Baltics Solo?

[aprildream]

How are the excursions for a solo older lady? I am thinking of the Norwegian Dream on 5/05/2007. I think the ship excursions may be a wiser/safer choice. Has anyone done the Baltics alone?

[gratefulguy]

I took the Celebrity Constellation Baltics cruise this summer and saw many "older" (I'm 62, single, guy) cruisers doing both independent and group sightseeing. St. Pete is the one place you will want a group tour, but a small group (as with Red October, Denrus, or Alla Tours), is more likely to please than the larger group bus tours the ship offers. I took a ship's tour of Tallinn and of Oslo, only because we were there for 5-6-hours instead of a full day. Most of the cities have such good public transport, and offer so much info on the Web, that with a little research, you can get around on your own. That would allow you to pace yourself and enjoy only as much as you feel comfortable doing. If you post to the Roll Call for your sailing, you may find others who would like to join you in some of the places (esp. St. Pete), and thus have the advantage of choosing when to be independent and when to go with the ship's tours.

I can't comment on mobility issues (yet!), but there is a lot of territory to cover, and some places are hilly (Tallinn) and some (St. Pete) have miles of museum, palace and cathedral walking! I enjoyed this cruise/vacation very much, and recommend arriving in London 2 days early, if possible, to allow a recovery from the trip and to sight-see. I'd also advise using a private/small group transfer to and from Dover, so you don't have to lug the luggage! Again, post on CC to find a group.

Happy Cruising

[Cazz]

How are the excursions for a solo older lady? I am thinking of the Norwegian Dream on 5/05/2007. I think the ship excursions may be a wiser/safer choice. Has anyone done the Baltics alone?

 

I was solo on the Marco Polo for 2 weeks in July around the Baltics, not sure if I qualify as an "older lady" but I'm the other side of 50 !?

 

I had a wonderful time, and did a ship excursion for Klaipeda, Gdansk and a StPetes folk evening tour, but everywhere else - Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallin, Riga, Helsinki, I did my own thing after plenty of research. I met up on Roll Call board with a couple from New Zealand and we had a guide and driver in St Petersburg for 2 days.

 

I had the most wonderful time, and would recommend it if you have even the slightest sense of adventure and independence.

 

I researched maps of the docking locations, the hop-on-hop-off busses, the local transport, sights, and had a plan of action for each port that was easy to carry around. The ports I did solo are major cities and safety-wise were no different to any other city - know where you are going and look like you know where you are going and enjoy sitting and watching the world go by when you feel like it!