Slinkie and Grumpy do London Town

[Grumpy1]

No, Slinkie and Grumpy haven't fallen off the edge of the earth... yet... but Grumpy figures he'd better get something posted before the CruiseCritic faithful start organizing full scale searches of London and the Baltics looking for the wayward duo. They are now onboard Rotterdam and sailing from Harwich, England enroute to Oslo. Ahhhh, it feels good to plant ones feet on the decks of a HAL ship again.
Where to begin... Slinkie and Grumpy were chauffeured by Lynalldo's Luxury Limosine from their home in Naples, FL to the airport in Fort Meyers. With way too much luggage, but within the allowed limits for Continental Airlines International flights, they made there way to the ticket counter and handed over the luggage. They had expected to have to reclaim the luggage in Cleveland and recheck it for the international flight, but were told that everything was checked through to London. In Cleveland, Slinkie's youngest daughter joined the party and the threesome settled in for a long boring overnight flight to London, they arrived in London on time at 8:00a... Grumpy's watch said it was only 3a... and spent about one and a half hours in a looooooooooooooooooooooong line to get passports checked... that was after walking what seemed like three miles from what had to be the last gate in the airport. Apparently there were a lot of international flights coming in all at the same time. After they got through that, and gathered the luggage, they found the Thameslink train and headed to the hotel. Grumpy had chosen a small hotel, part of the Comfort inn and Suites chain, for their base of operations. The location, in Camden, was on a quiet side street just a hundred yards or so from the King's Cross/St. Pancras Underground Terminal. Perfect for jumping on a train or bus to anywhere in London. That area had been pretty seedy in years past, but they are building the new Eurostar Terminal there and have been redeveloping the area. It turned out to be a very pleasant place to stay, but internet access was a bit of a problem. Hence the reason that you haven't heard from Grumpy and Slinkie for the past week.
They arrived at the hotel before 11a but couldn't check in until 2p. They have a luggage storeroom, so they stowed the bags and walked down the street to find a restaurant. Most weren't open yet, but they found a small cafe that was open and had lunch. Grumpy had purchased 6 day passes for the buses and underground, so they headed into the heart of London, checked out the sightseeing along the river Thames, saw the Tower bridge and the new London Bridge, the HMS Belfast, wandered a bit more and headed back to the hotel to check in. As they were all really beat at that point, they took a nap and then set out in the neighborhood to find some dinner. They stopped at an Irish pub and had dinner. Slinkie had seafood stew, Grumpy had Irish stew, DD had a hamburger and fries... she's not very adventurous when it comes to food... and then it was back to the hotel to bed down for the night.
The Comfort Inn and Suites is more of a bed and breakfast. There are only a dozen rooms or so. Slinkie and Grumpy have a pretty nice two room suite with kitchenette, nothing fancy but clean. DD has a small one room single. Breakfast... dry cereal, toast and jam, rolls, yogurt, juice, fruit, and coffe from a cappucino machine. TERRIBLE coffee! Everything else was OK.
After breakfast, it was back on the underground to Victoria Station, where they picked up the hop on hop off narrated sightseeing bus. They saw the outside of a lot of famous places, then got off at The Tower of London and took a guided tour through there. Grumpy had purchased what is called a London Pass that gets you free admission to a lot of places and that was one of them. After the tour, they had lunch at a Subway... OK, maybe DD isn't the only one that wasn't feeling adventurous about the food... and thenthey took a river boat up to the London Eye, a huge 450ft tall ferris wheel that British Airways built for the Millenium Celebrations. It takes a half hour to complete a revolution and the cars are like ski lift glass enclosed gondolas. You can walk around and take pictures from all directions. The views were great.
They picked up the hop on hop off again and completed the tour. We walked around a bit and then headed back to the tube and to the hotel. We headed back downtown later to the Covent Garden Area. There are a lot of street performers there and more restaurants and pubs than you can imagine. They stopped at Maxwell's and had dinner before deciding to call it a day.
Tuesday morning, the trio decided they really, really needed a good cup of coffeee. They skipped the hotel breakfast and went around the corner to.... McDonalds! They then headed out by tube again, transferred to a bus and wound up at Hampton Palace and Gardens. Henry VIII's old digs are still pretty impressive. DD wanted to do that one, as one of her co workers had told her about the maze in the gardens and how it took him 45 minutes to find his way through. They did make one wrong turn early on, but quickly hit a dead end, backtracked and then sailed right on through. Total time, 5 minutes! After prowling around the castle some more, and having lunch there, boarded the bus and went to Kew Bottanical Gardens. Since they had already done a lot of walking, so we took the tram around. The gardens are more than 400 acres and it would be easy to spend a day there if you wanted to walk around and see everything. The palace and Kew are both freebies on the London Pass, so it was a pretty inexpensive day.
After they had seen all we wanted of the gardens, it was back to the tube and home again. After getiing cleaned up again, they walked up the street to an Italian restaurant, had a nice meal and stopped at a corner pub. Grumpy had a pint of Guiness, DD had a bottle of Magner's, which is brewed with apples, and Slinkie had a draft English beer that was a little bitter for her tastes, but acceptable.
Wednesday, the plan was to take a tour of St Paul's Cathedral, and then down to Greenwich and who knows what else. Grumpy has been working hard to keep Slinkie out of the shops and has succeeded... so far. The bus tour took them right down Regent street past all of the high fashion designer shops. Slinkie was looking in the windows as they drove by and was oohing and ahhing all over the place... somehow Grumpy had neglected to tell her that it was hop off, hop on until they were well out of that neighborhood... She'll get even though... she's sure to get in some shopping time soon... Grumpy is not expecting to find any bargains, though.
After admiring the beauty of St. Paul's Cathedral, the trio got on the Docklands Light Rail train to Greenwich (also included on the travel pass) and spent an enjoyable afternoon going through the Observatory and looking at the collection of early time pieces, telescopes and other paraphenalia that is used in an observatory to... observe. It was still early in the afternoon when the DLR brought them back to Victora Station, so after trying to figure out a way nto get her out of the area, but knowing it was futile, Grumpy led the way into that den of iniquity known as Selfridges. Even Grumpy has to admit that is an impressive store. Slinkie and DD wandered around, tried on a couple of things and bought... nothing! After some more window shopping in that neighborhood, it was time to join the crushing sea of humanity and take the underground back to the hotel. After a brief rest and freshening up a bit, it was time to find a place for dinner. Another trip to the Covent Gardens area, another nice little restaurant, a little more street entertainment and another wonderful London day came to an end.
Thursday, time to use another freebie from the London Pass, so a trip to Little Venice and a canal boat trip to Camden Locks was the first item on the agenda. The canal boat went right past London Zoo, but the trio decided they had already been through a bigger London Zoo. OK, the locals call it Gatwick Airport, but Grumpy still calls it a zoo. The stop at Camden Locks was very interesting. There are hundreds of small specialty shops from all around the world there. Grumpy and Slinkie saw a lot of the same crafts that they saw in ports around the world last year,and they just weren't any more desirable in a shop in London than they had been in the native ports, so the trio left there empty handed and cruised back up the canal to Little Venice. There are dozens of rather quaint houseboats moored along the canal. Many look like they have been converted from old canal boats... very long and narrow. Some interesting names, designs and decorations.
Little Venice is just one underground stop away from another landmark that was on DD's list of "must see" places, so back to the underground and then a short walk to Abbey Road. Abbey Road Studios of Beatles fame is not marked, but the location is very obvious from the graffitti from Beatles Fans on the fence along the front. A couple of pictures, a ride on a local bus back to the underground, and back home again. There's another Italian restaurant in the King's Cross area that looked inviting, so that was the choice for the evening. The food was quite good, although Slinkie did not appreciate her Sea Bass staring back at her while she was eating it... a stop at the local pub for a pint and it was time to call it a day.
Friday... the last day to sight see in London... Up early, breakfast and then to Waterloo Station. Change to the rail line to Salisbury, sit back, relax and enjoy the view of the English countryside... or as much as you can enjoy it while zipping through at 90mph. After arriving in Salisbury, our intrepid explorers hopped aboard a double decker for the ride past Old Sarum to Stonehenge. After walking around there and not discovering anything that would solve the mysteries of the place, (Grumpy was just sure that the secrets would be revealed to him, but it was not to be...) the trio headed back to Salisbury and explored the many historical sites there. After a few hours, it was time to take the train back to London. There were still a lot of places around Covent Garden, so that was the choice for the last dinner in London.
Saturday morning, and it was nearing time to say goodbye to London. Grumpy and Slinkie took DD for one last trip to the zoo... er, Gatwick... said their goodbyes and went back to the Hotel. Grumpy had arranged a private car from the hotel to Harwich Port, so handling all of the luggage was much easier than dealing with trains, buses and cabs. The first portion of the trip was very slow. The traffic congestion in London is horrendous... besides that, they all drive on the wrong side of the street... but once out of London the driver was zipping along at 80 to 90 mph. The trip took about 2 hours and 15 minutes and deposited Slinkie, Grumpy and luggage right at the door to the terminal. Checkin was a breeze and it wasn't long before they were settled in and headed to the Lido nfor lunch. It feels good to be home again.
Now there is something that has really been bothering Ol' Grumpy. As you might have noticed, the idea behind the stay in London was to see London the way Londoners see it. Walking through neighborhoods, visiting small local places, riding the public transportation, but also taking in the rich history and architecture of the area. But to properly experience London as Londoners do, it would have to be done in rain, fog and chilly temperatures. Isn't that what London is noted for? Well, the foul weather gods must have gone on Holiday, as there was not a drop of rain, not a wisp of fog for the entire week. Temperatures were in the mid to upper seventies, even a little above 80 the last two days, with lots of sunshine. As far as weather, it was as close to perfect as you could get. Grumpy will have to return another time to experience normal London weather. Slinkie says she wants it just like this time... maybe even warmer... if she comes back again.
London is really a delightful place to visit and explore... and there is all of the rest of the Isles awaiting a future exploration. Now it's time to leave those memories behind for a bit and head into the Baltics to explore another part of the globe that Slinkie and Grumpie have yet to experience.
More to come....
Grumpy

[pollux]

Great review can.t wait for the follow up.
Wishing you sunshine for the rest of your trip.

