Answering questions about our Baltic trip

[dance4fun]

We posted a long review of the 7/15 Emerald Princess sailing in the Baltic, including wording quoted from the Princess Patter about tours in St. Petersburg, reviews of the various tours, and more. We will answer questions here for the next several days.

 

DenRus was fabulous, the custom tour was great, organization wonderful, as was the handling of our limited mobility issue in St. Petersburg was great. One thing not mentioned in the review is that one of our party had read and spoken Russian as a child, but not much in the several decades as an adult. The tour guide (Elvira) made a fun game of asking him to read signs to her and interpret them for us. He had a lot of fun and by the end of a long day, had started to remember quite a bit.

 

Here's the link to our review

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=56851

 

Any questions, please ask.

[Twaincruisers]

Thanks for the review. We are on the Emerald Princess Sept. 13 and I'm not looking forward to trying to get off in St Petersburg!

[acruisinprincess]

We are booked on Emerald for Sept. 13 and also staying at Scandic Copenhagen.

 

Hopefully we have 3 nights at Scandic and hope we don't experience the problems with the room conditions. We are booked in Superior Room and hopefully September will be okay. Any other problems with the hotel? It looks very nice of their website.

 

We booked the private vans through Princess because we have a group of 14 people and each van holds up to 8 guests. Did you hear any comments of those in Princess private vans?

 

Your comments are wonderful and very comprehensive.

 

Thank you,

[MikeJennings]

Dance4fun,

Thank you for taking the time to post your experiences, and to answer any questions. I enjoyed reading your review.

My wife and I are leaving on a 12 night Baltic tour on HAL Rotterdam two weeks from today. We have never been to Europe.

My first (of many) questions concerns packing. I know from previous experiences that when coming home from a vacation, there are usually "I wish I had known...next time, I will do such and such differently". I know that everyone says to pack lightly, and wear layers, but while it is still relatively fresh on your mind, can you give this mid-50's Tennessee couple some detailed guidance as to how many shirts, pants, shorts, sweaters, SHOES (for her!!), etc. are really necessary. Hopefully, this will keep things at least manageable for the next two weeks around our household.

Also, do we need a converter for the electrical outlets when not on the ship?

Any other tips that you can offer us will be most appreciated!

Thank you again for all of your help!

[dance4fun]

We are booked on Emerald for Sept. 13 and also staying at Scandic Copenhagen.

 

Hopefully we have 3 nights at Scandic and hope we don't experience the problems with the room conditions. We are booked in Superior Room and hopefully September will be okay. Any other problems with the hotel? It looks very nice of their website.

 

We booked the private vans through Princess because we have a group of 14 people and each van holds up to 8 guests. Did you hear any comments of those in Princess private vans?

 

Your comments are wonderful and very comprehensive.

 

Thank you,

 

We too were in a superior room. If the room does not feel cool, do not accept their lack of coming to the room to check it out. One issue we had was that we spent all day sightseeing so that we were not there when the day shift people were there. As the review points out, we were out till 7:30 PM in Tivoli the first night. The other issue is that we pre-paid, non-refundable. Do not eat dinner there. Food was OK, but not worth the time it took from our night. The hotel is very near Tivoli, etc. It was a shame the service that we received.

 

Heard no comments about Princess private vans. We paid about $500 for each couple to have the DenRus private van (so it came to about 1000 USD for the extend day - 7:30 am to 7:30 pm including the wheelchair.) plus tip. We tipped well because fo the help we received. I think the all day 8 hrs on Princess was 1000 USD

 

Hope you have a good time.

[dance4fun]

Dance4fun,

Thank you for taking the time to post your experiences, and to answer any questions. I enjoyed reading your review.

My wife and I are leaving on a 12 night Baltic tour on HAL Rotterdam two weeks from today. We have never been to Europe.

