Scandanavia and St. Petersburg

[jjeffjb]

We're considering a Celebrity cruise to Scandanavia. Any thoughts? Did you have enough time in each prot to experience the cities?

[Sahaj]

We were on the Constellation to Russia 2 years ago, with stops in Scandanavia. We had 2 days in St. Petersburg and 2 days in Copehagen... the other ports were 1 day visits.... The trip was great.....If you are going to Estonia...this was one of our favorites (besides St. Petersburg)!

[CAKER]

We went on the Constellation 8/15-8/30/04. IT WAS THE CRUISE OF A LIFETIME !!

 

St. Pete was awesome. We took 4 tours in 2 days, plus the ballet the first night (which I tell everyone to forget). Go to Hermitage the first a.m. Celebrity tour gets you in about 1 hour before the public !!!!! (Buy the video from a vendor inside, near the end, not outside. It's well worth the $ 25, and you can't take pictures inside anyway. The "little old laies" will confiscate your camera ! ) Catherine's Palace second a.m. (but very early start, bus leaves at 7 a.m., with a nice tour of parts of city you don't see otherwise), and Peteroff's Gardens second afternoon.

 

We also took 2 tours/day in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, etc. We also enjoyed the several days at sea.

 

The cruises go in either direction. Decide if you want to rest before or after St. Pete.

[cruisewmn]

We took this as a honeymoon cruise (another line other than Celebrity). We loved it. St. Petersburg is wonderful, howver our favorite port was Talin, Estonia. Blew us away. Helsinki was the only low point (kind of boring compared to the other cities). I'd highly recommend a cruise to this region. I can't wait to do it again!

[Kathy & George]

We are also considering this trip on Century in Aug. Thanks for the info on tours. Any other tips are welcome. We are considering doing 3 days in England before the cruise as well. Any suggestions for Air?

[alpal1993]

We were on the Century in June,We loved the On Off Bus which is reasonable and very convienent.If you follow the schedule you will have plenty of time to see what you want.In Russia we did the 2 day package tour including the evening Ballet which we both throughly enjoyed.We also did a tour in Tallin including a Medieval Concert in side the court yard of 11 th Century Monestary WOW!!! In Coppenhagen we did Tivoli Gardens at night very Beautiful only problem was that there was a concert and the place was packed.Don't miss the canal boat ride.

[madforcruising]

I have done it twice on RCCL on the Jewel and I can say Scandinavia and St. Petersburg are great.

[joramrose]

I did this tour on the Connie two years ago, and I have to say it was absolutely wonderful but exhausting, with so many ports. None was lmissable!!

 

Six of us hired van for the two days in St. Petersburg through Denrus, and I highly recommend them. They tailored the itinerary to our specifications which we researched at length on lilne before going. Our guide was fantastic.

 

I took the horse farm tour in Finland which was very good. That was the only ship's tour I did. I went with friends in a private rental car in Germany which was fun but stressful on the poorand crowded highways. I spent the two days in Copenhagen with my niece who lives there. I loved Tailinn in Estonia -- wonderful place just to walk around. We did our own thing in Oslo -- got to the Vigelund Park and to the Viking ship museum without any trouble. Very doable. I wish I had taken a tour in Poland because everyone said it was very good, but I enjoyed spending the day just roaming around in the little town and visiting with the Polish people who are very friendly.

 

Our ship voyage ended in Stockholm and we spent several days there. This is a wonderful city to visit-- we wished we had had more time.

 

I wrote a series of columns for our local newspaper while on the trip == I would be happy to send you copies (e-mail) if you are interested.

they are lengthy, I warn you, and not meant as a "guide book."

 

love

joan

[deblorelei]

Hi my husband and I are looking for people to do tours with. We understand that its the same dollars for 2 people or 12 and since it's so expensive we thought we would look for other partners. My name Debbie and husband Bill. Let us know if you have any interest. Let us know if you have any idea which tours to take in all the Ports.

