Ultima Thule

Is the 17-minute film a useful introduction or is there too much overlap with the information in the recorded or live tour?

 

Are the 11:30/1:30/3:30 English language tours worthwhile? How large a group do these tours tend to attract?

In my experience the groups use to be something between 10 and 25 persons.

Having visited the museum several times and having tried both Swedish and English tours I wouldn't say that the film and the tour overlap too much. The quality of the guided tour of course depends on the guide. A long time ago back in the old Vasa museum I once had very nice and informative guide, and on later visits the guided tours have never again really reached her high standard. I guess the guides also changes the content of the tour a bit too according to the what audience the have (adults or children etc.)

Of course while while both the film and the tours are nice, there really isn't anything there that you cannot find out yourself if you spend an hour or so on YouTube (of course you can listed to the MP3 recordings at home as well). So with a bit of research and preparation at home you can save the time on the museum.

 

We found 4 well-reviewed hotels with comparable-sized rooms (~25 sq meters) at comparable, reasonable prices (~$175), but there all in different neighborhoods. Where do you think is the best place to stay? Here's what we're debating:

I'm adding a few of my thoughts (I'm from Finland but I have visited Stockholm many many times).

Miss Clara, in Vasastaden

Not a bad location, just north of the commercial center and close to a subway station. Two blocks down to Hötorget that opens up to Drottninggatan, the major pedestrian street. Hotel is on a major street so traffic noice might be a problem?

Radisson Blu Waterfront, Norrmalm

Centrally located in the modern blocks surrounding the railway station. (Personally I don't like the concrete/glass jungle there but that's a matter of taste). Certainly the most modern hotel of the four. Just walk over the viaduct and you are in the city commercial center. A bit away from the subway but buses are passing nearby.

Mornington Stockholm City, Östermalm

A bit on the side from the main streets up on a hill in what considered to be a upper class neighbourhood. Guess it might be the quietest of the four options? A subway station entrance is just about a block away (even if it is not shown at the Google maps for some reason). Not far from Stureplan with the most exclusive shops and restaurants of the city.

Rival Hotel, Södermalm

In a former lower class neihbourhood that recently have become popular. The problem here is the rather messy Slussen road junction separates the district from the rest of the city so using the subway is really a MUST. Luckly there is a subway stop nearby.

You can also buy 2,3 and 5 day versions of this ticket.

Are those still available or have they been removed for 2015? I checked BVG's homepage and was unable to find them. There are one-day and 7 day tickets but the only 2,3 and 5 day tickets were the Welcome Card and City Tour Card options that includes museums etc.

I visited Potsdam last summer, and walked from the train station through the city and the park all the way to the New Palace and back (12 km in total) in hot weather, so I can tell you using a bus is not a bad idea :D even if it is "only" 3 km from the station to Sanssouci Palace.

The problem is that bus 695 only depart every 20 minutes, but on weekends and public holidays an additional bus X15 between the station and Sanssouci Palace, so that together a bus depart every 10 minutes.

If you have a valid day ticket (it has to be validated first time you use it) the train itself is a piece of cake. You just locate the correct platform and jump on when the train comes and take a seat. No barriers or need to show the ticket anywhere.

It seems however that there always are a lot of track repair and special traffic arrangements going on in Berlin during the summers. For example, last summer it was s-bahn #1 went to Potsdam instead of #7, and the s-bahn was closed between Friedrichstrasse and Alexanderplatz. So, if possible, try to check things out on http://www.bvg.de/en/ and http://www.s-bahn-berlin.de/ just before your trip.

Do any of the other ports require Visas if we want to tour on our own?

Assuming you are a U.S. citizen, the answer is no.

See also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_United_States_citizens

you can buy a tram ticket from a ticket machine. Don't know exactly what credit cards are accepted.

I checked out a ticket machine. You need to have a credit card with a chip.

So if you really don't want to use cash and don't have a chip card, I recommend you visit the public transport (HSL) info point. Don't know exactly where the shuttle bus will stop in downtown but it should not be more than 2 or 3 blocks away. Go to the railway station, enter the covered escalator entrance in the southwest street corner in front of the railway station (not the one next to the station building but the one closer to the street corner) The HSL info point is immediately at the bottom of the escalator on the right side next to the flower shop.

Escalator entrance looks like this:

https://maps.google.fi/maps?hl=sv&ll=60.170635,24.940204&spn=0.002532,0.008256&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=60.170471,24.940278&panoid=p4R5hqp5nLMxaMkPfN2bfA&cbp=12,11.47,,0,8.89

The Green and Red buses are different from the tram, isn't it?

