Stockholm: Will We Have Time?

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

We are in Stockholm on Emerald Princess in May and will be in port 7am - 2pm. Our plan is to visit the Vasa Museum and the Nobel Museum on our own. Both open at 10 a.m. on the day we are there.

 

One of the co-authors of many of my husband's papers earned a Nobel prize for work earlier in his career, and this is our first visit to Stockholm....so getting to see his profile at the Nobel Museum is a high priority. I know the conventional wisdom says to visit the Vasa as early as possible, but for us, the priority is reversed, so the conventional wisdom may not apply here.

 

Can anyone suggest whether it is doable (on our own) to get into both museums on our ship's short schedule? What would be the best way of getting around? Taxi, HOHO bus, HOHO boat? Would it make sense to hire a local guide to expedite our trip that day...or does that even really help here? Is there any way to get into either museum early?

 

I'd be very grateful any insight you might have that would help us make this happen!!

[MeHeartCruising]

Do you know where you are docked in Stockholm yet? That might make a little difference. I'm sure you can get both of them in in, but you won't have a lot of time at either. But that might be ok, since both are desires. While it's probably very easy to spend 2 or more hours at the Vasa if you stop to watch the movie and read all the exhibits, you can also still enjoy a quicker visit. I probably spent between 60 and 90 minutes in the museum because I too had a lot of other things I wanted to see. Even spending an hour will give you time to see the ship from multiple vantage points and to read some of the exhibits. It's not ideal, but it's still a value in my opinion. I would imagine the same is true of the Nobel Museum, but I have not been there. So maybe 60 minutes at one and 90 minutes at another with some fast transport in between and back to ship. I'm sorry I can't help with the quickest transport option between the two. I'm sure it probably is a taxi, but I don't know how available those are outside the museums. Hopefully others will have some input here.

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

Thanks so much....I believe we are expected to dock at Stadsgarden 167.

[Ultima Thule]

Should not be any problem if you do some planning. I recommend you take the museum further away from the cruise ship first, i.e. Vasa if you dock at Stadsgården, Nobel if you dock at Frihamnen. That way you'll only do ONE trip between Old Town and the Djurgården area during the busy 10 am - 2 pm period. But you have to restrict your Vasa visit to one hour or less. That's no problem if you skip the film and the extra exhibitions and concentrate on the ship itself.

 

Just check out the maps. Locate the museums on Google maps and check out the ways to them. And remember always to give some spare time in case of unforseen events. I was in Stockholm a few days ago and the tram had changed its route and a bus left off one stop due to street repair work. And then there was an armed robbery of a goldsmith store in downtown that made police close down a major road creating traffic chaos. If I had been on a tight schedule and been depending on local buses I might have been in trouble.

[Al_Frescoe]

The Nobel Museum does not open until 10:00 AM beginning on May 15th. Before then it does not open until 11:00 AM.

 

Just FYI.

 

What cruise line is it that gives you such terrible hours in Stockholm? 7 till 2PM? That's a crime in my opinion.

 

Al

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

It's Princess -- Stockholm is the last call of the 11-day itinerary, so it has to be a short and early day in order to be in port at 5 a.m. in Copenhagen two days later. Unfortunately....

 

Thank you to everyone that has responded. I'm still trying to work out the best transpo for our day.

[Giantfan13]

Since you will be in port at the early hour of 7:00AM, and the two venues you want to see do not open until 10, that leaves you with a couple of hours with not much to do.

that said, and since you are docking very close to Gamla Stan, I would head there first. I do not know if shops are open then, but some places surely will be serving breakfast, so why not go there, wander around, and have some breakfast. At 10 when the Noble Museum opens you are right there. If you spend an hour in the museum you will have plenty of time to get to Vasa and spend at least another hour there. I think our posters from Stockholm might agree, but I would not think the Vasa would be that crowded in May, as it might be in July

 

Here are a few of my pix of Stockholm to help get you acclimated

 

The Noble Museum, right in the heart of Gamla Stan

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe1272.jpg

 

The main street in Gamla Stan is filled with wonderful shops and lots of people

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster1275.jpg

 

But walk a block or two away and you may be by yourselves to explore the narrow cobblestone streets

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe1270.jpg

 

Sit down and have a bite to eat at many of the restaurants in Gamla Stan

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe1265.jpg

 

If you have time before the Museums open, check out the Royal Palace at the foot of Gamla Stan

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster1241.jpg

 

Then on to the Vasa Museum

http://s834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/?action=view&current=europemaster1357.mp4

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Len

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

Thanks, that helped a lot. I did not even consider that the Vasa (and everything else) would not be as crowded so early in the season. I think we'll plan to get into the old town around 9, and just look around until the museum opens.

 

I don't expect to spend a lot of time at the Nobel Museum, just enough to find what we're looking for...and then make sure we get to see the Vasa, or at least give it our best shot.