[elmorejj]

Grumpy and Slinkie, what a lovely review of my beloved London. So glad you enjoyed it and the place where you stayed was perfect for seing some of the local flare. I know the area well, and you are right, it used to be seedy, but from what I have heard lately it is now quite trendy. Glad you enjoyed Covent Garden, one of my favorite places. Continue to enjoy your travels and keep writing your thoughts so we can all travel vicariously with you.............jean:cool:

[jhannah]

It's good you posted. We already had looked up the phone number of the Bureau of Missing Cruisers and were prepared to call them for an APB. ;)

Thanks for giving a taste of London. We will spend some time there post-cruise next month. We're staying at a small hotel near Victoria Station, so that should be a convenient location for us. Sounds like a London Card will be a must. We've used similar cards in Stockholm and other places, and they are certainly worth buying.

We're ready to hear more when you have time.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

So glad to hear you both made it on board the Rotterdam:) Sounds like you had a good time in London. Now it has been since 1970 since I have been to London but remembering the food, McDonald's sounds like a wise choice;)

[dakrewser]

All that time in London and Slinkie didn't set foot in Harrod's or Liberty???

Please tell me how you do it Grumpy :rolleyes:

[RuthC]

It's so nice to, once again, be able to enjoy the travels of our inspired (and inspiring?) duo. I'm especially looking forward to hearing your thoughts of the Rotterdam, considering your lenghty time on the Prinsendam.

I hope you enjoy the Baltic as much as I did, and that the weather there is as good as London's was for you.

You did let us know that it wasn't a foggy day in Londontown, but you didn't say---did a nightengale sing in Berkley Square?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

All that time in London and Slinkie didn't set foot in Harrod's or Liberty???

Please tell me how you do it Grumpy :rolleyes:

You know Dave, I got thinking the same thing:confused:

Slinkie, Please tell me you are not slipping already, it's far too early in this vacation to NOT shop. Plus you had to set a good example for DD:D

[wegiekat]

So glad you enjoyed London. If I was to live in a large city anywhere in the world that is where it would be. Besides, I saved all the good weather for Slinkie as when we were in London the 3rd week in May, all it did was rain. Can't wait to follow the rest of your cruise. - Mindy

[serendipity1499]

Thanks again for your wonderful review of London:) ..It makes me want to go back once again..Hope you both have a wonderful cruise..Betty

P.S. You picked a good time to be away & you're missing our first named storm "Alberto"..Lots of rain (which we all need) between Tampa & the Keys..In Cape Coral, had about an inch of rain today & expecting lots more tomorrow, although it's expected to hit north of us by Tues.a.m.

[cruznon]

I look forward to hearing your adventures as visit the Baltic aboard the Rotterdam! Have a wonderful cruise!

[CCCM]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

Sounds like you did London the way I did back in Jan/Feb 2000. We were the at the Millenium Wheel the first day it opened! It is a wonderful city, very comfortable to walk around. I remember doing at least 10 miles a day on foot, never mind where the Underground took us.

Mind the Gap!

I didn't see anything about visitingHarrods....why no Harrods??? Even if you don't buy anything, it is one of the most incredible places to go and look around. Especially all the food......

[SDHALFAN]

Thanks so much for the update. Like many others I am eagerly awaiting your future installments.

Your timing, weatherwise, for London was spot on. I was there the last week of May and it certainly did not rain, only a slight drizzle, but it wasn't exactly warm and sunny. We went to The Chelsea Flower Show, all prepared for rain, but just got lucky and managed to stay dry.

We spent the next few days in Kent and Sussex and certainly got our share of rain, and since I was on a Garden Tour, I spent a lot of time trudging through muddy fields. However, after that we headed for my home turf (Gloucestershire) and the weather could not have been better. It was warm and sunny and I was sorry to have to leave both Gloucester and Cheltenham - they both looked so good sparkling in the sunshine.

Perhaps one of the reasons that Slinkie and DD didn't actually spend any money in the department stores there is because the prices are so outrageous. I'm not just talking about the fact that the US dollar is worth only about 50 cents there but the fact that I, personally, would look at an item for sale and say to myself "self, I would not pay that much for this item back home!". I still managed to buy some "stuff" though, although mostly souvenirs and gifts.

Have a wonderful cruise Grumpy1 and Slinkie Cat and I look forward to your always interesting and informative comments.

Valerie:)

[Bucky3]

What fun it has been reading your London review. Now suffering from post cruise depression after our wonderful Volendam Alaska cruise, I'll look forward to following your Baltic adventure on the Rotterdam - perhaps that will be a semi-cure for my ails! Thank you for posting!

[Ziggy7]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

So good to hear from you! Sounds like your having a wonderful time, however no shopping for Slinkie is puzzling, but I suspect you just forgot to mention all the packages you had to carrry for her and DD :)

Looking forward to your continued live review!

[bepsf]

You know Dave, I got thinking the same thing:confused:

Slinkie, Please tell me you are not slipping already, it's far too early in this vacation to NOT shop. Plus you had to set a good example for DD:D

Slinkie's no dummy...
I'm sure she knows that the best deals on jewelry are from the diamond merchants in Amsterdam!
;)

[jhannah]

I'm sure she knows that the best deals on jewelry are from the diamond merchants in Amsterdam!;)GASP! :eek: :eek:
Poor Grumpy. Poor, poor Grumpy!

[ger_77]

(With one arm around Slinkie and the other around Grumpy) ... I just love travelling the world with you two!:D I can't wait until you board the Rotterdam, as we'll be sailing on her in October.

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[Sunshine91]

Grumpy & Slinkie - So glad you had such a good time in London. Truly my favorite city in the world. If my John ever left me (i.e. died), I believe I would move there for a time to grieve. Not trying to be maudlin, but that is one of my happy places (the other is HMC).

When you first described the outer gate at the airport, I assumed you meant Heathrow. On our visit in March 2003, we flew Virgin Atlantic & our gate was in the new section (barely opened) ALLLL the way at the end. It was an interminable walk to customs, baggage, etc.

I've been quite fortunate with weather in London, too. During that 2003 visit & in May 1989 - picture perfect weather. Only pictures for a beach, not London. Blue, cloudless skies. Seventy degrees. The locals were quite confused. We loved it.

Your Stonehenge visit sounds very similar to mine in 1989. On that trip I went with my cousin, Sandy. She & I are about a year apart in age & grew up together. We're very good friends. Stonehenge was a trip we both wanted to do. Like Grumpy & Slinkie, took the train to Salisbury then the bus. Walked around the very wide perimeter of the stones - you don't get but about a couple of hundred feet from them. We expected to feel something mystical, or earth-shattering, or mind-blowing or altering. Nothing. It's a pile of rocks. Took the bus back to town, had lunch & went shopping.

Don't know when I'll get back to London, but THANK YOU for letting me experience your visit vicariously. :)

[Cristiano]

Dear Slinkie & Grumpy,

here we go again.....last time I read your adventure travels I ended up in the black sea.

Having just 3 weeks ago returned from Europe...(you know grumpy we as like in England drive on the RIGHT side of the road, its you that drive on the WRONG side :) ), it looks like my return in a few months time might mean my DW and I take a cruise in the Baltic this time.

All I can say is that you are costing me money:eek: , so I may come a calling some time in the future:D .

On a more serious note you and Slinkie give me a great deal of joy because I can share in your experiences and then go and enjoy mine with my DW.

Keep your travelogue's coming,

all the best,

Cristiano.

[Ziggy7]

(With one arm around Slinkie and the other around Grumpy) ... I just love travelling the world with you two!:D I can't wait until you board the Rotterdam, as we'll be sailing on her in October.

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)Ummmm Ger, they are sailing the Westerdam in Oct :)

[ger_77]

Hi Ziggy, I got a little carried away with my own dreaming cause we're sailing on the Rotterdam in Oct., but aren't Grumpy & Slinkie on her right now? Just late evening/early morning ramblings on my part - or did I not read the post properly? Doesn't matter, I just enjoy travelling vicariously through this wonderful couple!

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[Grumpy1]

