Back from the June 21 Getaway Baltics Cruise

A few pointers and bits of advice for anyone sailing on the Getaway in the Baltics this summer!

We spent 3 days in Copenhagen before the cruise. I know this question gets asked a lot, so rest assured you can use credit cards virtually everywhere. We had chip and signature cards, not chip and pin, but the merchants are used to that from American tourists and it never was a problem. There are some places that won't take Amex, so make sure you have a Visa or MasterCard. And make sure you have a card that doesn't charge any foreign transaction fees. I was even able to use my card for small purchases like a Coke at a 7 Eleven and at a hot dog stand in City Hall square.

Boarding the ship was a snap. I really like that they use 2 terminals in Copenhagen - it made everything quick and easy. We arrived at the terminal around 10:15 or 10:30 and were assigned to Group 2. Boarding began at 11:15. We boarded and went straight to the buffet for lunch. This was our first cruise on NCL, so I did a lot of mental comparisons to Carnival while cruising. The first thing I noticed is that the food on the buffet is a LOT better than on Carnival, and there were a lot more options.

They made the announcement at 1:30 that cabins were ready. We had a mini-suite with large balcony. While the cabin itself was kind of small and storage was limited, we loved the big bathroom (especially the large shower with all the jets) and the huge balcony. Unfortunately, it was too cold to use our balcony much.

Our first port was Warnemunde. We had been there before and were looking forward to just wandering around the town like we did last time - it's a quaint, lovely place. Sadly it was raining, and then storming, so we gave up after a couple of hours and went back to the ship. I was cold and wet, so I took a shower to warm up. Of course, then the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day!

More to come in the next post........

If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer!

Following! Will be on the same cruise on the Breakaway next June. Looking forward to any pointers, must sees and tour packages that you purchased. TIA.

We did a Baltic cruise and have traveled through Europe extensively and it is true that you can use a chip and signature card pretty much anywhere where there is a staff member to have you sign the slip.

The one place we have needed a chip and pin was to buy a bus or subway ticket from a ticket machine. On the cruise, this was the case at the bus stop outside the Stockholm port.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Kryssa, you bring up a good point. We didn't make purchases from any machines during our trip, so I didn't think to point that out. We did have at least a little local currency on us in every country in case we ran into any problems, which I highly recommend.

I forgot to mention that every taxi cab in Copenhagen takes credit cards, so no need for anyone to worry about that!

Following! Will be on the same cruise on the Breakaway next June. Looking forward to any pointers, must sees and tour packages that you purchased. TIA.

You're going to love the cruise! I'm excited for you!

Following! Doing this same cruise next week!

Following!! Doing the trip in September!

Our next port was Gdynia, Poland. Turns out it was the Getaway's first visit to this port, so we received quite a greeting! Our room was near the front of the ship, and we pulled in backwards, so I couldn't see everything going on, but there were a lot of festivities. There was a little marching band and even pom pom girls.

We had booked a tour with Alla Tours. We did the 6-hour Stutthof concentration camp and Gdansk tour. We met at the appointed time and boarded the mini-bus, which was a bit hot and stuffy, but we figured that would change once we got going. However, the overhead AC vents had no air coming out of them whatsoever. Someone finally said something to the driver, and he pulled over and opened the "window" in the ceiling of the bus. Someone said, "That's it??" We kept going, and it kept getting hotter and hotter. The AC was working just fine in the front of the vehicle, so the driver and guide had no idea how miserable it was on the rest of the bus. Finally the secondary guide, who was sitting back with us, said something, and the guide radioed in to the office. They were able to tell the driver what button to push to turn on the air. Sweet relief!!!!

The visit to the concentration camp was a very sobering experience. We had a very good guide who did a great job of telling the story of what happened in Poland, mixed with his family's own personal experiences. He brought the horror of the place alive for us. While it was a tough thing to experience, I think everyone should do it if they have a chance. It's important we remember so that we prevent history from ever repeating itself.

