We were here 4 years ago. I was looking up the history of Lithuania this morning and looked back to 31 May 2019 on the blog, only to find it was all set out there. If you enter May 2019 in the search box it will take you to it.
I realised this morning that my knowledge of the Baltic states is almost nil. There were traumatic times for Lithuania in the 1940’s and it was not until March 1990 that Lithuania was able to declare independence.
But on to today. It was a bright, sunny day. We couldn’t remember the berth, but we were in a commercial dock.
This time we went to the Old Town in a shuttle. The cobbles were a pain. Crossing any road was a nightmare, so we crossed the river (by a bridge!) to a more modern area. As it was a sunny day, some school teachers had clearly decided to bring their classes out. There were groups of happy children drawing, dancing and others eating from their matching lunchboxes
We remembered the sculpture park, but the lady shuttle organiser advised against a visit for reasons we didn’t really understand. We found a lovely coffee shop instead in the middle of the park and away from the crowds.
On our return to the ship I took this photo of the shuttle we had been in. This is the sort of vehicle that should be used in every port. Today all the shuttles were like this. The great thing about them is that they all have fold down ramps in the middle so every shuttle can take 2 or 3 wheelchair users and a large number of able bodied people.
In addition, as we walked to the ship we came across some police cars and this armoured police vehicle. I hid in case they were looking for me. It transpires they were not but if someone knows what had happened could they please let me know?
Saturday in Poland. It looked promising. As I looked down on the dockside where we were berthed, 3 white vehicles were parked. All had stickers marked
CUNARD – SHUTTLE BUS
Fantastic. The message must be getting through. They were adapted vehicles designed to take 2 wheelchairs and seats for 6 others.
By the time we were off the ship, 2 of the adapted vehicles had left for town. We were loaded into the 3rd and off we went on a 20 minute ride. We were told that the drop off point was the Riviera Shopping Mall which meant nothing to us, but when we arrived we found that we were in the middle of a large carpark, miles from any of Gdynia’s highlights. There was this massive shopping Mall and nothing else. All the shuttles were going there dropping off hundreds of Queen Victoria’s passengers.
You know me by now. I hardly ever complain (!) but this smacked of something underhand. Why would Cunard want to deposit hundreds of their guests at a vast shopping mall, miles from the centre of the town in a country the guests had probably never been to before? I wonder who funded or contributed to the cost of the transport to the mall?
I will be preparing a paper for Cunard. I apologise for boring you with this but I fear that Cunard hand over the transport issues and the organisation of tours to local operators and retain little or no control themselves over what happens.
What was also of interest was that at the drop off point in the vast carpark were a number of taxis, waiting for passengers who would soon realise that they had been dropped in the middle of nowhere. The taxi drivers would then take away those who wanted to see the highlights of Gdynia and/or Gdańsk. Of course none of those taxis could take a wheelchair so we were lumbered!
A vast supermarket – the biggest I have ever seen on the ground floor and then floor after floor populated by every worldwide retail outlet known to man.
The most exciting part of the day was when Jane and Kim decided to leave me as I was trying to buy a piece kit to enable me to transfer photos from my camera to my new iPad. The lead I had, worked on my old iPad but not the new one. You all know what Apple are like. Perpetually changing the fittings. I thought Kim said they were off to Matalan on the first floor, but I apparently misheard her.
The chap in the electrical shop eventually decided that he didn’t have the bit if kit I needed but said there was an Apple Store in the complex and pointed me in what he said was the right direction. I never found the Apple Store. Having walked for what seemed like hours, I thought I ought to find Kim and Jane. An information kiosk told me they had never heard of Matalan. I looked at my phone for Kim’s number. I didn’t have it.
Houston – Mission Control – we have a problem.
Where in this massive complex could they possibly be? Do I go back to the electrical store and hope that they back track there or do I go to the shuttle drop off point and hope they go there?
Then I see a sign for TK Maxx. Could that be the place that they were going to on the 1st floor? Jane likes the one at Hedge End. This one is vast and I scour it with no success. I contemplate a coffee and then Kim spots me. Drama over. And what sort of coffee are we forced to endure? Costa Coffee. The one I avoid at home.
The outing to Gdynia is not what we had hoped.
