Baltic Cruise 'video review' - plus a few observations

From my Eurodam Baltic cruise in June 2010 I made short videos at each port. The comments are purely my personal opinions and those concerning walking distances and times are guesstimates from my recollection, so apologies if they are not spot-on.

St PETERSBURG

I'll start with this one because it's the superstar of the cruise and also the only one that (unless you apply for a personal visa) you can't do on your own, and the one you must get right. Ship excursions have their place, but NOT at St Petersburg. Use any of the excellent independent companies regularly mentioned in these boards - you cannot go wrong with any of them and you will not miss the ship - it's never happened and would be commercial suicide to any company if it ever did. They have all done their programs a million times and know all about traffic etc. and have robust contingency plans just in case. The out-of-town visits (e.g. Catherine Palace/Peterhof) are almost always done in the morning or early afternoon of the first day, and you will always be near the dock towards the end of departure day.

As a general rule of thumb I'd say the ship's excursions here cost 40% more and you see 30-40% less, in the company of far greater group numbers. Also, ship's tours have absolutely no flexibility. On ours someone wanted to see the major university. It wasn't on the itinerary but our guide just went there. It was no big deal, just a 10 minute diversion but it was interesting for us all. Someone else really wanted a photo in front of Catherine the Great's statue, again easily done for us but impossible on a ship's tour, which could have 30 people, maybe more.

Setting up an account with any of these companies is easy (just an email and password). They all seem to reply within a day and the admin is easy. The kid in me hoped I'd have a Russian visa that I could keep as proof of my visit, but the reality is that you print out your own tour tickets via email and throw the dog-eared papers in the bin at the end of the second day !

If you want a few roubles for souvenirs there is an ATM at the dock as you pass through customs. And you get a bottle of chilled water at the start of each day so no need to buy one from the ship.

I used Alla Tours and had a wonderful time, I really could not fault them. We visited these 6 'attractions' on their 'Moderate Comfort' tour :

The Fountains of Peterhof

The Catherine Palace at Pushkin

Peter and Paul Fortress/Cathedral

St Isaac's Cathedral

Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood

The Winter Palace/Hermitage State Museum

In addition to visiting these you will do a ride on the underground, a bit of general sightseeing, a quick souvenir stop and a few photo opportunities. It was a marvellous two days but if I had my time again I would choose a slightly fuller tour to include a canal tour and a visit to the Yusupov Palace (where Rasputin met his grisly end). A friend of mine recently went there and I asked him to take some footage, and used it to make this one

So I would pick a tour that included all the above where numbers are limited to a maximum of 16. This is small enough to move around quickly and in comfort, and as you will be in radio contact with your guide in the attractions you will not miss a thing. The radio has a range of at least 25 yards so you can wander around on your own if you want (stick close to him/her in the underground though !!) Expect to pay around $300 pp which includes everything (camera fees, museum entrances etc) except refreshments and a tip (10% which we were advised to pre-split 60:40 Guide/Driver)

If you want to do something in the evening (ballet ??) tell your tour company and they'll arrange the taxi, with its visa-waiver facility. That's enough about St P, you must be bored rigid of my droning on by now.

BERLIN

(My cruise did not go to to Warnemunde but I have included these from a 3 day 'land trip') The 3 hours journey each way is a pain but if you have any doubts - go, it is a truly fascinating city. And use the same company that is taking you round St Petersburg - you'll get a slight discount and will only need one point of contact.

General Sights

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (aka The Holocaust Memorial)

You won't have time to go into the underground information centre but will be able to to walk around the stelae.

The History of the Berlin Wall

There's hardly any left but you will see a few reminders of it.

On the Roof of The Reichstag http://youtu.be/o57Fb88tVTM

Again, you won't be able to go in, as I had to book a table in the restaurant to do so but you'll see plenty of it from the outside.

Tacheles Art House http://youtu.be/SRg0NkrpPKE

You surely won't go here but I thought I'd include it just in case.

COPENHAGEN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xif4wAmV7HE

The cruise ships all dock in roughly the same area. I took a no. 26 bus to the centre and then walked around. I booked the canal tour at the Tourist Information Centre in the centre because I wanted the 1 pm tour. It cost (then) 60 DKK. Down at the Nyhavn canal there was a tour for 30 DKK which I now hear is very similar and satisfactory but you take your chance on availability. Even at 60 DKK it was still a cheap day out as other than the bus fare and a drink that was all I spent. I walked back to the ship along the bank past the Amalienborg, Little Mermaid, (or rather a non-functioning video feed from Shanghai where she had gone for 6 months) Gefion fountain and Royal Pavilions. It is about 1.5 - 2 miles if you do that, with the big cruise ships always in sight so you can't go wrong, although of course you can get the no. 26 bus again if you want or it's raining.

