk, and talk. We get to the airport and join the line for the British Airways counter. It’s a long wait. When we’re finally being served, the counter agent offers to “upsell” us to World Traveller Plus class at $250.00 each, a 50 % discount to the regular price. The seats are larger, offer more leg space and recline more than regular seats. We accept.

We have no problem going through security. Afterwards, though, we have a wait of approximately one hour. We board the Boeing 777 at 10:20 pm. It’s a good flight. The dinner is unimpressive (pasta served with an indeterminate cheese sauce). I watch Avatar – a good film, but I can’t see what the fuss was about. After that, I try, without much success, to catch a few hours of sleep. I wake up as they’re serving breakfast and we land shortly thereafter. Customs and immigration are a snap. We then meet with a representative of NCL. She has us wait for another hour as we are to be joined by the passengers of a later flight. Finally, we leave for Dover. The weather is quite cool and there’s heavy rain as we leave.

The trip to Dover takes about an hour and a half, during which I manage to get some sleep. The weather clears up and we have some sun as we arrive.

Dover is really quite impressive with its famous white cliffs.

We are processed quickly and board the Norwegian Sun. We get ourselves a bit of lunch and then go see our stateroom. The suitcases are brought up almost immediately and Adrienne begins unpacking.

We have an emergency drill at 3:30 pm. Afterwards, I let Adrienne get back to her unpacking and I go to do some exploring. Adrienne finds me around 5:30 pm. We take a little cocktail and go to dinner at the Garden Café. After dinner, Adrienne goes to bed and I go down to deck 7 to write in my travel diary.

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Friday, July 23, 2010

We’ve set our clocks forward overnight. We wake up at 8:37 am. We’re in vacation mode, so we take our time. Shower and shave. The weather is beautiful: it’s warm and sunny. We go up to breakfast at 10:00 am. The Garden Café is full! We take our plates and find a table on the other side of the deck, in the Sports Bar.

The sky becomes overcast and the temperature cooler. There is a noticeable roll. We finish our breakfast and go back to the stateroom where Adrienne does her exercises.
  

We put on our jackets and go down to deck 6 where the jogging and walking tracks are located. Each circuit represents 480 metres and we complete four laps for a total of 1.9 km. Then we’ve got to get ready for a party given at 1:00 pm in honour of Latitudes club members. All passengers in a prior NCL cruise are automatically members. They give us cocktails and hors-d’oeuvres. The captain presents his team and gives a (thankfully) short speech. Right after the speech, there is a draw for door prizes and Adrienne wins a model of the ship.

After the party, it’s time for lunch and I find myself a plate of chicken. Then Adrienne drags me to a trivia contest. Our performance is nothing to write home about.

We do a bit of exploring until 6:00 pm then go up to the stateroom to change clothes for dinner. Tonight is photo night. I’m ready first and I go down to the atrium where Adrienne will join me around 7:00 pm. The personnel takes various shots of us and then we go to dinner. Adrienne selects the chicken jambalaya and I choose the rack of lamb. The food is quite good and the service is superb.
  

After dinner, we chat a bit and then go to the 9:30 pm show. It’s a circus act based on the story of Peter Pan. The show is OK, without being exceptional. After the show Adrienne retires and I go to the Atrium to write this entry.

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Saturday, July 24, 2010

Adrienne did not sleep well last night. For my part, I get up at 8:00 am. The ship is already docked at Langelinie Pier in Copenhagen. The sky is gray, it’s cool without actually being cold, and there is a bit of wind.

I shave and shower and we go upstairs to have breakfast around 9:00 am. We join the excursion for “Meet the Danes” at 10:15 am and our bus leaves a few minutes later. After some 30 minutes of driving, we get to the home of Ib et Rita Mejding, our hosts. Our group consists of 10 passengers. Ib and Rita have prepared a beautiful lunch in their garden, composed of national delicacies, including pickled herring and smoked salmon, liberally washed down with lots of beer and schnapps. The hospitality is warm and cordial, and time flies quickly.
  

