LIVE from the Regal- 5.21.18! The Tale of 3 Princesses, the Baltic, and Suite Destiny

[sunsetbeachgal]

I can’t wait to hear about your adventures in Russia!

 

 

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[Iowa Traveler]

Glad you enjoyed your day. (We loved Alfredo's!)

Waiting for the Russian adventure!

 

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[HRPro]

Just found this thread and caught up on another one of your fabulous live froms. We will be getting on the Regal when you get off, so I'm especially interested in your experience in the ports as we've never cruised the Baltic. I was really excited to see this thread as I love your humor and the details of your cruise experience. I'm also anxiously waiting to hear about your first day experience in Russia and whether there was a long delay in getting off the ship. We're booked with Alla for their two-day Grand Tour, so hoping you will also share your tour experience.

 

Many thanks for taking us along.

[TracieABD]

Hi Friends.

Sometimes the hardest part of being a blogger is blogging. I know I am behind. I promise to try to write and post Day 1 and Night 1 in Russia as soon as humanly possible. Now, I am off to amass data for Day 2!

 

Stay tuned!!!

 

 

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[TracieABD]

May 27, 2018

St. Petersburg, Russia

Dear Friends!

Welcome to Russia! And Happy Birthday, St. Petersburg! You are a young 315 years old today!!!

I opened the curtains this morning to FIVE SHIPS! Yikes! (Regal, P&O Aurora, HAL Konigsdam, CMV (????), TUI... there may have been even one more. We also saw a Viking River ship and a Ponant ship in town. There were points in the day where the crowds definitely reflected the number of ships in St. Petersburg. This is the beginning of the busiest season for their tourism industry. Just a word of warning or those following in our footsteps.

I really view this port stop as the jewel in the crown of the Baltic. Because of visas and some language barriers, this is the only port where I booked a “formal tour”. I am a bit adverse to wearing the “sticker of shame”, I booked privately with SPB Tours. As stated in a previous entry, we had a reasonably active roll call- and all of the people on our tour were booked together with SPB. One of the biggest advantages to using this company is the size of the groups. We were broken up into groups of 12 on a Mercedes mini bus. This is such a manageable size for a group. A bathroom break takes about 10% of the time as one of the big bus tours.

Now, I must say- Princess is giving definite preference to it’s ship-based excursions. We received several letters in our cabin stating that “if you booked privately...” expect to wait until Princess tours depart. Expect delays in Passport Control. And they were correct.

After I finished breakfast, I went to Concerto Dining Room to get my “ticket”. I was given number 567. I sat for about 5 minutes before they called 550 to 600. It took me only a few minutes to disembark. I was directed to one of the lines in Passport Control. They asked for my passport and my tour ticket. Fortunately, I had printed this. If you do not purchase a Princess tour or book a private tour- you will need to secure a visa. I am not sure how one does this—and I am only telling you this as a warning. St. Petersburg is NOT a “walk-off port”. In Passport Control, my passport was actually scrutinized and my tour ticket was checked against a list. This is notably different than my first visit to this port in 2007. (On that cruise, Princess collected our passports on board and they were checked out of our presence. The passports were returned to us after we left Russia.). This line took about 25 minutes to negotiate.

It was super easy to find the SPB tours. Look for the big orange dots! We met our guide, Yelena, and our driver, Aleks. As soon as we were 12, we were off to see the sights! Aleks provided big bottles of water for us and WiFi! (You know how I feel about a little WiFi!!!)

Our first stop was to see two ancient sphinxes that are neat perched over the Neva River. We made a few other photo stops and then we then moved to the Hermitage. Yelena gave us headphone and purchased our tickets. She was absolutely masterful of leading us through the fray. We were able to see approximately 25 rooms. We also were giving time to view the Rembrandts and a stunning Michelangelo statue. For me, one of the most notable aspects of the Hermitage is its size. It is massive. They boast over 3 million artifacts. It is said that if you visited the museum every day for 9 hours per day- it would take you 9 years to see every item. Wow!

