Baltic Cruising

[laradog]

Can anyone let me know how easy it is to get into the towns from the ports being visited on the Baltic cruise under your own steam rather than on organised trips? Calling at Norway (Oslo) Denmark (Copenhagen) Sweden (Stockholm) Estonia (Tallin) and Holland (Amsterdam) we are booked on an organised 2 day trip for St Petersburgh but fancy doing the rest ourselves using local transport.

Also do any of the scandanavian countries take each others money or do we have to take each countries 'krona'? If so what amounts would you recommend?

[Dauntless]

"Rick Steve's Northern Europeans Cruise Ports" has all that information. Some of the cities have several ports so you need to know which one you're docking at. I'm doing a Baltic cruise that doesn't stop in Amsterdam, so I can't tell you about that, but all the other others have different currency.

[CruiserBruce]

A little reading down the board would reveal Tallin is less than a mile walk to old town. Copenhagen and Amsterdam requires taxi or public transit. Oslo you dock right in town.

 

Haven't been to Stockholm.

[wally_bushy]

Stockholm is not a walk.

Transport will be required from port to city

[hallasm]

Copenhagen is depending on where the ship does dock. Also public transportation.

Edited January 1, 2015 by hallasm
spelling mistake

[dsrdsrdsr]

Amsterdam has a tram or railway line past the dock. That will take you into the city. (Assuming you dock somewhere near where I did, of course. There might be other docks that I don't know about.)

 

Tallinn is walkable. There was no useful public transport 20 years ago, for what that's worth!

[mskaufman]

Laradog - Are you on Celebrity this summer?

[north-bound]

This is an old thread. I think the OP did the Baltic cruise already in September 2014.

[mskaufman]

This is an old thread. I think the OP did the Baltic cruise already in September 2014.

 

You are correct. Everything was dated yesterday except the original post.

 

Would be interested in the answer to the original question.

[north-bound]

In Stockholm all depends on where your ship will dock. But the only really bad port is if your ship will be in Nynäshamn instead of Stockholm. Nynäshamn is a port where you will have to tender, and then it is an almost 1 hour transfer to Stockholm.

 

Stockholm is easy to do on your own, there is good public transport at the different ports, and in some places there are convenient Ho/Ho boats or ferries. Of course there are also Ho/Ho buses but few people recommend them. If we knew your ship and date it would be easy to give you more precis advice.

[hallasm]

This is an old thread. I think the OP did the Baltic cruise already in September 2014.

You are right - roll call for Thomson Spirit Baltic Flavours Cruise Sept 15th 2014.

Strange that the first reply to the thread was yesterday. I'm reading this forum regularly and hasn't seen that threat!

[TLCOhio]

Copenhagen is depending on where the ship does dock. Also public transportation.

 

YES, as wisely noted above by our Denmark friend and others, there can variations in the ports depending on the exact docking location. Below is a picture for where we docked in Oslo. Super location. BUT, at times in Oslo, your ship might be farther away, depending for how many different ships are in port for that day. Some ships, mostly smaller, might be docked close to the historic area in Stockholm. Others, especially larger, are farther away in Stockholm.

 

For wonderful and charming Copenhagen, we walked back to the ship from the main downtown and it was a wonderful experience. See below and this link.

 

Tallin is a wonderfully surprising "star", but it can be a little more challenging if you are going all of the way up, UP, UP to the top of their big hill.

 

Timing/Cost Trade-Offs: Some love being DIY to avoid ship tours and/or shuttles. Seek to save money!! BUT, at what cost?? Many ship tours or shuttles are over-priced. Your time, however, is very, very valuable. Unlike some parts of the Caribbean, the wonderful sights and options in the Baltics can be amazing and so varied!! And, many of them to consider! A ship tour can solve some "logistical" challenges and make your day more time-efficient, easier to enjoy/experience. Don't always assume that "free" by walking and walking is best, cheapest with your limited time in some of the great ports of Europe.

