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Balcony in the Baltic,late August, is it worth it?


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We are considering Celebrity Constellation Scandinavia/Russia cruise Aug.22/09. With the unpredictable weather and busy itinerary, is it worth it to get a balcony? We have no trouble with inside, and I would skip the oceanview for a balcony if sail-ins and sail aways are not to be missed. I wonder if sea days (4) are balcony-friendly? Also, overnights in St. Petersburg and Copenhagen. I have been getting a lot of great information on these boards - thanks everyone.

Shelly

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We sailed the Baltic on Millennium about a week later than your cruise, and felt we didn't really get our moneys worth with our balcony. A bit cool to sit out, plus on the sail-ins you only see what is on one side of the ship. But seeing as you are from Nova Scotia, your tolerance for cool might be greater than ours...EM

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We cruised on NCL's Norwegian Dream on its last Baltic cruise in Sept 07 and had a balcony. We used the balcony a lot and really enjoyed it. We had prepared for cool weather to start with so it was not a problem to pull over a fleece or sweater. We even had "the first and last St Petersburg tour group reunion" (our Alla tour group) cocktail party in our cabin after we departed Copenhagen and we used the balcony. I can only think of one day as we were approaching Helsinki where we were not out on our balcony (just a tad damp.)

 

Regardless of what type of cabin you choose, the Baltic is a fantastic cruise.

 

Regards -

 

Paul in NoVA

Sep 07 Baltic Cruise pixs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stoney_g/collections/72157605242491794/

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We were on the Constellation this summer and loved our balcony room. On the sea days we were in the room or on our balcony most of the day. It is a very intensive trip, and private down time was a necessity. Also, the scenery is wonderful. It takes 5 hours to sail out of Stockholm's archipelago, and a few hours in Oslo. It's great to be able to get ready in the morning, or for dinner, and still see the scenery. I got great photographs sailing into Oslo in the early morning light in between showering and dressing for the day that I would have missed without a balcony.

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We recently returned from cruising on the Norwegian Jewel and really enjoyed our first time in a Penthouse Suite. We just loved the large balcony and used it everyday. The extra perks were with the price to us - it was a once in a lifetime trip.

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We just returned from a Baltic cruise on Century, and we loved our balcony. We never actually ate out there for various reasons, but we spent lots of time there on sailins and sailaways, and at sunrises and sunsets, and feeding the seagulls (oops), and generally enjoying life at sea.

 

The one addition I would make is that you really want to be on the PORT side for this itinerary. We were on Starboard, and that was also lovely, but the prettiest views for most of these ports are from the port side.

 

We were talked out of the port side because we were on the Sports deck, and were concerned that cigarette smoke from the public areas would come into our balconies, but the layout does not make that a problem.

 

I would definitely stick with a balcony, and if you don't have port side, see if you can switch.

 

Have fun - it is a wonderful cruise, and Celebrity does a very nice job.

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We just got back last Wednesday on Jewel of Seas. Have been following threads for over a year and its best to go with "anything goes". We had been following the 15 day weather forecast up until we left and it was totally different than what we actually had.

 

Weather for the most part was in the high teens and low 20's and we had sporadic rain (15 minutes or so) in Tallin and Stockholm. Otherwise we had either overcast skies or full sun. We had great weather in Copenhagen and Oslo. Our sea days were fine, but we did have rain on one of them and it was cool and windy. I forgot my jacket and purchased one in a small store in Harwich. DH used his golf wind jacket and it was just fine. I used my jacket once the entire trip. I wore capris and 3/4 length shirts and had a sweater but only used it once.

 

There is a lot of walking on cobble stone so make sure you have really good / comfortable walking apparel.

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My first choice would be an aft at the very back of the ship - you get to see both land sides heading into port at Oslo, Sweden and Copenhagen.

 

We had a cabin on the port side and it was great for our trip - we went from Harwich to Tallin. I originally regretted my decision because we had 2 sea days and I wanted to have the sun on our side for the afternoon. As it turned out, we didn't get any sun, but we did get it on our return trip so we actually faced south when heading from Oslo to Harwich. We were also on the side of the docks for most of the sail aways and got to see everyone rushing to the ship.

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Just back from the 14-day Connie cruise 8/16/08 to the Baltic, and YES, a balcony is just wonderful and worth it. It was exciting waking up at all hours and being able to check out what was going by outside even in night clothes. Hearing, seeing, feeling, it is the best! Constellation is a wonderful ship, and the staff is friendly and very helpful, from the Captain on down. The weather in late August was fine, mostly sunny and comfortable. Crop pants, t shirt or blouse and sometimes a light sweater or jacket. Comfortable shoes are a must - all those cobblestones.

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Elaine-

 

I will check out your roll call. I started the roll call for our cruise yesterday and so far no one has shown up!

 

What nights are formal on this cruise?I like to know so I can make reservations at Ocean Liners on some of the other evenings....

 

Did you do a pre or post cruise visit to London?

 

What did you most love on the itinerary? And on the ship?

