Would like information for Baltic cruise from Stockholm to Copenhagen w/Riga, Helsinki, Tallinn, Visby, Ronne, Aarhaus

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We land in Stockholm exactly one month from today. [or I hope so].  With all of the travel issues this summer we are hoping for the best.  

 

The last country we visit is Denmark.  We have 3 stops.  

 

Ronne on the Island of Barnholm

Aarhus

Copenhagen [where we disembark]

 

Ronne seems to be a beautiful and peaceful island.  We have identified 3/4 things we might do.  Visit the lighthouse in the harbor, the St Nicholas Church, walk the quaint streets to get a feel of the town and maybe walk out to the Golden Strand. [a beach just south of town.  Google puts it at 800 meters from the port.  

 

I know we are not venturing outside the town and are missing the rest of the island.  However, the ship's tours just did not appeal to us. . . . and we feel we will likely be tired by this time in the cruise. If there are tours available at the visitors center we may do that.  However, I doubt that is available. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

In Aarhus I would like to see Den Gamle By and the Latin Quarter. We will likely take a taxi to get there.  Den Gamle By is too far for us to walk.

 

In Copenhagen we are spending 1 night at the Radisson Royal beside Tivoli and the train station.  We fly out at 9:40am the next morning. [we had more time, but that flight was changed] We want to see as much as possible without a lot of walking. 

 

 

[adam7392]

1 hour ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I know we are not venturing outside the town and are missing the rest of the island.  However, the ship's tours just did not appeal to us. . . . and we feel we will likely be tired by this time in the cruise. If there are tours available at the visitors center we may do that.  However, I doubt that is available. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

We've hired a bike in Ronne (a tandem - we've never ridden one before so watch out for us!).   Hire place also has electric bikes for the less active. Apparently its a great place to cycle.  Website is https://www.bornholms-cykeludlejning.dk/en/

[DragonOfTheSeas]

1 hour ago, adam7392 said:

We've hired a bike in Ronne (a tandem - we've never ridden one before so watch out for us!).   Hire place also has electric bikes for the less active. Apparently its a great place to cycle.  Website is https://www.bornholms-cykeludlejning.dk/en/

That sounds like it would be fun.  I am not sure DH and I would be brave enough to try the tandem.  We have never used one either. Good luck!

[hal2008]

Any suggestions on walking tour of Riga? 

[SimplyMarvie]

1 hour ago, hal2008 said:

Any suggestions on walking tour of Riga? 

 

What are you interested in? History, culture, art?

[Host Jazzbeau]

9 hours ago, hal2008 said:

Any suggestions on walking tour of Riga? 

Rick Steves Scandinavian & Northern European Cruise Ports (3rd ed, 2018) pp 460-469

[KittyCruz]

I heard back from a person with Visby's Medieval week - below are the questions/answers.

I also provided them with a link to our cruise critic group in case they were adventurous and wanted to post directly. 

 

Q. Can we purchase tickets at the gate/entrance or should these be purchased in advance?

A. Tickets can be purchased at our Visitors Center which will be located at Paviljongsplan ( 57.645018, 18.294575 to cut and paste into a map-application). You will also be able to get them beforehand, however the proper tickets isn't published yet. I'll try to get back to you with a link once they're up, if you'd like me to. 

Q. How does Medieval Week work, do we just purchase an entrance ticket and are free to walk around or are there additional costs for shows?

A. The entrance ticket will give you access to our main areas: The market places, the historical camps (during their opening hours) and some free shows. We're working on publishing the program in English, and you should be able to find the information there. However I don't know when it'll be published. I'll try to remember to get back to you on this.
There are also shows that areIs there something in particular you're more interested in? Music, jesters, fireshows? If you let me know what you're interested in, and when you'll be in Visby I could try to find some suggestions for you. 

Q. How far from the port is the entrance to Medieval Week, are there good signs for people that choose to walk or is there public transportation (if so what would someone take and how often does the transportation run?)
A.  We have shows and areas all over Visby. The coordinates to the visitors center (above) will also give you the location of our main market area. Its a 30 min walk from the terminal to the visitors center and market area, Signs are towards Visby, and if you follow the waterfront you'll be pretty unable to miss the areas! 
I'm not sure how well the public transport works, and what the cruise companies might provide. Unfortunately I think you'll get better answers from them than from me. 

