Baltic Cruise 2020, Jewel of the Seas

[Bmw031]

Booked our Baltic Cruise for May.

What was your favorite thing to do in Helsinki, Stockholm, Talinn, St Petersburg, Copenhagen.

Who has been on the Jewel recently......wish it was a newer ship.

[Clarea]

You may also want to take a look at the port of call forum:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/116-northern-europe-amp-baltic-sea/

[TinkBellaMom]

7 hours ago, Bmw031 said:

Booked our Baltic Cruise for May.

What was your favorite thing to do in Helsinki, Stockholm, Talinn, St Petersburg, Copenhagen.

Who has been on the Jewel recently......wish it was a newer ship.

Not very recently, but a year ago on Jewel, in the W. Med. We thought she was a beautiful ship!  She’s a classic, in a good way.  We loved her so much that we specifically booked her for a 12 day Baltic in 2021.

We have been on several different classes of ship, including 3 times on the big girls, the Jewel is our favorite.

You might also look at the recent roll calls for that itinerary, I know you will get some honest answers from others who just went to those ports.

Edited November 19, 2019 by TinkBellaMom

[lsfla]

We did the Baltic cruise on the Brilliance (sister ship to the Jewel) last summer and it was fabulous! This class of ship is our favorite and the itinerary is amazing. We went off on our own in all of the ports, which was quite easy to do, except St Petersburg where we hired a private guide and driver.

 

[ZiggaZagga17]

15 hours ago, Bmw031 said:

Booked our Baltic Cruise for May.

What was your favorite thing to do in Helsinki, Stockholm, Talinn, St Petersburg, Copenhagen.

Who has been on the Jewel recently......wish it was a newer ship.

As much as I can't speak for the ports of call, we stepped off Jewel 3 weeks ago having done a 9 nighter as well as a 4 nighter back in June!

The ship is 'old' as far as some others are concerned, and being an Oasis class fan more than anything, we were pleasantly surprised on how well she's appointed. The staff are great - I believe that's down to less rushed/busy due to the number of passengers v bigger ships and also not being a fan of the Windjammer ( some ships we've cruised on we've never stepped foot in the place) we found the WJ very good, again down to how it's designed and a feeling of being less 'rushed' about it. The outside and comfier seating options help massively in my opinion.

Hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised, but alas no doubt someone will be along shortly to say she should be put out to scrap asap ha ha ha

Edited November 19, 2019 by ZiggaZagga17

[TRUEBLUE66]

5 hours ago, lsfla said:

We went off on our own in all of the ports, which was quite easy to do, except St Petersburg where we hired a private guide and driver.

 

Totally agree!

We did all these ports last summer and agree that you can save lots of money by doing the majority by yourself. Just do a bit of advanced planning so you get to see what you like. 

Helsinki,Stockholm,Copenhagen and Tallinn {amazing!} have so much to see in the short time you are there.

For St Petersburg I strongly suggest booking with a local company who will pick you up at the terminal and get you to all the sights , which are very spread out in a large city. We did a 2 day intensive tour and loved it but were glad that other ports were at a more relaxed pace.

We have been on the Jewel before and will be again next year. Excellent smaller ship which I think is suited for this itinerary as I would rather have 2000 people getting off than 4000 in these ports. Also the "smaller ships" can get docked closer to the city centre. Stockholm is the best example as some ships may tender or dock at Nynashamn, which is 36 miles from Stockholm. Trains run twice hourly and take approx 1 hour. We docked a 10 minute bus ride from the centre!

Edited November 19, 2019 by TRUEBLUE66

[shopaholic6]

16 hours ago, Bmw031 said:

Booked our Baltic Cruise for May.

What was your favorite thing to do in Helsinki, Stockholm, Talinn, St Petersburg, Copenhagen.

Who has been on the Jewel recently......wish it was a newer ship.

This is a fantastic itinerary - never been to Stockholm but went to the other places on the Navigator in 2018 - Tallinn is definitely not to be missed 🙂🙂

[luckyfincruiser]

I haven't been on a Baltic cruise but I was just on Jewel in August of this year.  I've also sailed on Oasis, Harmony and Majesty.  Going in, I was concerned I wouldn't like an older, smaller ship.  I can tell you that Jewel is now my favorite ship!  I LOVED the crew, size of the ship, all the views of the sea and really really loved the the WIndjammer eating area outdoors on the aft of the ship.  We are going on Allure in a month and I am actually sad it isn't Jewel.  And I can't believe I feel that way now.

