Review/Comments on Silhouette Cruise - July 6-18 - 12 Night Scandinavia and Russia

Overall rating 3 of 5 stars.

Ship – the arrangement of the ship was well done with most of the common areas located between the elevator banks, with the theater forward and the Grand Couvée dining room and Oceanview Café aft. It just didn’t seem very far from one place to another. The Sky Lounge was a bit difficult to get to, only accessible from the forward elevators. One interesting point, every evening there was some sort of dance party held on the 3rd deck in the atrium in between the shore excursion desk and Guest relations desk. I don’t know how they managed to get anything done with the music and commotion. Our standard balcony cabin 8250, was located right off the aft elevator lobby,yet we could barely hear the music with the door closed. The Lawn club Grill and the Porch up on top near the grass were very nice venues. The pool was used on each of the sea days. There are bars everywhere and a nice coffee and ice cream venue on deck 5. The ship was in really good condition and always very clean. All in all, a nice ship.

Activities. Our Cruise Director Ben Powney was called off the ship on the 2nd day for personal reasons and the Activities Director Phillip filled both positions for the remainder of the cruise, and did a VERY nice job with the help of Debbie, who was a delight. And there was Will from Belgium who did a fine job as well. Look for Phillip on the Summit as Cruise Director, his promotion was announced on the last night. Trivia(3 or 4 times per day), 3 putting contests,Jeopardy(I was selected and failed), Minute to Win It and Mission Improbable were both fun to watch.

Shows – the Celebrity Singers best night was their Broadway night where the 4 of them sang their favorite Broadway hits. The 2 production shows were politically correct, “feel good” statements of acceptance and tolerance – the singers, dancers and acrobats were pretty good,however. The comedian, Goronwy Thom was funny, sang and juggled – a real one man variety show. Clare Maidin sang well, could have used some more up-beat tunes. Peter Cutler did a good job with Vocals and tap dancing. Michael Falzone was OK. The Fly Boys were really a unique experience doing lyrics to modern songs in a Swing style from the 20’sand 30’s. Did not see the Russian Folkloric show or violinist Jane Cho. Overall, the shows were good,not great. Apparently there were several other musical groups spread throughout the ship each evening, but with the port intensive days, we were too tired to do much exploring after hours.

Passengers – a nice mix of young and old with many countries represented. There were over 300 deaf people traveling in a group were accompanied by several translator/signers who were a delight to watch during the shows – their expressions and their ability to convey not just the words but the emotions was something to see. There were some young children who were allowed to run free in the main dining room several nights, we finally called it to the attention of the staff to avoid them hitting a waiter or other passenger. It is too bad that the Staff cannot (or will not) enforce the dress code at the evening meal in the dining room. All too often shorts and flip flops were allowed. Jeans and athletic shoes allowed on “Chic” nights as well. I was not alone wearing my tux on the 2nd "Chic" night.

Shops – 2 areas –the staff of the Specialty shops on deck 5 were so aggressive, we avoided the entire area as much as we could when they were open. The used car salesman at Breitling was the worst. The gift shop on deck 4 always had some sort of bazaar with tables outside in the walkway, made it crowded and hard to get through. And inside the gift shop, things were way overpriced. $17 for a bottle of Dayquil.

Food was always tasty, we never got anything that did not have a great flavor.

Specialty dining – we made reservations before the cruise for the Lawn Club Grill, and enjoyed our steaks in the well done venue outside near the lawn. I did get to watch the cook put my steak on the grill and we discussed her seasoning and grilling techniques.We could not figure out why we got a flatbread pizza as an appetizer – seems like too much food before the salad bar and steak. Not a WOW steak and certainly not worth the $45 up-charge for the “experience”.

The Grand Couvée dining room never provided a hot meal ,mostly very warm, but we never had anything that tasted bad. We were surprised a couple of times – first was the gristle on the sirloin steak that could not be conquered. Then there was the Crepe Suzette - so tough that could not be cut with a knife, my DW tried. And then there was the poor little chocolate lava cake – when it arrived, we both looked at it and laughed at the little chocolate mini muffin and scoop of ice cream – where was the hot gooey chocolate lava that should explode from the center of the cake? Best meal was the Lobster, even with the inedible rice pilaf. Our experience in the dining room was quashed by the attitude of our waiter. Through the (bad) luck of the draw, our waiter was never engaged with us, he asked about our day, but did not listen to the answer, and sometimes would ask again. In the first few evenings, he and the assistant waiter seemed to be tripping over themselves, not in sync at all... an empty coffee cup delivered by one and the other stopped and asked if we wanted coffee. Neither of them called us by name the whole trip.