My first (of many) questions concerns packing. I know from previous experiences that when coming home from a vacation, there are usually "I wish I had known...next time, I will do such and such differently". I know that everyone says to pack lightly, and wear layers, but while it is still relatively fresh on your mind, can you give this mid-50's Tennessee couple some detailed guidance as to how many shirts, pants, shorts, sweaters, SHOES (for her!!), etc. are really necessary. Hopefully, this will keep things at least manageable for the next two weeks around our household.

Also, do we need a converter for the electrical outlets when not on the ship?

Any other tips that you can offer us will be most appreciated!

Thank you again for all of your help!

 

The first thing is that Princess runs a special for all the clothes that you can stuff in a bag for 20 USD. The second fact is that Princess does have washer dryers for fee (I think about $2) that passengers can use. We use the $20 laundry bag to wash things like underwear, t shirts, socks, etc in middle of the trip. So cut the number of days in about half if you can use that option. Ask about it on the HAL board.

 

We too are in our fifties and like to dress more formally at night. We dress much more formally than 80% of the ship so consider that when you read this.

 

She had a different formal dress for each formal night, and different party dress or classy pants suits for each other night (even the causal nights). From our screen name, you might figure we like to dance. Since we do, she is relucant to wear the same dress for two nights since we are often on the dance floor with limited number of other people.. The one thing that she has done is cut down on the number of SHOES with matching Handbags. (Big grin) When we first started cruising, we went to Alaska. She had 14 different pairs of dancing shoes to go with gowns and the matching hand bags. Now, the handbags stay at home except for one small white and one small black bag. Her essentials (lipstick, small camera, etc) slide into the inside of my coat jacket. That means every night I have either a tux, suit or sports jacket on. with respect to shoes, she brings several danceable shoes, along with sneakers and sandals for casual wear in ports. There is always at least one spare pair of shoes in case a heel snaps while dancing. Nothing worse than having music and no high heel shoes!

 

For two weeks, I had one tux but with two shirts and two ties, two suits with long sleeve shirts, one sports coat with short sleeve shirts and several ties, couple of pairs of dockers, two pairs of jeans for all the ports, two pairs of shorts, several of polo shirts and a couple of button casual shirts. On the flight I had on another pair of loose dockers and a business casual dress shirt (wore the sneakers). I basically had an outfit for touring during the day (one of several polo shirts, jeans) and a different outfit for night (tux, suit, sports coat) Shoes for me - black pair and brown pair with leather soles to dance, tux shoes, and sneakers. No casual shoes for me - either sneakers, barefoot for going to pool, or shoes that can dance. You probably can cut out at least one suit and one pair of dress shoes. We had Goretex shells for rain and wind breakers. She had a sweater. I had a long sleeve cotton shirt as a layer I never used.

One bathng suit each, but the pool is not a big draw for us. (Hot tub to soak feet is)

 

Note that my wife does write out day by day before the trip what outfit she plans to wear and auditions her clothing to make the final decisions. We travel heavier than most. For the two weeks, we each had two large suitcases that weighed in at 30 lbs, each had a roll-along that met the carry-on size ( which is small - 9x4x14 or so check the airline web site), and a personal item ( backpack with computer, cameras, iPod and speakers - we bring our own music - though that could have been left off this trip due to the extended time on tours.) She carries a bag that gets stuff with gifts that we do not want to check thru on the way home.

 

Since we carry more clothing than most, we bring wire hangers in the suitcases from the cleaners. If we get pressed for room, we sometimes leave the hangers when we return home.

[dance4fun]

Dance4fun,

Thank you for taking the time to post your experiences, and to answer any questions. I enjoyed reading your review.

My wife and I are leaving on a 12 night Baltic tour on HAL Rotterdam two weeks from today. We have never been to Europe.

My first (of many) questions concerns packing. I know from previous experiences that when coming home from a vacation, there are usually "I wish I had known...next time, I will do such and such differently". I know that everyone says to pack lightly, and wear layers, but while it is still relatively fresh on your mind, can you give this mid-50's Tennessee couple some detailed guidance as to how many shirts, pants, shorts, sweaters, SHOES (for her!!), etc. are really necessary. Hopefully, this will keep things at least manageable for the next two weeks around our household.

