Constellation 20th May Part 2

[uktog]

Are you sitting comfortably......right here goes

 

Friday

St Petersburg await us and it is a clear blue sky morning. We were on a Red October group and had been invited to the Bar at the Edge of wherever for 07.25. However, Gary our excellent master of ceremonies had suggested e go to the Rendezvous Lounge as that was where the X trips were leaving from. We sat to the side and no one ever challenged us. RO had advised that we should not try and get off before X had got their own Moscow trip off s that had an airport deadline to meet so as soon as they had cleared the lounge we went down to Deck and went ashore completely unchallenged. \lovely welcome from a port side band (very different from when I went in to Russia in 1984!! Helen from RO was waiting for us – we were actually 2 groups; first 20 went on the gold bus (cant recall the guides name) second group (ours) with Helen on the silver (renamed platinum with diamonds) bus. Day one we went around the City sights, into St Peter and Pauls (ahead of the crowds) two “pitstops” at nice gift shops with clean loos, free coffee and vodka – one was the RO store where we also paid. It is a bit of a queue to pay so suggest if you are a couple, one waits in the queue whilst the other does other things (including first round of shopping selection). After RO we had a good trip around the Yusporovs Palace before going out to Peterhof. Our group had opted to have boxed lunches – they were very basic –one pack sandwiches, a whole pack of bland biscuits, some fruit and water but it did have the advantage of saving us time as we ate en route – and as there were parades to celebrate the birthday of St Petersburg on the Saturday and Friday as Helen told us is a bad traffic day it was worth saving time. At Peterhof we walked around and also visited Catherine’s Block (not the man palace) The adice seems to be if you are going to Catherine’s palace at Pushkin do not do the main palace at Peterholf as they are similar but no amber at Peterholf. We returned to the ship around 1700 and those of us goiong on the RO evening boat trip met up at 1845 so it was a quick change round. One thing we were caught up by a goods train and lost 10 minutes on the way out to the boat. Helen advised this can happen a lot and you need to be careful if you are coming back on sailing day to allow time for this sort of thing. I would add at this stage the general level of traffic jams is also high so do not take risks on timing. On the way out we saw a Mr Putin lookalike who works on Dock Security – watch out for him he is becoming a bit of a “feature” RO have started an evening boat trip that includes a folklore show, a very nice dinner and wonderful views up and down the Neva. I would recommend this trip as it is good to see St Petes from a different angle. I you stay on ship, they run open seating dining and show a film (Dr Zhivago in our case) rather than have a show as such.

Saturday

There is no restriction when you get off on Day 2 – as before you just need your excursion ticket or the letter you have to prove you had a trip booked (day 1 you also need a photocopy of your passport and if you do not bring one the ship does it for you anyway) They give you a little red card and you need to hand that back on your return – very simple! Anyway road works and the street parade made it difficult to get around and we were always under some time pressure today (which did mean a long walk back to the bus as the driver could not get anywhere near the Hermitage – just one of these things) Our main stops were Catherines Palace and the Amber Room – breathtaking, but so is every room we were in, look in the corners, you will see pieces of furniture and porcelain that would be centre stage and key attraction anywhere else. From there we went to Cathedral Church on the Spilled Blood (watch around this area it is where pickpockets are rife, but we were problem free. Helen (who talked for 2 whole days and was an excellent and very friendly guide) had set up a code she would use if she spotted known “pocketers” Afternoon was spent in the Hermitage, it was crowded but we had a good look around and Helen was excellent at moving others on so we could see things. We paid to see the Gold and Diamond Rooms as part of our trip cost and that extra should not be missed – there are some stunning pieces to see some dating back BC. We noticed the X excursions threading through the Museum. They were large groups and were working on some microphone system with their guide. Table guests said it was OK but as we had suspected slow and impersonal. As their bus had been badly held up in traffic and people could not hop out as we could from our smaller bus, the X tour had quite a curtailed time in the Museum we gathered some were very unhappy. All too soon we said farewell to Helen and her wonderful skilled driver and as the port band serenaded us on board and then played “Anchors Aweigh” as we left, there was a good welcoming feel about the whole time in St Petersburg and for us, if we come again we would certainly go with RO to other places and maybe have a meal with a family.

