Baltic Cruise Questions

[Giantfan13]

Hi people. Been quite a while since I posted here and so happy to see so many new faces.

We did our cruise several years ago, mid August and you could definitely feel the Autumn chill. When you are cruising, unless it is very warm, most people always try and find the sunny side of the ship, it does get cool, especially at night.

I don't remember all the questions, but let me chime in on a balcony. I know there are people who MUST have their balcony and that's fine. We happen to like inside cabins and use the money we save, on excursions, but that is our choice. My point being, usually, these cruises are VERY port intensive, meaning you are in a different port most days and it does get tiring. You get up early, eat breakfast and are off the ship usually until you have to be back. I know from our time, we came back, showered, ate, went to a show and usually fell asleep during it, to go back to the cabin to really sleep and then start all over the following day. Personally, I really see no need for a balcony, just to sit out and have a cup of coffee, but if that's your thing, go for it. The extra money will pay for your tours in St Petersburg though.

We used SPB Tours for our time in St Petersburg and they were simply wonderful. You cannot go wrong with any of the major players, but we happen to like SPB.

Even as seniors, we did all the other ports on our own, just very easy and not all that expensive. Get Rick Steve;s books from the library and even write to the cities tourist office, letting them know when you will be there and they will send you all sorts of great stuff about their city.

Anyway, good to be back here.

Cheers

Len

[shofer]

We did all our tours through Alla Tours, not just St.Petersburg. Our group met on our roll call and we all booked as the same group. Mostly it was about 10-12 of us except for Russia when a few joined us just for that port. The tours were much less than through the ship. Charged in rubles, with the ruble very weak against the dollar, it came to $603+change on my credit card.

 

We also had the opportunity to do an evening tour on our overnight in Russia. We chose to see the ballet, "Swan Lake" which was excellent, although we were definitely tired after a whole day of touring.

 

Sue

[TeeRick]

I agree with most of the advice here already posted. We went on Brilliance and did this cruise in July 2015. Our balcony was great to have but most nights the cold air over the Baltic Sea with the wind was a bit much for being outside on it. On the other hand some days on the itinerary that we toured were quite hot. We used Alla Tours in St Petersburg and they were exceptional. I also agree that you should go to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. Everybody goes to see the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen which is kind of disappointing. Tallinn Estonia was our favorite stop- the old town is spectacular. Skagen Denmark is very scenic and nice to walk around the shops and get local beer and seafood.

[LondonTowner]

We did a Baltic cruise in September and at times it was a bit too hot. Around 32c in Tallin. The weather in this part of the world is very changeable, who knows what kind of weather you would have tomorrow, let alone in a year.

 

I probably wouldn't bother with a balcony cabin, unless exceptionally cheap.

 

In SPB we did the two day tour with Alla which was excellent.

 

 

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[Heartgrove]

I would suggest a balcony for your cruise. It appears that you would be familiar with not-so-warm weather and possibly being on Lake Erie. We did a 12-day Baltic cruise from Copenhagen this past June. Our expectations for our cruises are always rain and rough seas (Alaska last year fulfilled that for the most part :D) but we honestly had perfect, dry weather over the whole cruise. There were times when the Baltic was even smooth as glass! But - next year is next year!

 

Originally we had booked a "Fjord and Highlands" cruise for late June (actually followed our cruise) but decided to change because there were more opportunities for a cultural experience plus this was cheaper. Prior to our cruise we had some rain in Copenhagen but once onboard that was it. Only the first day mid-cruise in St. Petersburg was somewhat cold but by the second day we were in shirtsleeves. I will say that the cruise in May had snow in SPB. That was the only day that I would classify as being a bother. Layering is the key.

 

Having the balcony allowed us to view the sail-in of the Stockholm archipelago in the early morning - without needing to go up on deck, and a leisurely breakfast while overlooking Stockholm on my wife's birthday. It was a very pleasant start after overnighting there before heading out on a second day of touring. I was also able to shoot pictures of some of the most beautiful sunsets I have witnessed due to the long days at that time of year. Having an interest in maritime traffic I enjoyed watching all the commercial and military ship traffic. This included the close passage of the Seabourn Quest and the Disney Magic among other ships.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[GradUT]

Get a copy of Rick Steves' "Northern Europe Cruise Ports". The information in that book was INVALUABLE to me when planning our Baltic Cruise a couple of years ago. He includes information on tour companies and also provides detailed self-guided walking tours in each port if you are a DIY kind of person. (We did these self-guided tours in Tallinn, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Stockholm. All were very good.)

[Desdichado62]

Get a copy of Rick Steves' "Northern Europe Cruise Ports". The information in that book was INVALUABLE to me when planning our Baltic Cruise a couple of years ago. He includes information on tour companies and also provides detailed self-guided walking tours in each port if you are a DIY kind of person. (We did these self-guided tours in Tallinn, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Stockholm. All were very good.)

 

Just remember that some of the information in the book might be outdated, Info such as bus routes,

commuter trains, boat lines and etc. Always double check the information with online sources.

[dpostman]

Get a copy of Rick Steves' "Northern Europe Cruise Ports". The information in that book was INVALUABLE to me when planning our Baltic Cruise a couple of years ago. He includes information on tour companies and also provides detailed self-guided walking tours in each port if you are a DIY kind of person. (We did these self-guided tours in Tallinn, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Stockholm. All were very good.)

