Baltic Cruise Poem by Deanna Samuels

Baltic Cruise



Preface to travelogue
Disappointment
A poem by Deanna Samuels - 13th May 2016
Oh! What a shame, what a disappointment
After months of planning and plotting together
Building up excitement and expectancy
The thrill of a new adventure, of the unknown
Calamity happened a few days before setting sail
My friend dislodged back and was unable to cruise
So there was I without my companion
No one to share, to talk with, to shmooze
Commiserations and regrets we had for each other
Each feeling the let-down that had come to pass
What else to do but take the plunge, go it alone
To put on a brave face, to head out on one's own
A journey taking me to unfamiliar lands
New experiences, sights and encounters
To meet with strangers, to mix and mingle
Making the best of just being a single

Journey to Amsterdam - 13th May 2016
Journeyed to Toronto Pearson Airport by taxi and GO bus. Checked luggage in with Air Canada. Lots of time before flight was called to Amsterdam. Overnight flight was good and comfortable.

All Aboard - Celebrity Silhouette - 14th May 2016
Amsterdam. Arrived about 11am. Usual customs and carrousel. Met Celebrity shuttle representatives in main Hall. Luggage taken, would be delivered to cabin on board which was a big bonus. Shuttle drove to Silhouette, through downtown Amsterdam. Unloaded us, where waited in large checking in boarding hall. Very crowded and were seated in zones to await turn to a check-in representative. Took about one and half hours to get called and checked in with representative and received SeaPass card which is the cabin key, security exit and entry onto ship and for any purchases made aboard. There must have been at least twenty booking-in stands. Proceeded onto ship from enclosed gangway at about 3pm, located the elevators and made way to cabin on deck eight. Luggage had not yet arrived. Checked Celebrity trips as an alternative to the hop on/off ones that I had already booked. Muster, which is obligatory for everyone, was sounded at 4.30pm and I proceeded to Essemble Room. Following Muster, checked at Shore Excursions Desk regarding trips and maître dee for a 6.30pm dinner. He noted request and advised to come for 6.30pm. Once back at cabin, my luggage had arrived. Checked again all the trips on the on-Shore Excursion list as against those I already booked. Changed for dinner for 6.30pm. At the main Grand Cuvee Restaurant, an enormous two tiered restaurant on two decks with several hundreds of tables, all beautifully laid out for dinner, many already occupied. I was placed on an empty table, so was a bit disappointed but about 15 minutes later, two ladies were seated, two Marias, an aunt and her niece from Hamilton and Montreal and we started a pleasant conversation. Dinner served, I had grilled salmon. Following dinner, went to Shore Excursions Desk and booked four alternative shore trips in place of the hop on/offs. Emailed Ann before wifi gave out for her to ask Kim to cancel out the four cities where we had booked the hop on/off trips, not realizing at that time, that it was too late to cancel for a refund. After dinner,9pm show, in the Silhouette Theatre with singer Leanne Mitchell in Adele style mode, very good three quarters of an hour. Extremely tired. Went to cabin. Hung clothes up and away in drawers. Showered and went to bed by 11.30pm. Finally fell asleep.

Day at Sea - 15th May 2016
Woke up, almost 10am. Up and got ready and went for late breakfast in The Oceanview Café, Deck 14. The Oceanview Café is the main buffet style restaurant which can accommodate hundreds and hundreds of passengers at one time. The choice of food is endless, all created and baked or cooked on board. It is open from very early morning for breakfast, through lunch, late lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, late dinner and to the early hours of morning for late evening snacks. There are numerous choices of fare for most of the day, including traditional, Chinese, Indian and many other popular international cuisine dishes. There are no reserved seats, just find a place and sit down. A great way to meet up with other passengers. Met ladies from Mexico, Sara and friend. Afterwards, a presentation talk in Celebrity Central 4, Beyond the Podium, on Public Relations by Jamie G honing in on City of Macon on covering crime there as a former media consultant. Tried seminar Around the World afterwards in same location but just a pitch for cruise selling by Celebrity. Went for light lunch, salad. Sat with three guys from a group of 52 from Vancouver. Afterwards, did a bit of line dancing in Grand Foyer, the main central gathering area at mid-ship, laid out with lounge chairs, bars and speciality small café stands, surrounded by elevators and open layers of decks, again with lounge chairs, cafés and bars where one can see all the way down and up. 3pm make-up artist demonstration at the Spa, bit of a waste of time, then trivia with three girls in Essemble Lounge. That was fun and got the brains going. Relaxed in lounge to bring diary up to date. So far, an amazing mixture of people from all around the world, some 53 countries represented either from staff or passengers. Tonight, chic dinner, very smart but not too formal. Formal dinners appear to have been abandoned. No wifi at all, put in plane mode last night. Feeling alone and lonely - even with two and half thousand people around! Dinner. Had conversation with those at same table. After dinner, show ‘Life' in the Silhouette Theatre, young and refreshingly modern. Afterwards, went to see movie in Celebrity Central 4 - ‘80 Homes', sad, about repossessing homes, quite depressing. 12 midnight, to room and bedtime.

