Baltic Cruise - Star Princess April 2010

[Wezzie]

My husband and I were on the May 12 Star Princess cruise around the Baltic.

We had perfect weather and calm seas. The ship was lovely, the staff was

great and there was much to do in the ports and on the ship. The ship's newsletter will alert you to meet & greets for members (and wannabe members) of Cruise Critic. Very fun and helpful.

 

Our flight to Copenhagen (via Frankfurt) was cancelled 'the morning of'

because of the volcano in Iceland, but United Miles Plus found us other

flights. Unfortunately our luggage didn't make it to Copenhagen with us, but

was delivered to the hotel the next afternoon. Clearly it was a good idea to

arrive in the departure port a couple of days early. With the flight

problems and resulting loss of luggage, we would have been in trouble if

we'd arrived just one day early or the day of the ship's departure. Our hotel gave us toothbrushes, toothpaste and XL white t-shirts to sleep in . We stayed at the Marriott Downtown Copenhagen - $104 a night on Priceline.

 

In the morning of our full day in Copenhagen we walked past Tivoli and the

town hall square (look for Hans Christian Anderson!) in the early morning, then down Stroget to Nyhavn for a canal tour. After the tour, we walked back up Stroget and went into the shops. Royal Copenhagen and Illums Bolighus are must-sees. We took a side trip to the Round Tower and to the University of Copenhagen. Later, we headed over to the National Museum (free) and spent a couple of hours examining the prehistory to Viking age exhibits on the first floor and the later period exhibits on the second floor. That evening we went to Tivoli and enjoyed the buffet & music at the restaurant Herzegovina right there in the park. (Shopping - paper cut mobiles of Hans Christian Anderson tales purchased at the airport on the day of departure.. about $20 ea)

 

Boarding the ship was a snap. The first day on board was a day at sea. Day 2

was Stockholm.

 

Stockholm was a wonderful surprise. There's so much to do there and it's all

reachable by the hop on hop off boats in the harbor. The Vasa was

incredible. We went to the King's palace and bought several things in the palace

gift shop. I bought my 4 yr old granddaughter a postcard with a pic of the

royal family (the Queen and princesses in traditional dress) and a pink

hand towel with a gold crown on it. Heir to the throne, Princess Victoria,

is getting married next week to a commoner. It's a love match. :)

 

Old town near the palace is incredible. Make sure you have plenty of time to wind your way around the old streets and in & out of shops. (Shopping highlights - Vasa Xmas ornament, Swedish design tea towels, a colorful apron, hot pads, colorful plastic serving trays, wooden Swedish Xmas horses, Swedish doll in traditional dress, gold crown & rhinestone

earrings from the Palace gift shop -only $10 and sooo cute!)

 

Helsinki is lovely. We took a cab to the church on the hill (biggest

orthodox church in Finland or Scandinavia) and then walked down The

Esplanade of trees and sun worshipping Finns. We stopped for coffee and

pastry and did some people watching, too. I think it was in Helsinki that we

visited Stockmann Dept Store. Go to the kitchenware section and you'll find

a really good souvenirs. (Shopping highlights - plastic trays with pics of

Lapland, Lapland stuffed 'animals (costumed boy & girl and a moose), stuffed

animals at shops at dock (reindeer and husky puppies) )

 

Our two-day tour with SPB in St Petersburg was excellent.

Viktoria is the owner and Eugene was our guide. ($290 pp + tip) We saw

everything from the subway, to the synagogue, the Church on Spilled Blood,

Catherine's Palace, Peterhof , Peter and Paul Fortress (Tzar's graves) and

the Hermitage. We rode the hydrofoil, had a canal tour on a small private

boat and enjoyed two lunches at very nice cafes. We women would have liked

more shopping time at the gov't approved store , but fortunately there were

a few shops at the dock right outside of immigration. (Shopping highlights -

Russian stacking dolls, amber necklaces and a lighter with CCCP (soviet)

lettering on it - fake but fun)

 

I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd ever go to Russia Imagine!

 

Tallinn is a gem. The architecture and shops were fantastic. I'd go back

there in a heartbeat. I left my heart in Tallinn. (Shopping highlights -

beautiful linen , amber, hand carved wooden items)

 

The afternoon after the ship leaves Tallinn is one of the first

opportunities for people to do laundry. Get there asap armed with your

quarters and soap and a good book to read. Stay there and guard your things

and place in line. My husband called the laundry room "the snake pit."

 

Poland was sort of depressing. Baltic (oil) prosperity has not come to

Poland. The people look like they live hard lives and there are sad-looking

beggars on the streets of old town Gdansk. For $100 total (plus tip), our

group of three hired a taxi to take us to old town in Gdansk , Sopot, to a

church for an organ recital, and around Gdynia (e.g, Lech Walesa house,

the Solidarity monument, a scenic view of the harbor, etc).