Our coach returns to pick us up at 1:00 pm and leaves us, a half-hour later, at the centre of Copenhagen, in front of the Tivoli Gardens. Aware that we must return to the ship by 4:00 pm, we begin strolling down the streets of the city. We start at the Strøget, Copenhagen’s main commercial street. It’s a large pedestrian street full of shops and street entertainers. We then turn along a canal on Ved Stranden and walk along the Sydhavnen river, taking Havnegade street, which leads us to Nyhavn street which borders a canal full of bars, restaurants and boutiques. From there, we take Bredgade Avenue which eventually takes us to the port where our ship is docked. We wanted to see the Little Mermaid, but she is unfortunately travelling to Beijing at this time. We get back to the ship at 3:30 pm and go up to the stateroom.
  

While Adrienne showers, I go down to the atrium. There, I get stuck with a chap who talks and talks and talks. He’s still talking when Adrienne comes to join me at 5:15 pm. After a few more minutes, I invent an excuse and we leave.

We stop by Las Ramblas, the ship’s tapas bar where a folk singer gives concerts every night. Finally, we descend to the Four Seasons à 7:00 pm to have dinner. Adrienne chooses the braised beef and I take the pork loin.
  

Afterwards, we return to the stateroom. Adrienne prepares for bed and I go to the show, a Bristish comedian. I then go to the atrium à 10:30 pm, to write this entry.

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Sunday, July 25, 2010

We wake up at 5:55 am, one minute before sunrise. The day starts off a bit cool and sunny, with cloudy periods. The ship is arriving at Warnemunde. We take the time to observe the docking operations and then I go to shave and shower. We go up to the Garden Café for a light breakfast. After that, there is the 7:30 am briefing in the Stardust Lounge for the day’s excursions. We have selected a tour called Berlin’s “Top ten”. We board a special train which will take us to that historic city after a 3-hour ride.
  

We’re sharing our compartment with four others: two charming Australian ladies travelling together and a New York Russian woman and her husband. During the journey, we are given a box containing an apple, a bottle of water, a chocolate square, a muffin and a little packet of candies.

We arrive in Berlin around 11:00 am and hop into a coach. Up to this point, we have been accompanied by Julia, a young German student with a pleasant personality. From this point on, Jan-Benedict will be guiding us through the city. Warm and fuzzy, he’s not!
  

Our first stop is at the “East Side Gallery”, a section of the Berlin wall which has been left in place and which is covered in a multitude of murals. One of the murals bears the Quebec motto “Je me souviens”, and is signed Maillé/Québec.
  

We return to our coach and head for the Brandenburg Gate. We make a quick stop, about ten minutes and then it’s time for lunch. Benedict takes us to the Lowenbrau (like the beer) where the meal consists of a sausage and sauerkraut buffet. After lunch, we’re taken back to the Brandenburg gate where we are given one hour’s free time. Adrienne buys a few gifts for her Italian course group. When our hour is up, we return to the coach to continue our tour. Our stops include the Reichstag, Babelplatz, the square in which the Nazis began their book burning campaign, the Charlottenburg palace, Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust monument and other sites.
  

Because of the destruction resulting from the last World War, there is little left in Berlin by way of historical monuments, and the city’s general architecture is quite modern.
 

Despite a few dark clouds, the weather holds and the temperature is even a bit warm.
  

At 6:00 pm, we’re back on our train headed towards Warnemunde, a return trip of three hours, with the same companions. We get back to the ship around 7:25 pm and go up to the Garden Café to grab a bite. Then, we go down to the atrium to write our journals.

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Monday, July 26, 2010

Today, the ship is at sea. I went to bed late last night and we’ve moved the clocks forward by one hour. So, it’s 10:00 am when I get up. The day looks beautiful with a clear sky and a calm sea.
 

We go to breakfast. I take three small pancakes and that’s enough, especially since the “maple syrup” comes from a telephone pole.
  

