Scandinavia cruise (Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen) - Part I

We took the Royal Caribbean 3-nights Scandinavian cruise in Fall 2010.

Our cruise ship (Vision of the Seas)

The cruise started from Stockholm, Sweden and terminated in Copenhagen, Denmark docking at Gothenburg, Sweden and Oslo, Norway in between. The cruise is ideal to get a feel of Scandinavia though definitely not comprehensive as a day in each of the cities in the itinerary is clearly not sufficient to explore the cities fully - Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen are touristic hot-spots in their own right.

A 3-nights cruise is also a good way to "try out" cruising at a reasonable price (if this your first time), and in the worst case you won't be trapped for long if you get bored. This was actually our first cruise, and we had a lot of apprehensions before boarding

• if we would get sea-sick - we did take sea-sickness medicines with us. 
• if we would be able to eat the food served on board (as Indians, we have a lot of restrictions with respect to the type of food we can each). And, on board a ship, its not like you can wander outside and choose from the wide variety of restaurants available. So we actually took some puffed rice with us just in case - yes, we were that afraid and that prepared :)
• if the rooms will have their own washrooms,
• if we will get bored spending the whole day "locked up" in a ship and so on.

Fortunately, all our fears above turned out to be baseless and we really had a gala time on board - which led us to take our 2nd much longer cruise within a year - Adriatic Sea cruise. To briefly answer the above issues:

• Modern cruise ships are really stable and the chances of you getting sea-sick are very very less.
• Cruise ships, at least Royal Caribbean ones, have a wide variety of cuisines available for each meal including Indian. There are also 24hr cafes where you can get sandwiches, cakes, pizzas whenever you feel like. And, the good thing is that "all food" is included in your cruise price - so yes, eat as much as you like. And, you would not be the only one if you gained a few pounds on the cruise.
• All rooms are fully furnished with their own washrooms. 
• There is no way you will get bored. Each day (well, almost every day)  the ships docks at a new place with new things to explore. Even on those days where you sail the whole day, there are various entertainment options on board including shopping malls (with great deals!), cafes, casinos, you name it. There are also day-care options for children so parents can relax a bit.
• And, before you ask it, YES Internet is available but it is very costly. So think of it in a positive sense that it actually gives you an option to disconnect from the "connected" word - which is highly recommend while on a cruise with family.

Our Cruise bedroom

Ship interior

Theater inside the ship

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Details of the stopovers in this itinerary - Stockholm, Gothenburg, Oslo and Copenhagen in Part II of this blog. Coming soon!