Regal Princess Baltic Cruise, July 18-29, 2015

[Squire5000]

Some random thoughts on our recent Baltic Cruise:

 

With the exception of windy conditions at Helsinki which precluded our stop there and a dreary last day at sea, our weather was fabulous; sunny, mid 60's to low 70's.

 

Pre cruise, we stayed at the Copenhagen Marriott. We made prior arrangements for transportation from the airport to the hotel which expedited our arrival at the hotel. Our room was ready when we arrived (9:00 AM), so we were able to put our luggage in the room and set off to explore Copenhagen.

 

We purchased a Copenhagen card before our trip, but wouldn't do it again. We had to walk a couple of blocks to get the actual card and then try and navigate our way around Copenhagen. We did that for a day and, the following morning, we purchased a Hop On/Hop Off ticket to get around. Way to go. There was a stop right in front of the hotel.

 

Embarkation on Saturday was a breeze.

 

First stop, Oslo, we also had made arrangements for an Oslo card. Again, I would recommend the Hop On/Hop Off alternative. We had to walk a long distance (to Central Station) to convert the voucher. We visited Central Station 2 more times as the directions we received were very confusing, transit stops had changed, etc.

 

These cards are a good deal in that they include admission to many venues but you spend a lot of time navigating around the cities to get where you want to go.

 

All of our ship excursions were booked thru Princess. I recognize that you pay a premium for Princess excursions, but we were very satisfied with our choice.

 

In Gothenburg, we took the excursion to the West Coast Islands. Very scenic.

 

During our stop for Berlin (Warnemunde) we embarked on a tour of Schwerin Castle, Lake Schwerin and Rostock. This was very enjoyable. We had a great tour guide and our stop for lunch was a pleasant surprise.

 

After a day at spent resting up and reading, we arrived in Tallinn. We did not book a ship excursion at this port and set out on our own. Tallinn is a avery friendly tourist stop and you really don't need to pay anyone to facilitate seeing the sights. One word of caution, you can walk up to an observation deck on the main church in Tallinn. The view is spectacular, but the trek up the stairs is not for the unfit. There are about 250 steps up a circular stone staircase that can't be more than 3 feet wide, people going up and down at the same time.

 

The next day, we arrived in St. Petersburg. We took the 2 day Princess excursion ""Discovery Exclusive: Hermitage, Gold Room, Peterhof and Catherine the Great" This tour is a killer. We were up at 5:00 AM the morning we arrived in St. Petersburg. We went thru immigration and were on our bus around 7:00 AM. (No problems with immigration). With the exception of a 90 minute break to return to the ship, clean up and go out again, we didn't get to bed until midnight. The next day, we were up at 6:00 AM and didn't get back to the ship until 4:30 PM. It's almost impossible to describe what we saw without writing an extensive review. Suffice it to say that the Hermitage lived up to it's reputation, Catherine the Great was over the top as was the concert/dinner we had at that stop. The Peterhof gardens are not to be missed. When we finished St. Petersburg, we were exhausted, but it was a wonderful exhaustion.

 

As noted, we missed our stop at Helsinki. Most people seemed to sleep that day.

 

Our stop in Stockholm centered around the palace. We toured the palace, stopped by a church and took in the changing of the guard before returning to our ship.

 

The following day was a sea day, packing, etc., in preparation for our disembarkation in Copenhagen.

 

Getting off the ship, we opted for the Princess transfers to the airport which worked out very well for us.

 

An 8 hour flight back home, a quick meal and it was to bed.

 

We booked this cruise twice before, but had to cancel due to circumstances beyond our control.

We're glad we finally got to do it for it was truly a trip of a lifetime.

[cheeseclan]

Glad you had a great time. We too have had this cruise booked and also had to cancel because of my husbands work etc. Trying again May 2016. Will not know for sure until mid Feb.

That is always the fun thing, trying to get a good deal on air and a hotel that late. Oh well.

 

Glad you enjoyed the Princess excursions. Still deciding if we want to use them or private. Were the tours with Princess packed? We used them in Rome and yes they were packed but we had a blast.

