winniewinnie

I booked a submersible tour that leaves from the Green Pleasure Pier. How far is this from the location the Carnival tender drops off?

Hello Anni or any cruiser who has bought train tickets from Kiel to Lubeck ONLINE:

 

I went to the DB and Rail Europe sites, both cannot complete the transaction successfully.

 

Is on line purchase still available for this route? Or did I go to the wrong site.

 

Any help will be appreciated.

I purchased on the DB website but it was a year ago. I followed Anni's excellent instructions.

Ditto the above. We took the train to Lubeck. Thank you TravelAnni for the great advice! A cab from the dock to the train was 10 euro. I downloaded a free audio guide onto my iPhone. I believe 3 train tickets were about 40 euro. I don't know if we missed something but our tickets never even got checked. The best part was we got an earlier start than the cruise's tours and arrived into Lubeck before it got swamped with tourists. We got to enjoy the quiet beauty and peacefulness that is Lubeck without any crowds for about two hours. We were so happy to not be with a group of 50.

 

Go it alone. It's easy and much more enjoyable. Happy cruising.

Oh and we can't convers in French Spanish or German. We did just fine.

Ditto the above. We took the train to Lubeck. Thank you TravelAnni for the great advice! A cab from the dock to the train was 10 euro. I downloaded a free audio guide onto my iPhone. I believe 3 train tickets were about 40 euro. I don't know if we missed something but our tickets never even got checked. The best part was we got an earlier start than the cruise's tours and arrived into Lubeck before it got swamped with tourists. We got to enjoy the quiet beauty and peacefulness that is Lubeck without any crowds for about two hours. We were so happy to not be with a group of 50.

Go it alone. It's easy and much more enjoyable. Happy cruising.

February 20 2014

 

Has anyone used Alla tours for a 2 day group shore excursion in St Petersburg before please and are they a good company to use ?

My family took a 2 day tour of SPB in June with Alla, and Dmitry was hands down the best guide I've ever had. He was brilliant, personable, entertaining and organized. We particularly loved his understated sense of humor. He kept 16 people on track and on schedule. The process was smooth from beginning to end. I recommend them to everyone I know.

After reading the other thread thoroughly, we took Danish Viking's advice to catch the 25 at Norreport to make sure we got a seat, and it turned out to be great advice! Had we taken the 26 to Osterport Slofjen to catch the 27 as planned, we would've had to queue with half the cruise ship's passengers! Instead, we got on at 25's first stop and got seats, though we offered these seats to some elderly passengers at Slofjen, but what are you gonna do...

Anyway, I did take the 26/27 route later in the cruise during our overnight in Copenhagen. The 25 runs only until 4pm but the 2 until 7pm.

I'm the OP and wanted to report back from our cruise. Getting a taxi at 830am on a Thursday was a massive problem. This even after we called ahead for a taxi the day before. As of 840, it had not arrived. Neither had the taxis for 2 other parties. There just weren't enough taxis arriving, as the taxi line had grown quite long. At that point, we decided to take the bus. As we arrived at the bus stop, which was very close by, we saw a taxi drop off a passenger across the street, at which point, we hailed it. The driver told us traffic is bad in the city center, and since Oceankaj is far out, it wasn't worth it for taxis to make the drive out. We considered ourselves lucky, but the bus was a good backup plan. We passed Norreport on the way to the airport, and it was a quick drive to the metro had we needed to go through with plan B.

Hi Anni,

Thank you for clarifying! Instead of buying the Lander ticket, could I buy a collective ticket to include the tram in Rostock, or would that not cover the return train from Rostock to Warnemunde?

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction and for your time in responding with such detail! Exactly what I was looking for!

I will be making a port of call in Warnemunde on a weekday and would like to visit Schwerin and Rostock by train with a party of 3. This is what I'm thinking...

Buy a single ticket from Warnemunde to Rostock before 9am.

Buy a Lander ticket from Rostock to Schwerin for 9:07 train.

Take return train at 13:53 to Rostock. Take the tram into town using the single ticket from that morning.

Use Lander ticket to return to Warnemunde.

Would that work or is there a better way?

Is it better to get off at Schwerin Hbf or Mitte? Looking for shortest but most interesting walk to castle.

Thanks!

A lot of older threads say bus 26 goes to the pier.

However, when I use the transit planner at http://www.rejseplanen.dk/, I am advised to take 26 to Osterport station and transfer to 25 or 27. I'm confused whether these other buses also go to Oceankaj, as well as whether 26 still goes to Oceankaj if I am being advised to transfer. I arrive on a Saturday, if that makes a difference, and am staying at a hotel near the main train station. Is this information accurate?

Thanks for such detailed instructions! We're planning to take the bus in on embarkation day so I'm glad to hear the stop is so close. I hadn't taken into account rush hour traffic when we leave. :/

I was also in a group of three that debarked at Oceankaj just last Sunday, took the bus, and went to the airport. We didn't face weekday morning rush hour traffic like you will, but did have the extra interference of that day's Copenhagen Marathon that shut down the city centre.

 

We were the second or third group of passengers picked up by the bus after 8 AM. There weren't much more than a dozen people waiting each time, although those numbers may have picked up later on.

 

If you're berthed where we were, you just cross the street from where you exit the ship / luggage terminal, down the only road leading in or out of the area. With the ship behind you, you'll see the UNICEF building on your left (with the inbound bus stop that we originally arrived at), and the convenience store shack on your right (with the outbound bus stop you want). All of this is just steps away.

 

If you buy your tickets from the shop, they'll give you two, 2-zone tickets (48 kr) -- not a single three-zone ticket (36 kr), as recommended over in the Wonderful Copenhagen thread. You will need to present them together to the bus driver or train/metro conductor, to show you paid for (more than) enough zones to cover your journey.

