Baltic Cruises

[levi2]

Any suggestions for cruises in Baltic for 10 to 12 days.?

[BigB0882]

I just booked the 12 Night Baltic for June 16, 2016. I have never been so perhaps I shouldn't be "recommending" anything but at least you know the date of one to begin looking. Not sure when you plan to sail. We got the BOGOHO and I think the price was good, even before the special. People on here seem to think RCCL inflates fare before doing these specials but when I look at other lines and compare to RCCL I see a cost that is very competitive BEFORE the discount so to me it was a no-brainer. I am not interested in drink packages or what not, I may have one drink a day so it is not a worthwhile perk and we prefer to do private excursions rather than those through the cruise line so that is another perk I see on other lines that I have little use for. Give me the discount off the actual cost of the cruise any day of the week.

[SPacificbound]

We are on the same Baltic cruise. :)

[Desertbelle]

We are on the same Baltic cruise. :)

We did a Baltics cruise on the Brilliance last year and it was an amazing cruise. Russia was great, 2 days in St. Petersburg (took the day trip to Moscow). Every port exceeded our expectations. Absolutely would do that cruise again.

[franl24fan]

I am booked on the 7 day cruise from Copenhagen. The price for the 10 day was $1800 more in an inside cabin and I just couldn't see that difference for an overnight in St Petersburg. Suggest you look at some forums on the Moscow shore excursion, my friends really regretted doing it, said they spent almost the entire day on a bus and only had a very short time in Moscow. Same thing happens in LeHavre/Paris and the German port that advertises going into Berlin. And all of those shore excursions are very expensive. Not saying you shouldn't do it, just be sure you will have the experience you expect. For me, 12 hours in St Petersburg is enough. We'll do a 4 hour city tour in the morning, have lunch, then do 4 hours in the Hermitage. With the amount I am saving I am going to do a week on my own in Germany pre or post cruise.

[Desertbelle]

Everyone to their own opinion. We thought getting to visit Moscow was one of our most amazing adventures, even spending time in a Russia airport, plane, and bus. I can't see that we will ever get a chance to do that again and cherish our chance to visit there.

 

We are not rich, so we value our vacation dollar, but we also understand the value of not scrimping on truly spectacular experiences.

 

Our cruise was 14 days long. We got to see England, Brussels. Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia and Estonia. A true adventure and a wonderful cruise.

[nekzaadvakil]

We're doing the Baltic cruise in 2 weeks on the Celebrity Silhouette. We love big ships and the Silhouette is currently the largest ship in the Baltic. Size wise, its comparable to Royal's Voyager class ships which will now sail the baltic.

 

I'd suggest having a look at the Celebrity Silhouette's itinerary and prices. If there is a significant difference in price, I'd switch. I love Royal Caribbean and Celebrity is just as good, if not slightly better when it comes to food.

[drarill]

Everyone to their own opinion. We thought getting to visit Moscow was one of our most amazing adventures, even spending time in a Russia airport, plane, and bus. I can't see that we will ever get a chance to do that again and cherish our chance to visit there.

 

We are not rich, so we value our vacation dollar, but we also understand the value of not scrimping on truly spectacular experiences.

 

Our cruise was 14 days long. We got to see England, Brussels. Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia and Estonia. A true adventure and a wonderful cruise.

 

 

We have done both. St Petersburg on our first Baltic cruise with RCCL and Moscow on our second with Celebrity. For a first time cruiser on the Baltic I recommend doing the two days in St. Petersburg. I'm glad you enjoyed your Moscow adventure, ours was not the best. Our group was split in two, and to tell you a long story short, our friends didn't make it to the ship until 4:30 AM. Keep in mind that our meeting time was the previous day at 6:30 AM. We arrived after 1:00 AM. The only way to arrive to the ship from the airport is through a series of bridges that go up after certain time. By the time our friends airplane arrived the bridges were up. After a couple of tense hours one of the passengers found on a website the only bridge they could use to get to the ship. Also, about Russian's airports; I realized how Snowden hide there for six months!! No restroom or AC on St. Petersburg's terminal and multiple flights boarding at the same time from one gate in Moscow. I did like the way flying attendants dressed and had their hair and make up done. Remind me of the 70's!!