Warnemunde, Germany, first port of call - 16th May 2016
Silhouette docked at Pier 7. Had breakfast in the Oceanview Cafe. Proceeded through ship security and went off ship to explore town. Warnemunde is 10 miles from the main town of Rostock which has 200,000 inhabitants and 800 years of history and tradition. Warnemunde itself, is a small seaside resort, situated on the Warnow River with wide sandy beaches and was very busy with holiday makers as well as cruise ship passengers. Had decided not to take tour of Berlin as had been there before as had toured with late husband in early nineties. Walked into town just a short distance away. Could see from stateroom balcony prior, the town and lay out. Walked around the local area, over a bridge passing market along one side of the river, then some small local shops, tiny town center square, a guy singing an opera aria accompanied by an accordionist - actually, he, the singer was quite good. Went through a park which had a somewhat life size voluptuous naked young women's bronze statue standing near the entrance which could have done with a good clean up. Came out onto the board walk. Went over sand dunes to have a look at the beach, wide, lots of high flying kites. Further short walk to the busy riverside pathway and sat down in sheltered spot along that pathway. Boats selling tours and food alongside. Very busy with people walking by. Opposite bank, was that market seen earlier when crossing the bridge. Rested, decided to go back to Silhouette. Once back on board, wanted to explore the bowling green while weather pleasant. Disappointed as bowls were only small plastic bowls and a small white jack. For those who know me, for the past number of years for an outside activity, my current passion is lawn bowling. Tried to play a game but equipment not suitable for real lawn bowling. Gave up and went to room for a rest as was tired after an hour or two of walking about Warnemunde. Lunchtime at the Oceanside Cafe, a wide variety of dishes to suit about every taste. Went to the enclosed solarium and had a good rest, watching people swim in pool. Had tea in café and sat more. To room to change for dinner. View from my balcony also showed a wider panorama of the local industrial areas and a lot of windmills. Dinner. Show at the Silhouette Theatre with resident singer Christina giving performance of ‘Just Adele' which was very good and general house ensemble show ‘Beyond Broadway' which was ok. A little later, went up to Sky Lounge, deck 14, where German Oom Pah band was playing traditional Oom Pah music. Lively and reminded me of when touring in Germany in the 1990's. At 10.15pm went to Celebrity Central Four and watched James Bond movie ‘Spectre'. Afterwards, back to stateroom and bed.

At Sea Day - 17th May 2016.
Up latish and had leisurely breakfast in Oceanview Cafe. Went again to Shore Excursion Desk to try to change St Petersburg trips. Not able as all booked. Public Safety talk by Jami G. in Celebrity Central 4. Lunch, very busy there as was an at sea day with no excursions so a full house. 3pm at the Silhouette Theatre - Leanne Mitchell, opera/pop singer gave special matinee performance, very good. Following the show, went to Ensemble lounge and played trivia with two other girls. Walked around the shops area. Back to stateroom, rested and sorted papers. Listened to jazz in Grand Foyer, Ray Brown, son of Ella Fitzgerald. Pleasant. Changed for dinner. Dinner. Spoke with couple who had been to Berlin trip that day. They had found it a long journey (two hours) and the sightseeing rather limited and rushed. At 8pm, a Talk on Tallinn in the Celebrity Central 4, covering our next port of call. Interesting and gave a good overview of what to expect. Spent a few dollars at the casino slots. Returned to room and prepared for Tallinn tour next morning and so to bed.

