Baltic Cruise -- Our DIY Tour (Except for SPB)

[GradUT]

Most of the people we met on our recent Baltic Cruise did their sightseeing via guided tours and HO/HO buses. Those options are certainly valid ones, especially for those with mobility issues or a lack of time for pre-cruise research. However, I had the time (and interest) in researching a cruise in which we could explore the ports on our own, except for St. Petersburg, which we visited with ALLA Tours on their 2-day Grand Tour (and which I highly recommend). For those interesting in doing something similar, here's how we did it.

 

Research--The "bible" for me was the Rick Steves "Northern European Cruise Ports" guidebook which I checked out from my local library. (Luckily, nobody else from my area seemed to be making a similar trip because I was able to check this book out multiple times!) This book gave excellent advice on how to get around via public transportation, what sights were most worth seeing, and how to do your own self-guided walking tour.

 

Other sources of information for me were the websites for the tourist information offices in the cities we visited, Trip Advisor and, of course, Cruise Critic. The threads created by Danish Viking (Copenhagen), Travelanni (Northern Germany) and Desdichado62 (Stockholm) were particularly useful.

 

Copenhagen -- Our cruise began in Copenhagen and we arrived there a day in advance. Using the information provided by Danish Viking, we knew how to buy tickets for the M2 Metro from the airport to Kongens Nytorv and using Google Maps, we knew how to walk the few blocks to our hotel, the Wakeup Hotel at Borgergade 9. Not wanting to spend a fortune on a hotel which we would only be in for a few hours (and all the Copenhagen hotels seemed expensive to me), I narrowed my choices to Wakeup, CabINN and the Sommandshjemmet Bethel. I finally chose the Wakeup Hotel at Borgergade 9 due to its location, price, amenities and reputation for quiet. I could not have been happier with our choice. We arrived at the hotel before 9am and were prepared to pay the 20 DKK to store our bags until our room was available that afternoon at 3pm. However, the woman at the front desk said that some “Heaven” rooms (the best rooms on the top floor) were available now for only 100 DKK over what we were paying for our standard room. The option of being able to have a room ready now, take a shower and not have to store our bags for an actual cost of only $12 more (100 DKK – 20 DKK for what we would have paid for bag storage) was too good to pass up. https://www.wakeupcopenhagen.com

 

After getting cleaned up, we headed toward the city center walking down the main shopping street, Stroget, stopping for coffee and pastry (to supplement the sparse breakfast we’d had on the plane). We ended up at Radhuspladsen at 1pm for the walking tour offered by Copenhagen Free Walking Tours (red signs/umbrellas). There were a LOT of people there that day for the tour and they divided us into groups of about 20 people each. Our guide was a young man named Magnus and he was great! For the next 3 hours (with a 20 minute break at Kongens Nytorv for a snack, drink or polse), we walked around the old part of Copenhagen. Magnus took us to a few out-of-the-way places (e.g. the home of Carl Jacobsen, the founder of the Carlsburg brewery) and told us a lot about life in Denmark—high taxes and “hygge”. At 4pm, we had finished out tour at Amalienborg Palace (and tipped Magnus as there is no charge for the tour itself). I highly recommend taking the Free Walking Tour of Copenhagen. (They also offer walking tours of other parts of Copenhagen.) http://www.copenhagenfreewalkingtours.dk/

 

For the rest of this day and the following day, until we had to check out of our hotel, we walked around Copenhagen using the “Self-Guided Walk in Copenhagen” from the Rick Steves book as a guide. His tour went to places that Magnus skipped and we wanted to see them. We ate dinner at the vegetarian restaurant, Riz Raz, in the university district and happened upon a free jazz concert in the park behind Roseborg Palace.

After checking out of the Wakeup Hotel, we headed to the nearby bus stop for the #26 bus which took us to Osterport, Slojfens where we got the #27 bus to Oceankaj. (You can buy your 2-zone ticket for 24 DKK from the bus driver.) Upon reaching Oceankaj, it was an easy walk to the Terminal for our ship.

