Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Baltics Review - July 2 - 14, 2005 Jewel of the Seas

Host Anne

Recommended Posts

Host Anne "Live from...." Rare

Host Anne

Posted
  • Author
Posted

SF ~ I think you probably have time to do what we did if you have 4 1/2 hours. I don't know what a taxi cost because we purchased the Oslo card, walked to the ferry and then walked from museum to musem on Bygdon before heading back on the ferry and finishing at the castle. The folk museum is a bit hard to describe -- it's all outdoor and it showcases log homes from all over Norway that were built hundreds of years ago. The hand-carved and painted furniture and beams were magnificant. It was so interesting to see how they lived back then. It was a very unique "museum." If I was going to skip one thing here it would be the Fram. While enjoyable (and you get to board the ship), the Vasa in Stockholm is more impressive.

 

At the castle, we did the Resistance Museum (very interesting) and enjoyed viewing the crown jewels. It's a short walk from the castle back to the ship. We were anchored right below the castle.

 

Hope this helps. Mary can give you costs on the taxis, I'm sure!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SF

SF

Posted
Posted

Host Anne,

 

In most of the other ports we're fairly certain what we want to do but for Oslo we're still throwing ideas around as to what would be better since we don't want to spend our whole afternoon in the museums. Since our cruise is so far off we have plenty of time to decide. The Olso Pass may not be worth it for us as we only want to really see one museum (Folk Museum). We're leaning now towards the Hop on/off bus as it has stops at all the main attractions and this way we'll get to see the city also. I'd like to spend a little time at Frogner Park (Vigeland), and the castle too. It may pay for us to spend for the tour bus (around $26) and purchase a family entrance to the one museum and the castle.

The bus tour price is for two days which we don't need but I didn't see any for one day. Do you know if any hop on/off offer one day prices? Most of the guided tours I've searched don't meet with our docking time or I'd consider that. They are either early in the morning or too late in the afternoon for us to be back on time at the ship.

 

Thanks again for all your help. Don't know what I'd do without these boards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Host Anne "Live from...." Rare

Host Anne

Posted
  • Author
Posted

SF ~ the hop on/hop off is a good choice, too but realize you could end up waiting at times to pick it back up once you get off to see a venue. Perhaps once Mary advises on cab fares, that might be a better option. I'd be surprised if there isn't a one day hop on/hop off ticket. Let me check.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thecruisechick

thecruisechick

Posted
Posted

SF,

 

The taxi from the ship to the park was $15 USDand the taxi from the park to the Central Station was $16.00 USD. There were 4 of us so we split it in half and spent a grand total of $15.50 per couple on transportation and saw everything we wanted to see.

In my group of four we were most interested in seeing the city and not doing so may museums. We had researched before going and one of the women in my group put together a gude for us. She did a great job and we were able to cover alot. We all love to walk so we were able to see things off the beaten path.

As Anne said the Hop on/off bus can slow you down if you are trying to see as much as we wanted to see. You need to decide what type of day you want Oslo to be. Here is what we covered:

 

  • TAXI TO FROGNER PARK
  • FROGNER PARK (VIGELAND)
  • TAXI TO CENTRAL TRAIN STATION
  • WALK TO KARL JOHANS GATE (MAIN STREET)
  • OSLO CATHEDRAL (DOMKIRKE)
  • STORTORVET ( THE SQUARE IN FRONT OF THE CATHEDRAL)
  • STORTINGET (PARLIAMENT)
  • GRAND HOTEL
  • STUDENTERLUNDEN ( A SMALL PARK)
  • NATIONAL THEATRE
  • UNIVERSITY OF OSLO
  • ROYAL PALACE AND GARDENS
  • CITY HALL
  • AKER BRYGGE
  • LUNCH AT DRUEN RESTAURANT
  • STROLL DOWN THE WATERFRONT
  • AKERSHUS FORTRESS ( WE DID NOT DO THIS. INSTEAD WE RETURNED TO THE SHIP FOR A SWIM BECAUSE IT WAS SO HOT.)

THE AKERSHUS WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF WHERE WE DOCKED, BUT AS i SAID ABVE IT WAS SO HOT WE NEEDED TO COOL DOWN SO WE OPTED OUT OF DOING IT.

 

I hope this helps you in your planning. I'm a travel agent and I can tell you first hand, 10 diffrent people willl have 10 diffrent itineraries. It comes down to what you want to see and do with YOUR time. I can assure you all of us had a great day in Oslo and you will too. Don't jam too much into it and take time to "see" the city and experience the people and culture.

 

 

 


Link to comment
Share on other sites
SF

SF

Posted
Posted

Host Anne and Mary,

 

Thank you both so much for taking the time to help us plan our day in Oslo. Yes, your right, we'd rather be out and about meeting people and seeing the sights than in museums all day. The taxis may be the way to go especially if they don't have a one day pass on the hop on/off. The two day is kind of expensive for just a few hours. Makes it easy also that they take credit cards.

 

Mary, why did you go to central train station in order to walk to Karl Johans Gate? Why not have the taxi just drop you off at that location to begin with?

 

Sounds like you both had enjoyable days in Oslo. With your help I'm sure we will too.

 

Host Anne,

Thanks for checking on the one day pass.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruise'n

cruise'n

Posted
Posted

I have a couple of questions, please. Does Royal Caribbean still leave the "port Explorer" general information guides on your bed each night for the port you will visit the next day? These have info on the places you may like to see and have a map in each one. Also, did you have a port lecturer on board?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Host Anne "Live from...." Rare

Host Anne

Posted
  • Author
Posted

SF ~ here's the link to the one-day pass Hop On Hop Off Pass in Oslo. http://www.citysightseeing.net/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=300&page_id=143&menu=11 If you go to their website you have to click on ARRIVING BY CRUISE SHIP to bring up this page.

