Just finished Baltic Cruise. A few thoughts

OK, good to know. We booked SPB tours in Stockholm because I had read that everything was really spread out. Not central as in Helsinki or Tallinn. I'll re-investigate Stockholm. Thanks for the info.

No problem with SPB tours. They were great. You get lots of local information that way from the local guides. As was mentioned in another post, we just felt Stockholm would have been very 'user friendly' to do it ourself. SBP tours was done by 2pm, and the ship didn't leave until 5. We then payed extra ($80 per person) for 2 hours extra.

Took the Holland America 12 day cruise.

 

Copenhagen. We had bought a 2 day train pass prior to arrival. The 48 hour pass included the train from the airport to downtown. We stayed in a hotel near the train station, so was easy to get around. Be very careful with the bike lanes. Very. Tivoli park, which was the inspiration for Disney Land is right next to the train station. Didn't go. Mostly for locals, and the young... Went on the HoHo bus and boat tours. We got off the HoHo at the Rosenborg Castle. Christian IV was one strange dude. Plan on 2-3 hours, well worth the time. Wife really enjoyed the Round Tower, as she loves horses. Ate at the Riz Raz. Best food on the trip, if you enjoy Mediterranean cuisine.

 

First port Warnemunde. Bought a 24 hour pass for the train prior to leaving the states. 32Euro for 4 people (Download the DB ap for your phone) During the week, this begins at 9am. Turn left when off the boat and walk to the next station. About 10 min. Take tunnel under the road, go to bus stop beside station. Buy ticket to Bad Doberan. About 2euro. Bus 119. (Normally, your 24 hr pass covers this, but not until 9am, and you will be there before that.) Get off in Bad Doberan at the train station. Take the Molli train, scenic narrow gauge railway. Separate ticket, from the DB train, about 15 euro. We got off a time or two, then back to Bad Doberan. The train is timed to arrive when the DB train to Rostock arrives. Went to Rostock for a few hours. Took the tram into the city center. (the 24hr pass covers this) Shopped, saw the sights. I went to the Stasi museum. Wife shopped. Took the tram back to the station, then the train back to Warnemunde to the ship. Whole day costs less than 30 euros per person. Plus shopping... Great day.

 

Tallinn, Estonia. Didn't know much about it, but was one of our favorite stops. Walked to old town. Took the hot air balloon for the view. We were a group of 8, and most just walked into old town. Wife has a bad knee, so hired a bicycle 'rickshaw' to take us to the McDonalds at the Viru gate. Which is closest to the local artisan and craft section of old town. 15 euro each way. So, the total for 2 was 30 euro for the day, plus shopping.

 

St Petersburg. Used SPB tours, private tour for 8, plus added on an evening at the Fabrege museum. Made for a long first day, but you only are there once, so see it all. Incredible sights. Wouldn't want to live there.

 

Helsinki. Used SPB tours again. Enjoyable, relaxing stop.

 

Stockholm. Incredible beauty going the 65 miles thru the archipelago of islands to get to Stockholm. Used SPB tours again, but would not do that if I went again. The HoHo's are right where the cruise ship docks. Take to Vasa Museum, 1-2 hours. Then back on the HoHo to Skansen, for a couple hours, then back on the HoHo to old town for some shopping, then back to the ship. The changing of the guard in old town at noon is highly variable. Sometimes, has band, maybe horses, marching. Our day only was 3 guys marching by, so not worth it. Everyone in Sweden, it seems, speaks better English than we do, so no problem doing stuff on your own.

 

Keil. Bought a 24h pass on the DB train, using the iPhone DB ap. $32 for 4 people. Took a taxi from the ship to the train station. 6 euro for 4 people. Took the train to Lubeck. Easy walk to the the Lubech main gate into old town. (Angle to the left when exiting the station) We took the HoHo bus and boat tour. Some in our group of 8 just walked the streets in the old town. You will be in mostly German speaking town, and mostly Germans visiting, so the town is not set up for English as much as other ports. Only language on the HoHo boats and buses is German, so we mainly just enjoyed the sights. Really neat puppet museum near the main gate. Total cost for the day, about 8 euros per person for the train, plus shopping and eats. About 20 euro for boat and bus HoHo if you do that

 

(The 24 hour DB train passes start at 9am during the week. So, if you get on a train or bus before 9, you need to buy an additional ticket for the first leg. On the weekend, they start at 6, so no need to worry about leaving at 8am.)

 

Gothenburg. We took a private tour and went to Marstrand. Really beautiful town. Eat at Arnell's restaurant in Marstrand. Great soup. Great. Also had fresh rhubarb pie with ice cream. Great.

