Eclipse - Baltic - July 2010

[ChrissyUK]

Hello to all you helpful people out there. Have not been on this site since our cruise through the Panama Canal in 2007. You were all so helpful then.

 

Four of us are going on the Celebrity Eclipse in July 2010 and have just downloaded the information on tours for this trip. We plan to do a mixture of ship's tours and doing our own thing and have the following questions. Our ports of call are Zebrugge for Brugges, Warnemunde, Helsinki, Rotterdam, St Petersburg, Tallin, Stockholm (not necessarily in that order!).

 

We have previously been to Brugges so are OK on that stop but for the other ports (apart from St Petersburg) do the ships dock within walking distance of the towns? Do pedestrians have designated walkways?

 

Also in both Helsinki and Stockholm they have cycling tours. Is it possible to hire bikes privately from near to the dock? Do the cycle shops provide a map of suggested routes? Anyone have any idea on prices to do this independently from the ship?

 

I'm sure we will have more questions as time goes on but this should give us a good start.

 

Oh! just throught of something else. What is the weather likely to be like in July? Not expecting caribbean temperatures but is it likely to be cold/wet?

 

Thanks in advance.:)

[HeinBloed]

Hello to all you helpful people out there. Have not been on this site since our cruise through the Panama Canal in 2007. You were all so helpful then.

 

Four of us are going on the Celebrity Eclipse in July 2010 and have just downloaded the information on tours for this trip. We plan to do a mixture of ship's tours and doing our own thing and have the following questions. Our ports of call are Zebrugge for Brugges, Warnemunde, Helsinki, Rotterdam, St Petersburg, Tallin, Stockholm (not necessarily in that order!).

 

We have previously been to Brugges so are OK on that stop but for the other ports (apart from St Petersburg) do the ships dock within walking distance of the towns? Do pedestrians have designated walkways?

 

Also in both Helsinki and Stockholm they have cycling tours. Is it possible to hire bikes privately from near to the dock? Do the cycle shops provide a map of suggested routes? Anyone have any idea on prices to do this independently from the ship?

 

I'm sure we will have more questions as time goes on but this should give us a good start.

 

Oh! just throught of something else. What is the weather likely to be like in July? Not expecting caribbean temperatures but is it likely to be cold/wet?

 

Thanks in advance.:)

 

For Warnemünde:

 

yes - walking distance to the city center of Warnemünde = about 5 minutes...

 

but - Warnemünde is part of the City of Rostock = about 20 minutes by train

 

and - Warnemünde is not the Port of Berlin = about 3 1/2 hours away from Berlin by train

 

 

For Rotterdam:

 

just cross the bridge in 10 minutes to be in the downtown

 

or

 

take the subway in front of the cruise terminal

 

 

For Tallinn:

 

15 minutes to walk to the city gate

 

 

Helsinki, Stockholm and St. Petersburg have more than one cruise terminal. So no general answer possible without exact sailing date to check the lists.

 

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[2ndsailing]

Hello to all you helpful people out there. Have not been on this site since our cruise through the Panama Canal in 2007. You were all so helpful then.

 

Four of us are going on the Celebrity Eclipse in July 2010 and have just downloaded the information on tours for this trip. We plan to do a mixture of ship's tours and doing our own thing and have the following questions. Our ports of call are Zebrugge for Brugges, Warnemunde, Helsinki, Rotterdam, St Petersburg, Tallin, Stockholm (not necessarily in that order!).

 

We have previously been to Brugges so are OK on that stop but for the other ports (apart from St Petersburg) do the ships dock within walking distance of the towns? Do pedestrians have designated walkways?

 

Also in both Helsinki and Stockholm they have cycling tours. Is it possible to hire bikes privately from near to the dock? Do the cycle shops provide a map of suggested routes? Anyone have any idea on prices to do this independently from the ship?

 

I'm sure we will have more questions as time goes on but this should give us a good start.

 

Oh! just throught of something else. What is the weather likely to be like in July? Not expecting caribbean temperatures but is it likely to be cold/wet?

 

Thanks in advance.:)

 

Hi are you on the July 10th sailing by any chance? We're on the Eclipse July 10th and there is a great roll call going. If this is your cruise check out the roll call. You might get some great excursion information there.

 

In Brugges some of us are sharing a taxi into town and we'll do our own tours and meet up for the taxi back to the ship.

[Giantfan13]

You have come to the right place to get your questions answered.