I loved Copenhagen although as with all the Scandanavian ports it is ruinously expensive (to a Brit) so give the breakfast a good hammering before you set off !

TALLINN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAC8F_2qTTY

In many ways the perfect cruise-location stop, being a short walk from the docks - head for the spires and it's 10 minutes maximum to 'Fat Margaret', and is very easy to walk around, with plenty of stopping points for those who need it. Tallinn is a lovely capital city, with plenty to enjoy in a day. Easy to find free wi-fi here too.

HELSINKI

Beautiful city, very under-rated. I took the shuttle from the dock (or 25 minute walk - don't waste your precious time with this) to the city centre. The shuttle was not associated with HAL but cost (from memory) 8 Euros/ $10 return, last one at 4 pm. It drops you at the top of the Esplenade. Walk down to Market Square (600m) and get an all-day travel ticket for 7 Euros which is good for the trams, trains and the ferries. Ride the tram 3T to where you want to go, hopping on and off as you wish - Rock Church, Sibelius Monument, Olympic Stadium etc. If you are tight for time don't bother going inside the big white cathedral in Senate Square as the outside is by far the most impressive part of it.

General Sights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9hcJiVDK0E

I ran out of time to go to the stadium because I spent 2.5 hours at this :

Suomenlinna (Fortress of Finland) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swIpEG7hR0g

The ferry ride takes 12 minutes and leaves every 15 minutes (from Market Square)

STOCKHOLM

General Sights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NweRnGqZ1k

I hope you sail into Stockholm 'proper' but we docked at Nynasham (sigh) which is an hour's coach to Stockholm and we missed passing through the Archipelago. There's nothing good to say about that :(. I'd take the cheapest ship's transport to Stockholm. You might be able to do it a bit cheaper by public transport but it's not worth the worry. It's a longish transfer and has potential for traffic disasters. Grit your teeth and go for the security of the ship's coach. You can do Stockholm on your own easily enough, including, of course........

Royal Warship Vasa at the Vasa Museum http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x45l1WMZOXA

Everyone goes to see Vasa, and rightly so. Our coach dropped us off at the Opera House and we walked along Strandvagen Boulevard (at 1.58 in the 'General Sights' video) to the Vasa Museum. To be time-efficient here head for the front desk to find out the time (in your language) of the terrific 25-minute film of the discovery and recovery of the great ship. Then head for the theatre 5 minutes before 'showtime'. The guided tour of the ship is well worth doing too.

Allow 75 minutes here if you get lucky with the show and tour, and 90 if you don't. Superb museum.

And finally (hooray I hear you cry) make sure you book a late dinner time (8 pm) as all these ports are very intensive and you'll need time to sort yourself out when you get back to the ship.

All the best, it's a superlative cruise - Tony

WOW, thanks for all the videos and helpful info! I'm only half way thru but will bookmark this and come back.

Thank you for all your insights, we leave in a month!

Thank you for these informative videos! They have given us an inkling of what to expect and look for when we go there next month. It is much appreciated.

WOW, thanks for all the videos and helpful info! I'm only half way thru but will bookmark this and come back.

Thanks. One other general point I forgot to mention was that some cruise lines are still using what I think can be justifiably termed 'scare tactics' to try and make their passengers feel they must take their tours in St Petersburg, playing on the 'miss the ship fear' and the visa issue, often quoting the true but irrelevant fact that you need to obtain, at some expense, a personal visa if you want to go ashore on your own. I say irrelevant because the vast majority of cruisers do not do St P on our own, but in the company of an accredited Russian tour agency, which automatically takes care of the visa issue.

To be fair, you do hear less and less of this nowadays, perhaps as Cruise Critic has helped 'spread the word', but there are still at least 2 major cruise lines using highly ambiguous phrasing in their literature, and in response to questions about taking independent (i.e. non ship's) tours in St Petersburg, with the aim of steering you towards their more expensive and invariably inferior tours.

