Day 05 - Tue - 08/11/26 - Riga, Latvia














 After an overnight sail, we found ourselves waking up in Riga, Latvia.  This port call was scheduled to be the shortest of the voyage as the distance to our next port in Tallinn, Estonia is quite a long distance away.  We were here about 10 years ago on a choir tour.  The cruise port is pretty close to the Old Town so our plan was to walk there specifically to visit the large market.

The market is housed in 5 former dirigible domes that have been repurposed.  Outside the domes is an extensive farmer's and dry goods market.  Several of the domes are still vacant.  The ones that are occupied are divided into specific use.  For example, one is devoted to a fresh fish & meat market, another to restaurants, etc.  in the outside market the smells were super pleasant and also found a pair of replacement sandals.

Leaving the market we walked back through the Old Town to St. Peter's Lutheran church which was a pivotal church in the start of the Protestant reformation in the early 1500's in the Baltic area.  From the church we made our way to the Blackheads museum in the building constructed for unmarried merchants back in 1334.  It was once the largest building in the Old Town and is quite striking.

We then set out to find the Freedom Monument  which was not too far away.  As we approached it we spotted the Golden Arches and decided that we'd try a Latvian version for lunch.  It was really quite good and a good value.  We then decided to wander our way back to the ship by walking along the canal and using the parks along the way with a side trip to the art nouveau district.  The canal was so pretty and peaceful to walk alongside of and the canal tour boats were doing a brisk business.  As a bonus we got to view the Opera house along the way.

Back at the ship and onboard before 2:30, we had a Future Cruise presentation with food and beverages in the Wheelhouse Restaurant.  We sat with a couple from Texas and the presentation was okay, but nothing moved my spend meter to purchase anything.  

I watched the sail away and there was quite a wind and it appeared to me that there was some difficulty in swinging the ship around.  But eventually the bow came around 180º and we sailed out the long strip of water into the open sea where a very colorful pilot boat picked up our pilot and headed back to shore while we increase speed for our overnight run to Tallinn, Estonia when we expect to arrive at 10am tomorrow morning.

Jharumy gave a Princess Insider presentation on Tallinn.  These presentations are quite helpful and fitting them into our schedule with virtually no sea days has to be challenging.  After our Lido dinner, the evening entertainment was a solo singer that our Cruise Director, Nick, fawns over.  And he was right.  Tony K. Irving was among the best vocalists we've seen on a ship.  

After the evening entertainment we watched the Perfect Couple game show which was a bit corny and not worth the time.  I concluded my evening in the stateroom while Angela stayed out until 11:30am sining karaoke.  

Tomorrow is a long day in Tallinn, Estonia.  We don't arrive until 10am and onboard time is 11pm, so we have a full day to explore. And I'm pretty sure we'll do just that.

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