Back from the June 21 Getaway Baltics Cruise

[disneygal94]

Hi disneygal94 - good of you to share your experiences. We are taking the August 14th cruise. why do you think the first day clearing immigration in St. Petersburg takes so much time? Is everyone trying to get off at the same time? is it difficult to find your quide?

 

As kitkat said, Immigration spends a very long time inspecting every person's paperwork. Many of them do require family members to pass through one at a time, but I also observed several who inspected all family members at the same time. The Russian inspectors are not friendly at all. Don't bother with small talk or even a hello. Just hand over your paperwork and wait for them to clear you. And make sure you have your tour tickets with you - we saw several people being denied entry.

 

It's not difficult at all to find your guide. All the guides are gathered together in the terminal holding up signs.

[disneygal94]

Our next port was Tallinn, Estonia, which we had visited before. Old Town Tallinn is a lovely, picturesque place. Be sure to go up to the Toompea overlook for a beautiful view of Old Town and of your ship. Also try to work in a stop at a bakery called Maiasmokk on Pikk Street, which is billed as the oldest café in Tallinn. They have delectable treats, and they also sell packaged chocolates/candy bars. And marzipan! You need to see all the marzipan creations! The front window has a cute marzipan display, and you can see the marzipan artist at work if you leave the main part of the bakery, go through a little hallway, and step into the "store" part of the bakery. Check out their website at http://www.kohvikmaiasmokk.ee/en/

[disneygal94]

Our last port was Stockholm. We had been nervously checking the portsofstockholm website every day, because none of the previous Getaway cruises had actually docked in Stockholm. Some cruises that were originally scheduled for Stockholm got switched to Nynashamn instead, which is about an hour's ride away. We were so excited when the captain announced the night before what time we would be arriving in the archipelago. We knew then that we were definitely docking in Stockholm!

 

It takes several hours to sail through the archipelago, and it is beautiful! It reminded me very much of cruising through Alaska. If you don't want to get up early enough to see it in the morning, wait until the evening when you sail back through it again. We made sure not to make any show or dinner reservations that night so that we could watch to our heart's content.

 

We planned to do Stockholm on our own, using the HOHO boat as transportation. For those planning to use the HOHO boat, following the painted lines on the pavement. Once you're outside the port gates, the lines will lead you left to the water. There are people right there at the HOHO boat stop selling tickets, and you can use credit cards. We made sure to disembark ASAP, and we were on the very first boat that left around 8:20 or so. For those wondering (like I was), the boat goes directly between Stadsgarden and the Vasa Museum (and I think one other stop) until 10:00 a.m., then at 10 it begins its usual clockwise route. During my pre-trip research, I was getting conflicting info on whether or not the boat would go straight to the Vasa. So I finally emailed them to ask, and even they told me that it would not go straight to the Vasa and that we would have to do the whole clockwise route to get there. Like so many things, you get different answers from different people. But I can assure you it goes directly to the Vasa until 10:00. It's a great, quick way to get to the Vasa Museum. We got there at about 8:35 and there was hardly anyone there. We bought our tickets with no wait and went right in. We were able to take unobstructed pictures to our heart's content. When we left the museum around 9:45, the museum was quite crowded. We were glad we got there early!

 

For those who want to use the HOHO buses instead of the boats (which you may want to do if you want to go straight to Gamla Stan before 10 a.m.), I noticed there were 2 parked right outside the port gates waiting for passengers to disembark the ship.

 

After the Vasa, we went to the Abba Museum. It's not right along the shoreline like the Vasa, so be sure to ask for directions. By the time we finished at the Abba Museum, it was after 10:00, so we boarded the HOHO boat and took the clockwise ride to Gamla Stan where we finished our day.

 

Stockholm is a beautiful city, and 8 hours isn't nearly enough time!

[pr0pel]

Thanks for the info. Did you use your CC all the time in SPB? Did you also pay for the guide's lunch or did she cover her own?

[lpops]

A few pointers and bits of advice for anyone sailing on the Getaway in the Baltics this summer!

Thank you very much for a very helpful trip summary. DW and I along with 2 teen age granddaughters are on the 25 June 2018 Breakaway sailing with a very similar itinerary. Your astute commentary provided us with much helpful information.

 

One question – you mentioned that the large balcony was not very useful due to the weather. Our granddaughters would love to use the water park. Do you think that might be in the cards?

 

We are glad you had a great time and thank you again.

[disneygal94]

Thanks for the info. Did you use your CC all the time in SPB? Did you also pay for the guide's lunch or did she cover her own?

