@@Omit1tulliportin if we want to split hairs the literal translation of "sweden's ship" is "ruotsin laiva", which is not same as "ruotsinlaiva", which is compound but who cares right?
In addition to the booze and party, the cruise is a rather inexpensive and convenient way of having a mini holiday abroad. There are several restaurants, so you can also make a reservation and skip the waiting for the buffet. The boat arrives in Stockholm in the morning and leaves late in the afternoon, leaving time to visit a few museums or a walk in the old town, or whatever interests you in Stockholm. Have done that with the kids a few times.
I think you used to get these trips for very cheap back in the days.. and if you bought enough from the tax free you would get a free ticket to the next one :) I think my last trip from sweden to finland was during the flight chaos of the iceland volacano in 2009 or sometthing when we travelled from europe back to finland with train, bus and ferry :)
And you can go on day-cruises if you just want to enjoy the archipelago and good food, or book trips to the bigger islands like gotland and åland. All very affordable!
Fun fact: the Finland-Sweden ferries used to sail direct between Helsinki (and Turku) and Stockholm but began making a stop in the Åland Islands each way some 20 years ago. Why? Because the duty-free legislation changed and it was no longer possible to sell things duty-free on trips between two destinations in the EU. Fortunately, Åland is a separate tax territory within the EU, so a stop in Åland made it possible for duty-free sales to continue.
@@SkytreeTV1 Yes. They have to call at Åland to maintain the duty-free status, and passengers do get on and off, but the passenger traffic alone would not make a viable business case for the stop.
And if you don't want to spend 160€ for the overnight cruise, there is one from Turku (instead of Helsinki) to Stockholm. Not as large and fancy but the duty free and entertainment will be there, plus you get to enjoy all the scenery in daylight. An absolute bargain for less than 20€!
@@DWTravel Yes I did! It was 15€ in summer of 2019. I had a day to walk all around Turku; stayed overnight in a hotel boat near the ferry terminal. I believe this former capital of Finland deserves more exposure ;)
what do you mean not so large and fancy? the ships are pretty similar and the newest viking line ship which I would call pretty fancy operates from Turku
@@TheAlex29494 I compared my experience with the ship in this video. The Silja ferry I took in 2019 was old and not as grand as the video, but I believe they have replaced it with a new one, so it's likely nicer now!
Ferries this side are considered "luxury" in USA, but to us Finns, it is just a place to party and eat for half a day and we can do it very easily. Helsinki is the busiest passenger terminal in Europe, thanks to several daily ferries to Tallinn and Stockholm.
according to wikipedia the busiest passenger port (by total amount of passengers) in the world is Port Canaveral in Florida with ~4 million passengers per year. But according to port of Helsinki website they have 12 million passengers per year making it by far the busiest port in the world by amount of passengers. Idk if they calculate the number of passengers differently tho
@@xKuukkelix it should be because they're ferries (cars, buses, trucks) and most of the boat is cabins and also there are several different companies with at least two ferries each (usually like four)
@@xKuukkelix Our (Finnish) boats are considered are basically ferries instead of being actual cruise ships which offer no such functionality. Baltic Sea has some of the largest ferries in the world that rival many cruiseliners in size, and they have much more passengers who are simply crossing over. Especially the Helsinki-Tallin route carries a lot of such traffic on a daily bases while actual cruises elsewhere take much longer (days/weeks). Same boats cross over several times/day. I myself used to cross over for work occasionally with a company car, usually without a cabin.
@@xKuukkelix Alot of traffic goes from stockholm-helsinki, like trucks and cars. Otherwise you would have to go around the whole baltic, and thats just nuts
Many years ago when I was a conscript in the Swedish infantry and we had a free weekend, the entire platoon took the "Finland ferry" as we call them. I don't remember much from that trip. We boarded the ferry on Friday evening, the ferry left Stockholm, we started drinking (insert a few hazy memories here), then I wake up and suddenly it's Sunday and we're back in Stockholm. Don't even remember docking at Helsinki. It was fun. Unfortunately for us, our officers had decided that they'd wake us up extra early Monday morning for a nice quick-paced 40km march in full gear, when we all were still hungover. After our military service ended we asked them about it, and they swore they hadn't heard about our little weekend boat trip (which everyone here knows means an extreme amount of alcohol, at least for youths), but their sadistic smiles during the march is evidence enough for me. They knew exactly what they were doing. Good times.
@@lucasgrg2647 Hade för mig att jag svarade på detta, men efter att jag nu fick ett till svar på kommentaren så såg jag att det var tomt. Men ja, jag var Livgardist!
3:17 the baltic sea isn't international waters, the reason why the whole thing works is that the ship stops in the autonomous territory of Åland, which by a loophole, makes alcohol tax-free.
Ofc its international water in the Baltic Seas lol, but if the ships goes between to EU states its taxes applied, if it not was for Ålands dispensation
International waters is just 12 nautical miles from Helsinki. Some of these ships also make 20 hour cruises to international waters so they can sell tax free alcohol and then they come back.
The total irony of it was during covid craze .. that... well Sweden was famously not a part of, the ship could no longer go to Finland, So it went from Stockholm to Gotland (also Sweden), but to make sure the booze was still cheap, they still docked at Åland, nobody was alowed on or of. But this this was sufficent. And the "we comply to all of the internationall covid 19 rules.. yea right, the compliance was about 0 kelvin
@@matsv201 They took cargo during covid during all journeys, including Visby cruises so thats why they docked at Åland, if they actually had cargo onboard every route is another story but was bookable
Generally "The Party Cruises" are either Turku-Stockholm or Helsinki-Tallinn routes, these "Day in City"-cruises on Helsinki-Stockholm routes are more like mini-holidays - akin to more traditional holiday cruises in Caribbean or Mediterranean. Difference isn't that big in the end but you can notice the "focus" in the cruise program and shops/restaurants available! There used to be a giant Childrens Playroom towards the end of the Promenade. Ball Pit, slides, toys and absolutely massive Nintendo(-sponsored?) Game Room with something like 15-20 N64s, Game Cubes etc with different games on them, all ready to play for free! These days they've, AFAIK, downsized it a lot and moved it down a couple of decks. I have so many great memories playing Mario Party and Mario Tennis against swedish kids even tho we didn't understand each other at all!
I've never been on a Turku-Stockholm cruise and Helsinki-Talliinn feels more like an average commute trip with no cabins, but we definitely used these Helsinki-Stockholm cruises as party boats (especially the Symphony and Serenade) for every occasion in late teens and as early adults. In high school and uni there were yearly organized trips (with "chaperones" in high school aka. someone's older sibling getting as drunk as everybody else). The day in the city just meant you got to buy snus as well. Even finance the trip with it if needed.
@@poika22 When they (Silja & Tallink both, I think Viking decided to stay more as commute service) started doing the X-hour cruises that barely moor at Tallinn (if at all), the Party Boat Cruises clearly shifted from HEL-STO to HEL-TAL as Turku-Stockholm was already a thing at that poin. Tallink/Silja had to do pretty major rebranding for Symhony/Serenade cruises. Sure, Tallink-Silja and Viking do occasional HEL-STO Party Cruises (afaik) these days with their new ships but those are completely different kind of service. Symphony/Serenade have been out of that game for a while now. They do those theme/YA cruises when the season is around but that's it.
