Help! Warnemunde - Berlin or Schwerin/Rostock?

[whimsy7]

@ Clay,

that is correct. we did not have to change trains at Rosiock.

we were advised to sit in the front two carriages of the train as the other carriages are un coupled and do not continue on past Rostock.

[Clay Clayton]

Well that will make our return easier. Thanks for the info. A little more if you don’t mind...I presume the train showed up on the timetable and station board as Warnemunde bound?

 

 

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[whimsy7]

hmmm.... I think so...

I do not recall any difficulty locating the correct train.

hopefully someone will correct me if this is not the case.

[FredZiffle]

It's been a few years, but I don't recall any problem with getting back to Warnemunde, so it must have been pretty obvious which train to take from Rostock.

 

This was one of our favorite DIY excursions. We got tickets for the entire zone and just started heading west. Got off in Rostock, wandered around, had lunch, then got back on a train headed west. Whenever we saw something interesting, we'd get off and explore. Schwerin Castle was awesome, but perhaps our favorite memory was from a small town a bit further west. As the train pulled into the station, we could hear Beatles music in the distance, so we followed the sound and came upon a small, but pretty, church where they were playing the music inside.

 

The whole trip was very laid back, but a lot of fun. We had considered Berlin as well, but literally at the last minute (in the train station in Warnemunde) changed our mind. I'm glad we did.

[mrs1daniels]

We just did this. We opted to stay in Warnemunde and Rostock rather than take six hours out of our day to go to Berlin. We had a wonderful day with an amazing guide who provided us a walking tour of these towns (with a short train ride between them). Our group was just six people so our guide was able to really talk with us about the places we saw and what his experiences were like in the changeover from East Germany to now. Absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend you stay local to enjoy these lovely small towns.

[Freshycat]

I'm convinced, we will stay local and explore the towns nearer by. Thank you to everybody for sharing your experiences.

 

We just did this. We opted to stay in Warnemunde and Rostock rather than take six hours out of our day to go to Berlin. We had a wonderful day with an amazing guide who provided us a walking tour of these towns (with a short train ride between them). Our group was just six people so our guide was able to really talk with us about the places we saw and what his experiences were like in the changeover from East Germany to now. Absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend you stay local to enjoy these lovely small towns.

 

That sounds great! Do you recall the name of the tour or tour guide?

[kkbay]

We have been to Germany twice before, but mainly in Bavaria. We had not been to Berlin, and never felt that it would be part of any future trips so we did the day tour there. So glad we went. I know it's a big city and we could not possible have seen everything, but the tour we went on also had monitors in the bus with historical footage of what happened at the sights we had seen. If you don't want to go, then don't go. If the rest of your family want to go, then they should go. On our Baltic cruise, we had three days in St Petersburg and chose to spend one day by taking the Sapsan train to Moscow. It was an 18 hour trip. So glad we did. I know we would never have made it back to Moscow and we had a fabulous time. That's why I say to be sure and take a Baltic cruise that spend three days in Russia.

[puppymama1]

We have been to Germany twice before, but mainly in Bavaria. We had not been to Berlin, and never felt that it would be part of any future trips so we did the day tour there. So glad we went. I know it's a big city and we could not possible have seen everything, but the tour we went on also had monitors in the bus with historical footage of what happened at the sights we had seen. If you don't want to go, then don't go. If the rest of your family want to go, then they should go. On our Baltic cruise, we had three days in St Petersburg and chose to spend one day by taking the Sapsan train to Moscow. It was an 18 hour trip. So glad we did. I know we would never have made it back to Moscow and we had a fabulous time. That's why I say to be sure and take a Baltic cruise that spend three days in Russia.

 

 

kkbay - Who did you you use for the Moscow tour? We were debating about doing that on our Baltic cruise next year since we have 3 days in St. Petersburg too... Also, who did you use on the Berlin tour? We are in the same situation as you.. we will never be going back there, so we want to see it while we have the chance, even if it's not the most ideal way to see Berlin... Thanks!

[kkbay]

kkbay - Who did you you use for the Moscow tour? We were debating about doing that on our Baltic cruise next year since we have 3 days in St. Petersburg too... Also, who did you use on the Berlin tour? We are in the same situation as you.. we will never be going back there, so we want to see it while we have the chance, even if it's not the most ideal way to see Berlin... Thanks!

We were on the Crystal Symphony and booked the Moscow tour with them. IMO, the best way to do it. The train was great, we had coffee and pastries at the famous Metropol Hotel, a walk around the Kremlin grounds and a tour of the Grand Kremlin Palace, which you cannot book on your own. Next a tour or the Armory, which is not an armory as I thought.We were the only group in there. Other sights, a lunch/ dinner at a beautiful restaurant with caviar and vodka, and before we left, a ride on the Moscow subway to see how beautiful it is. Breakfast and dinner were provided on the train. We were in Business class, which is great. All for one price. It was quite expensive, but we would never be that close to Moscow again and decided to do it. Which cruise line will you be going on?

[kkbay]

kkbay - Who did you you use for the Moscow tour? We were debating about doing that on our Baltic cruise next year since we have 3 days in St. Petersburg too... Also, who did you use on the Berlin tour? We are in the same situation as you.. we will never be going back there, so we want to see it while we have the chance, even if it's not the most ideal way to see Berlin... Thanks!

