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Baltic Sea cruises between Helsinki and St. Petersburg to be introduced august 26 on Silja Line's Silja Opera
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Baltic Sea cruises between Helsinki and St. Petersburg to be introduced august 26 on Silja Line's Silja Opera
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Baltic Sea cruises between Helsinki and St. Petersburg to be introduced august 26 on Silja Line's Silja Opera
Silja Line is introducing two-night Baltic Sea cruises from Helsinki to St. Petersburg from August 26 to January 6, 2003, on the 1,400-passenger Silja Opera, formerly NCL's Leeward. Rates for up to four persons sharing an outside cabin start at $315 on Wednesday and $360 on Friday departures. In her first season the Opera also sails on two-night Baltic cruises to Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland from June 29 to August 26; Tallinn, Estonia, July 5 to March 15; and Riga, Latvia, January 7 to March 15, 2003.  The ship departs Helsinki for St. Petersburg on Wednesdays and Fridays at 4 pm, arriving at 9 am the next morning. After a day of sightseeing, the return sailing is at 6 pm on Thursdays and Saturdays, ending at 10 am the following day. Roundtrip fares are $315 to $432 per cabin in Seaside class, $458 to $513 in Silja class and $594 to $639 in Commodore class. Cabins have two lower beds or a double bed; many can accommodate a third or fourth person in a sofa bed or upper berth. Rates are highest on Friday departures. Meals cost extra. Silja and Commodore class passengers receive a complimentary special breakfast and refreshments in the cabin. Dining choices are La Scala buffet restaurant, a French bistro named Caruso, and Rigoletto & Robert's Coffee for pizza and pasta. Entertainment is scheduled at the Metropolitan, where dancing and the Midnight Show take place, the Metropolitan Bar and the Stardust nightclub, open from 10 pm to 6 am. Dance orchestras are international; pianists and troubadours are usually Finnish or Swedish. Other facilities include a sundeck with a glass sunroof, swimming pool, pool bar and Jacuzzi, children's activity center, conference and business center, duty-free shops, a beauty salon and masseur. The 482 air-conditioned cabins are equipped with TV, telephone, hair dryer and private bath.  Russian visas are not required for passengers participating in the ship's optional excursions; travelers who wish to explore St. Petersburg on their own must obtain an individual visa. Silja Line guarantees two tours in English will be offered on every cruise: a three-hour morning tour of Peter the Great's imperial city on the River Neva, including the Winter Palace, St. Isaac's Square, Peter and Paul Fortress and busy Nevsky Prospect; and a three-hour afternoon tour of the renowned Hermitage art museum and gala rooms in the baroque Winter Palace. Five half-day or full-day optional excursions are available on request for a minimum of 35 participants. The St. Petersburg sailings alternate with 21-hour getaway cruises to Tallinn on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays that do not provide time to disembark in the Estonian capital. Six other Silja Line ships cruise the Baltic Sea from Helsinki to Stockholm, Tallinn and Rostock, Germany, and from Turku to Stockholm. (Source: Norwegian Coastal Voyage Inc./Bergen Line Services) |
