Baltic Cruise from Warnemunde

Our family is planning a Baltic cruise from Warnemunde next summer on the Breakaway. I have been reading reviews of the Baltic cruise on the Getaway this summer and have not seen a review from someone who embarked in Warnemunde. Has anyone done the cruise departing from this port? Were you happy with your decision? Are there any disadvantages to embarking here rather than in Copenhagen? Thanks in advance for any replies.

warnemunde is a cute little town, but you are several hours from Berlin, and there isnt a lot there.

copenhagen is an incredible city. i recommend going from there and spending 2 or 3 days pre-cruise. i highly recommend the Hotel Bethel, its right on teh canal in Nyhavn and affordably priced.

Our family is planning a Baltic cruise from Warnemunde next summer on the Breakaway. I have been reading reviews of the Baltic cruise on the Getaway this summer and have not seen a review from someone who embarked in Warnemunde. Has anyone done the cruise departing from this port? Were you happy with your decision? Are there any disadvantages to embarking here rather than in Copenhagen? Thanks in advance for any replies.

I had those same questions and could not find a better answer than what the previous poster said. Additionally, I have to fly from the US to get there, not sure where you are coming from. It is easier for me to fly to CPH than to BER or HAM and then travel quite a ways. I also love Copenhagen. I have been there several times before and can't wait to see it again and show it to my wife.

Thanks for the replies. I chose Warnemunde as my embarkation point because I hope to spend a few days in Berlin pre-cruise. I figured this was the better choice, because of the distance of the port from Berlin. Other than the cost of transfers to the port, is there any other factor that should sway me to change my embarkation point?

On one unlucky cruise they skipped Warnemunde because of the weather being too bad to fit in - it's a much smaller port than Copenhagen. I don't think that's been repeated since, but is a minor risk to factor in.

You'll have also missed the welcome on board show and I don't recall a particular sailaway party for Warnemunde either. Probably not persuasive factors.

Thanks for the replies. I chose Warnemunde as my embarkation point because I hope to spend a few days in Berlin pre-cruise. I figured this was the better choice, because of the distance of the port from Berlin. Other than the cost of transfers to the port, is there any other factor that should sway me to change my embarkation point?

Personally, if I wanted to see Berlin and not take the tour (train, taxi, bus), I would fly into Berlin, spend a few days, then contract with someone like Norwegian Air (no relation to NCL) or KLM or another airline one way to CPH and go out of there. Just my 2 cents after doing about 8 months of research before booking.

Most carriers (depending on where you live) will allow an open jaw ticket. Meaning you can fly from [Home Airport] to Berlin and fly from Copenhagen back to [Home Airport]. I am flying into CPH and out of AMS and found it hundreds of dollars cheaper than a round trip. YMMV.

On a Baltic sailing a few years ago, we totally enjoyed the port of Warnemunde. Great small coastal city. Enjoyed a meal and drinking a German beer along the water.

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Lots to see in Berlin, I was there for 2 weeks this spring.

Originally posted by cloudsmom Thanks for the replies. I chose Warnemunde as my embarkation point because I hope to spend a few days in Berlin pre-cruise. I figured this was the better choice, because of the distance of the port from Berlin. Other than the cost of transfers to the port, is there any other factor that should sway me to change my embarkation point?

This is an excellent plan, because you can also see some of the areas outside of Berlin as well. If you get to Warnemunde early enough you can also do Schwerin Castle on embarkation day.

If you want some really good information on the German Baltic Coast this is a helfpul website

http://www.travelanni.webs.com/

Anni is a regular poster on the Ports of Call boards for Northern Europe

Lots to see in Berlin, I was there for 2 weeks this spring.

 

 

This is an excellent plan, because you can also see some of the areas outside of Berlin as well. If you get to Warnemunde early enough you can also do Schwerin Castle on embarkation day.

 

If you want some really good information on the German Baltic Coast this is a helfpul website

www.travelanni.webs.com/

Anni is a regular poster on the Ports of Call boards for Northern Europe

we are also embarking from Warnemunde next year in order to spend a few days pre cruise in Berlin as there is too much to take in on a 1 day port visit

I was looking into expensive transfers until I was directed to the excellent travelanni website posted above

There I realised for 4 of us we can get train from Berlin to Warnemunde with change in Rostock for 68 euros total one way

travel time 3 hours and with German efficiency know will be little risk

someone mentioned Warnemunde being missed

It was a one off and was actually berthed a day late as they had to get there as they had embarking and disembarking passengers

apparently NCL put embarking passengers up in a hotel for the night

Tallin was actually the port that was missed to make up time

I will also be embarking on Warnemunde next year. We wanted the extra days in Berlin beforehand. The only downside was that the latest flight on debarkation day is 2:30. With the 3 hour train ride back to Berlin, it would be cutting it too close, so we are extending our stay one day post-cruise....but is that really a downside after all?!

