Some quick questions about Baltic cruise on Amsterdam

[Marialivia]

I need to clarify a couple (or more) questions about my Baltic cruise in June:

 

1. Am I correct in gleaning that the Pinnacle Grill is the "special" restaurant for which there is an additional charge, and that the Lido is the casual restaurant (buffet type)? On days that we will be doing two excursions with a short time in between, I assume we'll have time to grab dinner in the Lido. Is it open all day?

 

2. At some point will I get SPECIFIC info on exactly which nights are formal, informal, and casual? Again, this pertains to excursion plans. (I believe I have the dress code figured out.)

 

3. Are American dollars accepted in most ports? (Tallinn, St. Pete, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, for example?)

 

Thanks so much for your help!! ML:o :confused:

[seadrifter]

I need to clarify a couple (or more) questions about my Baltic cruise in June:

 

1. Am I correct in gleaning that the Pinnacle Grill is the "special" restaurant for which there is an additional charge, and that the Lido is the casual restaurant (buffet type)? On days that we will be doing two excursions with a short time in between, I assume we'll have time to grab dinner in the Lido. Is it open all day?

 

 

2. At some point will I get SPECIFIC info on exactly which nights are formal, informal, and casual? Again, this pertains to excursion plans. (I believe I have the dress code figured out.)

 

 

3. Are American dollars accepted in most ports? (Tallinn, St. Pete, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, for example?)

 

 

Thanks so much for your help!! ML:o :confused:

 

Hi Marialivia - we did the Gems of the Baltic last summer on the Westerdam. I will try to answer your questions:

 

1. The Pinnacle Grill is the specialty restaurant and there is a $20 charge per person for dinner. The extra charge at lunch is $10. The Lido is the buffet restaurant and is open all day (serving breakfast, lunch and dinner) with some down time where the offerings are minimal between normal meal times. Depending on your excursion lengths and the amount of time between morning and afternoon excursion, you should be able to grab something quick to eat in the Lido.

 

2. Your cruise documents will tell you what nights are formal, informal and casual. This info will also be on the daily information that is left each night for the next day. Generally formal nights are on sea days or days when port calls are short in order to allow you to get ready.

 

3. Generally speaking, dollars are NOT acceptable on this cruise. We used credit cards to make large purchases and we used ATM machines to get a small amount of each countries local currency.

 

Hope this helps. Have a wonderful time in the Baltic. We did:).

 

Happy cruising,

Virginia

[Marialivia]

Thanks, Virginia, for the quick reply! You did answer my questions in fine style. I had heard from someone that the first formal night is the first night of the cruise -- hard to believe in view of jet lag, uncertainties that invariably crop up with arrival times, etc. etc. It makes much more sense that formal nights would be on sea days.

 

I'm "on the fence" about currency and am inclined at this point to plan on using ATMs, assuming they're not hard to find. Of course, I'll use my credit card for larger purchases, of which I don't plan to make many, and I'll take some cash or travelers' checks for backup, although I'm learning from these boards that TCs are "a thing of the past," almost.

 

Thanks again. ML

[aaerobear]

Marialivia,

 

You will not find many ATM's in Russia, but they will definately take your us$, gladly, happily, willingly. In the big tourist shops they also have prices displayed in euros and dollars.

 

You will get info on the formal/casual etc. with your docs BUT not the actual days (just the numbers of each) it is sort of a crap shoot as to which nights are which. Generally you can count on the "sea days" being formal, but I know this cruise is so port intensive that they may be on days that you have been to a port.

 

Also remember to not take out to much from the ATM's in Estonia as you are pretty much stuck with the money you get although it is easy to exchange it back in Finland or Norway (we did it in both places)

 

Above all, enjoy the wonderful ports and sights of this great area of the world. You will not be disappointed.

 

Ed

[jhannah]

I have never heard of HAL having a formal night on the first night of the cruise. I don't know where this person came up with that. Yes, they are most always on sea days. On rare occasions it may be on a day where the ship leaves port early (like 2:00 in the afternoon.)

 

Your cruise documents will tell you how many formal, informal and casual nights you will have on your cruise. They will not tell you which nights. You won't know that until you get onboard.

