Well, since the weather closed JFK for a few hours yesterday; missed all connections and am now waiting at CDG for next flight to CPH. Gretchen and Sarah made it fine so now they are waiting for me. Hope they got the Telex! Waiting at the Business louge so not all bqd but the French keyboard is playing with my tired head.

Hope to link up with Andi and Doug tomorrow at lunch on the Voyager.


Greg

Hi Greg,

Hope you, Gretchen and Sarah are together soon. Wishing you all a great time! Please post and give us the wonderful details!

Ditto what D said.

to an adult beverage at lunch on the Voyager! Enjoy...

R

We're here in Copenhagen at the Marriott. Arrived right on time. It's a funny little city. Not too pretty..especially after Paris, Cannes, etc.

It's kind of depressing. Doug and I spent a delightful night in a 3 by 3 foot train compartment in bunk beds. I awoke my poor husband at 3:30am when I had to use the facilities. I had bolted the door and couldn't unbolt it. Here I was trying to NOT wake up Doug and finding myself getting more and more claustrophobic and I couldn't get the door open. Finally Doug woke up and after a few groggy moments he pushed the jammed door open and freed me. Then we arrived to find Crystal had taken over the Marriott and we couldn't get into our room until 4. We showered in the Health Club and wandered the streets trying to keep amused with museums and crown jewels. Nice weather..very warm.

Finally got our room and it was double beds overlooking roof tops. After being in a cubby hole for 10 hours and wandering the streets for 8, I asked to be moved to a king bedded room facing the water. We had to settle for a smoking room, but we've been apart for 2 months!

I must admit I whined a bit last night. I was spoiled the past 4 nights at our lovely farmhouse room in Provence. Please take down this name -- Mas des Carassins in St. Remy -- it is the best value hotel I have ever stayed in. Utterly charming, beautiful, comfortable, with wonderful location and service and price. You will not be disappointed.

Well, Doug wants to have snacks before dinner and I must sign off...This Marriott is just OK. It is not as good as those on tripadvisor said. I'm looking forward to meeting Greg and Gretchen and hopping on the Voyager!

As nice as the Voyager is, this little adventure will make you appreciate her even more!

We need to see pictures of Provence!

Bon Voyage!

Good luck with the Marriott and all of the pre-cruise "stuff" ... by the way, we took the shuttle bus from the hotel to the pier (which for our sixsome was cheaper than a taxi), but I know that others the taxi worked well for others. We were able to board by noon or 12:30.

I close with ... "BATters up!"

Luke: We could not put together a group to go the shuttle thing, so we will taxi it!

Otherwise, everything else is going well.

Doug

Doug & Andi, Have fun and take notes for us. We will be following you a week from Sunday. What is the weather like? We will be overnighting at the Stockholm Sheridan. After our 4 night pre-cruise in Moscow. Wonder what that hotel will be like in Moscow? Enjoy you two!
Love, Judy & John

Had a wonderful din-din w/ Greg & Family.

The sail away was rain-filled, so they had it in the theatre. (note: the shrimp was hard to find)
I have noticed a large number of small things that have changed in what (I assume) is an effort to hold down expenses. Nothing major & I doubt that any 1st timer would even notice.

To Marc: in your honor, the 1st thing I did when I came on board was to have a steak sandwich. As good as ever!

Tomorrow: Visby

Doug

Post note to Doug's...

If you stay at the Marriott, ask for a water view room. The view is the best in Copenhagen. The other rooms look out on roof tops and are awful.

The executive room breakfast is great...herring, gravlox, all sorts of breads and fruits. We met some lovely folks who were traveling on RSSC and have become friendly. Turns out one couple is right across the hall from us.

Greg, Gretchen and Sara are really lovely. This board attracts very nice folks. I am sure this trip will be VERY nice. We are already having a great time. Ate dinner at Compass Rose and had a choice of three soups (gazpacho, boullion, and a squash), a cold seafood appetizer, a tuna sashimi, osscobusco, seabass and a veal dish. Service was great.

The turnout at the show was dismal. It was a cute show on the life of HC Andersen. The casino is hopping.The store has lovely things.

I found the area near the ship much more scenic than the area in the center of town and there were lovely stores and a beautiful park. The WWII Resistance Museum shouldn't be missed. You should allow about 2 hours to see it. You can see the little mermaid on the way to see it..about a 15 minute walk from the ship.

Check in was early and a breeze. There are shops across from the ship. If you need sweat shirts or long sleeved shirts you can buy them on board. They are very attractive and have the Voyager and Baltic logo.

