Stockholm and a Helsinki

I haven't seen much on this thread about these 2 stops on the RCCL Vision Baltics cruise. Is that cuz Stockholm and Helsinki are easy walking towns?

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Easy to walk? I would not say that they are, but easy to "Do it yourself" ? Yes absolutely.

Stockholm info: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2312690

Helsinki info: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2295021

We did Stockholm and Helsinki in September of this year. Stockholm is a city not east to walk to see everything. They do have public transport which seemed a little confusing. People in Stockholm not very helpful. We did the Hop on Hop off which worked well for us. Never had to wait more than 5-10 for next bus and the route took us close enough to the places we wanted to visit. Helsinki was smaller, but had public transportation that was very user friendly.

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I have to say Stockholm had the friendliest shop keepers I've ever seen.

If you are able to walk a bit, I think Stockholm is fairly walkable. The main areas (Gamla Stan, the Vasa, Ostermallen) are all relatively near each other but there is a body of water in the middle of all of it, so you must walk around to the bridges or take the water taxi. The port is a 10 minute ride away, at least where we were.

Thanks! The ship hasn't released excursions and TA wasn't as helpful as usual.

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Have never visited Helsinki, but loved Stockholm. We had an overnight there and went everywhere on public transport which was very easy.

We bought a 24 hour travel card which we used on the buses, tram and ferries, but didn't go on the metro. We found everybody very helpful.

Thanks! The ship hasn't released excursions and TA wasn't as helpful as usual.

 

 

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While the excursions for your particular cruise may not have been posted, in all likelihood they will be virtually identical to other sailings that have been set up with excursions that visit your same ports.

Here, for example, is a link to the excursions for an upcoming cruise. Once on this page, click on "Stockholm" or "Helsinki" on the left side of the screen.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/7NightScandinaviaAndRussiaCruise-SR07U056/excursions?currencyCode=USD&sAccessibility=false&sailDate=05%2f20%2f2017&singleSailingMode=false

I know this isn't quite what the OP asked for, but it's the first thing I thought of when it was mentioned that Swedes weren't friendly. It's a video for Eurovision I think, explaining Swedes to the rest of Europe, and touches on how friendly they are known to be. It made me laugh, because, again, we thought they were the friendliest of all the very nice people we met on our Baltic cruise.

Thanks! Every bit of info is important.

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Hello,

Our cruise ship stops in Nynashamn on a Saturday. I've been looking up how to get to Stockholm and since it is a weekend I guess the trains only run every hour instead of every half hour. Should we look into booking a tour for Stockholm then to make better use of our time, or do we have enough time time to do it on our own? The ship departs at 5pm.

Both Stockholm and Helsinki are easy for DIY touring, but they both require the use of public transportation (or a more expensive taxi) to get from the port area to the city center where you'll do the most of your sightseeing. I must admit that I found these two cities to be the least interesting of the many port stops we made on our Baltic cruise last summer, but your opinion may differ. I highly recommend you read Rick Steves' Northern European Cruiseports. You can see what there is to see and do in all the Baltic cruise ports (and how to DIY if you like to travel that way.)

Hello,

 

 

 

Our cruise ship stops in Nynashamn on a Saturday. I've been looking up how to get to Stockholm and since it is a weekend I guess the trains only run every hour instead of every half hour. Should we look into booking a tour for Stockholm then to make better use of our time, or do we have enough time time to do it on our own? The ship departs at 5pm.

Our ship itinerary has also changed to stop in Nynashamn instead of Stockholm, leaving at 5, so we're planning on just taking a TJ/Alla/SPB tour that day - whoever we decide on for SPB and Berlin.

Our original plan had been to book 2 stops with a tour company, but once we add the third, it's only about $100 more to also include Helsinki and Tallin, which we had planned to DIY....

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