Just Back From the Baltics If you have any ???

[markincanada]

My family is headed on the baltic cruise in July. Just a couple of questions - how easy is it to get into the other restaurants? Do you reserve before or just show up>

 

- which were your favorites to eat at?

- what did you do in Germany - did you visit Berlin?

 

Thanks

[Griller]

My family is headed on the baltic cruise in July. Just a couple of questions - how easy is it to get into the other restaurants? Do you reserve before or just show up>

 

- which were your favorites to eat at?

- what did you do in Germany - did you visit Berlin?

 

Thanks

 

In July it may of course be a totally different mix of passengers - we had all adult/senior except 14 kids. Many Americans, many Brits, many Canadians but a lot of these were of Hong Kong origin they told us, and some continental europeans. The rest were pretty mixed.

 

30 cabins are reserved for passengers (Germans mainly) travelling Warnemunde to Warnemunde rather than Dover to Dover.

 

All I can tell you is that THIS mix of passengers only really ate in the pay extra restaurants when there was an Early Bird Special. They were pretty empty at other times. Every port day 5.30 to 6.30 was Early Bird Special.

 

So you had to reserve early for the Early Bird times. Other times you could have gone straight into any of the restaurants.

 

Chin Chin is my favorite as it has a very varied menu and a delightful Maitre'd, Cherrylynne. She also runs the Teppanyaki which is a good show and good value if its on the EarlyBird Special. If you go there tell her Mike says Hi!

 

The Bistro on Jewel lacks the finesse we have found it had on Gem and Pearl, and even previously on Jewel. I know I must not criticize the MaitreD' on here so I won't. Let's just state we were served bad dead mussels in there twice within a space of 4 days and he didn't seem really concerned. He could BS for Jamaica though. We won't be going back there until there is a change of restaurant management in Le Bistro.

 

Cagneys is the same as every other Cagneys I have been in, except its now $25 and I think it was $20 before. Service excellent.

 

Tangos has never seemed like it was worth paying for as far as I was concerned, never went for it when it was free so am not going to pay for it now. Just not my thing, I am sure its great if you like TexMex.

 

Mamas, the Italian was fine, and the rib eye steaks were excellent, and the service was also excellent. Appetizers from the cart are wonderful.

 

We also had no problems in the main dining rooms, food was OK, arrived hot and service was as quick as we wanted.

 

In Germany - frankly not my favorite country - I just walked into the pleasant seaside town of Warnemunde looking for free wifi internet, didn't find any, walked back towards the ship, found Rich the Cruise Director and some of the girls, we had local Rostocker beer at a little cafe/bar made from a bluepainted shipping container right by the ship and rolled back on before sailing. 2 euros 90 cents for a half litre, and a fully refundable 2 euro deposit on the glass.

 

Its cheap and quick to go into the nearby town of Rostock by train, you can get a Rostock card for 7 euros just as you get off the ship which gives you unlimited transport to Rostock and in the area and includes entry to some museums and stuff. We'll do that next time we go on Jewel on this itinerary.

 

Its a long way to Berlin and we did not bother. I am sure those who did found it a rewarding, if tiring and expensive experience.

[markincanada]

thanks for the quick answers

[sjbdtz]

Deleted.

[SallyUK]

SallyUK

 

We sail under the Oresund just before docking in Copenhagen, yes?

 

Sorry, but can't answer that as I only saw it in the other direction. In that direction we passed under it on the day we left Sweden. It was dark and I think something like 9.30-10.30 at night, though hopefully someone else will firm up the timings. I wish I had seen it by day though, it would have been even more impressive.

[teach2travel]

My family is headed on the baltic cruise in July. Just a couple of questions - how easy is it to get into the other restaurants? Do you reserve before or just show up>

 

- which were your favorites to eat at?

- what did you do in Germany - did you visit Berlin?

 

Thanks

 

Hi...I was on the 5/10 voyage of Jewel also! Ports were great, but the ship and getting off it was another story.

 

In Berlin, a group of 14 of us booked a tour w/ SPB tours. Yes, it was a very long day, but I felt worth it. We travelled by bus to and from Berlin (3 hrs each way!) but I wouldn't have wanted to miss Berlin. For a tour that ran $398/pp with NCL, we saw Berlin for 100e/pp. Definately worth using an independant tour operator!! We used them in St. Petersburg also and were extremely happy with SPB, just not the late start we got on Day 1!!

 

Time in Stockholm was very short (8am-4pm) but nothing opens until 10am (Vasa, HOHO etc). Skip the HOHO there, very unorganized...a mob scene getting back to ship.

