Wednesday 13 November 2013

The spottings of yesterday and the plans of tomorrow

A couple of days ago, just as I was leaving town for the weekend, I suddenly found out that Regina Baltica had finished her job and sailed to - surprise - Tallinn, Paljassaare harbour. As soon as I got back to Tallinn I went to take pictures of her, but it was dark and I decided to go back to get some pictures that I could share on this blog. I did that yesterday. Regina Baltica was in front of Silja Festival, even closer to the road, so definitely a better view. The much discussed huge helipad on her bow right in front of the bridge is still in tact and I doubt it will be removed (possibly having quite an impact on her value as a cruiseferry). Her lifeboats were removed, the bow visor was open but the ramp was closed.
To me, she has gained a bit of extra value after I found a really old photo of my mother and I, and Regina Baltica leaving for Stockholm behind us.

Me, my mother and Regina Baltica
Cool tree huh
Neighbour
Massive bow and visor.. and helipad
The name, the anchor and the rust and dents around it
Compulsory funnel picture
Silja Festival
Not very streamlined, is it
The two old ladies from Tallink's retirement home do fit in one picture.

In addition to shipspotting I've changed the topic on my Twitter account a bit, making it English and ship-related, like this blog. If you're on Twitter, feel free to follow me here.

A blog post of mine is almost never complete without a glimpse on my future plans though. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but the former flagship of Viking Line will return to do Tallinn - Helsinki cruises during Christmas seasons. Although the cruises are for the Finnish market, Estonians can use it to return from Finland earlier than with Viking XPRS. Of course I can't let the sweet chance fly away and just today I booked a day cruise to Helsinki returning with Cinderella.The trip will be on the Saturday of her last weekend here. Oh and of course I'm planning to go see her at some point before the trip.

Not my photo