 

We had some rubles with us in case we needed them, but we were able to use credit cards everywhere, so we ended up using our rubles as part of the tips for the guide and driver. We offered to pay for our guide's lunch, but she refused and bought her own.

[disneygal94]

Thank you very much for a very helpful trip summary. DW and I along with 2 teen age granddaughters are on the 25 June 2018 Breakaway sailing with a very similar itinerary. Your astute commentary provided us with much helpful information.

 

One question – you mentioned that the large balcony was not very useful due to the weather. Our granddaughters would love to use the water park. Do you think that might be in the cards?

 

We are glad you had a great time and thank you again.

 

On our particular cruise, there was hardly anyone using the pools. It was just too chilly. We also had a fair share of rain. We did see a few brave kids playing in the water park. The only days warn enough for swimming were boarding day and the day in Stockholm, when we had warmer, sunny weather. We tried several times to eat at Margaritaville, but it was just too cold to sit outside. It was finally warm enough for us to eat there when we were still docked in Stockholm.

 

The hot tubs sure got a lot of use on this cruise!

 

But weather always varies, so you may get lucky and the grandkids might get lots of water park time!

[pr0pel]

We had some rubles with us in case we needed them, but we were able to use credit cards everywhere, so we ended up using our rubles as part of the tips for the guide and driver. We offered to pay for our guide's lunch, but she refused and bought her own.

 

Thank you, good to know. Did you get your rubles from an ATM upon disembarking SPB or did you get it state side prior?

[Travel R]

 

 

If you have not been to Russia before, be aware that you will not be allowed to enter the country unless you are on a ship excursion OR if you have arranged a tour on your own. You may not just walk off the ship and wander around on your own. Many cruise lines will try to scare you into thinking that you must book one of their excursions to be allowed into the country - but don't believe them. I know some people are more comfortable staying with the cruise line's excursions in foreign countries, but I personally don't care for doing the large group thing. Too much time is wasted, and I feel you just don't get as much out of the experience.

 

Enjoying your review, but I have a correction. It is possible to go on your own if you obtain your own travel visa. There is a bit of paperwork to fill out, and it is possible that you can be rejected.

 

When you go through a ship or third party tour they do the paperwork and obtain the visa for you. The third party/private companies do have to be government sanctioned in order for them to obtain the temporary travel visas on behalf of their clients.

 

FYI - we did not know it at the time, and also went to the right of the customs lines. We had also made our way onto the line to the gangplank fairly early (before the ship's announcement), and made it through customs and to our tour quickly (in respect to many other passengers).

[sparks1093]

A few pointers and bits of advice for anyone sailing on the Getaway in the Baltics this summer!

 

We spent 3 days in Copenhagen before the cruise. I know this question gets asked a lot, so rest assured you can use credit cards virtually everywhere. We had chip and signature cards, not chip and pin, but the merchants are used to that from American tourists and it never was a problem. There are some places that won't take Amex, so make sure you have a Visa or MasterCard. And make sure you have a card that doesn't charge any foreign transaction fees. I was even able to use my card for small purchases like a Coke at a 7 Eleven and at a hot dog stand in City Hall square.

 

Boarding the ship was a snap. I really like that they use 2 terminals in Copenhagen - it made everything quick and easy. We arrived at the terminal around 10:15 or 10:30 and were assigned to Group 2. Boarding began at 11:15. We boarded and went straight to the buffet for lunch. This was our first cruise on NCL, so I did a lot of mental comparisons to Carnival while cruising. The first thing I noticed is that the food on the buffet is a LOT better than on Carnival, and there were a lot more options.

 

They made the announcement at 1:30 that cabins were ready. We had a mini-suite with large balcony. While the cabin itself was kind of small and storage was limited, we loved the big bathroom (especially the large shower with all the jets) and the huge balcony. Unfortunately, it was too cold to use our balcony much.

 

Our first port was Warnemunde. We had been there before and were looking forward to just wandering around the town like we did last time - it's a quaint, lovely place. Sadly it was raining, and then storming, so we gave up after a couple of hours and went back to the ship. I was cold and wet, so I took a shower to warm up. Of course, then the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day!

 

More to come in the next post........

 

If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer!

 

Just a note to say we were in Warnemunde the day you visited. We were there for a week on a land vacation visiting DW's brother who lives there. We may have passed each other on the street:).

[RJ in SC]

Following - Husband just told me we're celebrating my 60th birthday in August with the Baltic cruise on the Getaway - so excited! And so much to plan in so short a time!

[disneygal94]

Thank you, good to know. Did you get your rubles from an ATM upon disembarking SPB or did you get it state side prior?

 

I ordered our rubles before our trip.

