I'm back - Star July 14 sailing

[M&T]

Is there anything you want to know? We landed in Copenhagen on the 14th. We immediately started a tour. We were traveling with a group of 38 from the university where my husband works. We went to Rosenborg Castle. They were on heightened security alert – no bags except very small purses. Some of our people went back there after the cruise and said that the guards were doubled, wore fighting uniforms and had machine guns. It is a beautiful castle and gardens. We saw the mermaid and wished we could pay people not to sit or hang on her. We drove around and saw some of the beautiful architecture. Then, the bus dropped us for an hour to eat or whatever in the Kongens Nytorv area. We spent the time taking pictures of Nyhavn. We had some blue sky that day. The Nyhavn area is picturesque. I had hoped it had restaurants and shops but only found restaurants. There is a hotdog stand (they don’t call it that). It had very tasty items. In the square, we had a fabulous chocolate ice cream cone. Next, we went to the ship. I’d say embarkation was very simple. More about he ship later.

 

 

We did the train in Stockholm. We caught the first tender but it did not dock until about 6:55. By the time we walked to the train, we missed the 7:07. We waited in a little line to get our tickets at the kiosk. It was drizzling. We exchanged money at an ATM in the Stockholm station. We took the 2:52 train back to Nynashamn. It was nerve-wracking for the trip back not to see Nynashamn time and track on the overhead boards. We thought it would be 14 and found a group of other Princess cruisers, so we relaxed. You can probably ask at the information booth downstairs. If we had done that I would have felt better. We had no trouble finding seats either direction. Being there on a Saturday may have helped the seating situation.

 

 

Someone had said on the boards that the front of the train was easy to spot because it started in Stockholm and butted up against the wall. That was not the case. We watched a few trains arrive and depart and watched how far they pulled up, so we could judge where the first car would be.

 

 

It rained pretty hard when we first got to Stockholm. We walked to Storkirken in the rain. Even with an umbrella, we got wet. The church in Gamla Stan was beautiful. We took our wet outer things off and sat for a while and then took pictures. Rick Steves had said where there was a free toilet, so we took advantage of that.

 

 

We walked around old town but didn’t take many pictures because of the weather. We couldn’t find the restaurant that we like in 2001. We found a great restaurant serving reindeer which was what my husband wanted. More later.

[sunprincess]

Looking forward to your next installment. Thanks!

[mycruz]

Welcome back! I'm sorry to hear you had rainy weather in Stockholm. Just like you we were late docking and missed the 707. Overall, I hope you had a great time. Can't wait to see your review and hear how you like the other ports...

 

Mary

[SaylorGirl]

Welcome back! It sounds like the weather was awful, looking forwarding to reading the rest of your review.

[M&T]

We did have a great trip. In Stockholm, we bought some placemats and trays which displayed two artists work that we like, Carl Larsson and BengtElde Tavelmalare. I had really looked forward to seeing the Painting of the phenomenon in the skys in 1535.

 

In Helsinki, the morning was cloudy. We took the shuttle from the ship, bought a round trip ticket. I think it was $8. Once we were dropped off, we took the tram down to the market. We went to the market and bought some strawberries and went up to Upensky Cathedral and took a few pictures. Then, we took the ferry to Suomenlinna Islands. There were many more locals than tourists which was nice. The ferry ride was delightful seeing the little islands as we went along. Suomenlinna is a maritime fortress. Canons and magazines can still be seen and quite a few old buildings from the 1700's. We went for the opportunity to walk along the paths seeing flowers and the rocky coast. We sat on some rocks and ate our strawberries. They were fabulous! It was an idyllic morning. We ate pizza at one of the magazines turned restaurant. The interior was very atmospheric. The pizzas had unusual toppings including tuna fish. I had one with ham, pineapple, blue cheese and olives. It was fantastic.

We took the ferry back to the mainland. At that point, it cleared up. We actually had blue skies. It may have been our only day with blue skies on the entire trip. We went to the market some more and bought several items. Next, we went to the Lutheran Church and then Stockmans Department store. We were surprised that they opened at all since it was a Sunday. Then, back to the ship. It was a great day!

 

About the ship:

Our room was smaller than I expected. It was a standard outside on the 5th deck. Something I have not read about on the boards is the fact that to get to the Amalphi dining room from deck 5, you have to go to deck 7 and back down. We were at the front of the ship and the dining room is at the aft. You go to 7, walk to the last stairs or elevators, then, go down to 6. On several floors, you can walk to the end of the hall only to find no outlet. I thought that they should have signs warning people about these things. I realize now that those were probably the decks where the rooms had aft balconies. I just wish there had been a sign, so I wouldn’t have wasted my foot power.

 

 

I thought the food was good. The presentation in the evening was great. I would say to order the soufflé anytime it is offered. It is fantastic. The coffee wasn’t as bad as I expected, but I was glad we had our coffeepot so we could have it first thing in the morning without going out. It seemed to me that the coffee got worse as the cruise progressed. The fettuccini alfredo was fantastic. I was surprised that the dining room did not have a fabulous water view. If you want that, you need to go to the buffet.

