Travelling with 4yr old on Jewel 12 night Nordic/Baltic cruise.

[model_un]

Hello all!

 

Question to all the parents (and grandparents...) out there:

 

What shore excursions would you suggest for a 4 year old on this cruise?

 

Looking for fun, slightly interactive, limited walking, activities...

 

Many thanks,

 

Fernando

 

p.s. I know... I know... While this may not be the most "kid friendly" itinerary, the cruise was a gift from her Grandma! :)

[crusinmama06]

Hey welcome to the Fam board. :D

 

Which ports are included on the sailing? If you list the ports, maybe someone can give you their experience with it.

[model_un]

Port of call...

 

Olso

Copehagen

Stockholm

Helsinki (will spend my Birthday there)

St. Petersburg

Tallinn

[Essiesmom]

For me, the first step would be to look at the tours the cruise line offers for those ports, print them off if you can. Then head for your local Barnes & Noble/Borders/Books-a-million, etc. and look for the tour books for those countries or cities. In Oslo, we did the city tour that took us to the viking Ship Museum and the park with the Vigeland statues...lots of space there for a child to run around. But we will be in Oslo again this August and plan on using a hop-on, hop-off bus to get around. If we were gong back to Stockholm, I would head for the Vasa Museum again. the Vasa was the Swedish version of the titanic...But she didn't even make it across the harbor before she sank. St. Petersburg, you pretty much have to go with a tour, either from cruise line or another large operator, pre-booked because there are visas involved if you try to go on your own. I think there is a loop bus to see parts of Helsinki...Talinn can involve a lot of walking, as well as Copenhagen. EM

[model_un]

Thanks EM.

 

Indeed I did pick up two cruising in Europe books. But the initial review of some of the cities really don't mention kid friend type activities.

 

I was hoping to hear of any special kid related activities other had done. For instance I understand that in Stockholm there is a nice Children's Museum.

 

In particular... I am interested to here if anyone has been to the Ballet night in St. Petersburg. My daughter has been in ballet classes the last year, so I thought this might be of interest. But others might opine that it is either too long or that the environment (too hot) might not be suitable.

 

Thanks.

[CeleBrat]

We are cruising overseas this summer too--doing the Mediterranean. Did you try posting a question on the EUROPE board. Located under "Ports of Call." Over on the Med board there are lots of previous cruisers who have taken kids, with lots of good tips. I'm sure it's the same for the Baltics.

 

Hope you find some info!

 

CeleBrat

[I&MsMom]

Hi! We (unfortunately) just had to cancel our Baltic cruise due to DH's schedule. :mad: We have a 5 and a 9 year old, and I thought I'd put together a pretty solid plan.

 

We were to visit Copenhagen, Helsinki, Tallinn and St. Petersburg, also. With the exception of St. Pete's, we were doing our own thing in all of the ports. I find this allows us to stay flexible, and take into consideration the children's interests, fatigue level, the weather, etc.

 

Copenhagen: Hans Christian Anderson walking tour and canal boat ride. Lunch in Nyhavn: either the "hot dog" carts or the open faced sandwiches.

 

Helsinki: ferry to Suomellinna (sp?) Island. Explore. Beach time weather permitting, or look into a museum or two - there is a toy museum, among others.

 

Tallinn: Just walk into town and enjoy the atmosphere. This came after Helsinki, and 2 days in St. Pete's, so I thought we'd be too tired for anything too ambitious.

 

St. Petersburg: we arranged a tour with a private guide for just our family. In the Hermitage, we were going to concentrate more on things like the carriages, rather than spend a lot of time looking at paintings. We were going to Catherine's Palace for the Amber Room and Yusopov's Palace. At Peterhof, we weren't going into any of the buildings, but we were going to put bathing suits under the kids clothes so they could enjoy the "surprise" fountains (I was assured this is perfectly acceptable). We were going to take a canal ride and spend some time riding the subway.

 

We, too, were considering the ballet for the same reason as you. At the time we made the arrangements last winter the schedule wasn't available yet - I was only going to consider it if it was a ballet that was something I thought a small child would enjoy. Also, keep in mind that nothing (the Hermitage or the ballet theaters) is air conditioned.

 

Whatever you decide to do, have a really great cruise! :)

[model_un]

A MILLION THANKS I@MSMOM!!!!

 

This is exactly what I wanted to hear.

 

I will look up the toy museam and the like.

 

Question: for the St. Petersburg tour, who were you leaning towards?

 

Many thanks again,

 

FF

[sharktums]

Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Helsinki all have very nice traditional amusement parks as well. Depending on what your four year old is into, those could be a lot of fun!

 

I've done the parks in Copenhagen and Helsinki, so feel free to ask any questions.

[I&MsMom]

A MILLION THANKS I@MSMOM!!!!

 

Question: for the St. Petersburg tour, who were you leaning towards?

 

Many thanks again,

 

FF

 

 

You are very welcome! Glad to know someone may benefit from my research! :p Although, I'm keeping my notes as I DO plan to re-book!! :D

 

We were booked with Anastasia. She was by far the most responsive to my concerns relative to the kids. I learned from our trip last year, where we hired Ekol travel for our two days in Turkey, that having a guide who "gets" kids is huge. While both of our guides in Turkey were great in that they were both incredibly knowledgeable and organized, the one in Istanbul had no children, and apparently very little experience with them. He wasn't able to be very flexible when it was clear the kids had been standing still listening to him speak long enough, and I felt bad cutting him short because I didn't want to seem rude, but OTOH DD was 4 at the time, and really not all that interested in every minute detail of ________ (fill in the blank!) The previous day in Ephesus, we had a guide with a grown son, and she was much better at keeping to the high points and understanding that we were OK with something less than her full narrative tour. She was patient in allowing the kids to poke around and explore, and she was great with answering their questions in a way they could easily comprehend.

