Homeland cruise questions

[traveltwin]

Anyone that has been or is onboard Baltic cruise in May, June?

1. How cold has it been? Planning to layer and not going from Stockholm till the 27th June...so not to Bergen till early July

2. How well does the wifi work now that press tours are done?

3. Any special tips or ideas?

4. How much movement around North Sea, Stavanger? Should I get RX for seasick pills?

5. How much light in the day these days...white nights?

Thanks in advance

[Vineyard View]

We were on for 29 days including Baltics.

 

1) we layered and more often than not took warm layers off by mid day. We did have waterproof light jackets that came in handy a few times. Our layering wasn't more than fleece or light sweater over a light top. Pants were lightweight or jeans.

2) we shared with press so can't comment

3) unless you enjoy spending exorbitant prices on food in ports ( we generally DIY and enjoy a bite for lunch in whatever port we are in), in most places the Baltics are much higher priced than most (that said I am allergic to shellfish, and there is quite a bit offered there at prices I cannot comment on).

4) there was movement out of Stavanger that night! I took RX, but chewable Bonine and ginger worked well - other than that night Baltics were smooth sailing - no guarantees on other cruises

5) very short window of darkness! Only a few hours. But the drapes in the cabin worked very well.

[id4elizabeth]

I'm particularly susceptible to seasickness, and I recently discovered "Sea Bands" which are elastic bands that fit around around your wrists with pressure points that you position on the inside of your wrists. I have found these work remarkably well. I had taken patches, prescription pills, Bonnine, and Dramamine with me on this trip, and only had to use my Sea Bands. You can get them at CVS, they are cheap, and worth a try. We were on for 50 days and had some rough seas in the Atlantic, as well as Stavanger.

[teefine]

Hi travel twin...useful questions and thanks to those who have answered. We will be on the Stockholm to Bergen sail end June and I am particularly eager to hear from anyone who has just returned from this itinerary.... Was there anything you wish you had known beforehand??? What was weather like?

Edited June 14, 2015 by teefine

[OneBag]

I'm particularly susceptible to seasickness, and I recently discovered "Sea Bands" which are elastic bands that fit around around your wrists with pressure points that you position on the inside of your wrists. I have found these work remarkably well. I had taken patches, prescription pills, Bonnine, and Dramamine with me on this trip, and only had to use my Sea Bands. You can get them at CVS, they are cheap, and worth a try. We were on for 50 days and had some rough seas in the Atlantic, as well as Stavanger.

 

OMG those things really work? I was just at CVS yesterday and looked at them and thought, nah, that sounds like voodoo and bought Bonine and ginger gum instead. But you've got me rethinking this. There were 2 in the box so I assume you have wear one on each wrist?

[id4elizabeth]

Correct. One on each wrist. I've worn them on several cruises now, including one on a small yacht that got pitched about quite a bit in a New England storm. In the past I would have had to be knocked out with heavy duty drugs, but I felt fine. Try them - if they don't work, no big investment. And the great part is, no side effects - no drowsiness, no dry mouth.

[t&c_traveling]

Going on this cruise next September and would like to get some information on the excursions. How are the free ones and had anyone purchased from Viking and if so how were they. Thanks for your help

[id4elizabeth]

If you look under the later (most recent) posts of the "On Board the Star" thread started by kathy9, I posted reviews or experiences of most of the tours (all Viking) that we did in the Baltics. I tried to remember to include the port name in each title, so you should be able to easily find them. Look for psts by id4elizabeth. Hope that helps.

[OneBag]

Correct. One on each wrist. I've worn them on several cruises now, including one on a small yacht that got pitched about quite a bit in a New England storm. In the past I would have had to be knocked out with heavy duty drugs, but I felt fine. Try them - if they don't work, no big investment. And the great part is, no side effects - no drowsiness, no dry mouth.

 

Thanks, Elizabeth, I am going to give them a try. :)

[t&c_traveling]

Thank you Elizabeth

[OBX Cruisers]

For seasickness I won't get on a ship without my "Relief Band". It's worn on one wrist - looks almost like a watch. Difference is that it has a

Battery which emits a small "pulse". Also costs more but is well worth the price. The acupressure band didn't do it for me. I even wear the Relief Bans on scuba diving liveaboards and they can really rock. Also last year to Galapagos.

[cassandra44]

We've just returned from the May to mid June Homelands cruise.

Weather varied from day to day....mostly around 14- 18 celsius range with a couple of days in the mid 20's. Berlin day was highest temp.

However lovely surprise...very little rain....only in Stockholm on May 30 and a drizzle in Stavanger near the end.

It will be warmer as summer progresses but layering is still the way to go.

A climawarm/climacool type layer worked well and a light rain jacket. On this cruise i also took a light fleecy which i wore 2-3 days.

You can check forecast on cruiseoutlook but be aware forecast can change quickly. Temp drops in evening can be dramatic.

