Baltic Cruise 2010 - July 26 through August 10

Over the past couple of years we've had several friends who have tried to convince us to go on a gay cruise. The Mexico and Caribbean ones have always kind of scared us as they seemed too much like 7-day non-stop parties. Earlier this year we found out about an Atlantis cruise to the Baltics that seemed like it had enough really interesting places that it might strike the right balance of partying and sightseeing, so we booked a room. We also convinced our friends Alex & Jason and Pete & Kevin to go.

After flying from San Francisco to Munich and then to Copenhagen, we arrived at 10pm and were at our hotel, The Square, by 11, where we had a nice room overlooking the plaza. We met our friends Pete and Kevin for drinks at one bar with outdoor seating and then walked around the town center for a bit. We ended up at another (very smoky) bar where we met Darrin and Allen, who were also on our cruise. We ended up staying until about 2am, then headed back to the room to get some sleep.

We woke up around 9 and had breakfast in the hotel. We met Pete & Kevin, then walked through town to the water, where we hopped on an hour long boat tour of the city which wound through the canals and gave us a good overview of things. Jason & Alex arrived as we finished the boat tour and we walked with them down to the theater building for lunch. Afterwards we walked to city hall and then caught one of the hop-on/hop-off buses which drove us though the center of town. A second bus took us out further, past the zoo, and then dropped us off near Tivoli Gardens.

We decided to head back to the hotel for a bit. After a nap we re-joined the group and walked over to Puk where we ate dinner outdoors across from a youth hostel. Then we strolled over to Tivoli Gardens, the amusement park that Disney World was modeled after. We saw a swing ride that was ridiculously high and all decided to ride it. The line took about 45 minutes, but it was worth it! Rick and Randy decided to head to the hotel to sleep, while the rest of the group stayed and rode the roller coaster before calling it a night.

After another breakfast at the hotel, we set out to explore more of the city. Rick led us to a church with a tall spiral tower. The climb to the top was 420 steps, but the view was totally worth it. We walked back to a cafe named Chilimili near the hotel where we had lunch, then went to the room to pack.

We took a cab with Jason and Alex to the port where we checked in for the cruise. They whisked us through check-in and the boarding process and took us up to our room. We had booked one of the two penthouse suites on the ship, and it was incredible. It's 1300 square feet(!) included a living room, a dining room, a separate bedroom with a huge bathroom and dressing room, a separate guest bathroom, a kitchen/pantry, and a huge deck with it's own hot tub. At 5pm there was a lifeboat and safety drill on deck 3. Afterwards we went back to the room, settling in and unpacking. Then we went down to the Neptune Lounge (a lounge with a concierge dedicated to the suites on the ship) for a "welcome aboard" party where we met the captain and the Atlantis staff members.

We then joined the rest of the group and explored the whole ship with Pete leading us around like a curious puppy. In the Mariner's lounge the bartender, Roger, entertained us and made us laugh. Then we changed clothes and headed to the Tamarind restaurant, one of two on the ship which required reservations. Afterwards Rick headed to the room to rest while Randy and the rest of the group went to the main auditorium to watch a "broadway" style show. It was pretty bad and Randy left after about 30 minutes, but then re-joined the group later for the dance party on the Lido deck. Everyone seemed very friendly and we had lots of fun. A late night sandwich was in order before heading off to bed.