Guided Tour advice needed

My wife and I are back-to-back cruising next spring, Celebrity Constellation, Transatlantic, Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Finland. We would like recommendation for private guided tours for the following ports:

We have cruised 15 times (mostly in the Caribbean and Mediterranean) and have only used a private tour company once (in Alexandria/Cairo, Egypt) and it was great.

Please provide your recommendations, comments, and contact information.

Thanks, SeaSalts

for St Petersburg there are several well recommended tour companies-most popular are SPB,TJ,Alla,Anastasia Best Guides Denrus Red October

if you google the names above you will find their website addresses

SPB and I believe Alla also do tours to Berlin and a few other Baltic ports

a lot of the ports you listed are close enough to walk off ship and explore without a guide if you are pretty fit and healthy

In Amsterdam other CC=ers have used this driver:

http://dagtoertaxi.nl/services.html

In case you plan a visit to Anne Frankhuis, make reservations online to skip to often long lines. There is a special entrance for people holding reservations.

I agree with INE

we used Maurius for a trip to Kinderdyk & Dordrecht great trip

With some research you can DIY in some ports like Tallin, Amsterdam, Bruges, Dover & Copenhagen

SPB tours in Russia

Helsinki we did a ships tour to Sibelius house & school of music as well as seeing some of the countryside

We did the Baltic this past July.

In St-Petersberg & Berlin we used Alla.

Recommended.

:)

First of all, welcome to Cruise Critic!

I agree that for some of the ports on the Gulf of Finland cruise, you can do them on your own. We did Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen (our embarkation/debarkation port) on our own. If you intend to go to Berlin, you will certainly want to do that as part of an organized excursion. If you don't do Berlin, I would recommend seeing Schwerin, which is near Warnemunde.

As mentioned, some of the major St Petersburg operators offer tours in the other Baltic cities as well. You can mix-and-match, or get a package which includes all of the cities. We used SPB in St Petersburg, and also used them for the Rostock/Schwerin tour while in Warnemunde (we had already been to Berlin).

Since you are new to CC, you might want to scan some of the existing threads on these ports. There will be lots of discussion and recommendations.

We used TJ in St. Petersburg this past August and had a wonderful time. We did Copenhagen on our own 2 days before and 1 day after. Very easy to do.

Estonia we did on our own and I wasn't too impressed. I tried to follow the map and walking tour that is online but kept getting lost. We did ship tours in Helsinki (nice for an overview) and Stockholm. I felt jipped in Stockholm (tour was not very good) and would probably hire TJ or someone else next time around.

If interested in doing Normandy, Overlord Tours. I think our trip to Normandy has been one of the most impressive spots I have been to.

We didn't use a guide in Amsterdam but used Adrie to go outside the city (Marken, Volendam and Edam) ... he did a great job http://www.privatetours.nl/sightseeing.html

We did a Baltic cruise this September and thoroughly enjoyed it. In Amsterdam my Dutch friend met us from the ship, but Amsterdam is very easy to get around on your own.

In Copenhagen we took the HOHO bus.

We had 2 days in Stockholm and used public transport. We bought one of the cards with unlimited use. We had a good time riding buses, trams and ferries. Very easy to get around and everybody was extremely helpful.

In Tallin we took a taxi to the top of the Tapanea Hill and made our way down. There are free walking tours of Tallin and by all accounts they are very good. Just Google it.

We had 2 days in SPB and did the Comfort Tour with Alla. It was excellent and there were only two other people from our ship on the tour, so it was virtually a private tour.

Our last port of call was Gdansk. We didn't really know much about it apart from Lech Walesa and Solidarity. We bit the bullet and did a cruise excursion. We were surprised at how lovely Gdansk is.

We cruised back to Southampton via the Kiel Canal on a day transit. We had fantastic weather every day, which made it even better.

We'll be getting on the Constellation when you get off.:) So far, I've booked:

• TJ Travel for St. Petersburg and Tallinn. We're doing a private modified standard tour with a group from our Roll Call in St. Petersburg. I contacted several providers, and that was who I felt most comfortable with. It was partly a gut feeling.
  
• Friends of Dave for Warnemunde.
  
• Paulo's Tours for Helsinki (Helsinki highlights and Porvoo).
  
• Stockholm and Copenhagen are still undecided.
  

