Baltic Cruise best time of year

[seagopher]

We are planning to take a cruise to the Baltic in 2005, what time of year would be the best?

[jimbo23]

I would go in early june if you can the weather is still a bit of a lottery but we had fine weather this year on a 22nd may sailing from dover

 

check out the baltic boards section and there are some reviews from this year already and some excellent ones from last year

 

Norwegian Dream April 2003

Constellation May 2004

 

 

 

thinking about the next one now!!

[slivers]

Baltic cruises sail between May and early September. Average temperatures climb from May through mid July and actually start declining by August. You'll notice that the rates follow the temps. The July cruises are the highest prices. I looked for a site with comparable average temps for the cities on the Cruise we've booked (July 2, 2005 from Dover). Had to use several sources. We decided May might be too cool, so I plotted June and July. There's about a 3-5 deg F difference between June and July (and a $600/pers rate diff). We ended up choosing July for other reasons.

 

June is better for the "white nights" in St. Petersburg. On the other hand, the earlier you go, the better chance of missing the peak tourist season.

 

sailorboy

[msiowa]

We went the first 2 weeks of August last year and had perfect weather. But the weather can be variable and August this year could be horribly hot or terribly cold.

 

One word of warning about August, many (most?) Europeans are on vacation that month so many tourist sights are very crowded. We had no choice about when to go, but I would have chosen July. However, last year July was sizzling so we ended up much better off.

 

Any time, this is a great cruise. I'd go again in a minute.

 

Happy sailing.

Joanie

[jezzdogg]

What is "white nights". Next year, for the 2005 sch. Connie is going to leaving Dover for St/ Petersburg July 2 and the next date is July 30th. I know the beginning of July is a difficult time for my husband to go away, was hoping that they would go again in the middle of the month, but they are doing the Fjords then. Is July30-Aug14 going to be too cold. Appreciate any help you can give.

 

norm

[zetnic]

jezzdog, I was wondering how you decided which itinerary to take on the Connie. I just booked for May 21. I am not quite sure whether to take this itinerary or the July 2 one you mentioned. Any input would be helpful. I figure I can always cancel and rebook. I got a very good price on this date. This one goes to Latvia and Lithuania. Does anyone know if this should be a good itinerary. Thanks, Janice

[MoonBaby]

I just booked the Connie for the Aug 13th 05 cruise, this one stops in Latvia.

Would have rather done the one the end of June, but it gets back July 2nd and we have a commitment that weekend. (Would have loved to see the White Nights!) The Riga, Latvia stop is important to us as my husband's family was originally from there, and he still has relatives there we hope to visit! But hearing that alot of Europeans take vacations in August and all the attractions will be packed has me worried! And granted it's a long way off, but I have no idea what to pack for a Baltic Cruise!

 

Oh, "White Nights" refers to the fact that being so far north, and around the time of the solstice, it stays light very very late, and gets light very very early! I experienced the same thing on my Alaskan cruise, and it's very cool! Even though Juneau was the furthest north we went (and we were there a few days after solstice) it didn't get dark til almost midnight. I woke up at dawn, looked at my watch and it was 3 am!

[MoonBaby]

Actually, I think as far north as the Baltic cruises go, it actually NEVER gets dark around the end of June....mental block here...what country is called "Land of the Midnight Sun"...um...I seem to have lost my question mark, I am babysitting for my 2 yo neice and my sister-in-law is Ukranian...there are stickers with russian symbols over some of the keys!!!!! At least I THINK I am typing in English!!!!!!

 

:eek:

[StephenJohnson]

Actually, multiple places use the moniker "Land of the Midnight Sun" - anyway, "White Nights" refers to the fact that it stays late quite late in the summer at latitudes nort (or south) of about 50 - it's a function of how far north you go - around 55 N/S it stays at least twilight for the whole 24 hours near the solistice, true 24 Hour sunlight really only occurs past 60. At the poles, I believe it's about 6 weeks of solid sunshine - but that means 6 weeks of dark at the other solistice.

