12 day Baltic cruise on Eurodam transportation

[spikecat]

We have just returned from our 12 day Baltic Sea cruise. It was wonderful,but exhausting.The main reason for this post is to help with transportation in the cities. To start we took the ship's shuttle from the airport. So as not to get to the port too early we had a lovely hour plus tour of Copenhagen thrown in for the $44 per person.

Tallinn- You are docked about a 20 minute walk to town. Easy to do,but there were taxis and vans by the ship.

St Petersburg-took a tour with SPB that was excellent.

Helsinki- There is a shuttle by the ship that goes to the middle of town. It is $12 round trip. You pay at the bus and they take anything cash wise-no credit cards. Worked well didn't have to wait long on either end.They also have hop on hop off buses that take you to the Rock Church and Sibelius statue,etc. That was $29.

Stockholm-We were docked the 1st night and anchored the 2nd.From our pier #167 you could walk to Gamla Stan. It took about 30-40 minutes. We did a hop on hop off boat which was docked right next to the ship. It was 20 euro for 2 days.It went to about 7 different stops. The next day the tenders took you right to the island near the Royal Place (don't miss the changing of the guards)

Berlin-We did the all day tour to Berlin with SPB,but they did offer a free shuttle to downtown Rostock.

Kiel-there is really nothing there.There are no shops or anything to see. Some people went to the Maritime Musuem and enjoyed it. Others went to Lubeck and said it was okay.

Copenhagen-We caught bus 26 which was a block or 2 from the ship. You can buy your ticket at a kiosh right across from the dock. The cost was 96 kronas roundtrip.We got off at City Hall Square,walked around and then went to Rosenborg Palace-great- and caught the bus right next to the Palace. We did have to wait awhile on both ends,but for the price it was worth it. The docks are a long way from town-not walkable.

Hope this helps if you are planning on doing some cities on your own.

One more thing. We have a Capital one Venture card with no chip or pin. We used it in little shops,etc and never had a problem. They ask if you have a pin and if you say no they push a button and go on We were told in Berlin that most places don't take credit cards,except high end.We had to go to an ATM machine to get euros.There was an ATM machine right by baggage in the Copenhagen airport.

[SaguaroGal]

We'll be on the Eurodam next year for this cruise and staying on for the TA crossing. :D

Good to have your transportation review to help us plan our excursions.

[Swice]

Thanks for the helpful information... we have a just a few weeks to go.

 

I'm still stuck on Kiel... whether to go to Lubec. HAL offers a bike tour along the canals in Kiel... but I have an eleven year old who may have a bit of trouble with the height of an adult bike. I've searched web for other bike tours and I haven't had luck.

 

Also what about Goteborg? Thought I'd found a cool tour of the actual Volvo plant (it's free and in english but you've got to take a city bus ride for about 30-minutes). But it turns out the plant is closed for the annual re-tooling. I guess there is still the volvo "museum."

[BJzink]

We are very interested in this part of Europe, and this cruise sounds like it covers a lot of ground. We wondered if there are things to do & see close to the cruise pier - one of us is somewhat mobility impaired, and has to use a walker due to balance problems. This post and another review on CC made us wonder if we are able to enjoy the ports. Thanks for responses from anyone who has done this cruise with similar issues.

[pv girl]

Swice - you asked about Kiel. One of us is a model train railroader and we took the train from Kiel to Hamburg for the day. It has the largest train layout in the world. You don't have to do that, but my point is that Hamburg is an easy and cheap day trip from Kiel. Others in our group took the train to Lubeck.

 

From Warnemunde, we took a short train ride to Rostock. Cute town with good shopping street - great deals on leather of all things.

 

Tallin - we took a cheap taxi from the dock to the top of the hill and then walked down to the square and back to the ship - saved our legs.

 

Baltic ports can all be done DIY except St. Petersburg - there you need a tour. Can't go wrong with any of the big tour agencies - Alla, SPB, TJ, etc.

 

Thanks to the OP for this report. Very detailed and helpful for new Baltic cruisers. We took the shuttle into Helsinki also. We really liked the super friendly folks in that city and the market by the docks, with lots of good street food and local crafts. Went to the big department store there for free wifi in the coffee bar.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Very helpful information for people taking those cruises.

[julia]

Thanks for the helpful information... we have a just a few weeks to go.

 

I'm still stuck on Kiel... whether to go to Lubec. HAL offers a bike tour along the canals in Kiel... but I have an eleven year old who may have a bit of trouble with the height of an adult bike. I've searched web for other bike tours and I haven't had luck.

 

Also what about Goteborg? Thought I'd found a cool tour of the actual Volvo plant (it's free and in english but you've got to take a city bus ride for about 30-minutes). But it turns out the plant is closed for the annual re-tooling. I guess there is still the volvo "museum."

 

We just did this cruise a few weeks ago, and while in Kiel a group of us took a ferry out to Laboe (approx one hour, 4 euros each way) to visit the U-Boat there. It was a great day and we all enjoyed it. The ferry was located just outside the port, and it was a scenic ride out to Laboe. Once in Laboe, it's a twenty minute walk along a nice beach, with shops and restaurants. The U-Boat tour was 4 euros each (more if you chose the nautical museum) and it was REALLY very interesting to see!

[NYteacher]

We are very interested in this part of Europe, and this cruise sounds like it covers a lot of ground. We wondered if there are things to do & see close to the cruise pier - one of us is somewhat mobility impaired, and has to use a walker due to balance problems. This post and another review on CC made us wonder if we are able to enjoy the ports. Thanks for responses from anyone who has done this cruise with similar issues.

 

I have a very bad knee (I need a new one actually) so walking a length of time for me is out. I did this voyage in 2013 and had a wonderful time. That said, I really planned my excursions around my walking issues. I didn't do excursions on my own but took ship or self planned tours.

[BJzink]

Thanks so much for your personal insight as to port visits on this cruise. We have done several cruises since needing the walker, but some have been very difficult. Nice to know ahead of time. PS from one with experience: put off that knee replacement as long as you possibly can.

[Surreyman]

Swice - you asked about Kiel. One of us is a model train railroader and we took the train from Kiel to Hamburg for the day. It has the largest train layout in the world. You don't have to do that, but my point is that Hamburg is an easy and cheap day trip from Kiel. Others in our group took the train to Lubeck.

 

From Warnemunde, we took a short train ride to Rostock. Cute town with good shopping street

A short train ride from Rostock will take you to the Mollie train which gives you a steam hauled ride to the coast and back.