Waves of pleasure
Gilly Pickup takes in the sights and history of Helsinki, St Petersburg and Tallinn while cruising the Baltic with Saga Pearl II
A Saga cruise to Helsinki and St Petersburg
Helsinki is positively generous on the eye. I had just arrived in Finland’s pocket-sized capital city courtesy of cruise ship Saga Pearl II and from the sun deck I could see a symphony of spires, parkland and Art Nouveau facades spread out before me.
After an alfresco lunch on board, it was off to join an afternoon excursion to explore part of this so-called “Daughter of the Baltic”.
“Don’t cross the road in Helsinki when the little man is red, even when there are no vehicles in sight,” insisted guide Olga, though she didn’t expand on what happened to those who do. Anyway, we obediently waited for the little green man to appear, then crossed the road for a whistle stop visit to Sibelius Park, its futuristic tubular steel sculpture of 600 steel pipes in memory of the famous Finnish composer.
The composer aside, undoubtedly one of Helsinki’s highlights is its glorious churches, particularly the dramatic Church of the Rock, or Temppeliaukio Church, a mustsee for visitors to this northern city. Hewn from solid rock and covered with a 24-metre circular copper roof, its excellent acoustics mean it is also a venue for concerts.
Senate Square was on my list of places to see too, this is where to find the Government Palace and Helsinki Cathedral, its sweeping steps leading to a neoclassical entrance and always a popular spot for camera clicking tourists.
Lording it over everything, as if determined that no-one should forget Finland’s close relationship with Imperial Russia, is a statue of Alexander II, Russian Emperor from 1855 to 1881.
Like Stockholm, which we had visited the previous day, Helsinki is an archipelago city. Unlike the Swedish city though and due to its history,
Saga coach excursions are pleasant affairs where the tour escort hands out Werther’s Originals
Helsinki has more than a smidgen of Russian in her looks; it wasn’t mere chance that some scenes from Gorky Park and Doctorzhivago were shot here.
I had joined up with Saga Pearl II a week into her 14 day “White Nights of the Baltic” cruise.
The Pearl, sprightly though elderly, is tiny compared with many of today’s mega ships, carrying a total of only 449 passengers in a relaxed, sociable atmosphere. There are no climbing walls, casinos or bionic bartenders on board, but this is why the average Saga passenger loves the vessel. That, and the door-to-door service, friendly staff and good food. There are two restaurants where lunch and dinner are accompanied by complimentary wines. When the sun comes out, lunchtime barbecues on the Bridge deck are popular.
The ship also has an excellent library with thousands of books, magazines and DVDS – DVD players come as standard in cabins.
Spa facilities are good too, there is a short, reasonably priced treatment menu for women and men which includes massages, facials, manicures and pedicures. No automatic gratuity is added to the bill, or is expected, which makes a refreshing change from almost all of the other cruise ships I have sailed on.
My friendly therapist didn’t rush my treatment and better still, did not try to sell me products, which again, I have come to expect while experiencing spa treatments at sea.
This section of the Baltic offers a slew of highlights. One that had long
intrigued me and that I had never before visited was St Petersburg, next port of call on the itinerary and always a big attraction on Baltic cruises. Passengers have longer to explore here as most ships stay for two or three days.
Incidentally, St Petersburg is visa-free for passengers booked on organised cruise ship tours, or for passengers who have pre-booked tours with authorised local travel agencies. Those who want to see the city on their own must purchase a visa for independent travel.
St Petersburg is sometimes likened to Venice because of its numerous canals and although many have now been turned into roads there are still 42 islands and 342 bridges over those that remain. This is a city that doesn’t do anything by halves though, when you consider that it has more than 200 museums and, before the revolution, 1,000 or so palaces.
On the first day in the Russian city, I visited the Fabergé Museum in the lavish surroundings of Shuvalov Palace. The nine imperial Fabergé eggs once belonged to the royal Romanov family though in total, 50 imperial Fabergé eggs were made with 43 surviving. Tours are limited in number making it easy to have a good look at the eggs in their glass cases.
The following day I opted for a full day excursion. I joined one of the ship’s organised coach tours which took in the prime sights of St Petersburg and also allowed plenty of photo stops, one of which was the flamboyant, colourful, onionshaped domes of the Church of the Resurrection, commonly known as the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. This was the site of Tsar Alexander II’S assassination in 1881 and later used by the Soviets as a potato store during the Nazi siege of the city in the Second World War.
St Petersburg is big on art too – the Hermitage Museum contains the world’s largest collection of paintings with works by artists including Rembrandt, da Vinci and Picasso though it is so huge it would take many days to see even half of the exhibits there. The performing arts flourish here and the Mariinsky Theatre, dating back to 1860, is home to the ballet, opera and orchestral companies and is where Swan Lake was first performed in 1895.
After lunch in a local restaurant where everyone in our group was greeted with a shot of vodka, our coach whisked us off to Peterhof Palace around 20 miles away – I should say that Saga coach excursions are pleasant affairs where the tour escort, a cruise staff member, hands out Werther’s Originals and eucalyptus hand towels during the trip. The Palace was the opulent home of Peter the Great and while the building itself is more than magnificent, it’s the Grand Cascade that everyone wants to see.
This series of terraces has more than 140 fountains and gilded statues. Manicured grounds surrounding the palace include still more elaborate fountains, gazebos, smaller palaces and woodlands where red squirrels feed from tourists’ hands.
Back on board that night as we sailed away from St Petersburg, the chef got into the spirit of things with a dinner menu that included caviar with blinis, Russian dumplings, borscht, chicken Kiev and stroganoff. Ah, and there lies another tale. Earlier that day we had seen the Stroganov Palace, home to the Counts Stroganov who in days gone by fed St Petersburg’s poor with a beef stew which included mustard and soured cream… that’s how beef stroganov, or stroganoff, started life.
The following day was my last on board though the ship had some more calls to make before returning to Dover. In Tallinn, Estonia’s capital city, I had a little time in the morning to catch the free shuttle bus to walk around the Old Town before heading for the airport. My short encounters in the Baltic cities offered a taste of each location, leaving plenty of appetite for more.
Fourteen nights aboard Saga Pearl II departing Dover on 22 May 2018 costs
from £2,457pp including meals on board, 24-hour room service, selected drinks, on-board gratuities, optional travel insurance and additional cancellation rights or reduction if not required, entertainment, welcome cocktail party, Captain’s dinner, port taxes, visas, UK mainland travel service to and from Dover. Tel: 0800 50 50 30 or visit saga.co.uk/cruises