Who has taken the Baltic itinerary and would you do it again?

[SanFranBayCruiser]

We're givng serious consideration to booking the Constellation for July 1, 2006, 14 night Baltic cruise round trip from Dover, England. Any and all feedback regarding this itinerary and ship would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

[Cindy-Sue]

Been there, done that...would do it again! Our favorite cruise ever. We were on the "Connie" two years ago and had an aft balcony cabin. I would grab one, if they are available. We would go back in a heartbeat! I hope that you are in good physical shape, because it is a very busy itinerary with lots of walking.

Bon Voyage...

Cindy Sue :)

[SanFranBayCruiser]

Been there, done that...would do it again! Our favorite cruise ever. We were on the "Connie" two years ago and had an aft balcony cabin. I would grab one, if they are available. We would go back in a heartbeat! I hope that you are in good physical shape, because it is a very busy itinerary with lots of walking.

Bon Voyage...

Cindy Sue :)

 

Thanks Cindy Sue for your fast response! Yes, we're in our late 30s and in good shape. If possible, can you tell me how Celebrity compares to Princess. We're ready to book, we just want more information on the ship and the type of people to expect onboard with us.

[Bruin Steve]

Of course I'd do it again...

My wife really wants to get back to St. Petersburg...

And the Connie is a marvelous ship...We've sailed her twice in the past three months!

 

I still prefer the Mediterranean...

But ANY European itinerary is worthwhile...

The Baltic has some real highlights: St. Petersburg, Gdansk, Tallinn, Copenhagen...and there is worthwhile stuff to see in the other ports (don't miss the Vasa Museum in Stockholm!)...

 

All in all, it's a trip everyone should do sometime...

I plan on getting around to it for at least one repeat a few years down the road...And I would definitely do it on Celebrity...

 

We did the Baltic in 2001 on Princess and, IMHO, I would put Celebrity head and shoulders above Princess...Our Princess Baltic cruise had an age demographic somewhere between "Ancient" and "Dinosaur" and the Copenhagen round trip itinerary was just flat out inferior to the Dover round trips Celebrity does...Princess' choice to use Nynashamn for Stockholm wastes time and adds expense to shore excursions...and air flights to Copenhagen are more difficult to arrange out of the US than to London...Plus, Celebrity's food and service is much better...

[lysolqn]

Sailed Constellation Baltic cruise last year and liked it so much, sailed Constellation Baltic cruise again this year! Great ship, great ports with lots to see and do.

[tlmlb]

Did 2001 Baltic on Galaxy out of Amsterdam - best cruise ever. would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

Since you are leaving July 1 - consider going early and seeing the championships held at Wimbledon.... even if you aren't a big tennis fan it is a once in a lifetime experience.

[Leela]

A woman I had lunch with on Horizon this spring told me all about her Baltic cruise on one of the Celebrity ships. In a nutshell, she LOVED IT and says that if she were to recommend only one cruise to people, it would be that one. The way she talked about it she made me want to go, and I had previously absolutely no interest in crusing Europe.

[Texed]

I hope it is great! We are booked on Constellation July 1, 2006. :)

[klflote]

We did the Baltic on the Constellation in the summer of 2002. I can only enthusiastically echo what others have said on this thread -- it was the most amazing trip I've ever taken. In fact, we're going on the Millennium in the Med in two weeks, but I can't help but be a little wistful that we're not returning to the Baltic.

 

I've only done Princess in the Caribbean, but there's no way in my mind that they could compare to Celebrity. It's a port-intensive trip; you want to make sure that all the little details go smoothly so that you can enjoy your trip. Celebrity does this like no one else.

 

Scott

[Gillian2]

I loved our Princess Baltic cruise. I would do the itinerary again in a heartbeat. With the Stockholm port, by the way, a number of us walked to the train and took the train into Stockholm no bother.

I have only cruised Celeb. once (Infinity) and the food and service were NOWHERE close to what Princess provides.

The only ship, in my opinion, which has out-classed Princess is the QM2 (we did the crossing this year..fabulous).

I do like the "Club" for Diamond and suite passengers on the RCCL Radiance class ships. Cocktail hour is a blast (and also after dinner drinks if you are on first seating)!

G2

[Petert]

Hi San Fran,

 

We sailed the the Baltic itinerary on the Constellation in May, and had a great time. The Constellation is a beautiful ship, and the Celebrity hospitality is outstanding. The Baltic itinerary is very interesting, and gives one a broad sample of the northern European and Scandinavian countries/capitals. This is one of the top two or three cruises we have taken over the years, and would be well worth revisiting. Our only complaint was that 14 days was just not enough.

 

Peter

[Susan-M]

 

Princess' choice to use Nynashamn for Stockholm wastes time and adds expense to shore excursions

 

The itinerary for Constellation next summer, on both ***** and Travelocity, show Stockholm(Nynashamn), however, Celebrity's website just shows Stockholm. I'm wondering if Celebrity may be changing ports? I agree that it's a real advantage to be docked in Stockholm.