 

Amber shopping in Gdansk was very disappointing. If we'd known, we would

have shopped more in Tallin and St Petersburg but we'd read that Gdansk was

the best place for amber. There are fancy pieces with silver in shops on one

of the streets, but if you're looking for gifts for the girls-back-home,

you'll find better bargains and pieces in Tallin. Sopot is a lovely hotel

and beach area . We liked it better then old town Gdansk and the amber

shopping was much better price-wise and variety-wise in Sopot. Stop and have

a cup of coffee and a pastry at the cute two story restaurant at the pier

and then check out the amber stalls and shops nearby. (Shopping/gift idea -

amber bracelets on elastic string for $10.00 each - less if you bargain.

Amber/turquoise combos are popular now, and those are available in the

bracelets too.)

 

Oslo was super. My husband read Kon Tiki before our trip so we made sure to

go to the Kon Tiki museum . We also went to the sculpture park. The hop on

hop off bus took forever and didn't stick to it's bus-every-half-hour

schedule, so we didn't have time to go to the Viking museum or open air

museum. My suggestion is to decide where you want to go and take a land or

water taxi. (Shopping - Kon Tiki mouse pad)

 

We bought departure transfers to the airport on the ship. As there were very

few taxis available, we're very glad we had the ship transfers. They were

worth every cent.

 

Our cabin was great. A722. We were conveniently located just one staircase

from the Horizon Court buffet so getting to breakfast was a snap. As it

turned out, either side of the ship would have been fine. We'd thought that

the port side would have the best views, but once you're out at sea, you're

so far from land that it doesn't matter. Plus.. it was foggy... The balcony

was the perfect place to view the fjords outside of Oslo.

[cdngrl]

thank you. russia is on my list of places to get to someday. i liked your shopping tips. :)

[TracieABD]

I took this cruise and just loved it! Thank you so much for your wonderful review!:)

[never2late]

Great review -- we plan on going on the Emerald in September of 2011. Which tour company did you use in St. Petersburg? Do you recommend them? There are 3 of us -- what kind of vehicle did they use?

 

Thanks so much.

[rdsqrl]

Thank you for your review; sounds like a fabulous cruise! Like you, I was really pleasantly surprised by Stockholm -- I wasn't expecting all that much and yet totally loved it there. Beautiful city, tons of neat stuff to see and do, easy to get around, not nearly as expensive as everyone warns (I was there on a land trip), and really friendly people who speak embarrassingly good English.

[Woobstr112G]

My husband and I were on the May 12 Star Princess cruise around the Baltic.

We had perfect weather and calm seas. The ship was lovely, the staff was

great and there was much to do in the ports and on the ship. The ship's newsletter will alert you to meet & greets for members (and wannabe members) of Cruise Critic. Very fun and helpful.

 

Our flight to Copenhagen (via Frankfurt) was cancelled 'the morning of'

because of the volcano in Iceland, but United Miles Plus found us other

flights. Unfortunately our luggage didn't make it to Copenhagen with us, but

was delivered to the hotel the next afternoon. Clearly it was a good idea to

arrive in the departure port a couple of days early. With the flight

problems and resulting loss of luggage, we would have been in trouble if

we'd arrived just one day early or the day of the ship's departure. Our hotel gave us toothbrushes, toothpaste and XL white t-shirts to sleep in . We stayed at the Marriott Downtown Copenhagen - $104 a night on Priceline.

 

In the morning of our full day in Copenhagen we walked past Tivoli and the

town hall square (look for Hans Christian Anderson!) in the early morning, then down Stroget to Nyhavn for a canal tour. After the tour, we walked back up Stroget and went into the shops. Royal Copenhagen and Illums Bolighus are must-sees. We took a side trip to the Round Tower and to the University of Copenhagen. Later, we headed over to the National Museum (free) and spent a couple of hours examining the prehistory to Viking age exhibits on the first floor and the later period exhibits on the second floor. That evening we went to Tivoli and enjoyed the buffet & music at the restaurant Herzegovina right there in the park. (Shopping - paper cut mobiles of Hans Christian Anderson tales purchased at the airport on the day of departure.. about $20 ea)

 

Boarding the ship was a snap. The first day on board was a day at sea. Day 2

was Stockholm.

 

Stockholm was a wonderful surprise. There's so much to do there and it's all

reachable by the hop on hop off boats in the harbor. The Vasa was

incredible. We went to the King's palace and bought several things in the palace

gift shop. I bought my 4 yr old granddaughter a postcard with a pic of the

royal family (the Queen and princesses in traditional dress) and a pink

hand towel with a gold crown on it. Heir to the throne, Princess Victoria,

is getting married next week to a commoner. It's a love match. :)

 

Old town near the palace is incredible. Make sure you have plenty of time to wind your way around the old streets and in & out of shops. (Shopping highlights - Vasa Xmas ornament, Swedish design tea towels, a colorful apron, hot pads, colorful plastic serving trays, wooden Swedish Xmas horses, Swedish doll in traditional dress, gold crown & rhinestone

earrings from the Palace gift shop -only $10 and sooo cute!)

