Thursday, December 27, 2018: Shore Excursions

Today, Gavin and I fly off to Budapest to begin our train trip through Central Europe. Before leaving, I booked the Seabourn shore excursions for our Baltic trip next July.

I fly into Copenhagen on July 18 from Zurich. The girls fly from IAH on July 18, arriving in Copenhagen on July 19. We will be staying the nights of the 18th and 19th at the Copenhagen Marriott before embarking on July 20.

Seabourn excursions:

July 22 - Tallinn, Estonia: Old Town & Chocolate  Making
July 23 - St. Petersburg, Russia: Hermitage Museum & the French Impressionists
July 23 - St. Petersburg, Russia: An Evening at Catherine's Palace
July 24 - St. Petersburg, Russia: Splendid St Petersburg & Scenic River Cruise
July 24 - St. Petersburg, Russia: Evening Performance at the Mariinsky Theater
July 25 - St. Petersburg, Russia: Peterhof Palace, Fountains & Park
July 26 - Helsinki, Finland: Finnish Archipelago & Cottage Visit by RIB
July 27 - Stockholm, Sweden: City Highlights & Vasa Museum w Hotel Transfer

We fly home on July 28

Saturday, December 8, 2018: Forms and Shore Excursions

I've been filling out forms for next July's cruise on Seabourn. I was getting a bit confused since some of the forms were asking for our preferences on items I thought, by virtue of our Owner's Suite accommodations, were not applicable. These preferences related to my membership class, not with our accommodations. I finally found a partial listing of the amenities that come with the Owner's Suite. The first two of these, the internet and liquor packages, supersede those associated with my Silver membership class.

Premium Suite Amenities Include:

• Complimentary internet service throughout your voyage
• Enhanced in-suite bar setup with additional wines or spirits for entertaining
• A welcome bouquet of fresh flowers on embarkation
• A large customized display of succulent tropical fruits
• Soft, luxurious bathrobes
• A convenient Nespresso® machine and a variety of coffees
• Swarovski® binoculars for your use during the voyage
• Daily newspaper of your choice delivered to your suite or to your
• PressReaderTM app
• A complimentary private car airport transfer of up to 50 miles*

I also have been asking for input from Laura and Maxine about what shore excursions we might want to take at our port stops in Tallin, St. Petersburg and Helsinki. There are several optional excursions offered at each port. We will be in Tallin and Helsinki just one day, but three days in St. Petersburg.

We arrive in Tallinn at 8:00 am on July 22 and depart at 5:00 pm. The only input I've received from Laura/Megan so far is that the Tallinn excursion of Old Town & Chocolate Making sounded interesting. This tour is 4 hours in duration and departs at 12:30 pm.

Maxine, based upon her experience, suggested we might consider the following:

St. Petersburg:

We arrive in St. Petersburg at 8:00 am on July 23 and depart at 6:00 pm on July 25.

• Hermitage Museum
• 4.25 hour duration departing at 8:45 am on July 23
• Catherine's Palace evening performance
• 4 hour duration departing at 7:00 pm on July 23
• Ballet Performance
• 4 hour duration departing at 7:00 pm on July 24
• Maxine suggested upgrading to the Mariinsky Theatre and I have sent an email to Seabourn for more information on the upgrade
• Splendid St. Petersburg & Scenic River Cruise
• 3.5 duration departing at 8:30 am on July 23 or July 24
• Peterhof Tour
• 4.5 hour duration departing at 7:45 am on July 24 or July 25

While we would be exhausted by the end, here is one possible schedule for St. Petersburg,

• Hermitage Museum: 8:45 am to 1:00 pm on July 23
• Catherine's Palace: 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm on July 23
• Splendid St. Petersburg: 8:30 am to 12:00 pm on July 24
• Ballet: 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm on July 24
• Peterhof Tour: 7:45 am to 12:15pm on July 25

Maxine noted that they offer a day trip to Moscow, but she strongly recommended not to do that, suggesting we would be better off doing Moscow on another trip.

Helsinki:

We arrive in Helsinki at 8:00 am and depart at 2:00 pm on July 26

• Ice Bar Winterland, Huskies & Helsinki Highlights
• 4 hour duration departing at 9:00 am on July 26
• Finnish Archipelago & Cottage Visit by RIB (rigid inflatable boat)
• 4 hour duration departing at 9:00 am on July 26

Tuesday, December 4, 2018: Change of Plans

I received an interesting message early yesterday morning from Laura that she and Stephen were discussing the potential of all of us going to England next summer. I told her I liked the idea but my schedule is pretty full next year. When I have an opening, in early September, the kids will be back in school. I also mentioned to her that I still did not have anyone to join me on my July Seabourn Baltic cruise. I suggested maybe she and Megan might join me. I have an Owner's Cabin that can accommodate three guests and the cost of a second guest is essentially zero. In addition, this is a relatively short cruise, only about a week long. The addition of a third guest is less than one-half the cost of the first guest. The major cost is the air fare. Megan is the only member of the immediate family I have not yet scheduled to join me on any of my trips over the next couple of years.

To my pleasant surprise, Laura said she would send a note to her boss to see if she could take that week off. She got a response very quickly from her boss saying "OK". Wow!!! I shot a note off to Maxine telling her that, if we could work out the details, Laura and Megan were going to join me. Maxine went right to work and got both of them added to my cabin and by this morning, had all the flight details worked out.

My flight from IAH to Geneva on July 6/7 is unchanged. The Baltic cruise begins in Copenhagen on July 20 and ends in Stockholm on July 27. I am flying into Copenhagen from Zurich on July 18 and will stay the nights of the 18th and 19th in Copenhagen. Laura and Megan will fly out of IAH on July 18, arriving in Copenhagen on the 19th, spending the night of the 19th with me before joining the cruise.

For the flight home, to get all three of us flying together, all three of us will fly on British Air out of Stockholm on July 28, with a 4.75 hour stop over in London, Heathrow, arriving in IAH at 6:35 pm.