It was raining hard and the fog was thick when we arrived at the entrance to the Kiel Canal. This was to be our ticket to the Baltic Sea, a shortcut that larger cruise ships cannot make. Many others have to go around Denmark to the north. The canal, which is 61 miles long, was built between 1887 and 1895 through this relatively low region of northern Germany. It was dug in order that the German navy fleet could gain quicker access from the Baltic to the North sea. Between 1905 and 1914 it was widened and deepened so that larger ocean liners could pass through as well. Except for an interruption of about nine years during the Nazi era when Kiel was a major U-boat base, the canal has been used for ship traffic from around the globe.

Being a retired engineer, I was fascinated by the two sets of locks when we entered the canal. Just like we saw in the Netherlands last night, these locks use gates that retract into the sides rather than being hinged like most locks (including the huge Panama Canal system). I realized that these locks don't experience the tremendous forces of a wall of water because the change in water levels are quite small. They are only intended to account for changes in the tides of the Baltic and North sea and keep the water level in the canal constant. This was virtually identical to the North sea Canal into Amsterdam. Notice that one had an observation deck with people watching us go through.

The passage took most of the day. Ship traffic was controlled in both directions and only one time did we have to wait some time for ships coming the other way. The country side was beautiful with green meadows, patches of forests and small villages along the way. We noticed people watching along the shore and we were reminded that one of those could have been relatives of our friends who live near the canal. During the transit we had a chance to take in more of the amenities of the Regatta.

The food was generally outstanding. We liked the open seating policy so we could share our dinner with friends and select tables in the dining room that we preferred. There are two small, intimate restaurants, one of which served us a very poor meal by comparison (I had surf-and-turf that had a lobster tail the size of a shrimp and tasted like octopus, and the aspargus were so well done that they turned into mush when touched with my fork, while one of our friends had a tough pork chop and another "rare" roastbeef that was well done). But all and all the rest of the dinners were superb.
Although breakfast was also served in the dining room, we always enjoyed the buffet in the Tapas and Terrace rooms. I like to see what I can have, such as the pickled and creamed herring, smoke salmon omelet and lots of fresh fruit from a large selection. Except for the Kiel Canal passage and a day at sea, we never had lunch aboard. But again the choices included roast pork, salads, sashimi and sushi, as well as these chocolate covered cream puffs.

"What about the crew?” you should ask. Well, we have never met a more diverse group of people, most of whom were very friendly, attentive and fun to be with. The captain was from Norway, the hotel manager from Belgium, and the chef from France. From there on there were staff members from Thailand, Belize, Bosnia, Jamaica, etc. How they all got along to run the ship was a bit of a puzzle.
We did have one dining room waitress who tended to be impertinent and almost rude. Two times she told us to get on with dinner, interrupted our conversation and tried to add her two bids worth, while forgetting who had ordered what.
But we enjoyed Omar, a big black man from Jamaica, who had a great sense of humor. We became friends and always kidded each other. One morning I asked him if he got a promotion because he was wearing a nice white jacket with gold stripes. “I got a hot date tonight,” was his comeback. I even attended his ‘napkin folding’ session along with thirteen women. It was almost comical to see him wiz through the delicate art of making candles out of a piece of cloth. There were several other crew members, such as our cabin steward, David, who were more than gracious and helpful. Overall a great crew.

The sun had come out later in the afternoon and from then on we were fortunate to have mostly sunny, warm days. The locals throughout the Baltic even commented that it was unusually warm and we would see people sunbathing at the beaches and along the lakes of Stockholm. That evening we passed Kiel and exited the canal into the Baltic. We were on our way to Warnemunde, Germany.