I don't know if you've had a chance to really read these threads and the Roll Calls, but if you haven't make sure you use them to help with planning...they're a good source of information. This website is loaded with ideas for Amsterdam: http://cile.home.xs4all.nl/travel/amsterdam_tips.htm

Good luck!

We'll be getting on the Constellation when you get off.:) So far, I've booked:

• TJ Travel for St. Petersburg and Tallinn. We're doing a private modified standard tour with a group from our Roll Call in St. Petersburg. I contacted several providers, and that was who I felt most comfortable with. It was partly a gut feeling.
  
• Friends of Dave for Warnemunde.
  
• Paulo's Tours for Helsinki (Helsinki highlights and Porvoo).
  
• Stockholm and Copenhagen are still undecided.
  

I don't know if you've had a chance to really read these threads and the Roll Calls, but if you haven't make sure you use them to help with planning...they're a good source of information. This website is loaded with ideas for Amsterdam: http://cile.home.xs4all.nl/travel/amsterdam_tips.htm

 

Good luck!

I also used TJ Travel and got that same gut feeling when I booked..and was it right..they gave us a 2 day active private tour of St Petersburg that was the trip of a lifetime...Enjoy !!

My wife and I are back-to-back cruising next spring, Celebrity Constellation, Transatlantic, Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Finland. We would like recommendation for private guided tours for the following ports:

Lisbon, Portugal

Paris (Le Havre), France

London (Dover), England

Bruges (Zeebrugge), Belgium

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany

Tallinn, Estonia

St Petersburg, Russia

Helsinki, Finland

Stockholm, Sweden

Copenhagen, Denmark

We have cruised 15 times (mostly in the Caribbean and Mediterranean) and have only used a private tour company once (in Alexandria/Cairo, Egypt) and it was great.

 

Please provide your recommendations, comments, and contact information.

 

Thanks, SeaSalts

We also used SPB Tours for our time in St Petersburg. They are wonderful and will make your time in their city so memorable.

We opted to do all the other ports on our Baltic cruise on our own. Depending on how you want to see them, they are very, very easy to do on your own. If you prefer a tour, I know SPB has a 5 city tour option which will save you some nice change.

We did a pre and post cruise stay in London. No tour really necessary, but if you want to get around, use either of the two major HoHo bus tours. We used the Original Tour Company line and was very satisfied with them. If you do sue them, be sure to buy the reduced lunch tickets at the Sherlock Holmes Pub. They also include a river trip on the Thames.

We also did a day in Paris, but we did that on pour own also. Paris is very easy to get around and most of the main sites are concentrated in one area.

Cheers

Len

SPB- We used SPB tours for St. Petersburg and I can't say enough about how good they were. We chose a private tour and had a driver and a tour guide to ourselves. Took us everywhere we wanted to go and gave us just enough background without being overwhelming. We referred them to another couple who just returned from their cruise last week and they agreed that they were excellent. When you book, tell them you want Eugene and Max as your guides. You won't be disappointed.

WARNEMUNDE- We walked across the street from the ship and booked a segway tour of the town. Was no one else booked so we got a private tour of the the whole town, including outlying places that no tour bus could go. I highly recommend this. Segways are simple to use, safe, and fun!

Berlin is a 3 hour bus ride from Warnemunde. Everyone on our ship who did that excursion wished they hadn't. Was too long on the bus and no real time in Berlin.

All other ports we did on our own. No guide was needed, but that's just us. If you want a history or info on the place you might want to take a walking tour. If you are going to Tallin, Estonia, I suggest you watch the documentary called "The singing revolution" before you go. Very interesting history of Estonia and the part singing plays in the life of the people there. I was able to see the singing grounds off my balcony.

Although this is a very busy week (through next weekend) with out-of-town relatives and a full house Thursday night, want to add my two cents now and then try to be helpful as well to you (neighbors) and all others, of course.

We did the Constellation RT Amsterdam summer of 2011 and will return to this ship next summer to take a 12-night RT Amsterdam to eight Norwegian ports (26 June/8 July), following a Rhine river cruise from Basel and several days in Belgium.

Issues:

(1) Days of each port visit: Beware of Mondays. Our day in Copenhagen was on a Monday and museums I wanted to visit were closed (did HOHO, returned to Botanical Garden that we loved -- should have taken ship tour out of town to two castles).