Hello again.
The beautiful Rotterdam has left Oslo and is now enroute to Arhaus. As Grumpy is typing this, he's looking out over the sea and wondering who forgot to turn off the lights. It seems really strange to still be in twilight at 11p. Last night Slinkie and Grumpy were in the Crow's Nest at 10p and the sun was still above the horizon. They didn't quite get far enough north to enjoy around the clock daylight, but got pretty close.
The Rotterdam is really a beautiful ship. Everything is clean and well maintained. The ship is quite a change from Prinsendam, but still a very "comfortable" size. S&G had requested late seating, but were assigned early lower (6:15p). After considering asking for a change, they decided to go with the flow and make the best of it. As it turns out, their tablemates are two very congenial couples, and the conversations are quite interesting, so all is well. The food has been very good, both in the dining room and in the Lido. Service has been very good. The only complaint so far is the overly efficient room steward. At sailaway from Harwich the sailaway drinks were served in souvenir glasses. There were two styles... a tall colored glass and one that looked like a water tumbler but had colored LED lights in the bottom. With 6:15 dinner, S&G had to rush back to the room, drop off the glasses and head to dinner. Upon returning, the glasses were gone. When asked about them the next morning, the answer was pretty much expected... "so sorry, I thought you were finished with them..." but no offer to try to find them or replace them. Grumpy made it clear that anything that is not in the waste basket does not get thrown out.
S&G are still finding their way around the ship. The layout is very different from the Prinsendam so Grumpy is still referring to his map of the ship and the plaques on the walls to figure out some of the locations. Most notable difference... a lot more bars! If the drinks were a little stronger a fellow could get a pretty good buzz by having a drink in each bar as he made his way through the ship.. S&G's cabin is on the Verandah deck, waaaaay forward, port side. There isn't enough wireless signal to connect from their cabin, unless you sit in the doorway with the laptop on your knees. The better solution is to go down one deck, settle in to one of those nice comfortable settees in the atrium area, relax and sign on with full signal strength. There's even a 110v outlet there, in case you have a laptop that has a weak battery.
G&S's CAT BB cabin is quite a bit smaller than their CAT SY on the Prinsendam, but it is still very roomy except for the taffic jam arount the closet/bathroom area. One person trying to get in or out of the bathroom while the other is trying to retrieve something from the closets can make for collisions with doors. There is a lot of closet and drawer space, so finding places to put everything is not a problem. The bathroom is roomy with a jacuzzi tub and handheld massaging shower head. The mount for the shower head allows it to be slid down low for 5'3" Slinkie or up high for 6'1" Grumpy. The verandah is about 7' deep by 9' wide. Plenty of room for the chair, small table and deck lounger that are there.
Bruce Scudder just came aboard in Harwich as Cruise director, after taking some time off after the world cruise. So far, he's been pretty good. G&S attended the Captains Cocktail reception and had their picture taken with Captain Jack (van Coevorden). He didn't shake hands, but grumpy didn't feel slighted, as he did not shake hands with anyone else either. There is no red alert, everything in the Lido is self serve as usual, but hand sanitizers are everywhere. The announcement for the reception said that the officers would not be shaking hands as part of the effort to minimize any chance of an NV outbreak. Seems to be working so far....
The Hotel Manager is Hans Dernison. The Piano man is Bob Style... OK, but Randall Powell was a better entertainer and singer. "Top Society" is the group in the Crow's Nest. They're pretty good. Sarah takes over for late night DJ duties there.
ACD Geno is lots of fun. Slinkie fell in love with him when he asked her to dance on formal night and then told her she had the most beautiful dress he had seen on the ship that night. Grumpy has to agree with him, as Grumpy was the one that spotted that dress while out shopping with Slinkie earlier this year. "The Chessmen" is the group in the Ocean Bar and they are also good. Frank Buckingham, the port lecturer for the 2005 world cruise is back aboard for port lectures and commentary on the passing scenery.
The weather has been absolutely gorgeous! The first port was Oslo, Norway. Rotterdam was docked and cleared by about 8a. Just around the the corner Prinsendam and MSC Lirica were docked. Grumpy remembered Lirica from the 2005 world cruise. Lirica was one lock ahead of Prinsendam going through the Panama Canal. S&G took the "taste of Oslo" tour, which was on a sailing vessel (except that the sails stayed furled) around the harbor and nearby areas. They served up peel and eat shrimp... behead, peel and eat would be more correct... all you could eat, with a choice of local beer or wine... or water. The shrimp were very tasty and the beer was good. The skies were clear and the temperature was in the seventies. After the tour, it was back to the ship and a light lunch in the Lido. There was a shuttle bus to the pier shops which were next to the Prinsendam. S&G went through the shops, but didn't find much of interest, so they wandered a few blocks into town and shopped there. Everything seemed very overpriced. After a lot of walking and no buying, they headed back to the shuttle. There was one item that Grumpy had seen in the pier shops... a necklace, bracelet and earrings, three colors of Swarovski crystal in yellow gold settings. The colors of the crystals were light yellow, amber and sort of an orange rose. Slinkie thinks it's just the thing to add some color to her white dress on the next formal night.
Speaking of formal nights, there was a pretty good percentage of the men in Tuxedos (including Grumpy) and most of the rest in suits. There were a few sports jackets. The women were nicely dressed, but very few formal gowns. After dinner, S&G went to the Queen's Lounge for the cast show, Monte Carlo! It was pretty good. There was one number where someone from the audience was pulled up on stage to participate. Wouldn't you know they would grab the clown that was wearing blue jeans and polo shirt on formal night?
Today is Arhaus, Denmark. The skies are clear, the temperature is in the mid seventies. Grumpy is trying to figure out why he brought all those sweaters and heavy jackets with him. This is shirt sleeve weather at its finest! It's just a short walk from the pier to the shopping district, and none of the tours really appealed to S&G. There were quite a few nice clothes in the shops, but nothing of the "must have" variety. The jewelry displays were rather unremarkable. One thing that Grumpy noticed is that while the stores in Oslo definitely catered to tourists by having many signs posted in English and prices in US dollars, Euros and Krone, Arhaus is very different. All signs are in Danish, all prices are in DK krone, and the shopkeepers do not know or care what the exchange rates are, if they speak English... Sort of the way American shopkeepers treat foreign tourists, come to think of it... the only place that catered to tourists was the craft shop on the pier. If the exchange rate had been 9:1, most prices would be comparable to prices in the US, but with a rate of 6:1 everything seems way overpriced.
There is a note in the Daily Program that there may be internet problems in several ports due to signal blockage or interference. Grumpy hasn't encountered any problems yet, though.
Grumpy and Slinkie appreciate your comments... at least the ones they've read so far.
Pollux, your wishes for sunshine are much appreciated and are on the mark so far...
elmorejj, thanks for your comments about Grumpy's London review...
jhannah, Jim, your choice of a place close to Victoria Station should work very well. You will be very close to a lot of major attractions and easy access to every means of transportation.
dakrewser... You do know that the Queen will not shop at Harrod's anymore, don't you?... and if it isn't good enough for the Queen, well, Grumpy isn't going to waste his money there... Actually, Harrod's was on the list... but G&S just ran out of time.
RuthC, Grumpy will try to do more indepth comparisons of Rotterdam and Prinsendam after spending a few more days on Rotterdam. Grumpy has heard that the singing of the nightengale in Berkely Square has been replaced by pigeon cooing... but that may be just a rumor....
Serendipity... there have been a few blurbs about Tropical Storm Alberto on CNN. S&G are keeping up with the progress to some extent. It looks like rain, but not much else for the Naples area.
SDHALFAN.... Grumpy said the same things to self that you did about the prices....
Tomorrow is Warnemunde. 13 hour tours... with over half being train or bus rides to and from, makes Berlin seem to be a place better seen another time. There is a lot that can be seen locally, so a local tour will be the order of the day.
More later....

[SDHALFAN]

Thanks Grumpy for another great read. Makes me wish I were on that cruise also. I love the Rotterdam, have been on her 3 times and wish that she would visit the west coast again.

Have a great time in Warnemunde.

Valerie:)

[dakrewser]

Good posts as always, Grumpy. I'm really interested in what you find in Warnemunde as we'll be there in three weeks!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

G and S definitely enjoying reading your post and looking forward to the next segment:)

[wowzo]

Hope you have no more disappearing items from the overzealous room steward. Have a great time ! MaryAnn

[serendipity1499]

Hi Grumpy...I'm betting that you bought that lovely jewelry to go with Slinkies new white dress!

You are right..Not much Wind from "Alberto" but had about 2-3 inches of rain in the Ft.Myers-Cape Coral area which was sorely needed..The tide has been high but has not come over the seawall.:) ..Believe Naples had about the same amount of rain...

Thanks for keeping us up to date on your Rotterdam trip..We were on her sister ship the "Amsterdam" several years ago & that was our favorite ship until we cruised on the "Prinsendam"..Now they both run neck in neck with us, except for the WALK-IN Closets on the Prinsendam: They are the best!;)

The trip sounds wonderful..Hope you & Slinkie continue to have a grand time! :) Betty

[Paul123]

Hi you two. So pleased you had a good time and found somewhere reasonable to stay in London. I said I would "do a rain dance" to get rid of the rain for your visit. It worked too!! Hope the cruise goes as well as the stop over in London. Take care and have a great cruise.


Paul

[alsas]

Wonderful commentary...thanks . Glad to hear Frank is back heard he was missing in action. Tell Slinkie that only a real shopper can go shopping in Europe...It is sooooooo expensive. Hope that you continue to have the cruise weather g-ds taking good care of you..Happy sailing Alsas

[WCB]

Hi Wilda and Jerry,

We're glad to see you are cruising again!! Wish we were there with you guys, but we will be going on the Maasdam at the end of June from Boston to Northern Europe and back again (many new ports for us).

We are curious about a few things on the ship, such as closet and drawer space in your cabin. Have you found the drawer space under your bed yet?? We will be going on the Amsterdam, which have similar cabins, on next year's world cruise. Is there enough space for that long of a trip?? Also, what are the drink prices in the lounges? How do they compare with Prinsendam's 2005 world cruise prices?

Hope you are including Catherine's summer Palace and Peter the Great Palace in your tours in St Petersburg. They were spectacular!! And while in Estonia, check out their knitwear. Sweaters and handmade socks were very inexpensive.

What happened to Randal Powell? Wonder if he still works for HAL? We sure enjoyed him during cocktail hour in the Crow's Nest with you guys.

Have a super trip!

Bill & Mary Ann

[MrsMuir]

Slinkie & Grumpy, thanks for the vivid reports from my favorite city and my favorite (so far) ship! We did the Baltic twice, it was so wonderful. Only problem is, I read your first instalment here at the office and your comment upon boarding -- "It's good to be home" -- made me cry. Fortunately my co-worker knows all about my ship obsession.

I must dry my eyes and get back to work. Looking forward to your great writing.

Mrs Muir

[Williebill]

We are so glad to hear you and your DW are afloat again; best wishes from both of us. I just hope your cruise is as wonderful as the one my DW and I took last month on the Westerdam. The ship was fantastic and the Alaskan scenery was out of this world. Have a great cruise; we'll be following you all the way.

[SomeBeach]

Hi G & S,
I got anboard following your adventures earlier this time. I hope you continue to enjoy great weather and wonderful sites as you cruise along.
I had heard Capt Jack moved to the Rotterdam for the season. I sailed with him a few New Years Eves ago.
Happy cruising!

[Grumpy1]

