I Spent 39 Hours on a GIANT Ferry That Holds 3116 People

Normally when you embark on a cruise you'll have to fill in lots of paperwork, you’ll go through security, you’ll drop off your bags and it can easily take an hour or two. When I embarked my last cruise though the check in process took at most 15 seconds. We scanned a QR code, had a paper ticket printed and just walked onto the ship.

We were boarding the Silja Symphony a ferry that holds 2800 passengers. Over 3 million guests take cruises on these ferries ever year and even though I’ve been cruising on cruise ships since I was a child I have always avoided ferries. My experience with ferries in the past has not be good, I get seasick, I find them boring and I’ve always thought that ferries were something to be endured but definitely not enjoyed. That was until this cruise which changed everything.

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[palimpalim]

This ship "invented" the "Royal Promenade", that was later copied by RCCL, Color Line and finally MSC:

[thomaskettunen]

This daily capital connection is significant for both Finland and Sweden (Symphony has a line pair Ms Serenade and they depart each port every other day). Duty free shopping is possible due to the brief night stop in Mariehamn (Åland, which is exempt from VAT). Thanks for visiting, it was interesting to see this "Cruise Ferry" from the perspective of a seasoned cruiser.

[AuroraJadefyre]

Time to relive my childhood. I've been on these Baltic ships more times than I can count, but it's been many years since my last cruise. Watching this is like coming home :)

[jiikoo]

Nice to see you Emma here in Baltic sea. You have done very well your homework of the Silja Line cruises and information was really accurate. The ship building industry has been very important in Finland and that is the reason that many of those cruise ships you normally visit are built in Finland. I may be wrong but I am pretty sure that the promenade inside cruise ships were invented by finnish designers. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 These boats are now more than 30y.o but they are many times refreshed during the years. Big part of the business of these ferries come from tax free sales, restaurant sales and of course cargo. Emma you have not spend enough time in Nordic countries, otherwise you would know how expensive everything is, not only on those ferries but also everywhere. However many Swedes and Finns take a cruise to buy cheap tax free and enjoy extra nice dinner on these ferries. Next time you come you have to visit the famous ”smörgåsbord” aka buffet and also breakfast when the ship is going through beautiful archipelago. There is other route between Stockholm and Turku and there also another ferry company Viking Line. So you have still lot fo cruising to do. 😎 As a Finn I am so sorry you had such rainy day here in Helsinki. Past days we have had +30 degrees and perfect sunshine.

[McBackstabber]

I've taken the ferry to Finland at least once a year to visit family for my entire life so this trip has become very pedestrian to me. All I do is get on board, buy a snack in the duty free shop, and sit in the cabin or somewhere being bored on the phone/laptop, and praying I will be able to sleep well during the night. So it's super interesting to see it from this perspective again!

[staffordshiredashcamvideos]

Moomins are a Finnish creation, hence why they are on the ferry. I went on the Silja Star from Turku to Stockholm. The Ferry (under another name) sank in the Baltic a few months later in an incident called the Estonia Ferry Disaster

[Borealis_Music]

The towel being in the bed is very common on the baltic ferries

[apgx]

So enjoyed watching this Emma. In the early 90’s my late dad travelled on this ferry en route to a hospital in St Petersburg. He was part of a team taking lorries of hospital equipment because after the fall of Communism it became apparent how the hospitals had little to nothing for the sick and staff hadn’t been paid for dear knows how long. My dad couldn’t get over how grand this was for a ferry and neither could I when I looked at his photos. Thank you for doing such a fabulous vlog.

[elektracute]

They do the safety drill on the speakerphone just when the ship embarks. Maybe you weren't in your cabin at the time and missed it. If there's a tv in your cabin, they do it also there on channel 1.

[treddevontopratz]

Fun fact: The Silja Symphony was one of the ships that helped rescue survivors from the MS Estonia disaster in 1994 through waves up to 5 meters.

[elasubocz]

I took this ferry at night in July 2022 from Helsinki to Stockholm. It was an unforgettable experience. I don't like ferries in general, but this one is great. The ferry is huge! There are a lot of cabins on the ferry and it's hard to find your own. This is a floating shopping mall. I ate dinner and breakfast. Lots of different kinds of food and drinks. I was at a disco with my friends. There was live music, the band sang covers, of course we danced. You can play at casinos and roulette. The night was short but unforgettable 🙂

[wolf]

I am from Stockholm Sweden and i am glad that you enjoyed the ferry/Cruise that my family always use when traveling to Finland
Sorry for my english

[CharlesGahl]

I'll just begin by saying I was on the Silja Serenade in 1998 and it was the BEST SHIP I could ever imagine being on even though I haven't been on that many ships in my life. It was like freedom to do whatever you wanted to do whenever you wanted to do it. I don't know what the midnight show was like for you but back in 1998 it blew my mind, and I thought it would just be a boring ship show. But it was anything but. I have nothing but High Praise for this Cruise Line. I would cruise on this thing for weeks on end if I could. Glad to hear that your experience 24 years later is as good as mine was. Although since then, there's a lot more cabin choices than there were when I was on it from what you described and showed, but I too had an inside view of the main promenade.

[ann-louisewetterskog]

Thank you so much for sharing! In Sweden and Finland We love our Swedish/Finnish "cruise ferries". It is like going on a mini vacation. Hope to see your reviews of Viking Line ferries too. They are at the same rout as tallink between stockholm and helsinki

[MaaritLiljendahlHelsinkiGuide]

It's recommended to book the food buffet in advance, you get good value on the buffet voucher, which is also valid at the a la carte restaurants as well.

[samomuransky]

An interesting feature is that cruise tickets (i.e. return on the same day as arrival) are often cheaper than one-way tickets (or return tickets with longer stay in the destination). The idea is that cruise passengers are likely to spend a lot on board, unlike many A to B passengers. It also appears to me, based on my previous experiences, that they have unofficial cruise / ferry sections of the hotel, to separate those who want to party from those who actually travel somewhere.

Back in the summer 2021, when ferry traffic was down, they did some longer domestic Swedish cruises on Silja Symphony. I've done two 3-nights trips and it was a lot of fun.

As for bringing your own snacks, that's allowed, you just can't drink alcohol in your cabin. (Although it seems that many people do anyway.)

[davidmchugh]

Solas, states that the muster drill must be within 24 hours, so is the journey is less than 24 hours you don’t need to do it. I hope this answers your curiosity.. It is great to see what this ship is like. There is also Viking ferries that sail from/to Finland from Tallin and Stockholm I used to see them regularly on Baltic cruises. I have always wondered what they are like. Thank you.

[anumeon]

The competitors Tallink SIlja and Viking Line both are super fun to travel on. Great entertainment, good food (Tallink has the better food) and decently prized alcohol. :) And our Baltic sea is so beautiful during the late spring to late autumn season.

[sideduck]

A very good video and very accurate. I think you missed 40.000 island in the archipelago outside the boat. The scenery is so great that we get the "real" cruising ships to Stockholm in the summer, the ones that tours the Caribbean in the winter. I guess our long hours of daylight also is popular with the cruise guests that are not from the Nordics.

[TulilaSalome]

I think I've cleaned cabins in this ship, though it was in a different route. I remember being wowed by the promenade - very, very briefly. The turnaround is very quick.