Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Gdansk

[Eastplain]

We are three adults sailing on the Crown Princess Aug.8. Does anyone have suggestions other than the ship excursions for these specific cities?

[CJcruzer]

Suggest you get Rick Steves' Scandinavia book for Helsinki, Copenhagen and Stockholm - these are easy ports to do on your own.

 

Stockholm: we ordered the Stockholm card for transportation and museum/venues entrances. We took the bus (I believe the #76) - we were docked at Frihamnen. Went straight to the Vasa, even caught the short film in English (different hours have main language with 2 different language subtitles). We then took the ferry over to old town - Gamla Stan - to walk around, got to the Royal Palace in time for changing of the guard, went into the Treasury, Carriage and Costume/Dress rooms, Chapel and then caught the 1p.m. tour of the City Hall (where the Nobel Prize is awared, with banquet upstairs - do not miss the Gold Room - gold and glass mosaics depicting history and symbolsim related to Sweden)....In the evening (since we were docked overnight) we went to the ice bar with friends (pre-reserved online)

 

Copenhagen: Richard Karpen of Copenhagenwalks.com gives interesting escorted walks (different ones depending on the day) - dressed as Hans Christian Andersen....we ended up walking from Langelinie pier to little mermaid statue, Amalienborg Palace, went to the Marble Church, and then caught the morning Christianborg Palace tour (only 2 a day are in English - one at either 10 or 11 am. (I forget) and 1pm) -- very interesting, and beautiful Gobelin Tapestries (entire wall panels - the one representing the 20th century is so interesting - I bought an oversized picture card of it) we then walked over to the Nyhavn area and after a while grabbed the canal cruise and then went down to City Hall (Tivoli right there) and walked up the whole Stroget (pedestrian-only street) with various stores and street performers, etc.

Rosenborg Castle is another option at the other side of town - however, it was under renovation and only the bedrooms and downstairs crown jewels were for view. The unique throme room and interesting other rooms were the ones not accessible, so I passed on it and hopefully will return one day to see it and enjoy Tivoli in the evening with all the lights twinkling.

 

Helsinki: we bought the tram/bus ticket and rode the "loop" once - there's a pamphlet available the bus that will tell you what is near what stops - we then got off at the Rock Church, went inside and walked down to the Esplanade - strolled the town and shops, and then finished up at the downtown outdoor market by the pier (foods, fish, crafts)...

 

Gdansk: this is the only port (besides our private tour of St. Pete) that we did not do independently - mainly due to hearing of terrible, congested traffic (very true) and the fact that English is not as widely spoken/understood - we opted for the ship excursion to Oliwa (beautiful cathedral/monastery with organ) and Old town walking tour - and Solidarity Monument. Believe me, the traffic was atrocious!

 

I found a lot of links and info about the opening times, English tour times, etc by reading Rick Steves' and also going to website that listed particulars. Sorry I did not save the links, but just google and keep reading!

[Starlaker]

We recently returned from the 9 July sailing of the Crown Princess. Rosenborg castle is now totally open and it is wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely worth the time. Don't miss the Treasury in the basement. The crown jewels are very nice. There is also a very nice Botanical Garden across the street. We got there before the castle opened so we wandered the grounds of the botanical garden and looked in their greenhouses. As gardeners, it was very interesting to us.

 

We did "Gdansk on your own". The bus takes you there and brings you back. The rest is on your own and very easy to do. We liked the security of knowing that the ship would wait for us if the traffic was bad (and it certainly was). Otherwise we did everything else on our own except SPB where we used Red October.

[sunsetme]

just back from july 29. Except for St petersburg, all the ports are doable on your own. the Stockholm card worked well--we took a bus to Vasa, then back to town to see the synagogue and went to City Hall and took a tour. We toured Gamla Stan, went up the tower and then a bus back to port.

In Oslo we got off at 7 and went to the tourist bureau at the port, you can get an Oslo card for 20 percent off. we used the bus to see vigeland, then back to town and took the 91 ferry to see the viking, fram, kon tiki. took the ferry back to see the town. in helsinki we did the all day transportation, took the bus to the market, and then the 3T around town. we missed gdynia due to a storm. In tallinn you can walk around. the john lawrence talks are great--he gives you all the info you need the day before. have fun and bring good walking shoes. the pools are heated--bring your swimsuit.

[NYC cruiser lady]

Dear CJ, jdechter and others,

I am going on the RCL Jewel of the Seas on August 27, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki and Tallin. I want to do virtually all the things you did. Thank you for mentioning the route you took in Stockholm. I plan to do the same route in the same order! I will catch the changing of the guard and the Palace tours in Stockholm if the Palace is open on Monday(issue still being researched!). I may try to economize and buy individual bus tickets instead of the Stockholm card. What do you think?

Copenhagen: Thank you for mentioning that Rosenborg Palace is now open. I will be there by the 10 am opening also. I may skip the Amalienborg Palace and take the metro from Rosenborg directly downtown since my time is limited and Rosenborg is now open.

Helsinki: I will also take the 3T tram. After the Rock Church, did you stay on the tram for the remainder of the loop or did you turn around and head back on the reverse tram? Did you get off at the stop for the Sibelius Monument?

Any other useful comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Coastaljen]

I didn't do any ship tours on the Crown Princess in July.

 

Tallinn is very easy to walk to, and you can walk there and just enjoy the streets. There are lots of local artists selling their craft, and the city is really neat. I would definitely just have a relaxing day and stroll the area.

 

Gdansk, I arranged a tour through Tours of Poland and found l2 others on the ship to join me. I could have had a lot more, but the mini bus reserved wasn't huge. We went to Stutthoff the concentration camp mentioned on Lawrence's c.d., and then we went to Gdansk. I only wish we had had more time. There is the largest brick church in the world, and the streets are ADORABLE. Really, really cute area. I thought it was funny because we had to stop for wild boars crossing the road, and then take a ferry to get to Gdansk. They didn't mention the ferry, and it just kind of added charm for me..not sure about the others though...

 

Stockholm- I took the ship shuttle for about $l3 rt and just roamed Stockholm. It was an o.k. city to me. I don't particularly enjoy big cities. I saw Gamla Stan, and I saw the changing of the guards, the Nobel Prize building, etc.

 

Copenhagen- I ate polse dogs, used the train station for very cheap internet, and took the train from the airport to the main station to get to the Marriott (hotel). I wandered from the hotel down around Nyhaven and got an ice cream cone at Vaffelberger. Yummmm I got the traditional flavor-nougat, with real whipped cream, and a dab of jam on top. Also, you can grab the Netto Bandene boat which is half the price of the other boats if you want a canal cruise. Strogent street didn't do anything for me. It was just a crowded street with lots of shops, but I did take pics of the Hans C. A. statue near there. Also, their danish is wonderful in Copenhagen. ;) It was another great city to wander, and it was daylight most of the day. :-)

 

Helsinki- I took a public bus for 2.5 euros to the market, and I walked everywhere. You can walk to the Rock Church, etc. I saw the ice breakers they use to chop up the ice in the winter, and I saw lots of beautiful churches and the city square. I went in a large dept. store with a grocery store underneath and bought lots of chocolate to bring back for secretaries, etc. I LOVED Helsinki. I do wish I had spent some time at the market shopping, but it started to really pour that day. I took the bus back to the vicinity of the ship at the end of the day.

[MercedMike]

If you are emotionally up to it, I feel that being a witness to history by visiting the Concentration Camp outside Gdansk is a good thing to do. Be warned, our guide said we would have tears in our eyes and I am unashamed to admit that I did.

 

We booked with ToursInPoland and got great service from them.

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/baltic.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!