Overnight Baltic Cruise ⛴️

Hello, my dear reader! 🤗

I’m so in love with my life right now that I never want to escape it. I wanted to share a glimpse of it here in my blog.

I never thought that I will enjoy sharing my travel adventures. I am happy whenever some people would tell me that they feel that they are traveling the world while watching my videos. There’s something about travel that makes my heart giddy.

I will be sharing here my favorite part of my  Europe Trip 2024! I joined Scandinavia and Baltic tour this year in my trusted travel agency as my pre-birthday trip for myself. I have no other wish but to go to Europe again. 😅 Maybe, someday I will organize my own birthday party or just another once in a lifetime tour again for my birthday.

The 18 hours Overnight Baltic Cruise via MS Silja Serenade from the Pier of Stockholm to the Pier of Helsinki is my favorite part of my Scandinavia and Baltic Tour.

This is the upclose photo of the Silja Serenade.

MS Silja Serenade is a cruiseferry owned by the Estonian shipping company Tallink Group that operates under their Silja Line brand on a route connecting Stockholm to Helsinki (or vice versa) via Mariehamn.

I love sharing my experiences through photographs and videos. You can see here my travel adventure which includes some videos from the Pier of Stockholm 🇸🇪 and some snippets inside the cruise ship. 🛳️

I really love cruising. During my autumn in Europe Tour 2023, cruising is also my favorite part of all the tour activities — this is the Danube River Cruise in Budapest, Hungary during my Marvels of Eastern Europe Tour.

I will be posting here my experience in the Silja Serenade. This one is fresh to me since it only happened this April 2024.

Pier of Stockholm, Sweden

If you prefer this activity and you have no travel agency,  you have to go to the Stockholm Värtan Terminal. According to the internet, you can take a bus, or a taxi if you are not in a travel agency’s group tour. You have to follow the departure time so be early because the ship will NOT wait for you if you came there late.

First, you have to get your tickets here in the Pier of Stockholm🇸🇪. Our group’s tour leader was the one who coordinated to the counter to get our cruise ship tickets. When the ticket was given to us, we can now embark in this adventure of a lifetime. It’s my first time riding the Silja Serenade. That’s why I was very excited that time.

This is the cruise ship ticket. You can see here the details of the cruise like the date and time of the cruise, the itinerary which is Stockholm to Helsinki, the room number of the cabin where you can sleep, the WiFi password, the time and cost of the Grande Buffet.

Our group boarded the ship in the late afternoon. The Grande Buffet price costs around 46.50 euros for dinner and 19 euros for breakfast.  These are all included in the tour package that I booked. I didn’t pay additional price here.

It will be hassle-free trip if you are going to book in a travel agency. You just need to bring your belongings and take care of yourself.

If you don’t want to eat in the Grande buffet, you can find that there are some restaurants in the cruise ship but you have to pay something.

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Onboard Silja Serenade

Welcome on board!
Here’s the inside look of the cruise ship. I took a selfie here because to be honest, I am really happy that time. I used to do my hairstyle everytime I travel. I learned how to do it on my own since I love styling my hair during my trips. It builds my self-confidence and sometimes I feel like I am a different person depending on my hairstyle. 😂

I am not rich like Heart Evangelista who could afford to bring her whole glam team during her international trips. I am lucky because my trusted hair and makeup artist from my hometown taught me some hair and makeup essentials.

Upon arrival, I suddenly felt warm inside the cruise ship. That’s why I took off the puffer coat that I am wearing.
I went to the Deck 12. It was so cold but the temperature was still manageable for me.
Here’s a quick video of what you can see in the Deck 12.
Here are some of the items that you can see around the duty-free shop inside the Silja Serenade. You can shop around here and you’ll see perfumes, refrigerator magnets, alcohol drinks, makeups, chocolate and so much more.
Loving the Silja Serenade’s interior!

There’s also casino inside this cruise ship with poker games, slot machines and so much more…

In the upper deck of the ship, you will find the so-called New York Club & Lounge. This is a party place for adults. During daytime, you can enjoy having drinks here while admiring the sea views! Later in the evening this place transforms into a club filled with a lively party crowd where people can dance and sing a Karaoke song. The DJ will play the song upon request. This is located on Deck 13. I had so much fun here.

To give you an idea, here are some photos of the food in the Grande Buffet. I only took some photos that time because I wanted to enjoy the present moment by talking with the group. I realized that sometimes I am focusing more on taking photos and videos that I forgot to enjoy other people’s good company.

I’ve mentioned earlier that there are also restaurants here. For me, you don’t need to buy in the restaurant around the cruise ship because the Grande Buffet section has almost everything. You can get unlimited foods here like breads, main dishes, rice, desserts, pasta and so much more. There are also plenty of drinks that you can choose from like water, different juices, softdrinks, red wine, white wine and beer that are all included in the price of the meal. All of the foods are delicious. 
Special thanks to all the crew for a job well done! I am grateful that we had a safe journey through the help and management of the cruise ship’s staffs. Most of them are Europeans. They are very hospitable and very welcoming to their guests. They are very professional.

By the way, if you have children with you there’s so-called Silja Land that serves as playroom for kids.

The Room

In this photo, you can see the A-class room. This is our room during the whole cruise. 