 

While the only buses you will probably need in Copenhagen are the #26, #27 and #25 (the special Oceankaj bus which only operates on cruise days), for more information on getting around Copenhagen, go to the tourism website, http://www.visitcopenhagen.com

 

Next: Port Stop Kiel—Day Trip to Luebeck

[tetleytea]

You were right at Rosenberg Palace and didn't get to see the crown jewels?

[GradUT]

You were right at Rosenberg Palace and didn't get to see the crown jewels?

 

Wait, wait....We have another day in Copenhagen at the end of our cruise!

[BigB0882]

Thanks, I am subscribing. I can tell your itinerary will be a bit different from mine but should have most of the same stops.

 

I also have Rick Steve's book and it is AMAZING. I plan on sitting down and devoting a weekend to each port to plan out exactly what we will do. I like having a plan in place when I get off at a port I have never been to. I can deviate from the plan if I feel comfortable and/or have more time than I thought but otherwise it is nice to stick to a plan. His book really makes that easy.

[GradUT]

Kiel—Day Trip to Luebeck –Having lived in Germany for a number of years, I was aware that Kiel was a big city without any real tourist attractions. So, I began looking for a nearby destination for a day trip. The information on CC’s “Welcome to NE Germany” thread and Travelanni’s blog, gave me the idea of going to Luebeck and it turned out to be an excellent day trip from Kiel. http://travelanni.webs.com/lbeck.htm

 

Researching what to do in Luebeck, led me to the Rough Guide and the Lonely Planet guides for Germany, since Kiel is not included in the Rick Steves book. Both of the above guidebooks provided me with excellent information on what to see and do in Luebeck. In Entry #44 in the “Welcome to NE Germany” thread, Travelanni gives you the times of the trains to/from Luebeck and some more ideas of what to see there.

 

From where the ship docked in Kiel, we were able to walk to the main train station, Hauptbahnhof, in about 15 minutes. (There’s a blue line that leads you into town, but we actually found a more direct route by looking at Google Maps.) There’s a great deal called “Kleingruppenkarte” that allows up to 5 people to travel after 9am for 34.70 euros. (Two people travel for 31 euros). It was easy to buy our tickets from the machine in the train station (English is an option) and everything is well-marked, so you can find which track to wait for your train. The trip takes about 90 minutes and we were in Luebeck by 10:30 am. For more information, see the Deutsche Bahn website, http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/

 

I had read on the Luebeck tourism website that they offered an English audiotour of the city (and which could be used by two people) for 3 hours for 7.50 euros or all day for 10 euros. We thought this would be a helpful way to learn something about what we were seeing, so we stopped by the Tourist Office on our way from the train station into town and arranged to rent one audiotour. (The website still quotes these prices, but they charged us 10 euros for a 3-hour rental and said the all-day rental was 12 euros.) This audiotour was the biggest waste of money, so don’t do it. There was much more useful information about the sights in Luebeck in the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet guidebooks.

 

Luebeck was a member of the Hanseatic League and the architecture of the buildings is outstanding. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Andy Warhol did a silkscreen of the city gate, Holstentor. It is also, allegedly, the place where marzipan was first created. There are many worthwhile sites in the city, but you won’t want to miss a visit to the Marienkirche, the Niederegger Café and the pedestrian zone (where we ate the most incredible German pretzels right out of the oven—3 for 1.50 euros!) After 3 hours of walking around the city, it was time to return to Kiel via the train with plenty of time to get back to the ship.

 

Luebeck ended up being one of our favorite stops on the cruise. Our tablemates at dinner told us that they had just spent the day walking around Kiel and were disappointed that there was nothing special to do or see there.

 

Next: The Gem--Tallinn, Estonia

Edited July 21, 2015 by GradUT

[uc828]

Excellent. Just what I need. DIY is so much cheaper. I can't wait to hear about the rest but tell me what ship you were on and how was the disembarkation at Oceankaj. I am worried about the long taxi lines going to the city centre.

