Viking Homelands - Scenic Berlin or Historic Berlin Excursion?

After much thought we've decided to go to Berlin instead of our original plan of staying at the port of Warnemunde and touring around there. I've read a couple of posts that mentioned they would have taken the Scenic Berlin tour instead of the included Berlin excursion because of feeling kind of lost in the few hours of free time the included tour allows. Has anyone taken the Scenic Berlin tour? This is the one that has a cruise and lunch on the Spree River in addition to a bus tour of the city. The other option we're considering is the Historic Berlin tour, which seems to visit more places; has anyone taken that one? It seems Scenic Berlin offers the opportunity to see a lot but very little feet on the ground touring and Historic Berlin offers visiting a few key sites but not get as grand an overview of the city. Can you let me know of your experiences with either of these excursions?

We took the Historic Berlin about a week or so ago. We had zero regrets. Enjoyed it very much.

We took the Historic Berlin about a week or so ago. We had zero regrets. Enjoyed it very much.

Did you spend a lot of time on the bus and/or did you get off to see some of the sites? Did you have any free time? Thanks!

We did not have free time per se. They definitely tried to get the sights in over shopping. Personally, I felt it wasn't heavy bus. We did get off. All the ports started to run together so don't ask me exactly what we saw, LOL.

After thinking about it, we did have about 30-45 minutes free time. I just went through my pictures because I second guessed myself.

Holly, we loved staying in Warnemunde. There was an included tour to Rostock which was really good! Nice walking tour, great guide..then we walked around Warnemunde and the beach afterward. We just didn't want to spend all that time getting to and from Berlin...plus...we enjoy the small towns! A lot more history that we didn't know about in Rostock...but the folks on our cruise that went to Berlin did enjoy it (except that there was a problem with the train that delayed things several hours from what I understand..they didn't get back until really late)

Thanks to both of you for the info. Stretchcruz, we decided that if we missed Berlin we might never get to it and this is our only opportunity to at least get a quick overview of the city. Believe me, I'm not looking forward to the long ride to get there and back! We did the Viking River Cruise in Eastern Europe last fall and we found some of the excursions to be a bit grueling because some ports were not developed and we spent a lot of time on a bus to get to the sites. Then we had 4 bus-fulls of people taking turns at each stop and eating lunch all together at one big place. JiminyC, we're leaning towards Scenic Berlin because that may be more relaxing. I'm hoping to hear from someone who's taken it. Thanks again!

I've not done either of these tours but I know Berlin extremely well. In my opinion, Berlin is not a "scenic" city in the same way Vienna, Prague or Budapest are, but it is historic and I would probably recommend any tour that visits the main historic sights such as Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden, Gendarmenmarkt, Checkpoint Charlie, Reichstag, Tiergarten, Alexanderplatz, Kurfürstendamm, Gedächtniskirche, Museuminsel, Charlottenburg, etc.

For those of you who decide not to make the arduous trip to Berlin, Warnemünde is a pretty seaside resort, but for the cost a €6 train ticket, Rostock is just 20 minutes away and awash with history. Trains run every 15 minutes or so and it's more than possible to combine Rostock with Warnemünde and still be back on the ship in time for dinner. My wife and I did a Baltic cruise with HAL last year and took quite a few photos of both Rostock and Warnemünde (they appear just after Copenhagen in the album) if you're interested.

Have just booked an excursion to Berlin with TJ Travel for a very reasonable price. They get great reviews on Trip Advisor and even though the description of the Berlin excursion says it starts from Warnemunde I have been assured that starting from Rostock will not be a problem. They have been very helpful and responsive to deal with. Even though I am not excited about long bus rides Berlin is worth seeing IMO

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For those of you who decide not to make the arduous trip to Berlin, Warnemünde is a pretty seaside resort, but for the cost a €6 train ticket, Rostock is just 20 minutes away and awash with history. Trains run every 15 minutes or so and it's more than possible to combine Rostock with Warnemünde and still be back on the ship in time for dinner. My wife and I did a Baltic cruise with HAL last year and took quite a few photos of both Rostock and Warnemünde (they appear just after Copenhagen in the album) if you're interested.

Jimgri,

I am traveling with my elderly parents and have a concern about going into Berlin with the LONG train ride and the tour being pretty demanding. Where does the ship dock on this day? We are definitely interested in doing the Rostock and Warnemünde trip. Do you purchase the train ticket at the station? These questions may seem a bit silly, but I am not a real seasoned traveler without planned tours and excursions.

On our cruise on the Sky last month there was an included tour of Rostock that was added maybe a month before we left. It was very good and when we got back we wandered around Warnemunde.

The Viking included tour to Berlin from our Viking Sky cruise was a chartered train trip with a panoramic bus tour. During our free time, we had booked an electric rickshaw and very much enjoyed this private tour of the highlights.