 

Q. How big is Medieval Week?  Our research says there are events all throughout the island but  Do you all have a map of the festival in English?
A. There are events all over the island, but the main focus is Visby. There's a map at the bottom of https://medeltidsveckan.se/en/welcome/, but I just saw that the explanation has disappeared. I'll try to get the website updated asap.
And as for how big it is.. Well, you won't be able to miss somethings going on, that's for sure. We usually have around 40 000 unique visitors, most stay all week. I'm sorry I don't really know how to answer this one - you'll just have to experience it yourselves!

Q. Are masks required?
A. No masks required - come as you are. Everyone's welcome! There'll be some elven ears for sale in the visitors center if you'd like to blend in a little. I'm not sure if there'll be a place to hire an outfit for the day yet, let me get back to you on that!

Q. What sort of vendors (crafts, costumes and/or food) will be available, do the vendors take Swedish Kroner, Bank/Credit Cards or both?
A.  As for vendors: Food, sweets, jewelry, clothing, leatherwork, costumes, sewingsupplies including fabrics, soaps and creams, ironwork, hats.. Pretty much anything and everything one could ask for! I highly doubt there'll be vendors who don't accept creditcards, most probably prefer it. For some reason American express will sometimes refuse to work, and some vendors just don't accept AmEx for that reason. Swedish Krona is your safest bet for cash, though there might be some that'll happily accept euro. Please notice they'll be an exception to the rule and I can't guarantee anything. 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

3 hours ago, KittyCruz said:

I heard back from a person with Visby's Medieval week - below are the questions/answers.

 

Q. do the vendors take Swedish Kroner, Bank/Credit Cards or both?
A.  As for vendors: . . .  I highly doubt there'll be vendors who don't accept creditcards, most probably prefer it. For some reason American express will sometimes refuse to work, and some vendors just don't accept AmEx for that reason. Swedish Krona is your safest bet for cash, though there might be some that'll happily accept euro. Please notice they'll be an exception to the rule and I can't guarantee anything. 

 

Thank you so much for posting this.  I understand Sweden is a mostly cashless country--but, I still wondered about the market.  

 

I was not happy to see it is a 30 minute walk to the market.  I read that there was a shuttle for a fee during a previous Voyager of the Seas cruise that had a port call on Visby.  I am fine paying for the fee.  I hope there will be one for our cruise, too.  

[DragonOfTheSeas]

18 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Rick Steves Scandinavian & Northern European Cruise Ports (3rd ed, 2018) pp 460-469

Thank you for the reference.  I will see if I can find it in the local Books a Million.  

 

I purchased the Rick Steves Scandinavia 16th ed [July 2021]  It lacks the information in the beginning of the book regarding cruising and ships in general.  However, so much has changed recently with travel I felt I need the most up to date book.  It does not include Latvia or Visby.  Tallin is included.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

40 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Thank you for the reference.  I will see if I can find it in the local Books a Million.  

Or your local Library.

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Thank you for the reference.  I will see if I can find it in the local Books a Million.  

 

I purchased the Rick Steves Scandinavia 16th ed [July 2021]  It lacks the information in the beginning of the book regarding cruising and ships in general.  However, so much has changed recently with travel I felt I need the most up to date book.  It does not include Latvia or Visby.  Tallin is included.  

The problem is that everything was researched pre-pandemic. I would think due to the war in Ukraine that future guidebooks will cover the new locations that are being used in the absence of St. Petersburg, but they aren’t out yet. 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Or your local Library.

true--a cheaper alternative. 😃

[DragonOfTheSeas]

2 hours ago, gnome12 said:

The problem is that everything was researched pre-pandemic. I would think due to the war in Ukraine that future guidebooks will cover the new locations that are being used in the absence of St. Petersburg, but they aren’t out yet. 

