LIVE from Scandinavia on the Voyager of the Seas July 31-August 10, 2022 with Dragon of the Seas

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Actually, we are still at Washington Dulles Airport, but we will be in Scandanavia tomorrow. 😁

 

I have read many live threads and enjoy “cruising” via the Internet with fellow Cruise Critic members. I hope you will join me on this Scandinavian adventure.

 

Like most cruises since March of 2020 this trip has had its ups and downs.  It was scheduled 3 years ago to celebrate “my big birthday” last summer and has been “lifted and shifted” twice.  The embarkation ports are different; the number of days and itineraries have all changed. . . and then Russia invaded Ukraine. This is the final version of the itinerary:

 

 

We plan to tour Stockholm for 4 ½ days before we board the Voyager on Sunday. The ship will stay at the dock overnight before it sails on Monday.  This was one of the changes after the cruise line removed the 2-day port stop in St Petersburg.  That was great for passengers that were flying in the day before. [mostly Europeans] We would have preferred time in another port. I have research all of our stops and Stockholm has enough things to do to keep you busy for a month.  So, the extra day is a good thing.

 

There will be quite a bit of time difference between the US and the locations of our ports. Latvia, Estonia and Finland are 7 hours ahead and the rest of the trip is 6 hours ahead. Therefore, “Live” will be a relative term. 

Edited July 27, 2022 by DragonOfTheSeas

[DragonOfTheSeas]

DH and I are from Central Virginia and usually cruise from Baltimore.   We are veteran cruisers interested in history and enjoy nature. DH accuses me of visiting every fort and church I pass.  HaHaHa  I will be happy to add Vikings, towers, city walls, and a Medieval Festival to my usual stops.    

 

All these ports are new to us. So, I started a thread on Cruise Critic to gather information over the last few months.  Many local cruisers offered invaluable information.  This is the link to that thread:

 

Would like information for Baltic cruise from Stockholm to Copenhagen w/Riga, Helsinki, Tallinn, Visby, Ronne, Aarhaus - Northern Europe & Baltic Sea - Cruise Critic Community

 

 

 

We had a fright when we got here to the airport. 😕  

 

United looked at our tickets and said "Lufthansa is on strike.  We do not think you have a connecting flight.  We can't send you to Germany and leave you stranded.".  Of course, I said I want to go to Germany one way or the other. 

 

They called Lufthansa and our flight tomorrow am still on.  Then they looked at the flight coming back and said there is no such e ticket #.  Yikes. 

 

I called Air2Seas emergency [day of travel] number and they answer immediately and gave me new RL numbers and stayed on the line until the United agent could pull up the flights.  Thank goodness.  

 

We leave in 1.5 hrs so I guess we are actually going. Flying is so stressful.

 

[rudeney]

I hope you have a good flight!  I will be interested to read your posts as my wife and I will be on VotS for a CAN/NE itinerary once it gets back to the USA.

[justKirbo]

We're looking at a different cruise on this boat so I hope we get loads of pictures from you!

 

And I really hope all your flights go smoothly. Looking forward to reading along.

[Another_Critic]

Will be on Voyager for the Arctic Crossing in September.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I plan to include lots of pictures of the ship and the ports we visit.

 

Stockholm is built on 14 islands and is the largest city in Sweden.  On embarkation the ship sails along the island chain through the Stockholm Archipelago. We are looking forward to lots of water views in the city and the sail through the archipelago.

 

The more I researched the city the happier I am that we have an extra day there.  As usual I have created a trip planner [table] with all the relevant information.  Yes, I am an over planner.  However, we do not run from one thing to the other.  We just have lots of option identified. 

 

Here is a copy of a portion of one of the pages.

 

 

We do not do everything I identify.  But it gives us enough information to go to a plan B or even C if issues arise. I am a former teacher, and I always had a lesson plan—even if I did not follow it.  😊  

[DELTABLUE]

Wow!  Your day has finally come and you are off!  Hope that the problems you had today with your flights are the worst problems you have to deal with on this adventure.  I'll be with you every post of the way.  Bon Voyage to you and your fellow cruisers.

[Broons77]

Bon Voyage(r)!!!!

 

Could you possibly keep your eye out to see if there are any family bathrooms on board anywhere?  We're on her in October and DW has mobility issues and needs my help in the ladies.

