Emerald Princess Baltic trip report - May 23-June 3, 2013 (with pictures and patters)

My sister and I decided to do a girl’s getaway this year and booked the Princess Baltic cruise, after comparing itineraries of a few of the cruise lines offering Baltic cruises. Years ago our family did a Disney cruise and since then I’ve been on a couple river cruises and a cruise in the Greek islands with a smaller, European based cruise line. This is the first time either of us cruised with Princess. I used Cruise Critic a lot when we were anticipating and planning the trip, finding tips and suggestions and forwarding on cruise reports to my sister to read as well. So I decided to return the favor for anyone who will be going on a Baltic cruise in the future. I also kept the Princess Patters to scan and post them with each day’s report. I don’t have this all written yet, but plan to have it completely posted in the next week or so (depending on how real life goes)

We’re in our mid/late 20’s, and pretty active (although you won’t catch either of us running a marathon any time soon). We tried to take the stairs on the Emerald Princess as much as possible. We only took the elevator twice: on embarkation day and after dinner on our day in Oslo. You’ll notice we did a lot of walking, even if public transportation is available, as long as we had the time and the distance wasn’t too far. That’s because I feel like a get a better feel for a place walking around.

I’ve lived in Europe before and traveled around independently and with more organized groups. My sister also came to visit me and we did some travelling then. Sometimes it is worth it to us to pay the slightly higher price and let someone else worry about the logistics, as a result our time in port was usually a mixture of independent and booked shore excursions. I’ve also done some traveling with my Grandmother in Europe, most recently in London last year, so I may include observations for any readers who are older, but still active, along the lines of what I would tell her if she was taking his cruise. I’ll also try to include times and prices of things, although I’m going off of what I put in my notes and unfortunately I did not include everything. Hopefully what I have will be enough to help any readers who are interested and I will try to answer any questions that I can.

Day 0 – arrival in Copenhagen

We met up in Chicago and took a SAS flight direct from O’Hare. The flight left a little late, waiting on paperwork from maintenance, but like most international flights we made up most of the time in flight. Arriving in Copenhagen we passed through passport control and went to the luggage area.

We had booked our own airfare, but arranged our transfers and hotel in Copenhagen through Princess. Princess had some personnel waiting in the luggage area for those of us who had transfers and we had our names checked off the list then went to grab our bags once the belt started moving. After everyone had our bags and were together we followed one of the Princess staff out through customs and to the bus. Everyone on our bus was going to the same hotel, Kong Arthur, so the bus wasn’t full and we went there directly. The hotel busboys would take our luggage to our rooms, so everyone headed inside.

After checking in and getting our transfer information for the next day from the Princess hospitality desk in the lobby we headed up to our room. It was overcast and rainy today, but was not pouring so I grabbed my umbrella and Sis put on her raincoat. We headed back down to the lobby, passing one of the busboys with our bags along the way. The Princess hospitality desk had entrance tickets for Tivoli Garden for sale, so we stopped because it was on our schedule for later in the day. They sold them for dollars or Danish Kroners. We had ordered currency before we left so we used kroner. We paid 85 DKK pp, instead of the 95 DKK the tickets are sold for at the park entrance.

We walked from the hotel up to Rosenborg Slot (Rosenborg Castle). We had initially planned to go inside today, but it was already 3:30 and the castle closed at 4, so instead we took pictures and walked around the gardens of Kongens Have surrounding the castle.

We then headed up to Nyhavn, to take a canal cruise. We went with the cruise company that’s right at the start of the canal. The cost was 75 DKK pp. However, if you walk up the side opposite the colorful buildings, there’s another company that only costs 40 DKK pp. I had read about this before leaving, but forgot until after we were onboard and passed the other company’s dock. Most of the people onboard sat inside, despite the fact the rain had died down, but Sis and I decided to sit outside, so that we’d have a better view and be able to take pictures without the windows. Once the cruise got going others decided to come out as well, although most went to the front of the boat, so the aft part where we sat remained almost empty. The canal cruise took us past many of the sights of Copenhagen: the opera, the little mermaid statue Amalienborg Palace, the “Black Diamond” or library, and was about an hour long.

Towards the end of the cruise the rain started back up, so as the boat re-entered Nyhavn canal we moved inside for the last little bit. We had talked about getting an ice cream cone from the store by the bridge, but decided it was a little too cool for that. So instead we headed past the construction on Kongens Nytorv to the Strøget. We walked along, dodging umbrellas (although I really can’t complain because mine was up too) and eventually ended up in front of the City Hall, or Radhus. It was getting to be dinner time, and we were ready to get out of the rain for a bit. So we crossed Hans Christian Andersens Boulevard and headed to Tivoli Gardens.

