Just Back from Crown Princess N Europe: Ship Tips and Port Info

[HRHMadonna]

We've just returned from the Crown Princess 10-day Northern European cruise....Had a fabulous time & thought we'd share some tips and info to help others with their planning.

General Tips:

John Lawrence (retired Princess cruise director) port talks are a “must see…must hear” – very informative & entertaining. Most helpful in planning your days on shore.

 

St. Petersburg Private Tour Companies: Good news! No problems getting off the ship in St. Pete for those with DenRus, RO, Alla, etc..

 

Shows: Go early to all shows for seating…This applies to the Princess Theatre, Club Fusion & Explorers Lounge. Loved the Princess Singers & Dancers!

 

Anytime Dining: Go early or late to avoid a wait. Between 6:45 and 7:15 expect to wait about 30 minutes. Note: We normally prefer traditional late seating, but with such a port intensive tour, we were really glad that we had more flexibility in dining times.

 

Senior Citizen rates: Some transportation cards and nearly all the museums had special rates for seniors.

 

Currency Conversion: Machines located near Pursers Desk were available for changing US $ into local currencies. $3.50 service fee plus conversion rate was not the best, but they were very convenient and we saved time by not having to search for ATM’s on shore each AM. We converted very little…Usually just enough to purchase transportation cards or bus tickets & a few incidentals…Be sure to read instructions carefully and feed in all your bills BEFORE you press “confirm”. We used credit cards for museums and some shop purchases. Street vendors accepted us $.

 

Cruise Critic Meet & Greet: Check your Princess Patter. The Deputy Cruise Director hosted a Meet & Greet with champagne in the Wheelhouse Bar on the first sea day. This was in addition to the one our CC group planned for Sky Walkers later the same day. But…be forewarned…this ship is so big, you may never see these people again!

 

Ports

Copenhagen:

Arrived 2 days early; stayed at Marriott – great location, lovely hotel & very helpful staff. Used Marriott points; some people got rooms through Priceline for $125.00.

Day 1 Sightseeing: Netto-Badene 1-hour Canal Cruise at Ny Haven (New Harbor) for $6 US – perhaps the best value in all of Denmark!

Rosenborg Castle & Gardens – Very interesting, but no descriptions in English so the descriptions in Rick Steve’s book helped us understand and appreciate the exhibits. Without his book we would have been clueless.

Day 2 Sightseeing: Train (purchased brown card) from Central Station to Fredricksborg Castle(the Versailles of Denmark) in Hellerod. Note: Bus fare from the train station to the castle is included in the train ticket (approx $20 US RT). If time permits, you might take the train on to Helsignor to see Kronbor Castle (the Hamlet castle). We opted to return to Copenhagen for an evening at Tivoli Gardens ($18 US).

 

Day 3 Sightseeing:

Richard Karpen had not yet started his tours for the season, so we did our own walking tour: City Hall, Stroget Shopping, Round Tower, Amalienborg Palace, Resistance Museum, Little Mermaid and took ferry back to the Marriott.

 

Embarkation: Cab to ship at 4 PM approx. $30 US (credit card); No lines, boarded immediately. Muster drill at 5:15 PM

 

Stockholm:

Don’t miss the amazing scenery arriving and departing port!

$10 US RT Princess Shuttle to town. Note: Regular drop off is at Opera House, but driver was willing to drop us off at the Vasa since so many people were going there.

The plan was to take the ferry back to Gamla Stan, but the ferries were on strike so we walked. Toured the Nobel Prize Museum, walked through castle area but Royal Apts were closed. Planned to tour City Hall, but just missed the last English tour of the day. Note: Check tour times so you can plan accordingly. English tours were at 11 & 2 in May.

 

Helsinki:

Purchased 1 day tourist ticket for 6 Euros from bus driver at dock…Bus #14B or bus # 16 will get you to the City Center. Pass was also good on the 3T Trams and the ferry to Soumilena Fortress.

3T Tram to Round Church

3T Tram to Silbilius Monument

3T Tram back to port area & ferry RT to Soumilena Island

Back in port area: Uspenski Cathederal, Luthern Cathedral, Senate Square, Esplanade, Market Square, Stockmann Dept. Store.

 

St. Petersburg:

DenRus 2-day Value Tour St Petersburg: Wonderful! 13 people on a very comfortable AC van. No problems at all getting off the ship early to meet our guide.

 

Local Entertainers in Princess Theater: Outstanding Russian dancers & singers. We were glad we passed on the evening folkloric show back in town because we had such long sight-seeing days. However, it should be noted that those who went into town gave that show very positive reviews too.

 

Tallinn:

Short walk from cruise ship. We used Rick Steve’s Walking Tour for Old Town. Be sure to walk all the way to the top. Lovely! Wear comfortable shoes….the cobble stones are not your friends. Note there is a small shopping center with souvenirs and a small grocery about 3 blocks from the ship.

 

Gdansk:

We booked Princess’ Gdansk on Your Own for $35 & did our own walking tour and exploration of Gdansk. The drive into town was narrated and on our return we had a photo stop at the Solidarity Monument. We opted to go through the cruise ship because we had read other reviews about traffic and difficulty getting cabs back to the ship…We figured this way the ship would not leave without us. Special treat: beer & perogies at sidewalk café on the main street of Old Town! Also: Gdansk seemed to have the best prices & selections of amber.

