Regatta August 2006 Stockholm/Dover Assistance!

[seafish]

I've searched but so far have been unable to find travel planning answers for our Aug 29, 2006 Regatta Stockholm/Dover sailing. Any help from experienced "O" cruisers will be greatly appreciated!

 

- What are the Pros/Cons on Sheraton Stockholm Hotel & Towers, Hilton Stockholm Slussen or - Raddison SAS? How about location? Are these close to ship dock?

 

-What's the best way for 2 people with cruise luggage to get from Arlanda Airport to these hotels? How about the Arlanda Express with luggage? Can the airport taxi easily handle 2 large bags/2 carry-ons + passengers?

 

-Has anyone used the Sweden 'a la carte Card or - Sweden Card for Stockholm attractions? Your opinions please.

 

Hopefully those that have been there...done that - will be able to help. Thanks in advance - SeaFish

[Andee]

I can only answer two of your questions. We took the express train from the airport to DT with two suitcases and two carry-ons without difficulty. We also had no trouble, after our day of sightseeing, fitting that and ourselves into a cab to the ship.

[seafish]

Andee - thank you - appreciate your reply & info. SeaFish

[threeedogmedia]

seafish, we were on the same trip this summer and had reservations at the Raddison SAS Royal Viking.. It was perfect! Comfortable, well appointed and in a great location. We booked it online ourselves and saved a bundle. We took a standard taxi from the Airport to the hotel and although I don't remember exactly what it cost, it had lots of room for my huge bags. We're walkers and it was near Old Town and within walking distance to many other tourist sites. We took a water taxi to the Vasa Museum but for the most part, we walked all over. People we met used the Sweden card and said it was a good value. For the sake of unique pictures, make sure to go around the corner from this hotel to the Ice Bar. We heard about this on the travel channel and it was a great place to get our picture taken for our Christmas card. A couple of warnings. Protect your belongings. As with other destinations, there are people looking for a target and you don't want to be it! There have been problems in the last few years with transplants from other countries and the locals are just furious. Although the city is so much fun, if you have the opportunity, take a tour to the country side. It's just beautiful.

[drwong]

All three are centrally located downtown, but none is close to the pier. However, if you book your hotel and transfers thru Oceania (notwithstanding the earlier postings on Oceania's hotel pricing), Oceania will provide a shuttle to the pier from the Hilton and the Sheraton, both five-star hotels.

 

We toted our suitcases on the Arlanda Express from the airport to the downtown terminus without a problem. (there's also express buses that leave more frequently but I wanted to ride the train to show my support for a privately-funded system operating under a socialist state). The Sheraton was about 3/4 mile from the terminus (or so it seemed, with our suitcases, but the route was handicapped-accessible). The Sheraton is a nice, modern hotel with great views of downtown and the old city, and they had a waiting room with refreshments for Oceania's transfer customers on the day of departure.

 

Adjacent to the Arlanda station is the Radisson SAS Royal Viking, the Scandic Continental, and the Nordic Sea hotels (home of the original Ice Bar!). If you're handling your own transfers, consider booking yourselves at one of those hotels, instead of schlepping your bags all the way to the Sheraton or Hilton, since all the hotels are pretty centrally located and you're going to be hiring a cab to take you to the pier anyways, which is over on the east side of town. You can find ratings and photos of the various hotels on Tripadvisor.com.

 

Another thing to consider is your membership in frequent flyer program - if you're a HHonors member, Scandic is part of their program, and you might score a complimentary upgrade at either the Hilton or the Scandic. Likewise, if you're a Starwood member, the Sheraton might be better for you, or the Radisson if you're a Gold Rewards cardholder.

[seafish]

threedogmedia - Thanks for your reply - very helpful info that we'll put to good use. Your taxi & sights to see answered some key areas.

 

drwong - Appreciate your insight on hotels and airport/city transport. We too would like to use the Arlanda Express but-I guess it might be by taxi depending on hotel we book. The "O" hotel program looks outrageously expensive for Stockholm. I did check the hotels you mentioned...they look great. I have used booth Trip Advisor and Webshots to aid the process...really works well. I do have Hiltons Honors, Sheraton Starwood, Ambassdor, etc., so we'll be making our own arrangements for Stockholm. However - for our post-cruise London stay we may need to go with "O"s Hotel Program due to the Dover/London-London/Airport transportation w/luggage - that appear to be a bit more complicated and expensive by doing on our own rather than using the "O" Hotel/Transfers. Any thoughts? Does "O" use a particular London airport? Is there any advantage to Gatwich compared to Heathrow?