 

As for ports, places like Stockholm is really hard to say now. You can dock right in the heart of town to about an hour outside of Stockholm. (NCL is using that port and calling it Stockholm).

 

St Petersburg, it really doesn't matter where you dock as you can't get off the ship unless you have a pre arranged tour booked, either with the ship or with a private tour group. Most here booked with these private tour groups and they will secure all the necessary paperwork for you to visit St Petersburg. They will meet your ship where ever it is docked. It is the best way to see St Petersburg

 

Most ships dock in Helsinki where it is a bit far to walk to the heart of the town. There is public transportation available or you can share a cab for about $10 or so.

 

Do a search of Tallin on these board and you will come up with a great walking tour of that fantastic city. It is very easy to do, and more fun to just wander around thru the narrow, cobblestone streets.

 

As for the bike rentals, that I cannot help you with but some of the locals probably can.

 

Weather wise, July will be warm, (I don't think it gets hot) and you can always expect some rain, but usually showers and not day long deluges. We went in August of last year and the weather was already turning cool, but we had brilliant sunshine for our 12 day cruise. Just bring a light windbreaker and you should be fine.

 

Your itinerary sounds fantastic, and you will love the Baltics. Here are a few pixs of our adventure from last year

 

 

In Helsinki, the Lutheran Cathedral one of the most attractive buildings in the entire city

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe1062.jpg

 

In St Petersburg, her is a short video of the band that plays as you enter Catherine's Palace

http://s834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/?action=view&current=europemaster834.flv

 

Rostock town square, have a bite to eat and just sit and watch the people

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster602.jpg

 

In Tallin, part of the walled old city

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe531.jpg

 

In St Petersburg, Peterhof and the fountains, looking out toward the Sea of Finland

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe721.jpg

 

Our favorite port was Stockholm. Here is the Changing of the royal Guard at the Palace every day

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe1306.jpg

 

Again, any questions, please ask away

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Lair Bear]

Our ports of call are Zebrugge for Brugges, Warnemunde, Helsinki, Rotterdam, St Petersburg, Tallin, Stockholm (not necessarily in that order!).

 

We have previously been to Brugges so are OK on that stop but for the other ports (apart from St Petersburg) do the ships dock within walking distance of the towns? Do pedestrians have designated walkways?

 

Also in both Helsinki and Stockholm they have cycling tours. Is it possible to hire bikes privately from near to the dock?

 

You will find bike shops next to the train stations in many of the European cities. If you are interested in renting a bicycle in Rotterdam, here is a web site of a shop that is right next to the train station. You can get there from the cruise ship by metro.

http://www.rotterdambycycle.nl/en/verhuur/

 

That is really a neat way to see parts of the city. The roads are wide with many bike paths (the traffice can be heavy) and it gives you a chance to see lots of places that can be done on foot but would take several hours.

I posted a map earlier with suggested places to see in Rotterdam. It included some of the harbor sights, the cube houses and the Euro tower.

 

Good luck and have fun.

[ChrissyUK]

to everyone for their very helpful replies. Sorry not to have come back before.

 

HeinBloed, you mentioned that you may be able to find out where our ship would be docked if you had the dates. We will be on the Celebrity Eclipse and will be in Stockholm on 15 July and Helsinki on 16 July 2010.

 

Thanks again for the replies.

[sddsddean]

to everyone for their very helpful replies. Sorry not to have come back before.

 

HeinBloed, you mentioned that you may be able to find out where our ship would be docked if you had the dates. We will be on the Celebrity Eclipse and will be in Stockholm on 15 July and Helsinki on 16 July 2010.

 

Thanks again for the replies.

 

On the 15th you are at S167 Stadsgarden. On this map http://www.stockholmtown.com/templates/page____15265.aspx that is the bottom right black ship (hover your mouse over it!) and on 16th you are at LMA in Helsinki http://www.portofhelsinki.fi/content/pdf/matkustajaliikenne/risteilykartta.jpg?from=19237930158422355

 

Simon

[2ndsailing]

On the 15th you are at S167 Stadsgarden. On this map http://www.stockholmtown.com/templates/page____15265.aspx that is the bottom right black ship (hover your mouse over it!) and on 16th you are at LMA in Helsinki http://www.portofhelsinki.fi/content/pdf/matkustajaliikenne/risteilykartta.jpg?from=19237930158422355

 

Simon

 

Simon

 

Thank you for this post. We're also on the Eclipse at this time and these web sites are very helpful. Thank you.