Many posters here on Cruise Critic praised Café Ultima, the Italian restaurant in Tivoli, so that is where we went for dinner. I had a pizza, which was good but easily enough for two people, and my sister had the chef’s special, which was a three course meal with salad, a ham and pesto dish, and tiramisu for desert. We also each had a glass of wine. After our excellent meal we headed back out into the rain to walk around Tivoli.

The lights were starting to come on, and looked really pretty, even with the falling rain.

It was not very crowded when we were there, which might be a combination of the rain and it being early in the season. We knew it was an older theme park, but were expecting it to be like an old park in Denver that closed when we were younger-older, established trees with some flower beds, around the rides. Part of it was like that, but my sister and I were actually surprised at how much garden there was. We both really enjoyed Tivoli, and I would recommend that anyone with some time to spare in Copenhagen should try to come and see it. After walking around Tivloi for a while we were starting to get tired and cold, so we headed out of the park and walked back to the hotel.

Coming up…embarkation day

Day 1 – embarkation day in Copenhagen

We were up early, and had time to rearrange our bags and use my mini stapler to attach the luggage tags. This way our carry-on bags would be taken to the ship with our other suitcases and we could go out and see more of Copenhagen. (If you are considering this, I’d recommend printing off extra baggage tags just in case) We had our bags in the hall before the 7am deadline and finished getting ready. We then checkout out of our room, since we would not be back before the checkout time (I think it was 10 or 11) and left Hotel Kong Arthur in search of breakfast. The hotel did offer breakfast in the dining room, but it seemed a bit pricey to us. We meandered back towards Radhuspladsen, because I wanted to take another picture of the Hans Christen Andersen statue next to the City Hall (mine from last night didn’t turn out well thanks to the rain)

There was a Barspresso, a coffee shop, near the Radhus that had opened at 7, so we stopped there for a breakfast of coffee, hot cocoa and pastries. Feeling energized we walked back up the Strøget and headed to Den Lille Havfrue, the Little Mermaid statue, to get a picture of the front of the statue.

We had seen it the day before on the canal cruise, but only from the side

Rosenborg Slot did not open until 10, and the day was nice and sunny, so we slowly meandered past Kastellet Park and Amalienborg Palace before heading to Kongens Have. We sat in the park for a little bit until the gates to the Castle grounds opened, then waited in line to buy our tickets, which were 80 DKK pp. They limit the size of bag you can bring into the castle, anything much bigger than a clutch and you’ll need to put it in a locker. The lockers take 20 DKK coins (which you get back) and my sister and I were easily able to fit our purses into one.

We had a copy of Rick Steve’s Scandinavia, which has information about the different rooms on each floor in Rosenborg Slot. Maps with a little information about each room are by the door when you enter the main part of the castle and they check your ticket. There are also QR codes that you can scan if you have the app on your smart phone. John Lawrence, in his port lecture on Copenhagen later in the cruise, said that Rosenborg Slot had free Wi-Fi, but neither my sister nor I saw a sign saying that so I’d suggest asking to be sure or being aware you may pay a high data fee.

After going through the rooms in the castle we went outside and into the entrance for the treasury, where our tickets were checked again. Christian IV’s diamond and pearl studded saddles were impressive, as was his coronation crown. Rick Steves noted that some consider it to be the finest Renaissance crown in Europe, and I’d consider that likely given how intricate it is.

We finished up at Rosenborg Slot and got our purses from the locker. It was starting to get close to noon, so my sister and I decided to head back to Hotel Kong Arthur to wait for our transfer time. We were in the last group, green, and our time was in the early afternoon. They ended up combining us with the group before, yellow.

After arriving at the harbor we filled out the health cards and stood in line to go through security. The line moved quickly and once through we wound around the chairs but didn’t have to wait to check in. Embarkation photos were snapped and we were onboard the Emerald Princess being ushered to an elevator to take us up to our cabin. We had originally booked a balcony on Riveria deck, port side aft. Then in early March we were upgraded to a balcony on Aloha deck, port side aft. Lastly a couple weeks before the cruise I received an email that we were upgraded again, this time to a balcony on Caribe deck, starboard side midship. Unfortunately I have no idea why we were upgraded once, let alone twice, so I can’t offer any suggestions. My sister and I thought it might have been because we had the twin bed layout and it is easier for Princess to have the same layout for multiple cruises, but that is just speculation.

