Baltic ports (not St Pete.)

[tom_uk]

It's not long until our Baltic cruise on Azura, and we received our excursions brochure last weekend. We're working through it, and this post is to ask advice about the ports (with the exception of St Petersburg): how far away is the berth, how easy is it to get around, what is there to see/do, etc. Our ports will be Stockholm; Helsinki; Warnemunde; Copenhagen; and Kristiansand. We've never visited any of them.

 

Stockholm: I gather that there's an old town, and lots of museums. I was think that we might do our own thing here, exploring the old town and perhaps visiting the Vasa Ship museum. Does that sound sensible? How easy is it to get around? What about boat trips around Stockholm harbour (where the main city is)? Any other suggestions?

 

Helsinki: I'm drawing a complete blank here - this is a place I know very little about. Suggestions, please.

 

Warnemunde: Looking at the map I gather that the nearby town of Rostock is one big attraction, and that it's easy to get between Warnemunde and Rostock - trains/trams and boats. Alternatively, I've read that Warnemunde itself is an attractive little seaside town, and if the weather's good we may just stay around there, or perhaps miix Rostock in the morning with a stroll along the beach later. One question: where will the ship berth?

 

Copenhagen: I'm not sure about this one. It actually looks a bit big & busy to have a really successful day on our own, especially given that we're not at all familiar with it - I'm thinking of the issues about getting from one sight to another. Perhaps an excursion here? A walking tour? I believe the cruise terminal is quite some miles away. Incidentally, we're big fans of Scandi-Noir drama: The Killing, Borgen, etc.

 

Kristiansand: again, this is a place I really don't know anything about so suggestions would be welcome.

 

Many thanks for any advice people here can give me.

Edited May 21, 2014 by tom_uk

[sunnybrian]

Hello

we are also on this cruise and we look forward to seeing replies as we have never visited the area before and have the same questions.

We intend to do all of these ports with the exception of St. Pete independently

There is a section on CRUISE CRITIC where you can download reviews on each port and they give quite useful information.

On the P&O site there is information on shuttles sorry I can't remember the link but Someone posted it on Cruise Critic.

 

Stockholm there is a shuttle to City centre chargeable if on saver fare

 

Helsinki. chargeable shuttle 3.5 km to city centre

 

Warnemunde. Dock in centre no shuttle

 

Copenhagen. 10 minute walk into city no shuttle

 

Kristiansand.noddy train can take passengers into town for a charge but I believe it is walkable.

 

Hope some of this helps

Brian

[coralsmum]

Hi, can't help with Warnemunde but here are some suggestions for the others:

Stockholm - do go to the Vassa, you can walk from where the shuttle drops you. It's amazing. We then walked back to the old city and had a look around there.

Helsinki - you need a shutlle as it's about 3/4miles to the centre.I got a walking tour and maps here http://www.frommers.com/destinations/helsinki/maps#sthash.sU807mLs.CxbVdDyw.dpbs

There is a sea fortress and museum a 15 min ferry ride away, you can get an all day ferry and tram ticket at the harbour from the ferry office. Use the tram to get to the rock church and olympic stadium.

Copenhagen - if you dock at Langeline it's a 15min walk to the centre. Again I got a walking tour and map from Frommers. if you dock at the other place you will need a shuttle.

Hope that helps. Sue

[coralsmum]

Hi again, I thought I might get timed out so split this up.

Kristiansand - only a small place, easy to walk into. We went for a walk in Baneheia, like a mini lake area at the back of the town. Again maps and information here http://www.frommers.com/destinations/kristiansand-s/273041#sthash.4hZ1Qhgc.dpbs

Hope you have some ideas now, Sue

[simonpjd]

Warnemunde.

If you like Bruges then from Warnemunde there will be excursions to LUBECK. And Lubeck is another little gem like Bruges. Another Hanseatic trading port. Famous for marzipan.

If you have the slightest bit of interest in culture and/or history - this is place to go in your day in Warnemunde.

[simonpjd]

Bit more sorry if a bit boring. I am reminded of our guide who was about 6 when the wall came down. This part of Germany was in the old East Germany. He and his father went across the border to see what West Germany was like. The guide's father looked in amazement at the shops and cars etc and said 'Even the grass is greener this side'. Anyway go there.

[sunnybrian]

Thanks a lot for that it is very interesting

The excitement is. Starting to build we have just received our E Tickets.

