Silversea Cruise Incidentals

[maximus217]

We have finally booked our first cruise with Silversea.  Thanks to all of you the decision was easy.

 

When I was updating our information in My Booking, there was no question about what credit card to use for incidentals when on board.  Do you provide your credit card information when you board?

 

Also, does the final billing when you disembark only includes all incidentals when you were on board?  This is a gift to our Mom, and we prefer that she does not see the cost of the entire trip.

 

Thank you again and be safe and well!

[57 varieties]

Yes you provide a card when being greeted on the ship.  Yes to the second question too, the final bill (and any mid cruise updates) only show things you have bought on board, including day trips, shop purchases, spa visits and extra charges for the speciality restaurants.  You can also make a donation to the Crew Fund which goes down very well and benefits every single member of the crew, not just the ones you will meet.

[maximus217]

Thank you very much.

[TLCOhio]

27 minutes ago, 57 varieties said:

Yes you provide a card when being greeted on the ship.  Yes to the second question too, the final bill (and any mid cruise updates) only show things you have bought on board, including day trips, shop purchases, spa visits and extra charges for the speciality restaurants.  You can also make a donation to the Crew Fund which goes down very well and benefits every single member of the crew, not just the ones you will meet.

 

Excellent and as always a very good summary above from 57 varieties.  Glad that maximus217 from LA is doing the homework, researching ahead, etc.  With Silversea and on the ship, "things" will fall into place easily and in a handy manner.  

 

The bigger challenge, however, for the Baltics and Russia is that you must carefully consider your many, many options in these various ports and cities.  The sights, history, architecture, food, culture, people, etc., etc., are all so varied and interesting that this advanced planning is vital in order to maximize as to the best options to fit your personal interests and travel style.  Tell us more as to your exact cruise sailing date, ports you will visit and a small sampling as to your travel loves and desires.   Keep firing away with the good questions and your background/interests.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Barcelona/Med: June 2011, with stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Great visuals with key highlights, tips, etc. Live/blog now at 252,051 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[maximus217]

Thank you very much.

 

Our cruise will start in Stockholm on June 29, 2020, and will include Helsinki, St. Petersburg (2-nights), Tallin, and ending in Copenhagen.  We are planning two nights in Stockholm, and perhaps one night in Copenhagen upon completion of the cruise.

We are thinking of using the Private Arrangements Silver Shore Concierge to make the most of our trip.  If anyone has any comments in using their services, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Stumblefoot]

45 minutes ago, maximus217 said:

We are thinking of using the Private Arrangements Silver Shore Concierge to make the most of our trip.  If anyone has any comments in using their services, I would greatly appreciate it.

As you read my comment, keep in mind I may not understand what service you are referring to.  My POV is solely related to cost of the Silver Shore Privato.  
 

I never understood why anyone would pay 2x - 4x more than the same private arrangements one can make on their own, and in many cases with the exact same vendor used by SS!  I prefer not to pay SS’s markup for exact same service.

 

 

[TLCOhio]

10 minutes ago, maximus217 said:

Thank you very much.   Our cruise will start in Stockholm on June 29, 2020, and will include Helsinki, St. Petersburg (2-nights), Tallin, and ending in Copenhagen.  We are planning two nights in Stockholm, and perhaps one night in Copenhagen upon completion of the cruise.  We are thinking of using the Private Arrangements Silver Shore Concierge to make the most of our trip.  If anyone has any comments in using their services, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

Am I correct that you are planning this cruise for June 29, 2021, not for 2020??  Just a typo??!!  No problem  Also, that cruise shows you will have three days and two nights in St. Petersburg, right?  That gives you the wonderful option to do one day in Moscow.  

 

From our personal experiences, it will be great to have those two nights in Stockholm, allowing added time to adjust after doing the long, long flights and body clock re-set due to the huge time zone shifts/differences going from LA to Sweden.  Then, at the end, I would strongly suggest having two nights in Copenhagen. WHY?   There is so much spectacularly charming and interesting in that historic city that is so easy for walking around, exploring, etc. Will share more later to prove that point! 

 

Agree with the wise Stumblefoot with his smart question as to why you would want to pay so much more for the Silversea private tour service??  Nice, but really worth it??

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 240,380 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[maximus217]

Thank you.  That was a typo.

[DCCruiser57]

Another good source it toursbylocals.com.  Some very good local guides at a much lower cost.

[brimary]

19 hours ago, maximus217 said:

Thank you very much.

 

Our cruise will start in Stockholm on June 29, 2020, and will include Helsinki, St. Petersburg (2-nights), Tallin, and ending in Copenhagen.  We are planning two nights in Stockholm, and perhaps one night in Copenhagen upon completion of the cruise.

We are thinking of using the Private Arrangements Silver Shore Concierge to make the most of our trip.  If anyone has any comments in using their services, I would greatly appreciate it.