@@Makapaa When I was talking about "party boats", I never meant the radio iskelmä themed cruises or whatever. I've never even heard of anyone who went on those, so I guess it's more of a country thing. The boats being "party boats" had nothing to do with Silja/Tallink themselves, it was just the occupants who made them party boats.
Our Abiristeily (school cruise where all the last year students go 17-18 year old) was held on one of these and it was referred in the local newpaper Iltalehti as "Dante's Inferno" (Danten Helvetti)
Wild trips, people having sex in the hallways, girls sucking guys of in elevators and massive amounts of people being thrown in the ship jail. Atleast this was the case in the early 2010s.
Poor guy almost got lost in the very beginning :D Speaking from experience - you better remember numbers well when drunk or write that number on your arm beforehand, because getting to your cabin (possibly in choppy seas) completely shithoused at 3AM is hard enough even when you know which direction you're trying to go :D
I’ve been on this ship. I think from Helsinki to Stockholm then to Estonia and back to Helsinki. This is a trip you must try when going to Scandinavia. There were no dull moment inside the ship 😂😂😂
back in like 2001 i recorded basically the whole cruise using my camcorder (way before smartphones lol). it was fun. but also all the unrecorded events that took place on various ships over the years, my god. that would be a whole 3 hour action movie. lmao
The craziest booze cruise for me on that route was when one of these ships was loaded full of university students, no other passengers at all! At the ship was full of activities involving drinking , games, puzzles and there were some artists playing shows etc! A party cruise. But 2 times was enough, today I couldn't take that anymore, hangovers are terrible.
There probably was a booze cruise also this time, but he made the mistake of booking an expensive cabin on deck 10. The cheap ones on deck 5 is where the booze party is at!
We in sweden had alot of booze cruises to finland when i was 18. We made facebook groups with 1000 members and just did the trips filled with 18 year olds. Then the rock station 'Bandit rock' have cruises with bands playing aswell
Ah yes, goom. The real pros took a bottle bought from the tax free and hid in the lifeboats during the day while the ship was being readied for the next trip. Two cruises for the price of one!
I do think the route from Helsinki to stockholm has mellowed some down from what it used to be, where people did party all night and many just fell a sleep in the corridors, now the booze cruise is more or less, helsinki to Tallin instead, becuse people go there to buy even bigger quantities of alcohol
Can confirm. Stockholm Helsinki used to be W I L D between 2000-2010, but since about 2008 or 2009, the Tallinn route has become the new go-to party route. I think the "student party cruises" usually happen on the Tallinn routes as well.
I will do this cruise in a few weeks. It will be a special Eurovision cruise. Really looking forward to it. Thanks for the video, now I know a little bit what to expect.
These cruises are definitely a pillar of Finnish culture lol. The first cruise I remember taking with my family at the age of 5 was Helsinki to Stockholm on Silja Serenade in 2002, so I associate Serenade and its sister ship Symphony with tons of nostalgia. Staying in a cabin with a view to the promenade, the playroom with a pirate ship and giant clam that feels like a childhood fever dream now, visiting the spa which used to be tropical themed and so fun back in the day (all that charm was lost when the two ships got renovated). I used to think this is the standard for such ferries all over the globe, was shocked to learn later that's not the case at all, and the fact that Helsinki-Tallinn is actually one of the busiest ferry routes in the world.
There are also a SPA area with some good choices for Laydies. Both Serenade and Symphony have a long history for trips with seminaars etc. It´s not only for party. Thanks DW for nice video.
The commodore class cabins and the suites also have their own lounge with food and snacks included in the price. The lounge is a nice place during the night when the ship navigates through the narrow strats near Stockholm and the crew uses search lights to illuminate the way...
Reason why most Baltic Sea cruises are Booze Cruises is because its north enough to be windy and cold outside, so sunbathing outside is very rarely an option. All the activities have to be inside the ship. Apparently one of the Disney ships is being transferred to Northern Europe, that kind of ship probably has to strip a lot of on-deck activities off and figure out new attractions inside the ship.
@@krisstopher8259 If its the Frozen movie-themed ship then it fits the colder waters very well. Disney should install a sauna in that ship just like in the movie.
I grew up going by the ferrys in the 70's, when they were much more simple and not fancy at all. Anyway I went with them all the time with my friends and in that time you didn't have to have a cabin, we slept in rooms with "comfortable" chairs or just in the hallways, anywhere! Later in life I went with my kids many times a year, it was fun for them and for me. Now I wouldn't go anymore, I find it quite boaring and it's more comfortable to fly. But for families with small children it is really nice, kids love these ferrys!
@@Henri.Virallinen Safety issues and tidiness as mentioned. I would not prefer to travel - in 2023 - on a Baltic cruise that has passengers sleeping in public spaces as a common practice. Probably does not make much sense on most ferry lines to offer that option anyway. The cheapest cabins(or even better options) are typically not a huge share of money spent on board for the customer, you get a private bathroom etc. From the shipping company perspective the modern ships have more than enough cabins, they don't want any extra security problems, thefts. Even legislation if we don't talk about the rest areas but just sleeping on benches and passing out anywhere in corridors. On some lines with a one way ticket you don't need to pay for a cabin and that makes a lot of sense, but I admit we're not talking transit but recreation. Even on a day cruise you can still go without a cabin, but I would not bother. The cabin is not much extra, it's more relaxing to have that option and you would pay a couple € anyway for a luggage box.
In my experience the actual booze cruise's are on Viking Line and the shorter cruises that take you to Mariehamn, Turku or Tallin dependin on where you start from. I have never in my 40+ years of cruising across the baltic seen anyone dance at the karaoke. Sing-a-longs for sure, but dancing to that extent? That was quite fun to see, I wish more people would dance. Silja does have themed cruises and those can get pretty wild.
It's Viking Line's Cinderella and Rosella that have mostly these real booze cruises between Stockholm or Kapellskär and Mariehamn. The Rosella was sold last year to a Greek shipping company and is sailing now between the Greek islands I believe.
They are the... have short lasting intimate relationship with a 40 year old single mom.. when you are 20 cruise. I have not done it my self, but.. well. i know of quite a few people who have.
It's very different if you go on an average tuesday, or if there's an abiristeily or ykkösristeily or fuksiristeily or some such occasion filling the boat with young people. Even some large sports tourneys cause the same thing.
There used to be overnight ferries to Tallinn... This is completely sober in comparison. I have great memories of observing interesting characters onboard such cruises. It was quite fun unless the seas were rough. I once happened to be in a tram with people who'd just been onboard through a stormy night and heard they'd seen people passed out in puddles of vomit. 🤔
Cruises from Tallinn to Stockholm are still onwards, there may be fewer drunks during the week, but on Fridays and weekends it's just as noisy as from Helsinki to Stockholm. 😅
I´m pretty sure they still are, at least 1½ month a go when me and my wife went. She was pretty freaking drunk. But she have the od ability that she walks better the more drunk she is.
@@Gnomereginam oh yes, Silja Europa is currently rented to Netherlands as a hotel. I was talking about the Tallinn Stockholm cruises which feature local well-known artists and DJs on the weekend, and have a rich show programme. At the moment only the Baltic Queen is sailing. Interesting fact, although Silja Line is owned by Tallink, which is an Estonian company, still the coolest ships sail between Finland and Sweden, not Estonia, we have slightly smaller ones here.
