Back From Constellation 6/19-7/3

[CHOCBANAWAD12]

Willing to answer questions here or at adrs1@direcway.com

Sam

[bburns]

Going on the Grand later this summer.

- How was the weather?

- What type of clothes were people wearing on shore excursions?

- Were you able to use dollars to do purchasing in all ports?

- I've seen conflicting news on Tallinn vs Russia on souvenir prices. Which place is better?

[CHOCBANAWAD12]

Cloudy and cool with some rain. People wore Jeans and windbreakers. Talinn had better shopping. They will take dollars, but you would be better off to use charge card for large purchases, and get currency using ATM Debit card, because they give you a low exchange rate.

Sam

[ASW Europa]

Hi Sam,

 

We are going on the 7/31 Constellation cruise. Did you enjoy Constellation? Does Celebrity provide a complimentary shuttle service to the city centers from the pier? Did you take the cruiseline's tour in St. Petersburg? Do you need to change to local currencies if you want to take public transportation, or do they take USD? Are ATM machines easy to find?

 

Thanks!

Alicia

[CHOCBANAWAD12]

Alicia,

I loved Constellation. The ship is beautiful, food excellent, service out of this world. However, I found with an extremely port intensive itinerary we didn't get to enjoy it as much as a Caribbean cruise. They even provide individual umbrellas and shopping bag.

Oslo, you could walk. In all other ports (except St. Petersburg) there was a free shuttle. However in Poland it took you to Gydnia, not Gdansk.

The only place we used Public transportation was Oslo, and they required NKR. ATM's are harder to find than in States, but we always managed OK.

We used Red October and it was wonderful!!!! 6 people instead of 40, made a world of difference. Ask for Natalia as your guide.

Sam

[ASW Europa]

Sam,

 

Thanks for the info. It gives me a better idea of what to prepare. I hope we won't encounter a lot of rain in Aug. By the way, how long did it take RO to reply to your emails? I contacted them earlier part of the year, and was getting reply back right away. But, now that I sent them the passport info, I haven't heard back from them in 2 weeks! I wondered if they have a new email address... Which email address did you use to communicate with RO?

 

Thanks!

Alicia

[CHOCBANAWAD12]

Sorry can't help there. Someone else was in charge of our group.

Sam

[Brahmama]

Alicia,

I loved Constellation. The ship is beautiful, food excellent, service out of this world. However, I found with an extremely port intensive itinerary we didn't get to enjoy it as much as a Caribbean cruise. They even provide individual umbrellas and shopping bag.

Oslo, you could walk. In all other ports (except St. Petersburg) there was a free shuttle. However in Poland it took you to Gydnia, not Gdansk.

The only place we used Public transportation was Oslo, and they required NKR. ATM's are harder to find than in States, but we always managed OK.

We used Red October and it was wonderful!!!! 6 people instead of 40, made a world of difference. Ask for Natalia as your guide.

Sam

 

Hi Sam,

Thanks for the info and the offer to answer questions!

Ours is on the ATM's. We are on our own everywhere but St Petersburg, so we need to find the ATM's asap to get going. Do you happen to remember where you found them in ANY of the ports? (We only need Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki) Any information much appreciated.

Carol :D

[CHOCBANAWAD12]

In Oslo, as you walk toward town, there are infrequent ATM's. You have to keep your eyes open for them in all ports. In the other ports, the Shutlle drops you off at the entrance to the shopping areas where ATM's were more frequent. If your purchases are small, they will all accept dollars at an unfavorable rate. And if they are large use your credit card.

Sam