Sailing, sailing... o'or the bounding seas.... well, the seas are pretty calm as we sail the Baltic Sea about 50 miles off the coast of Sweden enroute to Estonia. The skies are overcast and the temperature is a chilly 56 degrees. Quite a change from yesterday. The weather in Warnemunde was gorgeous! Mid to high 70's and lots of sunshine. Grumpy went out without his hat and got a little sunburn, but he'll survive... Today is a rarity on this cruise... a sea day! There's only three out of the twelve days that are sea days. This will give Grumpy a chance to put fingers to keyboard once again.
Warnemunde... a very nice town. The ship docks just a short walk of a couple hundred yards from the train station so anyone that wanted to do Berlin or Hamburg on their own by train could easily do so. Transportation to Rostock is also available by bus, train or ferry. Warnemunde is a resort town. With the warm weather, the beaches attracted large crowds. There is also a lot of ferry boat traffic in and out. There were lots of cars, vans and campers on the ferries . Grumpy wonders if a lot of them were coming in for the World Cup soccer matches. That seems to overide everything else here in Europe these days. Grumpy and Slinkie walked past the train station and across a bridge to the shopping area that is along the waterway where most of the tour boats operate. Slinkie enjoyed a liesurely shopping stroll down to the end, but was just cataloging items at that point. They strolled along the street that parallels the beach, past the old lighthouse, until they ran out of shops. They then turned toward the center of town and found quite a few more small clothing shops. Slinkie saw a lot of things she liked and the prices weren't too bad compared to what they were in the previous ports. After reviewing her list of preferred items, they returned to the first area along the waterfront and Slinkie liberated a top from one of the shops and added it to her trophies. There was other apparel that caught her eye, but she's trying to avoid overloading the luggage going home.
There were several boats offering harbor tours for very modest prices, so after making her purchase Slinkie and Grumpy hopped aboard one and for 6.50Euro apiece settled in for a one hour tour that sailed out of the old port, into the new port. past the Rotterdam, and on up to the Rostock port. Rostock is an industrial area with shipbuilding yards and heavy machinery manufacturing. Grumpy recognized the name Liebherr, as he has used cranes manufactured by them on projects in his former life. The thing that Grumpy noticed all around the port, though, was a total lack of activity. It was almost like they were there on a Sunday. Now whether it's a reflection on the economy of the area or World Cup flu, Grumpy isn't sure... but the Rostocker beer that was served on the tour went down quite smooth... so Grumpy has good memories of the brief glimpse of Rostock. After returning to the dock, G&S returned to the ship for lunch. After a short rest Slinkie said she was ready to go into town again, so Grumpy polished up the credit cards and they headed off again.
One thing about Warnemunde is an absence of ATM's. There is a bank with money exchange windows right by the train station that will handle any currency exchanges needed. They were quoting US$1.32 per Euro compared to US$1.254 quoted in the NY Times. Grumpy did not check the onboard conversion rate so he isn't sure whether it was a good rate or not. Grumpy had brought some Euros with him that got them through the day.
This time, G&S walked on into the center of town and wandered up and down the side streets as well as the main shopping streets. Slinkie found a shop with some very nice clothes, but very little in her size. Petite doesn't seem to be very common around here. Slinkie decided to use her fallback plan... something that doesn't weigh anything and doesn't take up room in the suitcase... so they went back along the waterfront to a shop that had a nice display of amber jewelry. Slinkie prefers yellow gold settings for her jewelry, but most amber is set in silver or white gold. This shop had a very nice display of amber in yellow gold settings. Slinkie found a pair of earrings and a pendant, a nice deep honey amber, that she liked, and it wasn't expensive, so Slinkie and Grumpy both consider the day a success. this morning was the unveiling of the amber pieces in the shops on board, but every piece was set in silver. Slinkie is happy she did her shopping in Warnemunde.
The Lido was turned into a German Biergarten for the evening. Rostocker on tap, and a few local varieties in bottles, sauerkraut, potato salad, brats and cole slaw were served up poolside. The popcorn cart that normally resides around the Wajang theatre had been hijacked and filled with overbaked soft pretzels. Grumpy thinks wiener schnitzle or roladen with spaetzle and red cabbage would have been better... but he didn't go away hungry. He might have except that he wandered into the Lido to see what was on the dessert bar and found a delicious slice of pecan pie... Ahh... even better than the bread pudding... and it takes some doing to top the bread pudding... There was a local brass band set up by the pool to add a little authenticity to the setting.
Slinkie and Grumpy did not stay up for the Indonesian Crew show at 11:15, as last night was another time change forward, so there is no review. The other shows have been good, with the Russian pianist Elena Ivanina being the best show to date.
Since the reference to blue jeans has been removed from the list of banned clothing in the dining room, blue jeans on casual nights are becoming very common. The ones seen so far have all been well styled and neat... no painter's pants, ragged cuffs or holes have been seen yet. Tonight is the first informal night, so Grumpy will check to see what the European Cruise interpretation of informal is.
Brian... you're absolutely right about Amsterdam being the diamond capital... Grumpy know's that too, but Grumpy also knows that Rotterdam doesn't go to Amsterdam on this cruise. Aw, gee, he's soooo disappointed... by the way, Brian, Bruce Scudder told Grumpy that Johnny I is still with HAL but land based in Seattle now.
Serendipity... thanks for the weather updates from back home. I know that rain was very much needeed there.
Paul123... you did a good job on the "no rain" rain dance. Grumpy owes you a good dinner back in Naples this fall for that effort.
Alsas... Grumpy had not expected to see Frank on board, but who better to give commentary on this part of the world? The man is certainly well travelled and knowledgeable about most of the ports in the world.
WCB... The drawers under the bed had been mentioned on other threads, but would probably have been found while stuffing luggage under the bed. Right now, the bedding used to make up the beds as two twins is stored in those drawers, but there is more than enough drawer space for a short cruise. The extra bedding could be removed for the world cruise. The makeup vanity/bar/entertainment center area has 9 good sized drawers and each night stand has two more. Add the two under the bed and drawer space won't be a problem. The space under the bed seems to be higher than it was on Prinsendam, so some luggage can be stored there and used for things that won't be needed until later in the cruise. The closet space is about 7 feet long, divided into four sections. Two of the sections have shelves that can be folded up to make more full length hanging space, or the lower shelves could be left down for a combination of short hanging space and shelf storage. Grumpy thinks it will be tight for a world cruise, unless some of the hanging stuff is stored in drawers or in luggage under the bed until needed later in the cruise and then sent out for ironing or pressing if needed.
The drink prices are not high... Bacardi and Coke is $5.00, a select merlot is $5.75. That's a little more than they were on the 2005 world cruise, but Steve S did say that the prices were reduced for the world cruise.
Grumpy heard somewhere that Randall Powell is touring with a broadway production this summer. You could probably find out on his website... he always had his ship itineraries posted.
Slinkie and Grumpy are booked with DenRus for both days in St. Petersburg, and it looks like they will see about everything that can be crammed into two days.

MrsMuir... Grumpy tries to evoke emotions at times, but didn't expect to make anyone cry... He's glad they were tears of nostalgia, though.
Williebill, Grumpy did an Alaska cruise several years ago, but on a different cruise line. The scenery there is breathtaking for sure.
Cristiano, it's good to hear from you again, but Grumpy thinks that left is left and right is might, er, right and the left side of the road is never the right side to drive on. Grumpy and Slinkie do hope you come calling some day... They just wish they could have joined you for a drink in Sydney instead of hollering from deck to dock.
Tonight is the Mariners' Reception at 5p, so Slinkie and Grumpy will stop in for a free drink with most of the others on board. They remembered to bring their copper medalions to prove they belong there. Bet it won't get them any extra drinks, though.
More to come...

[WCB]

Hi Slinkie and Grumpy,

Thanks for the information on the storage space. We will surely need the drawers under the bed for 105 days!

Enjoying your reports.....keep em coming!

Bill & Mary Ann

[serendipity1499]

Thanks again Grumpy & Slinkie..You make it sound so wonderful & I'm ready for a Baltic cruise! :) Only problem is to get DH to fly both ways..His long legs don't fit in coach seats..:( But I'll still download your trip for future consideration...May have to drag him kicking & screaming aboard the flights..Or better yet ply him with Black Russians..;) Have Fun..Betty

[BuckeyeGal1956]

Grumpy & Slinky are in the Baltic - and Big Sis just returned from ... are you ready for this? ... Iowa!

Okay, she lived there for 20 years and went back to visit friends. Her weather didn't cooperate as well - downright cold for 3 of the 6 days, but returned to Naples to find all is well in Paradise. Alberto decided to visit much farther up the coast and only deposited a few inches of much needed rain.

Oh, well - Big Sis gets to go along in November on the Westerdam - and is really looking forward to that:) .

[jhannah]

Great hearing from you again. Continue to enjoy your cruise. Many jewelery stores remain to be seen!

[serendipity1499]

Grumpy & Slinky are in the Baltic - and Big Sis just returned from ... are you ready for this? ... Iowa!

Okay, she lived there for 20 years and went back to visit friends. Her weather didn't cooperate as well - downright cold for 3 of the 6 days, but returned to Naples to find all is well in Paradise. Alberto decided to visit much farther up the coast and only deposited a few inches of much needed rain.

Oh, well - Big Sis gets to go along in November on the Westerdam - and is really looking forward to that:) .

You mean they left you home! Well that wasn't nice was it;) If you were my sister, we would take you along with us..Have a good weekend & Regards from one stuck at home Southwest Floridian to another..:cool:

[hammybee]

I just finished reading the epic world cruise and now the Baltics. Make me want to consider the 10/29 cruise just to meet the two of you and the others too. How fabulous that you make the time to keep us posted and share your opinion. I look forward to the next installment.

[CruisinTexans]

Grumpy,

Glad you all are having a great time, but I never doubted you would. You all seem to make your own fun.

Thanks for all the info on cabin storage. Handler and I have booked a B category on the Amsterdam for the world cruise. We're only going to take about half the clothes we took on the Prinsendam, but it still sounds like it might be a tight fit. I booked a cabin right over the Explorations Cafe in hopes that we could get wireless in the room.

Love to Slinkie.

Leslie

[Grumpy1]

Internet has been down while in Russia, so Grumpy hasn't been able to post. The Rotterdam is now headed for Helsinki after two beautiful days in St. Petersburg. Low to mid 70's both days.... does it get any better? Grumpy will have more details later, but for now will say that their DenRus tour was fantastic!

More to come...

[Grumpy1]

