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Advice/ship/port

Teri Wimmer

By Teri Wimmer,
in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea

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mycruz

mycruz

Posted
Posted

We sailed this past summer on Princess Star out of Copenhagen. We really enjoyed our time in Copenhagen both pre and post cruise. We were on the itinerary that went to Norway instead of Germany. Our only regret was that we did not have much time in Stockholm due to docking an hour away by train. This cut time that could have been spent in the city, instead commuting. The Star is a great ship and look forward to sailing on her again sometime. I would also recommend booking private tours through Red October or Denrus instead of the cruise line. We booked with RO and they took real good care of our group. We had another private tour company in Gdansk, and it was also very enjoyable. All the other cities you can do on your own easy. Do the research and pick up some of Rick Steve's books, they were very helpful with tips from where to eat and maps of walking tours.

Hope this helps.

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Deloresgardella

Deloresgardella

Posted
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We will be going the Baltics in Sept. on the Star. Will be staying a couple days pre-cruise in Copenhagen. What tour company did you use in Gdansk. Was it expensive. Did you have any problems getting around in the other ports on your own. We will also be going to Oslo instead of Berlin. Do you have any pointers that you can give me.

Thank you for any help.

Delores

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mycruz

mycruz

Posted
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I've tried to find the comany we used in Gdansk with not luck. I believe it was Orbis. One of our group members contacted the Polish Embassy and they referred him to this company. The cost for the day was about $65pp. This included a guide and tour guide. Our trip included a trip to the Stutthof Concentration Camp, stopped for a tour of downtown Gdansk and then stopped in Sopot, which was very nice. We had no problems getting around the cities. In Helsinki we used the local tour busses that were waiting when the shuttle into town dropped us off. In Stockholm we ordered before leaving a transportaion card that also gave us admission to most of the museums. Tallin, easy walk and Oslo we also very easy to get around. We bought a 24 hr train card at the airport when we arrived in Copenhagen that we used to get into town then the following day to visit Helsignor. The day we returned to Copenhage we took the cab to the train station stored our luggage and walked all around as well as a boat cruise. We definately got our workout on this cruise but worth every minute.

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Deloresgardella

Deloresgardella

Posted
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Thank you mycruz for all of your information. I will try contacting the Polish Embassy. We just want to see as much as possible. Even though I will probably need a vacation after my cruise. I did reserve the Palace Hotel for our stay in Copenhagen, because it is right by where the tour buses stop.

Delores

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mycruz

mycruz

Posted
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You are definately correct about needing a vacation after this vacation! The first thing I wanted when we returned was a good old home cooked meal and a long cruise with lots of sea days! Let me know if I can be of anymore help. Try to pick up John Lawrence's DVD off his website as well as some books I mentioned. It really payed to have researched everything before we left. There is so much to see and so little time. The Palace Hotel is a very good location, I think you will be happy with it.

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Catfan

Catfan

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I too am going on a Baltic cruise this fall. I am having a difficult time ordering the John Lawrence DVD. They won't take my credit card saying my time on the order screen has expired. I don't care how fast I type in my info, it just does not work. And I am leary of doing the Pay Pal method. What payment method did you do to get the DVD? Any advice here would be appreciated.

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virgenia

virgenia

Posted
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Catfan,

I also used Paypal and got the DVD in about 5 days. I had a Paypal account already set up for my ebay account, but I have never felt uncomfortable using it and have done so about 10 times or so. They communicate back to you telling you how it will appear on your credit card. John Lawrence also sends an email saying that it will go out the next day. Very easy.

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AndrewM

AndrewM

Posted
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We really wanted to sail on the Star Princess in the Baltics but ended up sailing on HAL'S Rotterdam. We feel that we would have better fit in with a Princess crowd but a few items sold us on HAL...

 

HAL had sea days to break up the EXTREMELY intensive ports. We were exhausted after Russia and really enjoyed our day at sea between Sweden and Germany. Rotterdam goes to Oslo, Norway and Aarhus, Denmark and arrives in Rotterdam, a short train ride to Amsterdam. Star Princess can't dock in Stockholm because it's too big whereas the Rotterdam sailed right through the archipelago and we walked into downtown Stockholm. HAL is usually cheaper..we paid $899 each. We did see the Star Princess sail by us one night and it looked more lively though. The Rotterdam was like a ghost town by midnight on the Baltic itinerary if that's an issue for you....

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  • 2 weeks later...
dpro

dpro

Posted
Posted
I did get the John Lawrence DVD and it is great. I contacted Orbits, I got their name through the Polish Embassy, and the are going to send me some brochures. I am so looking forward to this trip. Thanks again for your help.

Delores

 

Did you get a weblink for Orbits? We are cruising on Sept 12th on the Star, and were plannning on doing Gdansk on our own, but the tour sounds interesting.

 

Regards,

 

RonC:rolleyes:

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AndrewM

AndrewM

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Andrew M,

Did you book the Rotterdam Baltic cruise early or late? $899pp is very cheap. The going rate for this same cruise July 2006 is over $1700pp for an inside.

 

Yes, it was a last minute deal for an inside cabin...We booked it the first week of June 2005 through one of the online agencies(not sure if I'm allowed to mention agencies on this board) for the July 1st, 2005 sailing...We had no intention of going to the Baltics but when I saw the deal I jumped at it...it went down in mid May 2005....Maybe it will happen again this year...

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