Travelling on the Eurodam in the Baltic

[DCParky]

Hi, I'm travelling on the Eurodam in July seeing the Baltic. I'd like to hear anyone's comments on the cruise, the ship, cabins (SC cabin here) or any shore excursions... Thanks!

[RuthC]

I was on the E-dam's first Baltic cruise last July; it was my second cruise there.

I wasn't taken by the ship, but the itinerary is one of my favorites.

You will find it to be port-intensive. It's easy to exhaust yourself. You might be better off if you plan to alternate full-day and half-day tours. That is, except for St. Petersburg, where you should plan to jam in everything you can.

Check out the non-HAL private tours there. You will get to see so much more, and get a lot more out of what you do see. It costs more, but is money well-spent.

Oh, and if it's a pretty day when you sail out of Stockholm, go outside on a forward deck and watch from there. It's one of the world's most beautiful rides.

[Mary Ellen]

Check out the non-HAL private tours there. You will get to see so much more, and get a lot more out of what you do see. It costs more, but is money well-spent.

We had 6 on our 2-day private tour in St. Petersburg. We had to pay for our own lunches, but even so it was still less expensive than the HAL. We saw SO much more than we would have through HAL. Just the logistics of getting 6 in/out of a mini van vs. 40-50 from a tour bus made a HUGE difference. One of our friends had just trusted us about the private tour and didn't even look at HAL's offerings in St. Petersburg. After the first day's tour he did. He was shocked to see that he would have needed to take 7-9 HAL tours to cover everything we had seen and were going to see the next day.

 

As to the lunches, we greatly enjoyed the small cafes (particularly the 'pie shop' near the Hermitage) where we were the only non-locals, rather than the 'tourist' restaurants. We drove past one the first day and just spotting the looooong line outside (everyone wearing their 'HAL tour sticker') confirmed we'd made the right choice going private. The cafes were VERY much a part of our tour experience. I was SO glad I hadn't followed the advice I seen on the CC about bring a bag lunch from the ship.

 

When DH & I return to St. Petersburg, we will be using a private guide again. If it is just the 2 of us, it will be more than HAL. But as Ruth said, it will be money well-spent.

[lyla edith]

Hi, I'm travelling on the Eurodam in July seeing the Baltic. I'd like to hear anyone's comments on the cruise, the ship, cabins (SC cabin here) or any shore excursions... Thanks!

 

 

We visited St Petersburg in May and used Info@anastasiaworld.com. Nothing went wrong and it was the most fantastic 2 days.

We presented them with an unbelievable itenary [ 23 hrs out of the 48 hrs we were in port] and Anna our guide [ whom we had specifically requested]was so knowledgeable about the sites as well as in a broader context.

 

I can thoroughly reccomend this tour at $us298 which far exceeds anything offered by HA. Their tours are about double that price for 2 days!!!!!

[scamper01]

We just returned from the Baltic on the Eurodam. Use Anatasia for private touring in St. Petersburg. Tanya was our guide and was absolutely fantastic. We loved every minute of it. She was able to get my friend's wheelchair into Catherine's Palace and arranged to have her carried up 50 steps in a theater to see a folkshow. It was worth every penny which was much cheaper than HAL. Ignore what HAL tells you about not being to get off the ship without a VISA or without being on their excursions. Also ignore them when they tell you that you must wait until all their excursions are off the ship before you can leave which means you can't get off until 10 or 10:30. We walked off the ship before they announced that it had been cleared without a problem.

[mom&me_cruising]

scamper01.

 

Good to know about debarking at St Petersburg. Which deck did you get off at? Approximately what time did you get to that deck to get off? Do you have to stand in line on the ship before getting off? Are there clearly a line through the immigration for ship's vs private tour groups. I read there is, but seems the immigration does not care? What was your experience?

 

I am imagining that I have to do a mad dash that first morning in St Petersburg. :o I just don't want mom to be shoved around since she has fragile bones.

[CDRMark]

Have been on the Eurodam and a Baltic cruise, but not both, together.

As Ruth said, VERY port intensive and potentially exhausting itinerary.

We had zero problem leaving the ship right away, ahead of most ship tours. Just exited. Russian immigration is on the pier and needs to see passport and visa or proof of private tour (visa equivalent) which the agency will provide (ours was e-mailed to us).

