Some advice from a past crusier

[Giantfan13]

I see many new posters who are on their way to the Baltics, and several who have just come back, sharing their stories with us.

 

Thank you all who have returned for some of your great insights, and to those that are about to go, do NOT fret about anything. Whichever tour company you have chosen for St Petersburg will do a magnificent job. They all do. Every one who comes back feels that the company that they used did the best job ever and want to recommend them to everyone else. Do that.

We used SPB Tours for our time in St Petersburg and we were so happy with them that I continue to recommend them to any who ask about them.

 

St Petersburg is a remarkable city and whatever you do, and see, and experience, will be with you for the rest of your lives. Just do not fret if you feel you left something out, or might miss something. In the end, you will have fuill day tours and you will return well satisfied.

 

I just see many people wondering if they did the right thing, chose the right tour, not sure of several things.

 

Again, don't worry, things will all be great. All the tour companies do a great job, so relax and enjoy your cruise and your time in these wonderful ports.

 

I have traveled for quite a while and just see too many people trying to cram too much into too little a time frame and not knowing where they are or where they went. Whatever you see and do, just remember it, and do not worry about not seeing and doing it all. Just stop and smell the roses, as I say, and you will come back with wonderful memories.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[drsb]

Thanks Len, I needed that!

[JeffandMelissa]

Thanks, Len! I've read your posts and you always provide valuable insight.

 

I thank you and all posters for their experiences. They truly help us in the planning stages.

 

Melissa

:D

[Royocruiser]

Thanks Len! We leave on Wednesday and start our cruise on Thursday. I have been stressed that I don't have every day planned exactly and some places I don't even have a list of must see places. I know that we will love whatever we do. I just need to take a step back and let it happen.

 

Cheers!

Robynn :)

[Giantfan13]

You are all most welcome.

 

And Robynn, please give us an update as soon as you get back.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Nonnie1975]

Thanks Len for your sage advise. We always go with the attitude, it is, what it is. If we see it, fine, if we don't, oh well.

That just give us the excuse to come back again.

We are going to relax, have fun, eat all the great food and meet new friends. If it rains, we laugh, and splash through the puddles.

Cheers to cruising!

[squadron]

I plan to go to the Baltics in a year or two. You have made me feel better about St Petersburg - I am going solo and was overwhelmed by the logistics and what tour to choose etc.

[NeoVega]

Great advice! Thank you.

 

I love to plan and consider options. But in the end, I allow for serendipity of whatever comes my way.

 

For me and my daughter , our upcoming trip to the Baltic will be the trip of a lifetime. I may or make more trips on a Baltic cruse. I may or may not be back to St Petersburg. What ever memories and experiences we take back with us will be precious to us.

 

For planning, the information and ideas found here from other CCers is a wonderful part of the process. This place is a gold mine!

[drarill]

Great advice!! Thanks Len!! :):)

[Giantfan13]

Again, thanks to all.

 

I see there are many others who feel the way we do. We try and see what we think we want to see, but if we miss something because we are enjoying something else, so be it. Why take pleasure away from one thing to try and do something else.

 

Maybe it's us, but in all our travels we always try to take at least 1/2 hour a day, to sit, have an ice cream cone (or some other wonderful dessert) and just sit and realize where you are and how exciting it is.

 

When we were in Copenhagen, we stopped at a park for said ice cream, and since it was a Sunday, there were many families there. We ended up chatting with several families and was there for over an hour. Not much to write home about, but it was one of the highlights of our time in Copenhagen, just interacting with some of the locals.

 

And, as was said, maybe it is just an excuse to return one day.

 

Hope you all enjoy this trip as much as we did.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[lawblond7]

Thanks Len - you have provided lots of good insight to me in planning my trip - even if you are an Giants Fan (yes I am an Eagles fan who has lived the last 10 years in Redskin land).

 

Len has a ton of information and has been invaluable in the information he gave me in planning my trip which is a little under 4 weeks away

 

Sharon

[voltdoc]

Hi Len,

I've read your reviews of your Baltic cruise and you were a wealth of information. Thank you for that.

