Live From Emerald June 4 2016 Baltic Heritage

Its foggy outside. Sea state is very minimal right now. Not a really thick fog, not thick enough for the horn to blow, but an overcast marine layer situation with limited visibility and no sun. But the temperature is mild. Not warm, but not freezing cold either.

Judy just came down to have coffee and breakfast. Did not expect to see her this morning as she had a pretty rough night with coughing. Good to see her up and around.

Unlike previous cruises with lots of sea days or cruises just for fun, this was a destination cruise for us. So I’ve not provided a lot of details on what is happening on the ship. That’s because we haven’t sampled much of the night life. Just a few shows here and there, a few entertainers here and there, some dancing, but not much really. Which is what we expected. Up early to tour, down early to catch up on sleep.

And since this is a destination cruise, I want to concentrate on the ports and suggestions for people coming on this cruise later on in the season.

The only Princess tour we took was to Bruges. It was the simple walking tour followed by lots of time on your own. The most interesting part of Bruges is very compact and easily walkable, but mobility impaired people will find the cobblestone streets a challenge for wheels, canes and walkers. The walking tour was great to get an introduction to the town and to map out where things were. Rick Steves’ book is very accurate, but seeing is believing and understanding. When we are in Bruges in a few weeks, we will simply take the DIY shuttle into Bruges. The lot they drop you off in is about ½ mile from the downtown area and no more than 1-2 miles from the furthest point of interest.

You can see the ship from downtown Copenhagen. There was a shuttle bus – not sure the cost – but its walkable from the ship along the wharfs and docks to the downtown area and the palace area. Copenhagen is also a great DIY place as everything is pretty much in a compact area around downtown. One of the best tips our guide gave us was the steeples. If you familiarize yourself with the steeples, you can navigate Copenhagen easily. I would add one corollary to that. From the top deck of the ship you can easily spot and photograph all the steeples. Do that before you leave the ship so that you can gameplan your route. When we return in a few weeks, we will DIY it from the ship, walking along the docks and try to get to the palace in time to see the changing of the guard ceremony.

Stockholm is a mixed bag. Even if the ship docks in the downtown Stockholm, you will have to rely on public transport or taxis to get around to the various museums. And they are worth seeing. It’s just not economical to walk unless you stay in the palace area. There are a lot of things to see in the palace area, but after Copenhagen and Bruges, the architecture sort of blends together after a while. The museums are where it’s at. Now if the ship docks in Nynasham, you have to get transport into town. Some caught the train, some booked independent tours, some booked with Princess. The bus or train trip into Stockholm from Nynasham is not a waste of time. The countryside is beautiful and well worth seeing. Not only that but the ship will stay later when docked in Nynasham, and dock earlier.

Tallinn is easily doable DIY. The upper and lower towns are just not that big and it’s an easy walk from and to the port – about 2 miles to the furthest point. Like Copenhagen, Bruges and Stockholm, the architecture is pretty much the same, although the fortress walls are still present in Tallinn. The big difference is the Russian Orthodox church. Free entry and a good start to the differences between the other types of churches and Russian orthodox. Princess was running a shuttle bus to the downtown area from the dockside, which is a lot closer to the ship than the port gates.

St Petersburg is one you have to arrange a tour for. Don’t bother with the Russian Visa. A tour company will set up an itinerary and a schedule that will maximize what you see over your limited time. The big things to see are just too far apart to do it any other way and the guides get you past the long ques easily and efficiently. Even if you were to come back to St Petersburg on a Land Cruise, unless you plan to spend several days, I would still recommend a guided tour. Bring rubles. Except for credit cards, that will get you the best exchange rate. For me, the highlight was the Peterhof Palace gardens and statuary. For others it was the Hermitage, for others Catherine’s palace. I did enjoy the various churches as well.

The shuttle to the downtown area in Helsinki gets you everything but the rock church – which is well worth seeing. The downtown esplanade, the market, senate square, the docks and wharfs, are all within easy walking distance of the shuttle stop. Once again though, it’s not a walk for mobility impaired persons. The sidewalks are very uneven, the center path of the esplanade is gravel and the area has steep grades. One important note about ATMs – there are none in the Esplanade area. In fact, according to Google, there are only three in the 1 mile around the Esplanade. We ran completely out of Euros in Helsinki. Helsinki also has a public WiFi in the Esplanade area, but none of us could connect at any decent speeds.

