Silja Symphony Helsinki- Stockholm- Helsinki

Time visited: March 2018 | Guests: 2 adults + 1 child  | Room type: A-cabin with seaview

Review: Floting hotel, cruising Helsinki- Stockholm- Helsinki



It's a cabin not a hotel room. True but I think the cruise ships sailing between Finland and Sweden are like floting hotels. So why not rate a cabin? I rarely see anybody writing about the cabin on a cruise ship which gives even more reason to do so in my blog.

Like half of Finland's population, we have been on numerous cruises in our lifetime. This time we chose Silja Line over Viking Line because we used points to pay for the trip. I would have so much to say about the (shitty) loyalty program of Silja Line but let's go into that... Usually when cruising on Silja Symphony or Serenade I book the Promenade -cabin because that's a specialty on Silja's ships and it's fun to do people watching from the cabin's window to the shop & restaurant Promenade. But this time I booked the A- cabin with seaview.

And oh, what a disappointment! I would expect that A- cabin had a bit more style but no. It was just like a C- cabin but on deck 9 and a window out to the sea. Everything but the floor (that had been refurbished during this decade) was worn out. And it was dirty! And small. Ok, that I knew beforehand. Thank god the carpet floors have been replaced with plastic laminate, but otherwise nothing much had changed. Two bunk beds, bed side table, dressing table with large mirrow, stool, open rack for hanging clothes and other items, TV, phone and bathroom with shower, toilet and sink. And we had a potty, pre-ordered :-) Textiles were pretty shabby and I couldn't help thinking that the blanket on the "sofa cum bed" hadn't been washed for months. There were stains on the walls and furniture and trash (and peanuts) on the floor and under the bed. Not very nice when you're traveling with a small child that touches everything. So I wiped everything with antibacterial wipes before letting the child run free.

Dear Silja Line, please ensure housekeeping does their job and please try to do something about the cabins.

Service: 2 / 5 (because of dirty cabin)
Room: 3 / 5
Activities: 2 / 5 (kids under 3 had no program)
Food & drink: 3 / 5

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