Route to the Baltic

[jasperado]

Cruising to the Baltic on Arcadia in August and am now starting my research :rolleyes: After Bruges, we have two sea days to get to Helsinki before SPB. Looking at a map it seems a lot of sea to cover in two days by going north and around the top of Denmark. Is there a shorter route through a canal system?

Not that I intend to drive the boat, but Im just intrigued! :)

Thanks

Edited January 18, 2016 by jasperado

[BrianI]

There is the Kiel canal, which avoids going round Denmark but Arcadia is too big to use it. We went through the Kiel canal on Adonia which is about the biggest ship that can use the canal. The problem is that there are about 15 bridges to get under, which restricts the height of ships using the canal.

Brian

[davecttr]

Arcadia is too big for the Kiel canal? In which case 1250 nautical miles in 60 hours means an average speed of just over 20 knots :eek:

 

apparently she can do 22 knots but still cutting it fine. You might leave Bruges early and arrive later at Helsinki.

[sddsddean]

Don't worry they do it all the time...plenty of time. Just a word of advice about time zones. When we did the Baltic a few years ago we did Zeebrugge (add 1 hour), sea day, Warnemunde, Stockholm (add 1 hour), Helsinki (add 1 hour), St P (add 1 hour). We had to get up about 6am for our 7.30am tour and losing the 4 hours sleep it of course felt like 2am!, so make sure you don't burn the midnight oil as you will want to be awake for your 2 days in St P!

 

Simon

[supered]

The ship can cover the distance easily. When we did a Baltic cruise we had 3 sea days from Southampton to Stockholm which is much further on the east coast of Sweden and made it on time. They will just go at maximum cruising speed of around 22 knots. But they can do this and still leave one engine offline :-)

 

Enjoy the cruise! I'm sure you'll love it.

 

Eddie

 

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

[Mr Piano]

I am doing same itinerary on Azura in June, you can view the route on P&O website

[BrianI]

Don't worry they do it all the time...plenty of time. Just a word of advice about time zones. When we did the Baltic a few years ago we did Zeebrugge (add 1 hour), sea day, Warnemunde, Stockholm (add 1 hour), Helsinki (add 1 hour), St P (add 1 hour). We had to get up about 6am for our 7.30am tour and losing the 4 hours sleep it of course felt like 2am!, so make sure you don't burn the midnight oil as you will want to be awake for your 2 days in St P!

 

Simon

I think you have added too many hours. St Petersburg is 3 hours ahead of GMT, Helsinki, 2 hours and the rest one hour.

Brian

[LondonTowner]

Have you all been watching the excellent Empire of the Tsars: Romanov Russia a Lucy Worsley programme on BBC4

[kruzseeka]

Have you all been watching the excellent Empire of the Tsars: Romanov Russia a Lucy Worsley programme on BBC4

 

 

Certainly have! And even if the history isn't fascinating (which I think it is) it's fantastic spotting sites you recognise! Loving it!

[cruisefan2012]

Did the Baltics last year on Britannia - I did the same itinerary in reserve although we should have started in Kristiansand but didnt get to stop there due to the weather, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, St Petersburg (2 full days) Helsinki, Bruges - FANTASTIC none the less

 

You will definately want to be awake for St Petersburg - fabulous city, so much to see and take in - you will feel like your head is spinning when you get back on the ship

 

Enjoy !!

[Pete B]

Great route. The Baltics are a fab experience. You go under the Great belt bridge in Denmark which is an experience in itself.

[Mr Piano]

As its my first Baltic cruise also in June, couple questions. Apart from St.Petersburg (for obvious visa reasons) how easy is to do your own thing at other ports of call, Bruge, Helsinki, Tallinn, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm. How far are they from ports. Are there shuttle buses for all ports, for example where would the Bruge shuttle bus drop off, if there is one.

 

I know from other cruises we have done, excursion are not always needed. For example at Kotor we walked about 10 mins into the old town and jumped on an open top tour bus, then had late lunch and shopping in old town afterwards. At Dubrovnik the shuttle took us right to the old Town

Edited January 19, 2016 by Mr Piano

[LondonTowner]

All those ports of call are extremely easy to do on your own. In SPB we did the 2 day Comfort tour with Alla Tours. If you read the Northern Europe thread there is loads of information there.

[Mr Piano]

All those ports of call are extremely easy to do on your own. In SPB we did the 2 day Comfort tour with Alla Tours. If you read the Northern Europe thread there is loads of information there.

 

I have booked the the very same with Alla, but considering asking for a change to Grand tour, do you think the comfort tour is adequate? The dilemma is missing out on some things with comfort tour or packing in too much on grand tour.

[Hols4]

Hols4

BRUGE shuttle bus drops you at Wannanburg Stn.You can catch the train to BRUGE for about 8euros

return,only takes 20 mins,then get the bus into town or walk.

Helsinki shuttle bus drops you in town centre,also Tallin shuttle bus(the old town is lovely).

Oslo you can walk from the ship to town,Coppenhagen and Stockholme shuttles drop you in town also.

[Thejuggler]

The Oslo ski jump is well worth a visit. It incorporates a museum of skiing and polar exploration. For the brave there's now a zip line from the top of the jump!

