The planning for this cruise began a couple of years ago. High on my sister Denise's list from "1000 Places to See Before You Die" was St. Petersburg and the Hermitage along with other highlights. My other sister Carole wanted to visit Norway where her husband and my brother-in-law LeVerne's ancestors hailed from. And they both thought a cruise would be the way to go. So, the planning began.

They chose this cruise because of Celebrity's reputation and the itinerary, which included both St. Petersburg and Oslo. Originally planned for 2006, they moved the cruise date to 2007 as Denise travelled to Egypt in the interim. Then at some point late in 2006, sister Laverne got sucked into the vortex. Serious planning began, a date was settled on and reservations were made.

One glitch along the way was that Celebrity dropped Oslo as a destination and substituted Klaipeda in Lithuania instead. Even so, Carole and LeVerne were still on board. Denise, Bruce, Carole, LeVerne, Laverne and Bert were going on a Baltic cruise!

Lee and I were not planning on going on a cruise, even after Denise sent out an email in November letting everyone know they had booked the trip along with some of the details. We didn't give it much thought until March when the stars and planets all lined up, finances allowed and we could both get away on the cruise dates. We jumped in with all four feet and joined the fray.

Without further adieu, here's a day-by-day travelogue of the cruise vacation from our perspective and we're sticking to it. Hope you enjoy the cruise as much as we did.