A Baltic Cruise.
This is one of those bucket list trips, one you really want to do and know
you’re never going to take again. So, it has to be a good one.
We started
planning it two years ago. My older daughter J and I took a Greece/Turkey
cruise for her 30th birthday. On the last day, they had a
presentation on future cruises. Since she enjoyed that one so much, I suggested
that she go. She came back asking where her father’s ClarinetFest would be in
2018. When I said Oostende, Belgium, she immediately suggested a Baltic cruise
before it, since we’d be in the area.
Over time, it
became clear that we could not get a cruise to butt up against the conference.
She also realized that a 10-day cruise would not get us to all the places we
wanted to see. So, we decided on the 14-day cruise. We thought the one in late
June would be good, even though it would end a couple of days before
ClarinetFest. Before we booked it, my husband realized that he needed time to
practice for his performance there. So, instead of celebrating my June birthday
on the ship, we’d be celebrating J’s May one.
Our younger
daughter works for Disney, which was the main sticking point. She couldn’t put
in for the time off until they decided it was time for vacation bids. We were
on pins and needles waiting. Finally, in November, the time came.
Unfortunately, they gave her days at the beginning, end and middle, but not the
entire trip. To say this was disappointing is an understatement.
The rest of us
decided this was our best shot at doing this, so we went ahead and booked it.
We looked at a suite, but 14 days with one bathroom and no real monetary
savings killed that idea. We booked a veranda on the aft starboard side and J
booked an interior room a few doors down. At Christmas, she and I plotted our
optional excursions. My husband gave me Rick Steves’ Northern European Cruise Ports, which is set up to be torn apart so
that you carry around only the city you need. J decided there were several
ports we could do on our own using his walking tours and then we picked tours
for the others.
In the months
that followed, preparation included getting Danish krones, Euros, Russian
rubles, and Swedish kronas. We felt rich with the rubles, because the number of
rubles to the dollar is very high. I wound up paper clipping each stash to keep
them separated in my money belt. We were very grateful that 4 of the countries
used the Euro.
For two weeks
before the trip, I went through my usual efforts to change my body clock, by
getting up one half hour earlier every day. Although he was working and it was
harder for him, my husband did it to a certain extent, too, because I also
wanted to get our stomachs used to it by moving up meals. By the day we left, I
was getting up at 2 am. Bedtime at 7 was no fun, but it got the job done and I
found that those early hours gave me a lot of time to get things done around
the house.
The day of
departure, I was able to attend water aerobics from 8:30-9:30 a.m. and get to a
rosary-making meeting at church. Both of these were a huge help in distracting
me from my usual departure nerves. I absolutely love travel. I just hate
leaving. Packing drives me insane and just trying to get the house ready and
getting everything taken care of pushes me over the edge. The length of the
trip was also a problem because of all the clothes I’d need. I am not one of
those willing to wash things on a trip. So, my brand-new, European trip suitcase
was right at the 50-pound mark. (Yes, we have dedicated European trip
suitcases. We need more clothes for those long trips and the bigger suitcase is
vital.)
Just after 4, a
friend of my husband’s arrived to take us to the airport. Traffic was better
than expected at that time of day and we arrived at OIA at 4:45 after a nicely
chatty ride.
The line for
dropping baggage wasn’t too bad. I noted that my husband’s suitcase was 42
pounds, which left a little room for the things I knew we’d be purchasing along
the way.
It’s been a
couple of years now since we paid for TSA-Precheck and every time we fly, I’m
grateful for it. It took us all of two minutes to get through the security
line. It’s one of the things that helps to calm me. We were at gate 71 at 5:15
and had over an hour to read before boarding time.
We’d booked our
flight to Amsterdam through Holland America, along with the cruise, the hotel
before and after the cruise, and transfers from the airport to hotel to ship
and vice versa. They put us on Delta flight 126, which is a direct flight. I
haven’t taken a direct flight to Europe in years! How wonderful to be able to
leave Orlando and not change planes!
At 6:40 we were
in seats 33 A and B and proceeded to wipe things down with the antibacterial
hand cleaner and napkins I’d brought. I have a tendency to wear myself out on
our trips and I take precautions not to get sick. The plane pushed back from
the gate at 7:15 and had a nice take off at 7:33.
My husband K
likes to go to sleep right away on these trips, but I find that impossible. So,
I chose Marshall as my dinner
entertainment and had the chicken meal that was offered and turned out to be
pretty good.
Marshall was terrific! I
couldn’t get my seat to recline and I realized that it was because the guy
behind me had his knees shoved into it. I watched some of Amy Sedaris’
television show in an attempt to relax. Finally, the guy moved his knees and I
was able to get some sleep.
The adventure
begins!
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