Live Voyager of the Seas Baltic Cruise (by way of a short stay in London & Copenhagen) May 22-29th

[CruiseMelissa]

Ok that GF bread looks amazing!  My daughter usually just gets slices of thawed GF supermarket bread.    She never complains but I think she'll swoon over these bread options.

 

Is flourless chocolate cake on the menu?  Or is that something you can ask for every night because it's made somewhere else?

 

Any chance they've mentioned anything about GF pizza or pasta (or any other GF "kid food"?)  I'm so worried that my celiac 11 year old will be stuck on an 11-night cruise struggling to find her usual cruise faves because of supply chain issues.

 

Can't thank you enough for your awesome, detailed review!

[CatLadyFemme]

1 hour ago, CruiseMelissa said:

Ok that GF bread looks amazing!  My daughter usually just gets slices of thawed GF supermarket bread.    She never complains but I think she'll swoon over these bread options.

 

Is flourless chocolate cake on the menu?  Or is that something you can ask for every night because it's made somewhere else?

 

Any chance they've mentioned anything about GF pizza or pasta (or any other GF "kid food"?)  I'm so worried that my celiac 11 year old will be stuck on an 11-night cruise struggling to find her usual cruise faves because of supply chain issues.

 

Can't thank you enough for your awesome, detailed review!

The GF bread on this ship is the best I have had fleetwide!

 

the flourless chocolate cake is never on the menu but every ship makes some version of it. You just need to ask and they are usually happy to make it.

 

As far as GF, just ask at the cafe, and they will make one fresh, either cheese or pepperoni. See picture; we shared one the other night. You should be able to ask for this in the MDR too. They also have GF pasta whenever you’d like; I believe it is penne. Just ask! Make sure they know it is for a gluten “allergy” though, just to confirm it is in dedicated water (if you ask your MDR head waiter, it should be no problem).

[darthvadrouw]

9 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

That is great , I would hate carrying around a cup to get a drink ! 

Even if the ship has a freestyle machine, you can get your sodas at a bar without carrying the cup 😉
 

 

[CruiseMelissa]

3 hours ago, CatLadyFemme said:

The GF bread on this ship is the best I have had fleetwide!

 

the flourless chocolate cake is never on the menu but every ship makes some version of it. You just need to ask and they are usually happy to make it.

 

As far as GF, just ask at the cafe, and they will make one fresh, either cheese or pepperoni. See picture; we shared one the other night. You should be able to ask for this in the MDR too. They also have GF pasta whenever you’d like; I believe it is penne. Just ask! Make sure they know it is for a gluten “allergy” though, just to confirm it is in dedicated water (if you ask your MDR head waiter, it should be no problem).

Thank you so much, this is fantastic news... so supply chain issues = no lemons but zero impact on carb-y GF goodies?  I'll take it!

[perfect match]

Great review, @CatLadyFemme! Glad I’m caught up now. Congratulations on your promotion & tenure! That really is a big deal!

[CatLadyFemme]

8 hours ago, CruiseMelissa said:

Thank you so much, this is fantastic news... so supply chain issues = no lemons but zero impact on carb-y GF goodies?  I'll take it!

And good news; lemons are back! They must have picked some up in Stockholm 🍋 

[CatLadyFemme]

13 hours ago, CruiseMelissa said:

Thank you so much, this is fantastic news... so supply chain issues = no lemons but zero impact on carb-y GF goodies?  I'll take it!

I took pics for you today. We went to Gamla Stan (near the Royal Place) and found a) an ice cream place with GF waffle cones and b) a lovely Italian place with the best GF pasta I have had in my life!

 

info below:

[CruiseMelissa]

28 minutes ago, CatLadyFemme said:

I took pics for you today. We went to Gamla Stan (near the Royal Place) and found a) an ice cream place with GF waffle cones and b) a lovely Italian place with the best GF pasta I have had in my life!