 

Helsingborg. Tendered into town, as ship out in the middle of the harbor. There are college girls spread around town, specifically there to help the 'lost tourists.' Very helpful. We bought a bus ticket for about 40 kroner, with help from the college girls, to Sofiero Castle. This was most definitely one of the highlights of our trip. Not to be missed. Entrance fee 100 kroner, about $15. So the day was about $20 per person, plus shopping. Sofiero opens at 10, so no need to get there real early. Takes about 15 min on the bus to get there. We stayed about 3 hours, then bus back to town. Shopped. Ate. Then a bad storm, so tenders unable to get back to boat. Holland America arranged for buses for those that were stranded, which took us to the dock in Copenhagen. So, cost of the day was about $20 per person, plus shopping....

how did you like SPB tours? we are considering using them this summer.

thanks for the detailed review

OK, good to know. We booked SPB tours in Stockholm because I had read that everything was really spread out. Not central as in Helsinki or Tallinn. I'll re-investigate Stockholm. Thanks for the info.

Stockholm is very easy to DIY - most sights you will most likely want to see are located on Gamla Stan. To get over to the Vasa museum, you can take the Djurgården ferry, HOHO boat or bus. Simple. :) Stockholm is gorgeous - enjoy!

Took the Holland America 12 day cruise.

 

 

St Petersburg. Used SPB tours, private tour for 8, plus added on an evening at the Fabrege museum. Made for a long first day, but you only are there once, so see it all. Incredible sights. Wouldn't want to live there.

 

Doing the same thing as what you did in St. Petersburg. After the Faberge Museum evening option, where did you go after that. We requested for additional hour in the evening to do go around the city.Any suggestion?

Thanks so much for the review. In particular the news that you can do the Faberge Museum as a night tour and the hot air balloon ride in Tallinn. We are in the beginning of the planning stages so I'm researching the ports and any information is welcome. :):):)

What is hoho

What is hoho

It's santa's boats and buses. :p ;) No just kidding.

It's a short for Hop On Hop Off. A type of sighteseeing bus (or boat) which have a circular route (A->B->C->D->E->F->A...) where you can hop on or hop off at any stop for a limited time period (usually 1-3 days).

Lets say you visit Stockholm, you hop on the HoHo at the ship's berth then hop off somewhere along the route, see what you want to see and then hop on again and continue the route.

Took the Holland America 12 day cruise.

 

 

St Petersburg. Used SPB tours, private tour for 8, plus added on an evening at the Fabrege museum. Made for a long first day, but you only are there once, so see it all. Incredible sights. Wouldn't want to live there.

 

Doing the same thing as what you did in St. Petersburg. After the Faberge Museum evening option, where did you go after that. We requested for additional hour in the evening to do go around the city.Any suggestion?

 

Bed. Was a 13 hour day from start to Faberge to boat. Some people say the boat tours after dark are great. The problem with that is it gets dark about 10.

Stockholm is very easy to DIY - most sights you will most likely want to see are located on Gamla Stan. To get over to the Vasa museum, you can take the Djurgården ferry, HOHO boat or bus. Simple. :) Stockholm is gorgeous - enjoy!

We will be staying in Stockholm prior to our cruise. Our hotel is located at the train station. What bus do we take to the Vasa museum?

We will be staying in Stockholm prior to our cruise. Our hotel is located at the train station. What bus do we take to the Vasa museum?

Bus 69 towards Manila, get off at Djurgårdsbron snd walk from there.

There are signs to show the direction and it is not far, just a few hundred metres.

A bus to Manila!!!!, I don't hope that someone falls asleep and end at the last stop.

Sorry couldn't resist. :D

I checked the route with the SL app and it said bus #69 towards Manilla however if I check the journey planner on sl.se the destination is either Blockhusudden or Kaknästornet.

It is still bus #69 though.

http://sl.se/#/Travel/SearchTravelById/Centralen%20%28Stockholm%29/Djurg%C3%A5rdsbron%20%28Stockholm%29/1002/1100/null/depart/sv/null/null/2,8,1,4,96,/null/null/null/null/null/false/null/0/0/null/false

I checked the route with the SL app and it said bus #69 towards Manilla however if I check the journey planner on sl.se the destination is either Blockhusudden or Kaknästornet.

It is still bus #69 though.

 

http://sl.se/#/Travel/SearchTravelById/Centralen%20%28Stockholm%29/Djurg%C3%A5rdsbron%20%28Stockholm%29/1002/1100/null/depart/sv/null/null/2,8,1,4,96,/null/null/null/null/null/false/null/0/0/null/false

So to confirm, we take bus 69 from the train station, correct?

(We are staying at the Radisson Blu Royal Viking Hotel, Vasagatan 1)

Thank you!!

So to confirm, we take bus 69 from the train station, correct?

(We are staying at the Radisson Blu Royal Viking Hotel, Vasagatan 1)

 

Thank you!!

