tips for a Baltic/Scandinavia cruise

we have just finished a Baltic and Scandinavian cruise on the Regal Princess (August 2017).

this post is a collection of some general tips for future cruisers to the region....it is not intended as a trip report

* wear good shoes - not sandals...closed toe shoes like joggers - you'll appreciate it in the old town areas such as Tallinn and Gamla Stan (Stockholm)

* bring an umbrella and/or rain gear - we carried small umbrellas with us

* we paid for 99% of our purchases with a credit card (the card has no international transaction fees)....the only time we needed small change was for toilet access....yes, even as a customer at Burger King, you have to pay to use the toilet (this was in Stockholm), heard that there was a fee for the toilet at MacDonalds (at Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin)

* we were encouraged by the cruise ship to carry our passports with us on our port days due to extra security measures. we were never asked to show our passports in any of these ports

* be aware if ticket activation is needed for your transport ticket in each city - it is usually a once only activation that is needed

* the maximum daily temperatures for our cruise ranged from 13 -20 C (55.4 - 68 F) - to me, that's cold. it was not good weather for movies under the stars or for using the outdoor pools/spas

Copenhagen

- there are many ticket machines at the airport to purchase your 36 DKK ticket for transport to the port. fortunately, there are also many staff members around to help you with the use of these machines. we caught the train in to Norreport from the airport. at Norreport, we found the #25 bus stop at street level (near the bicycle parking area and the Netto supermarket)

- the baggage handlers at the cruise terminal have staplers to attach your luggage tags to your bag

- check in was easy

- Princess had nominated a 4.00 pm check in time for us but we checked in at 1.30 pm with no problem. once in our stateroom, there was a notice from Princess stating that they were providing early check in for the benefit of their guests.

Oslo

- we walked from the terminal to buy our day passes from the Narvesen convenience store .

- we took the westbound metroline 1 to Holmenkollen - the ski jump improved for the 1952 winter Olympics. note that the walk from the station to the ski jump is quite steep in places. the journey took us through some lovely neighbourhoods.

- we took the metro back down to Majorstuen and walked a few blocks to the Vigeland Sculpture Park.

- the Vigeland Sculpture Park was amazing and well worth a visit.

- we also visited the Oslo Opera House, the City Hall and the Akershus Fortress

Warnemunde

- we decided not to visit Berlin and instead spent the day visiting Rostock, Schwerin and Warnemunde

- we walked from the ship, went through the underpass and found the ticket office on the far side of the building

- we bought our MV day tickets at this office

- we caught the first train (after 9.00 am) to Rostock and spent some time wandering around Rostock before catching the 11:07 to Schwerin. note that tickets were inspected on the trips to/from Schwerin

- Schwerin was a delightful city. we enjoyed our time there even though the castle was closed (being a Monday). we enjoyed the picturesque castle and the gardens around it.

Tallinn

- we walked for about 15 minutes to get to Fat Margaret in the Old Town area

- Pikk Street has many large cobblestones - this is where you need good supportive footwear

- the stalls in the Market Square were interesting

St Petersburg

- we were told that SPB has only 55 dry days per year....yes, it was raining for most of the two days that we were in SPB

- the Hermitage was more than we had expected..... so huge, so beautiful and yes, crowded. we wonder what it is like in the peak season?

- we could only glimpse a very small portion of the treasures at the Hermitage....sigh! so much to see, so little time....

- those senior ladies in the cloak room are marvels...efficiently storing and retrieving hundreds of items per day!! - no mistake was made with our belongings!

Helsinki

- we were docked at West Pier 2.....not near the markets

- tram 7 will take you from this pier to the city centre

- you can purchase your transport tickets (cash) from the tram driver (unsure if the price is slightly higher compared with purchase from a machine using coins)

- we purchased our day pass from the tourist information centre (yellow corner building near Market Square)

- the town hall is a blue building with a small portico....it is near Market Square. it provides free toilets and free WiFi

- we did not think that the Rock Church was worth the entry fee we paid

Stockholm

- you can purchase a 24 hour SL pass and a local shuttle bus ticket (for transport to/from the train station and the port) at the shop at the pier

- we were not going to Vasa so only needed a local ticket that could only be purchased at the train station

- -we walked for about 20 minutes from the ship to the Nynashamn train station (following the blue line)

- the ticket machine does have some English instructions on the screen...however, when you start your credit card transaction, it is only in Swedish. after inserting your card and putting in your PIN, the machine will advise you 'ta kort' which means 'take the card'....it does not push the card back out to you at this stage

- we got off at Stockholm Central

- Gamla Stan was a lovely place to wander around for a few hours

Copenhagen

- back to our starting port, we purchased our bus tickets from the tourist information booth (using our credit card)

- the 25 bus stop is opposite the Unicef building. it would take us to Norreport station

- many passengers were buying their tickets from the patient bus driver...he was handling many different currencies from these passengers. do not think you can use your credit card at this point.

safe travels.