The Ocean View Café was always busy during mealtime, the arrangement of the different stations worked well to keep the people flowing,you just had to make a walk through the entire area to see what was being served during that mealtime. I ordered eggs Benedict several times hoping that one day the Hollandaise sauce would at least be warm, it was always cold. Don’t miss the bread pudding whenever they serve it at lunch… not every day – you have to get lucky.

The Mast Grill near the pool had very good hamburgers at lunch.

Highlight of the food service was the “Express Breakfast” which was served 3 times during the cruise on particularly intense shore days with early tour departures. So you are escorted to the first available seat, when 6 waiters swoop in... coffee; orange juice; a plate with bacon,sausage and scrambled eggs; 2 pieces of toast; and a Danish or 2 are in front of you within seconds. I mean no ordering, no substitutions, no hassle breakfast in seconds. Great Job Silhouette!

To conclude the food section of this review, the best food we had on the trip was actually provided on several of our shore excursions –particularly the Hofbräu Berlin where we were served a soft pretzel and cold beer followed by brats, sauerkraut, pork and potatoes served family style.

Excursions always started in the theater where you would receive your number sticker on the left at the bottom the go up the right side to wait for the number to be called – a very good, well rehearsed process. Maybe it is our age and/or physical condition,but we felt rushed on most all of our excursions, an effort to get as many sights visited as possible in a day with precious little time for souvenir shopping. There were many opportunities for photo stops and they were all handled well. All the tour guides were very knowledgeable and handled English very well. Our tour guide in Berlin was young and full of excitement about the re-vitalization and growth opportunities in his new and vibrant city. Most of us remember a city much different through the atrocities, bombing and division from not too many years ago. The weather co-operated – beautiful days with only a couple of rainy exceptions (Moscow and Oslo morning). So many cities, so much information all seem to run together mostly. Due to the completely full days, we were too tired most evenings to pursue post-late-show festivities around the ship – a reference to age/physical condition probably as well.

Pre-cruise hotel – Grand Central – Stockholm. Nice hotel, nice location – a bit far from the old town Gamla stan, however. Many nice restaurants and fine shopping within a few blocks. There was no transfer provided from the airport, and we did not use the transfer to the port– we had a tour booked. There was no Celebrity information desk and no information provided by Celebrity. The Buffet breakfast was tasty and plentiful. We really did not see any advantage to have booked through cruise line.

Post-cruise hotel– Movinpick – Amsterdam. Great location in the building right next to the cruise terminal. A modern atmosphere with good restaurant for dinner and breakfast. It was a “seven”minute walk to the rail station and the tourist area (more like 15-20 refer to the age/physical condition statement above). The real advantage to this hotel was un-published anywhere that I found before we left… your luggage was collected from outside your cabin (special luggage tags applied) the night before debarkation like normal, but we did not have to retrieve it in the terminal – it was automatically transferred right to our hotel room. When we checked in later that evening, it was already in our room. We exited the ship at our leisure, did not have to look for luggage, went right through customs and whoosh – out the door. We were 2 hours early for our independently scheduled tour as there were none offered from Celebrity that terminated at the hotel. There was a Celebrity desk in the lobby,but by the time we arrived at 6:30pm, the agent was gone and had left no information for us. We scheduled a taxi transfer from the front desk.

Ports and Excursion reviews to follow(maybe).

Sorry about the length, my DW says that I ramble.

I will be certainly glad to respond to questions/comments

Thanks for writing the review, I am doing the Baltic next year so looking forward to your ports and excursions post.

I am enjoying your review very much as we are sailing on a somewhat similar cruise in August.

One question - did you take some currency for the places you visited for tips, etc? We are staying in Iceland and Amsterdam before so I know we will need some local currency.

What ship were you on?

I do agree with you about the waiters in the main dining room. On our past 3 cruises we missed the friendliness and laughter we had with the service in earlier years.

Thanks for telling us about your cruise and look forward to reading more.

Thank you for your review.

I am enjoying your review very much as we are sailing on a somewhat similar cruise in August.

One question - did you take some currency for the places you visited for tips, etc? We are staying in Iceland and Amsterdam before so I know we will need some local currency.