 

info below:

Holy cow, this is a fantastic scoop (pardon the pun).  I'm putting these in my spreadsheet!  Are you finding most of the port cities "get it" in terms of celiac, cross-contamination, etc.?  I've heard great things about gluten free in Scandinavia in general, hoping your experience confirms 😊

[CatLadyFemme]

5 minutes ago, CruiseMelissa said:

Holy cow, this is a fantastic scoop (pardon the pun).  I'm putting these in my spreadsheet!  Are you finding most of the port cities "get it" in terms of celiac, cross-contamination, etc.?  I've heard great things about gluten free in Scandinavia in general, hoping your experience confirms 😊

Yes! Didn’t do as well in Copenhagen with the CC issues (hence getting glutened), but most other places seem to get it. The ice cream place kept the GF cones on a separate counter, used a new scoop, etc, without me even asking!

[CatLadyFemme]

Another day in Stockholm. Slept in a bit after a sad night reading about the Texas school shooting. I am from Colorado and lived through Columbine (my friend’s brother was killed, and the students finished out their year at my HS), and MrCatLady’s other partner is a 2nd grade teacher, so school shootings hit pretty hard for us.

 

Got up in the inbetween window for WJ, so tried to get food at the cafe, but they didn’t have anything GF other than pizza or fruit, so I had some mediocre slides fruit before heading out.

 

we grabbed a taxi in the port, and just asked to be taken to Gamla Stan, and our driver dropped us off at the Royal Palace. We actually wound up seeing the Royal Guards’ Marching Band by accident; a cool coincidence! Then we meandered a bit. With MrCatLady’s help (it was down a very steep flight of stairs), I found the perfect commitment ceremony present for MxCatLady; a vintage brass straight razor (they collect vintage straight razors, and are very adept at using them as well!). Then we found amazing licorice and marzipan ice cream in a GF cone (me) and mocha ice cream in a regular cone (MrCatLady). A few more souvenirs were procured, and I also bought an embarrassing amount of GF and vegan licorice items (I love licorice and can’t eat most of it, as it contains wheat flour). Following this, we had an amazing lunch, with MrCatLady having an epic prosciutto and mozzarella pizza, and I had a phenomenal GF pasta with a truffle cream sauce along with asparagus and pea shoots. One of the best GF pasta dishes I have ever had!

 

Our cab driver was kind enough to come back for us at an agreed upon time to keep us from having to hunt one down, and we reboarded the ship, grabbed some drinks, and are chilling in the little nooks by the pool, waiting for sail away.  

[little britain]

On 5/24/2022 at 12:37 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

Speedo jokes are a staple of cruise ships. I'm sure I'll hear it again 

Especially from a Liverpudlian cruise director…

[anitaau]

Overnight in Stockholm - how fabulous! Our cruise next week doesn't have that and have a port in Visby instead. There is no excursion in Visby and I am not sure what to do there. Anyone have any idea?

[astangenes]

54 minutes ago, anitaau said:

Overnight in Stockholm - how fabulous! Our cruise next week doesn't have that and have a port in Visby instead. There is no excursion in Visby and I am not sure what to do there. Anyone have any idea?

I will be on the same cruise. In Visby we will be docked right in Downtown. 
Never been to Visby, but been told its really beautiful. 
 

In the app you can allready now see the excursions for Visby. Dont know why they are not loaded in cruise planner. 

[CatLadyFemme]

On 5/25/2022 at 5:39 PM, CruiseMelissa said:

Holy cow, this is a fantastic scoop (pardon the pun).  I'm putting these in my spreadsheet!  Are you finding most of the port cities "get it" in terms of celiac, cross-contamination, etc.?  I've heard great things about gluten free in Scandinavia in general, hoping your experience confirms 😊

Will you remind me when you sail? Our HW, depending on the date, said he would be happy to be yours too, to make sure your celiac kiddo’s needs are met (including with chocolate cake).

[CatLadyFemme]

We started enjoying sail away on the pool deck in a seashell thingy, and then headed to our room for amazing views. Definitely a recommendation for tbh ocean view panoramic room; it was *perfect* for looking at the Swedish Archipelago. So many swans and interesting birds given the brackish waters, and beautiful little islands.

 

I stopped by the MDR for the coconut parsnip soup, and accepted a orange segment salad too. Elmer had a Shirley Ginger for me, plus a virgin blueberry mojito for MrCatLady, who I left watching the sail away, so I drank his too!
 

