What to do in Gdansk??

[katiebeth]

We are a family of four and will be on the June 30th sailing of the Constellation out of Dover. I have most of our ports planned, except for Gdansk. We would like to do Gdansk "on our own", but am having difficulty figuring out how to get there from the port of Gydnia.

 

Celebrity does offer a Leisurely Gdansk, but there is only about 1 hour of "free time", and we are looking for more. I don't see any Gdansk "on your own" tour being offered. I assume that the Celebrity shuttle does not provide service into Gdansk, only Gydnia.

 

So ......I guess that leaves the train and/or a taxi. I am a little leary of both.

Does anyone have any suggestions.

 

Also, we are planning on doing Tallin "on our own". I assume that this is easily doable from what I have read on these boards.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Happy Sailings,

 

Nancy

[HeinBloed]

We had a private guide of our own. She collected us at the port and took us with her car to Gdansk. It was one of the nicest shore excursion I made.

 

We recommended her to other cruisers who just came back. They were at 4 - so she arranged an extra driver in a mini-van.

 

My friends told me that she took them

 

to Solidarnocz-shipyard

to Old town of Gdansk

to Cathedrale of Oliwa where a concert was hold

and another place we have not been as our time was more limited.

 

This was much more better than to try to get to the town although there were taxis available.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[CJcruzer]

Gdansk was the only port (other than St. petersburg-private 3 day tour) where I took the ship's excursion - we went to Old Town Gdansk, walking tour with time on our own and Oliwa Cathedral - the traffic in Gdansk is horrendous!!! I am glad I did not do this port on my own, as even the bus was a bit late to arrive back to the ship -

 

Tallinn is very doable on your own....we took a taxi to the Upper part of old town (we could have walked it) and then worked our way downward.....The destination service desk on our ship made it seem that the walk to the top of Old Town was far, but it really wasn't.

 

CJcruzer

[Mines]

We were on the Constellation in May. We took a taxi into Gdynia to the train station - cost Euro 6. From there we took the train to Gdansk (journey time 20 minutes - cost Euro 2 each return). The trains are old and dirty, but we had some fun, particularly trying to find the ticket office. Nobody spoke English at the station, but for us this is just part of the fun.

 

We also had trouble at the port. At the beginning we couldn't find a taxi that was willing to take us to Gdynia - they all wanted tours to Gdansk. They advised us to pick a taxi from the back of the queue - stange, but it worked.

 

We were in Gdansk by 9:30 and we had a most pleasant day there. We had the cathedral to ourselves, the tour groups were just arriving as we left.

 

In the afternoon, we took the train back to Sopot and took a look at this pleasant seaside resort.

[screwcork]

We are a family of four and will be on the June 30th sailing of the Constellation out of Dover. I have most of our ports planned, except for Gdansk. We would like to do Gdansk "on our own", but am having difficulty figuring out how to get there from the port of Gydnia.

 

Celebrity does offer a Leisurely Gdansk, but there is only about 1 hour of "free time", and we are looking for more. I don't see any Gdansk "on your own" tour being offered. I assume that the Celebrity shuttle does not provide service into Gdansk, only Gydnia.

 

So ......I guess that leaves the train and/or a taxi. I am a little leary of both.

Does anyone have any suggestions.

 

 

Also, we are planning on doing Tallin "on our own". I assume that this is easily doable from what I have read on these boards.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Happy Sailings,

 

Nancy

 

Hi,

We took a taxi - both ways. We paid 30€ in each direction (30 - 40 min. ride). Gdansk is a beautiful city with a lot of atractions- on walking distance from each other.

 

Screwcork

[djwalthour]

Please give me a nameor web site????

[HeinBloed]

Please give me a nameor web site????

 

Mr Bean????

 

If this message should be for me:

 

just write a mail to me - I never post my guide's e-mail-adresses in the public if they do not agree.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

 

CRUISECRITIC (at) nickname-onboard dot de

 

Please replace nickname by the nickname used in this forum.