 

Thanks

[spearmint]

Caker :

From my reading of your post, you took the Celebrity tour for your two days in St. Petersburg; is that correct?

 

alpal1993:

Did you also take the Celebrity tour?

 

We were planning to take the ship's tours at all locations on the Aug.26/06 cruise, but from reading posts on this board, we now think that we will take the St.Petersburg 2-day tour from DenRus. Their value package indicates that they will take us to everything that we want to see, except the Hermitage Gold Room. I would appreciate any feedback or comments that you or anyone would like to offer. Thanks.

[Druke I]

We did the Baltic this past August, on Oceania's Regatta, a small ship formerly with the now defunct Renaissance Cruise Lines.

 

It was our second trip into the Baltic, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We chose Oceania as they included the Kiel Canal transit - and that is a beautiful part of Germany. Many larger ships cannot clear the bridges over the Canal.

 

The Kiel Canal and two-for-one pricing with free air made it a very easy choice.

 

The Baltic is very port-intensive, but we think we got a good overview of the region, which is a very interesting part of the world.

[CAKER]

Yes, we took Celebrity's tours in St. Pete. We thought their prices were reasonable. The tour busses were right at the ship terminal. Others have also recommended Red October very highly.

[sandyruth]

this is for SPEARMINT and anyone else ,we are going on the connie on 26 august and want others to join us,i have already been in touch with denrus and red october and would love you to reply to me .please use the roll call for the constellation on this site where i have posted my requests thanks sandy;)

[Dick in Falls Church]

We were on the Century last summer, and it was great.

We pretty much did our own thing everywhere except St Petersburg, where it is difficult to do so. We did use a private service, in this case Red October.

In our opinion, the smaller number (10-12 of us, depending on day) let us go places, including bathroom breaks, that the folks on the bus tours couldn't go.

 

In the other cities, there are hop-on hop-off buses. For about $25 each, best I recall, you can tour the city. Put on the headsets, pick your language and ride on. Then, if there is something you want to see, go for it. If you are in a city for a couple days, the two day ticket is only a few bucks more.

 

Probably should mention that this was a return for us to Copenhagen and Stockholm. Really enjoyed Tallin--

[sandyruth]

spearmint i forgot to say that red october will take you to the gold room for an extra $15 if there are 10 pax i think their tour is great value and if we find 10 it will be $265 for 2 days pp inc everything;)

[dileep]

spearmint i forgot to say that red october will take you to the gold room for an extra $15 if there are 10 pax i think their tour is great value and if we find 10 it will be $265 for 2 days pp inc everything;)

 

They need to know in advance so they can book it. We decided to do it on the day of the tour and the Gold Room was booked up.

[CA traveler]

last summer to the Baltic and St. Petersburg. It was a great way to cover a lot of territory. I found it a bit rushed in many of the ports. I would have loved to stay longer. We did each port on our own or with local guides I found on the Baltic boards. We used Red October in St. Petersburg and they were fabulous. We got to see everything in 2 days. We used Tours in Poland in Gdansk and Maria from Stockholm stories for a walking tour of old town.

[lysolqn]

Did the Baltic on Constellation two years ago and loved it so much, we did the very same cruise again last year. It's an incredible cruise, but a very port intensive and tiring one. The ports are fantastic and, with the exception of St. Petersburg, very do-able on your own. Look into using Red October or DenRus (we've used both) in St. Petersburg as opposed to ship sponsored shore excursions. Also, get some good guide books like Fodor or Frommer and be sure to read the destination boards on this cite and others re the Baltic. You'll be amazed by how much information and how many useful hints you can pick up from folks who've already been where you're going.

