Baltic Ports - Shuttle Bus from Ship?

[Marialivia]

Hi everyone: We have signed on to the Gems of Baltic cruise on the Amsterdam in June. I'm enjoying researching the ports and so forth, but have a few questions.

 

I plan to purchase my St. Petersburg excursions through the ship. Otherwise, if we choose to do certain ports on our own (Tallinn, e.g.), is there a shuttle bus from the ship into the city? And can we pick it up to come back to the ship later?

 

We are considering going to Berlin by train from Warnemunde and attempting to hook up with a local tour company. Any suggestions?

 

Is ATM the best way to go to get cash while over there?

 

Thanks so much. ML:confused:

[dakrewser]

You'll get your best info over in the Baltic Ports of Call forum, but most of the ports you stop in you will be docking within a short walk of the center of town.

[localady]

In Tallinn last year on the Prinsendam there was a shuttle into town provided by HAL. I believe it was a minimum cost like 3.00 pp. Once you get into town, Tallinn is very walkable. I would take the shuttle into town then walk from there.

[ejbmorr]

I noticed your question asking about the possibility of booking an an excursion in Berlin on your own. When we took the train in from Warnemunde to Berlin, we booked our excursion through the cruisline and I would recommend that because it is a loooong day, about 12 hours with train and Berlin sightseeing and lunch. That did not even allow for in-depth visiting at points of interest. The stops were very interesting and not rushed but all were carefully timed.I would not ever want to risk being late getting back to the ship on that day when you were traveling so many miles away.

It was a wonderful day and the train ride was so interesting as it passed through so much of the countryside on the way in to Berlin. We had a beautiful very German lunch in a lovely hotel on our excursion and they also served very nice bag brunches on the train and had beverages in each train compartment. the compartments each seated eight, I believe, on two facing bench seats. Very European. I think you would be more relaxed knowing that the cruiseline would be likely to wait for you if their plans were delayed for some reason in Berlin than if you missed your connection back on the train on your own.

[ekerr19]

We walked to the center of town in Tallinn - a very enjoyable walking city.

 

We opted out of the train trip to Berlin as the train ride was extraordinarily long (and the train is not air conditioned - something many pax were unaware of...and we had unseasonably high temps for the Baltic) but stayed in Warnemunde, which we really enjoyed and hope to return one day - for us it was an unexpected highlight.

 

We did opt to purchase Russian Visas and do one day in St. Petersburg on our own - though I wouldn't recommend it for those who cannot get around easily - also be prepared to improvise! The transportation in St. Petersburg left quite a bit to be desired (on our visit).

 

The one thing I'd stress about the Gems of the Baltic cruise - it is highly port intensive and not only are the excursions lengthy - they leave very early in the morning. We were told we were the youngest couple on the ship when we did this cruise and I wish we hadn't booked as many excursions as we did... it was pretty exhausting and when we cancelled our Berlin excursion, I was so greatful to stay in Warnemunde and relax (and practice my four years of H.S. German, lol!) especially after the pax started returning completely exhausted at about 8:00 - 9:00 pm - HAL even kept the dining room open late that night for all the late returning pax.

 

When we return, we will book any excursions very cautiously.

[JeannyCT]

Tallinn, Estonia: you can walk into town and back to the ship, it's not that far

St. Petersburg, Russia: you need transportation

Helsinki, Finland: there was a shuttle bus last year

Stockholm, Sweden: we walked into town and took a shuttle back to the ship

Visby, Sweden: you can walk

Warnemunde: you can walk (acutally, I think there was no shuttle because it's so close), you pass the train station on the way and can get local transport to Rostock or any other nearby town

Arhus, Denmark: we walked, I don't remember if there was a shuttle

 

Somebody mentioned before to try the Baltic forum, there's a lot of information about the ports, including several long discussions if it's worth going to Berlin or better staying in Warnemünde/Rostock.

[Marialivia]

I am so very grateful for all this information -- just what I wanted to know. I am planning to print it out and use it as part of my "bible" of info for this trip.

 

I got some valuable information from the Ports of Call section of this site and also from PortReviews.com, which has beautiful photos and much valuable information on each of the ports.

 

As for Berlin, I'm actually relieved to be making the decision not to take this excursion -- it sounds as if it would wipe me out for the rest of the trip, although the days before and after Warnemunde are "easy" ones.

 

So in Tallinn, the first port, I don't need to worry about the shuttle, because if there is none, we can simply walk into town.

 

Thanks again -- the points you covered were more than I ever expected to get!

[FoxyTerrier]

We did the Baltics on the old Noordam in the summer of 2004 and so far my favorite cruise.

 

I only remember a shuttle bus in Helsinki, but we did not use it. I recall it was $5 each way.

 

Talin is a short walk to the old city - we walked over and my parents took a cab back to the ship while DH and DS saw alot more of the city. Becareful as we saw on older gentleman be the victim of a pick pocket and was pushed down.

 

In St. Petersburg - we booked a private tour with Red October (2 full days) - they put us in touch with another couple for a total of 7 which turned out to be cheaper than the HAL tours and they handled the Visa at no extra cost. If you get information from them I did have trouble receiving emails from RO as the ended up in my Junk Mail folder for some reason. On the second day I went out side for the sail away from St. Petersburg and found a HUGE line of people going through immegration - there were hundreds of people in line. Many had trouble standing in this very long line. RO made sure we got back to the ship around 3:30 for the 5pm sailing. The HAL buses all came back at the same time round 4:45 which caused this problem. We were about 90 minutes late leaving because of this mess.

 

http://www.redoctober.spb.ru/aboutus.html

 

In Stockholm there is a visitor center right out side the ship - from there we ended up hiring a limo for a private limo tour - it was wonderful and in a Volva Limo - just like the one I see in DC at the Swedish Ambassador's residence. I'm thinking it was around $120-$150 for 2-3 hours.

