oceana berlin tours

[stokdok]

Any comments on the Berlin tours provided by Oceana, as compared to third party tours?

[rallydave]

More expensive, not as good.

[Mura]

Some of us would say not worth the time ... not because I don't think Berlin is a wonderful visit, just because it's takes so long to get there and back from a cruise port that you won't see nearly enough.  If you think you'll never have a chance to return for a longer visit, than go for it.  I agree that private tours are better and cheaper.

 

Mura

[PaulMCO]

59 minutes ago, Mura said:

Some of us would say not worth the time ... not because I don't think Berlin is a wonderful visit, just because it's takes so long to get there and back from a cruise port that you won't see nearly enough.  If you think you'll never have a chance to return for a longer visit, than go for it.  I agree that private tours are better and cheaper.

 

Mura

 

I am one that says not worth the time...  🙂

Spending 6 + hours on a bus to do a cursory city tour, for me is not enjoyable.   There is lot to see of Germany nearer to the port.

I would recommend a private tour nearby to see Bad Doberan, Wismar and Rostock. 

[KS&JW]

I recommend the Friends of Dave tour (https://www.fodtours.com) instead of spending half your day on a bus.  

 

[RJB]

Would love a private tour but would worry about getting back to the ship on time.  A long way to go without a problem and the ship will not wait for private tours that are late.  So for me it was not to go rather than chance it. 

[warburg]

Hello, stokdok. The train trip to and from Warnamunda is tedious, and the bus tour won't be much better. Of necessity, the driver's overwhelming problem is where to park the bus. In our experience, that fact is supremely limiting. Berlin is a fascinating city, and it requires time to appreciate it. No matter what the tour costs in money, it is simply a poor use of time. Once, when we were moored in Warnemunda, it was the day of the Cutty Sark race. Not really a race, it was a gathering of gorgeous sailing vessels, some national. Lots of ceremony, music, national anthems and a party on the piers for the participants. There are charming places to visit in that area. Whatever you do, have fun.

Mary

[RJB]

35 minutes ago, warburg said:

Hello, stokdok. The train trip to and from Warnamunda is tedious, and the bus tour won't be much better. Of necessity, the driver's overwhelming problem is where to park the bus. In our experience, that fact is supremely limiting. Berlin is a fascinating city, and it requires time to appreciate it. No matter what the tour costs in money, it is simply a poor use of time. Once, when we were moored in Warnemunda, it was the day of the Cutty Sark race. Not really a race, it was a gathering of gorgeous sailing vessels, some national. Lots of ceremony, music, national anthems and a party on the piers for the participants. There are charming places to visit in that area. Whatever you do, have fun.

Mary

WE had no train trip.  Were docked in Wernamunda and walked into town.   The next time were in Rostock, I think and O had a shuttle boat that took maybe 15 min.  No problems either time. 

Edited May 11, 2019 by RJB
spelling

[Paulchili]

If - and that is a big IF - one decides to go to Berlin it should be on a private tour, preferably shared with few others to cut the cost. It is more time efficient and more customized.

That said, one should go to Berlin on this cruise only if it is unlikely that one will ever return to the area. Even a short visit to Berlin is worth it in such a case, IMO.

Of course, it is far better to visit Berlin for a few days if one has a choice (like on a river cruise that starts or ends in Berlin if one does not wish to do land tours per se).

[Mura]

1 hour ago, RJB said:

WE had no train trip.  Were docked in Wernamunda and walked into town.   The next time were in Rostock, I think and O had a shuttle boat that took maybe 15 min.  No problems either time. 

I think you misunderstood -- the question was about travel to BERLIN from Warnamunde.  Or so it certainly seemed to me!

 

A number of us agree that driving several hours each way to spend an hour or two in Berlin is NOT worth it ... unless you think that's going to be your only chance ever to see it.  Even then, I don't think it's worth it ... but it's not my decision to make for others!

 

Mura

[tropicalkerry2002]

We LOVED our tour in Berlin with SPB tours. Not sure we'll ever get back, and enjoyed all we saw and learned. The most interesting monuments I've ever seen.

