We all slept late this morning, missing our arrival in Helsinki and barely arriving for a late breakfast / early lunch before taking the shuttle to downtown. The extra rest was much-needed (“yes, kids, I remember that this IS a vacation.”) We opted to stroll the main streets enjoying the Finnish design stores rather than taking an excursion. We remembered very little from our trip here almost 30 years ago. We were struck that the downtown is clean and vibrant. I’m sure the beautiful weather influenced our opinion, but safe to say we enjoyed our few hours in town.

Tonight is the Seven Seas Society reception and the Davises will actually venture off of their aft balcony for a Regent event. That is followed by our dinner in Signatures. The Davis men will sport new ties for the occasion and we’ll make sure to order Meredith’s favorite champagne. AND, I know the rack of lamb is calling my name.

A few notes as we reflect on our prior Voyager cruise (2004):

We love the food, but we are not awed as we were in 2004. I assume the “wow” factor is gone from our first comparison to Royal Caribbean meals. Not that we have slowed down ordering / eating.

The work in drydock has the ship in great shape. However, I STILL wonder why clocks are not provided in the suites.

We like the in-house “Voyager Today” and travel concierge TV programs. I am surprised, however, that there are no lecturers on this sailing … we would have certainly valued information and insights about the history of this area and its people.

The casino staff is superb … skilled and personable dealers on each table.

We will not buy any of the photos taken by the ship photographer. Each has a cheesy postcard appearance, surrounded by images of the ship or local sights. The actual photo is lost in the “stuff” bordering the photo.

More soon.

Luke