[GradUT]

Excellent. Just what I need. DIY is so much cheaper. I can't wait to hear about the rest but tell me what ship you were on and how was the disembarkation at Oceankaj. I am worried about the long taxi lines going to the city centre.

 

We were on the HAL Eurodam and disembarked last Sunday. We had a 12:20 flight and as we were taking public transportation to the airport, not a taxi, I was concerned about a long line for the bus. So we disembarked around 7:30 am in order to be in line for the first #25 bus of the day. There was only one couple waiting for the bus when we arrived and another 8 - 10 people came after we got there. The #25 bus arrived early and we departed around 7:50 am. We went to Norreport Station and took the elevator down to the Metro. By 8:30 am, we had arrived at the airport, checked our bags with SAS and were going through security and immigration. We probably could have waited for a later bus, but I will say it was great not having to cram ourselves in a bus with lots of other people.

 

If you were to disembark at 7:30 as we did, you would have no problem getting a taxi. There were plenty there at that time and absolutely no line. We saw our dining tablemates at the airport and they said they took a taxi at 8:30 am with no difficulty.

[GradUT]

Tallinn--I had read in numerous posts that Tallinn was a favorite port for many Baltic Sea cruisers and now I know why. The town was easy to reach from the port, easy to get navigate (although walking on cobblestones got to be tiring), and so scenic! No wonder that it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

This day was almost exclusively a "Rick Steves" day as we used his directions to walk into town. (It's not difficult to do--just follow the line painted on the pavement and head to the big tower known as "Fat Margaret Tower".)

 

Once we got to Fat Margaret, we used the Rick Steves Self-Guided Walking Tour (from his guidebook) to get around town. I believe he suggests allowing 2 - 3 hours for the walk, not counting stops, and this was an accurate estimate. We stopped for photos, to walk the city wall, shopping and for a nice coffee and pastry and ended up spending about 5 - 6 hours in town.

 

The Rick Steves walking tour has a lot of interesting information, including the location of the old KBG HQ on Pikk Street. Some of our friends who paid for a HO/HO tour were disappointed that they weren't told about this place because they would really have liked to have seen it. (Be sure to note the sign on the building indicating its future use--a bit ironic, I thought.)

 

We are not shoppers, but this is the one place where we did some souvenir shopping for friends and family. You can hardly throw a stick without hitting a souvenir shop in Tallinn (they're everywhere), but we only stopped in the excellent gift shop of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the recommended Haa Eesti Asi handicraft shop at Viru 23 and at the "Sweater Wall" where we bought some juniper trivets for about 1 -2 euros less than what they were going for in Haa Eesti Asi.

 

We stopped for a coffee and pastry in the afternoon at the highly recommended Maiasmokk Cafe. The line was long and slow-moving, there was no outdoor seating and the pastries in the case looked well picked-over (not much choice). So, instead, we left and walked down Pikk Street to the cafe at the Meriton Old Town Garden Hotel at 29 Pikk Street. It was perfect! The staff, who spoke excellent English, took our order and brought the pastries and drinks to our outdoor table where we could "people-watch" the folks on Pikk Street. The food was delicious and cheaper than what they were charging at Maiasmokk for less-appealing food. It was a nice way to end our "sweet" day in Tallinn.

 

Next: St. Petersburg and Helsinki

[GradUT]

St. Petersburg--This was not a DIY port for us. We were not interested in trying to obtain our own visa nor dealing with arranging our own transporation, etc. for 2 days. So, I researched several tour companies and based on our interests, we chose ALLA Tours. I was complelely satisfied with this company--they answered my emails; their staff was at the port on time each morning; they included all the stops they promised in their website; and they got us into all the sites in an expedited manner, especially the St. Peter and Paul Fortress which had a long line of other tour groups ahead of us. (Just be prepared for crowds everywhere!)

 

Helsinki--This port was probably my least favorite port since there seemed to be rather little to see or do there. We arrived at the West Harbour (LMA) and had no problem getting into the old town. Just follow the green line on the pavement out of the port area to the tram stop. A one-way tram ticket costs 2.5 euros if purchased from the machine or 3 euros if you purchase it from the driver. You can also purchase an all-day tram ticket for 8 euros which includes the ferry to Suomenlinna Island. (That's what we did).