 

Copenhagen: Why Walking Back to the Ship Can Be Super Great!!!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=975779

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 191,276 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

My picture below shows the main, historic Akershus Fortress/Castle next to where many cruise ships dock in Oslo. The fortress construction started around the late 1290’s. It successfully survived all sieges, primarily by Swedish forces. It surrendered without combat to Germans in 1940 when the Norwegian government evacuated the capital in the face of the German invasions of Denmark and Norway. The very interesting and moving Norwegian Resistance museum can be visited there. Norwegian Royalty have been buried in the Royal Mausoleum in the castle. A portion of this fortress was replicated at the Norway pavilion at Disney’s Epcot Center.:

 

 

 

At Stockholm’s Royal Palace, the changing of the guard was one of our highlights from visiting this historic capital in Sweden. Loved this part of our visit.:

 

 

 

Copenhagen’s Nyhavn or “new” Harbor is actually old and charming. This was one of the wonderful options we enjoyed when walking back to the ship from Tivoli. This waterfront entertainment district is lined by brightly colored 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants. Serving as a "heritage harbor", the canal also has many historical wooden ships. Lots of people and fun activity!!:

 

 

 

A guard and statue in front of the current Royal Palace in Copenhagen. Amalienborg Slot includes four rococo-styled residences of Denmark’s royal family. This site includes a museum surrounding an octagonal cobblestone courtyard. You can witness the Royal guards walk from Rosenborg Castle to Amalienborg Palace for the Changing of the Guard daily at noon. Adult fee for museum about $13. For more info, see: ses.dk/amalienborg.:

 

 

 

Getting to the top of the "hill" allows seeing Tallinn’s rooftops in this charming Estonia Capital from the Toompea/upper town. Below you can see the docked cruise ships shown in the more distant background:

 

 

 

Helsinki's main downtown is much farther away from their ship docking areas. Here is their famed Church of Rock, or Temppeliaukion Kirkko, that is carved out of solid stone with a unique contemporary design. This Lutheran church was opened in September 1969. For economic reasons, its suggested plan was scaled back and the interior space reduced to about one-quarter of the original, pre-WWII plan. The interior was excavated and built directly out of solid rock and is bathed in natural light which enters through the glazed dome. The church is used frequently as a concert venue with its excellent acoustics. The acoustic quality is created by the rough, virtually unworked rock surfaces. The Temppeliaukio church is one of the most popular tourist attractions in this city with half a million people visiting annually. :

 

[Giantfan13]

Can anyone let me know how easy it is to get into the towns from the ports being visited on the Baltic cruise under your own steam rather than on organised trips? Calling at Norway (Oslo) Denmark (Copenhagen) Sweden (Stockholm) Estonia (Tallin) and Holland (Amsterdam) we are booked on an organised 2 day trip for St Petersburgh but fancy doing the rest ourselves using local transport.

Also do any of the scandanavian countries take each others money or do we have to take each countries 'krona'? If so what amounts would you recommend?

 

As many of the posters have already said, several ports depend on exactly where the ship docks, but there has also been some incorrect info. Like in Tallinn. It is an easy walk, maybe 10 - 15 minutes, at most, to walk from where the ship docks to Fat Margret tower, the entrance to the 'Old City".

In Copenhagen, most of the regular dockings are in the heart of the city and it is easy to walk to most of the main attractions and sights.

Stockholm is the one city you will have to use some sort of public transportation. Even if you docked in the heart of the city, if you want to get to some of the attractions, they are sort of spread out, so public transportation is needed.

You didn't mention Helsinki, which most ships dock in. It is another city where you need some transportation to get to the heart of the attractions, say Market Square. From there, most things are very walkable, except the Church in the Rock. Most take the trolley to get there, very easy and very inexpensive.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[wally_bushy]

It depends on the size of the ship for Helsinki

We docked right in town on the Nautica

[Rodie H]

I enjoyed reading the posts. Sounds doable mostly. Now, big question is which tour and company to go with. Friend and I are thinking of doing this region but are a bit overwhelmed. Suggestions?

[Sauer-kraut]

I enjoyed reading the posts. Sounds doable mostly. Now, big question is which tour and company to go with. Friend and I are thinking of doing this region but are a bit overwhelmed. Suggestions?

 

Many people don't need organized tours...a lot of these towns you can DIY. Also scroll through the pages looking at tour operators who are recommended. You will find for St. Petersburg that SPB, Red October, Alla and many others have great reviews. THink about going private and adding people from your roll call to cut costs and you will still have a much better experience than huge bus tours from the cruise line.