Now I have a question for you; most tour operators offer a “full” tour and a “relaxed” tour. The “full” tour offers two additional “lesser” sights than the relaxed tour. Which of the tours would do? The prices are about the same and the money is of no consequence. Your doing a great job, keep it up…………….voltdoc

[Giantfan13]

Hi Len,

I've read your reviews of your Baltic cruise and you were a wealth of information. Thank you for that.

Now I have a question for you; most tour operators offer a “full” tour and a “relaxed” tour. The “full” tour offers two additional “lesser” sights than the relaxed tour. Which of the tours would do? The prices are about the same and the money is of no consequence. Your doing a great job, keep it up…………….voltdoc

 

I would try and do the 'full' tour, unless you feel stressed that you might not be able to keep up, or just want to do at a lesser pace.

 

We have many people who may be physically unable to sort of 'keep going' for maybe 8 hours a day. But even at that, you are sitting in the bus for a while, sitting down to eat, and when they do make a rest stop, it is usually in a store where you can rest a while.

 

Many of the things I said, I was referring to a port where you can do things on your own, or just be able to go at your own pace. With a private tour in St Petersburg, that is a harder thing to do, but they do offer you options.

 

Again, if physically you are able to do a faster paced tour, I would go with that. You are not rushed along in the different venues and have ample time to enjoy where you are, it's just more to see so you are 'moved' along a bit.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Giantfan13]

Thanks Len - you have provided lots of good insight to me in planning my trip - even if you are an Giants Fan (yes I am an Eagles fan who has lived the last 10 years in Redskin land).

 

Len has a ton of information and has been invaluable in the information he gave me in planning my trip which is a little under 4 weeks away

 

Sharon

 

Thanks again for the kind words Sharon. I know you will enjoy your trip (and have a happy 50th birthday along the way).:)

 

And as far as the Eagles fan part, I do hope you guys have a good year, except when you are playing the Giants.:D:D:D Should be interesting with the new coach.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Len thank you for the words of encouragement. We leave in a week for London and embark on our cruise a few days later. Of course, St P is the port we're most looking forward to. We opted for the Comfort Tour with Alla instead of their Grand Tour and I've often second guessed that decision. But, like you, I enjoy every moment we're traveling and know that we'll have a wonderful time on our tour!

 

I also try to enjoy some local sweets when I travel. One of my fondest memories is much like your Copenhagen story--I was in Haarlem in The Netherlands and sat down on a bench to have a gelato. A local couple asked if they could share the bench and we chatted for about 45 minutes. They were both native Haalemers and it was such a delighful discussion. :D

 

DD and I will be traveling for five weeks and I've planned no more than one activity each day and some days the activity is simply "stroll through the village" or "enjoy a beer garden."

 

Thanks for all the great advice you've given and questions you've answered. I've read so many of your posts and enjoyed your photos. I can't wait to experience it all first hand!!

 

Regards,

Jayne

[Giantfan13]

Jayne

 

I know you will have a marvelous time.

 

Maybe when you get to a certain point in your live, rushing around just doesn't make the most sense.

 

 

 

Do not fret one bit about whichever tour you chose. For you guys it was the right one.

 

What are your plans in London?

 

We did a 2 day pre cruise and a 5 day post cruise in London. To be honest, the only day we did 'rush' was the one we took the Eurostar to Paris for the day. Now THAT was a hectic day. it was our last day before we were to depart for home and we wanted to see Paris so badly. We saw the main sights and a few extras,. but we still found time to just sit on the Champs Elysees and have some ice cream, and we enjoyed the Bat-a-Boat cruise on the Seine for over an hour.

 

Be sure to give us all the details on your return.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Len, we're in London only a couple days prior to going to Dover to embark. The first day--since we'll be jet lagged--we're just doing the HOHO bus to take in some sites and playing it by ear. The second day, we're off on the Warner Brothers Studio Harry Potter tour. We're big fans. :D That night, we're having dinner at one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants. That's about it, But, we'll return to London after the cruise and traveling through Germany, Austria, Czech Replublic, and Poland for three weeks.