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mimk3

I can't say for certain where Viking will dock in Warnemünde - it depends on the sailing - but if you follow this link it will tell you which berth the ship is due to tie up at, eg P1, P2 etc. This next link will bring up a map which, if you expand it, will show the berth numbers and the station which is marked with a little train symbol. As you can see, the station is very close, but the walk takes about 10 minutes by the time you have exited the secure area. Once at Rostock Hauptbahnhof (main station), you can either catch tram 5 or 6 (they stop a floor or two underneath the train station) or get a taxi to the town centre. The latter will drop you in the heart of the old town whereas the tram will necessitate a walk along level ground (Kröpeliner Strasse) from Neuer Markt to the Tourist Information Centre. And yes, you purchase train tickets at the station (unless the ship is also selling train tickets). I hope this helps.

mimk3

This may give you a better idea of where the ships dock in relation to the town in Warnemünde.

The Viking included tour to Berlin from our Viking Sky cruise was a chartered train trip with a panoramic bus tour. During our free time, we had booked an electric rickshaw and very much enjoyed this private tour of the highlights.

 

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Hi Granny

Can you tell me more about the electric rickshaw? How did you book it? Did they take you on a tour? Did you choose where to go?

Thanks

We used the company 3tx dreiradtaxi on the recommendation of another passenger. We had an open rickshaw with just the roof but it was okay on the chilly day with the lap blanket we were provided. We booked in advance online/email and had the meeting point at Gendarmenmarkt at the Viking drop off/pick up location. We told the driver/guide what we had seen on the bus and pretty much left it up to him to choose the sights. It was our first visit to Berlin.

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We used the company 3tx dreiradtaxi on the recommendation of another passenger. We had an open rickshaw with just the roof but it was okay on the chilly day with the lap blanket we were provided. We booked in advance online/email and had the meeting point at Gendarmenmarkt at the Viking drop off/pick up location. We told the driver/guide what we had seen on the bus and pretty much left it up to him to choose the sights. It was our first visit to Berlin.

 

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Thanks so much Granny27. Viking is a bit vague about timing. How did you calculate what time to book the tour? Our tour starts at 8:15 on the train.

Thanks again!

mimk3

I can't say for certain where Viking will dock in Warnemünde - it depends on the sailing - but if you follow this link it will tell you which berth the ship is due to tie up at, eg P1, P2 etc. This next link will bring up a map which, if you expand it, will show the berth numbers and the station which is marked with a little train symbol. As you can see, the station is very close, but the walk takes about 10 minutes by the time you have exited the secure area. Once at Rostock Hauptbahnhof (main station), you can either catch tram 5 or 6 (they stop a floor or two underneath the train station) or get a taxi to the town centre. The latter will drop you in the heart of the old town whereas the tram will necessitate a walk along level ground (Kröpeliner Strasse) from Neuer Markt to the Tourist Information Centre. And yes, you purchase train tickets at the station (unless the ship is also selling train tickets). I hope this helps.

Jimgri,

Thank you so much. This is a great help.

I had written to Viking in advance to get an idea of the timing in Berlin because we were not sure what to plan. Here is what they said: "The tour starts at 7:00 a.m., and it will take around 3-3.5 hours to arrive in Berlin. Then you’ll meet with the local guide and will have 1.5 hour of panoramic drive. After that, you’ll be dropped off for your free time, which is about 4 hours. The drop off/pick up location is Gendarmenmarkt. You’ll be picked up from the same location for your transfer back to the ship." From that and additional information from the Explorer Desk we scheduled our tour to allow us an hour and a half for lunch. As it turned out, the train was delayed because of a mechanical issue, so we went directly to meet our rickshaw. Viking extended the departure time to match the delay and so we didn't miss out on our time in Berlin.

The train on Barcelona the Baltics and Beyond was also delayed. They got back very late.

For the September 9 Homelands cruise the ship is docking in Rostock

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The train on Barcelona the Baltics and Beyond was also delayed. They got back very late.

This is the one we were on!

For the September 9 Homelands cruise the ship is docking in Rostock

That may make things a little more complicated. Whilst ships usually dock at the cruise terminal piers close to the railway station in Warnemünde, on busy days they may dock instead at the main commercial piers of Rostock (Seehafen), which aren't actually in Rostock but the other side of the river!

Jimgri - what complications do you anticipate?

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Jimgri - what complications do you anticipate?

Maybe complications is too strong. Because the ship will be the other side of the river, you won't have such easy access to Warnemünde and the station. This won't be a problem if a shuttle is provided – it might be worth checking with Viking – or a ferry is available. I believe there is also a bus from Rostock Seehafen to Rostock.

BTW, I've just had a look at the port arrivals and departures web page and it states that Viking Star will be docking at the Warnemünde cruise terminal, berth P7, on the 17th September. My guess is this is correct as Viking Star is the only ship in port that day (according to cruisetimetables.com). I think the problem arises as cruise companies tend to use Warnemünde/Rostock/Berlin interchangeably.