Regal Princess 11 nights north Europe shore excursions??

[genechin]

We will be a group of 16 sailing from Copenhagen on Regal Princess on 7/4/2019 for 11 nights returning to Copenhagen on 7/15/19..  

The ship’s shore excursions are all over priced so our group is thinking about DYI via HOP ON/HOP OFF(HOHO) buses or other alternatives if they are available in the following ports of call:

 

1)I am not sure of the location of Regal Princess cruise terminals in each of the below ports but  Is there a nearby HOHO bus stop

 near each cruise terminal?  OR if HOHO is not a viable choice can you recommend local tour operators at each of these ports?

2)What sights would you recommend visiting at each port?

3)Regal Princess is scheduled return to dock at Copenhagen at 5am on 7/15/19. Our return flight to N.Y. from CPH airport is at 430PM. We are hoping to reach CPH at 130PM.  Assuming we disembark by 8am, we will have time for a tour up to 6.5 hrs to 130PM. However, we would like to keep the tour of 5 hrs or less. Would we be able to hit the major sights within the time frames mentioned? We would also like to keep our luggage with us on the tour and we are looking for recommendations from local tour companies to meet these objective.  Can you help??

 

Many thanks, Gene

 

Nynashamn (Stockholm)

Helsinki (Finland)

Tallinn (Estonia)

Berlin (Warnemunde Germany)

Oslo (Norway)

Copenhagen (Denmark)

[jdavid]

We are on Regal in August and we did manage to book all of our Tours through Alla. It seemed to be good one stop shopping. Got tours for Helsinki, Stockholm, Berlin, Estonia and St. Petersburg. Will be in Copenhagen for five days before the cruise then we plan to get off the ship in Oslo and do four days there before heading back to Canada.

[milolii]

There are a few tour companies that cruise critic members use. Alla, SPB, and TJ tours are mention here quite a bit.  A group of 16 would make its own tour, and my guess is you will gets a very good price.  

 

We sail on the Sky in 2020, I think very similar cruise,  hope you have a good time.  We will use one or more of these companies.  All of the reviews on CC are good.  Just find one that works for you.  

 

You will need a tour in  St.Petersburg, or you will have to apply for  visas, which I read is the same or more than the tours.  All of the companies mentioned above take care of that for you.  But be sure you get everything in writing as always.  All f thes companies have websites, andcommnicate with you via email.  

 

Goid luck! 

[dogs4fun]

On 3/3/2019 at 10:43 AM, genechin said:

We will be a group of 16 sailing from Copenhagen on Regal Princess on 7/4/2019 for 11 nights returning to Copenhagen on 7/15/19..  

The ship’s shore excursions are all over priced so our group is thinking about DYI via HOP ON/HOP OFF(HOHO) buses or other alternatives if they are available in the following ports of call:

 

1)I am not sure of the location of Regal Princess cruise terminals in each of the below ports but  Is there a nearby HOHO bus stop

 near each cruise terminal?  OR if HOHO is not a viable choice can you recommend local tour operators at each of these ports?

2)What sights would you recommend visiting at each port?

3)Regal Princess is scheduled return to dock at Copenhagen at 5am on 7/15/19. Our return flight to N.Y. from CPH airport is at 430PM. We are hoping to reach CPH at 130PM.  Assuming we disembark by 8am, we will have time for a tour up to 6.5 hrs to 130PM. However, we would like to keep the tour of 5 hrs or less. Would we be able to hit the major sights within the time frames mentioned? We would also like to keep our luggage with us on the tour and we are looking for recommendations from local tour companies to meet these objective.  Can you help??

 

Many thanks, Gene

 

Nynashamn (Stockholm)

Helsinki (Finland)

Tallinn (Estonia)

Berlin (Warnemunde Germany)

Oslo (Norway)

Copenhagen (Denmark)

Check TripAdvisor for recommended tour companies. Most offer a discounted rate if you book multiple ports with them.  Link is below - when you open the link, scroll down and click on "sort by:" Traveler Ranked. 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g298507-Activities-c42-St_Petersburg_Northwestern_District.html

We used Alla Tours in the past and were delighted with the quality and price.