 

I envy you this itinerary.  I'd like to find a b2b that hits both the Baltic states as well as Sweden/Norway/Denmark.  Bucket list trip for sure!

[Another_Critic]

37 minutes ago, Broons77 said:

I envy you this itinerary.  I'd like to find a b2b that hits both the Baltic states as well as Sweden/Norway/Denmark.  Bucket list trip for sure!

I hope they have a relaxing vacation planned at the end of the cruise ... they are going to need it with only one sea day.  I'm exhausted just looking at the itinerary.  😄 

[Mrs.Dukes]

Hope you have a great trip. I have read your post on the Europe forum as we are visiting many of the same ports on an Azamara cruise later this summer. Safe travels!

[Rubyfisch]

My first cruise was a Baltic one in 2017. Tallin is amazing. And sailing into and out of Stockholm is amazing - all the little islands and such.

[ginnyks]

We are scheduled to board the Voyager when you disembark in Copenhagen...the 10th.  Your DH has the same comments as mine does that I must visit every church and fort I see! Will be looking forward to your commentary! 

[John&LaLa]

I hope you have adequate internet. We didn't on Serenade in 2018. 

 

I also will board as you depart

[DragonOfTheSeas]

12 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

I hope they have a relaxing vacation planned at the end of the cruise ... they are going to need it with only one sea day.  I'm exhausted just looking at the itinerary.  😄 

I agree with you. The original cruise that we booked three years ago was a 12 day cruise round-trip from Amsterdam. And it had 3 sea days sprinkled in. That was really a better itinerary for someone our age. But they are not doing that Cruise this year

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Welcome to Stockholm. We made it!
 

We’re so glad it was a mostly clear day and we could see all the little islands as we flew in. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

It was interesting that before our flight from Washington/Dulles to Munich the United staff announced that Germany requires air passengers to wear a medical grade mask onboard flights to or through German airports.  For the US this means at least a KN95 mask. [no cloth or surgical masks] Thankfully that is what we have.  She said the German government would fine passengers if they did not keep the mask on for the entire flight.  She said they have fined almost an entire flight before. She said they have sophisticated facial recognition. Hard to believe someone is looking at a feed of the cabin at 3am? 

 

Everyone was very conscientious and wore their masks except when eating.  It was hard to try to sleep with the mask. The crazy thing was when we got to Munich almost none of the passengers/staff in the terminal had on masks. . .  We did need to wear them on the Lufthansa flight. 

 

 

I should stop here [since we are on the subject] and tell you that cruisers need to be fully vaccinated [we are boosted, too] and present a negative Covid test taken within 2 days of the cruise. Unvaccinated children under 12 can cruise with some restrictions but must take a rapid PCR test at the pier. DH and I have been wearing a mask anytime we have been indoors and away from home for 2 weeks.  It is almost like being in lockdown again.  UGH! 

 

We took a cruise in March and are familiar with the testing process. Since we will be in Sweden, I had to find a pharmacy that does the tests.  A fellow roll call member suggested a pharmacy and one of the branches is not far from our hotel:

 

The address is: Västerlånggatan 36A, 111 29 Stockholm 

Website is: PCR-test och antigentest för Covid-19 med reseintyg | Testmottagningen

Cost: Antigen test 295 SEK

 

I am sure there are others.  However, this pharmacy is in Gamla Stan very near the T-bana stop and we were able to make a reservation for 10am on Friday. Results come back in an hour.

 

Wish us luck-- we must pass this test, or all bets are off.  We bought trip insurance.

 

Please refrain from giving your opinion on testing and masking for Covid.  The testing requirement is what it is and if anyone wants to cruise, they need to follow it.  End of story! Sorry to be blunt.  But I have seen too many threads go off the rails.

[sailing the ocean blue]

Glad to see you made it  enjoy your cruise We are taking Voyager Sept 4 Cophaghan back to Boston  . How areyouhandling the testing 2 days bebore you get on the ship. We are in Cophaghan and will have to find a place to test Sept 2 or 3 as we sail on the 4  

 

 

[Ourusualbeach]

Add me to the list that will be boarding as you depart.  

 

It is odd at how they treated each of these cruises so differently with regards to itinerary modifications after St. Petersburg was pulled.

