Just Back from Baltic Regal

[mevs904]

What a wonderful cruise!  We were so pleased with every aspect of this excellent experience.  This was the first time that we used EZ Air and it worked perfectly for us.  We flew on SAS and contrary to our usual approach we took the risk of flying in the day of the cruise.  In this case everything went very smoothly for us.  We flew from Newark (so much better than JFK) and landed in Copenhagen at 7:00 am the next morning.  Since it was too early to board the ship Princess provided us with a complimentary tour of the city on a comfortable coach bus with a friendly, young guide.  We were able to see several sites including the Royal Palaces and the Little Mermaid statue.

     We boarded the ship at about 11:30 with no wait at the check-in desk (we were Ocean Ready).  Anyway, the entire cruise as well as our 3 night post-cruise stay in Copenhagen was well organized with excellent service.  One item of note:  we took 5 excursions and four of them were with Alla.  The Alla tours were exceptional and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.  Since we booked a 2 day St. Petersburg with them they gave us a discount on the other three tours that we booked with them as well as a discount since we were Cruise Critic members. Best excursions that we have ever taken.

     Sorry that this is getting long.  I may post an actual review in the review section later, but in the meanwhile I would be happy to answer any questions.  Posters on this board were so helpful before we cruised that we’d like to pay it forward if possible.

[Steelers36]

We loved our Baltic cruise on Regal in June.  Lucked out with PERFECT weather.  We booked our own tours as well.  We used SPB and they also discount for other cities (we did just two others with them and the rest on our own) and they discount again for Cruise Critic members.  It seems that cruisers are very happy with whichever company they choose from these two.  Probably a coin toss and then depends on the actual guide(s) your group gets assigned.  Our best guide was the St Petersburg one.

 

[mevs904]

3 hours ago, steelers36 said:

We loved our Baltic cruise on Regal in June.  Lucked out with PERFECT weather.  We booked our own tours as well.  We used SPB and they also discount for other cities (we did just two others with them and the rest on our own) and they discount again for Cruise Critic members.  It seems that cruisers are very happy with whichever company they choose from these two.  Probably a coin toss and then depends on the actual guide(s) your group gets assigned.  Our best guide was the St Petersburg one.

 

I agree.  I’m sure that we would have been equally pleased with SBP or any of the other well reviewed tour companies.  Our Rostock/Schwerin Castle was particularly interesting.  Alla told us that there would be 20 people on that tour.  There were indeed 20 guests, but there were also two guides, one from Alla and one from TJ Tours.  They combined the guests from the two companies and gave us a 46 passenger coach for 20 people.  The two guides were both excellent and worked well together, sharing the narration on the bus.  On the walking part of the tour each guide had 10 guests and went on separate walks.  They did not ask which company we had signed up with, they just divided us equally.  We were impressed with their professional collaboration.

[Colo Cruiser]

Awesome! Love the Regal! Thanks for your comments.

[lois1112]

10 hours ago, mevs904 said:

What a wonderful cruise!  We were so pleased with every aspect of this excellent experience.  This was the first time that we used EZ Air and it worked perfectly for us.  We flew on SAS and contrary to our usual approach we took the risk of flying in the day of the cruise.  In this case everything went very smoothly for us.  We flew from Newark (so much better than JFK) and landed in Copenhagen at 7:00 am the next morning.  Since it was too early to board the ship Princess provided us with a complimentary tour of the city on a comfortable coach bus with a friendly, young guide.  We were able to see several sites including the Royal Palaces and the Little Mermaid statue.

     We boarded the ship at about 11:30 with no wait at the check-in desk (we were Ocean Ready).  Anyway, the entire cruise as well as our 3 night post-cruise stay in Copenhagen was well organized with excellent service.  One item of note:  we took 5 excursions and four of them were with Alla.  The Alla tours were exceptional and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.  Since we booked a 2 day St. Petersburg with them they gave us a discount on the other three tours that we booked with them as well as a discount since we were Cruise Critic members. Best excursions that we have ever taken.

     Sorry that this is getting long.  I may post an actual review in the review section later, but in the meanwhile I would be happy to answer any questions.  Posters on this board were so helpful before we cruised that we’d like to pay it forward if possible.

I am leaving for a Baltic cruise in 3 days.(on Sapphire)  I've booked my tours with SPB, and have heard good reviews. Any tips and things not to be missed?

How was the Weather?

I'd love to hear it all

Edited August 23, 2019 by lois1112

[mevs904]

1 hour ago, lois1112 said:

I am leaving for a Baltic cruise in 3 days.(on Sapphire)  I've booked my tours with SPB, and have heard good reviews. Any tips and things not to be missed?

How was the Weather?

I'd love to hear it all

Ahh!  Prepare to have a wonderful time!  This cruise is a cultural delight.  Our weather was fair.  We happened to hit a cool stretch with a bit of rain, but we did also have some very pleasant days.  We brought light jackets and/or rain jackets with us on our tours and were able to leave things on the bus if we didn’t need them on our walks.  I am sure that you will also have an excellent experience with SPB.

     We found that the different currencies did not present a problem.  We brought rubles with us to tip our guide and driver in St. Petersburg and we also brought Danish krona since we spent three nights in Copenhagen after the cruise.  As others have said, credit cards are very commonly accepted.  Even the roasted peanut cart vendor in Copenhagen took them.  We had some leftover Euros with us too and we used a few in the markets in Helsinki, Estonia, and Rostock.

      As far as things that are not to be missed, the tours are planned so well that you will certainly get to see all of the highlights.  We chose to do the Rostock/Schwerin Castle instead of Berlin and were very happy with our decision.  Spending 6 hours traveling to and from Berlin just did not appeal to us.

     Have a wonderful adventure and if you have any others questions I’d be happy to try and help.