Our bags were already outside our stateroom, so we brought them inside to clear the hall a little and met our steward, Jonathan. Since we did not eat lunch before our transfer we headed up to the buffet. We took the stairs and ended up in the Horizon buffet, which was quite busy. After eating we walked around the Emerald Princess, trying to get our bearings and located our muster station. The ship seemed really busy at this time, probably from everyone embarking and trying to figure out where to go. There were also some tour groups onboard that may have contributed to the feeling of chaos.

We saw in the Princess Patter that John Lawrence was offering the first port lecture, for Oslo, at 3:45 so we attended that. It was interesting, and we really enjoyed it and the later ones. Then it was time for the emergency drill so we grabbed our life jackets and headed our muster station. We were at muster station D, which is three rooms, but we grabbed seats in the Explorers Lounge.

After the drill we went back to our cabin. We had requested the 5:30 seating, but it ended up being 5:00 when we boarded the ship, so we skipped it and instead watched from our balcony as Copenhagen got smaller when the Emerald Princess left port at 5:30. Once we were on our way we headed up to grab some pizza for dinner instead. The ship seemed less busy as it got later in the day. We headed back to the Explorer’s Lounge for an adult beverage to finish the evening, before heading to bed.

Next…Oslo

Great review, so far. We will be in many of these same ports in July, so I am looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

Great review, so far. We will be in many of these same ports in July, so I am looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

Thanks Longislanderluvs2cruise. Hopefully this will help you in planning your cruise (even if it is only to make you more excited for it :D)

Day 2 – Oslo

We woke up at 6, a little before the travel alarm I brought was set to go off. Yes, we’re those people, up early even on vacation. My sister has always been a morning person and I’m usually at work between 5:30 and 6, so it is habit. For anyone who’s curious, while the curtains let in a little light around the edges, it was not enough to wake up either one of us or prevent us from falling asleep at night (although this is likely one of those things that varies person to person).

We had put out the room service card before going to bed, and it was delivered just after 6:30 (the earliest time listed). We watched the fjord from our balcony while eating breakfast, although the land was still quite far away. Around 7:30 we headed up to deck 15 to be able to see the view from both sides of the ship. As we got closer to Oslo the fjord (really more like a river, not the tall, picturesque fjords often associated with Norway) became narrower and we began seeing more towns.

Around 8:30 the scenery became more industrialized and we needed to finish getting ready so we headed back down to our stateroom. Being on the starboard side we had an excellent view from our balcony as the Emerald Princess approached the dock at the foot of Akershus Fortress, with Oslo’s City Hall nearby.

After taking some pictures of our front row view of Akershus we headed down to join the line to disembark on deck 5. We were probably one of the first 20 people off the ship, and after taking our picture with the Vikings waiting ashore we walked towards City Hall to catch the ferry over to Bygdøy. As we were walking, the clock at the City Hall chimed 10, so we actually arrived a little early. The ferry is easy to spot, right in front (well, actually the back) of City Hall. We bought round trip tickets from the little kiosk for 60 NOK pp and went to stand in line before catching the 10:15 ferry. One of the crew onboard comes around and sells tickets too, although it looked like it was NOK only while the kiosk appeared to take credit cards.

Sis and I were headed to the Vikingskipshuset, or Viking Ship Museum, so we got off at the first stop. There is a road that you follow up a little hill until you come to the museum on the right.

If you are going to any of the other Bygdøy museums there are signs directing you, but the Viking Ship Museum is a straight shot. We bought our tickets inside the museum, 60 NOK pp. The Viking Ship Museum also has QR codes, and we did see signs for free Wi-Fi. We tried to use the QR reader app on my sister’s phone but she had had trouble using it before and when we couldn’t get it to work we gave up and just walked around, reading the information posted.

The museum was interesting, and the ships were neat to see. It is not large though; there are the three ships, each in their own wing, and then a wing with some of the various artifacts found with each ship and descriptions of what scholars have learned from them. The museum was pretty empty when we first arrived, but around 11:20 when we left it was getting busier and there were several buses in the parking lot. (I heard from others who were there later in the afternoon that the museum was emptying out by then, so that may be another time to consider going) We were not that interested in going to any of the other museums that day, and so we walked back down to catch the ferry.