 

The tram is #9 and if you are going to Market Square, then ride it to the stop called "Rautatieasema" at the main station. From there, it is about a 8 minute walk to Market Square.

 

You can also take a tram to the Rock Church ("Sammonkatu" stop on #2 tram) and the #2/#3 tram combo is a 1-hour circuit through the city which many use as a sightseeing "tour".

 

Here's a link from the Helsinki Tourism website showing the various tram routes. We found this map helpful and that using the tram was an easy and inexpensive way to get around town.

 

https://www.hsl.fi/en/timetables-and...utes-and-stops

 

We started our day by taking the ferry from Market Square to Suomenlinna Island and walking around for a couple of hours. (We did not pay to enter any of the various museums.) It was a gorgeous day to be outdoors, so we enjoyed that aspect of the island.

 

Upon our return, we somewhat followed the Rick Steves "Self Guided Walk in Helsinki", but there's not very much to see listed on that walk.

 

We started our "tour" by perusing some of the stalls in Market Square and then headed to the Esplanade Cafe at Pohjoisesplanadi 37 (on the north side of the Esplanade) for hot chocolate/coffee and one of the famous Finnish pastries, the cinnamon roll called "korvapuustit". It was DELICIOUS and we sat outside on the sidewalk watching all the people go by as we enjoyed our tasty treats. I'd probably recommend going here rather than the more famous Cafe Kapelli which looked really crowded.

 

From there, we took the tram to the Rock Church (which is under construction on the exterior). A classical pianist was performing inside the church which made our stop even more worthwhile. We then walked to the Kampii Chapel of Silence (not on the RS walking tour) because it intrigued me. It was worth about a 2- 3 minute stop and then caught the tram back to our ship. We considered doing the #2/#3 tram tour, but the sights on the tour, e.g. Finnish Opera House and the Finnish School of Economics just didn't interest us.

 

It's a little sad when the highlight of a port is a cinnamon bun, but that was Helsinki for us.

 

Next: Stockholm

[tetleytea]

Interesting that Helsinki was your least favorite. Helsinki was the port which most left me wishing I had longer to visit.

[pepermom]

Interesting that Helsinki was your least favorite. Helsinki was the port which most left me wishing I had longer to visit.

I am wondering if you could tell us a little bit about what you did in Helsinki since you really loved it. We will be there in September, so welcome any suggestions! This thread has been wonderful. Thanks to all posting here, especially GradUT

[GradUT]

Stockholm--From the ship's berth in Frihamnen, it was easy to follow the blue line out of the port area to the road. Right across the street is the #76 bus stop which will take you into the city. You cannot purchase bus tickets from the driver in Stockholm, so you have to buy your tickets in advance. Normally, this would not be a problem at the port, but the automatic machine was not operating and there was only one person at the office selling tickets. Because of the large number of people wanting to buy tickets, it took us about 40 minutes of waiting in line before we got our tickets. Because we did not want to go through this process again, we purchased an all-day ticket for 115 SEK. (We thought we'd have to pay an additional 20 SEK for a re-loadable card, but the woman at the kiosk was selling only paper tickets, so we didn't have that additional cost. If you buy from a automatic machine, you might have to pay for a re-loadable card.) Also, only credit cards could be used at the ticket office, so be sure to have one when you disembark. Also, be sure to pick up one of the free bus maps at the ticket office--it came in handy. .

 

Should you use the automatic machine at Frihamnen to buy your ticket, here are the directions I wrote down from the Rick Steves book:

 

"If you buy from a machine, getting the correct ticket can be tricky:

First, select “English”

Second, choose “Purchase and Load Tickets”

Third, choose “All Tickets”

Now, you have to arrow down past several choices you don’t want to either “Zone A Ticket Full (for a single ride—36 SEK) or “24 Hours Ticket Full” (for an all day ticket – 115 SEK + 20 SEK for card) Note: The 24-hour travelpass is valid for use on the ferries between Slussen and Djurgarden."