 

Again - thanks very much to both of you for all your help. Take care - SeaFish

[drwong]

You can reach any of the hotels via the Arlanda Express, although the first two might require a short walk. The other three were right across the street from the station. Looking at the photos on Oceania@Sea.com, it looks like the ships are still mooring at the Frihamnen quay - you can see its distance relative to downtown here: http://www.stockholmcruise.com/images/berth_map_B.gif. As a matter of fact, I think I see one of the former Ren ships in the photo!

 

As far as Dover-to-London. we shared a van with another couple, making the per-person cost lower than Oceania's transfers. The convenience of that method is that a private van will drop you off directly at your hotel, instead of making the usual loop through town. As far as Heathrow or Gatwick, it really depends on your carrier (LHR is dominated by American and United, while Delta, Continental, US Airways, and Northwest offer non-stop flights from Gatwick to their hubs in ATL, CLE, PHL, and DTW, respectively). Oceania could book you on any of those carriers, depending on which one offered them the cheapest fares. :D

 

But if you're booking your own air, it also depends on where you'll be staying in London. Similar to the Arlanda Express, there are express rail lines to the airports - the Gatwick Express leaves from Paddington Station and the Heathrow Express leaves from Victoria Station, every 15 minutes. Gatwick's a little further, but it's a smaller, more compact airport than Heathrow and easier to maneuver around.

[Jane110]

 

However - for our post-cruise London stay we may need to go with "O"s Hotel Program due to the Dover/London-London/Airport transportation w/luggage - that appear to be a bit more complicated and expensive by doing on our own rather than using the "O" Hotel/Transfers. Any thoughts? Does "O" use a particular London airport? Is there any advantage to Gatwich compared to Heathrow?

 

 

Seafish,

 

I've never done the Baltic w/ Oceania, however, I did have an Oceania cruise end in Dover.

 

I agree to using private transportation from Dover to central London. We used Alpha Chauffeurs and was very happy with them. Google them for a web listing. They have varying size vans and cars. We hired a large one for 6, even though we only had 4 people figuring we'd pick up another couple on the cruise who needed transporation. We had plenty of "takers" and it was alot cheaper than using O's transport. The third couple that "hitched" with us were staying at the same hotel on O's rates, which were double what we were paying and ours included breakfast, theirs didn't. They had O's transfers included, but chose to ride in our van instead of sitting on the bus.

 

For hotel to airport, we just used a taxi.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

 

Jane

[seafish]

drwong - thanks. I understand on the Frihamnen Quay and London airports info. We would prefer to book our own London hotel. We certainly would have more options and would pay less for a better room type than with "O"s program. However - our(2 people)hang-up is with the ease of getting from the disembarkation Port of Dover to London with luggage. It does not look like there's easy access to Cars/Buses/Rail right at the port. Looks like these are located a distance from the port. Doing the Dover/London trip on our own appears to be a bit more complicated & expensive than other port-to-city transfers we have done. I checked the cost of a private car but - even for the most basic vehicle it's close to $250.00USD. And -when I add-in the hotel/airport departure taxi - doing it on our own for London is more expensive than if we use "O"s Hotel Program that includes transfers/luggage handling direct from the port to hotel. We'd like to find an easy and less expensive transfer Dover/London that will allow us to book our own hotel. So far - I have not been able to determine an better way. Obviously - getting others to share the fare is a good idea but, for now I need to plan on just the two of us. Maybe I'm reading too much into this - what am I missing?

 

Jane110 - Thanks for your private transportation info. I will check Alpha. I agree on the "O" hotel rates. This is why we want to do it on our own - if we can reduce the Dover/London transfer port connection issues and expense.

 

drwong & Jane110....Again thanks for alll your help. Take Care - SeaFish

[Fetchpeople]

Just for the record, the person who wrote about trains from London to Heathrow and Gatwick has the departure points reversed!

