Welcome to our pages on Tallinn, Estonia.

We board the Fantaasia ship, after some initial problems finding the terminal, signs would be helpful. Still we make it in time, and find the cabin, thanks to one of the staff who strangely speaks no Swedish. The cabin is small but we hadn't planned spending much time in here anyway except perhaps to sleep occasionally.

We explore the ship, it's not too big, with just 2 bars, restaurants, a small nightclub, blackjack and slot machines, and not much else. The theme of this particular cruise is Caribbean Dream which meant they had hung a few flowers around the place and play latino music on a never ending loop, with some occasional reggae too. No steel bands though, no soca, not even a Bob Marley track the whole time. I wonder if the people behind it had ever been to a Caribbean island, or even done the slightest bit of research. Still we were looking forward to a new country, so it didn't really matter all that much.

The hostess or Cruise manager as she called herself was obviously Estonian, wearing the same dress everywhere she went, did her best to motivate the passengers, but I feel most were simply unwilling to enjoy themselves.

The photograph shows the crew being introduced, not one of them smiled, though I can't blame them having to go through the same each night. The head chef is obviously the one with the silly hat, the captain is the one to the left of the round shaped man. Behind is where the band were playing. This is the first Estonian band we had heard (and possibly the last). To be truthful they were ok. The guitarist was good, the bass player just stood as a bass player does, the keyboard player was ok, the drummer was great, and the singer was just a little bit boring. Thankfully they let the drummer sing on more than one occasion, showing that it is possible to drum and sing without losing the plot. After a few more songs from the singer, Sean couldn't help but shout out "let the drummer sing!". Well it was fun, we clapped if no one else did, and Sean told the drummer how good he was at the end, sure that made him happy.

And if all that entertainment wasn't enough, there was the cocktail game. Seven colourful cocktails were brought out and put on display in the middle of the dance floor, along with a list of names. A cocktail was held up and the first to shout out the correct name won the cocktail. Karolina managed to win this red one in the photograph, we think it matches her hair perfectly. The game was over too quickly, but more entertainment was to come.

Dancers dressed in very little performed a short routine, along with a singer who did some kind of South American type song and also a talented guy who did some juggling, but this is where details start to become hazy, and we eventually head for the cabin and a good nights sleep.

We awaken just shortly before the ship docks in Tallinn, and have time for hot drinks before venturing out. Passports are checked and stamped, and we are away into Estonia. What we did next