Russian Around the Baltic on Silhouette

[cbradley1209]

Paul,

 

Just wanted to let you know that your Moscow friends are very much enjoying your review and following along.

 

chris

[pjs678]

Paul,

 

 

 

Just wanted to let you know that your Moscow friends are very much enjoying your review and following along.

 

 

 

chris

 

 

Thanks Chris. I never want to identify anyone without their permission on here :)

[pjs678]

6/23 – St. Petersburg Day 2 OR Fountains of Tourists

 

Update on suite perks – We heard from our Moscow friends (who were also in Sky Suites) that we DID in fact receive 2 free specialty restaurant meals as part of our suite perks, even though we switched to suites after that perk expired. This is because our original booking date was last year, when these perks were offered. We had Anca in Michael’s Club confirm this (as our butler was invisible) and it was true! We had them refund our Qsine costs and made a reservation at Lawn Club Grill for the upcoming Saturday night after Tallin.

 

Today was the day we were going to go it alone in St. Petersburg. Frankly, after Moscow, it didn’t feel that intimidating. I think there were 5 ships in port that day so we would need to try and stay ahead of all the tour groups. Our cab was due at 9am so we were not in a huge rush. We decided to give Blu a try for breakfast.

 

J said the smoked salmon was actually better at Blu than Luminae (although I think she was still ticked off about the fish at Luminae so was looking for any excuse to not eat there). I did have a good egg white omelet though. The pastries weren’t as good in my opinion.

 

When we walked out through immigration (no line this time), the agent was again confused by our lack of tour ticket. A supervisor came over and asked us if we were getting back on board tonight and we said yes. With that, they let us through and did not give us a migration card this time.

Our cab company texted that they were 6 minutes away. 20 minutes later, they still hadn’t shown up so I found an Uber available near the port (which was not usually the case). I ordered the Uber figuring that we would take whomever got there first. Well, the cab showed up at 9:20 and so I canceled the Uber (so I thought).

 

On the way out of the port, we saw why the cab was late. There was a huge line of vans and buses waiting for a security check to get into the port. With 5 ships, including some new arrivals, that was the problem. On the way to Peterhof, I happened to check the Uber app again and noticed that our order was still open. The car was sitting at the port waiting for us. I didn’t properly cancel the first time, so it cost me 274 Rubles for the waiting time. Actually, that seemed fair since the poor driver had to wait in that security line anyway.

 

It took about an hour to get to Peterhof as there’s no real direct way to get there from the port. The ride wasn’t particularly scenic. The cab cost 1400 Rubles (about $22) and dropped us off at the main gate to the estate. We walked through the Upper Gardens and easily found the ticket office for the Lower Gardens.

 

 

We bought tickets for just the gardens (not the palace) and looked for a good spot as it was 10:30 and there weren’t too many people.

 

 

As 11am approached, the area around the fountains got packed and we were forced to defend our territory from the camera-toting hordes. We could see the tour groups following their guides around.

 

Edited July 11, 2016 by pjs678

[pjs678]

At precisely 11am, the music started and the fountains turned on. It was neat to see, but I’m not sure the drive there was worth it. We did get some good pictures from behind and in front of the fountains.

 

 

 

 

We walked through the lower gardens and toward the hydrofoil dock. We figured we’d get ahead of the crowds to ensure we had a spot on a hydrofoil back to the city. It was also a good opportunity to get a nice picture of the palace.

 

 

We reached the ticket office right at 11:30 and were able to get on the next one leaving. It was 750 Rubles per person. We ended up having our own hydrofoil. We were the only passengers. It took about 45 minutes to get to the Admiralty with some nice picture opportunities on the way.

 

 

[pjs678]

From the dock, we walked past the statue of Peter the Great on horseback to the Museum of Vodka.

 

 

We bought the package that included the tasting at the end. The museum is small and offers an audioguide, but I think you could figure out most of the exhibits without the audioguide.

 

 

 

 

We had our 3 shots waiting at the end, along with some snacks (pickles, etc.)

