wadswatcher

Hi all, We are off on a Baltic cruise this year and we’re wonder if it’s best to book P&O excursions or diy? Is it a long way into the centre from the cruise terminal etc etc. What are best excursions in people’s experiences. Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks in advance

We used SPBTours and they were outstanding. We had tours with them in all the ports. Small groups, headsets, and priced way below the cruise line prices. They are highly recommended

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My friend and I are looking to do a cruise to the Baltics in the summer of 2019. We would want to go for probably around 10-14 days, although one of the itineraries I'm looking at is only 9 days but I think we would add stays at both ends for that one. I've only done one cruise to the Caribbean many years ago with my mom and my kids when my boys were in HS (they are now adults), although I will be doing a river cruise late this year also. I have been to Europe several times although not to any of these ports (other than London orAmsterdam) but my friend has never been to Europe although she has traveled out of the US with me before. My friend are I are not quite 50. I have looked at most of the major lines - NCL, Royal, Celebrity, HAL, Princess plus some of the premium plus lines like Azamara and Oceania although I think we would need to stick with an inside on those. We are trying to find cruises with longer port times, and an overnight at a minimum in St. Petersburg is a must. I'm going to try posting my questions first and then the different itineraries we are looking at for feedback:

 

 

 

1. For Stockholm, I was trying to avoid itineraries that docked at Nynashamn as I thought it would be better to dock at Stockholm from what I read. Is that correct?

 

2. The Regal Princess itinerary was also available departing fromCopenhagen with a stop for Berlin (Warnemunde) but I thought departing from Warnemunde might be better so we could have time to see Berlin before or after our cruise and not spend a very rushed day getting to and from Berlin?

 

3. The size of the ships I’m looking at vary a lot from the small Azamara Journey to the mid-size Sapphire Princess and Celebrity Silhouette to the large Regal Princess. I’ve read some reviews of the Regal Princess that talk about the public areas being crowded. As I’ve only done 1 cruise, I’m struggling a bit with trying to weigh on an itinerary like these if the smaller ship of something like the Azamara is worth a bit of extra cost and going with an inside cabin?

 

4. Can anyone comment on how vegan friendly any of these linesmight be?

 

 

 

 

 

These are the 4 itineraries at the top of the list currently:

 

 

 

Sapphire Princess – 14 day

 

Sat Jun 1 London (Southampton), England 04:00 pm

 

Sun Jun 2 Brussels/Bruges (Zeebrugge),Belgium 07:00 am 06:00 pm

 

Mon Jun 3 At Sea

 

Tue Jun 4 Copenhagen, Denmark 08:00am 05:00 pm

 

Wed Jun 5 At Sea

 

Thu Jun 6 Stockholm, Sweden 09:00am 05:00 pm

 

Fri Jun 7 Helsinki, Finland 10:00am 06:00 pm

 

Sat Jun 8 St. Petersburg, Russia 06:30am

 

Sun Jun 9 St. Petersburg, Russia 06:00 pm

 

Mon Jun 10 Tallinn, Estonia 08:00am 05:00 pm

 

Tue Jun 11 At Sea

 

Wed Jun 12 Gdansk (Gdynia), Poland 07:00 am 04:00 pm

 

Thu Jun 13 At Sea

 

Fri Jun 14 At Sea

 

Sat Jun 15 London (Southampton), England 07:00am

 

 

 

 

 

Regal Princess – 11 day (This itinerary also available 7/23)

 

Sat May 18 Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany 09:00 pm

 

Sun May 19 At Sea

 

Mon May 20 Oslo, Norway 07:00am 02:00 pm

 

Tue May 21 Copenhagen, Denmark 05:00am 06:00 pm

 

Wed May 22 At Sea

 

Thu May 23 Stockholm, Sweden 11:00am 06:00 pm

 

Fri May 24 Helsinki, Finland 11:00am 06:00 pm

 

Sat May 25 St. Petersburg, Russia 06:30am

 

Sun May 26 St. Petersburg, Russia 06:00 pm

 

Mon May 27 Tallinn, Estonia 08:00am 05:00 pm

 

Tue May 28 At Sea

 

Wed May 29 Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany 07:00am

 

 

 

Celebrity Silhouette - 14 Nights

 

Sun Jun 2 London (Southampton), England 04:00 pm

 

Mon Jun 3 At Sea

 

Tue Jun 4 Copenhagen, Denmark 2:00 pm

 

Wed Jun 5 Copenhagen, Denmark 3:00pm

 

Thu Jun 6 At Sea

 

Fri Jun 7 Tallinn, Estonia 10:00am 06:00 pm

 

Sat Jun 8 St. Petersburg, Russia 07:00 am

 

Sun Jun 9 St. Petersburg, Russia 06:00pm

 

Mon Jun 10 Helsinki, Finland 07:00am 04:00 pm

 

Tue Jun 11 Stockholm, Sweden 08:00 am 05:00 pm

 

Wed Jun 12 At Sea

 

Thu Jun 13 Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany 07:00 am 9:30 pm

 