 

What ship were you on?

on the Silhouette

We took local currency for everywhere. Most everywhere, you can use your credit card, much easier. Most cities, including Amsterdam, Russia excluded, accepted euros. But one tour guide said that their country, everyone uses the credit card option, even for a bottle of water. Sometimes, I even got the option to charge in USD right there.

Stockholm –

We started out the day landing at the airport and taking a taxi to the hotel and then started exploring the city. We walked a ways to tour the City Hall and then over to the old town of Gamlastan for shopping and some lunch and then an afternoon canal cruise. After all the walking, we decided to take a cab back to the hotel, as it is quite a ways. After checking in and getting freshened up (nap), we headed down the street for dinner. Next morning after a great breakfast buffet we took a cab to the port to meet our tour guide for the day. During our stay we got to see the place where the Nobel Prize banquet is held, saw the narrowest alley, saw the smallest statue, drove through several neighborhoods, enjoyed many shopping opportunities in the old town of Gamlastan, visited the Vasa Museum, took a canal cruise, and experienced the changing of the guard at the National Palace.

Hotel – Scandic Grand Central

Location was a bit far from Gamlastan, but in a nice neighborhood a couple of blocks from fine shopping and many nice restaurants. We had a nice clean room with a view of the main street. Breakfast buffet was a good start to a busy day. The bellman was quick to gather and store our luggage when we arrived and the next morning he arranged for a cab to the port. The front desk was helpful with suggestions for dinner and making our stay pleasurable. We highly recommend dinner the Kott and Fisk Baren restaurant for their unique atmosphere and great food. We used Celebrity to book the room and did not see any agent or get any information from them.

SPB-Tours – Stockholm Highlights Tour. There was a bit of confusion about meeting place, but once we found each other, it turned out that it was just the two of us. Christine made the best use of the time in showing us the sights of Stockholm including the Vasa Museum and the back streets of Gamlastan. She managed to take a few short cuts to get us around the crowds to see the army band that accompanied the day’s changing of the guard at the National Palace. She also suggested a great little place for lunch where the proceeds are contributed to a charity. There was not much time for shopping, but we had done that the day before, and Christine customized the day to our needs and made the day enjoyable, we give her 5 stars. With our private tour complete,she dropped us at the ship for our embarkation activities.

Helsinki

Our 7-hour tour today from SPB-Tours took us sightseeing through Helsinki – our first stop at the Helsinki Cathedral. A block over was a local marketplace where we purchased several souvenirs and some wonderful locally grown cherries from the dozens of vendors setup there. After a spot of lunch of lunch at a local restaurant, the bus continued on to the historic village of Porvoo. During our free time,we shopped and then found a chocolate store that has been around since 1871. On our way back to the city, we stopped at the interesting Church in the Rock that was carved out of the solid rock. This was a full day with interesting sightseeing done very well.

please write as much as you can, this is the trip that I missed and I would love to live vicariously through you guys. I'm starting chemo in about a week and a half and it looks like I'll have time to read. thanks for posting this. I looked forward to this trip for almost a year and was saddened that I didn't get to go, but that's not the way things went.

sorry to hear about your issues, sounds like they are going to take care of you... good luck

I'll keep writing - in fact posting Moscow now.

Moscow

I took the option today to take the Sapsan high-speed train to Moscow on a Celebrity excursion. We were the first group to disembark the ship and go through Russian Customs, which was very easy with no waiting. A short bus ride through St Petersburg ends at the Railway Station where we follow our escort through the station and to the platform and awaiting train. Many other trains were stopped at other platforms, this is truly a busy rail station. Slowly we depart and work our way to the outskirts of the city and notice the speed of the train quickly increasing. as breakfast was served on the 4 hour trip we were traveling just over 220 kph (140 mph) on the grade separated concrete tie roadway. The blur of the Russian countryside whizzed past as a nice breakfast was served. Slowing was noticeable as we approached the city of Moscow where the train finally stopped at the Leningradsk Station as rain began to fall. Our guide gets us all together on the platform and leads us to our tour bus and local guide for the day. First stop –Red Square where we see St Basil's church on our way past Lenin’s tomb and out of the rain for some free time to get lunch and shop at the famous GUM department store. Back to the bus to get to the other side of the Kremlin where we are greeted by thousands of other people waiting to get in as the rain lets off. Our guide pushed us past the throng as we already had tickets and through the gates of the red-walled fortress. Across the center of the Kremlin grounds we head past the large cannon and bell to go through the cathedral. The crowd is starting to build so we make our way out and to the Armory Museum to see the many prized collections of art and items of historic significance. All too soon our visit to Moscow is over as we make our way to the subway station. Our guide shows us the interior of 4 or 5 of the beautifully decorated stations before we arrive back 2 levels below the train station. We bid farewell to the tour guide and make out way to the train for eh 4 hour return trip to St Petersburg. A salmon filet is served for dinner. We arrive just before midnight and enjoy a drive back through town seeing the people enjoying the nightlife. A long memorable day is done 17 hours after it started.

