Baltic Cruise on Constellation

[Sky Sweet]

What shore excursions did you take on your Baltic Cruise and would you recommend them?

[BillC]

I took the full day excursion to Moscow from St.Petersburg.It's expensive ($650 in 2004) but well worth it since you'll get to see everything that's worthwhile in Moscow.You leave the ship around 7 AM and fly to Moscow. You get to see all the museums, Red Square,the Armory,including the Fabrege Egg collection,Gums,etc. We even had a surprise concert by a group of Russian Orthodox monks at one stop. We ate dinner at a private writer's club that had students from a music school perform during cocktails and dinner. We did not arrive back at the ship until 2 AM the next morning. The only "negative" is that you have to give up one of your two days in St.Petersburg. Even two days isn't enough there,so we'll go back on a land tour,or maybe a river tour from Moscow to St.Petersburg.

[mcnyc]

Thanks BillC. Wow, sounds like a great excursion. I've been wavering about going on this trip since I would give up one day in St. Petes, but thanks to your experience, I'm going to book this excursion. Which excursion did you take for St. Petersburg, if any?

[lysolqn]

We cruised the Baltic on Constellation last May and the May before that. The first time, we used Red October to tour St. Petersburg; the second time, we used DenRus. Re ship sponsored excursions, the first time, we bought X's transfers to Tivoli Gardens in the evening; and last year, we purchased just the transportation tour to Berlin. Otherwise, we did the ports on our own - the ships docks right in town (or provides shuttle service to the center of town), the cities are walkable and very tourist friendly.

[CruisingChick]

lysolqn,

 

Did you purchase any of the city cards for the towns you did on your own, i.e. Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinkin. I'm looking in to pre-purchasing them, but I'm still on the fence about it.

[candr]

What shore excursions did you take on your Baltic Cruise and would you recommend them?

 

Last year on the Connie, in St. Pete we did two days private tours with Red October. We recommend them very highly. Beautiful new Mercedes with driver and guide. We worked out our itinerary in advance and saw a lot. The guide never stopped talking and we learned a lot. I can't say enough good things about Red October. The extra expense to be on your own and be able to move at your own pace and not have to wiat for others who don't get back on time made it all worth it. We felt this might be our only chnace to see St. Pete and we didn't want to miss anything. Red October was very helpful in adjusting the itinerary to make sure we saw what we wanted. We had early admission to the Hermitage and really a private tour of some of the rooms - just the two of us and our guide -no one else there.

 

In Berlin we took the all day cultural tour which was very good. In Copenhagen we took the evening excursion to Tivoli. In Oslo we took the trip to the Viking ships museum, the Norse village and the Viegland sculpture garden - also a teriffic tour. In Stockhom, Helsinki, Tallin and Copenhagen we took the free ship shuttle to town and then explored on our own. The ship gives you maps and information and we also found Rick Steve's guide to the Baltic very helpful. You can cover/see almost everything on foot in those cities if you don't mind some walking.

[WeBeCruisin']

We did the Vigeland/Viking/Folk museum tour in Oslo and really enjoyed it. In Helsinki and Stockholm, we went in on our own. At Warnermunde, we took the Rostock tour which featured beer and snacks at a brewery, and a very nice buffet lunch in Rostock. The waterfront at Warnermunde is very nice for strolling and shopping. Much like the Nyhaven area in Copenhagen., which was part of a walking/canal boat tour we took through the ship. We took the shuttle to Tivoli Gardens and explored it on our own. We also went on our own into Talinin in Estonia.

 

In St. Petersburg, we took the folkloric white nights river cruise and enjoyed it very much with the caviar and vodka light supper and the concert in a church. We also did the Hermitage and city tour. We talked to people who had done the Moscow tour, and they said they were disappointed. That it was interesting, but not worth, to them, the cost and length of time. They were exhausted the next day in St. Petersburg.

 

We also talked to people who regretted that they had gone in to Berlin. They said it was a very long, hot train ride, and the exhibits were somewhat depressing.

 

It was a wonderful 14 days on the Constellation!

 

Allen

[BillC]

We did a private tour in St.Petersburg,but it was a hassle to get the visas and permission for her and her driver to get out onto the pier. I would recommend Red October for tours in St.Petersburg.

[lysolqn]

CruisingChick,

 

No, we didn't purchase city cards for any of the ports because it didn't seem worth it for the limited amount of time we were spending in each city. Most of the must see places in all the ports are within walking distance from each other. For those places you may want to see that aren't, just about everyone speaks English (not so in St. P), so public transportation is incredibly user-friendly. On both Baltic cruises we bought an all-day pass for the hop on/hop off bus in Copenhagen because it gives a great overview of the city and you can pick it up right where the ship docks. Otherwise, we just walked and walked - we always find that to be the best way to get a good feel for the places we visit.

[Sky Sweet]

I'd like to express my appreciation to everyone who responded to my post. Your suggestions are very helpful :)

 

Thanks again :)

[CruisingChick]

lysolqn,

 

Thanks for answering my post and I guess we will follow in your footsteps. We like to get out and walk on our when we can.

[lysolqn]

CruisingChick,

 

Have a great cruise!