russia and Scandinavia cruise disappointing port times

[tiqittaq foo]

Getting a Russian Visa on your own is expensive. Even with a Russian visa, it will be very challenging to visit the key sights on your own without a guide or the

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[rcixfan5]

To the OP check out the May 30 2015 eclipse 15 day cruise, the times in port are much more generous. However it may be too early in the year for you if you were looking at July.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[tiqittaq foo]

Sorry. It will be very challenging to visit the key sights without a licensed guide or some basic Russian language skill. Taxi may not be readily available around the key sights. With 2 days in St.Petersburg, highly recommend that you join either the cruise shore excursions or one of licensed private tours. If you do a search on CC, you will see there are about 2-3 highly recommended private tour companies.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[sr4mjc]

Thanks, keep them coming! :)

 

..

 

Looking fwd to Amsterdam as well as we are coming in early. Looking at what to do there outside of the red light district which of course I have to see. Lol

 

Don't take any pictures of the girls, or your camera could end up in the canal. And how to say this delicately, the morning girls are not quite the same quality as night.. And watch out for the bicycles! The Van Gogh museum is amazing, I enjoyed it more than all the museums we visited in Paris. And it doesn't take a huge amount of time, unless you want it to.

Edited December 26, 2014 by sr4mjc

[sealover155]

On our Baltics cruise we arranged two days with Alla Tours, just the 2 of us because we wanted a relaxing and personalized experience in St. Petersburg. It was simply divine and we made changes and adjustments as we went along. It was not crazy or exhausting at all. We skipped lines and had a most memorable experience.

 

But I really did my homework and knew what would interest us most especially in the Hermitage. Their website is outstanding and interactive so you can see what is in most of the important rooms.

 

Alla is a licensed tour operator so she arranged the visa. And, while more expensive than a large group tour, we found the price to be not substantially more than the ship's tours and worth every single penny. She even arranged tickets to the Mariinsky Ballet for us- a real ballet, not the cruise line version. It was all a dream.

 

I agree about the sail in through the Swedish archipelago. Just gorgeous. And, if their is any way you might be able to do a land trip to Berlin at a later date you can relax in chaming Rostock or Warnemunde. Berlin is truly one of the greatest cities in the world. We've been there 4 times and can't wait to go back.

 

Hands down this was our favorite cruise. Don't worry about the visa or times, just go and enjoy.

[Essiesmom]

It looks like this is the Op's cruise:

 

 

Lots of time in Warnemunde to do a trip to Berlin, although I wouldn't. We opted to tour in Rostock. Be sure to see the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. EM

[donaldsc]

We booked a 12 night russia and Scandinavia cruise for July. and I have to say I just looked at the times in port and I'ma little disenchanted. We get in later (9:30-10) and leave really early some as early as 4!? Has anyone been on this cruise and can you speak to the experiences on this cruise and what to do in some ports with such little time?

 

This is the one thing I find disappointing with celebrity. , when we cruised Azamara we were in port much longer.

 

Two points -

 

Were the port times changed from when you booked and you did not check or did they change them?

 

The only way to get sufficient port time is to do a DIY land tour and then you can have as much time in a port as you need. It is impossible to do justice to any major city if you arrive at even 7:00 AM and depart at 6:00 PM. Imagine trying to see NYC or Washington or Boston in 8 hours.

 

DON

[alcpa1]

Your itinerary has much to do with sailing from and to Amsterdam. If you had chosen a Baltic cruise from Copenhagen or Stockholm you would have had longer port days.

We did a day trip to Berlin with Azamara. We did overnight in Warnemunde and would have stayed in a hotel in Berlin but the second day was a Monday and all of the major museums we wanted to see were closed. Berlin by bus or train is closer to 3 hours than 4. The countryside is agricultural with wind turbines almost the entire distance. We did see quite a bit on our tour of Berlin. Which is unusual for a ship's excursion. The second day we hopped on the local train to Rostock and enjoyed wandering the market and university campus. We returned to Warnemunde and walked through the delightful canal shopping and dining area and found the lighthouse and beach. At the time we went there were not many independent tour operators to choose from. I hope this has changed. It's been 2 1/2 years since we were there.

I have been to St. Petersburg on both a land trip and a cruise stop for a total of 10 days. There are still many sites to see. You can't see everything in two days but you will absolutely see much more in a small group tour. You avoid many lines and the tour operators know how to time your stops. Some even have early admission to the Hermitage.

Because my land trip required a Russian Federation Visa I did have the freedom of movement but only having a moderate ability to read the Russian language I still would not have ventured far by myself. Taxis are not as prevalent in St. Petersburg and it's even harder to find a driver who speaks English. Your port is not within walking distance of anything.

In Stockholm and Copenhagen you can see a lot with a hop-on-hop-off bus. You can find information about these services on the Ports of Call boards and Trip Advisor. In Stockholm absolutely do not get a visitor's pass. The on line ticket must be exchanged in the visitor's center in the middle of town and it took us forever to find it and then wait in line to convert the ticket to the pass. We were there for a couple of days but we still blew a precious amount of time. If you have a chance wander through Old Town after you visit the Vasa Museum.