Tallinn, Estonia - 18th May 2016
Silhouette arrived early in dock. Beautiful day, just a very slight chill. Up and then breakfast. Now ready to meet tour for 10.15am. Met in Silhouette Theatre. Tour number called, got off ship and alighted on tour bus. Arrived on outskirts of Old Town. Tour will be of the Old City on foot. Founded in 1,154 AD, the Old Town of Tallinn is walled and has been kept remarkably intact and unchanged over the past 600 years, while the new city all around it, is modern and filled with parks, museums, hotels and all the latest amenities for the people befitting the capital of Estonia. As an added interest, Skype software was created by three Estonians in 2003 in Tallinn. Guide Dea walked us around the Old City of Tallinn, relating history and pointing out buildings of interest. Lastly, took us to outdoor market in large square and then by a store called Hausen, which was remarkable as was kept entirely in 1500's mode. Every item that was sold - shoes, candles, dresses, pewter items, even food preparation, was how it would have been made with the ingredients or components available in the 1500's, down even to the W.C's. A most interesting experience. Then into main church for concert. String quartet of three violins and a viola. Was very good, played eine kleine nachtmusik. Church is also a museum. Had a look round the general open market in the main old town square with the 20 minutes free time. Made way back to group meet-up and then to bus and returned to ship. Cabin to refresh and rest. Went to Oceanview Café on 14th deck for tea and scone. At 5pm attended Helsinki history with maps and talk by Jack Hardy in the Celebrity Central 4. To room and changed for dinner. Nice table with interesting people, all Americans. Left by 8pm to attend Destination Highlights orientation of St Petersburg in Celebrity Central 4. Attempted again to change St. Petersburg tours, no luck. Went to show in the Silhouette Theatre at 9pm. ‘White Magic', excellent card magician, his deft of hand was spectacular. His assistant performed amazing body contortions. Following that, played a short while at casino slots. To room and prepared for next day for St Petersburg. Then bed.

St. Petersburg - 19th May 2016
Breakfast. Oceanview Café as well as the ship were fairly empty by the time I got there as many passengers had already left for morning or all-day shore trips. Day started with rain but gradually cleared up. Walked around the ship and shops. Went to room. Had a rest, prepared for afternoon shore trip - ‘Local Life Experience' which will include using the metro subway and visiting a local Kuznechny Russian market. Made way out of ship and through Russian customs which was extremely formal. Very quiet in waiting area. Checked ticket time and found I was a whole hour too early! Sat in custom hall waiting area as too much trouble to go back through customs and then to come back again. The whole long waiting hall was lined with booths full of tourists' memorabilia gift items, including thousands upon thousands of Russian Dolls, babushka dolls of all different sizes and colorful paint designs. It quite put me off! Played bridge on iPhone to pass the time. Time came to board bus. Were handed personal hearing transmitters. These proved amazing when out on the tours as one could hear the tour guide's commentary without having to be one step behind so not to miss any interesting details. This particular tour was ‘See how the ordinary Russians live'. Were bussed a short distance to nearest metro, got off bus and made way by crossing over local main streets. Very busy with traffic and people. Made way to Metro. Guide gave us a Metro token and we got on descending escalator. It was a loooong way down, I believe guide said was third deepest in the world, the first and second also in St Petersburg's Metro not very far away from where we were. Fairly fancy designed station, older style but very grand for a local metro station. Really crowdedly busy with everyday folk. Our Group of about 50 alighted on subway train through four separate doors of same carriage to ensure to keep together. Changed trains at next station but there was a long way between each stop. Emerged out of Metro to suburban area. Walked along typical mundane streets and into the local produce market. Plenty of fruit, meats, poultry, fish and vegetables. From there, made way to a revered local church and from there walked a few blocks to a pleasant tea place and had coffee and cake which gave a pleasant rest. General street surrounds were solid buildings of six to eight stories high, some with shops beneath, encompassing apartments, the normal living accommodation for city residents. Our tour was complete and the bus picked us up just around the corner from the tea place. Made way back to ship during which time, guide Alexandra told us of the buildings we were passing, especially along the main Nersky Street. That was a most interesting and enlightening suburb island of St Petersburg. Arrived back at ship, returned through the Russian customs and walked onto ship. Once on board, went to room and changed for dinner. At dinner, interesting ladies to speak with. Quickly finishing dessert, rushed to Silhouette Theatre for 9pm to see the show of Cossacks dancing - ‘Cossacks Stars'. Excellent singing and dancing, Russian style. Most popular with the audience, who called for several encores which the performers were quite happy to give. Made way to room and prepared for early rise next morning as have two separate tours in St Petersburg. And so to bed. Wake up call for 7am. Hermitage Museum and Panoramic St Petersburg views tomorrow.