As we were sorting out adapted buses 2 days later for the trip into Copenhagen, I raised the issue of the shuttles into Gdynia very gently with a very nice member of the tour staff. Clearly I wasn’t the first to raise the issue as she had an immediate answer. She said the local council would not provide a place for the shuttle buses to drop off and pick up passengers! Does anyone think that likely? The local council would surely be desperately keen to have hundreds of tourists visiting their town and spending money there.
Parties are back. Last year, when cruising resumed following Covid, the Captain and officers were rarely seen around the ship. Now they are not only seen around the ship but joining the guests at parties in the Queens Room.
Last night the drinks were flowing freely at the World Club party. That’s for Cunarders who have cruised frequently with Cunard. The Deputy Captain spoke and introduced the Senior Officers.
Today at lunchtime at the Senior Officers party again there was a great atmosphere as staunch supporters of Cunard began to feel that the old traditions were returning. Laurence and Linda Coleman were there and introduced me to the Customer Services Manager, Callum. They also pointed out to me an elderly man who apparently lives on the ship.
Some of you may recall that an American lady, Beatrice Muller lived on QE2 for many years. Her last voyage on QE2 was just before she was sold (QE2 not Mrs Muller). She was 89 years old. She was paying between £3,500 and £5,000 a month, which was far less than she would have paid for a place in a retirement home. And she became such a personality that she she rarely had to buy a drink for herself!
Mrs Beatrice Muller
For the last 2 weeks the sea has been calm but today it was less so. We are out of the Baltic and back in the North Sea and from lunchtime onwards it’s been lumpy.
It was noticeable that many tables were empty at dinner tonight. I guess people were caught out by the sudden change from a flat calm for nearly 2 weeks to a fairly rough sea. Frankly, with the stabilisers out the ship is not moving much, but there are a large number of elderly people with walking difficulties and they are the people affected in the main.
The singers and dancers were due to give their final performance tonight (Tuesday) but it has been cancelled because of the ships movement. It’s a shame because they are very good and their 7 month contract comes to an end in Southampton. It would have been a great finale.
I found this on line, drawn by one of our fellow passengers – Queen Victoria and the Little Mermaid.
Sadly we didn’t see the mermaid this time. In the past, ships moored close to her and it was a short walk to see her. We were tied up this time further out of town in what appeared to be a newly developing dock area. Two large MSC ships were moored ahead of us
There would be large numbers of tourists in town today.
The very helpful lady from the tour office was in charge of shuttles today and was keen to keep me updated. I think she had been warned about me. There were to be 3 or 4 separate adapted vehicles each taking 2 wheelchair users and 6 carers/supporters.
When we were ashore an adapted vehicle arrived within 10 minutes and we were off. The sun was out and it was warming up. It was a 20 minute journey to get into the centre of Copenhagen.
We aimed for Nyhavn. The well known area was packed.
Thousands were lunching, more were queuing for tickets for boat trips up the canal and cobblestones were prolific. We decided that we would turn and travel in the direction of the Tivoli Gardens. Walking in the traffic free areas was easy and it was flat. There were plenty of cheerful people of all nationalities enjoying an early summer day.
We walked a long way and eventually turned left and left again, taking in the amazing architecture .
It was an excellent day. When we returned to the shuttle meeting place, an adapted vehicle was ready to leave and we were soon back at the ship, tired but happy.
This was the view from the cabin. The Baltic has thousands of these wherever you travel
At dinner tonight the iPads and mobiles were produced and Peter and Frank had photos of the group taken by the waiters. When the photos arrive I will include them in the blog. Frank and Jean are from Droitwich and Peter and Sylvia are from Matlock.
They have been great table companions and we have learned an enormous amount about the middle of England from them. They have learned very little from us, but I must congratulate them on listening to the same old stories that I churn out to anyone who feels obliged to listen.
New photos have arrived from Frank Davies and Peter Freeman. The last formal night.
Kim, Jane, Richard, Peter, Sylvia, Frank and Jean
And I’ve found some more from our day in Copenhagen
In most of the Cities we visited on this cruise, electric rental scooters and electric rental bicycles were everywhere, sometimes in racks but often just discarded in the streets. But here in Copenhagen it was clear that most of the population were propelling themselves about on standard bicycles. This was a batch in a semi organised bike park!
