The White Trash Cruise of the Baltic Sea | Tallink Silja and Viking Line

In this video I show you what you can expect from a cruise with Silja Symphony, one of the ships on the Stockholm - Helsinki route. This is the ultimate guilty pleasure for Swedes and Finns!

Most of the ship is shown off in this video, starting from the terminal in Stockholm, into my Moomin-themed A-class cabin, and through the shopping promenade in the middle of the ship. Along the way I also show you restaurants, the buffet, arcades, music venues, the pub, the karaoke and the dancefloor. And I also tell you about the tax-free shopping on board, along with how it's possible to buy tax-free alcohol on a trip between two EU countries.

You will also get a lot of extra information about how these boats started to travel the Baltic Sea, and about other popular routes today. In general, this video provides you with a full history of the experience of going on a Sweden - Finland cruise.

But it's not all fun and games. I also dive into the seedy business of organized crime on these ships, as well as other unpleasant aspects. There's a reason why I call this the white trash cruise of the Baltic, after all.

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[StrategicChicken]

It's main purpose is not to be a cruise; they're car ferries with cruise amenities like cruises to keep the passengers occupied.

[mariam]

No joke, your video made me decide to book this! I’ve never taken a ‘real’ cruise but I’m pretty excited about this one.

[StrategicChicken]

Correction: Aland is an autonomous region of Finland.

[Yassified]

Actually modern cruise ships were designed after Silja Serenade.

[neilhenriques]

Thank you for the information. Very interesting.

[JCScarz]

Absolutely love the Moomin themed room! Moomin stuff is a rarity here in the UK but I’ve loved the books since being a kid!
I hope you manage to do a video on Moomin World while you’re in Finland 😁

[nimyakanakaraj]

That was an excellent summary... I had boarded the jaded cruise too this September and enjoyed being on the 12th deck

[aghoulprince]

great video as always, haven't been on a silja cruise in yeeaars, good to know that they haven't changed at all :D
love from Oulu, Finland ✨

[tapio_m]

The booze cruises are common enough that the Helsinki Sea Port is actually one of the busiest passenger ports in the world. Impressive given that the country has less than 6 million people. But Åland is actually part of EU, but when Finland joined the union they were given a tax exemption status, so they get to sell the booze more cheaply.

[CaptainBuzzBee]

I met people on the overnight ferry from Tallinn to Stockholm who fly to Tallinn to shop where booze, smokes, and everything else is much cheaper than Sweden. Then they haul back as much as they are allowed to.

[neilc]

This is a great video, and really helpful (funny, too!). One question - I haven't booked a cabin on a ferry/cruise before, so I'm a newbie. If I book an A-class cabin with three beds, and I'm a solo traveler, does that mean I have the cabin to myself, or will I be assigned to random cabinmates for the night? Like I said, I'm a newbie. :)

[molliebov]

Åland is not an independent nation, but a part of Finland with self governance to some extent. But it is excluded from the EU tax system, a demand from Finland in order to enter the EU to keep the maritime industry viable.

[ToastedCigar]

Haha, vilken rolig video! Hälsningar från Helsingfors :)

[followmesky]

This was very funny. I'm looking into a baltic cruise, and this made me wonder if I want to move forward with it.

[tariqlatif]

Thanks for honest opinion about cruise...
I have no intention of going on a cruise such as yours...
You are a gentleman fir sharing your holidays and telling us the reality, rather than the hype..

[philipmulville]

Many thanks for a very entertaining video. Like others in the comments, you’ve inspired me to go on this type of cruise! I didn’t know about the Åland Islands - very interesting.

[chasingadeline]

Lol we got an E cabin when we went from Poland to Sweden. I know what you’re talking about we didn’t even have our own bathroom we had to use the common bathroom. But we slept good.

[korean_foot_traveler]

It's so good to have a chance to browse such a great cruise through this video. That's really awesome.😀👍👍

[jodienamandafan]

i'm going to be in Stockholm and I need to get to Helsinki and I thought this would be a more entertaining option than sitting in an airport/on a plane. You're scaring me off this a bit, I have to say but the fact that I can excercise my legs, see some scenery, and perhaps witness some controversial SWE vs FIN karaoike wars seems appealing. How does the cost compare to taking a flight?

[captainjj]

the Silja Symphony... love this ship so much🥰