EllieR

The easiest way to do it yourself would be to take the train. It"s roughly a 15 minute walk from the port (follow the blue line painted on the sidewalk - it will lead you straight there), and you can buy a transit pass from the tourist information booth.

The trip lasts one hour.

When you head back, make sure you're in the first car (or can move over). When hubby and I did this, we were advised to do this because, at some point, the train releases some of its passenger cars as most of its passengers will have departed before Nynashamn.

Thank you for posting this. I find it's very easy for us to comment when things go wrong, but we don't often hear/read when things go right or are corrected. I'm not restricting this observation to Cruise Critic - we do this at work, with family squabbles, etc. So, to take the time to say that something was resolved, and giving credit where it's due, is nice because it provides a balance we don't always get.

I hope your next cruise is lovely and all you hope it will be. :)

My experience has been that Princess honours the itinerary you selected. If there is a change, it's from the airline.

My suspicion is that the removal of non-stops from the EZ Air site is because the airline is no longer making that itinerary available for Princess bookings. This could be because, and this is only speculation, that the airline made so many seats available to Princess for bookings and that number of seats was reached. Of course, I'll happily eat my assumptions if someone has actual facts to dispute this. ;)

Ditto on the walking tours. I did them for Stockholm and Tallinn, and there are a few different companies you can look at online to see what they offer. I found that I got such an insight into the histories of these cities that I wouldn't have gotten on a cruise tour.

I've been on only one cruise with my daughter, then 3 years old at the time, and am about to go on a second with her (she's now 6).

I had the exact same thought as you: this is a family vacation, and we will do things as a family. However, we still showed her the children's area so she could see there was stuff on-board geared specifically to her age as well as other children her age. No intention of "pawning off", but I knew she would be bored spending 24/7 with the adults and, hey, it's her vacation, too.

Did we still do things as a family? Yes. We explored some of the ports together, and always dined together. However, once she saw the children's centre, there wasn't a day that went by when, at breakfast, she would ask, "Is the playground open yet?" And when we offered to take her with us to the port and really talk up the great family time we would have, she would tell us she'd rather go to the centre. So, on some days, that's exactly what she did.

And you know what? I think if I had made my daughter spend all her time with us so we could be a family, she would have become miserable. And a miserable 3 year old leads to a miserable family. And because she had the good time she wanted to have, she's been asking ever since when we would go back on the "big big boat", and is excited that she'll be doing so this June.

So, what's the point to this long-winded email about my experience?

1) Don't assume that all parents who place their children in the children's centre are "pawning them off". My daughter went because she wanted to go. I didn't ditch her. She ditched me. :O

2) Go with the flow. I believe that it's very important to be organized re: cruise activities because you're in a port for only a certain number of hours and you want to maximize that time as much as possible (I love spreadsheets!). However, compromise may be necessary. Like I wrote, it's the kids' vacation, too. If their way of creating fun, memorable moments sometimes doesn't involve you, so be it. The cruise is just one small piece of a lifetime's worth of family moments with you. :)

In my experience, it's been any typically alcoholic drink served without the alcohol.

I don't know about Rittsail, but this advice is definitely not too late for me. I had noticed the kayak excursions in Trondheim and been considering them. I appreciate reading that they're well reviewed.

Positively stunning.

I'll heading up the coast this June/July. These videos are making me look forward to it even more.

I'll concur with the others that, with the exception of Saint Petersburg, every port can be done on one's own: a lot of the sights are within walking distance of the port and, for those that are not, the public transportation in each of these cities is excellent and easy to use. Like what CruiserBruce wrote, you just need to do your research first.

Here's what I recommend: do some research into the sights at each of these ports, get an idea of what you're most interested in, then come back with questions related to those sights. I suggest this because there are many experienced Baltic cruisers here who have all done different activities and in different combinations, so there is a wealth of information and opinions to share. Getting an idea of your interests will help narrow the focus. :)

I don't have a good hotel recommendation, as I traveled only with my hubby when I went. However, we did spend three days there once as a pre-cruise and felt we could have easily spent more.

