Last Updated on October 13, 2026 by Crystal | Dates in the States
We sailed the Baltic Sea with Norwegian Cruise Line for a seven-day epic adventure! Welcome to part one of our six-part series, where we’re going to show you the exact ports we stopped in, what we did, the amazing foods we ate, and so much more.
But first, let’s start from the beginning!
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Traveling from Rochester, NY to Helsinki, Finland
We flew from Rochester, New York, to Philadelphia, then from Philadelphia to Toronto, and finally from Toronto to Helsinki, Finland, which would be our first stop. We arrived in Helsinki a few days before our cruise so we could spend some time exploring the city before hopping on the ship. And instead of staying at a hotel, we chose to stay at a HomeExchange close to the city center.
Where We Stayed in Helsinki: Our Home Exchange Experience
This place was super cute! It was a beautiful little townhome with a fully equipped kitchen, a dining room, living room, an outdoor patio with a hot tub, and a bedroom downstairs.
But one of my favorite features was the amazing sauna in the bathroom. Finland is famous for its saunas, so I loved that we had one right inside our accommodations!
When we travel, we use HomeExchange a lot because it’s a really great platform to save money on accommodations. Basically, this place was essentially free! We didn’t have to pay to stay here, and we didn’t have to pay a cleaning fee, which was pretty amazing.
So, how does Home Exchange work?
We pay for a yearly membership, which costs $235, and that gives us access to thousands and thousands of homes in countries all over the world. With that membership, you can earn and use GuestPoints to stay at other people’s homes. So, if someone doesn’t want to swap homes with you directly, that’s what the GuestPoints are for.
And that’s exactly how we stayed here!
Obviously, the person who owned this home didn’t want to travel from Finland to the United States. I can’t blame them! So instead, we gave him GuestPoints that he could use to stay somewhere else. It’s been an amazing resource for us when traveling.
If you’re interested in HomExchange and want to check it out, check out this link to try it for free!
Our First Night in Helsinki
Our flights took literally about 24 hours, so once we arrived in Helsinki, the only thing we could think about was finding a way to stay awake until our normal bedtime. We were determined to defeat jet lag!
So, we went grocery shopping, grabbed some food, and explored a little bit of the area around our accommodations. Everything was within walking distance, which was really great. The next morning, we were ready to start exploring!
Taking the Ferry to Suomenlinna Fortress
We took an Uber to the Helsinki harbor because we wanted to catch the ferry to Suomenlinna (I think that’s how you pronounce it!), a historic island fortress just off the coast of Helsinki. It was really easy to hop on the ferry once we figured out the ticket situation.
We took ferry number 19, and the ride takes approximately 15 minutes to reach the island. The most confusing part for us was figuring out which ticket we needed.
You’ll want an HSL AB ticket, which you can purchase through the local transportation system. Once you have your ticket, you just hop on the ferry and head over!
When you arrive at Suomenlinna, you’re free to walk around and explore the fortress grounds. There are individual museums that charge separately if you decide to visit them, but we didn’t. We just walked around and explored everything on our own. You can also bring your bike, which might be advisable if you don’t want to walk the entire time.
We did SO much walking on this trip!
What Is Suomenlinna Fortress?
Suomenlinna isn’t just an island. It’s actually a historic fortress built in the 18th century across a group of islands just off the coast of Helsinki. It became a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991 and is one of Finland’s most popular attractions.
When I heard the word “fortress,” I was imagining one big castle. But that’s not what it is at all!
It’s an entire historic island community filled with stone fortifications, cannons, tunnels, and old military buildings. And it was so, so cool!
What’s even more interesting is that people actually live here. There are approximately 800 residents, six museums, cafes, and restaurants. So, it’s not just a tourist attraction. It’s an actual functioning community, which was really cool to see.
A Little History of Suomenlinna
To give you a little history lesson, when Finland was still part of Sweden, Sweden was actually the country that built this fortress. Construction began in the 1700s to strengthen Sweden’s defenses against the Russian Empire.
Over the years, the fortress has been controlled by different countries, which is why you’ll see a mixture of Swedish and Russian military history throughout the islands. And that brings us to some of the coolest things we discovered while exploring!
Exploring Suomenlinna: The Blue Route, Tunnels & Cannons
One of the easiest ways to explore Suomenlinna is by following the approximately one-mile Blue Route, which crosses the fortress from north to south. If you follow the route correctly, you’ll come across some of the most popular attractions, including King’s Gate, the Great Courtyard, the Dry Dock, historic fortifications, and massive coastal cannons.
