Scandanavia Cruise - Info please

[Beth & Rob]

We are just off a 12 day Med cruise on RCI. We met many wonderful folks through our ships meet and mingle and took several tours together and just hung out and made friendships.

 

One couple mentioned a Scandanavian trip for 09 and so far a few other couples have chimed in their interest.

 

Can I get some info on preferences, must see's and avoids...

 

This last cruise was quite port intensive and really left no time to relax on the ship. I think we only had 2 full sea days.

 

Also, where would you suggest sailing from and did you do a pre-cruise stay, if so where......

 

Any information you can share would be greatly appreciated. I will still scroll through the boards to research, but this sort of info can at least give me a start.

 

Thanks

[kestrel]

We took a HAL 12-day Baltic cruise from Rotterdam to Copenhagen last summer. We toured Amsterdam before the cruise, and had a post-cruise stay in Copenhagen. Our cruise port calls include Oslo, Arhus, Warnemunde (to Berlin), Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki and Stockholm. We had wonderful time in each port. We usually cruise with Princess. However, Princess Baltic cruise is only 10 days, and only has short stay in a couple of ports.

 

Most people will consider St. Petersburg the highlight of the Baltic cruise. Most cruise lines overnight there. Some even stay 3 days in St.P. Swedish Archipelago (outside Stockholm) and Oslofjord are also not to be missed. We loved each stop, and did not feel there's anything to "avoid."

 

Baltic cruise is also very port intensive just like Med cruise. However, most ports are only a short shuttle bus ride or taxi ride away from the city center. IMHO, St. Petersburg is the only place you need to join a tour (you can find loads of info on CC). For the rest, it is very easy to DIY, and you can decide your own pace.

 

If any of you are prone to motion sickness, then you will want to avoid sailing the North Sea. Baltic Sea is a lot calmer.

 

Enjoy your planning!

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Keep in mind that the cruises out of England will usually be around 12 nights long. (NCL. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity) If you only have time for a 7-10 night Baltic cruise, there are some ships that sail from Copenhagen. I know Costa offers a 7-nighter out of there and Princess 10-nighters.

 

BobK/Orlando

[CDRMark]

Just did a 12 day Baltic cruise in August.

The proximity of the ports to one another makes for fewer sea days and a port-intensive itinerary. We were flat worn out but had a marvelous time.

Have a great cruise.

Cheers

Mark

[Lair Bear]

Several suggestions about a cruise to Scandanavia include the popular trip to St. Petersburg and other European ports.

However, if you really want to see some terrific scenery of Scandanavia while relaxing aboard a cruise ship consider a trip along the Norwegian coast. Have a look at:

http://www.hurtigruten.us/

 

Of course, if you are really adventurous you might want to go to Spitsbergen, the most northerly islands that can be safely reached by boat. Talk about being close to the North Pole !!!!

 

http://www.cold-the-book.com/frame.php?itemId=72334

[Len3]

We've selected the NCL Jewel for July, 2008. Freestyle cruising seems to make a good fit for such a port intensive itinerary.

[ontheweb]

We are just off a 12 day Med cruise on RCI. We met many wonderful folks through our ships meet and mingle and took several tours together and just hung out and made friendships.

 

One couple mentioned a Scandanavian trip for 09 and so far a few other couples have chimed in their interest.

 

Can I get some info on preferences, must see's and avoids...

 

This last cruise was quite port intensive and really left no time to relax on the ship. I think we only had 2 full sea days.

 

Also, where would you suggest sailing from and did you do a pre-cruise stay, if so where......

 

Any information you can share would be greatly appreciated. I will still scroll through the boards to research, but this sort of info can at least give me a start.

 

Thanks

 

We did the 10 day Star Princess Baltic cruise this past August. Though it is port intensive, it did not seem as tiring as the 7 day Splendour of the Seas Mediterranean cruise we did in August 2002.

 

To reiterate what others have said, other than St. Petersburg, you can prettty much do all the ports on your own. (I don't know about Berlin which was not on our cruise and is a good distance from the port.) I would recommend both reading these boards and a good guide book like Frommers or Rick Steves.

 

For St. Petersburg, you will both save money and see more with a private guide. There is plenty of excellent information on the three main guide services on these boards. (We used Alla, and our group of 10 was very happy with the services provided.

 

I wrote a review of the cruise on cruise critic. Perhaps, you will find it helpful.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=33517.

