Arcadia Sept to the Baltic
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Topic author - First Officer
- Posts: 1835
- Joined: February 2013
- Location: Gower, Swansea
Arcadia Sept to the Baltic
This was a really enjoyable cruise.
Unfortunately the weather affected out first two ports of call,the rain absolutely poured both days in Kristiansand and Copenhagen. So much so that we didn't go on our harbour boat cruise and Tivoli,gardens excursion. We were not the only ones. We had been to St Petersburg before when we did the 2 day excursion this time we chose some shorter excursions. We did the Faberge museum,which was excellent and has the most amazing collections not just the Faberge eggs. We went to the folklore show which was okay but our coach was late arriving at he theatre so we had to sit at the back of an overcrowded theatre. Far too many chairs squashed it to accommodate both P and O and Oceania passengers. A lot of the dances were very similar but the singing was good. What was a total delight was coming back through St Petersburg in the evening. The next day our excursion was a boat cruise followed by a visit to the Yusopov palace. Oh this was a real treat and would, recommend it. At first the Rasputin bit was strange narrow stairs,small rooms with too many people squashed in. We did see where rasputin was shot. The palace itself was totally amazing and huge.
The ballroom and private theatre were stunning and we were treated to a 5 min concert by 4 male singers.
Tallin was as good as before but I was totally underwhelmed by Riga, we were dropped off in the wrong place and it was cold,windy and the whole place seemed grey, especially after Tallin. We would have gone on the little train but these had been booked up by the tours.
Warnemunde was very good, we stayed in Warnemunde having dithered on going to Rostock or Lubeck and were pleased we did.
Weather was good and we enjoyed a lovely wander around.
Arcadia was as good as I remembered and we had a good table at dinner which included some old cruise friends. Both the waiters and cabin steward were excellent and couldn't do enough for you. Our cabin was an aft balcony one on E deck. My only complaint was that the balcony furniture really needed replacing and I do understand the salt effect but we needed to put towels on the seats before using them,the steward had a lot of cleaning to do balcony wise with the soot etc. We had two meals in the Ocean grill which were outstanding and we thought better value than Sindhu.
Short report as I have had to catch up on family matters since being home.
An enjoyable cruise and cant wait now to do our northern lights ruise on her in 2020,before that Aurora next spring .
Lindsey
Unfortunately the weather affected out first two ports of call,the rain absolutely poured both days in Kristiansand and Copenhagen. So much so that we didn't go on our harbour boat cruise and Tivoli,gardens excursion. We were not the only ones. We had been to St Petersburg before when we did the 2 day excursion this time we chose some shorter excursions. We did the Faberge museum,which was excellent and has the most amazing collections not just the Faberge eggs. We went to the folklore show which was okay but our coach was late arriving at he theatre so we had to sit at the back of an overcrowded theatre. Far too many chairs squashed it to accommodate both P and O and Oceania passengers. A lot of the dances were very similar but the singing was good. What was a total delight was coming back through St Petersburg in the evening. The next day our excursion was a boat cruise followed by a visit to the Yusopov palace. Oh this was a real treat and would, recommend it. At first the Rasputin bit was strange narrow stairs,small rooms with too many people squashed in. We did see where rasputin was shot. The palace itself was totally amazing and huge.
The ballroom and private theatre were stunning and we were treated to a 5 min concert by 4 male singers.
Tallin was as good as before but I was totally underwhelmed by Riga, we were dropped off in the wrong place and it was cold,windy and the whole place seemed grey, especially after Tallin. We would have gone on the little train but these had been booked up by the tours.
Warnemunde was very good, we stayed in Warnemunde having dithered on going to Rostock or Lubeck and were pleased we did.
Weather was good and we enjoyed a lovely wander around.
Arcadia was as good as I remembered and we had a good table at dinner which included some old cruise friends. Both the waiters and cabin steward were excellent and couldn't do enough for you. Our cabin was an aft balcony one on E deck. My only complaint was that the balcony furniture really needed replacing and I do understand the salt effect but we needed to put towels on the seats before using them,the steward had a lot of cleaning to do balcony wise with the soot etc. We had two meals in the Ocean grill which were outstanding and we thought better value than Sindhu.
Short report as I have had to catch up on family matters since being home.
An enjoyable cruise and cant wait now to do our northern lights ruise on her in 2020,before that Aurora next spring .
Lindsey
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- Senior First Officer
- Posts: 4897
- Joined: January 2013
- Location: Kent
Re: Arcadia Sept to the Baltic
I remember it rained heavily when we went to Kristiansand. I really liked Warnemunde. We were going to do a tour, but it was cancelled due to us getting in late as it was really foggy. At lunchtime the fog cleared and we had a lovely afternoon walking round the town. Plus, they gave us a good send off at sailaway.
Glad you had a good time
Glad you had a good time
Gill
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- First Officer
- Posts: 1963
- Joined: January 2013
Re: Arcadia Sept to the Baltic
Thanks for the review, Lindsey. Shame about the weather at the beginning of the holiday. Tallin and Warnemunde are both very pleasant places to visit. Must try to remember about Yusopov Palace in case we ever return to St Petersburg.
Maureen
Maureen
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- First Officer
- Posts: 1840
- Joined: June 2014
Re: Arcadia Sept to the Baltic
Thanks for your review enjoyed reading it, brought back many memories. Like you the first time we went to St Petersburg we done the two full day tours (which were busy) and the other times we went to Yosopov Palace and Fabergé Eggs we took lots of photographs. The boat trips on the river and canals give you a different perspective and they are relaxing
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Topic author - First Officer
- Posts: 1835
- Joined: February 2013
- Location: Gower, Swansea
Re: Arcadia Sept to the Baltic
Forgot to say that the dress code on this cruise was of an exceptionally high standard. It's been a long time since I have seen so many floor length dresses on formal evenings. . Even on the casual nights you didn't see too many hoodies. Lots of passengers made an effort for the tropical night . We sat in a formal attire bar on one formal evening and men were asked politely to leave if they were not dressed accordingly.
It made a nice change as oppossed to our cruise on Oriana where I felt overdressed on a casual night.
Lindsey
It made a nice change as oppossed to our cruise on Oriana where I felt overdressed on a casual night.
Lindsey
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- Senior First Officer
- Posts: 4897
- Joined: January 2013
- Location: Kent
Re: Arcadia Sept to the Baltic
That reminded me, I didn't mention the dress code in my Azura report.
Exactly the same as you, everyone made the effort on formal night, and on casual night.
On formal night, out of 3000 people, literally a tiny handful didn't participate, and not a hoodie to be seen on any evening! Tropical night was fun, as everyone had found a brightly coloured shirt or dress
Exactly the same as you, everyone made the effort on formal night, and on casual night.
On formal night, out of 3000 people, literally a tiny handful didn't participate, and not a hoodie to be seen on any evening! Tropical night was fun, as everyone had found a brightly coloured shirt or dress
Gill
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- Site Admin
- Posts: 9423
- Joined: January 2012
- Location: Lancashire
Re: Arcadia Sept to the Baltic
Why is it always the men that get "picked on" when many women look as if they have just come from the supermarket?
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Topic author - First Officer
- Posts: 1835
- Joined: February 2013
- Location: Gower, Swansea
Re: Arcadia Sept to the Baltic
It's a jacket issue
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- Second Officer
- Posts: 400
- Joined: August 2013
Re: Arcadia Sept to the Baltic
Thanks for the review Lindsey.