Princess ran a shuttle from the port to Gdansk. The drop off was less than ¼ mile from the main gate into the reconstruction zone, but as that reconstruction expands outwards it will be closer. Easily walkable, lots to see and do. Visiting the outlying sites, like the Oliwa Cathedral and the Solidarity Monument, will require public transport or a taxi. The interesting part of Gdansk is that when it is complete, you will be able to see all types of architectures that you would see in Bruges, Copenhagen and Stockholm. One stop sightseeing!

I guess the real key is where would I return to if I had a choice. It would be a tossup between Helsinki and Gdansk. Gdansk for old world charm in its reconstruction, its friendly people and cheap prices, Helsinki if I wanted to do some more active and different things like ballooning, or fishing or hiking in the woods, or boating.

In most ports there were lots of opportunities for Hop On Hop Off busses, lots of taxis and independent tours right off the dock. People were negotiating right and left. I personally am still not that adventurous – maybe next cruise.

Now let’s talk about Alla and the tours we took. First rate. Great service. Really, really good planning and execution to maximize our time in port. I would have liked a bit more free time for lunches and shopping – go figure, me asking for more shopping time – but the time we spent in Tallinn in the Beer House, and in the downtown mall was great. Based on value for the money – 5 stars all the way. Very highly recommended.

And finally, the cruise critic roll call. Even if you just lurk, lurk on the various roll calls, both your specific cruise and the ones prior and after. Some roll calls will be very active, like ours, and provide a host of tips and suggestions, as well as planning tools, like spreadsheets and links, to other reviews and things to do while in port. Go to the meet and greet and get to know the people who will be touring with you. It saved my rear end in Gdansk. John and Wendy, from AUS, and another couple, and I, read the meeting place as at the port gate. The Alla bus actually met the one remaining couple at the ship. Had I not known John and Wendy, I might have missed the tour completely as John went back into the security area, found the bus, and brought them out to us. A lot of us on this roll call booked Alla together and Gary’s tour spreadsheet, plus Karen’s M&G spreadsheet, gave us information to contact one another in case of changes. Plus it was handy to tour with people you know, to keep an eye on each other and each other’s belongings in crowds.

So that’s it from the Emerald on this cruise. My free minutes are pretty much gone now. I’ll pick up with Shogun on the next Live From the Norway cruise on Sunday morning.

Thanks for riding along…

Thank you for all the information - we board on the 2nd July for 7 night Scandanavian Cruise so your advice on Zeebrugge/Brugge and Copenhagen is really useful.

Question regarding Princess shuttles: do you need to pre-book those similar to an excursion, or do you just arrive and pay?

Splendid reviews - thanks so much for sharing your cruise with us!

Brilliant postings, thanks for all the info.

Please could you let me know if they still have the free pub lunch in the Wheelhouse on sea days?

Excellent LIVE! review, thanks for allowing us to sail along with you. I'm looking forward to some of these port stops on our Baltic cruise.

Thank you for taking your time to do the "Live From". Quite a few of us really enjoy following along with you guys!

Charles & Judy, we sure wish that we would have gotten to meet you on the 2-15 H,S&T cruise! But it just wasn't meant to be.

Maybe sometime in the future!

Just Mike & Miss Betty

Charles, thank you so much for the very informative and interesting review of your cruise. I am looking forward to picking it up again for your next leg. Hope Judy is feeling better; such a bummer to be sick and miss out on stuff. If you have time and run into Kelvin, please ask him when he is joining the Ruby. :) Meredith

Thanks ccrain for your 'Live" thread and all the fabulous information. :D I hope your Judy continues to recover at a rapid pace so she's ready for the next cruise.

I also am hoping for a little warmer / better weather than you experienced but will be prepared for the same weather. I'm hoping that a month later than your cruise brings about temps in the high 60's and even some 70's! ;)

Thanks for the great read, re-living my Baltic cruise, May 1st this year! :D Hope all is well, Judy feels better.

Interesting about the weather, future cruisers remember to prepare for it all! I was prepared for everything, thinking May 1-12 could still be chilly. It was opposite, warmer than normal most places we went.

I did not need some things I packed, however, a 20 degree shift in temps, fog, rain, I definitely would have! I certainly didn't expect a sunburn but had one a walking tour in St. Petersburg, close to 70 degrees. I have white hair, quite fine, usually wear a ball cap, I should have purchased one because I forgot mine. Silly of me and an example of what can happen, weather can go either way, beginning of May who would think 70?

Be prepared, layers are definitely best and above all enjoy your cruise.

Question regarding Princess shuttles: do you need to pre-book those similar to an excursion, or do you just arrive and pay?

 

Splendid reviews - thanks so much for sharing your cruise with us!

Only the DIY busses are pre-book, but I bet they have extra space on those as well.

Brilliant postings, thanks for all the info.

 

Please could you let me know if they still have the free pub lunch in the Wheelhouse on sea days?

We didn't try it this cruise but might the next cruise...

Charles, thank you so much for the very informative and interesting review of your cruise. I am looking forward to picking it up again for your next leg. Hope Judy is feeling better; such a bummer to be sick and miss out on stuff. If you have time and run into Kelvin, please ask him when he is joining the Ruby. :) Meredith

He hinted he might be back for the 48 day repo on the Emerald to SYD. Apparently the schedule is still up in the air..

Thanks for the reports, can't wait for the next one.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Its foggy outside. Sea state is very minimal right now. Not a really thick fog, not thick enough for the horn to blow, but an overcast marine layer situation with limited visibility and no sun. But the temperature is mild. Not warm, but not freezing cold either.

 

Judy just came down to have coffee and breakfast. Did not expect to see her this morning as she had a pretty rough night with coughing. Good to see her up and around.

 

Unlike previous cruises with lots of sea days or cruises just for fun, this was a destination cruise for us. So I’ve not provided a lot of details on what is happening on the ship. That’s because we haven’t sampled much of the night life. Just a few shows here and there, a few entertainers here and there, some dancing, but not much really. Which is what we expected. Up early to tour, down early to catch up on sleep.

 

And since this is a destination cruise, I want to concentrate on the ports and suggestions for people coming on this cruise later on in the season.

 

The only Princess tour we took was to Bruges. It was the simple walking tour followed by lots of time on your own. The most interesting part of Bruges is very compact and easily walkable, but mobility impaired people will find the cobblestone streets a challenge for wheels, canes and walkers. The walking tour was great to get an introduction to the town and to map out where things were. Rick Steves’ book is very accurate, but seeing is believing and understanding. When we are in Bruges in a few weeks, we will simply take the DIY shuttle into Bruges. The lot they drop you off in is about ½ mile from the downtown area and no more than 1-2 miles from the furthest point of interest.

 

You can see the ship from downtown Copenhagen. There was a shuttle bus – not sure the cost – but its walkable from the ship along the wharfs and docks to the downtown area and the palace area. Copenhagen is also a great DIY place as everything is pretty much in a compact area around downtown. One of the best tips our guide gave us was the steeples. If you familiarize yourself with the steeples, you can navigate Copenhagen easily. I would add one corollary to that. From the top deck of the ship you can easily spot and photograph all the steeples. Do that before you leave the ship so that you can gameplan your route. When we return in a few weeks, we will DIY it from the ship, walking along the docks and try to get to the palace in time to see the changing of the guard ceremony.

 

Stockholm is a mixed bag. Even if the ship docks in the downtown Stockholm, you will have to rely on public transport or taxis to get around to the various museums. And they are worth seeing. It’s just not economical to walk unless you stay in the palace area. There are a lot of things to see in the palace area, but after Copenhagen and Bruges, the architecture sort of blends together after a while. The museums are where it’s at. Now if the ship docks in Nynasham, you have to get transport into town. Some caught the train, some booked independent tours, some booked with Princess. The bus or train trip into Stockholm from Nynasham is not a waste of time. The countryside is beautiful and well worth seeing. Not only that but the ship will stay later when docked in Nynasham, and dock earlier.