Great itinerary which we have enjoyed on various UK/UK cruises over the last few years.Recommend do your own thing in Helsinki,,Stockholm and Copenhagen all great cities for exploring on foot &/or local open top buses with hop on/off facilities on a good value daily ticket .Would recommend ship excursions for Tallin and St Petersburg for a safer environment for exploring the sights.No personal experience private Silver Shore Concierge arrangements which I suspect would be outrageously expensive compared with the experiences we have enjoyed as mentioned.Whatever you decide have a wonderful cruise round the very interesting Baltic Area.

[scottjeanne]

We did the Baltics on Silverseas.  One huge advantage they offer when we went (2009) was that they dock right under the Hermitage, not in a distant cruise port, so we were very close to all the sights.  When we went, you could not tour St. Petersburg on your own.  You had to have a licensed guide.  We booked a private guide and driver for the three days and had a wonderful experience including dinner with a local family.  The husband was a rocket scientist who worked with Sputnik.  Fascinating.

[TLCOhio]

16 hours ago, DCCruiser57 said:

Another good source it toursbylocals.com.  Some very good local guides at a much lower cost.

 

YES!  We have used that company mentioned above several times in Europe and have had good results.  Whether with this company and/or in doing searches through TripAdvisor, Google, etc., we like to search, pick put three or four top-rated firms.  Then I will write to them directly, share our interests/needs and see what they write back.  If they only offer their ideas for only "formula" tours, I will focus more on those that listen, learn our personal interests and travel style, etc.  I like to deal with people who will have a "conversation" with us and not just go through the motions of a "one-size-fits-all" type of routine tour where they only play back their memorized scripts.  Not all guides are equal.  Research and pick wisely to fit your interests and needs.  

 

Making it "personal" to you is very important from our perspective!!  Like to have tour guides who enjoy sharing why and how they love their areas and community.  

 

Below are just a few of my many visuals fro Copenhagen and proof/evidence as to why we love that city so much.  For more, see “Copenhagen: Love, Pix's, etc.”, with many visuals, news clips, tips and ideas for this Denmark capital, check:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2356372

 

Don't be shy with any added questions, info needs, etc.  Hopefully others will continue share their insights and experiences.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Live/blog, June 2017 from Portugal to France along scenic Atlantic Coast on the Silver Spirit.  Now at 31,063 views.  Many interesting pictures, details for history, food, culture, this ship, etc.:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

 

 

As to Copenhagen, below are some of my visuals involving their City Hall, charming harbor area and in front of their Royal palaces.  In the second picture, Copenhagen’s Nyhavn or “new” Harbor is actually old and charming.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!)

 

 

 

Tivoli is very special!!   Don't miss seeing Tivoli at night.  Very much like magic, even for us older kids.  Walking around and soaking it up is so special, interesting and fun.  Exciting!!  Depends on your personal interests and tastes.  The location is handy and the size of this compact park makes things easy to sample in a reasonable period of time. ]At Tivoli, their main gate is lighted in a spectacular and welcoming manner.  Walt Disney was inspired in 1950 to construct Disneyland after visiting this park in the heart of Copenhagen. Tivoli opened in 1843 and encompasses eight hectares with 1,000 trees and 400,000 summer flowers planted throughout the gardens. It boasts upwards of 40 restaurants:

 

[taxatty]

Terry is certainly right about Copenhagen. You could easily spend several days there (we did) seeing everything in the city as well as nearby by using the excellent public transportation system or rental car, such as the excellent Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Frederiksborg Palace, Kronborg Castle, Malmö in Sweden across the bridge, Karen Blixen's (from Out of Africa) house, the Viking Ship Museum, etc. The Nimb Brasserie restaurant behind Tivoli had the best Sunday brunch we've ever encountered.

[Stumblefoot]

4 hours ago, taxatty said:

You could easily spend several days there (we did) seeing everything in the city as well as nearby by using the excellent public transportation system...

Agree!  Love that city.  And, the amount of fine dining restaurants is incredible.

[clo]

5 hours ago, taxatty said:

Terry is certainly right about Copenhagen. You could easily spend several days there (we did) seeing everything in the city as well as nearby by using the excellent public transportation system or rental car, such as the excellent Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Frederiksborg Palace, Kronborg Castle, Malmö in Sweden across the bridge, Karen Blixen's (from Out of Africa) house, the Viking Ship Museum, etc. The Nimb Brasserie restaurant behind Tivoli had the best Sunday brunch we've ever encountered.

The food has become really world renowned. And their public transpo is very user friendly.

[cruiseej]

We've been to Copenhagen and love the city. We and friends are looking for a northern Europe/Baltic cruise with several days in St. Petersburg. One of the things that puzzles me about the Baltic cruises, whether on Silversea or Silversea or Regent, is that they tend to be 7-day cruises from/to Copenhagen or Oslo, with stops only in Helsinki, Tallinn and St. Petersburg. Are there no other worthy cities to visit in this region?