If Silversea is not one of the two cruise lines mentioned in the OP's most recent follow-up post, add it to the list. Except that Silversea's language is in no way "ambiguous," it is flatly false.

You can read all about this on what for the moment is the most recently active thread ("Visa for Russia?") on the Silversea board here on CruiseCritic.com. You will also see the curious but frequent phenomenon of Silversea regulars, for whom the company can do no wrong, leaping to defend the indefensible.

Thanks for these great videos. We're taking the Alla Comfort Tour in SPB, so I especially enjoyed seeing a preview of what we'll see. You wouldn't happen to remember what metro stations you visited, do you? Just curious.

For anyone reading this now, you must have a reservation to visit the dome (but not necessarily the restaurant - don't know about that) of the Reichstag. If you hunt around a bit, you'll find their site, and you can request a day and time online. The visit is free. They will confirm if they have space for you about a month prior to your visit date. (You do not HAVE to reserve a month in advance; I'm just over-eager so I did!)

Thank you Cornishman. We are doing the Baltics next year and you have now made the wait even worse. ;)

All kidding aside, this is wonderful. I've posted the link to my roll call so everyone can see it. :)

Thanks for these great videos. We're taking the Alla Comfort Tour in SPB, so I especially enjoyed seeing a preview of what we'll see. You wouldn't happen to remember what metro stations you visited, do you? Just curious.

 

For anyone reading this now, you must have a reservation to visit the dome (but not necessarily the restaurant - don't know about that) of the Reichstag. If you hunt around a bit, you'll find their site, and you can request a day and time online. The visit is free. They will confirm if they have space for you about a month prior to your visit date. (You do not HAVE to reserve a month in advance; I'm just over-eager so I did!)

Hi Roothy

Thanks for your kind words. Sorry for the delay in replying but I've only just returned from 12 days on the Nieuw Amsterdam out of Venice. I'm afraid I don't know what the metro stations were. I intended to take few seconds video in there but it was busy and I was worried about losing our group whlle fiddling about taking photos, because of all the places to lose your guide the St Peterburg underground might be the worst :)

And well done on getting a free Reichstag tour - I didn't and had to go the other route. But I did get a great lunch out of it so it all worked out nicely. All the best, Tony

No problem. From what I understand the station(s) visited in St. P can vary on Alla's tours, so it's really a moot point right now! Hope you enjoyed your trip. Venice is on my To Do list, although one person loved it and another hated it (said it smelled too bad!!)

No problem. From what I understand the station(s) visited in St. P can vary on Alla's tours, so it's really a moot point right now! Hope you enjoyed your trip. Venice is on my To Do list, although one person loved it and another hated it (said it smelled too bad!!)

Yes, I suppose they can vary, especially the starting one as it may depend on things like traffic on the city tour. Venice was mind-blowing, and with St P is my favourite-ever port of call. I will get the videos done for there as soon as I can but it is another very big project. I noticed no smell at all, anywhere. All you need is a 24 hour Vaporetto ticket (€20) and the city is yours !

Hiya Tony,

Thanks for directing me over to your thread. Full of information! Unfortunately I am at 'work' at the moment and as I work for a London Council they won't let us watch youtube :( I'll have a look at your videos when I get home this evening.

As I said on the other thread, I was umming and arhhing over SPB or TJ Tours but decided last night to contact Alla as they do the comfort tour. I see you said you wished you had booked the fuller tour but I am wondering if it is too much to cram in to two days? Plus I really really want time to visit some shops for souveniers, is there time for that on the comfort tour?

Looks as though you had a really great time though, plus it's great to get away from this English weather huh!!

Actually, the previous post reminded me of a small question I had about SPB. We're already signed up with Alla, and I know that a guide has to shepherd you around the whole time. I am not much of a shopper, but may want to buy some dolls or something for the people staying at my house while I'm gone. Is there any opportunity to buy anything in the port terminal (overpriced for sure) and/or during the tour? (We're taking the comfort one. Are the restaurants she uses close to shops??) Also, would you happen to know if there's WiFi reception, or at least an internet terminal and/or phone reception, at the Marine Facade?

Thanks.

Hiya Tony,

 

Thanks for directing me over to your thread. Full of information! Unfortunately I am at 'work' at the moment and as I work for a London Council they won't let us watch youtube :( I'll have a look at your videos when I get home this evening.