Since my Scandinavia book is not cruise specific it discusses the important sites in each country.  I found it VERY helpful. St Petersburg is not even in my book.  The only portion not appropriate for our cruise is in Norway.

[Scottishclover]

On 6/3/2022 at 2:14 PM, DragonOfTheSeas said:

We booked ours flights on United Airlines using the Royal Caribbean Air2Sea program.  A month ago, our outbound flights were cancelled.  We just got our new schedule.

 

There is good news and bad news.  The good news is we are upgraded to business class. We are thrilled with the upgrade. The bad news is that we have a flight through Munich with a short layover. [1 hour 15 minutes]

 

I have two questions.   Will we go through customs/border patrol in our first Schengen area airport [Munich] or where we eventually land [Stockholm]?  

 

We have never passed through the Munich airport. Is 1 hr. 15 minutes enough time to clear customs in Munich if we need to do that?   We flew through Frankfurt on our flight to Rome a few years ago and all we had to do at a customs check point was hold up our open passport. 

 

One thing in our favor is that we are in row 6 so we will be off the plane before almost all of the other people on the flight.  I am not sure if it makes a difference, but our first flight is United and the second is operated by Lufthansa.  

 

TIA

I would have other arrangements in place to get from Munich to Stockholm. I travelled through Munich Airport last week and the place was a disaster. Very different to the normal German efficiency pre-pandemic.
1) The queues to get through passport control were huge. It took much longer than normal ( although in the past we just glided through but not so now due to Brexit). We were going on to Austria and had to provide documentation of train tickets and documentation. Also row 6 will not matter as normally you are bussed to the terminal building and they wait till all busses are filled before moving. Another factor is the flight in before you - if it’s from EU then fine, if it’s not then expect delays. They are very thorough at border control. There may be a separate queue for those transiting, I’ve never noticed in all the years I’ve flown into Munich.

2) This will not apply to you but normally your luggage is already on the carousel when you come through but we had a long wait this time and ended up in a mad dash to catch our train. I read a news article that said they are really short of baggage handlers there just now. You may make the connecting flight - not sure about your luggage.
3) I was shocked at the state of the toilets and the area at the gates. Everything is normally so spotless and things were a mess, bins overflowing etc. They must be short of cleaning staff. Not up to normal standards.

4) Lots of flight cancellations by Lufthansa. I would have another flight ready to book to Stockholm just in case. It was interesting eavesdropping at the gates and listening to people’s travel tales of woes. One woman waited 5 hours in a queue to see a Lufthansa rep. The issue is ( as others have stated ) that so many flights are already full, but I would be proactive and have something ready, even on another airline. We were caught out by a cancellation in April and the next available flight on that route was not for 6 days and we were left on our own to sort something out.

 

I’m telling you all this not to stress you out, but to encourage you to plan for the eventuality you may miss your connecting flight. I would certainly have other flights in mind and not assume that Lufthansa will sort you out as mentioned by another poster. Unfortunately this is the reality of travelling just now.

 

Fingers crossed your flights run smoothly and you have an amazing trip. We are also going on a Baltic Cruisein July and leave from Amsterdam. Schipol Airport also in a mess by all accounts……

[Hezu]

2 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

I would have other arrangements in place to get from Munich to Stockholm. I travelled through Munich Airport last week and the place was a disaster. Very different to the normal German efficiency pre-pandemic.

 

Fingers crossed your flights run smoothly and you have an amazing trip. We are also going on a Baltic Cruisein July and leave from Amsterdam. Schipol Airport also in a mess by all accounts……

Actually I think nearly all of the larger airports especially in Europe have recently had this sort of trouble. The main reason being staff shortage: during the worst days of pandemic when travel was more or less halted, the airport operators (and related companies) dismissed significant portion of their work force and now they are struggling to recruit enough people. 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

10 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

 

I’m telling you all this not to stress you out, but to encourage you to plan for the eventuality you may miss your connecting flight. I would certainly have other flights in mind and not assume that Lufthansa will sort you out as mentioned by another poster. Unfortunately this is the reality of travelling just now.

