At Sea, Baltic
Trip Start
May 26, 2010
1
7
15
Trip End
Jun 10, 2010
Visby, Gotland, Sweden
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
We're traveling slow because we are early heading to Tallinn. We were told by the captain last night that due to an unusually high tide and a light fuel load he was going to use a channel that is typically too shallow for a ship this size. This short cut saved him almost 250 miles. He went on to say that he hoped to get approval from the authorities in Tallinn to dock early on Wednesday, where we are scheduled to arrive at 11:00 AM (1100). Today he said the dock would not be available early, so he is traveling slowly.
Today's weather was like March. It was cloudy until late this afternoon. The wind was very strong all day, making it nearly impossible to walk outside. The temperature at 1:00 PM (1300) was only 46 F (17C). Combined with the wind, the windchill was well below freezing.
At long last the sun appeared late this afternoon, for the first time we have seen it since Friday afternoon in London. It didn't warm things up, but it sure was nice to see sun and a blue sky again. Despite the rough sea, the ride has not been bad as the ship is using its stabilizers to help reduce the roll.
We got up a bit late and decided to head to the breakfast buffet for the first time. We were responsible and passed on the French toast and other high fat choices, and ate a healthy breakfast. To their credit, the cruise lines have made healthy choice available.
We then attended a "meet and greet" held by members of the Cruise Critic Internet message board. It was through this message board that we found the wonderful English folks who organized the tour we will be taking in St. Petersburg. David and Barbara were there as well as nearly 60 other people. We had great fun talking to people from all over the world, all of whom participate in the message board. Good stuff!
We enjoyed a late lunch in the main dining room, seated with people from the USA and Singapore. The meal was good, but the company was even better.
After a short rest, we headed to the gym. We were wise to wait until mid afternoon, as were told the gym was packed earlier. While it was busy, we were able to use the equipment we needed. I rode a little over 9 miles on the stationary bike, doing 12 intense intervals along the way. That was followed by 3 repetions on each of several strength machines. We left 1 hour 20 minutes after, spent but happy.
Tonight we enjoyed another nice dinner. We are taking a night off from the on board activities and just taking it easy.
If the connection allows, I'll post a photo of the sunset. We're so far north now we've lost the satellite signal from a couple of the TV stations carried on the ship, so I don't have a lot of confidence that I will even be able to post the text.
Tomorrow we visit Tallinn, Estonia. This is the first of 5 consecutive days in port!
Buddy
