Is the trip to Moscow and Berlin worth the $$$$$

[smudge's mom]

Will be taking the baltic cruise next July. Noticed a day trip to Moscow and one to Berlin. Both are over $600. Has anyone taken these and would you recommend it?

[Spicey477]

I have never been to either place, or on a Baltic cruise, but I would maybe jump on the day trip to Moscow. It is a lot easier to get to/around Berlin on a trip through Europe than it is to Moscow, geographically and logistically. $600 is pretty steep, but I bet it would be a trip that you would not soon forget!

[Aussie Gal]

When we did our Baltic Cruise in 1999 we had the same dilemma as you on deciding what to do. We ended up doing the Berlin day trip which I am so glad we did. It was well worth the money and I remember our dollar at the time was very low against the U.S.( which it is still except we are used to it now) so that trip probably cost us well over $1000Aud.

 

We deliberated over the Moscow trip and decided against it. Mainly because there had been quite a few Russian plane crashes at the time and we decided not to risk it. I do believe it is a great trip but we were very happy with our two full days in St. Petersburg. There is so much history and places to see in St. Petersburg. Remember it was the capital of Russia for many hundreds of years. Moscow has only been the capital for a short time.

 

Whatever you decide you will enjoy. Berlin was an eye opener as I have never seen so many construction sites in my life. The buildings will all have been built now and it must be a very unusual city with so many different styles of buildings by so many architects.

 

Jennie

[dbeckett]

I haven't been to Berlin so I can't compare the two and I also didn't get to Moscow with Princess (I went in my pre-cruising days). I can't imagine it has changed much but it is worth the trip. There was plenty to see in Moscow. If it was me it would be my choice.

 

Dorothy

[98Charlie]

We lived in Berlin 1969-1971 and have gone back 4 times. Last visit was about 5 years ago.

 

If you are docking at Rostock or Warnemunde you are about 130 miles from Berlin.

 

By car it is less than 2 hours if (notice big if) you are comfortable with driving in Germany. Yes they do drive fast. You will also have to park the car and then get back to where it is parked. Berlin is a big city and they have the nasty habit of changing the names of the streets. Once in Berlin there are a number of tour operators. We have never used them since we know where we want to go and what we want to see. The public transportation is awsome. You can get almost anywhere using the bus and subway systems. (Last visit there were still 2 sets of subways; the U-bahn and the S-bahn)

 

By train from Rostock it is a minimum of 2 hrs 45 minutes and can take up to 3½ hours. You will land at one of the major train stations and again be able to connect to the public system from there. I believe the cost is about 40 Euros per person each direction.

 

Berlin is a beautiful city and, yes, home to many construction sites. If you do go to Berlin you will see food vendors in small stands everywhere. Stop and order a Currywurst mit Darm. It's a grilled sausage with a tomato and paprika/curry powder topping. Difficult to find outside of Berlin.

 

$600 sounds steep to me. Part of the consideration would be what is included. Transportation to and from Berlin, tour admissions, food (one meal or two?), drink (try a Berliner Weisse Rot - pronounced "wrote"), anything else? But, for a once in a life time trip I would recommend getting there.

[Jane110]

I haven't been to Berlin, so offer no opinion on that.

 

I spent 2 weeks in Moscow (DH doing biz there) about 6 years ago and spent 2 days in St. Petersburg last month.

 

St. P is a much more beautiful city than Moscow and 2 days is barely enough to touch the serface. I'd vote to skip Moscow and see 2 days of St. P.

[FredS]

Having been to all 3 cities save your money and do not go to Moscow. It is a big city and is similiar to any big city in the US. Yes, you can go through the Kremlin, and Gum dept store, but if you want to know the history of Russia and see true Russia people spend the days in St. Petersburg. Moscow is totally different from the rest of Russia in the sense that "money" is what moves Moscow. Moscow is a modern city while St. Petersburg shows it's age. Berlin is a major city with all the issues that they face. It did have a great flea market.

