Change to Baltic itinerary on the Constellation

[John&Betty]

Our Baltic itinerary has just changed considerably without any notice. We have changed our web site, under “Maps & Photos” below, to reflect these changes. We no longer go to Gdansk at all, it has been replaced with a day at sea. Also instead of Helsingborg we go to Helsinki. We will miss seeing Gdansk but I’m sure we will enjoy Helsinki more than we would have Helsingborg.

 

Now we need to find information on Helsinki. Does anyone have information on private tour companies there?

 

John

[stanj]

Hi John

Helsinki is a very European modern city in public transportation and services so getting around is easy does not require knowing the Language, partly because the second language for many if not most people in Finland is English.

A map or guide book and a trollly pass will get you by quite nicely but if you would like a guides tour check out:

 

http://www.affiliate.viator.com/brochure/ed_PRODUCT_results.jsp?CITY=HELSINKI&L=MOSTPOP&AUID=1422

 

There is less to see than some of the other Baltic region ports but it is a very clean and well organized city in a beautiful coastal environment with a great downtown shopping district

 

Stan

stan@rus-net.net

(probably the only other person on the board who knows where Kelsyville is;>) )

[swdke]

Here is a web link I just discovered tonight that mentions private guided Helsinki Tours. http://www.helsinkiexpert.fi/guides

[Princess Di]

Had to Google that one. :confused:

 

Very Beautiful! :cool:

 

It looks a little like the Blue Mountains, but the 3 Sisters have disappeared. ;)

 

http://www.kelseyville.com/

[Princess Di]

I couldn't get your link to work. :(

 

Here is another: :D

 

http://www.hel.fi/HKL/index_e.html

[John&Betty]

Hi Stan & Steve,

 

You guys are great! More information than an encyclopedia. After looking at this neat site we have decided that we can find enough interesting things to see within walking distance to keep us happily occupied all day. I posted it under Helsinki on our site.

 

http://www.virtualhelsinki.net/helsinkipanoraama/eng/kauppatori.html

 

If you click on the numbers on the little map on the left you get virtual tours of 18 different points of interest. What a beautiful city.

 

Good Stan, You're not just the only guy on this board but probanly the only guy in St Petersburg that knows where Kelseyville is.

 

Great web site Princess Di, We've owned property here for 30 years and haven't seen some of that stuff! Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

 

John

[Compass Rose Monica]

"It will berth to the West Harbour to dock LHC Munkkisaari Quay."

 

John, maybe you can mark on the map the area where we'll be docked. This site shows the ports http://www.hel.fi/port/english/matkustajaliikenne/satamat/index.html

 

Monica :)

[mare s.]

You guys are incredible! Started reading my guidebooks yesterday because of the addition of Helsinki, and here it all is in a nutshell! I'm still disappointed about losing out on the additional time in Stockholm, but it seems that Helsinki will be a very good port just to walk around and soak up atmosphere. mare

[elynch]

Hi Stan, I hope you can give us a little direction. Our dates in St Petersburg have change to Sunday and Monday. We have a group with Red October. I believe that a lot of the museums and churches are closed on Monday. I have emailed Red October already and await their reply. What tours would you suggest on Monday.

Thanks for your help. I was so disappointed when I found out about the change yesterday.

 

Elaine

[dbh62ark]

I'm not Stan, but I'm in the same boat you're in--no pun intended--on another sailing (August 27), so I've been checking on the same question regarding closings. I'm advised that Catherine's Palace (Tsarskoe selo) is closed on the last Monday of the month and that Peterhof is closed on Mondays. The Hermitage is also closed on Mondays. My hope for you is that the private guides will have a solution since they have some access to early entrances, etc.

 

If it means anything, I'm sorry this happened to you and your fellow passengers and send my best wishes to you.

 

Donna

[John&Betty]

Monica,

 

I have already marked the west port area as close as I can figure it out. Now I'm hoping someone will come along that can pinpoint it a liitle closer.

 

John

[Compass Rose Monica]

Hi John,

 

I emailed the person again asking for clarification - so far no response.