Friday, 16 June 2006
OK, time to try to get caught up again.
Slinkie and Grumpy were headed for the Mariner reception when last heard from. Grumpy was right, the copper medallion around his neck didn't get him any extra drinks. There was one silver medallion given out and seven copper. Bruce Scudder finally revealed the secret of what the medallions are good for... there is one slot machine in thre casino with a really large slot....
Slinkie and Grumpy did get a surprise, though. An invitation to Cocktails or after dinner drinks with the Captain and Hotel Manager on Friday night showed up in their mailbox. No clue as to the reason for the invitation, but, what the heck, another free dink or two... So after dinner, Slinkie and Grumpy presented themselves in the explorer lounge and met and mingled with the ship's officers and the other invitees. Although there was no official title for the party on the invitation, it was referred to as the "VIP" party by a few people. Grumpy remembered that there had been some discussion about the VIP cocktail parties in the past and what criteria is used to come up with a list of invitees. Grumpy decided that one person that might know would be the Guest Relations Manager, so Grumpy posed the question to him. His response was that the Penthouse guests are always invited, guests that are recommended by officers or staff and by certain travel agents, and then by number of days on HAL until they get the number of guests they want. Now Grumpy is not in the Penthouse, and the TA he used sure didn't recommend him, and it seemed that there were enough passengers that exceed Grumpy's 125 days to bump him from that list, so Grumpy still isn't sure how he got the invite.... It was a nice party though. Grumpy noticed that the Remy Marten Louis XIII was not on the bar setup, though... somebody must have warned the HotMan about Grumpy....
After leaving Warnemunde, Germany, a sea day and another time change forward... those 23 hour days are not to Grumpy's liking, but the 25 hour days on the way back will be just fine... The Rotterdam arrived in Tallinn, Estonia. Again, a perfect day with clear skies and warm temperatures. Slinkie had found her ideal shore excursion, so at 9:00a it was time to "Walk and Shop in Tallinn's Old Town". Slinkie quickly fell in love with the town.. and the shops... and really enjoyed the tour. The guide pointed out all of the places of interest and told of their history and every few blocks turned everyone loose to do some shopping for twenty to thirty minutes. The prices were quite reasonable, dollars were readily accepted, the people were very friendly and most spoke some English. The outgoing personalities of the people were reflected in their love of bright colors in their clothing. Slinkie saw a lot of things that she liked, but the problem with petite sizes continued, so the clothing stayed on the racks. As a consolation, Grumpy bought Slinkie an amber bracelet to match the pendant and earrings she had gotten before.
A word about the dollars being accepted... while heading to the Queens Lounge to get their tour stickers, Slinkie and Grumpy were rerouted out into the deck four atrium area. There was a sign that said Estonian government regulations forbid their merchants from accepting any currency other than the Estonian Krooni and the local bank was set up in the atrium. They would exchange dollars for Krooni at 11.5 per dollar, no commission, and would buy back any unused at the same rate. OK, fair enough, even though the exchange rate should have been 12 per dollar. Grumpy traded some dollars for Krooni before proceeding. Arriving in town, SURPRISE! Almost all merchants would gladly accept Euros or dollars as well as Krooni, and many of the items were priced in Krooni and Euros. They would accept dollars ON PAR with the Euro price, which was surprising. The town was quite crowded, as the P&O Aurora and RCCL Jewel of the Seas were both in port with Rotterdam.
The tour returned Slinkie and Grumpy to the Rotterdam in time for lunch. After lunch, they decided to go back into town on their own. It isn't a long walk, but they decided to splurge and take the shuttle into town. US $4 per person each way seemed like a ripoff, but what the heck... Grumpy had a pretty good idea of the layout of the area that they had covered in the morning, so they headed down a street that they had not been on before. One block down, they found a genuine mall, three stories, and wandered through. Slinkie found a red suede jacket that was very reasonable... she had looked at similar ones back home and knew what she would expect to pay there and they had one that was a good fit. Another trophy bagged! There was more shopping, but no more trophies found before heading back to the ship. Upon returning, Grumpy traded his unused Krooni for Russian rubles, 2 rubles per Krooni, and the Rotterdam set sail for St. Petersburg.
Saturday, 17 June 2006
St. Petersburg port certainly puts new meaning to the word "UGLY". It's strictly an industrial port, piles of scrap iron, dilapidated buildings, dirt everywhere... not a good first impression. Rotterdam tied up about 7a and was cleared by the authorities before 8a. Slinkie and Grumpy had booked a two day "Complete St. Petersburg" with DenRus. They knew there would be at least 4 others with them, as Grumpy had been in touch with CC member GigiT through the rollcall thread and knew that she and DH were travelling with another couple, but didn't know how many more would be in the group. DenRus had said the groups usually are about 10-12. Even before the announcement that the ship was clear, Slinkie and Grumpy were down to A deck, presented their passport and DenRus ticket to the Russian officials, got their passport stamped and a red card to carry with the passport. Off the ship, found the DenRus reps waiting and hooked up with the others doing the same tour. There were 9 in the group. After a short walk to the parking lot, (the HAL tours had about 30 buses lined up two wide blocking the entire roadway in front of the ship) the group climbed aboard a very nice 15 passenger van and headed off. The first of the HAL tours were just starting to board the buses. The tour guide, Olga, was very good. She certainly knows the history of the area and everyone was very impressed with her. The tour started with a drive around for sort of an overview of the area and a stop at St. Issac's Square and a few other places for pictures and then to Peterhof. There the value of booking with someone like DenRus became clear. While many other tour buses were discharging 30 to 40 at a time and a long line was building at the entrance to the palace of Peter the Great, Olga led her group to a small entrance off to the side and zipped right in. She gave a very detailed tour of the palace and then out into the gardens and fountains for some magnificent viewing... did Grumpy mention that the weather gods were still smiling? The temperature was about 60 at the start of the tour and warmed up to about 72. Mostly clear skies made for another perfect day.
After Peterhof, the tour stopped for lunch at a very nice restaurant (included in the tour price). A glass of champagne, a shot of Vodka, and who cared what the rest of the meal was... Grumpy somewhat remembers a salad cup with diced egg and cucumber, chicken breast over rice, blueberry cake, coffee.
After lunch the tour went to the Hermitage for a couple of hours. To visit all of the galleries could take months, even years, if you wanted to see everything, but Olga knew the route to take to hit the highlights, the important works by the Old Masters and other pieces important to the history of the area. While other tour guides were spending all of their time trying to herd 30 to 40 people together around a piece with everyone jockeying for position to take pictures or hear the guide, Olga's Group of 9 ambled on by, got all the pictures they wanted, and could stay close enough to hear her very interesting commentary. After leaving the Hermitage Museum, there was time for a stop at Olga's favorite souvenir store and a bit more sightseeing before returning to the ship. Having driven down Nevsky Prospect (the main shopping street) and having seen the window displays in the stores, Slinkie would have preferred to stop there instead of the souvenir shop, but alas, it was not to be.... (thanks, Olga, Grumpy owes you for that)... The tour returned to the ship at 6:05p... just enough time to stop in the cabin and then head to the dining room for dinner. The not quite so dynamic duo decided to skip the show and call it a day.
Sunday, 18 June 2006
The tour didn't start until 9:00a, so Slinkie and Grumpy were able to sleep in a little, enjoy a liesurely breakfast and then join up with the rest of the gang for another day in St. Petersburg. Lots of sunshine, temperatures in the 60's early and 70's later. First stop was an old Jewish synagogue. After touring the synagogue and the wedding room, the tour was supposed to visit Peter & Paul fortress and cathedral. When they arrived, the lines were looooong. There were several other cruise ships in port and it seems that tours from all of them arrived at the same time. Olga didn't have a side entrance there, but she did have an alternate plan. There is a dock next door with boat tours of the rivers and canals. The boat tour was supposed to follow the tour of Peter & Paul, but Olga reversed the order. The Group of 9 was ushered onto a boat that could easily hold about 30, half under cover and half open seating. Since it was a private tour, everyone had a good seat along the rail with lots of photo opportunities. After leaving the dock, the boat moved out into the Neva River for some nice panoramic views of Peter & Paul, the Hermitage, the Marble Palace, the Rostral columns and more, then cruised up past the Cruiser Aurora. The tour continued up the rivers and canals. With such beautiful weather, and being a Sunday, the grassy areas along the banks were crowded with sunbathers. A few brave souls dangled their feet in the water, some splashed a little water on themselves, but very few ventured into the water, which is probably still quite chilly. There are no beaches, and the banks are steep sloped cobblestones. The water didn't look all that clean, even if it had been warm enough to swim.
The boat returned to the Neva River once again, and then headed into another canal that went up past the summer palace and gardens, the engineer's castle, the Church of the Spilt Blood, the Hermitage and Palace Square and then back into the Neva River for the return to the dock. By the time that trip had finished, there were no lines at the entrance to Peter & Paul so Olga whisked her group right in. The cathedral is the final resting place for all but one of the Romanov Dynasty tsars, and is, of course, built and decorated in a manner befitting the royal family. Very impressive. But then we went to St Isaacs Cathedral... try to imagine a jigsaw puzzle covering many thousand square feet. The whole place is done in mosiac and took more than 30 years to complete. It's really stunning to see. Grumpy took lots of pictures, but it's really one of those places that you can't truly appreciate until you see it in person. After finishing the tour there, it was time for lunch. A delicious Greek salad, champagne and vodka, beef stroganoff, dessert and coffee and everyone was about ready for an afternoon nap. Olga had other plans though, so off to the Church of the Spilt Blood they went. this church is built on the site of the assassination of tsar Alexander II. The exterior, with its onion domes in multi color mosiac is stunning. The interior is also magnificent. After a tour through the church, there was still more to come. Yusopov Palace, the site of the assassination of Rasputin, has been restored and gives one a good idea of the grandeur of the homes of the tsars. That was the last stop of the day. The Group of 9 was ready to call it a day, and all felt that it would be difficult to see much more in 2 days. Catherine's Palace, a visit to one of the mosaic decorated subway stations and shopping on Nevsky Prospect are things often mentioned in reviews of St. Petersburg, and DenRus will be happy to customize a tour for you, but what we got for a "canned tour" was as much as any of the group had hoped for. The tour ended about 4:30p, so there was a little time before sailaway to rest the tired feet. After sailaway and dinner, Grumpy was able to get on the internet, download Email and start putting together this report. Fatigue caught up, and in spite of getting one of those hours back, was unable to finish the report.
St Petersburg is a relatively young city, 303 years since it was founded. The buildings were built on a grand scale by very wealthy rulers and most survive in surprisingly good condition, considering that churches were turned into warehouses and offices under communist rule. Fortunately, the grand plan to raze many of the old symbols of religion and wealth was never carried out and restoration was possible. It is a city with a rich history and it would have been easy to spend another day there.
Monday, 19 June 2006
Upon awakening and realizing that the ship wasn't moving, Grumpy opened the curtains and gazed out on Helsinki, Finland. Another day, another 6 1/2 hour tour, another day of sunshine and temperatures in the 70's. This one would be much more relaxing, though, as there was a lot of sightseeing by bus and not too many stops. The tour bus went around Helsinki and the guide pointed out several sites of historical interest. She told of the history and present of the area and spent lots of time bragging about the extremely high standard of living and how well their social systems work. When questioned about wages, taxes, housing prices, etc, one finds that, while things are good, it isn't the utopia that she would like you to believe that it is. She never mentioned the huge numbers of people that travel by ferry from Helsinki to Tallin to do their shopping because the prices are so much lower in Tallin. Those ferries run several times a day. She hinted that there may be problems down the road, as they have had to open their traditionally tightly controlled borders as part of joining the EU.
The tour continued out of town to the town of Sipoo to visit a church constructed in 1450. The visit would have normally been to a church from the same period in Poorvoo, but that church was recently damaged by fire and is undergoing repairs. After a stop to tour the church and take pictures, the tour continued on to Poorvoo. There is an old town section, that is billed as a medieval town. The streets are very rough cobblestone, and the frame buildings are quite old. Most of the businesses are local crafts. The guide turned her group loose for about one and a half hours ot shop.
After wandering down one of the two main streets in the town, Grumpy and Slinkie came to an intersection where the cobblestone ended and paved streets with modern buildings began. The traffic signals instructed them to cross the street and the did... right into a nice modern shopping mall. That was more to Slinkie's liking than arts and crafts, so most of the shopping time was spent there. It was a rather benign trip as far as Grumpy's wallet was concerned, but one skirt and top found its way into Slinkie's collection. After returning to the old town, they wandered down the second street, took a few pictures and returned to the bus.
The tour bus drove a short distance to an old farm. The farmhouse can be rented for banquets or weddings. There is an old distillery building that has been turned into a restaurant. One end of the building used to house a blacksmith shop and all of the equipment and tools of Grumpy's Grandfather's trade are still in place as you enter the building. The restaurant itself is down in the cellar. The floors are cobblestone with many very uneven places, the ceilings are low, and the acoustics are loud. The lunch was good but unremarkable. The Finnish beer was pretty good though.
The tour continued back into Helsinki past the olympic stadium and a few other locations and stopped at a church that has been dubbed the Rock Church. This Lutheran church is a recent structure and is unique because it was carved out of a rock hill. The interior walls are bare rock. It can seat 900. From the outside, it doesn't look impressive, but that was the idea. Inside it is very impressive, though. That was the last stop on the tour, so it was back to the ship and a little rest before the wine and cheese sailaway.
Tomorrow is Stockholm. It's also the last formal night. It's hard to believe that there are only a few more days left to enjoy the Rotterdam and the Baltic ports. There is a sea day before Copenhagen, so Grumpy should be able to post once more before the end of the cruise.
Special arrangements were made to get the broadcasts of World Cup Soccer. It is not on the stateroom televisions, but is shown on the big screen tv in the sports bar. Several rows of chairs were set up in the atrium area to accomodate the soccer fans onboard.
More to come.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Grumpy, I am certainly enjoying cruising with you and Slinkie and so glad that Slinkie is making some very good purchases. I will say that the champagne with a little vodka sound pretty good, might have to try that;)

