Stockholm-Helsinki Baltic Ferry
A personal account of a night on the high seas between Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki, Finland.
To get from Helsinki, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden, you can either fly or take a boat. My husband and I opted for a Viking Line ferry. The boat leaves daily from Helsinki at 5:30pm and it arrives in Stockholm at 9:40pm, making the trip 15 hours (Stockholm time is one hour behind Helsinki). The boat stops at the Aland Islands at 4:20am.
We checked into our non-smoking cabin and we were a bit disappointed that we did not have a window. But, the room was clean and it met our needs for one night. With four single bunk-style beds in the room, you could theoretically fit four people, but it would be tight, even if you are traveling with children. The beds were fairly comfortable and the full bathrooms were small but functional.
Before dinner, we made a pit stop in the huge duty free shop, similar to what you might see in an airport. Duty free shopping on the high seas is popular with the Europeans on the boat because the alcohol prices are much better than those in mainland shops. Along with liquor and freeze dried reindeer meat, the shops sells more conventional items like clothing, department store brand beauty products, and souvenirs.
The dinner buffets are at 5:30 and 8:00 and you must book a time when you buy your ticket. The food was good and there was something to suit everyone, from herring, salmon, roast beef, peanut chicken, salads, cold cuts, cheeses, and a variety of desserts. Wine and beer are included. The breakfast buffet , served before arriving in Stockholm, does not require reservations but the food selection is equally diverse, with salty Swedish breads, cereals, eggs, bacon, fruit, sliced vegetables, cold cuts, and pastries.
After dinner we made our way to the ship’s wood paneled pub filled with fun loving Finns and Swedes, who must have skipped the dinner buffet and headed straight for the bar. Karaoke started around 9:30. We were treated to watching enthusiastic, inebriated people singing their favorite Finnish and Swedish pop songs from the 1970s. Since everything for sale on the ship is duty free, drinks are quite inexpensive when compared to prices in Helsinki or Stockholm.
Dinner reservations were at 8:00pm on our return trip, so we stopped by “Club Fun” before dinner. We did not know what to expect after the karaoke performances on the previous trip, but the atmosphere was quite civilized. There was a live band playing 50s and 60s pop songs sung in Finnish, along with songs we had never heard before. Cute elderly couples were twirling around the floor, dancing waltzes. After dinner, patrons were treated to a Vegas-style show, complete with pulsating show tunes and scantily clad show girls. It was a fittingly kooky cap to our cruising experience.
See the Baltic Ferry Guide for information on ferry connections to Copenhagen and other Northern European cities.
