Grandma's Place pop-up restaurant onboard the Gabriella, 3.10.2019–3.2.2020

Finally, after the few book entries, we can get to the first proper entry in the new concept of this blog. Earlier this month, I made a short ferry cruise to Stockholm with my family, primarily because our three-year old wanted to go on a ferry again. The ship happened to be my personal favourite of the four sailing on the Helsinki–Stockholm route: Viking Line's Gabriella. I especially like the ship in today's form, as the ship's most recent big refit managed to put in an amazing array of interesting restaurants. Although I had not realised it when booking, one of these – the Bistrotek – offered during our voyages, and for a few weeks more, of the best onboard restaurant experiences I have had to date: Mummola, or Grandma's Place in English, serving "classic home cooking with a modern twist."

Decor to match the theme.

The Mummola (all the nuances of the term don't really translate, so I'm using the Finnish form here) concept is deceptively simple: three starters, four main courses (plus one additional options on Thursdays), and just one desser to choose from. Yet, I felt like I was spoiled for choice – as did my travelling companions, and we ended up dining here in both directions.

What strikes your fancy?

The Bistrotek as seen on the morning of 4 January 2020 – unfortunately without the rag rugs that completed the Mummola look. I really, really like what Viking have done with the restaurant area midships of deck 8 – in terms of layout, decor and the restaurant offerings, this is hands down one of my favourite dining areas on any ship.

First night, I went with the mushroom salad on toast for starters and salmon soup as the main course. The portions being quite large, I couldn't find room for dessert, alas. And what can I say? The starter made me a believer in the concept. Mushroom salad is a tricky choice, as despite being very simple it is easy to get wrong. Viking's chefs made it just right. The salmon soup was equally good: fresh, simple, tasteful ingredients beautifully combined. Nothing superfluous, nothing missing.

Fantastic mushroom salad, on a slice of bread grilled by someone who shares my love criply grilled bread. I'd have this again any time.

Salmon, potatoes, chives, dill, cream, rye bread... you don't need anything else for a great salmon soup.

Both my companions opted for the spinach pancakes, and as our kid couldn't finish their entire portion (I'll return to the subject of children's menu below), I also had a chance to sample that. In contrast with the two dishes I had, the spinach pancake was a more experimental take on a classic dish, a spinach pancake filled with seasoned spinach leaves and accompanied with potato salad. Not really what any of us expected, but certainly very, very good!

The presentation was perhaps the weak point for the spinach pancakes. But I do love the plate, exactly the kind my grandmom would have liked!

As said, we were so taken by the concept we decided to dine here on the way back, too (a contributing factor was the knowledge this was a temporary thing), as both adults in the group felt we really would have also wanted to sample the pike and the dessert offering. So back we went!

If the presentation was a problem with the spinach pancakes, on the pike it was spot-on!

As I could by now expect, the pike was an excellent dish – the fish was perfectly cooked (a challenge with pike, which easily get too dry), and the potatoes, carrots and sauce complimented it perfectly. The oven pancake, however, was a bit of a disappointment. Whereas all of the dishes thus far had had that homemade feel, the pancake itself here was somehow just slightly wrong, coming across as being made somewhere in a factory rather than by hand (regardless of whether it was or not). The rest of the dish – the home-style cloudberry jam in particular – was good, but it wasn't enough to save the last dish from being a let-down.

An oven pancake is a bit hard to make presentable, alas.

Even with the slight disappointment of the dessert, Mummola was still a fantastic experience, and a restaurant in which I would be more than happy to eat again (although I will have to hurry if I want to, there's just two and a half weeks left). Despite – or perhaps because – of the humble inspiration, the dishes were both interesting and tasty, a fresh departure from much of the usual ferry food. The vegetarian in me was also pleased to notice that there was just one meat dish in the entire menu – this is no way made the selection worse, but it did make life easier for those of us who avoid eating meat (however, it should be also noted that none of the dishes were vegan).

