TRIP JOURNAL: Nicole721 Get[s]away to the Baltics

[Nicole721]

Pork Pot Stickers and Vegetable Spring Rolls

 

Vegetarian Fried Rice

 

Beef Chow Fun

 

Char Siu with Rice Noodles

 

Glass Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables

[Nicole721]

After dinner, we had reservations for the final performance of Million Dollar Quartet, a Broadway musical about a snowy night in December 1956 and an impromptu jam sesh between four musicians you may or may not have heard of – Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and some dude named Elvis. The cast was really great and the show was a perfect way to cap off our cruise.

 

 

 

With one last sunset on the Waterfront, we headed back to the room to finish packing. Well, Mom and Stephanie packed. I’m completely incapable of packing to go home until the last minute. Come to think of it, I’m also completely incapable of packing to go on vacation until the last minute, either. I suppose it’s part of the anticipation: packing to leave means vacation is happening, which means all of that anticipation is coming to an end. And packing to go home is just depressing. I’d much rather watch the sunset. Or write in this little blog thing here.

 

 

When I couldn’t avoid it anymore, I packed, carefully placing my moderate weather Baltics clothes on the bottom of my suitcase and my warm weather Paris clothes on top – between the weather we left in Stockholm and the weather we’d fly into the next day, we were going to see a 20+ degree swing in temps, and I sure hoped that the air conditioning in Paris would be chilled and waiting for me (spoiler alert: it wasn’t – apparently the French don’t believe in air conditioning). And once everything was folded and packed and all of the suitcases were weighed to ensure none exceeded the 23kg weight limit SAS would impose when we checked in, Mom went to bed and Stephanie and I went off to have one last adventure.

 

[Nicole721]

One of the more unique attractions onboard the Norwegian Getaway is the ice bar. Ice bars are native to Sweden (and are especially popular in Scandinavia), which made it a fitting way to end our trip (except, you know, much like the ship, this one was South Beach themed). The cover charge is $19.95 and includes two drinks from a preset menu with five alcoholic options and two non-alcoholic options. All drinks were premixed, so nothing fancy, and there was no waiver to the cover charge (even if you couldn’t drink because you were on, say, some heavy decongestants – but if there was a loophole to it, Stephanie would have found it!).

 

 

 

All in all, though, it was an odd experience. There was only one other group there, the drinks weren’t great and with all of the random art deco accents, I felt like we were the last people left after a rave…in a walk in freezer. But you know. New ship. New things to do. We’d try just about anything once.

 

 

And after we channeled our inner ice queens, we headed back to the room. This trip was beyond any expectations I could have come up with and all of my worries that it wouldn’t live up to our Mediterranean trips were completely unfounded. The Baltics are so different from the Mediterranean – rich in history and steeped in a different brand of culture. I couldn’t believe everything I’d seen and done and I was so sad that it was coming to an end.

[moonbmn53]

Thank you for this wonderful review. I am going to these same ports, but on the Breakaway in September. Now that I have read your reviews on these ports I will be going back and taking notes.😎

 

Moonbmn53

[hate2shop]

Thanks for the wonderful review. I was on this cruise the week after you (I think) with Deb and Jo. It's great to see it from another perspective. Some experiences are similar and some very different. I'll agree with the exhausting part wholeheartedly. I feel we walked a million miles. I skipped Helsinki entirely and spent the day on a thermal lounger in the spa. Now I have to go back to see Helsinki. I do however highly recommend the spa pass for a cold weather cruise. Our itinerary had Gothenberg instead of Stockholm and it was very disappointing. So now I have to go back to see Stockholm. I also loved Copenhagen and can't wait to visit it again.

[notes21]

I am doing this same itinerary on the Breakaway in May. How did you pack/plan clothing wise? On our trip to England/Scotland last year, I packed short or 3/4 sleeve shirts that could go with a sweater, sweatshirt, and all-weather jacket layered as needed. Would that be sufficient or would it be better to go with a warmer bottom layer? I've looked at the average temps for each area, but I'm from Florida so packing for cold is always a bit hard.

Edited February 11, 2018 by notes21

[TravelingAPor]

Thank you for this wonderful review. I am going to these same ports, but on the Breakaway in September. Now that I have read your reviews on these ports I will be going back and taking notes.😎

 

I was on the Getaway, last year, on the Baltic cruise. The Breakaway just switched places with the Getaway. The cruise will be identical. Due the ship's huge size we didn't sail into Stockholm. Only a few cruisers were lucky enough to sail all the way in.

[kbklcamp]

Love your reviews so much. You and your mom and sister enjoy and appreciate all the sights so much. You’ve made us plan on a Baltic cruise[emoji3]

 

 

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[Newbcruiser1]

Loved your review, particularly as someone from the same age group! The Baltic’s were never really on my bucket list, but you’ve made me a little more interested!

 

Also - enjoy cruising with your mom and your sister! My mom was my cruising buddy on occasion and she recently passed away. I’m sad I won’t get to cruise with her again (in fact, all she wanted was one last cruise) but I can live vicariously through the girls’ trips of others! [emoji846]

 

 

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[MaryZ]

I really enjoyed reading your review tonight. Thanks so much for posting it.

[Highpeaklad]

LOL, water is NOT free - it was offered at a price on the LHR - GLA flights! Maybe they sell water on the short hauls ....

 

Water is free on request. A glass of water that is, if you want a bottle then yes you have to pay.

