Cruise Day 2

August 8  Day at Sea, Kiel to Stockholm
We returned to the ship in fine form after our day of sightseeing in Kiel and got dressed for dinner. We had 2 tables in the L'Hibiscus dining room, a table of 8 and a table of 4. This proved a bit of a challenge because we had 7 adults and 5 children. We decided to rotate who sat at the "little table" with Tim drawing the lucky spot for night number 1.  Our servers, Adriana and Lucas, kept us entertained with incredible food and magic tricks throughout the evening.  Since MSC is an Italian-owned ship, each evening featured dishes from different regions through Italy.  I have to admit, they all started to taste somewhat the same by day 4 but we still enjoyed the opportunity to choose from the menu up to 6 courses, with dessert always being a highlight.
Our day at sea was absolutely perfect.  Lots of sunshine (even on the Baltic Sea), warm temps, refreshing pools and a rousing game of mini-golf on the top deck.  Will and Troy spent hours preparing an "Olympic games" competition for our time on the cruise which was great fun until we discovered that supplies for events (like ping pong and suffleboard) were a bit limited.  Not to fear...as the sun began to set, all of us were a bit weary from the day's tiring schedule of sunbathing and drinking tropical drinks. Following dinner each night, the entertainment crew put on a gala spectacular in the ship's theater.  It reminded me a bit of Vegas, a little opera, death-defying acrobatics and even an appearance by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Safety first! The kids enjoyed practicing for disaster

That's Amore!

Day at Sea...perfect weather and plenty of things to do on board

I won a contest and was treated to a meal from the 5 star restaurant on board. Only drawback, I had to eat it at 11am!

Intense competition on the mini-golf course

The man in charge of the score

Ahhhh...Troy takes the Nestea plunge

Girls ready for the show

Stephanie and Bryan, Troy and Quinn

The Postma girls

Scouting the Divine

Goofing around at dinner

Purple Rain...our drink of choice

Ping Pong champs

"That's right...Who's bad?"  Michael Jackson

Baltic Sea Cruise: All Aboard!

Day 1: Leaving Copenhagen aboard MSC Orchestra

Our last morning in Copenhagen was spent touring Rosenberg Palace, the favorite home and place of death for King Christian IV.  It is an intimate castle with every room used and designed for comfort.  It seems King Christian was a bit of a jokester--he had a chair built that made fart noises and wet the person's pants when they sat down and he had a room completely covered in mirrors (including the floor) in order to see up women's skirts.  I was most impressed by the King's throne which was made out of narwhal tusks (first thought to be unicorn horns)...it absolutely glimmers in the light.  The Palace is also home to the royal treasury so the kids enjoyed getting an up close view of tiaras, crowns and massive pearl and diamond necklaces.

Copenhagen loves their favorite King...his crest is found everywhere

On the palace grounds, Rosenberg Palace, Copenhagen

r

The Little Mermaid, a gift from the first owner of Carlsberg breweries to the city.  Located at Langelinje pier.  

Before Lauren experienced life as a mermaid in Copenhagen's waters

Following the Palace tour we drove over to visit the Little Mermaid. Lindsey conveniently cued up the Disney song on her laptop as we drove by.  The kids and I hopped out to get up close and true to Lauren's nature, she fell in the water to be super close with her kindred spirit.  Surprise to us...the Little Mermaid is actually quite little.
Our cruise ship was docked fairly close to the Mermaid so Tim dropped us off with our luggage and went to find the parking garage for the cruise terminal.  This turned out to be about a mile away; sounds close when you're driving there but then you have to walk that same distance back to the ship.  Tim made it in record time and we proceeded to check in to our cabins, find the rest of our party and hit the buffet.

The kids enjoyed a little fruit treat while they waved to cool cars driving by

The Grand Staircase...lest you be confused by the other staircases where one would meet.  

Doing our nails on deck...it's important to have good cruise nails

Lindsey's favorite traveling companion