After the Hermitage, we stopped at the Church of the Spilled Blood...grim name, huh? This is the very famous, iconic church that has the colorful “onions”. Sadly, the exterior of the church is under reconstruction, we we did not get to see all of the onions. The interior of the church was amazing. All throughout, you can view “paintings”- that upon closer inspection are actually mosaics! Millions of tiny tiles strategically laid to create the most magnificent images. We were told that it would take 6 months to complete one square meter of mosaic. It must have taken so many people so long to make this many murals.

Around 1 pm, we stopped for lunch. The rule is that I am rarely a fan of these “tourist” lunch stops- but this may have been an exceptions. We stopped at a “pie shop”. We had chicken salad, chicken soup, a meat pie, and a cranberry pie. This lunch fell into the category of exception vs. the rule. It was very, very good.

After lunch we made a rather protracted stop at the Yusupov Palace. This location hosts the downfall of the monk, prophet, and all around weird guy- Gregor Rasputin. The palace hosts a healthy collection of artifacts and artworks- and the tour was really interesting, albeit a little long. As an aside, if you are on private tour and you control your time, you may want to visit the bakery. They had lovely cakes and coffees. We did not have the time, but it would be nice to have stopped there for a snack.

We had an opportunity to visit the interior of St. Isaac’s Russian Orthodox Church. Just when I thought I had seen magnificence (at the Church of the Spilled Blood)- I stood in complete awe at St. Isaac’s. Light marble, lovely serene mosaics, subtle touches.... Perfection.

We finished the day at the Peter and Paul Fort. There is a church on the grounds that hosts the tombs of the Czars (Tzars?). Peter the Great’s tomb always bears fresh flowers and emblems with double headed eagles. His tomb is flanked by his two wives’ tombs.

After this stop, we returned to the cruse port. Again, we had to go through Passport Control, but it was much fast this time. P2 and I split up for a few minutes. I got a quick call into PJ- have I mentioned that I am loving this free Ocean Medallion WiFi????? FaceTime is my friend. When Paige returned to the room, we cleaned up a bit and headed down to dinner.

I am a very schedule person by nature- however, I can be distracted by shiny things... On our way to the Concerto Dining Room, we happened upon music trivia. In the spirit of being Princesses, we made a grand entrance- joined a single person team and had a go at this round. We are both in our 50’s- and the theme was music of the 50’s and 60’s. Our score was somewhat respectable- but nowhere close to winning. That was ok, though- because we had the most fun! Isn’t that what its all about?!?!

Finally, we made it to the CC dining room. I ordered a salad, an appetizer portion of spaghetti Carbonara, and the Curtis Stone Chicken and Leek pot pie. P2 claimed the pot pie was the best thing she had eaten on a cruise ship- and I totally get it. This is a delicious dish! The spaghetti Carbonara was good- but it pales in comparison to PJ’s. He make real Carbonara (no cream... raw egg and cheese)- and it is truly the best thing I have ever eaten. EVER. Sorry, guys... PJ-1—- Princess-0.

P2 and I began to load up on caffeine in anticipation of the evening to come. I will create a separate post for our activity of the night...

Stay tuned-

Anyone know who sang Lollypop? (Cause I sure as heck don’t!)

Tracie-Lynn :)

 

PS- I kept falling asleep as I wrote this... Who the heck knows if it makes an ounce of sense? I guess it follows the rule of “No blogging under the influence”. In this case- it would be a complete lack of sleep!

[Jonrondeau]

The egg is cooked by the hot pasta. Peoole ate going to think I'm trying to poison you.

[LC1950]

If it's "My Boy Lollypop" the singer is Little Millie. I am so old!

 

If it's "Lollypop, lollypop oh lolly lollypop" it's probably The Chordettes with Andy Williams maybe doing the "pop" thingie. I googled this one. But I also remember that song very well. Yep, I'm definitely ancient. ;p

 

And yes, of course the heat from the pasta will cook the egg. Do the same thing whenever I make a carbonnerra (sp??). Our eggs here in Oz are quite 'healthy' to eat if you're wanting a raw egg incidentally!

[jo jo gumbo]

Tracie can you tell me when you signed up for WECHAT what country did you use with your phone? Mine auto went to China then I put my phone number in. Also what do you have your phone on Airplane mode, or wifi?? Are you using WECHAT in all the countries on ship and on land?? Before I leave tomorrow I want to make sure it is right.