 

As I said on the other thread, I was umming and arhhing over SPB or TJ Tours but decided last night to contact Alla as they do the comfort tour. I see you said you wished you had booked the fuller tour but I am wondering if it is too much to cram in to two days? Plus I really really want time to visit some shops for souveniers, is there time for that on the comfort tour?

 

Looks as though you had a really great time though, plus it's great to get away from this English weather huh!!

Hi Jo

It's good to see someone's at work in London right now :D if a bit harsh on you seemingly having to keep the capital going on your own, but I know you're up to it. Don't watch those vids tonight - the Olympics will finish soon so enjoy them while you can !

On the 'fullness' of days, before my visit I was unsure how tiring these 2 days would be, and was cruising with my 73 y.o. mother. Also St P was in the middle of 5 consecutive and intensive days 'on the road' so I went for the moderate tour. And it was a wonderful tour, but so intoxicating and exhilarating was the city that I wished I'd opted for more of it - mum could easily have coped with it physically because it lasts more or less the same time. Also I would have liked to have seen the Yusupov Palace and do a canal tour (but I didn't realise this at the time). It is certainly not too much to cram into the 2 days if you have no mobility issues. But I repeat, the Comfort tour (or equivalent name with other companies) is a great tour too.

On the companies, each of us only experiences the services of one, and if you read these boards you will see that we all seem to have a fabulous time. And it is true, because when you boil it all down, the independents provide administration (and they are all very good), a strong customer-friendly ethos, a driver and a nice vehicle (and they are all very good too) and a guide. And whether she is called Julia, Elena, Valentina or any other name ending in 'a' she will be intimidatingly knowledgable and proud to tell you about this incredible city. So as long as the tour you choose does the sights you want to see it hardly matters who you go with.

As for souvenirs, I'm sure that whatever tour you choose, with whoever you use, you will visit a souvenir shop for 20 minutes - and get a free coffee. I bought the obligatory set of Russian dolls and a tile. If you have something specific you want to buy (perhaps a genuine Faberge egg :)) mention it to your guide at the start and she may well be able to accommodate you.

All the best, Tony

Actually, the previous post reminded me of a small question I had about SPB. We're already signed up with Alla, and I know that a guide has to shepherd you around the whole time. I am not much of a shopper, but may want to buy some dolls or something for the people staying at my house while I'm gone. Is there any opportunity to buy anything in the port terminal (overpriced for sure) and/or during the tour? (We're taking the comfort one. Are the restaurants she uses close to shops??) Also, would you happen to know if there's WiFi reception, or at least an internet terminal and/or phone reception, at the Marine Facade?

 

Thanks.

Hi Roothy

While it may be the absolute letter of the law that you must be with the guide all the time, common sense seems to come into play here. Like you, I am not much of a shopper and we had 30 minutes at a fairly upmarket department store. It was interesting to most of our group but 10 was plenty for me so I asked the guide if I could leave the rest to it and walk across the nearby very long bridges across the Neva. And that was fine - she just said 'be back here in 15 minutes'. And as I could not get back on the ship if I didn't come back in 15 minutes that is precisely what I did !

This department store stop was not pre-planned, but there is a bit of spare time in the overall schedule, presumably in case of traffic delays etc, which was not needed so the guide asked if we wanted to see a Russian department store, and by general agreement our group did.

There were lots of souvenirs at that store, but also in the much smaller shop mentioned in my previous post, and no doubt in the small kiosk (lesser selection). I guarantee you have no difficulty in buying something for your friends.

On the meals - we ate at the cafe at Peterhof which was very nice and I can't remember about day 2. I did take an apple and a pastry as insurance but didn't need it.

As for wi-fi, I didn't take my Ipod with me here, as it was plentiful in Tallinn and I knew it would be in Stockholm & Helsinki (it was) so decided to have a 'day off'. In the event I doubt if I would have had time, especially being part of a group. I didn't make a phone call while in St P but had a full signal on the phone at all times so presumably could have done so.

All the best, Tony

Hi Jo

 

As for souvenirs, I'm sure that whatever tour you choose, with whoever you use, you will visit a souvenir shop for 20 minutes - and get a free coffee. I bought the obligatory set of Russian dolls and a tile. If you have something specific you want to buy (perhaps a genuine Faberge egg :)) mention it to your guide at the start and she may well be able to accommodate you.

 

All the best, Tony

Just out of curiosity, about how much are those obligatory Russian dolls, anyway? I need to bring something home to our house/pet sitter friends!

