Just returned - 6/15 Baltics on Emerald Princess - Review of our great time!

[Embracedbylife]

Arrival to Copenhagen - Hilton Airport Hotel:

We arrived a day early via continental airlines direct from Newark to Copenhagen. Great flight, arriving early in the morning on Sunday. Checked into the hotel by 8am and were happy to get a room so early in the morning! The Hilton Airport hotel is literally a walk through a corridor from the main terminal. Great room! We couldn't hear the planes at all. There is a very convenient train station from the airport terminal area to downtown Copenhagen. We slept till 1pm and then hit the train to downtown, purchasing the 24 hour ticket for the train from the ticket counter. Validated our tickets at the track and did a dry run to the Freeport pier via the train. We took the main train from the Airport to Osterport station and then transferred at Osterport to Track #5 where we took another train to Nordhaven station. When you come out of Nordhaven station you head right and then make another right walking under the tracks, go across the highway, turn left and the pier is on the next right. After this we headed back to Norreport station to start our walking tour at Tivoli. My favorite area to tour was Nyhaven. We took a boat tour from here and enjoyed it! The ride back on the train to the hotel took less than 20 minutes.

Embarkation:

We slept in on Monday, checked out by 12pm and took the train to Nordhaven station. We had only carry-on luggage so it was easy to walk to the pier. Arriving at the pier at approximately 1pm there was a line for check-in / security which went very quickly. We were on the ship within 20 minutes. The check-in process was easy and efficient!

The Ship:

The Emerald is such a great ship! We previously sailed on the Star and the Diamond. The Emerald met all expectations, and we enjoyed it so much, mostly because of MUTS (movies under the stars) and a few other features like the International Café and the Pizza parlor area. I do understand the Star may now have MUTS though! The Emerald has so many wonderful areas to sit and relax. Although there is no enclosed pool, the Sanctuary area seems great. Horizon court and Caribe Café were great places to grab good food whenever you wished. I also enjoyed the hotdog/burger stand and the pizza. Another great feature is complimentary Ice Cream offered beside the pizza stand.

The other Passengers and mealtimes:

This was the first cruise were I experienced rude and disorganized passengers. The first two days were so bad that I was concerned that I may never take a cruise again. The passengers were pushing us, running into us, stopping in front of us, and racing for the buffet like they have never eaten before. Either it was a large group of new cruisers or a full moon. By the third day we decided to give up eating breakfast at the buffet and have it at the dining room. This was the best decision! We also started eating dinner at the dining room early around 6pm. No lines, no crowds, great food and good service! Also purchased the $24 coffee card. Used only half the card but was worth it even for that! I understand we might be able to use the other half on our next cruise. The speciality coffees are so good you'd pay at least $3 each anywhere else. You can also get a large for only one punch!

Emerald Staff and Favorite Emerald Public Areas:

Some of the staff were so outstanding we filled in nomination cards for employee of the month. One such person was a server/wait person at the pool that offers movies under the stars. His name is Erik from Mexico. Very friendly, loved his job, and made it such a fun place to be! You’ll enjoy being served by him late at night while watching the movies. He offers popcorn, cookies and milk, pizza, etc. Great server, great times watching those movies at night under the blankets! Other areas that are nice to hang out in are the sushi bar across from the international café and the Adajio bar across from Sabitini’s.

Entertainment:

The best show was the comedian show. The other shows were just ok. Although some passengers seemed to love the shows, I found them less fun than MUTS. It’s all dependent on your taste. But I just loved hanging out people watching with a nice drink J there’s more than enough to do even if you don’t go to the shows.

Ports of call:

Stockholm – 10am arrival. The buffets were packed with people (this was only day 2 so we had faced the hords of people I talked about earlier). Off the ship by 10:15am. Taxi’s are very costly (min. $40 each way). We opted for the Shuttle bus which cost $11 return. You pay cash on the bus. We did wait a while for the shuttles to come, but it had us downtown within 20 minutes. The bus left at 11am and we arrived downtown by 11:20am. There is just so much to see in Stockholm, and so little time, but it’s such a beautiful city!! We walked the streets near the castle and town square and then took a ferry over to Vasa Museum. Went back to castle area and then walked down to city hall –very nice views at city hall!! By 3:15 we headed back to the shuttle (last shuttle at 4pm). There were long lines for the shuttle but we were on a bus by 4pm and at the pier by 4:20pm in time for some last minute shopping at the pier! Nice souvenirs at the pier!

