Would like information for Baltic cruise from Stockholm to Copenhagen w/Riga, Helsinki, Tallinn, Visby, Ronne, Aarhaus

[DragonOfTheSeas]

10 hours ago, ColdCruise said:

we just returned from 2+ weeks in Norway, some of our experiences that may be relevant or informative :

 

Thank you for your information regarding credit cards.  It is hard to believe they would allow a CC charge for the small toilet charge. LOL  However, I am glad to hear that. 

 

I am taking the radical step [for me] of not exchanging any money for this trip.  😮  I still have 22 euros left from a previous trip. That would pay for any toilets in Latvia and Estonia.   I will let everyone know how that works for me. 

 

I agree that the 1-2 hour layovers most of us have for our flights are not long enough.  When we booked these tickets [months ago] the allowable minimum time at the various airports indicated these were fine.  But the summer of 2022 airport situations are very different.  We are expecting issues.  

 

Glad you had a good trip!

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We are in the last stages of planning our trip to Europe.  We have research most of the obvious things and are looking for the hidden gems.  

 

One of the previous posters mentioned the Carl Milles statue/fountain at Necka Strand that we would see on the ferry ride to the Frihammen cruise terminal in Stockholm. 

 

I had not heard of him or his work--but, have since researched that.  I was surprised to see his home and museum is located within sight of the Frihammen cruise terminal.   [across the waterway on the island of Lidingo.]

 

I must admit that DH and I are more likely to go to a historical site or museum than an art gallery.  The garden looks like a beautiful place to visit--very serene and good views.  170 SEK entrance fee and open 11am-5pm Tuesday-Sunday. Our problem is the museum is closed on Mondays, which is the day we would likely have visited. . . . However, since I found the relevant information, I thought I would print it here in case it helps someone else. 

 

To get there you need to take the ferry 1 additional stop from Frihammen to Ropsten. There is a tram [21] that will take you across the bridge to Torsvik on Lidingo Island and walk from there [ less than .5 km or take a bus directly. [There is a T-bana stop in Ropsten if you want to travel there from the city center.] Buses/tram come every 30 minutes.

 

Here is the link to the Trip Advisor information on this museum. Millesgården - A museum with sculpture park, art gallery, restaurant and antique collection and shop. (millesgarden.se)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by DragonOfTheSeas

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a tour or activity from Frihammen on a Monday?  We can go back to the city and see things we missed.  However, if there are tour companies that leave from this location or things to see near here, we would be interested to know.  

 

We could take the ferry to the Ropsten t-bana station if needed. TIA

[baldtomato]

On 7/16/2022 at 11:03 AM, Scottishclover said:

Suggestions for further afield - jump on the train to Sweden and visit either Malmo or Lund or Ystad. Another possibility is the island of Ven in the Oresund and hire bikes but that takes a bit more organisation. You need to get a train to Landskrona and then ferry but really worth it.  We based ourselves in Malmo for a week before a cruise from Copenhagen to explore the south of Sweden and loved it. Your children will love Tivoli - we have been twice and our now 19  and 17 year olds have requested it again when we visit Copenhagen in a few weeks time.

 

Thank you for the suggestions!

I had been swamped with work so we are super late to get organized - I'm only about half done researching port options and have yet to look at the (currently 15 page) roll call for our sailing...

 

For the one last full day in Copenhagen, I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to go to Odense (that's where Andersen's house is?) and hit Funen village also, or go to Aero.... I believe I came across these either watching Rick Steves or on someone else's post.  Don't know if these are realistically too far for a day trip?   My daughter is probably too short to fit onto rental bicycles, unless they have smaller size for children / tweens.

 

We are trying not to have to move accommodation once we disembark (the hassle of packing-unpacking for FOUR people all on one person's shoulders!, and, having to covid-clean the hotel room / touch surfaces too much hassle for a one night stay), so, the "further afield" will have to start early in the morning and we return to the same hotel room in Copenhagen at night.  Leaving on a fairly early flight the next morning,. 

[hallasm]

14 minutes ago, baldtomato said:

For the one last full day in Copenhagen, I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to go to Odense (that's where Andersen's house is?) and hit Funen village also, or go to Aero.