Yes bus 69. From here (on the viaduct):

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Vasagatan+1,+111+20+Stockholm,+Sverige/59.3310562,18.0583946/@59.3312041,18.0579695,146m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x465f9d608c4a660b:0xe25921d993abe8b2!2m2!1d18.0581172!2d59.3314278!1m0!3e2

Yes bus 69. From here (on the viaduct):

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Vasagatan+1,+111+20+Stockholm,+Sverige/59.3310562,18.0583946/@59.3312041,18.0579695,146m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x465f9d608c4a660b:0xe25921d993abe8b2!2m2!1d18.0581172!2d59.3314278!1m0!3e2

Oh my...thank you so very much for this!

Thanks for the review! We are on a 9-night Norwegian and visiting a few of those. I've always wanted to ride a hot air balloon and had no idea there was one, but I just looked it up. It appears to be 25 euros and not too long, so that should be do-able since my hubby doesn't like heights and doesn't want to ride! :D Thanks for all the info!

OK, good to know. We booked SPB tours in Stockholm because I had read that everything was really spread out. Not central as in Helsinki or Tallinn. I'll re-investigate Stockholm. Thanks for the info.[/quote

 

We booked SPB tour for our Berlin Tour and St. Petersburg. Tallin, we booked at Toursby local for a 6 hour tour. Helsinki, we booked a walking tour at Happy Helsinki and Stockholm? DIY

 

Bear in Mind we are a big group, more than 10 so we divided the prices at Tallin and Helsinki came out dirt cheap.

 

For your information - Happy Helsinki gives a free walking tour if your group is 10 people or less and in Stockholm there is also a free walking tour at Gamla Stan.

T

Stockholm. Incredible beauty going the 65 miles thru the archipelago of islands to get to Stockholm. Used SPB tours again, but would not do that if I went again. The HoHo's are right where the cruise ship docks. Take to Vasa Museum, 1-2 hours. Then back on the HoHo to Skansen, for a couple hours, then back on the HoHo to old town for some shopping, then back to the ship..

I have to really, really disagree with this itinerary for Stockholm, specifically about using the HOHO buses to get around Stockholm.

I had a friend that went on a Baltic cruise after I did, and their Stockholm trip was basically a disappointing dud because they took that HOHO bus and didn't really see that much with the HOHO bus.

Yes, the HOHO bus are close to the cruise ship docks while you'll have to walk to take the bus or subway. But, once my friend got on the HOHO bus, they had to wait a long time for the HOHO bus to fill up before it would leave.

Then, there's the circuitous route the HOHO bus takes:

https://www.redsightseeing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Red-Bus-Map-2016.pdf

You go around Stockholm but have to pass every not-interesting sight and stop before you get to the Vasa, which is like the last stop on that route. It would be much faster and cheaper to just take a bus or subway to get to the Vasa then take the HOHO bus. A taxi wouldn't be cheap, but at least, it would take you directly to the Vasa museum.

Or, look at the tripadvisor reviews for Stockholm's HOHO bus where the terrible and poor ratings far exceed excellent ratings. People are writing scathing reviews of the HOHO bus with titles like "don't get ripped off", "terrible", "one to avoid", etc...

And, then, you take the HOHO bus from Vasa and Skansen to Old Town but you'll have to waste more time on that circuitous route. If anybody insists on taking a HOHO bus, it would make more sense to do Old Town and then go to Vasa because the Old Town stop comes before the Vasa stop.

There's no way you could see all that if you take the HOHO bus.

I have to really, really disagree with this itinerary for Stockholm, specifically about using the HOHO buses to get around Stockholm.

 

I had a friend that went on a Baltic cruise after I did, and their Stockholm trip was basically a disappointing dud because they took that HOHO bus and didn't really see that much with the HOHO bus.

 

Yes, the HOHO bus are close to the cruise ship docks while you'll have to walk to take the bus or subway. But, once my friend got on the HOHO bus, they had to wait a long time for the HOHO bus to fill up before it would leave.

 

Then, there's the circuitous route the HOHO bus takes:

 

https://www.redsightseeing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Red-Bus-Map-2016.pdf

 

You go around Stockholm but have to pass every not-interesting sight and stop before you get to the Vasa, which is like the last stop on that route. It would be much faster and cheaper to just take a bus or subway to get to the Vasa then take the HOHO bus. A taxi wouldn't be cheap, but at least, it would take you directly to the Vasa museum.

 

Or, look at the tripadvisor reviews for Stockholm's HOHO bus where the terrible and poor ratings far exceed excellent ratings. People are writing scathing reviews of the HOHO bus with titles like "don't get ripped off", "terrible", "one to avoid", etc...

 

And, then, you take the HOHO bus from Vasa and Skansen to Old Town but you'll have to waste more time on that circuitous route. If anybody insists on taking a HOHO bus, it would make more sense to do Old Town and then go to Vasa because the Old Town stop comes before the Vasa stop.