[slivers]

The itineraries and the cabin classes have changed for 2005. For 2004 there are Dover-to-Dover roundtrips as well as one-ways between Dover and Stockholm. The one-way route allow you to see more so long as you can get an open-jaws air route. For 2005, there are 2 itineraries, both Dover round trips. One includes Helsinki, Klaipeda (Lithuania), and Riga (Latvia), but only a 1/2 day in Copenhagen and no Gdansk or Olso.

 

The other itinerary loses Helsinki, Riga, and Klaipeda but includes Gdansk, 24 hours (overnight) in Copenhagen, a short stop in Oslo and also a brief stop in Helsingborg (Sweden), only a few miles from Denmark. Both include 24 hours in Stockholm, 2 days in St. Petersburg, and a day each in Talinn (Estonia) and Rostock/Warnemunde, Germany. We much prefer the latter.

 

We hemmed and hawed a lot about the date. This trip is available at the beginning of May, June, July, and August. The price goes up as the weather gets warmer. We think May is too cold. There are small differences between June and July (3-5 deg F) on the average highs and lows. But we'll be in FL through March, maybe later, so we figured we'd wait until July. Departure for our chosen itinerary is July 2.

 

Speaking of price, Celebrity has figured out a neat way to raise prices: they are converting all the category 1 cabins to Concierge Class. So to get the 190 sq. ft cabin with 44 sq. ft balcony (formerly Premium Balcony), you have to book the CC at a price differential of $340-440/pers, depending on date, over the Deluxe version (170 sq. ft/38 sq. ft). So the bad news is that the best balcony cabins cost more but they have the CC amenities. The good news is that, if you prefer the CC style, it doesn't have to be only on Deck 9 (overhang, pool deck above).

 

The aft cabins on Deck 8 are CC and the same size inside as the other CC cabins, but the balcony is several times larger (room for lounge chair, side chair, table). Our travel ageny (post your email address, and I will tell you who that is) says they have reserved ALL the aft cabins (which is why they appear sold out), so we grabbed one.

 

Note that Celebrity has already raised prices, $100/pers for CC and 2A categories.

[travelbug11]

Moonbaby.

 

I have booked the August 13, 2005 Baltic cruise for the same reason you have. My father was born in Riga and I want to see Estonia and Lithuania, so I think this is the perfect opportunity. I was in Riga once before and really looking forward to going back. I think August will be fine weatherwise. And, yes the prices have gone up since I booked 2 weeks ago.

 

Ann

[MoonBaby]

Ann!

Wow, so nice to see somone booked on the same cruise, and so far in advance too! What kind of cabin did you book?

Moon

[jezzdogg]

We choose the July 31 date for our cruise, while I would have loved going to Lithunia(my grandparents were from there-or so I had been told), did not want to wait until the middle of august on what might be the final cruise of the Baltics(this year she leaves the Baltic on Aug27)and July 2nd was not an option for my husband, because of work. Hope the weather is nice so late in the season, just looked at prices and they have risen 100pp since we booked 3 weeks ago.

[42trvl]

Well it's nice to see people on both the 7/31 and 8/13 already. We're trying to decide between the two ourselves. Actually have both booked right now, so we can think about it a little without losing cabins or pricing. We will also have our two children with us - they will be 10 and 12 next summer. Would love to hear your reasoning of why one cruise might be preferable to the other - although they both seem to have their advantages.

[jezzdogg]

Did you book with a "agent"(be in TA or on-line) or Celebrity for those dates. I almost made the mistake of not handing it off to the on-line I am using for the next 2 cruises(Millie this aug and Navigator in Feb) because, I thought I would leave it in "house" and see if I could rebook the cruise for the shipboard credit, while on Millie. In the mean time I had gotten some prices for that cruise, decided to hand off, and all told me the prce they gave me was now 100pp higher, since that is what the increase was from Celebrity. the only one who held the orginal price quote was that one agency. We decided on the end of July, for 2 reasons, the weather, and did not want to be on the last cruise to that area for the season(we have been on the first cruise of the season of a ship's itiernary and tours, etc very disorganized and the even the next to last cruise of an itiernary, it seemed to us the staff was in the mode of" lets get these next 2 cruises over. so we can get......." Hope you join us

[42trvl]

jezzdog - we are leaning towards the 7/30 cruise. With school age kids, it's nice to have a few weeks of summer vacation, take a nice trip, then come back with a little time before school starts again. We will be heading to Alaska on 7/31 for the 8/6 Summit cruise, so we'll see how that works out. From past experience, varying the summer activities really seems to stretch it (the summer) out.

