After a short taxi ride, we arrived at Radisson Blu Waterfront. Initial impressions: nice hotel, seemingly new construction, good location, excellent view, room was ready early, great Gold Member “welcome gift” (perhaps the best strawberries I’ve ever eaten), but poor management of queues at the front desk (which on balance is a fairly small nit). I’d likely stay here again.

After dropping off our stuff, we set out to explore Stockholm. Since we had an early morning and because a lot of shops are closed on Sundays, we opted to focus on the more modern part of Stockholm. We walked to Kungstradgarden (“King’s Garden Square”) and began Rick Steves’s suggested self-guided walking tour of modern Stockholm. This stroll took us through the park, into a Volvo showroom (much more expensive than home despite being Swedish), via the NK department store (rather high-end), through the Gallerian Mall (where we had a coffee and muffin – our nod to the traditional fika and witnessed an unusual ‘fish pedicure’ at the spa in the center of the mall), by Sergels Torg (home to 1960s functionalist architecture—which seems horribly dated to me but is embraced as ‘retro’ cool by the young, hip Swedes).

Stockholm's Kungstradgarden (King's Garden Square)

Sergels Torg, overlooking Plattan (The Platter)

After completing our walk (around 2pm), we grabbed a quick lunch (high prices, though cheaper than Norway) and headed back to the hotel for Emerson’s nap. Following her nap, we relaxed for a little while and then headed back out to explore more of modern Stockholm. We visited the food hall (grocery) at the Ahlens department store to buy some supplies (prices much better relative to convenience stores on the street), which included some of the best candy (especially licorice) that I’ve ever eaten. For dinner, we went to Macho—a Tex-Mex place—kind of like a Swedish version of Chipotle or Moe’s. The tacos that we ordered were actually pretty good and the guacamole (making Emerson very happy) was borderline excellent… all for about $15. Along with the Tex-Mex, we also ate the fruit plate provided by the hotel. Besides the guacamole (and a couple of chips), Emerson ate the majority of the strawberries and about half of a pear, which made for an unconventional but relatively healthy meal.

So far, Stockholm is a hit! Libby already claims to “love it,” telling me that “if Sarah Palin or that other crazy lady—the one from Minnesota—were to become President, this is where we’d move to in Europe…” rather than joining Alec Baldwin in France, as I’d planned. What can I say? I can’t really disagree…

Today’s box score: +1 country (Sweden)

Such is life…

We awoke to cloudy, windy, cool, and mildly wet weather. By the time we left the ship (shortly after docking at 9am) and arrived in town via the ship’s shuttle bus (6 euro/pp – kids free), the mist had turned into more of a steady, light rain. Unfortunately, we were ill prepared for wet weather, discovering that umbrellas don’t work especially well when also trying to navigate with a toddler, stroller, and associated accoutrements. We walked around for about an hour and a half, but we never really made progress to major sights as the dodging the rain and attempting to keep Emerson dry was a major focus. The weather and its side-effects also made photography highly problematic. I managed a few half-hearted attempts at picture taking, but I only have around a half dozen rather uninteresting photos to show for our trouble.

By 11:40, we gave up and returned via the shuttle to the ship.

Happy in Helsinki (Despite the Rain)

On balance, this worked out alright. It gave me an opportunity to take photos of the ship itself and to pack without having to rush around this evening. Libby and Emerson also spent time up in the toddler playroom, having a good time. And, while the limited exposure to Helsinki is a bit of a bummer, it’s not a big deal as we’ll likely return to this region to visit Estonia and Mariehamm (if not Lithuania too)—so Finland can easily be added back into the mix. In fact, had our time in port been longer today, I’d considered taking the ferry to Tallin to knock off another country, which would have shortchanged Finland much like we did last summer with Corfu in favor of Albania.

Tonight, we had our last meal in the MDR. While our waiter and assistant waiter were lackluster at best, our head waiter (Dorota from Poland) made all of the difference with respect to our experience. For those of you familiar with little kids, you’ll appreciate how rare it is to be able to sit through five consecutive “nice” (quiet environment, white tablecloth service), “long” (~1.5+ hour) meals without inappropriate sounds, bad behavior, crankiness, boredom, and/or general dissatisfaction with the food/service/environment on the part of a toddler. Happy kid(s) = happy parent(s). Enough said. Oh, and Emerson enjoyed a raspberry panna cotta tonight.

Tomorrow morning we’ll depart Vision of the Seas in Stockholm for a final couple of days before heading back to London for our homeward bound Delta flights on Tuesday.

