Eclipsing Northern Europe by cruise : Basic black , and Baltic blues

[upwarduk]

We have identical photos, a combination of sail in ( I was up ridiculously early) and sail out from the helicopter landing area, where we were invited for sail away.

[scubacruiserx2]

We have identical photos, a combination of sail in ( I was up ridiculously early) and sail out from the helicopter landing area, where we were invited for sail away.

 

 

Yeah Jackie it's a super busy day WITH 16 hours of sunlight ! The helicopter area is a fantastic viewing area - you must know someone special . We had a pretty good one on the balcony with the light at our backs , both in the morning and evening . :cool:

[scubacruiserx2]

We were staring to see some signs of life on the way out .

 

 

 

 

 

A Tallink behind us ship reminded us that we were on the way to Tallin .

 

 

 

 

And some camouflaged hardware .

 

 

 

 

It looked like it was getting dark .

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

Just before dark , the light burst through for a few brief moments .

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there was a strange , moving Eclipse upon shore .

 

 

 

 

Video clip :

 

 

 

 

 

In the video clip of this beautiful area it was very quite except the sound of the birds as we cruised along . Unfortunately , there was a lot of noise from the breeze on the mic :

 

 

 

 

Exiting the archipelago .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[afto]

Great report! Enjoying your photos very much. I especially like the one of the shadow of the Eclipse on shore.

[Gracie115]

very cool "shadow" picture indeed!!!:)

[scubacruiserx2]

Great report! Enjoying your photos very much. I especially like the one of the shadow of the Eclipse on shore.

 

 

Thank you . I also have been enjoying your photos , especially Alaska ! That was our original plan , but plans change . :) :D

 

 

very cool "shadow" picture indeed!!!:)

 

 

It was cool from our viewpoint , watching our shadow eclipsing the sun in the people's houses . :cool:

 

I tried to imagine what a large ship outside of your house would look like , but I guess the people which live there see a number of large ships .

[scubacruiserx2]

In the morning we would be in Estonia , but not before another time change , our third .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Instead of our usual breakfast in the MDR , we ate a quick meal at the buffet and took breakfast down to Tyler in the cabin , where we saw the Emerald Princess from our balcony .

 

 

 

They were moving fast , and the race was on !

 

 

 

Video clip :

 

 

 

We left the ship as soon as we could , hopping to beat the crowds to the old town area . But of course there would be a few photo stops along the way .

 

 

 

 

Because Pat walks slower than I , she continues to walk while I stop to take photos , and then I usually catch up later . We had a new friend in port that day - The World , seen here in the center of the photo .

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_The_World

 

 

 

 

And here's Celebrity Eclipsing The World .

 

 

 

We had booked , and paid for , a flight on Balloon Tallinn . But when we showed up we were told that it might rain and it was too windy ( It wasn't ) . Further , we were told that there are NO refunds ! They did tell us to check back later for a possible flight . After a fruitless discussion , we chose to go to the old town and would stop back after returning to the port . We only took one photo there - of a pouting Pat .

 

 

 

Plan B - again !!

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We entered the old town at the Fat Margaret Tower .

 

 

 

 

 

Looking back at the gate

 

 

There are a number of narrow alleys here

 

 

 

 

As well as broader streets

 

 

 

 

This door is the entrance to the Brotherhood of the Blackheads , a trade guild for single men .

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotherhood_of_Blackheads

 

[Jerzy Traveler]

I found a couple of things a little strange though . John was playing piano on Hey Jude which was clearly played by McCarthy in life . And a right - handed , base playing McCarthy might be anathema to a Beatles purist ! :eek:

 

[/i]

 

 

On the July 3 cruise and it was something I immediately mentioned to my wife. Sir Paul is a lefty. Overall the crowd enjoyed the show.

[dustball]

Thank you so much for this incredible review! We leave on July 31, so we are reading every single word....

 

Quick question, how difficult is the walk to town for Tallinn? We are doing Ho Ho bus for Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Helsinki. We are just wondering if we need to buy that shuttle ticket (seems so unfair that they charge shuttle tickets... jmho)

 

Thanks so much for your help and advice!

 

Stephanie

[upwarduk]

We have identical photos, a combination of sail in ( I was up ridiculously early) and sail out from the helicopter landing area, where we were invited for sail away.

 

We were invited- maybe because we have Elite C. C status?

[funnel]

 

That is my favorite island in the Stockholm archipelago!

I always look for a "For sale" sign when cruising past there with the Silja Line ferry... :D

 

It's a joy to follow you on your cruise!

 

/Erik

[funnel]

Quick question, how difficult is the walk to town for Tallinn?

