Baltic cruise - June 2014 - help with ports

[margtee]

Husband and I have booked a Baltic cruise for next June and wonder if any one can tell me how easy it is to "do it alone" in some of the ports and we can then make a decision on which places to book P & O trips. We know we definitely will book trips in St Petersburg but wonder about the other ports - Zeebrugge, Gdansk, Klaipeda, Tallinn and Copenhagen.

 

Many thanks for any replies

 

Margtee

[Scrapnana]

It is a good walk (uphill) to get to Toompea (the old town) in Tallinn. Klaipeda the port is right in town. Copenhagen depends on where you dock. Some ships dock far out of town. Other than that once you get into town they are easily DIY. I have not been to Gdansk or Zeebrugge.

[Josy1953]

I agree with Scrapnana's comments. In addition I have been to Zeebrugge which is not very interesting but it is very easy to get to Bruges or Brussels by train. Gdansk, we took a tour because when I did some research it did not appear to be the easiest place to do alone, It was quite a distance from the port to the city.

[majortom10]

From where the shuttle bus drops you off in Tallin it is not a very steep walk up to the Market Square through a lovely area of shops unless you have mobility difficulties it is only steep if you want to get to the cathedral.

[Thejuggler]

In Copenhagen large ships dock a few minutes walk from the Little Mermaid. Copenhagen isn't that large and over a day we wandered around most of the city, its flat and easy to navigate.

 

We did a full circuit seeing the Mermaid, star fortress, Nyboder naval housing, Hans Christian Andersen house, main shopping streets, the round tower, main square, City hall, Tivoli, Calrbserg brewery, waterside, Royal Palace (and we did see the Queen) and then back to the ship.

[margtee]

Many thanks to you all for your quick and helpful responses! Now got to decide whether to do any alone but have got one of the trips booked as a Christmas present from our son, so that will be one less to think about.

[Bacardi..]

I can recommend alla tours. I was very cautious of booking with someone other than po in st Petersburg. I am however very glad we did.

 

We did the two day grand tour. The guide was great, we did not really que. we went in The hermatige early. People on our table they quad for ages and only had a short time in the museum. Not sure if we were lucky or it was planned that way, but they are a Russian tour agency with many rave reviews.

 

For $25 more we got a walking tour of Tallinn as well. I think they may even do a gdansk tour. We hired a taxi in gdansk between 6 of us from our table and she was our guide. Worked out at the same price as a po tour

[rabet]

Husband and I have booked a Baltic cruise for next June and wonder if any one can tell me how easy it is to "do it alone" in some of the ports and we can then make a decision on which places to book P & O trips. We know we definitely will book trips in St Petersburg but wonder about the other ports - Zeebrugge, Gdansk, Klaipeda, Tallinn and Copenhagen.

 

Many thanks for any replies

 

Margtee

 

Hi.

We did this trip this year and we booked our trips in St Petersburg with a local tour company. We booked two full day tours, lunches included, and were treated to a fantastic tour of a lifetime. We saw twice as much as we would have with the ships tours and it was half the cost. We were on a mini bus with eight other passengers from the ship who had pre booked with us with a Russian guide who gave us so much information and spoke very good english. Google : 'Alla tours' and have a read.

 

Have a good trip.

[davecttr]

Tallin is a gem, just get the shuttle to town and wander around. If the ship docks near the little mermaid in Copenhagen you can get the around the harbour ho ho tourist boat which covers all the main attractions and saves your feet.

[kevinyork]

A vote here for TKTravel for their 2 day St Pete tour. Tallin, a walking town but with some hills. Zeebrugge, the ships shuttle drops you at the train station in the next town from where its a 20 min train journey into Brugges.

 

I would recommend joining the roll call where your co cruisers will share ideas.

Edited December 7, 2013 by kevinyork

[margam49]

St Petersburg.

We did Alla Tours 2 day grand tour, our guide was great. Alla tours sorts out your visa for you. We even booked a trip to the ballet for the 1st evening through them. You don't have to pay until the 2nd day. Go to their web site and open an account (you don't have to book) it's the best way of communication, any questions you have are answered promptly by email.

Also June is known as "White Nights" it's still light at midnight.

 

Tallin

It depends where you dock. We didn't take the shuttle, we walked into Tallin, (it helps burn off some calories) it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get to the old town. It's one of our favourite destinations. You must try some local "Saku" beer.

 

Copenhagen

We did our own thing, easily walkable if docked by the little mermaid.