Last Saturday we left for the day to celebrate a birthday on Viking Line. Peter's mum turned 80, and we wanted to celebrate this together with the whole family. We were a total of 16 people who had a really nice afternoon at sea.
Table of contents
Day cruise to Åland with Rosella
We did a day cruise to Åland with Rosella. This meant that we took a bus from Cityterminalen at 12:30 in the day and were back home in the evening. Peter's parents, who live in Gävle, also had a connecting bus from their destination.
We had booked a table in the buffet restaurant as soon as we got on board. There were a lot of goodies to choose from, such as fresh prawns, roe, pates and of course hot dishes, cheeses and desserts. The only thing I don't really like in a place like this is that it gets a little crowded and it almost feels a little stressful.
Celebrate your birthday on Viking Line
It was Peter's mum Gittan's birthday, which of course had to be celebrated properly. All three sons were on the trip, along with wives and six of the grandchildren and in some cases their spouses. Together we were a group of 16 people!
We started with the buffet in the restaurant on the way to the Mariehamn, and when it was time to turn back, there were instead some drinks in the bar. Very nice!
Affordable cruise
We must say that a cruise like this is an affordable option if you want to go with a group and have something to celebrate. When you are 8 people or more, you can contact Viking Line for a price enquiry.
We were 16 people and paid a total of SEK 4606 (ie SEK 282 / person) for the bus, cruise and buffet with free access to beer and wine. It also included a birthday celebration with a glass of bubbly for everyone, courtship with singing and a bottle of sparkling wine for the jubilee.
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None says:
So affordable! Only the buffet in Vietnam goes off at 500kr. If you become a member of Viking Line, you get unbelievably attractive offers, the Grace boat is really great. God what we drool over the crayfish pictures!
14 November 2016 - 7:33
None says:
I mean the shrimp pictures.
14 November 2016 - 7:34
Husis blog says:
How wonderful to be able to gather on a boat and socialise all the time. Being on a boat must be absolutely exemplary as everyone really has to stay the whole time the boat is away. My owners sometimes gossip that some relatives can otherwise be in such a hurry to leave. The fact that it was so affordable is just an extra plus.
14 November 2016 - 7:44
Lennart says:
Great way to celebrate!
14 November 2016 - 8:41
The Shetland Wife says:
Wow! Affordable yes. The food looks delicious!
14 November 2016 - 8:51
Mr Steve says:
It's great to be able to bring the family together for a birthday celebration in this way.
14 November 2016 - 9:30
admin says:
Inga, wow, a buffet in Vietnam costs so much? They must have really raised the prices and adapted to tourism ...
Husisblog, you have a point there! No one can escape 😉
Lennart, very easy to organise too. Especially with the buses leaving from many different destinations.
Shetland woman, that was good 😉 .
Steve, nice and easy to organise! 🙂
14 November 2016 - 9:45
anita wåg agrimanaki says:
Really affordable!!! I had intended to take my daughter on a cruise when she was in Sweden, but unfortunately there was not enough time.
14 November 2016 - 10:10
Lanclin-Linnea says:
We have travelled the Viking boats many times to my dad in Finland but never thought so carefully that it is actually possible to use them for parties, great! A bit like organising a children's party at some playground where food, drinks, eating utensils, cleaning and the whole thing is included 🙂 I will remember that for one of my birthdays (y) 🙂 🙂.
14 November 2016 - 10:16
Ama de casa says:
First of all: Congratulations to Gittan! Looked incredibly lively and happy there, and believe it or not, with so many loved ones gathered 🙂.
Very affordable, I must say. We occasionally ate on such tours to Åland, although the 24-hour variant (which always seemed to coincide with some time change of some kind regardless of the time of year because they lasted 23 hours? 😉 )
Very nice and unbeatable prices there as well 🙂.
14 November 2016 - 10:24
Ditte says:
What a successful trip and enjoyable journey for you understand that Peter's mum enjoyed having you all along.
And it's certainly affordable. Connecting buses from many directions are great.
We go over quite often as we have relatives in Mariehamn but we always eat in the á la carte dining room which is quieter.
But if there are a lot of people, the buffet is easy as there is something for everyone. Often it is unfortunately a bit noisy, but if you get a table in a corner, it is a bit calmer.
14 November 2016 - 10:30
Marina says:
It certainly sounded like an affordable birthday option.
14 November 2016 - 11:41
BP says:
Congratulations to Peter's mum on her 80th birthday. She looks much younger:-) Nice to put a face to her after Peter has written about his mum a few times. Have to say that she certainly hasn't taken a beating from her son's teenage "escapades";-)
Have travelled Viking Line many times, but never taken a day cruise... Perfect and really an affordable option when you are so many.
PS. Helena, you look slightly terrified in the second last picture;-) Oh Peter's jacket is incredibly cool. DS.
14 November 2016 - 14:02
Alexandra says:
Congratulations to Peter's mum! 😀
Going on a boat and eating a buffet is usually an affordable pleasure! I have celebrated my last two birthdays on Silja Galaxy - but then only with husband and daughter, to avoid having to have a celebration at home haha. Ps. the daughter was jealous that you got to meet Ville Viking haha.
14 November 2016 - 16:40
Goatfish says:
Congratulations to "birthday girl" Mum Gittan, who looks incredibly young and fresh 😀.
What a great idea with the cruise, everyone had room, as it were. Just sit and enjoy. And affordable!
14 November 2016 - 18:06
admin says:
Anita, it's hard to find time for everything you want. But maybe there will be more opportunities?
Linnea, haha, yes a bit like organising a children's party! 😉
Ama de casa, always time change, haha 😉 Yes, those boats are really good prices!
Ditte, I often like la carte, just because it's calmer. But buffet is very good when you are many. because then there is something for everyone 🙂.
Marina, definitely affordable!
BP, haha, yes, the mascot was perhaps a bit scary 😉 Glad you like Peter's jacket, I do too 🙂 ).
Geddfish, of course we had a good time 🙂 !
14 November 2016 - 19:17
Lena says:
Big CONGRATULATIONS to mum afterwards! Fantastic affordable celebration that no one in the country can compete with, unfortunately!!!
14 November 2016 - 19:19
Deciree says:
But so nice and so cheap later:) What fun for her to be together with you all. Hugs
14 November 2016 - 20:11
Matts Torebring says:
I like that. And what a price. Fits like a glove on a Smålänning. Now it is just too long ago, we made that trip.
Talking about recognising people (previous post). We come on board on a Friday evening. All tables are full, except one. There were two seats left. "But hello to you Matts", said a person at the table. "Who are you?" I said. "You remember, you were in my car showroom in Nässjö and test drove an Alfa Romeo, 15 to 20 years ago. Later in life I have bought more than twenty Hyundai cars from "Nisse at Holmgrens".
14 November 2016 - 21:26
admin says:
Lena, no, it's probably hard to find these prices on land ...
Deciree, it's usually appreciated when you can meet everyone at the same time 🙂 ðŸ™'
Matts, absolutely incredible story! I read it aloud to Peter. I really don't have that ability to recognise people! 😉
15 November 2016 - 9:30
Lots of other stuff and some concrete says:
It's a perfect way to celebrate!
We have also done this even though we slept over too. Everyone can go to bed when they want and don't have to worry about getting home.
Greetings Agneta
16 November 2016 - 17:40