Experience: to my beloved city on my beloved ship

On Friday I did something I've done many times before - a daycruise to Helsinki on Viking XPRS. As I have mentioned I booked the trip hardly a week before and I never really found a moment to plan my stay. I found myself wondering what to do only about an hour before the departure, but as it always seems to be with Helsinki, I had no problems keeping myself entertained at all. I guess I can add that to my long list of reasons why I love Helsinki to bits.

I'll start with Viking XPRS. While planning my first five or so trips on her, I did indeed check and consider other offers, but I've always just ended up choosing her, completely unintentionally. I never had any special reasons to pick her, especially since I started with her before I was even into ships. It has always been about the price-quality ratio, age restrictions (if you're under 16 you have to ask mommy or someone relevant to travel, that's about it really) and perfect locations in both cities. 

And now it's come to this - I'm starting to understand why some people develop a kind of an emotional bond with one specific vessel, even if she's not so remarkable in any way. It feels quite different when you know exactly what's around the corner, where you can find power plugs and where you most certainly will not find them, the direction of the ship at any given time, the tiny imperfections in her livery, the sound of the ship engine in different situations, etc.

Now that I was back on her for the first time after her recent docking, and as expected, not much was changed. Along with her shiny new Estonian flag came a new crew, slight changes in livery which I already discussed, and I found the ship looking much fresher both on the outside and inside, and the ship store rearranged. Still the same Viking XPRS I know. 

Yeah, she's Estonian alright.

Ships in the morning - Viking XPRS, Superstar, Silja Europa

Met Star about halfway..

.. and Finlandia close to Helsinki.

An army of angry bloodthirsty Villes. I assume they haven't been fed this morning, or maybe I've been calling them cute too much.

Some days before the trip I was playing around with the idea of bringing my bike along to make moving around Helsinki easier. I contacted Viking Line and found out that bringing a bike along will cost 5€ a crossing, obviously I would've had to change my booking, and show up at the car check-in. The latter was the only part of it I found somewhat thrilling, and considering the rapidly and unpredictably changing weather conditions and a rather limited budget, I dropped the idea. I didn't have to regret it, because during my first hour in Helsinki it was raining. I'll surely do a biking trip some other time, but this time I took a one-day transport ticket instead. Not only did it cost less than bringing a bike, but it was also much more beneficial - at one point, I found myself hanging around in Itäkeskus, then near the West Harbour, then in the center again, then Suomenlinna, then Hakaniemi, and so on. I can now proudly say that I've had my transport ticket checked in Helsinki as well. I hardly noticed it until the lady actually asked to see my ticket. I wish they were as cultured here in Tallinn too.

A kiddie train in Itis (a shopping mall in Itäkeskus)

A really nice building at Abrahaminkatu.

Going to very different places and areas in one day, many of them completely new to me, made the day feel so much longer, more eventful and successful. I've determined that, when travelling, I'm a day person - I tend to run out of energy and things to do just about at the time the sun sets. Therefore it's much more beneficial for me to cruise in summer, in addition to many other reasons. This time my trip was at the time of equinox, so I only returned to the port to wait for the ship about two hours early, which isn't bad at all. 

Princess Maria and Finlandia at the West Harbour

Another view of Princess Maria

Suomenlinna II

I have been to Suomenlinna three times now, and all of those times, unfortunately, have been during winter season. I probably wouldn't even have bothered this time, but Suomenlinna just happens to be the birthplace of some of the greatest ship photos of Helsinki (even though, as I've mentioned a ton of times, the whole city is packed with great photo spots). The last time I was there a year ago I had no intention of taking ship photos, and the timing wasn't so good either. When going to Suomenlinna, I've always been served by the ferry Suomenlinna II, but this time I had Suokki instead. There was hardly any difference between them, especially in the exterior, but the interior of Suokki seemed much older, probably because everything is made of wood. On ferries that small and with crossings taking only 15 minutes, differences don't really matter though. 

The best of all photo spots

Silja Serenade in the morning

passing by Gabriella

Both Stockholm ferries in one picture

Silja Serenade departing Helsinki

Approaching Kustaanmiekka strait

Gabriella doing the same thing about 30 minutes later

Going..

.. and gone.