 

In Helsinki - we did a taxi tour that we booked right at the port. Not as good as in Stolkholm but was around $70 or so.

 

In Berlin we booked a private tour as I heard the train trip was very long and hot. We did this one with the couple we did the RO tour with and the tour operator picked us up in a brand new Mercedes Benz van - we saw tons of things in Berlin and had a short amount of time for shopping. It was a full day!!! We had the 7 passenger van - if you look for others to join you it will be cheaper then book through HAL.

 

http://www.berlin-sightseeing-tours.de/berlin_sightseeing_tours_from_port_rostock_warnemuende_cruise_ship_germany.htm

 

If you have any more questions just ask - I found out about all of this on the ports board. My biggest concern was paying for these private tours. RO wanted cash - you could pay by Credit Card but they charged a fee for this and our friends we met only had an Amex which they did not take nor did they tell him that - luckily my father had cash that he lent them as they did not feel comfortable using an ATM in Russia. I brought cash that I kept locked in our Safe. For the Berlin trip I just used an ATM and got euros - no problem at all.

 

Am now trying to get info on private tours for our upcoming Greek Isles Noordam cruise.

[tall traveler]

We took this trip several years ago and used ATM'S in every country. No problem. This trip is fantastic. You will enjoy every minute.

[Marialivia]

Thanks everyone! I'm keeping all this info in my file. The mention in this thread about ATM is of concern to me. From everything I've read and heard, this is the best way to get cash. But how difficult is it to find an ATM machine at the ports? I don't want to waste time running around looking for an ATM.

 

As for the Red October insistence on cash, this brings me to the question of paying for tours sponsored by the cruiseline. Do these go on my credit card as soon as I reserve them, or are they put on a "sea pass" and then paid for at the end of the cruise? I don't know if it's even possible to issue a sea pass in advance like that, but I'm just wondering how the payment is handled by the ship.

 

Many thanks.

;)

[FoxyTerrier]

You shouldn't have any problems finding ATMs while in port. Pretty much like in the US. I had read that if there is a problem it would be in Russia so I avoided them in St. Petersburg.

 

If you book HAL tours in advance they will be charged to a Credit Card. If you book on the ship they will be added to your ship board account.

 

Hope this helps.

[ejbmorr]

Marialivia- I noted your post saying that you might drop the idea of a Berlin excursion. I hope it had nothing to do with my comments about the length of the trip because I think that experience was one of the most interesting on our whole cruise. It is a very excursion-intensive cruise as compared to all of the others we have ever taken, but that is because there is just so much that is really important to see and do. The ship was mostly a place to eat and sleep as we went from port to port on that cruise and what a convenient solution that was because there was food and our own little nest to crawl into at the end of each exciting day. Some days we did not come back from the shore excursions until 10:00PM after leaving at 7:30AM, but we have the most wonderful memories of that trip that will last a lifetime. Trips to the Caribbean or similar itineraries are for leisure enjoyment of what the ship has to offer. The Baltic cruise is for squeezing in whatever you are up to each day. There is just SO much to take in.

I will wait to hear from you when you return. You will be filled to the brimming with all that you experienced. Have a wonderful time and tell us all about it.

[ekerr19]

I hope you enjoy this cruise - I agree with Joni (Foxy Terrier) it was one of our favorites too - we also did this itinerary on the old Noordam.

 

I don't recall any difficulties finding ATM's that were easily accessible. We were in the Baltic prior to conversion to the Euro, so we needed to convert currency often.

 

On our last trip to Europe, I went to my bank and got Euro's before we left - our bank has a currency exchange desk in the downtown branch which is only a couple blocks from my office. It saved us from having to convert at the airport in Rome which had a much higher rate. I was also able to convert my unused Euros back to dollars when we returned...

[Marialivia]

ekerr: Thanks so much for reminding me that I can convert dollars to Euros at a local bank! I had forgotten that I had done this on my very first trip to Europe (England). I just might go this way! Of course, it's still carrying cash around, so I'd have to think about it a bit more. I'll be using my credit card as much as possible in the ports, so I wouldn't really need LOTS of cash. I am grateful for your response!

 

ejbmorr: No, my decision (still wavering) about skipping Berlin was not based on your very informative response. I had taken into consideration the fact that the days before and after the Warnemunde/Berlin day are "easy" days, and we are early risers anyway. I agree that this cruise is unlike a Caribbean cruise (fortunately), and it's the best way to see these wondrous places. I relish the thought of settling into a stateroom, unpacking once, and then it's my home for the duration. The combo tour offered by the ship is $339, which is a lot for us in view of the fact that we are signing on to several other tours. Some friends took this same tour a few years ago and took the ship's train connection and then hooked up with a local tour company when they got to Berlin. I need to ask them how long the Berlin tour lasted, etc. and if it's any less costly than the $339 ship tour. Thanks for ALL the very helpful comments.

[shipcafe]

Here is my take on when I did this voyage :

Tallinn, Estonia: Took a quick ship shuttle.

St. Petersburg, Russia: Did a comprehensive two-day tour. (& recommended)

Helsinki, Finland: A HAL shuttle was available (it may have incurred a cost)

Stockholm, Sweden: Water taxis are available.

Visby, Sweden: I recommend a tour here!

Warnemunde: I recommend Berlin to the highest but - if not - definitely take a train to Rostock!

Arhus, Denmark: The city is a fairly easy walking distance from the ship.

[JeannyCT]

ekerr: Thanks so much for reminding me that I can convert dollars to Euros at a local bank!

Please remember that not all countries use the Euro: http://www.ecb.int/bc/intro/html/map.en.html.