Nice to catch up with table mates and hear their tales of the last two days. We went to the Cirque show tonight. To be honest, it did nothing for us at all but then we are not sure what it is supposed to be about. It seemed to revolve around a man in a bathing costume and flippers wandering around the audience for most of the time – perhaps we were missing the point.

Sunday

After all our crowds in Russia what a gem Tallinn is. Free X shuttle this time and a lovely medieval town. We did not do an X trip but went to the Tourist Info (on street at top left of the square) and hired an excellent walking hand held audio guide and map for 200 kroons for 4 hours (c$6) The wlak was at our own pace so we stopped towards the end in the TownHall square and enjoyed a lovely cold beer before returning to ship for a Formal night and another good production show.

Monday

At sea day so the feet can at last recover! Usual range of talks etc and another formal tea. One thing, they open a Russian Bazaar and everyone goes mad! If you want to avoid the crowds go back later in the day or even a few days later it is unlikely they will have run out of everything. The prices wee comparable with the stores in Russia (cant comment on the flea markets as we were avoiding them in case there were problems) so if you are not happy to use your credit card in Russia, shop on board. Monday night had a lovely show with a very good West End and Broadway Lead Lindsey Hamilton – and another CD was bought.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning and Germany arrives! As we can get to Berlin easily we chose to stay locally but watched the large band cross the road and join the Celebrity Special Train to Berlin. We went on a walking tour to Rostock which included a nice trip to the local brewery complete with free drink and pretzels. In the afternoon, we wandered around Warmemunde. As it was a lovely hot sunny day (I gather Berlin was overcast) we stayed down at the Beach for a while and also enjoyed another Rostocker beer on the Aller Storm which is a lovely row of cafes beside the harbour. This is a lovely little town so easy to get around you do not need an excursion. In the evening they bring on board reps from the Rostock Town Band who played in the lounge at Deck 11 – it was really good fun to here. Sailaway from Germany is great as the townsfolk come out in their hundreds to see you off and the pier PA blasts out music “Time to say goodbye” You can eat in a rather good German Sausage buffet or open seating tonight

Wednesday

Nice lie in before arrival at Copenhagen. By now we are open top bus experts however on this trip you could even get away without this and instead walk the 150 yards to the Little Mermaid, another ¼ mile to the Geffion Fountain, on passed the Royal Palace and you would by in Nyhaven (we actually walked back this way it was lovely) Best deal was at Nyhaven we went on a 50 minute narrated Canal boat trip we purchased on the quay and I think Copenhagen looked better this way than from the bus. One tip, when you first arrive everyone is taking pics at the little mermaid and climbing all over it, when we came back late afternoon we were the only people there and got much more composed shots in peace. At night we went up to Tivoli Gardens – it was a pleasant enough evening, cool, nice music to listen to but the flowers were just beginning to fade. In hindsight we should have ate at Tivoli as this the one night the ship does not cater well for trip schedules. There is no open seating dinner and no extra buffet upstairs so the pasta and pizza queues were overwhelmed between 5 and 7. We had a few bits of pizza and then later for the first time ever surprised the dear waiter who had tried to give us Gourmet Bites all week – this time we grabbed them!

Thursday

Helsingborg

We were on the walking tour of Helsingborg and Helsinor involving a ferry trip back to Denmark. Our guide was a little disorganized and was actually from Copenhagen so the quality of her info was not good. Be aware also if you go on the ships tour you do not get into the Castle at Helsinor so if you want to do that, go over on the ferry yourself, which we discovered would actually have been very easy. The excursion ticket warns you this trip involves 4 miles of walking – that is very true this trip is not for the less able! If you went yourself, you could get a taxi at the port at Helsinor to drive your round to the Castle. Helsinor has a good ice cream shop, otherwise it is a town full of liquor stores (not cheap) aimed at the Swedes who pop over to Denmark to take advantage of the ease in whi8ch the Danes can buy booze. Helsingborg is not yet fully geared up for large groups of tourists they handle it very well indeed so the experience is good, just do not rely on this as a last minute cheap souvenier stop. Nice touch coming back on the tender fro the local ladies –leave future travelers to discover what I mean rather than spoil the surprise. Nice formal night again – all three were well dressed and a good dinner. We never made it to Le Grande Buffet – got side tacked watching Ochos card tricks in the Martini Bar – he was going off ship on Saturday, his successor (whose name I forget) was also there, seemed a nice outgoing person as well.

