Boarding the Silja Ferry

We get up and go to breakfast about 9 AM. It is so, so crowded, more so than yesterday. They have many rooms for people to dine. We sit in the bar next to a window. It is different to eat breakfast on low lounge type table area, obviously designed for night life. To add to the ambiance, we see McDonald's from our table. Burger King and Pizza Hut are just down the street. I just hope WalMart does not invade.

We check out and go to the car to reorganize our bags. On this long of a trip, we take small rolling duffels or backpacks for our overnight stays and exchange clean clothing from the larger bags. It is difficult to wash clothing although our sweet Solveig washed ours last week. This plan works very well. We stay in the warmth of the enclosed parking lot to pack our bags for the Helsinki trip.

We decide to eat at a sushi place for lunch that is in a mall. It is in the center of the mall so people watching is at its best. Arvid and Karli go off and explore a bit. I stay, drink a glass of ice water and enjoy. We take off in search of the Silja Line. We thought that the Silja would have a dock near all the rest of the ferries and cruise ships near here. That is where we boarded the Birka when we took those trips in the past and the Viking Line in 1988. But no, we learn it is way across the city in an area where we have never been before.

We have such a hard time finding it. It says to stay right on a certain highway. We follow the main direction of the road but somehow still manage to get on wrong roads. There is a noticeable lack of street signs and directional signs here. I guess they do not want to clutter up the beauty of Stockholm with insignificant green road signs. We ask at many points; at shops and passing people and every time we are on the wrong route and have to drive back to an unmarked intersection. We see the sights and pass by the National Museum and the Nordic Museum for instance. It is ridiculous. Finally we stop at a tiny sandwich shop and she gives us the final leg of our journey. She actually sounds frustrated herself because many, many people come in every day in search of the ferry landing. She remarks that the city lacks clear signs for a major ferry.

We get to the dock at last and park. We left hours ahead of our scheduled departure and are very glad we did. We find that the parking is very cheap because tomorrow is some holiday so we do not have to pay for it. We sit and have a drink then after a long line, board the ferry.

View from one direction while standing on Promenade deck

View from the other directions while standing on the Promenade Deck

It looks so fun! There are characters dressed up like at Disneyland to greet you and there is a string quartet playing. On one end of the ship is a sign for a night club and casino that goes at least 6 stories up. On the other end is our buffet restaurant and a pub. There are elevators open to the walking mall. The rooms all have windows facing the walking mall too. Fun fun fun.

We find our room. It has 2 twin beds with 2 twins folded up in the wall. There is a window seat where you can sit and view the promenade deck. Small bathroom, closets and desk round out our room. We read the daily schedule and see you have to make reservations for dining. Our tickets say 8 PM. We would like to be on the 5 PM seating so we go down to see if that is possible. Arvid makes a 5PM reservation, so we go explore the ship until then.

Slot machines every where.

Wine shop and bar

One of many restaurants

The buffet is amazing. They boast it is a 7 course meal. First big oval serving area has appetizers and salads mostly. There is an overabundance of herring, fish, salmon, shrimp, and caviar. You could easily fill a plate with all the appetizers. There must be 15 kinds of salads at least. Most are labeled. Great beets by the way .

Hot food table with many meat choices and more potatoes and a some interesting things that were not labeled and we did not know what they were. There is an amazing variety. I think they are more traditional to the Finish culture rather than the Swedish.

There were your typical bread and crisp bread offerings with the cheeses and pates that I did not take a photo of. The drink bar was pretty good but I could not find any PLAIN WATER! Very disappointing. The water choice was sparkling mineral water, which I definitely dislike. They did have one bottle of red wine and one white wine on each table for you. There was beer on tap, along with the normal juice and soda offerings. These were included in the price of the buffet. The dessert bar was incredible. This is just one side of the dessert bar. There is a gelatin like square with various toppings like lingonberries, fresh raspberries, cloudberries and cream. There are cakes, tortes, puddings, fruit with sauces, fresh fruit, cheeses and the list goes on.

We sit at a nice table for 4. We notice there are some very large groups of people sitting at tables. They look like tour groups for sure. We have coffee and tea. The tea choices are not what we are used to. They are regular Lipton tea bags. We leave the buffet stuffed and ready to see some entertainment.

There are some dancers that look cute. First are 2 guys dressed as American skateboarders or hip hoppers or something. The do break dancing I guess. I was not too impressed, but they were okay. Then another group came out. They were dancing and put on a fine show. These were teasers for the entertainment tonight in the Atlantis. Then we see the acrobatic couple. We get some chairs set up from the wine shop that we place in front of the perfume shop. The couple are high up suspended by a rope from the very top level of the ship. It is amazing they can do that. They do a choreographed balancing and acrobatic performance to music. First they are on the floor then slowly move to a rope then up in the air. It is so beautiful. People on the ship are standing all over and then there are many who watch from their room windows.

After they perform we are watching them take down their equipment. Arvid talks to the girl and asks where they are from. She says she is from Bulgaria. You have to work very closely with the other person in their kind of performance and you put a lot of trust in the other person. Later, we see the two of them walk off hand in hand. Wow! They are a couple!

We go to the International Lounge at 9 PM. There is a live band doing songs in different languages. Mostly kids and a few adults dance. Dad gets a coffee drink and buys Karli "Sex on the Beach!" Neither are impressed with their drinks. Arvid sees a man sitting at the table next to us. His wife and kids were there before, but have left. He goes over to talk with him. Come to find out, he has lived in Helsinki for 20 years. He is originally from Ethiopia and now lives with his wife and children in Helsinki. Arvid stays and talks with him. Karli and I get bored with the music and decide to go back to the cabin.

The lounge is nice and there is no smoking allowed in there. There are colorful lights everywhere. There are many different levels so everyone can see. There are typical rolling chairs at each marble table. Lit dance floor that raises and lowers.

We are both in bed when Arvid gets back. The man Arvid talked with wants him to call when we get to Helsinki and gave his phone number. Helsinki in one hour difference in time. We have to get up 1 hour earlier for breakfast. The bed is very comfortable and the rolling waves put you to sleep easily. With our snoring and her nose being stuffed up, Karli does not sleep well at all.