 

 

From the vodka museum, we walked the short distance to Stroganoff Steak House. We had no trouble getting a table for lunch. J enjoyed her stroganina again and I tried (of course) the Beef Stroganoff, which was excellent. We also had some more vodka (natch).

[pjs678]

It was around 2pm now so we walked past St. Isaacs over to the Church on Spilt Blood. I made the decision to skip the interior of St. Isaac's as I wasn't up for the climb after all that vodka and I wanted to see Spilt Blood instead. On the way, we passed the Cat Cafe.

 

 

We waited in a short line and bought tickets. While it was crowded inside, it wasn’t too hard to get some good pictures.

 

 

 

 

The tourist market outside the church was selling a lot of crappy souvenirs so I hope people were taken to better places than that by their tour guides.

 

From there, we walked back up Nevsky Prospekt past Palace Square to the bridge to Vasilovsky Island.

 

 

There we visited the Kunstkamera, Peter The Great’s own cultural and ethnographic museum started in the 1700s by the man himself.

[pjs678]

I think we were the only non-Russians there when we visited. Many of the exhibits had English explanations and there was an impressive amount of artifacts related to Native Americans, etc. But the real star of the show as far as J was concerned was the scientific room with all of the medical specimens.

 

 

 

 

Peter the Great was actually trying to study birth defects and other medical issues to see what caused them so many of these exhibits dated back to the 1700s. It was morbidly fascinating.

 

We were wiped out, what with all the walking and the vodka, so we called it a day around 5pm and got an Uber back to the ship. Today was only 250 Rubles ($4).

 

When we got back, the ship was still fairly quiet so we took a nap before dinner. We gave Luminae another try as the menu looked pretty good. J had duck Bolognese and I had Thai green curry. I asked for them to add chicken to my curry, but they just served me a side of roasted chicken and I had to add it myself which was no big deal.

 

After dinner, we went to the World Class Bar for a cocktail and watched a little of the Russian folklore show in the theater that Celebrity had brought in from St. Petersburg. The people were talented, but a few songs was enough for us.

 

We went back to the suite and watched a movie – 99 Homes, pretty good – then went to bed with one more day in St. Petersburg left. Up next: We Find Evidence That Communism Existsed!

[pjs678]

Forgot to include the Celebrity Today for 6/23 although it was pretty sparse considering it was our middle day in St. Petersburg:

 

 

 

 

[pjs678]

6/24 – St. Petersburg Day 3 OR Peter, Paul & Commies

 

Today’s anecdote: On one of the days when we were returning to the ship in St. Petersburg, there was one person in front of us leaving the ship and we were next in line (People going through and coming back went through the same lines in the evening). This crew member was trying to go and use the internet café and his name was supposedly on some list, but the immigration officer had trouble finding it.

 

After about 5 minutes, he finally went through, but by this time a line had formed to leave the ship (for an evening tour). The officer allowed several people leaving the ship to go through next and J lost it. She was already annoyed at the crew member, exhausted from touring all day and now she lost her place in line. She walked up to the immigration booth and yelled “we were next!” The officer told her to step back and I told her I would visit her in Siberia.  Someone from the port staff came along and made sure we were next to go through. In the end, we got a glare from the officer, but I don’t generally recommend tussling with Russian immigration.

 

On Day 3 in St. Petersburg, the weather was again great. I’m not sure if many people know this, but they supposedly only get 30-60 sunny days per year and we had managed to get three of them!

 

We had breakfast in Luminae and then headed out through immigration at around 8:30 without much of a line. I looked for an Uber, but none was available in the area of the port at that time. I just decided to use the port’s taxi stand rather than try to wait for an Uber. It was 1500 Rubles ($23) to Peter and Paul Fortress.

 

The cab dropped us at the entrance to the bridge to the fortress and we walked over. We were a little early for the cathedral, as it opened at 10am. We walked around and took some pictures. At 10am, I bought tickets to the cathedral (decided to skip the other museums) and we went in. Obviously, the stars of the show here (so to speak) are the burial spots of all the tsars (including the final tsar and his family).

 

 

 

The cathedral itself was quite beautiful as well.

