Any reviews of train to Berlin from Warnemunde?

[karlsselindh]

Now that several Eclipse and Silhouette Baltic cruises have visited Warnemunde, does anybody have any information about Celebrity's train tours from Warnemunde to Berlin?

 

There are actually three different tours listed on Celebrity's web site, but I suspect that they all take the same train and only differ slightly by whether a fancy lunch is served or extra shopping is available in Berlin. These tours are labeled "new" on Celebrity's web site, and there are still no reviews.

 

I would like to know about how comfortable the train is. Can you walk around on the train? Are there restrooms available? Is it air conditioned? Food? Is the train easy walking distance from the ship?

 

What about the tour once you get to Berlin. Are you put in small groups or in a massive cattle herd? Is the Berlin guide good? Did you see all the highlights and did you feel rushed? Which of the three tours is recommended?

 

I'm wondering if there's a possibility of the train selling out. (We're going in August.) Should I book now?

 

Any first- or second-hand information would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance...

[pjs678]

They cancelled the train excursion on our 6/19 Silhouette sailing two days before we got to Berlin. Felt really bad for the folks on that excursion who didn't have time to plan another way to get to Berlin. Have a backup plan.

[exPanAm]

Now that several Eclipse and Silhouette Baltic cruises have visited Warnemunde, does anybody have any information about Celebrity's train tours from Warnemunde to Berlin?

 

There are actually three different tours listed on Celebrity's web site, but I suspect that they all take the same train and only differ slightly by whether a fancy lunch is served or extra shopping is available in Berlin. These tours are labeled "new" on Celebrity's web site, and there are still no reviews.

 

I would like to know about how comfortable the train is. Can you walk around on the train? Are there restrooms available? Is it air conditioned? Food? Is the train easy walking distance from the ship?

 

What about the tour once you get to Berlin. Are you put in small groups or in a massive cattle herd? Is the Berlin guide good? Did you see all the highlights and did you feel rushed? Which of the three tours is recommended?

 

I'm wondering if there's a possibility of the train selling out. (We're going in August.) Should I book now?

 

Any first- or second-hand information would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance...

So glad you asked about train to Berlin. I will eventually post about the whole fiasco.

We had booked Berlin on your own, which meant we would take the Celebrity train to Berlin and back and tour on our own.

Prior to us boarding the Silhouette on June 19 we kept calling Celebrity Shore Excursions to see how this tour was filling up. They told us only 20 seats left so we decided to book before boarding the ship. 2 days prior to arriving in Warunmunde we were informed that there were not enough people to fill this tour. ( Seems a little fishy at best). There were 3 trains going to Berlin for the full day excursions at a price tag of $399. Our excursion was only $169. We asked since there were 3 trains going did they not have spots for 8 people. That was totally ignored by upper management on- board. I lived in Germany for 10 years and speak fluent German I really did not need a tour, I only wanted to go to Berlin.

Anca, the Michaels Club Concierge did try to find an alternative but at a very outlandish price using private transportation. I can honestly say the only repeat only person genuinely concerned and really tried to find a way for us to get to Berlin was our Butler, Walter.

Will I ever book a Celebrity Shore Excursion again? I seriously doubt it.

Regards

Bernetta

[TexSea]

We were also on the recent Silhouette sailing with pjs678 and Bernetta.

 

When we were getting back on the ship in Warnemunde (we had done the Friends of Dave tour in the local area) a few people returning from Berlin were complaining that they didn't get to see all the sites (such as the Berlin Wall) but others in different Celebrity tour groups were able to visit the wall twice on their tour.

 

The train lets you off VERY close to the ship. I was told it wasn't air conditioned, but there were restrooms and you could walk around.

[AntjeG]

Why book with Celebrity if you want to go to Berlin DIY and only need transportation? You can book train tickets in Germany on the website of our railway company at http://www.bahn.de They send your ticket by email and you pay with your credit card. The train takes about 3 hrs from Warnemünde (train station is near the port) to Berlin Main Station.

You can walk around in all trains and there are also restrooms on the trains. If you book early you can get discount tickets. If you don´t want to book online in advance you can buy your ticket at Warnemünde train station.

 

A rental car may also be a good idea to get from Warnemünde to Berlin.

[pjs678]

Why book with Celebrity if you want to go to Berlin DIY and only need transportation? You can book train tickets in Germany on the website of our railway company at http://www.bahn.de They send your ticket by email and you pay with your credit card. The train takes about 3 hrs from Warnemünde (train station is near the port) to Berlin Main Station.

You can walk around in all trains and there are also restrooms on the trains. If you book early you can get discount tickets. If you don´t want to book online in advance you can buy your ticket at Warnemünde train station.

 

A rental car may also be a good idea to get from Warnemünde to Berlin.

 

I think some people thought it was a good use of their OBC. The train schedule isn't always great for those going to/from Warnemunde to Berlin.

 

We used Jeremy Minsberg theberlinexpert.com and he was great. He arranged a private minivan from the port to Berlin and back which we also used throughout the day from time to time as well. We managed to get 7 1/2 hours in Berlin which was much more than the Celebrity tours. It helped that we got there in 2 hours going 175 kmph on the autobahn.

[karlsselindh]

Why book with Celebrity if you want to go to Berlin DIY and only need transportation? You can book train tickets in Germany on the website of our railway company at http://www.bahn.de They send your ticket by email and you pay with your credit card. The train takes about 3 hrs from Warnemünde (train station is near the port) to Berlin Main Station.