(2) Look at your time in port. The cruise into Stockholm is wonderful (very early breakfast, be outside to see the sailing through the islands). Every guy will absolutely love the Vasa Museum as a one-of-a-kind in this world. You can plan ahead and use boat taxi pass.

(3) I was determined to buy amber jewelry for the women in my life (now my wife is very happy that she picked out one of her favorite necklaces) and found purchases in Russia are incredibly overpriced. Actually, after too much comparison shopping, we purchased four necklaces from the major store in Tallinn's main square (don't waste you time, go directly there for best goods and prices).

(4) In general, very surprised in 2011 how well the Russians did business and pretty well education and how poorly they handled hospitality. In two days, only one person smiled at us and he was the owner of the restaurant where the 16 of us had lunch one day. If you are on a two-day tour, you probably will need the one night to rest and I suggest that you review locations you will visit, to assign only near-ship activities for day in which you depart that evening. We saw one accident/traffic jam on our return from being out of town (Catherine's Palace after Peterhof, I think) you don't need the stress! Also, we found that tour companies competed with each other for how many things they will show you in the same time. Don't be suckered in -- we were force-marched through Peterhof on day one when the peak experience would have been to eat in the restaurant of one of the most beautiful parks in the world and don't be rushed through the contemporary art galleries of the Hermitage.

(5) Someday we may spend days in Berlin (on this vacation we spent the week before the cruise in a rental apartment in the Marais in Paris and took the Thalys to Amsterdam Centraal and directly to the cruise ship terminal that is right behind the train terminal and then did Amsterdam for the week after our return. (a) how many days are you setting aside for Amsterdam?

(b) can I convince you not to spend 6+ hours on a train or bus to then be wisked around Berlin in a bus? Same for going to Paris from Le Havre (no a good idea). From Warnemunde we organized with SiebenSegel Tours (Rostock) a Sunday's tour of Schwerin (castle) Wismar (cathedral) Rostock (university) and a drive-through Warnemunde that was absolutely wonderful (our guide was Petra Lass, can't praise enough). © If you have the day at Le Havre (another posting) consider a visit to Rouen and Honfleur if you're not into WWII.

I'll have some time in a week to look up details if there are some specific questions (balticports@yahoo.com).

I'm absolutely in favor of spending the time in planning -- not only is planning a pleasure, but the added information makes the subsequent experience that much more enjoyable.

DJ:)

My wife and I are back-to-back cruising next spring, Celebrity Constellation, Transatlantic, Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Finland. We would like recommendation for private guided tours for the following ports:

Lisbon, Portugal

Paris (Le Havre), France

London (Dover), England

Bruges (Zeebrugge), Belgium

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany

Tallinn, Estonia

St Petersburg, Russia

Helsinki, Finland

Stockholm, Sweden

Copenhagen, Denmark

We have cruised 15 times (mostly in the Caribbean and Mediterranean) and have only used a private tour company once (in Alexandria/Cairo, Egypt) and it was great.

 

Please provide your recommendations, comments, and contact information.

 

Thanks, SeaSalts

Hi SeaSalts,

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We completed the TA from Miami to Amsterdam on the Constellation this past May. You will love the Constellation. :)

We did all ports on the Constellation TA on our own ... DIY (do it yourself). IMHO, the only port where you would need a guided tour is Le Havre (that is, if you want to do Paris or Normandy). As previously mentioned, Overlord Tours are well regarded for tours to Normandy. We opted to take the train to Rouen ... spent a lovely day there.

We cruised the Baltics in 2011 and used ALLA TOURS for both St. Petersburg and Berlin. Our tours were simply spectacular.

As already mentioned, most Baltic ports are very easy to DIY ... the exceptions being St. Petersburg and Berlin. However, if you feel more comfortable with a guided tour in your Baltic ports of call, Alla offers tours in these cities as well ... with a substantial savings over the tours offered aboard ship. That said, there are several well respected companies that offer tours in the Baltics ... most have already been mentioned with the exception of Best Guides (which also receives excellent ratings). I would recommend contacting all of them and see which gives you the best "feel".

I still have all of my DIY information from our TA to Amsterdam so if you are interested in seeing any of these ports, I will be happy to send you what I have (google map links, links to Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum, transportation, directions from ship to city via public transportation, spreadsheet of sights by city & cost, etc.). I am a little OC when I travel. :D

Just email me (email in included in my signature at the bottom of my post).