[2irisheyes]

Gydnia was the only port where we had booked a ship's excursion - the Road to Freedom tour. The tour was cancelled as the exhibition part of the tour had been moved and the date for reopening was put back. We then booked Gdansk on your own - bus travel in and out. We were in port for half day. As a previous person said, the traffic is horrendous and we spent about 3 hours on the bus and less than two hours in Gdansk. The main street in Gdansk is nice to walk through - pedestrianised. As it rained we spent some time in a nice cafe having coffee and cake. If we went to Gydnia again we would try the train to Gdansk as we passed both stations on the bus. Three hours is a lot of time to waste sitting on an old bus in traffic. The train would be much quicker than road travel. We learnt that the traffic is always bad. If going by train you'd need to do a bit of research - name of destination and how it is written etc. Good luck.

[Gr8 2 cruise]

We had a private guide in Gdansk and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our guide picked us up (2) in her small car promptly at 7:20. Our tour started at the shipyard where the solidarity movement began. We then drove to Old Town and did a walking tour of the highlights of Gdansk. Be sure to see the Gdansk Crane. We ate lunch at a place translated means home where pierogis are made. She took us to the Oliwa Cathedral to listen to the beautiful organ concert. Unfortunately, we had to return to the ship as we were only in Gdansk until 3 pm. I have contacted her to see if it is ok to give out her email address.

[sailaway5]

This is one of the few ports we took a ship's tour (it was very reasonable and provided our transporation into Gdansk). It was a city walking tour and visit to the Oliwa Cathedral. After a few of the sights, the guide let us go exploring on our own and then met back at a scheduled time. We found a store where the locals shop (a market and department store combined) at the end of the old town. There were very good buys on linens and doilies. We also had time to stop at a sidewalk cafe and shop. There were good buys on amber here. We were on the same ship as Gr8 so unfortunately had to be back by 3:00.

 

We did Tallin on our own and took a taxi to the top of the hill (for $10). Then we explored the buildings at the top and the Kirk in the Kitchen Museum (medieval tower) which was not to be missed. They only take their currency (krones?) so I obtained some from the ATM machine right down the "hill" from the museum's entrance. Very interesting medieval items in here. We climbed the spiral staircase to the top and took pictures from the windows of all the red rooftops. These are my favoritie pictures. This was described in the Rick Steves walking tour for this city. After visiting this museum, we wandered into the old town, had lunch at Olde Hansa (medieval restaurant). They serve wild boar and other interesting things. The bathrooms are something to see. After wandering around the old town, I bought a painting from a local artist and we walked back to the ship. This was one of my favorite "surprise" ports.

 

Have fun planning your adventures.

[Mines]

Three hours is a lot of time to waste sitting on an old bus in traffic. The train would be much quicker than road travel. We learnt that the traffic is always bad. If going by train you'd need to do a bit of research - name of destination and how it is written etc. Good luck.

 

We did the train journey. It is only 20 minutes. As for the stations, it is a no brainer. The main station in Gdansk is the end of the line.

[Gr8 2 cruise]

djwalthour - Please post your email if you would like the name of the guide we used in Gdansk. She is not connected with any tour agency but does it on the side. She works in an office and takes the day off when she confirms a tour with someone. Gdansk is her home. We started at the Memorial to the Shipyard Workers and ended at Oliwa Cathedral. We stopped for lunch too (which is purely optional).

[JeannieMD]

Taxis are readily available at the pier. We originally planned on taking the train, but then hired a taxi . For 50 euros he took 6 of us in his van to the cathedral in Oliwa to hear the organ recital then drove us past the shipyards and to the old town of Gdansk where he left us for a few hours and then picked us up and drove us back to the ship.

His English was great and he had a great map that he gave us of Gdansk.

[Kubet]

From the research I found through this site, a company who's web site is http://www.toursinpoland.com was recommended. They offer full and half day tours to Gdansk from the ship, with a driver and a guide. Many of the sights mentioned in this post can be part of the tour. We are taking the Gdansk city and Stutthof Concentration Camp tour. The email responses were professional and timely. I gathered info about them by searching this site using the key words Stutthof or Gdansk. They also will try to match you up with others who want the same tour if there is availability.

 

Sure hope this helps and good luck arranging your tour.

[jenfer07]

Mr Bean????

 

If this message should be for me:

 

just write a mail to me - I never post my guide's e-mail-adresses in the public if they do not agree.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

 

CRUISECRITIC (at) nickname-onboard dot de

 

Please replace nickname by the nickname used in this forum.