St Petersburg - Hermitage and Panoramic Views - May 20th 2016
St Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia, situated on the Neva River at the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. Was founded and built by Tzar Peter the Great in the early 1700's. In 1924 in the turmoil of history, its name was changed to Leningrad and in 1991 reverted to its original name of St Petersburg.

Arose at 7am. Quick breakfast in Oceanview Cafe. Met up with other passengers in Silhouette Theatre. Tour number was called, exited ship, went through Russian customs and to the bus. Drive to The Hermitage. Saw a good view of the city skyline driving on opposite side along Neva River with commentary from guide regarding the buildings we were passing. Arrived at The Hermitage, a huge impressive building, painted in cream and green, its dimensions even larger than that of The Louvre. Entered the building at the rear and passed through impressive corridors to a main stairwell heavily decorated in gold which quite took my breath away. There are dozens and dozens of stairwells at The Hermitage, I believe in the 200's. The opulence of decorative motifs in gold was overwhelming throughout that whole area and beyond. Saw famous works of art by the most renowned painters. Arrived at the Gold Room. Not what I was expecting to see. Thought to see a room of opulence in gold, as per the advert depicting the gold room. However, it was rooms of gold ob d'ja and precious metals and stones, artifacts collected by Katherine the Great and other Tzars and high royalty that was used in those by gone days or were gifts to the throne. The Hermitage guide gave a detailed description of many of the items seen in the display cases, their history, stories behind them, which tzar or tsarina used them and other descriptive narrative of items. Found a little too intense and was there for an hour, really wanting to see the art and sculpture. Finally the Gold Room tour was over and was then taken by our guide Tamara to see the art of famous painters and sculptures. Rembrandt, Bottecelli, Van Dyke and more and more. It was almost over whelming to see so many famous original art in one building, let alone in one large hall! The tour came to an end and shortly, returned to bus. Further narrative of passing known buildings. Returned to port, alighted and refreshed up and waited in bus area for afternoon Panoramic tour of St.Petersburg at 1.15pm. At 1.15pm boarded bus, had same guide Tamara. Away we went, Tamara pointing out all the well known buildings and palaces as we passed by, so many, my mind or memory could not take it all in. Stopped at Spilt Blood Church, the easily identifiable building with the gold and colored domes to view and take photos. Stopped at Tzar Peter's small, undistinguished, unimpressive house by river. Took photo. Went to store opposite and bought Babushka pencil sharpeners for my grandchildren. On bus again and stopped on opposite side of river at boat bollards and walked down to edge of river. Wonderful view of The Hermitage on the opposite side of the river. Took selfie for Facebook. Viewing complete, bus gradually made way back to ship by 5.40pm. Back through Russian customs. Room and dressed for dinner. Dinner. Spoke with some more interesting passengers. At 8pm went to Destination Highlights Helsinki talk, then a quick stop at room and on to the show ‘Pearl' in Silhouette Theatre. Opening 20 minutes outstanding, resembled divers swimming in turbulent waters, but rest of show mediocre. Went to see movie ‘Truth' in Celebrity Central 4. Very good. And so to room and bed.

Helsinki - May 21st 2016
Helsinki, capital and main city in Finland. Overlooking the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. The town of Helsinki (or Helsingfors as it was then known) was founded by King Gustavus Vasa of Sweden in 1550, to which Finland belonged for many centuries, as a new trading post. Many years and turmoil of war passed when Finland was annexed to Russia in 1809. Finland declared its independence from Russia in 1917.