You can walk around in all trains and there are also restrooms on the trains. If you book early you can get discount tickets. If you don´t want to book online in advance you can buy your ticket at Warnemünde train station.

 

A rental car may also be a good idea to get from Warnemünde to Berlin.

 

From what I've heard, if you take the commercial train, you have to change trains in Rostock, while the cruise charters a train for its tours and you don't have to change trains. Is that true?

 

Since time is limited, and it's been viele jarhen since I studied Deutsch in der schule, I don't want to DIY to see the Berlin highlights.

 

Do I understand from the previous posts that there was more than one train from the ship to Berlin, and some of the train tours on the June 19 cruise were not cancelled? Any reports from other cruises?

[cbradley1209]

I think some people thought it was a good use of their OBC. The train schedule isn't always great for those going to/from Warnemunde to Berlin.

 

Paul is right. The train schedule did not support having a day in Berlin. It would have allowed us only a couple of hours there.

 

I was one of the ones who did not get to go to Berlin. It was not only the way that X handled the excursion that causes me to say I will never use X for an excursion, it was also the cavalier manner of the managers of both Shore Excursions and Destinations. I have not seen such an unprofessional attitude in a long time.

 

If I were looking at cruise lines and only had these two managers as representatives of X, I would never even cruise with them.

 

chris

[exPanAm]

Why book with Celebrity if you want to go to Berlin DIY and only need transportation? You can book train tickets in Germany on the website of our railway company at http://www.bahn.de They send your ticket by email and you pay with your credit card. The train takes about 3 hrs from Warnemünde (train station is near the port) to Berlin Main Station.

You can walk around in all trains and there are also restrooms on the trains. If you book early you can get discount tickets. If you don´t want to book online in advance you can buy your ticket at Warnemünde train station.

 

A rental car may also be a good idea to get from Warnemünde to Berlin.

We purchased our tour prior to boarding the ship so our OBC did not even enter the picture.

We decided to take the tour offered by Celebrity train to Berlin because the guide book by Rick Steves suggested it is best to do it that way. Should there have been some sort of accident etc the ship would wait for us rather than us having to get ourselves to the next port.

[Wj420]

We did the tour in fall of 2013. We thought it was a great value and we enjoyed the day. The train ride was charming! The tour included a bus and boat tour and a fun German family style lunch. There was a little time for shopping or sampling the German beer. It was a full fun day. Enjoy.

[Hydrokitty]

we're doing this trip next year so we have plenty of time. I noticed that X also has a Berlin excursion by bus, which we are inclined to book because I have difficulty walking long distances. Has anyone else done Berlin with X on the bus?

[Placebo 4 Sail]

From what I've heard, if you take the commercial train, you have to change trains in Rostock, while the cruise charters a train for its tours and you don't have to change trains. Is that true?

 

Since time is limited, and it's been viele jarhen since I studied Deutsch in der schule, I don't want to DIY to see the Berlin highlights.

 

Do I understand from the previous posts that there was more than one train from the ship to Berlin, and some of the train tours on the June 19 cruise were not cancelled? Any reports from other cruises?

We booked the train to Berlin tour thru Celebrity. Our tour was not cancelled. They had bathrooms on the train and we could walk around. There was no air conditioning and some of the cars were cooler than others. We did the tour which included the boat ride. All of the tours utilizing the train were on same train. We were told that celebrity rents the # of cars needed to accommodate the number of guests that have booked (not sure if that is factual.) I wasn't aware, until now, that celebrity had cancelled a tour group. We used celebrity due to the distance between the port and Berlin. We had met a couple on a tour we booked thru Alla in St. Petersburg. They were taking the same tour so we had arranged to meet them in the AM at the theater where we were suppose to sign in. That didn't happen due to the huge amount of people that showed up for the train tours. You are assigned your group # according to the time you sign in. We thought that we would be able to sit together on the train, however group numbers were assigned to specific train cars. On the way to Berlin no one brought carts around to purchase food or beer. They provided light snacks. On the way back to the ship a cart did come around and sell beer, I think. As for the tour in Berlin, it seemed to depend on which tour guide you got. Our guide was horrible! We only made a few stops and he really rushed us. The rest of the time we rode around in the bus with him telling us stories of all the famous people he knew. He was into 70's rock and he looked the part, Lol. Our friends said their guide was NOT like that and that they enjoyed their tour.

Perhaps we were in one of the last groups and they had to call in an extra guide at the last minute? He certainly was not prepared and hadn't combed his hair when we first met him in Berlin. The train is within walking distance to where the ship berths. If you decide to book through celebrity, my recommendation would be to get to the theater as early as possible to, perhaps, get a better guide?

[donaldsc]

Just as a matter of interest, when you do the Warnemunde to Berlin tour, how much total time do you have in Berlin and how much time do you spend getting to and from Berlin. On your Berlin tour, how much time do you spend with feet on the ground and how much time do you spend on a bus driving past places.

 

Inquiring minds want to know.

 

DON

[Hydrokitty]

Just as a matter of interest, when you do the Warnemunde to Berlin tour, how much total time do you have in Berlin and how much time do you spend getting to and from Berlin. On your Berlin tour, how much time do you spend with feet on the ground and how much time do you spend on a bus driving past places.

 

Inquiring minds want to know.

 

DON

 

Me too!