Brilliance Cruise to Scandinavia and Russia, planning, cruising and LOT of photos

[Kevin's girl]

Thank you for the great review! We were on the Baltic cruise this summer too, but we started in Copenhagen and didn't have visit to London at all. Next time we are planning to start from London:) Anyway all the Baltic ports are wonderful, so many impressions!

We will be starting in London again this year. We have three days planned before our Norwegian Fjords cruise and then a few more post cruise. I really do enjoy the city very much.

[Cruisevirgin1965]

Thank you for a fabulous review. We will be doing some of the same ports this summer and I am wondering if you can comment about accessibility. My mother is in a wheelchair, the collapsible kind and she can do a couple of stairs if needed if there are railings. As well, my DH will be 5 months post hip replacement. The ports we have in common are; Copenhagen, SPB, Tallinn, and Stockholm. I am just wondering how much walking there was. Actually more concerned about my DH because my mom can usually be pushed. We will probably do a private tour in SPB but were hoping to just do some wandering in the other ports. Do you think this will work for us?

TIA

[Kevin's girl]

Thank you for a fabulous review. We will be doing some of the same ports this summer and I am wondering if you can comment about accessibility. My mother is in a wheelchair, the collapsible kind and she can do a couple of stairs if needed if there are railings. As well, my DH will be 5 months post hip replacement. The ports we have in common are; Copenhagen, SPB, Tallinn, and Stockholm. I am just wondering how much walking there was. Actually more concerned about my DH because my mom can usually be pushed. We will probably do a private tour in SPB but were hoping to just do some wandering in the other ports. Do you think this will work for us?

TIA

I’m really glad you enjoyed my review. This cruise was really a “go” cruise as there was very little down time. We did heed the warnings about good walking shoes as there was a lot of walking. That being said, there were an unreal number of people on handicap type scooters. We saw them everywhere including on the ship. I know that one gentleman we spoke to often on board said he got his through the cruise line. I’m not sure if this would be an option for you, but it seemed to be a very popular idea for this itinerary.

 

Most of these ports have huge cobbles making walking difficult and wheelchairs hard to push. There are also a huge number of hills.

 

Depending on the day you are in Copenhagen, there will be either a public bus or a shuttle to get you into town. From there, you can get around town with the wheelchair if you stay on the bike ways.

 

In SPB, be sure to let your tour company know that you need a wheelchair accessible tour and you should have a great visit there. There is a lot of walking but fewer of the dreaded cobbles.

 

Stockholm is supposed to be very easy to DIY. We booked an all day tour through the cruise line so I didn’t really pay attention to the area around the port.

 

In Tallinn, you can do a tour or if you can make it to the rickshaw riders like we did, they will take you on a tour through the Old Town and bring you back to the port area. You can see the entire Old Town and not have to worry about the cobbles or very steep hills. The rickshaw does unfortunately, only carry two people. I can see this port being the most difficult with mobility issues. It is also the one you really don’t want to miss out on.

[Jazzzy]

Terri

 

What a great review! Thank you so much for sharing your experience.

 

We will be on a similar itinerary from Copenhagen in June and your report has been very helpful in my planning.

Loved all your beautiful photos and your great style of writing.

 

:) Jasmine

Edited March 10, 2015 by Jazzzy

[Kevin's girl]

Terri

 

What a great review! Thank you so much for sharing your experience.

 

We will be on a similar itinerary from Copenhagen in June and your report has been very helpful in my planning.

Loved all your beautiful photos and your great style of writing.

 

:) Jasmine

Thank you very much. I'm really glad you found it helpful.

[Kevin's girl]

I was asked by a friend to give this a bump. So here it is.

[kevinyork]

I was asked by a friend to give this a bump. So here it is.

 

 

 

Well definitely bumped, by two years.

 

 

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[Kevin's girl]

Well definitely bumped, by two years.

 

 

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I know. I was telling her about the trip and that I had done a review. I said it might be a little dated, but the places we saw hadn't changed and it might be a help in her planning. If you think it's to old, just disregard it :)

[europe14]

So glad you bumped it. I just read your entire review today and enjoyed it so much. Thank you!

[Kevin's girl]

You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was the trip of a lifetime.

[porthole21]

Amazing trip and and review!! Thank you for posting.

[Kevin's girl]

Amazing trip and and review!! Thank you for posting.

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[KuffMUp]

Terri -

Thanks for your time to post all the pictures. DH has no interest in Europe but I did ask him if we could go at least on the Baltic cruise as a retirement gift. I so badly want to see Russia but have no idea really why. Maybe stems from my taking Russian history class in high school a bazillion years ago.

 

The traveling gnome is cute. We took a traveling companion with us our last cruise. We have a friend who is a die hard University of Oregon Ducks fan. We root for both them and Oregon State Beavers. We were going to steal one of her garden gnomes and take it with us. We stopped at the Beaver's Store on the way to the airport and found a perfect thing to take with us. We would be in Miami when U of O and OSU were playing each other in what is known as the Civil War (in fact we will be in Miami again this year too). We found a stuffed duck wearing a "I wish I were a Beaver" t-shirt. He now has 5 ports under his belt. Here he is waiting on a heavy at the Sunset Bar, Maho Beach.

