SCandinavian Cruises - 2026
Wednesday 20 May'26 - Sea Day [the 21st is further down this page]
Today is a Sea Day. The 1st photo shows where we were at 2200 last night & the next, at 0749 this morning.
Off to brekky before planning what to do today. So basically a very restful day. Hooked the laptop up to the room TV so we could stream some shows then off to lunch. A fairly serious fog set in so I decided to take a photo out the window at lunch which created a funny little anecdote. An American gentleman at the table next to us, asked what I was photographing to which I said, "nothing really, just the fog". He was relieved that he hadn't missed anything. Just then a table of 4 Asian's got up, walked to the window and took photo's of the the fog also. Once they sat back down he looked at me and said, "what do you think they were doing", too which I replied, "taking the same photo as me, didn't you see it?". He stared intently into the fog for the next 5 odd minutes before saying, "damn, I missed it!".
Back to the room for more streaming before dinner in the Oceanview Cafe and finally a nightcap in the Martini Bar. We've learnt (the experienced travellers we are) that the masses all aim for the 1900 show in the Theatre and that leaves a large number of seats available. Once again, the electric violinist provided us with 2 numbers. She is so good!!! I would be more than happy to do this every night!!! After some hydration, off to bed.
Thursday 21 May'26 - Helsinki (Finland)
Even though we have a nice, thick blind on the window, I find it very hard to sleep when the sun rises just after 0430. Tonight it will set just after 2200. As we head towards Helsinki, a clear sky, almost no noticeable movement on the Baltic Sea and a predicted 11' max today. Due to dock at 1200 and then a Hop On Hop Off bus trip with the obligatory full loop before getting off as seen fit. Not due back onboard until 2130 so plenty of time. I should mention the Celebrity app. It is very good and extremely handy for knowing what's happening and making reservations, setting alarms for excursions, etc. Before getting on the bus, I grabbed a photo of our room from the outside, as this was the 1st time the ship had docked on the port side.
Then on the bus for the "obligatory" loop, with a plan to walk around to the things that interested us. We decided to get off at Senate Square. Next stop, Market Square. As it was now 1330, decided to have a bite to eat and there was some rather interesting options... After that, a walk around the city where we passed Parliament House, Esplanadi and the Museum of Contemporary Art. As you can probably tell from the photo's, it was an overcast day, pleasant but eventually the heavens opened up!
This meant we lost about 2 hours and due to the time, missed out on being able to see Temppeliaukio Church (The Rock Church), which is worth seeing apparently, so I have thrown a stock image in for good measure. We also missed out on the Olympic Stadium (1952) and the Flea Markets. Just as we were ready to head back to the ship, out came the sun. Weird it was like lunchtime but in reality, it was 1900. We passed Uspenski Cathedral and Central Railway before getting on the bus, then the ship. Dinner before heading to the room to watch (and be deflated by) the Raiders & Dolphins via a Kayo Mini. What a disappointing way to end an otherwise great day.
