For anyone who has done the Scandinavian/Baltic Itin

[Casshew]

Can you please share any really good shore excursions you took and enjoyed? What did you do in St. Petersburg & Tallin? are there any 'do not miss' type excursions?

 

Any excursions you regret taking that were not enjoyable?

 

Any tips for this itinerary, things to do/see Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallin, Oslo, St. Petersburg?

 

Oh and this is a dumb question, why is the ship so long in St Petersburg? (2 days)

 

Thanks :)

[leoandhugh]

To answer your not so dumb question, the ship stays in St Petersburg 2 days(some ships stay 3days) because there is so much to see from the days of Czarist Russia when it was the capital.

Also it gives those who may want to do it, to take the overnight visit to Moscow. In StPetersburg you have not only the Hermitage(one of the world's best museums where, like the Louvre in Paris, one could spend at least a day and just hit the high spots; but there are several Czarists palaces like Peterhof and the Winter Palace which are outside of StPetersburg proper.:)

[madforcruising]

Can you please share any really good shore excursions you took and enjoyed? What did you do in St. Petersburg & Tallin? are there any 'do not miss' type excursions?

 

Any excursions you regret taking that were not enjoyable?

 

Any tips for this itinerary, things to do/see Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallin, Oslo, St. Petersburg?

 

Oh and this is a dumb question, why is the ship so long in St Petersburg? (2 days)

 

Thanks :)

 

 

OK to answer your last question first - because there´s so much to do / see that 2 days is way too short.

 

I´ve done this cruise twice and there´s reports about it on my website

You might want to read these and I´ll be happy to answer any additional questions.

[dutchess43]

When we docked in Russia we took the ships excursions therefore we were under their blanketed visa instead of acquiring our own. Also Russian is a hard language to read signs ect.

[critterchick]

You should visit the Ports of Call section, where you will get tons of information. We did this cruise in 2007, and the only organized tour we took was in St. Petersburg. We used Denrus; other popular companies include Alla and Red October. If you book with them, they will take care of the visa requirement for you, so no need to be locked into the ship's tours.

 

We did everything else on our own, armed with Rick Steves' Scandinavia book. He gives you all the information you need to make your way around the cities, including using the public transportation systems.

 

Here's a link to my review, which includes what we did in each port (we had the same itinerary):

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=31114

 

Sorry that there are no spaces between the paragraphs - I could have sworn I submitted it with them!:o

[tally10]

Have done this itinerary twice and wish we could afford to do it again. Take as many tours as you can in St. Petersburg (or go to Moscow if you can afford to). Catherine's Palace is not to be missed! Did the artillery museum and tram ride (which is a steam train) and it was a lot of fun. The cruise on the Neva was just ok. The main thing in ST. Petersburg is to see it all. The last time we were there (2006) they didn't want to bargain like they did in 2004. Don't buy the Russian stuff on the ship. It doesn't compare to the real artistry off the ship (even the stacking dolls). Oslo (Vigeland Park is wonderful) and Helsinki are fun, too. In Helsinki, we went to an old castle from Medieval times and had a great lunch there and also to the Itala Glass Factory. You can't see as much on foot.

[petesweet]

When we docked in Russia we took the ships excursions therefore we were under their blanketed visa instead of acquiring our own. Also Russian is a hard language to read signs ect.

 

But you can see about five times as much for about half the price if you book with one of the national travel agents, and you do not need a personal visa. (The ship does not tell you this.:)) Try Denrus. We were very pleased with them. Also Alla and Red October are recommended.

[Casshew]

Thank you everyone for the information and the links, I will check it all out. For the Moscow overnight, I am going to assume you fly? this must be a pricey excursion, does anyone have any idea how much it runs?

[ontheweb]

Can you please share any really good shore excursions you took and enjoyed? What did you do in St. Petersburg & Tallin? are there any 'do not miss' type excursions?

 

Any excursions you regret taking that were not enjoyable?

 

Any tips for this itinerary, things to do/see Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallin, Oslo, St. Petersburg?

 

Oh and this is a dumb question, why is the ship so long in St Petersburg? (2 days)

 

Thanks :)

 

We did this itinerary on Princess, not RCL, but I still think I can help with your questions.

 

In Stockholm, the Vasa is a must see.

 

In Oslo, the sculpture park is a must see (and FREE!)

 

In Talinin, as other have said do the Rick Steves walking tour works out very well.

 

In Helsinki, I found the church carved out of stone as a must see.

 

In St. Petersburg, EVERYTHING is a must see. And as others have said, you are better off with one of the local services. We used Alla. Try to get a group together through your roll call. That's what I did. I found that if I could get a group of 6, it would be about the same price as the LARGE cruise ship tours. Our group ended up with 10, so it was less expensive and more flexible than the LARGE ship groups.

 

My cruise review is at:

 

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

[critterchick]

Thank you everyone for the information and the links, I will check it all out. For the Moscow overnight, I am going to assume you fly? this must be a pricey excursion, does anyone have any idea how much it runs?

 

It's $685 according to the website. Do a search of Ports under the "plan a cruise" tab, navigate to St. Petersburg & then click on "view shore excursions" on the right.

[rubrrick]

We did this itinerary on Princess, not RCL, but I still think I can help with your questions.

 

In Stockholm, the Vasa is a must see.

 

In Oslo, the sculpture park is a must see (and FREE!)

 

In Talinin, as other have said do the Rick Steves walking tour works out very well.

 

In Helsinki, I found the church carved out of stone as a must see.

 

In St. Petersburg, EVERYTHING is a must see. And as others have said, you are better off with one of the local services. We used Alla. Try to get a group together through your roll call. That's what I did. I found that if I could get a group of 6, it would be about the same price as the LARGE cruise ship tours. Our group ended up with 10, so it was less expensive and more flexible than the LARGE ship groups.

 

My cruise review is at:

 

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

 

Excellent selections!! In Stockholm, the Vasa Museum is a must do. I totally agree that it was one of our highlights in Stockholm. Do a bit of research on the sailing ship Vasa. A fascinating story.

 

Also, in Stockholm, you need to have a ships excursion reservation to go to the Ice Bar! It opens to tourists at 3:30, but takes the ships tour before that. We didn't go, as the tour was totally booked, but friends went....it's expensive, and something to do.............once!:D

 

R