Part I Review of our Baltic Cruise on Regatta, Dover to Stockholm, June 20th

[larablair]

All in all a memorable holiday. We loved it, very few negatives to report. We used our frequent flyer miles and arranged our own transport. Spent one pre night in Dover at East Lee B&B. Very nice. Lovely breakfast. We were concierge level so checked in at 11a.m. Checked all our luggage including hand carry. Then had lunch. Very nice buffet offered. Called a taxi to deliver us to Dover Castle. Toured both the castle and tunnels. Very interesting and well worth the visit. Walked back to the ship, about 2 mile walk. Some of it along the seafront. Back to the ship before 4p.m. All our luggage was waiting. Except my one carry on that I never check. OMG, I broke my #one rule, never check important irreplacable items. I had talked to the porter at the security check in. He had assured me he would get it tagged. Anyway, unpacked everything, plenty of storage, both in the bathroom and cabin. One thing I would change would be the electric outlets. You have to dry your hair at the dressing table across the cabin from the bathroom. So you would need a very long extension cord. I hate to dry my hair out there because of the noise and hair blowing all over. Oh Well. DH managed. Anyway, went to reception to report the missing heavy makeup bag!!. She asked for a description, well it was sitting right there behind the desk. No ID at all!! What a relief. Time for safety drill!! That was 6p.m. Oh forgot. As soon as we boarded at 11a.m. made our reservations for the specialty restaurants. The darling matre'de Sylvester gave me an extra one for that night. Back to the cabin, sat down to relax with a cold glass of champagne out on the balcony, with a view of the white cliffs. Our cabin was aft on the 7th deck. Loved it!! Expansive views were great especially going through the Kiel Canal and the Stockholm archepelago. Our first dinner on board at 8:30pm in Polo. Wonderful service and ambience. Had the typical steak and cesar salad prepared at the table. Escargot, bearnaise then a wonderful chocolate dessert. That night I slept like a baby!! Wonderful bed and sheets. Down pillows, etherything I like.

Day 2 Brugge, Had put out the breakfast order night before. It is a wonderful wake up call. They call you on the phone to let you know your order is on its way. Coffee, tea, croissant(to die for)fresh berries. Then dressed and had a buffet breakast in the terrace cafe before meeting our taxi at 9a.m. Eight of us shared one. Sorry to say it rained most of the day!! We had been to Brugge before and had loved it, of course the sun was shining and Ron wasn't exhausted because of allergies(we were surprised they bothered him onboard inthe middle of the North Sea!! We should have stayed on board with our memories of Brugge. Oh well, live and learn!!. This is the only port we had been to before. Were very happy to be b ack on board at 4p.m. in time for tea!! Wonderful high tea, from scones with clotted cream to cucumber sandwiches and desserts that were unbelievable!! . I had made an error in reserving the specialty res. should have known better. Tonight was the captains reception and a special menu in the Grand Dining room. including Frois Gras. Oh well live and learn. Attended the reception, very nice. Drinks and hor's. Met the very nice Greek Captain and other staff. Dinner again in the Polo Grill. Again, faultless service etc. I had the florida lobster with filet mignon, mistake, not the same as maine!! .

Day 3: Amsterdam.: We had arranged a private tour with another couple. Left ship at 9a.m. Guide was wonderful, first stop Anne Frank annex. A place I have wanted to visit since I was a young girl. A very emotional and worthwhile experience. The other couple saw some of Amsterdam while we were there for an hour. Then we drove out to Gouda. The cheese market was going on, very interesting and colorful. Bought two small wheels of cheese to bring home to age. Then to Delft, visited a Delft factory, had the traditional waffle cookie, the drive out is beautiful, past canals and windmills,. Had a problem with traffic coming back. Lets say a BIG Problem. Accidents on both routes back to Amsterdam. Our guide called another guide(at my suggestion, because I didn't(big mistake)bring the port info with me)she knew,who was on an Oceania tour. They let security know about our situation. It was very stressful, not a good way to end a beautiful day. We finally arrived at the port area at 5:50p.m., departure was 6p.m. There was our beautiful home away from home, with a tug boat in front. Traffic stilll horrible, pulled up in front of terminal at 6p.m. security was there to calm us. Said not to worry!! They would't leave us. On board people we knew were waiting there at embark area. Said our names had been announced about every 5 minutes!! Just a warning, plan private tours ending close to port rather than further away. This was my fault since the guide knew Anne Frank is very busy late in the day. I will continue later. I know this is long. Sorry about that. Jeanine