Also, do we need a converter for the electrical outlets when not on the ship?

Any other tips that you can offer us will be most appreciated!

Thank you again for all of your help!

 

You will need a converter particularly to charge your camera batteries (every night) while not on the ship. Get one that has a high option ( for hair dryers, etc) and a low option - camera batteries, cell phone. Note your converter will probably not accept 3 prong plugs so common (two blades and one ground pin) on things like computers. So factor that in and look at your plugs. We forgo charging computer while not on ship. Make sure you carry the collection of converter adaptors. We used the one marked Northern European adaptor in the Baltic, but you never know.

 

Bring an extension cord for the ship with you. Some people carry a power strip. We find it easier (less bulky) to pack a 6 foot extension cord that has two plugs on one side and one plug on other side (all two blades with a ground pin). This lets us use the ONE plug in the room to charge phone, camera and run computer all at the same time. The plug in the ship will be three prong. The bathroom will likely have just a razor plug. We find the three plugs is sufficient to recharge everything - phone, video camera, camera batteries, computer if you plug something in when you return to the ship and then change the item before going to sleep.

 

Bring at least two battery packs for every camera and plan on charging at night. Bring extra digital media for your camera. My wife loved her new camera and shot over 2100 pictures. We burned pictures to CDs every night using the computer. After some days, it took two CDs for just that days worth of pictures. Carry the extra batteries with you on every excursion; do not leave them on the bus.

[gfranzen]

I've never needed a converter for camera, cell, etc. Most work fine with either 120 or 240 volts. Check the items and see how they are rated. You will need a plug adapter, but that should be all.

[dance4fun]

I've never needed a converter for camera, cell, etc. Most work fine with either 120 or 240 volts. Check the items and see how they are rated. You will need a plug adapter, but that should be all.

 

I agree that many electronics can do 240 and may only need the plug adaptor. Some may require throwing a switch on the device or its charger. Read the owner's guide before plugging it in. Note that while our cell phone charger appeared to indicate that it was charging (little lightening bolt appeared on phone), it did not actually charge the phone (a Blackberry). It is an off brand charger that we use across several different models of phones in the States (the same BB, a different BB, and several Motorola phones).

[dance4fun]

Dance4fun,

Thank you for taking the time to post your experiences, and to answer any questions. I enjoyed reading your review.

My wife and I are leaving on a 12 night Baltic tour on HAL Rotterdam two weeks from today. We have never been to Europe.

My first (of many) questions concerns packing. I know from previous experiences that when coming home from a vacation, there are usually "I wish I had known...next time, I will do such and such differently". I know that everyone says to pack lightly, and wear layers, but while it is still relatively fresh on your mind, can you give this mid-50's Tennessee couple some detailed guidance as to how many shirts, pants, shorts, sweaters, SHOES (for her!!), etc. are really necessary. Hopefully, this will keep things at least manageable for the next two weeks around our household.

Also, do we need a converter for the electrical outlets when not on the ship?

Any other tips that you can offer us will be most appreciated!

Thank you again for all of your help!

 

In addition to the extension cord, bring a couple of highlighters to mark up your daily cruise info sheet. I use one color, DW uses a different color to mark things you want to do on ship.

 

If you want the basic massages from the spa, try to book those ahead of time. The cheap ones sell out first. There will be deals in the spa, but generally you will be on tours on those days. For our person with the injuried back, we had pre-arranged massages on the first sea day and the day after St. Petersburg. (For us, it was Tallinn and that was a half day in port. We arranged for a massage at 2 pm that day) On board, we added one later for the second sea day to relieve some pain.

 

If you do anytime dining, make reservations. We generally looked at the daily news when it came in, decided what time we wanted to be where, considered when our tours ended and made reservations the night before for the next day's dinner.

[loribelle1]

Your review referred to buying some watercolors in Talinn--did you need to use their currency, or were credit cards accepted?

[dance4fun]

Your review referred to buying some watercolors in Talinn--did you need to use their currency, or were credit cards accepted?