I’ll try to publish my “official” cruise review prior to leaving Stockholm.

Today’s box score: +1 country (Finland)

Today, we had an early wake-up call (6:45) as our shore excursion departed by 8:45 and frankly it takes us (with Emerson) a while to get changed, groomed, and fed in the morning. Unfortunately, Emerson was also fairly restless last night (we’re not sure why—maybe the endless sequence of time changes), and we all ended up losing a couple of hours sleep. In any case, we were assembled in the theatre for our “Walking Tour of St. Petersburg” shore excursion by the appointed time.

After leaving the ship, we were escorted to the terminal building and through Russian immigration. Despite six(!) ships in port (Costa, MSC, Norwegian, P&O, Princess, and us), the lines weren’t too long and our tour departed within 7 minutes of the scheduled departure at 9:15. We proceeded to drive into the city from the cruise port into the city center. Traffic in St. Petersburg is utterly horrendous. The drive wasn’t especially far but probably took us 30-45 minutes—with the majority of the time spent in the final mile or two.

Our “walking” tour (which really didn’t involve much actual walking) started at St. Isaac’s Cathedral. We then proceeded through Senate Square, visiting the statue of Peter the Great (The Bronze Horseman), passing by the Admiralty Building (façade largely under scaffolding), and on to Palace Square, home of the splendid Winter Palace.

Winter Palace

After this brief walk, we rejoined the bus for a pointless ride across a bridge (why didn’t we just walk?) and quick exit for a photo stop at the Rostral Columns. This offered a good vantage point of the Neva River waterfront, including a nice view of the Fortress of Peter and Paul. From there we drove past the Military and Artillery Museum (which was the only part of the day that felt somewhat ‘Soviet’ era) and the Fortress of Peter and Paul. We then made our final stop at the Summer Gardens and Field of Mars. We crossed the Field of Mars, viewing St. Michael’s Castle in the distance, and walked on to visit the magnificent Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. If you’re wondering, “who’s spilled blood?” It was the site of the assassination of Czar Alexander II. Interestingly, it’s never been used as a public place of worship, as it wasn’t completed until 1907, was looted during the Russian Revolution, used as a morgue during the Leningrad siege, and served as a vegetable warehouse during the Soviet era following WWII (which is almost incomprehensible… this magnificent structure serving as a sort of ornate Communist Whole Foods supplier, formerly in honor of Jesus / Alex II).

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

Following this final stop, we returned to the ship and had a late lunch around 2pm.

Tonight, we had a vaguely Russian-themed dinner in the MDR. Emerson had… more guacamole (times two) and a less interesting entree. All went well again, making for happy parents.

At 8pm, I attended a standing-room only, folkloric performance by the Russian Military Song and Dance Ensemble from St. Petersburg. I’m a complete git when it comes to dance knowledge, but I was struck by how generally similar folkloric dances seem to be from country to country in Europe (say, Germany, Greece, and Russia). I’m not sure why this is the case, but it seems like something that would make a good expose on 60 Minutes or some such show. I also enjoyed the music though I didn’t understand the words at all. However, the songs seemed to come in two genres: melancholy (e.g., I’m going to Siberia to die a cold, hungry death) or drinking (e.g., I’m on a Russian submarine downing vodka with my comrades).

Overall, we liked St. Petersburg, but it wasn’t a standout for us. Three reasons: 1) it was completely overrun with tourists today, 2) our tour wasn’t especially good – we saw the sights but it’s not the same as freely exploring, and 3) high expectations (especially for Libby), which is always setting yourself up for disappointment. And, while it’s attractive, it also felt a little too—how can I say this—“grimy” to be truly “magical,” especially when compared to Copenhagen or Riga. What’s more, unlike Egypt and Albania—which raised “grimy” to an art form—I didn’t feel connected to contemporary Russian life or how it’s evolved since the Soviet break-up either. Thus, St. Petersburg—unlike Egypt or Albania—left no significant impression on me. In the end, I come away from Russia mostly ambivalent. That said, I expect we’ll (happily) return someday, as we really only scratched the surface of this city and country.

Today’s box score: +1 country (Russia)

We didn’t do much in the morning… just relaxed and played with Emerson At 1pm, I attended the “Captain’s Corner” — a Q&A session with the ship’s senior officers. I learned a few new bits of information, such as the fact that local pilots are usually compulsory at ports around the world but are also largely unneeded by the crew. While I was at the event, Libby and Emerson played in the toddler room.