 

By they way, I was incorrect. My family tell me we saw the crown jewels in Copenhagen, not Oslo. Sorry about that....sometimes the sights tend to run together :)

 

Mary ~ Amanda is very upset with you -- she wants to be going to the Kenny Chesney concert and said those who misspell his name should give their ticket to her ;) Hope it was fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lionheart

lionheart

Posted
Posted
SF ~ I think you probably have time to do what we did if you have 4 1/2 hours. I don't know what a taxi cost because we purchased the Oslo card, walked to the ferry and then walked from museum to musem on Bygdon before heading back on the ferry and finishing at the castle. The folk museum is a bit hard to describe -- it's all outdoor and it showcases log homes from all over Norway that were built hundreds of years ago. The hand-carved and painted furniture and beams were magnificant. It was so interesting to see how they lived back then. It was a very unique "museum." If I was going to skip one thing here it would be the Fram. While enjoyable (and you get to board the ship), the Vasa in Stockholm is more impressive.

 

At the castle, we did the Resistance Museum (very interesting) and enjoyed viewing the crown jewels. It's a short walk from the castle back to the ship. We were anchored right below the castle.

 

Hope this helps. Mary can give you costs on the taxis, I'm sure!

 

About how long to see the Resistance Museum in Oslo?

 

THanks,

 

Kurt

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Host Anne "Live from...." Rare

Host Anne

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Kurt ~ we spent about 45 minutes or so in the Resistance Museum. Immensely interesting!

 

Here's another tidbit I forgot to mention. I was surprised by the countries (at least three and I apologize I can't name them off the top of my head at the moment) that had statues in honor of Franklin D. Roosevelt. I took photos of all of them. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SF

SF

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the website Host Anne. I emailed them since I didn't see any prices for the one day. I was wondering how you viewed the crown jewels when you mentioned seeing them in Oslo. I couldn't find any info on them but forgot to ask with so many other questions. Yes, sites when visiting so many different ports do tend to run together (lol).

 

Mary, just viewed a dvd of Oslo I borrowed from the library and it showed exactly the itinerary you mentioned. I really can't wait to take this cruise and after viewing the dvd I'm excited but also depressed because the cruise is still so far away :( I wish it was sooner.

 

Now that I know what we're doing in Oslo I need to get some feedback from others on some of the other ports. Anyone been to Stavanger, Flaam, Lerwick, Torshavn, or Glasgow? We already know what we're doing in Dublin, Akureyri, and Reykjavik.

 

By the time we cruise and with all the help from my fellow Cruisecritics I'll be so organized! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Host Anne "Live from...." Rare

Host Anne

Posted
  • Author
Posted

SF ~ glad to hear you are enjoying the planning. I know it may seem far away ... but don't wish the time away either. It really comes faster than you know and then all of a sudden, it's over. So enjoy the anticipation. It'll be here before you know it! :)

 

Mary ~ Amanda is going to be REALLY upset now. Keith Urban is her absolute favorite. We saw him here last year. He was terrific. What a concert is right! Didn't know you liked country! Small world. Glad it was great!!!! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JodiBB

JodiBB

Posted
Posted
Mary,

 

We are a group of six going on August 7. One quick question about taxi: Do you see any minivan taxi for six in Olso and other places?

 

Thanks. Kenny

 

Kenny...what ship are you going on?? We're on the Jewel of the Seas!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SF

SF

Posted
Posted

Do you think it's possible to strike up a deal for a tour with one of the taxi drivers like we do in the Caribbean? Usually when traveling we figure out how long overall we need their services and then work out a deal money wise for that amnt. of hours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mikenmar

mikenmar

Posted
Posted

Anne,

 

Thank you for your review. I did not read about Ahti tours of Tallinn on the cc boards. I am glad you mentioned it in your review. We are leaving on the Constellation on Aug 13th. I have emailed them about their tours. There is only the 2 of us right now.

 

I was wondering if you went into the Gold Room in the Winter Palace? If you did was it worth it?

 

Thank you,

 

Marion

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Host Anne "Live from...." Rare

Host Anne

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Globalizer ~ thanks for the kind comments. Your many posts were very helpful in our planning. :)

 

SF ~ I do think you can strike a deal with taxi drivers. I'm just not sure what the typical cost might be (Mary, can you share what you paid for the taxi in Oslo)? In several ports we were asked by taxi drivers if we wanted a tour. Since we had all of our plans made in advance, we didn't have a need for a taxi in any of the ports.

 

Marion ~ I actually did learn about Ahti here on the boards but I don't recall where as I did that research about ten months ago. I hope he is available for you. He does a great job. We did not do the gold room. Quite honestly, we were so overwhemled by all of the gold, painted ceilings, etc. that the gold room would likely have put our senses into shock. I didn't speak with anyone who did the gold room so I'm sorry that I can't provide more insight. From our standpoint, we didn't need to see it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NH Cruiser

NH Cruiser

Posted
Posted

I was with Mary in Oslo. We paid $15 for the taxi from the pier to Vigeland and $17 from Vigeland to Central Station. To get the taxi at Vigeland, you need to walk back to the front gate. There were no taxis at the back of the park. The rest of Oslo is easily walked. I have the itinerary we used in my review (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=208309).

 

In Tallinn we hired a guide through Private Tours in Estonia (http://www.privatetours.ee/). Our guide Rait was a college student. He was extremely knowledgeable and I would recommend him highly. He was prompt in answering email. If you are interested, I used this email address to request booking information (info@privatetours.ee).

 

We loved the Baltic cruise. The ports are fabulous . . . if you're using a digital camera make sure you take a lot of cards. I took over 600 pictures in St Petersburg alone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...