Baltic Info? Any reason for tendering in Stockholm

[DrKoob]

Good morning all,

 

We are on the June 22 sailing of Eclipse to the Baltic. I have been following her movements on the current cruise through Live Ship Maps on MarineTraffic.com and I noticed that while steam towards Stockholm she suddenly started listing her destination as Ninasham and currently shows her anchored and tendering. Ninasham is a port about 45 minutes by car, south of Stockholm.

 

Does anyone who has done the Baltic before have any idea why this would happen? I am just hoping it doesn't happen to us? Could it be a tide situation? A problem with berths? Strikes? Also wondering what would happen with private guides. If this has happened to you and you had a private guide, did they come to get you or did you have to take a ship's shuttle to Stockholm and meet them there.

 

Any info would be appreciated from seasoned Baltic cruisers.

 

Jim

[wednesday]

I am not a seasoned Baltic cruiser but we were on the Eclipse last summer. I remember our pier changing close to the last minute. I can't remember the pier names but we ended up docking pretty close to everything, and we were the only ship on that pier. I also remember one slightly smaller cruise ship anchored in the harbor and I assume they tendered. Maybe it is a lack of space to dock for the larger cruise ships? This is just a guess.

[DrKoob]

I am not a seasoned Baltic cruiser but we were on the Eclipse last summer. I remember our pier changing close to the last minute. I can't remember the pier names but we ended up docking pretty close to everything, and we were the only ship on that pier. I also remember one slightly smaller cruise ship anchored in the harbor and I assume they tendered. Maybe it is a lack of space to dock for the larger cruise ships? This is just a guess.

 

No, this is more than that. I checked with people who were on the previous cruise and they docked right downtown Stockholm almost 50 miles away from where Eclipse is now.

[lindsaystevenson]

Strange... It docked in town two weeks ago so not sure why.... Too many boats in town? There was a RCCL ship tendered in town 2 weeks ago looking right into Gamla Stan and the old town.

[trabeler]

If the winds or currents happen to be too high, it is not safe for the ship to navigate into Stockholm and you'll tender into Nynashamn.

 

This has happened to us in the past on the Constellation.

 

Excursions purchased through Celebrity provided the additional transportation without added cost. People with independent arrangements (like us) had to take the train from Nynashamn into Stockholm. The train station was a short walk from the tender dock.

[CruzPotato]

If the winds or currents happen to be too high, it is not safe for the ship to navigate into Stockholm and you'll tender into Nynashamn.

 

This has happened to us in the past on the Constellation.

 

Excursions purchased through Celebrity provided the additional transportation without added cost. People with independent arrangements (like us) had to take the train from Nynashamn into Stockholm. The train station was a short walk from the tender dock.

 

Thank you - just in case I find myself in this situation when I sail later this summer could you tell me where the train takes you in Stockholm and did you purchase a train ticket at a kiosk or was there a ticket agent at the station?

[Scrapnana]

Only two ships scheduled in Stockholm today, so that is probably not the reason.

[Redtravel]

Stockholm has had several riots. It has become a dangerous place. Perhaps, the change of port is for safety reasons.

[trabeler]

Thank you - just in case I find myself in this situation when I sail later this summer could you tell me where the train takes you in Stockholm and did you purchase a train ticket at a kiosk or was there a ticket agent at the station?

 

It's been a few years but the train brought us into central Stockholm. We had the stockholm card for city museums and buses and I believe it covered most (if not all) of the train fare. From where the train dropped us off we were able to easily take buses everywhere we wanted to go.

 

There was a shop at the train station that sold tickets. I don't recall if you could get tickets with a credit card or if local currency was required. You might try posting a detailed question on the ports of call board to see if someone has more recent experience.

[varoo]

We recently docked in Stockholm on Brilliance of the Seas.

There was a wonderful hop-on-hop-off boat that picked us up and dropped us off right beside our ship.

 

It went around the harbor making stops at the major tourist areas, including the Vasa museum.

 

They accepted our credit cards to pay for the hop-on-off boat, for the Vasa museum admission, and for everything else, so we did not even need to exchange any money there and avoided paying fees for currency conversion.

 

If Stockholm was a dangerous place, we were not aware of it and we felt very comfortable walking around there.

It was peaceful and everyone was friendly everywhere we went.

We watched the changing of the guard at the royal palace (another place the hop-on-off boat stopped) and it was the best, most elaborate and entertaining changing of the guard ceremony we have ever seen. They put on quite a show.

 

[CruzPotato]

It's been a few years but the train brought us into central Stockholm. We had the stockholm card for city museums and buses and I believe it covered most (if not all) of the train fare. From where the train dropped us off we were able to easily take buses everywhere we wanted to go.

 

There was a shop at the train station that sold tickets. I don't recall if you could get tickets with a credit card or if local currency was required. You might try posting a detailed question on the ports of call board to see if someone has more recent experience.

 

Trabeler - thanks again; I was thinking of picking up a Stockholm card (SC) via a voucher and directions are to exchange the voucher at the airport or visitor center - if the SC includes rail tix discounts then I won't have the card to use at that time unless there was a way to exchange.

I will take your advice and post to the Port of Call Board.

[trabeler]

Trabeler - thanks again; I was thinking of picking up a Stockholm card (SC) via a voucher and directions are to exchange the voucher at the airport or visitor center - if the SC includes rail tix discounts then I won't have the card to use at that time unless there was a way to exchange.

I will take your advice and post to the Port of Call Board.

 

We ordered the cards far enough in advance that we had them when we arrived. I asked my wife what she remembers and she believes that the card wasn't supposed to cover the commuter train fare to Stockholm, but the people at the ticket counter just waved us through with the card.

[Essiesmom]

Only two ships scheduled in Stockholm today, so that is probably not the reason.

 

Three ships scheduled: Eclipse, AIDAmar, Costa Luminosa. The latter two were able to dock. EM

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

This happened to us two years ago on the Eclipse. The captain announced the port of Stockholm was closed. When people who tendered in got to Stockholm, they found ships docked there. We didn't appreciate being lied to. And the sail in to Stockholm was to have been one of the highlights of the cruise.