Semi-live 48 day adventure: Prima, Getaway, Dawn, and beyond

[Travelicious]

Another win for the Dawn!  Dinner in LaCucina beat the Getaway hands down!  The gnocchi was much better, and the pizza, which I’ve always heard was bad in La Cucina, was actually pretty good.  I ordered it cooked a bit longer to make it more crisp.  Pookie had and enjoyed the shrimp something diavolo?

 

 

 

 

 

[Travelicious]

Back in Copenhagen today.  We planned to take a taxi to Nyhavn and walk around from there, but when we exited the terminal there was an NCL provided shuttle for $20 each to the National Gallery of Denmark.  It was an easy walk from there.  
 

We explored Nyhavn, then Frederik’s Church, the King’s Garden and Rosenborg Castle.  
 

 

 

 

After a few hours, we made our way back to the shuttle and returned to the ship.  
 

We had a little lunch in the buffet, but tried not to fill up, as we have Cagney’s tonight.  Oh, we went to the MDR for breakfast this morning.  Service was really bad.  Almost got up and walked out before we were finally provided water and coffee.  Service was also very slow for lunch yesterday.  Not sure what is going on there.

 

We are resting in the room for a bit, and I’m about to start a new book on my Kindle.  I’ve finished 2 on this trip so far.

[Travelicious]

Dinner was at Cagney’s.  I had the jumbo shrimp trio and Pookie had the crab cake, which wasn’t as  good as the Getaway.  Shrimp was good.  I also had the beefcake tomato (?).  I asked if it was ripe, and the waiter responded that it was big.  I asked if it was red, and he said that it was.  The outside was red, but the inside was not.

 

We also split the ribeye and chocolate cake, not pictured as they are repeats.

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow is Warnemunde again.  It looked interesting last time, so we explore a bit and, main goal, get a bratwurst.  Hopefully the weather holds out at least through lunch.

[Arch2000]

Thank you for your review and comments, and sharing this amazing adventure with all of us.  We are boarding the Dawn as you get off, so your comments now about this ship are especially helpful to us!

 

What type of cabin are you in, and what do you think of it?

[Travelicious]

I typed up a longer post yesterday, but it disappeared when I tried to post.  So I’ll just give the short version here.

 

Warnemunde was explored and we got the bratwurst.  So good!  Dinner was at Moderno’s, and we actually quite enjoyed it.  We had quit going to that restaurant for a long time because the meats were not really that good, but they were all pretty good this time around.

 

We stopped by the atrium to listen to a bit of light jazz.  I love horns!  While there, I checked on some future cruises, as well have cl  oh se to $2k in FCCs from price reductions.  Holy moly!  Do you know how much cruise prices have gone up?  After looking at a couple that might be interesting, and then seeing the price tag, I think we’ll probably just do the boring old western Caribbean out of New Orleans that we’ve done a bunch of times.  I don’t want to have to pay another $3-4k just to use up the FCC.

 

Today was Karkrona, Sweden.  It is a tender port, and we headed to the line around 10:30.  As Sapphire members, we did not need tickets.  We kept walking all the way onto the boat.  It was about a 12 minute ride.

 

As usual, we walked around, saw the sights, had a drink, and returned to the ship.  It was a nice, breezy day.

 

We ate lunch at O’Sheehan’s.  Bit had a burger.  It does appear real corned beef is being served on the Reuben, but still doesn’t look scrumptious like on the Prima.

 

About to head down for pre-dinner drinks, probably at Gatsby’s.  Photos will not upload today for some reason.  I’ll try again tomorrow.

 

In 1 week, we will begin out journey back home.  Can’t wait to get there, where there will be no crowds except at Walmart.  And even then, it won’t be like cruise ship crowds.

 

[Travelicious]

23 hours ago, Arch2000 said:

Thank you for your review and comments, and sharing this amazing adventure with all of us.  We are boarding the Dawn as you get off, so your comments now about this ship are especially helpful to us!

 

What type of cabin are you in, and what do you think of it?

