Finally I will come to an end of our long story about our Baltic Cruise we did recently with this summery about our experiences and what we learned from all this plus pros and cons with this kind of budget cruise deal we did jump upon.

Why did we go on this cruise between Stockholm – Tallinn – St Petersburg – Helsinki – Stockholm? It was not only because we got a budget deal with St Peter Line, no we also had other reasons as follow.

First of all I just have to mention that on this cruise we were really following in the vikings footsteps, because they did sail from Stockholm and up to St Petersburg through the same bay as we did cruise. That was perhaps reason number one to go.

Secondly, because we had heard so much about it. Honestly, perhaps not one of our most wanted travel destinations, but since we got this one chance to see both Tallinn and St Petersburg in the same cruise, we did jump on it since we might never go there otherwise.

The third reason was because I have personal relations to this part of the world. I have relatives living in Estonia and have heard so much about both Estonia and Russia from them, already many years ago when it was more closed countries. History always is so fascinating even if it’s kind of a bad history if you know what I mean, isn’t it?

You have already read about all our experiences during the cruise as well as the fact that we did escape from the cruise because of our bad experiences aboard and stayed in Helsinki before boarding another cruise ship instead. (If not: check the links in the end of the post to update yourself)

Pros: For the first time in history a Visa Free Cruise from Sweden to Russia started in April 2011. The new ferry line might be the most easy way of traveling to Saint Petersburg and be there within 72 hours without a visa. We also got to see authentic Russian shows of Music Hall cabaret aboard the ship, which was very good.

Cons: M/S Princess Anastasia is a very old ship and even though she is renovated, standard is very low and especially if you’re used to other bigger cruise lines. Our cabin was not very nice with dirty covers, flaking bathroom floor and moldy shower, despite the fact that we had upgraded to A-cabin. It’s also very noisy in the cabins.

Another couple got a water leakage from their cabin and had to change cabin because of it. A-Cabins at other budget cruise ships as Silja Symphony, is way over this standard! Even our B-cabin at Silja were so much better!

Would I recommend going with this cruise ship or even this cruise line? No. Even if you get a bargain price, I would recommend to wait and save your money, to go with any of the other better cruises instead. This ship is too worn out and when it comes to the cruise line, we also did think that they are bad at inform you right about things.

There is information you get, that is quite contradictive to each other, so IF you go: be sure to double check everything!

Didn’t we check up this cruise before we booked? Yes, we did, but it was not easy to find anything bad written about them when we did that check up.

What we have learned from this is that don’t jump on bargain deals too fast before thinking after if it’s for the right reasons you do it – and if you’re prepared to take the risk that it might not at all be what you thought it would be.

If you find any undone food objects in the cooked breakfast – do not eat them, they may come out later in unexpected and unwanted ways, keeping you locked up in the toilet all night without any sleep…

Also count on the fact that the food bill will become much, much more expensive than you thought, since you might not want to only eat the cheapest food at the budget places all the time for 4 days – and also: it’s way too easy to order Champagne… *giggles*

©Lifecruiser Love Cruises

Related Baltic cruise posts by Lifecruiser:

How we escaped from a cruise and ended up in jail… Part 1
How we escaped from a cruise and ended up in jail… Part 2
Our night in Katajanokka Jail
Baltic Cruise Stop Tallinn – UNESCO Cultural Heritage
Saint Petersburg Souvenirs
The Idiots Sightseeing of Saint Petersburg
Photo: Illusionary Window
Baltic Cruise Stop Helsinki
Last Cruise Leg Silja Symphony