Marina in the Baltic

[tfred]

looking at a baltic cruise next summer and this ship came up.  We were on Riviera a few years ago in the Caribbean and liked it. Pros were the food - excellent !  Cons - ship is a little dowdy -- black and gold granite style, a few pieces of the closet were broken, bathtub with smaller side shower.  Other than the pool there was no sunset style bar to have a drink late day

 

Marina has a great itinerary with some fairly good pricing.  Port intensive (actually wish there was a sea day), so the physical look of ship is less important  - kinda.

 

has anyone been on Marina that could comment on the look and general upkeep?

 

anyone been on a Baltic cruise with Oceania?

[LHT28]

pretty much the same as Riviera 

so if looks are important  try a different ship

JMO

[Kate-AHF]

Marina was supposed to dry-dock last year, one of the last in the fleet to receive the "NEXT Re-Inspiration" updates.  Rivera has already gotten hers, in late 2018 (I think). So, if you sailed on Rivera before she was updated, she looks better now, with an expanded Baristas.

 

As far as Marina, she's due for that update, and could use it.  We were got of of her in January 2020, and the interiors were clean and well-maintained, but it was for sure time for a refresh.  It hampered out month on her not at all.  Fabulous cruise on a wonderful ship.

 

I think she's due to go to dry-dock again this spring, but who knows. 

[shank63]

We did a 12 day Baltic on the Marina in 2019 which included 3 days in St Petersburg.  We were very happy with all aspects of the cruise and the itinerary.  

[Cruise Wonderland]

7 hours ago, Kate-AHF said:

I think she's due to go to dry-dock again this spring, but who knows. 

 

The original plan would be 12-24 May this year in Marseille drydock, but not sure if it would be changed.

[pinotlover]

Truly a Catch 22. Hard to imagine they’d spend the cash right now for either the Marina or Nautica dry docks and face lifts. OTOH, once they can sail again, it’s harder to imagine they’d take either out of service anytime soon because they need to be making the hard cash to get back in financial shape.

 

Does that mean 2023 or later then? If not now, when?

[ShopperfiendTO]

We were on Nautica in the Baltics a couple of years ago. 

 

In St. Petersburg, we docked at the English Embankment which is quite near St. Isaac's.  At night it was awesome to see the downtown river skyline from the ship.

 

I'm not sure if the O class ships are small enough to dock there.  I know that a Celebrity ship was in St. Petersburg with us but was docked further out.

 

The first day there it was a bit of a wait in line to get off the ship because of Russian customs and immigration (despite leaving the ship before 8 a.m.), but the next morning it was a breeze.

[Paulchili]

3 hours ago, ShopperfiendTO said:

I'm not sure if the O class ships are small enough to dock there

They are not able to dock there - they dock at the not-so-new terminal some distance from town center.

[Oroya]

On 2/24/2021 at 9:31 AM, shank63 said:

We did a 12 day Baltic on the Marina in 2019 which included 3 days in St Petersburg.  We were very happy with all aspects of the cruise and the itinerary.  

We are booked on the Marina in May, 2022 to do their Western Europe Soirée for 24 days and will be in St Petersburg for two nights.  Do you have any advice for sightseeing and best places to visit in St Petersburg?  Your advice would be very much appreciated.

[shank63]

10 hours ago, Oroya said:

Do you have any advice for sightseeing and best places to visit in St Petersburg?  Your advice would be very much appreciated.

St Petersburg is my favorite cruise destination and would love to go back.  We did a private group tour with Alla in a group of 10.  We had full days but did not do any of the optional evening events such as the ballet or the folk music/dancing, not wanting to overdo and wear down.  The Hermitage, Peterhof, Catherine’s Palace and many more are excellent.  A smaller group, many 6 or 8 would be more ideal for me.  There are other popular tour companies to consider, TJ Travel, SPB Tours but Alla does get great reviews.  Strongly recommend a private tour over the ship’s excursion, there is just so much to see in 2 or 3 days.  Also recommend that you read some history and watch video of the era of the czars.

[qballer]

I was on Marina's last cruise, in South America. Cruise was extended 7 nites due to covid. No one on ship had covid, but last 2 ports were closed to our ship. Instead of ending in Lima, we had to go to Miami. 99% of passengers enjoyed the extra days at sea. The only thing they ran out of was greek yogurt.  

 

We a signed up for 26 day Cruise on Marina in the fall. Would be nice to see wifi upgraded and maybe some new carpet.... thats about it.   

[RetiredLifer]

2 hours ago, qballer said:

The only thing they ran out of was greek yogurt.  

We were on that cruise also.  Ended up going Miami to Miami rather then Miami to Lima.  We certainly enjoyed the way they treated us on those extra days at sea. Slight correction.  They also ran out of chocolate chips for my ice cream topping on the second to the last day but I made the best of it.😀

[LHT28]

13 hours ago, Oroya said:

We are booked on the Marina in May, 2022 to do their Western Europe Soirée for 24 days and will be in St Petersburg for two nights.  Do you have any advice for sightseeing and best places to visit in St Petersburg?  Your advice would be very much appreciated.

Are you planning to DIY or use a tour guide?