Hi!  We are in a balcony cabin on deck 10 starboard.  Being an older ship, the cabin is more dated.  The TV is small compared to others - maybe 19 inch.  It does use an HDMI input, so if you want to stream your own content you can.   The bathroom is smaller, but workable.  The layout of the room itself is an improvement over the Getaway in that the beds ( at least in our room) are in the center, so not blocking access to the balcony or to the closet.  The closet is in the hallway.  
 

I think you’ll find the cabins fine for a short term rental.  My gripes have largely been the result of having been on the beautiful Prima so recently, and having that comparison.

[Travelicious]

Photos from Karlskrona:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Travelicious]

What a nice day in Visby, Gotland, Sweden.  It was an early and short day, 7 - 2:30, but very nice!

 

We headed out around 8:30 and found a shuttle on the pier for 10 Euros pp.  It took us to just outside the old town wall.  We wondered in to find many residential areas as well as ruins of old churches and a botanical garden.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 After we thought we had pretty much seen it all, we searched for somewhere to get a beer.  Alas, no beer until 11:00 is legal, even if you are on vacation! We found a cafe and had cappuccinos and a Swedish pastry, the name of which escapes me.  

 

 

We then went outside the wall and walked along the path between the wall and the sea.  Such a nice walk, and we made it as far as we wanted to go before being inundated by hordes of bikers.

 

 

 

 

By walking outside the wall, we found the far, most defensive side.  We would never have found this from the inside. 
 

By now, it was getting dangerously close to 11:00, so we headed toward the main square where there were a number of restaurants.  We had to wait only a couple of minutes to get a beer.  The tables all had these neat holders for silverware and napkins.

 

 

And when I went to the restroom, I noticed the planter.

 

Talk about making use of everything!  
 

We had hoped to make it to see Pippy Longstocking’s house, but it was about 45 minutes in the other direction, and the day was short.  

 

Edited June 1 by Travelicious

[Sugar Magnolia]

5 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

We had hoped to make it to see Pippy Longstocking’s house, but it was about 45 minutes in the other direction, and the day was short.  

 

You remembered! Sorry you missed it this time. I really liked Visby. Such a quiet jewel of a town.

 

[Travelicious]

7 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

You remembered! Sorry you missed it this time. I really liked Visby. Such a quiet jewel of a town.

 

Of course.  We were actually looking forward to it, but when we realized the location had to make a choice.  We have missed having friends on this cruise.  ❤️ 

[Travelicious]

Dang it!  I got the photo sequence screwed up.

 

Tomorrow is Riga, Latvia!

Edited June 1 by Travelicious

[snorklinbarb]

D😉o we detect someone like olives?

They sure didn't short the veg on that Cucina pizza!

 

After Prima, Getaway and now Dawn I am flabbergasted by your stamina and forging on with all the interesting explorations.  Is it the barley in the beer?

[Travelicious]

21 hours ago, snorklinbarb said:

D😉o we detect someone like olives?

They sure didn't short the veg on that Cucina pizza!

 

After Prima, Getaway and now Dawn I am flabbergasted by your stamina and forging on with all the interesting explorations.  Is it the barley in the beer?

Yeah, I like olives but actually prefer green.  We are tired but determined to forge ahead these last few days.  Being retired, we can sleep all day when we get home.

 

 I’m not sure what the self-diagnosed allergy is to, exactly.  Some of the beers were exacerbating it, some didn’t.  Sometimes it is wine or other types of liquor.  Whatever it is, it is most unfortunate.  But at least it just makes me red and hot, and doesn’t close my throat up.  🙂

[Travelicious]

Another chaotic day as we tried to get to Riga.  We were notified last night that we would be porting about a 30-40 minute drive from Riga, and that a shuttle would be provided for $20 pp, chargeable to onboard account.  Perfect I thought.

 

We decided originally to get out around 10:00, but with the long drive, attempted to go a bit earlier.  We had a little breakfast at the buffet then headed outside.  There was a long line of people waiting for the shuttle, and another long line waiting for the HOHO bus.  I figured it would take 3 buses before we would board, but we were actually able to get  the last couple of seats on the second one.  We stood in line for about 40 minutes before that happened, and it was close to 11:00 by the time we were dropped off in Riga.