[Mura]

Glad you loved it, but since we've spent more than a week there -- I just never would do a long journey from a cruise port! We have an advantage, of course, in that family lives there, and has for more than 20 years.  So we have built-in tour guides when we visit.

 

The Berlin museums we love could never have a long enough visit on a day trip from a far-away port.  And there is so much more than museums in Berlin.

 

I'm very glad you enjoyed your tour!  My parents were (1) Jewish from Ukraine and (2) Norwegian.  So hatred of Germany in my early years was pretty much engrained.  I did NOT want to go there.  So I was -- discomforted? -- when I loved the city.  Our first visit was in 1998 when we were there for about a week, and we returned in 2008 for several days when we had tickets for the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth.  Our Danish friend has an apartment in Berlin and we stayed with her for a few days that time before we went to the Bayreuth area.  Both visits were wonderful.

 

And that is pretty much why I try to discourage people from spending two hours in Berlin and thinking they have seen it!

But as I say about any cruise visit which requires a long trip from a port to a big city -- think Paris, Berlin, etc. -- if you don't think you'll have an opportunity to return, go for it.

 

But I also recommend closer visits to a port city in all of those cases -- say Honfleur from Le Havre, not Paris; Lubeck from the Baltics, not Berlin (and even Lubeck is a bit of a trip, just not as far)!  No one has to  listen to me, of course, and most do not!  That doesn't bother me and I'm sure it doesn't bother those who ignore me!

 

Mura

[tropicalkerry2002]

I know what you mean about your feeling of "discomfort". I remember as a child asking my parents why ANYONE would want to go to Germany after WWII.

[Notafrequentcruiser]

My husband and I knew we wanted to visit Berlin as we had never been there and have no plans as of now to return.  I tried through roll call to put together a private tour but transportation made the tour expensive and I could not find enough participants. 

We decided to take the Oceania tour "Berlin on your Own" which is round trip bus transportation only with 6 hours in Berlin and hiring a private guide Boris Coronado through Viatour.

https://tourguides.viator.com/tour-guide-boris-coronado-144926.aspx

Boris was an excellent tour guide and we enjoyed our 4 hour walking tour from 11am to 3pm, after which we stopped on our own at a cafe near where the bus was to pick us up for the return back to the ship.

We were surprised the bus ride included a box breakfast and a box sandwich on the return trip.  The ride took over 3 hours as traffic was heavy as we approached Berlin and the bathroom break 2 hours into the trip was slow as there were several buses parked at the rest stop.

Some OP took the Viatour bus and tour for about $130 but we prefer private tours. 

It was a long day about 13 hours but we are glad we went.

 

Regards,

 

 

Pat

[RJB]

22 hours ago, Mura said:

I think you misunderstood -- the question was about travel to BERLIN from Warnamunde.  Or so it certainly seemed to me!

 

A number of us agree that driving several hours each way to spend an hour or two in Berlin is NOT worth it ... unless you think that's going to be your only chance ever to see it.  Even then, I don't think it's worth it ... but it's not my decision to make for others!

 

Mura

Sorry if I misunderstood you.  But in any case I would not make that 3 hour trip for many reasons  including the chance that we could miss the ship even thou they left pretty late.  My BW took the ships tour and liked it very much so i waited for her to eat dinner.  Different strokes.  

[Mura]

I do agree with you that I wouldn't make that long a trip to see anything when we're only there for one day, but most of the time I myself wouldn't worry about not getting back to the ship in time.  It's true, a flat tire or horrible traffic can happen anytime.  When we did Buenos Aires-Santiago on NCL many years ago we booked so late that we had no time to do research.  I did consider hiring taxis in one or two of the ports, but we quickly decided it wasn't worth the risk in case we couldn't get back to the ship on time ... the drive anywhere in South America (on those occasions) was around 2 hours each way, and the sails between ports were usually two days.  We also wouldn't have had our passports with us, so that definitely was not the risk.  (I might do it today -- but back then we were new to cruising.  It would depend on where we are, as well.)