 

 

 

[pjs678]

After we left the cathedral, we walked out the fortress on the Eastern side. I had meant for us to visit the Cabin of Peter the Great, which was not far away, but I forgot about it. We headed to the Political History Museum, which was supposed to house the 20th century history that every other museum in Russia seemingly bypassed.

 

The museum wasn’t busy (as most tours seem to bypass this one). We bought tickets and wandered at our own pace through the museum. It told the story of the end of the Tsars, the rise of communism, the Gulag era, through the 80s and then the reforms of Gorbachev. The exhibits were not dry and staid like many of the museums in Russia. There were interactive exhibits, films, audio, and actual artifacts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lenin's Actual Office - The museum building used to be the Communist Party HQ before the capital was moved to Moscow.

 

I spent about 90 minutes in the museum and it was fascinating. There were binders in each room with English translations for each of the displays where there was no English provided. It was an honest and interesting look at the Soviet 20th century.

 

Leaving the museum, we walked past the mosque.

 

[pjs678]

J had a couple of antique/art stores she was interested in visiting so I turned over the rest of the day to her. We basically followed Kronversky Prospekt around a lovely park area, which contained the Planetarium, Music Hall and other local entertainments. We went to the first store that J had found, but it was closed for no apparent good reason. We walked back toward the river and found 2 or 3 other stores that she enjoyed.

 

We passed the Leningrad Zoo and then crossed back over the Neva (twice) to get back to the Winter Palace. On the way, we saw the preparations for the Scarlet Sails event the next night (high school graduation celebration with a huge concert in Palace Square and fireworks on the river).

 

 

 

 

We went to one more art place, which turned out to be a co-op with lots of different stores and studios. J had a great time looking through everything and I sat on their balcony overlooking the river, so it was a win-win.

 

 

 

 

By this time it was around 2pm and we were pretty beat. I had no desire to visit any more crowded tourist sites and we were ready to head back. We walked to a quiet side street and I ordered an Uber (much easier than trying to get one to stop on Palace Embankment). We got back to the ship at around 3pm after unloading the last of our Rubles at the overpriced souvenir stands at the port.

 

 

New World Cup stadium under construction near the port

 

We grabbed a quick lunch at the buffet and rested for a little while. When we were sailing away, we went up to the Sunset Bar for a drink. For dinner, we decided on Sushi on 5 again as the Luminae menu wasn’t too exciting. Again, the sushi and service was excellent.

 

We stopped by the variety show for a little while, but it wasn’t really doing anything for us so we went to the Ensemble lounge to see Terry Dobson, the talented guitarist/pianist/vocalist. He was great and took requests. We met quite possibly the drunkest English lady ever while we were there. She must have asked us 15 times if we had kids and where they were.

 

Around midnight, we turned in, satisfied that we had given St. Petersburg a good run and seen just about everything we wanted to see there in 3 days. Up next: Cobblestones and a Ghost Ship.

[pjs678]

Celebrity Today from 6/24:

 

 

 

 

[pjs678]

By the way, I know I have been pretty methodical about posting one day of our trip per day (as I do still have to work:)), but if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to chime in. I'm sure I missed some stuff as I go back through my notes and pictures.

 

Paul

[cbradley1209]

I'm really sorry we missed the Political History Museum. I think I would have liked that. Guess that's why we got 3 year visas, right? :)

 

You and J certainly managed well on your own in SPB.

 

chris

[exPanAm]

By the way, I know I have been pretty methodical about posting one day of our trip per day (as I do still have to work:)), but if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to chime in. I'm sure I missed some stuff as I go back through my notes and pictures.

 

Paul

Greetings from nbr 5 of the pre-cruise Moscow CC friends.

I am really enjoying your review and have decided next time I cruise I will certainly take notes. I have looked at some of my photos and am not sure which palace etc it is.

One of my funny cruise stories. We went on the St Petersburg at Night Tour. It started at 11:30 p m until 2:30 a m. It was really beautiful. At one of the stops ( there were 2 buses) after I got done taking my photos and returned to the bus, I got onboard and walked back to what I thought was my seat but all the passengers were sound asleep. I admit it was late but really struck me as funny being on a night tour and sleeping all the way.

Thanks for your review.

