Overnight adventure on the Baltic Sea
Nov 19, 2004
Staring is rude†and I subscribe to this view, but I did it on purpose when I sailed to Helsinki, Finland from Stockholm in Sweden aboard Silja Serenade
By Angella Nabwowe
in Sweden
Staring is rude†and I subscribe to this view, but I did it on purpose when I sailed to Helsinki, Finland from Stockholm in Sweden aboard Silja Serenade. Serenade is one of the biggest boats in the world.
It was my first time to travel by water and it was memorable.
I started staring when I got off the bus in Stockholm and a colleague pointed at the boat we were to board in minutes. The first thing that came to my mind is the famous Titanic, which I only watched in a movie; ladies and gentlemen this was for real!
It was an overnight cruise characterised by shopping and entertainment. We left at 5:00pm local time and got to Helsinki the following morning at 9:30am, but the night goes by unnoticed since one has to get a feel of what this amazing boat has to offer.
Ivan Kurinnoy from Russia says “If I were only eight years, I would get an impression for life, it is all the excitement you would imagine on an ocean cruise.â€
I first got lost in the duty free shops where I tasted all the liquor on sale, reason being that they give free samples in a move to entice you to buy. When I tasted Irish brewed Bailey’s cream served with coffee, I was left with no choice, but to buy a pack consisting of two bottles.
But if you don’t have a reputation to protect, you can always get as many free samples as possible, with an alcoholic content of´ 17%, just a couple of glasses can knock you down if you are not a regular drinker.
The most exciting store was that of perfumes and toiletries as one gets to wear the products before one purchases anything.
Here, in the company of a notorious Canadian girl, we wore all the designer perfumes on sale before proceeding to the Jazz evening and karaoke.
If you have been critical about Ugandans murdering songs at Chris Cotton’s Alleygators –Garden city, then you would shoot the people who participated that night.
It was a disaster but many karaoke lovers were too excited to complain. they were simply jumping up and down like local singer Chameleone on stage.
the disco started soon after the karaoke. it is not any different from Club Silk or Angenoir. The discotheque is located on the top floor so you get to dance your troubles into the Baltic Sea.
If you take enough shots of tequila and vodka and you cannot drag your feet anymore, you can use the magnificent lifts like the ones at workers’ House in Kampala. It can be tiresome moving up and down as the boat has 12 floors.
Silja Serenade was built in 1990. It is 203 meters long and 31.5 meters wide. It has 986 cabins and carries 2,852 passengers.
“The 142 meters long glass-roofed promenade is lined with shops and restaurants where people from the entire world meet.â€
The cabins range from economy to luxury but no matter where you are, it is all-exciting. Personally, I was too excited to even notice whether I was in economy or business class. I just got my ticket from my course co-ordinator so I didn’t bother checking for the details, I was lost in wonderland. It was like life was just beginning.
On our way back from Turku, Finland, we used another boat called Silja Europa. It was built in 1993 and is 201.8 metres long and 32 meters wide. Silja carries about 3,000 people, but on Wednesday, we were only 708 people on board.
There will never be a greater journey in my life!
The writer is a masters’ student of Global journalism at Orebro University in Sweden
in Sweden
Staring is rude†and I subscribe to this view, but I did it on purpose when I sailed to Helsinki, Finland from Stockholm in Sweden aboard Silja Serenade. Serenade is one of the biggest boats in the world.
It was my first time to travel by water and it was memorable.
I started staring when I got off the bus in Stockholm and a colleague pointed at the boat we were to board in minutes. The first thing that came to my mind is the famous Titanic, which I only watched in a movie; ladies and gentlemen this was for real!
It was an overnight cruise characterised by shopping and entertainment. We left at 5:00pm local time and got to Helsinki the following morning at 9:30am, but the night goes by unnoticed since one has to get a feel of what this amazing boat has to offer.
Ivan Kurinnoy from Russia says “If I were only eight years, I would get an impression for life, it is all the excitement you would imagine on an ocean cruise.â€
I first got lost in the duty free shops where I tasted all the liquor on sale, reason being that they give free samples in a move to entice you to buy. When I tasted Irish brewed Bailey’s cream served with coffee, I was left with no choice, but to buy a pack consisting of two bottles.
But if you don’t have a reputation to protect, you can always get as many free samples as possible, with an alcoholic content of´ 17%, just a couple of glasses can knock you down if you are not a regular drinker.
The most exciting store was that of perfumes and toiletries as one gets to wear the products before one purchases anything.
Here, in the company of a notorious Canadian girl, we wore all the designer perfumes on sale before proceeding to the Jazz evening and karaoke.
If you have been critical about Ugandans murdering songs at Chris Cotton’s Alleygators –Garden city, then you would shoot the people who participated that night.
It was a disaster but many karaoke lovers were too excited to complain. they were simply jumping up and down like local singer Chameleone on stage.
the disco started soon after the karaoke. it is not any different from Club Silk or Angenoir. The discotheque is located on the top floor so you get to dance your troubles into the Baltic Sea.
If you take enough shots of tequila and vodka and you cannot drag your feet anymore, you can use the magnificent lifts like the ones at workers’ House in Kampala. It can be tiresome moving up and down as the boat has 12 floors.
Silja Serenade was built in 1990. It is 203 meters long and 31.5 meters wide. It has 986 cabins and carries 2,852 passengers.
“The 142 meters long glass-roofed promenade is lined with shops and restaurants where people from the entire world meet.â€
The cabins range from economy to luxury but no matter where you are, it is all-exciting. Personally, I was too excited to even notice whether I was in economy or business class. I just got my ticket from my course co-ordinator so I didn’t bother checking for the details, I was lost in wonderland. It was like life was just beginning.
On our way back from Turku, Finland, we used another boat called Silja Europa. It was built in 1993 and is 201.8 metres long and 32 meters wide. Silja carries about 3,000 people, but on Wednesday, we were only 708 people on board.
There will never be a greater journey in my life!
The writer is a masters’ student of Global journalism at Orebro University in Sweden