 

We heard initially that they had 8 shuttles running, but later heard NCL requested 8 but the company provided only 4.  The latter seems more in line with what we saw and experienced.  There was also a long line to return.  Luckily, only a 20 minute wait this time, and we got on the 3rd bus after we got in line.

 

The Freestyle Daily said that Riga is considered the Paris of the north.  Previously on this trip, we learned that any city with a canal is considered the Venice of the north.  Riga’s architecture did have a lot of similarities to that in Paris.  It was a cute, rather small city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After exploring, we attempted to find a restaurant and bar that we had seen along the way.  We backtracked pretty good until one point, then got all confused.  Eventually we found it, and I had the most refreshing cocktail consisting of gin, rum, blueberries and other wild berries.  We split a bowl of the most delicious tomato soup and an order of bruschetta.  It was a nice meal, not too heavy.  
 

 

 

 

After eating, we stepped into a souvenir store across the street.  Looking out the back door, which was open, I saw that we were at the last attraction before we started wondering around looking for the restaurant.  It was literally just a walk through of the souvenir shop!  Funny now; wasn’t funny when we couldn’t find it and were getting hot.

Edited June 2 by Travelicious

[Travelicious]

A few random tidbits:

 

Did I tell you all how pretty the Emergency Passport is?  Just have a look at this beauty.

 

The tables in the Venetian have too many legs, and it is difficult to cross your legs.

 

 

We had lots of sunshine yesterday afternoon, and I loved the reflection on the water.

 

 

 

In Tallinn today.  Is there a smog problem here?  If certainly looked like it, at least over the water, and smelled too.  It cleared up as we moved away from the port, but it is really pretty bad.

 

We walked into the old town.  There was construction everywhere, and it made the walking path a convoluted mess.  When we finally made it, we wondered around and were somewhat underwhelmed.  I’m sure we would have been impressed if we had not already seen so much on this trip.  I guess that is just how it goes when you get to the end of a long trip.   I remember being underwhelmed by Paris at the end of a 3 week trip.

 

Anyway, I didn’t take many photos.  I did take one of the neat flower trees, and, of course, drinks and food.  I had a blueberry mojito, a plum bomb, and dumplings at an authentic Estonian restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

Pookie had beer, which doesn’t seem photo worthy at this point.

 

There have been 2 ports on this cruise in which we took the ship provided shuttle for $20 pp.  On the Prima, the cost was never applied to our account, presumably because of the $50 shore excursion credit.  On the Dawn, they say the credit does not apply to shuttles.  Again, there are too many inconsistencies between the ships to count.

 

I think one of the things really lacking on this cruise is having any friends.  We had quite a few, all from Cruise Critic, on the last two.  It made for a more fun experience when running in to people we knew.

 

Only one full day left on the cruise.  Tomorrow is Helsinki, and then we disembark in Stockholm on Wednesday.  

 

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, Travelicious said:

Only one full day left on the cruise.  Tomorrow is Helsinki, and then we disembark in Stockholm on Wednesday.  

It's been a genuine pleasure to "follow" you and Pookie as you explored Europe! Thanks for bringing us with you. Wishing you both all the best as you end the trip, travel home, and start the long recovery (which would be three days in bed for me)!!

[Travelicious]

10 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

It's been a genuine pleasure to "follow" you and Pookie as you explored Europe! Thanks for bringing us with you. Wishing you both all the best as you end the trip, travel home, and start the long recovery (which would be three days in bed for me)!!

At least!

[Travelicious]

Have I told you that I believe the entertainment around the ship is mostly recruited from the ship’s crew?  Yep, that’s my belief, though it has not been confirmed by anyone in the know.

[Travelicious]

We are off the ship and at our hotel in Stockholm.  Yesterday was just too busy and I was too tired to post.  I'll try to recap a bit here, and will add photos in a separate post because I am typing on my laptop instead of phone.

