FloridaTourist

Anyone here stay at both the Scandic Palace and the Marriott? Or is there anyone here who thinks one is a better choice than the other?

I stayed in the Marriott last summer. Great location. Walked all over the entire city from here. Also if you have club access they have awesome service and food in the club lounge. Any other questions? Oh ask for a river view room. We could watch the locals jump in the river to swim from our room. Quiet interesting.

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If you are not willing to tip you should consider eating in one of the dinning rooms. This is a personal service. If it makes someone smile it means it will make me smile knowing it was appreciated.

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I would be Leary of taking them on the Prinsendam. While we have never been on it the travel agent on board (more than 1) told us not to cruise on her because it is a much older clientele than the normal HAL ship. We are very active in our mid-50s. We love the itineraries that it sails. So maybe one day we will. She is also a smaller ship.

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Thanks for the information. One last question, for the Pinnacle grill would a jacket for guys be required?

Jacket is never required onboard anywhere. Some people just prefer to wear them but not required. If the DW didn’t make me dress for formal night I wouldn’t wear one then either. I would not be out of place.

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Thanks very much for this detailed information - very helpful. I will take more euros with me now as was going to use CC, will come in useful elsewhere too. Thanks again.

Last summer on the Zuiderdam we docked in Kiel and took the train to Lubeck. We would never do that again. While train was pleasant and easy we did not find it worth the trip. People that stayed in Kiel had a better time. We also had a very close call in lubeck. We got on the train with plenty of time to spare for arrival back at the port. After the train got to the first stop it didn’t move. After 20 minutes there was an announcement in German. We were 3 couples. We struggled to find someone to translate for us. Less people speak English once you leave the tourist area. A tree had fallen across the track. To make a long story short, the train went back to Lubeck. We had to take a taxi back to Kiel for $200. But that was not the end. The taxi couldn’t take the highway cause when he approached the entrancethe hwy was closed. Had to take back roads. Got to the ship 15 minutes before shipping out.

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All 3 ports have excellent free walking tours. Stockholm also has some good food tours. We did one there last some. Got to see parts of the city we would not have otherwise seen.

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Someone suggested that the shops at the port of St.Petersburg is a good place to shop. Did you notice any port shops?

Are there shops and time to shop as you tour St.Petersburg over the two day stay if you take the ship tours. We are taking NCL’s “Best of Tours” throughout our cruise.

Use a CC or bring rubles?

Should we bring low denominations of US currency?

Last August when we were there on the Zuiderdam queue lines were long but moved. Coming back was a joke. There was one line and they kept moving us as the guards got to their break time. But still moved

We used CC every where. I would not use AMX.

The port has a number of shops. They herd you through them so you have to see them. They are expensive. Our tour guide took us to 2 shops in town where the quality and prices were much better. You can always shop in town and buy on your way back to the ship.

My only warning to anyone going to St Pete. When in the city stay with your group. Hide your cash and leave the jewels on ship. We know folks that even on tour were forced by themselves and mugged. Stole the watch off their wrist and took all the jewels. Took wallets and cc. Of all the places we have ever been, the area of the Most sacred blood church was the worst for crime. Stay away from the booths selling stuff. That’s where it happens

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We have stayed at the Marriott Hotel and enjoyed the hotel and its location which is near Tivoli.

 

 

 

Keith

We stayed here as well in August 2017 and loved it. Easy walk to anywhere. Personally I would avoid Nyhavn as it is touristy and expensive. Nice place to walk through but you can walk there from the Marriott.

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Everywhere takes a credit card. If you use cash they all euros. Very few deal in US$

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I read several guide books before our Baltic cruise, but none of them covered the ports as well as the Rick Steves Northern European Cruise Ports did. It became my "bible" for our cruise.

I agree. We did the Baltic this summer and Rick Steves was a great help. Worth every penny. Used Mediterranean book the summer before. Also a great book. Next year though our cruise leaves Amsterdam for Scotland Iceland and Norway. No one book covers all 3 countries.

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This past summer while on the Zuiderdam in the Baltic we almost missed the ship doing our own thing. They told us they would have just paged us and left if we weren’t there. I think it really depends on the cruise line and the port. I don’t think any line would leave you in Saint Petersburg but one never knows. Just buy good insurance. We would never again venture out on our own with out a real tour guide. We left the port of Kiel Germany by train to Lubeck with 3 other couples. On the way back a tree fell across the track. The train went back to Lubeck. So we grabbed a taxi really fast before anyone else since there were 6 of us for $200. But the taxi got on the highway and for some reason the highway was closed. So the. He had to go the back roads with everyone else doing the same. Got to the ship 15 minutes before they pulled up the Gangplank

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Tallinn is a very easy place to visit. We even went to one of the famous restaurants, for lunch.