 

I also found Anastasia a little more flexible and understanding when it came to lunch choices - we didn't want a touristy place - DH really likes trying the "local" choices, and Anastasia was very accommodating in this respect.

 

Although we eventually decided to go with Anastasia, I will say that if she had been unavailable for some reason, I would have confidently booked with Alla.

 

I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have! Happy planning!!:)

[model_un]

Thanks Shartums and I@MsMom!

 

Sharktums - Copenhagen is covered (friends live nearby) and in Stockholm I found a nice Children's Museaum. But for Helsinki... would be interested if you have any names... Thanks in advance.

 

I@MsMom - About Anastasia... can you send the contact info? Thanks again!

 

Fernando

[I&MsMom]

Anastasia's contact info:

 

Website: http://www.anastasiaworld.com

 

E-mail: anastasiadavidova@yahoo.com

 

Have fun!:)

[model_un]

Many many thanks again.

 

Will write them ASAP!

 

Fernando

 

p.s. promise to write up a review when we get back!

[I&MsMom]

No problem - can't wait to read the review!:)

[kitty9]

You've gotten some very good responses here. Have you considered Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen? It's a wonderful amusement park in the center of downtown Copenhagen. But it's not like any amusement park you've ever seen. It was built in the 1800's and is a wonderland for kids. They have really nice rides and some wonderful food.

 

 

I know you said you have Stockholm covered, but I just have to tell you that a visit to the Vasa Museum is an absolute must. They have an authentic sailing ship, the oldest real ship in the world, built in the 17th Century, on display. Kids love that place.

 

Helsinki is a beautiful city, but to be honest, there's not much for kids. You can do a city tour that includes your basic sightseeing of buildings and other attractions, but as far as really child friendly with lots to do, it's probably the one with the least places of child interests.

 

Oslo is another beautiful city, with tons to attract families. You really need a few days to see it all. But here are a few suggestions. Viking Ship Museum which has actual ships from those days in display. The Kon Tiki Museum which has exhibits from the famed explorer Thor Hyerdahl. Just outside of Oslo is the Holmenkollen Ski Museum and Tower. This is the famous ski jump used for Olympics. Kids love going up to the top of the ski jump. Then there's the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, which focuses on Norway's maritime history.

 

St Petersburg is probably going to be the toughest in terms of a child so young. The tourist sites are not air conditioned and involve lots of walking. I would hire a private tour in that city. I can recommend either Denrus or Red October as companies you can trust. They will tailor a tour specifically for your family. The Hermitage is huge and you can take three days just for that place. It is absolutely amazing and probably my most favorite place in all the Baltic, but it's not particularly interesting for a 4 year old. It's just too big and if you're there in summer, VERY hot and humid inside. No elevators and lots of stairs---well, I should amend that---there is ONE elevator, which usually doesn't work LOL.

 

As for the ballet, I'm not sure where the ballet you're considering is located, but if it's in the Hermitage's ballet theater, just know that you'll have to climb three flights of stairs (and these are not short flights but very wide, slippery stone stairs with lots of them per flight). The theater is small, but with good site lines. No air conditioning and it can get horribly hot and stuffy in the theater. But if you can handle all that, the ballet is beautiful. Our performance lasted 2 1/2 hours.

 

If you want some wonderful handmade items, I recommend the outdoor market across the street from the Church of the Spilled Blood. They have those wonderful nesting dolls, in all sizes and colors, for very reasonable prices. I purchased one that has 18 nesters, for $20. Each doll is handpainted, even the smallest one that's only a quarter of an inch high. You need a magnifying glass to see her face--and the face on even that doll is complete with eyes, nose and mouth---it's extraordinary. I bought a hand carved chess set for $27 and and old Red Army hat for my gentleman friend.

 

You cannot go off on your own in Russia unless you have your own individual visas. If you go with a ship's tour, or with one of the companies I recommended, you won't need an individual visa as either the ship or the tour company will handle that for you. But if you even want to step one foot off the ship on your own, you'll need the visas

[model_un]

Darcie,

 

Thanks a million! This is great.

 

Indeed I an really debating the ballet in St. Pete. 2 1/2 hours might be a bit much for my Gaby.

 

All the other suggestions are most welcome!

 

Thanks,

 

Fernando

[CruisinEurope]

Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Helsinki all have very nice traditional amusement parks as well. Depending on what your four year old is into, those could be a lot of fun!

 

I've done the parks in Copenhagen and Helsinki, so feel free to ask any questions.

 

If anyone is sailing in to Copenhagen - - I live here. I have two little ones - 4 and 6 and we spend our days and weekends looking for "stuff to do".

 

Copenhagen is an AMAZING "city" and can easily be done in a day.

 

You can get a "hop on/hop off" bus tour in the spring/summer that I HIGHLY recommend. You can even get what is called a Copenhagen Card for 24 hours if you are really adventurous. You can use the busses, metro, subways, etc. and really explore this great island. With the card, you get FREE admission in to places like TIVOLI, and lots of great museums and castles.

 

Copenhagen is a "DO NOT SIT ON THE SHIP" experience!