Cunards shore excursions???

[sarar]

Has anyone done the Jewish Heritage and concentration camp trip offered by Cunard, while in Hamburg? Any help would be really appreciated.

 

Sara

[cunardaddict]

Has anyone done the Jewish Heritage and concentration camp trip offered by Cunard, while in Hamburg? Any help would be really appreciated.

 

Sara

 

Hi Sara,

I haven't done this trip - I live near Hamburg. But I know all relevant places. A friend of mine who had to leave Germany as a child living in Brooklyn NY since went with this tour. I have accompanied her on the TA to Hamburg as she was really worried on what to expect from a visit to Germany.

 

She hadn't been to Germany since she left Berlin in 1938 in the age of 3. So for her it was a first impression of what she had seen only in the media before. According to her it was well worth going. If you wish to see those places without knowing your way around the tour probably is the only chance to see it all on the same day. The tour will be guided by a person who is very reliable.

 

But one thing you need to realize - if you see only the Germany presented on this tour you will not have the full image of the country. The tour is organized to match your expections, not to proof that the country has changed since. Please take a chance to meet the modern, democratic and tolerant Germany as well. The country has nothing in common with the former **** Deutschland, but the tour will only confront you with all the horrible crimes we should never ever forget.

[Cats2010]

Yes, Sara, I was wondering why you want to do this to yourself, but do as you like, of course.

 

I am sure you will realize that those times are not typical for Germany in general.

 

Best wishes,

Cats2010 :)

[cunardaddict]

Has anyone done the Jewish Heritage and concentration camp trip offered by Cunard, while in Hamburg? Any help would be really appreciated.

 

Sara

 

Sara, if you do not want to use the day for this tour I recommend the exhibition of jewish live in Hamburg at the Museum of Hamburg. It is in walking distance of the docks where QE and QV will be, but in a distance to QM2 dock.

[capnpugwash]

Sara, if you do not want to use the day for this tour I recommend the exhibition of jewish live in Hamburg at the Museum of Hamburg. It is in walking distance of the docks where QE and QV will be, but in a distance to QM2 dock.

 

QM2 normally docks at Hafencity I think, where do the other two berth?

[cunardaddict]

QM2 normally docks at Hafencity I think, where do the other two berth?

 

The smaller ships use the much nicer Sank Pauli cruise terminal close to the Reeperbahn.

[balf]

Yes, Sara, I was wondering why you want to do this to yourself, but do as you like, of course.

 

 

Cats2010 :)

 

Museums are there to be visited surely. There would be no point having them otherwise.

 

David.

[sarar]

Thanks for all your replies, it was actually for a student that is studying history and expressed an interest in this tour, that I was asking the question.

 

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[Salacia]

Sara, I don't know if this will help, but here is a description of the Jewish Heritage tour offered by Cunard in Hamburg:

 

"Your morning starts with a panoramic tour of Hamburg, where for more than 400 years the Jewish community have influenced the city’s development. En route you will pass by some of the main highlights including City Hall, Germany’s oldest Stock Exchange, and the old warehouse quarter, which was built in Gothic redbrick architecture and houses fine spices, coffee and tea from all over the world. You will also pass through the elegant shopping area of Jungfernstieg.

 

During your panoramic tour, you will pass by the Jewish Cemetery that dates back to the early 1600’s, as well as the site where the new synagogue stood, until its destruction during World War II. The site is now Hamburg’s Holocaust Memorial, where a voluntary group works towards ‘a world without hate’.

 

Situated outside Hamburg is the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. The historical site commemorates over 100,000 people who were imprisoned in the largest concentration camp in north west Germany during World War II. Time permitting, free time will be given at the main exhibition entitled ‘Traces of History: Neuengamme Concentration Camp 1938–1945 and its Post-war History’, which focuses on the history of Neuengamme Concentration Camp and its satellite camps. Before departing a short drive will be made at the Memorial.

 

 

Guests who are embarking or disembarking the ship in Hamburg should not book a shore excursion for this port. Hamburg excursions are available for guests visiting Hamburg as a port call.

 

This tour will operate by coach and on foot. There is approximately 1½ hours of walking included over flat paved ground. The advertised itinerary may operate in reverse. Please be advised that the Museum exhibits sensitive material including some graphic images and displays on the atrocities of war."