 

Our problem was the rain. It seems to rain a lot in Tallinn.

 

BTW This is the place to pick up your chocolates & souvenirs. Things got more expensive, as we cruised to the other places.

So true. Tallinn is easy. Also, we bought the chocolate at the factory store for Kaslov for gifts. After tasting it we were so sorry we didn’t buy more. So good and so reasonable.

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We are in Warnemunde from 7:30am-10pm on a Sunday. We are trying to decide what we should do. Is it worth taking the train into Berlin, or is it better to see a town closer to the port? We have never been to Germany before so any insight would be very helpful. I see a lot of posts about Rostock so I do know that is an option, however I also wonder if we are just better to go all the way into Berlin. I have heard however that it is a 3 hour train ride into Berlin.

We just came back. We were on the Zuiderdam and we used Jeremy Minsberg from "The Berlin Experts". We went all the way to the Berlin. Took 2 hrs with a driver on the autobahn. We had a great time. Left Athens ship at 7 am back by 530

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Now that I have been home a few days and caught up on my sleep I can give a final comment.

We loved this cruise. It took us to a part of the world we never thought we would travel to. HA is a great line to cruise with. Better then most yet still affordable as far as cruises go. The have great service, friendly staff, and great food. All things that we enjoy. There are some things they could do better but no matter what line you cruise with, there are always things not to your liking. You just have to pick and chose. The Zuiderdam is a perfect size ship in my opinion. We had just over 2k passengers. 1600 mariners. Says something when so many are repeat customers. Since we sailed last year on the Oosterdam last year (sister ship) we know what the remodeled Zuiderdam will look like after its dry dock later his year. It will be amazing. It was tired looking now but still elegant. The basic verandah cabins are roomy and lots of storage. I am not an interior cabin person. We had a signature suite on the Oosterdam but now we don't see a need for the suite. Room service was excellent. Speciality dining a nice change and main dining excellent. We would sail on the Zuiderdam again with out question. We have booked the Kongisdam next year leaving Amsterdam to Scotland, Norway, Iceland and back to Amsterdam. We are very excited.

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Welcome home to Florida.

Enjoyed following you and the Zuiderdam. We are doing the 11 day Panama Canal in Nov.

I noticed your are from Winter Park. We are New Smyrna Beach. Our daughter owns the store Synergy on Park Avenue. Small world.

Louise

Have shopped there many times. My DW is retired but works part time on the avenue

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Waiting for my last flight Boston to Orlando. So as I was saying the shuttle took us all the way into town. If I had actually wanted Togo to the little mermaid I would have been upset since it is a pretty long walk from center of town. Transportation shuttles is something we think HA does rather poorly. But they did well on the airport shuttle. But I'll get to that shortly. So yesterday we ended up walking in town for a while. Had lunch at a little cafe we found the first day before the cruise. Then walked all around. Had planned on doing a free walking tour but changed our minds. Got a snack at the department store. They had heaven on a stick. They had a pop-up store from Magnum bars where they they take the ice cream and dip it in a chocolate of your choice and put on top 3 of about 12 different toppings then drizzle more chocolate on it. YUM!!!! After that we made our way to the HA shuttle stop to catch the waiting bus. Perfect timing. We showered and dress for a quick dinner in the dinning room. Then off to the piano bar to visit friends we had made along the way and say our good byes.

For transfer to the airport we had read about some horrors on getting taxis to the airport so we opted for the HA shuttle $38pp. Because we had an 1145 flight HA put us in group one and we got off the ship around 715. As did about 4 bus loads. When the bus drove around the building I saw a line of folks waiting for taxis and only 1 taxi available. Very glad we opted for the bus. HA bus took us to a tent at the airport where our bags were waiting and carts were available for free to help. In the airport things were very confusing. KLM had very small signs shared with Air France. The line in side was very long and security very strict. They want every thing out of your backpack pretty much. They even caught my little bottle of eye drops. From CPH we flew to AMS where you have to go through border control but then delta makes everyone go through a document check at gate D1 for allowing you to your departure gate. With a 90 minute schedule Departure from Amsterdam we got to the gate and boarding was in process already. Then we landed in Boston where global entry was quick, luggage slow, re-drop off of your bags fast and security lines long. We are. Ow sitting on the plane waiting to take off for Orlando. In the morning I will write one more post withover all feelings and thoughts of our cruise.

Sent from my iPhone using Forumssunrise from onboard the Zuiderdam on our last morning in Copenhagen.