The daily viking newsheet issued each night has forecasts for next day,

[traveltwin]

Welcome home! Many thx for info on weather. What did u like best? Anything we shouldn't miss? How was wifi on your trip? We leave on the 27th

[cassandra44]

Hi traveltwin

My review of our cruise was just posted in the review section of CC. If you have any further questions feel free to ask.

My husband and I both took ipads. We found wifi coverage rather spotty and slow and we had the greatest difficulty in sending photos even though we reduced them to the lowest size and sent only a couple. I guess a better option would have been to take the ipads on shore and use local facilities but it was just too much hassle especially for my ipad 2 which is heavy.

Our general experience of use of wifi on board ships hasn't been great so I dont think we had very high expectations.

In many respects it's a welcome break not being able to check emails!

[almelanson]

Currently ending our day in Copenhagen and have no problems with wifi. Yesterday I connected with 3 different daughters via Facetalk and it's the best connection we've had - we've sailed previously on 6 different Viking River cruises. Today I sent out email with 4 photos and it took about 3-4 minutes to get out on my IPad Air 2.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Ingra Tor]

Anyone that has been or is onboard Baltic cruise in May, June?

1. How cold has it been? Planning to layer and not going from Stockholm till the 27th June...so not to Bergen till early July

2. How well does the wifi work now that press tours are done?

3. Any special tips or ideas?

4. How much movement around North Sea, Stavanger? Should I get RX for seasick pills?

5. How much light in the day these days...white nights?

Thanks in advance

 

Hi Teefine,

We have just come home from Bergen having done the cruise.

You are taking your cruise in the right direction as to finish in Norway is a high.

Had heavy rain on the first day in Stockholm but was pleased to see that there was an umbrella in the stateroom.

Only took it out with us on one other day. Never wore waterproof anorak that I bought for the trip.

If you come from Florida it was cold, if you come from the UK it was not.

Never felt the ship rock or roll but wife said she felt it roll one evening!

Helsinki was not very interesting to me on the included tour, A very crowded Rock Church and a statue in a park. The best part of Helsinki for me was the cemetery. In passing it on the included tour the guide mentioned that one of the Faberge family was buried there and has an egg on the grave stone.

I went to look at it and the cemetery is very large, very well kept and has some interesting grave stones, Angels on some, naked ladies on others. Not what you would see in the UK. The Faberge grave is in the Orthodox part of the cemetery which is the part nearest to the city centre. I walked to it and then caught the Viking shuttle bus from the city centre to the ship.

For St Petersbrug we were advised that it could be difficult to fit in two tours in one day if they were only hours apart due to the traffic delays. Took Canal tour in morning and Song and Dance at night. Held in the Officers club (many steps up to the theatre) and performed by the Red Army troop. It was very good.

Next day went to the Hermitage repository. We thought it was very good. Only 18 in group with a Repository staff member as Guide. Air conditioned building only our group in room at any time.

At Warnemunde we did our own thing and took the train from the port to Bad Doberan and then bought a ticket at the station to Ostseebad Kuhlungsborn West ( Molli steam Railway ). Then as weather was warm walked down the prom and boarded the train further back toward Bad Doberan. And hence back to Warnemunde.

A third of the people who I spoke to who went to Berlin liked it, A third would not do the trip again and the last third wish that had not gone to Berlin at all as it involved a 3 to 4 hour drive there. Some then had an hour and a half coach tour of Berlin.

In Stavanger we did our own private trip, again by train, to Egersund in the morning on the 10:17 Region train. The Region train is very smart with a families coach with a play pen, I have never seen one like this in the UK, and a cafe on board. We walked into and out of Egersund and came back on the 13:17 hrs Local train, not very nice more like a commuters train. The Viking party on their tour to Egersund got of off this train prior to boarding their coaches. Once back at Stavanger (14:30) we went out on the included tour which started at 15:00 hrs and was interesting.

Again in Flam we went on the included tour in the morning and our own private trip on the Flamsbana train in the afternoon. You can buy the ticket on line or at the station which is next to the port. Well worth the trip. Train goes up, waits 5 minutes and comes back, with photo stop at Waterfall. All details on the web.

We think that the ship is great, the staff is great and that the cruise was great. Yesterday we booked up for “Into the midnight Sun” out of Harwich next year.

Yours

Ingra Tor.

[teefine]

Hi Ingra

What a fantastically useful report. Thank you so much for taking the time to give such detail. We come from uk, not florida!

Really spooky.....you replied to traveltwin's post but addressed it to teefine which is me. Traveltwin IS my twin but you couldnt have known that...weird, eh?

And finally, was there anything you didnt take with you that you wish you had?

Again, many thanks.

[Ingra Tor]

Hi Ingra

What a fantastically useful report. Thank you so much for taking the time to give such detail. We come from uk, not florida!

Really spooky.....you replied to traveltwin's post but addressed it to teefine which is me. Traveltwin IS my twin but you couldnt have known that...weird, eh?

And finally, was there anything you didnt take with you that you wish you had?

Again, many thanks.

 

Hi Teefine,

Not Spooky, Just me not knowing how to use Cruisecritic properly.