[pjs678]

I'm really sorry we missed the Political History Museum. I think I would have liked that. Guess that's why we got 3 year visas, right? :)

 

You and J certainly managed well on your own in SPB.

 

chris

 

It was pretty easy after Moscow. Everything (except Peterhof) was within walking distance. I'd like to go back in the winter, but J is not so enthusiastic. She wants to visit other places.

[pjs678]

Greetings from nbr 5 of the pre-cruise Moscow CC friends.

I am really enjoying your review and have decided next time I cruise I will certainly take notes. I have looked at some of my photos and am not sure which palace etc it is.

One of my funny cruise stories. We went on the St Petersburg at Night Tour. It started at 11:30 p m until 2:30 a m. It was really beautiful. At one of the stops ( there were 2 buses) after I got done taking my photos and returned to the bus, I got onboard and walked back to what I thought was my seat but all the passengers were sound asleep. I admit it was late but really struck me as funny being on a night tour and sleeping all the way.

Thanks for your review.

 

I took notes on my phone when we were in cabs or Ubers, etc. I thought about a night visit, but we were so exhausted after each long day that I just couldn't do it. You have way more energy than I have (or just require less sleep).

[jollyrhino]

 

As we were eating and drinking, a homeless guy came around begging (we were sitting outside), so J handed him her beer (which she didn’t much like anyway) and he chugged the whole thing in about 5 seconds. I just stared at her incredulous. She shrugged and said he needed it more than she did – LOL.

 

HAHAHAHAHA Great review, but this is the funniest part!

[pjs678]

6/25 – Tallin OR The Home of The Night’s Watch

 

Today was day nine of nine consecutive days of touring, between Moscow and the first seven days of this cruise, not to mention a day and a half of travel before that. We were looking forward to a pleasant day in Tallin, free of buses, metros, trains, ferries and Ubers.

 

We were up at 7 and decided to have breakfast in Blu just for a change. We ran into our Berlin tour mates there and firmed up our meeting place for Monday – Berlin day. The ship arrived on time into Tallin at 7am and was cleared fairly quickly for disembarkation.

 

Around 8am, we headed in to Old Town. Like Helsinki, this port had a lot of construction going on. We walked past the shops selling souvenirs near the port and past the tethered balloon selling rides straight up in the air for a scenic view of the city (they were on sale that day, but I don’t recall the price).

 

We found Fat Margaret after crossing the main street and went through the gate into Old Town.

 

 

 

At this hour, there were not too many people around, but many of the stores were still shut. We decided to walk over to the market near the train station while the old town was still waking up. There wasn’t much there, but it at least gave us a glimpse of real life in Tallin outside the tourist zone.

 

We got back into the Old Town around 9:30am and more things were opening up. J’s ankle was still really bothering her so she was not up for going up the hill to Toompea where the cathedral and castle towers are situated. We decided to meet back up at Hell Hunt pub at noon (since it was the only place we could both easily find because of the name). We split up in the by now familiar - he goes tourist, she goes shopping - mode and I trekked up the hill to the cathedral.

 

 

 

I went into the cathedral but pictures were not allowed plus there was a service going on. It was interesting to see the people standing (mostly women) listening to the priest.

 

 

I also walked past the parliament building.

 

[pjs678]

From the parliament building, I walked to the viewpoints on each side of the hill. It was crowded there with tour groups, but I managed to maneuver to the front to catch the views.

 

 

 

 

I saw what looked like an interesting museum/tower that didn’t open until 11am and it was only around 10:15am at this point. Next to the museum was a café that was only reachable by some extremely steep stairs cut into the wall. It looked like something out of Game of Thrones where I would need to join the Night’s Watch to be able to get up there.

 

 

I climbed up and ordered an iced coffee (7 Euros – yikes!) I found a table and sat and people-watched for about ½ hour. At 11am, I climbed down (I can’t imagine trying this after a few drinks) and went to the museum as it was opening.

 

The museum (3 Euros) had a few exhibits about the candy business (???) and then a staircase up to the city wall with a walkway between the two towers of Neitsitorn and Kiek in da Kok. It was underwhelming and not even worth the small price of admission.

