Helsinki, Finland
The About Cruises Guide and the About Fishing Guide Cruise Scandinavia on the Renaissance R6

We left St. Petersburg late yesterday afternoon and sailed for Helsinki. However, our luck with the weather ran out. We had had 14 days of perfect weather--sunny and between 65 and 75 degrees. Even normally gray St. Petersburg was gloriously sunny. As we left the Neva River and got into the Gulf of Finland, we picked up a very strong tail wind. The wind was so strong the next morning that Helsinki closed their port so we had another sea day.

I don't think I heard a single complaint about the change in plans. The weather had been so spectacular that missing one port was a worthy exchange. I felt especially bad for Paivi Ikonen, the shore excursion manager. Helsinki is her home, and I am sure she looked forward to sharing it with us. We hated to miss it, but maybe that means there will be a "next time."

If you would like to follow the Garrisons on our 30th wedding anniversary cruise, check out the table below for links to each day's itinerary. You can also follow my postings to the About Cruises Forum. Click here for link to the About Cruises Forum postcards from the R6. Here are some links to the pictures I made and detailed articles from each port of call.

Pictures from the Renaissance R6 cruise

Articles on Each Port of Call --

Cruising from Dover to Le Havre on the Renaissance R6

Normandy Beaches - Le Havre and Normandy, France

D-Day Beaches - Arromanches and the Artificial Harbor

Normandy and the D-Day Beaches - American Cemetery at Colleville Saint Laurent, Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc

The Medieval City of Bruges, Belgium

A Walking Tour of Bruges (Brugge)

A Day in Antwerp, Belgium

Sunday in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Date	Port	Arrive	Depart
Tuesday, August 14	Leave Home	--	--
Wednesday, August 15	Dover, U.K.	Embark	5:00 pm
Thursday, August 16	Le Havre, France	8:00 am	9:00 pm
Friday, August 17	Zeebrugge, Belgium	12:00 pm	6:00 pm
Saturday, August 18	Antwerp, Belgium	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Sunday, August 19	Amsterdam, Netherlands	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Monday, August 20	At Sea	--	--
Tuesday, August 21	Oslo, Norway	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Wednesday, August 22	Copenhagen, Denmark	12:00 pm	--
Thursday, August 23	Copenhagen, Denmark	--	7:00 pm
Friday, August 24	At Sea	--	--
Saturday, August 25	Tallin, Estonia	8:00 am	3:00 pm
Sunday, August 26	St. Petersburg, Russia	8:00 am	--
Monday, August 27	St. Petersburg, Russia	--	5:00 pm
Tuesday, August 28	Helsinki, Finland	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Wednesday, August 29	Stockholm, Sweden	12:00 pm	--
Thursday, August 30	Home!	--	Debark

Picture Courtesy of Renaissance Cruises