 

We have been a bit late getting back to the ship a couple of times but we were in town and while they were calling our names, there was still plenty of time.  The gangway was still in place!

 

However, I'd never suggest to anyone that taking a long drive to get elsewhere is "never a risk".  Because it certainly can be!

 

Mura

 

[RJB]

3 hours ago, Mura said:

I do agree with you that I wouldn't make that long a trip to see anything when we're only there for one day, but most of the time I myself wouldn't worry about not getting back to the ship in time.  It's true, a flat tire or horrible traffic can happen anytime.  When we did Buenos Aires-Santiago on NCL many years ago we booked so late that we had no time to do research.  I did consider hiring taxis in one or two of the ports, but we quickly decided it wasn't worth the risk in case we couldn't get back to the ship on time ... the drive anywhere in South America (on those occasions) was around 2 hours each way, and the sails between ports were usually two days.  We also wouldn't have had our passports with us, so that definitely was not the risk.  (I might do it today -- but back then we were new to cruising.  It would depend on where we are, as well.)

 

We have been a bit late getting back to the ship a couple of times but we were in town and while they were calling our names, there was still plenty of time.  The gangway was still in place!

 

However, I'd never suggest to anyone that taking a long drive to get elsewhere is "never a risk".  Because it certainly can be!

 

Mura

 

When we came back from Hanoi we were very late because the tour guide got the time wrong  Probable an hour and a half late  Since we were on the ships tour they waited for us, but who knows if we were on a private one.  Probable left our passports with the ships agent there and we would have had to make our way to the next port on our own.   Not willing to chance that

[Mura]

It certainly can happen!  On that NCL Buenos Aires-Santiago cruise I mentioned, we had a ship's tour from Chacabuco.  The bus broke down just where we were having snacks:  wine and hors d'oeuvre.  They told us the replacement bus would be there in half an hour, it was more like an hour and a half.  The hosts kept on serving ... there was a couple glaring at us because most of us were making the most of it.

 

We indeed were very late back to port, but it WAS a ship's tour.  We were on the last tender back to the ship.  We met friends who'd just been waiting for us and joined us on the tender ...

 

So yes, being on a ship's tour when "s**t" happens can be very handy!  Had we been on a private tour ... well ...

 

By the way, it looks like we have seriously digressed from the topic!

 

Mura

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Mura

[RJB]

11 hours ago, Mura said:

It certainly can happen!  On that NCL Buenos Aires-Santiago cruise I mentioned, we had a ship's tour from Chacabuco.  The bus broke down just where we were having snacks:  wine and hors d'oeuvre.  They told us the replacement bus would be there in half an hour, it was more like an hour and a half.  The hosts kept on serving ... there was a couple glaring at us because most of us were making the most of it.

 

We indeed were very late back to port, but it WAS a ship's tour.  We were on the last tender back to the ship.  We met friends who'd just been waiting for us and joined us on the tender ...

 

So yes, being on a ship's tour when "s**t" happens can be very handy!  Had we been on a private tour ... well ...

 

By the way, it looks like we have seriously digressed from the topic!

 

Mura

 

You are right,  What was the topic?   

[aquidneck1]

We took a private tour to Berlin.  Our guide insisted on leaving Berlin 4 hours prior to departure time and we had plenty of time to get back in time.  The drive is boring!!!!   It only took us about 2 - 2.5 hours each way .  We had an amazing day.   I would only do it if I was never going back to or had not been to Berlin.  Your ship needs to be in port for more than just 8 hours to make it worth while.  

[wristband]

Another strong rec for Friends of Dave's tour.  We enjoyed a full day with Christian who was a superb guide, the bus was very comfortable the itinerary for the day was thoughtful and very interesting.

 

Others who went to Berlin had a long day on the bus, a short time in Berlin, and were ambivalent in their comments.  I would do FODave's tour again without a doubt and try to visit Berlin for an extended time - rather just a few hours - in the future.

[Traveling Fools]

DW is German and two of her brothers live in Berlin.  We opted not to make the long r/t ride to Berlin and instead met one of DW's brothers at the train station close to the dock.  We rented a car and explored the local area.  Had a great time!