 

I really want to savor the experience and have a lot of time to just soak in the culture. I love Europe and am looking forward to getting to spend so much time there. One of the things I'm hoping to do (and you couldn't pay DD enough to do!) is take a glider ride. I've learned there's a small airport near where we're staying for a few days in Austria and they offer glider rides, so I'll be checking that out! :D

 

Some of the things we're most looking forward to are food tours in Helsinki and Prague, segway tour in Prague, spa day in Baden-Baden, river cruise from Bacharach to St Goar, Auschvitz, etc. It's a full agenda! :D

 

Regards,

Jayne

[Giantfan13]

I envy you Jayne. (Except for the glider part LOL)

 

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I envy you Jayne. (Except for the glider part LOL)

 

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

 

Every once in a while, it's good to be me. :D;);)

[Turtles06]

Len, excellent advice, particularly about not agonizing too much over which of a handful of highly-recommended tour operators to use in SPB; thanks for posting it. We are booked on a Baltics cruise next May, and really looking forward to it!

 

I also appreciated your "take a half hour for an ice cream cone" advice -- step back, stop running around, and take in where you are. As an enthusiastic photographer, I always want to remember to put down the camera and just take it all in.

 

We had the great privilege of visiting Antarctica earlier this year, and one of the best bits of advice I'd read was to just sit on a rock quietly and take it all in. (And when you do, chances are that a penguin will come up to you to check you out, an added bonus. :))

[Giantfan13]

Len, excellent advice, particularly about not agonizing too much over which of a handful of highly-recommended tour operators to use in SPB; thanks for posting it. We are booked on a Baltics cruise next May, and really looking forward to it!

 

I also appreciated your "take a half hour for an ice cream cone" advice -- step back, stop running around, and take in where you are. As an enthusiastic photographer, I always want to remember to put down the camera and just take it all in.

 

We had the great privilege of visiting Antarctica earlier this year, and one of the best bits of advice I'd read was to just sit on a rock quietly and take it all in. (And when you do, chances are that a penguin will come up to you to check you out, an added bonus. :))

 

Now THAT, I would like :D:D:D

 

I also love to take pictures, as you can see from many that I have posted. That is one of the main reasons why we stay away from ship's tours, or really any private type tours. We like to go at our own pace and if see something that I want a pix of, I could spend 1/2 hour just waiting for the sun to come out, for people to clear out a bit or many of other reasons why. No one to rush you onto a bus or telling you to move along.

 

I love to do the sunset pixs. On the Baltic cruise, the daily letter said the sun was setting about 8:25 PM. We ate and went out to watch it, and there it was still sitting high in the sky. The ships letter was way off and the sun didn't set till much later.

 

Be warned all you sunset people, if you go to bed even early you may miss it.

(LOL)

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Turtles06]

I love to do the sunset pixs. On the Baltic cruise, the daily letter said the sun was setting about 8:25 PM. We ate and went out to watch it, and there it was still sitting high in the sky. The ships letter was way off and the sun didn't set till much later.

 

Be warned all you sunset people, if you go to bed even early you may miss it.

(LOL)

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

In terms of when the light is where at a particular point on earth, this app was highly recommended just the other day by a professional photographer on a webinar I was taking:

 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-photographers-ephemeris/id366195670?mt=8

[love4cruisin]

Thank you so much for your tips for new Baltic cruisers. My husband and I booked this rather last minute. Although we are heavy cruisers we have never sailed to Europe and this particular northern europe cruise has been on my hubby's list for some time. We saw an opportunity over the July 4 holiday and grabbed it bc we could arrange for childcare and it all worked out. But being last minute we don't have as much time to plan. The one thing I did was to book a ST Pete private tour through one of the recommended companies. This itin doesnt seem like the place to wing it but there are so many detailed posts that I was finding it overwhelming and starting to stress which is certainly NOT the point of the trip :) Ive read the posts about what you wish someone told you, etc. Anything key you would like to add would be most appreciated. right now I'm thinking of winging it in at least Copenhagen and possibly Helsinki with a guidebook and walking around on our own. It also seems like we need some local currency for each port. Am I on the right track and is their anything you would like to add?

