nycfa
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Soon we would be making our way to Peterhof''s Fountain Park vis the Hyrdofoil
Shortly after this family photo was taken everyone would sounds sleep: :')
The Rules at Peterhof's:
We had an interesting time trying to figure out what some of the symbols were saying :')
It was 90 in SPB today and blazing sun. The park was busy with tourist and locals cooling off. The water had lots of people out in it!
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So for lunch we stopped at Tepemok, which is a Russian fast food restaurant. It's fast but freshly made and to my husband's delight you could get beer there! :')
Our guide called them pancakes but I would lean towards calling them more like crepes. They had a hand held English menu for us to look at and our guide ordered for us. All the "pancakes" or "crepes" had whatever you wanted stuffed inside of them.
Myself and my husband got the Italian which had like cheese, salami, tomato etc inside. My youngest got Ham and Cheese. My oldest Mushroom and Cheese. Our guide got one that had Hamburger in it.
They also had dessert ones as well!
It was very good and quick and easy.
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Soon we made our way to the Church on Split Blood:
During the World Cup this area was set up as a Fan Station where fans could watch the games and drink Budweiser & Coke based on the cooler cases we saw them loaded up.
As everywhere we went.....
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After a few photo stops along the water we made our way to Peter and Paul Fortress:
While we waited for our guide to pick up our tickets my Husband tried to take a selfie with the 17 year old cat who lives there. :')
Inside we learned lots about all the Russian Tsars who are buried there:
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St. Petersburg, Russia
So if you don't know already if you are doing a NON NCL tour you MUST sign up for a slot on Day 2 of the cruise for a disembarkation time for SPB. It's on the day you are in Germany. When we arrived back from Berlin around 8:30 pm I was able to sign us up for Group B at 8:00 am. Group A which was already filled was also for 8 am. From there the times were 8:15, 8:30, 8:45 and so on with a certain number of slots available for each one.
We had booked a private tour for us the 4 of us with TJ Travel. Originally our day was to begin at 7:00 am but with the new rules of NON ship tours getting off after the Ships tours TJ contacted me with a new meeting time of 8:30 am. (with a later return time for day 1 and an earlier start time for Day 2).
Group A & B were allowed into the theater on Deck 7 around 7:30 am. Everyone filled in rows until the whole theater was filled as the later times arrived. Once the "okay" was given they released us row by row into immigration.
You must bring your passport and your tour ticket which is your Visa for the Russia. It's slow. Each person spends about 2 minutes with the customs official....so 10 people in front of you at 2 minutes each....20 min or more to get to you!
I think we waited maybe 30-40 minutes before it was our turn. Every member of my family went to the customs officer separately (smaller children stayed with a parent but mine are teens). I went first, followed by each of my kids then my husband. A few question, he types away at a computer (which is very slow) and stamps your passport and off you go!
Once my family was done we made our way into the front of the building where there was a young man holding a TJ Travel Sign, I spoke to him and he direction me out front and across the street to find more TJ Travel reps.
The time is around 8:45 am
We find TJ out front and they check us off the list and introduce us to our Guide Oxanna. She says out driver will be here shortly and soon Alexander arrives in a nice roomy mini van to begin our day!
Out front facing the Terminal:
All the independent tour operators waiting for their guests:
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From there we just followed the signs back to the ship...of course the Family wanted to stop here. :')
BTW they were pretty wiped out with so many cruise ships in port. A lot of people must have stopped in for drinks/snacks.
Soon we were bank to the ship.
We enjoyed Tallinn and bought some things in town and at the shops by the ship.
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We spend a lot of the walk doing this.....:') Where are we again? But thanks to my 13 year old we made it safely back to the ship! ;)
It was very busy in the town and I will say if you have mobility issues this place could be a real challenge!
The entrance into Old Town when coming from the ship (we exited there so I turned around to take a photo)
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Tallinn Estonia
So today was a DIY day for us.....I wanted to get to the top of Old Town and get that amazing view everyone takes photos of!
Quite a few ships in port today!