Spent the day yesterday walking Copenhagen. It was the first time ever in all the times we have cruised HA that a free shuttle was offered. But it was done by the city not HA. That is probably my biggest complaint about HA. THey always dock the furthest away and never offer free or some none at all transportation into town from the port even when the port is far. But In Typical HA fashion the information supplied on board was different than what actually happened. We board the free shuttle to go to the little mermaid statue. From there we planned to take a cab further into town since it is still a long walk from there and we had planned on a walking tour later. But the bus actually went all the way into town to the M*****++ Nord dept store. Sorry can't recall the name. Sorry time

To disembark. Will finish from the airport

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Floridatourist - did you have Visas or only passports?

Passports. That's all you need everywhere but Russia. Russia the tour group supply a blanket visa. That is the only way off the ship unless you buy your own visa for $400. I don't know anyone that bought their own visa.

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The other night we ate in the Pinnacle Grill. DW had the Halibut with shrimp scampi and I had the.bone in rib eye. We share 3 desserts!!!! Don't worry we didn't finish it all. Last night was gala night. We sat at a table by our selves for the first time. We are doing any time dining for the first time. Have to say we are really liking it. But last night we were hungry and didn't want to wait for them to fill the table so we told them we would

Join an existing table

Or take our own. DW had 2 lobster tales no steak and I had seabass and lobster tail. We even shared dessert. The HA singers and dancers put on a great production show. At 945 the waiters brought a chocolate surprise to deck 2 piano bar, casino, BBKing etc. nice surprise and the chocolates were excellent. The food on his ship has definitely been better hem most others. Did I mention hat yesterday we had the Mariners brunch? Just over 2k passengers on board and over 1600 are mariners. Says something when you have so many returning customers. Do day we docked in a port where we did a day trip to Berlin with 2 other couples we met on cruise critic. We had a driver ( Bernie) pick us up at 7 am and drive us he 2 hrs to beeline where we met our guide Jeremy Minsberg , The Berlin Expert. Jeremy is an American Jew living in Berlin for

The last 17 years. Big we got a lot in in a short time. Great tour. Really enjoyed seeing and hearing about Berlin. Not something or someplace I ever though I would go in my lifetime. Currently on the Autobahn heading back to our ship where we will eat dinner in the main dining room. Tomorrow Copenhagen.

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Last night did late dinner in the main dining room. We ate light but of course had dessert. I had apple pie and DW had mango-blueberry crisp. Last night show was a magic show and mime act. It was ok. Today in Stockholm it rained again. No I take that back. It poured this morning. We took our time going into town. We had a free walking tour booked. Walked through the central business district. By the time the tour ended 90 minutes it had finally stopped raining. We walked around for a little bit but took a cab back to the ship.

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Just back from all day in Stockholm. Misty rain most of the day till around 2pm then it actually got nice. Walked around Gamal Stan, the old town.... didn't tour there yet. We have free tour Saturday of town but today we did the Stockholm

Food Tour. It was lots of fun. Met lots of nice folks from all over. Johanna did a great job as our guide. We started in the main business district which is NOT the old town. We then took a subway a few stops and walked around a very nice neighborhood and tried several very local restaurants, bakeries, cheese shops, food halls, chocolate stores etc etc. lots of fun. Sitting on my bed and finally the sun is out. I hunk tonight we are skipping dinner. Maybe hit up the late buffet.

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Good morning! It's Friday and owe a few days of catch up here. The second day of Saint Petersburg was a fantastic weather day as well. The second day exit at the port was much quicker. Everyone in our group was ready early and by 815 we were on our way. First stop was a nice shop to do some shopping and pay for our tour. TJ travel did a great job out a guide Alex was very friendly and offered real life experiences to understand the daily life of residents. Next we were off to the Hermitage. Make sure if you visit you have early entrance. Some people we talked to on board did not and the museum gets more crowded and extremely hot as the day goes on. The place is huge but beautiful. I am not a fan of museums but it was worth the visit and the 2.5 hrs we were there was enough to get a good flavor without being boring. Then we left for the town of Pushkin (Tzars Village). Nice little town about an hour away. There we saw Catherine's Palace. It is a beautiful place to visit. We also had a traditional Russian lunch of beef stroganoff. Personally I liked the meat pies the day before much better. We spent a few hours touring here and also in the park then it was time to hear back for an all aboard by 430. These 2 days in Russia were very full days. My wife and I being younger than most onboard were beat so I know for some it was very hard. Lots of gravel paths and cobblestones as well as lots of time on your feet with little air conditioning.

That night we did Canaletto for dinner. It was packed. Unlike last year on the Oosterdam where it sat empty most of the cruise. The food was very good. We really tried not to over eat and stuff ourselves. But service was attentive but very slow.