 

Monica

 

PS: According to the web site with the ports, you have marked a north-east side rather than west. http://www.hel.fi/port/english/matkustajaliikenne/satamat/index.html

[alcman]

I just checked the Celebrity web site and they have our original itinerary back in. Confusion is beginning to reign. I called Celebrity and they confirmed that the itinerary they would sell today is our original one that did not include Helsinki. We are on the July 2 sailing of the Constellation. You may want to check on the web site and see if yours returned to its previous route.

 

Jerry

[John&Betty]

Jerry that is really weird!

 

Are you sure that the Celebrity web site showed a change to the July 2nd itinerary and then changed it back?

 

John

[rob63]

:confused:

 

 

Our itinerary for the 30th July has also changed back. Whats going on?

[alcman]

John,

 

I printed them out each time I checked. On the 13th I have a printout from my cruise reservation that shows the changes. On the 14th I have a printout from the same place that shows my original itinerary. I called Captains Club and they had no answer.

 

Jerry

[stanj]

Hi Stan, I hope you can give us a little direction. Our dates in St Petersburg have change to Sunday and Monday. We have a group with Red October. I believe that a lot of the museums and churches are closed on Monday. I have emailed Red October already and await their reply. What tours would you suggest on Monday.

Thanks for your help. I was so disappointed when I found out about the change yesterday.

 

Elaine

 

Hi Elaine

Here is part of my own list of museum(with links) hours that could be of help in deciding on your "plan of attack" for getting the most out of your visit. If a particular museum is closed that only leaves 120 others:>)

 

Selected Museums in the city center

 

 

 

Arctic and Antarctic Museum

 

10.00 - 17.00 Mon, Tues— Closed

 

Artillery, Engineering & Communications Museum

 

11.00 - 17.00 Mon, Tues— Closed

 

Aurora Cruiser

 

10.30 - 16.00 Mon, Friday — Closed

 

Blockade Museum at Solyanoy per., 9

 

10.00 - 17.00 Wednesday — Closed

 

Cabin of Peter the Great

 

10.00 - 18.00 Tuesday — Closed

 

Central Naval Museum

 

10.30 - 17.30 Mon, Tues — Closed

 

Church-on-Spilled-Blood

 

11.00 - 16.00 Wednesday — Closed

 

City Sculpture Museum at the A. Nevsky Lavra

 

10.00 - 17.00 Thursday — Closed

 

Dostoevsky Memorial Museum

 

11.00 - 17.30 Monday — Closed

 

Hermitage (Winter Palace)

 

10.30 - 17.00 Monday — Closed

 

History of Religion & AtheismMuseum

 

— Closed for relocation

 

Kunstkamera (Anthropology & EthnographyMuseum)

 

11.00 - 18.00 Thursday — Closed

 

Marble Palace (now a RussianMuseum branch)

 

10.00 - 18.00 Tuesday — Closed

 

Menshikov Palace

 

10.30 - 16.30 Tuesday — Closed

 

Mikhailovsky (Engineers) Castle

 

10:30 - 17:00 Tuesday - Closed

 

M. M. Zoshchenko Memorial Museum

 

10.30 - 18.00 Monday — Closed

 

Museum of Erotica

 

08.00 - 21.30 — Daily

 

Museum of Hygienics (ShuvalovPalace)

 

10.00 - 17.00 — Closed w/e's

 

Museum of Russian Political History

 

10.00 - 17.00 Thursday — Closed

 

Museum of Russian Political History

 

10.00 - 17.00 Thursday — Closed

 

Peter and Paul Cathedral

 

11.00 - 18.00 Wednesday — Closed

 

Russian Museum

 

10.00 - 17.00 Tuesday — Closed

 

Russian Museum of Ethnography

 

10.00 - 18.00 Monday — Closed

 

Sheremetev Palace

 

12.00 - 18.00 Mon, Tues — Closed

 

St. Isaac's Cathedral

 

11.00 - 15.30 Wednesday — Closed

 

Stroganov Palace

 

10.00 - 18.00 Tuesday — Closed

 