 

There are several stops on the #76 line, depending on where you want to start your day. The stops include Djurgardsbron (at the bridge a short walk from the Vasa museum and other Djurgarden sights), Nybroplan, Kungstradgarden (near the Opera House and the beginning of the RS self-guided tour of the modern city), Slottsbacken (by the palace in Gamla Stan), Rantmastartrappan (at the southern end of Gamla Stan), Slussen,, then through Sodermalm and back the way it came.

 

We got off the bus at Slottsbacken and started our day at the free Royal Coin Cabinet museum near the Royal Palace. This is called the "best money museum in Europe" and if you have any interest in coins, you shouldn't miss it. In addition to the free admission, there are free audioguides in English--just ask for one. The staff at this museum was so friendly!

 

After our visit to the interesting coin museum, we went to do the Free Walking Tour Stockholm tour of Gamla Stan which began at 1pm in front of the tram station (T) at Malatorget 13 in Gamla Stan. (Rick Steves also includes a walking tour of Gamla Stan and the modern city in his guidebook.) We met our guide, Karina, who was carrying a blue "Free Walking Tour" sign and our group of approximately 20 tourists took off for a 90 minute tour. Karina did an excellent job of showing us the highlights of Gamla Stan and I thought this was a great introduction to the old city. We saw our dinner tablemates in town on their SPB tour (which was a much larger group than ours) and they told us that they were very disappointed with it. Like all "Free" Tours, we tipped Karina at the end of the tour.

 

After the walking tour ended at 2:30 pm, we walked down to the ferry at Slussen and caught the ferry over to Djurgarden. This was easy to do (the fare is included in the 24-hour bus ticket) and it was enjoyable ride over to the island. We got off the ferry and had a leisurely stroll to the Vasa Museum (and were so glad we weren't going to the amusement park--it was packed since it was such a nice day.) We arrived at the Vasa Museum around 3:30 pm and there were no lines to get into the museum.

 

We started our visit at the Vasa by watching the film which talks about how they discovered and raised the Vasa. It was fascinating and should not be missed. As soon as the film ended, it was time for the 4pm tour (30 minutes long) in English. This tour focused on the ship itself and was well worth taking. It doesn't really matter which order you see the movie and take the tour, but I'd do both.

 

After the tour ended at 4:30 pm, we had another 90 minutes to see the ship and the museum and we needed all of that time. The ship itself is fascinating and the exhibits in the museum are excellent. From the Vasa Museum website, there is an audiotour in English which you can download to your phone or MP3 player. I actually forgot about it until afterwards and listened to it on the ship the next day. It was a good audiotour, but not really necessary since all the signage in the museum is in English. If you want to download the audiotour, go to: http://www.vasamuseet.se/en/visit/mp3-guide/

 

We left the Vasa Museum at closing time (6pm) having spent 2.5 hours there. I would allow at least 2 hours to tour this museum.

 

It was now time to head back to the ship. We walked up to the Djurgardsbron stop for the #76 bus at the end of the bridge and took it to the "Magazin 3" stop. From there, it is an easy walk back to the ship.

 

Just a note on eating in Stockholm--Food is expensive. Our dining tablemates ate in Stortorget (because that's where their SPB tour left them for lunch) and said they spent 600 SEK (nearly $70) for two plates of fried herring and two beers. That made us glad that we had brought our water bottles and a snack from the ship. If you do choose to dine in Stockholm, Rick Steves recommends Grillska Husket–Stortorget 3-- "A cheap and handy cafeteria run by Stockholms Stadsmission, a charitable organization helping the poor. It’s situated on the old square with indoor and outdoor seating (tranquil garden up the stairs and out back). Fine daily specials and a hearty salad bar. Specials available 11am – 2pm. Café with salads and sandwiches open until 6pm." Also, we saw a Vapiano's restaurant near the T-station in Gamla Stan. It's a European chain restaurant which serves Italian food (pizza, pasta, salads) which you order and pick-up yourself (no table service). We eat at Vapiano's in the D.C. area and enjoy it very much.

