hallasm

Difficult question - Berlin is a excellent place to visit - however a long drive - with your Polish ancestry I will vote for a visit to Poland - some nice places to visit along the coast.

In reality you are left with two options - either take B2B cruise - one week Baltic and one week Norwegian Fjords (like RCCl from Copenhagen) - or take a Baltic cruise this year and Norwegian fjords next year - then you will get everything.

That didn't help. I guess I might just have to do both!

Karen

I know - Then you just need to do both. There is sufficient time for both.

Actually I found that Princess does have one that goes to Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Estonia, St Petersburg and Berlin in 10-11 days.

Don't miss the Stockholm archipelago - as per the posts above the must is Copenhagen, Stockholm and the archipelago, Tallinn and St. Petersburg (two days) - Oslo and Helsinki less important.

Difficult to say - I did do the railway. Primarily because it was different to sailing.

Might be difficult to find a cruise including all the places you do mention - it's either a Norwegian Fjords or Baltic Cruise - and if you want to include St. petersburg only Baltic cruises - I would suggest a baltic cruise out of Copenhagen.

As a non English speaking person i also find it difficult to guess what DH, DD, DW, MO, TA, MDR. MTD etc should be translated to.

Which ports are you visiting? If Aurland fjord / Flåm is on you itinerary, a suggestion could be Nærøyfjord.

Missed you are on Legende in May - then Nærøyfjord is a good option from Flåm - do the railway in the morning and Nærøyfjord in the afternoon

The Nærøyfjord is perhaps the most spectacular arm of the Sognefjord, and the narrowest fjord in the world, at one point only 250 metres across, with mountains towering more than 1,700 metres above its tranquil waters.

Thank you.

Was there another port where we should go on a boat tour? Thanks Karen

Which ports are you visiting? If Aurland fjord / Flåm is on you itinerary, a suggestion could be Nærøyfjord.

Yes - for Geiranger it will be the same - I were at the deck from 04am and enjoyed the sailing through the fjord

Here is what I saw from the cruise ship (link to short video from the sailing)

I did the hop-on hop off tour in Geiranger - another short video

Today there is no risk of passing pirate-filled waters - cruise lines know what precautions to take to protect the ships. Warships for hire are changing maritime security today.

Here is a short video of Patrol Boat AL345 from PVI | Protection Vessels International Ltd escorting Royal Caribbean International's "Brilliance of the Seas" through Gulf of Aden January 21, 2011 to protect against piracy on her way from Barcelona to Dubai. Click on picture to watch short video.

Link to short video:

And this is my contribution to the tribute to Norwegian Fjords:

A short video: "Cruising the Magnificent Fjords of Norway" with highlights from my Norwegian Fjords Cruising: (click on picture to watch video)

Take the Water Island ferryfrom Crown Bay Marina - behind Gourmet Galley, "Pueblo". Price is $5 each way, 7 min. ride.

Visit Honeymoon Beach - Fantastic for a half day getaway

Late name and first letter of my given name - using hallasm for all communities.

The company Flåm Utvikling has assumed responsibility for ticketing, but NSB (and others) is today selling tickets - If nothing has changes by June this year a ticket bought through NSB or any other provider than Flåm Utvikling is an open ticket. You might be asked for a specific departure - but you end up with an open ticket valid for two months. If the trains are fully booked you will not be able to get onboard with an open ticket! It must be validated by Flåm Utvikling ticket office!

Flåm Utvikling is obviously having other rules than NSB!

You cannot buy a ticket for a specific departure except at the ticket counter in Flåm - you can only buy open ticket at NSB, scandinavian Rail or other providers - not for a specific departure - this is the conditions when buying an open ticket:

"Please note that this is an open ticket and does not include seat reservations for a specific train or time."

"This open ticket will allow you to board any train with available seating on the Flåm-Myrdal route."

If no available seats at a sold out train you will not be able to enter the train.

If you have a smart phone and WiFi or data access, you can also buy the ticket through the NSB app. In that case you should be able to just go straight to the train. :)

When I did visit Flam in June, I did have a valid ticket, however i were denied access to the train and asked to get the ticket validated at the ticket office because the train was sold out.

I normally arrange shore excursions on my own - but for St. John i decided to go with a ship excursion - don't want to be late for the ship

Here is a short video from our January 2012 visit to St. John:

Here you will find a short video showing the Royal Family Suite at Vision - it's a little bit bigger at Grandeur - in addition there is a walk-in closet not shown in the video. Link:

If you do go, buy tickets on your own...much cheaper than Princess. .

Just be aware, that trains might be sold out - be early at the train station to buy tickets - I do not recommend to buy in advance at the web - tickets must be validated on busy days.

watch the short video from my trip in June this year:

Each new day - one day less

Three cruises booked - the countdown clock will show where and when

A friendly advice from a Norwegian: Be careful if you want to buy something here. The prices for basically everything is higher than most other places in Bergen.

Nice atmosphere - for the fish market - good being at a cruise - it's not allowed (or necessary) to bring food onboard - I also realized that canned fish were from Bornholm in Denmark.

The funicular as suggested above - and then don't miss Bryggen and the Fish market - easy walking from the port.

this is a very short Bergen video from my June visit:

I love St. Croix - I have visited the island four times - but I'm probably not the right to speak as a Dane since it which fascinates me is the Danish past - walking through Christiansted and Fredriksted and to visit Whim v and the Botanical Garden is a delight.

here are two short videos from my last visit - click at the link

Fredriksted:

Christiansted;

I have done two great Asia cruise - the first was RCCl from Shanghai with stops in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand with end in Singapore - the second was Celebrity from Singapore to Bali, Lombok, Komodo, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Phuket and then back to Singapore.

My recommendation is a one-way cruise visiting Vietnam and Hong Kong