It looks like small cruiseship, because it actually is. ferry name is kinda old schooled and is said as it because it has car deck but 90% of the people are on those just because of the cruises and people with cars are just transporting from A to B.
These ships transport cargo too, so they are not only for partying. Truckers do not make a big portion of the total passenger count, but it is the load they are transporting that makes money for the ship company.
TWO decks of cars, buses, trucks. i don't mind calling them ferries cause they are ferries but "cruiseferry" (kryssningsfärja, risteilylautta) is an acceptable term and pretty accurate
Reminds me of the Greek Minoan ship from Venice to west coast Greece, 12 hour journey, very relaxing without the wild party. It cost approx 65 euru 1 way? Pay for food at 3 different budget restaurant, cheapest was the fast food burger. I enjoyed the sunset/ sunrise.
how was the noise level in the cabin? I'm interested to book but worried we wouldn't get any peace and quiet in the rooms. Is the noise quite separated?
I'm going to Finland this coming winter. I was seriously considering booking passage from Helsinki to Stockholm. Then I decided I really want to visit Estonia for a couple days, and just fly to Sweden from Estonia. Those ships are a lot of fun though. It won't be my last time over there, and know the Silja & Viking Line well.
There are similar ferries to Stockholm from Tallinn too. Since alcohol is cheaper in Estonia, it's not that cheap in comparison, but still way cheaper than in Sweden. The overall experience is still similar though.
Its really easy to find your cavin on the ship. First number(s) is the floor (2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 exist) Second number is what wing it is in. Od number is sarboard, even port. Then just 0 and 1 is first flight, the. All the way back tp 8 and 9 is last. And the last two number is simply the cabin count with od being out wards and even inwards.. This is the most symetrical ship there is with almost all the halways having a simular set up.
I frequently travel between Sweden and Finland and while it is amazing to have such luxurious party esque ships. I would also prefer some cheap ferries because these are the only ships travelling frequently and it gets expensive quite quick
Try FinnLines from Naantali to Kappelskär. Super cheap, and the food buffé is included in price. But. You have to travel with car. This route is mostly used by lorrydrivers. No partying. A smaller duty free shop, bar, restaurant (free), some gaming machines, playing room for children and a sauna. That's all there is, but I felt it was enough. Very peaceful journey. I always use it when I go to Ahvenanmaa. Ticket for your car, personal ticket and food for only 30€. You can't beat that.
Been to the twin ships of Symphony and Serenade like 20+ times and it's great, better than the Viking Line boats wich goes the same route and is cheaper. But they have a much more beautiful dock at central Stockholm.
been on them the same amount of times probably. yea they're more expensive but it's worth it. the dock is not very central, it's like some kilometers outside the city. the helsinki dock is very central tho (or the viking dock both stockholm and helsinki)
Man you rode on my favourite boat. Symphony is a boat I would go on many times a year with my family when I was young. That 'NY nightclub' or karaoke place you went to used to be a game room filled with playstations with different games on em. I'd spend all night there as a youngling, then they changed it to a karaoke bar and I remember being so pissed about it lol. Nowadays tho I much rather prefer the bar up there.
The thing that makes the Helsinki-Stockholm ferry (also the Turku-Stockholm ferry) so popular are obviously the cheap alcohol and tobacco. But equally as much so because of the cheap traveling that you don't get with for example a flight. You get a cabin and buffét on board for two for about 130-140€ last I checked, also the fact that we don't need to waste time at customs and so on, because we live inside the Schengen area so we don't really need passports unless we travel outside the Schengen area
You missed probobly the most important fact of the ship. The ship is NOT built like a cruise ship, its the other way around. Silja Symfoni is about 35 years old. Here and here sister (Serenade, pretty much identical) was the first ship ever to have a promenade. And they are still operating the original route they was designed to carry (while they have shied around mean while). And they was the two largest cruse ferries in the world... for 2 years. Also traveling drunk on a ship between Sweden and Finland is a 1500 year old tradition. Its worth saying that even during viking time, the journey didn´t take that much longer than today
You picked the wrong route for the booze cruise. That happens more between Helsinki and Tallinn. That's where people go for a short ferry trip and return with large quantities of alcoholic beverages.
It's not Mumin. It's his sister Snorkfröken (Miss Snarky). I recommend that you don't drink as much as I did coming back to Sweden from Finland on Silja Line 35 years ago. I woke up when a crew member was drilling the lock on the cabin door 2 hours after the ship had arrived in Stockholm and that was to put it mildly a little embarrassing...
Nice video! Silja Line had ons ship, the Galaxy, which sailed between Stockholm and Turku for many years. It was well-known for its wild party-cruises which got out of hand sometimes, unfortunately. But they ended with Covid of course. Then in 2022 the Galaxy was chartered out to serve as a home for Ukrainian refugees in Holland. Now nobody knows what will be the future for the Galaxy.
@@hi-tl6fi I like the Silja Europa, lovely ship! I used to go often on cruises between Stockholm and Turku before Baltic Princess replaced her in 2015. Spectacular view from the top deck, you could walk all the way round. The Baltic P. is nice too, very like the Galaxy, but much calmer I find.
The ferries around the baltic sea are usually like this, it's like a hybrid between a ferry and cruiseship. Alot of cars and trucks depend on these ships
Thanks for sharing the experience , i've never seen this place before. I always thought Finland is a quiet and boring place but then i saw this, amazing 👍
As someone who doesn't drink alcohol, use any tobacco products, doesn't gamble or party, I only use these ships to take me from A to B. And I only stay in my cabin the whole trip. 😅
Alcohol is also really expensive in Sweden. In Sweden you can't even buy alcohol beverages with more than 3.5% alcohol in grocery store. You have to go to a swedish monopolized liquor store called "systembolaget", where you can buy drinks with more than 3.5% alcohol. Finland has almost the same system, but in Finland grocery stores can sell a maximum of 5.5% alcoholic beverages, which is very close to optimal in beers. Over 5.5% drinks are sold in Alko, which is similar to Systembolaget. So if you want to buy beer in Sweden that is somewhat "good", you have to go to an very overpriced alcohol store which is also a monopoly. Sweden is more expensive than Finland in average.
And what's more, the Systembolaget stores close at 15:00 on Saturdays and don't open at all on Sundays. You really have to plan your weekend social drinking in advance unless you frequent the expensive bars.
That is pretty misleading. Beer and wine are actually a lot more affordable in a Swedish Systembolaget than in a Finnish supermarket or Alko. For example a 0.5l can of beer (5.2-5.6% strong) in Systembolaget will cost you around 1.1-1.5 euros while in a Finnish Supermarket that will cost you atleast 2.05-2.50 euros (4.3-4.7% strong) Price difference with Sweden is even higher if it's an "exotic" beer over 5.5% and you'd have to go to Alko for it. Similarly you can get a bottle of wine in Systembolaget for 6 euros that would cost you nearly 10 euros in Alko. Only hard liquors are cheaper in Alko than Systembolaget, due to tax differences between the nations. Other pros of Finland is that you can buy cooled beer and wine, while in Sweden everything is sold warm due to "brand-neutrality, and obviously the wider opening times, as mentioned earlier. Regards, a Finn who has driven to Systembolaget for cheaper beer as part of a Lapland trip, like many do now as Swedish crown is weak.