[KAJOKG]

We've been to Berlin and Moscow. Berlin just as the wall was coming down and East Berlin still had all the vestiges of the Communist era and Moscow when it was still a Communist regime. I enjoyed both enormously, but times have changed. Berlin is an exciting city and I would go back for sure. We were fascinated by Communist Moscow, but as another poster noted, it is a big city and the fascination of undemocratic regime no longer exists. St. Petersburg is historical and beautiful. Go there.

[KAJOKG]

We've been to Berlin and Moscow, but not on a cruuise. Berlin, just as the wall was coming down and East Berlin still had all the vestiges of the Communist era and Moscow when it was still a Communist regime. I enjoyed both enormously, but times have changed. Berlin is an exciting city and I would go back for sure. We were fascinated by Communist Moscow, but as another poster noted, it is a big city and the fascination of the politics of an undemocratic regime no longer exists. St. Petersburg is historical and beautiful. Go there.

[questor]

We did two full days of touring with Red October in and around St. Petersburg last year and didn't see all that we would have liked to have seen. We had our own driver and guide and got curb to curb service for the most part which maximized our touring time. (We booked for 6 but ended up being 4 - our group was formed using these travel boards and the tour based on other people who had used Red October which was cheaper than the cruise excursions). So unless you feel you have really seen St. Petersburg I would opt not to go to Moscow.

 

Last year was the anniversary of the city and a great deal of money and effort had gone into cleaning buildings, etc. If I ever went back I would be torn between seeing more of St. Petersburg and visiting Moscow (safety is more of an issue in Moscow)

[KAJOKG]

Sorry about the double post!!!!

[jjones]

The ship's train excursion to Berlin was a very long day. Berlin was interesting but we mostly rode around in a bus. Stopped at Brandenburg Gate and at Checkpoint Charlie and Hilton Hotel for buffet lunch. On the Potsdam extension we went to two of Frederick the Great's castles, one only on the outside, one inside. On the train we were given a morning box snack/lunch/? and an afternoon box snack. Neither snack was good. One reason to take the ship's excursion was because it was so long the ship would not leave without us as it might if we were touring independently. I was somewhat disappointed because we had such few stops. Perhaps a land tour would be a better way to visit Berlin.

 

Two days wasn't enough time to see St. Petersburgh, so I skipped Moscow.

 

I hope you have a great time!

[OCruisers]

St.Petersburg: Agree with the above posters! Gosh, there is so much to do and see in St. Petersburg ... never enough time!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[BJS]

We've booked b2b cruises for next summer on the Star Princess so we can go to Moscow and still have 3 days in St. Petersburg. We will also go to Berlin. To go to the Baltics and not go to either Moscow or Berlin was just out of the question for us.

[OCruisers]

Sorry ... also wanted to note that some VERY good friends just returned from one of those "Golden Circle" River Boats from Moscow to St.Pete and they liked St.Petersburg MUCH more............. :)

[smudge's mom]

Thanks for the responses. Looks like it is 50/50.I need to do more reading on options for both stops. Have a year to make up my mind. Again thanks

[kathe]

We recently returned from the Grand and we did not spend any where near $600 to go to Berlin.We docked in Hamburg.The day was very busy and we felt we got our monies worth.Kathe

[98Charlie]

I was just checking the excursions page. The cost is about $600 for two people. Still the excursions listed seemed to be a lot of time riding and little time off of the train/bus/boat (some of the excursions include 30 minutes on the Spree).

 

For $300 two can take the shore excursion train to Berlin. I don't know what current taxi rates are but you could probably hire a taxi for the day, see what you want, eat where you want and spend about the same. A nearly full day on the bus with a buffett and box snack doesn't sound like a great time.

 

I did find a taxi service for Berlin online. Berlin Taxi You may find this helpful.

 

When we lived in Berlin, all taxis were Mercedes Benz. The German laws are very strict with regard to the maintainance of all vehicles including private vehicles. (If you are involved in a fender bender, the car must still be towed to a repair shop, be repaired and inspected before returning to the streets.)

 

You may be able to pick and choose what YOU would like to see for about the same price as a ships tour. You will also have the driver to assist with suggestions.