What are the best shore excursions in Northern Europe

[Bayswater travellers]

We are going to cruise in Northern Europe mid September and would be interested to hear from cruisers on Princess about their choices for shore excursions.:)

[Toto2Kansas]

I might suggest you also check the Northern Europe ports of call board located here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=192

 

And check your roll call for this sailing to see what others might have planned. Enjoy!

[alabama ghost]

Are you going to the Baltics, British Isles or elsewhere? If I can, I'll try to help.

[Bayswater travellers]

We are doing the Baltic cruise on Emerald Princess and would appreciate some feedback on what has been on interest. We are interested in the arts and heritage of new places.

[Bayswater travellers]

Thank you. I am new to the message boards so the help is appreciated.

[alabama ghost]

We did this cruise in August 2003 so I'm not sure how accurate some of this information will be, but here goes:

 

Copenhagen - Arrived night before cruise, went to Tivoli for dinner, interesting, kind of an old small Disneyland. Next day went on a Hop On/Hop Off bus then to the ship. Good general idea of what's there.

 

Stockholm - Actually docked in Nynasham, some of our group took the Princess tour which was a bus ride to Stockholm then they did it on their own. After cruise we went to Stockholm and spent 3 days there before leaving for home. Bought 2 day pass for public transportation, then went on a tour via public buses. Really enjoyed the Vasa Museum, huge ship buried for over 300 years. Ate lunch at the Grand Hotel, toured Royal Palace and viewed changing of the guard also the Royal armory.

 

Helsinki - went on Princess highlights tour--about a 3 hour tour to Senate Squaare, Church of the Rock and Sibilius Monument then walked around town.

 

St. Petersburg - Did Princess tours first day - morning Highlights tour and then the Imperial Evening which was a trip to Catherine Palace then to a Russian restaurant with lots of wine, vodka, borsch and lots of food. Evening excursion was wonderful. The second day we rented a van and guide from Princess for 8 people. Fabulous guide, a college history professor. We went to Peterhof, Hermitage, traveled around the city and ate lunch at the Grand Hotel. Zina, our guide, made our trip and this was the best excursion we've ever had.

 

Tallin, Estonia - Did on our own. There was a shuttle to the Old Town, we just walked around town. Very interesting place.

 

Gydnia, Poland - Did Princess tour of Malbork Castle then downtown Gdansk. The castle was very old, lots of climbing/stairs. Weird food at lunch at the castle. Really liked the old town area in Gdansk.

 

Oslo, Norway - Took the Princess tour, Norwegian Adventurer's. Went to three museums and drove through town. I think this is something we could have done on our own.

 

Hope I answered some of your questions. Have a good trip. I apologize for being so wordy!

[travelbug2225]

We are going to cruise in Northern Europe mid September and would be interested to hear from cruisers on Princess about their choices for shore excursions.:)

 

We also booked the Baltic cruise in September. Are you going on Sept 3 or Sept 13 cruise?

[dbh62ark]

Having cruised the Baltics twice, I think the best shore excursions are the private tours (not ship's tours) in St. Petersburg that you can arrange with others on your roll call board. You will see twice as much on a private tour in St. Petersburg than you will on ship's tours.

 

Other than St. Petersburg, the Baltics are really easy to do on your own. English is widely spoken, and mass transportation is great. Also, most of the ports are close to the sites, so it's not like in the Med where the ships dock many miles from Florence in Livorno, in Civitavecchia for Rome, etc. If you buy a book such as Frommers Baltics (under $20 on amazon.com), you'll see suggested itineraries for Stockholm or Helsinki in a day that you can use a start to map out an itinerary for the day to see the sites that are most important to you.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[Elvera]

There are 3 of us and for various reasons can't do a lot of walking. We would like to know about Princess tours that you felt were especially good ones. We are going on the Baltic cruise May 26. Or...can we get a taxi at the terminal that would take us where we want to go? No one ever mentions doing that. We are signed up for the all-day tour to Catharine's palace in St. Petersburg and to go to the Hermitage the next day. Please tell me what tours you have taken and why you liked them:)...or didn't:(.

[Bayswater travellers]

We are sailing on Sept 13

[mascara]

My husband and I are also on this sailing! You should check out the roll-call for this cruise if you haven't already - it's a combined roll-call with the 28 day TA that's also booked starting that day so it's a 2 fer 1 roll call and very active. Many people are arranging tours together (we've done this) via the roll-call board. We learned about a tour in Poland we were interested in from the roll-call group.

 

Toto mentioned the ports of call boards - all cruise lines go to these ports and there is ALL KINDS of information on these ports over there (probably more than you could assimilate). Lots of information from recent travelers, too.

