HAL Rotterdam - Treasures of Scandinavia & Russia

[Mum&Me]

Mum and I have returned from the June 22nd sailing of the Baltic, and would love to share our photos and answer questions any one of you might have on this particular itinerary -

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/jyw_2006

 

Can't thank everyone on this board enough for the insight given prior to boarding the cruise...

[Carol1e]

Hello: I've never posted on anything before so hope I do this right. Anyway, we are going on the Rotterdam, same cruise as you, on August 9th. I have lots of questions and would love to call you if you wouldn't mind. First, how's the weather? I can't decide what to take & don't want to take too many clothes but my niece just got back from Copenhagen and said it was kinda cool so there go the shorts. Did you take a ship's tour or an independent tour of St. Petersburg? I am trying to arrange a tour with Denrus but don't want to pay so much for two people but don't know how to find anyone else to go. We only have two weeks before leaving (staying in Copenhagen for two days before cruise & I feel very rushed. This is a last minute decision for us & am trying to do a lot of research in a short time. Was there any time for a bathing suit -- the itinerary looks crowded. How about money? What did you do in each port -- pay with credit card, American dollars or if you changed into their currency, where?

 

Anything else you can think of would be appreciated. Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

 

Carole

cbat42@aol.com

[readinglady]

We just got back yesterday from the Vikings and Czars Rotterdam cruise. It's the same itinerary in reverse. The weather was very warm in every port. We took our kids and they had time to swim, except for the days in Berlin and St. Petersburg. The sea days are great for that and the afternoons after visiting the smaller ports. We had the 8:00 seating, so we could swim late into the day. We took the ship's tours in St. Petersburg and Berlin. We had no complaints....our groups had 30 people and we saw everything we wanted to. As far as money goes, St. Petersburg takes American dollars. We did get euros from our bank before we left. We paid by credit card everywhere we went, but you could get local currency at an ATM in that country. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. We had a wonderful time and all of the port were very exciting. We loved the ship. You will have a great time.

[LI Traveler]

Hi!

 

We just got back from the Viking and Czars cruise as well. We used Red October for St Petersburg and found it to be excellent. Our guide was Dimitri who did a wonderful job. We did not have to wait on any lines and really were offered a private tour at the same price or less than the ship tours.

 

The weather was warm and sunny and we wore shorts most of the time. They are experiencing very warm weather which is a little bit out of the ordinary for that part of the world.

 

We used our charge cards most of the time which worked out well.

 

Have a wonderful vacation.

 

Ann

[brm]

We also just got back from the Rotterdam. It was a great cruise but it was not a place to relax. Too much to do in the ports, especially Berlin and St Petersburg. Sea days were great. Weather was warmer than expected so we did not need any of our jackets.

 

Dollars and Euros were taken in most places. We brought Euros, and currency for Norway, Sweden and Denmark but I did not use too much.

 

We never used any of the cruise tours. We used Red October for St Petersburg. It was expensive for the two of us but well worth it since there was much to see and not enough time. As an aside, the cruise director tried to scare us by saying there was only 2 ways to get off the boat in St Petersburg. Having a visa or buying a Holland America Tour. Of course he was wrong. They let everyone who had a private tour off at about 7:20 in the morning the first day and there must have been at least 50 people. It took us about 20 seconds to get through immigrations and we were off on our wonderful tour.

 

Now all I need is a cure for jet lag

[Carol1e]

Thank you so much for your replies. I had heard that the ship tried to tell you you couldn't get off without being on their tour so it was wonderful to hear that that really happened but you got off anyway. Also the tour for two people is exactly what I was thinking about but I have to admit the price scared me. Denrus says it is $490 each person for a two day tour but it helps to know you think it was worth it. Thanks for the info about the weather, too. I certainly didn't want to pack so many clothes (for warm and cool) but I will take a few of each.

 

How about the dinner wear? Every time I've cruised there were a lot of formal gowns but this time I didn't want to bother packing them. Also, I didn't plan to take any tours in any other port than St. Petersburg -- just do the towns on our own. Does anyone have a different suggestion? I know I'll never get back to the Baltics so I want to see and do all I can.

 

I really appreciate all the help, especially such fast rejoinders. Thanks.

 

 

Carole

[gratefulguy]

Carole1e,

Have you read the review of the July 1, 2006 Celebrity Constellation cruise posted by Boo's Mom? It is full of very good info on some of the ports you'll be going to.

[Mum&Me]

Carole,

 

I've already sent you my contact information via email.

 

The price you had received from DenRus must be for a private tour for we (as well as 18 other cruisers from Rotterdam and Amsterdam combined) took their two-day value tour at $265 pp. The pace was faster than we would've preferred, but I'm glad we got to see all the major sights. Regardless of which tour company you end up choosing, don't miss the boat ride as it was definitely the highlight of those two days. St. Petersburg is truly amazing and you'll love it!

 

Weather is rather unpredictable in the baltic so all I can suggest is to pack and dress in layers. It can be quite warm inside museums as a/c isn't available.

 

Jean

[LKJ]

Wonderful photos of your trip. Enjoyed all the architectural details of the cities. Thanks for sharing MUM & ME. Now, I'm really looking forward to our trip in mid-Aug.

 

Did you do most ports on your own or tours? Would be interested in your itinerary for the ports, for this very interesting trip. It's our 1st Europe trip and ANY tips would be greatly appreciated. Already have St Pete with Den Rus for 3 days.