We left the camp and went to Gdansk. It was a very pretty town. The guide gave us a short tour, then we had some time on our own. It would have been nice to spend more time there, but the ship was only in port for the afternoon.

We'd found out that day that the Getaway was the biggest ship to ever visit Gdynia, so it attracted a lot of interest. You should have seen all the people who turned out to watch us sail away! I think practically the whole town was there, along with news cameras. It was a very festive sailaway, with all the locals cheering us on and waving. It's something I'll never forget.

Wow! Didn't know there was a stop in Poland for your cruise. Did it replace another stop? We are on the Breakaway next May. Looking forward to more of your report.

Wow! Didn't know there was a stop in Poland for your cruise. Did it replace another stop? We are on the Breakaway next May. Looking forward to more of your report.

Poland was on the itinerary all along. I'm not sure, but our cruise may be the only one with a stop there.

We had a notice in our cabins that night to turn our clocks forward one hour before going to bed. It was tough losing that hour of sleep, but at least the next day was a sea day, so we didn't have to worry about getting up early.

I won't say much about the sea day except I wasted 90 minutes of precious time standing in line to see the ONE person who works at the Internet café (not counting 2 girls from the youth staff who couldn't answer any but the most basic questions). He was a rather unfriendly fellow who moved at a snail's pace. It took him over 30 minutes to reconnect me to my account (we had 250 free minutes that came with our booking and I was unable to log in after setting up my account). There were people in line behind me who got sent away after waiting forever because Mr. Personality was going on his lunch break. I really felt sorry for them. Carnival definitely beats NCL in every aspect of Internet - in price, in connectivity, and in service.

Next up - 2 days in St. Petersburg!

Following

Sent from my SM-A520W using Forums mobile app

Following.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Forums mobile app

Now to the highlight of any Baltic cruise - St. Petersburg! We had visited STP four years earlier on another Baltic cruise. During that visit, we did a semi-private 2-day tour with Alla with 7 other people we had met on our roll call. On this visit, there were some sites we wanted to visit again but some we were fine with skipping, so my sister and I decided to do a completely private tour this time around. We researched all the well-known tour companies and sent emails to them to see who could offer us the most tailor-made tour. We ended up going with Best Guides because they were the most flexible in allowing us to pick and choose our itinerary.

If you have not been to Russia before, be aware that you will not be allowed to enter the country unless you are on a ship excursion OR if you have arranged a tour on your own. You may not just walk off the ship and wander around on your own. Many cruise lines will try to scare you into thinking that you must book one of their excursions to be allowed into the country - but don't believe them. I know some people are more comfortable staying with the cruise line's excursions in foreign countries, but I personally don't care for doing the large group thing. Too much time is wasted, and I feel you just don't get as much out of the experience.

We were scheduled to meet with our guide at 8:30 a.m. in the terminal. Be aware that the process on the first morning is VERY slow and tedious, and plan accordingly. We had to stand in line for 40 minutes before we got through Customs. One note of warning here: Do NOT heed the cruise director's announcements regarding when you are allowed off the ship. NCL is one of those cruise lines (Carnival was another) who tries to make you believe that passengers on independent tours are not allowed to leave the ship until the cruise line excursions have disembarked. This is not true! Once the ship is cleared, it's cleared for EVERYONE. As soon as you see passengers begin to disembark, join in with them. The ship's crew are not allowed to stop you. The earlier you disembark, the quicker you'll get through Customs.

One other note regarding debarkation: Once you're off the ship and trying to choose what line to stand in to go through Customs, go to one of the lines all the way down on the very right-hand side. The reason for this is because the right-hand lines break off into several different lines once inside the building because there are several Customs agents servicing them. The lines on the left only have one agent per line, so things don't move any faster once you're inside the building. I know I'm not explaining this very well, so please ask questions if I've confused you!

Appreciate the tip about line for customs in St. Petersburg!

Following! Just started planning for the Breakaway's Copenhagen run in July 2018.

