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To Berlin or not to Berlin?


CrookedRidges
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We are going to be on a Viking Ocean Cruise that includes a day to visit Berlin.

 

This is apparently a relatively new port for the Viking ocean ships. It appears that it’s a 3 hour/ 1 way train or bus ride to get from port.

 

Does anyone have any first hand experience with this on Viking?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

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I haven't done this cruise myself with Viking but did something similar with HAL. Personally, I wouldn't want to spend 3+ hours getting to/from Berlin. I know Berlin very well and believe a few hours in the city scarcely does it justice, but if this is your only chance to visit, you may decide the effort is worthwhile. Warnemünde where the ship docks is a pleasant seaside town and Rostock, about 20-30 minutes away by local train, is well worth a visit too. Photos of both Rostock and Warnemünde can be found on my Flickr account here if that helps you make up your mind. The first tranche of 18-19 photos were taken in Copenhagen, followed by Rostock then Warnemünde.

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We did not go to Berlin we enjoyed the walking tour in Rostock very much and after we walked the beach and town of Warnemunde. Loved our day. The folks who took the train to Berlin seemed to like it but if I remember correctly the train broke down and they were hours late returning.

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I speak German, and spent a fantastic week in Berlin a couple of years ago. It is a great city to visit, and there is so much to see there. However, even with a full week, we missed so much. Maybe next time. The few hours that you would have there from a cruise stopping in Warnemunde seems like a waste of your time, considering the six or more hours spent on a train to get there and back. We recently were on a Baltic cruise with a two day stop in Warnemunde. We took the Deusche Bahn train through Rostock (where we changed trains) to Bad Doberman where we caught the Molli train, an old restored steam train, to Kulungsborn. There we had a fantastic fish lunch at a small restaurant on the sea side. We loved it! The trip was easy to negotiate and quite inexpensive. The cruise line offered an excursion that was comparable for $200 plus per person. Including lunch, we spent a small fraction of that.

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We enjoyed Warnemunde very much. We just didn’t want to spend that much time on a train, but it truly is a personal choice.

We walked the beach, wandered through town, found a great restaurant along the harbor for lunch....then returned to a mostly empty ship - which was a great experience in itself :D We had the pools all to ourselves and enjoyed relaxing.

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We too enjoyed Warnemunde and Rostock very much - we are from the U.K. so Berlin is not difficult for us - we went last year for a long weekend - there is so much to see and do - why not fly there first and have a few days and then take a connecting flight to Bergen or Stockholm. Three hours only would be very frustrating. We virtually had the ship to ourselves - we enjoyed the spa , had a lovely walk around Warnemunde on our own ( the ship berths right in the town) , a relaxing lunch and then went with about 40/50 guests on the boat and walking tour in Rostock. It was one of the best days on our trip!!

Edited by robinhood1
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I will echo what some others have suggested... if you have never been to Berlin and don't have any immediate plans to go back, then take the day excursion to Berlin. It will be a long day, but to have come this close and have the opportunity to visit such a dynamic and historic city, it would be a shame (IMO) if you were to miss it.

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We had never been to Berlin and am glad we went. We hired a private guide and driver to maximize the number of sites we could visit and it was a memorable day. My wife and I are history buffs and Berlin is certainly full of historical sites that I wanted to learn about. Friends on the same cruise took the Warnemunde and Rostock tour and were underwhelmed as we had already visited a number of harbor towns. Prior to our cruise I was apprehensive about the long train ride but it went very smoothly and now I am very glad I went.

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We did the Homelands cruise last summer and went on the included train trip to Berlin. We had doubts, as 600 of the 900+ passengers were also doing the same tour, but it was all organised so well that I wouldn't hesitate in recommending it.

 

I can't remember exactly what time we left the ship to get the train... but it was early! We were split into groups of about 30 I guess, and each group was called separately and led from the ship to the train station, about 5 minutes walk away. We were then shown into allocated carriages on the train, each with its own local guide - ours was a student, who was able to answer most of our questions about Berlin and any other aspects of the day's outing. She also regularly came along the coach with maps (very useful) snacks and drinks. The time passed quite quickly.