I finally got to hug Viking Line's kid's mascot Ville Viking! Photo my Maria Id.

Since I was travelling with a child, I have to raise one more subject: the children's menu. On inquiring whether is was possible to get half portions of the Mummola menu for children, we were told this can't be done (with the exception of the salmon soup, of which a starter version exists and which our kid did have on the second night). Considering the foods served are literally the kind one would expect grandmom to make, it seems very, very odd to me there's no kid's versions of most of the dishes. For example, spinach pancakes continue to be the favourite school lunch dish in Finland (everyone gets free lunch at school), so surely it would be an obvious dish to have as children's version?

Furthermore, while Viking are very good with their offering to kids otherwise (the small activity pack ours got while waiting for food kept them so occupied they initially didn't want to stop to eat, despite telling us a few moments earlier they were very hungry), the kid's menu, branded Ville Viking's taste adventure, is anything but adventurous: for mains, you've got the grand options of (beef) burger with fries, chicken fillet with fries, or salmon with boiled potatoes. Now I admit my hands-on experience is limited to just one three-year old, but based on their food preferences Viking is seriously underestimating children's eating habits.

Final verdict: Grandma's Place – great for adults, somewhat disappointing for children. (Not the outcome I was expecting, for sure!)

Kships will return.

Strikebound in Helsinki

The Mariella and Gabriella laid up together at Katajanokka on 26.11.2019 due to the strike, with the Lotus (Danish-flagged and therefore outside the strike) bunkering the Gabriella and slightly messing up my envisioned shot.

The Finnish postal services have been on strike for the past two weeks, after the employer decided to unilaterally move a part of the workforce under a different collective agreement, resulting in pay cuts of 30-40%. When the postal services wouldn't budge from their original position, support strikes quickly begun – for reasons that should be obvious, workers across the board were not exactly keen on a precedent being set for such radical pay cuts made purely at the employers' discretion.

The Finnish Seamen's Union (amongst others) joined the strike on Monday, with Finnish-flagged ships laid up after arriving in Finnish ports. For the Helsinki-Stockholm route, this meant that only the Silja Symphony was sailing, with the Mariella laid up on arrival on Monday and the Gabriella and Silja Serenade on Tuesday.

Need a magazine cover?

Finnlines attempted a strikebusting move by moving the Finnstar, which normally sails on the Helsinki-Travemünde route, to the Malmö-Travemünde route (meaning she never arrives at a Finnish port and is therefore not subject to the strike), and moving the Swedish-flagged Europalink to the services from Finland instead. However, the strike was resolved earlier this morning, before the Europalink even reached Finland.

The Lotus leaving – I was so preoccupied with taking photos that I didn't notice she was moving at first! Alas, she reparted just as the light was getting a bit too dark for really good views.

Of course, the Helsinki-Stockholm ships laid up gave nice chances of photographing ships that are normally not seen together in Eteläsatama in Helsinki (similar unusual pairings could also be seen in Vuosaari, Turku, Naantali and Hanko, but I didn't have time to zoom around the country quite so much).

Line-up of the Finnish-flagged Helsinki-Stockholm ships. Unfortunately, I only realised you could take a photo with all three properly visible through the harbour fence when it was a bit too dark for really good photos.

You wait for five months for a blog update and then two come at once? Worry not, I'm sure we'll be back to the one update per month if you're lucky -pace soon. :P

Viking XPRS in Helsinki, 23 June 2018

I know I said in last week's entry that we would be looking at the Isosaari this time, but I changed my mind. Instead, we are looking at what is still one of my favourite ships in these waters in terms of exterior design, the Viking XPRS.

Viking XPRS

IMO 9375654
Built 2008, Aker Yards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 35 778 GT
Length 186,71 m
Width 27,70 m
Draugth 6,75 m
Ice class 1A Super
2 500 passengers
732 berths
230 cars
1 000 lanemeters
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 40 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 25 knots

For a history of the Viking XPRS, see this entry.