@@ticheros-be4vt that is false. I was browsing systembolaget and 330ml beer cost over 3 euros. I can get Karhu beer which is 5.3% for about 2 euros in my local supermarket. All 0.5l 5.0% beers seem to cost almost 4 euros, which is more than in Finland. I have no idea where you got those prices. Sweden is more expensive on average and Sweden also has very big taxes on alcohol. Your story don't seem to add up.
@@ticheros-be4vtalso why was your account created day after I posted my comment? It seems like you just made that story up in order to stread false information about Sweden's pricing.
I've been on that exact same one in 2005 when I turned 20. Only to get drunk and eat and the rest. Was calmer before though. I stopped going on such cruises in maybe 2012
@@nilgor70 i love the retro style (the parts that remain untouched but the rest is nice too) and the promenade is a unique feature. been there many times and i never get tired of it, it's already a tradition because i've been there since 1990 (not every year but often). they're wonderful ships and when they disappear i have to move somewhere else, lol
@@nilgor70 Layout has changed "dramatically" in 30 years. Bear in mind that these ship's also transports cars and trucks. Above mentioned Viking Line ships are from 2020's also running almost vibration less LPG engines.
@@nilgor70True, if ships are well-maintained they last basically forever. There will be problems with plumbing etc, and repairing it costs sometimes so much that shipping companies choose to invest in a new ship instead. But the hull is just as strong as it is in a brand new ship
There are theme party cruises. This fall be the 60th and final rave cruise where they rent the entire ship and fly in 50 large acts from all over the world for 2000 ravers. Monday bar, one more chance to go.
I where on one of these partyboats with my friends. We played hide and seek. In one of the corridors a door oppend right beside me as I passed. Inside the cabin, in that 1 second the door where oppend right beside me, I saw 3 guys and a girl all of them dressed in sweaty birthdaysuits 😂
They’ve been trying to bring back the glamour of sea travel to these ferries, like in the old days it was very classy. Then for the past couple decades these ferries became a place where teenagers and like minded adults went to get drunk and spread their bodily fluids pretty much.😂😂😂 But they’ve cleaned it up a bit lately, the buffet became high quality again and all that.
The reason why the boat is so communal is that all the finns and swedes come from all different small cities with no night life, and this is their first chance to get on a big stage on karaoke
Ah the booze cruise's of youth. The lovers tiffs, the drama, cringy Karaoke, the puddles of vomit in the corners and condoms in the planters. We've almost all been on at least one in our lifetime.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
In Sweden we call all the ferries to Finland "The Finland boats" and I think in Finland they call the same ferries "The Sweden boats".
Yes, the old good "Ruotsinlaiva" (the boat of Sweden) =P
@@n00blamer Literal translation is Sweden's ship.
@@Omit1tulliportin if we want to split hairs the literal translation of "sweden's ship" is "ruotsin laiva", which is not same as "ruotsinlaiva", which is compound but who cares right?
Or "The Chlamydia boat".
Exactly. Greetings from Finland 😊
This ferry is actually the first ship to have such promenade-street, and it was groundbreaking that time. Today every Caribbean cruise ships have it.
This is the second ship. First was Silja Serenade.
@@274727 They are sister ships.
@@martinwedel3588 These two sister ferry ships we are talking about here are from 1990.
@@postoffice146 Silja Serenade 1990 and Silja Symphony 1991.
the ship between Kiel and Oslo is also similar. not so party focus though.
In addition to the booze and party, the cruise is a rather inexpensive and convenient way of having a mini holiday abroad. There are several restaurants, so you can also make a reservation and skip the waiting for the buffet. The boat arrives in Stockholm in the morning and leaves late in the afternoon, leaving time to visit a few museums or a walk in the old town, or whatever interests you in Stockholm. Have done that with the kids a few times.
Thanks for the tip! :)
If people are not drunk/ hangover 😅 to explore. I tried to cross from Copenhagen to Sweden few years ago by bus but I missed the bus schedule
I think you used to get these trips for very cheap back in the days.. and if you bought enough from the tax free you would get a free ticket to the next one :)
I think my last trip from sweden to finland was during the flight chaos of the iceland volacano in 2009 or sometthing when we travelled from europe back to finland with train, bus and ferry :)
And you can go on day-cruises if you just want to enjoy the archipelago and good food, or book trips to the bigger islands like gotland and åland. All very affordable!
@@___beyondhorizon4664well, you’re supposed to be drunk the trip back
Fun fact: the Finland-Sweden ferries used to sail direct between Helsinki (and Turku) and Stockholm but began making a stop in the Åland Islands each way some 20 years ago. Why? Because the duty-free legislation changed and it was no longer possible to sell things duty-free on trips between two destinations in the EU. Fortunately, Åland is a separate tax territory within the EU, so a stop in Åland made it possible for duty-free sales to continue.
ok wow. i didn't know that
And they still do stop at Mariehamn in Åland albeit briefly!
@@SkytreeTV1 Yes. They have to call at Åland to maintain the duty-free status, and passengers do get on and off, but the passenger traffic alone would not make a viable business case for the stop.
Wait, so the Tax Free store on Helsinki-Tallinn ferries is only tax free in name nowadays?
Aland its like a cayman islands for rich people
And if you don't want to spend 160€ for the overnight cruise, there is one from Turku (instead of Helsinki) to Stockholm. Not as large and fancy but the duty free and entertainment will be there, plus you get to enjoy all the scenery in daylight. An absolute bargain for less than 20€!
Thanks for the tip! Have you ever taken the ferry from Turku to Stockholm?
@@DWTravel Yes I did! It was 15€ in summer of 2019. I had a day to walk all around Turku; stayed overnight in a hotel boat near the ferry terminal. I believe this former capital of Finland deserves more exposure ;)
what do you mean not so large and fancy? the ships are pretty similar and the newest viking line ship which I would call pretty fancy operates from Turku
@@TheAlex29494 I compared my experience with the ship in this video. The Silja ferry I took in 2019 was old and not as grand as the video, but I believe they have replaced it with a new one, so it's likely nicer now!
To be fair €160 is a great price as well, it's like a hotel room but you get so much more.
Ferries this side are considered "luxury" in USA, but to us Finns, it is just a place to party and eat for half a day and we can do it very easily. Helsinki is the busiest passenger terminal in Europe, thanks to several daily ferries to Tallinn and Stockholm.
according to wikipedia the busiest passenger port (by total amount of passengers) in the world is Port Canaveral in Florida with ~4 million passengers per year. But according to port of Helsinki website they have 12 million passengers per year making it by far the busiest port in the world by amount of passengers. Idk if they calculate the number of passengers differently tho
@@xKuukkelix it should be because they're ferries (cars, buses, trucks) and most of the boat is cabins and also there are several different companies with at least two ferries each (usually like four)
Wow i never knew this
@@xKuukkelix Our (Finnish) boats are considered are basically ferries instead of being actual cruise ships which offer no such functionality. Baltic Sea has some of the largest ferries in the world that rival many cruiseliners in size, and they have much more passengers who are simply crossing over. Especially the Helsinki-Tallin route carries a lot of such traffic on a daily bases while actual cruises elsewhere take much longer (days/weeks). Same boats cross over several times/day. I myself used to cross over for work occasionally with a company car, usually without a cabin.