 

Thanks for the information!

Kim

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Elaine-

 

I will check out your roll call. I started the roll call for our cruise yesterday and so far no one has shown up!

 

What nights are formal on this cruise?I like to know so I can make reservations at Ocean Liners on some of the other evenings....

 

Did you do a pre or post cruise visit to London?

 

What did you most love on the itinerary? And on the ship?

 

Thanks for the information!

Kim

Hi Kim, formal nights were nt. 2, and 13, and I can't remember what other day, but they were all nights that were not port intensive. The specialty restaurant was different than Infinity in that it was a portion of the daytime restaurant, which wasn't as nice in my opinion. I didn't hear if it was worthwhile booking. We did on Infinity and loved it, but didn't this time. The food in the dining room was fine; nothing amazing, but we enjoyed it. Too much red meat and not enough variety, but we weren't there for the food. We stayed at the Pier Hotel in Harwich pre-cruise, and loved it. They book up quickly. We took the Harwich Taxi cab company from Gatwick. Harwich was charming, and the food at the Pier Hotel was outstanding. We did London post cruise and had a fabulous day. We just went by the Underground from the Hilton at Gatwick, after taking the shuttle from the ship early in the morning. We didn't get to Buckingham Palace early enough to tour it, which was a shame as I understand it is wonderful. We were palaced out though! We went to Carnaby Street too and had a fun time and ate lunch there at a Pub. The ship is lovely, clean as can be, and the staff is very friendly and warm and make you feel welcome and you begin to feel like it is "home"! Loved the sea days. The Captain invited us to visit the bridge when we went through the Archipelago outside of Stockholm, which was a treat (pays to be a cruise critic member and have a party!). Every port was wonderful, so hard to pick, but of course, St. Petersburg was incredible. DenRus did a great job for the private 2-day tour, and there were no problems. I loved Helsinki (we hired a cab at the dock and he drove us around, waited for us while we went to the Sibelius Monument, Rock Church, Olympic Tower/Stadium, marketplace (great stuff) etc., appreciated Berlin and the tour of the concentration camp at Sachenhausen, enjoyed the Curonian Spit in Lithuania, had a great time in Tallinn buying Amber (cheaper in Lithuania in spite of the ship saying it is fake - not so), and walking that medievial city. Riga was very modern, very nice shops, not as friendly as the other cities. Hope this helps, I could go on and on! elaine

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Elaine-

 

Thank you so much for all of the answers to my questions. I think we will have a wonderful time.

 

Perhaps your itinerary was slightly different. I don´t believe we will be visiting Lithuania -Riga. Where exactly did you go ?

 

I think the Constellation is very similar to the Summit , which I really loved.

 

I´d love to visit the bridge.I will be sure to go to the CC party.

 

Kim

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Elaine-

 

Thank you so much for all of the answers to my questions. I think we will have a wonderful time.

 

Perhaps your itinerary was slightly different. I don´t believe we will be visiting Lithuania -Riga. Where exactly did you go ?

 

I think the Constellation is very similar to the Summit , which I really loved.

 

I´d love to visit the bridge.I will be sure to go to the CC party.

 

Kim

We went 8/16/08 out of Harwich, England. Wherever you go, it will be wonderful! Have a great time planning and savoring your upcoming trip, and then a safe and wonderful journey. It was an all-time favorite vacation, and knowing people ahead of time from the Roll Call thread was fun. elaine

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Having cruised in a balcony cabin on our first cruise it is impossible to see how any cruise coudl ever be worth not having one.

 

We have always been able to enjoy our balcony in any weather. Even on a rainy windy day across the North Sea we sat and enjoyed the hour we had of sun and cool breeze.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A quick thanks to all that left opinions here. We just got off of a Grand Med Cruise and the group that we went with has decided to go to the Baltics in a little less than 3 years. I came on CC to ask the Balcony question also. I have heard that it is essential for an Alaska cruise and (realizing this may not be as cold as Alaska) thought that the cooler weather here may recommend one. Still not sure as we have never splurged for one before. Can anyone tell me about the seas? I am prone to motion seckness so I tend to stay low and midship when choppy seas are a probability.

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A quick thanks to all that left opinions here. We just got off of a Grand Med Cruise and the group that we went with has decided to go to the Baltics in a little less than 3 years. I came on CC to ask the Balcony question also. I have heard that it is essential for an Alaska cruise and (realizing this may not be as cold as Alaska) thought that the cooler weather here may recommend one. Still not sure as we have never splurged for one before. Can anyone tell me about the seas? I am prone to motion seckness so I tend to stay low and midship when choppy seas are a probability.

 

Hi,

We have cruised the Baltic twice before, July 2003 and August 2005. We have also cruised Alaska again in the summer. In the Baltic the weather was lovely in the mid/upper 70s. In 2 cruises we only had 1 rough night when the Century ran into Force 7 storms between Estonia and Poland. We are cruising again in the Baltic next Aug on HAL's Eurodam. You'll absolutely love the itinerary.

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