[SDHALFAN]

Thanks Grumpy for another great report. You write so well that one can almost imagine oneself there with the two of you.

I am glad that you are having such a good time and am looking forward to the next installment.

Valerie:)

[RuthC]

Oh Grumpy, thank you! You have brought back such lovely memories of my time in St. Petersburg. I saw much the same things you did, but also went to a folkloric show on that first evening, and was able to go to Catherine's Summer Palace.
You didn't mention the traffic---I don't suppose it's gotten any better. :rolleyes:

I always forget about the cobblestones in that area. Walking can be difficult at best!

And I well-remember all those short nights heading over---my cruise lost 8 hours! Count 'em---8! Getting them all back was heavenly, though.

Please, keep up the narrative. It's great reading.

[hammybee]

Grumpy/Slinky,
Given that you used a tour company independent of the ship, was it necessary for you to obtain visas before the cruise? This was a huge deal not to long ago.Those that did not plan ahead had to take a HAL excursion.

[dakrewser]

Grumpy/Slinky,
Given that you used a tour company independent of the ship, was it necessary for you to obtain visas before the cruise? This was a huge deal not to long ago.Those that did not plan ahead had to take a HAL excursion.

As long as you pre-book with a registered tour company (Denrus, Red October, Alla-Tours) there's no need to obtain a separate visa.

[localady]

Grumpy-
So glad to hear the weather has been wonderful!!
We had more rain last year in July!!
Thanks for the memories!!:cool:

[jhannah]

Thanks for the memories! I'm living our visit to St. Petersburg all over again. I'd love to return some day, because I know I saw only a smattering of what is there to see.

[Williebill]

You are making a cruise to the Baltics sound like something that my DW and I would love. Actually, we have thought about taking this same cruise. St. Petersburg really seems interesting.

[Grumpy1]

Tuesday, 20 June 2006
The Good Ship Rotterdam was just tieing up at the dock in Stockholm, Sweden when Grumpy & Slinkie awoke. The skies were once again filled with sunshine, the temperature was in the upper 60's. Slinkie and Grumpy had a tour scheduled for 9:00a... Stockholm sightseeing, Viking Museum and the Gold Room. Sorry, no free samples... The tour guide, unlike the rah rah social welfare proponent in Helsinki, was of a much more conservative bent. He made it clear that he sees problems looming on the horizon with a large influx of immigrants with minimal education and skills, a social programs system that is spending more than it takes in, an extremely repressive tax system.... hmmm, sounds like another country that Grumpy is more familiar with... except Sweden's taxes are much higher... The tour wandered around the city and the guide pointed out the main churches, embassies, government buildings and universities. There was a short walking tour that went down very narrow alleys in the oldest part of the city, and then to the Viking Museum. The museum is still very much a work in progress, with several areas housing no displays. The tour was interesting and the guide informative. After wandering through the exhibits, the tour went down to a lower level to the Gold Room. There, many artifacts and early examples of Viking gold work were on exhibit, along with displays of gold working tools. Upon leaving the museum it was quite evident that the string of 17 consecutive days without rain was in jeopardy. The skies were overcast, the temprature dropping a little and it was getting quite breezy. The tour ended back at the ship at noon and Slinkie and Grumpy were safely aboard without getting wet. Later in the day there was rain and they talked to a few people that had been out in the early afternoon and got caught in the rain.
Sailaway was moved indoors, as there was still some rain, off and on. The Crow's Nest had already been decorated for the last formal night... white balloons, all of the chairs and columns covered in white, "snow drifts" lining the hallways, styrofoam icebergs here and there... you would think someone was celebrating winter or something. Slinkie and Grumpy joined a large group of fellow passengers for a few drinks and after getting underway and listened to commentary by Frank Buckingham as the Rotterdam made her way through the maze of islands. Slinkie and Grumpy had to leave so they could get all gussied up for dinner. Early seating has some disadvantages in that there were a few times when it seemed that getting to dinner on time was rushed.
The dinner menu was the usual formal night type fare... jumbo shrimp cocktail, escargot, large lobster tail... Grumpy tried to convince Oscar that there was a misprint and it should have been "tails". Nope, the menu is correct, said he. Perhaps realizing that the comment cards would be distributed shortly, he came around as the main courses were about done and asked if anyone wanted seconds. Well, that first tail was so good that, although it was a good sized tail, it just wasn't quite enough, so Grumpy and tablemate Richard took advantage of the offer.
Suddenly the window shades were lowered, the lights dimmed and... voila!... the baked Alaska parade began. Since it was guaranteed to be fat and calorie free, Grumpy had a good sized helping. Slinkie, being somewhat skeptical and less trusting than Grumpy declined the temptation... as she had all through the cruise. After dinner, Slinkie and Grumpy and their tablemates moved up to the Crow's Nest and watched as Rotterdam continued to twist and turn through the maze until finally there was a pilot boat by one of the buoys, the pilot was sent on his way and the ship was fiinally in the open waters of the Baltic. The band in the Crow's Nest is quite good, with a female vocalist that does an excellent job. Before long, the place was jumping and Slinkie and Grumpy had a very enjoyable evening.
Wednesday, 21 June 2006
No need to be up early, so Slinkie and Grumpy slept in until after 9a. They skipped the disembarkation talk at 10, knowing that everthing they needed to know would be in the information package with the luggage tags, and if not, the talk would be on TV several times before departing. The weather has definitely taken a turn for the worse, with periods of rain and fog. Hey, it's a sea day, so it doesn't make much difference what the weather is. The seas are still very calm, as they have been throughout the cruise. A check of the Daily Program showed lots of exciting activites... art auction, twofer sales on the Baltic Tee shirts, more amber for sale, flower arranging demo, ice carving demo... Grumpy decided to skip those in favor of catching up on his email and reconciling his preliminary statement.
All in all, Slinkie and Grumpy have to say that the Rotterdam is a wonderful ship... much different than the Prinsendam... and would book a cruise on her again if the itinerary were something that piqued their interest. Some of the crew, although friendly, do not seem to be as outgoing and eager to please as the crew on the Prinsendam 2005 World Cruise, but it is still a very fine crew. The cabin location, well forward on deck 6, was evrything hoped for. Of course deck seven would have been even better... but the Upgrade Fairy was nowhere to be found. There were a couple of noshows in the SS category, but the upgrade to those cabins was used as a bingo prize. There seems to be an air conditioning problem in the lower dining room, as they do not seem to be able to keep it cool. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was a little warmer than it should have been. A couple of the crew members apologized for it being too warm, but, of course, there wasn't anything they could do about it. Grumpy didn't see any evidence of other major problems and didn't hear of any catastrophies, so it appears that the staff is staying on top of things. There have been no problems with Noro Virus outbreaks, so hopefully the problems that began on the So. America cruise are now a thing of the past. The staff is still strongly encouraging the use of the Purell hand sanitizer when boarding the ship and when entering the dining room or Lido.

Serendipity... Grumpy suggests you go with the Black Russian persuasion technique... unless DH is a biligerent drunk... better yet, try to figure out a way to go business class or at least get exit row seating where he can stretch his legs a bit.

hammybee... There are still cabins and good prices on the HAL-oween-dam cruise... you should try to join the fun.

CruisinTexans... Grumpy suspects that the cabins with the best wireless access will be the ones close to the forward Atrium. He doesn't know if the signal will penetrate the steel deck between your cabin and the explorations cafe area. It probably will, but he hasn't talked with anyone that has tried to use a laptop in that area. There is a pickup antenna in the Atrium area and the signal seems to get a few cabins into the hallways off of the atrium. Grumpy's cabin is too far forward. There is a little bit of signal, sometimes, but not strong enough to connect and use.

Update... Grumpy walked down the hallway of deck seven portside and found the signal to vary between good and very good all the way from the forward stairwell to the midship stairwell. You should be OK if the amsterdam is wired the same.

Laffnvegas... let Grumpy know how the champagne and vodka is... Perhaps he wasn't clear, but the champagne was served on arrival for lunch, and the shot of vodka was served neat a bit later.