After the starters, I went back to the room to watch more sailing away. So beautiful. 
 

at 8pm, we sent down for our reservation at Giovanni’s, which was more busy than we had expected based on the previous night. Service was…ok. Nothing bad but also not what I would expect in a speciality and certainly not as good as the MDR. MrCatLady had a fabulous night; he had the pork belly, a meat and cheese plank, the pesto pasta of the day, the filet minon, and cannolis. Everything he had, he said was absolutely phenomenal. On Allure, MxCatLady couldn’t decide whether the filet or the gnocchi were the best thing they ate all week, and I think for MrCatLady, it will be a tie between the filet and the pork belly. The only downside was his Negroni was not properly prepared.

I, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Despite having amazing bread of a gluten free nature in the MDR, I was given mediocre premade toast slices in Giovanni’s, which made the cheese and olive oil mediocre. The caprase salad had just cherry and tomato tomatoes, not the lovely heirloom like usual, a block of mozzarella, and we waited on olive oil and balsamic to no avail. The risotto, which is usually light colored, creamy, and scented with truffle oil, was made with regular rice (not arraboio rice), had no truffle, and tasted like a home made cream of mushroom rice pilaf. My side of GF pasta with Gorgonzola sauce was good, but missing the usual spinach. And I ordered an espresso and scoop of ice cream for dessert, and it was served perfectly as an affogato, which helped redeem it.

 

 

After dinner, we headed up to our room, and I enjoyed some time reading. MrCatLady hung out by the elevators to have Wi-Fi to read about the history of Estonia, and then we headed to bed a bit earlier than usual due to our morning plans.

 

However, we must have entered the fog, because at 3am, the fog horn starting sounding. Every two minutes. Until we pulled into port around 10.

 

I am not being hyperbolic when I say it was horrific. Neither of us were able to sleep at all, and spent this morning’s adventures in Estonia yawning the whole time, and lack of sleep set off my POTS something awful, so lots of dizziness and vertigo today. We have asked Timothy for ear plugs and may stop by guest services to see what they suggest should it happen again tonight.

 

[Jimbo]

6 minutes ago, CatLadyFemme said:

We started enjoying sail away on the pool deck in a seashell thingy, and then headed to our room for amazing views. Definitely a recommendation for tbh ocean view panoramic room; it was *perfect* for looking at the Swedish Archipelago. So many swans and interesting birds given the brackish waters, and beautiful little islands.

 

I stopped by the MDR for the coconut parsnip soup, and accepted a orange segment salad too. Elmer had a Shirley Ginger for me, plus a virgin blueberry mojito for MrCatLady, who I left watching the sail away, so I drank his too!
 

After the starters, I went back to the room to watch more sailing away. So beautiful. 
 

at 8pm, we sent down for our reservation at Giovanni’s, which was more busy than we had expected based on the previous night. Service was…ok. Nothing bad but also not what I would expect in a speciality and certainly not as good as the MDR. MrCatLady had a fabulous night; he had the pork belly, a meat and cheese plank, the pesto pasta of the day, the filet minon, and cannolis. Everything he had, he said was absolutely phenomenal. On Allure, MxCatLady couldn’t decide whether the filet or the gnocchi were the best thing they ate all week, and I think for MrCatLady, it will be a tie between the filet and the pork belly. The only downside was his Negroni was not properly prepared.

I, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Despite having amazing bread of a gluten free nature in the MDR, I was given mediocre premade toast slices in Giovanni’s, which made the cheese and olive oil mediocre. The caprase salad had just cherry and tomato tomatoes, not the lovely heirloom like usual, a block of mozzarella, and we waited on olive oil and balsamic to no avail. The risotto, which is usually light colored, creamy, and scented with truffle oil, was made with regular rice (not arraboio rice), had no truffle, and tasted like a home made cream of mushroom rice pilaf. My side of GF pasta with Gorgonzola sauce was good, but missing the usual spinach. And I ordered an espresso and scoop of ice cream for dessert, and it was served perfectly as an affogato, which helped redeem it.

