Northern Cities Voyage: Cruise Pt. 3
In this fourth part of a multi-part series, Bethany explores the last part of her Northern Cities Voyage cruise from Kiel Canal, Germany through Visby, Sweden on Azamara.
June 2022 was big for me…it was the month I turned the big 5-0! In order to celebrate properly, I booked myself on my first non-river cruise, the wonderful 10-night Northern Cities Voyage cruise on the Azamara Pursuit (what I lovingly refer to as my “Fabulous 50 Cruise”!). This cruise starts in Lisbon, Portugal and ends in Stockholm, Sweden. As with my other cruises, this one covers entirely too many wonderful stops along the way to fit into just one single post, so this series is broken up into several parts. This fourth post spotlights the last part of the cruise, from Kiel Canal, Germany through Visby, Sweden.
Northern Cities Voyage Full Itinerary
Below is the full itinerary for the cruise. This post includes details about Day 8 through Day 10.
- Day 1 – June 7: Lisbon, Portugal
- Day 2 – June 8: Porto, Portugal
- Day 3 – June 9: At Sea
- Day 4 – June 10: St. Peter Port, Guernsey
- Day 5 – June 11: Honfleur, France
- Day 6 – June 12: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Day 7 – June 13: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Day 8 – June 14: Kiel Canal, Germany
- Day 9 – June 15: Copenhagen, Denmark
- Day 10 – June 16: Visby, Sweden
- Day 11 – June 17: Stockholm, Sweden
Missed the earlier posts in this series? No problem! Just click the buttons below to catch up:
Day 8: Kiel Canal
Day 8 of my Northern Cities Voyage dawned bright but cool. Today was an ‘at sea’ day, but not actually on a sea! We spent the day sailing through the Kiel Canal in Germany. This is a beautiful place to sail through and enjoy the lovely scenery along the way. We had to go through a lock to enter the canal. Further into the canal we sailed under a fairly low bridge…so low, in fact, that the able-bodied crew had to climb up and tilt the tallest mast down so we would fit. We made it through (with just enough clearance!) and continued to sail throughout the day.
A relaxing day on the ship meant plenty of time to enjoy a delicious Bloody Mary out on the pool deck while the sun was still out. The clouds rolled in as the day rolled on, but it was nice in the sun in the morning!
Some of the lush, verdant scenery as we glided along the Kiel Canal:
A German Lunch
Today’s lunch onboard was a German Frühschoppen, which is the German equivalent of brunch. There were all kinds of delicious German foods to try, from sausages hot off the grill to decadent Black Forest cake and everything in between. It was all served out on the pool deck, with the Pursuit Band playing festive German music to help us get in the spirit.
Fun and Games
This afternoon was all fun and games…literally! I had a blast participating in Crazy Golf and the Azoomara Car Race up in the Living Room. Our fabulous hosts Eddie and DJ Nelson ensured that fun was had by all. Crazy Golf was a rather challenging mini golf course set up throughout the Living Room. I only lost by one stroke! The Azoomara Car Race was an equally challenging course through which we navigated our radio-controlled race cars. I did well with only one penalty (you got a penalty each time your car touched a marker or hit one of the parked cars on the course), but my overall time was pretty slow!
White Night
After the fun-filled afternoon I headed back to my cabin to get ready for White Night that evening. Everyone dresses in white clothing for this fun evening. We had a delicious (and huuuuuuge!) buffet dinner. Our hotel manager Ngawhira and our food and beverage manager Iwan made fresh crepes Suzette for dessert and they were divine! After dinner we enjoyed the Crew Waves, where the entire crew do a parade around the upper deck while we all wave our white napkins and cheer for them. The evening was capped by the White Night Party with lots of music and dancing. Luckily the weather cooperated…the skies cleared and it warmed up a bit!
Day 9: Copenhagen, Denmark
Day 9 of my Northern Cities Voyage kicked off in Copenhagen, Denmark. We arrived into the port early in the morning and saw a pretty sunrise.
The Little Mermaid
After another delicious breakfast I headed out on the “Royal City of Copenhagen” excursion. Our first stop was to see the iconic Little Mermaid statue.
Rosenborg Palace
The first of two palaces on today’s excursion was Rosenborg Palace, and it is gorgeous! This palace was originally built in 1606-1607 as a summer house, by order of Christian IV (the King of Denmark and Norway, crowned in 1596). We started our tour here by walking around the gardens first, then headed into the main palace. Rosenborg Palace is also home to the Danish treasury, which for 400 years has taken care of the most precious treasures of Danish kings and queens. There are some beautiful items down in the well-guarded treasury, including the crown jewels.