please write as much as you can, this is the trip that I missed and I would love to live vicariously through you guys. I'm starting chemo in about a week and a half and it looks like I'll have time to read. thanks for posting this. I looked forward to this trip for almost a year and was saddened that I didn't get to go, but that's not the way things went.

Sincere best wishes for a speedy recovery....so sorry for your disappointment. I must say, like you, I have thoroughly enjoyed following the adventures of others on CC as I have spent the last few weeks confined to bed in plaster!

We should have been in the PH on the Millie in October for a significant birthday and have had to cancel as I can't fly! We have managed to soften the blow by booking a more local cruise in September. I sincerely hope as soon as you are up to it you can book an alternative cruise to look forward to.

Again sincere best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Sorry to say, but I just got off the Silhouette today and I thought the food was some of the worst food I have ever had on any cruise. However I found the waitstaff in general to be very polite, friendly, and ready to serve. I believe the Specialty dining and Aqua class are Celebrity's way to serve better food. The only decent food I tasted for 12 days was at Sushi on 5 and Murano. Those were the only restaurants I tried. I am a huge lover of all kinds of potatoes and they were so bad everywhere, I never ate more than a taste. And that says a lot. The buffet just repeats itself everyday. I can honestly say I am pretty sure I lost weight on this cruise.

Sorry to say, but I just got off the Silhouette today and I thought the food was some of the worst food I have ever had on any cruise. However I found the waitstaff in general to be very polite, friendly, and ready to serve. I believe the Specialty dining and Aqua class are Celebrity's way to serve better food. The only decent food I tasted for 12 days was at Sushi on 5 and Murano. Those were the only restaurants I tried. I am a huge lover of all kinds of potatoes and they were so bad everywhere, I never ate more than a taste. And that says a lot. The buffet just repeats itself everyday. I can honestly say I am pretty sure I lost weight on this cruise.

I wasn't going to go that far, my wife accuses me of being negative... but you definitively said it. there were bright spots at most meals, but not the way it was. as I mentioned in my first posting, the joke that was chocolate lava cake ! the Steak was good, not $45 good, in the lawn grill... the hollandaise sauce was always COLD. The food is probably what will drive me away from another Celebrity cruise. And don't get me started on the slobs that are allows to enter the MDR. . . :rolleyes:

St Petersburg....

Summary .... Too crowded and too rushed...

My wife wanted to stay in St Petersburg to see the Hermitage and Peterhof Palace instead of spending 17 hours going to Moscow. All I know from her day is that by the time their excursion group was released, the wait for Russian customs was over an hour long. They did make it to the Peterhof Palace along with everyone else in the area – very crowded is what she reported. Their group was unable to get through the crowd enough to make it down to the bridge for the best view of the fountains. She was able to get a good vantage point and a few good photos, however. The crowds persisted during their visit to the Hermitage, again they persevered and felt rushed as they caught glimpses of the collections in the few areas they visited. It would take several years to see everything in the museum. After a quick turnaround at the ship to change and grab a bite of dinner, she joined a group to watch Swan Lake at the Hermitage theater that evening. She reported that despite the rushing about, the ballet was certainly worth the effort.

We went together on day 2 in St Petersburg – going through customs is much easier once you have both stamps from the first day in your passport. We arrived at Catherine’s summer palace in Puskin well before the crowds today. We took a leisurely pace through many of the rooms including Green Dining Room, the Blue Drawing Room, the Chinese Blue Drawing Room, the nearly 1,000 square meter Hall of Light, and the fully restored spectacular Amber Room. Then outside we enjoyed a walk in the gardens before heading back to the city for a nice Russian lunch. The afternoon found us making our way to the beautiful Peter and Paul Cathedral in the Peter and Paul Fortress located on an island in the Neva river. The cathedral houses the remains of almost all the Russian emperors and empresses from Peter the Great to Nicholas II. Its 400 ft tall gold-painted spire features an angel holding a cross at the top visible from most locations in the city. Next stop for photos was at the site of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. One last view of the Hermitage from the north bank of the Nevis and we were back to our ship. Many more days could easily be spent in this historic city.