After breakfast, we go down to deck 6 to do a few laps. We complete nine laps at a quick pace for a total of 4,320 metres. We then decide to take a look at the professional photos taken the day before. There’s nothing interesting there. We then go up to deck 12 and grab a few rays of sunshine while I nurse a beer.
  

At pool level, on deck 11, they’ve set up tables and a barbecue. We grab a bite around 1:00 pm.
  

After lunch, Adrienne wants to attend a conference on shopping in Russia. I find a comfortable spot where I can read. Adrienne joins me one hour later.

Around 5:00 pm, Adrienne and I go to the Havana Club where there is supposed to be a meetup of French-speaking passengers. It’s a fiasco. Other than us, there are only two other couples. It won’t be a total loss. Later in the cruise, we’ll spend a few enjoyable hours with one of those couples.

We leave the meeting at 5:45 pm and go to the atrium to get some information. Around 6:00 pm, we go to Las Ramblas to listen to a bit of folk music. The singer takes her break at 7:00 pm and we decide to go have dinner. Before leaving the room, however, the singer settles a bet between Adrienne and me (As I had asserted, Joni Mitchell is the singer who popularized “Both Sides Now”). We dine at the Seven Seas. Adrienne decides to take the cordon bleu chicken and I choose the mixed grill, washing down our meal with an excellent Chianti classico.
  

At 9:30 pm, we attend a concert given by a Jonathan Johnston, an Irish flutist. After the show, Adrienne retires, and I go down to the atrium.

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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

We’ve docked in Tallinn, Estonia. We’ve got great weather: sunny, little or no wind, already a bit warm. We have a good view of the city from our balcony. On one side, there is a modern city with modern architecture and on the other a medieval town.
  

Shower, shave and breakfast. The cafeteria is full of people and we find a table outside, on the aft deck. The port is quite busy with cruise ships. We’ve opted not to book a tour for this stop. We’ve decided to just stroll through the streets of the old town.
  

The walk from the ship to the old town is quite pleasant. In the port, we must cross through a sort of bazaar and then walk along a large avenue for a few minutes before arriving at a wall flanked by two old guard towers. This is the entry to the old town. This part of the city is completely surrounded by the town walls. The architecture is ancient. According to the plaques affixed to certain buildings, some of these houses date back to the 14th century. The main street, Pikk Street, leads from the two towers by which we entered right up to the main square of the town. Many of the merchants are wearing medieval clothing, making us feel as if we’re extras in a period piece.
  

Adrienne and I have no set plan. We just want to stroll through these narrow cobblestoned streets. In fact, we must be careful, because the cobblestones are uneven and it is difficult to walk about. Around noon, we go to the top of the hill, just outside the walls and arrive at an impressive public square. On one side, there is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and on the other the Toompea palace. The whole thing is quite spectacular. We return inside the walls around 1:00 pm and find a nice little place where we can have lunch.
  

After lunch, we spend another couple of hours exploring before returning to the ship. We go up to the stateroom to change clothes and then go up to deck 12 around 4:00 pm to catch a bit of sun. At 5:00 pm, Adrienne wants to participate in a trivia contest. Again, we have nothing to be proud of in terms of performance. At 6:00 pm, there is a vodka tasting session, and at 7:00 pm, dinner.

I don’t know why, but I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open. Adrienne and I are in bed at 9:30 pm.

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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

We wake at 5:55 am. We’re arriving in St. Petersburg. The day will be hot and humid. Adrienne stays in bed while I shave and shower. I climb the stairs to the Garden Café to write in my journal on yesterday’s activities. Despite the early hour, there is already a fairly large crowd in the dining room.
   

Our excursion for today is called Pushkin and the Hermitage. After Adrienne has come and finished her breakfast, we go down the stairs to the Stardust Lounge. It’s 8:15 am. Our tour is called and we’re on our way. Before we get very far, however, we must go through Russian Immigration. We wait in the morning heat for a good half-hour. After clearing that point, we get into our coach, number 12, which will take us to our various points of interest. Elena will be our guide for the day.

