Sailing the Baltic Sea

Thursday July 17, 2008

This morning we woke to a pleasant sea state. Just about the only way we could tell we under weigh was by the feel of the minor vibrations in our cabin. Since we have an inside stateroom, there is nothing to tell our bodies that morning has arrived. This is our first experience with a stateroom without windows or portholes and we find ourselves glancing toward the outside wall. It is, however, very quiet and peaceful. So far we have had no complaints with the room, or its location in the ship. I have to remind myself which direction to walk in when exiting the room. Barbara has acclimated to this much better than I have this time.

The weather here in the Baltic is very much like what we experience in Port Angeles, so we are quite comfortable with the conditions. We miss the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean, as the Baltic is sort of a murky green. The sea has remained rather calm through the afternoon. We are enroute to our first port of call; Tallinn, Estonia which is some 742 miles Northeast of Copenhagen.

Our first of three Cruise Critic Roll Call meetings was held this afternoon from 4 to 5 in the Hudson Meeting room. We had 100% percent attendance after one couple who neglected to set their clock forward arrived with ten minutes to spare. Although there were only 14 of us, we did not lack for conversation, another great group of people.

Since this was our first formal night at sea, the Captain had scheduled his formal welcome onboard, with a gala dinner and wine and champagne served in the Queens Lounge (large double deck entertainment venue). Following his welcoming speech, the evening’s entertainment began featuring “The Rotterdam Cast in Love Songs from Broadway, Costumes from Mackie”. The music and dancing seemed very familiar, since we had seen similar productions last year on the Amsterdam. The enthusiasm and talent of these young people is always entertaining, no matter how many time one sees them perform. Costumes from “Mackie” are always first rate. Holland America has set a very high standard for other cruise lines to follow.

Tomorrow we have a full day in Tallinn. Our six hour tour departs shortly after we dock at 10 AM. I will include a description of our experience in my next post.

It is 10:45 PM at our current location and the sun is just setting – till next time I bid you an Estonian good bye – ‘Head ood”