The IWFS Europe Africa Zone looks forward to welcoming you at the Baltic Cruise Festival – an opportunity to meet IWFS Branches round the Baltic Sea.   This will commence with dinner in Copenhagen on Thursday 29^th June 2017, and finish on the morning of Friday 7^th July when our ship docks in Stockholm.  There will be an opportunity to stay over in Stockholm or to arrive earlier in Copenhagen should you wish.   There is also a separate weekend event in and around Stockholm from Friday 7th – Sunday 9^th July, which is open to all members, and not just those on the cruise.

During the cruise the ship will call at Helsinki and Tallinn where we will meet up for a day with local IWFS members.  We will dine with members from Malmo Branch during our overnight stay in Copenhagen and meet members of the Moscow Branch for lunch while we are in St. Petersburg. 

On board the cruise ship there are a variety of dining venues, featuring gourmet cuisine inspired by Relais and Chateaux.  There will be two special IWFS champagne receptions, and IWFS will have its own dining area in the main restaurant.   There will be special meals with upgraded wines on selected evenings.  IWFS participants will also have a reservation to dine in Le Champagne, the speciality Relais and Chateaux restaurant on one evening, but it is small so we cannot all be there on the same day.  IWFS participants will also have one evening in the Italian restaurant La Terrazza. 

Our ship will be the Silversea Silver Whisper.   It has exclusively ocean-view suite accommodation, with 194 suites and a maximum of 382 guests.  It was last refurbished in 2010, and offers butler service in every suite and nearly one crew member for every guest.  Beverages are included in-suite and throughout the ship – Silversea’s selected wines and champagne, premium spirits, specialty coffees and soft drinks, plus your own tailored mini-bar.  Gratuities are included, except in the spa, and there is one hour of free wifi access per guest per day. 

Our Itinerary will be as follows: 

29th June:          Arrive at Copenhagen Hotel in time for dinner with the Malmo Branch.  Members of Oslo Branch will also be invited.
Overnight in Copenhagen.  Breakfast included.

30th June:          Morning at leisure in Copenhagen.  Transfer from hotel to ship in the afternoon.  (Silver Whisper departs Copenhagen 6.00 pm; we should plan to be on board by 4.00 pm at the latest).

7.00 pm IWFS Champagne Reception and Dinner (all timings to be confirmed)

1st July:               Day at Sea: IWFS Wine Tasting (details to be confirmed)

2nd July:             Helsinki:Time in Port: 8.00 am - 4.00 pm
Meet with Helsinki Branchfor Boat Tour of Helsinki Archipelago, and lunch at Kulosaari Casino. 

3rd July                St Petersburg: Time in Port: 8.00 am, 3rd July to 6.00 pm, 5th July.

4^th July   City tour exclusively for IWFS members.  This will include a visit to the Constantine Palace, in Streina, the official residence of the Russian president, and a wine tasting in their cellars.  It will be followed by lunch at restaurant ‘Tsentrainy’ with members of Moscow Branch, and a tour of Smolny, the first seat of the Soviet government, including Lenin’s memorial office.  Please be aware that although Russian visas are not required, you will need to carry a passport for this trip.

3^rd & 5^th July   Silversea offers a full programme of excursions, and can also organise private tours by taxi or minibus.  Our members may participate in these if they wish at their own expense.  They will be entitled to an on-board credit of USD200 per cabin which may be used in part-payment.

6th July                Tallinn: Time in Port: 8.00 am - 4.00 pm.  A day with members of Tallinn Branch.
City tour by bus and on foot, followed by lunch at the Leib restaurant, including Estonian specialities. 
7.00 pm IWFS Champagne Reception and Black Tie Farewell Dinner:(details to be confirmed).

7th July                Stockholm: Time of arrival 8.00 am
We will need to vacate the ship by 10.00am at the latest.  Members are advised not to book flights before 12.30pm.

Some of you will be joining the weekend in Stockholm at this point, or will have arranged post-cruise accommodation with Silversea.   If you have not done either of these, you will be responsible for making your own transport arrangements from the port. 

 Pricing for the Baltic Festival:

This is an IWFS event with many activities on the cruise being organised by IWFS exclusively for IWFS participants.  However we do not have exclusive use of the ship. The total cost of your cruise will be the sum of the cost of the cabin and facilities organised by the cruise line and the cost of the specific IWFS activities, both on board ship and during port visits.

As with many IWFS events you need to reserve accommodation, in this case on the cruise ship, directly with the Cruise line’s agent – Thomas Cook, whilst payment for the exclusive IWFS activities must be  paid direct to IWFS Europe Africa Zone.

1. The cost of the cruise includes the suite of your choice on the ship, the first night’s hotel accommodation, a transfer from the hotel to the cruise ship, and one night in Le Champagne restaurant on board. The cruise must be booked through our agent Georgia.Cato@thomascook.com.  She can also arrange for additional nights in Copenhagen, and also accommodation in Stockholm (but you may wish to consider the Weekend in Stockholm as an alternative).  A deposit of approximately 25% is due when booking, with the balance payable in mid-February 2017.   You will be subject to Silversea's cancellation policy, and you are advised to have travel insurance that includes cruise cover.   You are responsible for your own passport and visa arrangements, and for your travel arrangements to Copenhagen and from Stockholm.  Georgia will advise you on arrangements for payment.
   
   
2. The cost for activities organised by IWFS exclusively for IWFS participants includes dinner in Copenhagen, special events and wine upgrades on board, and our excursions in Tallinn, Helsinki and St Petersburg.   This will be provisionally £1,360 for Members, and £1,480 for Guests.    There is no single supplement for this element of the cost.  A 25% deposit will be due on booking and the balance by mid-March 2017.   This charge will be reviewed when the balance is due and may be subject to a modest variation up or down, particularly in view of the volatility in foreign currency markets.   See below for information on how to make this payment.

Stockholm is described as the “Venice of the north” with the City surrounded by waterways, a historical old town, Gamla Stan, with its fine Royal Palace and narrow streets full of history and the seat of the Swedish Academy for the Nobel prize for literature.

The IWFS Europe Africa event will let you sample all of this. For those of you already booked on the Baltic cruise, spend a few extra days to take in the sights and atmosphere as well as Stockholm’s culinary delights. For those of you not on the cruise, this is a great opportunity to visit one of the most attractive cities in Northern Europe.

We will be based in the Haymarket by Scandic, a hotel opened in May 2016 with a 1930s and Greta Garbo themes – rest assured its facilities are very modern! We have negotiated rates for 3 types of room, all including breakfast; initial booking will be through IWFS, but payment for the room will be direct with the hotel.

There will be a certain amount of walking to and between venues.

The cost for this weekend event, excluding the hotel and travel to and from Stockholm, will be £695 for each member (£735 for non-members), based on current post-Brexit exchange rates. If there is a significant change in the exchange rate between now and the date for final payment, the cost may be adjusted.