Also, I almost forgot to mention that tomorrow, one year will have passed since the creation and the first post of this blog. Surprisingly for myself, I haven't changed much in it ever since and I've been quite successful so far, which means that I probably will keep going in the same direction. I'm always open for ideas, suggestions and questions, though. ☺

Estonian Maritime Academy II

Today the doors were open at the Estonian Maritime Academy again. Obviously, I was there. Again.

This year it was very different compared to last year. Since the academy will be united with Tallinn University of Technology, the event connected the whole university and instead of the long lecture, there was a fair-like thingy, where I could learn about all the opportunities they offer. I didn't really expect that, and thus turned up right at the beginning. Most of the time I spent chatting with the nice people at the Maritime Academy stand, tying some knots, learning more about the future of the institution etc. Had I known that the event was going to be different, I would've turned up later though - I ended up having to find something to do until the bus took us to the building of the academy. 

This little guy was lurking around at the fair, smiling and waving to people. When one of the cadets blocked his camera, he lowered the iPad on top (at least I think it was an iPad or smth?) and we had a little laugh. When I wanted to take a picture of him, I felt a strange temptation to tap him on the shoulder. I'm not quite sure if he was really cool, or a little bit creepy - especially when he stared at me for like a minute. 

After the fair, as I mentioned, we were taken to the building of the Academy and shown the bridge simulators. Last year they still had some programming bugs and the rooms smelled like restoration works. This year the simulator was well improved with many different real ships and areas available, and it still smelled like restoration works. I got to drive a coast guard patrol boat out of the harbour - after crashing it into a pier. ☺

On the bridge of Silja Festival, in icy waters, near a burning tanker.

All in all, I had a lot of fun. Now I only have one year left to reconsider, which I probably won't, because I've already had a year to do it and I still haven't.

In the meanwhile

It's been about a month since my last update, and although it may seem like I haven't done much, that's not the case. I've done some little shipspotting, mainly with the goal to get some proper photos of the regulars. Some more, like Victoria I for example, have gone through a docking.  I have started some serious work on my school research about the history of passenger ship traffic between Tallinn and Helsinki since 1965. To make conclusions about the current situation, I have opened up a poll - if you haven't answered yet, I'd greatly appreciate if you did so here.

Do you like Silja Europa? 

Or perhaps Superstar?

I'm also quite proud of myself, because I've got a job in the meanwhile - quite a nice one, in fact. The people there are really nice, the work itself is fun, the atmosphere is awesome and getting paid for it is like a really sweet extra that comes with it. So, should any of you find yourself in Tallinn - or if you live here - head over to Olde Hansa the medieval restaurant and have a taste of delicious almonds made at the spot. You may even find me right there. Maybe. ☺

But the greatest news of them all is that I'm going to Helsinki again on Friday. It will be the first day cruise I'll be doing alone, also I'll get to see if anything at all has changed on Viking XPRS during and after her recent docking. It's also by far the most spontaneous trip I've ever had - I booked it two days ago after seeing a sweet offer of 15€ per face for a day cruise, with the condition of at least one minor in the company. Nothing was said about any adults though, and I'm in my last 6 months of minority now. Lucky.

10 000

Today I'm happy to announce that, since the creation of this blog, lots and lots of wonderful people have found their way to my blog, adding up to more than 10 000 page views!

That is already more than once in every hour since the blog's creation, on average.

If I were to assume that all those views were from different people, it would make my dear readers a crowd big enough to fill...

.. about four Finlandias,

... three Silja Europas,

or two Norwegian Epics!

I consider that quite a milestone and when I created this blog, I never really imagined that anyone would actually be reading it. So, if you're reading this - thank you so much, I really appreciate it!

In addition to that, yesterday the keel was laid for Mein Schiff 4 at STX Finland Turku shipyard.

My 2013

Although it's already February, I never feel complete without summing up the year that has passed. Last year I did so in my other blog, which I don't update anymore, so if you wish to read it, look here - My 2012.
Many of the events I'm about to describe can also be found in the archives of this blog.

January

I welcomed the New Year in Finland and unexpectedly did another day cruise in the end of the month. My health was bugging me the whole winter though, and it's also the reason why I consider the latter one of the worst trips I've ever had. I had the idea of going to Finland as an exchange student, and I started working for that. The shipping events that I watched included the maiden voyage of Viking Grace, Finlandia replacing Nordlandia (and Nordlandia replacing Translandia for a short period of time), and most importantly my favourite of the time Silja Europa swapping routes with Baltic Princess, therefore coming to Tallinn.