Quite easy to go from Copenhagen to Odense by train - It’s 1:30 minutes each way.  
HC Andersen’s house/museum is definitely worth the trip.

‘Den Fynske Landsby’ (village) will require taxi.

A boat  trip on Odense Å (river) can also be recommended.  

Forget abort Ærø (Aero) - extremely nice Island, however only accessible by car - another two hours drive from Odense - each way, and it does involve a ferry ride.

Edited July 19, 2022 by hallasm

[baldtomato]

Thank you @hallasm!!  Odense and Den Fynske it is then!  Hopefully there's uber...  How much approx. for taxi/uber groin from Andersen's house, to the Den Fynske village?

[hallasm]

8 minutes ago, baldtomato said:

Thank you @hallasm!!  Odense and Den Fynske it is then!  Hopefully there's uber...  How much approx. for taxi/uber groin from Andersen's house, to the Den Fynske village?

No Uber in Denmark - only taxi - it’s 10 minutes from H.C.Andersen’s house to ‘Den Fynske Landsby’ - price for taxi is DKK 160. (Tips not required/included) - you can use app for booking.

Edited July 19, 2022 by hallasm

[Stuart Suss]

In one of the other roll calls, a Helsinki resident has posted a detailed walking tour. In the subsequent posts information is provided on both the history of Finland and current etiquette.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2824835-july-3-2022-voyager-of-the-seas-stockholm-7-night-scandinavia-russia-cruise/?do=findComment&comment=63304338

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

6 hours ago, Stuart Suss said:

In one of the other roll calls, a Helsinki resident has posted a detailed walking tour. In the subsequent posts information is provided on both the history of Finland and current etiquette.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2824835-july-3-2022-voyager-of-the-seas-stockholm-7-night-scandinavia-russia-cruise/?do=findComment&comment=63304338

 

Stuart--Thank you for directing us here.  I found this walking tour very interesting.  DH and I would not be able to walk the 7.5 miles that are described.  I made note of the areas around the square.  

 

We have booked a morning ship's tour that visits 3 areas/places we identified as interesting to us.  It will leave us in the central square location [if we want] and we can take the ship's shuttle back when we have visited that area.  The shuttle is included in the price of the tour.  This is the only city we have booked a ship's tour.  It seemed to us that sites were spread out more in Helsinki than in some of the other cities.  

 

I am sure there are a number of people who would enjoy hiking this route.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

OK, now we are just days from the cruise and I am focusing on Copenhagen [our disembark port].  I had more time in Copenhagen, but a flight time change shortened our time for Copenhagen.  We are sad about that.  

 

We have a reservation for the Radisson Royal hotel, near Tivoli for the one night and fly out the next morning at 9:40am.  I noted that several of the train/metro lines left from near the cruise port. [Ocean Quay]. But you would need to walk or ride a bus there.  However, I saw that there is a bus that stop near the terminal.  It seems to take longer--However, that would be no issue for us.  Can anyone give me more information on this?  

 

 

[Stuart Suss]

Agnes (Dragon Lady),

 

I hope this information about the shuttle from the ship to the Orientkaj metro station is helpful.

http://www.latecruisenews.com/2022/04/27/free-electric-shuttle-buses-between-ocean-quay-and-the-metro-for-cruise-guests-in-copenhagen/ 

[hallasm]

9 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I noted that several of the train/metro lines left from near the cruise port. [Ocean Quay]. But you would need to walk or ride a bus there.  However, I saw that there is a bus that stop near the terminal.  It seems to take longer--However, that would be no issue for us.  Can anyone give me more information on this? 

Yes, There are several options for public transport from Oceankaj terminal to Copenhagen Central.  It takes about 30 minutes. Price is DKK 24.

You do not save money on transport using the free shuttle bus - but need cash when taking a public bus from terminal (or app). Same tickets for all transportation.

Free shuttle bus to Orientkaj Metro (buy metro ticket from the vending machine) and from here Metro to Copenhagen Central Station.  
You can also take bus 164  from terminal to Orientkaj - here the ticket must be bought in the bus - same price but only in cash or app.  
An alternative is bus 25 to Østerport station and from here S-train to Copenhagen Central Station - same price and ticket bought by bus.  