 

Tallinn is easily doable DIY. The upper and lower towns are just not that big and it’s an easy walk from and to the port – about 2 miles to the furthest point. Like Copenhagen, Bruges and Stockholm, the architecture is pretty much the same, although the fortress walls are still present in Tallinn. The big difference is the Russian Orthodox church. Free entry and a good start to the differences between the other types of churches and Russian orthodox. Princess was running a shuttle bus to the downtown area from the dockside, which is a lot closer to the ship than the port gates.

 

St Petersburg is one you have to arrange a tour for. Don’t bother with the Russian Visa. A tour company will set up an itinerary and a schedule that will maximize what you see over your limited time. The big things to see are just too far apart to do it any other way and the guides get you past the long ques easily and efficiently. Even if you were to come back to St Petersburg on a Land Cruise, unless you plan to spend several days, I would still recommend a guided tour. Bring rubles. Except for credit cards, that will get you the best exchange rate. For me, the highlight was the Peterhof Palace gardens and statuary. For others it was the Hermitage, for others Catherine’s palace. I did enjoy the various churches as well.

 

The shuttle to the downtown area in Helsinki gets you everything but the rock church – which is well worth seeing. The downtown esplanade, the market, senate square, the docks and wharfs, are all within easy walking distance of the shuttle stop. Once again though, it’s not a walk for mobility impaired persons. The sidewalks are very uneven, the center path of the esplanade is gravel and the area has steep grades. One important note about ATMs – there are none in the Esplanade area. In fact, according to Google, there are only three in the 1 mile around the Esplanade. We ran completely out of Euros in Helsinki. Helsinki also has a public WiFi in the Esplanade area, but none of us could connect at any decent speeds.

 

Princess ran a shuttle from the port to Gdansk. The drop off was less than ¼ mile from the main gate into the reconstruction zone, but as that reconstruction expands outwards it will be closer. Easily walkable, lots to see and do. Visiting the outlying sites, like the Oliwa Cathedral and the Solidarity Monument, will require public transport or a taxi. The interesting part of Gdansk is that when it is complete, you will be able to see all types of architectures that you would see in Bruges, Copenhagen and Stockholm. One stop sightseeing!

 

I guess the real key is where would I return to if I had a choice. It would be a tossup between Helsinki and Gdansk. Gdansk for old world charm in its reconstruction, its friendly people and cheap prices, Helsinki if I wanted to do some more active and different things like ballooning, or fishing or hiking in the woods, or boating.

 

In most ports there were lots of opportunities for Hop On Hop Off busses, lots of taxis and independent tours right off the dock. People were negotiating right and left. I personally am still not that adventurous – maybe next cruise.

 

Now let’s talk about Alla and the tours we took. First rate. Great service. Really, really good planning and execution to maximize our time in port. I would have liked a bit more free time for lunches and shopping – go figure, me asking for more shopping time – but the time we spent in Tallinn in the Beer House, and in the downtown mall was great. Based on value for the money – 5 stars all the way. Very highly recommended.

 

And finally, the cruise critic roll call. Even if you just lurk, lurk on the various roll calls, both your specific cruise and the ones prior and after. Some roll calls will be very active, like ours, and provide a host of tips and suggestions, as well as planning tools, like spreadsheets and links, to other reviews and things to do while in port. Go to the meet and greet and get to know the people who will be touring with you. It saved my rear end in Gdansk. John and Wendy, from AUS, and another couple, and I, read the meeting place as at the port gate. The Alla bus actually met the one remaining couple at the ship. Had I not known John and Wendy, I might have missed the tour completely as John went back into the security area, found the bus, and brought them out to us. A lot of us on this roll call booked Alla together and Gary’s tour spreadsheet, plus Karen’s M&G spreadsheet, gave us information to contact one another in case of changes. Plus it was handy to tour with people you know, to keep an eye on each other and each other’s belongings in crowds.

 

So that’s it from the Emerald on this cruise. My free minutes are pretty much gone now. I’ll pick up with Shogun on the next Live From the Norway cruise on Sunday morning.

 

Thanks for riding along…

Thank you so much, really informative!

Thank you so much for your review. We are doing this cruise June 2017 on Crown Princess and the information you have provided helps immensely.. We have booked the 2 day Alla St Petersburg Tour and will now look at others to do also.

Happy Cruising :)