Baltic Cruise Ports Are They Worth The Visit

We have been interested in taking a Baltic cruise that includes such ports a Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Gothenburg etc. From reading many of the posts it seems most of the attention is given to the two day stays in St Petersburg. Are the other ports worth seeing? Are they so similar that once you see one you have seen them all? We would like to explore some of the cities on our own if sites are close. We would also appreciate your comments on the "ships excursions" for the ports other than "must see" SPB.

Thanks,

They are absolutely worth visiting. Each one is covered quite extensively just down the board. All can be done on your own, with some research.

Yes, St. Petersburg is the highlight of the cruise - but please don't discount the other ports. They are not at all similar to one another, and we loved them all. Tallinn especially - what a gem, and easily done on your own. Copenhagen as well.

We have been interested in taking a Baltic cruise that includes such ports a Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Gothenburg etc. From reading many of the posts it seems most of the attention is given to the two day stays in St Petersburg. Are the other ports worth seeing? Are they so similar that once you see one you have seen them all? We would like to explore some of the cities on our own if sites are close. We would also appreciate your comments on the "ships excursions" for the ports other than "must see" SPB.

 

Thanks,

When we booked pour Baltic cruise, It was like a dream come true. Are the other ports worth seeing? We are talking about world capitals here, cities that we have only dreamed about visiting, cities that maybe we have only seen in spy movies, Stockholm, Helsinki, Berlin, Copenhagen.

Please do not take this as insulting, but I can't believe you would think any of these cities are not worth a visit. St Petersburg may well be the jewel, but only because it is in Russia and for many years we weren't able to visit there. For us, Stockholm was our favorite city we visited.

Maybe you are more of a Caribbean type, but a Baltic cruise is so full of history, so full of wonderful castles, Palaces, old walled cities. Each day was a new adventure. If you are just into lying on a beach and chilling out, maybe you wouldn't enjoy a cruise like this, but to be able to visit places we have only dreamed about, was a once in a lifetime event and we loved every minute of it.

And YES, it is very easy to do all the other ports on your own. Just set your mind to it, gather info and off you go.

Cheers

Len

We just returned from a 9 day cruise from Copenhagen that included Warnemunde, Tallin, SPB, Helsinki and Stockholm.

We had 3 days in Copenhagen so we purchased the Copenhagen Card that covered the train ride into the city, metro and bus as well as entry to many of the attractions.

We used Alla Tours for all ports. Once we purchased SPB, the additional cost was reaonable and included entry to attractions in each city. We were very pleased with the itineraries and the guides.

From Warnemunde most people travel to Berlin. I had been there before, so we decided to go to Rostock and Schwerin Castle. The tour used public buses and trams, so you could do this yourself if you are a bit adventurous.

The Old Towns in Tallin, Helsinki and Stockholm are quite close to the port and there were Hop-On Hop-Off buses available from the port parking lots. In Stockholm, you could also use a Hop-On Hop-Off boat.

Yes, well worth visiting. It's a bit like a USA east coast cruise - just because New York gets the publicity, doesn't make Boston, Rhode Island or Charlotte not worth visiting.

SPB gets all the attention on CC because it's a jewel, because it's mysterious to westerners, because of the visa questions.

But on most cruises, each port is in a different country - and each has its own culture & history.

And cruising is very much the way to do it. Unlike the rest of Europe it's not easy by road, not convenient by train, not cheap by air. The travel logistics are kinda like the Caribbean.

JB :)

The ports-of-call on a Baltic cruise provide one of the most diverse itineraries possible! Bruges, Warnemunde (Berlin if you choose), Stockholm, Tallinn, Helsinki, Copenhagen alone would require a lot of travel/planning/time/expense to visit via land, rail or ferries. St. Petersburg is just another jewel in the necklace of fabulous experiences you will find in the other cities visited by your cruiseship!

The countries and cities visited are as different from one another as Alaska is to Brazil. Go with an open mind, do a little research beforehand, and you will have an amazing voyage.

each city is fabulous and very much worth seeing. the cruise is the best way to see this region, although you will want more time in most of the ports. Stockholm and Copenhagen were my favorites, even better than STP, except that STP has the most incredible buildings. this is an intense trip and you will see very many wonderful unique places. there is plenty of attention given to the other ports, just research thru the threads.

each city is fabulous and very much worth seeing. the cruise is the best way to see this region, although you will want more time in most of the ports. Stockholm and Copenhagen were my favorites, even better than STP, except that STP has the most incredible buildings. this is an intense trip and you will see very many wonderful unique places. there is plenty of attention given to the other ports, just research thru the threads.

