May 7 Constellation Review Baltic/Russia (Very Long)

[crazy4cruisn]

Marilyn,

Could you tell us more about the subway stations in St Peteresburg?

Thanks for your great review!!

[Host Anne]

Marilyn and gnarfle ~ You two are the heros for the rest of us sailing the Baltic this summer. What great information. Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experiences. It's most helpful to those who are sailing soon!

 

Remember .... we can never get enough and could read reviews forever!

 

THANKS AGAIN!

[emmalbrent]

My CC acquaintance in AU sent me the URL for your review. We are on the Westerdam Sep 8 and will see some of the same ports. I have not booked our tours yet.

 

Forwarding your review to our tablemates and 2 Travel Agents; our personal agent & the TA who is escorting our tour. We will arrive Copenhagen a day early. Our tablemates are doing London & Paris first.

[eileen & jay]

Marilyn: Thank you so much for posting your review. My husband and I will be on the July 2nd Constellation sailing and your informative review has been most helpful. Thank you again!

[MSBYRDY]

SkySweet: I will send a note now inquiring about other hotels in Dover.

 

Crazy4cruisn: The Metro Stations in Russia are totally incredible. All Marble columns, crystal chandeliers, it was worth seeing. I had a website showing them, but can't seem to find it.

 

Host Anne: Hi again, glad to help, you certainly saved the day for the Med with all the information you sent me. Hope this somehow returns the favor.

Marilyn

[boten]

What was the breakup of days into formal/semi/casual?

[MSBYRDY]

Sat. - Casual

Sun. - Informal

Mon. - Casual

Tues.- Formal

Wed. - Casual

Thur. - Informal

Fri. - Casual

Sat. - Informal

Sun. - Formal

Mon. - Informal

Tues.- Casual

Wed. - Casual

Thur. - Formal

Fri. - Casual

 

This was the line up for our itinerary, I realize some have other itineraries, so keep that in mind.

Marilyn

[cgehrke]

re restaurant in Copenhagen, it's the ina davidsen, but only open until 4. so good for lunch. specializing in Danish/Scandinavian sandwiches, which are usually only 1 slice of bread with toppings. they're supposed to have an amazing assortment.

[msbobbie]

Hi, My daughter and I are taking a Baltic Cruise in July, and we are interested in the firm you hired..Denrus, can you tell me how you found them? and the fee.

Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

You can e-mail me at rmcintire@austin.rr.com.

Thanks, I appreciate your time.

Bobbie

[thecruisechick]

Marilyn,

 

Thanks for taking the time to write the review. We're headed to The Baltics on June 27 and look forward to it even more now.

[MSBYRDY]

Sky Sweet: I sent a note to Dover, however she is out on a tour and will return on June 6, I won't hear from her til then.

 

msbobbie: Email sent to you with info you requested.

Marilyn

[Host Anne]

Marilyn ~ you've definitely given me some great tips in your review. It's great that we are able to share our experiences. Thanks again for the great review! :)

[Sky Sweet]

Sky Sweet: I sent a note to Dover, however she is out on a tour and will return on June 6, I won't hear from her til then.

 

msbobbie: Email sent to you with info you requested.

Marilyn

 

Thank you, MsByrdy...I appreciate all your efforts and look forward to hearing what your contact in Dover recommends :)

[janrj7]

We stayed at the East Lee Guest House (a bed and breakfast) in Dover last fall before the Constellation trans-atlantic. Charming place, and very reasonable. Most rooms are upstairs, no elevator. Furnished in antiques. Lovely breakfast in a nineteenth-century parlor. Short walk to downtown, and our taxi to the pier was quite reasonable. Friendly, family-run place.

 

If we do the Baltic cruise, we will stay there again. Had friends staying at the Churchill, but we were happier where we were.

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

Jan

[Sky Sweet]

We stayed at the East Lee Guest House (a bed and breakfast) in Dover last fall before the Constellation trans-atlantic. Charming place, and very reasonable. Most rooms are upstairs, no elevator. Furnished in antiques. Lovely breakfast in a nineteenth-century parlor. Short walk to downtown, and our taxi to the pier was quite reasonable. Friendly, family-run place.

 

If we do the Baltic cruise, we will stay there again. Had friends staying at the Churchill, but we were happier where we were.

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

Jan

 

Thank you, Jan. I just googled "East Lee Guest House" and "Dover" and now have its address and phone number :)

[Scott Cyn]

Great review, Marilyn. Many thanks for taking the time to put it down on paper...er...bits and bytes?