 

Thank you for the heads up.  I knew we would not like the short layover.  Flights are too full to try to get a change now.  I will have a list of flights that can get us to Stockholm or to a location that has a ferry or train we could take.  We would be willing to try anything in order to get there.  Our flight is 5 days before the cruise.

[hal2008]

It seems given the chaos at the larger airports using something like Bergen or Warsaw for the TA part might be preferable even if increases travel time (and extra connection).  Most European airports have issues with staff shortages at check-in and security.  Transfers at smaller airports is not chaotic.

[hal2008]

On 6/30/2022 at 12:56 PM, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Thank you so much for posting this.  I understand Sweden is a mostly cashless country--but, I still wondered about the market.  

 

I was not happy to see it is a 30 minute walk to the market.  I read that there was a shuttle for a fee during a previous Voyager of the Seas cruise that had a port call on Visby.  I am fine paying for the fee.  I hope there will be one for our cruise, too.  

 

Recommend taking RCL shuttles.

12 USD.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

5 hours ago, hal2008 said:

It seems given the chaos at the larger airports using something like Bergen or Warsaw for the TA part might be preferable even if increases travel time (and extra connection).  Most European airports have issues with staff shortages at check-in and security.  Transfers at smaller airports is not chaotic.

We still have our fingers crossed we will be fine at the airports.  But we are doing all possible to make that happen. [arriving very early for flights, cross packing our 2 suitcases and having paper copies of any paperwork we need.]  We will keep in mind the names of airports you have mentioned if we have to reroute.  Thanks!

[Hezu]

5 hours ago, hal2008 said:

It seems given the chaos at the larger airports using something like Bergen or Warsaw for the TA part might be preferable even if increases travel time (and extra connection).  Most European airports have issues with staff shortages at check-in and security.  Transfers at smaller airports is not chaotic.

Note that transatlantic flights to/from Bergen are quite limited, for non-stops there is just United Airlines flights from Newark three times a week and alternatively one-stop approach on Icelandair, although Keflavik<->Bergen flights are not daily either and on some days the equipment seems to be small Dash 8 turboprop.

[Zoey1]

On 5/31/2022 at 10:13 PM, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I would like to add another country to the mix. 

 

Helsinki, Finland:

The cruise dock is not near the city center or close to the attractions we would want to see. I have read there is a shuttle into town. 

 

So, we were thinking of just taking a ship’s tour in Helsinki for ease.  It was listed as visiting three places:

 

·    *Mannerheim Street: Helsinki’s main street, home to historic government buildings, National Museum, Finlandia Hall and contemporary art museum, Kiasma.

·   * Sibelius Monument: Marvel at this amazing tribute honoring great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, constructed using over 600 welded pipes.

·    *Temppeliaukio Rock Church: Experience the magnificence of this unique house of worship blasted into solid rock.

 

The tours will leave you in the city center if you have a morning tour and wish to stay. The cost of the shuttle to return to the ship is included in the price.

 

However, my research shows that Rock Church is closed on Sat/Sun. [we dock on Saturday] So, if we do not stop there this tour sounds like more of a bus tour with a few picture stops. I think that church is the only place we go in.

 

I am looking at TJ travel’s tours, also.  We had booked with them for our St Petersburg tour. But their tour sounds like the ship’s tour. It includes a few more drive-by visits, however, the Rock Church was a highlight of the tour and we already know that is not available the day we dock.

 

Should we just take the shuttle to the city center and DIY?  Helsinki is one place I have looked at the HOHO bus.  But, the stops still look like they are a good distance from the sites. 

 

Does anyone have any information or suggestions?  Thank you in Advance for your help.  😄

I’m not sure if we are too late, for you but we are on Celebrity’s Apex now. We had the most amazing private tour guide in Helsinki we were a party of four. Paulo was responsive, prior to during etc. he was informative and fun without being boring, he was able to modify at our request at the drop of a hat and had we known we would have enjoyed him so much we would have requested him in Tallin as well, you cannot go wrong with him, tell him Wendy and Victoria sent you!