@@xKuukkelix Alot of traffic goes from stockholm-helsinki, like trucks and cars. Otherwise you would have to go around the whole baltic, and thats just nuts
Many years ago when I was a conscript in the Swedish infantry and we had a free weekend, the entire platoon took the "Finland ferry" as we call them. I don't remember much from that trip. We boarded the ferry on Friday evening, the ferry left Stockholm, we started drinking (insert a few hazy memories here), then I wake up and suddenly it's Sunday and we're back in Stockholm. Don't even remember docking at Helsinki. It was fun.
Unfortunately for us, our officers had decided that they'd wake us up extra early Monday morning for a nice quick-paced 40km march in full gear, when we all were still hungover. After our military service ended we asked them about it, and they swore they hadn't heard about our little weekend boat trip (which everyone here knows means an extreme amount of alcohol, at least for youths), but their sadistic smiles during the march is evidence enough for me. They knew exactly what they were doing. Good times.
Livgardist?
@@lucasgrg2647 Självklart
I did the same but I was a conscript in Finland. Great hangover and memories.
@@lucasgrg2647 Hade för mig att jag svarade på detta, men efter att jag nu fick ett till svar på kommentaren så såg jag att det var tomt. Men ja, jag var Livgardist!
@@K3jand Damn, imagine the fun we would've had if we ended up on the same ferry. I love all you finnish military comrades, all of you are great boys.
3:17 the baltic sea isn't international waters, the reason why the whole thing works is that the ship stops in the autonomous territory of Åland, which by a loophole, makes alcohol tax-free.
Damn straight!
Ofc its international water in the Baltic Seas lol, but if the ships goes between to EU states its taxes applied, if it not was for Ålands dispensation
International waters is just 12 nautical miles from Helsinki. Some of these ships also make 20 hour cruises to international waters so they can sell tax free alcohol and then they come back.
The total irony of it was during covid craze .. that... well Sweden was famously not a part of, the ship could no longer go to Finland, So it went from Stockholm to Gotland (also Sweden), but to make sure the booze was still cheap, they still docked at Åland, nobody was alowed on or of. But this this was sufficent.
And the "we comply to all of the internationall covid 19 rules.. yea right, the compliance was about 0 kelvin
@@matsv201 They took cargo during covid during all journeys, including Visby cruises so thats why they docked at Åland, if they actually had cargo onboard every route is another story but was bookable
Generally "The Party Cruises" are either Turku-Stockholm or Helsinki-Tallinn routes, these "Day in City"-cruises on Helsinki-Stockholm routes are more like mini-holidays - akin to more traditional holiday cruises in Caribbean or Mediterranean. Difference isn't that big in the end but you can notice the "focus" in the cruise program and shops/restaurants available!
There used to be a giant Childrens Playroom towards the end of the Promenade. Ball Pit, slides, toys and absolutely massive Nintendo(-sponsored?) Game Room with something like 15-20 N64s, Game Cubes etc with different games on them, all ready to play for free! These days they've, AFAIK, downsized it a lot and moved it down a couple of decks.
I have so many great memories playing Mario Party and Mario Tennis against swedish kids even tho we didn't understand each other at all!
They split the arkade and the playroom, making it very annoying for parents that got some children that are 3-4 and some that are 11-12.
I've never been on a Turku-Stockholm cruise and Helsinki-Talliinn feels more like an average commute trip with no cabins, but we definitely used these Helsinki-Stockholm cruises as party boats (especially the Symphony and Serenade) for every occasion in late teens and as early adults. In high school and uni there were yearly organized trips (with "chaperones" in high school aka. someone's older sibling getting as drunk as everybody else). The day in the city just meant you got to buy snus as well. Even finance the trip with it if needed.
@@poika22 When they (Silja & Tallink both, I think Viking decided to stay more as commute service) started doing the X-hour cruises that barely moor at Tallinn (if at all), the Party Boat Cruises clearly shifted from HEL-STO to HEL-TAL as Turku-Stockholm was already a thing at that poin.
Tallink/Silja had to do pretty major rebranding for Symhony/Serenade cruises.
Sure, Tallink-Silja and Viking do occasional HEL-STO Party Cruises (afaik) these days with their new ships but those are completely different kind of service.
Symphony/Serenade have been out of that game for a while now. They do those theme/YA cruises when the season is around but that's it.
@@Makapaa When I was talking about "party boats", I never meant the radio iskelmä themed cruises or whatever. I've never even heard of anyone who went on those, so I guess it's more of a country thing. The boats being "party boats" had nothing to do with Silja/Tallink themselves, it was just the occupants who made them party boats.
Lukas always has a good time on his trips! it's always fun to see him!
Was fun talking with you in the taxfree. Great to hear you had a splendid time and hope you enjoyed Sthlm.
Thank you very much, Marion😊 yes, I did enjoy Stockholm!
Our Abiristeily (school cruise where all the last year students go 17-18 year old) was held on one of these and it was referred in the local newpaper Iltalehti as "Dante's Inferno" (Danten Helvetti)
lmao. sorry i missed it
Wild trips, people having sex in the hallways, girls sucking guys of in elevators and massive amounts of people being thrown in the ship jail. Atleast this was the case in the early 2010s.
😂
Poor guy almost got lost in the very beginning :D Speaking from experience - you better remember numbers well when drunk or write that number on your arm beforehand, because getting to your cabin (possibly in choppy seas) completely shithoused at 3AM is hard enough even when you know which direction you're trying to go :D
I’ve been on this ship. I think from Helsinki to Stockholm then to Estonia and back to Helsinki. This is a trip you must try when going to Scandinavia. There were no dull moment inside the ship 😂😂😂
back in like 2001 i recorded basically the whole cruise using my camcorder (way before smartphones lol). it was fun. but also all the unrecorded events that took place on various ships over the years, my god. that would be a whole 3 hour action movie. lmao
The craziest booze cruise for me on that route was when one of these ships was loaded full of university students, no other passengers at all! At the ship was full of activities involving drinking , games, puzzles and there were some artists playing shows etc! A party cruise. But 2 times was enough, today I couldn't take that anymore, hangovers are terrible.
There probably was a booze cruise also this time, but he made the mistake of booking an expensive cabin on deck 10. The cheap ones on deck 5 is where the booze party is at!
@@dingdong2103 true af lol
don't forget the s3x fest ... that was the best part
We in sweden had alot of booze cruises to finland when i was 18. We made facebook groups with 1000 members and just did the trips filled with 18 year olds.
Then the rock station 'Bandit rock' have cruises with bands playing aswell
Ah yes, goom. The real pros took a bottle bought from the tax free and hid in the lifeboats during the day while the ship was being readied for the next trip. Two cruises for the price of one!
This was fun and also very respectful to our eccentric Finnish behaviour.
Subbed!