Helsinki – this was the first day we tried the dining room as we had enough of the crowds at the buffet in the morning. Went for breakfast at 8:40am (dining room closes at 9am). Off ship by 10am and got in line for the shuttle which was to start at 10:30am. Shuttle was efficient and dropped us off close to downtown! Walked to the rock church and then downtown. The Uspensky Cathedral was beautiful! Went back to the ship early and had a nice dinner at the dining room that night.

St. Petersburg – we opted for a private tour with Anastasia tours. Our tour was to start at 10am. The ship arrived at 5am and people were up at 4am to have breakfast in the buffet. We slept in and had breakfast at 8:30am. Those with 8am tours were still in line for immigration at 9:30am. We were some of the last passengers off the ship. Got in line by 9:45 am and met the tour guide on the other side of immigration by 10:20am. Our private guide took us to Peterhoff, then took a hydrofoil boat ride to the downtown area. Our driver met us and we went to St. Isaacs Cathedral, Savior of the Spilt Blood, Nvesky Prospect and Kazan Kathedral. Back onboard by 6pm and had a nice early dinner by 6:30pm. Day 2 went to Hermitage then back to ship by 3pm.

Tallin – my favorite port!! So little time though since the ship arrived at 7am but we waited for the crowds to get off the ship before having breakfast in the dining room at 7:30am. We were off the ship by 9am, and walked downtown (aprox. 30 mins walk). Gorgeous city! The shopping at the pier is the best shopping! Great deals and great hand made items!

Gdansk – purchased “Gdansk on your own” tour from princess. Bus dropped us off by 10:40am and took us back around 3:30pm. Nice town, but not as pretty as Tallin. Nice relaxing day, and enjoyed our time.

Oslo – great city! We disembarked early with prior permission from princess. We stayed at Thon Opera hotel. Dropped off our bags then walked back to see the ship at the pier and saw the fortress at the pier. The ship docks at an ideal location! Walked around the pier, saw the many beautiful shops and then took the tram to the statues! What a great time!

Overall:

Loved the ship, love princess and will definitely sail again!! Wished we were only in St. Petersburg for 1 day and had more time in Stockholm, Tallin and Oslo. We thank all the staff on the Emerald for such a great time!

[MTJtraveller]

Thanks for the great review!

 

A couple questions...please!

 

1) MUTS, is it doable with a late seating, traditional dinner time? I have never been on a ship with this feature.

 

2) I was planning on walking to the ship from Nordhaven station. You said it was easy...was it well marked? Were there others doing this also, or did you feel "creepy alone", as my daughters think it may be like?

 

 

 

Again, thanks for the review...A week from now we will be there!

[Embracedbylife]

Hi!

MUTS shows started around 9pm almost every night!:

Day 1 Mama mia 9pm

Day 2 Curious case of Benjamin Button 9pm

Day 3 Confessions of a Shopaholic 9pm

Day 4 he's just not that into you 09pm

Day 5 Russian ballet live airing on MUTS (live feed from the princess theatre) 8:30pm

Day 6 BrideWars 9pm

Day 7 Marley and me 9pm

Day 8 Nights in Rodanthe 9pm

Day 9 Yes Man 9pm

Day 10 Quantum of solace 9pm

 

Walking to the ship from Nordhaven station - only suggest this if you have little luggage to carry. The train station does have an elevator (lift) but it's about a 10-12 minute walk to the pier from the train. Only a few other people were walking it - we saw them from the ship after we got on - but noone at the station with us. We did a dry-run of it the day before and found it doable. Perhaps you can do the same? If you are concerned at all just spring for a cab. We had no problems walking. Once you are into the port area you go through a gated area and follow the blue markings on the ground that take you to the ship!

[LindaandJeff]

Hi!