 

ATMs are your best bet when in ports. We have a good currency exchange here, so I always get some local currencies to take care of the immediate needs when I arrive. But I have used ATMs with no problem. Whatever you do, don't use airport exchanges. They're very costly.

[Copper10-8]

You will not have a formal night on the first day - those are always casual. We usually get American Express traveller's checks plus get maybe 200 Euro's from the bank in advance. The Front Office on the ship will also exchange money however their rates are not always the greatest. We have used ATM's in Holland and France. Just watch out for any out of control "service fees". The Baltic cruises/itineraries are awseome! Have a great time!

[aaerobear]

Did I miss something here? Who said anything about there being a formal night on the first night out?

[Copper10-8]

Did I miss something here? Who said anything about there being a formal night on the first night out?

 

Yes, check out post #3

Thanks, Virginia, for the quick reply! You did answer my questions in fine style. I had heard from someone that the first formal night is the first night of the cruise -- hard to believe in view of jet lag, uncertainties that invariably crop up with arrival times, etc. etc. It makes much more sense that formal nights would be on sea days.

 

[cruzingqueen]

I did this cruise last year on the Rotterdam. We began our cruise on 7/2/05 and the formal days were 7/3/05 (sea day), 7/9/05 (Oslo) and 7/12/05 (sea day). Maybe I am wrong, but I am fairly certain I used US Dollars in Estonia and Russia. I remember I did not change money until later in the cruise and these two ports were some of our first stops. In Russia, on one of our tours, there was a little boy who ran alongside our boat for miles. At the end of our boat ride, he was there too. He collected $1 USD from about 30 people. He was very appreciative to get the money. I know I used US dollars at the black market in Russia too.

 

This is a great cruise! ENJOY!

[aaerobear]

Whew! Thanks John, I guess I am losing it after all :D Will try to read better next time.

 

Ed

[Copper10-8]

Whew! Thanks John, I guess I am losing it after all :D Will try to read better next time.

 

Ed

 

No problems Ed, take care!

[Marialivia]

:D

I can't begin to thank you all for your quick, helpful responses -- I'm feeling like quite the dunce when I see how knowledgeable you are! Although I've done my fair share of traveling, I've never used an ATM outside this country.

 

Just one more bit of enlightenment, please: "We have a good currency exchange here, so I always get some local currencies to take care of the immediate needs when I arrive." OK, what is meant by "here"? Is it literally "local," meaning the place where you live? (I feel that I'm making this very complicated.) In this case, wouldn't it mean that I'd have to go to the bank and get currency for each of the ports? When all is said and done, I won't need a great deal of cash, as I'll use my credit card for any purchases, but I'd like to have a game plan before I depart. ML

[sailorbill]

I did a Baltic cruise several years ago and I found that in all of the port cities one could easily get by using US dollars. With all of the ships that visit each port every summer they are very used to green money. Remember that you are not the first nor will you be the last American to visit. The Russians in particular wanted only US dollars. Today they may prefer Euros. The only country that I used local money was in Germany for the excursion to Berlin. It was just before the introduction of the Euro so the currency was German marks. I lost a few percent both changing to marks and changing back to dollars on the ship. I used plastic for nearly all of my purchases because when the purchase is posted to your account it is done at the official exchange rate for that date without some middle man taking his sometimes outrageous cut. When making small purchases with dollars you may get change back in the local currency. At the end of the cruise I simply left all the little "funny money" in the desk drawer as part of my tip for the room steward since he would return to the ports long before I would.

[kryos]

I had heard from someone that the first formal night is the first night of the cruise -- hard to believe in view of jet lag, uncertainties that invariably crop up with arrival times, etc. etc. It makes much more sense that formal nights would be on sea days.

You would NEVER have a formal night on the first night of the cruise. Some people board late and it is entirely possible that if they have early seating dinner, their luggage may not arrive in their cabin in time to dress for dinner.

 

The first night out is always casual.

 

I have seen formal nights sometimes being held on a port day ... especially if sailaway time is early. But, yes, I agree with others ... most formal nights will be held on sea days.

 

Usually, when you board, there will be a daily newsletter waiting for you in your cabin. That newsletter will give you the rundown of the dress code for each evening of the cruise.

 

Blue skies and enjoy your cruise!

 

--rita