 

I think it's about a 15-20 minute walk to the old town of Tallinn. It's a rather easy walk, at least when I was there last time.

You will enter the lower part of the old town if you walk from the ship.

It's more difficult to walk around in the old town on the cobblestone streets that can be rather steep in some areas.

Maybe the shuttle drops you off in the upper part of the old town. To walk up there from the lower part of the town can be rather difficult, if you have a problem walking.

 

/Erik

[scubacruiserx2]

On the July 3 cruise and it was something I immediately mentioned to my wife. Sir Paul is a lefty. Overall the crowd enjoyed the show.

 

We hope that you had a great cruise ! :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

We were invited- maybe because we have Elite C. C status?

 

We thought that may be the case , or perhaps a suite . It's certainly a nice perk ! ;)

[scubacruiserx2]

Thank you so much for this incredible review! We leave on July 31, so we are reading every single word....

 

Quick question, how difficult is the walk to town for Tallinn? We are doing Ho Ho bus for Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Helsinki. We are just wondering if we need to buy that shuttle ticket (seems so unfair that they charge shuttle tickets... jmho)

 

Thanks so much for your help and advice!

 

Stephanie

 

 

Thank you Stephanie , and enjoy your trip . And just to echo Erik's great answer :

I think it's about a 15-20 minute walk to the old town of Tallinn. It's a rather easy walk, at least when I was there last time.

You will enter the lower part of the old town if you walk from the ship.

It's more difficult to walk around in the old town on the cobblestone streets that can be rather steep in some areas.

Maybe the shuttle drops you off in the upper part of the old town. To walk up there from the lower part of the town can be rather difficult, if you have a problem walking.

 

/Erik

 

And here's a Google map .

 

 

 

Tallinn is where we found most of the best prices while shopping , and there's a covered mall called Sadamarket that we also shopped at for a warm scarf for Tyler as it was turning cooler for us .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

I loved the dragon motif .

 

 

 

In order to go shopping for Tyler and Pat we first started at the Tallinn Town Hall Square , the oldest in the Baltic area .

 

 

 

We had hoped to shop early for some trinkets before the throngs of humanity arrived .

 

 

 

Score !

 

 

It took a 3 photo stitch to capture all of the square .

 

 

I don't usually shop , but I was intrigued by this ( but only from a photographic viewpoint ) , until I read the fine print .

 

 

 

 

 

Model not included .

[Gracie115]

We thought that may be the case , or perhaps a suite . It's certainly a nice perk ! ;)

 

On our Reflection TA this spring they invited the entire Roll Call from Cruise Critic as we left one port....there were about 300 on our roll call and I'd say more than half showed up on the heliport for the sailaway....it was very nice...champagne/mimosas....

[scubacruiserx2]

Amber is usually fairly priced here , but near the square may not be the best prices .

 

 

 

We saw a number of nut wagons around town .

 

 

 

 

We did notice a few things which seemed a bit out of place

 

 

 

 

On this church wall was some strange art

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the modern movie theatre , while beautiful , did seem misplaced in Old Town .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

On our Reflection TA this spring they invited the entire Roll Call from Cruise Critic as we left one port....there were about 300 on our roll call and I'd say more than half showed up on the heliport for the sailaway....it was very nice...champagne/mimosas....

 

Wow , we're sorry that we missed the boat ! It seems like the largest Roll Calls that we have seen have been on TA's .

[scubacruiserx2]

We found a little shop away from the square where Tyler bought a stuffed animal for his brother . And we headed up to Toompea , a hill which is about 20-30 meters higher than the surrounding area . It can be a steep climb .

 

 

 

 

We wanted to see the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral which we had not seen on our previous trip here .

 

 

 

 

And , like so many buildings in Europe , work is being done in the Summer .

 

 

 

 

I left Pat and Tyler with a lady selling nuts and a lady selling paintings .

 

 

 

 

 

While I went downstairs to photograph the walls and towers .

 

 

 

[RNCheryl]

Enjoying your review very much. We will be on some of the same ports on Princess next year.

 

But mostly I want to have a hug to your sweet freckled grandson. Grandma and Grandpa are out of bounds wonderful. This is the best

[scubacruiserx2]

Thank you so much for this incredible review! We leave on July 31, so we are reading every single word....

 

Quick question, how difficult is the walk to town for Tallinn? We are doing Ho Ho bus for Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Helsinki. We are just wondering if we need to buy that shuttle ticket (seems so unfair that they charge shuttle tickets... jmho)

 

Thanks so much for your help and advice!

 

Stephanie

 

As I was editing photos I noticed this one . We also saw it at cruise ship and so it could be a possibility also .