Thank you for the review. We have been going back and forth between a similar cruise or one on the Serenade of the Seas. It would have been a no brainer if next years cruises included Poland. We have also been to St. Petersburg before. Did you find any must sees on your second trip? Did you notice if NCL offered a one day trip to Moscow?

Thank you for the review. We have been going back and forth between a similar cruise or one on the Serenade of the Seas. It would have been a no brainer if next years cruises included Poland. We have also been to St. Petersburg before. Did you find any must sees on your second trip? Did you notice if NCL offered a one day trip to Moscow?

Sorry, I never checked NCL's offerings, so I don't know if they offered a one-day Moscow trip.

So we finally made it through Customs and met our guide in the terminal. Her name was Elena, and she was fantastic! She asked us if we needed to use the terminal restroom, then she escorted us out to our car and driver, and we were on our way! Russia had always been on my bucket list, so the fact that I was there for a 2nd time was beyond my wildest dreams!

We started out with a city drive, with a chance for taking pictures at various monuments and sites. We then drove out to Catherine Palace, which we had visited last time, but it was so beautiful that we wanted to see it again. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it. The bonus this time around was that we were given a tour of the gardens in the back. Absolutely beautiful! I enjoyed the gardens as much as the palace itself.

Elena had asked us what we would like for lunch - she offered us all kinds of options. We decided we wanted to go to a stolle place to try traditional Russian pies. You can choose between sweet and savory. My sister and I both tried savory pies, and Elena had borscht with a sweet pie for dessert. It was delicious and we felt so very Russian. =)

After lunch we went to a beautiful bakery that sold fresh delights and also boxed candies and cookies to take home. We spent a lot of time there buying souvenirs to take home. I wish I knew how to post pictures on CC so you could see all the beautiful treats that were almost too pretty to eat!

Next was the Church on the Spilled Blood, which was another re-visit for us because we went there 4 years ago. Unlike last time, we approached the church by walking along a canal, which afforded great photo opportunities. We also toured the inside, which is absolutely stunning and breathtaking.

We finished the day at the Hermitage. By this time we were pretty beat. We had 2 hours to spend there, and Elena asked us what we were most interested in so she could guide us wisely.

They got us back to the ship at 6:00, we breezed through Immigration (I should have used the term Immigration in my earlier post, not Customs), and then we were back on the ship. Another tip for going through Immigration when reboarding the ship - once again, go all the way to the right. Most people stop at one of the first few lines they see on the left and don't bother walking farther down. While there were a dozen people in each of the lines on the left, there were only a few people in the lines on the right. Make sure you put the little slip of paper they gave you in the morning in a safe place, because you'll need it to get back through Immigration in the evening, along with your passport.

We ate dinner and went to bed early in order to be ready for day #2.

reading with great interest as we have booked July 2018 Baltics with friends we met 2009 on our first time round Baltic cruise

so very interested in your take on what to see second time round

We had an 8:30 meeting time on day #2 in STP. Things go much more quickly on the 2nd day, so we cleared Immigration in no time and were early. We took the extra time to look through the little shops in the terminal. I recommend buying your souvenirs in town.

We found Elena, she took us to the car, and off we went. We had 90 minutes for shopping, so at our request, she first took us to a grocery store. We like going to grocery stores, department stores, etc., in foreign cities to get a feel for how the locals shop. There was a candy aisle where we wanted to buy chocolates for souvenirs, and Elena steered us to the better local-made chocolates. She then took us to a souvenir store (after asking what price level store we were interested in). After we finished there, it was time to catch the hydrofoil to Peterhof. I was looking forward to this more than anything in STP. We really enjoyed our visit there last time.

While we didn't have the beautifully sunny day we had last time, we still enjoyed it immensely. We spent even more time in the gardens than we did last time, and we also toured one of the small palaces in the lower gardens. We also visited the upper gardens, which we didn't do last time. Even though the sky got quite dark, we're lucky the rain held off until later. The grounds of Peterhof are beautiful and not to be missed!