Afterwards, we had lunch. I then put Emerson down for her nap and read in the cabin while Libby went to the gym. When Libby returned, I went to another ship-related presentation about the crew’s life aboard the ship.

This evening was the second and final formal night. So, we skipped the MDR and ate in the Windjammer. Vision’s Windjammer seems to have fewer selection options (and less serving area room) than on RCI’s newer ships. But, the quality of what’s on offer is generally high and the options still compare favorably with our recent experience on Princess and Celebrity.

Overall, it was another relaxing day at sea. But, we’re looking forward to more ports, including Russia tomorrow (which is enormously exciting for us, having grown up at the end of the Cold War — when the idea of visiting the then Soviet Union was almost unimaginable by most Americans).

After breakfast in the (again) overcrowded Windjammer, we departed to explore this Baltic capital on the banks of the Daugava River. Yesterday, Libby said that Copenhagen reminded her of Vienna; if so, Riga is more like Prague or Budapest—comparing with them very favorably. Following decades of occupation, Riga’s made great strides in the past twenty years and is a wonderful place to visit.

Vision of the Seas docked very close to the historic city center. After a short walk along the river, we entered the cobbled streets of the largely pedestrian city center. We strolled about the warren-like streets and managed to take in the major sights without really trying: Blackhead’s House, Museum of Occupation in Latvia, the town hall, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, St. George’s church, the Dome Cathedral, etc.

Old Riga -- Blackhead's House and St. Peter's Church

Having explored Old Riga, we walked to Central Riga crossing the City Canal and passing by Freedom Monument, as well as a splendid Russian Orthodox Cathedral. Our destination was the heart of the Art Nouveau district from which we planned to follow the Lonely Planet’s self-guided “Art Nouveau in Riga” walking tour. While I suspect only a minority of our cruising compatriots made the trek, it is well worth the added effort to leave Old Riga. In fact, Riga has more Art Nouveau (or “Jugendstil”—youth style—in German) architecture (over 750 buildings) than any other city in the world. And, it’s simply splendid!

Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) District in Riga, Latvia

After exploring the Art Nouveau district, we returned to the Old City via Esplanade Park, once again crossing the City Canal, and passing by numerous embassies, and the Latvia National Opera. By this time, the weather had turned very pleasant – blue sky, sunshine, and a comfortable temperature. We allowed Emerson to play in the parks and retook some photographs that had been (literally) washed out in the morning.

We returned to the ship for a late, light lunch and put Emerson down for her nap.

We ate our evening meal in the main dining room again. Libby had a spinach dip (good) starter and potato gnocchi (good, but rich) for her main course. I had French onion soup (very credible; nice broth) and NY strip steak (meh… not worth the calories). I finished with key lime pie (again, very credible and I think a good choice for cruise cuisine), and Libby had some sort of chocolate-cake-brownie-thing (which she seemed to enjoy). Meanwhile Emerson ate… you want to guess? Right! Guacamole! In fact, she had a second order tonight along with her chicken and potatoes entrée. Honestly, our ability to have a relatively peaceful, one and a half hour meal—despite horrifically slow service—with a 17-month old has made us very, very happy. Our waiter is apologetic and keeps mumbling something about the chef/kitchen being overwhelmed by the number of kids on this sailing. Thankfully, our section’s head waiter remains very helpful and always tries to engage Emerson—she’ll get (and have well earned) a generous extra tip from us.

Tonight, I also went to see the first (and perhaps last) performance by the ship’s vocal and dance ensemble. As tonight is 70’s theme night, they did a performance called “Boogie Wonderland.” It was a fairly typical ‘cruise ship’ performance with a lot of numbers that I didn’t know and uninspiring renditions of the songs that I did. In particular, I thought that the ABBA medley should have brought the house down on this cruise. But, not so much. Having seen the ABBA-based musical once in Toronto and twice in London’s West End (why—as a non-ABBA fan—is an even longer story to tell), I can assure you that these performers aren’t destined for roles in Momma Mia!

Tomorrow is our second and final day at sea before our two remaining ports of call and arrival in Stockholm.

Today’s box score: +1 country (Latvia)

Having set our clocks ahead last night, Emerson and Libby awoke a little later this morning. Fortunately, we avoided the main breakfast rush in the Windjammer Cafe. Following breakfast, we went to see the future cruise consultant to book our Dubai (03/12) and Western Med (06/12) sailings. Assuming we keep with these itineraries, this will make for four Royal Caribbean cruises in a row! That wasn’t really intentional, as we’re not especially loyal to any particular line, but the itineraries just worked out well with our needs/schedule.