Thank you for posting this information - we will be there in April, 2018. Wow, if it was that cold in August, I better take my winter clothes for late April into May!!

eclue:)

Very nice report, brief and to the point.

Sorry you didn't feel the need to go to the VASA Museum. It is truly remarkable and, one of my 'Must See' things on a Baltic Cruise.

So it rained in St Petersburg, what else is new :D:D:D:D

Again, thanks for your report and glad you had a wonderful time.

Cheers

Len

have to pay to use the toilet (this was in Stockholm), heard that there was a fee for the toilet at MacDonalds (at Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin)

* we were encouraged by the cruise ship to carry our passports with us on our port days due to extra security measures. we were never asked to show our passports in any of these ports

 

* the maximum daily temperatures for our cruise ranged from 13 -20 C (55.4 - 68 F) - to me, that's cold. it was not good weather for movies under the stars or for using the outdoor pools/spas

Just clarify as I'm sure it was an oversight. You NEED to show your passport while leaving the ship in SPB. The other ports don't require it.

As for the temperatures, it was the same temp range in late August when we went and we wore at least 3 layers at any given time. In some ports, we even wore winter hats because it was so windy (had to buy them in Tallin).

Just chiming in on the weather comments...

I did this itinerary twice: May of this year and August/September of 2013. We found it to be quite cold this year, and even the locals said they found it colder than usual. However, in 2013, there were days hot enough that people were swimming and sunbathing on the ship. So, always be sure to check the forecast before you go as it could be different next year.

Frankly, even Ottawa has been colder and MUCH rainier than usual this summer (we nearly set a few rainfall records this summer). I wonder if the Baltic was experiencing a particularly unusual year....

Frankly, even Ottawa has been colder and MUCH rainier than usual this summer (we nearly set a few rainfall records this summer). I wonder if the Baltic was experiencing a particularly unusual year....

This summer has indeed been colder than usual.

We did the Baltic cruise in June 2010 and it was 80-85 degrees every day so you never know what you're going to get.

I'll second the shoe recommendation for Tallin and Stockholm (Gamla Stan.) The cobbles aren't just "cobbles." They are small hemispherical islands of rock, some easily with a 3+ inch elevation from the street. You don't so much walk on the street as step from stone to stone.

Well Denmark had the worst summer in 38 years (or was it only July)

It has been colder than usually but the worst thing has been the rain.

Weather is always changeable in Northern Europe, so you need to take layers.

When we did our Baltic cruise in mid September 2015 it was hot. In fact, in Tallin a bit too hot around 30-32c.

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We also needed passports in Warnemunde for an immigration check.

We were on a Baltic cruise from June into July this past summer (2017). Copenhagen: Great weather and we enjoyed exploring all the castles. Warnemunde & Klaipeda were very rainy/cold/45 degrees. Better in Riga, and St. Petersburg. Tallinn was also fine, as was Stockholm where we ended. We didn't spend any time on our balcony, we wore long pants and layered shirts/vests/jackets when needed. It was a wonderful cruise.

Very nice report, brief and to the point. Sorry you didn't feel the need to go to the VASA Museum. It is truly remarkable and, one of my 'Must See' things on a Baltic Cruise. Cheers. Len

Agree with Len and others in giving a well-deserved "shout-out" to your very good report and key tips. Lots of great insights and ideas to consider. Appreciate Len's smart urging for the VASA Museum. That was a key highlight for our time in Stockholm. Below are a couple of my visuals as "proof and evidence". Also super agree with the original poster as to the great value in experiencing the Oslo Vigeland Sculpture Park. Loved that location!!

Might also add this comment: People will sometimes ask how Oslo compares to Stockholm and Copenhagen. Much of the difference is about the contrast of Oslo's more contemporary great art/design . . . versus . . . the more significant depth of history/design and royal background associated with both Copenhagen and Stockholm. Both of these capitals of Sweden and Denmark have had much longer recent histories of power and wealth, while Oslo is "newer" in many ways.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 219,643 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

At the Vasa Museum with this large salvaged ship from the 1600’s. This is their website: http://vasamuseet.se/en/ Taking almost two years (1626-1627) to build Vasa, carpenters, sawyers, smiths, ropelayers, sailmakers, painters, carvers, gun carriage makers and other specialists struggled to complete the navy’s great, new ship. The king, Gustav II Adolf, visited the shipyard to inspect the work. With a hull built of more than a thousand oak trees with 64 cannon, masts over 50 meters high and hundreds of painted and gilded sculptures, this was a spectacular ship. BUT, it was too heavy and sunk sailing out from the harbor.::

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger!)