There is LOTS of great info on the Northern Europe/Baltic Board about what to do and how best to do it. This is one itinerary where some advance planning is a good idea.

As far as the Eurodam goes, a lovely ship but not our favorite.

Cheers

Mark

[mom&me_cruising]

Thanks Mark. We are supposed to meet with our guide at 7:30AM, which is just 30 minutes after we arrive at port, that's why I'm a little worried.

[CDRMark]

There is some noise on the Baltic Board about a "new" paperwork requirement by the Russian authorities which may be causing some confusion among the cruise lines. Bottom line: Cruise passengers bring mega-bucks into Russia every year and the odds of them doing anything overt to interrupt this are looow.

Your tour guide will not leave if you are a little delayed, and will probably just drive a little faster to make up for any lost time.:)

I would not be too concerned.

Cheers

Mark

[klfuller]

This is my first post. My wife and I are booked on Eurodam's August Baltic cruise. She is somewhat mobility limited which leaves us concerned about seeing the sites we want to visit in St. Petersburg. Seeing your post makes it sound likes we need to book a private tour. I'd appreciate recommendations. Also I assume you booked your tours before you departed. Is this correct? Thanks.

[sapper1]

This is my first post. My wife and I are booked on Eurodam's August Baltic cruise. She is somewhat mobility limited which leaves us concerned about seeing the sites we want to visit in St. Petersburg. Seeing your post makes it sound likes we need to book a private tour. I'd appreciate recommendations. Also I assume you booked your tours before you departed. Is this correct? Thanks.

Hi klfuller---Welcome to Cruise Critic. Come over and join our roll call for this cruise and sign up for our meet and greet.

Here is a link to the thread. You will find others looking to share private tours.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=842319

[Mary Ellen]

This is my first post. My wife and I are booked on Eurodam's August Baltic cruise. She is somewhat mobility limited which leaves us concerned about seeing the sites we want to visit in St. Petersburg. Seeing your post makes it sound likes we need to book a private tour. I'd appreciate recommendations. Also I assume you booked your tours before you departed. Is this correct? Thanks.

Yes, you will HAVE to book your St. Petersburg private tour beforehand. Alla (who we used) just e-mailed a Word document to print and bring with us. This is what we have to the Russian Immigration officials in lieu of a Visa. DH was having some mobility problems last summer when we were in St. Petersburg on the E'dam. I can't say enough good things about how well our guide (Irena) saw to his needs.

[RuthC]

I'll also give my personal recommendation for Red October. That was the private tour I was on back on the '03 cruise.

From everything I've read on these boards, Red October, Alla, and DenRus have had solidly positive reviews from posters. I have never read a bad thing about any of them.

I suggest you contact all of them, explain what you're looking to see, and whatever limitations you have. See what each of them can put together for you, then pick the one that's best for you.

[klfuller]

Hi klfuller---Welcome to Cruise Critic. Come over and join our roll call for this cruise and sign up for our meet and greet.

Here is a link to the thread. You will find others looking to share private tours.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=842319

 

Thanks. We have been reading the thread all afternoon and will respond soon under our (my) other name.

 

Lowflight

[klfuller]

I'll also give my personal recommendation for Red October. That was the private tour I was on back on the '03 cruise.

From everything I've read on these boards, Red October, Alla, and DenRus have had solidly positive reviews from posters. I have never read a bad thing about any of them.

 

I suggest you contact all of them, explain what you're looking to see, and whatever limitations you have. See what each of them can put together for you, then pick the one that's best for you.

 

Thanks for your insight. We will check out all three.

[sailing51]

which private tour company did you use?

[sapper1]

which private tour company did you use?

We used Denrus for St. Petersburg and would not hesitate to use them again. They are a very professional organization and delivered as promised.

[DCParky]

We had a great Eurodam cruise in the Baltic this past July. The Eurodam was a beautiful ship and the ports were incredible. As everybody has stated, this cruise is very port intensive, but well worth the exhaustion! In St. Petersburg, we booked thru DenRus and couldn't have been happier. We spent 2 days being guided by Lana and really got a good feel for the city and culture. If only we'd had more time!! There were no problems getting off the ship in time to meet the tour, and they were waiting right outside of immigration for us. Getting off the ship and thru immigration took all of 10 minutes.