Regal/Royal Princess docking in Stockholm

This thread has been posted in the Princess forum, and I hope it will continue for future cruises:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2221572

From the thread, it appears that the captain is only making the announcement about docking directly in Stockholm in St. Petersburg, and the tour companies are making adjustments when the ship changes docks.

If this affects you please note the following which you may not have researched since you didn't think you might be docking directly in Stockholm:

If you are interested in visiting the Vasa Museum (and it is highly recommended), please note that if you are docking at Stadsgården, that you can easily walk to the HOHO boats from your cruise ship. I don't normally take HOHO buses or boats when I travel, but in Stockholm these are an excellent choice since they run directly to Vasa until 10 am on days in which cruise ships dock at Stadsgården, and offer lovely views of the city from the water. Stromma offers a one stop ticket for 50 SEK, which can only be purchased on the ship. Please note that if you want to visit Vasa it is generally recommended that you arrive early, as it is the most popular museum in Scandinavia, and once it reaches capacity visitors must wait outside until others exit to preserve the ship. We were able to arrive at Vasa right when it opened, and it was completely empty. By the time we left it was already full. If you are not able to make it there first thing, others on the baltic cruise critic forum have noted that Vasa is less crowded later in the afternoon (but I cannot verify this information, as I only visited there once first thing in the morning).

Please also note that on our ship (NCL Star) breakfast was chaotic both for this day, and the first day of St. Petersburg, as everyone was trying to get off the ship as early as possible, and room service might be an excellent choice.

 

Stromma offers a one stop ticket for 50 SEK, which can only be purchased on the ship.

Kitkat, do you mean that this one stop ticket can only be purchased on the Stromma boat, or on the cruise ship?

Thanks!

It can only be bought on board the Hoho boat unlike full 24 hour tickets which can be bought online in advance.

We booked SPB tours in Stockholm, thinking we were not going to dock directly in Stockholm. Lo and behold, we did--and we regretted booking the tour. Knowing we docked directly in Stockholm, we would rather have gone self-guided.

We booked SPB tours in Stockholm, thinking we were not going to dock directly in Stockholm. Lo and behold, we did--and we regretted booking the tour. Knowing we docked directly in Stockholm, we would rather have gone self-guided.

OK...this worries me now. I believe, at least I read on the Princess site, that the Regal Princess docks at Nynashamn. Like you, we arranged a tour with a private company - Alla Tours - because Nynashamn is one hour from Stockholm.

Are you sure Regal Princess has changed it's docking site? How did you find out? Our cruise docks in Sweden on August 29, 2015.

Thanks

Sue

OK...this worries me now. I believe, at least I read on the Princess site, that the Regal Princess docks at Nynashamn. Like you, we arranged a tour with a private company - Alla Tours - because Nynashamn is one hour from Stockholm.

 

Are you sure Regal Princess has changed it's docking site? How did you find out? Our cruise docks in Sweden on August 29, 2015.

 

Thanks

Sue

Read these posts:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=47059219#post47059219

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=47062572#post47062572

I fear your worry is justified, unfortunately. It's not that bad, though. The ship captain made a that-day decision not to dock away at Nynashamn based on the weather and what the port told him. We would have preferred SPB tour out of Nynashamn, but would have preferred self-guided directly out of Stockholm, but you have to pre-reserve, but the captain makes a last-minute call, and that's how it was.

I fear your worry is justified, unfortunately. It's not that bad, though. The ship captain made a that-day decision not to dock away at Nynashamn based on the weather and what the port told him. We would have preferred SPB tour out of Nynashamn, but would have preferred self-guided directly out of Stockholm, but you have to pre-reserve, but the captain makes a last-minute call, and that's how it was.

Not that bad? Holy cow, I'm praying the Regal can sail through the archipelago and dock right in Stockholm when I'm on it in September! That would be so much better than Nyn! SBP and Alla will keep appraised on where the ship will be so you don't need to worry about them not being at the pier. I see your point about not needing to book an excursion from Stockholm, but that would never equal hoping for Nyn instead of Stockholm for me!

Not that bad? Holy cow, I'm praying the Regal can sail through the archipelago and dock right in Stockholm when I'm on it in September! That would be so much better than Nyn! SBP and Alla will keep appraised on where the ship will be so you don't need to worry about them not being at the pier. I see your point about not needing to book an excursion from Stockholm, but that would never equal hoping for Nyn instead of Stockholm for me!

I agree. I would be overjoyed to sail through the archipelago and hope we do so. We'll just go ahead with the Alla tour, if that happens. and, if they don't show up, I'll assume they will reimburse us.

Sue

It's probably just me, but one of the first things I like about touring a European city is figuring out the metro. A guided tour lets you just kick back and relax while they show you around, but I don't feel like I'm really learning, because I'm not hands-on. Fortunately we got to do two more days of Stockholm self-guided as part of our land tour.