All for now..

Great hearing from you guys! Your trip is getting off to a wonderful start meeting so many terrific people. ENJOY!!! AND..PLEASE KEEP POSTING!

A big hello to you, Doug, Greg, Gretchen and Sarah from Alan and me.

Andi & Doug,

Keep posting! Sounds like cuddle weather. Glad to hear about the sweatshirts. i will pack a few and but more. Remember when I bought all those lighters from the deaf guy in the restaurant in Rome? Be on the lookout for the Fabrege' egg lookalikes for me and let me know where I can find them. We leave a week from Sunday. Can't wait! Have fun and enjoy the cuddle weather. :b:

Judy, I bought my "egg" necklace at the musem store in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Their's are beautiful and terrific quality. So many, it's hard to choose. Have fun buying yours.

Visby on Saturday:

Looking outside, the weather looked lovely; blue skies and 74. We went up on deck and were blown away. Went inside and bundled up for our hike along the shore and in Visby. The captain said that he almost didn't make it in due to swells.

We arrived an hour early. We left on our tour with all age groups and wondered what we were in for. The boat ride was rocky. When we arrived, we realized we were overdressed and the weather was a balmy, blue skied 74. We took an interested 15 minute bus ride to the beach and began our 3 mile hike along the shore. There were all ages. Being such a lovely day, it was great getting out and hearing a bit about the history and geography of the area. We had a brief house and sculpture garden tour and then a stop for refreshments and WC a few steps further on. It was the most delightful stop. The pastry served was the best I have ever had and all types of beverages were available (including strawberry juice). We sat and looked at the ocean and ate our snacks before continuing with the remainder of our hike. We then boarded the bus and went into Visby.

Visby is a beautiful walled town with not a lot to do on your own, though many did. I think this is a stop where you can get a lot out of taking a tour and learning about the history of the town, which dates back to about 1100. It is not a commercial town and that is refreshing. It is not a Corfu or even a Dubrovnick. It is a town which has kept its historical identity. We would recommend the hiking tour. It was overpriced as they all are, but it was nice and we enjoyed it.


We returned to ready ourselves for the captain's cocktail party and had a bit of hysteria. We had sent most of our good clothes to be pressed and/or cleaned and they weren't there as promised at mid afternoon. We called at 5:30 and about 1/2 hour later at 6pm only 3 items showed up and not the items we needed. Then steward staud that the dry cleaner had "gone home for the day and he couldn't help us further." We realized the dry cleaner couldn't have gone that far and called housekeeping. The head of housekeeping showed up and 90 minutes later, my things still were not located. The housekeeper said she was too busy too look as she had to get ready for the cocktail party. I asked her what I was supposed to wear as I would like to go to and I had no clothes? No answer. I then contacted the Hotel Director and within 5 minutes I had my things, but missed the cocktail party. No apology from the housekeeper who just said her staff had been too busy to find or deliver then...that's what the problem had been.

This behind us, we had all our things and a perfectly lovely dinner with the staff captain and some guests.The food and service in the Compass Rose was wonderful. We had lobster tails and the best Beef Wellington I have ever had. I hear the chocolate souffle was to die for.

The show was lovely and the casino and lounge were lively until about midnight.

Stockholm.

Weather started out with cold rain and ended up a hot blue 80. Go figure. It was on and off with the layers all day. We woke up early and went up to see the archipelago entrance at dawn and then took the first shuttle into the city at 9. Since Doug and I have been to Stockholm before, we decided to forego any formal tours and to just wander. We spent the morning at the Wasa museum (a must see) and spent the afternoon at the old town. We had a quick bite,chatted with some folks from the ship at lunch, and wandered in and out of shops. It's really a tourist trap. If you haven't done Stockholm, you should do a tour. It has many wonderful things to see. You can do things on your own (I'm sure Greg can fill you in as this is what he did with the Stockholm card) or through the cruise line.

Doug and I caugt a 3pm bus back to the ship (it's about 4:20 now and the ship sails at 5). I'm going up to tea now and then to bingo. We have dinner at Signatures with Greg, Gretchen and Sara at 8:30 tonight.

Tonight is the pianist Nana, who was excellent on a past cruise.

By the way, our cruise director is Glen Younger. Doug and I find her very smooth and charming. We like and miss Barry, but find her an apt replacement. Additionally, on our past Mariner trip in XMAS (I think the one alot of former CCs were on), a couple -- a singer and a dancer from England -- became engaged. They are now the social director and and assisst cruise director and are just lovely.