The photos below show the Viking XPRS passing through the Kustaanmiekka strait en-route to Helsinki Eteläsatama (South Harbour) on the evening of 23 June 2018. Photographed from Kustaanmiekka. As always, click on the images to see them in larger size.

I have to admit that the Grace-style hull stripes are starting to grow on me.

Ten years old this year, but still very sleek!

Although I do wish they'd paint an additional black stripe along the bridge windows, she does look a bit unblanced the way she is.

Also, how many ships out there have had their aft superstructure expanded twice, with no effect on the ship's profile? Because this one has.

Kships will return.

Viking Grace in Turku, 1 June 2018

Apologies for the recent hiatus. Our family has been enjoying some well-deserved vacation time, so I left the blog on the sidelines during the past few weeks. But now we are back, and this entry will feature my first images of the Viking Grace with its new flettner rotor.

Viking Grace

IMO 9606900
Built 2013, STX Europe Turku, Finland
Tonnage 57 700 GT
Length 218,60 m
Width 31,80 m
Draught 6,80 m
Ice class 1 A Super
2 800 passengers
2 876 berths
530 lane metres of cars
1 275 lane metres of cargo
4 Wärtsilä dual fuel (LNG/diesel) engines, combined 30 400 kW
1 Norsepower flettner rotor
2 fixed-pitch propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Service speed 21,8 knots
Maximum speed 25,6 knots

The Viking Grace has been around for five years already, but it seems I haven't done a proper history article on the ship, so here goes.

The NB1376, as it was originally referred to in marketing materials, was contracted in December 2010 by Viking Line from what was then the STX Europe yard in Turku. The order materialised after prolonged negotiations. From the start, the new ship was designed to use liquidized natural gas (LNG) as fuel, becoming the first major passenger vessel in the world to do so. The ship's final name, chosen from 9 900 unique proposals from the public, was revealed in February 2012 (I was rather disappointed in both the eight finalists shortlisted as well as the final choice, and wrote about this in some detail).

The Viking Grace was launched in August 2012 and entered service in January 2013. The maiden voyage was a special all-inclusive two-night cruise, which was sold out, despite the prices being in the same range per person per night as upper end luxury cruise lines. For the first few months, the ship operated primarily with marine diesel fuel, until the delivery of the bespoke LNG fueling ferry Seagas in March.

In April 2018, the Viking Grace was fitted with a new flettner rotor provided by Norsepower, becoming the first major passenger vessel to be fitted with one (cargo carriers have been fitted with them before). The rotor is projected to decrease LNG fuel consumption by 300 tonnes per year, resulting in a 900 ton reduction of carbondioxide emissions yearly.

The photos below show the Viking Grace departing from Turku in the evening of 1 June 2018, photographed from the Kansanpuisto ferry quay in Ruissalo. For these particular images, special thanks go to Krzysztof Brzoza for making these shots possible by giving me a ride to and from central Turku to Ruissalo.

As always, click on the images to see them in larger size.

It does look more than slightly phallic, doesn't it?

The rotor doesn't quite match the stylings of the rest of the ship, but then again it's pretty hard to make a design that would do so. A different paintjob for the rotor might help though.

The lighting was not ideal this time around, but I think the photos turned out pretty good even so.

I do like that ship. Her only fault is that she sails from Turku, and the schedule is slightly problematic coming from Helsinki.

Also notice the "spoiler" added aft of the funnel to accommodate the various antennas which were originally located where the roto is now (the first renderings showed the rotor aft of the funnel, but I guess the central location is better).

I think the "spoiler" actually works quite well with the original design.

Next time we will probably look at the Megastar again.

