Can someone give me a rough idea of costs?

[sns101]

I would LOVE to do the Northern Europe itinerary that several cruise lines offer now, the England-Denmark-Germany-Estonia-St Petersburg one. However, as a family of four we would be spending major bucks on just the airfare and cruise. In order to even decide if it's possible, can someone give me a rough idea of what they spent on port excursions? Visas? Any surprise expenses I should be aware of? Thanks!

[btoohill]

We're doing the Baltics in about a week. So far, we've booked the Denrus 2 day package for St. Petersburg (295 per person, I think), and the excursion to Berlin (365 per person).

We plan to do all other ports on our own using guidebooks and the info we've gleaned from this site.

We will probably eat lunches locally in the ports so that will be an added expense.

The visa for Russia is included in the tour fee for St. Petersburg and no other visas are rquired.

 

So, it really depends on how many excursions you want to sign up for. It's very easy to do most of these ports on your own. In my opinion, the only one where it's probably necessary to arrange for a tour is St. Petersburg.

[GuideDiva]

I would LOVE to do the Northern Europe itinerary that several cruise lines offer now, the England-Denmark-Germany-Estonia-St Petersburg one. However, as a family of four we would be spending major bucks on just the airfare and cruise. In order to even decide if it's possible, can someone give me a rough idea of what they spent on port excursions? Visas? Any surprise expenses I should be aware of? Thanks!

When I went on a cruise I had only a low limit credit card, because it was my first credit card and credit cards are new here in Russia. Because I had little to spare for the ship expenses after the cruise started I found that I could save a lot by avoiding extra services and learning before leaving all I could find about the ports. That way I did not use the ship tours. I was in the Caribbean so everything was sand, water and walking around. Food was low priced there also compared to here or in Scandinavia.

 

You can do that in the Baltic because you do not need visas in any port except St Petersburg. That way you can create your own walking or bus tours in all the ports except St Petersburg. If you book a shore excursion you do not need a visa. About the lowest for a 2 day shore excursion with lots of museums and palaces in St Petersburg is about $270 for adults and about 2/3 that for children.

 

You could get visas and create your own tour using buses and trolleys, and by walking but you will need visas for each family member. Each country charges a different consular fee so check with the Russian consulate in your country to see how much it costs. The Russian consulate in the USA is $100 and European countries charge less. If you study before visiting you can see a lot on your own here, it is a very easy city to find your way around.

The most expensive way to cruise is using on board services like the spa because you do not see the money and it really adds up.

 

To save a lot on flights, see some of the lowest priced flights into Europe to any northern Europe city offered by the many discount small airlines and take the train or bus to the cruise starting port.

Europe advertises very low prices for flights around and to Europe. From Germany to Moscow on GermanWings is advertised at less than 40 euros.

[The Other Tom]

Thanks, GuideDiva. It's always good to hear from a local. I too am interested in cheap airfare from the US to Europe. My cruise leaves from London, but I don't mind flying to another city and transferring to London (actually Dover) if the fare is cheaper. Any ideas of cheap fares to Europe ?

[HeinBloed]

I would LOVE to do the Northern Europe itinerary that several cruise lines offer now, the England-Denmark-Germany-Estonia-St Petersburg one. However, as a family of four we would be spending major bucks on just the airfare and cruise. In order to even decide if it's possible, can someone give me a rough idea of what they spent on port excursions? Visas? Any surprise expenses I should be aware of? Thanks!

 

Berlin you can easily do DIY by train

 

weekend 33 EUR for 5 persons

weekdays approx. 150 EUR for 5 persons

 

St. Petersburg you need to use shore excursion offered by ship or by independent tour operator due to visa. Roughly 100 USD pp.

 

Regarding ship:

 

Check the offer of MSC (Italian company):

 

If you do not mind not having an American company:

 

2 children until 17 yo in parent's stateroom are free-of-charge.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[skandls]

Coming from the USA count on at least one night in a hotel in England - unless you book your air with the cruise line. The dollar is very weak against the pound - getting from the airport to hotel to port will involved some major expenses. I know there are buses and trains that you can look into. Our transportation for 4 adults in a van from Heathrow to Canterbury and then Canterbury to Dover was $420 plus tip. We stayed at a very inexpensive hotel $100 per room included all taxes and continental breakfast. We were far from town and had $50 roundtrip taxi to get to town for dinner.

 

I had intended to stay at a B&B in Dover but we needed 2 rooms and many places were booked even though it was 4 months away. Thats how we ended up in Canterbury.

