Klaipeda

We have just returned from our Eclipse Baltic cruise which included the new port of Klaipeda.

Very welcoming port, the market square and old town is about 10 minutes easy walking distance from the ship, even for someone as lazy as me. There is a free shuttle bus if you want to go slightly further afield. Please be very careful at this port, there are cobble stones everywhere and they are the most dangerous ones I have come across. I was wearing trainers but even so I stumbled a couple of times. Take sticks with you if you are the slightest bit unsteady. The amber there is amazing and by far the best prices when compared to other Baltic countries visited on these Baltic cruises. From what I could see, Gdansk was about 4 times the price for the amber and even Tallinn is more expensive this year. No doubt the good people of Klaipeda will up there prices once the tourists start flocking in.

We did a tour of Klaipeda which included a visit to the amber museum, yes another one, and also the factory where they process and make the amber jewellery. Very interesting to see, makes you appreciate the work that goes into it all. We were allowed access all areas to watch the cutting, polishing, stringing and everything else involved in producing amber jewellery.

Hope this helps you. I found it impossible to find any information on CC before our visit.

Good to know as we have a Baltic cruise coming up next month, and Klaipeda is on our itinerary. I love the fact that in many of these ports, we can walk into town instead of having to take a shuttle.

Thanks for the report. We too will be visiting this port and will most likely be looking for some Amber!

Chris you beat me to this post.

Thank for the info re. Taking a stick/cane.

"We did a tour of Klaipeda which included a visit to the amber museum, yes another one, and also the factory where they process and make the amber jewellery. Very interesting to see, makes you appreciate the work that goes into it all. We were allowed access all areas to watch the cutting, polishing, stringing and everything else involved in producing amber jewellery. "

Where did you find the tour? Were you able to book ahead of time? We are going in August, with Klaipeda being one of the ports. I have been unable to find much information.

Thanks for your help!

Very late replying - sorry. Anyway, the tour was one arranged by Celebrity.

The Amber Museum is in Palanga (a seaside resort about an hour away from Klaipeda). So if you're looking for tours, and it says they are taking you to Palanga - that's the one you want :)

Thanks Shoreham - think we will pack the sticks!

We were there last week and not impressed by the port. We walked around but would have preferred more time elsewhere. At least for us the major focus of a port is not where to shop.

We loved Lithuania! Sorry to hear some were disappointed. We booked a private tour through toursbylocals. (Greta and Minde) As far as I can tell, we were the only ones on our ship who booked a local tour not through the ship. It was well worth the money. Palanga (seaside resort) was wonderful, as was the small city center. The public art was a real highlight.

We walked around the town too - very little there, but at least we can say we have visited Lithuania!

We also found a brewery where they were not at all interested in serving us (???) or promoting their products. We also walked through the market indoors and outside and down the street of shops then found a nice eatery near the canal/river and enjoyed a typical local light lunch and beer.

Then returned to the ship. We quite enjoyed a very quiet low key visit, but do have to agree that it won't stick in our minds as a very interesting place to visit.

I'm really sorry about this, but am I the only one who can't help thinking about a Chemist (thats a pharmacy to our US friends) when they read this ports name.:rolleyes:

Simon

Hee Hee you are not alone :)) We all had to be very careful how we said the name and there were lots of laughs and titters about it every time it came up lol.

Klaipeda was one of our ports on the Connie in 2007. Yes, amber prices were the best there, we picked up some lovely pieces in the market in the old town square, we also enjoyed our visit to Palanga. But there's not much to see in Klaipeda and I wished we'd gone to Riga instead. We're doing the Baltic again next year on the Silhouette and this time they have a new Danish port Fredericia, again not much to see I belive.

We were there last week and not impressed by the port. We walked around but would have preferred more time elsewhere. At least for us the major focus of a port is not where to shop.

It is a port where you really need to get out of town. The Curonian spit is a very beautiful spot and also makes for a relaxing day.

Just got back from our Baltics cruise on Oceania's Marina. We stopped in Klaipeda. The town is pretty underwhelming.

We did a DIY tour on a pretty day, but it wasn't really memorable. Not much character to the town. The highlight was our stop at the Amber Queen, a combination of an amber store and museum which had lots of beautiful pieces for sale that seemed to be priced better than any other port. I got my wife a necklace and several pairs of earrings. She was rather pleased.:)

I say seemed because I don't know for sure. I was looking at amber in St Pete and Tallinn and I couldn't find anything under $100-!50. That wasn't the case at the Amber Queen, which has stores in other Baltic cities, too. A large operation.

Evidently, there's a LOT of fake amber and the Amber Queen is supposedly reputable, per the advice I received from the local lady on the Marina who was handing out maps and offering advice on the town. She is the one who warned me about all the fake stuff and recommended the Amber Queen. So I stayed away from the vendors in the Klaipeda market.

I did talk with some passengers who took an Oceania tour into the country and visited the home of an ex-pat, and they thoroughly enjoyed the excursion. So it sounds like taking an out of town excursion would be the way to go in this port, for those so inclined.

We had been hitting the ports pretty good by the time we reached Klaipedia so we didn't mind returning to the ship early that day. Still, I'd have much preferred Riga.

Have to agree with luv2travel100. Should have gone with my first thought which was to do the Spit but we did a privately booked walking tour that was pretty sad. Half of our group bailed midway thru the "tour".

We booked a 5 hour trip with "Klaipeda Tours" which took us to Palanga, the Amber Museum, and a beautiful beach in Palanga! Well worth the time to leave Klaipeda.

We dealt with Asta by email, who was very helpful.