Postscript: As you undoubtedly noticed, the photos in this entry introduced a new copyright watermark. I discovered earlier this year that Blogger, in its infinite wisdom, not only crops off a bit from the top and bottom of photos for previews on Facebook (and I presume elsewhere too), but these images also show up on Google searches. The old watermark was just small enough to be cropped off, resulting in an incident earlier this year where a company (who shall remain unnamed) used one of these preview images copied from a Google search on Facebook without asking for permission (they did remove it when I pointed out to them, although only after accusing me of lying first). This new watermark should solve this particular problem, although it of course doesn't solve the issue with more malicious image thieves of editing it out. But if one gets too paranoid there's really no way of putting up images on the internet...

Anyway, since I was changing the watermark anyway, I also wanted to change the font to match the one used in the blog header image, remove the year (it was really quite superfluous and added extra work as it needed to be updated yearly) , and add the url, just in case someone posts these somewhere else. So, yeah, here we are. I hope people don't find it too bothersome.

Express (Viking FSTR) in Tallinn, 15 April 2017

Since I haven't really bee nable to go out and take photos of cruise ships visiting Helsinki this year (despite the exceedingly good weather recently), today's entry is a blast from the past - or last year's April and the Express in Tallinn, to be precise. As the ship has recently found a new operator, this is a good time to take an updated look at its history.

Express

IMO 9176046
Name history: Catalonia, Catalonia L, Portsmouth Express, Express
Built 1998, Incat Hobart, Australia
Tonnage 5 902 GT
Length 91,30 m
Width 26,00 m
Draught 3,73 m
836 passengers
120 cars
4 Caterpillar diesels, combined 28 800 kW
4 waterjets
Maximum speed 48 knots
Service speed 30 knots
 
The Express was completed in 1998 by Incat, the Tasmanian specialist fast catamaran builder, as the Catalonia for the Uruguyan fast ferry operator Buquebus. However, instead of Buquebus' home services linking Uruguay to Argentina, the Catalonia was, as the name suggests, meant for services in the Mediterranean. However, before entering service, the ship secured the Hales Trophy, awarded for the fastest Transatlantic crossing, on delivery voyage to Spain. (The Hales Trophy should not be confused with the Blue Riband of the Atlantic, which requires for a ship to carry passengers in regular liner service, whereas the Hales Trophy is awarded simply to the fastest ship). Less than two weeks later, however, the Catalonia lost the Hales Trophy to another Incat-built catamaran, the Cat-Link V.

Almost immediately after arriving in Spain, the ship's name was amended to Catalonia L, after which it entered service linking Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca. Subsequently it also sailed on the Ceuta-Malaga-Algericas -route. From the 2000 summer season onwards, the ship was chartered during summers to P&O European Ferries as the Portsmouth Express on the Portsmouth-Charbourg -route. During the winters it reverted to Catalonia (now again without the L), but spent at least some of the winters simply laid up. For the 2003 season the ship was no longer renamed for the summer service, instead being marketed as the "Express". In late 2003, this became the official name.

From 2005 onwards, the Express spent summer seasons sailing on the Cairnryan-Larne and Troon-Larne routes with P&O Irish Ferries, occasionally making night-time crossings from Larne to Douglas (on the Isle of Man) with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Winters were spent laid up.

The pattern was finally broken in 2015, when the ship was sold to Nordic HSC, a shipowner associated with Gotlandsbåten, the new Swedish shipping company wishing to challenge the existing state-subsidized operator Destination Gotland on the routes connecting the Swedish mainland to Gotland. During the 2016 summer season, Express sailed for Gotlandsbåten on the Visby-Västervik and Visby-Nynäshamn routes. While passenger numbers were good, Gotlandsbåten failed to make a profit and the company decided not to resume operations for the 2017 summer season. Instead, it was laid up in Västervik for the winter.

The jobless Express was then chartered to Viking Line, who used her on the Helsinki-Tallinn line for the extended 2017 summer season (April-October), marketed as the "Viking FSTR" (pronounced "Viking Faster", to avoid confusion with the Viking XPRS, pronounced "Viking Express"). Unfortunately, the ship proved poorly suited for Viking's business model and this combined with her high operating costs made the season a failure - in end end, engine trouble forced her to stop sailing two weeks earlier than intended.