I do think the route from Helsinki to stockholm has mellowed some down from what it used to be, where people did party all night and many just fell a sleep in the corridors, now the booze cruise is more or less, helsinki to Tallin instead, becuse people go there to buy even bigger quantities of alcohol
Can confirm. Stockholm Helsinki used to be W I L D between 2000-2010, but since about 2008 or 2009, the Tallinn route has become the new go-to party route. I think the "student party cruises" usually happen on the Tallinn routes as well.
Yeah only boomers go to stockholm anymore. And youngsters rather sleep in hotel in tallinn other than in the ferry.
I will do this cruise in a few weeks. It will be a special Eurovision cruise. Really looking forward to it. Thanks for the video, now I know a little bit what to expect.
These cruises are definitely a pillar of Finnish culture lol. The first cruise I remember taking with my family at the age of 5 was Helsinki to Stockholm on Silja Serenade in 2002, so I associate Serenade and its sister ship Symphony with tons of nostalgia. Staying in a cabin with a view to the promenade, the playroom with a pirate ship and giant clam that feels like a childhood fever dream now, visiting the spa which used to be tropical themed and so fun back in the day (all that charm was lost when the two ships got renovated). I used to think this is the standard for such ferries all over the globe, was shocked to learn later that's not the case at all, and the fact that Helsinki-Tallinn is actually one of the busiest ferry routes in the world.
There are also a SPA area with some good choices for Laydies. Both Serenade and Symphony have a long history for trips with seminaars etc. It´s not only for party. Thanks DW for nice video.
The commodore class cabins and the suites also have their own lounge with food and snacks included in the price. The lounge is a nice place during the night when the ship navigates through the narrow strats near Stockholm and the crew uses search lights to illuminate the way...
Cool boat! 😁❤ Moomin and the partygoers...👍👍👍👍👍
Looking forward to seeing Mr. Lukas Stege's Stockholm adventures.
Reason why most Baltic Sea cruises are Booze Cruises is because its north enough to be windy and cold outside, so sunbathing outside is very rarely an option. All the activities have to be inside the ship. Apparently one of the Disney ships is being transferred to Northern Europe, that kind of ship probably has to strip a lot of on-deck activities off and figure out new attractions inside the ship.
the disney NATO lake cruise. lol
@@krisstopher8259 If its the Frozen movie-themed ship then it fits the colder waters very well. Disney should install a sauna in that ship just like in the movie.
That's a great video, i liked this types of video. From many days
I was waiting a vlog on a large passengers ship and now I got
6:27 this guy explained it very well
I grew up going by the ferrys in the 70's, when they were much more simple and not fancy at all. Anyway I went with them all the time with my friends and in that time you didn't have to have a cabin, we slept in rooms with "comfortable" chairs or just in the hallways, anywhere! Later in life I went with my kids many times a year, it was fun for them and for me. Now I wouldn't go anymore, I find it quite boaring and it's more comfortable to fly. But for families with small children it is really nice, kids love these ferrys!
A lot of these overnight ferries require mandatory cabin reservations now. I wonder why we're not even offered the choice? Regulation?
@@Henri.Virallinen I think it grew noisy and unsafe and untidy to have more and more people sleeping on the sofas and floors all around.
@@Henri.Virallinen
Safety issues and tidiness as mentioned. I would not prefer to travel - in 2023 - on a Baltic cruise that has passengers sleeping in public spaces as a common practice.
Probably does not make much sense on most ferry lines to offer that option anyway. The cheapest cabins(or even better options) are typically not a huge share of money spent on board for the customer, you get a private bathroom etc. From the shipping company perspective the modern ships have more than enough cabins, they don't want any extra security problems, thefts. Even legislation if we don't talk about the rest areas but just sleeping on benches and passing out anywhere in corridors.
On some lines with a one way ticket you don't need to pay for a cabin and that makes a lot of sense, but I admit we're not talking transit but recreation. Even on a day cruise you can still go without a cabin, but I would not bother. The cabin is not much extra, it's more relaxing to have that option and you would pay a couple € anyway for a luggage box.
In the start of the video you said i'm a little lost and I laughed in silence knowing that i have he entire boat mapped in my mind! love the video!
So you've travelled a couple of times with that ferry? 😊
"I'm not feeling quite as fit today"... The morning after on those ships sure is painful. 😄
yea f-ck me that sucks but still worth it lol
In my experience the actual booze cruise's are on Viking Line and the shorter cruises that take you to Mariehamn, Turku or Tallin dependin on where you start from. I have never in my 40+ years of cruising across the baltic seen anyone dance at the karaoke. Sing-a-longs for sure, but dancing to that extent? That was quite fun to see, I wish more people would dance. Silja does have themed cruises and those can get pretty wild.
It's Viking Line's Cinderella and Rosella that have mostly these real booze cruises between Stockholm or Kapellskär and Mariehamn. The Rosella was sold last year to a Greek shipping company and is sailing now between the Greek islands I believe.
They are the... have short lasting intimate relationship with a 40 year old single mom.. when you are 20 cruise. I have not done it my self, but.. well. i know of quite a few people who have.
It's very different if you go on an average tuesday, or if there's an abiristeily or ykkösristeily or fuksiristeily or some such occasion filling the boat with young people. Even some large sports tourneys cause the same thing.
They’re also called ”drilling rigs” because… well.
Yep, that's very common nick name for those ferries. 😄
If Serbs and Croats could cruise together in the Adriatic like this, that would be fun! A good example from the north, as usual! :)
I highly recommend it! It's so much fun for everyone. Families with kids as well so it's not just booze and partying. 😅
There used to be overnight ferries to Tallinn... This is completely sober in comparison. I have great memories of observing interesting characters onboard such cruises. It was quite fun unless the seas were rough. I once happened to be in a tram with people who'd just been onboard through a stormy night and heard they'd seen people passed out in puddles of vomit. 🤔
Cruises from Tallinn to Stockholm are still onwards, there may be fewer drunks during the week, but on Fridays and weekends it's just as noisy as from Helsinki to Stockholm. 😅
I´m pretty sure they still are, at least 1½ month a go when me and my wife went. She was pretty freaking drunk. But she have the od ability that she walks better the more drunk she is.
@@aleksnarjanen939 Really? I can only find the faster ferries. Europa is a cool ship but I've not seen it in operation for a while.
@@Gnomereginam oh yes, Silja Europa is currently rented to Netherlands as a hotel.
I was talking about the Tallinn Stockholm cruises which feature local well-known artists and DJs on the weekend, and have a rich show programme. At the moment only the Baltic Queen is sailing.
Interesting fact, although Silja Line is owned by Tallink, which is an Estonian company, still the coolest ships sail between Finland and Sweden, not Estonia, we have slightly smaller ones here.
@@aleksnarjanen939 Ah, I just can't read, yeah, the Stockholm cruises are still active. Going on one next week :p
This is peak finnish traveling 😆 if you havent been on a cruise boat smashed out of your mind you are not truly finnish.
It looks like small cruiseship, because it actually is. ferry name is kinda old schooled and is said as it because it has car deck but 90% of the people are on those just because of the cruises and people with cars are just transporting from A to B.
These ships transport cargo too, so they are not only for partying. Truckers do not make a big portion of the total passenger count, but it is the load they are transporting that makes money for the ship company.