 

Oslo:

Your arrival & departure will be through some very scenic channels – not to be missed!

We purchased a transportation card (approx. $6 US – but you will need local currency) from a kiosk at the bus stop near the Nobel Prize Museum in the port area…This was good for the bus as well as the ferries to & from the museums on the island.

We got off the ship at 7 AM and took a bus directly to Frogner Sculpture Park; it is open 24 hrs. – Amazing sculpture! You might as well go there first because most of the museums do not open until 9 or later. Took the bus back into port area /City Center and took ferry over to Viking Museum & walked to Kon-Tiki and the Fram Museums. There is another ferry stop just outside the Fram which we took back to the mainland. Walked to Nobel Peace Prize Museum, Karl Johan’s Gate, Parliament, Palace & some souvenir shops – all near the ship.

 

Disembarkation:

We had an 11 AM flight out of CPH, so we “self-carried” our luggage off the ship at 7 AM. Absolutely no wait at all for a cab for 4 to the airport – approx 300 DKK or $60 US. Note: Our driver to the ship had cautioned us that waits for cabs could be as long as 45 min. to an hour as they got in to the morning rush hour, so plan to beat the rush if time is a concern.

 

The Crown Princess is a beautiful ship…we had wonderful service & a wonderful time! My only complaint was the size of the ship….After last year’s cruise on the very intimate & friendly Tahitian princess, this ship was just too big for us! Now we need to book another cruise to recover from this one!

 

PS Don’t forget your swimsuits….The hot tubs were good & hot and great therapy after a day walking on cobblestones!

 

PPS Yes….Do believe everything you hear about the weak dollar & prices in Europe! A Big Mac Meal really does cost $16 US. And the charge for that small bottle of water in your Marriott room really is $9 US.

 

Bon Voyage!

[nabby]

Thank you so much! We are really looking forward to this cruise in August.

[lhall85917]

Thank you for the info, we leave this weekend for our Baltic cruise. Our plan is to do the Blue Netto canal cruise in Copenhagen. From what I've seen they don't accept credit cards but will take euros - is this correct? Is that what you used to pay for this?

 

thanks:)

[HRHMadonna]

We paid for the Netto Canal Cruise in Danish Kroner....Crowns.

 

Denmark is not on the Euro, but some places....including some cab drivers...would accept Euros, but I just don't know if the Netto Canal Cruise would have accepted Euros.

[recia]

HRHMadonna

Great information we are on the 8/28 Crown. where in KY are you from. we live in northern KY.

[westcoastmom]

Thank you so much for posting. We are leaving for CPH in three days, can't wait. Can you update us on the weather? Thanks again.

[Danish viking]

The weather is very good at the moment with around 25. Celsius.

 

Here are the forecast for Copenhagen until next wednesday.

 

http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/index/danmark/byvejr_danmark.htm?by=1000

[melos]

Great tips! Where did you get cash in Oslo? Was there an ATM close by?

[HRHMadonna]

Attn: Recia

We live in Lexington

 

Attn: Westcoastmom

Our weather was fantastic....Sunny and high fifties to mid-60's. Surprisingly Oslo was our warmest port....so you never know!

Your best source for the latest weather info is www.weather.com

You can get a 10-day forecast and also a chart that shows average highs & lows for each month.

 

As far as dressing for the weather, I suggest dressing in layers....especially because it is likely to be cool when getting off the boat early in the mornings but by noon you might need to shed a layer.

 

Attn: Melos

We used the change machine on the boat near the Purser's Desk...$3.50 service charge and not the best exchange rate, but very convenient & saved time. If you prefer to use an ATM on shore, John Lawrence usually gave directions to some in his port talks.

 

Hope this helps.

[breakiron]

Since everything appears to be so expensive in the Baltics here are a few suggestions, I was on the Star Princess last year. In Olso the art museum is FREE and has the portrait the "SCREAM" along with a few Picasso's, ect. and is in walking distance of the ship. The scupture park is also free but you'll probably have to pay for transportation. Gdanks has the lowest prices for beer by far. The crystal last year I thought was a good bargain at the shops in Poland. I purchased a set of 6, hand cut crystal wine glasses for about $75, give or take a few dollars, the hardest part was getting them home all in one piece. One thing I found very convenient on the way home is the Princess transfer when debarking. I paid I believe $40. When they take your bags from the hallway the night before you don't see them until you get to the airport. At the airport Princess has their own checkin which is much easier. My suitcase weighed 28 kilos on the way back and I was fortunate enough where I didn't have to pay a fee for the extra weight, somebody was nice to me. Good luck and enjoy, the Baltic cruise is probably my best so far. Ken...

[Colo Cruiser]

Excellent review, thanks. :)

[roley]

Thank you for the info, we leave this weekend for our Baltic cruise. Our plan is to do the Blue Netto canal cruise in Copenhagen. From what I've seen they don't accept credit cards but will take euros - is this correct? Is that what you used to pay for this?

 

thanks:)

Hi try www.havnerundfart.dk this is the site for Blue netto it costs 5 euro for the trip and it tells you where it starts etc we are going on them in June hope this helps Gill