The only extra would have been waterproof over trousers as it rained very hard in Stockholm. Spar has disposable trunks for men in the Spar lockers. We took alarm clock for early starts and torch for emergency use.

Maybe your favourite decaffeinated tea. Before our first tour I asked Martha (on the Explorers Desk ) where I could find English tea, Cabin and Restraunts had lots of speciality teas. When I returned from the tour my cabin had a dish full of Twinings English Breakfast tea in it.

Tips:- At Tallin on quay many shops and a Choclate truck, bought a bar of Kalev Tallinn dark chocolate for 6.60 Euro. Went into Tallinn on shuttle bus later and bought same bar of choclate at Rimi supermarket for 3.35 Euro. They also had boxes of Tallin chocolates for 2.69 Euro. A must for the ladies is a traditional Haapsalu scarf, wife says it is very warm when worn.

We bought it at shop number 22 Pikk (I think KODUKASIT ) cost 86 Euro.

Also a MUST for Stockholm is the VASA musium cost 130 Kr. Closes at 5 make sure you take your camera. I caught a ferry acoss to it. Walked from ship towards city to nearest end of SKEPPSBROKAJEN ( on viking map) to catch ferry. Small box office to buy ticket. They nearly all speak very good English.

It you travel by train in Norway ( NOT flam train) and are old enough ask for a senior ticket. (Half price)

 

Sorry if this is a bit long winded.

 

Yours

Ingra Tor

[roothy123]

Hi Teefine,

We have just come home from Bergen having done the cruise.

 

At Warnemunde we did our own thing and took the train from the port to Bad Doberan and then bought a ticket at the station to Ostseebad Kuhlungsborn West ( Molli steam Railway ). Then as weather was warm walked down the prom and boarded the train further back toward Bad Doberan. And hence back to Warnemunde.

A third of the people who I spoke to who went to Berlin liked it, A third would not do the trip again and the last third wish that had not gone to Berlin at all as it involved a 3 to 4 hour drive there. Some then had an hour and a half coach tour of Berlin.

 

Ingra Tor.

 

I know a lot of people choose not to go to Berlin because of how far it is. However, if the ship gets in early enough, and it's not a Sunday, you may be able to just walk over to the Warnemunde train station (not far, and easy to find) and take an express train to Berlin. With that option, you end up with lots of time in Berlin. I know some people feel more comfortable using shore excursions than going off on their own, but just thought I'd mention it, as it really isn't hard to get to Berlin that way. Then again, some people like Rostock, the castle in Schwerin, and other options, including just staying in Warnemunde, which is nice.

[roothy123]

Hi traveltwin

My review of our cruise was just posted in the review section of CC. If you have any further questions feel free to ask.

My husband and I both took ipads. We found wifi coverage rather spotty and slow and we had the greatest difficulty in sending photos even though we reduced them to the lowest size and sent only a couple. I guess a better option would have been to take the ipads on shore and use local facilities but it was just too much hassle especially for my ipad 2 which is heavy.

Our general experience of use of wifi on board ships hasn't been great so I dont think we had very high expectations.

In many respects it's a welcome break not being able to check emails!

 

Hi Cassandra. Just read your review of the Star, and was surprised to hear you did a South Pacific cruise on Oceania. We just splurged and put a deposit down on O's January cruise that includes Easter Island. 18 days with fewer port calls and more sea days than I'm used to is a leap of faith for me, but this cruise has been on my husband's bucket list for a long time, so I decided to book it. I am totally ignorant about the area, and would love to hear any information you can give me. If you don't mind, could you email me at rosenthal9786@verizon.net, or else give me your email address so I can email you? If you did a review or blog or anything on the cruise, I'd love to read it. Thanks, and sorry everyone else for going a bit off topic here.

 

By the way, I agree with you that use of WiFi on board ships isn't great - and my theory is that now that practically everyone has ipads, smartphones that send high resolution pictures, Nooks/Kindles, etc., things will only get worse on cruise ships when it comes to WiFi!

[phototrips]

We've booked the Safari excursion in Flam, and I'm cautious about taking some expensive camera gear out in that RIB. Has anyone done that trip? How wet did you get? I have several ways to secure the camera, but I'd like to know whether to be prepared for "light spray" or "total immersion."

 

Thanks in advance!

[Fuss]

Someone mentioned in an earlier post that the binoculars in the staterooms are only so- so. Trying to decide whether to bring mine-- would rather not, but I do like having a decent pair along. Thanks in advance for any input !

[PopsA]

I brought my own and was glad I did. The ones in the cabin are very low power and not much better than your own eyesight. I really enjoyed having my high power binoculars for port arrivals and enjoyment on excursions.

[Fuss]

Thanks PopsA! I will add that to the list!!

[roothy123]

If you don't get an answer about the RIB excursion in Flam, you might want to post in the "Ports of Call," Norway or Baltic section. Many cruise lines use the same tour providers, so perhaps there's someone reading the threads in that section has taken the RIB and can helps you. Or you might want to do a search there for info on the RIB boat.