Private tour companies for Helsinki??

[John&Betty]

The Constellation just changed our itinerary in the Baltic. We now go to Helsinki instead of Helsingborg and they replaced Gdansk with a day at sea. We would like to get information on private tour companies and reviews of places to see in Helsinki.

 

This site for the Helsinki Port shows that the Constellation will dock at the west port. (Go to the bottom of the page and click on quay codes.)

http://www.hel.fi/port/mapinfo/RISTEILY.HTM

I have marked it on the map on our web site under “Maps & Photos” in our signature below. Can anyone confirm that I have marked the right location?

 

Thanks,

 

John

[alcman]

Thank you for the web site. Interestingly, although Helsinki was only added to the itinerary the other day, the site indicates the berth was booked on June 22, 2004. Were we always scheduled to go there?

 

Jerry

[John&Betty]

Hi Jerry,

 

Yeah, we noticed that too. No we were scheduled to go to Helsingborg until last Friday. We were also supposed to go to Gdansk but we have another day at sea instead. Are you on the Constellation also?

 

John

[alcman]

Hi John,

 

We are on the July 2, 2005 sailing with the same heavy alteration of the schedule. By the way your web site is fantastic and a big part of my planning.

 

Jerry

[Bruin Steve]

When we visited Helsinki on our Baltic Cruise in 2001, we avoided the ship's excursions...Fairly costly for a family of four...

 

Instead, we took the ship's free shuttle into the center of town and booked a tour through a kiosk on thr Esplinade...for about $20 a person...Looks like it's now going for 20 Euros:

 

http://www.helsinkiexpert.fi/sightseeing/audiocitytour.html

http://www.helsinkiexpert.fi/sightseeing/guidedcitytour.html

 

The first link is with headsets and audio tape, the second is with a live guide...

 

Here's a website with what to see in Helsinki:

http://www.visitfinland.com/web/lv/publish.nsf/0/E51C59154EE5972942256DE3004E4614?openDocument&sheetList=

 

Aside from the sites shown there, there is also a Russian Cathedral worth a visit...For Department Store fans, try a visit to Stockmann's...the largest Department Store in Scandinavia:

 

http://www.stockmann.fi/portal/english/stockmann_group/stockmann_through_the_years/

 

 

Here's an outfit that does tours to Porvoo:

 

http://www.porvootours.fi/eng/indexeng.html

 

Good luck

[hobo1937]

We were on a Baltic cruise last year and did the same as Bruin Steve, ships shuttle to the Esplanade and the city's tour with a live guide. We were very pleased with it. We also walked around the outdoor market and Stockmanns Dept Store, which was worth seeing.

[alcman]

I just checked the Celebrity web site and they have our original itinerary back in. Confusion is beginning to reign. I called Celebrity and they confirmed that the itinerary they would sell today is our original one that did not include Helsinki. We are on the July 2 sailing of the Constellation. You may want to check on the web site and see if yours returned to its previous route.

 

Jerry