Our taxi arrived on time and transported us to the dock where the MS Gabriella was waiting . Booking-in was thankfully painless after we flashed our passports and were given cabin cards and dinner vouchers then we were off up the escalator to gate 3 for boarding at 3pm.

Unfortunately Sal had a slight mishap as she alighted from the escalator. As we've discovered, jumping on and off escalators with 1 large suitcase, 1 smaller wheel-on bag, a back-pack and shoulder bag can be a little tricky. Unfortunately for Sal when she stepped off her suitcase fell over and Sal nearly went over the top of it – not a pretty sight but thankfully Sal was okay.

Our allocated cabins were on deck 6 so we quickly dropped off our luggage to check out where we would be staying for the night before exploring the ship. The ship was larger and more modern than we had anticipated for an overnight ferry. It boasted nine decks and every diverse form of entertainment you could possibly want on an overnight sea crossing.

We were fascinated that most people seemed to have rushed to the shopping mall first to grab as many duty free item as they could lay their hands on . Their next stop appeared to be the Bars, Keno lounge and poker machines as all these areas were buzzing by the time we happened upon them. Obviously these were regular patrons who knew the drill!  

We chose the more sedate Tapas Bar where we sat and enjoyed coffee and watched as we sailed through the archipelago off Sweden for mile upon mile. Soon it was time to get ready for dinner. We had been allocated the third sitting so lined up in anticipation. We were fortunate in being seated in the first row of tables set against the huge glass windows overlooking the bow of the ship - bonus!

Unfortunately the three diners who were also booked at our table were non too happy on seeing us already seated at the table when they arrived. Our fellow diners immediately requested the waitress remove us from "their" table so some of their companions could join them. We were slightly amused by their request so chose to sit quietly while they protested their case to the waitress . Fortunately the waitress must be used to dealing with this type of complaint and thankfully for us, she ruled in our favor so we were able to remain seated at our allocated table and enjoy the beautiful views while eating and cruising.  

It was amazing how the lady who spoke passable English when asking us to move tables suddenly lost the ability to speak our language after she became disgruntled over the outcome. Dinner therefore (despite the beautiful setting) was a rather strained uncomfortable affair with we three talking among ourselves in English while those opposite did likewise in their own language. Unfortunately it was a lost opportunity to chat with some fellow travellers but none the less it was an entertaining experience when you realise human nature is similar the world over!

Despite the happenings at our table the banquet on offer was very appetising and the choices were many.   We left the table having really enjoyed our meal (probably a little too much!) and retired to our cabins for a good night's sleep.

We were pleasantly surprised by the facilities on-board the MS Gabriella. Our cabins were comfortable with bathrooms more than adequate. Fortunately for us your table allocation did not apply to breakfast so we were happy to be joined at our table by a lovely group of young travellers from Japan who were both friendly and engaging. 

We returned to our cabins to get ready to disembark as we would soon be arriving in Helsinki. On reflection, our crossing on the MS Gabriella had been very enjoyable and surprisingly smoother than we expected despite the rainy weather.  Even Sal, who has always been a reluctant sailor agreed.