 

I, and many others I spoke to, felt that everywhere we looked, we were being charged for something! Cagney's cost my son and I $60 ($25/pp PLUS extra $10/pp for lobster). After breakfast, the only free drink options were water or iced tea. How much would it have cost them to add lemonade or punch? This was my first NCL cruise, and I just felt that compared to other lines, they were being very cheap. I am not sure I will take another NCL cruise.

[Hunding]

Thanks, Sally. I think we get into Copenhagen at 7 or so, so I'm thinking I'll be out on deck by 5:30 to see. I've been fascinated by the bridge ever since the planning stages, so don't want to miss it.

[njhorseman]

 

I, and many others I spoke to, felt that everywhere we looked, we were being charged for something! Cagney's cost my son and I $60 ($25/pp PLUS extra $10/pp for lobster). After breakfast, the only free drink options were water or iced tea. How much would it have cost them to add lemonade or punch? This was my first NCL cruise, and I just felt that compared to other lines, they were being very cheap. I am not sure I will take another NCL cruise.

 

 

I'm curious if you compared the base price of your cruise with comparable itineraries/accomodations on other cruise lines. I won't say it's always the case, but NCL's price is often significatly lower than the competition's. It seems as though many people who complain about the cost of "extras" on NCl have overlooked the fact that they paid less for their cruise fare, and if they were to add the cost of the "extras" to the cruise fare they would find they were still paying less, or at worst no more than they would have on another cruise. Sometimes you're "cheap" because you're cheaper.

 

By the way, on what other mass market cruise line could you have gotten the type of meal you did in Cagney's at no additional cost or lower cost? You chose to spend the additional money for the lobster. No one forced you to do it.

[Griller]

Sorry, but can't answer that as I only saw it in the other direction. In that direction we passed under it on the day we left Sweden. It was dark and I think something like 9.30-10.30 at night, though hopefully someone else will firm up the timings. I wish I had seen it by day though, it would have been even more impressive.

 

 

It was about 19.35, thats 7.35 in the evening when we actually went under.

[bobnjeff]

Most likely you will receive a notice about St. Petersburg a day or so before arrival. It will advise those that are on private tours that you MUST wait for all NCL tours to leave the ship before you can they say about 9:30. Yeah right! I have never been told this before on any cruise I have gone on. I've done 5-6 other lines and this was my 4th sailing on NCL and second on the Jewel. Needless to say we ignored it as we had been advised by Den Rus. Our private tour was suppose to start at 8:30. We also received a lovely note after the whole fiasco the 1st day in St Petersburg basically blaming thise of us on priavte tours for not following NCL rules. Truly Rude and uncalled for.

 

I guess in all you get what you pay for. We did consider other lines and yes they were more expensive but...... If you are not careful it is very easy to spend much more on NCL if you chose to go to the extra cost restaurants. So.... think twice. But over all enjoy the Baltics. The best ports I have ever visited.

[bobnjeff]

We did Berlin on our own. The train station is an 8 minute walk from the ship. The trip cost 168 euros fro two round trip. We had to change in Rostock and the trip took 3 hours each way. There are trains that are direct that take 2 1/2 hours but we missed the morning one and we were the 1st passangers off the ship so.. and the one in the afternoon was a bit late. When you get to Berlin there are several Hop on Hop off buses that are right out side the station. They run 10-15 euros per person. I would advise looking for one that has the head phones. We had a live guide and he was hard to hear and his accent was very hard to understand as well. This was our least favorite port partly due to the long train trips.

[njhorseman]

Most likely you will receive a notice about St. Petersburg a day or so before arrival. It will advise those that are on private tours that you MUST wait for all NCL tours to leave the ship before you can they say about 9:30. Yeah right! I have never been told this before on any cruise I have gone on. I've done 5-6 other lines and this was my 4th sailing on NCL and second on the Jewel. Needless to say we ignored it as we had been advised by Den Rus. Our private tour was suppose to start at 8:30. We also received a lovely note after the whole fiasco the 1st day in St Petersburg basically blaming thise of us on priavte tours for not following NCL rules. Truly Rude and uncalled for.

 

I guess in all you get what you pay for. We did consider other lines and yes they were more expensive but...... If you are not careful it is very easy to spend much more on NCL if you chose to go to the extra cost restaurants. So.... think twice. But over all enjoy the Baltics. The best ports I have ever visited.

 

 

Let's see...NCL makes money from passengers who book the ship's shore excursions. It does not make money from those who book independent shore excursions. Let me think...which group would NCL likely give preferential treatment to...those who book its shore excursions or those who book independently? :rolleyes:

 

By the way, every cruise line I've ever been on gives priority to passengers who book the ship's excursions if the ship is not in a simple "walk off at your leisure" port. If you are in a port where you are tendered ashore, passengers on the cruise line excursions are given priority tender boarding over independent travelers.