 

On arrival in Berlin we transferred on to a coach for an hour's overview tour of the city, with a tour guide giving us information along the way. We left the coach outside the Hilton Hotel in the city, so an easy place to find for the return journey, and there was a Viking desk set up on the pavement opposite the hotel, with staff there all day if you needed more information.

We spent the rest of the day with our niece, who live in Berlin, returning to the Hilton at the end of our afternoon with her. The bus was waiting, and once everyone was onboard we transferred back to the rail station - still in our groups - and back into the allocated carriages. Very easy.

 

The only negative thing about the whole day was that on the return journey, when we were very tired and wanting to snooze or at least concentrate on our Kindles, a British couple (I could tell you his life story!) and an American couple talked at full volume the whole way back. Grrrrr...

 

We were expecting chaos on arrival at the ship, as obviously 600 passengers would be returning at the same time and we all had to go through security. But no, lining the pathway along the quayside were huge numbers of crew from the ship, from every department, all with great big smiles on their faces to welcome us back - singing and dancing along to pop music that was playing while we queued up to get back onboard. We were offered snacks (including local sausage!) drinks and towels to refresh our hands. We sang along with the silly songs - it would have been churlish to resist - and pretty soon we were onboard. I dashed up to the deck overlooking the quayside and took video of the happy queue, but I don't have the skill to transfer it from my ipad onto a website, so you'll just have to take my word for it - it was OK!!!

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Oh, and a p.s.

 

We did a similar cruise a few years ago (not with Viking) and decided to skip Berlin that time as we we'd had enough sightseeing. We live in the U.K. so it's somewhere we knew we could easily visit again. So, that year, we stayed in Warnemunde for the day and, as someone above has mentioned, found it to be a charming little town. A real surprise. So, you do have options.

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Oh, and a p.s.

 

We did a similar cruise a few years ago (not with Viking) and decided to skip Berlin that time as we we'd had enough sightseeing. We live in the U.K. so it's somewhere we knew we could easily visit again. So, that year, we stayed in Warnemunde for the day and, as someone above has mentioned, found it to be a charming little town. A real surprise. So, you do have options.

 

Agree! If you've already been to Berlin, or otherwise just choose to stay in the area, both Warnemunde and Rostock (easy and close) both have lots to offer.

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Agree! If you've already been to Berlin, or otherwise just choose to stay in the area, both Warnemunde and Rostock (easy and close) both have lots to offer.

 

...and it's also easy (and inexpensive) to get a train from Warnemünde, via Rostock, to Wismar or Stralsund, both very pretty, historic, Hanseatic towns.

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We had never been to Berlin and am glad we went. We hired a private guide and driver to maximize the number of sites we could visit and it was a memorable day. My wife and I are history buffs and Berlin is certainly full of historical sites that I wanted to learn about. Friends on the same cruise took the Warnemunde and Rostock tour and were underwhelmed as we had already visited a number of harbor towns. Prior to our cruise I was apprehensive about the long train ride but it went very smoothly and now I am very glad I went.

 

All this information about Berlin is very helpful, as I will be on the Viking Homelands cruise later this year. There are eight of us traveling together and would be interested in hiring a private guide, which guide or firm did you use?

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Berlin is a beautiful place, passing there could make your cruise adventure more exciting, so why not take the opportunity of visiting the place?

 

 

 

Viking has made it even easier by using a train to Berlin. We used buses before and it was a long ride .

 

 

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Had visited Berlin on a land tour in 2003 and had a fantastic time. Saw so much. The 6 hours in the city with the Viking tour one of which was used for lunch was a major disappointment. Only did it because I wanted my sister to see the city.

 

 

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We did this cruise in July 2017 and decided to splurge on the Historic Berlin optional tour by Viking because we had never visited Berlin and because we didn't want to risk missing the return train if out on our own. The train ride went quickly and the day tour was wonderful! The guide was very knowledgeable, humorous and fun to be with. I highly recommend this tour.

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We did Homelands in May and did TJ's tour for both Berlin and 2day St Petersburg, they use small 16 passenger mini busses and able to go where big busses can't. Once off the boat they are right there to get you. There tours are half the price of the Viking tours and we got a group together through Cruise Critic Roll Call page and TJ gave us all additional discount. Just know that it is 3 hours each way to get to Berlin, but if you only go once it's worth it.

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