Spring is a great time to cruise the northern area, and we hit it just right by sailing from Hamburg on May 12, 2018. The cruise started on May 10 in Southampton with a boatload of folks from Australia doing the "Three Queens", and picked up passengers from The States, Canada and Germany itself in Hamburg. My friend and I had two of the new solo cabins on Deck 2. Until now, there had been no passenger cabins on that deck, and we found it necessary to get help from a ship's officer to locate ours. Just pass the wall of slot machines in the casino and enter an alcove with a large white door that had nothing to indicate there were now cabins in there. Open said door, and there is a hallway with nine ocean view solo that had just been added. A great three quarter size bed - no mere twin here! A three drawer dresser as well as bedside drawers and the good sized closet gave all the space a solo traveler could use. There was an electric kettle, china and silver, and all the bits and pieces needed for a cuppa tea or coffee. The bathroom was compact and had the cloth shower curtain that no one especially loves, but it was well arranged and had plenty of shelf areas for cosmetics. Best of all, our huge windows matched those in the dining room in size and shape. What more could you ask for ?

We had booked many of our excursions with the ship, and a two day independent with ALLA Tours for our St. Petersburg visit. We had a day at sea to settle in, followed by our visit to Copenhagen. The Tivoli & Harbour Cruise was not quite up to our expectations. We were dropped at Tivoli with instructions "enjoy yourself" and meet in two hours to make the canal boat connection. We arrived at the boat after two other groups had already boarded and taken the majority of the seats....not much of a scenic cruise over shoulders and past heads of those near the windows. We had a few minutes to view the Little Mermaid, and back to the ship. Our Stockholm day included the Vasa museum which is always interesting, and a city tour on the bus. Tallinn offered "Rags to Riches" with visits to parts of the city where both categories of natives had once dwelt. Nice stops with plenty of photo ops overlooking the towers of the city.

We arrived in St. Petersburg early in the morning, and met our ALLA tour bus at 0830 after clearing Russian customs. They had booked our needed visas, and we had no problem with moving through the arrival area. I had been in St. Petersburg many years before, and found this a marvelous company. Our hostess spoke perfedt English, and we had those ear pieces that allowed you to follow your guide easily. The tour covered every possible cathedral and palace the city had to offer, and a grand lunch was included. Our 16 passenger Mercedes bus was comfortable, and our driver was always ready to assist as you got on and off. We returned to the ship in time for dinner, and were met the next morning at 0730 for another full day of touring. A ride on the subway was one of the most interesting times. The subway passes under the Neva River, and returning to the surface on the fast moving escalator took a full three minutes. Amazing! My friend's watch kept tract of steps, and we learned we had walked five miles each day without actually realizing we had done so. Read more