[Grunt]

Thanks, Sally. I think we get into Copenhagen at 7 or so, so I'm thinking I'll be out on deck by 5:30 to see. I've been fascinated by the bridge ever since the planning stages, so don't want to miss it.

Everyone's talking about the Oresund Bridge, but the ship doesn't go that way! On 10th May departure from Dover we left Copenhagen and retraced our steps to go round the island and therefore under the Great Belt (Store Baelt) Bridge. On the return journey we slowed down terrifically and went under at about 20:00 hrs, with much blasting of horn. (Had I been driving across at the time, I think that my insides might have responded embarrassingly!) It seems that clearance under the Oresundsbron is even less than the 15 metres maximum under the Great Belt, so they go the long way round!

I'm writing a review at the moment and hope to post soon, but the delays in St P were phenomenal. I was nicely smug that we'd not booked a morning excursion on the first day!

[bobnjeff]

Let's see...NCL makes money from passengers who book the ship's shore excursions. It does not make money from those who book independent shore excursions. Let me think...which group would NCL likely give preferential treatment to...those who book its shore excursions or those who book independently? :rolleyes:

 

By the way, every cruise line I've ever been on gives priority to passengers who book the ship's excursions if the ship is not in a simple "walk off at your leisure" port. If you are in a port where you are tendered ashore, passengers on the cruise line excursions are given priority tender boarding over independent travelers.

 

I have never run into that on Celebrity, RCCL, Holland America or even NCL Star. I never book tours from the ship and have never run into this kind of treatment before. I hope I never will again.

[SallyUK]

Everyone's talking about the Oresund Bridge, but the ship doesn't go that way! On 10th May departure from Dover we left Copenhagen and retraced our steps to go round the island and therefore under the Great Belt (Store Baelt) Bridge. On the return journey we slowed down terrifically and went under at about 20:00 hrs, with much blasting of horn. (Had I been driving across at the time, I think that my insides might have responded embarrassingly!) It seems that clearance under the Oresundsbron is even less than the 15 metres maximum under the Great Belt, so they go the long way round!

I'm writing a review at the moment and hope to post soon, but the delays in St P were phenomenal. I was nicely smug that we'd not booked a morning excursion on the first day!

 

Ok, now I'm confused. I took pics that look like Oresund Bridge, but hey, The Store Baelt looks similar and it was at night! The routing appears to have changed a little since last year. I asked my DH and he said that we went under closer to 11pm (on the day we left Stockholm). Sorry if I've mislead anyone. Its still definitely worth going out to watch though, which ever bridge it is, because you really do get the sense, as Grunt says, that it would scare the living daylights out of anyone crossing at the time! Plus it looks as though the funnel is going to scrape the underside of the bridge.

[Sailor69]

We are just back from the HAL Gems of the Baltic cruise.

Our experience is a little better than the previous post.

We arranged a private tour through Red October and I can't say enough about their organisation. First class. Our group consisted of eight people: I had not met any prior to our tour.

 

We were a bit concerned before going as we had no knowledge of Red October - and they are Russian aren't they! We picked them up from Cruise Critic reviews. Our inclination was to book through HAL so a bit of a leap of faith was required but Red October did not ask for any money up front which I thought was a good touch. On the other hand, I did have some concerns about being being one of 2000 people trying to get on the same tour from the ship. Standing in lines is not my idea of a relaxing tour.

 

Anastasia from the Red October office was fabulous in dealing with all our queries and arranging for all of our documentation and advice. Charming young lady, we got to meet her when we were paying our account at Red October office - which doubles as a show room - but the merchandise is very good.

 

Our tour went off without a hitch. We got onto the shore (0730) before the ship's tours (0800) as advised by Anastasia.

 

Anastasia posted or emailed all the necessary documentation in advance so we cruised through customs. As much as anyone can cruise through Russian customs which are manned by two, yes good friends, not one but two officers.

 

Red October suggested a tour outline and the various parties modified that to suit in the weeks preceding the tour - at least we had some flexibility.

 

Our tour guide, Svetslana, was brilliant. Sometimes I think you just accept that you are in the company of outstanding intelligence. Her knowledge was outstanding - and that goes to more than just the history of events. A brilliant young lady.

 

We got into the Hermitage exhibition early before the museum was open to the public so we got to see more, had explanations and all without the crowds.

 

If there is anything we didn't get to see then I don't know what it was. Plenty of photo stops which you can do with a small group. We even had a ride on the underground.

 

HAL had a number of day and half day tours which covered some of the same ground but not anywhere near all. The price through Red October was cheaper than we would have paid for 1.5 days with HAL. We had 21 hours of guided tour.