RuthC... The Rotterdam was in St. Petersburg on a Saturday and Sunday so the traffic wasn't too bad. London traffic was much worse. Grumpy forgot to mention the highlight of the tour in Poorvoo, Finland.... the CHOCOLATE store with the free samples!... Also very good licorice. He threw away the information that had the name of the company... he's thinking it was Brugman's or something like that.... he's sure the resident chocolate conoisseurs can come up with the right name. Prices seemed very reasonable, too, but Grumpy settled for a couple of samples, knowing that there would be two chocolates on his pillow each night...

hammybee... to avoid having to get a Russian visa, it is necessary to book online with one of the registered tour companies and provide them with your passport information. DenRus confirmed with an Email with an attached .pdf file. The file was the tickets for the two days of the tour. It was necessary to show the Russian authority on the ship a passport and either a visa, a tour ticket with a registered guide or a HAL tour ticket (which are subcontracted through registered tour guides) in order to leave the ship.

For all of you that posted but didn't have questions... Grumpy wishes to thank you for your comments. The questions and the comments from all of you make it worthwhile to do the onboard commentaries. It's been fun and also tends to reinforce some specific memories by writing about the events. Thank you all for riding along. There may or may not be any more postings before Slinkie and Grumpy get back to Naples... depending on access in Copenhagen.
More to come... but no guarantee when...

[crystal808]

Grumpy:

I've truly enjoyed reading your chronicles, and look forward to meeting you and Slinkie on the Westerdam in Oct.!

Have a safe trip home!

Paul

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Grumpy and Slinkie. thanks so much for taking us along with your cruise. Have a safe trip back home:)

[Grumpy1]

Grumpy got up early this morning and, sensing that the ship was not moving, threw open the curtains for his first view of Copenhagen. For a few seconds he thought there was a giant mirror on the pier as he was looking at the mirror image of the Rotterdam. He quickly realized that the image had a couple of problems, though. Grumpy wasn't on the verandah in the mirror and the name of the ship wasn't a mirror image. In fact, it wasn't Rotterdam, it was her twin sister Amsterdam tied up on the other side of the jetty.
Now it's usually nice to see another HAL ship in port, but in Copenhagen that means it's going to take a lot longer to get a cab. Rotterdam was cleared for disembarkmentment by 8a and the first groups headed out. From Grumpy's veranda he could see them leave and go into the large bay where luggage was being set out by color and number. Of the many that went in, only a few came back out on the side toward the ship, walked around a security fence and disappeared under the TAXI sign. Slinkie and Grumpy had indicated that they were not in a hurry to leave, so they enjoyed a liesurely breakfast, gathered their carryons, and headed to the atrium to user up the last of their internet minutes. The port side seat they chose also allowed them to keep an eye on the disembarkment procedures. Most of the first ones off were on HAL shuttles to the airport, or, for those with an afternoon flight, a city tour and then be dropped at the airport. There must have been quite a few that were taking taxis, though, as it wasn't too far into the process when the line disappearing under the taxi sign came to a halt right at the side of the building toward the ship.... not a good sign. As Grumpy watched, the line would disappear into the building, another number would be called, and the tail end of the line would again be outside the building and then started snaking across the front of the building. About that time Grumpy's Blue 2 group was called and he and Slinkie quickly headed out, grabbed the two big bags and lined up in the taxi queue. Almost all of the remaining tags were for those taking cabs and it wasn't long before the queue was about 2-1/2 times the width of the building. It took about an hour to get to the front of the line and snag a taxi for the 15 minute ride to the hotel. It was probably an hour and a half before the last ones off the ship could get a cab.
Grumpy was really glad that he had internet access. When he checked his Email the night before getting to Copenhagen, there was an urgent message from the Copenhagen Island Hotel, which is where he had reservations. It seems that this brand new hotel did not make their June 15 opening date and will not open until tomorrow. Not to worry though, with 9 other properties in the group, Grumpy's reservation had been transferred to the Grand Hotel. The location is actually better, as it is just a block from the Tivoli Gardens entrance gate. Slinkie would have preferred the Island, as it is next door to the Fisketorvet Shopping Center. The Grand is not all that grand, but the room is clean and comfortable. It is pretty old, and very little storage space. It will do for the day and a half that Slinkie and Grumpy will be in Copenhagen, and it does have unlimited wireless internet. Life is good....
After getting settled in, it was already lunch time. After a light lunch in the restaurant in the hotel.... Grumpy's missing the Lido already... Slinkie and Grumpy set out to explore. Of course, they headed toward Stroget, the walking streets, which is a couple of streets that are pedestrian traffic only and lined with lots of shops. After some liesurely shopping, but no buying, they found themselves at the Nyhaven canal. They boarded the green waterbus for a 1 hour tour that took them to the Little Mermaid and the Opera House and gave them one last view of the HAL Twins. They wandered back up Stroget, and again escaped with Grumpy's retirement funds intact. Back at the hotel, they got the computers set up, checked Email, posted on a couple of CC threads and then went down the strret for dinner. What? The menu has prices on it? And where's Oscar? It's starting to sink in... it's over... PCD is setting in...
After dinner, with several hours of daylight remaining... at 7:30p... Slinkie and Grumpy decided to check out Tivoli Gardens. The admission, if you don't want to ride the rides, is 10.5 Euro. Grumpy had a few Euro left and opted to use them instead of the DKK that he had acquired. Tivoli is a rather compact amusement park, with about two dozen rides. there are also about two dozen restaurants. They strolled through the park, stopping frequently to check out the flowers and stopping for a bit to listen to the Tivoli Big Band performance in the bandshell. Not finding much more to do, they decided to call it a day.
There was some rain early in the day, but it stopped before Slinkie and Grumpy left the ship. There were times that it looked like it would rain again during the afternoon, but once again, it was a very pleasant day. Tomorrow looks like a good day for city sightseeing if the weather holds, and then it will be time to say goodbye to Copenhagen and to Europe. It's been a hectic three weeks, but a very good three weeks. Slinkie and Grumpy have enjoyed having all of you along for the ride. Grumpy will try to post once more before leaaving Copenhagen.

[crystal808]

<< Slinkie and Grumpy have enjoyed having all of you along for the ride.>>

And, to be sure, Grumpy: we've enjoyed being with you! :)

Thanks for taking the time and sharing!

Paul
glad to hear G's retirement funds have (almost) made it back from Europe! :eek:

[johnlcruise]

[QUOTE=crystal808]<< Slinkie and Grumpy have enjoyed having all of you along for the ride.>>

And, to be sure, Grumpy: we've enjoyed being with you! :)

Thanks for taking the time and sharing!

What am I going to do without my daily fix of the "Adventures of Slinkie and Grumpy"
I so much enjoyed reading your stories..You are a great writer.
When will be your next trip? Can't wait to join you on the board reading about your next adventure.
Have a safe trip home.:)

[hammybee]

Thank you for sharing your cruise with us. Have a safe trip home.

[jhannah]

We are very fond of Copenhagen. Glad you had a great visit. Safe travels home.

[Southbound]

What a wonderful travelogue! The smooth writing and subtle humor made it such an enjoyable read. Looking forward to hooking up with you two for the Westerdam sailing in Oct. Wishing you a safe and pleasant journey home.

[c-to-sea]

Slinkie and Grumpy

We and our friends are on Rotterdam July 28th. for the same itinerary.
Thank you for your complete and informative postings. They have given us
tremendous insight into what to expect and how to get around. In fact,
having read the entire saga, we are wondering of we still need to go (just
kidding). It has been wonderful and we are most grateful to you for
taking the time to do this. I am sure others feel the same way.
We are proponents of the 'pay it forward' principle. Since there is no way
that we can repay you for what you have done, we will take the time and
make the effort to assist others with our experiences whenever possible.

Cliff and Diana

[Williebill]

Have a safe trip back to Naples. Don't worry, you and Slinkey will be back on the high seas before you know it!!:D

[BuckeyeGal1956]

The limo is ready to go to pick up Slinkie & Grumpy tomorrow ... let's hope that good weather fairy returns! Today's flight from Copenhagen was an hour late arriving. That would NOT be good tomorrow since they have only two hours after scheduled arrival to clear customs and depart for home!

For tomorrow, Weather.com says it'll be nice in Copenhagen - but Newark is another story: "Thunderstorms likely. High of 77°F. Winds SW at 10-15 mph. Chance of rain 80%."

So, needless to say - the computer will be on and the cell phone handy! Just in case arrival is later than planned. That would be a bummer for an otherwise great trip!

So, here's hoping for a change in the weather and fair flying!

Lynn

[serendipity1499]

Grumpy & Slinkie..Hope you had a wonderful last day in CPH,,Hope you have a pleasant trip home..Weather here hot & humid..

Thanks again for taking us along on your wonderful vacation..Looking forward to your next jaunt..:) Betty

P.S. Grumpy..Can't afford business class, :( so will ply DH with Black Russians & ask for an bulkhead seat instead..He's a pleasant drunk!;)

[Grumpy1]

Return to Naples is delayed a day. Plane was delayed an hour and a half leaving CPH. The flight to Naples didn't wait. Continental decided Slinkie and Grumpy should spend the night in Newark at Continental's expense, so this update is being sent to you courtesy of the free HoJo wireless net.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Well that's a bit of a comedown after your wonderful travels!! Hojo's in Newark ... wow! Take me next time!:)

Welcome Home!

[Scrumpy]

Enjoy your extra night! Sometimes, the travel delays are fun - sometimes, of course, they are not. HoJos...boy, that brings back memories :) Have fun!

[luvs2beachit]

Wonderful review!!!! I enjoyed reading every word! You made my Sunday morning! I trashed the Times and instead hung on your every word!
Thanks!

[Ides of March]

Grumpy and Slinkie:

Well, it was just like old times. I would read your thread at work and print a copy out for Grux who would save it to enjoy with her glass of wine after dinner. She could have gone online at home and done her own printing but she likes to be pampered.

I knew she had her heart set on the Baltic cruise on the Pdam in July 2007 especially because several couples who we did the Circle with and are now good friends will be doing the back to back version and have been urging us to join them. I have been very cool on the idea seeing no reason to miss the only decent weather we enjoy in this frozen hinterland to visit another temporarily thawed locale. I thought our next cruise in a few years might be along the Turkish coast out of Antalya on a sailboat where snorkelling is mixed with touring but then I started reading your posts. Of course I got the bug again. It is a part of the world I have only seen from airport lounges or from 30K feet up so my peception is not fully developed as your posts made clear.

We now have another S&G binder which will serve as our Fodor's yet again but this time with many more common ports.

Thanks again for the effort you put in which I now fully appreciate.

Hope we do get to sail together and thanks for the Fekko tip. That cinched the deal.