 

Celebrity charged $10pp for shuttles into many of the ports. A couple were walkable but we saved our energy for touring if there was more than a 15 minute walk to town. People did take food off the ship - but you are not supposed to - due to local regulations.

 

The Scandinavian countries are very doable on your own. The cost of living there is quite high. Count on $30-$40 pp for passes or entry fees and transportation around town. If you are going to Berlin add the cost of the excursion - about $380pp. We opted to stay new the ship and see Rostock and Warnamunde - very charming cities.

 

If you sign up for one of the 'Value' type tours with one of the major St Petersburg tour companies you are looking at $300 or more pp for a 2 day tour.

 

If you need to call or email home ask the crew where they go to buy phone cards and use the internet. Most credit card companies will charge a fee for charges made in other than dollars.

 

I hope this is the kind of info you are looking for. We were on a 14 night starting Jun 30 and ending Jul 14, 2007. This is what we personally found on this trip. We knew it would be an expensive trip.

[sns101]

Thank you all so much. This is exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. We'll take all of that into consideration before we book.

[dog]

Quote from Heinblod: "St. Petersburg you need to use shore excursion offered by ship or by independent tour operator due to visa. Roughly 100 USD pp." quote

 

This year I'd say $245 plus per person for the big groups with an independent tour company or even the ship's value tour in St. Petersburg for the two days.

[ollienbertsmum]

 

This year I'd say $245 plus per person for the big groups with an independent tour company or even the ship's value tour in St. Petersburg for the two days.

 

We have just come back from St Pete. In a party of 16 we paid $320 including lunches for the 2 days. Alla tours gave us a discount of $40 for the children - and since that was 50% of the party it made a difference. This was because she was buying children's entrance tickets for them. We felt that this was good value compared to the ship tours which were about $180 for a whole day tour.

 

We did not buy any other ship tours as we felt that they were overpriced and we hate following groups. With help from our cruise critic friends we have had a great holiday.

 

We went on canal tours, HOHO buses and guide book walks. The kids never listen to the commentary anyway. Where are the shops? is the only question they want answering. We now can locate Mango, H and M and Zara across the Baltic.

 

 

 

We left the ship after a big breakfast and usually came back to the ship for a very late lunch - around 4 ish. That saved money, although we did not get the opportunity to sample local cuisine (apart from the fried fish in the Helsinki market which was fun and reasonably priced). From the number of people eating 'lunch' at the same time as us, it seemed that lots do the same thing.

 

I had bought guide books of every port we visited, but the tourism of each city also supplied helpful maps as we were leaving the ship. I hate the ship maps, they never seem to have enough street names.

 

All of the Baltic ports are doable on your own, the most expensive port was Copenhagen where we did a canal cruise and the Tivoli gardens with a taxi back. That day must have cost about $100 a person. The other ports were more like $20 - 50 depending on the number of museums we visited.

[The Other Tom]

"We have just come back from St Pete. In a party of 16 we paid $320 including lunches for the 2 days. Alla tours gave us a discount of $40 for the children - and since that was 50% of the party it made a difference. This was because she was buying children's entrance tickets for them. We felt that this was good value compared to the ship tours which were about $180 for a whole day tour.

"

Thanks for the info. I assume you mean the Alla tour cost $320 per adult person (two day tour)? So if you took the tour from the ship , it would be $180 per day, or $360 for two days ?

[Peregrina651]

"We have just come back from St Pete. In a party of 16 we paid $320 including lunches for the 2 days. Alla tours gave us a discount of $40 for the children - and since that was 50% of the party it made a difference. This was because she was buying children's entrance tickets for them. We felt that this was good value compared to the ship tours which were about $180 for a whole day tour.

"

Thanks for the info. I assume you mean the Alla tour cost $320 per adult person (two day tour)? So if you took the tour from the ship , it would be $180 per day, or $360 for two days ?

 

Keep in mind that the tour prices are quoted on a sliding scale depending on the size of the group. For a group of five you are going to pay more per person than for a group of 16, even with a discount for the children. (You could look to sharing with another family with children in order to reduce costs.)

 

Another option to look into is the DenRus value tour. What you lose in flexibilty, you make up in price.

[ollienbertsmum]

"We have just come back from St Pete. In a party of 16 we paid $320 including lunches for the 2 days. Alla tours gave us a discount of $40 for the children - and since that was 50% of the party it made a difference. This was because she was buying children's entrance tickets for them. We felt that this was good value compared to the ship tours which were about $180 for a whole day tour.

"

Thanks for the info. I assume you mean the Alla tour cost $320 per adult person (two day tour)? So if you took the tour from the ship , it would be $180 per day, or $360 for two days ?