Most of the private licensed guides  go to the same locations & cover the  most popular places

You could opt for  a custom tour  if you have specific  sights that may not be covered

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, RetiredLifer said:

  They also ran out of chocolate chips for my ice cream topping on the second to the last day but I made the best of it.😀

You poor thing 🙄

[Paulchili]

13 hours ago, Oroya said:

We are booked on the Marina in May, 2022 to do their Western Europe Soirée for 24 days and will be in St Petersburg for two nights.  Do you have any advice for sightseeing and best places to visit in St Petersburg?  Your advice would be very much appreciated.

Highly recommend using one of the local tour agencies - I would compare Alla with SPB tours.

We’ve used both and were happy with both.

I have posted this before - if you are there on a Monday go to the Hermitage on a Monday when it is closed to the public but open to private tours. Nothing like being alone in many of the rooms instead of being part of a crowd.

[Oroya]

Thanks so much. That is very helpful. I will check to see what days if the week we will be there. 

[Oroya]

6 hours ago, shank63 said:

St Petersburg is my favorite cruise destination and would love to go back.  We did a private group tour with Alla in a group of 10.  We had full days but did not do any of the optional evening events such as the ballet or the folk music/dancing, not wanting to overdo and wear down.  The Hermitage, Peterhof, Catherine’s Palace and many more are excellent.  A smaller group, many 6 or 8 would be more ideal for me.  There are other popular tour companies to consider, TJ Travel, SPB Tours but Alla does get great reviews.  Strongly recommend a private tour over the ship’s excursion, there is just so much to see in 2 or 3 days.  Also recommend that you read some history and watch video of the era of the czars.

Thank you very much. That is excellent advice and will do as you have suggested. Much appreciated. 

[GeorgesGal]

On 2/24/2021 at 8:19 PM, ShopperfiendTO said:

 

 

I'm not sure if the O class ships are small enough to dock there.  I know that a Celebrity ship was in St. Petersburg with us but was docked further out.

 

 

Several years ago, my sister and I were on Marina, and we were docked close in.

[Oroya]

We are booked on Oceania Marina Western Europe Soirée on the 24th May 2022.  I am seeking advice on two of the ports we will be visiting..... Southhampton 7.00am-6.00pm - has anyone visited Brighton whilst stopped there?  Is that a possibility or any better suggestions?  The second is for Karlskrona Sweden - can anyone suggest what to see there please?

 

[LHT28]

4 hours ago, Oroya said:

We are booked on Oceania Marina Western Europe Soirée on the 24th May 2022.  I am seeking advice on two of the ports we will be visiting..... Southhampton 7.00am-6.00pm - has anyone visited Brighton whilst stopped there? 

 

Most people go to Winchester or Portsmouth  but Brighton is doable 

 

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Southampton/Brighton

[2552phxcrzr]

8 hours ago, Oroya said:

We are booked on Oceania Marina Western Europe Soirée on the 24th May 2022.  I am seeking advice on two of the ports we will be visiting..... Southhampton 7.00am-6.00pm - has anyone visited Brighton whilst stopped there?  Is that a possibility or any better suggestions?  The second is for Karlskrona Sweden - can anyone suggest what to see there please?

 

 

@Oroya We hired a car/driver a few years ago and went to Arundel Castle.  About 1-1.5 hrs each way depending on the traffic.  It's the home of the Dukes of Norfolk.  Some say there are better castles to visit, and I am sure there are, but timing-wise this one worked well for us.  We had plenty of time to visit the castle at leisure and tour the grounds, which made the drive there and back worthwhile.

Edited March 11, 2021 by 2552phxcrzr

[Tranquility Base]

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Most people go to Winchester or Portsmouth 

Really enjoyed Portsmouth, spent 3 days there a while ago.

Plenty to see.

 

Have a drink at The Still & West located at the narrow channel in the harbour entrance.

Interesting story & photo on the wall about the day a Battleship HMS Vanguard ran aground next to the pub in 1960.

[Paulchili]

5 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Most people go to Winchester or Portsmouth  but Brighton is doable 

Even Bath is worth considering as an option

[ShopperfiendTO]

Since after this stop you are going to be at sea for a day, you probably don't want to take too risky an excursion that you might miss the ship and have to find your own way to Skagen to catch up to the ship.

 

Have you been to Southampton before?  There are nice sites in the city that you can wander around.

 

We were on a British Isles cruise that started and ended in Southampton.  At the front end we went to Salisbury (Magna Carta) and Wilton House is nearby, and I suppose Stonehenge as well.  They are fairly close to Southampton.

 

At the back end we went to Brighton for a night on the way to London.  Brighton has more sights than Southampton but IMHO I'm not sure that it's worth the 3 hour total drive time more than what Southampton and environs has to offer, especially with the ship being at sea the next day. 

 

If you are still interested in Brighton, be careful that the highway between Southampton and Brighton can get very congested.  However, you're scheduled to dock there on a Sunday so that may be good for traffic but perhaps not so good for things open to look around at.

[Paulchili]

43 minutes ago, ShopperfiendTO said:

At the front end we went to Salisbury (Magna Carta) and Wilton House is nearby, and I suppose Stonehenge as well.  They are fairly close to Southampton.

Good suggestions - well worth exploring