 

We did a 14 day Baltic cruise in 2000 on Cunard's Caronia and thought it was fabulous...wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

[westcoastcruiser]

Thanks to all who have posted and enthusiastically recommended the Baltic Cruise. We are booked for August 2006 and it helps build the excitement knowing what a great trip it will be. Did any of you go early and stay in Dover for a few days before the cruise? If so, was it worth it? We figured we would arrive early to help recover from jetlag and prepare for the busy schedule ahead of us. We have visited London in the past and loved it. But were looking for a semi-restful experience before the cruise.:rolleyes:

[knitter]

We did the Baltic cruise in September, 2001 (at sea on 9/11) and it was great. We were round trip from Amsterdam, and did a few days there before and after. In St. Petersburg we paired up with a couple we "met" on the board and shared a private tour guide for 2 days which worked out really weel. I'm sure there is lot's about Laura and her company, Red October (she was with another group when we went) on the Baltic boards. We saw more than we could have if we had all the shore excursions, got into musuems before they were open in some cases, and had such a personal experience. This trip is not a leisurely vacation- we were off the ship early every day in port and back as late as possible. If we weren't docked "downtown", there were generally free shuttles running most of the day. Except in Warnnemude, where there was a commuter train at the dock to take you into Rostock. Enjoy!

[judiek]

We did the Baltic cruse last August on the RCCL Jewel of the Seas..We loved everythng about it.St Petersburg was wonderful.We also "hooked" up with 4 other couples and did a tour with DenRus...even had lunch with a Russian family.We would do it again in a heartbeat.....it was wonderful and so was the ship

[Al_Frescoe]

The itinerary for Constellation next summer, on both ***** and Travelocity, show Stockholm(Nynashamn), however, Celebrity's website just shows Stockholm. I'm wondering if Celebrity may be changing ports? I agree that it's a real advantage to be docked in Stockholm.

 

We did a 14 day Baltic cruise in 2000 on Cunard's Caronia and thought it was fabulous...wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

 

Oh my, I certainly hope this is not true. Not only does it (Nynashamn) steal valuable time from seeing Stockholm, but the sail in and out through the Stockholm archipelago is really a wonderful experience.

 

This would be a mistake and a dis-service to X cruisers in my opinion.

 

Al

[alpal1993]

We did the Century Baltic cruise June 2-14.We loved it very different from other cruises.It is extremely educational.We both learned so much about European history that we were never taught in school.I don't think I would go as early in the season as we did,as several countries and sea days were quit cold for us Floridians,

[Gillian2]

We stayed in Southampton for 3 days prior to one of our cruises and used the trains to visit places out of the area such as Stonehenge. We made sure our hotel was within walking distance of the station. You could look at a map and see what places are within a short train ride of Dover. It is well worth getting over the jet lag before the cruise as it is a very exhausting (but also exhilerating) trip if you want to see all the sights.

[SanFranBayCruiser]

How rough is the North Sea? I know it's bad, my question is how bad/rough does it get? How would it compare to say going to Bermuda from New York?

[CruisingChick]

I have no clue what the North Sea is like, but would love to know since we are doing the Baltic Cruise July 1, 2006.

 

I do know that when we sailed to Bermuda from NYC last year (and we are right in between Bonnie and Charlie Hurricanes) the waters were fine. I am slightly sensitive and was worried since Zenith is a small ship but the waters were pretty calm and I did not feel any seasickness at all.

 

Anne Maria

[msiowa]

We did the Constellation Baltic cruise 2 years ago - it was fabulous. (I just did Alaska and although that was terrific, in my opinion it didn't come close to being as great as the Baltic.)

 

We spent one day in Dover before the cruise. There is enough to keep one busy for a day but I'm not sure there's much more than that. I'd probably stay in London for a couple of days and then go to Dover for the day before the cruise. OR, if you can rent a car, travel through the southern countryside for a couple of days (Canterbury, Rye come instantly to mind as interesting places to see) and then go to Dover for the day prior to the cruise.

 

Our experience in the North Sea (and I imagine it differs from cruise to cruise) is that from Dover to Oslo it was as smooth as glass. From Copenhagen back to Dover we hit a storm and we had 18-foot seas for about 12 hours (many people were sick - I love motion so it was fun for me) and then when the storm passed, it was quite smooth the rest of the way.

 

This is an incredible cruise. I highly recommmend Red October for St. Petersburg.

 

Have a great time!

Joanie

[kitty9]

The North Sea can be one of the roughest places to cruise. I've done a Baltic cruise 3 times, with a fourth one coming up in two weeks, and it's a great itinerary. But, the NS is one of the most bouncy areas for a cruise ship. You could have great and calm seas, but be prepared for it to be rough.

[SanFranBayCruiser]

Kitty - I lurk over on the Crystal boards and trust your opinions (we seem to have similar taste on most things). Would you book Princess? Crystal or Celebrity for a Baltic cruise?

[dileep]

We did the 14 Day cruise on the Constellation on May 21 and loved. Had great weather, and no rough seas. We have had rougher seas on a SF Bay Dinner Cruise :rolleyes:

 

The itinerary can change from sailing date to date. So, if you are interested in particular ports, pay attention to that. Our favorites were St Petersburg and Tallinn.

 

Would we do it again. Yes, there is some so much more to see elsewhere that we will not do it anytime soon. We may opt to spend more time in Lithuania, Estonia and StP sometime in the next few years instead of repeating the cruise.

[Susan-M]

The itinerary for Constellation next summer, on both ***** and Travelocity, show Stockholm(Nynashamn), however, Celebrity's website just shows Stockholm. I'm wondering if Celebrity may be changing ports?

 

Further to my post of yesterday, I contacted ***** to question their itinerary. Their reply:

"Thanks for writing! The Celebrity Constellation will be docking in Stockholm rather than using the port of Nynashamn. We have made sure to update our Web site to reflect the accurate port of call."

 

(I'm impressed with VTG's quick responses, and sure enough, their website has already been corrected!)

 

After doing the Baltic cruise and docking in Stockholm, I know that docking there instead of Nynashamn (60 miles away) would be on my priority list. As Al mentioned above in his post: "the sail in and out through the Stockholm archipelago is really a wonderful experience" as is the convenience of being right there.