 

Helsinki is lovely. We took a cab to the church on the hill (biggest

orthodox church in Finland or Scandinavia) and then walked down The

Esplanade of trees and sun worshipping Finns. We stopped for coffee and

pastry and did some people watching, too. I think it was in Helsinki that we

visited Stockmann Dept Store. Go to the kitchenware section and you'll find

a really good souvenirs. (Shopping highlights - plastic trays with pics of

Lapland, Lapland stuffed 'animals (costumed boy & girl and a moose), stuffed

animals at shops at dock (reindeer and husky puppies) )

 

Our two-day tour with SPB in St Petersburg was excellent.

Viktoria is the owner and Eugene was our guide. ($290 pp + tip) We saw

everything from the subway, to the synagogue, the Church on Spilled Blood,

Catherine's Palace, Peterhof , Peter and Paul Fortress (Tzar's graves) and

the Hermitage. We rode the hydrofoil, had a canal tour on a small private

boat and enjoyed two lunches at very nice cafes. We women would have liked

more shopping time at the gov't approved store , but fortunately there were

a few shops at the dock right outside of immigration. (Shopping highlights -

Russian stacking dolls, amber necklaces and a lighter with CCCP (soviet)

lettering on it - fake but fun)

 

I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd ever go to Russia Imagine!

 

Tallinn is a gem. The architecture and shops were fantastic. I'd go back

there in a heartbeat. I left my heart in Tallinn. (Shopping highlights -

beautiful linen , amber, hand carved wooden items)

 

The afternoon after the ship leaves Tallinn is one of the first

opportunities for people to do laundry. Get there asap armed with your

quarters and soap and a good book to read. Stay there and guard your things

and place in line. My husband called the laundry room "the snake pit."

 

Poland was sort of depressing. Baltic (oil) prosperity has not come to

Poland. The people look like they live hard lives and there are sad-looking

beggars on the streets of old town Gdansk. For $100 total (plus tip), our

group of three hired a taxi to take us to old town in Gdansk , Sopot, to a

church for an organ recital, and around Gdynia (e.g, Lech Walesa house,

the Solidarity monument, a scenic view of the harbor, etc).

 

Amber shopping in Gdansk was very disappointing. If we'd known, we would

have shopped more in Tallin and St Petersburg but we'd read that Gdansk was

the best place for amber. There are fancy pieces with silver in shops on one

of the streets, but if you're looking for gifts for the girls-back-home,

you'll find better bargains and pieces in Tallin. Sopot is a lovely hotel

and beach area . We liked it better then old town Gdansk and the amber

shopping was much better price-wise and variety-wise in Sopot. Stop and have

a cup of coffee and a pastry at the cute two story restaurant at the pier

and then check out the amber stalls and shops nearby. (Shopping/gift idea -

amber bracelets on elastic string for $10.00 each - less if you bargain.

Amber/turquoise combos are popular now, and those are available in the

bracelets too.)

 

Oslo was super. My husband read Kon Tiki before our trip so we made sure to

go to the Kon Tiki museum . We also went to the sculpture park. The hop on

hop off bus took forever and didn't stick to it's bus-every-half-hour

schedule, so we didn't have time to go to the Viking museum or open air

museum. My suggestion is to decide where you want to go and take a land or

water taxi. (Shopping - Kon Tiki mouse pad)

 

We bought departure transfers to the airport on the ship. As there were very

few taxis available, we're very glad we had the ship transfers. They were

worth every cent.

 

Our cabin was great. A722. We were conveniently located just one staircase

from the Horizon Court buffet so getting to breakfast was a snap. As it

turned out, either side of the ship would have been fine. We'd thought that

the port side would have the best views, but once you're out at sea, you're

so far from land that it doesn't matter. Plus.. it was foggy... The balcony

was the perfect place to view the fjords outside of Oslo.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your observations.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Wezzie]

Never2Late, we signed onto tour in St Petersburg with SPB Tours . It took me forever to remember the name of the company until I realized it probably stands for (st) (peters) (burg) = SPB.

 

http://www.spb-tours.com/

 

The company specializes in tours for cruise groups. I wrote to them and listed the things we wanted to see and they told me that a group was forming from my ship. The tour was limited to 12 people who all turned out to be very pleasant, fun-loving and hardy walkers. We drove in a comfy van that had room for about 20 people, I'd estimate. The driver stayed with the van so we could leave our coats, packs and packages on the bus if we wanted to.

 

I highly recommend this company! SPB Tours!

[TracieABD]

Thank you for your review; sounds like a fabulous cruise! Like you, I was really pleasantly surprised by Stockholm -- I wasn't expecting all that much and yet totally loved it there. Beautiful city, tons of neat stuff to see and do, easy to get around, not nearly as expensive as everyone warns (I was there on a land trip), and really friendly people who speak embarrassingly good English.

 

Swedes rock!:) (OK, about 3/4 of my family still live there... so I am biased!)

Love Stockholm as well!