We are now a month away from our much-anticipated Baltics cruise! We are counting the days!!

If anyone is scheduled to take a Baltics cruise or considering doing so, I strongly suggest going onto CC Radisson board and reading Call Me Ishmael's outstanding Voyager Baltics cruise review, which is in several parts. He goes into great detail, offering terrific information and wit.

Denise and Alan,
Hope you have a great! cruise. We really enjoyed our Baltic cruise on Voyager. I agree with you that Ishmael has done a very thorough and accurate review on CC.

Greg & Gretchen

Denise & Alan:

I know you can't wait for the Baltics trip and so are we come next June. In the meantime, I appreciate very much the heads up on Ishmael.

Cheers! Ray

Oh that count down period is frustrating - I know you'll have a super trip and I will be anxious to hear about it - Joanna

Denise & Alan - have a wonderful time! I agree - Ishmael is doing a great job of giving first-hand Baltics reports this year. Makes me want to go back! Cheers, Anne

We all know that anticipation of waiting until the day we head for the airport to start an adventure. Very excited for you and Alan, knowing that this is a well deserved trip. We're counting with you!

Denise,

I know you've had some wonderful trips, but I think you'll really love the Baltics! Some of my memories of it from '01 are still so vivid, especially when I sometimes can't remember last week!

Thanks for all the good wishes.

Kathy, many times I have trouble remembering yesterday! That's when I know I really need a cruise! We must be nearing our cruise, as my memory is fading fast!

Denise,
I didn't say yesterday, lest you all pack me off to the "bin!" I have always had a remarkable "trivia brain" and swore "memory loss" wouldn't happen to me! HA!HA!

Hi Denise and Alan

Although we don't know each other - I just wanted to wish you a wonderful cruise to the Baltics. I'm seriously thinking of going on the Voyager next June and have to make a decision soon, so will be watching for your posts. Have a great time. Lee

Denise,

We are all so excited for you. Your cruise is going to be so wonderful!

Betty

Denise, your wonderful vacation is almost here and will be so much fun for you and Alan. Enjoy the next month of anticipation. It's part of the fun too!

Your time is drawing near and very soon you'll be dancing your little legs off! It seems like you've had this trip planned for years! We're so happy for you and Alan!

Dear Denise:

I know how much planning you've put into your cruise. It will be wonderful. The next 30 days will fly bye....and then we'll be waiting for SEAMAIL!

Time to organize the packing....

Denise, you have been planning this cruise for so long, and now it's almost here. How exciting it will be!

Kathy, I had to laugh at your comments. The memory loss I was referring to was directed towards myself. I find as I get older, I am discarding "old files" in my brain. I only retain what's most important, tossing out insignificant bits and pieces. I've managed, however, to retain lots of trivia. I guess the trivia is important enough to keep for a while!

Lee, it sure would be great to have to join us! However, if you're aiming for next year, you have lots of time to plan and look forward to this great itinerary. I've heard nothing but wonderful reports on the Baltic cruises. We've waited a long time to do this and know it will more than live up to our expectations. I know it will live up to yours, as well.

Yes, Priscilla, as you well know, we've been planning this cruise for some time now. Anticipation is now building and before we know it, we'll be arriving in Stockholm to begin what we know will be a fantastic journey. Your trip is not so far behind and I know how much you are looking forward to your wonderful land tour and cruise.

Thanks to all for sharing in the now hard-to- contain excitement with us.

Wow! I can't believe it's almost time. Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back.

Here's wishing you and Alan a WONDERFUL trip!

Kathy

Hi Kathy,

Thanks for your good wishes. Are you parents still sailing with us?

Denise - I'm so excited for you and know you will have a wonderful time!! You've been planning this for a year now, and it will be great to read your report.

Have a great trip.

Hi and thank you, JoAnn.

Hope you had a good visit here last weekend. Sorry we were unable to join you for dinner with Kathy and Frank. Hopefully, the next time you are in town, we can meet.

Denise - yes we did have a good time. We surprised our very dear friends (best friends for 39 years now) and showed up for his retirement party, then on Friday had dinner with Kathy and Frank at one of our favorite places "Old Tony's on the Pier" ummmmm, then Saturday we got invited to the above friends grandaughter's 2nd birthday party, and Saturday we attened another good friend's surprise birthday party.

Sorry you couldn't join us as well, and yes hopefully next time, or even better yet, hopefully we will meet on a cruise one of these days.

How fun Joann! We too are so sorry we couldn't see you Friday night. Hopefully next time. I know exactly where Tony's on the pier is. I've eaten there many many times through the years. It was actually my parent's favorite restaurant (they lived in Palos Verdes). What fun to surprise your friends. I LOVE to surprise people too!