From Copenhagen Central Station to the airport, it is easiest to take a regional train - price DKK 36. Be on time at the airport - there can be a long queue at the security check Read more about tickets and App.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

11 hours ago, Stuart Suss said:

Agnes (Dragon Lady),

 

I hope this information about the shuttle from the ship to the Orientkaj metro station is helpful.

http://www.latecruisenews.com/2022/04/27/free-electric-shuttle-buses-between-ocean-quay-and-the-metro-for-cruise-guests-in-copenhagen/ 

 

3 hours ago, hallasm said:

Yes, There are several options for public transport from Oceankaj terminal to Copenhagen Central.  It takes about 30 minutes. Price is DKK 24.

You do not save money on transport using the free shuttle bus - but need cash when taking a public bus from terminal (or app). Same tickets for all transportation.

Free shuttle bus to Orientkaj Metro (buy metro ticket from the vending machine) and from here Metro to Copenhagen Central Station.  
You can also take bus 164  from terminal to Orientkaj - here the ticket must be bought in the bus - same price but only in cash or app.  
 

From Copenhagen Central Station to the airport, it is easiest to take a regional train - price DKK 36. Be on time at the airport - there can be a long queue at the security check Read more about tickets and App.

Thank you both for the information.  I am not sure I will have any DKK cash at this point.  I am going to try to use my credit card for purchases in Denmark. 

 

I did some research on the best things to buy to use public transport.  It seems that the 24 hr city small pass would be best for us.  [zones 1-4] 

 

So, following both of your advice we should take the free bus to the metro and buy the 24 hr pass for each of us there. It would be 80 DKK each.  We will take a train from the central train station the next morning around 6:15 am. [within same 24 hr period] At a minimum we would spend 24 DKK and 36 DKK to get from the ship to the hotel and the hotel to the airport.  So, the pass would give us a lot of convenience to sightsee without worrying about having cash for buses.

[Stuart Suss]

The 24 hour Copenhagen Card costs DKK 439 (pay in local currency, not in U.S. dollars - unfavorable exchange rate).  The Card includes a 24 hour transit pass.

 

You will need to decide if you will make enough qualifying visits to sites or tours with admission prices totaling DKK 359 so that together with the transit feature (value at least DKK 80) you will pay for the value of the card.

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

2 minutes ago, Stuart Suss said:

The 24 hour Copenhagen Card costs DKK 439 (pay in local currency, not in U.S. dollars - unfavorable exchange rate).  The Card includes a 24 hour transit pass.

 

You will need to decide if you will make enough qualifying visits to sites or tours with admission prices totaling DKK 359 so that together with the transit feature (value at least DKK 80) you will pay for the value of the card.

 

Copenhagen Pass would not be best for us. We are seniors and can only tour and walk so much in a day before we get tired. 

 

I found this information that says there is a 24-hour city pass for all transportation for 80 DKK.  We would buy the small pass for zones 1-4.  I think this is a better option for us.

 

City Pass English - DOT (dinoffentligetransport.dk)

 

 

 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We leave on our Odessey today.  😁  I plan to do a "Live" thread to share the information I learned in this thread to help other cruisers.  I will post a link when we get to the airport this afternoon. 

 

 

[adam7392]

4 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

We leave on our Odessey today.  😁  I plan to do a "Live" thread to share the information I learned in this thread to help other cruisers.  I will post a link when we get to the airport this afternoon. 

 

 

Good luck with your flights.  We fly out early Friday.  

[KittyCruz]

we are heading out Friday as well, little bit of a layover in Frankfort but we're taking stock in the fact the ship will stay in port in Stockholm for the extra day.

 

Safe Travels to everyone!

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We had a fright when we got here.  

 

United looked at our tickets and said Lufthansa is on strike.  We do not think you had a connecting flight.  We can't send you to Germany and leave you stranded.  Of course, I said I want to go to Germany one way or the other.  They called Lufthansa and our flight tomorrow am still on.  Then they looked at the flight coming back and said there is no such e ticket #.  Yikes.  I called Air2Seas emergency number and they answer immediately and gave me new RL numbers and stayed on the line until the agent could pull up the flights.  Thank goodness.  

 

We leave in 1.5 hrs so I guess we are actually going. Flying is so stressful.