[OhioDogLover]

Thanks for the blog. I am following along and enjoying it immensely.

 

Ohiodoglover

[Shelldor]

Hi Tracie. Great Blog!! Can you let us know what time you actually got off the ship and into the passport control line? What time did your tour start? Trying to plan for our trip in July.

[sawtooth]

We booked all our tours with SPB tours and were not disappointed with any except Stockholm (bad tour guide).

In St Petersburg we were at the Hermitage on a day it was closed to the general public. Practically had the place all to ourselves...Amazing.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Tracie can you tell me when you signed up for WECHAT what country did you use with your phone? Mine auto went to China then I put my phone number in. Also what do you have your phone on Airplane mode, or wifi?? Are you using WECHAT in all the countries on ship and on land?? Before I leave tomorrow I want to make sure it is right.

 

 

We are renting an apartment in London prior to our cruise on the Royal and our Airbnb landlord suggested we use the app called “WhatsApp”.

 

Our travel group has all been using it awhile for messaging and WiFi based phone calls and so far so good. The reviews of the app say it works well worldwide. calls are cell to cell and you need to be at a WiFi spot to use. I am pretty sure both parties must have the app to receive a call over WhatsApp, but someone can correct if I’m wrong.

 

You could give it a try, I’ll let you know how it works in Great Britain after we return.

 

 

 

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Edited May 28, 2018 by sunsetbeachgal

[sjcivilady]

Thank you for posting about your trip. Thoroughly enjoying it! That pot pie is one of my fav dishes also!

[TracieABD]

May 27, 2018

St. Petersburg- Part 2

White Nights Tour

 

Hi Friends-

 

Please, join me in song...

 

Happy birthday to you!

Happy birthday to you!

Happy birthday, dear St. Petey-pants! (I made that part up all by myself!)

Happy birthday to you!

 

I booked the White Nights tour with SPB when I booked the 2 day deluxe tour. The premise of this tour is to see the raising of the bridges in the middle of the night. In reality, the tour was more... so much more!

 

The tour was set to depart at 11 pm and was scheduled to return to the ship at 2:30 am. Paige and I began to caffeine load around 8 pm in anticipation of a very late night. This just seemed like such a great idea when I booked it- I was hoping it lived up to the hype!

 

We started to get off the ship around 10 pm. There was a bit of discrepancy in my tour ticket. Again, in order to get off the ship in Russia- you must have one of three items:

A ship based tour excursion with a “ticket”

A privately booked shore excursion- with a printed ticket (SPB sent us pdfs and we printed them)

A Russian visa- which can be quite costly and difficult to obtain “in the moment”

Unfortunately, SPB sent me the incorrect times on my ticket. The ticket I possessed said from 6 pm to 11 pm, when in reality, I needed it to say 11 pm to 3 am. The Passport Control agent would not let me pass through. So the port agent intervened, but no go. The port agent called SPB and received verification. No go. The port agent actually begged, pleaded, and argued on my behalf (well, it sounded like that- I have no clue- I don’t speak Russian- Heck, they could have been exchanging recipe tips for borscht for all I know...) Still, no go. Finally, for some weird reason, she nodded me over and let me pass... Whew! I was on the other side of the “velvet rope”! I am glad I started early- I was on time, even a bit early, to the bus.

 

At 10:55, all eight of us were present and accounted for- on the bus and ready to go. As it is the 315th year of St. Petersburg, there were to be fireworks, but alas, we could only see a snippet out of the bus windows.

 

Part of the tour was a city drive at night. It is amazing how beautiful St. Petersburg is at night, but more noteworthy is the number of residents out at midnight. The streets were very crowded- like Times Square crowded. I think some of this has to do with the weather. While for this Southern Belle it was cold (50’s), it is actually considered warm to many Russians. It was so amazing to see the sights by night. The major attractions are so well lit, combined with the twilight skies... stunning!

 

Next, we boarded our flat bottomed canal boat for a river cruise on the Neva to see the bridges. Diana, our fabulous tour guide, negotiated a private boat for the eight of us. She also brought along champagne and orange juice and (plastic) stemware. We could elect to sit inside or outside- with all of us choosing outside. There were also an abundance of blankets provided for warmth. As an aside, I brought a very heavy sweater, a thermal grade running turtleneck, my packable puffy coat, gloves and a hat. I wore the entire ensemble. I was cold- but then again, my blood runs thin.