Vigeland Park has a wide variety of outdoor sculptures in a super, wonderful setting that is a highlight for Oslo. There is a wide variety of art, water features, spectacular settings, etc. Its admission is free and the views and art are "priceless". It is open 24/7, so hours are not an issue.::

I was reading the Vasa Museum site and saw that you cannot tour the ship itself. The site said that except for the rare occasion or museum workers onboard visiting has never been allowed. I know that while on a business trip in 2004/5 we spent over an hour onboard the ship. We weren't special visitors. There were many other visitors on the ship. We all were wandering around, freely looking at everything. Maybe I was at the wrong website. Has anyone else been on the ship?

I was reading the Vasa Museum site and saw that you cannot tour the ship itself. The site said that except for the rare occasion or museum workers onboard visiting has never been allowed. I know that while on a business trip in 2004/5 we spent over an hour onboard the ship. We weren't special visitors. There were many other visitors on the ship. We all were wandering around, freely looking at everything. Maybe I was at the wrong website. Has anyone else been on the ship?

I cannot disagree with you, but I have never heard of them allowing ANYONE on that ship. It is 400 years old and just like other things in museums, it's there to admire and not board. Are you sure you were on the VASA?

Cheers

Len

Visitors have never (with a few smaller exceptions) been allowed on-board the ship. The ship wouldn't be able to cope with that.

You might be thinking of the HMS Victory in Portsmouth which allows visitors on-board.

I was reading the Vasa Museum site and saw that you cannot tour the ship itself. The site said that except for the rare occasion or museum workers onboard visiting has never been allowed. I know that while on a business trip in 2004/5 we spent over an hour onboard the ship. We weren't special visitors. There were many other visitors on the ship. We all were wandering around, freely looking at everything. Maybe I was at the wrong website. Has anyone else been on the ship?

Errr no, Tiii, you weren't on the wrong website.

I'm guessing you were on the wrong ship :)

As Len and Desdichado have mentioned, standard visitors have never been allowed to board the ship.

Mebbe you were thinking of Nelson's HMS Victory in Portsmouth, or mebbe another ship elsewhere.

But not Vasa.

JB :)

I was reading the Vasa Museum site and saw that you cannot tour the ship itself. The site said that except for the rare occasion or museum workers onboard visiting has never been allowed. I know that while on a business trip in 2004/5 we spent over an hour onboard the ship. We weren't special visitors. There were many other visitors on the ship. We all were wandering around, freely looking at everything. Maybe I was at the wrong website. Has anyone else been on the ship?

Never been on the actual ship as it has never been allowed.

I'm wondering if what you remember is the "life on board exhibit"? You certainly could have wandered about here because this exhibition includes a full-scale model of part of the upper gun deck which we and others entered.

Or possibly the replica of the Swedish East Indiaman "Götheborg" that was built about that time? Its looking a little bit like Vasa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6theborg_(ship)

Or possibly the replica of the Swedish East Indiaman "Götheborg" that was built about that time? Its looking a little bit like Vasa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6theborg_(ship)

That is also a likely explanation.

we have just finished a Baltic and Scandinavian cruise on the Regal Princess (August 2017).

this post is a collection of some general tips for future cruisers to the region....it is not intended as a trip report

* wear good shoes - not sandals...closed toe shoes like joggers - you'll appreciate it in the old town areas such as Tallinn and Gamla Stan (Stockholm)

* bring an umbrella and/or rain gear - we carried small umbrellas with us

* we paid for 99% of our purchases with a credit card (the card has no international transaction fees)....the only time we needed small change was for toilet access....yes, even as a customer at Burger King, you have to pay to use the toilet (this was in Stockholm), heard that there was a fee for the toilet at MacDonalds (at Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin)

* we were encouraged by the cruise ship to carry our passports with us on our port days due to extra security measures. we were never asked to show our passports in any of these ports

* be aware if ticket activation is needed for your transport ticket in each city - it is usually a once only activation that is needed

* the maximum daily temperatures for our cruise ranged from 13 -20 C (55.4 - 68 F) - to me, that's cold. it was not good weather for movies under the stars or for using the outdoor pools/spas

 

 

Copenhagen

- there are many ticket machines at the airport to purchase your 36 DKK ticket for transport to the port. fortunately, there are also many staff members around to help you with the use of these machines. we caught the train in to Norreport from the airport. at Norreport, we found the #25 bus stop at street level (near the bicycle parking area and the Netto supermarket)

- the baggage handlers at the cruise terminal have staplers to attach your luggage tags to your bag

- check in was easy

- Princess had nominated a 4.00 pm check in time for us but we checked in at 1.30 pm with no problem. once in our stateroom, there was a notice from Princess stating that they were providing early check in for the benefit of their guests.

Oslo

- we walked from the terminal to buy our day passes from the Narvesen convenience store .