Our first stop, in the town of Pushkin, is Catherine’s palace. We’re not talking of Catherine the Great, here, but rather of the wife of Peter the Great. The building was seriously damaged by the Germans during the Second World War. It was later restored to its original splendour. The luxury and scope of the palace inside and out are breathtaking especially when Elena tells us that the palace was modest by the standards of its day. It is not surprising, under the circumstances, that the Russian people rose up. A major issue during our visit is that the temperature climbs up beyond 32 degrees celcius (90 degrees Farenheit for our American friends) and the palace is not air-conditioned.
  

We exit the palace around 12:30. Our lunch will be at 1:00 pm. The meal is OK, but we are given a typical folk song and dance show by four students. They are quite talented. One of the women comes and pulls me on center stage to dance to the music.

We get back on the coach around 2:00 pm for a one-hour return trip to St. Petersburg and our final destination, the Hermitage.

This leaves us about 90 minutes to tour the museum. I’m worrying about Adrienne because of the heat, but she carries on like a brave little soldier! The Hermitage was used as a palace by Catherine the Great who collected a great many works of art, thus sealing the future of the palace. The beauty of the various rooms and their contents are mind-boggling.

Elena has kept the best for last, at least as far as Adrienne is concerned. She takes us to see the impressionists just before we have to think about leaving. The excursion ends at 4:30 pm and our coach takes us back to the ship by 5:00 pm.
  

I go down to deck 7 to get a well-deserved beer while Adrienne showers and changes. We dine at 7:00 pm and Adrienne will go to bed early.

  

Many of the ship’s passengers have gone ashore to the ballet so the show tonight consists of the film “Avatar” which I saw on the plane. Regardless, I’ll find something to do to pass the time.

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Thursday, July 29, 2010

We’re up at 6:30 am. Once again, the day will be hot and humid. It will be sunny all day. We get breakfast, and then go to the Stardust Lounge at 8:00 am for the kick-off of our excursion. We leave around 8:30 am. Today, we get quickly through Russian Immigration. We meet our guide, Nina, at coach 19. She’s a small woman, full of energy. Our tour is called “Imperial St. Petersburg”. It consists of a visit to Peterhof and its gardens, followed by a crossing of the Baltic by hydrofoil, right up to the dock next to the Hermitage and ending with a tour of the fortress of Peter and Paul together with its cathedral.
  

Peterhof is situated more than one hour travel time from the ship. It consists of a complex of palaces built by Peter the Great to rival with Versailles. Our group must wait 10 to 15 minutes in the hot sun before entering.

Here again, the buildings and their contents have been largely restaured because of the damage suffered at the hands of the Germans during the war. Air-conditioning is non-existent and the temperature will climb above 32o C (90o F) The splendour of the building is awesome. Each room rivals with the preceding one in terms of silk, gilt, mirrors, and precious woods. The works of art are so numerous that we begin to take them for granted.
  

Nina has trouble keeping her group together, but eventually manages to usher us into the gardens. They are covered with numerous fountains and artificial waterfalls. A canal leads from the palace to the Baltic Sea. We walk along this canal up to a group of hydrofoils which will take us back to St. Petersburg. The crossing lasts a half- hour. We then board the coach which was waiting for us at the dock to take us up to our restaurant. The food is OK.
  

Lunch ends around 2:00 pm. Nina then takes us to “Babushka” to do a bit of shopping. This part of the expedition lasts about one hour. At 3:00 pm we leave for the fortress of Peter and Paul. Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg after having recovered the territory from the Swedes. The location was of vital strategic importance as it gave Russia access to the Baltic Sea. One of the first structures erected was therefore a fortress to defend the new city. At the center of this fortress, he ordered the construction of Peter and Paul Cathedral, whose spire can be seen throughout the city.
  

