This was our 7th cruise and probably the best yet. We like lots of ports, and this cruise featured 8, with only 2 days at sea. We had a balcony for only the second time. I thought the temperature might be too cool for us to enjoy the balcony, but that was not the case. Most days it was great. And, here is something we hadn't thought about--On the Baltic, in the summer, it is daylight from about 4:00 a.m. until after 11:00 p.m. So, we had more time than expected to enjoy the balcony. One evening my wife read on the balcony until about 11:00 p.m. with just the natural daylight.
On the Emerald Princess the staff was the friendliest we had ever encountered. Everyone was eager to please. And, the food was way above the norm.
We used the ship's excursions only in Helsinki and Stockholm. For St. Petersburg we had arranged, in advance, for a two-day Insider Tours excursion. It was excellent! For slightly less than we would have paid for the ship's bus-load excursion, our group of 4 had our personal car, driver, and tour guide. It was a great deal! In the other ports we were on our own.