The Cruise Itself - July 2010

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The cruise itself was lovely - it really is a cool way to travel (they're not just for oldies!!) - everything you need is right there and stunning views are available from 360 degrees almost all the time. The process of boarding the ship was very quick indeed - especially as we had done one before and was more-or-less ushered straight on.

When we arrived on the ship we had plenty of time to kill before anything really happened - it takes half a day to get everyone loaded etc - so we explored the ship in detail, making the most of the absence of people - it never ceases to amaze us how the ships can seem so empty when there are literally thousands of people on board! While the 'Vision of the seas' was significantly smaller than the monolithic 'Freedom of the Seas' we cruised on in the Caribbean, it was still an immense ships with dozens of individual leisure areas, bars, nightclubs, pools etc etc.

Obviously the big bonus on this holiday was the fantastic places we visited - Sweden, Finland, Russia, Latvia and Poland- but there is a lot to be said for the actual cruise itself. I can see the appeal of a cruise with only a few stops and then lots of time to just relax on the boat.

Rather than rattle on about what we did each day we have included a bunch of pics here so you can get the 'vibe' - but needless to say we had an absolute blast, the nightly shows were always brilliant - from Broadway type musicals, to a married strongman and contortionist; from a Russian Folk Dancing squad to a legendary Dutch juggler! The nightly shows and the superb 3 course dinners in a stately dining room each night really add to the majesty of the whole thing - everyone gets all dressed up for different dress codes on different nights - from casual to jackets and ties. All very very fun!

We really were blessed with the weather - pretty much every day (except at Visby!) was magnificent - hot, hot days with oodles of sunshine and then, cool evenings with soft breezes. To be honest, we were sad to leave the ship and head back to London, via Sweden... again!

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Comments

[Mum]

Oh the cruise life! You both look so wonderful all dressed up!