[Mom33]

We also had to cancel this cruise twice for family reasons and still hope to do it in the near future. Thanks for your review and I'm glad you had a wonderful experience.

[anthonyy7]

Sounds great, I booked this cruise for next summer

[vplsh]

Thanks for the information. We're booked on this cruise next July.

[Murphey]

Thanks for this. We are scheduled on the 8/30 cruise. I am worried about St. Petersburg because of the intensity of it. I am in chemo with the usual side effects...but my Doc has given us the go ahead to do this "bucket list" trip. I'm hoping I'll be okay as we booked a private tour....very private...just the 4 of us. Expensive, but really, all the tours are. Hopefully with just 4 we can tailor it to our needs and if we have to miss something, so be it. So, this whole trip.....I'm thrilled that I can go (yep, have insurance!) but weary of the intensive itinerary. We also booked the TA that follows so we can chill and not have to fly back to the west coast from overseas. Getting there will be enough!! :)

[custompcsys]

I have done this cruise twice, once with Olso and once with Berlin and am glad I went back. Its a spectacular cruise and there was plenty more to see the second time around. You could spend days in the Hermitage alone!

 

We did a private tour in St. Petersburg and did not book the Princess evening tour even though we could have because we simply thought it would have been too much. It gave us a chance to have dinner and rest a bit before day two of two very intensive days. I can't imagine doing what you did - you were brave!

 

Glad you had an enjoyable cruise. :)

[MamaLyn]

Thank you for your summary of the cruise.

We were on the same cruise and enjoyed it as well. We were advised before we left to not do one of the evening options in St. Petersburg and I am glad we didn't. Just doing the 2 day tour there was exhausting. This was a nice cruise but everyone needs to know beforehand that it is a "working" cruise, not a "relaxing" one. Princess has a nice variety of tours to choose from. Some are better than others but you get to have at least an overview of things so that you can possibly return another time and see more.

Great memories were made and I would recommend this to anyone thinking about going.

[jagsfan]

Thanks for this. We are scheduled on the 8/30 cruise. I am worried about St. Petersburg because of the intensity of it. I am in chemo with the usual side effects...but my Doc has given us the go ahead to do this "bucket list" trip. I'm hoping I'll be okay as we booked a private tour....very private...just the 4 of us. Expensive, but really, all the tours are. Hopefully with just 4 we can tailor it to our needs and if we have to miss something, so be it. So, this whole trip.....I'm thrilled that I can go (yep, have insurance!) but weary of the intensive itinerary. We also booked the TA that follows so we can chill and not have to fly back to the west coast from overseas. Getting there will be enough!! :)

 

 

We arranged for a wheelchair through our tour company (Denrus). DH pushed me around St Petersburg for two days. It was sure worth it to me, probably not so much for him!

That made all the difference, because there is an enormous amount to see, and is probably exhausting for the most fit.

Absolutely worth seeing and experiencing, though.

[GradUT]

We were on the HAL Eurodam cruise and our paths crossed with the Regal Princess in Copenhagen on July 18th as we saw you depart on your cruise.

 

Don't worry about having missed Helsinki--it was my least favorite port. In fact, I just told a friend that the best thing about Helsinki was the cinnamon bun (korvapuustit) that I had for lunch in the Esplanade Cafe. The rest of the city was kind of boring.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

[jimp1266]

Pre cruise, we stayed at the Copenhagen Marriott. We made prior arrangements for transportation from the airport to the hotel which expedited our arrival at the hotel. Our room was ready when we arrived (9:00 AM), so we were able to put our luggage in the room and set off to explore Copenhagen.

 

We are also staying in the Marriott before our cruise on the 20th. May I ask from whom did you arrange transport?

Edited August 2, 2015 by jimp1266

[zinguy]

We were on the same cruise. We stayed at the Adina Apartment Hotel and the location was great as were the accommodations (it was a bit like staying in an IKEA showroom - in a good way). We paid about 230 kroner via taxi from the airport to the hotel. 4 adults in a station wagon. The Little Mermaid statue was about a 10 minute walk away. The hotel held our luggage the day of the cruise and we able to walk to the downtown/canal area and back visiting the fort and having lunch. Then a 120 kroner taxi ride to the cruise terminal mid-afternoon and a quick check-in.