Note - If you have kids, and leave from Warnemunde - they will miss the first night's meet and greet at their respective clubs.

Although you will miss the Welcome Aboard show - it will be repeated on your last night, and to tell you the truth, it can be missed.

The reason my family departed from Warnemunde was because it returned on a Sunday so my myself and my DDs would be able to get to work & camp on Monday.

Thanks for all of your replies. I think I will stick with my plan to embark in Warnemunde. It is good to see others plan to make this choice. I am aware of the train, but with four of us and our luggage, may opt for the transfer.

I know I will miss the welcome aboard show, but do you think I will have any problem booking restaurants or entertainment that I cannot pre-book online prior to our departure?

Also, has anyone ever done any driving in Germany? Is it very challenging due to the language barrier?

 

I know I will miss the welcome aboard show, but do you think I will have any problem booking restaurants or entertainment that I cannot pre-book online prior to our departure?

Pretty much everything you need to can be booked in advance online. I'd make sure you do that for anything you definitely want to see/do on the first few days at least, but you shouldn't be at a disadvantage by the boarding. The exception is the Escape the Big Top which you can only book on board - they do run that twice so just go straight to the entertainment desk if you want to do that.

i don´t want to buy one, so it doesn´t matter me, but how do they handle vibe pass? I only want to buy a spa ticket and hope to get one online.

i don´t want to buy one, so it doesn´t matter me, but how do they handle vib pass? I only want to buy a spa ticket and hope to get one online.

vibe passes are a race to be first on board to purchase one of the 70 or so available

thermal spa passes are completely different area

you can pre purchase online usually at $20 discount from 90 days prior

or purchase onboard after a spa tour-think they keep certain number back for this purpose

h

yes, but sell they all vibe passes at Copenhagen or keep some ( maybe like the quote of passengers ) back for Warnemünde?

We will be embarking from Warnemunde on our Baltic cruise in October. Like the OP, we chose this departure port so we could spend more time in Berlin prior to the cruise. And we will still get to see Copenhagen at the end of the cruise. Train service from Berlin to Warnemunde is cheap and easy (you do have to switch trains in Rostock).

Since dinners/shows can be prebooked online in advance, there's not much you will miss by not departing from Copenhagen.

Berlin can be a little tricky to fly into (not many direct flights from North America and it's a more expensive flight) however, we solved that by flying into Prague (direct and cheap) and so will have the added bonus of spending a couple of days there before taking the train to Berlin. It's a four-and-a-half hour train trip with beautiful views of the Elbe River along the route.

Also, has anyone ever done any driving in Germany? Is it very challenging due to the language barrier?

I know I will miss the welcome aboard show, but do you think I will have any problem booking restaurants or entertainment that I cannot pre-book online prior to our departure?

I have done plenty of driving in Germany and it is not hard at all. Just research the international signs. There are some that you will not be familiar with. Also, if you drive on the Autobahn, stay in the middle or right lane. I was driving at about 135 mph in the middle lane and had cars passing me on the left like I was standing still.

Even with your online booking (restaurants and shows), you could potentially have a problem since your 90 days starts a day after the previous departures day 90. I read in another thread about that being a problem but I can not remember if it was for the Baltic or the Mediterranean where they do the same thing.

I drove in Germany for a few weeks in May. Easy to make the adjustment. Yes, they drive fast on certain autobahns. Other autobahns have a definite speed limit. A GPS helped us. Although we did have a problem with certain exits being closed for renovation that we did not know about -- so ask if you can -- or be thankful to have a GPS to adjust. I was thankful to have a map as well.

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i don´t want to buy one, so it doesn´t matter me, but how do they handle vibe pass? I only want to buy a spa ticket and hope to get one online.

Advice to others, I wouldn't bother. I was on the July 18th cruise and we had pretty good weather for the Baltic, sunny nearly everyday and temperatures of about 70 degrees. I never saw more than a handful of people in Vibe and it never got busy on the main deck. You could always get 2 or 3 sunbeds per person.

Hi, I have spent a few days in Warnemunde and loved it! It will give you an idea on how Germans vacation! I would advise taking the train to Rostock and then taxi to Warnemunde. I don't remember train service to Warnemunde. Wonderful small community on the coast! Plus you get to visit Berlin! :)

Also, has anyone ever done any driving in Germany? Is it very challenging due to the language barrier?

Most people in Germany speak English, they're taught it from age 4

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Advice to others, I wouldn't bother. I was on the July 18th cruise and we had pretty good weather for the Baltic, sunny nearly everyday and temperatures of about 70 degrees. I never saw more than a handful of people in Vibe and it never got busy on the main deck. You could always get 2 or 3 sunbeds per person.

I agree, there were always sunbeds free and i never actually saw anyone in the Vibe area!