To the OP. You should also check Celebrity's itinerary. They have offers that include the beverage package, gratuities and OBC, depending on the cabin you book.

[johala_reewi]

We did the 12 night Baltic on Brilliance last year too sailing out of Harwich UK.

Other cruise lines are available and other ports of departure. ;)

 

In St Petersburg we took several small (half day) obscure RCL tours.

Unless you are on an approved tour, or have a Russian visa (ability to speak russian advised), you are not allowed off the ship.

 

Approved tours don't have to be RCL tours. You can book in advance with local guides but make sure you can get back on time. St Petersburg traffic is horrendous. Our last RCL tour was almost an hour late getting back to the ship, and wasn't the last!

[blueblock]

I did the only Royal cruise last year that had three days in St. Peterburg. We spent one of those days in Moscow. It was glorious, even if it did involve six hours on a train.

[Ahoygirl55]

We are a party of 6 on the Navigator of the Seas 12 night Baltic cruise leaving June 16, 2016. We've booked a few SBP tour excursions, two days in St. Petersburg and in Helsinki. They came highly recommended and have been wonderful to deal with. Any insight from people on Baltic cruises is welcome. I've done about 16 Royal Caribbean cruises but this is the one I've been most excited about.

[Desertbelle]

I highly recommend the tour to Moscow, usually offered through the cruise line. Next to Egypt, our other favorite, the best thing we have ever done on a cruise.

[Sparky74]

We are a party of 6 on the Navigator of the Seas 12 night Baltic cruise leaving June 16, 2016. We've booked a few SBP tour excursions, two days in St. Petersburg and in Helsinki. They came highly recommended and have been wonderful to deal with. Any insight from people on Baltic cruises is welcome. I've done about 16 Royal Caribbean cruises but this is the one I've been most excited about.

 

We did 12 nights on Brilliance OTS out of Harwich (UK) last year. As we're from Australia and don't know if we will ever see these ports again we wanted to make the most of it but I must admit that I was tired by the end and could have done with a sea day in the middle.

 

DW & I both say that our two days in St Petersburg was the highlight of our 9 week vacation. We booked a 2 day tour with SPB tours (they were recommended by a friend) and we couldn't have been happier. Being in a smaller group in a 16 seater minibus meant we could park closer and didn't have to walk as far as those who were on big coaches. Our guide was knowledgable and interesting and spoke impeccable English.

 

On the second day in St Petersburg we visited the Hermitage nd SPB (and a few other companies) get early access before it's open to the general public. I spoke to a fellow passenger who did a ship's tour and they said that the Hermitage was so crowded - such a contrast to our experience!

 

Apparently it's tricky to do St Petersburg without a tour. If you're on a tour you don't need a visa. We usually just do our own thing in ports and I'm not a fan of bus tours but I would do an SPB tour of St Petersburg again in a heart beat.

 

In the other ports we used the HOHO buses. If you're smart and use the same company in multiple ports you can get a discount. In Copenhagen we had a combo ticket for a bus and a boat which we enjoyed. In Stockholm there weren't enough buses and some people had to get a taxi back to the ship after several buses not picking them up because they were full.

 

In our last port, Skagen in Denmark, we did a ship's tour which included a guided walk around town, ride up to the point on a tractor bus and we also saw the buried church.

[Tin can]

We are a party of 6 on the Navigator of the Seas 12 night Baltic cruise leaving June 16, 2016. We've booked a few SBP tour excursions, two days in St. Petersburg and in Helsinki. They came highly recommended and have been wonderful to deal with. Any insight from people on Baltic cruises is welcome. I've done about 16 Royal Caribbean cruises but this is the one I've been most excited about.

 

A little tip, be ready to get off the ship as soon as its docked on the first morning in St Petersburg.

 

If its like our Adventure cruise a couple of years ago Royal will try and put you off doing this with something along the lines that only their tours are cleared first to go through Russian customs.

 

In the nicest possible way ignore this and get yourself off the ship, the Russian customs the first morning is a nightmare and we met people who had been stuck in 2 hour plus lines.

 

Have fun :)