After sorting out our future travel plans, we played with Emerson and then put her down for a nap. Around 1pm, we had lunch in the very crowded Windjammer (this ship has the same problem as Brilliance — when al fresco dining is less appealing due to suboptimal weather, there’s not sufficient room in the Windjammer to seat everyone at peak times).

After lunch, Libby and Emerson went to the well-supplied Fisher-Price Royal Babies / Tots room to play. Being my anti-social self, I opted to avoid having to interact with other parents, who’s children I’m not interested in (come to think of it, I’m not especially interested in the parents either). Indeed, that’s probably the single biggest “problem” with traveling with kids — it’s like going about with a “talk to me” sign on. The once acceptable interference is from crew members, who often don’t get to see their families for months on end. Their enthusiasm for Emerson is as heartwarming as their obvious longing is heartrending.

While the girls were off playing, I donated $10 to the casino and retired to the cabin to read.

Libby returned and deposited Emerson with me before heading off to the gym. We played together and read books before Emerson took a second nap for the day. She seems to have fully embraced the “relaxing day at sea” theme.

This evening, we returned to the main dining room. Once again, dinner was a success. Service was a bit slow from the wait staff, but the header waiter was extremely helpful. Most importantly, Emerson was again angelic during the meal, happily munching on guacamole and her entree while using plates and utensils in a proper, if somewhat uncoordinated, manner. Our meal (crab cakes, shrimp dumplings with ponzu, and a lemon tart / “berrymiso”) was excellent by cruise ship main dining room standards.

After dinner, we strolled around the decks and listened to musicians in the various venues until we returned to the cabin for Emerson’s bed time. I thought about attending the headliner performance–some dude singing–but I stopped in briefly and opted to save my ears from bleeding.

Tomorrow’s port of call: Riga, Latvia.

We arrived in Copenhagen on time, around 9:00. We departed the ship around 10:00 and used the shuttle bus (10 euro per person; infants free) service to take us into the center town. As it turned out, we could have easily walked to/from the center of town. However, Copenhagen has a number of piers at a variety of distances from the city’s center, and since we’ve never been here before I had no way to easily judge which one we’d arrived at this morning. What’s more, I didn’t want to repeat yesterday, causing us to lose precious time by marching through uninteresting docklands.

Here’s one of my travel truisms (especially when on a cruise in Europe): when in doubt, spend money to save time. Don’t believe me? Divide the total cost of the trip by the total number of hours you’ll spend on land. You’ll find the 20 euro taxi ride (or whatever) between things you really care about seeing / doing to be an absolute bargain.

But, I digress… back to Copenhagen.

It’s a spectacular city! The shuttle dropped us of in Kongens Nytorv (King’s New Square). From there, we walked to Tivoli Gardens via Christiansborg Palace. I must confess that I went to Tivoli with lackluster interest and low expectations. But, it seemed Emerson-friendly and Libby-pleasing (as she’s far more of an amusement park aficionado than I am), which usually makes for a good combination. For those of you that don’t know, Tivoli (which dates back to 1843) was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s theme park creation. And, I could see the similarities, especially to early Disney creations, such as “Small World.” However, while Mickey Mouse has gone corporate and thus now feels perhaps a bit contrived, Tivoli retains its charm… an eclectic mix of high- and low-brow dining and entertainment that’s playful, charming, and captivating. Oh, and it’s affordable too (~$18/pp; kids under 8 free)!

We all came away smitten.

Libby & Emerson @ Tivoli Gardens

We left Tivoli a little after 1pm. Emerson was tired and promptly fell asleep in her stroller. We proceeded to return to Kongens Nytorv via Rick Steves’ suggested “Copenhagen’s Heart and Soul” self-guided walk. This took us by the impressive City Hall and along the city’s grand pedestrian corridor, called the Stroget. As it was Sunday, a number of shops were closed. But, I managed to grab a Danish (keeping with my penchant for eponymous-themed foods, which began with Belgian waffles). All told, we spent an hour or so wandering back to the shuttle departure point. We arrived at the ship before 3:00, which was about an hour before the ‘all aboard’ time.

View of Copenhagen (Nyhavn)

My only complaint with Copenhagen? Not enough time! This city is squarely on the list of places to return for an extended visit in the future.

