lizhutch424

My husband and I are also both early-thirties and foodies and we are traveling on this exact cruise in a few weeks! I'll update you on our thoughts. I had pretty much the exact hesitations you did but ended up booking for the awesome ports. We're also staying 3 nights in Amsterdam, so I might be able to recommend hotel, restaurants, and activities for you as well.

Lynncarol, I've written down your itinerary suggestions. We are definitely doing the Vasa Museum in Stockholm.

GradUT, thanks for the tour suggestions. I also heard about the Stasi Museum and definitely want to check that out because I love Cold War history. We're also thinking about taking the train to Schwerin to see the castle and gardens there. I see now that the Warnemunde train station is right at the cruise port and very easy to look up directions from there online. So glad I realized this- would have felt like a fool getting on a coach bus when the station was right there!!!

I am so glad I asked this question- all of you have been so helpful. Thanks again :)

Thanks everyone. Many have asked what we're doing in Warnemunde. I have a Celebrity tour booked that is a tour of Rostock with a visit to a Microbrewery (husband is a beer lover).

This SPB tour for Warnemunde and Rostock also looked appealing:

Warnemünde is a quaint seaside town near the harbor entrance to Rostock, one of the city-states of the medieval Hanseatic League. Once a fishing village, it has now become a Northern European destination for travelers and locals alike. On this walking tour, you will begin at the pier and proceed down the beach promenade, visit the fish market and get great views of the historic gabled houses and the Old Stream boulevard.

A short train ride away, your guided tour will include the town hall, the city's main boulevards, and Rostock University, one of the oldest universities in the world (founded in 1419). You will see the Convent of the Holy Cross, as well as the remnants of the medieval wall and gates that used to defend the city. There will be inside visits to St. Marien Church, which is home to the famous astronomical clock and baroque organ.

On your lunch break you will taste a hearty German specialty and have the option to order one of Germany's world-famous beers.

Anyone have thoughts on this tour vs. going it on our own? The cost is $79pp and includes lunch, admission fees and transportation.

Based on advice I've heard here, we are canceling our tours in Stockholm, Helsinki, and Copenhagen and opting to do thing on our own with the Rick Steves book. I'm going to book a 2 day tour with SPB for St. Petersburg. Also, many have mentioned going on the Roll Call to get an even better deal. I've looked into this and it's not less money to do it this way. You can book directly with SPB for the Cruise Critic discount and get the same prices.

WOW, thanks for all of this input! I really appreciate it.

For those who are asking how the private tour companies are more expensive, here is what I mean. On Celebrity, we are booked to do Church of the Spilled Blood, a walking tour, a subway ride, and Kuznechny Market over 2 days for $100 a person. I've been looking at SPB Tours, and we can get a much more thorough tour with Hermitage, etc for $210-250. So the Celebrity vs. SPB aren't necessarily the same tour, but the Celebrity option I mentioned is much less expensive.

Based on the advice I've received, I am planning to cancel the ship tours in cities like Stockholm and perhaps Copenhagen and do things on our own. (We are already on our own in Tallinn) I have the Rick Steves book that was mentioned several times. Then, I'll use the money we save with that to book the SPB Tour in St. Petersburg in order to get a more thorough experience of the city.

Thanks again!

Thank you. I know there are many threads related to this, but most seem to be about specific ports or about comparing different tour companies. My question is more general and I'm specifically asking from the point of view of budgeting.

We are doing Tallinn and Amsterdam on our own, but are booking tours in most places for convenience and time management as we think it will be faster the figuring most things out on our own.

I'm stressing about our shore excursions for our upcoming Baltic cruise on Celebrity Eclipse. My husband and I are both in our 30's. We're both teachers and certainly not made of money. We've been scrimping and saving for more than two years for this. This is our first European cruise and by far the most expensive vacation we have ever planned. I'm trying to balance making good financial decisions vs. making the most of this "once-in-a-lifetime" trip.

We're visiting Warnemunde, Helsinki, Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, and Copenhagen. I booked Celebrity excursions based on our interests and on the price and got everything for under $1000.

Now, I've been reading about private tour companies and how fantastic they are and I'm second guessing everything. If I switch our bookings to a private company, we'll pay $200-300 more in total, but we'll get to see more and in smaller groups.

Experienced cruisers- what would you do? Stick with the less expensive tours or splurge....knowing we've already spent thousands to do this trip? Have you ever regretted taking the ship's excursions or are the differences minimal?

Thanks in advance!!!

I'm hoping to get some advice on what time to arrive at the port for embarkation in Amsterdam for our July 1 Baltic Cruise. We have sailed other lines in the past that give us a specific appointment time, but our Xpress Pass just says 10:30-3:30.

There's a good chance that the weather will not be nice enough to sit on the decks or use the pools until our room is ready. I would like to be on the ship as soon as possible without having to wait hours for the room to be ready. I'm also not crazy about the buffet rush on embarkation day.

Any advice on port arrival time would be appreciated, especially from those who have embarked in Amsterdam before. Thank you!

I understand being disappointed that the sailing you booked is no longer the inaugural sailing. I even understand the choice to cancel. But your anger at Celebrity is misguided and a bit of an overreaction in my opinion. I can’t imagine letting something like being on the fourth sailing instead of a first sailing completely ruin a trip on a brand new ship with your loved ones. The article posted above says that the same thing has happened with RCI’s latest ship. Also, cruise lines regularly have sailings before the official maiden voyage for press and others. Don’t see the need for hysterics here.