After being laid up in Helsinki for several weeks, at the end of November the Express limped to the Turku Ship Repair Yard in Naantali for repairs. While there, the livery received a small amendment, with the first two letters of the company name painted over from the side, creating the previously unheard-of King Line. Just before Christmas, the ship sailed back to Västervik to be laid up again.

In May 2018, the Express left Västervik for Spain. While initial information was that the ship was simply being relocated closer to potential charterers, it soon turned out it had been chartered to Armas in Spain and was headed to Motril. The Express remains in that port at the time of writing, presumably being refurbished for service. As Armas serves Al Hoceima, Melilla and Nador from that port, it seems likely that the Express will sail on those services during the upcoming summer season (at least). Edit 28.5.: Contrary to what I predicted, the ship sailed to take up services in the Canary Isles.

The photos below, however, are slightly older, showing the Express arriving in Tallinn in the evening of 15 April 2017 (it was seriously delayed), photographed from the windows of the departure lounge in Terminal A. As always, click on the images to see them in larger size.

This shot was also the cover of Ulkomatala issue 3/2017.Not the first time I was in the cover, it is always nice when it happens.

Nothing particularly speacial about these shots, but I do like that they show a slightly diffrerent point of view from the usual ones. Plus the Tallinn TV tower in the background immediately tells the viewer where we are.

The colours aren't bad either, even if shooting though a window ever so slightly altered them compared to reality (not that a photo would ever be a 100% accurate reproduction of reality anyway.

Can't say I would miss the ship, to be honest.

Kships will return. Hopefully with some new stuff, but equally likely is that we'll have another blast from the past.

Mariella in Helsinki, 15 February 2010

I was looking through my older entries recently, and came across this entry of the Mariella. While I generally try to avoid reposting old image sets, I cannot for the life of me fathom why I had put up only three images from that session, considering how many superb shots I took. So today we will look back almost eight years, and finally take a proper look at the very chilly morning of the Mariella arriving in Helsinki.

Mariella

IMO 8320573
Built 1985, Wärtsilä Turku (Perno), Finland
Tonnage 37 860 GT
Length 175,70 m
Width 28,40 m
Draugth 6,78 m
Ice class 1A Super
2 500 passengers
2 500 berths
430 cars
980 lane metres
4 Wärtsilä SEMT-Pielstick diesels, combined 23 008 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 22 knots

Let's cut right to the chase. The photos below show the Mariella outside Helsinki, passing through the Kustaanmiekka strait, and in Eteläsatama (South Harbour) in the morning of 15 February 2010, photographed from onboard the also-inbound Silja Symphony. As per the usual, click on the images to see them in larger size.

The Mariella came in via the usual inbound shipping lane east of the Harmaja lighthouse, while we took a more westernly route, utilising a channel broken earlier by the Superstar. This shot was preceeded by many photos of a backlit Mariella.

Both ships were delayed by the difficult ice conditions - the Silja Symphony more severely than the Mariella, which made these photos possible, as the distance between the ships is usually greater at this point.

Harmaja lighthouse in the background.

Some twists and turns (by both ships) later we ended up with a very similar view as above, but with the Mariella now about to enter the Kustaanmiekka strait.

The strait is relatively narrow, but made more problematic for navigation by the fact it's not straight and ships have to perform an S-turn while passing through.

Past the narrowest bit...

...and some minutes later we are at Eteläsatama, with the Mariella just about to berth.

Berthing then took a while, as both ships needed to first wash the quayside clear of broken ice - a routine manouvre during the winter season, but a time-conmusing one nonetheless.

Kships will return in 2018!

Express (Viking FSTR) in Helsinki, 19 May 2017

The previous entry with exterior views of the Express has a been a surprise hit at the blog, skyrocketing over the summer to the number one most popular entry of all time. As the ship's summer season with Viking Line is spooling towards its end (the last sailings will be on the 22nd of this month), it's high time we look at her again.

