(Hel)Sinking Ships

The next day went by relatively fast, most of it being spent in the Stockholm port waiting for our ferry to set sail. We checked into the ferry around mid-day and wandered aimlessly the large boat until we shoved off at 5. We knew it would be a good time because the ferry was an over night trip to Helsinki, Finland and equipped with a Casino and nightclub.

The tension built, as it got closer to 5. These people were ready to leave and excited to  see the open sea. Once the horn sounded, people started celebrating like it was some sort of holiday. Dancers dressed as Alaadin characters filled the main hallway of the boat and performed for the hundreds of travelers and their families. It was pretty ridiculous. Little kids were going ape shit watching this happen. It was Christmas, Easter, and Halloween rolled into one aquatic holiday.

After people regained consciousness from the excitement and the boat calmed, Chase and I went to the tax-free section of the boat for some drinks. The sun was setting and we wanted nothing more than to enjoy some fresh beers and a beautiful sunset on the balcony. We passed numerous islands and captured some great photos of our exit into the open water.

After we watched the sunset, we knew it was time for the casino. We weren’t planning on taking down the dealers or anything but we had both played a little blackjack before and were confident that we could make some money.  After a slow start, we noticed our dealer was cooling down and exploited her visible weakness. We made a total of $60 before we decided to step off the table. A new dealer was changing in and we knew it was our time.  Instead of watching, we grabbed a few more beers and waited for our dealer to get back on the table. Long story short, the dealer came back, we followed and then lost all of our money. However, it was still a success because our drinks were purchased off of our winnings.

The New York Lounge was the next and final stop on the boat. We listened to kareokee for about an hour and made small talk with our new friend Charles in the process. Once the kareokee machine turned off, the lounge started playing some serious music so we remained by the dance floor for the rest of the night. We did not stay up to late because of our early arrival in Helsinki, but we sure did cut some rug.