Arose and dressed then realized my timing was wrong and rushed a quick breakfast before meeting at 9am to have Helsinki tour. First stop, through the city and gardens to Sibelius Sculpture. The sculpture was very large and like a lot of stainless steel organ pipes of varying lengths welded together. Quite an impressive piece. Took photos for Facebook. Rest of tour around the city, the guide explaining buildings and town and history. Nothing too overwhelming. Arrived at harbor and market,20 minutes free time. Bought china thimble. We all assembled, boarded tourist boat for tour around islands. Weather very pleasant and quite sunny. On the boat tour, general information, including about the fortress and large sauna buildings. Returned to harbor and walked through enclosed market to bus. Boarded and while returning to ship had further explanations of buildings and history. Back at the ship. Had lunch then went to Harbour gift shop shed quite nearby to our docked ship and bought items and returned to ship. Rested up. Prepared for dinner. Pleasant company, two from South Africa and two from Pennsylvania. Went to talk on Destination Stockholm, our next port of call, in Celebrity Central 4. Freshened up and went to Silhouette Theatre for show - Nick Page. A singer and great performer, opera, pop, drums, piano. Wanted more and so did the audience. Unfortunately, because he had left his cabin carry-on case and music on the flight when coming in that morning, firstly, he needed to shop in Helsinki for a new suit and outfit and secondly, he was only able to work with the resident band with a few pieces of music he had on him so was not able to do more numbers to the disappointment of the audience. However, he had given an amazing performance in the circumstances and the audience well forgave him. Following that, walked around ship shops and bought a few items. Went to room, prepared for next day - Stockholm. Sat and watched movie on TV. Hollywood take during the 1950's McCarthy communist accusations. Very good. Learned a bit more about those times. Prepared for night.

Stockholm - May 22nd 2016
Stockholm, capital and largest city in Sweden. East of Helsinki on the Baltic Sea. Stockholm is situated on an island amongst twenty other islands. Often called the Venice of the North. Stockholm was officially established in the middle of 13th century, to develop a commercial center at that time, under the rule of Denmark. By the 16th century, that rule was overthrown and Gustav 1st Vasa became King of Sweden with Stockholm as the center.

Arose quite early and watched the scene go by as ship sailed passed the many islands approaching Stockholm. It was really beautiful. Arrived at Stockholm dock. Had breakfast and for the Stockholm panorama tour, waited to be called for bus in the Silhouette theatre. Time to board. Bus took us to Stockholm pier, only a short drive. Royal Palace and other buildings in view. Alighted on launch and had a one hour canal cruise passing by Stockholm's National City Park. Well known sites pointed out. Took photos of the parks and gardens which were all public. Following launch cruise, on bus again for Stockholm tour and many well known places pointed out such as City Hall as well as local and Swedish history related. Was not all that exciting, although we did pass the Nobel Prize Museum. I think that after seeing so many different buildings and churches during the past few days, they gradually got mixed into a blob and the mind could not differentiate or take any more. Returned to ship by 1.15pm. Refreshed and went for lunch in the Oceanside Cafe. Feeling tired, decided to go to cabin and had a pleasant rest on balcony, enjoying the warmth of the sun and stayed there until ship departed at 4pm sharp. Always so smooth, hardly aware ship was moving away. Planned to further sit a while on journey out to continue to watch island scenery go by and then go to talk by Jamie G on subject of Murder before dinner and looking around. Went to Jamie G talk Celebrity Central 4. Following that, returned to stateroom and prepared for dinner. Dinner. Some company that I had met before, two new people. Following dinner, did some slots. Up by $20 so left. Went to show in Silhouette Theatre. Violinist Mary Lee, quite a phenomenal player of classical, jazz, pop, great virtuosity. Oddly, I had come across Mary that morning who was waiting for the elevator going up with all her luggage while I was coming down for the bus tour and having recognized her, wished her good luck for the evening performances and was looking forward to seeing her act. Back to stateroom, watched a Pitt and Jollie film, so boring, fell asleep.