 

There's no way you could see all that if you take the HOHO bus.

I agree regarding the HoHo buses and I have said the same thing.

The only time the HoHo services can be a good option is if your ship berths at Stadsgården S167 since there is supposed to be a direct service in the morning ,when the ship docks, from S167 to Vasa.

WE are looking at doing the HOHO boat as tickets are supposed to be sold right where we come in. I understand the boat goes right over to the Vasa. We then thought it would be nice to get the commentary about the different islands once we are done with the Vasa. Has anyone heard of this information or know anything about the boats???

STOCKHOLM PASS which includes HOHO

- anybody got thoughts on this?

I have to really, really disagree with this itinerary for Stockholm, specifically about using the HOHO buses to get around Stockholm.

 

I had a friend that went on a Baltic cruise after I did, and their Stockholm trip was basically a disappointing dud because they took that HOHO bus and didn't really see that much with the HOHO bus.

 

Yes, the HOHO bus are close to the cruise ship docks while you'll have to walk to take the bus or subway. But, once my friend got on the HOHO bus, they had to wait a long time for the HOHO bus to fill up before it would leave.

 

Then, there's the circuitous route the HOHO bus takes:

 

https://www.redsightseeing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Red-Bus-Map-2016.pdf

 

You go around Stockholm but have to pass every not-interesting sight and stop before you get to the Vasa, which is like the last stop on that route. It would be much faster and cheaper to just take a bus or subway to get to the Vasa then take the HOHO bus. A taxi wouldn't be cheap, but at least, it would take you directly to the Vasa museum.

 

Or, look at the tripadvisor reviews for Stockholm's HOHO bus where the terrible and poor ratings far exceed excellent ratings. People are writing scathing reviews of the HOHO bus with titles like "don't get ripped off", "terrible", "one to avoid", etc...

 

And, then, you take the HOHO bus from Vasa and Skansen to Old Town but you'll have to waste more time on that circuitous route. If anybody insists on taking a HOHO bus, it would make more sense to do Old Town and then go to Vasa because the Old Town stop comes before the Vasa stop.

 

There's no way you could see all that if you take the HOHO bus.

I do agree with you regarding Hoho bus. Hoho bus is only good if you are in that city for at least 3 days in order to maximize the use. For a day, I can just imagine the thousands of cruise passengers using those buses for the span of 6 - 7 hours and usually there are 2 - 3 cruise ships that are docked at the same time.

STOCKHOLM PASS which includes HOHO

- anybody got thoughts on this?

I would not do it.

City Passes can be worth it if you're in the city for a full day and planning on seeing a lot of attractions and museums you'd have to pay to see.

But, for a Stockholm stop, you're only going to be in Stockholm for a limited amount of day so you won't be able to see that much.

The big four things to see in Stockholm are Vasa Museum, Old Town (Gamla Stan), Skansen, and City Hall. But, you'll probably only have time to do two out of those four.

But, only the Vasa Museum is covered under the Stockholm Pass. It doesn't cover admission to Skansen or City Hall. And, Old Town is free anyways so you don't have to pay for that. Drottningholm Palace is another big attraction and that is covered by the Stockholm Pass, but that's far away.

Even if the HOHO bus was much cheaper or 'free', I still wouldn't use them because of their circuitous route and the sporadic frequency of the HOHO buses.

Those HOHO buses are supposed to come along every 15-20 minutes, but people on TripAdvisor complained they had to wait more than 50 minutes.

One person posted how he got induced to buy a ticket with promises that the HOHO bus would come along every 15-20 minutes. But, as soon as he bought the ticket, they told him the next HOHO bus would come along in 40 minutes.

I'd prefer to use public transportation instead of the HOHO bus, but the Stockhom pass doesn't include public transportation.

WE are looking at doing the HOHO boat as tickets are supposed to be sold right where we come in. I understand the boat goes right over to the Vasa. We then thought it would be nice to get the commentary about the different islands once we are done with the Vasa. Has anyone heard of this information or know anything about the boats???

Boats looks like this:

https://cdn.getyourguide.com/img/tour_img-393456-90.jpg

I have only done Djurgården runt tour with Strömma and the information was pretty sparse.

Both companies only have pre-recorded audio guides.

Not sure how big Tegal Princess is but I sailed on P&O Britannia last year on 5 Jun and I can tell you we were constantly given the run around with no one telling is where we were docking in Stockholm. The port authority had us down for Nynashaamn. A lot of us passengers were concerned as we had been so looking forward to doing the archipelago sail thru. Turns out Britannia couldn't give us a definitive answer till the night before as they had to do some practice zig -zag maneuvers before entering the archipelago as no other ship that big at that time had done it before.

As it turned out everything was fine and our captain managed to maneuver the ship all the way into Stockholm. What a glorious picturesque site it was too.

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