 

While we had another day in Stockholm, we needed a "recovery" day on the ship so did not go back for more sightseeing. So, on to...

 

Next: Copenhagen--Another Day of Touring and Debarkation

[tetleytea]

I am wondering if you could tell us a little bit about what you did in Helsinki since you really loved it. We will be there in September, so welcome any suggestions! This thread has been wonderful. Thanks to all posting here, especially GradUT

 

We walked from the downtown stop to the harbor through this big long park, and then took the ferry to Suomenlinna Island Fortress. That place was fascinating. Helsinki was equally fascinating as the other "Scandinavian" ports ("Scandinavian" in quotes, because it seems there is some dispute as to whether Finland is Scandinavia). I never quite got a feel for how the city ticks, or how the locals are, or got to learn several basic Finnish phrases. Or much of Helsinki's history, besides the island's and the Russo-Finnish war. And I wanted to dig into Finland's rivalry with Sweden, but I never got to. Also...why are Finnish words so flippin' LONG?!?? I'd love to go back to Helsinki and Turku, just to figure the country out.

[Kellie in Texas]

Following this thread for our Baltic cruise in May 2016. GradUT, are you a University of Texas grad, or University of Tennessee, or some other "T"?

 

Can you discuss your Alla tour in SPB a little more? Were you there one day or two? We'll be there only one day, so the evening boat rides, ballet, etc. are out for us.

[GradUT]

Copenhagen Again--Our cruise had a final overnight stay in Copenhagen, so we had another almost full day there and night before disembarking.

 

My husband and I decided to do different things this day, but we each started by taking the #25 bus from Oceankaj. Our ship arrived in Copenhagen shortly before 10am and we were at the #25 bus stop not long afterwards. There was already a line of people ready to board and another #25 bus arrived soon afterwards. It seemed that the Copenhagen transit folks were ready for the onslaught of visitors from the 3 ships that were at Oceankaj that day.

 

I was going to spend the day in Copenhagen, so I bought a Zone 2 bus ticket (24 DKK) from the driver. My husband was going to Roskilde, so he bought a Zone 8 ticket (96 DKK) which he used for the bus and then for the train from Osterport to Roskilde. The 25 bus stops at Osterport (where my husband got off), Norreport (where I got off to see Rosenborg Palace) and finally at the main train station, Kopenhavn H.

 

It was a quick and easy walk from Norreport to Rosenborg Palace. Admission was 90 DKK and I was given some 20 DKK coins in change since you have to use a 20 DKK coin for the required baggage storage locker. (The 20 DKK coin is returned when you retrieve your bags at the end of your tour.) The lockers in the ticket office were all in use, so I was directed to the gift shop where there were more lockers hidden behind a wall at the back of the shop.

 

After disposing of my bag (you can take your camera and use it in the palace w/o flash), I entered the palace. There are no guided tours so I relied on the Rick Steves tour of Rosenborg Palace which I had photocopied from his guidebook. I was so glad to have this because there were no explanations within the rooms themselves. (The RS guidebook says that there is a step-by-step tour called "Konge Connect" which you can access through your mobile phone, but I didn't see anyone doing this. So, it may or may not be available.) There are 3 levels of the palace and it takes about 30 - 40 minutes to tour all the rooms on your own.

 

From the palace, I went to the Treasury where the crown jewels and other "goodies" are stored. Again, the Rick Steves guide was so useful since there were no English-language explanations of what you were seeing.

 

Had I not already done a long walk through the gardens surrounding Rosenborg Palace on my first day in Copenhagen before the cruise, I certainly would have done this after going through the Treasury. Instead, I went back to get my things from the locker and while I was getting them, I was greeted by "Hans Christian Andersen" who was getting his own things from a locker. I quickly realized that this must be Richard Karpen, who Rick Steves mentions in his book as doing guided tours of Rosenborg Palace.