The church in general and the altar, in particular are spectacular. In the heart of the church are the graves of several tsars, including Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.
  

It’s beginning to get late and Nina begins the journey back to the ship, having our driver go by several well-known landmarks, including St. Isaac’s Basilica.
  

We return to the ship and our passage through Russian Immigration goes rather well. Adrienne goes up to the stateroom to shower and I go to the atrium too write my journal. Adrienne comes to join me. Since she wants to attend a raffle at 8:00 pm, she wants to dine by 7:00 pm at the latest. We order the gazpacho and beef stroganoff. Adrienne doesn’t win at her raffle, but decides to spoil herself by buying a new amber pendant.
  

Afterwards, we go to the show given by Uber Rossi. He’s a comic who, in the style of Don Rickles, goes after members of the audience. After the show, we get a bit of air and watch the sky. It’s still light at 10:50 pm. Then, Adrienne goes upstairs to bed and I go back to the atrium to write my journal.

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Friday, July 30, 2010

It’s hard to believe that we are now two-thirds through our cruise. During the night, we have moved our clocks back by one hour. We have nothing specific planned for our stopover in Helsinki. We therefore take our time to get up, wash up and go to breakfast.

It’s probably somewhere around 9:30 am when we step off the ship. As we come out, we’re a bit uncertain as to how to go to town. We finally decide to select a “Hop-on / Hop-off” tour of the city at a cost of 25 € each.

The flea market is our first stop. There’s a bit of everything. The selection ranges from garage sale through inventory clearance for small businesses. Half an hour later, the next bus arrives and takes us to the second stop, the Lasipalatsi (“Glass Palace”), a shopping centre in the middle of the city.
  

We decide to do a bit of exploring, starting with the central train station, an impressive buiding with a beautiful façade. After that, Adrienne wants to visit the Temppeliaukio Lutheran church. The church was dug out straight from the stone on the site. It’s quite impressive. We’ve spent a substantial amount of time getting our bearings, but I’m beginning to find my way and understand how the streets are named and identified.
  

We begin to think about lunch around 12:30. We stroll along the Esplanade, a long urban garden leading up to the port. We make a brief detour by the old covered market and return to Pohjoisesplanadi Street which runs along the park. We decide on a little restaurant in which Adrienne orders a ham and cheese sandwich and I select a huge club sandwich and a beer. It’s expensive: 46 € plus tip.

After lunch, we go to Senate Square, the end of the line for our “Hop-on/Hop-off” bus. Adrienne wants to know the length of time it will take us to get back to the ship. They tell us that in order to get back by 4:00 – 4:30, we should be on the 3:15 pm or 3:50 pm bus. With this information in hand, we get back to admiring the architecture of the Square. Senate Square is dominated by the Helsinki Cathedral, flanked by two impressive governmental buildings.

We then return to Pohjoisesplanadi Street and walk to another public market, this one more modern, set along the port. We stroll slowly between the various shops and Adrienne buys a little souvenir. Afterwards, we head for Uspenski Cathedral a massive church set on top of a small hill. We then go back down and start thinking of returning to the ship.
  

The bus trip takes us about fifteen minutes and we’re back on board by 3:30 pm. Adrienne remains in the stateroom to shower. I change clothes for dinner and go down to the atrium to make my entries into the journal.

General comments on Helsinki :

While the city is not ugly, it is not, either, one of those charming old European cities. Modern structures are built alongside old ones and there does not seem to have been much effort to reconcile the two. All the inhabitants seem to speak perfect English and everyone appears to scrupulously respect traffic laws, even the pedestrians. The automobile does not dominate here. There many large pedestrian malls, bicycling paths, roadways reserved for trams, and a very limited area given over to automobiles.

OK! Back on board ship. Adrienne joins me in the atrium around 5:10 pm. She takes a few minutes to read the e-mails I’ve received on my BlackBerry during the day. At 5:30 pm, we go down to the Windjammer Bar to play trivia with Judy and Sarie, the two Australians whom we’d met during our stopover in Berlin. Everyone does his part and together, we make the semi-finals and win an NCL key-chain.