[hal2008]

On 7/27/2022 at 3:20 PM, DragonOfTheSeas said:

We had a fright when we got here.  

 

United looked at our tickets and said Lufthansa is on strike.  We do not think you had a connecting flight.  We can't send you to Germany and leave you stranded.  Of course, I said I want to go to Germany one way or the other.  They called Lufthansa and our flight tomorrow am still on.  Then they looked at the flight coming back and said there is no such e ticket #.  Yikes.  I called Air2Seas emergency number and they answer immediately and gave me new RL numbers and stayed on the line until the agent could pull up the flights.  Thank goodness.  

 

We leave in 1.5 hrs so I guess we are actually going. Flying is so stressful.

Bon voyage 

 

If your luggage doesn't arrive with you, start buying stuff on Saturday itself as most places closed on Sunday.  You will get reimbursed by airline or insurance within reason 

 

For Frihamnen, your ferry option is thousand time better than bus option (avoid taxis who are legally allowed to rip you off. Uber are easy and cheap)

 

In Helsinki, hotel Torni (tallest place in downtown) has a viewing platform outside their bar on the top floor.  Nice views of the city.  It is very close to famous sculpture outside Stokmann store.  If you can manage, take short boat trip to Sumolina island.   Even if you don't walk there, roundtrip boat ride is scenic.   

 

In Riga, you have plenty of time.  Do visit art nuovo streets. Also, worth paying to go up by elevator at Peter's church. 

 

In Copenhagen, download dantaxi app to get taxi from terminal if you find public option overwhelming.

 

Also, from your hotel, Veserbro s-tog station is closer than the central station and the new metro station at Radhusplan (city hall) is very convenient too just as bus 26, 23 and 2A. Main tourist office with detailed transit maps is literally next door to your hotel 

 

In Tallinn, you might want to take Uber to Russian cathedral directly from the port.  Do level walking of upper town and then take long pikk (it is a gradual slop down) to main square.  After visiting Katrina Kike, come out at Viru Gate (you can get Uber back to ship from McDonald's for 3-5 euro)

Edited July 29, 2022 by hal2008

[KittyCruz]

Help Needed!!

If anyone is on board and can get us in touch with someone at RC or on board, the second hand of our Lufthansa flight was cancelled and we spent all day and part of the evening in line in Frankfort, the best they could do was get us in Stockholm

tonight at 0100 1 August 1st.

 

we have only been able to get throught to call centers and they say you can get on board but will need to carry your own luggages or they don't know.

 

we are currently in Switzerland (not planned at all) waiting for our 9pm flight.

Cross posting on muster roll

 

Any help is appreciated 

[hal2008]

Hopefully, you landed at ARN and are on way to the ship.

 

Luggage operation might have shutdown by now but someone from the staff will certainly help you.

 

You are fortunate that there is an overnight at Stockholm 

 

Best wishes 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

4 hours ago, hal2008 said:

Hopefully, you landed at ARN and are on way to the ship.

 

Luggage operation might have shutdown by now but someone from the staff will certainly help you.

 

You are fortunate that there is an overnight at Stockholm 

 

Best wishes 

There is staff at the door 24 hours a day I’ve walked down there a couple times just to check to make sure before I posted that it was available. Actually last night when I walked down there they were crewmembers who were arriving with their luggage and they checked them in. So you should be good whatever time 

 

 

i’m so sorry you have such a stressful beginning to your cruise

Edited August 1, 2022 by DragonOfTheSeas

[KittyCruz]

On 8/1/2022 at 6:46 AM, DragonOfTheSeas said:

There is staff at the door 24 hours a day I’ve walked down there a couple times just to check to make sure before I posted that it was available. Actually last night when I walked down there they were crewmembers who were arriving with their luggage and they checked them in. So you should be good whatever time 

 

 

i’m so sorry you have such a stressful beginning to your cruise

happy to report we made it on board!!!  

 

FYI there is absolutely no wait or queue to board at 2:00 am

 😹

[DragonOfTheSeas]

4 hours ago, KittyCruz said:

happy to report we made it on board!!!  

 

FYI there is absolutely no wait or queue to board at 2:00 am

 😹

I’m so glad you made it. Not surprised if there’s no line. Ha ha ha