 

[baldtomato]

re: Copenhagen

We are on the Aug 10 sailing of Voyager (so, right when most of you disembark!),

starting and ending in Copenhagen.  We are staying behind after disembarkation and have a few nights.  I found this Free Walking tour non-profit:

https://freetourcommunity.com/tours/copenhagen/

We will be disembarking on a Sunday, and will be leaving Copenhagen Thursday morning.  Our current plans are:

- Sunday - 12 noon Classical Copenhagen tour  (90min, only offered on Sundays)

- Monday  10:30 am Grand Tour of Copenhagen (2.5 to 3h), then,   3 pm tour of Christianhavn

- Tuesday - full day at Tivoli  (i have a 10 year old and a 13 year old~)

- Wednesday .... maybe go further afield, suggestions?

 

Has anyone else taken these "free" (volunteer / non profit) walking tours?  if so, how much are we expected to tip? (i assume cash...?)

 

TIA!

[alanstarr]

10 minutes ago, baldtomato said:

 

Has anyone else taken these "free" (volunteer / non profit) walking tours?  if so, how much are we expected to tip? (i assume cash...?)

 

I've done many free walking tours, enjoyed them all. I think tips are typically in the €10-20pp range. The last few that I've gone on, the guide was able to accept credit cards via a portable card reader. But that might not always be the case.

[Scottishclover]

49 minutes ago, baldtomato said:

re: Copenhagen

We are on the Aug 10 sailing of Voyager (so, right when most of you disembark!),

starting and ending in Copenhagen.  We are staying behind after disembarkation and have a few nights.  I found this Free Walking tour non-profit:

https://freetourcommunity.com/tours/copenhagen/

We will be disembarking on a Sunday, and will be leaving Copenhagen Thursday morning.  Our current plans are:

- Sunday - 12 noon Classical Copenhagen tour  (90min, only offered on Sundays)

- Monday  10:30 am Grand Tour of Copenhagen (2.5 to 3h), then,   3 pm tour of Christianhavn

- Tuesday - full day at Tivoli  (i have a 10 year old and a 13 year old~)

- Wednesday .... maybe go further afield, suggestions?

 

Has anyone else taken these "free" (volunteer / non profit) walking tours?  if so, how much are we expected to tip? (i assume cash...?)

 

TIA!

Suggestions for further afield - jump on the train to Sweden and visit either Malmo or Lund or Ystad. Another possibility is the island of Ven in the Oresund and hire bikes but that takes a bit more organisation. You need to get a train to Landskrona and then ferry but really worth it.  We based ourselves in Malmo for a week before a cruise from Copenhagen to explore the south of Sweden and loved it. Your children will love Tivoli - we have been twice and our now 19  and 17 year olds have requested it again when we visit Copenhagen in a few weeks time.

[ColdCruise]

Many thanks for all the great, useful details in this thread and especially to @DragonOfTheSeasforvstarting this thread with her detailed research. I’m not on this cruise but think I’m missing a treat. However my Sept itinerary has done intersecting ports, so I will unabashedly use these tips!

 

we just returned from 2+ weeks in Norway,some of our experiences that may be relevant or informative :

- used transaction fee-free CC for all purchases, although occasionally was asked for signature. Still better than carrying cash. Did not run into any pay toilets though. However in Amsterdam in April that occurred once but there was a CC option. (for 0,70€!)

- like a couple others mentioned, I set the CCs to notify me of transactions, which worked well except for when I bought a water on a Norwegian Air flight 6 July from Svalbard. Since we were airborne I didn’t get a transaction notice until after we’d disembarked at midnight in Oslo … to find out I was charged $46 for a 3€ bottle.still fighting that charge.

did not need to use mt debit card. Only carried cash (Euros) for tips to expedition team onboard ship in Svalbard and some USD  “ just in case”. Euros were left from previous trips.

- did run into flight issues, including flight from US (Icelandair) cancelled  (rebooked to next day) and a missed connection on the subsequent rebooking. FYI, 1 hr and a few minutes are not enough time in Oslo to do immigration,  baggage collection, and recheck in with SAS. However the SAS desk was very efficient in getting us on the next flight 2 hours later. However that was before the SAS strike so YMMV.