There are tons of family-friendly activities, but a lot depends on your children's interests. For example, you can visit the gardens at the Tivoli (your older children should be able to go on most of the rides), cruise the Nyhavn Canal, go up the Round Tower (Rundetarn), and visit the palaces. There are also some very large, lovely green spaces that they can run around in and all of you can enjoy a picnic (the King's Garden especially comes to mind). All of this is within the downtown, tourist core.

I've tended to do port-intensive cruises where hubby and I spend our days walking pretty much everywhere we want to go. What I've tended to do, and not gained weight in the process, is eat a large breakfast. By "large", I mean two plates at the buffet, filled with eggs, potatoes/hash browns, fruit, french toast, cheese, or whatever else fits my fancy. I understand that this is a lot for some people to stomach, but I do this knowing that I am not coming back to the ship for lunch. I find that this is enough to fill me up for the day and, at night, only hungry enough for a snack or something small.

Of course, I only do this when I know that I will be off the ship all day and be active throughout. I eat far less for breakfast on sea days or days when I don't expect to do as much walking (i.e. on a tour with bus transportation), and have more reasonable meal portions during those days.

If I were you, I would keep checking to see if anything new comes up. Excursions are out for my cruise in June 2018 (Land of the Midnight Sun), but there is one they traditionally offer in Stavanger that isn't there (hike up Pulpit Rock). I don't see a reason why they wouldn't keep offering it. This makes me wonder if the excursion offerings are not yet complete.

Bozzie67, we might be able to provide some extra advice if we knew what ship you were going on and/or where it will be docking (i.e. Is it going directly to Stockholm, or docking in Nynashamn? Is your stop in Germany in Warnemunde, or Hamburg?). Regardless, I ditto others' suggestions to buy Rick Steves' Northern European Cruise Ports. You may be amazed at how much you can do on your own. :)

I used Princess on both trips, in 2013 (Emerald) and 2017 (Regal). Both times in Oslo, they docked at Akershus Fortress. For Stockholm, the Regal docked in Nynashamn. I suggest double-checking your itinerary to see whether (Nynashamn) is listed next to Stockholm. If it is, then the Regal will be docking in that city instead.

If you want to dock directly in Stockholm because you are concerned about the commute from Nynashamn, please don't be deterred: it is incredibly easy and quite inexpensive to do on your own. If you want to dock directly in Stockholm because you want to see the archipelago, you may need to choose a different ship/itinerary.

Things I have purchased...

Stockholm: a wooden Dalahorse

Tallinn: wool sweaters and hats, a linen tablecloth

Saint Petersburg: replica Faberge eggs, a picture book of the sights in Saint Petersburg (because those photos are better than anything I could ever take :)), and some crystal

Helsinki: handmade knitted items and crafts from the marketplace, plus the book, "Finnish Nightmares" (which could have just as easily been titled, "Canadian Nightmares").

FYI, the Caribbean Princess also has family suites, if you have a larger group (5 or 6) that want to stay in the same cabin. Princess doesn't advertise their prices or availability on the site (you have to call to inquire) but, in my research for the Sapphire, they were charging the same as they would for a balcony stateroom.

I was able to switch to the deal without losing my EZ Air reservation. I was simply re-fared and had the promos added.

Weberman, I agree that the smart aleck responses are unnecessary. However, respectfully, I did not understand from your original post that you were asking a question. It seemed more like you were simply commenting on TA routes and the fares to Copenhagen.

I checked my 2018/2019 atlas to see if I could gather why there were only two TA destinations to FLL. It appears to me that the routing to NYC is to be able to supply the (assumed?) demand for Eastern US/Canadian fall itineraries. These ships in particular come from the Northern European itineraries which, because of weather, necessarily end before than the Mediterranean ones (Aug/Sept versus Oct/Nov). Therefore, what ships better than them to handle the Eastern Seaboard?

