We awoke in the beautiful bay of Tallinn, Estonia. The sky was overcast, but the sun was trying to force it’s way through.
Tim, Jen, Ivan and I enjoyed a buffet breakfast before leaving the boat for a 15 minute stroll into Tallinn centre. There were market stalls set up everywhere and everyone was in happy spirits.
Ivan had found a free city walking tour that started at midday so when it was almost time we all headed over to the meeting place and waited for the tour to start. Our guide was named Mairi and her English was impeccable.
The tour went for a couple of hours and along the way we saw the beautiful sights of Tallinn.
First stop was the Independence monument, which is located at Freedom Square. The towns people aren’t 100% sure what the statue is meant to represent, but they do know that the ‘E’ in the centre is for Estonia and the monument looks a bit like a sword in the ground. But who knows…
We then went to a great lookout over Tallinn, the scenery was very pretty, the sun came out for us so we could take in this medieval city for miles.
After a couple of hours the tour concluded, as the tour is free donations are welcomed so we gave a nice donation for her great work and knowledgeable tour.
It was now time for a beer! And who can say no to Duff 🙂
Heading to the Beer House down a small alleyway we headed inside and sat inside of a large beer barrel. We ordered liter steins and pretzels, the pretzels were honestly bigger than our heads and tasted so good!
We then used there internet as it is so expensive on the boat and replied to a few emails.
After our drinks and pretzel we made our way to the liquor store to buy the Estonian local liquor which they call Hammer and Sickle – Hammer because it hurts your head in the morning and sickle because it makes your legs go wobbly and fall over – aka a strong liquor.
Mairi advised us to mix the Hammer and Sickle with champagne for an extra tasty and alcoholic drink.
We then all ran for the boat as it was almost leaving time and saw the perfect opportunity for a great photo with the ship in the background, shows the size of the boat!
Once back on the boat we all relaxed and freshened up before Tim and I headed to play some trivia. Jen and Ivan joined us in the middle of the second game and then I snuck into the VIP club with Ivan and Jen whilst Tim continued playing trivia.
The VIP club was for people who had been on multiple cruises before, so I sat behind a pillar and enjoyed the free cocktails and nibbles that were provided. Can never say no to a free drink!
Near the end of the evening they started showing pictures of all of the Carnival cruise liners and asked the audience to clap when they saw the ones that they had been on.
Hiding behind the pillar I couldn’t actually see the boats so would cheer randomly to make it look like I had been on many before. Wasn’t until afterwards that Ivan pointed out that the pictures had dates of when the vessel was released and I was cheering for cruises that took place before I was even born. Oops!
After we grabbed Tim and headed to the dining room for dinner. I ate the vegetable lasagna and apple pie, as always, it was very delicious.
After dinner we went up to Ivan and Jen’s room and tried the Hammer and Sickle, it was ok, quite strong like the Mairi had said. We then played the bean bag game for a little while, which is always fun.
Next on the agenda was the Adult Team Challenge where we had to split the room into two and participate in ‘adult’ activities. We weren’t the winning side in the end but still won some champagne which we opened and drank with all of the teammates. Then after a couple hours of chatting and drinking we decided to hit the hay. The sun was just setting and it was well into the AM’s.