 

Seeing St. Petersburg from the lovely Neva was such a treat. The bridges are completely lit as are the most of the buildings. All of this reflected on the water, creating an absolute twinkly effect... you know how much I love sparkly things! I was absolutely enchanted by the whole experience.

 

But the coupe de grace was the raising of the bridges. Every night, nine of the bridges are raised to allow fishing boats to pass out to the Bay of Finland/ Baltic. Each bridge raises differently. We were able to see two bridges raise their arm(s). The first bridge was at 1:10 am- it lifted two arms from a center joist. This bridge, with its raised arms, is the symbol of St. Petersburg (like an apple is the symbol for NYC). The second bridge raised only one arm on the left side. Still stunningly beautiful.

 

We only had time to watch two of the nine bridges before we had to return to the bus. By this time it was close to 2 am. Diana did a great job of answering our questions. And Sergei (the driver) was masterful at negotiating the traffic. I think P2 was crushing on Sergei a bit... you will have to see her blog to get more information.

 

We returned to the ship, and were through Passport Control in a matter of seconds. Once back at the cabin, I was dressed and in bed without delay. P2 came in 5 minutes later (she may or may not have been flirting with Sergei) and we set the alarm. I was asleep in no time...

 

More later!

 

Anyone want to join me in a sing-along???

 

Tracie-Lynn :)

 

 

 

 

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[TracieABD]

May 28, 2018

St. Petersburg Part 3

So much more!

 

Hi friends,

 

Still with me? Still following along? Yay!

 

After our big adventure on the River Neva to see the bridge raising... we knew sleep would be short. And, boy, was it. P2’s alarm went off at 5:30 am. I am so grateful that she was my human snooze alarm. She got right up and at ‘em... me? Not so much. As a matter of fact, I was not sure I was going to get up at all. But on the third warning- my feet hit the ground- and I was in the shower for another fun and exciting day with SPB tours. Fortunately, it does not take me long to get ready- I can be pretty low maintenance (read: lazy) when it comes to my appearance. Today would be that day. Also, due to lots of scents, flowers, pollen, smog, desiel fuel, etc... I had to jettison my contact lenses and wear my thick nerdy glasses- rendering me as a sure winner Groucho Marx look-alike contest.

 

I was the only one in Sabatini’s for breakfast. When I told them I needed to go fast, they brought my coffee, some eggs and bacon with a quickness. We were to meet our guide at 7:45 am which was a bit before the published time. She wanted to get a jump on the traffic- our group was so “all in” for this- and because of her foresight, we were able to do everything on the published itinerary.

 

We started with a visit to the subway. Holy cow- NYC- you could take a lesson from the subway system in St. Petersburg. First off, it is the deepest system in the world. The stations are amazing, decorated with marble, chandeliers, and glass. They are remarkably clean— but I what I noticed the most was the lack of “smells” that many subways have throughout the world. This was the cleanest I have ever seen. It was also cheap. About $1 for a ride with unlimited transfers within the system. It is even cheaper if you are 55 yo or older. Half price for us seniors!!! Bonus.

 

We rode for two stops and then met Aleks at the bus to be whisked off to the Peterhof. This was Peter the Greats summer digs. He was a simple guy- with a wife with extravagant tastes... this place is huge. We did not go inside, instead focusing our energies on the exterior grounds and gardens. The weather was in total cahoots with us and it was a beautiful walk through lovely gardens.

 

We stopped at a “tourist place” for a lunch of borscht, chicken sausage, and ice cream. At the description- it sounded ghastly— and guess what??? This Picky McPickerson ate EVERYTHING! It was delicious.

 

We headed about 45 min away to Catherine’s Palace. It was by far, the most beautiful of all. The blue and white stucco exterior, the grand staircases, the Delft furnaces, the famous Amber Room... Oh. It was study in opulence and decadence. Elena was masterful at getting us in and out of these very crowded places. I honestly think she “knows people”. Because the Hermitage was closed on Mondays, this overloaded Catherine’s Palace.