 

Just remember that some of the information in the book might be outdated, Info such as bus routes,

commuter trains, boat lines and etc. Always double check the information with online sources.

 

(y) :beer-toast:

Will do.

Thanks. Lot of good info here.

 

dp

[lynncarol]

We went in early June in 2007 and had amazing weather the whole time. I second taking private tour in St. Petersburg. We used Alla. In Talinn, their tourist office had a walking/bus tour which included a visit to their festival park. In Oslo, Vigeland Park and ferry to Bygdoy Penninsula to visit the three museums. In Warnemunde Germany we took train to Bad Doberan and then Molli steam train excursion. Highlight of Stockholm for us, was the Vasa Museum. Off the beaten track places we loved: Ny Carlsburg Museum in Copenhagen, Ferry to Suomenlinna in Helsinki,

[Desdichado62]

We did our cruise several years ago, mid August and you could definitely feel the Autumn chill. When you are cruising, unless it is very warm, most people always try and find the sunny side of the ship, it does get cool, especially at night.

 

Sorry but no I disagree with this. August is usually just as warm, if not warmer then June since all the large

water bodies have been warmed up. September can also be fairly warm sometimes.

We had temperatures of >20 degrees Celsius today and it was almost 20C at 07.30 in the morning.

Average temp for August is between 15C and 20C https://www.yr.no/place/Sweden/Stockholm/Stockholm/statistics.html

[jantoby]

Did this exact cruise July 9-21. We had a stern balcony and I did use it a lot. We tended to dock starboard side to the pier if that matters to you, but that could change easily. The sail in and sail out of Stockholm is not to be missed! Spectacular!

Some things we did.

Skagen, rent bicycles and ride to Grenen and go out on the Sanderman. It's a beautiful and easy ride on bike trails. If you're ambitious, ride to the Sand Church.

Tallinn, for us, was a rest day. Took the shuttle to the old town, walked around and went to a nice restaurant for lunch. Go up the hill to the church and also find the overlook for the view.

St. Petersburg. Use a third party tour company. We used TJ Travel and I most highly recommend it. We were 10 friends so it was a private tour. We added the inside of Peterhof...DO NOT MISS Peterhof inside AND the gardens and fountains. We also added Yusupov's Palace and St. Isaacs Cathedral. TJ's was most accomodating to our changes. So I suggest you research St. Petersburg, compare the options on the tour groups, and decide what you really want to see most. It is 2 very intense days. We opted not to do a night event so we could get enough rest. But when we added Yusopov's palace and St. Isaac's as well as inside Peterhof, our first day got us back to the ship at 7:30 pm. But it's spectacular!

Helsinki. We did an overview. It was ok. But if you want to go on your own, make sure you visit the Rock Church. Other than that, research it and see what else you might want to see and then you can decide on a tour.

Stockholm. DO NOT MISS THE VASA MUSEUM. We got off the ship first thing. Grabbed cabs to the Vasa and were in line 30 minutes before opening. We were the FIRST people there! The tour groups arrived about an hour after it opened. So for me, go on your own. Go as early as you can get off the ship. Cab over.

After Vasa, we took the ferry directly to Gamla Stan (old town) and wandered on our own. The ferry picks up just a short walk from the Vasa by the amusement park and is about 4.50 Euros. Then we walked back to the ship. Long but nice walk. Or cab back.

Copenhagen. Again, taxi to Nyhavn and we did Hey Captain canal cruise. It was really fun. 12 people max in an open boat. Great captain and they have wine and beer included. Then we grabbed lunch and went to the Round Tower, and my wife and I walked to the Hans Christian Andersen monument, then to the Rosenborg Castle. Definitely go to the Castle and see the grounds. Then we took a cab back to the ship.

Plan a few days in Amsterdam and be sure to go to Zaanse Schans. Lot's to see around Amsterdam. If you are going to see the Anne Frank House, be sure to buy tickets on line so you get a guaranteed entry time. You can buy them exactly 2 months prior to your visit. Well worth it.

Anyway, hope this helps. And I would DEFINITELY get a balcony. But bring a warm jacket when you sit on it.

 

 

Just wanted to say that we used TJ in St. Petersburg earlier this month. Fantastic. We got to see everything we wanted to, in a very comfortable car - the back windows were blacked out and we felt like Russian mafia! - with a great driver and super guide (Victoria). We'd worked out beforehand what we'd see. Highlight was that because it was a private tour and we were foreign, we got into the Hermitage long before opening time and once inside, for over an hour the only other people we saw were museum staff. Incredible.

[HRPro]

We had SPB Tours for our 2-day Deluxe St. Petersburg tour. The sites were amazing. We shared experiences with our Roll Call mates and had similar impressions on other operators like Alla and TJ tours. A lot cheaper than the ship's with similar sites to visit.

 

We will be taking a Baltic tour round-trip Copenhagen in early June 2018. Thanks for all the helpful information. I have made notes of the various port recommendations and really looking forward to seeing this beautiful part of Euro

[easyboy]

We will be taking a Baltic tour round-trip Copenhagen in early June 2018. Thanks for all the helpful information. I have made notes of the various port recommendations and really looking forward to seeing this beautiful part of Euro

 

 

 

We did ours in late May and weather was nice. Hope you enjoy yours!

 

 

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