When I was in my 20's, my Aunt Helen and I spent my April vacations cruising around the Caribbean. My dream is to someday take a river cruise through the Christmas markets of Europe, but for now we often enjoy the one night mini cruise experience that Europe's overnight ferries offer. Stena Line is one of the most popular ferry lines in Europe. It has even been featured on Undercover Boss UK and it did not disappoint.
The Stena Scandinavica from Kiel, Germany to Gothenburg, Sweden offers a range of cabins from tiny inside rooms to full outside rooms with a jacuzzi. Since we did not have to pay for a car, we chose a Panorama Suite cabin. This put us on the top of the ship with a floor to ceiling window and a special lounge area outside complete with concierge and a Nespresso machine.
There was a festive atmosphere out on the deck. "It's summer at last!" exclaimed the two entertainers on deck who burst into song singing "You are the Sunshine of my Life!" while people enjoyed an outside barbecue. The view of the landscape from the desk was stunning. We saw many sailboats, whitewashed hotels, and small beaches along the shore as we headed out to the Baltic Sea.
Dinner was a Scandinavian buffet. If you are a fan of smoked herring, prawns in their shells, and roast veal, you would be in heaven at this buffet, but since I'm not, I enjoyed some shrimp salad and fresh veggies. Dessert was make your own sundae which all the kids loved and apple crumble.
Curious George is the mascot of Stena. His photo appears all over the ship and he was in the lounge last night "busting some moves" the schedule said. This morning he appeared at breakfast to personally say goodbye to all of the kids. Our ship docked at 9:30 am. We waited until they announced that foot passengers should disembark, but they never did. We laughed later realizing the reason everyone was gone was because they all came by car. No worries though. We took a cab to our hotel ready to begin our summer visit to Sweden.
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Susan