So there is still a heat wave going on so I decided we would take a taxi to the top of Old Town then walk back DOWN HILL to the ship. I asked several taxis at the port how much....20 Euros. Sigh, according to Rick Steves books that is over priced BUT there was no way we would make it to the top in the heat (My oldest is extremely heat sensitive due to a health condition) so I decided it is what it is and took the taxi to the top for 20 Euros. :rolleyes::')
The view was worth it.....
So the taxi drive gave us a map and the main road back down to the port is Pikk so we decided to just follow this down and stop into whatever shops or whatever interested us along the way..
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Sea Day
Today was our Cruise Critic Meet and Greet.....
We had a nice turn out and it was great to meet some of the people we have been "chatting" with online for the last several months!
Afterwards we spent the rest of the day pretty much bumming around and taking it easy. Big days up ahead! :')
Check this out on Deck 8 Aft....you can see straight down to the ocean!
The Family playing a little shuffle board before bed!
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We are using TJ travel on our Cruise starting 8/9 only in St.Petersburg though - Looking forward to hearing about your experience - Your pictures are wonderful! Thank-you for sharing!!
We were EXTREMELY pleased! I hope you will be as well! :)
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Happy to read that, as I don't know if ever I will be back we also booked a tour to Berlin. I have two adult kids with me and my son is a history buff, so lucky they both have spouses that had no issue with them joining me on the cruise. My grandson is only four and my son and DIL both decided this was NOT a cruise to take him on and be able to enjoy the ports, so DIL stayed home
Yes it's not a cruise for the little ones! NO ONE would have any fun with that! There weren't many kids on board are cruise and most of them were between 13-17 years old.
The days are long and the nights short! Definitely better for the older kids!
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Soon we made our way back via bus to Charlottenburg Palace to drop off our guide and pick up the private tour group we had dropped off this morning.
We were on our way back to Warnemunde around 5 pm. So the bus ride back was challenging as there was an issue with the air conditioning and there was a heat wave going on! Ugh, but at the rest stop the driver tinkered around with the engine and it was somewhat better but still warm. Didn't help the sun was at an angle pouring into the bus (we all closed the curtains to help block it and keep it cooler).
We arrived back to the port a little before 8:30 pm. There was a long line to board but it moved along quickly. NCL had personnel directing pax to the security screening lines and kept things moving. I'd say we were in line maybe 15 minutes or so?
We dropped off our stuff in our cabin then headed upstairs to the Garden Cafe for a very late dinner at 9 pm (FYI Garden Cafe was open late till 11 pm. for all the late returns).
We loved our day in Berlin and we felt it was TOTALLY worth the travel time to and from. My kids had also just recently studied the Cold War in school so that made it extra interesting for them as well. I would highly recommend it! :)
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After a few more sites we stopped for a 45 min or so Lunch Break. Rather then a long sit down lunch Taylor took us to a place that had a variety of places to grab a quick meal. My family choose this place:
They had a variety of pre made sandwiches and pastries. This was one of the best meals we had! Everything was fresh and delicious. Note: They did NOT take Credit Cards here. I had gotten some Euros before we left the US and I used them here to pay for lunch. :)
There was also a souvenir shop on the corner where we were all to met after we ate our lunches so we did a little shopping before the bus arrived to take us to our next sights.
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Our First Stop was Charlottenburg Palace to met our guide and to drop off a group of 6 who were doing a private tour
Our Guides name was Taylor who was originally from Australia who fell in love with Berlin after a visit and moved there! Taylor was a wonderful guide. Full of lots of information and keep everyone moving along so we could get all the sites in! We were a group of 29 so headsets where handed out. We keep our original bus we came up on to tour the city. Our driver would drop us off and at times we walked from site to site and would be picked up by the driver later. So we were able to leave our big backpacks on the bus and only take what we needed on the tour (purse/camera/etc).
Brandenburg Gate
Holocaust Memorial
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Deleted Double Post
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Soon it was early morning and we were pulling into Warnemunde, Germany
Today we had book the first of three Tours we have with TJ Travel on this cruise. Even with the 3 hour bus ride we decided to do the trip into Berlin since we were here and who knows if we will get back again!