 

I want to give you a huge warning... At most of the major attractions in St. Petersburg there are 2 entrances- one for the tours (with pre-booked tickets) and one for people doing the DIY thing. I am all for DIYing it- but not in St. Petersburg... the line to enter Catherines was over 3 hours long for the DIYers. Not making judgements- just passing along some information to help you for your planning purposes.

 

This actually rounded out a very full two days- and once we finished at the Palace, it was time to return to the ship. With hugs goodbye- we bid adieu to the dynamic duo of Elena and Aleks.

 

I could not recommend SPB Tours highly enough. The two day Deluxe tour cost $260 (though we in the CC group received a little discount) and the White Nights tour cost $60. Well worth the expense- and about significantly less than the Princess sponsored excursion.

 

When we returned to ship, I napped for an hour until it was time for the Wine Maker’s Dinner. I have always wanted to do this. I have done the Super Tuscan, the Chef’s Table, and every specialty dining (Crown, Sabatini’s, Pub Dinner, etc...). I try to do one at each sailing.

 

We met as a group of 12 at the International Cafe at 7 pm and were lead into the “Wine Cellar” section of the Symphony Dining Room. We were seated at a large oblong table. The food consisted of an Amuse bouche of tuna tartar with avacado, a white bean and chorizo soup, Asiago stuffed gnocchi with portobello mushroom cream sauce, and a filet topped with foie gras and truffles. Dessert was a trio of mousses. Each course came with a wine pairing. Dessert was accompanied by an appertif of lemoncello. I don’t drink any alcohol, so I happily shared all of mine with P2. The meal was delicious and interesting. I am not sure if I would do it again, but at $40, it certainly was reasonably priced.

 

After dinner, I returned to the room, only to toss a second pair of contacts- washed my face and went to bed. I am pretty sure that I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

 

St. Petersburg was everything and more that I had hoped it would be! By far the best port stop on this cruise for me!

 

Thank you for following along!

 

Anyone want my glass of lemoncello???

 

Tracie-Lynn :)

 

 

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Edited May 29, 2018 by TracieABD

[jcruizer]

We had Elina, a guide from SPB tours when we did our port tour. She was good but very serious... Might be the same one... Great tour. Nice to relive it through you. Thanks

 

 

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[Tyskie]

May 28, 2018

St. Petersburg Part 3

So much more!

 

Hi friends,

 

Still with me? Still following along? Yay!

 

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Absolutely-can’t wait for the next installment!!!!

 

 

 

 

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[chamima]

May 28, 2018

St. Petersburg Part 3

So much more!

 

Hi friends,

 

Still with me? Still following along? Yay!

 

 

Thank you for following along!

 

Anyone want my glass of lemoncello???

 

Tracie-Lynn :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

I'll take that limoncello! :D:tropical-drink:

[Iowa Traveler]

TracieABD:

Sounds like 3 great tours!

Hope you can catch up on your sleep!

 

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[metairiegal]

Loving your review! :D

[wv4891]

Hi Tracie,

 

Glad you survived your SPB tour. We did the same tour with SPB last September, while on the Regal. Lucky us, we got to tour the Hermitage on a Monday, when it is closed. Imagine going through all those lovely rooms, at our own pace and with only our SPB tour mates. The hardest part of the Hermitage was trying to get through all the very aggressive souvenir peddlers outside. :)

 

Looking forward to the rest of your blog.

[TracieABD]

May 29, 2018

Helsinki, Finland

HELp i’m SINKIng

 

Hi Friends-

 

Yep. It happened. Today was the day... I hit the wall. St. Petersburg just may have done me in. P2, on the other hand- being a year younger, is the flippin’ Ever-ready Bunny. She was off the ship and touring Helsinki- I couldn’t even get out of my jammies.

 

I did finally get dressed- got some coffee in the IC- wrote a little and at 1:00pm, I decided to get off the ship. I missed the location of the 10 euro shuttle- so I walked to the city center. It took about 40 minutes, and my gps said it was a little over 2 miles. The walk did me good. I needed a walk. I poked around a bit and then took the street car back to the port. So here is my advice to you for Helsinki...

