From Russia with love

I have just returned from a Fred Olsen cruise on the Braemar to the Baltic and what a great experience it was!

Being the smallest ship in the Fred Olsen fleet at a mere 24,000 tonnes and with a passenger capacity of only 929 passengers, the Braemar has the great advantage of being able to dock where the bigger ships can’t as well as get into the more interesting ports and even traverse the Kiel canal (like we did) as she is shallow-hulled. We were actually being photographed by the locals along the Kiel canal as it was unusual to see such a large passenger ship make that trip even with over 40,000 boats & ships each year making the journey!

Add to this an excellent standard of food with lots of choice, very friendly staff with tip-top customer service and an excellent entertainment team and you have a recipe for success!

We sailed out of Southampton with the normal sailaway party in dark stormy skies and sailed into the sunshine for almost two weeks – when you’re sailing in a Northerly direction that is no mean feat! First port of call after two days at sea was Copenhagen and such a beautiful city with many miles of canals from the beautiful area of Nyhavn which dates back to the 17th Century we took a one hour canal boat ride which took us around the main attractions of the city including the Little Mermaid which was much smaller than you would think. Amalienborg Palace, winter home of the Danish royal family and the home of the Danish Parliament at Christiansborg Palace.  Then we walked onto the beautiful Tivoli Gardens which was well-worth a visit.

After another day at sea we arrived in beautiful Helsinki and took in another lovely city bathed in sunshine, we walked to the Cathedral, mooched around the local market including the indoor food market where they were selling all types of reindeer meat and delicious smoked salmon.

It was also my husband Ed’s birthday that day so he had the pleasure of the whole restaurant singing him ‘Happy Birthday’!

The next day we arrived at the highlight of the cruise St Petersburg!  We pre-booked the two day Grand Tour of St Petersburg and in doing this our visas for Russia were included in the cost – if you tour independently you will have to organise your own visas at a high cost and lots of red tape involved!  In the Grand Tour we visited the following: The Hermitage which is the State Museum of art and culture is housed in both the summer and winter palaces and of three million artefacts less than 10% are displayed.

Next on to the visually iconic Church of the Spilled Blood with it’s stunning mosaics, and then St Isaac’s Cathedral.  After a typical Russian lunch of borscht (beetroot soup) and beef stroganoff served with a vodka chaser we were visiting the Yusupov Palace which is where the infamous Rasputin was murdered.  We were then taken on a restful river cruise through the cities canals which was very much appreciated in the beaming sunshine after such a busy day!  As we were doing the full Russian experience after a quick wash and brush up back on the ship, we were taken to the Carnival Concert Hall in the city to see the ballet Swan Lake which was truly beautiful.  The next day after an especially early start we were off to visit Catherine’s palace in Pushkin which is absolutely dripping in gold after being restored as it was bombed and raided during the Second World War. The ballroom in the palace was modelled on the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles in Paris.  We then visited the Peterhof Palace Gardens with their statues covered in 24 carat gold leaf.

After a quick bite of lunch we were visiting Peter & Paul Fortress where the Cathedral there holds the remains of the Russian Royal Family including the Romanov family who were murdered in 1917 – a very moving experience!

Well after all that excitement we needed a day at sea to relax and that is exactly what we got!  Followed by a chilled out day in Ronne in Denmark which is an historical town on one of the many islands of Denmark and very quaint.  The last port of call we had after transversing the Kiel Canal was Travemunde in Germany and it’s  a lovely boutique seaside resort and from there you could catch the local train or bus into nearby Lubeck which architecturally is really interesting. One more day at sea and we were arriving back in Southampton after enjoying a total of three formal nights and one British night for which Fred Olsen is renowned!  All in all a fabulous cruise ticking off lots on our bucket list – why not ask me about all things Fred?