 

 

More later. Marlyne

[Rebs76]

I was also on the July 14th sailing. I was majorly disappointed with the food. I thought the food on a Carnival cruise was much better. Maybe my expectations were too high.

[M&T]

We traveled with a group from the university where my husband works. Many of them were disappointed in the food and everything compared with Holland America and Celebrity. I don't think I had much expectation on food, so I was not disappointed. This was my first large ship, so I didn't have anything to compare it with other than restaurants around the country. I know many complained about the organization of the buffet and not having free ice cream all day. We did order room service on several early mornings. We got exactly what we ordered when we ordered it ( 5:30 and 6:00 AM).

[M&T]

Because we went with the university group which offered as part of our total price a 3 hour Copenhagen tour before the cruise and a 6 hour Castle tour after the cruise and 2 days in St. Petersburg and the Gdansk tour with Malbork, we did not get to do our own thing in St. Petersburg. It ended up being the grand princess tour. The first day was not too bad because we went to Peterhof on Monday when it was closed to the public so it was not so crowded. When we first arrived, the fountains were not on. By the time we left, they were on but not all of them. It is a beautiful palace and the fountains are spectacular. I'll report more later. Marlyne

[sunprincess]

Marlyne,

 

As we are closer I enjoy reading your posts.

Thanks so much.

I just read about having trouble with a large purse. I usually travel with a large bag for tours- holds all my purchases. Even my purse is a large Vera Bradley bag. Will I have trouble??

 

Thanks!

[M&T]

You will definitely have trouble with a large purse at the castles in Denmark. I don't recall any problem anywhere else, but we may have been conditioned by then. Happy to answer any questions. Marlyne

[sunprincess]

Marlyne,

 

How was the Princess Grand Tour for St. Petersburg?

Was going to do the DenRus one, but, looks like it will be Princess.

Is the bus secure to leave the larger bag on while you go into the places??

 

Thanks!

 

Cathy

[M&T]

We left our bags on the bus and felt safe doing so. Nothing was ever disturbed.

 

Peterhof is magnificent. The grand staircase is especially beautiful if you get to see it before a bunch of people start climbing it. The halls and rooms are spectacular. After Peterhof, we stopped at he Peter and Paul Church, not the one in St. P. It was ornately carved on the exterior. We just took pictures. Next, we went to St. Isaacs. I love it. The colors seem unusual, the green pillars really sets it off. The dome with the white dove at the top is magnificent. I just love the interior of this church. Everywhere we went, the camera and video was included, so we took lots of pictures.

 

Next, we went to lunch. It was rather unique. I wish I written down what all we had. We started with bread and some dips. We also had pancakes with caviar and sour cream. We had a wonderful soup. We thought we were done when they brought out chicken. The food was good and there was some folk entertainment. After lunch, we went to Peter and Paul Cathedral at the fortress. It is very beautiful. Since we have been to all of these places before, I had hoped that we would skip this church and go to St. Nicholas instead. After this, we went to a gift shop. I thought everything was very expensive. We didn't buy anything. I wish we had gone to some of the stores on Nevsky Prospect instead. But that is the down side of a big tour.

 

The first day was not too bad as a big tour. The second day was disappointing to me.

We did the Princess tour that night that was the imperial evening at Catherine's palace. It was worth every penny. We loved it. More later.

[pungo3]

Marlyne, in case you miss my reply on the rollcall thread, here is the link to my review: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=12048

[shortland]

Marlyne - Could you elaborate on why you were disappointed with the second day in St. Petersburg? Thanks. Sharon

[SaylorGirl]

Marlyne - Could you elaborate on why you were disappointed with the second day in St. Petersburg? Thanks. Sharon

 

I am wondering about that also?

[cruiser620]

We did the 2 day Princess grand tour of St. Petersburg, and our experience was great. I usually hate "large group" bus tours, and this was the only tour we purchased during the entire cruise. Everyone who took this tour went to the same places, but the sequence for each group was different. There were several miscellaneous stops for picture taking, but the major sights we visited on the first day were Peterhof, the Yusipov (sp?) palace and the canal cruise, and on the second day the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Hermitage, the Church on Spilled Blood, and St. Isaacs. Lunches on both days were excellent multi course meals with champagne, vodka shots, and caviar (ugh!) and we were entertained by Russian singers and musicians. All photography fees, food, tips, etc. were included. Our guide was fantastic with incredible knowledge of history, art, and culture. She took charge and asserted herself against the Russian women guarding each room when she wanted to make sure we saw everything to the fullest extent. Being in a group was never a problem. We never missed anything or had to wait for anyone. I'm not sure exactly how many people were in our group, but our bus was not full. We could safely leave any purchases, backpacks, etc. on the bus while we were touring each place. I was completely satisfied with this tour.