Would also enjoy knowing what kind of camera you used. Very nice composition of the pictures. Good job!

[brm]

Other than St Petersburg and Berlin, we did the other ports ourselves. Oslo was the easiest since the boat was docked fairly close to town. We bought a one day museum/train/tram pass at the tourist office near the train station (it is open early) and then headed out to the sculpture park and than visited 7 museums during our stay (we moved fast). Arhus was about 15 walk into town. Really not much to see. We went to the outdoor museum and it was okay. Tallin was about 20 minute walk into town. Ship had a bus (for a fee) if you wanted to avoid the walk. We did the Rick Steves walking tour of the old town and we really enjoyed it. Much more interesting than I expected. The boat was way out in Helsinki and I could never find the port on my map. The ship had a shuttle to the center of town for $6 each way. I found a city bus 2 blocks from the ship (#16) and it took us right up the Esplanade. We bought an all day pass on the bus for 6 euros a piece. We spent some time on the 3T tram which circled the city. There was not that much to do in Helsinki. We docked about 25/30 minute walk away in Stockholm so you can see the old city and the harbor in the distance. We walked back and forth but it felt pretty long on a hot day. We had spent 5 days in Stockholm in the 90s so we just strolled the pretty city. Trip ended in Copenhagen where there is lots to do.

 

Some people dressed up on the formal nights. I wore a suit and my wife had some nice suits but never wore formal gowns. If you want to avoid dressing up at all, they served a nice dinner on the Lido deck. We like being served so I did not mind wearing a suit.

[Carol1e]

Thanks, grateful guy, for the mention of the Celebrity cruise. I've never used message boards before but this one has certainly been helpful.

 

Jean, thanks for your phone # -- I'll call you this weekend. I don't know how to get on the roll call thread (someone gave it to me before but I didn't write it down since I didn't realize it would be erased) so I don't know if anyone wants to join our tour. It is expensive for a private tour but so many people seem to think it's worth it. Denrus told us that their value package did not include Catherine's Palace and I very much want to see that. Did anyone who took the 2-day tour also take the evening folklore tour? I've heard it's wonderful but it seems awfully exhausting unless you're young and hardy.

 

Thanks again for all the help.

 

Carole

'

[Mum&Me]

LKJ,

 

The camera I used was Olympus SP-320, nothing at all fancy. You can purchase it from CC for under $200.

 

We did all the ports on our own with the exception of St. Petersburg. It was wonderful to have had three days in Copenhagen and we made exhaustive use of the Copenhagen Card to hit outer sights such as Frederiksborg, Kronborg and Louisiana (museum of modern art). Most of the ports were worth more than a day's visit, especially Stockholm, so do your homework before leaving as to which sights interest you the most. Helsinki and Arhus were our shopping stops b/c there were less attractions to cover, and we found Arhus to offer much better deals, in Danish designed jewelry for example, than Copenhagen.

 

And Carol, I am only in my early 30's, but still found the St. Petersburg 2-day tour tiring, and was grateful to stay in for the night before 2nd day of activities began. :) Half of our dinner table went to the folklore show (but they only took half-day tours with HAL), and enjoyed it immensely. Note to go to the show at Yusopov Palace as there are several choices.

 

Jean

[Mum&Me]

BTW, for those of you that want to opt out of the Berlin tour, Schwerin would be a lovely choice. We took the train to Rostock, then Schwerin (about an hour ride), and toured the castle. It was beautiful strolling around the gardens and we saw a number of couples having their wedding pictures taken. There also happened to be a craft show held right in front of the town hall on the day we visited, and some gorgeous artwork and ceramics were on display and for sale from local artists.

[mmmmm]

We're in our 50s and we did a 2-day tour with Alla and also went to an evening folk dance performance at Nicholas palace. We didn't feel it was too much, especially since we just sat for the performance and it ended at 9, so we were back on the ship and having a late dinner by 9:30. It was a wonderful show (far better than the one on the ship, which they televised later.) They had free champagne, wine or vodka with small appetizers of caviar on bread during intermission. Our only regret was not arranging ahead of time with our tour guide to make time for a snack or light dinner before the show.

[Katy P.]

Mum&me, when you went to Schwerin, were you allowed to take pictures inside the castle? How far was this from ?Warnemunde/ Rostock port? Thanks.:)

[teacherman]

How did you get from the Scwerin station to the castle? How long did the whole trip take from when you left the ship to go to Schwerin and then back to the ship? The cost of ticket? Did you see anything about going from Rostock to the Bad Doberan steam train? Any infor on the Warnemunde stop is appreciated. We leave for Amsterdam this Saturday. Thank you.

[Mum&Me]

Katy P, no pictures in the Schwerin Castle, and there appeared to be staff patroling each room. :) Many photo opportunities in the garden though.

 

teacherman, we walked from the station to the castle, and shopped along the way. I'd say maybe twenty minutes if you were going direct, but it's such fun to just wonder around the town, and we took a good hour right around the town hall area, browsing through the various stores and of course that craft show. We were doing this at a very leisurely pace knowing the ship wasn't going to leave port late that night. All in all, having toured Schwerin and Rostock on the return, we were back on the Rotterdam with plenty of time before our 8:30 dinner seating. Forgive me for not remembering the exact cost of the train ride, but check at www.bahn.de for exact times and fare, think it's around 20 euros. Have a wonderful trip!