We hear the ship's engine revving and feel the movement as we roll back and forth. Wanting to savor every bit of rest we can muster before tackling Helsinki, I close my eyes and wait until the engines stop which would signal we're docked. But that never happens and through our room speaker, the captain makes an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. Due to gale force winds and a forecast of deteriorating weather conditions, we will not be docking at Helsinki harbor. Our approach at our assigned birth was most difficult due to its exposure to the Baltic Sea and the decision was made for the safety of our passengers and crew to abort the docking and continue on directly to Stockholm. Thank you for your understanding".

We had looked forward to our visit to Finland. Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It includes over 300 islands. Here's a factoid which we will not see. The tap water is of excellent quality and it is supplied by the 75 mile long Päijänne Water Tunnel, one of the world's longest continuous rock tunnels. Bottled Helsinki tap water is even sold to other countries, such as Saudi Arabia. Big deal. We won't be trying any of it. I hear we will be in Stockholm about 9pm.

Note: I never managed to get a picture of this baby in the stroller. He's pushed around by one of the officers and, I would imagine, his wife whom we see quite often. This kid's head is huge. Normal up to his eyes, then it balloons out like one of those space aliens. They wheel him around everywhere. We call him "The Human Brain".

In no big rush, we go for a fruit breakfast. It's nice not having to be anywhere but I'm disappointed that we must give up a port to do that. I do have the opportunity to catch up on the blog and work on it while Karen wanders through the shops. This is going to cost $$. Upon her return, she tells me of her restroom escapade. She's using a multi-sex handicapped bathroom and fails to secure the door. While seated, some guy walks in, freaked out and after apologizing, runs out. Fearing someone else may wander in, she gets up to secure the door and another guy opens it. He takes off too. Mom locks the door and proceeds to go about her business. Never a dull moment!

We grab a lemonade and a few fries and sit by the pool. That's our lunch since tonight we will be dining at the Pinnacle Grill, known for its filet mignon. Thank you, Costco. Now, with the free afternoon, I load up pictures on the IPad that were taken over the last 5 days.

Our Pinnacle dinner is delicious as always. We both have the 6oz filet but Mom tops hers off with a lobster. We opt for wine too. Hey, we're big spenders. From our vantage point window side in the restaurant, we monitor our progress as we traverse through the Swedish Archipelagos on our way to the port of Stockholm. After dinner and dessert, we watch the show tonight. It's a guy and girl acrobatic team. Not really my thing but it seems the audience enjoys them. Following the show we stop by the Queen's Lounge for "The Liar's Club" game, sort of like the old "To Tell the Truth" show. That's always fun and the comedian, Martin, from the other night, was the best. Leaving the show, we can see that it's still light outside. As a result of its northerly latitude, the area sees a dramatic seasonal variation in sunlight, from more than 18 hours of daylight around midsummer, to around 6 hours of daylight in late December.

Off to bed now since tomorrow Stockholm awaits us at 8am.

Weather: Overcast, rough seas, 59°F