Help Needed- Baltic Cruise on Serenade of the Seas

Need some help and figured the is the best place. We're looking at the 7 day cruise out of Copenhagen in mid August on the Serenade but I can not find any concrete reviews. If seems this is a new itinerary for the ship and when I look at other web sites all I see if posts from Caribbean cruises. Has anyone done this cruise and can provide a sound opinion. Also has anyone travelled on the Serenade recently that can also offer advise. Thanks!!

Hi

I ave been looking at this cruise too but after searching the web cannot find any reviews so I am assuming it is new cruise.

We like the sound of the ports and it seems like you are close to all of the sights as soon as you leave the ship, so we have crossed our fingers and booked for 15th August.

Not much help am I :)

We'll be on it for the 5/16/15 cruise - will let you know when we get back...

I agree it must be the first time for this ship's itinerary - I haven't had any luck finding any info about it either. :)

Brilliance of the Seas has been sailing the Baltic route from Harwich for the past few years. Link to reviews

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/brilliance-of-the-seas-baltics-cruises/rs/

Hope this helps ;)

Need some help and figured the is the best place. We're looking at the 7 day cruise out of Copenhagen in mid August on the Serenade but I can not find any concrete reviews. If seems this is a new itinerary for the ship and when I look at other web sites all I see if posts from Caribbean cruises. Has anyone done this cruise and can provide a sound opinion. Also has anyone travelled on the Serenade recently that can also offer advise. Thanks!!

In 2011 and/or 2012, I'm pretty sure the Vision did these 7-day itineraries (starting in Stockholm & then relocating to Copenhagen mid summer I think). If you use the search tool at the top of this page, you should find some reviews and info.

If you're looking for specific ship info, what the ship looks like, restaurants, etc, there are plenty reviews about Serenade. I have one from Sept 2014 in Europe in my signature below... just click on it. I have a full ship photo tour there on embarkation day (I think it starts on page 2 of the review).

As per the previous post, Brilliance has been a regular to these ports for several years so you will be able to find many reviews and suggestions that should help you.

Have a great cruise! :D

The Legend of the Seas did this itinerary this past spring. We were on it in May for the Baltics as the second leg of a b2b with the Norwegian Fjords. It was a great cruise. St. Petersburg was incredible. Tallinn was like going back in time. We missed Finland because of weather issues. If possible spend a few days in Copenhagen if you haven't been there before. It is a fun, easily walkable city with good public transportation.

The only negative I can see with this itinerary is only one day in St Petersburg. I've done the 12 night on Jewel out of Harwich and it was amazing.

Subscribing - my husband and I are looking at the same sailing of the Serenade.

Are you looking for help with the ship or the itinerary? There's a ton of information on the Baltic forum from people who have done similar itineraries with other cruise lines, and if you have any itinerary questions they'd be happy to help.

If you do have only one day in St. Petersburg, I would strongly suggest contacting the private tour companies to arrange a private tour of the city. It's more expensive than a small group tour, but you have very limited time in an amazing city and a private tour will allow you to see many of the sites in one day. We booked a private tours since we were traveling with a 3 year old, and on the first day we were able to see Catherine's Palace, the gardens of Peterhof, the Church on the Spilled Blood, the Palace Square, ride on the metro, eat at stolle's (they have great meat pies), visit the Palace Square and take a canal tour of the city. We were moving very quickly so my son didn't get bored, but I'd imagine they would move a private tour with only one day in St. Petersburg very quickly too. With only one day, you should choose exactly which of the amazing sites in St. Petersburg are most important to you and send the list to your tour guide ahead of time so they can arrange an itinerary that will minimize travel time and allow you to see as much as possible in the city. If you are visiting the Hermitage, please also look at a guidebook to see which works of art or artistic periods you'd like to focus on so you can make the most of your visit.

Does RC allow suite or Diamond status passengers to disembark first? The lines to get through immigration in St. Petersburg are brutal; this is one stop where it might be worth it for cruisers to either choose to book a line they have status with if it allows them priority disembarkation, or book a suite if that will grant them priority disembarkation. Or passengers can choose a cruise with 2 days in St. Petersburg and disembark later (about 10 am) on the first day to avoid substantial lines (Russian customs very thoroughly examine everyone's paperwork on the first day, and things are much calmer and faster on subsequent disembarkation.)

Hi

I ave been looking at this cruise too but after searching the web cannot find any reviews so I am assuming it is new cruise.

We like the sound of the ports and it seems like you are close to all of the sights as soon as you leave the ship, so we have crossed our fingers and booked for 15th August.

Not much help am I :)

We're booked on that one as well. So excited! :D

Sounds awesome! Of those ports, I have only visited Talinn in the past, and loved it. The Old Town area is fantastic, lots of shops and restaurants, and a very short cab ride from the port. A place called Beer House was a particular favorite of ours (we were there for a few days). Check out the Kiek in de Kok museum (yes, it's pronounced exactly like it looks!:D) if for no other reason than to get the obligatory picture in front of the sign.