Although this is a very busy week (through next weekend) with out-of-town relatives and a full house Thursday night, want to add my two cents now and then try to be helpful as well to you (neighbors) and all others, of course.

 

We did the Constellation RT Amsterdam summer of 2011 and will return to this ship next summer to take a 12-night RT Amsterdam to eight Norwegian ports (26 June/8 July), following a Rhine river cruise from Basel and several days in Belgium.

 

Issues:

 

(1) Days of each port visit: Beware of Mondays. Our day in Copenhagen was on a Monday and museums I wanted to visit were closed (did HOHO, returned to Botanical Garden that we loved -- should have taken ship tour out of town to two castles).

 

(3) I was determined to buy amber jewelry for the women in my life (now my wife is very happy that she picked out one of her favorite necklaces) and found purchases in Russia are incredibly overpriced. Actually, after too much comparison shopping, we purchased four necklaces from the major store in Tallinn's main square (don't waste you time, go directly there for best goods and prices).

 

(4) If you are on a two-day tour, you probably will need the one night to rest and I suggest that you review locations you will visit, to assign only near-ship activities for day in which you depart that evening. We saw one accident/traffic jam on our return from being out of town (Catherine's Palace after Peterhof, I think) you don't need the stress! Also, we found that tour companies competed with each other for how many things they will show you in the same time.

 

(5) (b) can I convince you not to spend 6+ hours on a train or bus to then be wisked around Berlin in a bus?

 

I'm absolutely in favor of spending the time in planning -- not only is planning a pleasure, but the added information makes the subsequent experience that much more enjoyable.

DJ:)

Thanks for all your tips! Our Mondays are Helsinki and Amsterdam...I already have private drivers lined up for both. We have also decided not to make the trek to Berlin, and instead are doing a Friends of Dave tour of the local area that day.

My biggest concern right now is our second day in St. Petersburg, when we are one of FIVE ships!:eek: I'm doing a custom private tour with some other people from my roll call, and we'll continue to work with the people at TJ to make sure we maximize our time as much as possible without is being ridiculous. Your comment about competition kind of illustrates why we wanted to design our own tour instead of doing one of the pre-set ones.

Love your shopping tip!:D

Are there any 2Xday tours open for 2 more people in St Petersburg, to see the Hermitage and Catherine's Palace? If so, please let us know - - -

Thanks, SeaSalts[/font]

Are there any open groups going to the Kornberg Castle and the Frederiksberg Castle in Copenhagen on 19May?

Thanks - - - SeaSalts

Are there any 2Xday tours open for 2 more people in St Petersburg, to see the Hermitage and Catherine's Palace? If so, please let us know - - -

Thanks, SeaSalts[/font]

Hi again, SeaSalts,

There are tons of tours already posted on your roll call. You can join with the many open group tours there. :)

The link to your roll call is below.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1807742

oops! So Sorry SeaSalts. Gave you the wrong link. :rolleyes:

Here is the link to your roll call.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1865073

My note disappeared, hopefully I'm not duplicating this!

(1) I have a vague memory that the museum closing on Monday universal for Europe excludes Amsterdam, and maybe even all of the Netherlands (please check). I know next June we have a canal boat experience to Dam planned for our Monday in Bruges (so Belgium is a participant).

(2) We did our Baltic from Amsterdam (not UK or Copenhagen) and you can see what a UK itinerary adds/subtracts. Unfortunately, our day in Copenhagen was a Monday. Except for the wonderful shopping (if you are at that stage) because Copenhagen has become so successful as a departure and/or arrival location, sometimes it appears that it is hard to see Copenhagen for all of the ship passengers. On a Monday I would abandon any DIY and take a tour outside of the city! My impression is that Amsterdam has been quite successful in balancing the activities of a large, active metropolis with the activities of a center for tourism.

(3) Our experience in Warnemunde was made quite extraordinary by the discover of Sieben Segel Tours. Even on a Sunday (stores closed) we experienced Schwerin, Wismar, and Rostock with a wonderful guide (Petra Lass) who made herself available by email for planning of the itinerary. No doubt that a one-day run to Berlin makes little sense. (People with a commitment to Berlin should consider open jaws air travel, like USA to Berlin, train to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to USA and do some research to determine length of stay in Berlin). Another great option for an Amsterdam cruise is a visit to Paris, either before or after using the Thalys high-speed train line!

DJ:)

Hope the Constellation with its recent renovation continues to be a wonderful ship.