February

Quite a boring month, my health was still playing tricks and my school results weren't so great either. I tried to get something done with the YFU exchange thing without much success. At the same time my ship love that had been cooking since autumn, slowly started to break out. On the Estonian Independence day, there was an event named "Estonian Minute": people were asked to take pictures of whatever surrounds them on the day at 1 o'clock. I couldn't help but notice that Silja Europa departs at the same time. I had not yet seen her and so that event became my first shipspotting ever. 

March

Unlike February, March was very eventful and lifechanging - as well as it was the year before. I'm a bit anxious about March 2014, but anyway... where to start...

First of all, my love for ships took over my life. I opened this blog and I'm very proud of it now. I also made my goal to become a captain one day, and I visited the open doors day in Estonian Maritime Academy. Viking Line announced that Isabella, who had been replaced by Grace, would be doing Tallinn-Helsinki in summer, and I started planning a trip. If I'm not mistaken, I also joined the Cruise & Ferry group on Facebook in March, and I'm still very active there. 

April

Since my priorities had changed, I cancelled the plan of going for an exchange and started planning a long stay with my Finnish boyfriend of that time instead. I also started going to a temporary class of ice skating. In early April it was announced that Tallink bought Isabella from Viking Line and named her Isabelle, I was quite disappointed, but then she was moved to Tallinn for repainting. In the end of the month I spent a weekend in Helsinki. Earlier, the port of Tallinn had released the cruise schedules for the season and the first ship, Astor, called on the 30th of April. I had seen her in Helsinki a few days before and so I decided to skip it. While looking through the schedules, I also found out about AIDA Cruises and many other cruise companies for the first time. 

May

I know this is like the 5th time I publish this picture but it sums up and describes the whole month just perfectly.

I had confirmed a two month stay in Finland starting in the end of the month, and my future favourite AIDAmar called for the first time ever on the 13th. On the 20th, I saw Tarja Turunen, who is one of my favourite singers, live. The concert was great, but not quite as great as the concert I attended in June. In the meanwhile I also had the idea to switch to the maths & sciences class at school and did the necessary work. I was looking forward to and dreading the end of the month at the same time. When I finally left on the 31st, I had quite mixed feelings. I was sad to be leaving Tõnis and the sweet cruise destination that is my hometown, but on the other hand I was very impressed by Silja Europa. 

June

Having arrived to Finland, I started going from one party to another because all my friends there were graduating from secondary school. After the partying was over I found myself with not much to do and for the first time ever, I felt homesickness. I spent most of my days reading books and when the weather allowed I went swimming at the lake. The guy I was staying with noticed my state, I decided to end my relationship with him and booked a return trip for the 11th of June. After that there wasn't much left to do but to enjoy my time in Finland. I visited the Särkänniemi amusement park, and on the 8th I went to Sauna Open Air festival to see my favourite band Nightwish live for the 2nd time and that gig was by far the best I've ever been to. My returning to Estonia was different from the usual in many ways - for the first time ever I was very happy to be back home and it's also the only time I've crossed on a fast ferry literally in the middle of the day. Soon after returning I bought a new camera and the first event I recorded with it was Tõnis' graduation from primary school. On the 13th I saw Nordlandia, who is now known as Isabella I, for the last time before she left for Gibraltar and on the 30th, the keel was laid for AIDAprima.

July

Since July was the peak of the cruise season, I was very often out at the seaside. In addition to that, I started going to Reval Maritime School three times a week, with the goal of getting a pleasure craft driving licence. July also saw Tallinn Maritime days and I started to plan a cruise for my birthday. 

August

The beginning of August mostly consisted of continuing the course. In early August we had the motorboat practice which was one of the highlights of the summer. Shortly before my birthday I successfully finished the course and did a mini-cruise to Helsinki on Silja Europa. In August I found out that Cinderella would be moved to Tallinn for some weeks in Christmas. 

September

I started school in a new class again, and it got remarkably harder compared to the previous school year. It took me some time to get used to, therefore my results at the start weren't so good. After school Tõnis & I often went to spot some of the last cruise ships of the season and on the 23rd we did a kind of a "grand finale". We got a permission to enter the restricted area of the Port of Tallinn and sent away our special ship, the AIDAmar, on the cruise quay. On the 1st of September, the last day of the summer break, I got to steer a sailboat named Minna for a few round trips on Tallinn Bay. Later on I finally received the licence that I had been working for the whole summer.