Summer Garden and Palace of Peter I

 

10.30 - 17.30 Tuesday — Closed

 

Suvorov Memorial Museum

 

10.00 - 18.00 Tues, Wed — Closed

 

Trubetskoy Bastion (Fortress Prison)

 

11.00 - 18.00 Wednesday — Closed

 

Varshavsky Vokzal Railway Museum

 

10.00 - 18.00 Mon, Tues — Closed

 

Vodka Museum (5, Konnogvardeisky Bulva)

 

11.00 - 22.00 7 Days a Week

 

Wax Museum (Belosselsky-Belozersky Palace)

 

11.00 - 18.30 7 Days a Week

 

Yusupov Palace

 

10.00 - 17.00 7 Days a Week

 

Zoological Museum

 

11.00 - 17.00 Friday — Closed

 

MUSEUMS in the SUBURBS

 

Alexander Palace,

 

Pushkin 10.00 – 16.30 Tuesday – Closed

 

Gatchina Palace

 

10.00 – 17.00 Monday – Closed

 

Kronstadt Fortress

 

11.00 – 17.00 Monday, Tuesday – Closed

 

Novgorod State Museum

 

10.00 – 18.00 -Tuesday – Closed

 

Oranienbaum Museum

 

10.00 – 17.00 Tuesday – Closed

 

Pavlovsk Museum

 

10.00 – 17.00 Friday – Closed, and on the first Monday each month

 

Penaty - Ilya Repin’s Mansion

 

10.30 – 17.00 Tuesday – Closed

 

Peterhof Grand Palace

 

10.30 – 17.00 Monday – Closed

 

Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin) Museum

 

10.30 – 16.30 Closed Mon,Tues, and last Friday in the month.

 

Have a great visit

Stan

stan@rus-net.net

[elynch]

Thanks Stan,

You're the best, such a wealth of knowledge. Can't wait to see St Petersburg.

 

Elaine and Robert

[John&Betty]

Stan that is incredible, what a great list of places and links! How long did it take you to put it together? Did you do href’s for each one? Most of them work and show places we have not seen before. A few of them are either old or there is a mistake in the url.

 

I would really enjoy seeing your web site. Is it ready yet?

 

John

[John&Betty]

That is amazing! I think Celebrity is making a mistake jerking people around like this. I know cruises are selling well right now, but they are making a lot of people mad and its bound to hurt in the long run.

 

John

[celem]

We did the Constellation's Baltic Cruise last July. For what it is worth, here is my brief journal entry for Helsinki:

 

July 6, 2004, Helsinki, Finland

$1=0.821€- 10AM docked at a port (Hernesaari Artholmen, 10 minute drive) with courtesy shuttle. Cool - changed into long sleeves.

- Ship about 10 minute drive from drop point which is on the row of expensive sponsored shops, not at the waterfront market area.

- Walked to the waterfront market after changing some money. Much produce, souvenirs and food stalls. Reindeer furs could be had for 40 euro - they averaged about 65 elsewhere. While walking to the Uspenski Cathedral the rain started. While inside, we met some fellow shipmates and we shared a taxi to the Rock Church and afterwards we all walked to the National Museum and then walked to the market for lunch at Rick Steve's recommended Cafe Kappeli (good).

- After a bit of walking around town we went to the grocery in the basement of Stockman's Department store and then caught the shuttle at around 4:15PM. My wife purchased some dried herbs. (Note: My wife loves to visit grocery stores in foreign lands)

- We were too tired to eat at the Late Seating, especially as the clocks were going to be set ahead before arriving in St. Petersburg, so we ate some sushi and "healthy" food at the Aqua Spa. Then we enjoyed the Theralosothy Pool, sauna and hot tubs before retiring. (Note: This was the ONLY time during the entire cruise that the Theralosothy Pool was not too crowded to even get in)

- The Matrie 'D called to say that he was going to move us to another table, per our request, since after 3 nights we were the only people sitting at the table set for eight - the others never came!

[stanj]

That is amazing! I think Celebrity is making a mistake jerking people around like this. I know cruises are selling well right now, but they are making a lot of people mad and its bound to hurt in the long run.