 

[KuffMUp]

Wrong image. Try this.

 

[Kevin's girl]

Terri -

Thanks for your time to post all the pictures. DH has no interest in Europe but I did ask him if we could go at least on the Baltic cruise as a retirement gift. I so badly want to see Russia but have no idea really why. Maybe stems from my taking Russian history class in high school a bazillion years ago.

 

The traveling gnome is cute. We took a traveling companion with us our last cruise. We have a friend who is a die hard University of Oregon Ducks fan. We root for both them and Oregon State Beavers. We were going to steal one of her garden gnomes and take it with us. We stopped at the Beaver's Store on the way to the airport and found a perfect thing to take with us. We would be in Miami when U of O and OSU were playing each other in what is known as the Civil War (in fact we will be in Miami again this year too). We found a stuffed duck wearing a "I wish I were a Beaver" t-shirt. He now has 5 ports under his belt. Here he is waiting on a heavy at the Sunset Bar, Maho Beach.

 

I do hope you get to go to the Baltics. It was a bucket list trip for my husband and I both. It also started an unexpected love for England. We are back there for a third time in August. I keep finding reasons to go back :) I love this pic by the way.

 

Wrong image. Try this.

 

I love your Duck. Very cute and him racking up St Martin and those planes is very lucky for him ;)

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Enjoyed the review! And learned a few things too, so Thank You for sharing. We're scheduled for the Brilliance May 1st, 2018. We're busy learning and planning. At this point we only plan to book two private tours, St. Petersburg, and Berlin. Berlin is going to be a very long day. 3 hr drive there, 6 hour tour, and then 3 hour drive back. All w/ only 30 mins to spare before the ship leaves port. This one has us a tad worried. Thanks again for sharing your cruise!

[Kevin's girl]

Enjoyed the review! And learned a few things too, so Thank You for sharing. We're scheduled for the Brilliance May 1st, 2018. We're busy learning and planning. At this point we only plan to book two private tours, St. Petersburg, and Berlin. Berlin is going to be a very long day. 3 hr drive there, 6 hour tour, and then 3 hour drive back. All w/ only 30 mins to spare before the ship leaves port. This one has us a tad worried. Thanks again for sharing your cruise!

I'm really glad you found my review helpful. We were so happy with our private tour in St Petersburg. I think it was the highlight of the cruise. Only a 30 minute leeway in Berlin would make me a tad nervous, I would love to hear how it works out for you.

[Jovocrtt]

Thank you for posting this! We are going to be cruising there on Brilliance in August 2018. You have alot of wonderful information that will be very helpful! Looking forward to the rest...Joanne and Michael

[Kevin's girl]

Joanann and Michael, I'm really glad you found the info in the review helpful. The Brilliance is a beautiful ship, I hope you enjoy her as much as we did.

[FishinChris]

Thanks for the review. We’re looking to take the Eurostar for a day trip to Paris in July. What time was your departure on the train as well as your departure from Paris?

 

 

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[Kevin's girl]

Thanks for the review. We’re looking to take the Eurostar for a day trip to Paris in July. What time was your departure on the train as well as your departure from Paris?

 

 

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FishinChris, I hope you enjoy your Eurostar to Paris trip as much as we did. We were on the 07:55 train arriving in Paris at 11:17, our return train was at 19:13 and arrived back in London at 20:41. It was a short sweet day, and one day we will go back and stay longer.

There is an hour time difference between London and Paris, so remember to reset your watches so you don't miss your train.

[Culaccino]

Thanks for this review! Looking at a similar trip for Summer 2019!

 

 

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[Pstreet12]

Terri,

 

Love your review! Staying next May at the same hotel and wondering how you got from Heathrow to the hotel. (??) Only at the hotel for one night and then off to Southampton for a cruise, but gathering info on what should be a priority on foot around the hotel for the day in London? Any info would be great...Brett of Florida

 

We stayed in the same area at the Hilton. We used Uber and were very pleased. Driver met us with sign. Right on to get in car. Quick trip to hotel. Very reasonably priced--don't remember the amount but it was just a tad over taking the train (the slow one) into town from Heathrow and then managing transp. over the river to the hotel. When we went to Southhampton, we asked for the same Uber driver and she took us to the bus station. We used the public bus to get to Southhampton and it cost us less than 10 pounds to go. Again, I don't remember the amount, but it was cheap, cheap, cheap. Bus was an "over the road" type, clean and well maintained.

[Pstreet12]

Terri,

 

Love your review! Staying next May at the same hotel and wondering how you got from Heathrow to the hotel. (??) Only at the hotel for one night and then off to Southampton for a cruise, but gathering info on what should be a priority on foot around the hotel for the day in London? Any info would be great...Brett of Florida

 

Senility setting in. We didn't use Uber. We used this site:

www.simplyairports.co.uk Everything else I said is correct. It was inexpensive, and we loved our driver. We used the public bus, National Express, to go to Southhampton.

[Kevin's girl]

Thanks for this review! Looking at a similar trip for Summer 2019!

 

 

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I was a fun review to write. The trip was fantastic. TJ travel made Saint Petersburg even better than we had hoped, and the rest of the ports were really great.