This was a good time for us to go inside the City Hall. It was pretty impressive. Since we did not take a tour, I expected to only be able to go into a room or two, but there were several that we passed through following their route, all decorated with art that was briefly described on stands in each room. It was getting to be lunch time, so we walked back to the Emerald Princess to grab a bite to eat at the buffet.

After lunch we decided to walk through the Akershus Fortress before heading into Oslo again. We went in the little back door John Lawrence had pointed out in his port talk.

There are some museums, as well as the Castle, within the fortress but once again my sister and I had to pick and choose what we did, especially since we had made a reservation to go to the Ice Bar at 4:00. So we just enjoyed the park-like atmosphere.

We wandered through the cruise ship terminal next. Both of us had considered getting sweaters in Norway, but they seemed overpriced. Most of them seemed to be in the 1600-2000 NOK range, with some more expensive and a few on sale for less. Unless you have your heart set on buying a sweater in Norway or see a design you love, I would suggest buying a sweater in Tallinn or Helsinki. The prices there were much more reasonable and the designs very similar.

We wanted to see more of Oslo so we walked to Karl Johan’s Gate and did part of Rick Steves’ walking tour, from the Cathedral to the National Theatre. We also went into a couple stores picking up a few souvenirs and pricing their sweaters. The prices were comparable to what they were near the ship, probably because it was still a touristy area (I really can’t see Norwegians who probably know where to buy them paying that much for sweaters). We still had some time before it was 4:00, so we headed up to the Palace and took pictures through the construction site in front of it. Then we meandered back down the tree lined walkway beside the National Theatre before headed over a block to Kristian IV’s Gate, where the Ice Bar is located.

My sister had seen the Stockholm Ice Bar mentioned in the Princess shore excursions, but the time was early in the day and cost more, so we decided to do the one in Oslo instead. I had pre-booked our reservation, so it only cost us 135 NOK pp, instead of the 160 NOK pp it would cost at the door. We were there a little before 4, but that wasn't a problem. We collected our free drink vouchers and parkas, heading through the two sets of doors into the ice bar. It was small, but there were not too many people inside it. The free drink was either champagne or a vodka/raspberry mix. We both chose the latter.

It was a touristy thing to do, but we had fun. The temperature was cool inside, but not too cold to either one of us. We only used the gloves that came with the parka on the hand holding our drinks, since the glasses are made of ice. After fifteen or twenty minutes of taking pictures and finishing our drinks, Sis and I were ready to head out. It was actually good timing, because as we were taking off our parkas a tour group from another cruise ship entered. We both decided we were glad we didn’t do the ice bar as a shore excursion. That many people in the small area would have made it too crowded and difficult to take pictures.

We walked back to the cruise terminal and got our VAT refund in the cruise terminal before we boarded the Emerald Princess and got ready for dinner. We were outside of the Da Vinci dining room at 5:00, but the doors opened late. Since we skipped the set dinner the previous night we asked where our table was and were led to a table for 8. No one else had come by the time we ordered and received our entrees, so we felt a bit awkward, especially since our table was one that the people doing the anytime dining had to pass by to get to the other side of the dining room.

I’m not the type of person to take pictures of food, and I did not think about the menus. However, I did write down what we had each time we were in the dining room. That may help give an idea of what they are serving. I had the fettuccini alfredo appetizer, the beef hot pot and empanada for my soup course, the “anytime” chicken breast for my entrée, and the Love Boat brownie for desert. My sister had the Swiss beef appetizer, salad (I think maybe the house salad), coq au vin for her entrée, and apple strudel for desert. The food was okay, but not amazing, and as you can see, there were a couple courses where what was offered that day just didn’t sound good to me.

After dinner we went back to our stateroom and changed. Then we watched John Lawrence’s port lecture of Aarhus on the tv. We once again went up to deck 15 to watch the scenery after the Emerald Princess left port before calling it a day and heading to bed.

Coming Up…returning to Denmark in Aarhus

I appreciate all of the helpful info you are providing. I am enjoying your cruise vicariously and hope to enjoy the one my husband and I will be taking on this ship in August.