[disneygal94]

Enjoying your review, but I have a correction. It is possible to go on your own if you obtain your own travel visa. There is a bit of paperwork to fill out, and it is possible that you can be rejected.

 

When you go through a ship or third party tour they do the paperwork and obtain the visa for you. The third party/private companies do have to be government sanctioned in order for them to obtain the temporary travel visas on behalf of their clients.

 

FYI - we did not know it at the time, and also went to the right of the customs lines. We had also made our way onto the line to the gangplank fairly early (before the ship's announcement), and made it through customs and to our tour quickly (in respect to many other passengers).

 

Thank you for the correction, and you are correct. I guess I've never known anyone to arrange for their own visa, so it's something I completely forgot about.

[disneygal94]

Following - Husband just told me we're celebrating my 60th birthday in August with the Baltic cruise on the Getaway - so excited! And so much to plan in so short a time!

 

How exciting! Yes, you do have a lot to plan in a short amount of time. Be sure to book your STP tour as soon as possible. Whoever you choose, they will need time to take care of the paperwork!

[emeraldcity]

Reading with interest this morning. I'm in Copenhagen now and will be boarding the ship tomorrow. I'm an RCI cruiser and am looking forward to a different but simular cruise experience.

 

Dumb question time: NCL people probably hear this ad nauseum, but is there self serve laundry on board? I'd rather spend today wandering Copenhagen than losing a chunk of time washing clothes (we've been touring Europe the past 9 days).

[Kryssa]

Reading with interest this morning. I'm in Copenhagen now and will be boarding the ship tomorrow. I'm an RCI cruiser and am looking forward to a different but simular cruise experience.

 

 

 

Dumb question time: NCL people probably hear this ad nauseum, but is there self serve laundry on board? I'd rather spend today wandering Copenhagen than losing a chunk of time washing clothes (we've been touring Europe the past 9 days).

 

 

 

No, but why not just send the laundry out once you get on the ship? I know it's expensive but think of the cost of your trip and what your time in Copenhagen is worth.

 

 

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[Travel R]

Reading with interest this morning. I'm in Copenhagen now and will be boarding the ship tomorrow. I'm an RCI cruiser and am looking forward to a different but simular cruise experience.

 

Dumb question time: NCL people probably hear this ad nauseum, but is there self serve laundry on board? I'd rather spend today wandering Copenhagen than losing a chunk of time washing clothes (we've been touring Europe the past 9 days).

 

The ship does not have a self-serve laundry. You can give it to them on any given day to launder for you. On day 5 there will be a special to wash all of your clothing that fit into a bag they provide for you - I think it was for $24.95. Although they state that you will not get it back until day 7, we received our on the evening on day 6.

 

Note - throughout Copenhagen, there are Laundromat Cafe's - which are literally cafes with washer machines, so you can eat while you wash.

 

There are a few regular laundromats as well - and some will wash, dry, and fold your clothing within 24 hours (although not cheap).

 

Although I had done all of the research for this pre-cruise, we just waited to give it to the ship - we also had some detergent to wash a few items ourselves in the sink basin.

[Mtngirl]

Our last port was Stockholm. We had been nervously checking the portsofstockholm website every day, because none of the previous Getaway cruises had actually docked in Stockholm. Some cruises that were originally scheduled for Stockholm got switched to Nynashamn instead, which is about an hour's ride away. We were so excited when the captain announced the night before what time we would be arriving in the archipelago. We knew then that we were definitely docking in Stockholm!

 

It takes several hours to sail through the archipelago, and it is beautiful! It reminded me very much of cruising through Alaska. If you don't want to get up early enough to see it in the morning, wait until the evening when you sail back through it again. We made sure not to make any show or dinner reservations that night so that we could watch to our heart's content.

 

We planned to do Stockholm on our own, using the HOHO boat as transportation. For those planning to use the HOHO boat, following the painted lines on the pavement. Once you're outside the port gates, the lines will lead you left to the water. There are people right there at the HOHO boat stop selling tickets, and you can use credit cards. We made sure to disembark ASAP, and we were on the very first boat that left around 8:20 or so. For those wondering (like I was), the boat goes directly between Stadsgarden and the Vasa Museum (and I think one other stop) until 10:00 a.m., then at 10 it begins its usual clockwise route. During my pre-trip research, I was getting conflicting info on whether or not the boat would go straight to the Vasa. So I finally emailed them to ask, and even they told me that it would not go straight to the Vasa and that we would have to do the whole clockwise route to get there. Like so many things, you get different answers from different people. But I can assure you it goes directly to the Vasa until 10:00. It's a great, quick way to get to the Vasa Museum. We got there at about 8:35 and there was hardly anyone there. We bought our tickets with no wait and went right in. We were able to take unobstructed pictures to our heart's content. When we left the museum around 9:45, the museum was quite crowded. We were glad we got there early!