 

Victoria Station to Gatwick

Paddington to Heathrow

 

Both are non-stop and you can buy a ticket on the train. My choice has always been to use my last pounds on the train and Visa the balance.

 

Both trains are fast, easy, and comfortable with plenty of dollies waiting at the airport end. The other good news is that you can take a tube to the station and connect with the train, which I think run at least every hour and maybe even more frequently.

[drwong]

That's what happens when I try to rush to finish an email before rushing home and haven't the time to read back my message! In my haste, I also truncated by listing of the US airports with non-stop service from Gatwick. The closest airports to Beaver, PA, are Cleveland or Pittsburgh, but since USAir discontinued its non-stop service from LGW into PIT, and Continental into CLE, you'll have to connect through Philly or Newark anyways, so it doesn't matter whether you leave from LHR or LGW.

 

I note you're a fellow HHonors member - the Hilton Paddington is located right atop Paddington Station, 15 minutes from Heathrow! Simply go through the Hilton lobby into the main station concourse and pick up your airline boarding pass at the airline ticket window. You used to be able to check in your luggage at Paddington Station (this was back in 2003), but I think they discontinued that service due to security concerns (as if it really makes a difference whether you carry an explosive device onto the train in your carry-on or in your check-in baggage). If the Hilton Paddington is booked, the Hilton Metropole is only a few blocks away. If your flight departs from Gatwick, you can board the Underground at the Paddington or Edgware Road station (across from the Metropole) and ride to Victoria Station, saving yourselves a cab ride. Note that cabs add a 5 pound "Congestion Charge" for trips ending or originating in Central London.

 

It shouldn't be difficult to find a couple to share a van from Dover to London - just post a note here or on the YahooGroup. Or ask around once you board the ship, like Jane110 did!

 

If you're choosy about which airports you'll be using, Oceania offers a deviation option - you can select your airline for a $50 per person fee, plus any differential between the cost of that ticket and value of the "free" one offered by Oceania. On some flights, there's no differential, while on others, it could run several hundred dollars. Ask your travel agent to look into it for you, if you already haven't.

[Jancruz]

If you're choosy about which airports you'll be using, Oceania offers a deviation option - you can select your airline for a $50 per person fee, plus any differential between the cost of that ticket and value of the "free" one offered by Oceania. On some flights, there's no differential, while on others, it could run several hundred dollars. Ask your travel agent to look into it for you, if you already haven't.

 

 

Hi Richard,

We sent out an announcement today that Oceania has raised the deviation fee to $75 per person, in addition..if you ask for flights and they are available at no extra cost to the client, you are immediately billed the $75 per person you are given those flights and the money is non refundable..so folks..be careful what you ask for..

Jan

*****

[seafish]

Fetchpeople & drwong - Got it! Excellent info...exactly what I was looking for. I will certainly check out all the info. Thanks to all for your help - SeaFish

[elin]

I've searched but so far have been unable to find travel planning answers for our Aug 29, 2006 Regatta Stockholm/Dover sailing. Any help from experienced "O" cruisers will be greatly appreciated!

 

-Has anyone used the Sweden 'a la carte Card or - Sweden Card for Stockholm attractions? Your opinions please.

 

Hopefully those that have been there...done that - will be able to help. Thanks in advance - SeaFish

 

We used the Stockholm Card (we purchased the 48 hour card as we were going to be there an extra day at the end of the cruise), when we were there in August. I wish we would have bought it before we left as it would have saved us the $10 bus ride into town (for the 2 of us), as transportation is included in it.

 

We used it for buses, to go to the Vasa, Skansen, to see the Royal Jewels, and the canal tour. The many rooms in the Royal Apartments tour were not open as the Princess was in town, so we did not do that tour.

 

We did the math and figured out that the card more then paid for itself. If you are going to get the card, order it in advance so you have it with you when you want to go from the ship to town.

 

We stayed at the Radisson SAS Strand hotel which was a great location to walk to Gamla Stan or the downtown.

 

Stockholm is very cool. Have a great time.

 

Elin

[seafish]

elin - appreciate your info. I did check the Sweden Card website - looks like a good value with lots to see & do. We've used similar "city cards" in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, etc., and have been very pleased.

Good advise on getting prior to trip. Thanks for your help. SeaFish