 

GAWD, I should get paid for this! Seriously, our experience with Red October couldn't be faulted.

 

The Russian customs ... well that's a different matter. When is the last time you arrived back at the ship from a tour to find the customs office locked. I so like new experiences.

 

Can I also say that we sailed on the Eurodam - apart from the fact that I'm trying to get my weight back down again - fabulous. Brilliant crew, wonderful meals and entertainment. If I can find a way of keeping my wife away from the jewellery store then we might eye off our third cruise with HAL for the East Coast of Canada. Feeze 'em right off.:)

[njhorseman]

I have never run into that on Celebrity, RCCL, Holland America or even NCL Star. I never book tours from the ship and have never run into this kind of treatment before. I hope I never will again.

 

 

You haven't run into it not because it doesn't exist, but because you weren't aware that it was going on. We've taken any number of ship's excursions on a variety of cruise lines and were either tendered or escorted ashore before the public announcement was made that the ship was cleared for passengers to go ashore. Passengers on ships excursions in these situations are instructed to gather in a ship's lounge at a particular hour and are escorted off the ship either into tenders or onto shore by cruise line staff.

[RambleRocket]

Would you happen to have copies of the lunch and dinner menus?

 

Thanks! :)

[polinlaw]

Where does the NCL Jewel dock in Copenhagen?

[markincanada]

"You haven't run into it not because it doesn't exist, but because you weren't aware that it was going on. We've taken any number of ship's excursions on a variety of cruise lines and were either tendered or escorted ashore before the public announcement was made that the ship was cleared for passengers to go ashore. Passengers on ships excursions in these situations are instructed to gather in a ship's lounge at a particular hour and are escorted off the ship either into tenders or onto shore by cruise line staff. "

 

When we were on our previous RC cruises, we used private tours, they never held up private tour people until the RC tours departed. The RC tour people congregated in a separte area and were put into groups then escorted off. But private tour people left the boat during the same time frame.

[FormerMissArcadia]

I'm sailing on Jewel to the Baltics next month. I also booked the Denrus valued tour for our 2 days in St Petersburg. I'm a bit concern about the chao in disembarking at StP, I hope I do not have to sleep by the gate in order to be the first in line! ;)

Hi there Dinoman and fellow cruisers, I think (hope) we are on the same cruise departing Dover 27th June '09. We are still trying to sort out excursions particularly for St Pete's. We are a little late doing this but we only booked the cruise 2 weeks ago due to a special price released here in Australia. I realise, Dinoman, that your circumstances are not like ours due to the language difference. If there is any-one out there who is still trying to get a group together to use an independent tour company i.e. Denrus, Anastasia etc (not NCL) who will be sailing with us, would you mind posting a message or alternatively emailing me at annsan0705@yahoo.com.au.

 

Thanks all and we look forward to cruising the Baltic together.

 

Ann

[dinoman]

Hi there Dinoman and fellow cruisers, I think (hope) we are on the same cruise departing Dover 27th June '09. We are still trying to sort out excursions particularly for St Pete's. We are a little late doing this but we only booked the cruise 2 weeks ago due to a special price released here in Australia. I realise, Dinoman, that your circumstances are not like ours due to the language difference. If there is any-one out there who is still trying to get a group together to use an independent tour company i.e. Denrus, Anastasia etc (not NCL) who will be sailing with us, would you mind posting a message or alternatively emailing me at annsan0705@yahoo.com.au.

 

Thanks all and we look forward to cruising the Baltic together.

 

Ann

 

Hi, Ann. Yes, we are all on the same June 27th Baltic cruise. Have you tried to post your request on the Roll Call Board? There are several cruisers still looking for someone to form a private tour group in St. P just like you. The one I joined is the DenRus Valued 2-day Tour. Since my parents do not understand English I've quoted from another tour company about forming a private tour in Chinese language just for the 3 of us and the price was just beyond our budget, so I joined this tour which is done in English, and hopefully I could do some translations for them. I don't know how many people are with me in my tour group but you may wish to consider this as well as an alternative.

[Hawks11]

One last question (for now) What did you do about purchases in the various countries since there are various currencies involved.

 

Thanks,

I believe you could get away with using the $ at most locations. I was only told recently that in Russia they will accept any currency.

From the checks I heve made I have purchased some Copenhagen Kr as they still have their own currency as we have in the UK, also Swedish Kroner for Stockholm.

For Helsinki and Warnemunde I have Euros which will also do for Tallin as they are in transition to use that as well.

I have not drawn a lot of local currency as I don't anticipate buying anything other than bus fares and possibly a drink.

[endymion6942]

I was in Copenhagen last year on business.

You can pay for things in Euros, but they give you change in Kr.