Warnemunde/Berlin

[lysolqn]

Trying to decide whether to take ship's tour of Berlin or just go it on our own from Warnemunde. Would appreciate some guidance from those who've done it on their own, as well as those who've gone with the ship's tours.

 

If you did it on your own, how was the trip from the port to Berlin (time, cost, hassle)? How did you get around in Berlin, did you have time to really see the city, and would you do it again on your own or would you opt for a shore excursion?

 

For those who did the ship's tour, what did you get to see, and would you do it again or opt to do it on your own next time?

 

Thanks!

[Host CMLA]

For those who did the ship's tour, what did you get to see, and would you do it again or opt to do it on your own next time?

I did the ship's tour to Berlin when I sailed on the NCL Dream a few years ago. I'm glad I did the tour. But it was a long day! We met at 7:00 am and boarded a train for the 2 1/2 hour ride to Berlin. In Berlin we boarded buses and we were off. First stop: a portion of the Berlin Wall still standing. We were given the history of the wall and also what would happen if someone tried to cross the wall from the East to West. The wall came down on November 9, 1989 at the Brandenburg Gate. We drove past the Brandenburg Gate but it's being restored right now so we didn't get a good view. To commemorate where the wall once stood, in the pavement following the original placement of the wall is a double width path of bricks. Every time you see it, you're seeing where the original wall once stood. We went to Checkpoint Charlie which was the only international gate for people to pass through. Then we went to the Allied Museum and saw an actual plane that was used during the airlifts of 1948 and 1949 on top of a whole museum filled with memorabilia. We stopped for lunch and some free time. I went to Ka De We which is the second largest department store after Harrod's. Our last stop was the National Museum. We had perfect weather. Not a cloud in the sky all day and 74 degrees.

 

If I went again I'd probably do the ship's tour again unless I found something I wanted to do in Warnemunde. It was just easy. Berlin is so far away and I wanted to see the city. I liked the security of being in their hands to get back to the ship on time.

[aqua]

This is what I posted after our Constellation cruise last summer:

 

On Friday the ship docked in Rostock. Five of our group took the ship's Berlin On Your Own excursion. They took the special train to Berlin where they met info@berlin-starting-point.de for a private tour. They were very pleased with the tour and recommend the guide. However, there were some problems, but not with the tour agency. I had called Celebrity before we left the country to verify the name of the arrival train station. Once on board, I stopped by the Shore Excursions desk to confirm the station. After 2 days, they notified me that the train would arrive at a different station. I was able to email the tour agency and they were met at the correct place. While our family left the train station with the guide, the remaining passengers were bussed downtown. During that time, Celebrity changed the meeting time for the return to the ship. However, our group had no way of knowing this. Fortunately, they saw people they recognized at the meeting place and they were able to meet the bus to go to the train station. The train ended up being 2 hours late, and the captain had to hold the ship.

The rest of our group took the shuttle into Rostock and then took the train and tram to Warnemunde. It costs 1.50 euros each way to go to Warnemunde. The beach resort was a nice town, sort of like a tourist area of Florida, only much colder! We did enjoy the day, and found the prices to be a nice relief from Oslo and Copenhagen.

 

Those who went to Berlin ejoyed seeing the city. They took the train because because my husband and father are train buffs. However, there may have been less stress (and less expense) if the agency had picked them up in a van. But then you have the concern of traffic.... They did like the tour guide though. They found him to be very knowledgable and professional, and the agency was good at responding to my emails. We did save quite a bit of money by touring on our own, but you have to weigh if you want to try it or not. Ours turned out to be a good experience.