Has anyone taken a guided walking tour of Gamla Stan in Stockholm?

[Live the good life]

Thanks Alan on your post! It is sad that they are trying to put the blame on us stating that we did not clearly communicate our intention of wanting to watch the beginning of the Change of Guard that resulted in us only catching the last 3 minutes of it (and non-musical part).

 

This was communicated clearly via e-mails pre-cruise and again many times when we were with the guide as we were walking towards the Royal Palace! The guide should have alerted us that it was time to be outside of the Palace to catch this very important event (and all of us made it very clear to her that we would not want to to miss the Change of Guard during our walk!)...Helen and Norma (and spouse) were also very upset about this tour, verbalizing them again the next day to us when we ran into one another at the Kadriorg Palace in Tallinn!

 

Again, all of us in our group are pretty polite people, and tried our best to describe our a disappointed experience on line in a very nice way despite our frustration. As I stated previously, most of us are not naive cruisers/tour guide users, and not "extremely hard to please" either. I believe the couple who left the tour early had 20 cruises under their belt and felt it was a waste of time to be in this tour...

 

All of us felt extremely enlightened and enriched after other private tours, which were not only highly interactive, and conversational, but had depth in history and architecture as well...Like you, I am not trying to encourage others not to book Stockholm stories, just that there are other options (tourguides) out there who might better fit your wants and needs and to beware that despite clear communications of one's intentions and agreement on the part of the guide to a plan, it can still result in a disappointing experience! One would think that it would be hard to have such non-interesting/disappointing feeling during a guided walk in such a beautiful city! (Norma had a great 90 minutes walking tour with Richard Karpen in Copenhagen!)...

 

Anyway, we have heard that the change of Guard in Stockholm (especially the beginning, musical portion of it) is supposed to be the best in the Scandinavian countries...Alan and Steve, your sense of humor really helped make the rest of our day in Stockholm more enjoyable...I still have a photos taken of all of us munching hotdogs on a street near the VASA! Too bad Helen could not join us for this adventure...

 

Kim

[nyfeds]

Kim,

 

I was not a part of your group, therefore, I'm not at liberty to point blame at anyone. I just wanted to say that I'm terribly sorry that your group's touring experience in Stockholm was one of disappointment. I do hope that you are able to visit Stockholm again, someday, and see this lovely city the way in which you hope to see it.

 

Thank you for expressing your opinions.

[Live the good life]

Ginny,

Another person from this board (Aztec) booked a 5 hour private tour and was happy with the tour.

Kim

 

Nyfed,

 

Nothing was meant to be directed towards you at all...Actually, thank you for having stated very eloquently on your above post on what you look for in a guide and tour. I share the same philosophy...

 

Part of my goal in "living a good life" personally and spiritually is "forgiveness"...Therefore, I am ready to move on and not dwell on it...

My only reason for having posted a post on Stockholm stories was because I was the one who recommended to Gopackgo on this post pre-cruise (don't have her private e-mail), and felt the need to warn her of the actual experience so she can have a better experience. I think I was being very fair by volunteering in my post the fact that Aztec enjoyed his 5 hour tour with Maria...

Anyway, with all these awareness and the multiple days you, Ginny, and Leslie will have in Stockholm, I am sure you all will have a very good tour and time in Stockholm...

 

Happy cruising!

 

Kim

[nyfeds]

Hi Kim,

 

I didn't take your comments personally. However, I thank you for your kind words.

 

I do believe that all involved have their personal take on the chain of events and I respect the right to voice experiences and opinions. Those of us reading these opinions and posts then take from it what they will. That goes not only for this particular thread, but all threads on CC.

 

Thanks for sharing all your experiences with us. I appreciate the time you've taken to do so.

[thecruisechick]

We sailed on July 2/Jewel and used the following guide for a day. He did a great job.

 

 

Pick up at pier cab/driver arranged with Stockholm Visitors Board

Viktoria (Phone: 08-508-258-08)

 

Driver: Bernt Nystrom

[gopackgo]

We are now back from our Baltic cruise on the Radisson Voyager. It was fantastic! Six of us scheduled a walking tour with Maria from Stockholmstories.se.

 

I think I can say we all enjoyed our tour very much. Maria is a delightful, fun, and informative tour guide. Her technique is definitely not rigid or precanned. Her style is very conversational and she tells many funny anecdotes about the history of Stockholm. We laughed throughout the tour at her stories.

 

I do think a larger group might have difficulty hearing her since she talks in a everyday conversational volume. I can see where a group of 12 people would not have worked out with her. Six was the perfect size, possibly 8.

 

She talked quite a bit in the beginning about the history of the Scandinavian countries before we even started walking. She did have maps and pictures, etc. that she displayed while she spoke, which I thought was helpful. She also handed out sheets with information on the styles of architecture found in Gamla Stan and other historical tidbits.

 

Maria did an excellent job of pointing how so many buldings were built in one period or style, and then the facades were changed over the years into another style. She showed us examples of details on several buildings where facades were covered up or where windows used to be, etc. She was able to blend this in with the history of the old town. She also explained how the street got their names, etc. I found all this to be very interesting.

 

She avoided the busiest streets and took us down the side streets and courtyards to show us examples of architecture and other cultural tidbits. We were scheduled for a 2 hour tour, and actually she gave us an extra half hour with no extra charge.

 

I would highly recommend her tour for a small friendly group. She is full of stories and will tell you all about herself if you ask her. Not only was it a tour of the town, but I felt we got a chance to share some fun time with a native Stockholmer.

 

Ginny

 

This is strictly my opinion. I am sure the others from my group will chime in with their opinions, also!