Questions re Baltic cruise - total newbie (reposting to remove TA info)

[dogs4fun]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Other costs that are not included in the price of your cruise:

transfers to/from Copenhagen airport

tours in ports of call (this can be a very large expense and we recommend booking through an independent tour operator rather than through the ship - there are many excellent independent companies operating in the Baltics )

drinks (alcohol and soft drinks)

The Baltic cruises are amazing - I'm sure that you would enjoy yourselves immensely.

Edited October 9, 2019 by Host Kat
Post moved from other thread w/TA info.

[msu_mom]

Hi all,

Early 60s couple, never cruised before, considering a Baltic cruise partly due to a deal we saw. My questions:

1. The deal is on Princess Cruises, Sky Princess (SailingID: 137978), departing May 17, 11 days, roundtrip from Copenhagen, Denmark; stopping in Oslo, Norway; Warnemunde, Germany; Tallinn, Estonia; Saint Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; Nynashamn, Sweden, cost starting at $2400 for balcony cabin, includes over $2300 in perks per cabin: roundtrip airfare, all taxes and fees (reg. $440), free onboard gratuities (reg. $319), an up-to-$235 onboard spending credit, free cabin location upgrades ($200 value), free coupon books ($350 value) and reduced deposits of $100 per person

Any comments on this deal, seems good to us but we're clueless!

 

2. Can anyone give some ballpark figures on what other costs we'd incur?   What might I typically spend on excursions on this kind of cruise? Other costs I'm not aware of? Not looking for specific numbers obviously, but trying to get an idea.

 

3. We'd really like to go to Moscow, has anyone added this on as a post-trip to a Baltic cruise ?

 

I appreciate any help, this is all new to us!

[dogs4fun]

4 hours ago, msu_mom said:

We'd really like to go to Moscow, has anyone added this on as a post-trip to a Baltic cruise ?

The cost of a trip to Moscow would  increase your costs. In order to do a post trip visit to Moscow, you would need to obtain a Russian tourist visa. The cost of the visa is quite expensive because it appears that you, like us, do not live in an area that has a Russian consulate near you (our last visas were upwards of $325 per person for the 3 year multi entry visa). The upside of procuring a visa is that you would be allowed to DIY (do it yourself) in Saint Petersburg rather than book an expensive shore excursion (would require some serious research/planning in order to maximize your time in St. Pete).

That being said, we have visited Moscow several times (we have visas) and it is a fascinating city. However, Saint Petersburg remains our definite favorite when compared to Moscow.

Edited October 9, 2019 by Host Kat
Post moved from other thread w/TA info.

[Essiesmom]

I would ask them to elaborate on exactly what those 'up to $2300 in perks' includes.  Might be smoke and mirrors for things that are already included in your fare...EM

[flowslow]

How long will your ship be docking at St. Petersburg? If you have 3 days there, you can definitely go to Moscow on the second day. Book with a local tour operator for your St. Petersburg and Moscow Trip for a visa-free disembarking. 

[dogs4fun]

2 hours ago, flowslow said:

How long will your ship be docking at St. Petersburg? If you have 3 days there, you can definitely go to Moscow on the second day. Book with a local tour operator for your St. Petersburg and Moscow Trip for a visa-free disembarking. 

This particular itinerary has only 2 days in port.

 

14 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I would ask them to elaborate on exactly what those 'up to $2300 in perks' includes.  Might be smoke and mirrors for things that are already included in your fare...EM

Good point - I was wondering the same ... exactly what perks are included?

[John Bull]

16 hours ago, msu_mom said:

includes over $2300 in perks per cabin: roundtrip airfare, all taxes and fees (reg. $440), free onboard gratuities (reg. $319), an up-to-$235 onboard spending credit, free cabin location upgrades ($200 value), free coupon books ($350 value) and reduced deposits of $100 per person

 

I'm not saying it's a poor deal, but.........

 

- air will be by Princess's choice of airline & routing. Cruise lines have their pet airlines (sorry, "preferred air partners") which do them good deals.  So even tho some airlines might have direct flights from your location to Copenhagen, if Princess' air partners aren't amongst them you could have convoluted flights like Michigan state to NYC, NYC to Paris, Paris to Copenhagen

 

- "up to $235 on-board credit" strongly suggests that you'll have to spend more to get back that much,.

 

- "Free coupon books ($350 value)" undoubtedly means spend more.  Even a 25% discount means spending 75% of the ticket price for add-ons like spa treatments, dining up-grades, welcome packages in your cabin etc ad infinitum, and you'll almost-certainly not want all (any?) of those things.

 

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Sky Princess is in St Petersburg for 2 days, one night.

That's good for seeing the bulk of what St P has to offer 

But as well as the high costs, the long trip to Moscow would need pretty-well all of that time, you'd see practically nothing of St P., which is the jewel in any Baltic cruise.

A side-trip to Moscow is really for those who've been to St P before & want to spread their wings - and best done on cruises which have 3 days / 2 nights in St P.

 

Stockholm - most ships sail through the archipelago of islands (one of the best sail-ins in the world) & berth in the city. Nyneshamn is a port on the coast. So you'd miss that glorious sail-in, and you'd berth about an hour from Stockholm. That's not the end of the world, but it is a disadvantage.

 

Warnemunde - if you want to visit Berlin it's about 3.5 hrs away. Ships tend to depart late into the evening to allow for that, but it's a long and expensive day. Same applies to all cruise lines & ships.

 

------------------------------------

 

Sorry, a rather negative post - but best you decide with your eyes open.

And I strongly recommend a Baltic cruise - cruising by far the best way to see so many Baltic countries / cities / cultures. 

 

JB 

[clo]

10 hours ago, John Bull said:

Sorry, a rather negative post

I don't read that as negative one bit.  Good info.  We just booked a different Baltic cruise so this is quite helpful.  Thanks.

[msu_mom]

Thanks to all who replied, very helpful! We've decided to pass on this one, due to a variety of concerns.  Apparently "flight included" meant a $700 credit for a flight which at a quick look doesn't even appear to cover the worst flight option with 2 stops and long layovers. I think it would end up being just too expensive for us right now given the other travel we have planned for 2020.