[ZiggaZagga17]

34 minutes ago, luckyfincruiser said:

I haven't been on a Baltic cruise but I was just on Jewel in August of this year.  I've also sailed on Oasis, Harmony and Majesty.  Going in, I was concerned I wouldn't like an older, smaller ship.  I can tell you that Jewel is now my favorite ship!  I LOVED the crew, size of the ship, all the views of the sea and really really loved the the WIndjammer eating area outdoors on the aft of the ship.  We are going on Allure in a month and I am actually sad it isn't Jewel.  And I can't believe I feel that way now.

This is so how we felt the 2 cruises we've taken on her since June!

 

I'm not so sure I'll go as far as to say 'favourite' but having been on several ships, several times, I'd go as far as to say she surprised us massively and would certainly look at booking on her or one of her sisters over maybe a bigger ship with a similar itinerary!

Also on Lady A soon - in fact 3 times in the next 12 months!

 

Jewel is certainly getting rave reviews at the moment! 😎

[Magicat]

7 hours ago, ZiggaZagga17 said:

 

Also on Lady A soon - in fact 3 times in the next 12 months!

 

Jewel is certainly getting rave reviews at the moment! 😎

 

Lady A....🤔

[Clarea]

28 minutes ago, Magicat said:

 

Lady A....🤔

 

Anthem, Allure, Adventure.

[ZiggaZagga17]

10 hours ago, Magicat said:

 

Lady A....🤔

 

9 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Anthem, Allure, Adventure.

When you're as big and beautiful as an Oasis class is, then they 'must' be a Lady if you ask me! ha ha ha

[apple girl]

We went on the same itinerary three years ago on the Serenade of the Seas. We really enjoyed every city. Our favorite was St. Petersburg. We went on a intensive private two day tour of SP, it was unbelievable.  At the last minute we decided to go to the Faberge Egg Museum on a night tour, I had to drag my husband to it. He ended up loving it as much as I did. I would do that itinerary again in a heart beat.

[coolprag]

On 11/18/2019 at 11:53 PM, lsfla said:

We did the Baltic cruise on the Brilliance (sister ship to the Jewel) last summer and it was fabulous! This class of ship is our favorite and the itinerary is amazing. We went off on our own in all of the ports, which was quite easy to do, except St Petersburg where we hired a private guide and driver.

 

Hi, We are doing a Baltic cruise on Jewel and please can you refer me to your private guide and driver for St. Petersburg and did you need a visa or they arrange it. Thank you

[coolprag]

On 11/20/2019 at 7:42 PM, apple girl said:

We went on the same itinerary three years ago on the Serenade of the Seas. We really enjoyed every city. Our favorite was St. Petersburg. We went on a intensive private two day tour of SP, it was unbelievable.  At the last minute we decided to go to the Faberge Egg Museum on a night tour, I had to drag my husband to it. He ended up loving it as much as I did. I would do that itinerary again in a heart beat.

Hi, We are doing a Baltic cruise on Jewel and please can you refer me to your private guide and driver for St. Petersburg and did you need a visa or they arrange it. Thank you

[Kellie in Texas]

@coolprag go over to the Northern Europe/Scandinavia board here https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/116-northern-europe-amp-baltic-sea/

for lots of those details.  

 

We did these cities on Serenade in June 2016. In SP, we booked a van tour with TJ Travel.  They were outstanding.  We had a driver and a tour guide (who spoke perfect English) and about 14 people on a maybe 18-passenger van.  There are lots of other tour companies discussed on that forum.

 

I'd also recommend getting Rick Steves' book Northern European Cruise Ports book; it's a paperback. Tons of details on these ports and others.  In Tallinn, we followed his walking tour, which was perfect as we could go at our own pace.  Absolutely loved Tallinn. Wear good walking shoes as there are lots of cobblestone streets. 

[CruisingAlong4Now]

Rick Steves book is due to be updated later in 2020. So, if you are going in 2021, you might want to hold off buying it.

[Sunshine3601]

I am booked on b2b for baltic and norway in august on the jewel too.  Really excited for this trip.  We will be staying in Copenhagen for 2 days before we board and already purchased online the copenhagen card for discounted train/bus and entrance fees to tivoli gardens etc.

We booked 2 day tour with my brother and his wife for st petersburg and have other ports open so far.  I received as a christmas gift the rick Steve's book for northern europe cruise ports and have highlighted and marked alot of great information.  Highly recommend this book!