We got up and had an early breakfast and was heading off the ship around 7:30 to met our tour that was scheduled to depart at 8 am. The tour we had chosen was called The Best of Berlin.
Once off the ship we easily found the signs for TJ Travel and they looked up our name on a list and told us our Bus Number. We proceeded to the bus and boarded.
The bus was comfortable with overhead storage spaces and seats that reclined. It was clean and we were NOT packed full of pax. Soon we were on our way!
So yes the ride is 3 hrs long give or take depending on traffic.....so we had brought books, snacks, movies on the I pad for things to do then of course there was napping! :') Really the bus ride over wasn't bad at all! There is a rest stop about 2 hrs into the ride. Tip: if you need to use the bathroom go ASAP when you arrive! Other buses stop there and the line gets LONG! We didn't use the bathroom but the line was quiet long when we left. There is a convenience store there too so we got drinks/snacks. Paid by Credit Card.
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Just realized I didn't post Balcony photos!
So the balcony was huge! Part of it was covered. It fit TWO lounge chairs, two regular chairs and a table. Yup, it was super deep!
A good reflection photo showing the depth of the balcony.....we look somewhat transparent cause you can "see" thru us somewhat into the room. :')
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After Dinner the kids went off to find the Card Room (They like to do some games after dinner while the steward is cleaning the room) and my Husband and I went off to explore some more.
He took a turn at the Rock Wall
Before heading back to the cabin for a early night's sleep. Off to Berlin in the morning for a long busy day!
Sunset taken around 10 pm. Lots of late sunset and early sunrises (4 am ish!)
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We are going on the same NCL cruise in September .
You will have a great time!
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Let's Talk about Food on the Ship for a Moment:
We are NOT foodies! As long as I don't have to cook it, I'm happy. I'm not fancy or in need of presentation.
At cruise number 12 I have no need for a long meal in the dining room or do I feel the need to pay for speciality dining.
I realize I'm not in the norm with this but basically this is how my family rolls. :')
THEN add in LONG port days with early starts (seriously we were up at 6 am or earlier unless it was a Sea Day) so other then ONE night (Tallinn) we ate all of our meal in the Garden Cafe.
Yup Buffet for every meal.
There is something for everyone in my family. I like a little of this and a little of that vs. a big ole steak for dinner.
So with so many Garden Cafe trips here are our tips:
Find a seat when you arrive and have one person wait while everyone else gets their food (usually that was me cause I'm the Mom and that's what Mom's do :')) Better then everyone trying to find everyone AND find a seat. Once one person came with their food I would get up to get my food.
Go to the BACK of the Cafe towards the rear of the ship. It was always less crowded there with more tables and less people getting food (the food stations repeat..omelet station at the front of the cafe had a line meanwhile the station near the back..empty!)
If you have kids there is a station in the back (next to the bar where you could get beer/wine/soda) that was called Kids Corner. Typical kids food there and according to my kids that is where you found the best desserts! LOL
One issue at Kid's Corner: The Soft Serve there got used A LOT so it was often slow or running low. My kids suggest using the soft serve at the FRONT of the cafe then come back to Kid's Corner for the toppings. :)
Breakfast was always the busiest meal there and Dinner the lightest since most ate at restaurants.
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Did you also buy the cards for Sweden and Finland? I am leaning toward doing our own tours in those ports with the hop-on-hop off buses.
No we did a tour in Sweden and in Finland we did on our own out to Suomenlinna using public transportation.
NCL Breakaway Baltic Cruise Review July 13, 2018
in Norwegian Cruise Line
Posted
Soon it was time to met Alexander for our ride back to the ship for the night.
You once again had to go thru customs but the lines were short when we arrived. They looked at the passport and asked to see your ship card and you turned back in the slip of paper they gave you in the morning.
FYI there are shops BEFORE customs in the terminal and there are Duty Free shops on the dock AFTER customs if you wish to do some more shopping.