High on my '2do' list was a cruise in the Baltic while I was still living in England. Jean and Doug had been feted on an Holland American cruiser while it was in Bridgetown and were sold on this cruise as well, so off we four went from Dover on 27th June for a 12 day cruise.We booked on the Eurodam, which is the largest ship of the Holland America Line. Commissioned in July 2008, she carries 2,104 passengers. Depending on the season, she sails the Med, Baltic or Caribbean. We had requested a low mid-ship berth to cope with my tendency to motion sickness but on check in found that we had been up-graded to a stateroom with a balcony aft of the ship on deck six. This turned out fine as the North Sea and the Baltic Sea were flat. The cabin was adequate and the bed was super comfy. The food was great but entertainment mediocre. I was irked by being charged for sodas and water. There was a great gym, Internet cafe/library and a screening room, which ran new movies several times a day. I will blog separately on each port of call.
The ship called at Copenhagen, Denmark; Warnemunde, Germany; Tallinn, Estonia; St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; Nynashamn, Sweden before returning to Dover on the morning of 9th July.
My birthday coincided with our stop at Copenhagen. It was a great day. The sky was blue and almost cloudless. I got a bit of a suntan was we 'sight-saw' Copenhagen. At dinner the waiters sang Happy Birthday to me in Indonesian, clapping their hands, banging dessert bowl cymbals and singing into pepper grinder mikes. At the end of the song I was presented with a little cake - this after a dessert.
Dick thought this was not enough. Later in the Piano Bar when the pianist asked if any one was celebrating anything he kept a racket, "Birthday here! Birthday here!" - Result a couple of dedications.
0 comments:
Post a Comment