Express

IMO 9176046
Name history: Catalonia, Catalonia L, Portsmouth Express, Express
Built 1998, Incat Hobart, Australia
Tonnage 5 902 GT
Length 91,30 m
Width 26,00 m
Draught 3,73 m
836 passengers
120 cars
4 Caterpillar diesels, combined 28 800 kW
4 waterjets
Maximum speed 48 knots
Service speed 30 knots

The history of the Express is explained in this previous entry. The ship's future remains uncertain at the time of writing; earlier this summer, it was reported the catamaran has been sold to Armas for service around the Canary Isles, but this appears to have been what we in Finnish call a "news duck". However, Viking Line have not confirmed the ship's return for the next season. Personally, I would not be surprised if the Express turns out to be a one-summer wonder with Viking; with limited retail, restaurant and entertainment facilities the ships doesn't fit too well in with Viking's strategy of providing cheap tickets but exacting high revenue from onboard services.

While waiting for the final news of what happens with the ship, we can look at some photos from earlier this year. These show the Express arriving at, and departing from, Viking Line's terminal at Katajanokka, photographed from Valkosaari. As always, click on the images to see them in larger size.

Inbound, the Express passed several local ferries: the Suokki sailing to Suomenlinna, the Vire to Korkeasaari and the Viapori also to Suomenlinna. The light on the first two was not too good, but this one of the Viapori and Express turned out pretty okay.

It'll be interesting to see if we'll ever see an Incat wave-piercing catamaran in Helsinki after 22nd this month.

45 minutes later, the ship departs, reversing out from the quay.

The Viking XPRS, of course, usually does the same manoeuvre.

Now the pointy bit is in the right direction and we can get going.

I still think they should have painted the hull red all the way to the bow.

Viking XPRS in Helsinki, 19 May 2017

Viking XPRS

IMO 9375654
Built 2008, Aker Yards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 35 778 GT
Length 186,71 m
Width 27,70 m
Draugth 6,75 m
Ice class 1A Super
2 500 passengers
732 berths
230 cars
1 000 lanemeters
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 40 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 25 knots

It seems the previous Viking XPRS entry with the history of the ship on is somewhat out of date, so it's high time to update.

Viking XPRS was originally a project name for Viking's new fast cruiseferry (XPRS being "short" for express). She was the first newbuilding delivered to Viking Line since 1990 and the first delivered to SF Line (the sole surviving Viking consortium member that renamed itself Viking Line in 1995) since 1989. In the interim the company had drawn up plans for various unrealized newbuildings, including a fast monohull ferry capable of 40 knots for the Helsinki-Tallinn service. Matters leading to the construction of the XPRS started progressing in 2003, when the Cinderella that had been doing 20 hour cruises between Helsinki and Tallinn was moved to a similar service between Stockholm and Mariehamn. In her place the former Stockholm-Mariehamn ship Rosella was moved to Helsinki-Tallinn service, with tro daily departures from each port. After initial difficulties the Rosella's ferry service proved to be a success, and Viking begun planning the addition of a newbuilding for the route.

Viking Line's own designing department drew up the basic plans for project Viking XPRS. After asking for tenders from various shipyards, the company entered serious negotations with Aker Yard's Finnish shipyards and the state-owned Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. The former offered to build a ship for 130 million euros, while the latter was willing to build a ship based on Viking's plans for 115 million US dollars, or an example of their own Moby Wonder -class (the same design as Tallink's Superstar) for 110 million USD. Despite the higher price asked by Aker Yards, Viking ordered their newbuilding from Aker's Helsinki shipyard. The order included an option for two sister ships, which were planned to be built for the Turku-Stockholm service replacing the Amorella and Isabella. Presumably these ships would have been built with larger superstructures to house more passenger cabins and additional public spaces nescessary for the longer route. In the end Viking never exercised the option for these ships and the XPRS remains a one-off design.