We went with the tour offered by our ship, the Crystal Symphony. It was one of the best excursions I've ever been on. Many people on our cruise regretted not doing it. Was quite pricy, but you can save $$ and take less expensive excursions at the other ports. I was even told by one of the ship's employees not to take any excursions in Estonia - not worth it. Wit a little planning and help from this site, you can save $$ by booking excursions yourself in the other ports. If you have not been to Berlin and never plan on going, I think this is a good excursion to do in Warnemunde, Just my opinion

[puppymama1]

We will be on Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas. Thanks for the information!

[dogs4fun]

We went with the tour offered by our ship, the Crystal Symphony. It was one of the best excursions I've ever been on. Many people on our cruise regretted not doing it. Was quite pricy, but you can save $$ and take less expensive excursions at the other ports. I was even told by one of the ship's employees not to take any excursions in Estonia - not worth it. Wit a little planning and help from this site, you can save $$ by booking excursions yourself in the other ports. If you have not been to Berlin and never plan on going, I think this is a good excursion to do in Warnemunde, Just my opinion

I loved Tallinn - it is very easily done on your own. In fact, of all the ports on our Baltic cruise, it was the easiest DIY port. The online TI has a wealth of information:

https://www.visittallinn.ee/eng/visitor/plan/good-to-know/tourist-information

[twruger]

I faced this same dilemma, as we really wanted to do Berlin, but seemed too far to roundtrip it in one day. Our solution was to take the option that allowed us to embark in Warnemunde instead of Copenhagen (we were on NCL, not sure if you are or have that option). In doing this, we actually flew into Berlin, spent two days there, took train to Hamburg, spent two days, and then on to Warnemunde to embark. After cruise, we returned to Berlin for another two days. With those four days in Berlin, there was still much to see. One day in Berlin would have left us feeling robbed. :)

 

If that is not an option and you can only port in Warnemunde, I suggest Lubeck. You can get there by train or rent a car, and is about 1h 15m from port. Great medieval streets, churches, market. Although I have not been, Schwerin is a little closer and may be a nice visit also. Even Hamburg is closer than Berlin, but at least two hours travel from port.

[charlie murphy]

If I helps this is what we did with our time in Germany. we chose to skip Berlin.

We started early and got the zone ticket to cover a trip to Schwerin, Wisnar, Rostock, and back to Warnemunde It was a full day, but it is possible to see all these sites during the long port day in Germany. You need to be comfortable with independent travel and mindful of train schedules. The German trains run on schedule and you should check the departure or two before you leave each station. The towns are small enough to make time management relatively easy. Our travels were even slowed by buying the wrong ticket in Warnemunde and getting that corrected in Schwerin. We traveled as a family with 5 kids ( age 15 to 10 years old)

To do this:

Start early ( as soon as you can get off the ship) walk to the train station in Warnemunde , get the correct ticket ( day ticket for the zone) To Rostock we went. The train conductor let us know of our error, he was very nice and told us what ticket we were needing. At the station in Schwerin the agent was understanding and helped us make the correction. We did not note the error until the train change in Rostock. This just took time away for sight seeing and was a minor inconvenience ( 45 minutes). This error meant we needed to take the train after the one we intended for the next leg of our journey. This was not a problem as after touring the castle and grounds and walking thru town back to the train station we found a market in one of the squares and ate like locals. There was guy grilling sausages and serving them up, fresh cheese, luncheon meats and breads .

We got on a train to Wismer, here we just wandered the city for a couple / few hours . churches , water ways, a general city walk. very interesting city.

We returned to Rostock , on the way passing Bad Doberin , seeing the Molli train as we passed by . It is likely some of the Molli train excursion passengers from our ship boarded our train home as it was later in the day.

We got off the train in Rostock and walked to the town square. I would recommend the tram or bus as it was a longer walk then we anticipated. The walk to the square is uneventful , like walking thru a neighborhood. We wandered and did a bunch of shopping. My kids love , love German Candy so along with shopping in the square and the main though fare we spent a considerable amount of time in the grocery store! Back packs full we got the tram back to the train station. ( it was covered by out train ticket - I believe) we likely waited for this tram 20 to 30 minutes. I remember there being frequent trains from Rostock to Waremunde.

We returned to Waremunde walked along he water front to the beach , spent a 1 to 2 hours on the beach below the lighthouse. We had time to SWIM in the Baltic Sea, which is something we had been trying to do at some point in our travels. We got a German 'Bier' at a Bier wagon and walked back to the ship . The place was hopping in the evening! We were able to do a little window shopping and got back to the ship for dinner.

It was a full day, but all the towns lent themselves to short strategic sight seeing , I am sure the towns have much more to offer but we were able to use the train rides to rest, plan, and gear up for the next town .

this Itinerary is doable for the comfortable DYI traveler. We did it, we loved it. However, all of us wished he had more time in Warnermunde. I believe a day in this seaside down would be very enjoyable, and relaxing and is under rated and over looked. Enjoy this port. It is a cool surprise!