 

I see that Viking's cruises add a few additional days and stop in Visby, Sweden and Bornholm, Denmark -- so that's little variation. Seabourn has a 14-day cruise from Rotterdam ending in London with stops in Skagen, Denmark; Oslo, Norway; Fredrikstad, Norway; Helsingborg, Sweden; Klaipeda, Lithuania; Gdansk, Poland; Bornholm, Denmark; the Kiel Canal in Germany; Hamburg, Germany; Helgoland, Germany, and Amsterdam -- which sounds interesting, but it doesn't go to St. Petersburg! We'd love an 11-12 days cruise to St. Petersburg which included a few more ports than just Tallin and Helsinki, but is seems no one does this. Any idea why all the cruise lines seem to do the same basic 7-day trip to St. Petersburg? Just wondering.

[clo]

3 hours ago, cruiseej said:

We and friends are looking for a northern Europe/Baltic cruise with several days in St. Petersburg. 

Try this:

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/baltic-cruises/stockholm-to-copenhagen-MNA210819/

[maximus217]

One other option is the 3-night post Copenhagen that Silversea offers that travels to Iceland.  

[cruiseej]

10 hours ago, clo said:

Try this:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/baltic-cruises/stockholm-to-copenhagen-MNA210819/

 

@clo Thanks. That's the sort of itinerary I think our group might be interested in: longer than 7 days without being 14 or longer (for those still working), with more ports in the area. I guess what I was wondering was why Silversea and Seabourn and Regent don't have any itineraries like that, and seem to stick to the 7-day Copenhagen/Stockholm loops to only St. Petersburg, Tallinn and sometimes Helsinki.

 

While I'm not entirely averse to trying Oceania, I'd much prefer a smaller ship like the Silver Spirit or one of Seabourn's triplets.

 

 

9 hours ago, maximus217 said:

One other option is the 3-night post Copenhagen that Silversea offers that travels to Iceland.  

 

@maximus217 Thank you. We've been to Iceland as the jumping off point for a SS cruise to Greenland, and the next time we return -- and we will! -- I want to cruise or drive around the entire island. But I was focused more on seeing more in the Baltic Sea part of the world. Are ports in Latvia (Riga) , Lithuania (Klaipeda) and Poland (Gdansk) just not considered particularly interesting or worthy stops? 

[TLCOhio]

21 hours ago, taxatty said:

Terry is certainly right about Copenhagen. You could easily spend several days there (we did) seeing everything in the city as well as nearby by using the excellent public transportation system.

 

Great above from taxatty and others as to the many, many great options as potentials for exploring Copenhagen.  Totally charming and interesting location.  

 

Our LA friend also raised this potential: "One other option is the 3-night post Copenhagen that Silversea offers that travels to Iceland."  While we have not, yet, been to Iceland, that could be interesting.  BUT, there are many other nearby and excellent options, including for various stops in Norway.  Silversea has some interesting, longer cruises that include a variety of ports in super scenic Norway combined with the key Baltics sailing stops, Russia, etc.  

 

Tell us more!  What do you most like to do and explore?  History?  Shopping?  Culture?  Nature?  Food?  Arts?  Architecture?  Music?  Wildlife?   Scenic countrysides?  Being more "aggressive" in doing more?  Or, more relaxed and laid-back?  The many experienced folks here on this CC Board can offer many ideas and reactions once we know more about your priorities and interests.  And, degree of "budget flexibility"??!!

 

Don't forget about Stockholm and its many great options as you do your research and planning.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights.  On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings.  Now at 230,924 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

[CruiserFromMaine]

On 9/11/2020 at 1:13 PM, maximus217 said:

perhaps one night in Copenhagen

 

We spent a couple nights there pre-cruise a few years ago—great city, quite walkable!

[christraveller]

Jetlag being what it is (and living in Vancouver, a 9 hour time change away from Central Europe), we have learned that spending a week or two in the area of the port of embarkation is a great way to enjoy an area with less stress and less fuzzy headed hours in the usual goat rodeo of sleep and wake cycles!  Fly in, stay a night or two near the airport, or in the city, leave most of the luggage at the hotel, then rent a car or take trains  to explore. Scandinavia is an easy place for a tourist, a bit pricey.  The translation services on cell phones are now magnificent. My best jetlag weeks were in 4* hotels outside city centres,  with town and countryside to walk through. Enjoy!

[clo]

1 minute ago, christraveller said:

Jetlag being what it is (and living in Vancouver, a 9 hour time change away from Central Europe), we have learned that spending a week or two in the area of the port of embarkation is a great way to enjoy an area with less stress and less fuzzy headed hours in the usual goat rodeo of sleep and wake cycles!  Fly in, stay a night or two near the airport, or in the city, leave most of the luggage at the hotel, then rent a car or take trains  to explore. Scandinavia is an easy place for a tourist, a bit pricey.  The translation services on cell phones are now magnificent. My best jetlag weeks were in 4* hotels outside city centres,  with town and countryside to walk through. Enjoy!

We had a fantastic airbnb in Copenhagen and saved a TON of money. Their public trans was great also. Hope we can go back some day.