We have recently returned from our Baltic Cruise on the beautiful Jewel of the Seas departing from Harwich, which I must say was weird as we normally fly to a ship but I thought it a good experience and would go from here again. The embarkation procedure was very smooth we filled in the health questionnaire, signed the waiver and had the welcome aboard photo, before we knew it we was on-board the ship. The food in the main dining room tides was variable as the only thing to fault was the lack of vegetables and some were not cooked how we would have them. The service in the dining room we could not fault as our waiters always catered to our needs and would always have a spare dessert waiting for us. Also, the food in the Windjammer was varied as there was always something to meet everyone's food requirements. However, one recommendation would be the Seaview Cafe up on deck 12 as this was something a little different being free and having waiter service bring the food to your table, as well as being a great spot to watch the ship depart from port.

The activities going on around the ship was also good from bingo to dance lessons and would recommend walking a mile with HelloClo. Both pools on the ship were great as you had the outside pool and the solarium for various temperatures, the solarium however is adult only. I must mention that we thought our cruise director HelloClo was fantastic and always made a joke of walk a mile and the Great Belt Bridge.

We thought that all of our ports of call were fantastic with the only exception being Gothenburg, Sweden. Firstly we arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark here we jumped on the HOHO bus waiting for you when you get off the ship and departed on the three line route going to all the major sights. We also did something a little different which was going to the Carlsberg Brewery and I must say it was well worth the price as you get two free beers with entry or soft drinks, as well as it being an experience as you can find out the history of the beer that was made famous in Copenhagen. I would also recommend getting off the bus at the royal palace and walking back to the ship as on the way back you can stop off at the little mermaid (be prepared she is little!!). Next stop was Stockholm, Sweden home of ABBA yet again we took the HOHO bus around all of the sights we mainly did this to stop off at Vasa Museum which is a major sight well worth seeing we paid for the entry and walked ourselves around the museum, which was a lot better than taking a ship's excursion. Our third stop was Helsinki, Finland things to see here are the rock church, train station, Olympic stadium and Senate Square we did all of these on yet another HOHO bus as they are often the best value for money considering how much you can see. We also made our way to some of the shops close by and was amazed at one of it's department stores Stockmann everything you can imagine is in this shop. I would also look out for Santa at the Rock Church as he looks like how we would imagine him to look. Read more