Well they're called cruiseferries for reason
TWO decks of cars, buses, trucks. i don't mind calling them ferries cause they are ferries but "cruiseferry" (kryssningsfärja, risteilylautta) is an acceptable term and pretty accurate
Reminds me of the Greek Minoan ship from Venice to west coast Greece, 12 hour journey, very relaxing without the wild party. It cost approx 65 euru 1 way? Pay for food at 3 different budget restaurant, cheapest was the fast food burger. I enjoyed the sunset/ sunrise.
Fun fact: Many of the Greek ferries are actually the old ferries decommissioned from this very route.
how was the noise level in the cabin? I'm interested to book but worried we wouldn't get any peace and quiet in the rooms. Is the noise quite separated?
Yes, way too many bad hangovers after these cruises when I was younger. Nowadays only family cruises to Tallinn with my 5yo son.
I'm going to Finland this coming winter. I was seriously considering booking passage from Helsinki to Stockholm. Then I decided I really want to visit Estonia for a couple days, and just fly to Sweden from Estonia. Those ships are a lot of fun though. It won't be my last time over there, and know the Silja & Viking Line well.
There are similar ferries to Stockholm from Tallinn too. Since alcohol is cheaper in Estonia, it's not that cheap in comparison, but still way cheaper than in Sweden. The overall experience is still similar though.
Oh wow thats better than most cruises. Most don’t have a street like that
Its really easy to find your cavin on the ship.
First number(s) is the floor (2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 exist)
Second number is what wing it is in. Od number is sarboard, even port. Then just 0 and 1 is first flight, the. All the way back tp 8 and 9 is last.
And the last two number is simply the cabin count with od being out wards and even inwards..
This is the most symetrical ship there is with almost all the halways having a simular set up.
Hope you enjoyed Stockholm too!
I frequently travel between Sweden and Finland and while it is amazing to have such luxurious party esque ships. I would also prefer some cheap ferries because these are the only ships travelling frequently and it gets expensive quite quick
Try FinnLines from Naantali to Kappelskär. Super cheap, and the food buffé is included in price. But. You have to travel with car. This route is mostly used by lorrydrivers. No partying. A smaller duty free shop, bar, restaurant (free), some gaming machines, playing room for children and a sauna. That's all there is, but I felt it was enough. Very peaceful journey. I always use it when I go to Ahvenanmaa. Ticket for your car, personal ticket and food for only 30€. You can't beat that.
@@TheKentaurion Do you HAVE to travel by car or can you go on foot as well? Seems kinda stupid if I must own a car to use the ferry.
@@joelthorstensson2772 A bicycle will do.
From 15 september Finnlines will also start to carry passengers without vehicles when they start to to get new ships.
Been to the twin ships of Symphony and Serenade like 20+ times and it's great, better than the Viking Line boats wich goes the same route and is cheaper. But they have a much more beautiful dock at central Stockholm.
been on them the same amount of times probably. yea they're more expensive but it's worth it. the dock is not very central, it's like some kilometers outside the city. the helsinki dock is very central tho (or the viking dock both stockholm and helsinki)
They usually cross together
Lukas hard a lot about booze cruises - and subsequently convinced bis editor to pay up for a 'documentary'. Well played sir!
well, it wasn't quite like that 😂😂
Man you rode on my favourite boat. Symphony is a boat I would go on many times a year with my family when I was young. That 'NY nightclub' or karaoke place you went to used to be a game room filled with playstations with different games on em. I'd spend all night there as a youngling, then they changed it to a karaoke bar and I remember being so pissed about it lol. Nowadays tho I much rather prefer the bar up there.
Every country should do the same to strengthen people-to-people relations between nations
Great tourist selfies, fantastic!
The thing that makes the Helsinki-Stockholm ferry (also the Turku-Stockholm ferry) so popular are obviously the cheap alcohol and tobacco. But equally as much so because of the cheap traveling that you don't get with for example a flight. You get a cabin and buffét on board for two for about 130-140€ last I checked, also the fact that we don't need to waste time at customs and so on, because we live inside the Schengen area so we don't really need passports unless we travel outside the Schengen area
Super enjoyed, nice location and time
I've been to Helsinki and back a couple of times from Sweden, but I can never remember beeing in Helsinki...
😂
I grew up with these crazy ferries :D love them still
You missed probobly the most important fact of the ship.
The ship is NOT built like a cruise ship, its the other way around. Silja Symfoni is about 35 years old. Here and here sister (Serenade, pretty much identical) was the first ship ever to have a promenade. And they are still operating the original route they was designed to carry (while they have shied around mean while). And they was the two largest cruse ferries in the world... for 2 years.
Also traveling drunk on a ship between Sweden and Finland is a 1500 year old tradition. Its worth saying that even during viking time, the journey didn´t take that much longer than today
That little stick seems awfully susceptible to being broken, I hope there is a more robust backup system?
That is so cool❤❤❤cute room though😊
Alcohol prices in Finland is super crazy! 100 cl Tanqueray Gin is 50€ here. Jägermeister same price 1l 50€.
You picked the wrong route for the booze cruise. That happens more between Helsinki and Tallinn. That's where people go for a short ferry trip and return with large quantities of alcoholic beverages.
It's not Mumin. It's his sister Snorkfröken (Miss Snarky). I recommend that you don't drink as much as I did coming back to Sweden from Finland on Silja Line 35 years ago. I woke up when a crew member was drilling the lock on the cabin door 2 hours after the ship had arrived in Stockholm and that was to put it mildly a little embarrassing...
Niiskuneiti (Snorkfröken) and Muumipeikko (Mumintrollet) are not siblings. More like girlfriend and boyfriend
@@markuskoskimaki7926 OK, my memory of Mumindalen (The Mumin Valley) is not up to date after over 55 years since I last read about Munin.
Nice video! Silja Line had ons ship, the Galaxy, which sailed between Stockholm and Turku for many years. It was well-known for its wild party-cruises which got out of hand sometimes, unfortunately. But they ended with Covid of course. Then in 2022 the Galaxy was chartered out to serve as a home for Ukrainian refugees in Holland. Now nobody knows what will be the future for the Galaxy.
Baltic Princess and Silja Europa have that reputation here in Finland
@@hi-tl6fi I like the Silja Europa, lovely ship! I used to go often on cruises between Stockholm and Turku before Baltic Princess replaced her in 2015. Spectacular view from the top deck, you could walk all the way round. The Baltic P. is nice too, very like the Galaxy, but much calmer I find.
Never actually even seen the captains deck :O
Been many times on both Serenade and Symphony.
The ferries around the baltic sea are usually like this, it's like a hybrid between a ferry and cruiseship. Alot of cars and trucks depend on these ships
Done one of the cruise seven years back and it was fun lol ,the strangest thing was it was still daylight at 3 am lol was a weird experience for sure
Ah, good ol Silja Symphony. The amount of alcohol consumed on Silja and Viking "cruise" ferries is legendary.
Great video and information! ❤
Glad it was helpful!
A ferry trip is my dream!
When was this filmed? Jägermeister is 50€/L in Finland. 3:40
We filmed in June '23
@@DWTravel Okay well, it must have been a while since that fellow bought Jäger from Alko.
Thanks for sharing the experience , i've never seen this place before. I always thought Finland is a quiet and boring place but then i saw this, amazing 👍
Glad you enjoyed it
Why do you think swedes and finns drink so much? Lol. we are quiet and "boring" when sober.
