First HAL Cruise - Baltic

[soraya]

Hi, I've just booked a cruise with HAL, it's my first HAL cruise having previously cruised with Star Clipper, P&O and Princess. I was wondering what HAL excursions are like. I wasn't keen on some of the excursions with Princess as they were quite busy. I tend to do a mix of things on my own and reserve the ship excursions if I'm worried about getting back from somewhere remote before the ship sails.

I'd really appreciate some info, such as:

1. Has anyone cruised with HAL in the Baltic? Did they provide free shuttles to the ports? What was the Berlin trip like?

2. Is the Westerdaam colour scheme really as bright as the photos?

3. How formal are the formal nights? I always thought I wouldn't enjoy formal nights, but I love to see everyone dressed up.

4. Does anyone have any experience of the SS cabins? Do they have loungers or just chairs on the balconies?

Thanks for you help, Soraya

[RuthC]

I'll jump in on a couple of your questions---

The last couple of years HAL has provided shuttles to town, but there has been a charge in most cases. :(

Feel free to dress to the nines on formal night! Don your best duds, break out your shinest bling, and primp to your heart's content! Many others will too; if you see others not as dressed up, and you start to doubt yourself, just tell yourself "they're underdressed"! :D

My trans-Atlantic in '03 included the Baltic ports, and I consider it a fabulous cruise. It was busy, busy, busy, but well worth the expenditure of energy.
If you are going to be in St. Petersburg I recommend you research Red October for tours. Can't say enough good things about them. They are more expensive than HAL tours, but worth every penny. I think I saw everything that was on every HAL tour---and got personal attention, too! :)

[ekerr19]

The trip to Berlin is long. We opted to stay in Warnemunde and had a great time. Almost everyone else took the train to Berlin, so we pretty much had the ship to ourselves. They got back late - our dining companions said they wished they had passed on the trip. By the time they arrived in Berlin, there was little time to see too much, and they had to turn around and take a long train ride back to the port. The train is not air conditioned and we heard it was a very warm ride.

We had originally booked this excursion through HAL and I know it is expensive. We were able to get credit for it from Shorex when we decided at the last minute that we just weren't up for it. I was a bit disappointed in not seeing Berlin, but in the end we felt Warnemunde was a better choice for us that day.

Perhaps someone else who actually took the Berlin excursion can weigh in here and give more insight.

This is a beautiful cruise, we hope to repeat the itinerary again at some point in the future. St. Petersburg is fantastic. We got Visa's and went out on our own one day and it was quite an adventure. I enjoyed Helisinki, we took the harbor boat tour excursion and it was a really great way to see much of Helsinki.

Hope some of this helps - welcome to HAL. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We did not find the colors on the Westerdam to be bold. The only carpet I didn't like - and it was bold - was on the Lido deck.

We have cruised the Baltic couple of times - once on HAL. We did take the all day train ride to Berlin - it was great. The train was late in getting us back to the ship but with nearly 800 people taking this tour, the ship had no choice but to wait for everyone.

St Petersburg - so much to see and do there. Hope your ship spends a couple of days there.

HAL had shuttles in a couple of ports - we had to pay.

[BenBar1]

We took the Train transfer to Berlin from Warnemuende when we were on the maiden voyage of the Oosterdam to the Baltics. We waited to late to book an excursion, so just were able to book a train transfer. It was very hot (high 80's) and the train was not air conditioned. However, we had never been to Berlin and thought it was an opportunity not to be missed. We arrived in Berlin and had plenty of time to see many of the tourist sites (took the hop on hop off bus around the major tourist attractions, went to the Holocaust Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, walked to the Brandenburg Gate, and strolled down Unter der Linden street. We had lots of time to get back to the train station. It was a bit longer train ride back as we stopped to pick up some people on excursions. I would recommend going to Berlin if you have the chance. Have a wonderful time. The Baltics are great!

[doone]

Did the Baltics a few years back on HAL's Amsterdam. I have to say this is a spectacular itinerary. Be aware, its a very port intensive cruise, but HAL did a great job. We took shorter excursions in each port so that we could enjoy the ship as well as the ports of call. This cruise was my all time favorite so far. You will enjoy it.

HAL did provide us free shuttle buses from the port to downtown in each city we stopped at. We found this to be a great advantage as we heard other passengers from other lines saying they had to pay for these shuttles , HAL offered the shuttles to its guests free.

Have a wonderful time as I know you will.

[whenzuc]

We are on the Westerdam for the Baltic cruise this june. Rather than take the train to Berlin, we have found a private guide that will arrange for a car from port and then the guide will meet us. The car ride is faster from the port than the train from what I have been told. For 4 people, the cost is compariable or less than the guided tour and traintransfer from the ship.

[Pete Jackson]

According to my Atlas, the distance between Warnemuende and Berlin is about 130 miles as the crow flies, so its sort of like doing a round-trip New York-Wilmington in one day. Even assuming that the train is fast, it must need 2.5 hours each way from ship to city. People might well do better financially by sharing a cab and seeing the countryside as well as Berlin, but one would probably need to be good in German (or, perhaps, Turkish!).