I am so pleased that you got to go to Tivoli. I have many fond memories of many hours spent there as a child. In the summer, after our supper, we would walk the short distance from our apartment to Tivoli. The nights were long and much cooler than the day, though way back then, much cooler than now. I had a favorite play place that had a ship like climbing toy. I pretended being the captain of that ship, a passenger and of course a princess being captured by a pilot. Later in the evening, we would catch the Harlequin Ballet on the stage and sometimes there would be a band playing in the park. The park was free back then, but you had to pay to go on the rides, which were very few back then. My Aunt brought my cousin over from Stockholm one time and it was the only time I went on a ride at Tivoli. When, we came to the states, Disneyland never could compare. Not even Disneyworld. Though, both are my favorite places in the US. There is nothing like Tivoli in the world. It is a magical place and I thank you for posting pictures that stirred such wonderful memories of a time 50 years ago.

Excellent trip report.

Keith

Thanks for such detailed trip report. We are leaving in 1 week for very similar itinerary on the Ocean Princess. Can't wait !

Oh I'm wishing I was stopping in Norway now. It is definitely on my list for next time. Please continue sharing your trip.

I am following your review as you post with great interest, looking forward in particular to Berlin and St Petersburg, as we are still flummoxed about what to do in those ports when we do our cruise to Baltic in July!

Karyn

Thanks for the terrific write up and pixs. Keep up the great reports.

Cheers

Len

I appreciate all of the helpful info you are providing. I am enjoying your cruise vicariously and hope to enjoy the one my husband and I will be taking on this ship in August.

Thanks for such detailed trip report. We are leaving in 1 week for very similar itinerary on the Ocean Princess. Can't wait !

Thanks Artful and OnVacation11. We had a great time. I hope you both enjoy your cruises as much as we did

I am so pleased that you got to go to Tivoli. I have many fond memories of many hours spent there as a child … When, we came to the states, Disneyland never could compare. Not even Disneyworld. Though, both are my favorite places in the US. There is nothing like Tivoli in the world. It is a magical place and I thank you for posting pictures that stirred such wonderful memories of a time 50 years ago.

I agree kimberleyb1961, Tivoli definitely has a special magic that neither my sister nor I were expecting. I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures

Excellent trip report.

 

Keith

Thanks Keith

Oh I'm wishing I was stopping in Norway now. It is definitely on my list for next time. Please continue sharing your trip.

I’m glad we compared itineraries before booking. We had looked at Norwegian and the RCL itinerary you are going on, but once I saw Princess went to Oslo I knew we’d be on this one. You’re still going to some of the ports we really enjoyed, Tallinn and Helsinki, and of course St. Petersburg is a great experience

I am following your review as you post with great interest, looking forward in particular to Berlin and St Petersburg, as we are still flummoxed about what to do in those ports when we do our cruise to Baltic in July!

 

Karyn

I’ll have Warnemunde (Berlin) up shortly and hopefully the St. Petersburg reports this weekend. We decided to go with Princess excursions in both ports, but hopefully they help (even if it is just to eliminate options :D )

Thanks for the terrific write up and pixs. Keep up the great reports.

 

Cheers

 

Len

Thanks Len

Day 2 – Aarhus

Today we had a later arrival in port, scheduled to arrive in Aarhus at noon. So the morning was more leisurely than some of the other port days. We woke up around 6:00 again. For breakfast we decided to go to one of the buffets. I remembered reading that Café Caribe was usually less crowded than Horizon Court, so we headed to the aft staircase, instead of the midship staircase that was closer to Horizon Court. And for breakfast this day Café Caribe was less crowded (although some of it could have been how early we were). After grabbing some food we found a table with no trouble and were soon enjoying breakfast.

After breakfast we went to the Piazza and swiped our cruise cards in the machines to check our statements. There were not any unexpected surprises, we were just curious to see if things like the shore excursions were charged when they were taken (ours were all on at the beginning) or if the gratuities were not charged until the end (they were charged daily). Next we looked at the different souvenirs that the boutiques had for the Baltic region. From what we saw Essence had higher end Matryoska dolls and lacquer boxes (often with the higher prices to match). Calypso Cove had ones more like what we saw at the souvenir stands, as well as souvenirs like Russian chocolate. We went back to our cabin for a while, and watched the ship’s progress on the map on channel 41. At 10:30 there was an art history lecture that I thought sounded interesting in the Explorer’s Lounge and Sis decided to tag along.

After the art lecture was over (well, close to over, we snuck out after Leif started talking about Picasso) we decided it was time for lunch and went back up to Café Caribe. Unfortunately everyone else also thought that it was a good idea to get lunch before the Emerald Princess docked in Aarhus-it was crazy up there in both restaurants. We saw later that the Da Vinci restaurant was opened for lunch (none of the sit down restaurants were listed as open for lunch in the Patter) Either they made a mistake in the printing or there was so much demand at lunchtime that they decided to open it up. When you are in Aarhus it might be worth looking into the sit down restaurants for lunch or even considering the International Café or room service instead of fighting the crowds at Horizon Court and Café Caribe.