I'm sorry - I understand that it would be frustrating to book a tour because you are docking in Nynashamn since you could have saved the money by DIY.

According to the Princess forum where this was originally discussed, the captain announced the change in the dock during the cruise. However, I would still check this site to see if later in the Baltic season Princess will be able to give customers more notice: http://www.portsofstockholm.com/vessel-calls/ . But don't be too disappointed if the port still lists Nynashamn, as people in the other forums monitored that and were told they would dock in Nynashamn and during the cruise it changed.

Does anyone know that if we reserve the Princess shuttle from Nynashamn to Stockholm and if the captain decides to dock at Stockholm, will we be able to cancel the reservation for the shuttle since we don't need it?

If you are planning to visit Vasa but can't get there early, don't worry too much.

I had some anxiety about this because our ship did not dock until 10am on a weekend and the Vasa opened at 9am. We were off the ship around 11am, took a taxi to Vasa and it didn't feel too crowded. We had the opportunity to take the free guided tour and also see whatever we wanted with only waiting a few minutes to the small crowds to move along. Some of the St. Petersburg sites were much worse!

I have tendered off of Nynashamn (2006, Star Princess) and also sailed right into Copenhagen (2015, Regal Princess). As I mentioned in the other thread, sailing into Copenhagen has the distinct disadvantage of a much shorter available time in port, as all aboard is at 2:30pm, instead of late in the evening in Nynashamn! However, the archipelago is very scenic and you don't spend one hour on the train each way getting into Stockholm.

It's not really necessary to have a tour regardless of whether your ship is in Nynashamn or Stockholm proper. I have done the DIY method from both. Grab a copy of Rick Steves' book "Northern European Cruise Ports" and Stockholm is easy.

From Nynashamn, get off on a tender as soon as possible, walk or take the shuttle to the train station, and take the direct train into Stockholm central station. This is all detailed very clearly by the Nynashamn Tourist Office website: http://www.visitnynashamn.se/en/home/cruise/faq.4.2447cef013e3c1b82892878.html. You can be at the Vasa Museum as early as 9:30am, and won't need to depart Stockholm until about 5:00pm to get back to the Nynashamn. Ironically, this actually gives you a bit more time (about an additional 2 hours) in Stockholm to see more than if docking directly in town.

From Stockholm Stadsgarden pier, turn left as you exit the dock and it's a 5-minute walk to the hop-on hop-off boat dock that takes people directly to Vasa or Gamla Stan in about 10 minutes. The fare for a one-way trip is only SEK50, or you can buy the day pass (SEK175) if you plan to take at least three trips (don't get bullied into buying the day pass if all you need is a one-way). The direct boats run until 10:00am, and then they follow the hop-on hop-off route. We were at the Vasa before it opened, but the Princess cruise buses were already there too! When we left at around 10:00am, there was a lineup out the door to get in.

As for the questions about booking a Princess tour or shuttle from Nynashamn and then learning that the pier has changed to Stockholm, I believe the Shore Excursions desk was changing or refunding people's tickets if they changed their minds due to the itinerary change. The major tour companies e.g., SPB and Alla knew about the change and their guides and vehicles were waiting alongside the ship.

We originally elected to do SPB out of Nynashamn because it made economic sense. Since we had already done SPB for St. Petersburg, they offered a discount, making it cost only barely more than if we DIY'ed it. But yeah, if I had seen your post prior to us landing in Stockholm, we would have DIY'ed it either way.

Does anyone know that if we reserve the Princess shuttle from Nynashamn to Stockholm and if the captain decides to dock at Stockholm, will we be able to cancel the reservation for the shuttle since we don't need it?

They won't be providing the "excursion" so you will not be charged. No need to cancel something no longer offered.

We originally elected to do SPB out of Nynashamn because it made economic sense. Since we had already done SPB for St. Petersburg, they offered a discount, making it cost only barely more than if we DIY'ed it. But yeah, if I had seen your post prior to us landing in Stockholm, we would have DIY'ed it either way.

I couldn't get the math to work out the same way. SPB typically charges $115 for a tour of Stockholm out of Nynashamn. In comparison, a one-day transit pass valid for travel between Nynashamn and Stockholm and everywhere in Stockholm costs SEK115. Admission to the Vasa Museum is SEK130. Therefore, the total for DIY is SEK245, which converts to about $28. Even assuming that SPB will give a 20% discount, taking a tour still costs 3-4x as much as DIY! It's not for everybody though, as some people prefer a comfortable ride and a guide.

They won't be providing the "excursion" so you will not be charged. No need to cancel something no longer offered.

We are scheduled with Alla, based on the Nynashamn port. I read in a previous post that when the Regal changed and went into Stockholm, both Alla and other private tour operators were there waiting for them. that's why I've pretty much decided to keep the Alla tour, but stay in Gamla Stan after it, so we can see additional sites, then take a taxi back to the ship...if we dock in Stockholm.

what do you others who have arranged private tours plan to do?

Sue