 

copied from http://www.cunard.com/destinations/regions/british-isles-ireland-and-northern-europe-cruises/hamburg/

[sarar]

I think maybe the Museum of Hamburg would be a better idea? I would also like to see the modern Hamburg myself and as I have mobility problems, can anyone tell me is the museum close to the shopping area?

 

Thanks for everyones help.

[cunardaddict]

I think maybe the Museum of Hamburg would be a better idea? I would also like to see the modern Hamburg myself and as I have mobility problems, can anyone tell me is the museum close to the shopping area?

 

Thanks for everyones help.

 

Hi Sara,

 

the museum gives a more positive aspect of the influence of jewish life in Hamburg. It does not adress intensively the cruelties of the old regime (Cruise Critic deletes all words describing the reality of those times and replaces them by *****). It also tells a lot of Hamburg's history with fantastic exhibits. A visit there does not replace a visit to Neuengamme.

 

The museum is not located close to one of the shopping areas of Hamburg as today's Hamburg actually is made of 3 cities . the former danish St. Pauli in the west, the former prussian city of Harburg in the south, old free town of Hamburg in the east and the "new town" in between where the museum is located. Shopping areas are around the Rathaus and the Alster, long streets with lots of shops. A central covered shopping center is the EUROPA Center at Moenckebergstrasse, the ALSTERHAUS close by or the area of the HANSEVIERTEL at the northwestern end of the area. some other parts of Hamburg like Eppendorf have very interesting shopping areas of high qulity level (fashion!) as well.

 

I'm afraid but Hamburg is a large citiy requiring lots of walking and sometimes not much assistance for people needing the use of wheel chairs. But public transport by tube, called HOCHBAHN" and buses is very efficient, modern, fast, allways close by and mostly accessable also for people with very limited mobility. I think there is a written guide adressing, I'll find out for you.

 

But a general bus tour is recommended for a first visit. Sightseeing tours depart form the dock app. 100yds from the ship and close by the water buses and harbour sightseeing boats leave permanently.

 

Taxi from ship to museum will be 8 eur and to Rathaus max 15 eur.

[sarar]

Hi Sara,

 

the museum gives a more positive aspect of the influence of jewish life in Hamburg. It does not adress intensively the cruelties of the old regime (Cruise Critic deletes all words describing the reality of those times and replaces them by *****). It also tells a lot of Hamburg's history with fantastic exhibits. A visit there does not replace a visit to Neuengamme.

 

The museum is not located close to one of the shopping areas of Hamburg as today's Hamburg actually is made of 3 cities . the former danish St. Pauli in the west, the former prussian city of Harburg in the south, old free town of Hamburg in the east and the "new town" in between where the museum is located. Shopping areas are around the Rathaus and the Alster, long streets with lots of shops. A central covered shopping center is the EUROPA Center at Moenckebergstrasse, the ALSTERHAUS close by or the area of the HANSEVIERTEL at the northwestern end of the area. some other parts of Hamburg like Eppendorf have very interesting shopping areas of high qulity level (fashion!) as well.

 

I'm afraid but Hamburg is a large citiy requiring lots of walking and sometimes not much assistance for people needing the use of wheel chairs. But public transport by tube, called HOCHBAHN" and buses is very efficient, modern, fast, allways close by and mostly accessable also for people with very limited mobility. I think there is a written guide adressing, I'll find out for you.

 

But a general bus tour is recommended for a first visit. Sightseeing tours depart form the dock app. 100yds from the ship and close by the water buses and harbour sightseeing boats leave permanently.

 

Taxi from ship to museum will be 8 eur and to Rathaus max 15 eur.

 

We are 5 people altogether, myself (part time wheelchair user) with my mum and dad and a friend with her school age daughter, the museum i was talking about is in Hamburg Museum St Pauli and this has very good reviews on Tripadvisor, I was just wondering if this is near where the ship docks and if it would be near the shops too so that we could do both as I have never visited Germany and would like to do both.

 

Thanks again for everyones help.