[M&T]

I'll get back with more detail, but basically, the problem was that what we had been told about the tour months before we went was that we would have 3.5-4 hours in the Hermitage. Since it turned out that we had 2 hours, we were disappointed. For some people, that might have been enough. We stayed with the group tour instead of doing our own thing with Denrus based on the earlier expectation of 3.5 -4 hours in Hermitage. I was pleased with the food and canal trip.

[sunprincess]

Thanks for your input. At least I know I can safely leave my large bag on the bus.

[M&T]

The 2nd day at St. P started with the canal ride. That was very nice. Seeing the bridges and various buildings from the water was fun and relaxing. We were hoping the trip would take us by the Church on spilled blood but it didn't. I thought that would be really neat to see from the river.

 

Next, we went to the Hermitage. It was very crowded and of course hot and humid as were all the buildings that we toured. It was wonderful to see many very famous and beautiful paintings. We especially enjoyed the impressionist paintings and Rembrandt. I'd say if you go in the summer, dress as if it is going to be a hot humid day, then, have a jacket or outer shirt to put on when not in the buildings.

 

We went to lunch next. As cruiser620 said, the lunches were very nice with entertainment. I think that as I reflect on it, my disappointment with the day was not Princess' fault. We went to all the main sites and saw a great deal. Yes, places were hot and crowded and yes it rained, but none of that was Princess' fault.

 

Next, we went to Church on Spilled Blood. I love this church. The exterior is just amazing. I did go to the little flea market across the street from the church where there are a lot of booths. I got a couple of Russian dolls with porcelain faces and shoes for my nieces. Everywhere we went, not just St. P, there was almost no time to shop. It's not that I want to shop a lot. I just like to get a book of where we went and maybe a couple of gifts.

 

Lastly, we went to Yusipov Palace. I hate hearing the story of Rasputin's death. It is a nice palace. It does seem more livable than Peterhof or Catherine's Palaces. We got back to the ship, had dinner, looked over the abandoned Soviet base and said good bye to the pilot boat. It was a wonderful two days.

[M&T]

Tallinn and Gdansk may have been my favorite ports. In Tallinn, we docked a little early. It was a clear beautiful day. We went to the top deck and took pictures of Old Tallinn from there. It was perfect. The view was marred a little later as another ship pulled in, but we got what we wanted.

 

We ended up walking in because the shuttle bus was not going to leave until it was full. Since not many people were out roaming around early, we figured it would be a while before it left. We got to town while few others were there and took a lot of great pictures of the old Hanseatic buildings and the medieval sites. It was not easy finding an ATM. If there was one at the dock, we didn't see it. We went into the Holy Ghost church, the Cathedral, and took lots of pictures from the overlook in Toompea. We went into a couple of gift shops and picked up a few items. We went to the area where there are three towers you can climb and walk the wall. We went outside of the wall there to get some great pictures of the wall and towers. It was a great place to enjoy the wall and towers. I think it was getting towards noon when lightening and thunder started. We decided to head back to the ship since we sailed at 1pm. We waved down a cab. As we were waiting in line to get back on the ship it starting to rain. We were on board before it started pouring. Many people got soaked. We lucked out. I'm so glad we went out early. It was truly a wonderful port.

[M&T]

In Gdansk, I don't know if our tour was through Princess or contracted through someone else. The bus sign said the name of our group and not Princess, so I think it was separate. We went to Malbork Castle first. It seemed to take about 1.5 hour. It was a lovely castle even in the rain. Most of the time we were on the inside. We had a very good meal in a restaurant by the castle. It was very atmospherically old. The drive to Gdansk was probably 45 minutes to an hour. Gdansk is really quaint and ornately beautiful St. Mary's was awesome. Neptune's fountain with the ornate buildings in the background was wonderful. Our tour allowed us to wander on our own if we wanted as long as we met at the appointed spot at the time scheduled. So, we enjoyed roaming on our own. The big crane along the river dates back to the 1300's. The whole river area is beautiful. There are many shops along the river as well as in the town square area. We loved walking around looking at the buildings. Besides amber, there is a lot of crystal that can be purchased. We enjoyed listening to a violinist playing Beatles songs such as "Yesterday." We would sure like more time in Tallinn and Gdansk.

[Mapu]

M&T, did you eventually find an ATM in Tallinn? If not, how did you pay for things?

[M&T]

We primarily used credit cards and we had some euros. I think they even took dollars. We did find an ATM because we wanted to St. Nicholas Church and you can only go in with their money. Otherwise, you don't need to exchange money there.

[cruisemom42]

Marlyne -- Welcome back! I'm so glad you enjoyed the Imperial Evening. I know it wasn't cheap, but I wouldn't have missed it.

 

I'm sorry you had such a rainy trip, but it sounds like you got the most out of it. Makes me feel very lucky that we only had one rainy day.

[M&T]

The imperial evening at Catherine's Palace was indeed a highlight probably our number one for the trip. We are still reeling over the amber room! I'll try to tell more about the rest of the trip as soon as I have time. Marlyne