When we got out of the treasury at Rosenborg Palace it was 11:00 am and the royal guard were just assembling for the changing of the guard.
Christiansborg Palace
The second palace we visited was Christiansborg Palace, which is every bit as beautiful and extravagant as the first one we visited! The Queen uses Christiansborg Palace for official events, such as gala dinners and public audiences. Here we had to wear protective booties over our shoes to protect the floors…some are wood and some are tile, and all are gorgeous!
A Relaxing Afternoon
On the ride back to the ship after the morning excursion we drove through the heart of Copenhagen. Back on board I tried a delicious local specialty called Toast Skagen (shrimp toast) for lunch. It was so, so good! I may or may not have had two servings at that lunch (and perhaps a few more once I got to Stockholm). I spent the afternoon relaxing in my cabin and enjoyed the peaceful view of the harbor from my veranda.
Chef’s Table
Tonight’s dinner was by far the most extravagant of all my dinners on the ship. I was fortunate to get a coveted reservation at the Chef’s Table. This amazing experience is a seven-course French dinner in the Prime C specialty restaurant. Each course is expertly paired with a wonderful wine. The head chef and sommelier presented each course to us. I joined nine other guests at the Chef’s Table this evening. It was a fantastic night of food and drink and, most importantly, meeting some wonderful new friends!
Day 10: Visby, Sweden
After a fabulous dinner (and a lot more wine than I usually drink!) the night before, I was delighted to have a slow and relaxing start on Day 10 of my Northern Cities Voyage. This morning was spent making our way to Visby, Sweden. I enjoyed relaxing and recharging on this half sea day!
Smorgasbord Lunch
Just before arriving into Visby we were treated to a delicious and delightful Swedish Smorgasbord lunch. There were many local Swedish specialty foods to try, and everything was wonderful. The Lucky Charm band also entertained us out on the pool deck as we sailed into Visby.
Three Churches
I did an excursion this afternoon that took me all around Visby and the Gotland Island. Gotland is Sweden’s largest island. It has a total area of around 1,200 square miles and a population of around 61,000. Visby is the largest and main town on the island, where over a third of the total population lives. Outside of Visby is mostly rural. Our excursion started with a drive through the charming countryside to visit three different churches on the island. The first two are still intact and the third is in ruins. All three churches are gorgeous and peaceful.
The first church is the simpler of the two intact ones. But even in the simple architecture and design, there is still so much beauty.
The second church is more elaborate and has more intricate details than the first one.
The third church, while in ruins now, is still strikingly beautiful. It was very peaceful here as we had a bit of time to wander through the church on our own and examine all of the intricate stone work.
Fishing Village
After the churches we stopped at the tranquil seaside fishing village of Tingstade. Here we had some time to explore the small fishing village. This is also a favorite summer holiday spot, with many small and tidy cottages available to rent. I enjoyed wandering through the quiet village on this warm, sunny afternoon.
Rock Formations
Just down the road from Tingstade we made a quick stop to see some interesting rock formations in Lickershamn.
Medieval City
Our final stops in Visby were to see the old medieval town wall that encircles the town center, the Visby Cathedral, and then down to the old port area near where our ship was docked. Visby really is a beautiful town!
So Long, Visby!
After the excursion wrapped up we headed back to the ship. It was funny to see our ship dwarfed by the much larger Holland America Line ship next to us in port! The larger ship left before ours did, so I had a beautiful view of Visby from my veranda as we set sail that afternoon. This evening was my final one onboard Azamara Pursuit. I saw one final stunning sunset and enjoyed a delicious Indian dinner in Windows Café this evening.
Conclusion
Days 8, 9, and 10 of my Northern Cities Voyage cruise on Azamara Pursuit were fantastic. I got to cross two more countries off of my list – Denmark and Sweden became numbers 27 and 28 on my ‘been there, done that’ list of countries! Countries 25 (Portugal) and 26 (Guernsey) were added earlier in the cruise. I found the Kiel Canal peaceful and beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Copenhagen but didn’t get to see nearly enough, so I have definitely added that to my (ever-growing) ‘gotta get back there someday’ list. My afternoon in Visby was also a wonderful experience, as I got to see a part of Sweden that is a bit off of the beaten path.
Stay tuned for the final installment in this series which will focus on two days on my own in Stockholm, Sweden after the cruise was finished.
Links
Click the buttons below to read the first three posts in this series:
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