MUTS shows started around 9pm almost every night!:

Day 1 Mama mia 9pm

Day 2 Curious case of Benjamin Button 9pm

Day 3 Confessions of a Shopaholic 9pm

Day 4 he's just not that into you 09pm

Day 5 Russian ballet live airing on MUTS (live feed from the princess theatre) 8:30pm

Day 6 BrideWars 9pm

Day 7 Marley and me 9pm

Day 8 Nights in Rodanthe 9pm

Day 9 Yes Man 9pm

Day 10 Quantum of solace 9pm

 

Walking to the ship from Nordhaven station - only suggest this if you have little luggage to carry. The train station does have an elevator (lift) but it's about a 10-12 minute walk to the pier from the train. Only a few other people were walking it - we saw them from the ship after we got on - but noone at the station with us. We did a dry-run of it the day before and found it doable. Perhaps you can do the same? If you are concerned at all just spring for a cab. We had no problems walking. Once you are into the port area you go through a gated area and follow the blue markings on the ground that take you to the ship!

 

How did you do a trip this long with only carry-ons? :eek: I need a whole suitcase just for shoes! (I'm really not that bad ---but almost!)

[515kitty]

You mentioned carry on??? What size are you referring to? We leave in 2 weeks was thinking of a 25 "and 22" but I will be packing light. Still wonder about going smaller.

[Embracedbylife]

Believe it or not there were some clothes I didn't even wear :)

I brought one rolly suitcase that is 22" long x 13" wide x 10" deep and a large purse bag that had another purse inside it, and my toiletries and medications, so it was a pretty big purse! I also carried a sweater with me as it was too bulky for my suit case. I used a strap on the suit case to keep it compact. I'm pretty good at getting my liquid stuff into one little baggy so i don't need to check-in my bag. I just put my creams into little round containers, so it was easy.

 

Hubby brought one rolly that was 22 x 14 x 10 just a little wider than mine and a back pack that he packed the camera and magazines in going over and our gifts that we bought back in.

 

I packed the following in mine:

necessary underwear and socks

1 pair of flip flops

1 pair of heels

1 pair of flat shoes

1 black dress

3 pairs of jeans & 3 pairs of cotton pants

2 long sleeved shirts (that I could wear a t-shirt under)

6 cotton shirts (kinda like t-shirts but a little nicer so I could wear them to dinner at night)

1 more sweater (wished I had brought another, but could have just bought one at the gift shop on the ship, but made due with the one i had with me and the other i packed)

1 skirt

jean jacket

rain jacket

 

Keep in mind I'm a size 4-6 so my clothes are smaller than my husband's. He took less shirts than I did, but the key for us was to bring stuff you can layer. Mostly short sleeved cotton shirts that you can wear on warm days and at least one nice heavy sweater and some lighter sweaters to throw over when it was windy on the ship or cooler at port. It went from warm to cold many days so we just pulled off the sweaters/put them back on as needed! I also made good use of my jean jacket with cotton pants on other cooler days at port - but then it would warm up again!

[Embracedbylife]

oh and bring your bathing suits in case you like to swim! there were a lot of people in the pools on days at port and sea when the sun was shinning it was nice!!

[515kitty]

Was there a shuttle there or just do the 30 minutes walk???

[buckeye7]

Just have to agree with lisacollie ~ we have done just carry-on for all our trips, including a 12-day Med. last summer. I pack very similarly to lisacollie. I bring a very large satchel (almost like an overnight bag) as my personal item and I have my real purse inside that. Makes the airport experience so much easier, no worries about lost luggage overseas, and not so much 'stuff' in the stateroom. We did do laundry mid-trip last summer, which was very convenient. I brought a garbage bag to use as a hamper.

 

We're about to leave for our Baltic, and I'm not bringing as many warm clothes as lisacollie because I think it'll be a bit warmer now mid-summer. I'll probably wear capris to sightsee and throw in one pair of jeans just in case. Definitely bringing a rain jacket, but still debating if I should bring a jean jacket too.

[Embracedbylife]

Tallin - there is a shuttle available for sure. Only port without a shuttle is Gdynia (and St. petersburg of course). We purchased the "Gdansk on your own" excursion which was essentially a bus to Gdansk and back.

[515kitty]

do you think one would save anytime in gydina/gdansk by taking the train versa anyother transportation. I also heard there are taxi's at the dock but probably would be more expenive than taking the shuttle. You just finshed the same route that we do July 15th.