[sunsetbeachgal]

The Vasa museum in Stockholm is one of our all-time favorites. It has been a number of years since we visited St. Petersburg, but we did a tour to the Hermitage that started in the morning BEFORE the museum was open to the general public. You felt like you had the place to yourself and it was magical-if you are art lovers this would be my recommendation, if it is offered.

[Alli Cruiser]

We did this cruise last summer with our two boys:

 

Stockholm: Vasa Museum there was a ferry from the dock (you could pay on board versus waiting in a long line for tickets) we hopped on that and thought the museum was fabulous. We then walked around old town, saw the changing of the guard and walked back to the ship.

 

St. Petersburg: We did the ship's grand two-day tour and then Catherine's Palace in the evening. This was exhausting but enjoyable. If I were to do it again, I'd definitely do a private tour with one of the companies mentioned on the boards here. Being herded in groups for two solid days was a bit much. It rains a lot in St. Petersburg and there were two elderly people who fell at Catherine's Palace when walking on the slippery sidewalk/trails in our group. Fortunately, neither sustained serious injury but one ripped her slacks and I felt badly for them.

 

Talin: Did a Princess tour that involved cycling (very flat and easy) then to old town--beautiful.

 

Poland: Traveling with two teenagers who were museumed out, we took a taxi to Sopot, a beach city and had the driver drop us off at the Grand Hotel (very historic). Sopot was really nice and very inexpensive. The taxi driver came back to get us around 6 hours later and the fee was around $25 each way (again there were four of us so this was very reasonable).

 

Other spots we did our own thing without Princess tours. We also went to the port lectures when offered which were hugely informative.

 

Linda

[msmoger]

We are sailing on Sept 13

 

My husband and I are also on this sailing! You should check out the roll-call for this cruise if you haven't already - it's a combined roll-call with the 28 day TA that's also booked starting that day so it's a 2 fer 1 roll call and very active. Many people are arranging tours together (we've done this) via the roll-call board. We learned about a tour in Poland we were interested in from the roll-call group.

 

Toto mentioned the ports of call boards - all cruise lines go to these ports and there is ALL KINDS of information on these ports over there (probably more than you could assimilate). Lots of information from recent travelers, too.

 

Here's the link for your sailing on 9/13:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=744545

[bubbie617]

I don't know anything about the tours that Princess offers in St. Petersburg, but when we were there with another cruise line, we arranged for a small private tour with DenRus Tours. The other two private companies that are also very good are Red October and Alla. We were a very small group and were able to get into places that the large tour buses can't go. It was very intensive, but we met our tour guide (the same guide and driver both days) very early in the morning and had very full days. It was so worth it.

 

With the private tour companies, they take care of getting the visa necessary to get off the ship. Be sure that if Princess does not do the same, you apply for your visa with plenty of time to spare.

 

The Baltics was the best cruise (and we've done 40+ cruises) that we have ever taken. Have a wonderful time.

[lindy2]

One of our favorite excursions was the Helsinki City Drive and country home visit. The hosts were very friendly and you really got a sense of life in Finland.

[dbh62ark]

There are 3 of us and for various reasons can't do a lot of walking.

When I advised on the Europe and Baltics boards in the past that those with limited mobility might be better off on ship's excursions, I was advised by those with limited mobility that they felt the private tours are better. Many of the ship's excursions require a lot of walking while a private driver can cater to your individual needs, so FYI. And in some European cities large buses are not allowed down many streets while individual vehicles such as the vans driven by private drivers are.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[IBAcruisin]

Here are some we took and can recommend:

 

Cophenhagen - Kronborg Castle, Frederiksborg Castle, Tivili Gardens

 

Stockholm - Ice Bar, Gamla Stan, (took the ferry to the Vasa on our own)

 

Helsiniki - Senate Square, market, Rock Church, Town of Porvoo

 

St. Petersburg - Peterhof (wonderful), The hermitage (early tour before opening), canal tour

 

Warnemunde - Elite Train to Berlin (I ignored reviews an was glad because we had a great day)

[Maksim]

Hi Linda,

 

We are booked on the Emerald Princess, July 25 sailing out of Copenhagen. We were able to organize a private tour through Cruisecritic roll call in St. Petersburg and Berlin with SPB tours. They appear to be responsive and highly recommended. So, these two ports are out of the way. Now in regards to other ports and after reading a lot of different reviews and opinions about shore excursions, I came to conclusion that in Poland it's best to take the ship tour because of the traffic situation and making sure we are back in time. Tallin will be easy on our own. However, I am still debating about Stockholm and Helsinki. Do you know if there are different docking areas for cruise ships that could be closer or further from the city and how easy it is to do it on our own? I try not to use cruise ship tours as much as possible due to large groups and price. Any advise for those two cities and in general? I appreciate your input.

 

Helen.