Or if Berlin is a priority, one could do it pre or post-cruise. The distance Amsterdam-Berlin is about 300 miles.

[ekerr19]

If I recall correctly, the train ride is longer than 2.5 hours. In Warnemunde, we found that few spoke English, however, most tried and with my four years of High School German, things were easier for us. We enjoyed Warnemunde quite a bit - we also had unseasonably high temps and as I wasn't feeling all that great that morning, we passed on the Berlin train trip.

As doone mentions, it is a very port intensive cruise and not wanting to miss anything, we were constantly on the go.

I like the idea of hiring a private car - I think next time this is what we will consider. With so many pax going on the Berlin excursion, the lines were really long and on our cruise, the excursion did not seem to be well organized, but this was several years ago.

It is still on of my favorite cruises. :)

[localady]

I too elected to stay in Warnemunde rather than going to Berlin during a cruise on an X ship to the Baltic in 2000. I'd just had open heart surgery 3 months earlier and was concerned that the trip to Berlin would be too tiring. We ended up having one of my "best travelling days" as my best friend and I walked thru the wonderful German seaside town having lunch with locals in a street side cafe. It was truly a priceless day.:)

This summer I will recommend to my husband to take a shorter tour to an old town closer to Warnemunde rather than go to Berlin, so we will also have time to explore Warnemunde and possibly enjoy a meal!:cool:

[ekerr19]

I too elected to stay in Warnemunde rather than going to Berlin during a cruise on an X ship to the Baltic in 2000. I'd just had open heart surgery 3 months earlier and was concerned that the trip to Berlin would be too tiring. We ended up having one of my "best travelling days" as my best friend and I walked thru the wonderful German seaside town having lunch with locals in a street side cafe. It was truly a priceless day.:)

This summer I will recommend to my husband to take a shorter tour to an old town closer to Warnemunde rather than go to Berlin, so we will also have time to explore Warnemunde and possibly enjoy a meal!:cool:

Localady - We loved Warnemunde too! DH just fell in love with the charm of the town. We had some of the best bratwurst we've ever had.

We stopped in a small cafe for a "bier" and the locals were so great, they encouraged us to try our beer the local way - with a shot of schnapps - and boy, we had the best time with them! It was truly one of our favorite days of the cruise - and because we had been so much on the go, the nice and leisurely pace was refreshing.

DH knew I was a bit disappointed not going to Berlin, but in the end I enjoyed myself so much. Did you happen to try any of the ice cream sold by the ice cream carts? It was the best...

[SharonN]

We took the Baltic Cruise on the Amsterdam in 2001. We did the Train Trip to Berlin and even though it was a long day we were glad we did it. The Train ride was several hours but that gave us plenty of time to relax on our way and talk with those we shared our compartment. (The "box" meals provided gave plenty of laughs both ways). We had an excellent tour guide who gave us a lot of personal background on the changes before and after the wall came down. We did get back very late but the captain was waiting at the gangway to welcome us all back. I think our cruise was the first time for the Amsterdam in this port and there were lots of people from town watching us pull out that night. If you think you'll have another chance to get to Berlin than this tour may not be worth it for you but we figured we'd do it while we could. We also took the full day tour to Moscow from St. Petersburg, which was an even longer tour but well worth it and something we'll never forget.

Also, we were on the Westerdam just 2 weeks ago and surprisingly found that we loved most of the ship including the colors. Even the purple and yellow of the Piano Bar that seems so bright in the photos is rather subdued in the dim lights on board.

[localady]

EKerr-

Missed the Ice Cream carts last time, will make sure to find them this time!!:cool:

We are very excited about our trip and wish HAL would release the 2005 cruise excursion brochure for the Baltic soon!!:rolleyes:

[soraya]

wow, thanks so much for the info. We might skip the Berli tour as we live in the UK and so can go another time without too much hassle and really focus on the city.

I'm so looking forward to St Petersburg and seeing the ship. Strangely enough, it turned out that one of my colleagues has been on a HAL ship and raved about the food being fanatastic.

Agree that it would be nice if the shore excursion brochure was out though!

Soraya

[Pete Jackson]

Actually, if you go to the HAL website, and click on "Destinations", select Europe and then select the month and ship, you can get a clickable itinerary for the cruise. Then click on each port and get the shore excursions for that port! There is a huge list for Warnemuende, so I guess the staff wants a day off that day. :)

They are in port from 6:00 AM to 10 PM, and so there is still reasonable time in Berlin after the train ride (which they list at 2 3/4 to 3 hours), but endurance is needed! The cost for the train and tour is $299.00, but they now have "signature of excellence" excursions which including renting a 9-passenger minivan for $1300 (includes driver and guide), which allows room for 7 guests. (You still take the train to/fro Berlin). So this can be significantly cheaper if the van is filled! But the number of vans is limited, so I presume that groups will need to form before sailing (wow, I wonder how they can do that!:D).

Happy clicking!

[ekerr19]

I think our cruise was the first time for the Amsterdam in this port and there were lots of people from town watching us pull out that night.

They did this when we arrived and departed too. I heard from someone that it is sort of customary to so this in Warnemunde. :)