 

For those who want to use the HOHO buses instead of the boats (which you may want to do if you want to go straight to Gamla Stan before 10 a.m.), I noticed there were 2 parked right outside the port gates waiting for passengers to disembark the ship.

 

After the Vasa, we went to the Abba Museum. It's not right along the shoreline like the Vasa, so be sure to ask for directions. By the time we finished at the Abba Museum, it was after 10:00, so we boarded the HOHO boat and took the clockwise ride to Gamla Stan where we finished our day.

 

Stockholm is a beautiful city, and 8 hours isn't nearly enough time!

 

Thank you for your posts. I have enjoyed each one. We will be doing this Baltic cruise on Getaway August 23rd. I see you're in Lawrenceville. I'm up in Ellijay, Ga.

[finchy1950]

Following! Doing the same trip in June 2018!

[disneygal94]

Thank you for your posts. I have enjoyed each one. We will be doing this Baltic cruise on Getaway August 23rd. I see you're in Lawrenceville. I'm up in Ellijay, Ga.

 

That explains your user name of Mountain Girl. =) Have fun on your cruise - you're going to love it!

[Mtngirl]

That explains your user name of Mountain Girl. =) Have fun on your cruise - you're going to love it!

 

Thank you. We are getting all of our tour tickets together and visa's for our tours in St. Petersburg. I'm traveling with a former co-worker who lives in Marietta. If we have any questions, can we email you? My email is colwellsl@yahoo.com.

[space_bar]

Reading with interest this morning. I'm in Copenhagen now and will be boarding the ship tomorrow. I'm an RCI cruiser and am looking forward to a different but simular cruise experience.

 

Dumb question time: NCL people probably hear this ad nauseum, but is there self serve laundry on board? I'd rather spend today wandering Copenhagen than losing a chunk of time washing clothes (we've been touring Europe the past 9 days).

If anyone is looking to wash some clothes while in Copenhagen, our hotel recommended a local self service laundromat. After 6 days of traveling before the cruise, we had a lot of dirty laundry that would have taken forever to do in the sink.

 

Mønvask Dansk is about a 10 min walk from Copenhagen Central Station at the corner of Sender Boulevard & Arkonagade.

 

Cost is 37kr to wash and 10kr for a 15 min dryer. They take credit cards and krone (cash or coins).

 

 

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[Skagway88]

Following this post as we will be sailing on GA Baltics in September :)

[Tata17]

A few pointers and bits of advice for anyone sailing on the Getaway in the Baltics this summer!

 

 

 

We spent 3 days in Copenhagen before the cruise. I know this question gets asked a lot, so rest assured you can use credit cards virtually everywhere. We had chip and signature cards, not chip and pin, but the merchants are used to that from American tourists and it never was a problem. There are some places that won't take Amex, so make sure you have a Visa or MasterCard. And make sure you have a card that doesn't charge any foreign transaction fees. I was even able to use my card for small purchases like a Coke at a 7 Eleven and at a hot dog stand in City Hall square.

 

 

 

Boarding the ship was a snap. I really like that they use 2 terminals in Copenhagen - it made everything quick and easy. We arrived at the terminal around 10:15 or 10:30 and were assigned to Group 2. Boarding began at 11:15. We boarded and went straight to the buffet for lunch. This was our first cruise on NCL, so I did a lot of mental comparisons to Carnival while cruising. The first thing I noticed is that the food on the buffet is a LOT better than on Carnival, and there were a lot more options.

 

 

 

They made the announcement at 1:30 that cabins were ready. We had a mini-suite with large balcony. While the cabin itself was kind of small and storage was limited, we loved the big bathroom (especially the large shower with all the jets) and the huge balcony. Unfortunately, it was too cold to use our balcony much.

 

 

 

Our first port was Warnemunde. We had been there before and were looking forward to just wandering around the town like we did last time - it's a quaint, lovely place. Sadly it was raining, and then storming, so we gave up after a couple of hours and went back to the ship. I was cold and wet, so I took a shower to warm up. Of course, then the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day!

 

 

 

More to come in the next post........

 

 

 

If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer!

 

 

 

Following!!! Thanks for posting your experience of the Baltic here... I will be on the Getaway in September 1st can't wait!

 

 

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[Brookefairway]

Hello disney gal.. can u tell me how the sea conditions were? WAs there a lot o f movement or did you have calm seas? thanks