- we took the westbound metroline 1 to Holmenkollen - the ski jump improved for the 1952 winter Olympics. note that the walk from the station to the ski jump is quite steep in places. the journey took us through some lovely neighbourhoods.

- we took the metro back down to Majorstuen and walked a few blocks to the Vigeland Sculpture Park.

- the Vigeland Sculpture Park was amazing and well worth a visit.

- we also visited the Oslo Opera House, the City Hall and the Akershus Fortress

Warnemunde

- we decided not to visit Berlin and instead spent the day visiting Rostock, Schwerin and Warnemunde

- we walked from the ship, went through the underpass and found the ticket office on the far side of the building

- we bought our MV day tickets at this office

- we caught the first train (after 9.00 am) to Rostock and spent some time wandering around Rostock before catching the 11:07 to Schwerin. note that tickets were inspected on the trips to/from Schwerin

- Schwerin was a delightful city. we enjoyed our time there even though the castle was closed (being a Monday). we enjoyed the picturesque castle and the gardens around it.

Tallinn

- we walked for about 15 minutes to get to Fat Margaret in the Old Town area

- Pikk Street has many large cobblestones - this is where you need good supportive footwear

- the stalls in the Market Square were interesting

St Petersburg

- we were told that SPB has only 55 dry days per year....yes, it was raining for most of the two days that we were in SPB

- the Hermitage was more than we had expected..... so huge, so beautiful and yes, crowded. we wonder what it is like in the peak season?

- we could only glimpse a very small portion of the treasures at the Hermitage....sigh! so much to see, so little time....

- those senior ladies in the cloak room are marvels...efficiently storing and retrieving hundreds of items per day!! - no mistake was made with our belongings!

Helsinki

- we were docked at West Pier 2.....not near the markets

- tram 7 will take you from this pier to the city centre

- you can purchase your transport tickets (cash) from the tram driver (unsure if the price is slightly higher compared with purchase from a machine using coins)

- we purchased our day pass from the tourist information centre (yellow corner building near Market Square)

- the town hall is a blue building with a small portico....it is near Market Square. it provides free toilets and free WiFi

- we did not think that the Rock Church was worth the entry fee we paid

Stockholm

- you can purchase a 24 hour SL pass and a local shuttle bus ticket (for transport to/from the train station and the port) at the shop at the pier

- we were not going to Vasa so only needed a local ticket that could only be purchased at the train station

- -we walked for about 20 minutes from the ship to the Nynashamn train station (following the blue line)

- the ticket machine does have some English instructions on the screen...however, when you start your credit card transaction, it is only in Swedish. after inserting your card and putting in your PIN, the machine will advise you 'ta kort' which means 'take the card'....it does not push the card back out to you at this stage

- we got off at Stockholm Central

- Gamla Stan was a lovely place to wander around for a few hours

Copenhagen

- back to our starting port, we purchased our bus tickets from the tourist information booth (using our credit card)

- the 25 bus stop is opposite the Unicef building. it would take us to Norreport station

- many passengers were buying their tickets from the patient bus driver...he was handling many different currencies from these passengers. do not think you can use your credit card at this point.

safe travels.

Thanks so much for this very helpful information. We will be on the Regal next June for this same itinerary. I've been trying to figure out the likely docks for each port especially Stockholm and Olso. I've been researching ports using TA and the Rick Steves Northern European Cruise Ports guidebook as we will likely do several ports on our own. Do you recall the actual docks/piers for the ports of Olso and Stockholm as apparently there are several options? We chose the cruise so that we could sail directly into Stockholm so hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can dock in Stockholm.

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.

Thanks so much for this very helpful information. We will be on the Regal next June for this same itinerary. I've been trying to figure out the likely docks for each port especially Stockholm and Olso. I've been researching ports using TA and the Rick Steves Northern European Cruise Ports guidebook as we will likely do several ports on our own. Do you recall the actual docks/piers for the ports of Olso and Stockholm as apparently there are several options? We chose the cruise so that we could sail directly into Stockholm so hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can dock in Stockholm.

the Oslo cruise dock is very close to the city centre (walking distance)... metro transport is also nearby.

note that if your cruise does sail into Stockholm, it will reduce the hours that you will have in port as it takes the ship about 4 hours (?) to navigate through the archipelago of islands to dock at Stockholm. if it docks at Nynashamn, you will have a full day in port. it was easy getting to the train station at Nynashamn and then on the train to Stockholm from there.

Many thanks-- we are indeed docking in Stockholm and have a very short port day (7:00-2:00 pm). I particularly wanted to experience the sail in and out of the Stockholm arpeggio, but the trade off is the shorter time in port. Hope we have good weather and can actually get in as I understand that sometimes you cannot.

Great thread. Your information is very helpful. We are headed there in July 2018. One quick question...do any of these countries require a visa? Thank you!