Now, we definitely got lost along the way! So, while we did see all of those things, I feel like we also discovered a lot of extra places that we probably wouldn’t have found otherwise. And honestly, that made exploring even more fun.
Exploring the Underground Tunnels
One of our favorite parts of Suomenlinna was going inside the tunnels. These tunnels were built as part of the fortress’s defensive system. They were passages and rooms incorporated into earth-covered defensive walls made from bricks and stones. Some provided protected routes throughout the fortifications, while others were used for storage and military purposes.
We explored several different tunnels throughout the fortress, and some were definitely more interesting than others. At one point, we even found bathrooms built into the stone walls underneath the fortress. I thought that was really neat, although I was a little let down once I walked inside. I was expecting something cooler! But after walking around more of the area, we discovered even more tunnels, and I actually enjoyed these ones even more.
I think it’s because they weren’t as busy and it’s the start of the shoulder season. We didn’t run into anybody while we were inside, which made them feel a little eerie. They were also much darker than we anticipated. We actually had to whip out the flashlights on our phones just to see where we were going. The terrain was uneven, and it was a little wet down there, but they were really cool to explore.
The Historic Dry Dock
We also found the historic dry dock, which was built in 1750. What’s really cool about this is that it’s still being used today!
More than 270 years later, it’s still used to restore and maintain traditional wooden sailing ships. It’s one of the oldest operational dry docks in Europe, so that was really interesting to see.
The Beautiful Baltic Sea Coastline
The coastline was one of the most beautiful parts of Suomenlinna. The rocky Baltic shoreline obviously played a huge role in the fortress’s defense system, but today it’s also an incredibly beautiful place to explore. And I’ll be honest, this was one part of the islands that I did not want to leave. I could have stayed here all day! It was so beautiful and so peaceful.
Along the coastline, you’ll also find massive cannons overlooking the Baltic Sea. Interestingly, these aren’t the original Swedish fortress cannons from the 1700s. They’re actually Russian-era coastal artillery, mostly dating back to the late 19th century. It’s really neat seeing how the fortress changed over time and how different countries used it for defense.
Finding King’s Gate
After all that exploring, we finally stumbled upon King’s Gate! King’s Gate was originally intended as a ceremonial entrance to the fortress and was built between 1753 and 1754. It was constructed at the location where King Adolf Frederick of Sweden came ashore when he visited the fortress in 1752. You can find King’s Gate at the southern end of the main Blue Route. It was definitely worth seeing, especially with the beautiful views of the Baltic Sea surrounding it.
Trying Traditional Finnish Food in Helsinki
Once we returned to mainland Helsinki, it was time for dinner! And of course, we wanted to try some local Finnish food.
We tried reindeer, and Shane also ordered a famous Finnish dish made with little freshwater fish. I don’t know how to pronounce the name, but they’re coated in flour and pan-fried in butter.
And the part that grossed me out? You eat the bones and all!
Shane actually did it, and I was very grossed out. But hey, when you’re traveling, you have to try the local foods, right?
Boarding Norwegian Sun in Helsinki
The next morning, it was finally time to board our cruise! We stopped at a cute little cafe to waste some time, grab breakfast, and enjoy our last morning in Helsinki before heading to the ship.
One thing that really surprised me about Norwegian Cruise Line was that they weren’t very clear about exactly where we were supposed to board. So, we ended up having our Uber driver take us to the Helsinki Cruise Terminal.
Thankfully, he seemed to have done this before and was pretty knowledgeable about where to drop us off. We were definitely thankful for that! And just like that, we were ready to board Norwegian Sun and begin our seven-day Baltic Sea adventure.
Our Baltic Sea Adventure Is Just Getting Started!
Helsinki was such a fun way to kick off our trip, especially getting to explore Suomenlinna Fortress before boarding the ship.
Between the beautiful coastline, historic tunnels, incredible fortress, and trying new Finnish foods, we managed to fit quite a bit into our time here.
But our adventure was just getting started!
This is part one of our six-part Baltic Sea cruise series, where we’re sharing the ports we visited, the things we did, and all the amazing experiences we had along the way.
Stay tuned for part two to see where our first cruise stop takes us!
And be sure to check out our YouTube channel, Dates in the States, to watch the entire adventure and subscribe so you don’t miss the rest of our trip!