I was also very impressed with the assistant cruise director John and his fiancee, Lindsay. Both neat people I think that is their names I am getting old you know. Anyway he is going to go far. Will be a cruise director without a doubt and a star at that. His sense of humor is fantastic and he is great with the guests.

I also thought Glen is doing a good job. She will get better as well she is new at this position.

Keep up the LCT tradition of TRIVA winners now you have Greg and Gretchen with you and they are REALLY good at TRIVIA.

Hi Andi!

I really enjoyed reading your report.

Outside of the clothing fiasco (which is mind-boggling), it sounds as if you are all having a delightful time.

I believe Nana performed last year while we were on VOF. If so, she was excellent.

Please keep your wonderful posts coming! Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Please give our best to all!

That guy John(asst. CD)kept us in stitches at trivia and bingo. I liked him better than the cruise director!

Glad to hear everyone is settling in well!

If any of you watch the BBC production "Black Adder" John reminds me of that Rowan Atkinson so much. Both is his looks his mannerisms and his humor. He did a quick impression of Atkinson and it was "spot on". Yes, this young man will go far.

Ngaire: We had John and Lindsay on VJ7 and really enjoyed both of them. He does have a great personality and makes a point of introducing himself to everyone. He told me the first day he never forgot a name after being introduced to someone. The second day I passed him and asked "what is my name?" He thought and said Margaret? - we had lots of fun with that one - Joanna

Hi guys! Love the daily reports. We were supposed to be there :mecry: , so I'm living vicariously through your tales. Keep 'um comin'!! I really was looking forward to one of those big Russian fur hats (I have no idea what they are called)!! Yes, Nana was wonderful, and she is so young, isn't she???

Kimmi,

No need to live totally vicariously. There is always BRAVO 2005! What do you say???? We hope you and John say YES!!!!

BTW - Your beauty can only be enhanced by one of those dynamite fur hats :D

Thanks for the reports. Living the cruise vicariously. Aren't those ports great!
Did you see the plaque at WASA museum thanking my company & my former boss for our assistance?
He was Knighted for his contributions.

Nana is wonderful. Have actually run into her walking in Manhattan. As always, with her mother.

ENJOY

Doug & Andi,
This trip sounds good since you got the clothing straightened out. I am sure it is totally different from the Med. cruises. We leave Sunday for Moscow. Getting very excited. Have fun, be safe and keep posting! ;)

Weather has been spectacular today. VERY warm. I understand that Switzerland now has rain and fall weather, so pack accordingly.

To correct any false impressions of RSSC impressions..I received an apology (without making any stink at all or saying anything other than thank you for finding my clothes). They showed up yesterday at our door and offered an apology and offered a full reimbursement for the laundry.

Their names are John and Lindsey and they are just adorable and charming. They should have beautiful kids as well!!

We found Tallin cute and commercial. Lots of crystal and amber on sale..some good prices on knits and linen. I bought a small bracelet for my daughter. Since it's Monday, almost all of the museums are closed, so there was not too much of culture to do, unless you took a tour. Keep this in mind depending on the day you show up.

Signitures was great last night. Had the rack of lamb. Yum. Have to run to the Seven Seas Party with Glen and Gretchen, but wanted to say hi...need my caviar fix. Bye....

Update:

St. Petesberg today....Rainy and a bit raw. Fall has set in. The city is a mix of architecture which I was not expecting..some classic, some italian, some baroque, some classic russian. Much more classic European than I expected, with colored stuccoed buildings a la Venice.

I highly recommend a "private tour" with Red October or a reasonable facsimile with a group of 8 or less. It is well worth the money. I'd cut corners elsewhere. The city is fascinating and there is a lot to see...much more than can be seen in two days. Our tour guide has done a very nice job of introducing us to the Russia of old and new and we are looking forward to tomorrow.

Our day began with a city tour and photo ops and a church visit and a visit to the gold room this am. The gold room is a must see and is a short visit. It is filled with quite beautiful artifacts. We returned to the ship for lunch and then went an hour out and visited the palace of Peterhof. A Versailles like afternoon.

As far as "sourvenirs"....I notice that you can buy things like amber, wood objects and dolls, lacquer boxes, enamel faberge egg jewelry pendents, faberge eggs almost everywhere (museums, Red October Stores, Churches, Souvenir shops). Prices vary considerably. Red October offers a 12% discount to its customers. I bought a pendant for 199EU and got a 10% discount and another 12% discount at their store. It was $345 at another store. Wood objects as small souvenirs range from 2Eu for a spoon to $144EU for a teacup to $500 for a lacquer box. I haven't priced eggs.