After Peterhof, Elena took us to a restaurant only a mile or two away. It was a very traditional restaurant filled with locals, but they also served Italian food, which we all 3 ordered. It was delicious! The skies decided to let loose as soon as we were seated, so our timing couldn't have been better.

After lunch, it was a one-hour drive back to the city. The last part of our day was something they arranged at our request and cost extra. It was a trip to the Yakobson Ballet School. My sister and I are very interested in dance, but we knew we couldn't handle staying up late for the ballet the night before, so we chose to do this instead. We watched the students warm up, and then they put on a show for us. The students ranged in age from 6 to 14. There was one 6-year-old who was already dancing en pointe, which was quite impressive. A 14-year-old danced the White Swan for us, and she was beautiful.

We enjoyed this second day even more than day one because we moved at such a leisurely pace and had time to soak everything in without fighting huge crowds.

For anyone wondering what we chose not to do the 2nd time around, we skipped Peter & Paul Fortress, Yusupov Palace, St. Isaac's Cathedral, the boat ride on the Neva, and the subway ride. But everyone's tastes are different, so you may very well make different decisions. We enjoyed all these things the first time around, but in the interest of having a more leisurely tour and in going to the ballet school, we had to give some things up.

We got back to the cruise terminal shortly before 5:00, and everyone else seemed to arrive at the same time. The line was clear outside the terminal, but it moved very quickly and we were back on the ship in probably 20 minutes.

There aren't enough adjectives to describe STP. It's beautiful, it's inspiring, and it's not to be missed.

A few pointers and bits of advice for anyone sailing on the Getaway in the Baltics this summer!

 

We spent 3 days in Copenhagen before the cruise. I know this question gets asked a lot, so rest assured you can use credit cards virtually everywhere. We had chip and signature cards, not chip and pin, but the merchants are used to that from American tourists and it never was a problem. There are some places that won't take Amex, so make sure you have a Visa or MasterCard. And make sure you have a card that doesn't charge any foreign transaction fees. I was even able to use my card for small purchases like a Coke at a 7 Eleven and at a hot dog stand in City Hall square.

 

Boarding the ship was a snap. I really like that they use 2 terminals in Copenhagen - it made everything quick and easy. We arrived at the terminal around 10:15 or 10:30 and were assigned to Group 2. Boarding began at 11:15. We boarded and went straight to the buffet for lunch. This was our first cruise on NCL, so I did a lot of mental comparisons to Carnival while cruising. The first thing I noticed is that the food on the buffet is a LOT better than on Carnival, and there were a lot more options.

 

They made the announcement at 1:30 that cabins were ready. We had a mini-suite with large balcony. While the cabin itself was kind of small and storage was limited, we loved the big bathroom (especially the large shower with all the jets) and the huge balcony. Unfortunately, it was too cold to use our balcony much.

 

Our first port was Warnemunde. We had been there before and were looking forward to just wandering around the town like we did last time - it's a quaint, lovely place. Sadly it was raining, and then storming, so we gave up after a couple of hours and went back to the ship. I was cold and wet, so I took a shower to warm up. Of course, then the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day!

 

More to come in the next post........

 

If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer!

Hi disneygal94 - good of you to share your experiences. We are taking the August 14th cruise. why do you think the first day clearing immigration in St. Petersburg takes so much time? Is everyone trying to get off at the same time? is it difficult to find your quide?

Thanks for your thoughts.

why do you think the first day clearing immigration in St. Petersburg takes so much time? Is everyone trying to get off at the same time? is it difficult to find your quide?

Immigration very slowly inspects everyone's passport and visa or visa waiver paperwork. They even separate families (luckily they let my 3 year old go through with me, but separated my husband. Everyone is trying to get off the ship as early as possible so the lines are long.

One possibility is to book a suite (which gets priority disembarkation) or one private tour company suggested we start the first day later and the second day earlier so we'd miss the worst of the lines. We were booking a private tour for just our family, so I'm not sure if any of the private tour companies would be able to arrange that on a tour of 16 people.

I didn't notice that going to the right side at Russia immigration is a better way. Will take note of that the second time. Thanks.