Thanks for all the comments. The information you have provided will be very helpful with our cruise plans.

Kevin

We looked at exploring the Baltic cities via land and ferries etc--for us a cruise was the most efficient way to explore the region. Every day was a new adventure in fascinating places. It took a long time to plan so as to maximize what to see in each place and we had a fantastic time. We had pre and post cruise days in Copenhagen that allowed us to explore the city and visit Elsinore via train.

I think the Baltic ports are some of the best cruise ports in the world for city sightseeing. The ships often dock very close to the city center, so you can just walk off the ship and start looking around. They also tend to be smaller cities, so you can see a lot more of the highlights in a single port day. Compared to Med. cruises where you dock 1-2 hours from a major sightseeing city like Florence or Rome, I think the Baltic ports fit a cruise visit much better.

As for being overshadowed by SPB, I think it's just that SPB takes a lot more planning. You pretty much have to take a tour and book it in advance. So even if you're taking a ship's excursion, you have to figure out up front what you want to see. That leads to a lot of SPB chatter on this board.

The best part of the other ports is that you can walk off the ship with very little planning and still have a fantastic visit. Since I'm not generally a fan of group tours, I actually prefer the other cities as cruise ports. (SPB is certainly fantastic, but I would have liked to visit on a land vacation and explore more on our own.)

When we booked pour Baltic cruise, It was like a dream come true. Are the other ports worth seeing? We are talking about world capitals here, cities that we have only dreamed about visiting, cities that maybe we have only seen in spy movies, Stockholm, Helsinki, Berlin, Copenhagen.

Please do not take this as insulting, but I can't believe you would think any of these cities are not worth a visit. St Petersburg may well be the jewel, but only because it is in Russia and for many years we weren't able to visit there. For us, Stockholm was our favorite city we visited.

Maybe you are more of a Caribbean type, but a Baltic cruise is so full of history, so full of wonderful castles, Palaces, old walled cities. Each day was a new adventure. If you are just into lying on a beach and chilling out, maybe you wouldn't enjoy a cruise like this, but to be able to visit places we have only dreamed about, was a once in a lifetime event and we loved every minute of it.

 

And YES, it is very easy to do all the other ports on your own. Just set your mind to it, gather info and off you go.

 

Cheers

 

Len

Absolutely agree with Len here. Each of these cities is magnificent. We absolutely loved Tallinn, and thoroughly enjoyed Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki. Berlin is a fascinating city with incredible vibrancy since reunification. In Germany, if you elect to skip Berlin because of the travel time to/from, there are still very charming spots.

It depends on what you are looking for in a cruise, but of the seven cruises we have done the Baltic was easily our favorite one. If you want a fun in the sun cruise, this may not be your choice, but, for ports visited, I would put a Baltic cruise right up there.

Agree with everyone else. St P is the star but every other port is fascinating too and I would have been sorry to have missed any. Here are a few videos from my 2010 Baltic cruise and a few hours in Bruges last year http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1662653 All the best, Tony

I couldn't believe what I was reading. It's like asking if Florence, Venice, Barcelona etc has anything interesting to see because I am visiting Rome.

I am lucky to have travelled extensively all over the world, but loved the Baltic cruise we did last year.

We have been interested in taking a Baltic cruise that includes such ports a Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Gothenburg etc. From reading many of the posts it seems most of the attention is given to the two day stays in St Petersburg. Are the other ports worth seeing? Are they so similar that once you see one you have seen them all? We would like to explore some of the cities on our own if sites are close. We would also appreciate your comments on the "ships excursions" for the ports other than "must see" SPB.

 

Thanks,

As far as the second issue you mention, taking ship's tours, I feel strongly that this is not the way to go. There are numerous reputable operators in St. P (SPB, Alla, TJ, and others). Virtually everyone who posts here loved their selected operator so you should contact several and see which best fits your needs. Almost all offer small private tours, intense tours, more relaxed tours, etc.

