Risk of changes?

[brazilgirl]

I have pretty much decided what I want to do in each port we will visit on our upcoming Baltic cruise. I would like to pre-purchase tickets to certain museums and such in order to avoid standing in long lines with 3 kids...

 

Is this risky , being that itineraries can be changed due to bad weather etc? Has anyone had any experiences with pre-purchasing tickets?

 

Thanks ,

Kim

[phoenix_dream]

Are you talking about purchasing tickets for things on your own? If yes, then I would say you wouldn't want to do that too far ahead of time (as in six months). Itineraries do change, but generally not in the last few months unless there is an unexpected issue like bad weather or civil distruption. If you meant through the ship, then of course there would be no problem

[hylasgirl]

I have pretty much decided what I want to do in each port we will visit on our upcoming Baltic cruise. I would like to pre-purchase tickets to certain museums and such in order to avoid standing in long lines with 3 kids...

 

Is this risky , being that itineraries can be changed due to bad weather etc? Has anyone had any experiences with pre-purchasing tickets?

 

Thanks ,

Kim

 

We have done everything ourselves in Europe a couple of times and never had a problem. I guess it would depend on the port. I would check on the Europe thread and see what ports get changed the most. I know Portofino gets dropped a lot and then head to Genoa instead. We have had a few port changes... not on Celebrity but on RCCL. BUT, we did have plenty of notice for the changes. I would wait until the last moment before making any museum reservations. We have always booked private tours that do not charge until the day of the tour. As far as the Baltics, I am not sure your ports, but we didn't tender once, so I don't think you would skip a port based on weather. I haven't heard of ports getting dropped there. What ship are you on? We pre-arranged a private tour of St. Petersburg with ALLA tours and it was excellent and we didn't have to pre-pay which is HUGE. You can also check the forums on the Trip Advisor to see how far in advance you really SHOULD book the museums and wait until then. That way your risk is lower.

[Cruise Arizona]

Kim,

 

Things can change. I would say it might be worth it if you can use your pre-purchased museum tickets on any day rather than a specific day. If you are locked into a specific day, you may even see about pre-purchasing at the last minute verses your walk up purchase opportunities.

 

You could research the crowds that might be at the museums and research which ones might have long lines and which ones might offer the opportunity to walk up and purchase your ticket.

 

On my last three trips to Europe, which were all either in Nov or March, not the high tourist season of the summer, I never waited in a line for tickets or entrance to a museum. I know its not where you will be going, but some of these museums were popular ones like the Vatican Museum and the Capitoline Museum in Rome. In Barcelona we just walked up and bought our City Museum tickets. The same was the case for the Archeological museum in Tenerife.

 

I'm guessing in high tourist season there might be long lines at places like these or the Louvre in Paris. But is it possible to get more specific crowd flow information about the cities and tourist attractions you'll be visiting on your Baltic cruise.

 

I know you did a Med cruise last year. Are you writing from experience? Did you end up waiting to get into Museums? I know that waiting around is not fun at all, especially with anxious kids. Heck, I waited in line for 6 hour in New Orleans in the 70's to see King Tut, and I can tell you it was not very much fun at all.

 

Do you have a good guide book? I have found that guide books often give details about what is the best time and date to visit a particular museum or site. I would let a good guide book be your guide as to whether or not a repurchase is your best option.

[cvaty]

I have pretty much decided what I want to do in each port we will visit on our upcoming Baltic cruise. I would like to pre-purchase tickets to certain museums and such in order to avoid standing in long lines with 3 kids...

 

Is this risky , being that itineraries can be changed due to bad weather etc? Has anyone had any experiences with pre-purchasing tickets?

 

Thanks ,

Kim

Hi Kim,

such tickets are not that often sold out, I would really wait until up to a couple of weeks.

[brazilgirl]

I did end up skipping things last May due to lines , i.e the Leaning Tower and the Vatican.It was not high season and even so , there were huge lines. I couldn´t waste 2 of my precious port hours in line.

 

I don´t go on the tours through the ship-like to do things on our own.

 

We will be in the Baltics end of June /beginning of July.

 

Am considering purchasing tickets to Anne Frank Museum , Vasa Museum and Tivoli Gardens. Seems Anne Frank always has long lines.

 

I am the queen of guidebboks!!!I have tons!Love to research beforehand.

 

Kim

[cvaty]

I did end up skipping things last May due to lines , i.e the Leaning Tower and the Vatican.It was not high season and even so , there were huge lines. I couldn´t waste 2 of my precious port hours in line.

 

I don´t go on the tours through the ship-like to do things on our own.

 

We will be in the Baltics end of June /beginning of July.

 

Am considering purchasing tickets to Anne Frank Museum , Vasa Museum and Tivoli Gardens. Seems Anne Frank always has long lines.

 

I am the queen of guidebboks!!!I have tons!Love to research beforehand.

 

Kim

You will not have to wait that long for this.