Back from the Getaway Baltic Cruise - 5/25 - Any Questions?

[hate2shop]

Hello Alex,

Glad to see you made it home safely!

We were also on this cruise and I agree with everything that has been posted so far and wanted to add a few things.

 

If you're staying in Copenhagen for a few days get the card. Good for public transport not just in town but for the train to Roskilde and entry discounts there are well. The Cathedral and Viking museum there were a highlight of our trip.

 

Taxi from airport to Marriott was $22 and Marriott to port $34. We walked pretty much everywhere in Copenhagen as its very easy to get around and took the Free Walking Tour (green umbrellas) . Our guide Rikke was fantastic.

 

We had the thermal suite and made good use of it in the evening as it was open until 10. I would not have used it if it had been warmer out but wanted to try it.

 

And Alex, I talked to some people on our cruise who waited 2 hours to get into the Hermitage and only had 40 minutes there on the day we walked right in. They were not happy. I feel very grateful that TJ's and Elena and Ivan were so knowledgeable and organized.

 

Cissy

[Alegeeter]

Oh wow, Cissy, that's horrible. I wouldn't have been happy either. The TJ team was definitely organized, maybe that wasn't the norm. We were very fortunate to have a good guide, driver, and group.

 

Glad to hear Jason and you made it back too. I hope the flooding subsides! So great to meet you both.

 

Kicking a cold now but happy it waited for me to get home.

[BoughtMyPoints]

The arrival into Gothenburg for me was SUPERB.

 

Yes, the shuttle might have been free (it was for me!) but $15 for all day was actually very reasonably priced for Sweden.

Uber was quoting circa $60 one way.

 

The chaos on the quay was largely passenger induced, as it usually is.

 

As Getaway was escorted by a fire tug into our berth, I thought it would take hours to disembark and board buses. I WAS WRONG.

 

The Swedes had buses and buses arriving. Some were for specific tours, others were city type buses going to the centre.

 

15 minutes or so into the disembarkation process I walked off without queuing, asked short, curt questions as to which bus and I was away on a bus where there were spare seats making the 5 mile or so run into town. I seem to remember arriving at 13.32. The local bus driver was surrounded by passengers upon arrival. I shouted out my thanks!

 

I saw on my phone where we were arriving, a short walk from the Central Station.

 

As I was disembarking in Gothenburg, the man with the yellow stickers just put one on my cruise card. Contrary to the usual ignorant babble on this board, I simply notified the purser's office upon boarding and everything was set up for early, seamless disembarkation.

 

The visit of Getaway caused a stir in the local media as this was the largest passenger ship visit to date. Due to its size, Getaway is experiencing operational challenges on its first visit(s) to many ports, principally due to its draught.

 

I took the corresponding cruise last year on the Star which I enjoyed due to a paid upgrade. This one was in a different league and was one of my best ever. Having been made a Vice Ambassador, the recognition I received was out of this world. If not for a 2 day commitment in Sweden, I would have stayed on for another cruise.

 

Nynashamn? There is no way to put lipstick on that pig. It's a useful car ferry port, that's it! That said, I did not bother getting off the ship for most of my 8 day cruise, only Warnemuende and Tallinn.

[djacobson]

Thanks for the update! Have a few questions! Can you explain what you mean by the two terminal system? How did you get to and from Copenhagen terminal and airport? Wondered if NCL offers a transfer and cost? Also wonderful if you did a private tour company in SPB and if so which tour and how did you like it? Any other must see sites in your opinion in the other ports? Thanks!

 

NCL does provide a pre and post cruise transfer from CPH to the pier, I believe it costs $30 each way.

 

I booked my tours with Alla and was very happy with them. They are setting up their web site so that you can pre-pay for the excursions. You can also pay by credit card in St. Petersburg. I booked tours for Berlin, Tallin, St. Petersburg and Helsinki with Alla. They offer a discount when you book multiple tours. Whichever company you purchase your tours from, you will see some of the "must see" sites. There are too many to see. Thankfully, the St. Petersburg tours are two full days and you do get to see and experience quite a bit.

 

Alla offers a tour of Stockholm, but I wanted to go to two specific places (Vasa Museum and the ABBA Museum) and did so on my own. I purchased my ABBA ticket before leaving for the cruise.

[Seminole1975]

Taking notes! Enjoying the review.

[Nutshell66]

What hotel, if any, did you stay pre cruise in Copenhagen and how was the price? How did you get from the hotel to the pier? Did you go to Tivoli Gardens and is it worth it just for two adults and how long did you stay? I'm trying to decide if two or three days pre-cruise is enough.

 

We stayed at the Marriott and the location was superb. I would recommend Tivoli, but unless you enjoy amusement rides, 2-3 hours is what you'll spend there. The restaurants are good but overpriced in the park.

 

If you end up spending 3 days there you can visit some of the outlying attractions such as the Louisiana Art Museum and Carlsberg Brewery. Overall a great city but the $$ does add up quickly as it's quite expensive.

[kapitman]

It was so great to meet you and the family on the cruise Alex! I am so bummed I ended up missing the night tour in St P!!! You all had a blast - Debbie told me all about it!

 

For those wondering about Copenhagen taxis...we waited a reasonable time at disembarking (around 9am) and the cab cost the four of us about 35-40 bucks to our hotel (Wake up Copenhagen) and then the next day we flew to Oslo for two days in Norway. The taxi to airport from hotel was also right at $40.