Regards

Brian

[gadabout60]

In Stockholm last July on the Adonia, we were berthed quite close to the centre and bought a HOHO bus ticket. it was expensive - can't remember how much - but it covered two bus tours and a boat tour. It was a hot day and being on the water was lovely. Would really recommend this as we saw a lot and had time to get off and explore on foot as well.

 

We got back to the ship early afternoon exhausted after walking about in the heat and travelling all the tours and managed to give our tickets to two of the crew who had a couple of hours offshore

[Thejuggler]

Copenhagen is very compact. We walked around the whole of the city and saw most of the main sights over a day and that was with a 5 year old in tow.

[Sea Green]

Just back from the Baltics, and;

 

Stockholm - a bit spread out and I think it would be difficult to walk in. We got the 2 day Stockhom card as we were staying overnight and got the bus from Londonsviadukten (5 mins away, up some steps) to Ridderholmen in old town. You can also change for the underground at Slussen. We saw the palace, did a walking tour, nobel museum, cathedral, boat cruise. On day two we did the Town Hall, was planning the vasa too but sailed at 2pm so skipped it.

 

Copenhagen - We walked from Langlinie dock past the little mermaid in to the town hall. This was straightforward and scenic but it was an hours hard walk. At 11am we got the Free Copenhagen Walking Tour from the town hall steps, this was 3 hours long and was excellent (and we saw the real Borgen!)

 

Warnemunde - dock is right at the town, train station is only a few hundred metres. Trains to Rostock run every 15 mins, journey lasts 20 minutes. When you arrive go two levels down to change to the tram to Neumarkt to take you to the old town. Get a map with the main sites from the Tourist info, its easy to walk around.

 

Kristiansand - a very nice little seaside town rather than a big city. Straightforward 10 minute walk from the ship to the town square. The noddy train seemed overpriced at £15 for such a small place, as it was our last stop we took it easy and ambled around and sat in the sun. Streets are set out in a grid so easy to navigate. From the Cathedral we walked round in a square through old town, along the front, past the fort and back to the ship.

 

Hope this is useful!

[sunnybrian]

Just back from the Baltics, and;

 

Stockholm - a bit spread out and I think it would be difficult to walk in. We got the 2 day Stockhom card as we were staying overnight and got the bus from Londonsviadukten (5 mins away, up some steps) to Ridderholmen in old town. You can also change for the underground at Slussen. We saw the palace, did a walking tour, nobel museum, cathedral, boat cruise. On day two we did the Town Hall, was planning the vasa too but sailed at 2pm so skipped it.

 

Copenhagen - We walked from Langlinie dock past the little mermaid in to the town hall. This was straightforward and scenic but it was an hours hard walk. At 11am we got the Free Copenhagen Walking Tour from the town hall steps, this was 3 hours long and was excellent (and we saw the real Borgen!)

 

Warnemunde - dock is right at the town, train station is only a few hundred metres. Trains to Rostock run every 15 mins, journey lasts 20 minutes. When you arrive go two levels down to change to the tram to Neumarkt to take you to the old town. Get a map with the main sites from the Tourist info, its easy to walk around.

 

Kristiansand - a very nice little seaside town rather than a big city. Straightforward 10 minute walk from the ship to the town square. The noddy train seemed overpriced at £15 for such a small place, as it was our last stop we took it easy and ambled around and sat in the sun. Streets are set out in a grid so easy to navigate. From the Cathedral we walked round in a square through old town, along the front, past the fort and back to the ship.

 

Hope this is useful![/

Excellent.

Thank you for the information

Brian

[Gilpet]

Helsinki - we took the shuttle and then walked to the Church in the Rock (it is actually built into the rock), it took about 20 minutes but it was beautiful. We then walked back down to the market in the fishing port where my husband tried the reindeer sausages :eek:.

 

Gill

[tom_uk]

Helsinki - we took the shuttle and then walked to the Church in the Rock (it is actually built into the rock), it took about 20 minutes but it was beautiful. We then walked back down to the market in the fishing port where my husband tried the reindeer sausages :eek:.

 

Gill

 

Knowing what not to do is also important.... Thanks!

[StLucia]

We did our own thing in all these ports and it was one of our best cruises. Frommers has some really good walking guides and we used them in Stockholm and Copenhagen. We visited the Tivoli gardens and had a lovely seafood platter by the lake. We got the train to Rostock easy to do but not a lot to see, around where the ship docks is nice if the weather is good. They were selling takeaways off the boats along by the river when we were there, a real seaside atmosphere. The queues for the Vasa museum can be horrendous so if you really want to visit do the ships tour.

Hope you enjoy yourselves.

Janet