Day at Sea - May 23rd 2016
Arose without a rush. Breakfast in Oceanview Café and then to ‘Ocean Ahead' in Silhouette Theatre, with Staff Captain Ioannis about the running of the ship in all of its aspects. Very enlightening, amazing what goes on behind the scenes to ensure the safety and comfort of the ship and its passengers. Went to The Faberge Egg talk and how they were and are still made. Saw examples of them in the ship store and took photos. Such exquisite items. Walked around. Sat in library and edited some photos and deleted others. Back to room. Lunch in Oceanview Café. Lovely day, sat up on deck on lounger and relaxed for two hours. Very warm and sunny. Back to room, dressed for dinner. Formal Chic this evening. Sat with two couples from British Columbia. After dinner, ‘Destination Copenhagen' talk and guide and then, went to Silhouette Theatre for the evening show. Sat next to people met day or two before. Good show by Celebrity Company on an Around the World theme called ‘Cosmopolitan'. Following that, in Qsine suite, karaoke talent show and finals. Fun to watch, some quite painful to listen to! Afterwards, went to room and prepared for night and read instructions regarding disembarkation for Thursday. Got ready for Copenhagen tour for next day. Bedtime.

Copenhagen - May 24th 2016
Copenhagen, capital of Denmark is located on two islands, connected by bridges. A busy cosmopolitan modern city, famous for the Tivoli Gardens, Ann Frank House and The Amalienburg Palace of the current monarchy to name a few and of course, the famous statue of The Little Mermaid.

Up and had breakfast in Oceanview Cafe. Tour for 11.15am so no rush. Walked about the upper deck, beautiful day, took pictures of Copenhagen from the top most deck. Assembled for tour as usual in the Silhouette Theatre and when tour called, went through ship security and boarded bus. Drove through local areas to the harbor and the first stop was Amalienborg Palace, official residence of the Monarchy of Denmark. Alighted from bus and made short walk to the palaces and large square. Saw changing of the guard. There are four palace buildings within the square, one where the Queen resides, one where her son resides, the third and fourth are administrative and government offices. The Queen, Margarethe II, reigning since 1972, was not in residence as there was no flag flying but her son Crown Prince Frederik, was in residence as his flag was flying. We were told that they live as simply as possible, the children go to a state school and the prince himself drives them to school. From the palace square, went to the boardwalk pier, attractive fountain and a gift shop. Opposite, across the river, was the new large concert hall, The Koncerthuset, renowned for its amazing acoustics. Walking the short way back from the boardwalk, joined the roadside path, had a further glimpse of The Amalienborg Palace Square on our way to re-join our bus. The roads around were very busy, traffic taking a lot of time to filter through. Saw the Hop On Hop Off bus stuck in the jam. Back on the bus, the panorama sight tour began. Passed the main railway station, countless amount of bikes parked, thousands and thousands of bikes. We were told that from the entire population of Denmark, each resident owned almost two bikes each! All the road systems are laid out for bikes. Our bus drove around Copenhagen, passed the Tivoli Gardens. The funfair was in full swing, with apparatus whizzing people up and down and round and round, hanging them way up high and then dropping down at fast speed. I was happy to be sitting comfortably on the bus! We were then off to see The Little Mermaid. Our guide told us that she really was little. As I had seen the Little Mermaid statue several times before, I was aware of its size and would therefore, not be disappointed by its dimensions. When we arrived nearby just prior to the Little Mermaid site, there was a large square stone war memorial with carvings of people on each side remembering those who had fallen during the last war. Atop was a bronze open winged angel statue. The figure was very beautiful. Walked to the water's edge on the Langelinie Promenade in the outer harbour area and there she was, The Little Mermaid, just down from the pathway embankment a few yards out into the water, sitting slightly sideways on top of a large boulder, surrounded by large smooth rocks. A perfect pretty mermaid, created in bronze by Edvard Erikson in 1913. Took photos at various angles and posted one to Facebook while still had a signal. There were many times during the cruise that there was no signal at all to use www. After seeing The Little Mermaid, walked back to the bus and once again had another view of the War Memorial. The guide told us that the small marina nearby, was very exclusive and there was a 10 year waiting list to get a mooring there. Bus returned us to ship. Had a quick rest then a late lunch. Lovely and warm and sunny so rested on lounger on upper deck till nearly dinnertime. Back to room, changed and went to dinner. One couple whom met two days prior and one new couple not met before, both came from Western Canada. Pleasant conversation. Afterwards, watched dance competition in the Grand Foyer, which was quite fun then to the Silhouette Theatre to see ‘Tenors of Rock'. Some numbers very noisy but the group were very good, though not quite my cup of tea, but very popular with the audience. Following the show, watched a short masquerade parade and dancing in the Grand Foyer and went to room for a while. Decided to go to casino and play slots for a bit and almost immediately, won a watch just by putting my card into the slot. Nice modern watch too. By 11.45pm called it a day as now very tired and returned to stateroom and prepared for the night.