[oc323]

Thanks so much for your detailed report. I am also staying at the Hilton. How costly was dinner and bref as I am traveling with a 20 plus year old? Did you pay in Euros or $$ for trinkets that you bought at the pier in Tallin and Stockholm. Additionally was the shuttle a princess shuttle and what currancy do you need for it?

Debra

[Embracedbylife]

Debra

 

The hilton was very convenient and we used honors points so it was a free night for us. Breakfast at the hotel is rather expensive ($30 each i think) so we just grabbed coffees and fruit and yogurt and things at the aiport terminal! They actually took american dollars at the Starbucks at the terminal and gave me back rubbles in change. Then we used some Euro to buy icecreams and everything else we used credit card.

 

Dinner we ate at a brewery just outside of Tivioli and it cost about $60 for the two of us. Hubby had 1 beer and I had soda.

 

We paid with local currency in Stockholm ( i exchanged about $40 on the ship at the machine). You could also pay with USD or euros also in Stockholm at the trinket shop at the pier. In tallin I paid in Euros at the pier. The shuttles I paid in USD for both shuttles in Stockholm and Helsinki. We brought more USD cash with us than we usually do when we travel and it worked out well to have it. Although the ship's exchange machine isn't maybe the best rate, it worked well for us so we saved on atm fees!

 

 

515kitty

 

I think you could likely save time and see other things if you too the train versa anyother transportation, but me being from nyc I know that trains can sometimes stop and be delayed. So we opted for the princess on your own excursion which is basically a bus to/from Gdansk. More expensive, but had assurance to get back in port on time. If you take a taxi it is aprox $100 return and they wait for you about an hour or so (not enough time if you ask me to tour the town). I'm happy we did the bus thing although I don't like buses much, it worked for us! The traffic on the way back was bad, so make sure if you take your own transportation you give yourself time to get back.

[515kitty]

Thanks for the information on the shuttles. I usually get money when I land from and ATM. But did you find you could get around pretty much with euro's??

[Embracedbylife]

Yes, we usually do the same thing and get money from the local ATM's but since we went to so many ports we just instead brought ample USD (to use the ship's exchange machine - only used it twice) and then had at least 100 euros. I found that we did just fine with the Euros, better than I expected actually! I was suprised how many stores will accept euros - a lot gave prices in both local currency and euros at a pretty decent exchange. The only place we got local currency for was Stockholm but we didn't even really need it. Paid for boat by credit card, shuttle by USD and souvineers I could have paid by credit card but used up my Sweedish Kroners and some USD to top it off as I was short a few Kroners.

[515kitty]

Any tips or great buys I hate junk and try to find local hand made things if possible. Will pick up the dolls in russia even though I dont know wich are good and bad. I have been told you can tell the difference.

How was the ships food we were on the sapphire alaska last summer and was not thrilled.

[Embracedbylife]

For souvineers for Russia we had our guide take us to 2 shops that seem pretty exclusive and the tour guides seem to go there often. They had expensive and less expensive items. I just bought some small items there and bought most of my Russian items on the ship. In terms of the dolls and the amber - you can get nice souvineers on the ship at a very decent price. I noticed that the ship prices are good! There are dolls in the gift shop to the left of the cashier near the liquor that are only $20 and some only $15 I think. They also have nice expensive dolls and nice expensive boxes. Cheaper laquior boxes in the gift shop by the liquor/eggs for only $16 but they are small. Others you'll pay upwards of $400 for large boxes. They are pretty and if you are goign to spend anymore than $200 on something I suggest getting it on the ship. You can also get cheaper dolls in Russia. Stay away from the street vendors and ask your guide if you have a private one, to take you to a nice shop. We found nice things in the 2 shops they took us to!

 

Stockholm found mostly trinkets at the pier.

 

Helsinki - don't recall any shopping at the pier and best place to buy is most likely down by the market square, although rather expensive items there. We didn't buy anything in Helsinki.

 

Tallin - nice shops around the square but also great shopping at the pier i thought! Got cute wooden boxes. Handmade scarfs and socks. LIttle cute items at the pier.

 

Gdansk - very cheap shopping in my opinion. But beware of fake amber. If you are goign to buy a nice piece get it on the ship. We bought cheaper items in the city center. Also bought some homemade candy and other little items there.

