Baltic Cruise JUNE '15. Royal Princess. PORTS

[Nonio]

I've just booked on this as the ports and timing seemed appealing.

 

However rather than sailing right into Stockholm the ship docks at Nynasham which requires a tender & I think may be some distance from Stockholm itself.

 

Does anyone know whether it is a) possible and b) easy to make one's own way from Nynasham to Stockholm as I prefer to be independent if possible. Are there hop on hop off buses from the port?

 

What is Nynasham like (compared to Stockholm?).

 

The other ports are Copenhagen (arriving noon leaving 11pm) Helsinki (9 am - 5 pm), St Petersburgh overnight, Tallinn (half day 7 am - 2pm) Gottenburgh (half day).

 

Any tips for an independent traveller gratefully received ..

 

I haven't even applied for my Russian visa yet...do I need one for any other ports ? ( I'm a UK/ EU citizen) and what should I do about currency?! Thanks.

[LHT28]

You may want to ask on the Baltic forum

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=192

Also check out the Princess forum maybe others have experienced the same situation

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197

[GolfMom321]

If you do an orgainzed tour in Russia (ship or private), they will take care of the visa for you. It's well worth it. SPB tours does a wonderful job. We used them in St. Petersburg for a 2 day tour that was excellent. They also do Estonia, and I think maybe Berlin? They have a Mediterranean branch too. Smaller group, lower prices.

 

You will LOVE this trip! Best cruise I ever took. The Royal was great--going on her again this summer!

[Nonio]

If you do an orgainzed tour in Russia (ship or private), they will take care of the visa for you. It's well worth it. SPB tours does a wonderful job. We used them in St. Petersburg for a 2 day tour that was excellent. They also do Estonia, and I think maybe Berlin? They have a Mediterranean branch too. Smaller group, lower prices.

 

You will LOVE this trip! Best cruise I ever took. The Royal was great--going on her again this summer!

 

Thanks +++. Your enthusiasm is very engaging and reassuring. I've never sailed a princess ship or in Royal Princess so slightly apprehensive given some negative feedback on this site. On the other hand I've discovered that on cruises there seems to be a small subset where setting out to find fault and misery seems to BE the holiday. Can be hard to distinguish between helpful negative feedback and the latter!

 

Any tips on making the most of the Royal would be much appreciated. As it is a late booking I haven't had a cabin allocated yet. Just that it will be an unobstructed view balcony in a quiet location.

 

Did you by any chance sail into Nynastram, as we are doing (the Royal being a larger ship). Whilst the Princess information sheet suggests there will be a sail in through the Archipelego others suggest that the prettiest final bit will be missed out..in fact we'll miss most of it. We are sailing in from Copenhagen and sailing out towards Helsinki).

 

Did you,may any chance, dock at Nynastram when you did this trip before and provide any hard facts on this.

 

If you did, how did you transfer in?

 

Re SPB tours in St Pete's: I'm bothered the 2 day tour will be too much diving in and out of museums and that can get to me. I really hate being hurded past exhibits in big crowds. Which of their 2 day tours did you do, and how much museum'diving' was there? I'm thinking of a mix of half day /evening tours. Thanks a million for your help.

 

What was the highlight(s) of your previous Baltic cruise? (We are going to Copenhagen, Nynastram for Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburgh overnight, Tallinn, Gothenburg).

[John Bull]

Haven't visited Stockholm from Nynashamn, but I've been told the station is close to the tender jetty & the train journey is an hour. The sail-in for ships which berth in Stockholm is amazing, a second reason why Nynashamn is a poor substitute. I'd rate it the biggest downer for your itinerary. In Stockholm the hop-on ferry is the way to get around.

 

I don't rate half-days, but yours are the best choice for a half-day. Tallinn is an extremely pleasant place to visit, shame not to have a full day but not the end of the world.

 

GolfMom didn't take a ship's tour in St Pete's. It was with one of the accredited local tour operators. And that's absolutely the way to do it.:)

As other local operators' tours, it's in a minibus with a max. 16 passengers - a very different proposition to ships' tours. Much more personal, friendly, flexible, no waiting while 50 people alight & board, includes trips on metro & hydrofoil (not possible with large groups), pre-public admission to Hermitage, queue-busting at Catherine Palace, etc. And cheaper than ship's equivalent tour combinations.

Those tours are all two-day tours, with optional evening. Most operators offer a choice of the "grand" tour, or one which misses uout a few minor sights called the "comfort" tour or similar title.

Google SPB Tours, Alla Tours, TJ Travel, Best Guides, Red Oktober, Anastasia. And there are others, all with excellent reviews both here & on other sites like TripAdvisor.

 

Don't be deceived by Princess saying you need a visa if you don't take a ship's tour. Whilst those who want to explore by themselves need a visa (for us Brits this includes having to travel to Edinburgh or London for fingerprints!!!) all those local operators' tours have exactly the same visa-free status as ship's tours.

You do have to book in advance, since the tour ticket e-mailed to you gets you thro' immigration without a visa. But you don't pay up-front or even quote credit card details. They trust you, you pay when you're there.

 

A series of half-days may be more relaxing, but there's a lot to see & St Pete's is the jewel of any Baltic cruise. Don't waste your time with half-days.

 

JB :)

Edited April 12, 2015 by John Bull

[Velvetwater]

We only did a 2 day excursion in St Petes as cost wise it was effective with the Visa included. We wanted to explore on our own too but realised it was going to be tricky. We went with TJ Travel and they were amazing and offer a range of tours for 2 day 'dipping' in and out to 1 day concentrated tours on Catherines/Hermitage. We also booked a night tour of Vodka tasting with them which was excellent as we got to walk the Streets and see the city close up. Most tour companies offer Bolshoi Ballet evening excursions too.

 

Our highlight of our Baltic trip was Tallinn. At first it looks like a boring port then you discover the old city and square and its so pretty! They have really good shops and bars in the old square too.No excursion needed..Just buy a Hop on Hop off bus ticket to use all day and these are available for all Baltic ports except St Petes.

 

We found Helsinki and Copenhagen ok but not memorable enough to visit again. Both will boast of their advances in the city but to us it felt like some old charm had got lost a long the way. Both are great for shops and dining out though. Tivoli in Copenhagen is great and as you have a long time in port it could be worth a visit.

 

I have been to Rotterdam on a land day trip and its a great bustling city, like some of its Baltic friends it has had a boost in modern architecture but has interesting sites and museums.

 

 

Currency wise we took Euros, Rubles and Krone. Most places did accept Euros across the cruise but we find better prices by using local coin. I also love looking at foreign currency!

 

Its a wonderful cruise by the way, you will love it.

Edited April 12, 2015 by Velvetwater

[Nonio]

Your advice has been great. I've decided to buy into a St Pete based independent tour.

 

Re Nynasham ...I shall let you know what info I get from their tourist office. I've asked about the possibility of a boat or ferry from there (or nearby) into Stockholm itself. If not I shall just take one of their ferry trips from the city centre. The Princess brochure says we sail through the islands so a bit misleading if that turns out to be minimal both ways.