Day at Sea - May 25th 2016
Up, had breakfast in Oceanview Café. Returned to room and dealt with most of packing. Had lunch. Final session of Jamie G's Crime Prevent in Celebrity Central 4. Returned to room for a while. Went to Silhouette Theatre as Professor Jack Hardy was giving a talk on the Vikings and how they influenced the world around the 1000's. Very good coverage, relating that the Vikings had occupied and changed the face of the whole of Europe in the hundreds of years that they were the master race, but gradually fell away as they assimilated into the culture and country where they were occupying. Returned to room and changed for dinner. Met up with Wayne and wife and their friends at the dinner table, so it was nice to speak with familiar faces. After dinner, went to Celebrity Central 4 for Quiz against Crew and Passengers which was a bit of fun and then proceeded to Silhouette Theatre to await the show for that evening. Firstly, Amy Lee, the amazing violinist and then Tenors of Rock who sang ‘Queen' songs, which I liked much better than their previous night's performance. Both acts were excellent and the audience demanded several encores from the Tenors of Rock, who appeared to be very happy to do so. Retreated back to room for last packing of main suitcase as needed to place it outside stateroom by 11pm. Achieved that. The next time I would see the case should be at the airport before going to the check-in. Showered and prepared last items. Arranged wake up call for 5.30am. Bed.

Arrival in Amsterdam and returning to Toronto - 26th May 2016
A few hours of restless sleep. Up before alarm rang at 5.20am. Dressed, last items packed away in carry-on luggage. Went for breakfast in Oceanside Cafe just before 6am. Was already fairly busy but not packed but very soon got really crowded as more and more passengers came in for breakfast before disembarkation. Returned to stateroom and collected my carry-on luggage and proceeded to Celee Four Restaurant to wait for shuttle to take to Schiphol Airport. My turn arrived and got on bus which drove to Schiphol Airport via the outskirts of Amsterdam so there was no opportunity to see the city sights again. Arrived at airport and had to wait at the entry door area for half an hour while the guys were unloading hundreds of cases from the large moving van which transported the luggage from the ship to the airport. Finally got my case. Went to the checking-in, which was quite a walk to find but had to wait there in a long line up for over half an hour because Air Canada did not open their section till 9am. After that, went through security and then through passport control. Walked to gate D57 - the furthest gate away - took almost half hour to get there and was walking very slowly by the end. At 10.55am, sat in boarding area completely exhausted and waited to board. When boarding time came, got on plane and took my seat. Young guy from very northern Holland sat next to the window. I had aisle seat. All passengers aboard but there was a delay because of mechanical problem so plane lost its original slot to take off. Waited an hour and then finally, flight took off. Flight was very good. Was even served a pleasant salmon lunch and later on in the flight, a tasty mushroom crepe. Landed at Toronto Pearson Airport. Through customs and collected luggage from carousel. Time would give me enough time to just get to Q stop at Terminal 1 for the 4.20pm GO bus to Richmond Hill. Called Sally to let her know. Bus departed, very heavy traffic on 427 but eased once on 407. In the meantime, had texted Sally that bus was running a bit late. Arrived at Richmond Hill Viva bus terminal at 5.10pm. Sally was there waiting for me which was such a bonus. We put my luggage in trunk and she transported me back home to Baif Boulevard by about 5.30pm. The Cruise and vacation were over - a most interesting and enlightening journey for me, as related above from my daily journal - now to get on with unpacking and getting back into normal life.

(Written as daily diary on Baltic cruise 13th May to 26th May 2016 and edited during June 2016 in Richmond Hill, Ontario.)

Sunday, July 3, 2016
Topic(s) of this poem: beautiful,beauty,food,journey,memories,sea,travel
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Journal of recent Baltic cruise and the interesting cities visited at ports of call
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Deanna Samuels

Deanna Samuels

London, England
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