Friday

That dreaded last day of packing. (but I get my reward of a faby meal in Ocean Liners to soften the going home blow) I will talk about the ship. Did I find wear and tear – yes, the sofa in the suite showed some wear (but then no more than my 18 month old sofa at home) ; how would I rate the crew – the cabin team were the best I have ever had, the wait team the least good, the bar staff the most friendly ever. Now we go with X twice a year we kept meeting old friends on the crew who were all genuinely pleased to see us. Have to mention Nina the Hotel Director – she really is the most visible hands on Hotel Director I have seen on 8 cruises. We found the photo staff more creative in the pics they took of us and thought the DVDs we bought were so good the video is not coming on another cruise. Our beds were very comfortable and whilst we did not ask for a lot, any minor request was immediately dealt with and always with a smile.

Dover disembarkation

OK as Brits we wondered how bad could this be – would it rival other ports (shh west coast) we could mention - no it was by far the best , most efficient friendly disembarkation ever – well done to all concerned.

To sujm up

How to sum up - ok here goes – lets say – we booked 2 more cruises while we were on board – need I say more??

Now fire away with the4

[uktog]

sorry my typing is terrible on this second part - anyway it should say "fire away with the questions!!":)

[lysolqn]

Thanks for your review. We've done the Baltic twice on Constellation and reading your review brought back wonderful memories (not to mention a yearning to return yet again!). Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[uktog]

I think we will do this trip again as every port had so many choices as to what to do.

[dollye]

This was our first time with Celebrity,and the Constellation, and it was really incredible. All cities were interesting (although alas, it rained in Oslo) and thanks to Gary who had arranged the Red October trip, we were the Other bus to St Petersburg with Svetlana, a superb tour, from every aspect.

Svetlana was knowledgeable, charming and kept us on our toes. The ship was beautifully maintained and the service in our cabin and dining room was amazing. We loved it all. Dolly-ellen and Dan Friedman

[sarahmac]

Thanks, again, for your detailed review!

 

Do you remember the name of the canal cruise you used in Copenhagen? Also -- did you take Celebrity's $20 shuttle to Tivoli that evening? Was it worth it?

 

Thanks in advance,

Sarah

[uktog]

Sarah

It was DFDS and they are on the right hand side booth at the head of the Nyhaven inlet. The trip leaves every hour on the hour and is for 50 mins. We used the X shuttle and certainly for convenience it was ideal particularly at the end then taxis looked a little scarce; however if you are in the centre during the day and go on to Tivoli or there is a group of you it may be better value (if that is a key driver) to do it yourself

[spearmint]

Hi uktog. I went to the search label at the top of the page and put in your name, and threads that you have started and found this for which I have been looking. Thanks so much for the write-up and for bumping up the other post that you did. I appreciate it. :D

[smvthecpa]

Hi,

 

I'll be on the Constellation out of Dover on 29July. I booked Den-Rus in the 2nd day in St. Pete, morning at catherine's palace, afternoon at the Hermitage.

Do you know anyone, or can you give me their email address of people that used Den-Rus while at st. pete? Thanks.

[RickT]

Hi,

 

I'll be on the Constellation out of Dover on 29July. I booked Den-Rus in the 2nd day in St. Pete, morning at catherine's palace, afternoon at the Hermitage.

Do you know anyone, or can you give me their email address of people that used Den-Rus while at st. pete? Thanks.

 

 

Greetings, I just booked the Connie for 7/29 as well. Am looking for other people to share in a tour. If you're interested or looking for people please let me know. My e-mail is tordon"at"travel-net.com. I've been surfing the boards for details on Denrus and Red October and there are lots of posts to be found on the Baltic port board.

 

 

To UKTOG, many thanks for the posts. Looking forward to this cruise and thank you for the tips about what you did in port.