 

on the road up the hill to the Upper town from the lower town, there were several street vendors selling their paintings hung on the wall, just like you would find on the fence at Jackson Square in New Orleans. We bought our pictures from one of these vendors. Since they did not take credit cards, we used US Dollars. They also took Euros. While we maybe overpaid the exchange rate, there was no service fee for an exchange and the price in USD was acceptable for the two paintings -- less than we would have paid in New Orleans or at the art space in Lorton VA

 

There were also shops selling similar paintings. We assume that they might take VISA. Every other shop we went into in the Baltic was willing to take VISA.

 

We also grabbed a taxi back to the ship from the center of the lower town. We paid in USD. The taxi did not take credit cards and we quoted a rate prior to getting in. Again it was acceptable to us.

[bobkingdc]

Dance4fun,

 

I saw on another thread that you said you have around 1000 rubles left over from your cruise.

 

My wife and I will be on our Baltic cruise at the beginning of Sept and wanted to see if you would like to sell us your leftover rubles. We live in VA also, in Falls Church. Feel free to email me directly at bobkingdc @ verizon.net.

[dance4fun]

Dance4fun,

 

I saw on another thread that you said you have around 1000 rubles left over from your cruise.

 

My wife and I will be on our Baltic cruise at the beginning of Sept and wanted to see if you would like to sell us your leftover rubles. We live in VA also, in Falls Church. Feel free to email me directly at bobkingdc @ verizon.net.

 

Bob - Thank you for the offer to buy our left over rubles. We actually gave the 1000 Rubles note (USD 31) to one of our grandkids as a gift.

 

We used the ATM in the Hermitage to get rubles for lunch. I believe it was inside to the right side of the entrance we went in. No line at the ATM when we hit it at 2 pm as we left the Hermitage, but we were on a custom tour of just 4 people. Easy to use, English was an option, quick withdrawal options of 1000, 2000 rubles (plus other options that I do not recall). Took no longer to use than any other ATM you are using for the first time (30-45 seconds).

 

 

You are actually close by. I work in the southern portion of Falls Church. Are you on a custom tour or ship tour in St. Petersburg?

[bobkingdc]

Thanks for responding. We are doing a custom tour with an independant guide through Anastasia. We did not like the ship's tours as they are limited and we would not be able to see everything we wanted. Since it is only the 2 of us, it is a little more expensive, but worth it. Tried to find others to join in using the roll call, but it seems most people on the Costa Mediterrania wanted to do their own thing.

 

We have also hired private guides in Tallinn and Gdansk. In Tallinn we will be getting the same walking tour as the ship plus more for less than the cost of the ship's tour. We wanted a guide to ask about the singing revolution and all.

 

For Gdansk, since the ship docks in Gdynia, it is some travel to/from the port and the ship has no tours at all. We wanted a guide to show us around and get their perspective.

[dance4fun]

Thanks for responding. We are doing a custom tour with an independant guide through Anastasia. We did not like the ship's tours as they are limited and we would not be able to see everything we wanted. Since it is only the 2 of us, it is a little more expensive, but worth it. Tried to find others to join in using the roll call, but it seems most people on the Costa Mediterrania wanted to do their own thing.

 

We have also hired private guides in Tallinn and Gdansk. In Tallinn we will be getting the same walking tour as the ship plus more for less than the cost of the ship's tour. We wanted a guide to ask about the singing revolution and all.

 

For Gdansk, since the ship docks in Gdynia, it is some travel to/from the port and the ship has no tours at all. We wanted a guide to show us around and get their perspective.

 

One thing that we were told by our private tour guide in the Hermitage in St. P was that a large tour must follow a specific route through the museum. We were able to go on the route we wanted and back track at times to hit the different rooms / hallways. That way, we could get to everything on our list in the order, but ensuring we hit the high points first.

 

We got interesting comments from the tour guide in Poland about politics and the 1 kilometer long apartment house, but the St. P tour guide, while full of informatin on the cathedrals, art, and other sites, gave very little personal facts or opinions.