Tonight was formal night aboard Vision. As is our pattern on any cruise not departing from Florida, we skipped this event completely. Instead, we ate in the Windjammer, which once again didn’t disappoint. After our meal, we walked around the open decks, returned to the cabin for a little play time, and put Emerson to bed.

Tomorrow’s a day at sea. After a busy long weekend (starting on Friday), it will be nice to have a bit of a respite before we hit our next port of call.

Today’s box score: +1 country (Denmark)

Mission accomplished! Boy, was it ever…

As planned, we retraced our steps from yesterday up to the point of the National Theatre. Once there, we turned left and headed down to the 1930s era City Hall (Radhuset) by the waterfront (usually a good place to find a ship).

Oslo's City Hall

Unfortunately, despite being on the harbor, I couldn’t see Vision of the Seas. However, as I could see a different ship—called Insignia–docked at the foot of the Akershus Fortress and because I’d seen two ships in port (with Vision to the right of the second ship), I reasonably concluded that Vision must be on the opposite side of the castle. Moreover, as I wasn’t sure that the esplanade at the base of the fortress continued to the other side, I opted for us to take the inland route around the fort.

Sadly, this was a critical error.

After spending 45 minutes and nearly circumnavigating the fort (while tugging much far too much heavy luggage), I finally spotted Vision of the Seas (and a third ship, which must have been the actual “other” ship) at a pier on the far side of the harbor. Once located, we soldiered on for another 30 minutes or so to finally reach or destination.

We’ll call this my “George W. Bush ‘Mission Accomplished’ Moment” of the trip. I achieved the objective, though things were seriously screwed up along the way. Of course, this is something of a poor analogy as we eventually left Oslo.

Check-In was relatively painless, though less breezy than some.

We had lunch in the Windjammer (still thinking it’s the best buffet at sea). We headed down to our cabin, met our attendant, unpacked, put Emerson down for a nap, and eventually went to the muster drill. Somewhere in there, I managed to book our only organized shore excursion (for Russia) and also got our dining room table changed (private table for us – yeah, baby!). After the muster, we returned to the cabin, finished unpacking, and prepared for dinner.

We broke routine (on this our 15th cruise!) and didn’t fully explore the ship from top to bottom. In part, this was just a function of timing. Yet, I also think that we just simply felt immediately at home aboard Vision. Having sailed the prior (Sovereign) and following (Radiance) class of ships, Vision feels very much part of the family. Despite being older than many of the ship’s we’ve sailed on, she’s well maintained, good looking, and (something RCI’s good at) suitably nautical feeling. Our cabin (#3072, an oceanview on Deck #3) is neither especially commodious nor luxurious, but it’s perfectly functional and has aged well. A balcony—which are in shorter supply on this class of ship—would have been nice but hardly worth the price premium demanded on this ship.

Tonight, we ate dinner in the main dining room. We did this with more than a little trepidation and anxiety. As a nine month old, Emerson was a little bit challenging when dining with the entire family aboard Norwegian Dawn. On the Antarctica cruise in February, Libby and I ventured to the main dining room only a few times, grew frustrated, and then ate dinner in Celebrity’s lackluster lido buffet for the majority of the 14-night cruise. So on this trip, we’d planned to skip the MDR altogether. At some point today, I had a change of heart and thought we should try it.

And, we’re so glad that we did!

Despite some initial slow service (we waited 45 minutes to get our starters), Emerson was a perfect little angel for over two hours. We occupied her with toddler-friendly apps and pictures/videos on the iPhone (thank you, Lord, for giving us Apple). She also colored on the RCI kid’s menu after we ordered her dinner. She loved her guacamole and homemade chips appetizer (though she mostly focused on the guac), as well as her entrée of chicken fingers and French fries. Her table manners were good (for a 17 month old), using utensils and not trying to pick up the ceramic plates. And, she mostly fed herself with minimal assistance from us. In fact, she was so into her meal that we ended up having to wait for her to finish! Our meals (onion tart, prime rib for Libby; tortilla soup, pan roasted pork medallions for Paul) were very good as well. And the service of the head waitress from Poland was simply outstanding (she cut up Emerson’s food; said she’d have guacamole on standby for her subsequent evenings, provided extra napkins / utensils, and checked on us at least a half a dozen times). Honestly, it’s the first time (in 15 cruises) that I’ve actually seen someone in the role of headwaiter who seems to be worthy of the title. Kudos to her!

Emerson loves Guacamole!

Off to a great start!

Tomorrow’s Copenhagen, Denmark — or, as I like to call it, county #47!

Here’s a view from our hotel of Vision at the dock: