Baltic Cruise (Regal Princess) Review and port guide

[dulcemariamar]

I just got off the Regal Princess and I had a great time. I wanted to leave a review to help future travelers.

 

BACKGROUND:

I am in my 30s and I was traveling with my husband and my 6YO. I am American and my husband is European. We live in Europe. The cruise was a 11 night Baltic cruise on the Regal Princess. We are avid cruisers and this was our second cruise with Princess.

 

Ports of Calls

 

Copenhagen: We arrived late afternoon to Denmark. We stayed at Anderson Boutique Hotel. It was a 5-7 minutes walk from the main train station. It was super easy getting the train from the main airport to the central train station. It was about 12 minutes and kids travel free. The hotel was cute and the people who worked there were super friendly and helpful. It was kind of expensive for what we got though. The mattress was hard and the breakfast was just ok. We arrived on a Sunday and a lot of the nearby restaurants were closed. We ended up at little pizza place called Little Italy and the pizza was yummy and not so bad in terms of price. We did not have time to look around but there was a lot of construction going on so it was difficult to walk around.

 

Stockholm: We took the local bus to the train station. The ticket was 4 euros. It was convenient and when we arrived back the bus was waiting to take us back to the ship. You can walk to the train station but it will take about 10-15 minutes. There is a painted line that will direct you to the station so it is also an easy option. The train to Stockholm was about 12 euros and left every 30 minutes. It was a nice ride but too long for me. It was 1hr and 10 minutes. Maybe, that doesn't sound so bad but I was traveling with a 6YO and on the way back we just wanted to be back on the ship and not have to take a metro ride/train ride/bus just to get back to the ship.  Stockholm was nice but it was not my favorite port. It just felt like a big city so there was plenty to see but you still had the big city feel. We went to the Nobel Museum. It was small but informative. My child loved it because they gave her a book to fill out and later gave her a chocolate Nobel medal. We caught some of the changing of the royal guard. We got there 10 minutes late so we missed the most interesting part. We finished our day by visiting the Mediterranean Museum. It was free entry and it was actually a very nice place with an interesting Egyptian exhibit. Afterwards, we headed back to the main station and there were so many people at the train station whose jobs was just to help you find the right train. Very well organized.

 

Helsinki: This was a really lovely port and a personal favorite of my husband. We got off the ship and right in the port area there is a local bus that takes you close to the central part of the city (or you could connect with another bus that would take you directly to the main cathedral) It was around 4 euros per person but since there was about 20 of us at the bus stop, the bus driver let us all on for free. We go off at the shopping district and made our way to the cathedral. It is more beautiful on the outside then what you see on the inside but it was worth the climb up the steps.  There is a free Banking museum around the corner from the cathedral. Beside being a free bathroom it was actually a cool little museum. Afterwards, we walked around the harbor and went to visit some more churches before we caught the bus back,

 

St Petersburg: It was rainy and I guess this is normal for the city so make sure you pack an umbrella and poncho. We did a Hermitage tour and then 3 hours on your own. The Hermitage Museum was nice but they basically only showed us lots of paintings. And we missed the more interesting rooms. the 4 kids on the tour were so miserable by the last hour including mine. We were there for 2.5 hours. The last 3 hours on our own was so much better. We went to Faberge Museum, saw the spilled blood church, visited a park and did some shopping. We don't like doing guided tours so it was the only one we did. It was good in the sense that we didn't have to worry about getting a visa and we skipped the really long lines at the  museum but never again.

 

Tallin: Was a really nice port.  We paid 21 euros for all 3 of us to do the princess shuttle to the center of the city. The local bus was only 4 euros cheaper so we chose princess since it left every 15 minutes. We just walked around and visited the local parks/churches/shops. My only complaint was that almost every thing had an entrance fee even the small churches.

 

Warnemunde: I actually feel a bit bad for people who decided to do a 6 hour trip to Berlin since Warnemunde and the local town of Rostock were so beautiful. We walked towards the train station but on the way stopped in a tourist shop and bought train tickets to Rostock. It was a local commuter train and leaves every 15 minutes. We spent about 2 hours exploring the town which is a gorgeous little university city before we headed back to Warnemunde. Warnemunde was such a charming little town and since we had such great weather we went to the beach for a bit. I think this was my favorite port

 

Oslo: Oslo is one of my favorite cities in Europe. It is such a gorgeous place. The ship was only there from 7-1 so it was pity but since I have been before we just took a morning walk around town.

 

REGAL PRINCESS

 

I have been on Royal before so it was pretty much the same. Boarding the ship was super easy. It took like 8 minutes. They told us not to show up before 1 but we got there at 11:50 and just walked on. The Medallion was something new for us and I am a huge fan. We had a balcony because I wanted a sofa bed but an interior cabin would have been so much better since the sun would wake me up before 5 each day.

 

The food was pretty good. It wasn't the absolute best but I could always find something yummy to eat and I LOVE Alfredo for pizza. Horizon Buffet also felt busy so we only went during off times and never for breakfast. I just wished the MDR for breakfast had more variety.

 

The kids club was awesome. It is my favorite kids clubs program and we have tried every cruise line except for Celebrity. They did so many activities and games with the kids and they even hosted a family fun fair on a sea day. A++++ for them.

 

Entertainment was also really great. We enjoyed the shows and loved how there are so many activities and trivia. We sailed with HAL last year so I am so glad we are back with princess because it was so boring on HAL.

 

The fellow passengers were about 1/3 Americans, 1/3 Europeans/Australian, 1/3 Chinese. However, the assistant cruise director said that the upcoming cruise will have about 2000 Chinese passengers.

 

Getting off the ship was super easy and we decided to take a taxi back. It was around 60 euros.

 

FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS

[janina]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.  We loved the Baltics, except for the high prices in Copenhagen and Norway.

[Jeter02]

One of my favorite cruise itineraries.

[Born2Go2C]

We are going on this cruise next week.  Thank you as this was very helpful!

 

Was there a long line for taxis to the airport when you arrived back in Copenhagen? We are trying to decide whether we should book a private minibus at US $44/person or take 3 cabs. There are 9 of us in our group.  

 

Thank you.

[dulcemariamar]

2 minutes ago, Born2Go2C said:

We are going on this cruise next week.  Thank you as this was very helpful!

 

Was there a long line for taxis to the airport when you arrived back in Copenhagen? We are trying to decide whether we should book a private minibus at US $44/person or take 3 cabs. There are 9 of us in our group.  

 

Thank you.

We chose the latest disembarkation time (9:30) but by 9:15 they made the final call to kick everyone off the ship. We slowly made ourselves off the ship and there was at least 15 taxis waiting. 

 

But Princess does say that it can be difficult to get a taxi between 8-10 and it might be up to an 2 hour wait. It definitely sounds like a scare tactic especially if there is only one boat at the port. 

We were about 50 in the port area and at least half were dragging their suitcases to get the local bus.

[Born2Go2C]

Thank you VERY much for your quick reply!

 

Do you remember if it is possible to get off the ship earlier than 8 am?  As there will be 9 of us, we'll need 3 taxis. We don't mind getting off as early as possible if it means an easier time getting 3 taxis.

 

Thanking you in advance.

 

[dulcemariamar]

1 hour ago, Born2Go2C said:

Thank you VERY much for your quick reply!

 

Do you remember if it is possible to get off the ship earlier than 8 am?  As there will be 9 of us, we'll need 3 taxis. We don't mind getting off as early as possible if it means an easier time getting 3 taxis.

 

Thanking you in advance.

 

Starting at 6 you can get off the ship. At 6:30 is when Princess tranfers began.

[Steelers36]

Thanks for posting the review.  We did this cruise on June 1.  Luckier than you as weather had just turned gorgeous from the prior rainy trip.  I was into shorts in St Pete's.  Agree, it is a long trip into Stockholm, but we wanted to see all those capitals.  We liked Helsinki much better.  Oslo was surprisingly nice if you walked around a bit.  It is a great cruise and glad we did it.  In Warnemunde, we rented a car right at the dock (pre-arranged) and drove ourselves and friends to Schwerin to see the castle and that town.  We stopped in a couple of other small towns in the countryside, as well as a short stop in Rostock at the end.  Seemed nice like you mentioned (but was tricky to navigate and find the old center of town). 

 

Crew was good.  We don't have small kids (all grown up), but I have heard good reports on the kids club.  Glad you liked it and hope more Princess trips are in your future.

 

[Born2Go2C]

2 hours ago, dulcemariamar said:

Starting at 6 you can get off the ship. At 6:30 is when Princess tranfers began.

Thank you so much for your clear responses!  We were stressing about getting back to the airport, but we all feel so much better now after reading your replies as we will just get off the ship early. You have been so helpful.

[dethman]

glad you had a good time! i was on the same cruise 7/15 with my parents, wife, and two kids (6/4).   this is our second princess cruise and my 9th overall, and we all had a pretty good vacation i think.   we went on a somewhat disappointing princess excursion in stockholm (had a lot of credit to blow), but helsinki, tallinn, and oslo we did ourselves and enjoyed.  we did st. petersburg with alla which was the best port of course, wish we had another few days there honestly.  we took a 12 hour berlin tour and though it was enjoyable we felt we didn't have enough time.  that's my biggest beef with cruising, you generally just don't get time to really explore and experience a city, you just see a few highlights and that's about it.  but hey when towing an extended family around, it's just easier this way.

 

the ship was fine given there were so many ports of call, but we were starting to get somewhat bored, as it felt like there were fewer things to do for younger folks and and fewer children's activites compared to other lines.  i think everyone else was bored too looking for stuff to do, as 40 or so ppl were trying to cram into the tiny shooting sim room and i've never seen 120+ people show up for some random trivia game like they did for the disney one on one of the sea days.  we did do the escape room which was awesome as no one but my wife and i showed up.

 

the kid's club was good with plenty of games and crafts, and my kids kept asking to go there over and over, but it seemed like they were closed more than some lines i have been on.  the sign out seemed somewhat chaotic especially at times when they closed like 5pm.  it felt like a child could get lost easily.  and $40 for us to go have breakfast with a cameo by a guy in a bear suit?  no thanks.

 

the worst part of the ship i felt was the buffet.  not the food, but horizon was constantly overcrowded to the point where you could not find a table.  it just seems it was not built to house the amount of passengers on the cruise.  there was plenty of food which was pretty good most times, but once you got it there was no place to sit.  that was terribly annoying.  the main dining rooms should be open for longer periods for breakfast and brunch to decompress the buffet.  crown grill was the highlight of food on the cruise.  otherwise our favorite spot to eat and have dessert was the international cafe. 

 

oh i forgot.  the soft serve and gelato.  terrible.  i have never been on a cruise where my kids and i only went to get soft serve once (in 11 days!) 

 

we still had a good time, i chose this cruise because of the itinerary and a smashing good deal, but next i'll probably head back to an oasis class ship which seems to suit my family a bit better.

 

[bab10]

So this cruise has some passengers who start their cruise in Warnemunde, right?  So when you were disembarking in Copenhagen, some stayed on until Warnemude.  Did you notice that and was there any downside to it?

[dulcemariamar]

9 hours ago, dethman said:

glad you had a good time! i was on the same cruise 7/15 with my parents, wife, and two kids (6/4).   this is our second princess cruise and my 9th overall, and we all had a pretty good vacation i think.   we went on a somewhat disappointing princess excursion in stockholm (had a lot of credit to blow), but helsinki, tallinn, and oslo we did ourselves and enjoyed.  we did st. petersburg with alla which was the best port of course, wish we had another few days there honestly.  we took a 12 hour berlin tour and though it was enjoyable we felt we didn't have enough time.  that's my biggest beef with cruising, you generally just don't get time to really explore and experience a city, you just see a few highlights and that's about it.  but hey when towing an extended family around, it's just easier this way.

 

the ship was fine given there were so many ports of call, but we were starting to get somewhat bored, as it felt like there were fewer things to do for younger folks and and fewer children's activites compared to other lines.  i think everyone else was bored too looking for stuff to do, as 40 or so ppl were trying to cram into the tiny shooting sim room and i've never seen 120+ people show up for some random trivia game like they did for the disney one on one of the sea days.  we did do the escape room which was awesome as no one but my wife and i showed up.

 

the kid's club was good with plenty of games and crafts, and my kids kept asking to go there over and over, but it seemed like they were closed more than some lines i have been on.  the sign out seemed somewhat chaotic especially at times when they closed like 5pm.  it felt like a child could get lost easily.  and $40 for us to go have breakfast with a cameo by a guy in a bear suit?  no thanks.

 

the worst part of the ship i felt was the buffet.  not the food, but horizon was constantly overcrowded to the point where you could not find a table.  it just seems it was not built to house the amount of passengers on the cruise.  there was plenty of food which was pretty good most times, but once you got it there was no place to sit.  that was terribly annoying.  the main dining rooms should be open for longer periods for breakfast and brunch to decompress the buffet.  crown grill was the highlight of food on the cruise.  otherwise our favorite spot to eat and have dessert was the international cafe. 

 

oh i forgot.  the soft serve and gelato.  terrible.  i have never been on a cruise where my kids and i only went to get soft serve once (in 11 days!) 

 

we still had a good time, i chose this cruise because of the itinerary and a smashing good deal, but next i'll probably head back to an oasis class ship which seems to suit my family a bit better.

 

 

For  me the worst kid club has been Disney. It was super crowded and the counselors didnt engage in the kids. They would just let my DD play for hours on the ipad and I didnt like the big range of ages. Carnival was also a really program.

 

i agree that the buffet was bad so we always avoided it between 12-3. I was happy that they had people reminding people to wash their hands.

[dulcemariamar]

2 hours ago, bab10 said:

So this cruise has some passengers who start their cruise in Warnemunde, right?  So when you were disembarking in Copenhagen, some stayed on until Warnemude.  Did you notice that and was there any downside to it?

I thibk it could board in at least 3-4 different ports but I think Copenhagen was the main point of depature. I read reviews of other people who boared outside of Denmark and they had trouble signing up for excursions before the ship made its way back to Copenhagen. So if they boarded in Germany they couldnt book an excursion for Helsinki until they got to Copenhagen and some of the info ships went missing.

 

and like I said in my first post that at least 2000 got off in Denmark and a huge group pf Chinese passangers got on so it might feel different the vibe.

 

 

[mrockstar]

Thank you for this review.  We leave on this cruise August 6th with our 7 year old.  I appreciate all of your insight.  Ironically we are staying at the Andersen as well.  Thanks again for taking the time to do this review. 

Edited August 1, 2019 by mrockstar
Replies

[toothdocsx2]

Thank you so much for your helpful review and responses.  We are taking this cruise the end of August and need to catch an 11 am flight on the last day so that info was particularly helpful!