Eartha Kitten

Not sure if you're stopping at Klaipeda but we lucked out shopping there for gifts to bring back home for friends including amber earrings and felted silk scarves. 

We were in SPB for 3 1/2 days and booked a private tour for our family of four.  The  youngsters were 63 and 65, the seniors were 86 and 93.  We used Dancing Bear tours and they customized the tour for us to minimize walking and stairs.  Worth every penny and they weren't all that expensive at all. Door to door service with a smile!

Red Sun is a well established company with excellent reviews.  Hardly a risk.  We considered them before finally opting for Dancing Bear.  One needn't always go with the top 4 to have a wonderful time,  It's whatever floats your boatl. 

Closing the loop , albeit months later, we ultimately arranged for an exceptional and quite affordable private tour for our party of four with Dancing Bear tours.  I recommend them highly. 

Thanks for the quick feedback. Food for thought.

Greetings. DH and I are considering the April 2019 Transatlantic on Sirena. We have only been on the Marina and loved that ship. So my questions are:

1. Will we feel as spoiled on the Sirena as we did on the Marina? I believe the Sirena is smaller and older??

2. If you have traveled transatlantic on another line, would you be able to share your experiences?

3. Better to book now or wait until closer to departure date for better pricing?

4. Your recommendations or tips?

Thank you!

We will be touring with DB in mid-late August. A private and customized multi-day tour for our family of four. So far we are very pleased. Can report back after the fact.

 

 

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Reporting back on our excellent experience with Dancing Bear Tours. We were a family of four and arranged a private tour for the 3 days we spent in SPB. I received initial quotes from multiple tour companies and Julia from DB provided us with the best value itinerary for us. They were prompt, reliable, and a pleasure to deal with. DB was flexible when the weather was not cooperative and we needed to switch some outdoors to indoors activities and vice verse. They added a site we requested on the fly without any problem. Our driver, Alec, was fantastic. Our guide Elena was extremely knowledgeable and attentive to all our needs. I would recommend this outfit to anyone.

Based on personal current observation, anything goes now on the Marina Sat beside guy at dinner in tee shirt, swim trunks and flip flops Others had jeans on. WOMEN can wear any kind of footwear

Was in GDR.

We just completed a private (4 people) tour in SPB with Dancing Bear tours They worked with us in creating a custom itinerary and charged less than the other 10 companies who quoted on our visit No lines anywhere, our car provided door to door service, flexible when we needed to adapt to weather conditions and an attentive and knowledgeable guide. I can highly recommend.

We are in SPB right now and can say that the Peter & Paul fortress was a real let down. Save your time for something special.

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Based on personal current observation, anything goes now on the Marina Sat beside guy at dinner in tee shirt, swim trunks and flip flops Others had jeans on. WOMEN can wear any kind of footwear

OK. For all those people claiming Oceania has a dress code - I must

Say it wasn't what I'd read about here. Am on the current Baltic cruise. Last night in MDR I saw several men in casual jeans and sneakers. Not young men either. Saw several women in sneakers and many in sweatshirt jackets and one with a honking fanny pack strapped around her middle. This evening at Captain's Cocktail party where "appropriate attire" was spelled out, numerous couples showed up in sneakers, crocs,and sweatshirt style jackets.

Tonight in the Terrace Cafe which I know is supposed to be more casual, I was surrounded by the following: to my north a man wore loose Tee shirt and jeans; couple to my west wore matching short sleeved tops upon which they spread their napkins across their chests with top edges tucked into their neckline. Best of all was the guy at the table to our south seated in his loose Tee shirt, swim trunks and flip flops.

Just sayin'.

Note the adjective "casual" to modify "jeans".

Thank you ncrmd for the positive feedback. We are leaving in the coming weeks and were concerned,but your comments are very reassuring. Do you know if yours was the only cruise ship in port that first day? When we disembark on our first day there will be an additional three ships on their first days too.

For those bound for Norway, The unforgettable historical trilogy:by Sigrid Undset: Kristin Lavransdatter, set in fourteenth-century Norway. Beautiful books and you don't have to read all three, though you will want to. The first is called The Bridal Wreath.

Sadly we only arrive the morning before so will have the balance of Saturday and then Sunday morning. Definitely want to see Vasa Museum though not sure whether there will be fewer crowds late in the afternoon vs. an early morning. Also plan of course to walk around Gamla Stan.

Good to hear. We are newbies.

It is in Stockholm. An email with PDF of final summary was sent to our TA and states Frihamnen 650. But the website for the port says Frihamnen 638. Although I also see another ship listed with #638 on the same date. Very confusing.

We are leaving in two weeks and have conflicting departure information for embarkation. The Final Cruise Vacation Summary document from Oceania say one pier # but the actual port website indicates a different pier #. Which should we believe? Thank you.

Another good outfit to check out is Dancing Bear Tours. They tailored our days there based on what we said were our interests. They were also a reasonable price. You will have a great time whoever you use.

kaywes and spbstan - thanks both for the great tips! Much food for thought.

Hello. Thank you for replying. I initially did a search in the Baltic ports of call forum and not much popped up. Since these links are 10-12 years old I shall continue to explore in the hope for something more recent and that more directly addresses my question on value. Thanks again.

Greetings. For all those who have been on a Baltic Cruise and looked at Amber: Is there any advantage to purchasing it (value wise or quality wise) at one of the Baltic ports vs. buying locally here in the USA? I am considering it as a gift for someone who lives in NYC and she could probably find multiple stores selling amber jewelry there. But if the amber available is unique in some way to the cruise port towns, then I would be happy to purchase something for her. Also, if you have purchased amber, do you have a recommended location and shop?

Thank you!

Thanks John, I have actually now ordered a Revolut card so can use plastic with no added fees. We could also bring some Euro’s. The owner from the Dancing Bear tours says they can lend us some roubles if needed [emoji3]

 

 

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We will be touring with DB in mid-late August. A private and customized multi-day tour for our family of four. So far we are very pleased. Can report back after the fact.

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We are sailing in mid-August and received our packet about 10 days ago. The packet did not indicate which dock or pier we were departing from -- only the port, which of course we knew already. Is there a place on the Oceania website to look up piers/docks? Otherwise, I have been able to go to the departure port's own website to look up that information directly. So for example, we are leaving from Stockholm and I looked up the ship info on this site: http://www.portsofstockholm.com/vessel-calls/.