 

We were ported about 4.5 kilometers from town, and it did not look very walkable, so we were going to get a taxi.  None were waiting, though, and others told us they were using Uber.  I summoned an Uber for a bit more than $10, which was supposed to take 13 minutes.  It took closer to 30.  Not having done much research, we just looked at the map outside the port and picked a large cathedral to use as our destination address.

 

The Uber driver finally arrived and drove us to our selected destination, which turned out to be an excellent choice.  This cathedral was probably the highlight architecturally, and was a very short walking distance to Market Square.  After getting our photos of the cathedral, inside and out, we walked to Market Square.  

 

We browsed the stalls and I found and bought a soft t-shirt.  Remember, I expected this to be a much cooler weather trip, and I only brought 2 short sleeve shirts.  So now I've purchased 2 additional t-shirts.  By the time I bought the shirt, it was fully sunny and getting quite warm.  

 

We then walked by the food tents to see what was offered.  Pookie ended up getting a sausage and potatoes from one tent, then took that to the tent at which I wanted to eat.  I got the best grill salmon I've ever had, potatoes and a nice salad.  We each got a Finnish beer.  Those photos will look orange, as it was inside the tent.

 

While we browsed, we noticed a crowd near one tent and TV cameras.  We don't know who was in there, but it must have been a government official, as there was a crowd of protestors not far away yelling about someone being a war criminal.

 

We left that area and just continued walking, eventually stopping for another drink.  This time, I had a shot of vanilla Galiano.  It was very nice.  

 

Getting tired, we summoned another Uber.  This one was only $6 something and arrived in about 3 minutes.  Soon enough, we were back at the ship to get packed up and to rest a bit. 

 

But first, the cabin had not yet been made up, so we decided to get a drink at the pool deck.  It was super windy and somewhat chilly in the shade.  After a while, we decided to sit in a lounger in the sun just long enough finish our drinks.  When we left, Pookie told me there were black streaks on the back of my light-colored shorts.  I guess it was soot on the lounge chairs.  A wet wash cloth failed to remove the black marks, so I took the shorts with me to Guest Services when I went to retrieve our luggage tags.  I explained the situation, and was told they would launder the shorts without charge.  Perfect!  He said he would ask that they be returned that evening.

 

Dinner was in Cagney's.  We had the usual:  ribeyes and lobster tails.  This time, we didn't split the ribeye, but neither of us ate an entire one.  We split the cheese cake, then ordered our night caps before heading to the cabin.  We had a nice conversation about travels with the couple at the next table.

 

In the room, we put the last few things in the big luggage and set them out.  I saw our steward and asked about the shorts.  Before long, he brought them to the room.  We finished packing and set the luggage out, finished our night caps, and called it a night.

 

 

[schmoopie17]

33 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

 

In the room, we put the last few things in the big luggage and set them out. 

The most depressing part of any cruise...and you had to do it a few times on this fantastic voyage.

 

Thanks for taking us along. It was a fun ride (and tiring for you and Pookie).

 

Maybe we'll get to cruise with you guys in the future. Sounds like Pookie and Mrs. Schmoopie would hit it off...or at least have fun comparing nicknames.

[Travelicious]

Photos from yesterday:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

What a wonderful adventure it's been for Pookie and you, between your report and Sugar's photo report, getting us to think and plan ahead for 2025.  It was great to meet you both on the Prima TA.  

 

Happy & safe travel heading west for home at some point 🤗 Best wishes & regards - 

Henry & Susan  a/k/a  mking8288

[Sugar Magnolia]

Thank you for taking us along on your 48-day adventure. Next time we will have to coordinate so that I know which ship I should book for the second leg. 😂 Rest up and safe travels. Hello to Pookie.

 

[JIMESOPUS]

@Travelicious For some strange reason I put on the Band Camp T-shirt today ????

Safe travels back home to you and Pookie, thanks for the infomercial on what to do when you misplace that passport.

Jim

 

[Travelicious]

6/5/24: 

 

Once again, typing on laptop.  Photos will follow separately.