Honestly, neither my sister nor I had heard of Aarhus before we booked this cruise. Even after reading other cruise reports nothing really jumped out at us as something we had to do. So we looked at the shore excursions offered by Princess and decided we’d go on the Fyrkat Viking Fortress one. After watching John Lawrence’s port talk on Aarhus, we decided that we probably would have enjoyed Den Gamle By Museum (the open air museum with the different historic structures) and could have done the port DIY. But we were past the cancellation period for our shore excursions and figured the Viking fortress would still be interesting. We also learned from the port talk that the Emerald Princess would not be docking at the normal pier next to the cruise welcome center. Instead we would be docking at a more industrial, shipping container dock a little further away and Princess would be offering complimentary shuttles to the cruise welcome center using the tender ticket system.

I don’t know if there were any issues with the shuttles since we were picked up at the dock for our shore excursion. I’m also not sure why there was this change. Our tour guide said Princess had requested it. She may have been correct but I would have thought Princess would prefer the other dock where people could walk right into town and not need the shuttles. The change in dock also affected the shore excursion meeting times. We received an updated list of all the meeting times delivered to our cabin the night before. Ours was moved up 15 minutes earlier than what was on the shore excursion tickets. All of our shore excursion tickets and our transfer ticket for the end of the cruise were in an envelope on the desk when we embarked in Copenhagen. When it was close to our meeting time we grabbed the Fyrkat tickets and headed to the Wheelhouse bar. Once there Princess crew checked our tickets, gave us the sticker for our bus (purple 2), and had us go into the Princess theatre to wait. After a short wait our group was called and we walked down to deck 4 to disembark.

As we left the ship there was a girl’s school band playing, which added a nice bit of energy to such an industrial port. The bus was easy to find, with the color, number and tour name in the window, as well as Princess staff on hand to direct people. Our guide collected the tickets at the bus door before we left. We had a quick drive through Aarhus and then we were headed out of town.

After driving through the countryside, and finally finding out that the bright yellow fields of flowers we had been seeing all over Demark were flowering canola, we arrived at our first stop-Raasted Church.

Raasted Church was built in the early 12th century. The frescoes on the walls were whitewashed over in the 1700s and then rediscovered in the early 20th century. They were restored, and are now used to show how tales from the Bible were presented to an illiterate crowd. It was a pleasant little stop but not one that we would have made an effort to get to on our own.

It was back on the bus and we headed to the next stop on our shore excursion, the ring fortress Fyrkat. It was completed around 980, built by Harald Bluetooth. (an interesting side note, we learned from John Lawrence’s port talk that this is the guy the Bluetooth technology is named after and the Bluetooth logo is made up of the runes of his name).

The fortress is mainly the earthen ring walls, although archaeologists have used white markers to indicate where the foundations of the buildings that were within its earthen walls. It was neat to walk around (watching out for the sheep droppings – environmentally friendly lawn mowers :D) but aside from that and the reconstructed long house there was not very much to see.

There was a small restaurant with restrooms that most of us used. Then it was back to the bus to go to the reconstructed Viking village. The village actually wasn’t too far away. We saw people walking back and forth between the two.

We were told the Viking village and its layout was an exact reconstruction of a village that was uncovered elsewhere in Denmark, near where Harald Bluetooth was born. They decided to build it near Fyrkat fortress.

There were several small buildings going up a small hill towards what looked like an education center. My sister and I decided to go up there and work our way down. There wasn’t too much inside, it was mainly a classroom and a room with period clothes you could try on. There was also a suit of chain mail. I consider myself to be in decent shape, but that thing was heavy! After checking out the clothes we looked into the reconstructed buildings. There was a blacksmith who was working but that was the only reenactor present while we were there.

Our group went back onto the bus and we returned to Aarhus, where we took a slightly different route back to the ship, passing by Den Gamle By and the art museum (the rainbow area up top was very distinctive).

Shore excursion review: The Fyrkat Viking Fortress was interesting, and I doubt I’ll be returning to one of the ringed fortresses anytime soon, but it was not one of the best shore excursions we had. I’d say it probably fell around the middle of the pack. After hearing John Lawrence’s port lecture we probably would have chosen to save some money and DIY in Aarhus, going to Den Gamle By and maybe the art museum instead, but I don’t regret doing this one.

