Viking Homelands/Berlin Confusion

Our first Viking cruise is coming up and we are a bit unsure of the drill. There is an Included "Berlin Your Way" train trip to Berlin, but the booking format lists Morning, Afternoon, and Evening departures. Given the distance involved, I assume all departures will be morning departures. Correct?

And I assume that the train trip is free. Correct?

BTW, in case it makes a difference, we are booked in the lowest stateroom category.

Thanks for the help.

I think it is marked morning, afternoon, and evening because it occurs over all three periods. It is marked as 8 am to 8 pm on our excursion list. It is on the train, and as an included tour, the entire package is free, regardless of your cabin level.

We did it last summer - early morning departure, everyone on the same train. It was wonderfully well organised, and totally free of charge.

I was confused too.. one said it arrived and left from different stations. Others said there was an orientation bus trip after the train and then you were on your own, others said no bus trip..I called Viking and was told that this year there is only a train ride.

So I just opted for the easy way and booked the tour with Viking for Berlin..

I was confused too.. one said it arrived and left from different stations. Others said there was an orientation bus trip after the train and then you were on your own, others said no bus trip..I called Viking and was told that this year there is only a train ride.

 

So I just opted for the easy way and booked the tour with Viking for Berlin..

Yes, that's what happened on our trip - arrived at one station, orientation tour on coaches (1 hour), several hours to do your own thing, meet at designated pick-up point (where the coach had dropped us off), then driven to another station for the journey back to the ship. It suited us, as my niece lives in Berlin and showed us around, but I can quite understand that an organised tour is easier!

Jammy Bun,

Where was the drop off and pick up point in Berlin? Thank you.

T&C4348

We've just gotten off a Viking Homelands tour. We arrived at one station and returned from another. The rendezvous point was in front of the Hilton Hotel in Gendarmmarket (sp) Square. When you arrive, there is a 60-90 minute bus tour after which you are left in front of the Hilton for your free time. and picked up there afterwards. We enjoyed our trip to Berlin, but the return was a disaster. The train experienced problems, there was no air con, many windows didn't open, they ran out of water and ice, and all in all, most passengers arrived wishing they hadn't gone. We enjoyed our time in Berlin, but the long, uncomfortable return made us second guess our decision to go.

Do you remember about what time you were dropped in Berlin? We are planning on getting an electric rickshaw and need to tell them when to meet us.

Do you mean when we first arrived or at the Hilton? I think we boarded the tour bus in Berlin close to 9 and were dropped off well before 11. Sorry can't be more exact than that. There were several coaches and each left at a slightly different time. Can you arrange to text the rickshaw company when you are almost at the market? Our guide was most helpful because we had a lunch reservation and were worried we wouldn't make it.

It shows our excursion at 8:00 from the ship. With a 3 hr. train ride we should get to Berlin around 11:00 and with the bus tour I can't see us getting to the Hilton before noon or later. Your train ride must have been shorter than 3 to 3.5 hr. like Viking says it is. Or did you leave the ship earlier?

No we left much earlier, at 6:30. We left port at 6:30 pm, so we had to be back earlier.

It shows our excursion at 8:00 from the ship. With a 3 hr. train ride we should get to Berlin around 11:00 and with the bus tour I can't see us getting to the Hilton before noon or later. Your train ride must have been shorter than 3 to 3.5 hr. like Viking says it is. Or did you leave the ship earlier?

This was our time in 2016 going Stockholm to Bergen and the other people may be going the other direction and the times in port vary depending on direction.

We are doing Stockholm to Bergen. Another question, what did you do in St. Petersburg? We have a private tour scheduled. Hope we can get off the ship early and not have to wait for the Viking tour people to leave first.

We are doing Stockholm to Bergen. Another question, what did you do in St. Petersburg? We have a private tour scheduled. Hope we can get off the ship early and not have to wait for the Viking tour people to leave first.

We did Alla Grand Tour and you can get off as early as they let you. the Viking tours will be at their meeting places and you can scoot right out and get through immigration.

We had TJ Tours. Viking's Cruise Director let us off first. Kudos to Viking!!!

Thank you all for the good info. :)