If you want to get off the ship it seems you have 6 options:

1. Ship sponsored excursion

2. Privately-booked excursion. SPB does one for Helsinki. I would trust them.

3. Hop On- Hop Off bus. It comes right to the port. I am not sure how much it costs. Maybe P2 can fill us in- that is what she did today.

4. Ship sponsored shuttle for 10 euro- round trip

5. Walk. Leave the port area and get on the street. Walk past the giant statue of the alien peeing (I kid you not. And no, I did not get a picture... I am a terrible blogger). Walk straight up the hill. Keep walking. Keep going... and going... and going... and you will come to the train station. That is sort of the center of the activity.

6. Take the street car. The station is right across from the cruise port when you exit. Take the 6T or the 7 train to the train station (or beyond). It cost a little less that 3 euro.

 

That is pretty much all I have to say about Helsinki. I just did not have the gumption (Lawd, I sound like my MawMaw) to do anything else. Even before I left the states, I gave myself permission to wiff this port. And that is exactly what I did.

 

When I returned to the ship, I went to the cabin and did a load of laundry. Again, with the blood sport of washing clothes. Fortunately, I was right behind a woman who was just finishing her wash... I just followed her through the process. I will say, I ran back to my cabin to grab something, leaving my clothes in the basket by the machine. In the 45 seconds I was gone, while the woman was moving her clothes from the washer to a dryer- another woman tried to claim the machine. My dear friend (whose name I do not know), moved very slowly so I could put my clothes in as she was taking hers out. I am still shaking my head over the competitive nature of the laundry room. And, yes, I am aware that we have one day laundry in the suite... but that is not working out so well. That will be a story for another day. Another thread.

 

It was formal night, so at 4:30, I began to get ready. Riddle me this, Bat Cruisers... Why is it that the clothes that I packed fit fine before the cruise...and 9 days later- they have all shrunk? Must be the salt air. I might be “swelling”.

 

Dinner was delicious. I had the rice paper rolls (not quite the same as my local Vietnamese restaurant) that were good, tomato soup, a salad (duh... some stuff never changes), and the pumpkin and marscapone crepes. The deep fried a bit of pumpkin on the top was a really nice touch. Sadly, almost no one orders them as Beef Wellington and lobster tails were on the menu. The lobster tails actually looked decent in size. But, I love those crepes. Our waitress says the staff gets to eat the left overs in the staff dining room. They are very popular. I highly recommend them! And guess who came to dinner???? Again, my boyfriend... Norm. It was the pistachio dome this time. Yummmmmmmmmm! (Don’t be jealous, PJ- It is just a fling...).

 

I attended the Captain’s Party for the Platinums and Elites. There are less than 500 total combined. The Most Travel Passenger had 559 days. It was a nice gathering and really well attended. The executive staff on this ship are very, very friendly.

 

After the cocktail party, I met Paige in the Princess Theater for Peter Howarth of the Hollies. He has an amazing voice. He did a couple Hollies songs, a couple of Roy Orbison songs, and songs from Bruce Springsteen and Moody Blues. He closed with “He Ain’t Heavy...”. I am pretty ok at music trivia- and I have heard the song hundreds of times, but I would have sworn that Neil Diamond did the original- Nope. It was the Hollies. Points to P2 for getting that dark horse! (That is why we are such a good team!)

 

And now I am sitting in bed, writing to my friends.

 

That was my day! Thank you for following along!

 

Also, HUGE! GINORMOUS! Thanks to those who have commented! I really like it when it feels more like a conversation and less like a monologue!

 

Anyone want to sneak downstairs to score a second Norman Love dessert with me??

 

Tracie-Lynn :)

 

 

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[JF - retired RRT]

May 29, 2018

Helsinki, Finland

 

5. Walk. Leave the port area and get on the street. Walk past the giant statue of the alien peeing (I kid you not. And no, I did not get a picture... I am a terrible blogger).

I found it!!

He does look like an alien.

[mooshipalmdale]

Loving your posts! Getting so excited! We will be doing the same cruise July 15! Do you notice if the Regal had a wine package?

[sawtooth]

Loving your posts! Getting so excited! We will be doing the same cruise July 15! Do you notice if the Regal had a wine package?

When we were on the Baltic cruise on the Regal last year they did have the wine packages.