We changed for dinner and headed down to the Da Vinci dining room. We were a little late, but figured that it shouldn’t make too much of a difference since it was just us at the table for eight. We were pleasantly surprised when we walked in a the head waiter, Maurico (I think I wrote that down right) stopped us and said he noticed it was just the two of us at the big table. He asked if we would prefer to sit at a table for two instead, as he had one avalaible. Of course we jumped on that offer right away. We would have shared if that’s all that was available, but a table for two was really what we preferred. He changed our table, and escorted us to it. He also said that we could come between 5:30-6, which really worked out better for us on the days we went. I know some people who have anytime dining might object because it could delay the table opening, but remember our dining time was 5:30 when we booked it.

The food tonight seemed better, there were more courses that appealed to us. I had the Singapore Satays for my appetizer, cool peach and melon soup, Island Jerk chicken, and pina colada ice cream. My sister had a pineapple dish for her appetizer, shrimp cocktail soup, land, and the hot cookie and ice cream (I even stole a bite – it was really good) I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that iced tea is complimentary. I figured that it would have been part of the drink package or unavailable.

After dinner we still felt energetic (probably because we were on the bus) so we changed and walked around the Promenade deck for a couple miles. Really it was the Promenade deck and part of the Emerald deck because you can’t go all the way around deck 7. Instead, at the bow of the ship you have to go up some stairs until you get around to the other side. Then we headed back to our cabin to unwind. It was still light out, but the sun was starting to set, so we enjoyed the view from our balcony as we got ready for bed.

Up next… Warnemunde

Day 4 – Warnemunde (well, Schwerin for us)

It was overcast and rainy when my sister and I got up around our normal time, our first rainy day since arriving in Copenhagen. We went for breakfast at Café Caribe, which turned out to be one of our more disappointing breakfasts, there was little food out and the crew was not able to restock it very well while we were there. I expect it was because so many people were preparing to leave for Berlin after the ship docked at 7:00 and the sit down breakfast was not scheduled to start until 7:00. We didn’t think about going to the International Café until later, so I’m not sure if it was busy or not.

I had been to Berlin twice before, so I left it up to my sister to decide if we went or not. Ultimately she didn’t think the hours of travel each way was worth it. Instead we booked another shore excursion through Princess, this time Schwerin Castle and the Schwerin Lake cruise.

The weather was still rainy and not likely to change anytime soon, so we grabbed our raincoats and shore excursion tickets before heading towards the Michelangelo dining room. We were there about fifteen minutes before the meeting time, but still ended up being in group 2 (although this worked out well for us at lunch). After disembarking we went to the bus. Ours made a slight detour through Warnemunde to pick up our guide Tom, who had car troubles. Along the way we could see people setting up for the run that would take place later that day. This was the first of three city center runs we encountered on the cruise, but the one that affected us the least because we were headed out of town.

We had a bit of a drive over to Schwerin, and along the way Tom told us about the region and passed out maps of Schwerin and brochures of Schwerin Castle. He also kept checking the radar on his phone, but most of north-eastern Germany was under the large storm (I heard that Berlin was rainy as well). The bus dropped us off on the other side of Schwerin See, where we joined groups 1 & 3 for our cruise across the lake. They were waiting for us because of our slight detour to pick up Tom. The boat had outdoor seating, but because of the rain and the chill we all sat inside. After the lake cruise (which probably would have been really nice if the weather had cooperated) the groups split up again. Our group headed to Schwerin Castle for our tour.

Schwerin Castle is the seat of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s parliament, but we did not go through any of the functional spaces. Instead the tour took us through the historic rooms that make up the museum. You had to buy a pass to take pictures (not too unusual in Europe) so unfortunately I don’t have any interior shots to show you. The rooms were neat, with gorgeous inlaid floors, as well as historic furniture and decorations. There was lots of fake marble and detail that looked like wood but was really papier mache. Apparently this was very fashionable when the Dukes of Mecklenburg were decorating the palace.

I also want to note that for people who may not be as active, or may just be like my grandmother active but older, please seriously evaluate your physical condition. This is a long, very port intensive cruise and of course everyone should try to have the most enjoyable cruise possible. We had already been touring steady for a few days and were only part way through the cruise and there were some people in our group who had trouble on this tour, either taking the stairs up the levels (the castle had a small elevator but it was by where the tour ended) or with all the standing (they were using some of portable stools the Castle had). I’m sure the rain and cool weather didn’t help. The tour description doesn’t say that it is a difficult one, but there is a note to wear comfortable, low heeled walking shoes, so if you are concerned about overexerting yourself I would suggest taking note of comments like that seriously.