[GradUT]

Does everyone in the party want to do the same thing?  Except for St. Petersburg, there is a wide variety of choices for touring in each port-- everything from organized group tours (e.g. SPB and Alla) to HO/HO bus tours to self-touring using public transporation and your feet.

 

We chose to do self-touring on our Baltic cruise so that we could choose exactly what we wanted to see and how much time we wanted to spend doing it.  If anyone in your party wants to try self-touring, I recommend they get a copy of Rick Steves' Northern European Cruise Ports.  He explains in detail how to get around each city, what's worth seeing, and what "hidden gems" are out there.  

 

For example, we chose not to take an organized tour from Warnemuende to Berlin (as we used to live in Berlin and didn't feel the need to go back).  So we spent the morning biking from Warnemuende along the coast and then we spent the afternoon in Rostock at the Stasi Prison Museum.  

Edited March 14, 2019 by GradUT

[Desdichado62]

The issue with the HoHo buses are that their stops aren't in the same order as the things you want to see.
From Vasa to Old Town you have to ride almost an entire circle until you get to the Old Town.

The HoHo boats are bit better though.

 

If you don't want to use the commuter train to/from Stockholm/Nynäshamn you can use the ship
shuttle to Gustav Adols torg and the go by public bus or tram from Kungstrådgärden to Vasa
the harbour ferry to Old Town and then walk through the Old Town to the Palace and then walk
from the Palace back to Gustav Adolfs torg.

[edinburgher]

We did the opposite to GradUT, by taking the local train the short journey to Rostock in the morning, snack lunch back on board, then spending the afternoon in Warnemunde (which is a suburb or Rostock)

 

So easy as the train station was 5 mins walk from where we docked, as was Warnemunde as you walk through the station to reach it.  It was one of our favourite days.

 

Plenty info online on all your ports. EG try whatsinport, cruisemapper, toms port guides, and here on CC the destinations section. Click research (top of the page) and select from the dropdown.

[Kate P.C]

Self-touring on the Baltic cruise can be challenging. Although there is plenty info out there, it still depends how much time you get to spent in each port. Tallinn and Warnemunde are probably the places you can explore on your own (that is if you wanted to stay in Warnemunde, and not go to Berlin). We used Anastasia Travel for customizable tour in St. Petersburg in 2015 and we had unforgettable experience. There are couple of agencies you want to check out that are often mentioned here, like Alla, TJ, Best Guides or SPB. Check out the tripadvisor reviews and hope you find what you are looking for. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298507-d3136991-Reviews-Anastasia_Travel_Company_Your_Guide_in_Russia-St_Petersburg_Northwestern_District.html

[dogs4fun]

I would recommend that you pick up a copy of Rick Steves Northern European Cruise Ports - lots of valuable info!

[vacationlady]

We are on the same cruise.  We booked with Alla Tours for St Petersburg and Berlin/Rostock.  The remainder of the ports we are doing on our own.  Purchased Rick Steve's book Scandinavian & Northern European Cruise Ports.  Will use this information to do walking tours and getting around.  Much cheaper than the tours through Princess.

[vacationlady]

Also note we are not going into Warnemunde but Rostock now.  

[GradUT]

You can still self-tour from the port of Rostock, which is where we also were docked.  Hopefully, your cruiseship will have free transportation to Warnemuende and the town of Rostock—our HAL ship did.  But, even if you don’t, public transportation is an option, but you’ll have to do a little research on how to do it. 

Edited March 27, 2019 by GradUT

[dogs4fun]

6 hours ago, vacationlady said:

Also note we are not going into Warnemunde but Rostock now.  

 

1 hour ago, GradUT said:

You can still self-tour from the port of Rostock, which is where we also were docked.  Hopefully, your cruiseship will have free transportation to Warnemuende and the town of Rostock—our HAL ship did.  But, even if you don’t, public transportation is an option, but you’ll have to do a little research on how to do it. 

Travelanni has an excellent website that contains all sorts of useful information including DIY from Warnemunde or Rostock:

https://travelanni.webs.com/