Sara:)

[BlueRiband]

We are 5 people altogether, myself (part time wheelchair user) with my mum and dad and a friend with her school age daughter, the museum i was talking about is in Hamburg Museum St Pauli and this has very good reviews on Tripadvisor, I was just wondering if this is near where the ship docks and if it would be near the shops too so that we could do both as I have never visited Germany and would like to do both.

 

Sara, if you or another member of your group have mobility limitations please pay close attention to the "Activity Level" of your tour. Cunard gives activity ratings based on walking distances, hills, and stairs. I had taken the "American Landing Beaches" tour in Cherbourg which had been rated "Moderate" by Cunard for walking distances and rough terrain. Three passengers, who probably should not have signed on, had to remain on the tour bus for some stops because they could not handle the physical demands.

Edited December 21, 2013 by BlueRiband

[sarar]

There are only 4 tours offered in hamburg by cunard and I cant do any of them as they are not wheelchair friendly, so we have decided to try and do Hamburg on our own. Many ports we just mouch around the ports or get a shuttle bus to the shops, but the young girl in our party doing her GCSE history is more in to museums and early germany.

 

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[Koukla-mou]

I have done the QM2 Neuengamme excursion whilst on the Hamburg/Oslo cruise. My mother was German (Protestant)and she lived in Hamburg during WW2. This was my first visit to Hamburg and I wanted to learn about its past.

Our guide was Jewish but lead the tour with dignity and honesty. It had a profound effect on me and I have since read many books about the Holocaust. Being half German and brought up in England post war was not always easy, especially for my mother.

Edited December 22, 2013 by Koukla-mou

[fishywood]

I was on this tour in May. While we did visit a memorial gardens and exhibition in a park just outside the camp that listed the names of all known internees, the remains of the camp itself have in my opinion been restored with a historical bent rather than as a place of remembrance. The outbuildings converted to museums contain many more exhibitions about Germany’s role in the war, and its soldiers, rather than of the internees. The items that struck me the most were the personal effects of the guards who were arrested for war crimes (most of whom were eventually acquitted) and a vintage typewriter that had the ‘SS’ symbol in lieu of the # sign above the 3 key.

 

The main barracks had been repurposed several times by the government and military before becoming an exhibition space; today it is just a standard visitor’s centre with a gift shop, canteen and modern lifts and toilets. The only evidence of its original purpose is the very dank and claustrophobic basement where internees spent their entire waking hours as free sweatshop labor. And a field uphill from the exhibition contained the only speck of the solemnity this site should have commanded: the excavated remains of the “punishment blocks” sitting among plain memorial plaques and benches for quiet contemplation. Unfortunately only I and a small few others from my bus came upon this place in the 90 minutes we were given to explore once the bus parked as close as it could to the visitor’s centre (a good 500 yards away).

 

My tour did operate in reverse of the description: first the camp, then returning to Hamburg to drive by several Jewish neighborhoods and sites, then an overview of the city en route back to the pier. I assumed this was in case the dreary weather turned even worse before we got to the camp, but it seemed to simply be the guide’s preference (and the weather actually improved after we returned to Hamburg). One gentleman on the bus took violent exception to this change and came up to give the guide an earful during a break in the narration. But perhaps there is a point to visiting the camp at the end: our drive between the city sites took us in and out of St. Pauli and its neon promises of ‘SEX--€39’.

 

One should also note that the tour description of a Holocaust Memorial at the site of the destroyed synagogue is a misnomer; the site is protected against further development but the “memorial” consists simply of commemorative ceramic tiles in the pavement. Our guide said he has suggested the tour operator ask Cunard to suitably revise that passage. So while this tour will certainly be of interest to the student of history, those who are looking for a genuine remembrance of World War II civilian casualties—and the ever-dwindling number of survivors—will be disappointed.

Edited December 23, 2013 by fishywood

[cunardaddict]

High Sara!

How was your day at Hamburg? Sorry for all the rain.

[sarar]

High Sara!

How was your day at Hamburg? Sorry for all the rain.

 

We just got the free shuttle bus which dropped us off by by the town hall and then walked to the shops, after that we got a taxi which only cost us about €15 with tip to the Hard Rock Cafe where we had a drink and then back to the ship for lunch. Not your fault about the weather and we would like to visit Hamburg again sometime, maybe for the christmas markets which I hear are good?