I enjoy art, architecture, museums, big cities, old palaces, new cultures, and meeting new people. My wife likes the laid-back aspects of cruising--long, carefree days at sea with absolutely nothing to do but the little she really wants to do--she's a bingo addict. She also enjoys culinary demonstrations. We both like fine dining, dressing for dinner, posing for photos, live entertainment and saving money. Transatlantic to the Baltic and all the capitals of northern Europe was a perfect vacation in fulfilling all these needs--believe it or not, even the part about saving money.

First we spent three days driving from southeastern Ohio to Cocoa, Florida, where we found a Days Inn just off I-95 offering free parking for up to 30 days (their biggest selling point). It wasn't the fanciest place in the area but one of the cheapest. It was adequate. We stayed two nights before the cruise and one upon returning by plane to Orlando. We built an extra day into the schedule to take in the Kennedy Space Center about 15 miles northeast of Cocoa (not to be confused with Cocoa Beach on the coast).

The Days Inn provided a free shuttle to Port Canaveral getting us there around eleven. Check-in was painless and the wait to board was maybe a half-hour or so. We were on the ship by noon. In checking out our cabin location, we found, to our surprise, that it was already ready, so we moved in carry-on bag and baggage. Read more