Ides

[Grumpy1]

Obviously, Ides, you have way too much liesure time at work... reading CruiseCritic, printing out threads...:rolleyes: Now all you really have to do is compress the work schedule into those hours and you can do both the Baltics and the Turkish coast with all of the free time you will build up.:D

You alluded to something that I, too, have found: perceptions change once you have a chance to personally observe and interact. Of course, most of the tour operaters do their best to turn your viewpoint in a direction most flattering to their country, but by being observant one can still get a feeling for how the people live and what the country is really like. I think you would enjoy the Baltics... we'll be looking forward to reports by you and Grux from the Baltics and the Turkish coast within the next couple of years.

[Traveller1]

Thank you so much Grumpy & Slinkie--loved seeing and reading yr posts. The Baltics sound excellent--or maybe it is just yr writing.... Wonderful to see you on a cruise and writing about it again.

[Grumpy1]

Well, Ol' Grumpy is up to his old tricks of leaving the thread incomplete... no post about the last day in Copenhagen. So here goes...

After a liesurely breakfast at the hotel restaurant, slinkie and Grumpy decided that they should take a bus tour of the city. The tour left from city hall square wich was just a short walk from the hotel. It was a double decker totally enclosed bus... some of the tours were on open top buses. Slinkie was happy with the closed bus as the temperature was somewhat cool. The tour wound around through the city with several stops for photo opportunities or souvenir shopping. The guide spoke pretty good English and a few times repeated things in German for a small group that spoke some English but had difficulty understanding the guide in English at times.

The first stop was to observe the changing of the guard at the palace. After that it was back on the bus and out to visit the thing that everyone comes to Copenhagen to see... No, not the sex museum... the Little Mermaid. There was a guy at one of the stops pushing handbills at everyone. Grumpy took one and found it to be a rather graphic ad for the above mentioned museum. According to the map, Slinkie and Grumpy were only steps away from it while walking around the day before, but didn't see it... oh, well...

The tour was two and one half hours, and by the time it was finished, it was time to find a place for lunch. The most reasonable place around was a small pizzeria close to the hotel that had an all you can eat salad bar and pizza for 55 DKK... over $9 USD. Pizza Hut back in the states is better and cheaper, but it was OK and the beer was good. The afternoon was spent doing a little more wandering around.

When dinner time rolled around, Slinkie and Grumpy wandered up the street to Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard and found a nice French restaurant... Le Coq Rouge. As usual, Slinkie found a seafood entree that was quite good, Grumpy went with the special of the day, which was a delicious chicken breast entree. By the time the overfed duo had waddled bvack to the hotel it was time to pack up and get ready to head for home.

The next morning, there was no time for breakfast at the hotel. With a nine a.m. flight, Slinkie and Grumpy headed for the airport about 6:30. The cab dropped them off at the wrong terminal, but after grabbing a free baggage cart and loading all of the bags on it, it didn't take long to get to the next terminal and find the line for Continental. At the end of the queue, but before getting to the ticket counter, there were security personnel checking passports and asking lots of questions about the luggage. After being satisfied that Slinkie and Grumpy and their luggage posed no danger, they were allowed to proceed to the ticket counter and check in the three heaviest pieces. From there it was a short hike to the security checkpoint and the line moved quickly through.

There was a snack shop and Grumpy used up some more DKK for Danish, juice and coffee. They then set out to find the departure gate. After following the signs toward the assigned gate for what seemed like a mile or so, Grumpy spotted a sign that said the walking time to the gate was another 10-15 minutes. Grumpy soon saw why. The duty free shop area is a whole dayum mall! Fortunately, there was no time for shopping...

Arriving at the gate, a line was forming in the hallway but no one was allowed into the lounge to sit down and wait. finally after a 15 minute wait, everyone was allowed into the lounge. By that time, it was pretty obvious that the plane would not depart on time. It was at the gate and being serviced, but it was past time that boarding should have started. Finally, about the time the flight should depart, boarding began. Part way through the boarding process, the captain announced that there would be a power interruption while power sources were being transferred. The lights went off and on a couple of times before staying on. After a while the captain came on the speakers again and said that they had encountered problems fueling the plane and the power transfer was necessary to set the relays in the proper mode... OK, if you say so, Cap'n... and the fueling would be completed in about 14 minutes, the paperwork would be signed and the plane would be on its way.

About 20 minutes later the fueling operation was finally complete and after the paperwork was completed the cabin door was closed. OK, it's only 45 minutes late, still possible to make the connection in Newark... except that the plane sat at the gate for another 45 minutes, finally getting underway 1-1/2 hours late. Once again, the captain came on the speakers and informed everyone that there were strong headwinds crossing the ocean and "marginal" weather in New Jersey... Not much chance of making up any time.

The flight was pretty smooth and Slinkie and Grumpy had a relaxing flight.. well as relaxing as possible when folded into those torture devices they refer to as seats on the 757 planes. Grumpy still had a few DKK... mostly coins... and was pleased to hear the flight attendant announce that beverages could be purchased with DKK or dollars. Taking inventory, Grumpy found that he had enough for 6 bottles of wine, with only 4 DKK (about 60 cents) left over. 3 wines each... now you know why it was a relaxing flight.

The plane landed in Newark about 30 minutes before the flight to ft. Meyers was supposed to leave. With the rain they were having, Grumpy was hoping that the Ft. Meyers flight might be delayed... a lot of flights were... but, no, that one was running ontime. Grumpy called Lynnaldo's Luxury Limo and advised her that she wouldn't need to dash off to the airport. She had already been checking options and mentioned a couple of possible alternative flights. At the Continental reticketing desk, Grumpy got the bad news... no seats available, everyflight was full, standby lists were long. Continental did get them on a flight at 7:10a the next morning and provided vouchers for Howard Johnson's, $20 for dinner and $16 for breakfast. The Newark airport is very easy to get around, even with a cart piled high with luggage. Soon Slinkie and Grumpy were settled in at HoJo's in a pretty nice room. Since it was still raining, sightseeing wasn't much of an option. There was a free wireless internet connection so Slinkie and Grumpy decided to catch up on Email, have dinner at the hotel restaurant and turn in early.

There are quite a few flight crews that stay at that hotel and at the nearby Holiday Inn. The two hotels use a common shuttle bus and it runs every 20 minutes. The shuttle departed the hotel at 4:40a and arrived at the terminal at 5:00a. Stepping inside, Slinkie and Grumpy were confronted with huge lines and a sea of people. Fortunately they were all in the International portion of the airport. the domestic checkins were on the second level and not crowded at all. after breezing through checkin and security, it was time for breakfast at Starbucks and then settle in for the flight home.

Fort Meyers has a new airport terminal, less than a year old. A nice feature that they put in when they relocated the terminal and parking is a cellphone waiting lot. Pull into that parking lot and wait there, no parking fee, and wait for a call on your cellphone. Grumpy called Lynnaldo upon landing to let her know that they were there, and then called her again after retrieving the luggage. a couple of minutes later she pulled up at the curb, the luggage was loaded and off they went. It sure beats circling through the airport or parking in the short term lot.

So finally the journey had come to an end, Slinkie and Grumpy can settle into their normal routine and start working on plans for excursions on their next adventure in August.

Stay tuned for future threads...

[hammybee]

As Dorthey says, " there's no place like home".

[Grumpy1]

As Dorthey says, " there's no place like home".You're absolutely right! But "home" is any dam ship. This is just a place to visit between trips "home":D

[slgjhg]

Hi All,

This was a great read. We did this cruise about nine years ago with Princess. As a result our daughter chose to do her "semester abroad" in Sweden and we visited her for five days prior to boarding the "millie" for BtoB Vinice to Ft. Lauderdale. With the exception of my mother-in-law it was a wonderful trip. Has St. Petersburg improved their inferstructure at all. When we were there it made me so sad. You could see what a beautiful city it should be, and was invisioned to be, but the current condition was awful. As I said it made me so sad. Slinky, about shopping in Rome. There is a wonderful web site called Slow Travel, where if you do searches, etc. I'm sure you can find anything you need. In Rome in March, I didn't shop much (I did all my damage in Umbria at a cashmire factory) but did pamper myself with hair, manicure and pedicure treatments. If you can't find the web site, let me know and I will try and cut and paste it. It is the best!!!!! We did cooking classes and winery tours (all small, 4 people) from places we found on this site. We also did 3 hour walking tour of Trestevere one evening and followed up with dinner at Piazza Navona, it was so wonderful. Been back to Rome for the past three years and will probably go again next year, we love Rome. Glad you had a wonderful and safe trip and hope August is as delightful.

Best Regards,

Shannon

[slgjhg]

Slinkiecat,

I posted a couple of web site you might want to explore at the Floataway Lounge.

This is a great site and I hope you check it out, if you do a search there is one for fashion too.

Good luck and enjoy Rome.

Regards,

Shannon

[KAKcruiser]

So, Grumpy, the big question is, "Which ship did you like better?"

[Grumpy1]

That's an easy one... Prinsendam! There's just something about the Elegant Explorer that feels right to me. I would sail any damn ship... already have bookings on Noordam and Westerdam... but my preference for the same itinerary would be Prinsendam.

[Grumpy1]

Several months ago someone posted that there just didn't seem to be a lot of places on the Prinsendam to sit and relax and enjoy a book, as compared to the other dam ships. My apologizes for not remembering who it was that posted the comment. At the time, I didn't undestand the comment as I felt there were plenty of quiet nooks on Prinsendam and figured a ship with more passengers would have to be more crowded in the public areas. After being on the Rotterdam, I think I now understand. I was amazed at the seating available in the atrium and all of the lounges, and so few people using it. The only time it was crowded is when they preempted most of the area for additional sales space.... fortunately not that often.

We could always find a place to plop down with the laptops in the Atrium on deck five. We could always find seats and tables in the lounges. We walked through the Explorations Cafe/Internet Lounge many times and it was never crowded. I now have to agree that the Prinsendam doesn't have as much inside lounging space available as the Rotterdam.

[Slinkiecat]

Slinkiecat,

I posted a couple of web site you might want to explore at the Floataway Lounge.

This is a great site and I hope you check it out, if you do a search there is one for fashion too.

Good luck and enjoy Rome.

Regards,

Shannon

I found the site and bookmarked it, Shannon. You know how the CC site is, though, when you really want to post something, and I was not able to reply to your last link on the Floataway Lounge. Thank you so much for sending that link. I'll be visiting it often as we plan our visit to Rome in August.

Slinkie