Ultimate Baltic itinerary ports

[KeithJenner]

One last thought regarding this itinerary.

 

My wife and I were discussing whether this was our favourite itinerary that we have done. In the end, I said it was, but my wife suggested that the 15 day Iceland and Norway one we did a couple of years ago was probably hers.

 

I have done 20+ cruises now, including most of Europe, Transatlantic, Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii. Alaska, Hawaii and Iceland are more spectacular in places, but I honestly believe that this extended Baltics itinerary is overall the best that I have done.

 

It included 13 countries, has St Petersburg, and other gems like Brugge, Riga, Tallinn and Copenhagen. Every single port would be one of the highlights on many cruises. Whilst the exact itinerary that we did isn't available at this point, there are others that are close, and if you are considering one of them then really, don't hesitate. You won't regret it.

[Glide_Path]

Just to serve as data point for future SPB cruisers... did NCL enforce the you can't get off until 90 min after NCL excursion rule in SPB?  Once again, thank you for all your insight and tips.

[KeithJenner]

9 minutes ago, Glide_Path said:

Just to serve as data point for future SPB cruisers... did NCL enforce the you can't get off until 90 min after NCL excursion rule in SPB?  Once again, thank you for all your insight and tips.

I can't say for sure.

 

My understanding is that the issue isn't with NCL allowing people off the ship, but the port not allowing private tour companies in. I may be wrong with that, as it isn't something which has mattered to me, so I haven't followed things recently. I have heard there are similar issues with other cruise companies, and last time I was there (3 years ago) we had no problem with NCL letting us off.

 

Anyway, what I can say is that there was a message left in all rooms saying about the 90 minute delay in letting tour companies in. I should have asked others what their experience was, but I forgot to. I don't know what actually happened on that first morning.

[Glide_Path]

Just sharing what my folks (currently on the Spirit) told me.  They got the same message in the room regarding the 90 min delay if on non NCL excursion.  At 7:15 am they walked off the ship without delay, passed through customs fairly quickly.  The non NCL tour guide was already outside waiting for them.  This was well before the 90 min mark.  So, no idea who is or isn't implementing the 90 minute rule 🤔

[KeithJenner]

There are so many different stories going around about St Petersburg.

 

When we went in 2016 (on the Star), we were confidently told by everyone that NCL would try to convince us that we needed to do their tour to avoid a Visa, and that we would be kept on the ship until all the NCL tours had left.

 

In the event, we happened to be in Spinnaker when the port presentation was going on, and they clearly told everyone that no Visa was required if you had an NCL tour, or had booked with a local company. Then, on the day they let us off at exactly the same time as the ship tours were leaving.

 

I think that the changes in the past couple of years have been driven by the port, but it wouldn't surprise me if they aren't being followed. I certainly didn't hear any complaining and knew quite a few people who were taking private tours.

[fabnfortysomething]

our experience last year was that the ship attempted to regulate exit in St P by getting everyone not on NCL excursion to get a pre    number to be processed via theatre

no way to bypass this

however there was no enforcing of numbers-we had first group but people were in a I don't care mode and pushed into line anyway

as a result took over 3o mins to get through theatre and then another 30 mins to get through immigration line

this was due to selfish large family groups who stationed 1 family member across each of 10 lines and moved people across to what seemed to be moving faster

guess which line they all moved over to!   

 

my advice is to arrange with your private tour operator to meet later and get back to ship later on first day so avoid the "rush hour"

 

 

[TYTY]

On 8/19/2019 at 7:50 PM, bluesea777 said:

 

Our June 2020 Jade Ultimate Baltics cruise is a round trip from Amsterdam, departing from Amsterdam proper and returning to Ijmuiden. It's okay with us as we plan on going to Amsterdam a few days early pre-cruise, and going directly to airport for the flight back on disembarkation.

 

And yipeeee, guess what? I just had a look at the CPH 2020 cruise schedule and saw that our Jade will dock in Langelinie!

 

 

Hi I'm on the same cruise in 6/2020, where is Amsterdam Proper? Do we embark and disembark in 2 different places?

[KeithJenner]

16 hours ago, TYTY said:

 

Hi I'm on the same cruise in 6/2020, where is Amsterdam Proper? Do we embark and disembark in 2 different places?