Yesterday we woke up in Helsinki. We just did a free simple walking tour by Northern Lights Tours. We had to take a city charter to town ($24 round trip) but found out later you could have taken the train for $3.50 each way). No big deal. We strolled the esplanade which was a pretty shopping street with a park down the middle. It rained in the morning. From where the bus dropped you to the center of towns was a pretty long walk. So I would suggest if walking a long way before touring is an issue just hire a cab at the port. Seems that HA always docks at the furthest ports. Other ships docked right in the center of town. They were not smaller. But we have noticed this now on this cruise and on last years. HA will always be the furthest away. Any way the tour was ok. We did not go to the Rock church as it is further out of town. Plus I am getting churched out. But we did go into the Lutheran church on the Senate square and the Russian Orthodox Church. And walked through the old core. But in my opinion there is not much to see here. We did have a nice lunch in the food hall on the marina. Had a salmon and rice pie with a good Finnish Beer.

Last night for dinner we sat at an all Australian table. My wife and I had to struggle to understand what they were saying. Gosh it was hard to believe these folks speak the same language. But they were all very nice and had a very nice dinner. I had veal chop which was so tender. DW just had roasted chicken (boring). The crisp was rhubarb crisp which was not as good as the others. It was green rhubarb which I had never seen before.

The BB King was dark. The main show was ballet style---which we listed 3 songs and left. We found seats in the packed piano bar.

Now we are waking up this morning in Stockholm. We have a food tour booked today. Also a free walking tour to do either today to tomorrow as we are here over night. Anyway time to get moving!

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We had a great and full day here in Saint Petersburg. Started the day with room service which came nice and hot. We must be on the part of the ship that gets room service first. We always seem to get it on the very early part of the half hour window. Either way they pay good attention to detail as I changed and make a few special requests.

Out tour was originally scheduled to start at 8 but we received an email the day before we left that they were doing some changes at the port and we wouldn't be allowed off till 845 but they started letting folkes off at 8am. If you have never been here be prepared for long passport control lines. We got in line at 810 and finally got through at 9 am. It is just as long when you come back. I guess they were worried we might not come back. Lol. Any way we had Alex from TJ Travel for our guide. Sorry can't remember the drivers name but he also was really nice and helpful. Started with a quick tour of downtown then off to Peter and Paul church. I won't go through all our stops because if you book a tour with any company they all do the same stops. The church's are amazing works of art. The city architecture was very interesting. For lunch she took us for a quick bite at a place hat does a traditional meat pie. We had a chicken pie, mushroom/potato/ cheese pie and for dessert had a farms cheese pie which was delicious. All for about $8. We ended the day with a tour of the Faberge museum and then a quick walk down the main shopping street. Our group chose to postpone the subway till tomorrow or skip it. After 10 hrs of touring we were beat!!!the weather was picture perfect. We meet the tour again at 830 Wednesday morning.

Tonight we had chicken something for dinner. Had some Indian spices and curry. DW had a shrimp chili dish and Botha were good. The crisp was pineapple. Made it an early night tonight. We came upon our room at 1030.

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So after we soaked up some sun the other night it was gala night. Most folks dressed up. It was very nice. I had lamb chops DW had duck. And dessert was chocolate soufflé with a vanilla sauce. But who wants sauce when you can change if for vanilla ice cream [emoji847]. We saw the production show Billboard - Off the Charts. Probably one of the best shows we have ever seen on a cruise ship. Earlier this year we were on RCCL Oasis. They could learn a lot from HA. We also hung out in the piano bar which was standing room only till about 1130. Also the BB King was doing fun for a few dances. The average age on this cruise has got to be higher than when we sailed the Oosterdam last summer but more lively group.

Yesterday morning we awoke in Tallinn Estonia. Pleasantly surprised at how large and charming it was. We did the 2 hr free walking tour from the Information center. Helen was our guide. She is 23, advertising major and a ball of fire. Cute girl that made a fun tour. Learned a lot of history and a lot about the people. After the tour she gave me directions to a beer hall for good Estonia beer Kaja Kader. Was so much fun and she also showed up with some friends. The we walked to the Kalev chocolate factory for Estonia best chocolate s. good place to go for cheap gifts. Things in Estonia seemed to be cheaper than other places because the income level here is much less. All in all Estonia was a great day with beautiful weather.

Last night was also Le Cirque night. Worth the extra money. Did it last year on the Oosterdam as well. I had the cheatubriand. And the DW had the sea bass. The lobster salad was amazing. Dessert we tried 3 different ones. We like dessert. Hell you only live once! After dinner was a comedian/impressionist singer. He was good. Not great but good. Most people went to bead early cause today is a big day in st Pete. Really looking forward to today. Never in my wildest dreams though I would ever be in Russia.

Anyway, room service will be here shortly. I will update on our day today later. Doing a 2 day tour here with TJ Travel.

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Sorry everyone. Running behind due to timing of my free time to write and available internet. Just docked in St. Petersburg. It is 640 am. I will try to update after our tour today.

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