Yes, the ho-ho buses are run by private companies while the tram is a normal part of the public transport net.

How and where do I buy the tram tickets, does it need to be done in advance, can I pay by credit card?

You can buy a ticket from the tram driver, 3 euro, cash only, 20 euro bills or smaller accepted.

Or you can buy a tram ticket (not accepted on buses or subway) from a ticket machine or a kiosk for 2.20 euro, or buy a one day ticket (tram, bus, subway) for 8 euro. Don't know exactly what credit cards are accepted.

Sales points.

https://www.hsl.fi/en/tickets-and-fares/sales-points

Helsinki taxi fares can be found here:

http://www.taksihelsinki.fi/en/node/205

(If someone get confused if you ask for the "Rock Church", try "Temple Church" instead.)

Have you tried here?:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/regions/baltics-cruises/

Ukalady, as Desdichado says, there will hardly be any problem with the language.

But DO take care to take a decent taxi as Swedish taxi prices are not regulated. All taxis have a yellow decal at the rear door window with lots of small text/numbers and one comparison price in big bold letters . For a decent taxi that price should be somewhere around 325 kr. If that number is much higher, don't step into that taxi!

See this link for a sample who the decal looks like (top, to the right):

http://www.taxistockholm.se/en/Fare-and-payment/

In Helsinki and Tallinn you do not need any shuttle buses.

Caribbean Princess on July 3rd will dock at Helsinki West Harbour (Hernesaari), Quay LHC (#1 on this map: )

http://www.portofhelsinki.fi/passengers/international_cruise

From there it is quite a bit to go (2 miles) to town center so in this case there will be shuttle buses and its recommended you use them (unless you prefer a hop-on-hop-off bus or local buses).

The odds are that the weather will be fine most of the days so there is no reason to get worried.

During the trip, you might try to find out the weather a bit in advance.

If you have access to the Net during the trip you could check out the local sea weather reports:

http://www.smhi.se/en/weather/sweden-weather/sea-weather

http://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/weather-and-sea

Of course it depends on you, the ship itself and wind direction relative to the ship but even if you are prone to sea sickness, on a ship that size you should hardly be able to notice unpleasant motions in winds below, say 8 m/s.

If stronger winds are expected, be a bit cautious what you put in your stomach and consider using some remedies.

I have had very good experience with Meclizine (it's sold as "Postafen" in Europe and I think it called "Dramamine" across the Atlantic.)

The location is ideal apart from the fact it is next to Wallmans' nightclub.

Do we need visa anywhere except Russia?

Assuming you are an U.S. citizen the answer is no.

Getting visa for Russia is however quite troublesome and expensive.

Its highly recommended that for St. Petersburg you either sign up for a tour organised by the cruise line or for a tour organised by an authorised local tour company. They will take care of all the paper work for you. There are a lot of information about the tour options here on this forum. Use the "search" function.

Can anyone tell me where I can find where we will dock in each port?

The table for Helsinki is here:

http://www.portofhelsinki.fi/passengers/expected_cruise_ships

 

Helsinki: Here is the link to the free audio guide that we used for the tram:

http://www.dewhurstdesigns.co.uk/helsinki/tips.html

Note, there is no tram 3T anymore, Its now tram 2 , changing to #3 and back to #2 during the route. Also note that the route has been changed a bit, the trams now passing the railway station instead of the Stockmann department store.

So to follow the audio guide you should step on tram 2 going North at the market.

So you should use this tram stop.

https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=60.167703,24.952939&spn=0.001266,0.004128&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=60.167791,24.952347&panoid=7vSUJv9cQxENd3v9r3b_Yg&cbp=12,189.66,,0,0.97

You can see another tram stop to the right of the tram on the picture but that one is for tram 2 going South. Don't take that one if you want to use the audio guide.

I'll be sailing on the Silhouette next summer' date=' and will like to know if Celebrity offers a shuttle to Downtown Helsinki.[/quote']

 

That would be Celebrity Silhuette I understand, and because if the size of the ship it means it will have to dock either at West Harbour or Hernesaari, quays LHC, LHB, LH7 or LMA.

 

Map:

http://www.portofhelsinki.fi/passengers/international_cruise

 

From what I have seen, shuttle bus service is always provided for cruise ships from those docks to downtown and back. I think it is some private company that handle it for the cruise lines. I cannot say exactly where in downtown the buses will stop next year but it will be somewhere near the west end of Esplanade park, indicated as "Main Shopping Area" on the map mentioned above.

On the travel card how much is a bus ride, subway ride and a ferry ride so I know how much to put on it. Do you do this at the airport.

A few words about the Stockholm travel card system.