 October

October was not very eventful, just school and routine, but during the school break I went on a cruise to Stockholm. It was something I had wanted to do for many years and it's a bit more difficult due to age restrictions, but it was a really great cruise. In October, Silja Festival returned to Tallinn after a charter and I saw her for the first time.

November

A few weeks after the arrival of Silja Festival, Regina Baltica also ended her charter and arrived to Tallinn. Besides that, nothing much happened. Later on I booked a trip on Cinderella, which took place after the New Year.

December

December started with a spree of ship accidents, among others the collapsed ramp of Star and Amorella running aground. Later on, around Christmas, several ships that don't usually come here, visited. In the meanwhile my school results had improved to some of the best I've ever had and in the end of the year I was very satisfied with myself and the year that passed. I still am. I was happy when the year started and I'm even happier now, and 2014 has some serious competition. So far everything is great and I hope that things will go as planned. 

The Livery Post

Although Silja Serenade is still docked, both Viking XPRS and Cinderella have returned to service and first photos are spreading: Viking Line continues to refresh the look of their fleet and now both of the mentioned ships have hull stripes, similar to those of Amorella and Grace. That means only Mariella, Gabriella and Rosella are plain red now, and it's likely that they'll be given a paint job during their next dockings as well. Although the change is small, I'm very excited about it and today I went to the seaside to watch Viking XPRS arrive. It's also kind of cool that I have some photos that are history now.

Viking XPRS before...

.. and now!

I've always found Viking XPRS to be one of the most beautiful day cruise ferries around here, and the white stripes make her even better. Beautiful, isn't she?

Scars from the past

Some dock photos of Viking Cinderella from www.skanskan.se have also reached me. I hope I'll get a chance to see her and take my own photos sometime this year.

Sitting dry

Red stripes and new writings

In addition to these exciting news, the topic of ship liveries has caused a lot of debate in the Cruise & Ferry group I'm in on Facebook. I must admit it's a topic I'm quite passionate about and I've wanted to write about it ever since the creation of this blog so now seems a perfect time to do so. I've seen people who only like their ships all white or with a very modestly coloured hull. With all respect to them, I don't see how it's possible to ruin a ship just by painting her. I personally find an all white ship a bit boring, if not a pointlessly empty drawing space and I prefer an original solution to an empty space anytime. In fact, a good hull art could really save a ship with a bad shape. On the other hand, I do like the ships that look as if they've been dipped in paint, like Cunard or Holland America Line, but to leave a ship all white it needs to have either lots of big windows or an outstanding shape. That's just my opinion though. And now I'll allow myself a bit of judging. 

Superstar: The livery is often said to contribute to seasickness. Not my favourite either, but I wouldn't call it ugly.

Mein Schiff 1 and Finlandia: Both really well done, and the majority seems to be with me on this one.

Ryndam: What I meant by "dipped in paint". Although not very outstanding, she looks great.

Norwegian Star: Her and her fleetmates go quite high on my list for their efforts of avoiding a plain white hull. Without the paintings they could easily be confused with MSC, Costa, Carnival or P&O, if you cover the funnel, of course. The Star and her sisters actually have quite an interesting shape.

Since I already mentioned P&O,  I should mention that they're all getting a new uniform hull art, starting from Britannia.  I like it, and I'm glad there will be less cruise ships that could easily be confused with each other.

Star: Another "dip", just unusual colour. Some find that outrageous, but I find her a bit boring. 

Celebrity Constellation: A great example of the shape and the livery complementing each other to make an original looking whole. I haven't heard anyone say anything bad about her or her fleetmates either. Some, like the Eclipse, are mostly white but still very interesting.

Silja Europa: Great as she is, wouldn't look any worse if she was all white. On the other hand, I doubt a "dip" would look good on her.

AIDAmar: Obviously I love her as she is, the idea of painting a face on the ship is great and the result isn't bad either.  Although she and her fleetmates owe most of the fame and love to their painted faces, I'm well convinced that she -as well asthe whole sphinx class- would stand out and still be my favourite even if she was all white.

To sum up, when it comes down to either loving or hating something with no inbetween option, I usually choose to love it. But that is my opinion and you don't have to agree with it.