Some other comments:

1.This is a great cruise and I would do the 10 day cruise in a year or two. There is a lot to see and it is very worthwhile and I would not feel I was repeating the cruise.
2.Compass Rose Dinners are themed to each stop.
3.Do not push yourself before the cruise...do not do this cruise jet-lagged. There is no down time.
4. Copenhagen:Greg says the Ascot is a good 3 star hotel with a great location and great breakfast and large family sized rooms. I heard others complain about the 4 and 5 star hotels. We were pleased with the Marriott.
5. Tallin: Gloria's Restaurant got rave reviews. It is expensive ($120 for 2); The City Museum is excellent and the City Hall tower offers excellent views.
6. Visby: Cute story...a couple ooed and awed over a Tallin couple's basset hound and they were invited in to see their historic home and to hear a history of Tallin for the afternoon.
7.Things available to purchase: Amber everywhere...Kosta Boda good deal in Stockholm.

Greg sends a big hello to all of you


OH. We understand that if you have a great thing to say about anyone, please put it down along with their name on your comment card. It helps them get promoted.

I meant to mention that if anyone needs some extra computer time onboard the Voyager, I have some time left and will send the account number and password via e-mail. Send me a note at oldavis3@aol.com

Another quick update St Petersberg day 1 (11:30pm..Doug is in bed and I am still wired)..

Haven't found any fur hats to enhance my beauty, but have found some very nice VIKING hats to enhance Doug's...

Gil, I didn't notice the plaque in the WASA, but did notice some notices about the listing of the WASA due to some off balance guy from LI.

Judy and John, have a safe trip...you will have a spectacular time. I will try to price faberge eggs for you tomorrow. There are faberge copies and Faberge company eggs. There are so many qualities, that it's hard to find out what's good and what isn't. Knowing you a bit, I saw some perfectly beautiful religiously oriented lacquered eggs and boxes you might want to consider and they are on the ship. Check back here tomorrow and I will try to have some prices for you. Some stores are the Hermitage and Red October. Quality is all over the place, so pricing may be hard.

John and Kim, Wish you were here with us! We think of you often and toasted you tonight. Gretchen, Greg and Sarah are really terrific folks and we wish you were here with us. We had two spots in the van for you.

We ate in Latitudes tonight. I was not enchanted with the menu and liked it the least of the restaurants, but everyone else at the table liked it a lot. Most other folks I talked with liked it the least of all the venues. Latitudes does not change menus for the entire week. Everyone has been very pleased with La Veranda. The service has been excellent in all the restaurants.

The shows have been excellent as well. Tonight, we had a Russian folklore show and a vodka party afterwards. Loads of fun and very entertaining..the quality of the entertainment on the PG. Folks were all pleased with the tours whether they were mass bus tours with Radisson or private tours with Red October or arranged by Radisson with Red Baltic. I heard absolutely no complaints.

There are a few areas for improvement on the ship. One area on this ship where we have seen issues is that the room service comes 1/2 hour earlier than you want it to and, when the steward comes to your door, he says he is there because he has too many orders. We are all up touring from 8 and running until 11 and losing hours because we are moving east and are running on no sleep. We need these extra 30 minutes.

The other area is dry cleaning. Clothes have been coming back damaged with notes " stains unable to be cleaned" and there were no stains there originally. With my initial issues and now this, they need to "clean up" this area as well.

A pleasant note is that we have 40 children on board and there is a children's program with 2 counselors. The children are barely perceptable on board. Perhaps a baby is whisked by in a carriage. The teens are sometimes seen on the computers, but that is it. They are all well behaved, pleasant and interact well with all adults. This was a third person travels free cruise.

The problems I mention are minor. This is a perfectly lovely cruise. I wish it were longer. The people are lovely. Just about everyone has turned in by 11:30pm. It is not a cruise for nightowls.

We have only met a few folks...everyone seems very nice. Not VOF, but a different sort of cruise altogether.

Great report, Andi. As we couldn't travel along with all of you on this one, your reports are the next best thing.

VOF is a very, very hard act to follow. So glad that you are enjoying yourselves.

When you return home you'll need to rest up, girl - we have our DOF trip coming up before you know it!

Andi, You really have me primed for this cruise. I hope I can keep up and not tire too easily. Thanks for checking on the eggs. Have a wonderful time. We will be in 952 for 17 days. Can't wait.
Love, Judy

Judy

A few more days until you leave! Amazing!
I'd be interested in hearing about those fabulous eggs, as well.