I don't know where you will dock in Copenhagen. With luck it won't be at the new pier. This pier opened last May and is farther from town. Once again check your Ports of Call boards for updates.

Embrace the time you have in each port. Each city is unique and well worth visiting, even if just for a few hours.

Just one more thing...some of the tour operators service more than one city and combined tours will be reflected in a lower rate.

[wally_bushy]

Don't forget you can organise your own private tour in St P

While you are with a licensed tour operator you do not need a visa

They are cheaper and more informative.

We used Red October (great name!) and recommended to others who have used them and were happy as well.

[smtcan]

We took a cruise from Copenhagen in August this year. We wanted to spend all our time in the Baltic, rather than sail from Amsterdam. We were a family group of ten (three generations) and we did a mixture of exploring on our own and private tours. We had a wonderful two days in St. Petersburg with SPB Tours. The guide tailored the experience to suit us, and adapted according to traffic conditions and crowds. It was tiring, but definitely not exhausting for me, and I am over seventy. We walked a lot, took the subway, a hydrofoil and used the mini bus.

 

We opted not to go to Berlin, since most of us had been before. The younger generations enjoyed a beach day in Warnemunde, while we saw tall ships in Rostock and explored the two charming towns. We loved Stockholm and decided we would return there one day for a longer visit. Four days in Copenhsgen before the cruise was perfect for DH and me. We took a canal tour, a walking tour and walked miles on our own. The other families arrived closer to the departure day.

 

In my opinion, the key to dealing with shorter port days is to research ahead of time and decide what are the most important places to see, then zero in on those. Trying to see everything just leads to exhaustion and frustration, especially if you are touring with 40-50 others and waiting for everyone to get back to the bus at every stop.

 

Sheila

[GaryfmCol]

One thought from me, was when we were in St. Petersburg Russia, we spent both days touring with tour groups.

 

On the second day, after we returned to the ship, we decided to go to the very nice souvenir shop, right off the ship at the dock.

 

We went down to dis-embark again, and, had to go through the Russian customs there to get to the dock.

 

Don't make that mistake!

 

Those nasty Russian Immigration/customs agents, I thought were going to toss me in jail for wanting go to the souvenir shop.

No going to the souenir shop with out visa or, tour group....

Seriously, don't even think of doing that. If you want to go to that souvenir shop go BEFORE getting back on the ship.

 

Also, visiting the AURORA Naval ship on the River Neva, I tried to take a photo of a Russian sailor in his ceremonial uniform.. That was another NO-NO.

I thought he was going to take my camera from me...

 

One thing I found out in Russia, you can get in trouble there, without getting into trouble on your own..... :rolleyes:

Edited December 27, 2014 by GaryfmCol

[SixOneTwo]

We took this itinerary a couple of years ago. We were a group of four and we booked private tours for both St. Petersburg and Berlin. Otherwise we did everything on our own.

 

I'm glad we went to St. Petersburg, and it was amazing being in Russia after growing up in the '70s and '80s when it seemed impossible we'd ever be able to go. The sites we visited were incredible. BUT the tour guide we had was stuck in the Soviet era and was very unpleasant. She knew her history and imparted all of that knowledge according to a "script" as we saw the things we wanted to see. But she was angry and not happy to comply with simple requests we'd made ahead of time, like obtaining rubles, visiting the post office (we're philatelists) and mailing some postcards. This made our visit less than stellar. I'm no foreign policy expert, but I think anyone booking a trip that includes Russia right now should be prepared for that being dropped from the itinerary. Things are getting a little diplomatically "chilly."

 

On the other hand, our Berlin tour was one of the best we've ever experienced. We booked with an American expat who had a masters in German History from Brown University. She arranged for our ride from the port, and took us to all of the places we wanted to see, plus suggestions of her own. It was a whirlwind, and relatively expensive, but we may never be able to return, so decided it was worth the splurge. I highly recommend you go to the Reichstag dome, and to do so, you need to make online arrangements very far in advance. It's easy, though, so don't hesitate.

 

We did Tallin on our own and enjoyed the old town on foot, as well as visiting the KGB museum (another thing to book in advance online), at the Hotel Viru. Highly recommend that. The ship had a shuttle between the port and the city center for a nominal fee.

 

We did Copenhagen entirely walking on our own. Around every corner was a photo opportunity. A beautiful city, and you would be very underserved by a bus tour. We had time to visit the palace and Tivoli, plus shops. I think we walked 15 miles total that day!

 

Stockholm was beautiful and walkable, too. We also found our way, without any advance research, on the subway to a far-flung branch of the Hard Rock Cafe. The Vasa Museum is worth a visit, plus there is a fortress and a pedestrian area that is so quaint and picturesque. We did not make it to the Nobel Prize museum here, but it was recommended by one of our group.

 

I'm sure we missed something in Helsinki, as we only made it to the cathedral, the church under the rock and the central train station (which, if you're into architecture, you must not miss). Celebrity provided a shuttle here, as well, which we used.