FUN-travel: End of Princess Baltic Cruise
August 3, 2014 by Susan Clarke
Day 31 – Thursday, July 31 –Warnemünde, Germany – End of Princess Cruise – full sun – high 70’s
Helsinki
What I LIKE
- GETTING OFF THIS SHIP!
- 7:15 – get up – best cappuccino ever
- – Chris went to Deck 16 – bartenders are breakfast barista
- 8:30 – walk off ship
What I DIDN’T
- 5:00 am – parking ship wakes me up
- fitful night sleep
Cruise Recap: Travel is very personal. This felt like a big fat “glorified Carnival ship” and if you like that sort of thing and Las Vegas, then this is the ship for you. We don’t like big ships and we wouldn’t go to Las Vegas on vacation.
- In our opinion a cabin on a lower lever is better. You don’t want to be dependent on the elevators on this ship. If you are, you’re better off taking the down elevator to go up. Otherwise you’ll wait a long time to get on. We were on Deck 8 and most of the action was in the atrium on Decks 5, 6 & 7.
Esplanade Park, Helsinki
Gefion Fountain, Copenhagen
FUN-food – It’s all about “pizza, pasta, espresso & ice cream.” For Princess they did a pretty good job of 2 out of 4. I expected to see a “pasta station” at lunch and never did. Cappuccino was pretty much latte every morning on Deck 5 until I found Allan who “got it” when I told him less milk and more foam. Some meals were very tasty but for the most part were just average. Martini’s were best at Crooner’s with a bigger pour & the nice olive tray. The wine list had some variety and with the purchase of the “wine card” wasn’t so overpriced.
- No “Can Do” Attitude – That pretty well sums up how we felt about the majority of the staff. If we asked a question they didn’t have the answer to, rather than find out, they told you to check with another department.
- I found out the reason that I couldn’t take pizza from Alfredo’s was because a lady took hers on a china plate. She fell on the stairs, cut her arm and sued Princess. I have been walking out of the restaurants every night carrying my wine glass and not one person stopped me. I kid you not!
The Atium
- Internet – We spent $99 plus a $3.95 activation fee (seriously!) for 200 minutes. Clearly the most expensive and beyond snail slow on any ship we’ve been on. In hindsight, I would spend that money at cafés with free Wifi and have a nice enjoying experience in a city.
Our Travel Motto – “We want to be surprised and not pissed off.” We broke our cruise rule which is, “To only sail with all inclusive small ships.” And that will never happen again!
- PS – Our favorite cities were Helsinki and Oslo because their city centers are relatively small, easy to walk and have a really good feel.
Stockholm, Sweden – Where We Didn’t GO!