 

Once you're on the bus, it's pretty straightforward -- I think the one we took just loops to Norreport station. Take the elevator up to the tracks, and go a couple of stops to Central station. Then you can switch to a train or metro line to the airport, depending on what you spot first and are more comfortable with (we took the metro, M1 to "Lufthavn").

Thanks for the info! Do you know how much the ship transfer costs? Their office is closEd at the moment.

For a noon flight you will need to leave Oceankaj not much later than 9.15, arriving at 10am. The line for the taxis will be long. Our two previous waits have been just around own hour, but we needed a station car for four people, rather than a taxi for two/three.

 

This year, I'm two weeks we are using a ship's transfer A so much easier I hope.

 

Don't do the train thing - the traffic will be worse from the Oceankaj to the Station than from the city to the airport.

 

Taxis fare will be around 400DKK. You can use credit card but tell the driver when you get in the vehicle.

I'm on the Eurodam disembarking at 6am on Thursday June 25. My flight is at noon. Our ship actually arrives the previous morning. It looks like the Brilliance of the Seas is making a port of call at Langelinie that morning.

I'm seeking current info about transfer options. There will be 3 of us with 3 pieces of luggage total.

I am thinking of taking a taxi to the airport. What time should I aim to leave the ship? How long are the queues?

Is the bus a comfortable walking distance? How long are those queues?

Will I be saving much money by taxi-ing to the train station and taking the train to the airport?

What are other options for transfers?

Has anyone reserved a taxi ahead of time? How does that work?

Thanks in advance!

Thanks, TravelAnni!

One last question: if I purchase train tix online, how do I receive them? Email, snail mail, digital tix, some other way?

Hi Winnie, The simple answer to all your questions is, Yes!

- The train schedule has not changed and is valid 7 days a week.

- Your ticket is valid from 3am on the weekend.

- On-line purchase is simple and, as you say, avoids the worry of whether or not your card will work in the machine. The ticket prices have risen a little since last year, around 1€ per person more.

 

Happy cruising :)

Anni

http://www.travelanni.webs.com

Weather looks like it may be wet in June. Do people wear ponchos in the northern capitals or will i look like a total dork? Trying to pack light here. :D

Hi TravelAnni,

Thank you for pointing me in this direction from another thread. I will be in Kiel on Sunday, June 14, 2015 from 0700 to 1700.

-Does the train schedule you outlined previously in this thread still apply?

-Since we are traveling on a weekend, we only need to purchase a day ticket which should cover us before 0900, correct?

-Should we purchase our ticket ahead of time online or wait until we arrive at the station? I'm from the US and a little nervous about purchasing tickets from a machine using my credit card which may or may not have the right chip required in Europe.

Thank you again!

Winnie

I just finished reading this thread and learned so much. I have already booked my HAL cruise and was assigned a Mariner number. I just learned through this thread that I already have credit from my previous Carnival sailing. How can I get this added to my Mariner account?

We are going from Kiel to Hamburg and decided Hamburg was too busy to drive into. From what I have read (from Travelani here) going to Lubeck (from Kiel) and Schwerin (from Warnemunde) should be an easy drive. These are on smaller roads.

 

We are renting from Sixt in Warnemunde. They have a desk in the cruise terminal. They also have desk in the Kiel Terminal. It is not open all year so you should check to see if it is open when you need it. Other vendors also have desks in the terminal but I am not sure which ones. They are open in the morning and you drop the keys in when you return. There are more choices in Kiel at the train station and other locations but you need to get there and back.

 

I have used Sixt in Europe several times and been pleased with the cars and their service. Hopefully you can drive a manual. It saves money and give a much wider car selection. A BMW 1 in Warnemunde for the day is around $100.

 

I don't depend on my phone for directions while driving because sometimes you can't get a good data signal for the maps. I get a GPS in the car. Sixt charges about Euro 8 for a GPS. Well worth it. My phone is the backup method.

 

Hope that helps....

Thank you! Super helpful!

First, should we? Our plan is to drive from Kiel to Lubeck, and from Warnemunde to Schwerin. Is the drive much more scenic than the train ride? How is the drive (speed, traffic, road conditions)? Used to driving in California and DC, if you can make a comparison.

Second, what are the best and most convenient agencies to rent from? What is the typical cost?

Third, will my cell phone provide good GPS guidance through my map app? I am told I can use international data for free on this trip.

Thanks!

FYI, I found the Lair Bear tour, and a bunch of others, on Pinterest, just search Walking Tours Tallinn. On there is also the Rick Steves walking tour. I have made myself a "Cruising" board and am saving all this stuff there. Before we leave, I will print out or download to my device all the docs so that I am not needing internet when overseas.

Hi! Would you mind sharing your board?

Thank you for your reply, Anni!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like Wismar is similar to Lubeck. Which do you recommend visiting if we could choose only one?

Perhaps it makes most sense to visit Schwerin from Warnemunde, and Lubeck from Kiel?

I've read a lot of recs here for Lubeck, Wismar, and Schwerin. I don't plan to trek to Berlin from Warneumunde. Would it be better access to Lubeck from Kiel or forgo Lubeck and go directly to Hamburg? I am open to anything, so throw me your recs, please!

I wonder if this means that those tours will then offer lower prices for other nationalities who aren't perceived to be as rich as Americans.

 

If there's a tour group that's targeting Chinese tourists, I wonder if they charge the same price for the same 'typical' two day tour that Alla or SPB offer?

That's funny you make the comparison with Chinese tourists. The ones who travel internationally are way more wealthy than Americans!

This tour sounds marvelous, but is sold out for the day were in Warnemeunde. Is there an operator who does something similar?