GJH123 Posted April 14, 2011 #1 Share Posted April 14, 2011 We are developing an itinerary with Andrew for Gdansk. However, we have found communication with him concerning. He seems to lack facility with English and has dismissed our suggestions for additions to his "set" itinerary. How does your experience compare? I had researched him on the port boards and he came highly recommended; however, none of the posts seemed to be from Oceania cruisers and so I would deeply appreciate any insights you might provide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted April 14, 2011 #2 Share Posted April 14, 2011 We are developing an itinerary with Andrew for Gdansk. However, we have found communication with him concerning. He seems to lack facility with English and has dismissed our suggestions for additions to his "set" itinerary. How does your experience compare?I had researched him on the port boards and he came highly recommended; however, none of the posts seemed to be from Oceania cruisers and so I would deeply appreciate any insights you might provide. I know nothing about him but I book only private guides. If you have communication problems now, his English does not meet your expectations and he will not adjust his itinerary to meet your needs (that's why we hire private guides) it would be a mistake to book with him. Do you want to be stuck in Gdansk with him with no options? He has done you a favor. No brainer to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkeyeCruisr Posted April 14, 2011 #3 Share Posted April 14, 2011 We were on a port tour of Stutthof concentration camp and old town Gdansk with Andrew in Sept, 2009. We had a rather short port day (8 am to 2 pm) and I thought Andrew did a great job of managing our tour. We even had time to stop by the Gdansk shipyards to see the memorial on our way back to the ship. We were all pleased with the tour and with Andrew. His English was fine - perfectly understandable to all on the tour. Perhaps his written English is not as good as his spoken English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH123 Posted April 16, 2011 Author #4 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Thanks so much for your response, Hawkeye Cruiser. I'm assuming Andrew was your licensed guide or did he have someone else with him? Do you happen to remember if he did the tour at Stutthof or if their were guides on site to handle the tours? Finally, would you speak to the depth of his commentary? I really appreciate your help and glad to hear that you had such a good day in Gadansk! We are really looking forward to our time there and have about four additional hours in port scheduled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkeyeCruisr Posted April 16, 2011 #5 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Andrew was the licensed guide and the driver. Stutthof does not have guides on site for visitors - just people who take your money and issue tickets. There are a few books/booklets for sale at the ticket office, also. All information received about the camp came from Andrew as most of the explanatory signs were in Polish. You're lucky to have an longer port time; we had to skip the short film at the camp due to time constraints. The drive from our ship to Stutthof was about one hour and twenty minutes. After the sobering Stutthof experience, old town Gdansk was utterly charming. I could have easily spent the entire afternoon there and really wished we had time for lunch. Still, Andrew worked well with what time we did have, pointing out architectural details and giving us the history and background of the city. BTW, you'll be amazed when you see this lovely medieval town and find out that it was mostly destroyed during WWII. It has been lovingly restored to its former glory. Just writing about this port day (and reviewing my trip diary) brings that day to life again for me. It was near the top of my list of Great Port Days in a cruise that seemed jam-packed with great ports! I think you'll be well pleased with Andrew and I know you'll never forget Gdansk and Stutthof. May I ask what Andrew's "set" itinerary is and what additions you were requesting? Oh, and feel free to email me to get a link to my photos from this cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH123 Posted April 18, 2011 Author #6 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Thank you so much for your reply. Andrew has sent us a more detailed itinerary and your comments have helped to alleviate our concerns. We will be contacting you about your pictures. We appreciate your time and the information you provided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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