 

 

After dinner, we headed up to our room, and I enjoyed some time reading. MrCatLady hung out by the elevators to have Wi-Fi to read about the history of Estonia, and then we headed to bed a bit earlier than usual due to our morning plans.

 

However, we must have entered the fog, because at 3am, the fog horn starting sounding. Every two minutes. Until we pulled into port around 10.

 

I am not being hyperbolic when I say it was horrific. Neither of us were able to sleep at all, and spent this morning’s adventures in Estonia yawning the whole time, and lack of sleep set off my POTS something awful, so lots of dizziness and vertigo today. We have asked Timothy for ear plugs and may stop by guest services to see what they suggest should it happen again tonight.

 

7 hours of fog horn every 2 minutes? Wow !! Guess the whole ship was up early?

Edited May 26, 2022 by Jimbo

[CatLadyFemme]

53 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

7 hours of fog horn every 2 minutes? Wow !! Guess the whole ship was up early?

Apparently, it is only heard on the top two decks, in the rooms right by the bow. We were not the only folks upset.
 

I also don’t think anyone has been in this room since the restart. Has voyager sailed cold weather before? Since they added these rooms?

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, CatLadyFemme said:

Apparently, it is only heard on the top two decks, in the rooms right by the bow. We were not the only folks upset.
 

I also don’t think anyone has been in this room since the restart. Has voyager sailed cold weather before? Since they added these rooms?

 

Pretty sure every Voyager and Freedom Class ship has these cabins now. Some are at least 5 years old now. Freedom even has balconies up there. Closer to elevators, though

Edited May 26, 2022 by John&LaLa

[CatLadyFemme]

Today, we had a great time in Tallin on an accessible tour (happy to give more info if folks want it). We were able to get very close to many spots so there was less walking, no stairs, and at our own pace, plus a great tour guide. Highly recommend, though we are exhausted from all the fog horn last night, so there was a lot of yawning. 

[CatLadyFemme]

A comedy of errors! Fog rolls in, ships fog horn starts going. It is shaking the room. We go to guest services: we are not the only ones to have issues. They try to move us to an inside cabin on the same floor but 1) the bonus key they made for us doesn’t work, 2) it smells AWFUL, even walking in with masks on, 3) no pillows, no towels, and 4) it is just as bad noise wise, but things also rattle. 
 

Back down to guest services. New room on the 6th floor, also inside. We get up there…key works ok, but the room is packed full with a vacuum, a pile of towels, a house keeping cart of cleaning items, and several plastic grid holders of glass. Guest services comes up with us this time, and housekeeping helps us move it out. Room smells musty, but is not nearly as bad. It is not an accessible room, which means it is super hard for me to get into bed, and there is a step on the bathroom which means I need to not plan to use it (and definitely cannot shower with not shower stool), but it is fine for just sleeping at night, which is where we are at.

 

We dock in 7 hours. Here is to getting some sleep!

[CruiseMelissa]

7 hours ago, CatLadyFemme said:

Will you remind me when you sail? Our HW, depending on the date, said he would be happy to be yours too, to make sure your celiac kiddo’s needs are met (including with chocolate cake).

Oh nice!  We are on the August 10th sailing, we chose the 5:30 dining time if that helps.  

[CatLadyFemme]

16 hours ago, CruiseMelissa said:

Oh nice!  We are on the August 10th sailing, we chose the 5:30 dining time if that helps.  

Ah! His contract ends before then. You should be fine with whoever your head waiter is; just know you can always order GF chocolate cake 🙂

[CatLadyFemme]

Sleeping in the (musty smelling but so much better sound wise) inside room was so helpful, even though we only got about 6 hours. Had another tour booked through the accessible tour company, and again, so incredibly nice to be able to actually see so many things I usually would not be able to! They would pull up the accessible van right to the entrances to most places, let us visit, and just be waiting for us again. Definitely a bit spendy for us, but for a likely once in a life time set of visits, so worth it! 

[laurieal]

Could you share the name of the accessible tour company you used, please?

[CatLadyFemme]

3 hours ago, laurieal said:

Could you share the name of the accessible tour company you used, please?

Disabled Accessible Travel. They were fantastic!