Serenade of Seas or NCL Breakaway for June Baltic Cruise - opinions please!

[the2006Junket]

Hi all,

 

I'm holding cabins on two Baltic cruises for mid June 2018 and would appreciate any opinions or pros/cons of the two ships or itineraries. We are a husband, wife and 18 yr old son traveling together. Here are the options:

 

Breakaway: 9 night roundtrip from either Copenhagen or Rostock going to Berlin/Rostock, Helsinki, Two days in St. Pete, Tallinn, Stockholm, Copenhagen. 2 sea days. Holding a Haven Penthouse with Balcony.

 

Serenade of the Seas: 10 nights from Copen, Arhus, Berlin/Warnemunde, Helsin, 3 days in St. Pete, Tallinn, end in Stockholm. 1 sea day. Holding a Grand Suite.

 

I understand the clear benefit of 3 days in St. Pete vs. 2. I also understand the benefit of a smaller ship with lines for getting on/off the ship in ports (hence why we reserved Haven on the Breakaway, for priority boarding).

 

Welcome opinions on how great Arhus, Denmark as a port visit? What does one do with a 3rd day in St Pete? Comments on the ship conditions, food, quality of staff and entertainment between the two ships? And, which would be more fun for an 18 yr. old guy stuck traveling with just Mom and Dad.

 

Thanks much!!!

 

Lynne

[Desdichado62]

I have no experience of the ships or any cruises but I would choose SoS because

1. You could add additional days pre-/post cruise in Copenhagen and Stockholm and by that get at least 2 days in each port.

2. 3 days in SPB

3. 1 less sea day = 1 day less the son is "stuck with you" onboard ship.

4. Serenade is, unless you are really unlucky with the weather, guaranteed to berth in central Stockholm

 

rather then at Nynäshamn which is minimum 1 hour travel south of Stockholm. This is due to that the Breakaway

is so big (30 m longer then SoS) that it is on the limit sizewise for sailing into Stockholm.

 

As I said, I have no experience from the ships or cruising so I can't comment on the ships or the staff and etc.

[kitkat343]

I have no experience of the ships or any cruises but I would choose SoS because

1. You could add additional days pre-/post cruise in Copenhagen and Stockholm and by that get at least 2 days in each port.

2. 3 days in SPB

3. 1 less sea day = 1 day less the son is "stuck with you" onboard ship.

4. Serenade is, unless you are really unlucky with the weather, guaranteed to berth in central Stockholm

 

rather then at Nynäshamn which is minimum 1 hour travel south of Stockholm. This is due to that the Breakaway

is so big (30 m longer then SoS) that it is on the limit sizewise for sailing into Stockholm.

 

As I said, I have no experience from the ships or cruising so I can't comment on the ships or the staff and etc.

I completely agree with all of the above. You can also spend a third day going to Moscow, but that's a very long travel day and I'm not sure you want to drag the 18 year old all the way there. In Tallinn, you should spend the morning in the gorgeous Old Town, but after that he might like

Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour . It has a lot of hands on activities, and we went for our son (much younger than yours) but both my husband and I wound up liking it a lot.

[kochleffel]

I've been considering similar choices for 2019, but the itineraries for the end of June next year are different.

 

I've put a deposit on Serenade of the Seas, but partly for reasons that may not be relevant for you. One was merely that the dates fit slightly better with my job. The other was that Warnemünde and Rostock are pretty far from Berlin, and I would want more time there. This itinerary starts and ends in Stockholm and also omits Copenhagen, so I might return to the U.S. via Copenhagen (about 5 hours by train from Stockholm) and/or Berlin. As already noted, Breakaway can't dock in Stockholm, so it docks about an hour away.

 

Hi all,

 

I'm holding cabins on two Baltic cruises for mid June 2018 and would appreciate any opinions or pros/cons of the two ships or itineraries. We are a husband, wife and 18 yr old son traveling together. Here are the options:

 

Breakaway: 9 night roundtrip from either Copenhagen or Rostock going to Berlin/Rostock, Helsinki, Two days in St. Pete, Tallinn, Stockholm, Copenhagen. 2 sea days. Holding a Haven Penthouse with Balcony.

 

Serenade of the Seas: 10 nights from Copen, Arhus, Berlin/Warnemunde, Helsin, 3 days in St. Pete, Tallinn, end in Stockholm. 1 sea day. Holding a Grand Suite.

 

I understand the clear benefit of 3 days in St. Pete vs. 2. I also understand the benefit of a smaller ship with lines for getting on/off the ship in ports (hence why we reserved Haven on the Breakaway, for priority boarding).

 

Welcome opinions on how great Arhus, Denmark as a port visit? What does one do with a 3rd day in St Pete? Comments on the ship conditions, food, quality of staff and entertainment between the two ships? And, which would be more fun for an 18 yr. old guy stuck traveling with just Mom and Dad.

 

Thanks much!!!

 

Lynne

[Cruiserbillyboo]

I would absolutely do the Serenade, and the single reason is the 3-day stop in St. Pete. We did this last year, also on Serenade (although it was the 13-day cruise).

St. Pete is the absolute gem of this itinerary, and 3 days in St. Pete is the "deal-sealer", for me at least, trumping all other aspects of the various Baltic itineraries.

We did the 3-day tour with SPB, and it was awesome. Total highlight of the entire trip. Although the other major companies, such as TJ and Alla, all get rave reviews.

Up to you if you want to do the Moscow option, but we didn't. It is an extraordinarily long day, and even 3 days just in St. Pete isn't enough to see everything.

We also used SPB for a Berlin tour from Warnemunde. (Long day but not nearly as long as the Moscow option!) It was excellent, and I highly recommend doing this. If you book more than one excursion with SPB, you get a bit of a discount. :cool::cool::cool::cool::):)

Regarding the ship, food, amenities, service, entertainment, and everything, it was fine. No complaints.

Enjoy!

[Cruiserbillyboo]

This is the tour we did in St. Pete:

https://www.spb-tours.com/index.php?plugin=tour_details&action=inrussia&tId=5

PLENTY to do and see for 3 days!

 

Tallinn is also lovely, and a perfect DIY port. Old town is 15 min easy walk from the dock. There is a free walking tour (look it up yourself for details) which we did and found to be terrific. Just give a nice tip at the end, as you wish.