After, Adrienne and I complete four laps on deck 6 (1,920 metres). At 7:20 pm, we go down to dinner and at 9:30 pm, go up to the Stardust Lounge for a juggling and balancing act..

It’s 10:40 pm. The sun has just set and Adrienne goes upstairs to sleep. As for me, I’ll do downstairs for a while.

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Saturday, July 31, 2010

The sea was rough last night. It didn’t bother us. Quite the contrary! We were rocked in our sleep.
  

During the night I left a birthday card for Adrienne to find when she woke up. After that, it’s our normal routine and we go up for breakfast around 7:00 am. We then go down to the Stardust Lounge at 8:00 am for our “Stockholm by Land and Sea” excursion. Stockholm’s port is too shallow to accommodate our ship. We are therefore anchored off Nynäshamn, a vacation town located some 60 km south of Stockholm. We board a shuttle for a 15-minute ride in rough water. It’s quite fun!

  

Once on land, we go to coach 9 and leave around 8:40 am. Thomas will be our guide during the day. Our first stop is atop a little cliff overlooking the Baltic Sea and the city. Stockholm is an archipelago of some 14 islands on which live some 1.5 million of Sweden’s 9.2 million inhabitants. Founded in 1252 by Birger Jarl, Stockholm is bordered on one side by the Baltic Sea and on the other by Lake Mälaren.

  

After our photo-stop, Thomas takes us from one island to another in order to give us a general impression of the old city. The coach then drops us off at the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a warship built in 1628. Designed with too high a centre of gravity, it capsized and sank the day of its launching.

Rediscovered in 1956, it was salvaged and preserved in the museum which was built to house it. Because of the chemical and biological conditions of the waters in which it sank, the ship was extremely well preserved over the centuries.

  

After the Vasa Museum, Thomas takes us to Gamla Stan where are located the royal palace and the cathedral. The Swedish royal family lives outside of Stockholm but goes to the palace on a regular basis to conduct affairs of state. After a short visit by foot, Thomas gives us an hour to lunch. We find a little bistro where we each order a smoked salmon sandwich. These sandwiches turn out to be huge and we can’t finish them.

  

After lunch, we begin the maritime portion of our expedition. The coach crawls towards the port, slowed down by the crowds which are waiting for the gay pride parade. We finally board a boat on a dock of the Baltic Sea. From the water, we have a great view of the multi-coloured buildings lining the shore. There are white ones, pink ones, yellow ones, red ones, etc. After a while, we go through a set of locks which give us access to Lake Mälaren. We can see many residential buildings, apparently quite costly and exclusive. The traffic on the water is heavy. Obviously, the people here take their boats quite seriously. Our two-hour mini-cruise winds up quickly and we must soon get back to the coach for the return trip to the ship. Back in Nynäshamn, we must wait a good half-hour in line to have our papers checked, board the launch and get back on board the Sun.

  

In the stateroom, I put on my jacket and tie in honour of Adrienne’s birthday. At the Windjammer bar, we find Judi and Sarie who have accepted to share our dinner. They’ve had the kindness of finding a birthday gift for Adrienne.

The dinner is very enjoyable and is followed by a liqueur. Later that evening, around 10:30 pm, the staff has organized a ship-wide chocolate orgy. The evening ends at 11:30 pm.

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Sunday, August 1, 2010

We have a day at sea. Cloudy skies with sunny periods, temperature at 18o.

Adrienne did not sleep well, whereas I had an excellent night. In a change of our routine, we go down to the Seven Seas Restaurant for breakfast instead of the Garden Café. Adrienne orders the eggs Benedict and I take an omelette. After breakfast, we go to deck 7 where we each write in our journal. At 10:45 am, Adrienne has an appointment at the Mandara Spa for a massage, a little gift from me for her birthday. I take her up to the spa, and then return to deck 7 to read.