 

Allow about 1.5 hours to tour the palace and Treasury and another 30 minutes - 1 hour to walk through the gardens.

 

I had intended to spend some time at the well-regarded (and free) National Museum, but it was quite a walk from Rosenborg Palace. So, I decided to take a canal tour. Well, it was a gorgeous day and everyone else had the same idea. Nyhavn was jam-packed, so after realizing I would have a long wait for a canal boat which would be cheek-to-jowl with tourists, I decided to just head back to the ship and have a leisurely late afternoon on board. I arrived at Norreport to catch the 25 bus back to Oceankaj just after 3pm. The bus is supposed to run every 20 - 30 minutes, but it did not arrive until 3:45 pm. By then, you can imagine there were a lot of concerned cruise passengers waiting around. I knew that I could catch the #26 bus to Osterport and then the #27 bus to Oceankaj (as we had done when we went to embarkation 11 days earlier), but my feet were so tired that I just hoped the #25 bus would come! Just be aware that the last #25 bus TO Oceankaj may leave before 4pm.

 

My husband had a great day in Roskilde. He said it was easy to take the train from Osterport Station and the train ride took about 30 minutes. From the Roskilde Station, he said it was about a mile walk through the scenic city center to the Viking Ship Museum. There is a cathedral in Roskilde worth seeing, but he skipped it to spend more time in the museum. In addition to the Viking ships which have been recovered and are on display, you can see them building "modern" Viking ships and even sail on one.

 

He arrived back at Osterport after 3:30 pm and went to the #25 bus stop. There were several other cruisers there concerned because the sign said that the last #25 bus left at 3:30 pm. Fortunately, he knew about the #26 and #27 buses, so he got them onto those buses and they all got back to Oceankaj.

 

Debarkation We wanted to use public transportation to get from Oceankaj to the airport and it could not have been easier. I was a little concerned that there would be long lines of people with luggage for the bus and that we could be late getting to the airport in time to check in for our 12:20 pm flight. So, we arranged to take our own luggage and leave the ship at 7:30 am. When we got to the #25 bus stop, there was just one couple ahead of us in line. Another 10 - 12 people arrived before the bus did at 7:45 am. The driver got us on board and sold us our tickets (36 DKK) in short order and we were on our way before 8am. We got off at Norreport and found the elevator to the Metro station. We waited about 4 minutes for the M2 Metro which went directly to the airport. It was no more than one hour from the time we walked off the ship to the time we dropped off our bags with SAS in the airport. I think now that we probably could have left the ship later than 7:30 am, but I will say it was nice not having to worry about lines/luggage at the bus stop.

 

Conclusion--I hope this information about using public transportation and touring on your own in the Baltics was useful. One does not have to be "young and athletic" to do a DIY tour. While we are reasonably fit (we exercise several times a week), we are not "athletic" and we certainly aren't "young". (Fast approaching 60.) We enjoyed doing it ourselves and we sure enjoyed the money we saved doing it!

[GradUT]

Following this thread for our Baltic cruise in May 2016. GradUT, are you a University of Texas grad, or University of Tennessee, or some other "T"?

 

Can you discuss your Alla tour in SPB a little more? Were you there one day or two? We'll be there only one day, so the evening boat rides, ballet, etc. are out for us.

 

Kellie, I am a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin (Hook 'em, Horns!)

 

We did the 2-day Grand Tour with Alla. I just took a look at the 1-day tour that they offer and it includes the best things that we saw during our 2-day tour. The only things that are missing from your 1-day tour are the canal boat ride, and the visits to Yusopov Palace, St. Isacc's Cathedral and the Peter and Paul Fortress.

 

You have a packed lunch to eat on the hydrofoil back from Peterhof. We had this same lunch and it was really good. It consists of a meat pie, a fruity pie, an apple, a box of apple juice and a Russian candy bar which resembled a "Snickers".

 

If you have any more specific questions, let me know.