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Thank you so much for your tips for new Baltic cruisers. My husband and I booked this rather last minute. Although we are heavy cruisers we have never sailed to Europe and this particular northern europe cruise has been on my hubby's list for some time. We saw an opportunity over the July 4 holiday and grabbed it bc we could arrange for childcare and it all worked out. But being last minute we don't have as much time to plan. The one thing I did was to book a ST Pete private tour through one of the recommended companies. This itin doesnt seem like the place to wing it but there are so many detailed posts that I was finding it overwhelming and starting to stress which is certainly NOT the point of the trip :) Ive read the posts about what you wish someone told you, etc. Anything key you would like to add would be most appreciated. right now I'm thinking of winging it in at least Copenhagen and possibly Helsinki with a guidebook and walking around on our own. It also seems like we need some local currency for each port. Am I on the right track and is their anything you would like to add?

 

 

How exciting! :D DD and I are leaving Monday for our Baltic cruise and have been planning for more than a year. We are going out on our own in all ports except St Pete and Berlin. We've booked tours with Alla for both of those ports. If you're interested in tours in other cities besides St P, check with the company you're touring with there. At lease Alla and SPB offer tours in other Baltic ports as well and give a discount for booking more than one with them

 

For Tallinn, we've printed out a walking tour and have done the same for Copenhagen. We plan to explore on our own in Helsinki (and I've also booked a food tour there). We're debarking in Brugge and plan to do a canal boat ride there and just explore on our own. You might check with your Roll Call and see if they've arranged any group tours, also.

 

Have fun planning! I think you've taken care of the most important thing by booking your tour in St P. :D

[Giantfan13]

Thank you so much for your tips for new Baltic cruisers. My husband and I booked this rather last minute. Although we are heavy cruisers we have never sailed to Europe and this particular northern europe cruise has been on my hubby's list for some time. We saw an opportunity over the July 4 holiday and grabbed it bc we could arrange for childcare and it all worked out. But being last minute we don't have as much time to plan. The one thing I did was to book a ST Pete private tour through one of the recommended companies. This itin doesnt seem like the place to wing it but there are so many detailed posts that I was finding it overwhelming and starting to stress which is certainly NOT the point of the trip :) Ive read the posts about what you wish someone told you, etc. Anything key you would like to add would be most appreciated. right now I'm thinking of winging it in at least Copenhagen and possibly Helsinki with a guidebook and walking around on our own. It also seems like we need some local currency for each port. Am I on the right track and is their anything you would like to add?

 

Jayne has given you some really excellent advice.

 

First thing you need to do, as Jayne suggested, is look for the Roll call for your ship, then your date. If you are just planning now, I might think that many of the 'groups' have tours set up already, but maybe you can join in. If not, when you decide which tour company you might want to use in St Petersburg, email them and ask if they can help you join another group. Most of the groups are small, like max 16 people, so see what they can do.

I would most definitely stay away from any ship's excursions. Since you said you are a regular cruiser, you know about them. You can do much better either on your own or thru private tour companies.

Again, as Jayne said, if you prefer a tour group, several of the private tour companies from St Petersburg also do several of the other cities you will visit. The more you book, the better the price. We used SPB Tours (http://www.spb-tours.com/). They are one of the better companies there. Many on these boards have used them and all have come back with glowing reviews.

 

All the ports, except St Petersburg are very easy to do on your own. Either take some notes from many of our threads, buy a good guide book, or, if you have time, email the tourist offices in say Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm and they will send you great maps and literature to help make the limited time you are spending in these ports worthwhile.

 

If you have more specific questions, please feel free to ask away.

 

Oh, as far as currency, you could get by with dollars, use you credit card as much as possible (get one without foreign transaction fees like the CapitalOne card). If you need currency from each country, hit an ATM when you get there.

 

Hope some of this helps

 

Cheers

 

Len