[Nicole721]

Thank you for this wonderful review. I am going to these same ports, but on the Breakaway in September. Now that I have read your reviews on these ports I will be going back and taking notes.😎

 

Moonbmn53

 

Hope you enjoy the ports as much as I did :)

 

 

Thanks for the wonderful review. I was on this cruise the week after you (I think) with Deb and Jo. It's great to see it from another perspective. Some experiences are similar and some very different. I'll agree with the exhausting part wholeheartedly. I feel we walked a million miles. I skipped Helsinki entirely and spent the day on a thermal lounger in the spa. Now I have to go back to see Helsinki. I do however highly recommend the spa pass for a cold weather cruise. Our itinerary had Gothenberg instead of Stockholm and it was very disappointing. So now I have to go back to see Stockholm. I also loved Copenhagen and can't wait to visit it again.

 

We're heading off on a Mediterranean cruise at the end of next month and I think a spa pass is a must this time. The itinerary is nearly as exhaustive as our Baltics itinerary. I'm already exhausted thinking about it!

[Nicole721]

I am doing this same itinerary on the Breakaway in May. How did you pack/plan clothing wise? On our trip to England/Scotland last year, I packed short or 3/4 sleeve shirts that could go with a sweater, sweatshirt, and all-weather jacket layered as needed. Would that be sufficient or would it be better to go with a warmer bottom layer? I've looked at the average temps for each area, but I'm from Florida so packing for cold is always a bit hard.

 

Layers. Lots of layers. We headed off to Paris immediately after we disembarked, and the temps were in the upper 80s, so we had to pack for a pretty wide swath of temps.

 

 

I'd say if the temps this year are similar to last year, I'd go with a lighter bottom layer and build up as necessary. We only really wore our (light) coats in Copenhagen and Russia. In most other ports, we were in either light shirts or shirts layered under light cardigans. That said, we're from Chicago and anything above 55 degrees is warm, non-coat weather ;)

 

 

Love your reviews so much. You and your mom and sister enjoy and appreciate all the sights so much. You’ve made us plan on a Baltic cruise[emoji3]

 

 

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Thank you!!!

[Nicole721]

Loved your review, particularly as someone from the same age group! The Baltic’s were never really on my bucket list, but you’ve made me a little more interested!

 

Also - enjoy cruising with your mom and your sister! My mom was my cruising buddy on occasion and she recently passed away. I’m sad I won’t get to cruise with her again (in fact, all she wanted was one last cruise) but I can live vicariously through the girls’ trips of others! [emoji846]

 

 

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Aww, thank you so much!

 

 

Re: the itinerary, the Baltics was never high on my list either, but now that we've gone, I'm itching to go back! Definitely an underrated itinerary :)

 

 

I really enjoyed reading your review tonight. Thanks so much for posting it.

 

Thanks for reading!

[Travelicious]

Hey Nicole. I started reading your review on this thread, then couldn't wait for the installments so went to your website to finish it up. Then I went to the beginning and started reading all of your trip reports, and am currently on your second trip to Europe. Thoroughly enjoyable. You, Stephanie and Mom feel like family after spending so much time with you. :D

[TravelingAPor]

Hope you enjoy the ports as much as I did :)

We're heading off on a Mediterranean cruise at the end of next month and I think a spa pass is a must this time. The itinerary is nearly as exhaustive as our Baltics itinerary. I'm already exhausted thinking about it!

You are correct, Nicole, the Mediterranean cruise is just as exhausting as the Baltic cruise. You'll love it just as much. The crowds will be just as intense and the sights, just as wonderful! We did Pompeii, the Vatican, etc. and it was just amazing!

I'm sure you & the family will love your next cruise! Have FUN!

[WanderlustJourney]

Really enjoyed your review! I just booked the Getaway Baltics cruise for Aug 2019!

[oncruisecontrol]

Your photos are, well, what can I say.......AWESOME! Thanks for posting so many pictures. Looks like you had great times. I really enjoyed reading your review.

[lamb616]

Great review! I booked this for next summer for myself and children (will be 12 & 16). Our first trip to Europe so I'm anxious to read as much as I can on what to expect. Also, I love that you and your sister do a cruise every year with your mother, even now that you're adults. I hope I can do the same with my kids.

[TravelingAPor]

Great review! I love that you and your sister do a cruise every year with your mother, even now that you're adults. I hope I can do the same with my kids.

Family travel is so important. I travel with my daughters and their children. Three generations in the Hermitage! How awesome was that!! :D:D:D

[lamb616]

Family travel is so important. I travel with my daughters and their children. Three generations in the Hermitage! How awesome was that!! :D:D:D

I agree! Once me and my sister had kids we started doing vacations with my parents, but it never occurred to us to do it when we were still single or childless. I'm hoping my kids will still want to vacation with me once they turn 18 and fly the coop!

 

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[njkate]

Fantastic review and pictures, I was mesmerized.

I am going on this cruise in August on the Breakaway with my son and daughter.

Have bookmarked to go back for some of your great tips.

Thank You

[jenniferandwhatnot]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this review! I have been following along in spurts as work becomes too tedious.

 

Great photos!

[Id rather be diving]

Nicole, thanks for the review! I was so interested for two reasons: 1) we are on the Getaway in May for a family cruise. First time in NCL. 2) we are doing the Baltic in Sept on Princess. I have one quick question, if you happen to know the answer. Do you happen to remember if the HOHO bus in Tallin was handicap accessible? Did it have a fold down ramp? I understand if you don’t know. I probably would not have noticed those types of things before it became important to me as my husband now travels on a small electric scooter.

[pe4all]

Thank you for the fantastic review. We are on the Breakaway for the Baltic cruise at the end of August, and are very excited. Quick question - I may have missed it, but upon debarking the Getaway, did you take a cab back to the airport? If so, was it easy to catch one at the port?

Thanks again!