How to avoid the crazy price of an excursion from Warnemunde to Berlin?

[mavie]

Can anyone suggest the best and easiest way to make the most of a stop in Warnemund Germany  to get to Berlin( 3 hours away) . Ships tours are exorbitant and advertised ones not much better! 

[phillygwm]

2 hours ago, mavie said:

Can anyone suggest the best and easiest way to make the most of a stop in Warnemund Germany  to get to Berlin( 3 hours away) . Ships tours are exorbitant and advertised ones not much better! 

The longer the ride to the destination, the more the excursion will generally cost.  You can perhaps mitigate that a bit by taking a non-NCL tour but being on a bus/train for 6 hours, it's still going to be pricey. 

 

While I've been to Berlin on a land-based trip, I'd never do it on a cruise.  Not just Berlin, but on several of those ports you're going to spend many hours travelling between the port and the site.  If you're stopping at Le Havre, for instance, that's a similar ride to Paris, as is Zeebrugge to Brussels.  Maybe there are other, closer stops that would make those ports worthwhile but if you have your heart set on the capital cities, you're going to spend a lot of your holiday on a bus. 

 

 

Edited April 21 by phillygwm

[Scottishclover]

You could DIY and take the train from Warnemuende on your own. Check Deutsche Bahn for train times and ticket prices which vary acc to the train. A regional train is €44 Rostock to Berlin. ICE is a bit quicker but most likely more expensive. There’s the occasional direct train from Warnemuende but most of the time you would change in Rostock ( it’s an easy change). Then in Berlin take  one of the “free” walking tours. I find Berlin one of the least expensive capital cities, so it can be visited without breaking the bank. The journey is around 3 hours each way, only you can decide if it’s worth it.  To make the most of the day, you would need to do a lot of forward planning, as some of the sights in Berlin are quite spread out. 
 

If it were me, I would stay and go to Rostock in the morning and wander round Warnemuende in the afternoon. It’s quite charming. My daughter is currently living in Rostock and any friends she has had over have absolutely loved it. There’s lots to keep you interested, especially all the Hanseatic architecture. It would make for a much more relaxed day. If this is something you’d be interested in, let me know and I can provide a more detailed itinerary- I lived there many moons ago and have been twice in the last 6 months so know the town well. 
 

Going to the castle in Schwerin is also a possibility ( not Mondays) but be aware that depending when your cruise is, there is some work going on the train line Rostock- Schwerin so the normally 1 hour journey is much longer. 
 

Hope this helps with your decision making. 

[Fogfog]

8 hours ago, mavie said:

Can anyone suggest the best and easiest way to make the most of a stop in Warnemund Germany  to get to Berlin( 3 hours away) . Ships tours are exorbitant and advertised ones not much better! 

We hear you on the price.

It is a ride. And a whirlwind tour of sights to get an overview of the city (we got a good lunch too)

I do want to say--that on our excursion--we had unanticipated traffic/rerouting both directions due to construction on the roads.

Because we were on a ship tour that ran over an hour late (like 90 min)-- and a few buses were late--the ship had a late dinner in the buffet with a local music group performing, local food brought in etc and going late. We didn't miss out. 

 

 

 

 

[Travelling2Some]

For the price of that excursion you can get a hotel for two nights in Berlin either before or after your cruise.  If you are able to take the extra days then add Berlin that way.  We really enjoyed the town of Warnemunde.  It was so enjoyable that we didn't even venture over to Rostock.

[mavie]

9 hours ago, phillygwm said:

The longer the ride to the destination, the more the excursion will generally cost.  You can perhaps mitigate that a bit by taking a non-NCL tour but being on a bus/train for 6 hours, it's still going to be pricey. 

 

While I've been to Berlin on a land-based trip, I'd never do it on a cruise.  Not just Berlin, but on several of those ports you're going to spend many hours travelling between the port and the site.  If you're stopping at Le Havre, for instance, that's a similar ride to Paris, as is Zeebrugge to Brussels.  Maybe there are other, closer stops that would make those ports worthwhile but if you have your heart set on the capital cities, you're going to spend a lot of your holiday on a bus. 

 

 

Yes, I realize that and I have also been to Berlin on a land trip and loved it but my travel companions haven’t so I don’t mind going again. There are several train options to do on your own that are a fraction of the cost and then one can arrange a tour there. Still debating whether it’s worth the hassle, lol

[edinburgher]

1 hour ago, mavie said:

Still debating whether it’s worth the hassle, lol

As you will know, Berlin is actually a very spread out city without an actual "centre" which means that once you arrive there, you will most likely have to travel around again to whichever attractions there may be time for.  We spent a week there which included time in  Potsdam, and despite careful planning I don't think we ever visited another city where were were constantly using public transport to get around.