[latebloomer56]

Thanks for this. We are scheduled on the 8/30 cruise. I am worried about St. Petersburg because of the intensity of it. I am in chemo with the usual side effects...but my Doc has given us the go ahead to do this "bucket list" trip. I'm hoping I'll be okay as we booked a private tour....very private...just the 4 of us. Expensive, but really, all the tours are. Hopefully with just 4 we can tailor it to our needs and if we have to miss something, so be it. So, this whole trip.....I'm thrilled that I can go (yep, have insurance!) but weary of the intensive itinerary. We also booked the TA that follows so we can chill and not have to fly back to the west coast from overseas. Getting there will be enough!! :)

 

Good for you taking this trip while in treatment. We did the Venice-FLA in 2011 while I was in treatment. I found that I needed to pick our tours with restful, busy days and did rest between. The crew were wonderful even without asking for anything they were always near by. As you know your taste is shot but dining was always a wonderful experience as I think it was the crew that trip for me. I am sure you will have a great experience just different and if you enjoy what you see at a slower pace it will give you something to look forward to as a future trip.

Enjoy, make memories, be strong and all the best.

[ProfMHC]

I hope we don't have to miss Helsinki. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some Marimekko fabric!!! Booked for next July.

[emmak8]

Thanks for posting. This was one of our favorite cruises. When we flew into Copenhagen, we stayed at the Airport Hilton (on points!) which is literally a few steps inside the terminal. Train into town was a snap.

[Murphey]

We arranged for a wheelchair through our tour company (Denrus). DH pushed me around St Petersburg for two days. It was sure worth it to me, probably not so much for him!

That made all the difference, because there is an enormous amount to see, and is probably exhausting for the most fit.

Absolutely worth seeing and experiencing, though.

 

Good for you taking this trip while in treatment. We did the Venice-FLA in 2011 while I was in treatment. I found that I needed to pick our tours with restful, busy days and did rest between. The crew were wonderful even without asking for anything they were always near by. As you know your taste is shot but dining was always a wonderful experience as I think it was the crew that trip for me. I am sure you will have a great experience just different and if you enjoy what you see at a slower pace it will give you something to look forward to as a future trip.

Enjoy, make memories, be strong and all the best.

 

Thanks for the idea about the wheelchair. I was wondering how much would be accessible. I can move, but what really gets me is just standing. That's harder than walking around. Perhaps a portable chair like you would take to a golf tournament.

 

Yes, we have already picked some ports to just skip. As in before and after St. Pete's, and the day after boarding. The rest we just have to play it by ear. Have planned private tours most places and have spoke with the guides. If we have to forfeit a tour here and then, we just have to. We knew when we booked that the whole thing was going to be iffy. As you can see by my signature, we have also planned a Med cruise next year. We may be being overly optimistic but as a lot of you know out there, that you just have to "motor on"!!

[Squire5000]

We are also staying in the Marriott before our cruise on the 20th. May I ask from whom did you arrange transport?

 

Cabforce. Cost about $69. Driver was waiting for us in the terminal as we came out after picking up our luggage. Taxi fare from the Marriott to the port was about 280K.

 

The Marriott is a great hotel.

[Squire5000]

Glad you had a great time. We too have had this cruise booked and also had to cancel because of my husbands work etc. Trying again May 2016. Will not know for sure until mid Feb.

That is always the fun thing, trying to get a good deal on air and a hotel that late. Oh well.

 

Glad you enjoyed the Princess excursions. Still deciding if we want to use them or private. Were the tours with Princess packed? We used them in Rome and yes they were packed but we had a blast.

 

Each tour had about 30 people. What was problematic was that everyone and his/her brother were at the same sites at the same time. However, on each tour, we didn't have to wait in line to get into the museum, church, etc. We went right to the front. The only place that seemed to get very congested was Perterhof. Lots of buses there that day. Surprisingly, our tour of the Hermitage, which was early in the morning, went very smoothly as did Catherine the Great.