When the current system with loadable cards (known as Access cards) were introduced in 2008 the cards themselves were free. That meant that people did not take care of their cards but lost them and asked for new ones again and again. So SL started to take 20 kronor for the cards. But that was very unfair for tourists, who for example, for a 24 hour ticket had to buy a 20 Kronor card which they would never use again. So nowadays there is a non-cost non-loadable card variant for 24 hours and 72 hours tickets. Like Desdichado62 I highly recommend to use those. A 24 hour ticket is 115 kr and a 72 hours 230 kr while a single trip is 36 kr I think. So a 24 hour ticket pay itself back after 3 trips and a 72 hour ticket after 6 trips.

My husband and I will be in Helsinki on May 30,2015. This is our first and last trip to Helsinki and we certainly want to see as much as possible. So rather then trying to find things on our own we prefer a small tour--any suggestions would be appreciated. We don't want tours that do just drive by's to sights we would like to get out and spend time seeing.

There are the hop on - hop off bus tours of course:

Green line:

http://www.stromma.fi/en/helsinki/sightseeing/sightseeing-by-bus/hop-on-hop-off/

Red line:

http://www.citytour.fi/articles/441/

Both lines will adapt their routes to i where the cruise ships dock that day.

We will also be in Tallinn, Estonia on June 2nd,2015 from 8 am till 5 pm and again would appreciate suggestions on tours with pick up and drop off at the ship that are dependable and reasonable in price. Are there private taxi's that do such tours or tour groups. One's that combine walking and driving.

The problem with Tallinn is that old town is a labyrinth of narrow streets and not very car friendly. A recommended way to do is taking a taxi to the Alexander Nevski cathedral at the top of the hill and then walk down. Its about 400 yards to the townhall and another 400 yards to the old town border where it should possible to get a taxi back to the ship.

My assumption would be that you would be much worse off if there were a lot of ships in Stockholm at the same time (the Vasa gets very crowded), or in Tallinn since everyone is in a relatively small historic area and it is harder to appreciate the town's medieval beauty when it is really crowded.

That's correct. The tourists will be more spread out in Helsinki with no specific place that is "a must" like "Vasa" in Stockholm that creates long queues. The ferry to the fortress might be a problem on sunny summer days but I think in this case there is no time for visiting the fortress anyway. Also the rock church might be crowdy now and then but should rather be a bit inconvenient than a major problem. I do recommend a shuttle bus to and from the ship to downtown if you are on one of the larger ships.

What time does is sunrise and sunset by end of May?

May 25 2015: Sunrise at 3:53 am, sunset at 9:35 pm

May 27 2015: Sunrise at 3:50 am, sunset at 9:39 pm

Temperature for late May is TOTALLY unpredictable.

Prior to arrival purchase tickets to Vasa and Nordiska Museums

As far as I know it is not possible to buy advance tickets for Vasa.

We had an overnight stay in Stockholm so bought a 24 hour travel card. We used them on the buses, tram and ferry boats. They were good value for money, but can't remember how much we paid.

A 24 hour travel card costs 115 kronor (about $16 ).

There is no common security queue at Tegel but C-terminal has its own check in and security as does the D-terminal, and as I understand it every gate in the A terminal has its own check-in, security, little waiting hall and tax free.

http://www.berlin-airport.de/en/travellers-txl/at-the-airport/airport-map/index.php

Looks like Air Berlin is using mostly the C terminal.

Here is a map:

http://www.berlin-airport.de/en/travellers-txl/at-the-airport/airport-map/index.php

Tomorrow for example AB7421 from Chicago will arrive 7:00 at gate C55 and during the next days AB8102 to Stockholm will depart at 8.20 from either gate C66 or C83.

I'm not familiar with the C terminal myself, but even if you need to exit and enter again it should be very short distances.

We have only a short day in Helsinki (7:00-4:00) and we would like to visit the fortress as well as take the tram tour and visit the three churches. Is this doable? How long is the entire tram loop if we start and return at Market Square without getting off? (We will probably get off at the Church of the Rock and walk around for a bit before getting another tram back, but it's helpful to know the total time just for the tram.) What time in the morning do the ferries out to the fortress start to run? If we go to the fortress first (since the churches don't open until later), what time would we need to get back to Market Square to do the tram tour and see the 3 churches without feeling rushed in getting back to the ship by 3:30? Thanks!

The first ferry to the fortress starts as early as 6.20 a.m. (its not just a museum, there are people living on the islands).

The entire tram loop (tram #2 + #3) takes about an hour. The tram trip from the Market Square to the rock church (tram #2, exit at "kauppakorkeakoulut") is according to the time table about 11 minutes.