The original delivery date for the Viking XPRS was set for 31 January 2008. Delays in the construction, including faults in the propellers that nescessitated an extra drydocking in Rauma, pushed the delivery date back to 21 April 2008. In summer 2007 Viking Line had organised a naming competition for their new ship. In a somewhat unusual move, the result of the competition was that Viking XPRS was chosen as the final name of the ship. (The author of this blog also participated in the competition, suggesting the more traditionally-tinted "Laurella").

Following delivery the Viking XPRS was initially registered in Mariehamn, Finland. However, this was little more than ceremony as the decision had already been made to register the ship in Sweden due to financial reasons. After spending a whole day under Finnish flag the Viking XPRS was re-registered to Norrtälje in Sweden. She entered regular service on the Helsinki-Tallinn service on 28 April 2008, replacing the Rosella (originally Viking had hoped to employ both ships on the route, but the city of Helsinki forbade this as they did not want additional cars passing through the city center).

Although the Viking XPRS was a resounding success during her first summer, with 61% increase in passenger numbers and 74% in freight, her interiors were found to be too small for the number of passengers carried. Resultingly a new dance pavillion was added to the rear decks in spring 2009. Afterwards, the ship settled nicely on the Helsinki-Tallinn route, becoming the most popular ship on the line. In early 2014, she was moved under the Estonian flag to further save costs. In January 2017, the Dance Pavillion added in 2009 was rebuilt in a larger form; interior photos of the ship as she appears today can be seen here.

The photos below show the Viking XPRS departing Helsinki Eteläsatama (South Harbour) for Tallinn around noon on 19 May 2017, photographed from Valkosaari. As always, click on the images to see them in larger size.

The Viking XPRS remains one of my favourite ships in terms of exterior design, although I'm not 100% sure about the Viking Grace -style stripes on the hull. Also note that, despite the added structures rear, the ship's profile remains unaltered.

Valkosaari gives nice foregrounds. I ought to go there more often.

As you can see, the XPRS usually reverses out and then turns around to head towards the usual photo haunt at Kustaanmiekka. Alas, further photos from this session were backlit, so I'm not including them here.

Mariella in Helsinki, 19 July 2016

I realised today that I had uploaded only one set of images from my & ship photographer extraordinnaire Marko Stampehl's visit to Vallisaari last summer. It's high time to put up a second one.

Mariella

IMO 8320573
Built 1985, Wärtsilä Turku (Perno), Finland
Tonnage 37 860 GT
Length 175,70 m
Width 28,40 m
Draugth 6,78 m
Ice class 1A Super
2 500 passengers
2 500 berths
430 cars
980 lane metres
4 Wärtsilä SEMT-Pielstick diesels, combined 23 008 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 22 knots

Since 2014, the Mariella's route has been extended to Stockholm-Helsinki-Tallinn during the summer seasons, with a return trip to Tallinn during the time the ship normally spends in port in Helsinki (the same of course applied to the running mate Gabriella). This of course gives additional photo opportunities, as you can photograph the ship arriving and departing in the space of a few hours, both in the morning and afternoon. It's quite unusual for me to be up to photographs the morning call, though...

The photos below show the Mariella passing though the Kustaanmiekka strait, both arriving and departing, in the morning of 19 July 2016. Photographed from the little cape in Vallisaari next to the Kustaanmiekka strait (I have not been able to discover the name of the place; if someone does, let me know). As per the usual, click on the images to see them in larger size.

Morning rush hour; in addition to the Mariella, you can see the inbound Star and Silja Symphony in the horizon.

Rush hour part two, the Mariella with the outbound Finlandia in the background.

A slightly more unusual view of the ramparts at Kustaanmiekka.

I'm still not sure if I like the "Grace stripes" and the new, larger hull texts on her. Especially not with the slightly misaligned G in Viking.

About two hours later, the same ship was outbound. The ramparts in background would make for fine photo locations, were they not part of a low-security prison and therefore inaccessible to the general public.

Dynamic old lady.

Kships will return.