After the Northern Europe/US/Canadian itineraries are complete, they go to the Caribbean. The ships in the Med do the same but, because they can stay longer in the Med, they can simply go direct to FLL before beginning their share of the Caribbean trips. If you look at the scheduling, it seems they all "kick off" the main Caribbean season in November together (I am exempting the CB from this analysis, as it will be there throughout 2018).

In short, it seems to me that the NYC destinations are simply to supply a specific set of itineraries. Of course, this is just me looking at the schedule at the back of the atlas so, if anyone has a more insightful answer, do share. :)

EDIT: Apologies to rdsgirl - I was writing while you posted! Hopefully I added instead of duplicated.

For Canadians purchasing the drink package, would it not be advantageous to pre- book it online at the $1.20 exchange rate?

If you're certain that the exchange will go up, then I agree that it's absolutely worth it to purchase in advance online.

About those packages... don't forget that the AIBP isn't the only option out there. For myself, I tend to purchase the coffee card and Soft Drinks & More package. I'm not a big drinker, but love my girly drinks and a good cup of tea. Those two packages have always been more than enough for me and, I believe, a much better bang for your buck than the AIBP.

Like Reedprincess wrote, you'll need to look at your typical drinking habits and decide which, if any, package is right for you.

Thank you all. It seems like I have a range of excellent hiking options for this trip. I admit that I still don't know what to do (the con of having choices ;)), but your experiences have given me some very useful insight that will make my decision-making much easier.

Thank you very much for your advice. Now I know where to target my hiking!

Hello!

I will be cruising Norway next June/July and would like to do a few kayaking and hiking excursions. By "hiking", I mean light mountain hiking. Flat, scenic trails are nice, but a bit of a workout would be good as well. For kayaking, something scenic and relaxing.

My research so far indicates that there are hiking and kayaking opportunities in most of the ports I will be visiting, but I want to take advantage of the best ones.

The ports are:

* Stavanger (8am - 4pm)

Skjolden/Sognefjord (8am - 4pm)

Hellesylt (10am - noon) & Geiranger (noon - 6pm)

Trondheim (9am - 5pm)

Honningsvag (for the North Cape) (8am - 8pm)

Tromso (9am - 5pm)

Gravdal (Lofoten Islands) (9am - 6pm)

Alesund (8am - 5pm)

Bergen (7am - 2pm)

* Stavanger: I would like to do Pulpit Rock but, knowing how popular it is, I am curious if there is a less popular but equally interesting alternative nearby.

Does anyone have info to share on which ports are best for hiking and kayaking? Excursion company recommendations are also welcome.

Thanks in advance!

I used the children's program with my then three year old on the Royal. She loved it! Everyday at breakfast, she would ask when it was going to open because that was the only place she wanted to be (really, we almost had to beg her to join us when we went to explore the ports.

Coincidentally, it was also November when we went (but not US Thanksgiving, I don't think), so there were very few children on board. I think that worked to her favour.

Question: when looking up the excursions, are you looking under the "Excursion Reservation" section of your Cruise Personalizer or the more general "Cruise Ports & Excursions" tab on the main Princess site?

I ask because I too will be on the Sapphire in June (23rd) and there are no excursions for me to look at in my Personalizer. It states to wait till 120 days before departure. However, it does link me to the more general tab where I can get possible excursions for each port. On that tab, there are two entries for Brussels, and the one pertaining to yours (Brussels/Bruges (zeebrugge)) does have shore excursion possibilities listed.

On the main site, go to the "Plan A Cruise" tab, select "Shore Excursions", then search for the port.

Have fun, and good luck!

Here's my 2 cents:

As others have said, I find good deals on international flights. Often better than booking directly through the airline.

I once had an issue with my return flight. The airline cancelled my connection from Toronto Pearson to Ottawa and rebooked me on a flight that gave me a 12 hour layover in Toronto. I called my PVP and he worked with EZAir to get me rebooked on a much earlier connection, no change in air fare or anything.