 

With ours no overnights were added and they added 3 ports.  We actually lost a sea day.  They added Arhus, Denmark; Klaipeda, Lithuania and Gdansk, Poland to our itinerary

[DragonOfTheSeas]

The fastest and easiest way to get from the airport to the city is with the Arlanda Express. It is about 20 minutes-- 298 SEK for 2 seniors. [not included in SL ticket] A regional train takes twice as long and is included in the SL ticket.  However, there is an airport exit tax [not sure that is the correct term] for the Arlanda Airport using the regional train.  That makes the price much closer.  

 

We took the Arlanda Express and it could not be easier.  It is easy to find the ticket booth near the baggage claim. The trains were running every 15 minutes today.  I am not sure if that is every day.

 

We purchased a SL card for transportation.  [~$4 each for the card] Since we arrived on Thursday and leave Stockholm on Monday, we think the 7-day fare is best.  It is only ~$8 USD more than 72 hours and gives us flexibility. We are seniors and get a discounted rate. There are also discounts for children.

 

I found this on the website: [Visitor tickets | SL]

• 24 hours: SEK 165 (adult fare); SEK 110 (discounted fare)
• 72 hours: SEK 330 (adult fare); SEK 220 (discounted fare)
• 7 days: SEK 430 (adult fare); SEK 290 (discounted fare)

This card is good for any public transit. [metro, buses, trains, ferries. etc.]

 

It was 20 SEK each for the Card and 290 SEK each for our discounted ticket to be loaded on the card.  

 

It was 620 SEK plus 8 SEK listed as Moms.  I have no idea what that was for.  

 

Today the 628 SEK is listed as a conversion of $61.10.  My credit card company will do that.  I will not get that exact rate.  But letting the CC company make the conversion will get you a better rate than if the vendor does that.

 

When I look at prices, I just estimate 10 SEK to a dollar.

[papaflamingo]

10 minutes ago, sailing the ocean blue said:

Glad to see you made it  enjoy your cruise We are taking Voyager Sept 4 Cophaghan back to Boston  . How areyouhandling the testing 2 days bebore you get on the ship. We are in Cophaghan and will have to find a place to test Sept 2 or 3 as we sail on the 4  

 

 

If you can't find a pharmacy, consider testing on the internet with Emed or some other company.  RCCL will accept the results and you can do the test in about 30 minutes from your hotel (assuming you have a good enough internet).  We used them for a Celebrity cruise back in Dec. with no problem at all.   

Simply order some tests and take them with you (take 2 extras in case there's a problem with one of them).  

[Biker19]

34 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

She said they have fined almost an entire flight before. She said they have sophisticated facial recognition.

That is an even worse whopper of a lie than some RCI CSR hand out.

 

Biker, who was on the same flight a month ago (same German rules at the time) where mask wearing was at best at 70% and observed no attempt to enforce the rule by any flight attendants.

[sailing the ocean blue]

We  most likely will not have internet although will have i phone 12 going to see if my phone plan has something for use in Europe I donot want to change sim cards  .   Eye sight challanged as  I have just had a second surgery for detached retina not sure how much sight i will get back but at least I can fly .

[irishgal432]

So excited to follow as we embark as you debark.  I am impressed with your plan.  Iam just trying to figure out how to get from the airport to my hotel.  lol

[DragonOfTheSeas]

There was one thing I would have done differently.

 

We got off the Arlanda Express at Stockholm Central Station. We were told we could buy the multi-day ticket at the Presbryan store. It is a little convenience store in the station.  There is a type of mall with a food court in the station.  The first store had run out of cards and we had to find another one.  Then when we got to where you enter the metro there was a ticket booth right there.  

 

The real issue with the metro is that the elevator leading to the metro entrance is broken.  You have to take the escalator with your luggage.  I tripped. No worries and I did not hurt myself at all.  I just ended on my fanny. [plenty of padding] But, after that the attendant helped us get our bags down. He complained that the company sent them an email that the elevator was fixed.  He said no one had even looked at it, yet.  

 

We have found everyone here to be very helpful.  

 

For those of you on the next cruise.  It might be worth a taxi ride after you get off the Arlanda Express depending on where your hotel is located.  I still think the transportation ticket is the way to go to get around for sightseeing.  But luggage and escalators do not mix.  

 

 

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

For those of you on the next cruise. 

I don't think anyone will need to get from the Stockholm airport to the ship on the next one.