 

Not being in any hurry to get off the ship today, but being required to leave our rooms by 8:00, we drank a cup of coffee, showered, and got everything packed away in our bags.  We left the room at about 7:45, and headed toward the Venetian for breakfast.  I had not received an email with the final account statement, so I stopped by Guest Services to make sure all was right.  There was an unknown charge for 81 cents for “entertainment fee.”  No idea what that was.  Neither of us charged anything in the casino to the room, and we did not participate in any other onboard entertainment.  But I decided it wasn’t worth worrying about.  

 

We ate a leisurely breakfast, and both ordered bacon.  Pookie ordered it “crispy” and I ordered it “very well done.”  When it came, Pookie’s was what usually passes for “crispy” on a cruise ship, which means it is somewhat floppy but you can still pick off pieces that are edible.  The bacon on my plate had barely touched a source of heat.  The waitress said she would get some that was more done.  Out came the plate with one crispy slice and a blob of half-cooked slices all stuck together.  Again, it is the last day, and they just want you to get the heck off the ship!

 

We took our time, hoping the crowds were be gone when we got ready to leave.  Everything got backed up on the stairwell from 5 to 4.  Eventually, the mob moved forward, inch by inch.  Apparently, there were a lot of people who still had refundable credit on their accounts, and the crew were yelling for people to make sure they had their accounts settled before trying to ding out.  Of course, many ahead of us were sent back because they had not done so.  Then, as usual, you have the ones that don’t have their key cards ready.  After 12 days, they still don't remember you have to have your key card to get off the ship.

 

Finally, we dinged out, found our luggage, and headed to the taxi line.  We did not have to go through immigration, so no chance of losing my emergency passport today!  The taxi line was lengthy, but moved quickly.  Our driver asked where to, and I told him the Scandic Grand Central hotel, and showed him the address.  He said it would be 450 Krona, which was about $43.  The taxi took credit cards, which is great as I’m trying to not have to get local currency.  I already have some Danish Krona and some British Pounds that I need to exchange.  

 

About 30 minutes later, we arrived at the hotel, stored our luggage, and started our walkabout with no real plan. What a lovely city!  I think it may be my favorite of the trip.  In many respects, it reminds me of Manhattan, but a bit less rushed and in a different language.  After a long walk, we stopped for a drink.  I had a Razzmopolitan, and Pookie had a Pink Panther.  She said hers tasted like strawberry milk, and she liked it.  Mine was good as well.  We somehow made our way to the main drag.  

 

Eventually, we were getting tired and decided to see if our room might be ready.  It wasn’t, but we rested in the lobby for a while before heading back out.  

 

Finally, around 3:00, we were able to get into the room and rest my tired feet for a bit.  For some reason unknown to me, we were given a handicapped room, so it has extra space.  It has a small balcony, but not much of a view.  It is a nice enough room for a couple of nights, and will end up costing about $300 per night.  I booked this one because it is close to the train station, and there is supposed to be an express train that goes to the airport for cheap.  I don’t remember how much.  But there are so many entrances to the train station that we haven’t been able to figure it out.  I tried Google maps, and it had us going further than I want to drag luggage, so I think we’ll probably just take a taxi or an uber to the airport on Friday morning.  Just seems easier, even if a bit more money.

 

We looked all over the place for somewhere to eat, and ultimately decided just to eat at the hotel.  We had the Swedish meatballs.  Sadly, they tasted just like Salisbury steak.  Not bad, just not great. 

 

6/6/24:

 

I love Stockholm even more today.  It has the perfect mix of big city and old town.  Today we walked to the Abba museum and the Viking Museum.  Both were interesting, but we are not huge museum people.  We walked from there back to the old town, and finally ended up having a late lunch at the place we stopped for drinks yesterday.  

 

We got back to the room late afternoon and I took my Danish Krona and British Pounds to the exchange place a block away.  I knew I would take a loss, but better a bit of a loss than hanging on to money I likely won't need again.  They would not buy the Krona, so I guess I'll try at the airport tomorrow.  I was able to exchange the pounds.

 

We will begin the journey home tomorrow (6/7), but won't get home until Saturday (6/8).