TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #301 Share Posted July 26, 2018 I'm only here for the food porn. Get ready... as later today we’ll be having the infamous tour-provided “packed lunch”. We’re currently at Moderno and the kids are eating as if the great famine is approaching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #302 Share Posted July 26, 2018 For St. Petersburg Day 1, you have to sign-up for a disembarkation time, and we were quick to get Group A (8:00 AM). Groups A and B were called to meet in the theater, and the line extends back through O’Shes and the casino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #303 Share Posted July 26, 2018 (edited) Apparently group assignments are meaningless other than an effort to control the flow of guests to the theater. They line you up row by row into sections, and then release one section at a time. We’re in the far-right section, so we’ll be here for awhile. Edit: apparently this process is only for guests with private tours, and it’s possible those with NCL-booked excursions are meeting elsewhere. The middle section is now being cleared. Edited July 26, 2018 by TheDougOut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #304 Share Posted July 26, 2018 9:45 AM and we’re through immigration and rolling with our guide Dmitri... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #305 Share Posted July 26, 2018 On our way to the Hermitage Museum, and we pass over a river with a submarine and warships lining up for practicing a parade that will occur later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #306 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Entering Hermitage Museum... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #307 Share Posted July 26, 2018 A chandelier in one of the receptions, weighing in at over 3 tons... Ballroom... Church... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #308 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Hall celebrating victory over Napoleon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #309 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Throne Room... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #310 Share Posted July 26, 2018 The da Vinci room, housing two of his paintings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #311 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Raphael Hall... Dmitri tells us the crowds are very lite today, as many visitors are lining the river for the naval parade... Every-so-often the building rocks from a booming cannon outside. The priceless painting, “Sue Waking Gab From Sleep”... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #312 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Rembrandt Hall... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #313 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #314 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Egyptian Room... On our first (blind) date almost 10 years ago, I took Sue to an art gallery where she laid down beside a sarcophagus to compare sizes... This post brought to you by Match dot com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #315 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Leaving Hermitage, and walking out into Palace Square to meet the van... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #316 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Arriving to Church of the Savior of Spilled Blood... Girls being girls... Heading in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #317 Share Posted July 26, 2018 The Church was built on the location where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated by two bombs in 1881, with the original cobblestones where he fell preserved... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #318 Share Posted July 26, 2018 (edited) Leaving the church and heading to lunch... Hmmm, apparently a little nicer than a packed lunch... Edited July 26, 2018 by TheDougOut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welove2cruise2014 Posted July 26, 2018 #319 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Home. What is the other ship on the 3rd photo? I couldn't decipher it. Thanks! Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #320 Share Posted July 26, 2018 (edited) What is the other ship on the 3rd photo? I couldn't decipher it. Thanks! That’s the Mein Schiff. Edited July 26, 2018 by TheDougOut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #321 Share Posted July 26, 2018 (edited) Borscht... Chicken Kiev, is our uneducated guess... Russian Twinkies... Edited July 26, 2018 by TheDougOut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El_Rolfo Posted July 26, 2018 #322 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Seems Mein Schiff is having the same stops as you now, as I see both it and Breakaway will arrive in Helsinki on Saturday (along with AidaDiva). If I have time, I'll drop by the ships to take some photos. PS. keep up the good work with the reviews and pics! Request: review of frozen mojitos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmacmissy Posted July 26, 2018 #323 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Mein Schiff 1 has been docking beside you in Tallinn and it will be with you again in St. Petersburg … What does Mein Schiff mean in English? That used to be the Celebrity Mercury, which we went on for our first cruise. It was such a small, gorgeous ship! (Of course back in the 90's it seemed huge.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDougOut Posted July 26, 2018 Author #324 Share Posted July 26, 2018 On our way to Catherine Palace, which is a 45-minute drive away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El_Rolfo Posted July 26, 2018 #325 Share Posted July 26, 2018 That used to be the Celebrity Mercury, which we went on for our first cruise. It was such a small, gorgeous ship! (Of course back in the 90's it seemed huge.) Actually: The old Mein Schiff 1 has already been replaced by a brand new ship, and the old MS 2 will be replaced next January (replacing one still being built in Finland). From Wikipedia: MS1: Marella Explorer is a Century-class cruise ship owned and operated by TUI Cruises previously sailing at Mein Schiff 1 until 2018. Before joining TUI she cruised as MV Galaxy with Celebrity Cruises before MS2: In 2008, after some eleven years in operation as Mercury, she was renamed Celebrity Mercury. In 2011, she was transferred to the fleet of TUI Cruises, a joint venture between TUI AG and Celebrity Cruises' owner Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. At the same time, she was renamed Mein Schiff 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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