[Nancyquilts]

If you're in Stockholm on a rainy day, the recovered old ship Vasa is a great place to visit. Nancy

[lysolqn]

Re the posts about the $15 extra charge for the Gold Room - been there and done that. IMHO, don't feel you'll be missing something if you miss the Gold Room. Of course, if you have a burning desire to see it, do so; but it's really not a big deal. In fact, we're still not quite sure why there's an extra charge for that part of the Hermitage when so many other exhibits are included in the entrance fee and are so much more interesting. Again IMHO, we thought it was simply a way to collect an additional fee, along the same lines as the extra charge for using still and video cameras wherever you go - ah, capitalism, very much alive and well in the former USSR!

[msiowa]

If you're in Stockholm on a rainy day, the recovered old ship Vasa is a great place to visit. Nancy

 

Even if it's a sunny day the Vasa is a must see. I thought it was a highlight of Stockholm.

 

This is an incredible cruise. We did it on Constellation in August 2003. The best cruise ever!

 

We did Red October in St. Petersburg which was great but did all the other ports on our own. Very easy to do. You don't get to see everything but you do get a good taste of each port. Someday I must do this one again.

 

Happy sailing!

Joanie

[bfreinecke]

My husband and I are doing the Star Princess this July 4th and would like to see St. Petersburg with our own guide. Can't handle the large tour crowds. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[WatchHill]

We did the Baltic cruise on the Constellation in August, 2005 and had a fantastic time. Prior to the cruise, we spent four days in England, with a side trip to York. Wish I had a few extra days as I wanted to spend time in Dover before we boarded the ship. Alas, I'm returning to England in a few weeks, though not on a cruise.

This is a very port intensive cruise, so be prepared. Our first day was at sea, and it was rainy and chilly. Passengers were buying fleece jackets and sweat shirts in the Emporium, only to awaken the following morning to a warm sunny day in Copenhagen. Luckily, the weather remained in the 70's to low 80's throughout the cruise. Entering and leaving each port is so interesting, and beautiful, especially Stockholm, with its glacial islands and heavy water traffic.

We booked all of our tours through the ship, primarily for convenience. Most were very good, but a few were disappointing enough to merit a formal complaint immediately upon returning to the ship. Enjoyed the conveniece of complimentary bus service in each of the prots except Russia. We were able to go into town in the morning, and do a tour after lunch. Many of the tours spanned the entire day, so by the time we got back to the ship, we were ready for bed. Loved St. Petersburg, no problem taking pictures at the Hermitage, though I did pick up a book and post card packages at a gift shop. We also did the the ballet, even DH enjoyed himself. Our tours included authentic Russian lunches, one at a hotel and another at a village restaurant near Catherine's palace. Biggest disappointment was our tour to Porvo, Finland. Loved Germany and Lithuania.

Bring lots of film and a big memory chip for the camera, though you can download to a CD on the ship. We came home with about 800 pictures.

 

Darcy

[Brucemcdou]

My husband and I are doing the Star Princess this July 4th and would like to see St. Petersburg with our own guide. Can't handle the large tour crowds. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

Hi, Bfreinecke - You may want to browse the Baltic Cruises boards, which have lots of information and opinions about the various tour operators in St. Petersburg. There's also a lot of information about all of your other Baltic ports.

 

The two major tour operators in St. Petersburg are Red October and Denrus. They both have websites that provide a lot of information and sample pricing. There is also a smaller operator named Alla, who seems to be highly regarded. All of them will arrange for your visa, which saves you some money and some hassle. Any of them can arrange private tours for two people in an air-conditioned sedan up to a bus full of people and any size in between. As you'll pay for the car, driver and guide, there's an incentive to put together a small group and share the cost. If you want to have a purely private tour for two of you, I can tell you that we got prices from all of them ranging from $1,100 to 1,500 total for two days for two people, nine or ten hours each day. We've decided to go with a small (6-8) group with either Denrus or Alla to share the cost of a mini-bus, which still getting the advantage of a small group.

 

If you have special concerns, such as handicapped access, a slower pace, special sightseeing or food requests, I believe that any of these companies could accomodate you.

 

We're going on the Jewel OTS this summer and are very excited about it - enjoy your cruise on the Star!