Shelldor

you could just use a Credit card ..if you have one with No foreign transaction fee that is even better

We take a small amount of local cash we usually do not do ships tours

 

Euro is the currency for most of your ports

Sweden = SEK

Denmark = DKK

Russia =Rubles (if you are doing a private tour the guide may accept other currencies or find an ATM for you)

 

some shops will take Euro

 

I would use an ATM ashore not on the ship

Depends on the ship ..some will exchange USD to the local currency

Why would you not use an ATM ashore? I believe the ATM on the ship dispenses US dollars, however, I could be wrong about that. If you have an ATM card that doesn't charge fees for using an ATM not connected to your bank ( like Fidelity and Schwab and I'm sure others) I would use the ATM. Most likely that will be your best exchange rate.

Ours are gone for our July 4 Regal Sailing too! But, we just got an email from Princess offering unlimited internet for $9.99 per day if purchased for the entire cruise.

Did this cruise last year on the Regal. We booked all of our tours with SPB Tours and had no problem whatsoever debarking in plenty of time to make our tours. Enjoy!

That is nice to hear, however, not applicable as they changed the rules this year. Most of us going on this itinerary this year are looking for experiences from this years cruisers as this is the first year of the rule change by the Russian port authority.

For us, it was the first at sea day and the day at Helsinki, Finland. I think it varies because the agent that checked us in at embarkation told us it’s unusual to have the formal night at Helsinki.

Thank you.

Welcome home! Can you tell me which nights were formal night?

I had trouble with mine last week. I called and they claimed they didn't receive it. I faxed it again while on the phone with them and they recevied it. They sent me an e-mail saying they had to add it manually, whatever that means, and that it will show up on board but not on my booking. I am taking the e-mail with me so I don't have any problems!

So I went to manage my upcoming booking in September 2018 and this is under the beverage packages section:

 

 

"New Grounds Coffee Package $35.65 per person (15 beverages)

 

 

 

Save 20% with our New Grounds Coffee Package that includes 15 hot or cold specialty coffee drinks along with unlimited brewed coffee and premium tea for the duration of the cruise."

 

There is also a link to the Terms and Conditions.

 

Note that the package does mention premium tea.

Also note that unlike the water package that says only available for pre-purchase, there is no mention of a pre-purchase requirement.

Has any one found a link that specifies the terms of trading in your mini-bar for cards????

There is a select icon which then shows our names and asks you to check who the package is for; after checking you then have the add to cart icon found under the other packages.

 

Interesting that this says Save 20% with our New Grounds Coffee Package that includes 15 hot or cold specialty coffee drinks along with unlimited brewed coffee and premium tea for the duration of the cruise." And when you click on the link it says

The package includes the pre-purchase of a specified number of specialty coffees (numbers vary by itinerary) during the voyage of purchase, as well as complimentary brewed coffee and hot chocolate.

So, does it include both premium tea and hot chocolate? Or just one or the other?

I'm traveling to Vancouver for the 7 night NB Golden Princess cruise.

Besides the obvious like passport, coat, rain gear, mini pharmacy of medication/first aid, and binoculars...what are some other items that you wish you had brought or forgot on your trip?????

...or things you had brought but didn't need.

Bug Spray!! The mosquitos were bad when we were there.

Just got back from regal princess and took the cruiseshuttle.dk bus , it's quite easy and convenient it's parked near terminal 1 taxi bay. Also noticed you can walk in no need to reserve on their recent website of cruise shuttle dk

Thank you so much for the feedback. Was the bus crowded? We are thinking of doing this in July.

Hi Tracie. Great Blog!! Can you let us know what time you actually got off the ship and into the passport control line? What time did your tour start? Trying to plan for our trip in July.

British Air flight at 10:35a.m. You?

IcelandAir flight at 2pm - not sure this is going to work.

Don't know how I missed this. Have you folks made any plans? I'm scrambling putting together plans for several trips and this is the last. DH has been spending time on this cruise but guess he is not following all of the threads out here.

No, we have not made plans yet. I was waiting to see if anyone had any experience with cruiseshuttle in May before I made a decision. What time is your flight?

A regular taxi takes up to 4 passengers.

 

A taxi van takes up to 8 passengers and is roughly 50 % more expensive.

Is that 4 passengers with luggage? or just 4 passengers. We are a group of 4 with 4 large suitcases and need to get from Oceankaj to the airport.

I just purchased 12 bottles for $6.90 for my upcoming cruise in July.

Is it worth it to upgrade to Tundra Wilderness Tour from the Natural History?

Absolutely. We saw more wildlife as we went further into the park.

I have read all the posts in this thread and I still have one question regarding formal night. Do people dress up more on European Baltic cruises than on cruises to warmer places? I see a lot of people talking about men coming to the MDR in shorts, but I'm thinking that Northern Europe is not about shorts, sandals and fun in the sun!

Wow! Lordy, indeed, port will be VERY. BUSY! Good to know! I found out from the other thread about CruiseShuttle, that we can purchase our tickets ahead for 18 DKK per person for Ticket B shuttle straight to the airport, I sent them a message, just awaiting for their reply. Definitely, worth it to buy tickets ahead of time, having to wait and fight for a taxi with thousands of passengers at the same time. Trains and buses will likewise be packed!

Thanks again, Danish Viking! You're such a great help, makes me feel more at ease now with all the info you have provided. :):):)Take care.

 

http://cruiseshuttle.dk/contact-us.aspx?FormSent=true&formId=1

If you use CruiseShuttle, could you please report back to those of us sailing later in the season? Curious how it works.

Connecting to MedallionNet is free.

 

Then using MedallionNet to communicate with the Internet has a charge.

 

Using MedallionNet for activities such as ordering room service, checking stateroom accounts, etc. is at no charge.

Thank you for the clarification. Based on this, does that mean that using WhatsApp aboard the ship is also free?

Interesting, now coming up as $14.99 for my Regal cruise in October too. Where does it say you need MedallionNet to use the messaging apps? This was always something free when you connected to wi-fi and you did not need to sign in to a payment plan.

MedallionNet is the Wifi aboard the Regal. You can't connect for free unless you are Platinum or Elite. My July cruise will only be my second on Princess, so no status :)

I just saw that Medallion.net on my upcoming Baltic Cruise is $14.99 per day. I love how they advertise free use of WhatsApp, but don't mention that if you are not Elite or Platinum you need to pay $14.99 per day. My carrier is Sprint. They charge $0.50 per text onboard ship. Free text in ports. Calls are .20 min in port, and $2.99 per minute from ship. (Won't be calling or answering phone on ship!)

We're arriving sooner than you folks but will be looking for the shuttle on the way out on our return on 7/15 so we can start a small group & see if we can find others to join us if we can get a little van??

We are arriving on July 2. We would be interested in sharing a van to the airport on July 15. There are 4 in our group.

Re: carrying and losing your passport. Are pick pockets a big problem in Russia?

Yes, but not any worse than Portugal or Spain. You need to be keenly aware of your surroundings.

If you get a minivan/MPV or large stationcar like Mercedes E class or similar you should be able to go in one ride.

Are these readily available at the airport? Or do we need to book in advance?

I am also looking into this option but haven't found any reviews. $18 per person sounds reasonable.

Thank you Danish Viking for posting all this valuable information. Question about taxis - Is it possible to get a single taxi at the airport for 4 people with 4 large suitcases and 4 carryon bags? Or should we plan on two separate taxis?

TIA