Fri Jun 14 At Sea

 

Sat Jun 15 At Sea

 

Sun Jun 16 London (Southampton), England 6:00AM

 

 

 

 

 

Azamara Journey- 9 Nights

 

Sat Jun 22 Stockholm, Sweden 5:00pm

 

Sun Jun 23 Tallinn, Estonia 10:00am 5:00 pm

 

Mon Jun 24 St. Petersburg, Russia 8:00 am

 

Tue Jun 25 St. Petersburg, Russia

 

Wed Jun 26 St. Petersburg, Russia 6:00pm

 

Thu Jun 27 Helsinki, Finland 7:30am 6:00 pm

 

Fri Jun 28 At Sea

 

Sat Jun 29 Copenhagen, Denmark 8:00 am 10:00 pm

 

Sun Jun 30 Aalborg, Denmark 8:00 am 3:00 pm

 

Mon Jul 1 Oslo, Norway 6:30am

 

 

 

Thank you for reading. Sorry the post is so long.

Picking itineraries is very important along with what you want to see in the ports. When you are looking at itineraries check out SPB tours. They are a fantastic company and have outstanding tours and prices can be half of what the cruise ship offered. We used them in every port and would use them again.

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We are booked on the Coral Princess Feb. 6th and have already made final payment. My husband just found out he has cancer and needs surgery. We did not take out insurance, so I'm afraid we are in trouble. Does anyone know if they ever let you change your date to a later one? We have been on many cruises with princess and at least half the time I've taken insurance, but this time I did not. Feeling very sad!!

An unfortunate situation also happened to our friends. They found out Princess must pay you back all taxes and port charges. When they spoke with Princess, Princess credited them the rest of the money for the same cruise if they would do it within the next year. It gavel them something to look forward to as he was recovery from his problem. It is worth a try. I also know Chase credit cards have trip insurance if the trip was charged to their card but you must apply for it as soon as you are aware the trip must be cancelled. Hopefully the surgery will put you on the road to recovery and back on the seas again.

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No. If you book elsewhere you don't pay as much as those who book in Australia. They have the gratuities built into the price. Booking outside of Australia you will pay less but will have the gratuities added onto your daily bill.

This is not true. I booked in the USA from my travel agent and it was $2,000 more for a 14 day cruise for an inside cabin. I also checked on the Princess website and the cost was even more. I cancelled the cruise...booked with an Australian agent and saved $2,000 and now I don't have to pay gratuities so the savings is even more

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Uber's are fantastic in Fort Lauderdale. They have a special place for them to pull in at the port. Just ask someone where to stand to wait for them Many of the Uber's wait to n a holding place between airport and cruise port. We had an escalade for the four of us with all our luggage and we only paid $14. We have used Uber in other cities and have been very satisfied. I feel safer in them then some taxis we have ridden.

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I just tried a mock booking (in $US) for your itinerary on Sun Princess. Says very prominently that the OBC is in AUD. All you can do is hope the exchange rate improves between now and your cruise.

 

Though I do believe the OBC for using your FCD is pre-determined; ie $100US will be posted as AUD75 automatically rather than going by exchange rate (I don't know what the exact number is right now).

We are booked for a B2B on the Sun January 8. The exchange rate is the least of your worries. I discovered in September I was being charged over $2,000 USD for the cruises for an inside cabin compared to people buying the cruise in Australia. I wrote to Princess to ask why this can occur. I was told it was just what they do. I cancelled the two cruises and booked with an Australian travel agent and received shipboard credit and the stockholders benefit. I did not use my FCC. Everything with the booking has been outstanding. I even can check things on My Personalizer with Princess on the USA Website.

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We are taking our first cruise under Medicare in February. We have Medicare A,B, D and Supplemental Plan F.

 

 

 

Plan F does cover limited international hospital expenses.

 

 

 

Looking for a company/plan suggestion covering ship medical, evacuation, and full hospital coverage.

 

 

 

Thanks.

We have been very pleased with geoblue.com.

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Mario Ramirez (xidalmar59@adinet.com.uy) provided our group an excellent city tour of Montevideo. He was very knowledgeable and responded quickly to all my emails. The complete City tour of Montevideo lasted 4 1/2 hours and included a visit to: Ciudad Vieja (Old City), the Cathedral and Colonial Town Hall, Club Uruguay, Solis Theater,18 de Julio (main) Ave., Independence Square, Supreme court of Justice, Parliament Palace, the romantic neighborhood known as "el Prado" and one of the oldest parks in Montevideo that features beautiful sculptures, Batlte Park, elegant residential areas like Punta Carretas and Pocitos. The return drive was along the coast to see the long stretch of beautiful beaches. The tour finished at the entrance of “Mercado del Puerto” (port market) where you could enjoy not only a traditional meal with top meats in the world but also a place filled with music, crafts, and colorful people. The market was just across the street from the entrance to the harbor and the cruiser’s pier. We also visited to “El Cerro” , a 500 feet high hill overlooking the harbour and the city, with it’s colonial military fortress and military museum.