If you read my post about Amsterdam (post 20 on this thread) I mention the difference between docking in Amsterdam itself, and Ijmuiden. When bluesea mentions "Amsterdam Proper" they mean docking in Amsterdam itself as we did.

 

From what they say, it sounds like you do indeed embark and disembark in two different places. Depending on your transport you need to be prepared for getting back from Ijmuiden.

[bluesea777]

Thanks for replying to TYTY’s query.

 

We had been traveling/busy the last few days - we’re now in CPH on a land holiday. How was Langelinie when you docked there?

 

P.S. we got 100% refund - the AON (NCL insurance) was so nice to include a note wishing me the best when they sent the cheque by FedEx just 4 weeks after we cancelled the cruise.

 

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, bluesea777 said:

Thanks for replying to TYTY’s query.

 

We had been traveling/busy the last few days - we’re now in CPH on a land holiday. How was Langelinie when you docked there?

 

P.S. we got 100% refund - the AON (NCL insurance) was so nice to include a note wishing me the best when they sent the cheque by FedEx just 4 weeks after we cancelled the cruise.

 

Glad you got the refund. As you got a replacement cruise booked, it all worked out OK in the end.

 

Langeline is a great place to dock. It's the third time we've docked there, and it's so much more convenient than Nordhavn (even though it is only a short distance as the crow flies, it is a few miles further by road). It's a very easy walk into tow from there.

 

If you are in the area, make sure you see the Little Mermaid. 🙂

 

 

[Von & John]

On 8/19/2019 at 12:11 PM, casofilia said:

We went to Honfleur when on a Princess cruise (tour) a couple of years ago and it was great, especially the visit to the Calvados distillery on the way to the town; lots of samples!!   The town was very interesting.

 

Thank you - We need to add this to our list for October...

Edited September 1, 2019 by Von & John

[Captain-John]

Having sailed the Baltic 'highlights' (SPB, Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallinn) twice now, I did resolve for my next one in the region to take in less commonly visited ports - Riga, Gdansk, and combined with Norway or other parts of northern Europe like yours.

 

Glad you enjoyed.

[lamchops]

On 8/19/2019 at 9:20 PM, KeithJenner said:

Zeebrugge:

 

Somehow I have avoided going to Brugge before, despite having heard many times how nice it is.

 

Now, having been there, all I can say is that nobody told me just how nice it was.

 

Firstly, how to get there from Zeebrugge. I will say here that there are other options, such as Ghent or Brussels, but honestly, go to Brugge, its much nicer. You can get an NCL tour, or an "on your own" tour from them, but that is relatively expensive. Some people booked a shuttle from the port to the city via third parties, and that seemed to work well.

 

I quite like using local transport, so we decided to use the tram and train. It is the cheapest option, and it quite easy. First you need to take the port shuttle to the gate (I believe that everyone using non NCL transport has to do this bit). The port (or NCL) also offered a direct shuttle to Blankenberge station, which cuts out the tram part, but it didn't seem much quicker and cost $15 compared to €3 for the tram.

 

At the point the port shuttle drops you off you walk a short distance until you find a tram stop in between the two road carriageways. Get on the tram and pay the driver the €3 fare onboard. You are going to Blankenberge station.

 

From there, trains run every hour to Brugge. I brought a return ticket online in advance and as it was a weekend we got a special rate of €4.80 return.

 

Getting back is easier as you can time your return to the train station for the hourly train. One word of warning, there is a window to buy tickets at the Blankenberge tram stop, so the driver gets annoyed if you try to buy from them.

I research zeebrugge to death and decided to use the  Cruise Express shuttle company for 20€ round trip. It’s a 20+ minute bus ride versus trying to make all the tram and train connections. There’s also a booth in the terminal offering a similar service for 20€. 

Just don’t take NCLs shuttle to Zeebrugge as many passengers thought they were going to Bruges.

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, lamchops said:

I research zeebrugge to death and decided to use the  Cruise Express shuttle company for 20€ round trip. It’s a 20+ minute bus ride versus trying to make all the tram and train connections. There’s also a booth in the terminal offering a similar service for 20€. 

Just don’t take NCLs shuttle to Zeebrugge as many passengers thought they were going to Bruges.

Yes, that shuttle is certainly an option.

 

Personally, I quite like using local public transport over just jumping on a coach, but that shuttle would be my second preference.