Oh Ruth - Venice is a must!

We went 2 days prior to our cruise and had the time of our lives getting lost, wandering around all the "non-tourist" areas, and eating fabulous food before the cruise ships docked and it got crowded.

It continues to be my favorite city of all. You've got to be there more than a day to get the real feel of the place. Heaven!

Hi Jo

It's good to see someone's at work in London right now :D if a bit harsh on you seemingly having to keep the capital going on your own, but I know you're up to it. Don't watch those vids tonight - the Olympics will finish soon so enjoy them while you can !

I've taken a day off today to sort my wardrobe out for packing during the week, but feel I need to sit on the sofa and watch the Olympics instead....25m shooting at 10.30am this morning on the red button! :cool:

I bought the obligatory set of Russian dolls and a tile.

As Roothy said, how much are the Russian dolls, are the souveniers expensive? I obviously also need to buy an obligatory set :)

I've watched your videos and they are great Tony, can't wait to see it all for myself :D

We would love to go to Berlin, but have decided we'll fly over for the Christmas markets later in the year, we are fortunate to be close enough to be able to do that and spend a Fri-Sun there :)

I've taken a day off today to sort my wardrobe out for packing during the week, but feel I need to sit on the sofa and watch the Olympics instead....25m shooting at 10.30am this morning on the red button! :cool:

 

 

 

As Roothy said, how much are the Russian dolls, are the souveniers expensive? I obviously also need to buy an obligatory set :)

 

I've watched your videos and they are great Tony, can't wait to see it all for myself :D

 

We would love to go to Berlin, but have decided we'll fly over for the Christmas markets later in the year, we are fortunate to be close enough to be able to do that and spend a Fri-Sun there :)

Hi Jo (and Roothy)

Thanks to you and everyone who has said nice things about the vids - it is much appreciated from each and every one of you, but much important is that you all have a great time in these wonderful places.

The set of dolls I bought was about 6 inches high, but I can't even remember the currency I used for it. Someone else might be able to give better info but at a guess I'd say I paid about $6-8. There are several sizes of sets so you can spend more or less, but it is not a bank-breaker.

It was only made of balsa wood, and no doubt mass-produced in somewhere like Taiwan but it looked good and my niece likes it so that's all that matters.

Right, must go, looks like I've already missed the start of the 25m shooting :)

Tony, thanks for the info. I'm not much of a shopper, but I feel a set or two of dolls is in my future. Certainly $10 won't break me. When we went to Prague, I brought home a wonderful puppet for our friends. Also, I need to try to change seats on a flight home, and Icelandair tells me they may make another row available on the day we get to SPB - thus my desire to be able to call or go online there! (Shirley, by the way, we're still waiting for our cabin assignment - amusing but OK, as I'm convinced that owner's suite will be assigned when I show up in CPH - yeah, right! And to anyone who reads this in the future, lest you think Oceania is a shabby operation, it's just that we booked a "guarantee" cabin category, and they have until we sail to assign us a cabin - at the category we booked or above. No big deal for us to wait - and no big deal if no upgrade comes along - just a bit amusing when I tell people I have no place to sleep come Aug. 11!)

As to Venice, Shirely - yes, I most certainly want to go. The person who reported the smell is not much of a traveler, and tends to go to Las Vegas or Paris when he and his wife travel, sticking to well-beaten paths - not my thing, as you've figured out!! I'm sure I'll get to Venice one day soon, and I'm sure I'll love it! By the way, did you see the new post by someone who just returned from "cruise"? He loved it.

I have to admit I haven't seen much of the Olympics, but what I've seen I've normally liked - like the women's rowing last night (well, last night for those of us in the U.S. - it was arerun if we saw it last night!!) Must be more exciting for you guys in GB to watch things live!

Thanks so much for the review and video links. It will be so helpful and covers everything we will be visiting. I have posted a link to it on our roll call for June.

Thank you, Tony, for the great info!

Tony,

I replied to your email; but it keeps bouncing. Did you get it?

Tony,

I replied to your email; but it keeps bouncing. Did you get it?

Hi Mike

No - my e-add is cortina26@talktalk.net

Hi Mike

No - my e-add is cortina26@talktalk.net

I sent it several times from my comcast email to that address as well as from my Gmail account. If you have a different email account, please send it to me at mpreisman@comcast.net or mpreisman@gmail.com.

Mike