Baltic cruise on the Luminosa - any favourites on excursion ideas in each port ?

Wondering if anyone has done the "Walking Tour and Metro guide" in St. Petersburg . We are traveling with 2 young teens on a budget.

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We were on the Luminosa a couple of weeks ago and loved it! Took the two day tour with TJ's tours and there were only four of us, which was great. With the Cruise Critic discount we paid 189.00 per person. That was for two full days of sight seeing and our museums tickets were included along with a huge "Russian lunch" one day. Our guide was excellent and we beat all the crowds to every museum and palace.

I had a few more thoughts for you:

Do the Hop on Hop off buses in Helsinki, Tallin and Stockholm. You can walk to the stops from the pier and it is a great value.

Be sure to take your kids to Skansen, the open air museum in Stockholm. It is on the HOHO bus tour. Allow plenty of time for that one.

Learn a few Italian phrases because believe me these will come in handy. The staff speak English and some of the passengers, but most everyone will be speaking Italian, with some French and Spanish mixed in.

The band that plays in the Atrium on Deck 3 are amazing. Lots of covers of American Rock groups. You guys will love it. Also the duos who play in the Libra Bar at night are really good and very enjoyable. We went there every night!

If you want bacon and eggs for breakfast they make that at the grill by the pool so you have to go out there.

If you have some specific questions, please ask me.

I really appreciate you taking the time to inform me. I definitely ask when I have more questions. Thanks so much.

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Hi D66D66

We are on this cruise in a couple of weeks. I am very excited. We have booked our St.PB tour with Alla.

We are not keen on the HoHo buses. I understand the distance from the Tallinn port to the old city is not great but uphill. We plan to do a bit of walking there.

How far are the Stockholm and Helsinki ports from " the action"?

Is the food on the Luminosa the standard Costa fare or are they at least trying some of the local stuff?

I am glad to hear the music in the bars are good. The last few times with Costa we did not think it was that great. They virtually played the same songs where ever you went.

Thanks for any info.

Alicat58

We really loved the cruise!!

In Tallin you just walk off the ship and there is a HOHO bus stop right after you go through the front gate or you can turn left and walk into town. Tallin is hilly so the bus is a good idea.

There is no action in Helsinki that I saw!! You can walk around the bay and there are cafes and places to sunbathe. We walked up to the antique shops and flea market and rode the HOHO bus around town.

Stockholm was great!!! There was a HOHO bus that picked us up at the pier, but it would not be a long walk to the first stop. Lots of restaurants and bars downtown. Gamla Stan was really interesting and oh, my the shopping!!! We really loved walking around Skansen and spent several hours there.

The food in our restaurant featured a different area of Italy every night. The meals were great, but we ate local things when we were off the ship. Herring in Stockholm, Borsht in St. Petersburg, lots of cavier and vodka in Tallin.

You can read my review if you want, but we loved our time at the Libra Bar. The duos who played in that venue were excellent and be sure to get LeRoy or John as your waiters there.

Hi

Thank you very much for the info. I am hoping to be sitting somewhere on the ship drinking a Prosecco in 2w.

Regards

Alicat58

d66d66- thanks so much for your review above. It is helpful for me to hear about your experience .

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