musicMAJ1042

musicMAJ1042, I'd say way in is better since there is something special about that morning light but you would basically have to get up at 4,5-5 hours before the ships eta at the dock.

 

I.e. Celebrity Silhouette that will be in Stockholm tomorrow. The ship's eta is 08.45 at Frihamnen.

The pilot will climb onboard at 03.45 already, at the Tjärven lighthouse which is where the archipelago starts.

Then sunrise tomorrow is at 04.22.

The problem with seeing a nice sunrise is that you have to get up before sunrise. ;)

I rented a car for the day at Warnemunde. It cost a bit more than train tickets, but it gave me the flexibility to go where I wanted, when I wanted, and not have to worry about train schedules, making connections, etc. which for us is MUCH more relaxing.

We visited Schwerin Castle, Lubeck, Wismar, and Rostock all in one day. Yes, that sounds like a whirlwind tour, but we didn't feel particularly rushed. And my wife had limited mobility at the time (on crutches), so we had to move fairly slow.

We had the benefit of a midnight departure, so we took our time and didn't show back up to the ship until around 9-10pm.

We drove to Schwerin first and spent about 2 hours at the Castle.

Then on to Lubeck and spent about 2-3 hours seeing the gate, market square, city walls, etc. and had lunch.

We didn't spend a long time in Wismar, maybe 1-2 hours. We saw some of the main sights and relaxed for a little while at an Eis Café (Ice Cream Shop) on one of the main market squares.

We drove back to Rostock and visited the old town section for an hour or so, then headed back to the port, dropped off the car and re-boarded the ship for a late dinner.

Full disclosure: I lived in Germany at the time and was accustomed to Autobahn driving, had my own GPS with Europe maps along, and I'd been to Berlin several times (not to mention I knew we were going back for a Berlin Philharmonic concert later that year), so visiting these Northern German cities was preferable than being on a bus all day for a Berlin excursion.

I'll second what others have said. The HOHO boat was prefect transportation for us. It went directly to the Vasa Museum first thing in the morning and got us there ahead of the crowds.

We watched the film first thing. We didn't feel the need to go on the guided tour. After watching the film, we strolled about on our own admiring the ship and taking photos. We spent a few hours at the museum and then headed back out to the HOHO boat and took it to the old town/palace area and then back to the ship when we finished touring.

We had a very short day in Stockholm, which was the only negative. I would have loved 1-3 more hours there. But the ship has to leave early I guess because of the amount of time it takes to get through the archipelago. We went up to the forward deck and relaxed and enjoyed the view for several hours. Some people suggested getting up at the crack of dawn to see it on the way IN to Stockholm, but I can't imagine that was better than a relaxing afternoon seeing it on the way OUT. :D

Even with the limited amount of time our cruise itinerary had in Stockholm, we managed to see the Vasa Museum in the morning without feeling rushed and then made our way over to see the changing of the guard and stroll around the old town shopping and sightseeing.

The rental cars at the Warnemunde port were run out of "shacks" in a parking lot across the street from the port last summer when I took a Baltics Cruise. We had no issue picking up the car.

We were instructed to just park the car in the lot upon returning and leave the key in a drop box inside the port building (really more of a permanent fest tent) since the reps would not be there in the evening when we returned.

I remembered just in the nick of time to deposit the key in the drop box. I ALMOST got back on the ship and sailed off into the sunset with the key still in my pocket. I dread to think what extra charges would have shown up on my credit card if I'd forgotten to return the key! :eek:

We will be docking at Frihamnen. I'm familiar with the option of taking bus #76, but I think we might prefer to take a cab to Vasa to shorten the time and reduce walking. I know to select a reputable cab company.

Are cabs readily available and easy to hail?

What is the estimated fare from Frihamnen terminal to Vasa museum?

What about from Vasa to Gamla Stan/Palace?

Gamla Stan to Hard Rock Café?

Hard Rock Café back to the port?

I realize that public buses would be cheaper, but not having to worry about getting on the correct bus, transferring, extra walking, etc. is worth the extra cost for us.

TIA.

Can tickets for Vasa museum be purchased ahead of time to avoid the box office queue? I don't see an option to purchase tickets on Vasa website. Is this possible? Thanks.

Taking our first Baltics cruise next month. Would love a copy of the Tallinn walking tour. Thanks!

pulverbr@yahoo.com