You and John are going to have one tremendous time!

Dear Judy and Denise and others re shopping and eggs...

A word of warning...the guides rush you along to their shops and you really have a hard time to focus on shopping at all. It's made more difficult when there is so much to see and you are paying by the hour. If you are using Red October or Red Baltic, specifically tell them you want to shop for Faberge eggs. There are copies and copies of copies and Faberge company made faberge eggs. There are enamel eggs, glass eggs and wooden eggs. There are eggs that are solid and eggs that open up. There are gold eggs, gold plated eggs and brass eggs. You have to do research and ensure your guide knows what you want and takes you to a few stores that specialize and not JUST to their stores. Make sure you get to spend time at the Hermitage store if this is important to you.

We found prices of caviar varied dramatically. Our guide wouldn't make the time to take us to Beluga which sold caviar for 55Eu and Red October sold it for 69EU. We could have insisted, but decided to not take the time away from the wonderful art.

The Hermitage is spectacular. If there is some particular artist you would like to see, do look up what the Hermitage collection has to offer and let your tour guide know what you want to focus on, so you are not hurried along. For example, do you want to see a bit of all the highlights or do you really want an in-depth of their wonderful impressionist collection? If you are really into art, you may want to spend 2-4 hours there.

Our lunch was fine and not bad at all as reported on the CC board. A nice salad and wonderful mushroom soup, a choice of stroganoff, chicken or fish, coffee/tea and a crepe. There was one short shopping stop at 2 of their other stores located across the street from one another. Coffee, tea, vodka and very clean and nice WCs were offered as well at this stop, which was just before lunch.

Our weather was funny...rainy to sunny and warm and back to rainy. We went to Catherine's and Elizabeth's Russian Baroque Palace in the AM and it was lovely.

St. Petersberg is certainly a place that cannot be seen in two days and warrants a return visit. We will definitely return for another cruise here. Do put this trip on your agenda. If you cannot make the 10 day trip, wet your whistle on the 7 day trip like we did. We will return on a 10 day cruise and not a 7 day trip however. Tomorrow is a sea day and we will say our goodbyes and relax and gain our strength for DOF.

Denise, this is a trip for you and Alan. You will really love it.

Hi, Andi. I love your reports and it's whetting my appetite for BRAVO next year. I like that itinerary, as we will have 3 days in St. Petersburg. In fact, I've all ready begun planning for it (I know this comes as a very big surprise to you and anyone else who knows me!).

Enjoy the remainder of your trip and continue on with the great time you are having.

Wishing you all a safe journey home!

I have been to St. Petersburg 3 times now and I am still looking forward to my fourth trip. It is an amazing city.

The "shopping" thing is an issue. Some love to shop some dont. PLUS the guides are very "regimented" as is pointed out above. I had to almost force our Red October guide to make some time for us at the vendors last trip.

They make a lot of profit on their stores so I do understand why they insist on stopping at the Red OCtober store. It is the same as having to go to a Turkish Rug store in Turkey.

Next trip I may have a van do a "shopping afternoon" and another van do something else. It is hard to know what to cut out though.

Shopping afternoon! Hope this shopping afternoon is during BRAVO! Even for just a few hours, that would be great!

They know off balance guys from Long Island out there in the Baltics? WOW - I live on Long Island & I don't know anyone like that! :)

The reason we took our first Radisson cruise was because it had a 3 day stop in St. Petersburg - such a wonderful place. So far have been there 5 days now on two cruises, and definitely want to go back. WOuld like to spend a full day at the Hermitage, for example. Hours just is not enough.

Glad you are enjoying the trip, as am I enjoying your commentary.
Keep those reports coming!

Andi, You are wonderful with your suggestions. Don't be surprised if we end up going back again next year on BRAVO. I think that is the right one that Denise and Ngaire will be on. We are packed and ready to go. Keep us posted!!!

I think I will plan a 1/2 day Underground and Shopping experience (it is so much fun to do the St. Peterburg underground) I have done Red October tours so much that I can do these plans in my sleep now. Yes, Bravo is August 6, 2005 and Denise and Alan are among those coming with us.

Would LOVE for you and John to join us on BRAVO, Judy! So, don't forget that open booking deposit when you are on this current cruise!

Ngaire, sorry to be so naive, but what is St. Petersburg Underground? Underground as in train or Underground as in secretive?

I am so looking forward to this cruise, I can hardly wait! The planning has all ready begun!

Underground as in Train. Incredible stations with crystal chandeliers and spectacular decorated columns.

WOW! Count us in on this. Sounds wonderful!