 

 

I walked back down and was back early at Hell Hunt. I was ready for a beer, but they didn’t open until 12 noon. I sat on the stoop outside and found that I could still use their free wifi. J showed up at noon and we both decided that 4 hours was enough in Tallin and we would head back to the ship for lunch.

 

We walked back, stopping at a couple of the souvenir shops near the pier and boarded the misty ship (next to her Azamara cousin) around 12:30pm.

 

 

As you can see, we again had perfect weather. Would this streak continue in Berlin? Yes, yes it did. LOL.

[pjs678]

Here is the Celebrity Today for Tallin:

 

 

 

 

 

As Luminae was closed, we decided to give The Porch a try as it was open, despite being a port day. We were the only customers.

 

 

The sangria was very good and the seafood tower (not actually a tower) was fresh and tasty. J said the steak tartar was disappointing, although I enjoyed the tuna tartar. The lobster rolls were awful with tiny pieces of lobster in a huge roll. The dessert was very good and the service was excellent (of course it was as we were the only customers). I’m not sure it was worth $30 per person, but OBC so IDC.

 

The rest of the afternoon we rested in the suite and on the balcony. The best thing about having the ship to ourselves was the internet speed. I managed to watch Game of Thrones episode 9 with no buffering!

 

Around 4pm, I went to the casino bar to watch the Euros. We decided to have dinner at Sushi on 5 again as the menu from Luminae wasn’t great. This time, we got a 30% discount on our meal. Yes, we are boring and do the same thing every day - LOL.

 

We went to World Class Bar afterwards and then had dessert at the Gelateria. J was tired and her ankle hurt so she crashed around 10. I went to watch the Euros again and then lost some money at the blackjack table before I turned in. Up next: Sea Day Steak & Scrabble

[pjs678]

6/26 – Sea Day 1 OR Not Many Pictures

After nine straight days of churches, palaces, museums, towers, squares, and shopping, it was finally time for a rest. Here’s what the Silhouette had on tap for us for the first sea day of the cruise:

 

 

 

 

 

We got up a little later (8:30) and had a leisurely breakfast at Luminae.

 

Then we headed back to the suite to read and relax on the balcony. It was chilly but not too bad. Around noon, we borrowed Scrabble from the card room and went up to the pool deck for a game (and a drink). After a spirited contest that J won (barely), we went to the buffet for a light lunch (as we had Lawn Club Grill booked this evening.)

 

Here's another suite picture (sorry about the mess):

 

[pjs678]

After lunch, it was time for the gym and then at 4pm, it was Euro Round of 16 at the casino bar again.

 

We went up a little early to the Lawn Club to have a drink at the Sunset Bar and ran into our (now sober) English friends from the other night. Surprisingly, she remembered us and we had a much more coherent conversation this time.

 

Just before 7, we headed over to the Lawn Club Grill and had dinner. While the food was good, it was a weird experience. The tables were very close together and it was sort of hard to get in and out (for the salad bar). The flatbread was fine, nothing special. I ordered my steak medium and J ordered hers blue, but the both came out medium rare. The desserts were probably the best thing on the menu.

 

After dinner, we stopped by karaoke for a while and then went to bed early as we had a long day in Berlin the next day. We remembered to put out our room service card for 6:00-6:30am breakfast the next morning.

 

All in all, we did very little. I'm sure we did a little more than I remember, but we were ready for a relaxing day after all we had done already.

 

I’ll be unable to update this review the next couple of days as we are headed out of town, but I’ll finish it up next week. Up Next: Autobahn Advantage.

[jes Scott]

We are planning a Baltic for next summer on silhouette. Loving the review! I spent a year in Finland in 1989 - 90 and spent time in St Petersburg (Was still Leningrad, then) and am so excited to visit again. Appreciate all the detail.

[mickeysgal]

The bus eventually came and we took it all the way to the Frihamnen terminal stop. We had to walk the 10 minutes to the ship and J’s ankle was on fire at this point. When we got to the terminal, the ship was moving!

 

Hey - hi from Atlanta also. We were with you on that bus walking back to the ship. Had a nice time meeting you! Love this review!