Adrienne comes back about an hour later and we go back to the stateroom to leave the journal which I still had with me. At 12:30, Adrienne wants to play Taboo, a game which is being held at the Windjammer. I go with her and read while she plays.

  

We have lunch at 2:00pm and I return to the stateroom where I can get back to my reading. Adrienne goes downstairs to play another game, Pictionnary. When she returns, we decide to send a brief e-mail to family and friends. It takes us half an hour at $0.75 per minute.

  

We do a bit of window shopping at 6:00 pm, followed by a cocktail. At 7:30 pm, we join Mireille et Daniel, a French couple we met the previous Monday, at the Four Seasons. We’ll be having dinner with them.

  

Dinner is enjoyable, with good wine. After that, we go to the show, a composite of scores from various musicals. At the end of the show, the ship’s staff is presented to the audience.

  

Bed time is 10:30 pm.

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Monday, August 2, 2010

It’s the last day of our cruise and it will be spent at sea. Adrienne got up at 6:00 am and I took my time to get up. We have breakfast at the Seven Seas around 7:45 am and stay there until 8:30 am.

  

At 10:30 am this morning, there will be a conference on debarkation procedures.

  

It takes half an hour. After that, Adrienne goes up to the stateroom to start packing. It’s a chore she prefers doing alone. I go down to the atrium to read. Adrienne joins me around 12:30 pm. We decide to have lunch shortly thereafter.

   

After lunch, we do five laps on deck 6, (2,4 km), which takes up another half-hour. I read a bit, we loiter, and Adrienne decides to go to a 3:00 pm concert at the Stardust Lounge. I get back to my book on the stateroom’s balcony.

   

At 3::50 pm, I’ve been ordered by Adrienne to show up at the Windjammer because she wants me to participate in the trivia game with her, Judi and Sarie. After the match, at 5:00 am, we go up to deck 7 so that Adrienne may take part in a raffle for which the purchase of her pendant has given her tickets. She doesn’t win.

   

We go back downstairs to the Windjammer at 5:30 pm for cocktails with Mireille and Daniel. We go on until 7:30 pm, at which time our friends go to a show and Adrienne and I have our last on-board dinner.

After dinner, Adrienne continues to pack and we go to the show at 9:30 pm.

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Tuesday, August 3, 2010

It’s the end of our cruise. We’re back in Dover. We were up at 6:30 am. Our suitcases were picked up overnight and our hand luggage is essentially ready. It’s a beautiful day, with lots of sunshine, little wind and a temperature of 17o C (about 64 o F).

I got the final bill. It’s high, but not unexpected. My initial estimate of 50% of the basic cost is more or less bang on.

  

We have breakfast at 7:00 am and return to the stateroom to pick up our stuff. A last greeting to René and Bradley, our two cabin stewards and we descend to deck 6 to wait for them to call our departure. We exit the ship at 8:25 am. It’s a very smooth procedure. We quickly find our luggage and at 9:00 am, our coach leaves for Heathrow where we’ll arrive at 10:45 am.

  

We have a seven-hour wait before take-off. We find a strap to secure a broken suitcase and take a bit of lunch just before noon. Afterwards, we do a bit of reading and take a few walks around the terminal.

   

At 2:50 pm, we check in, deposit our suitcases and pass through security. Beyond that zone, Heathrow’s Terminal 5 departure area is very impressive. It is loaded with prestigious retailers such as Harrods, Gucci, Versace, Cartier, and so on. We have a long wait, especially since our flight is delayed by an hour. Around 6:00 pm, we board a bus which takes us to our plane. Take-off is at 6:50 pm.

   

The flight is uneventful. Once again, we are put in World Traveller Plus class. Dinner is acceptable. Adrienne takes the chicken and I select the beef.

After dinner, I grab a few hours sleep until we land, at 8:45 pm. We quickly recover our luggage and get through customs without problem.

The taxi takes us home at 10:30 pm.