We were instructed to pack our clothes and bring only small bags or hand carry luggages. Our big luggages were left in our tour bus that time. I actually asked our tour driver “Where is our bus?” At first, he joked and said these exact words “There floating in the water.” Our driver is really funny. The truth is, our tour bus was also inside the Silja Serenade but it was in the lower level of the ship.

Virtual tour of our room! This room is just small so it’s just right to bring only small items. I think the size is just right since me and my female companion only slept there for one night. There’s also a TV and a small comfort room inside.

This A-class room has bed for 1 to 2 persons and a sea view.

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Comparing Silja Serenade to Superstar Virgo Cruise Ship and some life realizations

I actually miss riding and sleeping in a cruise ship since the first time that I’ve experienced an overnight cruise was on March 2018 via SuperStar Virgo (SSVirgo).

The SSVirgo is bigger than the Silja Serenade. Both ships have variety of rooms, shows and many activities to choose from.  Silja Serenade has only one inclusive restaurant while the SS Virgo has three inclusive restaurants. SSVirgo has more amenities including  pool, jacuzzi and gym.

However, I like SSVirgo more compared to Silja Serenade not because of the amenities, it is because of the people who are working in the cruise ship. I love SSVirgo because it feels like home. There are so many hospitable Filipino staffs there. A huge number of our kababayans are there to serve the guests.  The pianist in the main lobby, the receptionist, the room service staffs, some of waiters and chefs in the restaurants are mostly Filipinos. I believe that many companies prefer Filipinos because of the genuine hospitality coming from our kababayans.

The SSVirgo that departed from the Pier of Manila is actually an asian cruise ship. It’s a six days, five nights all-expenses-paid trip with pocket money that was given to me by mom as a gift after I’ve passed the Dentist Licensure Exam and my grandfather gave me extra pocket money that time as a reward also. Thank you po.🫰

My parents are not fond of traveling. My dad is a little strict but later on he finally gives moral support in my travel goals. He used to tell me that he’ll never give me financial support for my leisure trips and he wanted to train me that if I want to have something I must work hard for it. If you are familiar with the term spoon feeding wherein you can get everything that you want in an instant, well, that thing is not my parents’ way to discipline me.

Looking back, I really appreciate the things that I have right now using my hard-earned money compare to if I only got it from my parents. All of my European trips are product of my sweat, it’s not hingi-hingi. Though I still have my own lapses, I am grateful of his strictness because I learned the essence of working hard. I am really happy everytime I travel. I know that there will come a time that traveling will be so different especially when I am older.

My realization here is you will more appreciate your dreams once you’ve worked hard enable to achieve it. Beautiful moments don’t happen in an instant snap.

Pier of Helsinki, Finland

Here’s me patiently waiting for the docking of the Silja Serenade in the Pier of Helsinki…
Here are some photos inside the ship before the disembarkation. Not sure if I could experience this again so I am really taking lots of photos and videos.

From Stockholm, the Silja Serenade docked in the Helsinki’s South Harbor, Olympia Terminal around 10 am.

Here’s a very quick video while the cruise ship is preparing to dock in Helsinki. I’m really amazed with the view.

Upon reaching Finland, I felt like the season is winter even though my travel date falls on April which is the country’s spring season. There’s also snow fall that time. It was so cold that my hands are little bit shaky while filming my videos and capturing photos. I think if ever I will be visiting Finland during autumn and winter season, I must prepare many thermal clothings and really, really big puffer coats.

Baltic Sea Experience

My life is not perfect but I have to admit that God always surprises me.

Crossing the Baltic Sea is not part of my dream but God gave me so much more. I’ve crossed the Baltic Sea and I am really grateful to God for this once in a lifetime opportunity. I really told myself that time: “So why would I worry and doubt about my future?“

Maybe, we all have these instances in life that God gave and bless us so much more than what we asked for. Our God is a great, great God who performs miracles. Indeed, we have to just live in the moment and enjoy the present. God is good. He loves us so much.

In this quick video, you’ll see the sea view from our room wherein you can see the beauty of the Baltic Sea.

About this tour package

If you are planning to go to Europe and you want to have hassle-free Europe trip, I would definitely recommend my travel agency. Not sure if there are other travel agencies who offer the same tour package that I got but I only saw this Scandinavia and Baltic Tour in my travel agency. If you are interested in joining their European tour package, please check out their facebook page, Winner Travel Experience B2B. They will take care of you and you’ll definitely enjoy. Actually as of writing this, I have already joined four European group tours from them.

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This was just a European dream until God made a way to make it happen. Thank You Lord. I will always give thanks. All glory and honor are Yours now and forever.

“If you want to make your dream a reality, you must strive for the best. Never allow waiting to become a habit. Live your dreams and take risks. Life is happening now. If you have a dream in mind, work towards it.
You have to create your own opportunities instead of waiting for it. Sooner or later, you’ll realize that the moment you’ve been waiting for is the one you’re living in now.”

If I would be given a chance, I would definitely try this experience again.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a great day. 😊

Love lots, A 💕

Trust and surrender to God 

          "God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine."
            -Ephesians 3:20

Let’s always trust God’s plan and His divine timing. 😊 

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