 

Have you cruised in Europe before? It will be nice to exchange some info as we do our "research" into this trip. Weather seems to be getting harder and harder to predict anyway, so we can't seem to plan too much based on when the best time is. I keep hearing from everyone how unusually hot and dry Alaska is this summer - even just read about some wildfires out there this morning...So, I think it just makes sense to schedule whatever works for you, then hope for the best!

[travelbug11]

Moonbaby -

I've booked a CC cabin #6143 which I understand has a larger size teak balcony. The cabin may be slightly larger as well. I've actually changed my cabin twice since I booked a few weeks ago. All the cabins are not listed on Celebrity's site but you can get more info if you call them.

 

Jezzdog -

I booked this cruise on the Mercury Alaska cruise a 3 weeks ago to get the $200 shipboard credit. My TA took it over from there and got me a better price. I will also use the shareholder benefit for another $250 credit. After all those massages add up you know.

 

This should be a wonderful cruise and I think the weather will be fine for the whole season. I prefer a little cooler anyway. I'll be on the Connie transatlantic this September and we're stopping in Iceland, that will be cool.

 

Ann

[jezzdogg]

Travelbug, that is what I wanted to do, was trying todo, booked the cruise with Celebrity, and then rebook it with Celebrity while on the Millie this august. Unfortunatly the pricing devil, thought to raise the prices about 100pp, so it makes no sense now to rebook for the 200credit, as the cruiserate is 20-0 more now, so it is a wash. Let me know how the transatlantic cruise is, we cruised to Bermuda in 2003 and the boat was rocking so bad, that my dh, son, his fiance and I never made it to dinner one night. If that had been my first cruise, it would have been my last

42Trvl

See you live in NJ, we are in Rockland right over the border of Paramus. We did Alaska last year on Summit, it was hot. All the layering heavier things we brought with us never made it out of the luggage. In Keitchen it was over 92 and sunny, what rain??? Have you booked some tours on your own, found them to be less expensive and being able to choose who where real Alaskians giving the tours vs people brought up for the season, better.

We did Europe 4 yrs ago on the Grand Princess (Barcelona to Istanbul) which was great, ship was great, food, entertainment..... Did a Princess cruise in 2002, (to the Caribbean) and one just a couple of months ago on the New Island Princess and it leaves much to be desired....Really wanted to do Baltics this year, tried booking it in Feb., ships were either sold-out or what was available was going for a premimun price. Got a fairly good deal on Millennium, so we are doing the Med this year, and what is nice is that 6 out of the 10 ports are new to us. Now Constellation is set for next summer, will have to compare notes and maybe?? share some excursions,

[SDT42464]

seagopher, my wife & I and another couple are booked on the Constellation, 5/7/05. I feel by going in May, kids will be still in school. The weather will still be a little cool, but that makes it better for tours. No sweating!

 

Join us! We'd love to meet you.

 

SDT

[42trvl]

Jezzdog,

 

We are in NW Bergen County - not too far from you. Thanks for the Alaska advice - we have booked most things independently and are pretty set for the cruise part of the trip. We have a pretty good pre-cruise plan too, just filling in the blanks...

 

If you want to e-mail me at: TRVL44@aol.com with your e-mail, I can let you know when we make the final decision about the European cruise. We were trying to decide between Med and Northern Europe, and concluded this one would be a little more "interesting." Not that Med won't be beautiful - hope to do that one too eventually, but we've been to that part of Europe and are more likely to return independently. I was in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) many years ago, and remember how amazing I found the place - even after several other trips abroad.

 

Of course there are the lucky few of you who get to do both...In the meantime, we'll just "settle" for Alaska this year...