[Kellie in Texas]

Well, I work in Austin and have a view out my window of the UT campus (although I went to another major state university here in Texas ... Guns Up! :D)

 

That lunch does sound delicious. I have a note to buy Rick Steves' book when the 2015 edition comes out this fall. Right now, my next big task is to research the airfare (our cruise is the 7-day RT from Copenhagen), but I'm reading about various excursions too. The only thing I know for sure is that we will do the walking tour in Tallinn and the Vasa museum in Stockholm. Beyond that ... still researching.

[tetleytea]

UT can stand for Toronto, too.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Tallinn

 

We are not shoppers, but this is the one place where we did some souvenir shopping for friends and family. You can hardly throw a stick without hitting a souvenir shop in Tallinn (they're everywhere)... at the "Sweater Wall"

 

There's one stall at the sweater wall selling sheepskin products. We bought little sheepskin booties for our grand daughter (think Baby UGG type booties). She's almost one year old but very petite so we weren't sure whether she needed a size one or size two bootie. At 13 Euro per pair, we bought two pair -- both sizes. (The UGG versions cost in the $55-$60 range depending on the style.)

 

Also at the sweater wall, we kept seeing Scandinavian style sweaters with hippos knit into the sweaters. I was totally bewildered by all the hippos. I mean they're not exactly indigenous to Scandinavia. Finally, I asked one of the women about the design. Apparently, they're Moomin, beloved characters from books and television. If I could have found one of the Moomin books in English translation, I would have bought the sweater, too, but it was getting close to the time when we needed to catch the shuttle back to the port so we left the Moomin sweaters in Tallin until next time.

[Giantfan13]

One of the joys of Tallinn was to just deviate from the walking tour and go and explore some of the winding, cobblestone streets. We love to just wander around, looking at the architecture, shops et al. We found this lovely little shop selling some unusual things, which we ended up buying quite a few.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[happyholidaycampers]

Hi GradUT.

 

Thanks for the wonderful info it reconfirms our plans for our forthcoming Baltic trip.

Do you know what it is like in the Gamla Stan, Stockholm, on a Wed evening? Are shops open etc, is it worth visiting at this time for a walking tour(self guided) or much better in the day, well lit etc?

 

Would love any info from anyone else in the know also

Thanks

[GradUT]

Hi GradUT.

 

Thanks for the wonderful info it reconfirms our plans for our forthcoming Baltic trip.

Do you know what it is like in the Gamla Stan, Stockholm, on a Wed evening? Are shops open etc, is it worth visiting at this time for a walking tour(self guided) or much better in the day, well lit etc?

 

Would love any info from anyone else in the know also

Thanks

 

 

Sorry, I'm no help on this question. We did not go into Stockholm in the evening.

[RiRo424]

Thanks GradUT! I printed your "Cliff Notes" to go along with Rich Steves' "bible" chapters for our upcoming trip. :)

 

Most of the people we met on our recent Baltic Cruise did their sightseeing via guided tours and HO/HO buses. Those options are certainly valid ones, especially for those with mobility issues or a lack of time for pre-cruise research. However, I had the time (and interest) in researching a cruise in which we could explore the ports on our own, except for St. Petersburg, which we visited with ALLA Tours on their 2-day Grand Tour (and which I highly recommend). For those interesting in doing something similar, here's how we did it.

 

Research--The "bible" for me was the Rick Steves "Northern European Cruise Ports" guidebook which I checked out from my local library. (Luckily, nobody else from my area seemed to be making a similar trip because I was able to check this book out multiple times!) This book gave excellent advice on how to get around via public transportation, what sights were most worth seeing, and how to do your own self-guided walking tour.

[GradUT]

I'm glad to hear that my notes are helpful in planning your Baltic cruise!

 

(I just re-read some of them and was reminded of what a GREAT time we had.)

[Kellie in Texas]

I'm glad this thread resurfaced... we're 12 days out! My Rick Steves book is dog-eared, marked-up, highlighted, etc.

 

@GradUT, on the Copenhagen free walking tour, how did you determine what to tip your tour guide?