@@ryanoreily5402They don't drink as much as ppl think.
@@cinderellaandstepsisters No more!
@@ryanoreily5402 Speak for yourself. lol
As someone who doesn't drink alcohol, use any tobacco products, doesn't gamble or party, I only use these ships to take me from A to B. And I only stay in my cabin the whole trip. 😅
Alcohol is also really expensive in Sweden. In Sweden you can't even buy alcohol beverages with more than 3.5% alcohol in grocery store. You have to go to a swedish monopolized liquor store called "systembolaget", where you can buy drinks with more than 3.5% alcohol. Finland has almost the same system, but in Finland grocery stores can sell a maximum of 5.5% alcoholic beverages, which is very close to optimal in beers. Over 5.5% drinks are sold in Alko, which is similar to Systembolaget. So if you want to buy beer in Sweden that is somewhat "good", you have to go to an very overpriced alcohol store which is also a monopoly. Sweden is more expensive than Finland in average.
And what's more, the Systembolaget stores close at 15:00 on Saturdays and don't open at all on Sundays. You really have to plan your weekend social drinking in advance unless you frequent the expensive bars.
I think my uncle is bathing in alcohol in his holidays in Eastern Europe. Just have enough money for it. Wish a good alcohol coma.
That is pretty misleading. Beer and wine are actually a lot more affordable in a Swedish Systembolaget than in a Finnish supermarket or Alko.
For example a 0.5l can of beer (5.2-5.6% strong) in Systembolaget will cost you around 1.1-1.5 euros while in a Finnish Supermarket that will cost you atleast 2.05-2.50 euros (4.3-4.7% strong)
Price difference with Sweden is even higher if it's an "exotic" beer over 5.5% and you'd have to go to Alko for it.
Similarly you can get a bottle of wine in Systembolaget for 6 euros that would cost you nearly 10 euros in Alko.
Only hard liquors are cheaper in Alko than Systembolaget, due to tax differences between the nations. Other pros of Finland is that you can buy cooled beer and wine, while in Sweden everything is sold warm due to "brand-neutrality, and obviously the wider opening times, as mentioned earlier.
Regards,
a Finn who has driven to Systembolaget for cheaper beer as part of a Lapland trip, like many do now as Swedish crown is weak.
@@ticheros-be4vt that is false. I was browsing systembolaget and 330ml beer cost over 3 euros. I can get Karhu beer which is 5.3% for about 2 euros in my local supermarket. All 0.5l 5.0% beers seem to cost almost 4 euros, which is more than in Finland.
I have no idea where you got those prices. Sweden is more expensive on average and Sweden also has very big taxes on alcohol. Your story don't seem to add up.
@@ticheros-be4vtalso why was your account created day after I posted my comment? It seems like you just made that story up in order to stread false information about Sweden's pricing.
I've been on that exact same one in 2005 when I turned 20. Only to get drunk and eat and the rest. Was calmer before though. I stopped going on such cruises in maybe 2012
What was not mentioned: The all you can eat is also all you can drink. There are beer and wine taps to fill your glasses
this ship is from late 80s. if you want to go to modern cruise ship, u need to go from Turku with Viking Line ships
@@nilgor70 i love the retro style (the parts that remain untouched but the rest is nice too) and the promenade is a unique feature. been there many times and i never get tired of it, it's already a tradition because i've been there since 1990 (not every year but often). they're wonderful ships and when they disappear i have to move somewhere else, lol
@@nilgor70 Layout has changed "dramatically" in 30 years. Bear in mind that these ship's also transports cars and trucks.
Above mentioned Viking Line ships are from 2020's also running almost vibration less LPG engines.
@@nilgor70True, if ships are well-maintained they last basically forever. There will be problems with plumbing etc, and repairing it costs sometimes so much that shipping companies choose to invest in a new ship instead. But the hull is just as strong as it is in a brand new ship
Wow looks like a real riot on the boat. Party and a half
There are theme party cruises. This fall be the 60th and final rave cruise where they rent the entire ship and fly in 50 large acts from all over the world for 2000 ravers. Monday bar, one more chance to go.
Good times 😂
You should have taken the sauna too on the ferry 8)
I was too busy trying to get on that karaoke list 😅😅
Pretty much the same story in the ferries from Oslo to Copenhagen and Kiel.
I travel on finnish ferries all the time, but this is the only boat I’ve never been on, probably because it’s more expensive than the others
Karaoke is also very popular all around in finland, not just ships! 8)
Does anyone nauseate on the boat? How is conditions in december?
first mistake, parties are on the decks below the car decks
In the buffe the alkohol is included so have to driiiiiiink a a lot!! Food also taste better 😅
Beautiful 🥰
You gotta find some loopholes if your country wants to rip you off by imposing ridiculous taxes
I where on one of these partyboats with my friends. We played hide and seek. In one of the corridors a door oppend right beside me as I passed. Inside the cabin, in that 1 second the door where oppend right beside me, I saw 3 guys and a girl all of them dressed in sweaty birthdaysuits 😂
so kul~ 🤩
We use this ship yearly as a miniholiday with our university faculty. I would not say they are fun trips but they may be fun trips lol
Damm that ferry looks depressing 😂 my kind of place 😅
2:33 it is like a mix of a cruise ship and a ferry
Cruiseferry.
Transports cargo as well.
They’ve been trying to bring back the glamour of sea travel to these ferries, like in the old days it was very classy. Then for the past couple decades these ferries became a place where teenagers and like minded adults went to get drunk and spread their bodily fluids pretty much.😂😂😂 But they’ve cleaned it up a bit lately, the buffet became high quality again and all that.
Wow a mall inside a shop so cool 😍
Those are like airport shops, well, maybe bigger. Takes 15 minutes to go through (them all).
@@McSlobo they look nice and all but i ain't buying sh-t, lol (super expensive)
@@krisstopher8259alcohol isn't expensive
why would you pay to get into a mall though
Stockholm,Sweden is my best country for the visit.
Finland is better.
2:05 must be fun yob
"This is something like Finland's mascot: Muumi"
*picks up a Snork* 💀
(A fine distinction for locals too to always realize/remember ;) )
😲That's why its fur changed to red after we filmed it! 😉 Sorry for the confusion, yeah it is snork indeed...
@@DWTravel 😎👏
The reason why the boat is so communal is that all the finns and swedes come from all different small cities with no night life, and this is their first chance to get on a big stage on karaoke
Combine that with a rave cruise or university student cruise, and you got a night out
never been on a rave cruise (unfortunately) but i've heard nice things lol
Ah the booze cruise's of youth. The lovers tiffs, the drama, cringy Karaoke, the puddles of vomit in the corners and condoms in the planters. We've almost all been on at least one in our lifetime.
😀
Guy @ 3:31 looks and sounds like Valtteri Bottas´ brother.
It's also called Drilling platform, and i will not go further in to why.
Man, that stick seem a bit small for being the most important stick on the bridge
Heh the 22 hour cruises are the worst. People party there like they try to sink the ship 😅.
What did Lukas buy on the ferry ?
@@DikWhite yeah right
Can't even get intoxicated to death
@@eedragonr what do you mean
@@hamzaalexander5431 you are out of danger