I am glad we went to Russia, I am glad I got to walk in Red Square. I am disappointed, however, in the experience. Check... off the list.

Sorry for your disappointment, but I appreciate the report.

Thanks for the review.

Sorry for your disappointment, but I appreciate the report.

Hi Crusin Kelly, reg: Train to Moscow--was the train airconditioned, (I ask because the Celebrity owned train to Berlin several years ago was not) was the Moscow train a Celebrity train, or were tour passengers all in one car? Do you recall the cost? I have been to St Pete before several years ago and the offer then was a plane ride, I did not do it. Why was your trip disappointing--other than the 17 hours, which was about how long the trip would have been on the plane? Thank you for your review, Pat

Sometimes, I even got the option to charge in USD right there.

If paying by card it is usually a bad deal if the vendor offers to charge you in your own currency. It is almost certainly subject to a conversion fee plus a poor exchange rate. This is on top of any fee your card provider might charge to use your are abroad ( we have a card that has no overseas charges) . The rates are usually much better if you just charge the card in the local currency and let the banks do the conversion at the prevailing rate.

I wasn't going to go that far, my wife accuses me of being negative... but you definitively said it. there were bright spots at most meals, but not the way it was. as I mentioned in my first posting, the joke that was chocolate lava cake ! the Steak was good, not $45 good, in the lawn grill... the hollandaise sauce was always COLD. The food is probably what will drive me away from another Celebrity cruise. And don't get me started on the slobs that are allows to enter the MDR. . . :rolleyes:

Thanks for your honesty in review! We are on the Silhouette in 10 days doing the British Isles - second X ship for us and was hoping it would be as good as the last... we are not "foodies" by any means, but do expect edible food even in the main dining room and food on the Summit was okay. I personally don't like all these "specialty restaurants" where the "better food" is served...just not right.

Regarding the "slobs" in MDR - I am in agreement - not understanding why dress codes are no longer enforced anymore. Glad to hear you were not alone in wearing a Tux - I love seeing my DH in his but we are seeing less and less of them in our travels. On this trip we are traveling with two other couples (sister and cousin and respective DHs) and he won't be bringing his tux. Cousin's DH doesn't even own a suit, so the guys agreed to all bring sport jackets and dress slacks - I'm disappointed but DH isn't so it's okay - but they will be "dressed" for dinner. Seems that the days of "dressing for dinner" seem to be on the way out...I understand formal night is now "Le Chic" night; guess I am just old fashioned - I miss the "glitz and glamour" of yesteryear.....

Hi Crusin Kelly, reg: Train to Moscow--was the train airconditioned, (I ask because the Celebrity owned train to Berlin several years ago was not) was the Moscow train a Celebrity train, or were tour passengers all in one car? Do you recall the cost? I have been to St Pete before several years ago and the offer then was a plane ride, I did not do it. Why was your trip disappointing--other than the 17 hours, which was about how long the trip would have been on the plane? Thank you for your review, Pat

yes Moscow train air conditioned - Berlin train was air cooled by opening the windows.

There were at least 3 tours on the train, our group was spreadout with the other groups - we took space in 3 cars - our car was all 2 groups.

I booked the tour through Celebrity - over $600

The rain dampened our excitement (no one's fault), the tour was rushed, partially due to the number of people in Moscow on a Saturday, and partially due to the rain. We were pretty wet at the start, then dried off some as the day progressed.

If paying by card it is usually a bad deal if the vendor offers to charge you in your own currency. It is almost certainly subject to a conversion fee plus a poor exchange rate. This is on top of any fee your card provider might charge to use your are abroad ( we have a card that has no overseas charges) . The rates are usually much better if you just charge the card in the local currency and let the banks do the conversion at the prevailing rate.