Marcie - I too wish you could have joined us - Tony's a great place isn't it? Our family use to go there all the time. Love that place and it hasn't changed, except of course the prices, and now you can't get abalone (?sp) anymore - but you can get calimari abalone style - me I had the fillet of sole and it was soooooo goooood!!!

Know where Palos Verdes is,grew up in Manhattan Beach.
BTW can't wait to meet you and Tom on MUSH!

Denise,

This month is going to go sooooooooo fast. The Baltics will be here before you know it!!! Start packing now - or at least start planning to pack :D What fun!!! It will be so much fun for the rest of us to hear all the fabulous details of your cruise!!!!!

Thanks, Cyndi. I've gotten a jump on my excitement, but simply can't contain myself. It's been almost a whole year since I had any real vacation. I see that light at the end of the tunnel!

You are more than ready for a fun, exciting vacation!!!! Don't even try to contain yourself - ENJOY EVERY MINUTE. After all, we all know that the planning is half the fun!!!

Agree with Cindi - planning and anticipating is half the fun. You will have a great time, no doubt about it.

Thanks for sharing in my exuberance! Planning and sharing those plans with others on LCT really adds to the anticipation!

Keep sharing - we get to travel with you and enjoy all the anticipation!!!!

Hi Denise, will look forward to reading your cruise report! We are considering a Baltics cruise next May or June. One thing that I need to overcome is that we want a cruise longer than 7 days(we found after the PG in June, 7 days aren't enough)How long is your cruise?

BonVoyage,

Jeanine

Hi Jeanine.

Our cruise, unfortunately, is only 1 glorious week. Of course we would welcome a longer cruise - as long as possible. But, we both work and have time constraints. We will spend 3 days touring Stockholm, prior to embarking on the Voyager, spend 1 full day touring Copenhagen after disembarking in Copenhagen, and then fly to Amsterdam where we will spend 3 full days touring Amsterdam, Delft and Haarlem. We've only taken week-long cruises; therefore, we try to extend prior to going and returning.

I think this Baltic itinerary is wonderful from all the reports I've read and experiences shared by our friends who've been there/done that. If you want a truly terrific review, I would suggest going on to Cruise Critic/Radisson message boards. Call Me Ishmael has written what I feel is one of the most concise, informative and witty reviews. He pretty much covers everything and does it with flair. I could never do any trip the justice he has.

I hope a Baltic cruise is in your future.

Hello Denise

Do you know if there is a formal night on the Baltic's Voyager cruise? How formal? My husband might balk at having to put on a tie while on vacation. I do have a St. John dinner suit,

Thanks, Jeanine

Jeanine - per our docs, there's one formal night and the rest are country club casual.My understanding is that dark suit is OK for men, but definitely a tie would be required.

Leslie

Thank you Leslie! I am still going back and forth between the Voyager and Regatta!! Not an easy decision. Price is about the same, though Regatta is 2 days longer, and visit Gdansk and Helsinki and Bruge. J

Not an easy decision, as both are great!

I was quite surprised to see that our sailing has one formal night, the rest CCC. No informal nights on this one.

Denise or Leslie,

Do you think that Signatures does not require a jacket for men on this cruise? I was always under the impression that Signatures was informal. Jim planned on taking a dark suit for the formal night and his new silk sportcoat for informal. Maybe he won't "need" it now. The only caveat is in smaller print, the doc says something about more attire details appearing in the Passages newsletter.

I won't fret over this, just curious! He will probably take it anyway because it's newish and he likes to wear it.

Ginny, as far as I know (which isn't always much) men will ALWAYS need a jacket in Signatures. Tom wore his in the door many a night, then immediately took it off and hung it over the back of his chair. (any jacket works I suspect!)

Thanks, Marcie. I will leave it up to Jim if he wants to haul a second jacket along! I really think that on cruises of 7 days or less, they ought to eliminate the formal night. You practically need to bring along another suitcase just for that alone.

I think that if there is not going to be 2 formal nights, then nix the idea. Just my humble opinion.

I second your opinion, Ginny. Our preference is always CCC.

Denise,

Not to drag this on too long, but the more I think about it, I really need to "experience" a formal night before I say too much on the subject. I have only been on 2 cruises, neither one had a formal night so I may be in for a surprise on this cruise. I may love it!! But I doubt that I will think it was worth hauling half a suitcase full of clothes for just one night.

I might do a poll on formal nights after our cruise just to see who likes them and who hates them, just for fun!

Editing to say I went ahead with the poll anyway. Can't wait to see the results.