 

I have looked through the ship excursion brochure to check prices. The ship does not do exactly what we did - for $320 (which is about the most you would pay in ship tours for 2 full days in St Petersburg) we would have had interesting days, but we would have missed out on several places. To have done what the ship offered we would have had to have chosen between church or hermitage, subway or one of the palaces.

 

You could certainly have spent your time in St Petersburg for less than $320 - using the ship tours and by doing half day tours. I felt that St Petersburg was the point of the holiday and worth the expense.

 

The comment about group size was correct and I think I would have gone for the Denrus Value tour if we had been a smaller group, payment up front in dollars put me off but I would have found a way round it.

 

All in all I think a private excursion is much the best way to tour. I was more than happy with our guide Victoria and our driver Boris who was a hit with the kids. Alla gave an excellent service and I would not hesitate to recommend her.

[dbh62ark]

I would LOVE to do the Northern Europe itinerary that several cruise lines offer now, the England-Denmark-Germany-Estonia-St Petersburg one. However, as a family of four we would be spending major bucks on just the airfare and cruise. In order to even decide if it's possible, can someone give me a rough idea of what they spent on port excursions? Visas? Any surprise expenses I should be aware of? Thanks!

The good news is that although I recommend a private tour (with Denrus) in St. Petersburg at roughly $250 - $300 per person for a 2-day tour, the other ports can be done relatively inexpensively because the ship's dock within easy walking distance (or a cheap taxi ride) from the main sites in the Baltics. The Frommers walking tours for Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and Oslo are great and will give you a lot of history. Entry fees to attractions are fairly reasonable at 10 Euros or less for most. We've cruise the Baltics twice and found that our port costs were much less expensive than in the Med (although there are a number of ways to save costs in the Med if you only want to visit one village per day there). Tallinn is dirt cheap because it's small and compact, and the Rick Steves walking tour covers all the bases there.

 

Happy planning,

Donna

[The Other Tom]

 

I have looked through the ship excursion brochure to check prices. The ship does not do exactly what we did - for $320 (which is about the most you would pay in ship tours for 2 full days in St Petersburg) we would have had interesting days, but we would have missed out on several places. To have done what the ship offered we would have had to have chosen between church or hermitage, subway or one of the palaces.

 

You could certainly have spent your time in St Petersburg for less than $320 - using the ship tours and by doing half day tours. I felt that St Petersburg was the point of the holiday and worth the expense.

 

.

 

Thanks. Even though the private tour is "only" $40 cheaper, that adds up for my wife and me. Now we're talking $80, and we get to see more things with the private tour. Everybody seems to agree that SP is the place to have a guided tour. Thanks again for the insight.

[jbeb]

Thanks, GuideDiva. It's always good to hear from a local. I too am interested in cheap airfare from the US to Europe. My cruise leaves from London, but I don't mind flying to another city and transferring to London (actually Dover) if the fare is cheaper. Any ideas of cheap fares to Europe ?

kayak.com has been a great tool to assist in getting compare prices into and out of Heathrow. It also checks nearby airports for value options. We are cruising the Baltics out of Dover in May on the Carnival Liberty. Mid week quotes on kayak can be less than the prices quoted on the week-ends... go figure?

Jan

[goldenprincess53]

I don't know if this will help you at all, but we spent approx. $2,100 over and above the cost of the cruise and airfare. Here is a breakdown of some of the costs that I can remember:

 

St. Petersburg/Alla Tours (including hydrofoil,lunch, tip) $800/couple

Tallin: Taxi - $30 (for 4), Lunch for 2 - $45 (entrance fee to city hall tower)

Helsinki: Bus and tram, shore excursion to Porvoo in pm - $100 approx. (entrance fee to Olympic Tower)

Stockholm: Taxi to Vasa - $40 (for 4), entrance to Vasa, Palace, Ice Bar, light lunch (hot dog stand, ice cream, cappuchino and pastry)

Copenhagen: Canal ride, Tivoli, Round Tower, Lunch in Nyhaven ($60), Ice Cream (2 times, it was real good in fresh made waffle cones :)

Oslo: Oslo pass (a must have) good for all modes of transportation (bus, tram, ferry) entrances to Vigeland, Viking Museum, Folk Museum, Fram, Kon Tiki, City Hall, Nobel Peace Centre were the ones we went to.

 

I have the receipts for all of them but they are in the local currency. I spent approx. $600 on souvenirs, $800 for St. Petersburg/2 days and approx. $700 on excursions/meals for the remaining 5 ports.

 

Hope this helps.