[Drifting Happily]

515kitty-

We found great souvenirs in Helsinki. Market Square is right on the harbor and had food and refined crafts. There's a great top-end craft market with 20 individual boutiques on the street between Market Square and the Lutheran Cathedral called Kiseleffin Talo. We also found many great stores with unique design items (linens, pottery) in the shops along the Esplanade. And, of course, there's Stockmann department store, and Marimekko for great design.

[LindaandJeff]

lisacollie -

Did you see any signs of anyone ill on your cruise? I'm sure you saw the other threads about swine on the Emerald. But since you didn't mention anything in your review, I thought maybe it was just rumors. (I am hoping anyway since our cruise is rapidly approaching:eek:) Thanks!

[sunshine nana]

We reserved Gdansk on your own, but now I'm wondering if that is too much time? if a guided tour would have been better? or if we should also go to Sopot? Can you give any guidance? Thanks

[Embracedbylife]

Linda and Jeff - No signs of swine flu on our cruise. I did notice they were not pushing the sanitizers though like they had done before. Noone was at the entrance telling us to use it but we always did.

 

Sunshine, I think if you like to shop you'll find the 4 hours to be ok. There is also a museum and other things to see. We took a break for lunch and beer in the square and then coffee later on, but we didn't do as much shopping as most people might. Our tour bus drove through Sopot, but didn't stop. THe only thing I wish we had of seen was the long narrow church on the way to Gdansk, but the bus didn't have time to stop because of traffic heading back.

[LindaandJeff]

Linda and Jeff - No signs of swine flu on our cruise. I did notice they were not pushing the sanitizers though like they had done before. Noone was at the entrance telling us to use it but we always did.

.

 

Thanks! That's good news...

[bgelb]

Sounds like you had a great trip. Quick question re: St Petersburg. I am going with SPC and have heard such differences as to how to handle getting off the ship. Some say get off as soon as the ship is cleared by immigration; that the cruise line tries to keep those with private tours on the ship last. Some say to get on the lines with the ships tours, and the same for the immigration lines. Any feedback? We certainly don't want to be late for our tour. Thanks so much.

[Embracedbylife]

We booked our tour for 10am to avoid the stress of getting off the ship. I can assure you that on our cruise many people were up at 4am and crammed in the buffet ready to get off! They didn't tell us to meet in any particular place if we were doing an independent tour. They did give us a paper along with an immigration form the nghth before that said if you were on your own tour to bring your ticket, immigration form they gave us and our passports to the purser's desk the night before- which I did, and at which they said, no problem and didn't do anything with it, just said to keep it for when we got off the next day. They did tell those with princess tours to meet in designated areas then led them down the gangways when they were ready. The lines for the exits were not split up for princess/non princess tours. The immigration was only two lines also - one coming from the front gangway and the other from the aft gangway. So it seemed you could just get in line behind those in the tour line.

 

We got up around 7:30am that morning and there were hoards of people lined up to get off the ship. I heard an announcement that was thanking everyone for their patience and they were getting people off as quick as possible, but that most were waiting a long time. (not sure what time immigration actually opened!!). If you are gung ho to be off first you will want to find out what time the first ship's tour is scheduled to leave and then plan to be on the gangway stairs before them or just get into the line with them and leave the ship if you can do this. Even if the ship is docked at 5am you may wait until 7am if immigration isn't ready for you.

 

At 8:30am we had a nice quiet breakfast in divinci dining room and saw tons of people on the aft gangway on deck 7 who were waiting in line to get off down on deck 4 or 5. They had 2 gangways open - one at the front, and one at the back by divinci.

 

So by 9:30am we finished our breakfast and the line by DiVinci dining room was still around deck 6. It was a line of people on a princess tour. We got our things and got in that line around 9:50am. We were down the stairs within 10 min's and then slowly went through the gangway exit and stayed in line on the port for another 15 min's till we cleared and met our guide at 10:26am. The people in front of us were suppose to start their princess tour at 8am. They were up early and in the theatre at 7:45am!! There were little people behind us, and i'm glad we slept in. But that was just our preference! I can only hope you could get off at 7am with the other tours - it would only make sense.

[Embracedbylife]

here's a photo of the lines at 7:30am....