After touring the castle we walked to the market square. Schwerin is a really nice town. Then we headed to the restaurant. Because of how they organized the tours our group was the first to eat at 11:00. We had a three course meal: tomato soup, chicken (very moist) and potatoes, with a berry dish for dessert. Apparently Princess had specifically requested food that would appeal to most people. My sister and I were a bit disappointed, but I’m not a fan of sauerkraut so at least I didn’t have to eat around that.

After lunch we went to Schwerin Cathedral, or the Dom.

This was not originally part of our tour. We were supposed to have free time to shop and explore Schwerin before the tram ride. But it was Sunday, so most of the shops were closed, and it was cool and rainy still. (I was glad that I packed to dress in layers, I had on both my fleece and rain shell).

We walked around the Cathedral before heading back out to the market square to meet the tram (Tom was on the phone working to try and get our tram tour moved up due to the rain). The tram was one that was enclosed, which was good because it probably would have been a bit too cold if it were open to the elements. It took us around Schwerin and Tom pointed out various sites around the city. The tram tour dropped us off near where the lake cruise had docked and we boarded our bus to head back to Rostock.

On the way we heard more about the city, and fortunately managed to miss the race. There was also one more stop before we returned to the Emerald Princess, Rostock Cathedral. Inside the cathedral we admired the large organ before heading back to look at the astronomical clock.

The astronomical clock was neat but not the most impressive one I’ve personally seen. I will admit I am probably a bit biased, because one of the times when I lived in Europe was when I studied abroad in Prague, so I prefer their astronomical clock. After looking around the cathedral we returned to the dock.

Shore excursion review: The weather did not cooperate at all, but this was still an enjoyable shore excursion. I know that some people have gone to Schwerin DIY, but with the weather it was definitely worth it to pay the higher premium and not have to deal with public transportation. While the Cathedral in Schwerin was interesting, I wish the weather had been better because I would have liked to have gone into the Castle gardens during our free time. As it was we only had a view of them through the Castle windows.

After we arrived at the dock my sister and I headed over to the shops on the dock to see what they had. The one we went into reminded me a little of the store part of Cracker Barrel, very rustic with many homemade items. It was a nice change from some of the more standard souvenir stores we saw. We looked at the sand sculpture that was covered to protect it from the rain. We also saw the Norwegian Star, which would be at the same ports as us the rest of the cruise, before heading back to the Emerald Princess.

Dinner tonight was open seating because so many people were in Berlin. Our table was open though, so that is where we sat. I had the spaghetti carbonara for my appetizer, garlic cream soup, the “anytime” burger and fries, and cookies and cream ice cream. I was seriously debating between the turkey pot pie and the burger for my entrée, but the burger won in the end. It was good, and the fries were easily the best that I had onboard. I also noticed that the type of burger in the main dining room changes each day. This one was with ham and Gruyère cheese, although I requested it without ham. My sister had the salmon appetizer, Alaska seafood soup, a shrimp entrée and apple cider sorbet.

After dinner we headed up to the Promenade deck and walked a couple of miles again. Then we decided we could have a little treat, so we grabbed a snack at the international café. (we figured with all the walking around the deck, plus climbing all the stairs, that we could indulge a little and not feel too guilty) Then we headed back to our cabin, remembering to set our clocks forward an hour for the first time change.

Coming up…our first day at sea

Thank you for your informative review and great pictures, keep up the good work ! Which camera are you using ?

Excellent review and pictures!! We are doing a similar itinerary on the Eclipse next month. I hope someone will do a similar review!! Thanks for taking the time to post your review, pictures and dailies!!

Thank you for your informative review and great pictures, keep up the good work ! Which camera are you using ?

Thanks scubacruiserx2. I’m using an Olympus Stylus 800 digital camera I’ve had for several years. It’s not an SLR or anything fancy. It works well for what I need, although it doesn’t always take good pictures in low light or without flash, I think it defaults to a slower shutter speed

Excellent review and pictures!! We are doing a similar itinerary on the Eclipse next month. I hope someone will do a similar review!! Thanks for taking the time to post your review, pictures and dailies!!

Thanks drarill. We saw a Celebrity ship in a couple of our ports, but I think it was the Constellation. I hope you enjoy your cruise, even if someone doesn't post a similar review