 

Warnemunde is actually a really easy DIY port which offers a variety of sighsteeing options   It is actually the seaside suburb of Rostock. Ships dock next to the small train station and a short ride to central Rostock, which has an attractive historic centre well worth visiting. As did others, we took the train to Rostock in the morning, then returned to Warnemunde where we spent a very pleasant afternoon strolling the beaches and this pretty town.  Super easy, inexpensive and not tiring.

 

There should be lots of info and images on both Rostock and Warnemunde online to tempt you

 

There are also past threads you could browse and choose which to read .

Warnemunde

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=warnemunde&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=116

 

Rostock

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=rostock&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=116

 

 

[phillygwm]

13 minutes ago, mavie said:

Yes, I realize that and I have also been to Berlin on a land trip and loved it but my travel companions haven’t so I don’t mind going again. There are several train options to do on your own that are a fraction of the cost and then one can arrange a tour there. Still debating whether it’s worth the hassle, lol

I usually book my excursions via NCL because, as Sapphire, I get a decent discount so it isn't much more than an independent company tour.  On my upcoming Alaska cruise, I've booked both but the independent provider guarantees transport to the next port were you to miss the ship.  Plus, the same provider contracts for that NCL tour. 

 

When I don't have a tour booked, I tend not to stray too far afield and, even then, only if I have contingency plans on getting back to the ship if something goes wrong.  I'd be too panicked if I were travelling that distance on my own but that's just my personality: I stress when I'm merely "on time" for something 🤣. 

[edinburgher]

5 hours ago, phillygwm said:

I'd be too panicked if I were travelling that distance on my own

You should dock right next to the small train station.  Warnemunde to Rostock Centre is around 15/20 minutes journey time, close enough surely to venture  without a tour, and easy to get a taxi back if you really had to, but we also spotted signage in Rostock for a boat/ferry ride to Warnemunde which we didn't use, but we saw signage at the landing point for it only a few yards from the ship.

 

This means you would have three options to return.Train, taxi or boat (and possibly a fourth  by public bus too,although you would need to access that information yourself as we used the trains). As previously mentioned, Rostock is not a town a long way away as Warnemunde is one of its suburbs.

 

As for Warnemunde itself, you only need disembark, walk through the little train station, cross the short bridge and you are there--  count maybe 5-7 minutes on foot from the gangway. A charming little seaside resort, popular with Rostock residents at weekends and with others on short breaks. It would be difficult to get lost there.  

Edited April 21 by edinburgher

[John Bull]

If you're anxious to make the long trip to Berlin, DIY by train is OK.

But you'll arrive in Berlin without transportation

 

Because you're only there for one trunkated day, travel from site to site by ho-ho bus, local buses, U-Bahn or S-Bahn will take great chunks out of your time. And by taxi needs a pretty well thought-out itinerary to make efficient use of your time & money and squeaky-bum time if occasionally there's no taxis to be seen when you need one.

So yes, I agree I you need to book a tour (or car + driver if you're confident enough to be your volunteer group guide) to meet you at the station in Berlin, drive the sights & the stops, and drop you back at the station in time for the second-to-last suitable train back to Warnemunde 

 

My opinion on visiting Berlin from Warnemunde (and Paris from Le Havre and Luxor from Safaga and a dozen other similar long treks) has always been to put the place on the back-burner and give it the time it warrants at some future date. But if the prospects of a future visit are low or nil, then go for it!!

 

JB 🙂

[TMLAalum]

That is sweet that you wish to accompany your traveling companions. If their hearts are set on Berlin from Warnemunde, perhaps they should bite the bullet for the cost of the ship tour and go there without you since you've been there. As a person who coordinates private port excursions for us and our friends cruising with us, I know that I try to find a cost-effective alternative to cruise excursions when feasible, but sometimes the alternatives such as DIYing it to Berlin for a day just don't make sense.

[Thejuggler]

If I wanted a day trip to Berlin I wouldn't start from Rostock!

 

We did morning in Warnemunde and then an afternoon trip on the Molli train along the coast.  Very pleasant and we had a great young guide who explained what the area and life were like when it was part of East Germany (something most on the tour had forgotten about).

 

The only downside was the tour arrived back 20 minutes before our set dining time.

[ShawninFL]

Unless this in your only opportunity in life to get to Berlin, I would skip going to Berlin.  It is incredibly far for a cruise excursion.  I would say visit Rostock and roam around Warnemunde for the day.