As far as the other ports, you really can do Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Copenhagen on your own. If you dock in Rostock or Warnemuende and elect to go to Berlin, it might be better to consider a tour operator which will pick you up at the pier and whisk you to Berlin. I know SPB and Alla do these tours and expect more do so now, since we went in 2011. If you want to stay along the German coast, there are many, many threads to help you choose. Anni offers excellent advice - here is a link to a thread she started - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1963750.

We have been interested in taking a Baltic cruise that includes such ports a Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Gothenburg etc. From reading many of the posts it seems most of the attention is given to the two day stays in St Petersburg. Are the other ports worth seeing? Are they so similar that once you see one you have seen them all? We would like to explore some of the cities on our own if sites are close. We would also appreciate your comments on the "ships excursions" for the ports other than "must see" SPB.

 

Thanks,

We have taken 20 great cruises but have to say the Baltic cruise was a very favorite! Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, and Tallinn were very different from each other and very walkable-easily able to do on your own. St. Petersburg was mysterious and interesting and glad we got to visit there, but frankly, we wish the cruise lines would start offering Baltic cruises that do not include St. Petersburg because we would like to visit new or even repeat the Baltic ports except for SPB!

One other plus (did not see where you live) is that we live in hot Texas and it is great to have a wonderful vacation out of the summer heat!

Helsinki is the only city that seemed not very good to me and I have never been to Gothenburg. The others are all truly great cities.

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Absolutely! One of the best cruises we have ever done! We went in June cool and not crowded.

Tallin is charming, like taking a step back in time

Copenhagen is fun and romantic

Oslo: the Vigland will knock your socks off.

Stockholm is simply lovely. Vasa is amazing/

Helsinki very nice. We were there on a Sunday and I am sorry we didn't take a tour. Walking around the city was just OK

And, wait to you go under the bridge! Denmark, I think

St Petersburg is beyond words. We went to the Hermitage, Catherine Palace, Peteroff, and spent time downtown doing some shopping.

Thanks to everyone for all the great info.

Bob

I didn't find Helsinki to be as interesting or charming as the other cities, but we had a driver who took us to Porvoo which we loved! Porvoo is a beautiful, quaint fishing village not too far from Helsinki.

I have just booked a Baltic cruise today which takes in Stockholm, SPB, Helsinki, Warnemunde, Copenhagen and Kristiansand, we will do a ships tour in SPB on both days probably as this would be a way of getting a visa, but wondered how easy the other cities would be just exploring the local port areas in a wheelchair?

I have just booked a Baltic cruise today which takes in Stockholm, SPB, Helsinki, Warnemunde, Copenhagen and Kristiansand, we will do a ships tour in SPB on both days probably as this would be a way of getting a visa, but wondered how easy the other cities would be just exploring the local port areas in a wheelchair?

Unless you are wedded to doing a ship's tour, I would recommend that you consider one of the private tour companies - SPB, TJ Travel, Alla to name just a few of the many reputable tours. If you search the threads, you will find almost universal praise for these companies. Their groups are smaller and better priced. We used SPB for our group of six and had an exceptional guide. You will see if you search the threads than many, many people have had the same experience, regardless of which company you choose.

In the other ports, with the exception of Berlin, if you choose to go there, DIY is entirely feasible. As Warnemuende is almost three hours from Berlin, having prearranged transport is advisable in my mind. If you stay on the coast, there are many interesting towns to visit.

Enjoy your cruise.

Unless you are wedded to doing a ship's tour, I would recommend that you consider one of the private tour companies - SPB, TJ Travel, Alla to name just a few of the many reputable tours. If you search the threads, you will find almost universal praise for these companies. Their groups are smaller and better priced. We used SPB for our group of six and had an exceptional guide. You will see if you search the threads than many, many people have had the same experience, regardless of which company you choose.

We did a Baltic cruise last September. I took a manual wheelchair with me. In SPB we booked the 2 day Comfort Tour with Alla and it was fantastic. I advised Alla I was taking the wheelchair in advance and the guide and driver could not have been more helpful.

We did a different itinerary to you, but did DIY in all the other places we stopped. Talllin is the most disabled unfriendly and I spent more time walking than in the wheelchair. We took a taxi to the top of Tampea Hill and walked down.

In Copenhagen we used the HOHO bus which stopped in front of the ship and in Stockholm we used public transport. Our other ports were different.