Agreed, my card has no foreign fees as well. If you are spending more than a few dollars the exchange rate is really inconsequential, what is a few cents here and there - rolled into the cost of the trip. :cool:

Tallin

The ship arrived right on time this morning, so we were soon off the breakfast and then to join our tour group in the theater, a process we were soon to get very familiar with. Our bus left the port area, stopping first at the site of the music festival and then at the marina in the village of Pirita the venue for sailing during the US boycotted 1980 Olympics. At that time parts of Estonia had been annexed by Russia. Back to the upper old town where we see the 5 domes of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and go inside the much older Cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin (also known as Dome Church). Continuing the walk to a scenic overlook for some photos, we pass many small shops as we make our way down to the Town Hall Square for a spot of lunch. Our next stop on our walk was inside the Church of the Holy Spirit for a concert of traditional music accompanied on a hurdy-gurdy. Then time for a few more photos and even a bit of shopping before re-boarding our bus to the port. We really liked Tallinn and the well organized and informative tour today - quite possibly our favorite of the trip.

We too were on the British Isles cruise. We were very happy after 3 or 4 nights to meet a friendly and helpful wait team in the select dining MDR which we thereafter requested. each night. In general, the food was very acceptable to good with a couple of very good dishes.But, for the first time in 14 cruises, both DH and I did send a main course back as the meat (Veal round) was inedible and almost impossible to cut. Our wait team obviously informed the Head waiter/maitre d' as he came over to say he would speak to the cooks, opining that dish was probably overcooked. . He checked that we had been offered an alternative.I must say that the NY strip steak suggested by our waiter was the best I've eaten in the MDR, cooked to order with my choice of vegetables.. As other post, it is luck of the draw sometimes re wait teams and sommeliers.

Berlin

The charter train for all the excursions was waiting for us today just a short walk away when we docked at the port city of Warnemunde, Germany. Once we were all aboard and situated, we were off for a 2 ½ hour ride to the capital city of Berlin. Our tour guide was waiting on the platform to make sure the group was all together before walking through the station to the tour bus. Bryan, a young PHD student at the university began to tell us about the new, vibrant and growing city of Berlin – one much different that most of us remember. Since the Allies completely destroyed the city in WWII, there is nothing old there, all the structures that we saw were newly constructed mostly during the period when the city was divided. Our first stop was at an art project that utilized several hundred meters of a section the Berlin Wall that was not torn down. Art is far from the memories etched on people’s mind when they think of the many hundreds of people killed trying to escape East Berlin. We saw many of the sights of the rebuilt East Berlin including a horribly disrespectful tourist trap area built around the guard shack which was located at“check-point Charlie”. With that perversion of history behind us, we stop at a typical Biergarten for a beer with pretzel and brat, sauerkraut, pork and potatoes served family style –easily the best meal we had on the entire cruise. The afternoon we would continue sightseeing mainly in the old West Berlin sectors which included a stop at the Brandenburg Gate, the new parliament building and downtown in the Kurfürstendamm shopping district. One interesting landmark there was the Ruin of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was not rebuilt as a reminder of the bombing during World War II. “We can not apologize for what the ****’s did during the war”… we have to put it behind us and go forward by rebuilding the new thriving city… as he said driving past an unrestored section of the wall on our way back to the train station. On the train ride back, Kelly and Ethan, a nice 15yr old friend met on the Moscow train ride, while on a tour of the train, they were invited to make a brief visit in the cab of the locomotive of the train. As the sun is setting, the Silhouette departs and we leave the protection of the harbor to chase the sun into the horizon. We were glad to leave Germany behind us.

Copenhagen

A sea day was a welcomed break from the first few very intense days of touring. Today we get a late start right after lunch to begin 2 days in Copenhagen.. We drive past the busy beaches on our short drive to the North Zealand district to see several castles. Starting in the North with a walk up to the Kronborg then and a photo stop at the Fredensborg castle and a then a visit to the Frederiksborg Castle before we are returned to the ship just in time for dinner. We have scheduled an evening canal cruise and to our surprise the small tour boat has docked right in front of our ship…how convenient! As we make our way under the bridges along our route, many locals populated the canal-side bars and cafes enjoying the beautiful evening.

The next morning our tour will first take us to the waterside viewing location to see the statute of the Little Mermaid, a required photo for anyone’s visit to Copenhagen. Leaving the harbor area, we drive through the city for some sightseeing on our way to the small village of Dragor. Upon our return to town, we ask to be dropped off downtown, knowing that we have several hours to see the city on our own before the ship leaves. Walking south, we discover the statue of Hans Christian Anderson at the City Hall Square, then past many shops to another square where we locate a sidewalk café for lunch. After connecting to Wifi and downloading our e-mail, we continue our walk down by the bustling over crowded Nyhaven district where we locate the shuttle bus that will take us back to the harbor. A busy couple of days, thankfully there is another sea day again tomorrow.