 

We are on the Connie for the Baltic sailing 6/3/06 and I've copied your review into my folder to be used a s a reference document over the next year.

 

A couple of questions:

 

1) Lionheart asked a ways back if you could scan the dailies and make them available. Are you game for that?

 

2) Based on your mention, I've just put in an order with my local library for the 1000 Places To See Before You Die book. But I have not been able to find anything when I google on Ina Davidson Restaurant. Could you give some more details please? And am I spelling it correctly?

 

Thanks

 

Scott

[cgehrke]

it's spelled ina davidsen, open until 4. good for lunch. specializing in Danish/Scandinavian sandwiches, which are usually only 1 slice of bread with toppings. they're supposed to have an amazing assortment.

[Boo's Mom]

Hi Jan.

 

When you stayed @ the East Lee Guest House...did you arrive there in the early morning after flying all day? I didn't check to see where you lived.

Did you pay for two nights, then?

 

Thanks.

[alcman]

I found it on google. The web site is:

 

http://www.idadavidsen.dk/index.php?page=8

 

It lists the menu and prices and location. Hope to enjoy this restaurant on our July 2 cruise.

 

Jerry

[MSBYRDY]

LOL it would take a week to scan all the pages in 14 days worth of dailies. Anything in particular you're looking for that I could do easily?

Marilyn

[janrj7]

We flew in to Heathrow from Texas, and then we took a bus to Canterbury and stayed there 2 nights (charming little city!). Then we took a mid-day bus to Dover. The Dover bus station (really more of a bus stop) is just around the corner from East Lee Guest House, so we just walked 2 minutes with our luggage and checked in, mid-afternoon. We stayed 2 nights in Dover as we wanted to see Dover Castle and the wartime tunnels, and just relax a bit.

 

The buses were very economical, by the way, and comfortable. We bought our Heathrow to Canterbury (via London) tickets ahead of time, online, and bought the Canterbury to Dover tickets in Canterbury.

 

If you needed an early checkin, the owners of East Lee could be emailed and asked ... they were VERY prompt in replying to email.

 

hth!

Jan

[Boo's Mom]

Thanks, Jan ~

Tell me about Canterbury....... :)

[Live the good life]

Marilyn, thanks for a very prompt and much needed review!

 

With regards to Oslo, how long did it take you (approximately) to walk from ship to the Vigeland Park? How about from the ship to the Aker Bridge area? What else would you recommend visiting in Oslo? My mom and her friends will also be going to the Baltics this Summer (in a different sailing than ours) and wondering about the approximate distance between these sites...

 

Also, with regards to Stockholm, how many minutes walking distance is the Ice Bar from City Hall? You mentioned taking a cab to the Ice Bar...How long did it take you, and was it from Vasa?

 

Thanks, Kim

[Live the good life]

Marilyn,

 

Also have a question on the entertainment on your Constellation Baltic cruise...How was the guitarist at the aft bar, and what kind of music was played? Were you able to hear the music from your aft cabin? (many of us on our July 02 Roll-call were able to book aft cabins and very excited about it)...Also wondering whether there was live music by the pool, and what kind of music was played?

Any dance music at the Rendez Vous lounge or other lounges? How about piano? We assume we will be able to enjoy the classical music at the Cova Cafe as on the Millenium and Mercury...

 

Kim

 

P.S. By the way, we are also booked with Denrus and very much looking forward to our experience!

[MSBYRDY]

We did walk to Vigeland Park, but it was wayyyyyy too far. At least a 30 - 45 min walk. We should have taken a cab or the trolley. Others found the tickets for the trolley at the 7/11 store and took that.

 

We took the cab from the palace, not the Vasa, to the Ice Bar which took about 5 min. The driver waited for us at the ice bar so we wouldn't have to pay the start up fee again. Nice guy. Then on to the Vasa, probably another 5-10 min.

 

As for entertainment at the Aft Bar.....not on our cruise, everything was moved indoors due to the cold and rain. Same with the pool, didn't happen.

 

We had a great singer and music in Rendez Vous every evening before our late dinner. A trio playing during dinner. After dinner the Rendez Vous became various things such as Karoake.

 

We were thrilled to have the aft corner FV, but really couldn't take advantage of those balconies other than the sailaways and coming into ports. Couldn't leave the door open at all due to the cold.

 

Certainly hope you have better weather than we did.

Marilyn