 

John

 

Hi John

If ANYONE knows the importantce of long term planning and schedules it should be cruise lines. They must know that cruisers plan far in advance and want lots of information do that, much more than a typical land based tourist who can or has to be more flexible. Changing a date or moving a port call can screwup a lot of careful planning. I would be thoroughly upset if I planned a trip around certain activities and discovered the activity was not available on a date my schedule ws changed to without consulting me.

 

The list of museums was created over a year ago so some URLs might be out of date. I have some new URLs to add to it and seek out those others have found to add to the list. The above list is not complete by anymeans, there are over 120 museums in the city.

If anyone has interesting URL links to add send me a private email if you would be so kind and I will add them to the list and then post them compiled into a list to Baltic Ports here. I image people have done the same for other ports also. The discussions of Helsinki brought up that need. The cool thing about most Scandinavian ports is that they are very easy to explore on your own. A map, and a guide book with your interests circled in the margins is all you need in Helsinki. I guess that more people speak English to a high degree of fluency than in many places in the USA. I know no Finnish yet it is easier to be understood than in New York Ciity;>) Same with Denmark, very smart multiligual people everywhere you go. Russia is full of very bright well educated people but the Cyrillic alphabet making signs looking like Greek and fewer people speaking English, it can be intimidating for a first time visitor.

 

Speaking of guide books, what are your favorites? I love the D&K series out of England because the quality of printing and sheer beauty make them well worth their extra cost but they are not undated very often. Another series I recommnend is in the same format with spectacular artistic design is the Knopf series but they have a little different emphasis on the past so I recommend both to my friends who want to visit St Petersburg. I hate most guide books that are out of date plus have poor layout. I can forgive the two listed above for being out of date because they are so beautifully done but when some one references a book like the Rough Guides or similar I suggest throwing them away. They are useless in imparting the notion of the spirit and feel of a destination and if they also have out of date info they are less then useless. Generally I lke books on tourism that get me excitied bout the culture, the feel, look and smell of a destination. I do not need lists of data to get me in the mood.

 

Have a great trip

Stan

[mikenmar]

Stan,

 

I see you must be back in St. Petersburg. Thank you for the list of Museums. Is the Oranienbaum worth seeing as compared to the Peterhof or Pushkin - Catherine Palace?

 

I have been reading the guide book from Lonely Planet. This isn't too bad.

 

Celebrity is driving everyone a little nuts. They keep changing their itinerary. I have emailed them and they said they will be get back to me. It appears that their reservation dept. does not even know that there were changes. The travel agent did not know that there were changes. I will have to keep checking to see if it went back to the original itinerary.

 

I am on the Constellation for the Aug 13th sailing. They are only giving us from 2pm to 8pm in Riga, Latvia. This was suppose to be from 9am to 7pm. What a difference. We will be in St. Petersburg on a Sun. and Mon. instead of on Sat. & Sun.

 

Thanks to all for all the information on this thread and others.

Marion

[Carlene]

Hi All,

The travel agency DH is associated with is having a Celebrity rep in on 2-23 for a cruise forum. Yeah I'm going to be there, DH is out of town with his "real job". I've adjusted my work schedule to be able to attend and I've started a list of questions, I'm very curious as to how it works out and what information this rep will really have.

 

I'm printing various docs such as the Helsinki port info. etc. Info entered onto the Celebrity website which notifies the general passenger prior to the agent. The fact that as the booking agent, DH was not and has not been notified of the port changes made to our cruise let alone any other cruises.

 

I'm not going into it with any expectations just with an open mind to see if there will be any type of real explanation on the thoughts of the company and what their expectations would be for us to be able to promote their product since these arbitary port changes continue to happen.

 

I will most certain post info as to what takes place.

 

Well it's Friday night for me, then I'm off work until Sunday.

 

I want to continue to thank everyone for all of the information we find on CC. It will be great to meet our resourses once on board the Constellation.

 

Happy Cruising

Carlene

[rob63]

sorry wrong info