[fuzzyviews]

Generally my wife and I do not take the ship's tours as we don't like to be with 30-60 people, buses and long wasted time while attempting to see exciting cities

Rather we get a guide, not through the ship but hunting on the Internet or referred by trip advisor or cruise critic boards

We are on Sept. 13-Oct 11 28 days emerald Is that your cruise as well?

we have been many times to Australia and love it there

Steve

[fuzzyviews]

we are 28 days from Sept. 13th emerald Are you on this ?

[Kailyn]

In St. Petersburg I would highly recommend taking a tour that includes the Church on Spilled Blood. Catherine's Palace and Peterhoff are both beautiful, but I was disappointed when I learned that there is pretty much nothing original there and it is all rebuilt. My favorite smaller palace was Yusupov, where Rasputin was killed. But I am more into history! Make sure and grab some real Russian or Georgian food, and try some of the icecream from the street vendors - the one called "Dasha" is a huge favorite.

 

In Helsinki, try to hit the market by the port. In summer it is wonderful, especially the fresh food. It's traditional to grab a little bag of the huge sweet peas and eat them while you walk around. Senate Square and maybe a tour of the homes are also nice.

 

I haven't spent enough time in the other ports to know them well, but I do know those two! Lived in Piter last year and lots of friends in Helsinki.

[Pam in CA]

We are booked on the Emerald Princess, July 25 sailing out of Copenhagen. We were able to organize a private tour through Cruisecritic roll call in St. Petersburg and Berlin with SPB tours. They appear to be responsive and highly recommended. So, these two ports are out of the way.

I can HIGHLY recommend SPB-Tours (http://www.spb-tours.com/flash.html) We used them last summer for St. Peterburg and Berlin, and they were among the best tours I've ever had. My daughter and my sister can't do much walking and they were great about tailoring the tour and allowing them to stay on the bus if they wanted to although they both did the Catherine Palace. Our tour guide was fabulous; spoke excellent English and took us to inexpensive, quick and interesting places for lunch both days. For Berlin, there were 22 of us on a bus for 44 so there was plenty of room. Our tour guide was a woman from CT who'd married a German and she was very helpful. Viktoria Rother runs the tours with help from her husband who lives in Berlin during the tourist season. I can't say enough about them.

[Pam in CA]

In St. Petersburg I would highly recommend taking a tour that includes the Church on Spilled Blood. Catherine's Palace and Peterhoff are both beautiful, but I was disappointed when I learned that there is pretty much nothing original there and it is all rebuilt. My favorite smaller palace was Yusupov, where Rasputin was killed. But I am more into history!

I agree that Yusupov palace was very interesting but the history of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) is pretty well known in that it was destroyed by the Germans during WWII. I learned that in high school over 50 years ago. When you see the photos of what the Germans did, it's awful, sickening. So that you're not "surprised," I strongly advise reading "The 900 Days: the Siege of Leningrad" by Harrison Salisbury (http://www.amazon.com/900-Days-Siege-Leningrad/dp/0306812983/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242788362&sr=1-1)

[Kailyn]

I agree that Yusupov palace was very interesting but the history of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) is pretty well known in that it was destroyed by the Germans during WWII. I learned that in high school over 50 years ago. When you see the photos of what the Germans did, it's awful, sickening. So that you're not "surprised," I strongly advise reading "The 900 Days: the Siege of Leningrad" by Harrison Salisbury (http://www.amazon.com/900-Days-Siege-Leningrad/dp/0306812983/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242788362&sr=1-1)

 

I lived in St. Petersburg last year studying Russian, Russian History, and Economics. I am well aware of the devastation that occurred :rolleyes:. I have seen many of the remnants of the war and siege, Piskaryovskoye Cemetery, and the Museum of the Breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad. I have heard more both in Russian and English than almost anyone you or I know. I WISH that I could recommend even more of the best historical places, but most do not offer public tours or they are very hard to get, like the Museum of Political History and the cemetary. You also have to have a dedicated translator and really should have a basic knowledge of Russian or the alphabet for those.

 

What I MEANT, and what I THOUGHT I conveyed, is that there really is almost nothing in either place that is original. There is a small part of wood floor in one room of Catherine's Palace that is. While they are both absolutely beautiful and worth a visit, I think that anyone who visits them should realize that they are reproductions and not the "real deal".

 

There are a TON of amazing places in Piter that are worth a visit. I could never, ever have enough time there, especially in the White Nights of summer. Like beautiful buildings? Peterhoff, Catherine's Palace, and the Church on Spilled Blood. Like historical places? Peter and Paul Fortress, Yusupov Palace, Chuch on Spilled Blood, Peter's Cabin. Art? The Hermitage and the Russian Museum. Books? Pushkin's Apartment and Nabokov's House. Cathedrals? Smolny is stunning, also St. Issac's and the others mentioned. Like the ballet? The Mariinsky is top notch.