Could send the name of the tour guide you used in Gdansk? My email address is ayona_kuriyan@hotmail.com. Thank you

[trvlnliz]

Gr8 2cruise, Please send tour guide information to trvlnliz@verizon.net

 

Thank you

Liz

[houch]

If any one is cruising with Princess, they have an excellent walking tour of Gdansk. We had plenty of timeon our own also. We were in the Old Town. We weren't interested in the modern city. We were very pleased with this tour.

[BabySis]

djwalthour - Please post your email if you would like the name of the guide we used in Gdansk. She is not connected with any tour agency but does it on the side. She works in an office and takes the day off when she confirms a tour with someone. Gdansk is her home. We started at the Memorial to the Shipyard Workers and ended at Oliwa Cathedral. We stopped for lunch too (which is purely optional).

GR8, please provide the name of your private tour guide.

 

dinahsue@dinahfuller.com

[Nana4x]

From the research I found through this site, a company who's web site is www.toursinpoland.com was recommended. They offer full and half day tours to Gdansk from the ship, with a driver and a guide. Many of the sights mentioned in this post can be part of the tour. We are taking the Gdansk city and Stutthof Concentration Camp tour. The email responses were professional and timely. I gathered info about them by searching this site using the key words Stutthof or Gdansk. They also will try to match you up with others who want the same tour if there is availability.

 

Sure hope this helps and good luck arranging your tour.

 

I have been to the site you mentioned several times - my only problem is the lenght of the tours I was interested in appear to be up to 8 & 10 hours.

Gdansk and the concentration camp were very interesting - but our ship leaves port at 2 PM (Oceania's Regatta).

 

Have seen posts that the traffic in Gdansk was awful and am concerned about getting back to the ship by 1:30 PM.

[sailaway5]

I have been to the site you mentioned several times - my only problem is the lenght of the tours I was interested in appear to be up to 8 & 10 hours.

Gdansk and the concentration camp were very interesting - but our ship leaves port at 2 PM (Oceania's Regatta).

 

Have seen posts that the traffic in Gdansk was awful and am concerned about getting back to the ship by 1:30 PM.

 

herbalsoaplady: Our ship was only in port from 9 to 3, so we needed to be back to port by 2. We originally were looking for a private tour, but did not have enough hours to arrange one. So, we took the ship's tour to ensure we were back on time. We took a bus into Gdansk (which was only 4 miles away), then a walking tour. This port was in an industrial area and I heard taxi's were very expensive (& rare). The tour guide let us go off on our own and scheduled to meet back at a certain time. This actually worked out very nicely. Saw some of the "old" buildings and wandered around the quaint town, shopped for Amber. Then returned to the bus which took us to the Olivia Cathedral (may have spelled that wrong). If your ship dock is at Gydina, then it is about 20 miles away from Gdansk. Good luck in your planning.

[wooncapital]

please give me name of private guide for Gdansk. Thank you!

[Gr8 2 cruise]

BabySis - I emailed you the name of the guide we used in Gdansk.

 

Wooncapital - please provide your email address

[mycruz]

From the research I found through this site, a company who's web site is www.toursinpoland.com was recommended. They offer full and half day tours to Gdansk from the ship, with a driver and a guide. Many of the sights mentioned in this post can be part of the tour. We are taking the Gdansk city and Stutthof Concentration Camp tour. The email responses were professional and timely. I gathered info about them by searching this site using the key words Stutthof or Gdansk. They also will try to match you up with others who want the same tour if there is availability.

 

Sure hope this helps and good luck arranging your tour.

 

We used this tour company and did the tour mentioned above to Stutthof and Gdansk. It was my second favorite excursion of the cruise. We also had time to stop at the Solidarity Monument which was quite something. The day we were in town, I believe it was a Saturday, there was an outdoor market going on and the shopping was really great. I suggest that you wait to purchase your Amber here or in Tallin. On the way back to the ship we also had time to stop in Sopot, a really nice resort town where a lot of people go for vacation. Spent about 30-45 minutes at a very nice resort right on the beach. The tour guide and driver we very good.

[NanceVV]

GR8 2Cruise, could you please email the name of your tour guide to me at: NanceVV@aol.com

Thanks!

Nancy Vander Vliet

[P&C]

I am starting to plan for 09. Please may I ask for the web sites and email address for those tour companies for Gdansk you found to be reliable. HeinBloed I have found your info most helpful re Warnemuende. Also please include any other helpful sites for the Baltic area. many thanks in advance.

trishas2@hotmail.com