[Bruin Steve]

Beth,

We did the Baltic in 2001 on Princess--10 nights out of Copenhagen, returning to Copenhagen...Though the ports were great, I was not altogether thrilled with Princess...

 

We did a British Isles/Norwegian Fjords cruise a couple of summers back on Celebrity Constellation...and we are going back on Constellation this July for a 14-night Baltic cruise...

 

The itineraries tend to vary cruise by cruise with slight differences in ports and schedules...

We picked this one (July 19, 2008) for the itinerary--It starts in Stockholm with an "overnight" there...has the traditional 2 days in St. Petersburg and also 2 days in Copenhagen...also visits Riga, Helsinki, Tallinn, Gdansk and Oslo before ending up in Harwich, England...3 "at sea" days nicely interspersed...

 

Sat, Jul 19 Stockholm, Sweden

Sun, Jul 20 Stockholm, Sweden Depart 2:00 PM

Mon, Jul 21 Riga, Latvia Arrive 10:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Tue, Jul 22 Gdansk (Gdynia), Poland Arrive 11:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Wed, Jul 23 At Sea

Thu, Jul 24 Helsinki, Finland Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Fri, Jul 25 St. Petersburg, Russia Arrive 7:00 AM

Sat, Jul 26 St. Petersburg, Russia Depart 6:00 PM

Sun, Jul 27 Tallinn, Estonia Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 4:00 PM

Mon, Jul 28 At Sea

Tue, Jul 29 Copenhagen, Denmark Arrive 9:00 AM

Wed, Jul 30 Copenhagen, Denmark Depart 4:00 PM

Thu, Jul 31 Oslo, Norway Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Fri, Aug 01 At Sea

Sat, Aug 02 Harwich, England Arrive 4:00 AM

 

After cruising on 7 different cruise lines and a good selection of ships, this is among my favorites...The ship sails with only approx. 2000 passengers on a 91,000 gross ton vessel--so it is among the roomiest ships on the sea...The food and service is superb...Celebrity does the best job of any of the large ship cruise lines...Elegant, relaxed...

 

As far as the itinerary itself, every port is not as exciting as the Mediterranean, but there are some incredible highlights...St. Petersburg is simply remarkable--the history, the art, the architecture, the culture--really one of a kind...Don't miss the Peterhof or the Hermitage...but so much else to see as well...Definitely arrange a tour...We did the excursions with Princess last time, but this time we have arranged a small group private tour--definitely the way to go here...

 

Tallinn and Gdansk are charming and picturesque little surprises...

 

Copenhagen is incredible--one of my favorite cities in Europe--and I've been there a few times...great palaces and museums and just a vibrant and enchanting city...

 

Stockholm, Helsinki and Oslo, though not my favorites, do have their high points--do not miss the Vasa Museum in Stockholm...

 

Good luck...

[ollienbertsmum]

Beth,

 

 

 

Sat, Jul 19 Stockholm, Sweden

Sun, Jul 20 Stockholm, Sweden Depart 2:00 PM

Mon, Jul 21 Riga, Latvia Arrive 10:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Tue, Jul 22 Gdansk (Gdynia), Poland Arrive 11:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Wed, Jul 23 At Sea

Thu, Jul 24 Helsinki, Finland Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Fri, Jul 25 St. Petersburg, Russia Arrive 7:00 AM

Sat, Jul 26 St. Petersburg, Russia Depart 6:00 PM

Sun, Jul 27 Tallinn, Estonia Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 4:00 PM

Mon, Jul 28 At Sea

Tue, Jul 29 Copenhagen, Denmark Arrive 9:00 AM

Wed, Jul 30 Copenhagen, Denmark Depart 4:00 PM

Thu, Jul 31 Oslo, Norway Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Fri, Aug 01 At Sea

Sat, Aug 02 Harwich, England Arrive 4:00 AM

 

After cruising on 7 different cruise lines and a good selection of ships, this is among my favorites...The ship sails with only approx. 2000 passengers on a 91,000 gross ton vessel--so it is among the roomiest ships on the sea...The food and service is superb...Celebrity does the best job of any of the large ship cruise lines...Elegant, relaxed...

 

 

Stockholm, Helsinki and Oslo, though not my favorites, do have their high points--do not miss the Vasa Museum in Stockholm...

 

 

What a brilliant itinerary. All ports except Gdansk, are early morning - and starting and ending in a different place may mean more expensive flights, but you see more. I loved Stockholm and Copenhagen and cannot decide which one to return to for my next short trip away. There was so much to see in both places. I wish I had seen this trip before making my choice last year.