 

Easily reached by public transport.

[kruzseeka]

The Oslo ski jump is well worth a visit. It incorporates a museum of skiing and polar exploration. For the brave there's now a zip line from the top of the jump!

 

Easily reached by public transport.

 

We love Oslo. It's interesting walking over the roof of the Opera House too and the Vigland Sculpture Park is amazing - and free! A tram runs from the gates to the town centre.

[LondonTowner]

Mr Piano

 

Maybe somebody else can better answer your question as we I'd the Comfort Tour as I have limited mobility. We found it more than adequate and glad we didn't book anything for the evening as both days were very busy.

 

You could ask on the Northern Europe and Baltics Forum, you may get some more positive feedback there.

[kruzseeka]

As its my first Baltic cruise also in June, couple questions. Apart from St.Petersburg (for obvious visa reasons) how easy is to do your own thing at other ports of call, Bruge, Helsinki, Tallinn, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm. How far are they from ports. Are there shuttle buses for all ports, for example where would the Bruge shuttle bus drop off, if there is one.

 

I know from other cruises we have done, excursion are not always needed. For example at Kotor we walked about 10 mins into the old town and jumped on an open top tour bus, then had late lunch and shopping in old town afterwards. At Dubrovnik the shuttle took us right to the old Town

 

Helsinki you can easily explore independently. There is a tourist tram 3T? which you can catch from near the Harbour across from the tourist office where you can pick up a map and also buy your ticket for the tram. We caught it to the nearest point to the Sibelius Monument then meandered back via the Rock Church, the train station which is well known for its architecture, Senate Square back to the fish market on the Harbour and, if you're interested the Uspenski Cathedral which overlooks the Harbour. Plenty to fill the day and can be done on foot and by tram very easily.

[Scriv]

Hols4

BRUGE shuttle bus drops you at Wannanburg Stn.You can catch the train to BRUGE for about 8euros

return,only takes 20 mins,then get the bus into town or walk.

 

I think you mean Blankenberge? ;)

 

The P&O Shuttle drops you off in Blankenberge, a nice little seaside resort about 20 mins away from the ship. It drops you off at the church very close to the railway station and the bus station for a train or bus to Bruges.

 

Once in Bruges, there is a walk of about 25 mins into the centre from the railway station or a bus. It is important to factor in this walk/bus ride into your timetable as the trains are only once an hour and are very punctual.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Scriv

[Scriv]

A nice benefit of losing all those hours on the way to St Petersburg is that you get them back on the way back when you are very grateful for the added rest!

 

As everyone has said, those two days in St Petersburg are very full-on and very tiring - but brilliant!

[Growler5010]

I have booked the the very same with Alla, but considering asking for a change to Grand tour, do you think the comfort tour is adequate? The dilemma is missing out on some things with comfort tour or packing in too much on grand tour.

 

We did the Grand Tour with Alla 3 years ago. If you are able bodied & can walk around the museums, parks etc without any help then the Grand Tour is the best. We had a group of 16 in a 16 seater mini bus & we were on the go all day each day but it was well worth it. If you are worried about being too tired make sure you don't arrange an evening trip on the overnight stay - you will have chance to recharge your batteries with an early night! We went to the ballet that evening so it was a rush to get changed, eat dinner & be back out again in 90 minutes but we managed it (aged 54 & 63)!

[Mr Piano]

We did the Grand Tour with Alla 3 years ago. If you are able bodied & can walk around the museums, parks etc without any help then the Grand Tour is the best. We had a group of 16 in a 16 seater mini bus & we were on the go all day each day but it was well worth it. If you are worried about being too tired make sure you don't arrange an evening trip on the overnight stay - you will have chance to recharge your batteries with an early night! We went to the ballet that evening so it was a rush to get changed, eat dinner & be back out again in 90 minutes but we managed it (aged 54 & 63)!

 

Thanks for the advice, the advice I have had has been superb. We will both be 64 at time of cruise, so just young sprightly pups really, quite active. I will now contact Alla and ask if they will change my booking to grand tour.

 

I will give ballet a miss, because believe it or not we have tickets for the St.Petersburg classic ballet on Friday they are currently on tour. We are flying to Jersey tomorrow Thursday 21st and will see the ballet Friday evening at the opera house. A nice little taster for our up and coming cruise

[LondonTowner]

Scriv

 

In 2014 we went to Bruges twice, but in our car. The owner of our BB gave us very good directions where to park. There is a big car park beside the railway station. He also told us there is a free shuttle bus from station/car park into the centre.

 

I don't have personal experience as we didn't use it, but may be useful to know.

[Scriv]

Yes indeed, LondonTowner. I had heard mention of this bus but didn't realise it was free. Great news. I assume it goes from the front of Bruges station?

 

We were always careful to get the penultimate train back to Blankenberge in case we missed the last train back to the ship or were not able to get on it as it was too full (which happened to some people apparently). There is however a bus to Blankenberge too in case that happens as well as taxis of course.

 

It did take us longer to walk from the station to the centre than we thought. We didn't think Bruges was very well signposted for pedestrians and we went wrong a few times!