Just back from our Baltic cruise. Thanks everyone.

We are just back from our back to back cruises. First we did a Med. cxruise then flew to Copenhagen for the Baltic cruise. Since Cruise Critic was invaluable to making our trip a success, I wanted to post about our Baltic ports and other misc. info for those in the planning stages or about to leave:

Copenhagen - This is a great country! We stayed at Stay Apartment Hotel 3 days before the cruise and it was great to have 3 bedrooms (we have 5 kids), a kitchen and washing machine. There was a bus stop right outside the hotel and a grocery store attached to the building. Perfect place for families. The food is expensive in Copenhagen so we mostly cooked at the hotel. Loved Tivoli Gardens! We also did a walking tour with Richard Karpen -http://www.copenhagenwalks.com/1024x768/default.htm He was excellent, even for our kids, ages 11-18. It was very helpful to learn a bit about the area before exploring on our own. He has a great way of telling a story and presenting the information. Another amazing tour we did was a Jewish Copenhagen tour by a lady that has kids herself, Charlotte Thalmay - http://www.jewish-copenhagen.dk/the_rescue_route.html. There is a children's award winning book called "Number the Stars" about how the people of Copenhagen rescued the Jews during the Holocaust.The lady that does the tour father was on the boat talked about in the book. The tour was basically the book coming to life. She is a story teller and my kids all paid very close attention and loved this tour. Really, I can't say enough about how great this tour was. It is a tour I will always remember.

Germany - My husband and two older kids went to Berlin with SPB tours, a tour we booked with other families from our roll call. They said that all went very well and their guide, Heidi, was excellent. I wanted to do something with my other kids, ages 11 and 13 so we did a ship's tour with NCL called Rail, River, Road that went to Rostock. It was okay. I was reminded of the reason I do not like ship tours. Our guide was very dull and I didn't find Rostock very interesting (maybe because of the guide) but I knew my younger kids were not ready for the 3 hour trip to Berlin. We also walked around Warnemunde, climbed the lighthouse there, shopped, and had ice cream. The beach was beautiful but too cold to swim (mid June). It was a nice area but not enough to fill a day.

Tallinn, Estonia - We booked in advance the KGB museum at the Viru Hotel (right next to Old Town) by sending them an email for the 11:00 English tour. The tour took longer than one hour so allow more time than stated but it is worth it. No deposit is needed. You can learn about it at - http://www.sokoshotels.fi/en/hotels/tallinn/basic-information/hotel-viru-and-kgb-museum/ I highly recommend this if you are any interest in the Soviet period or want to learn more. The tour guide makes this tour. It was fascinating! I learned more than I expected about the Soviet era. We also booked in advance the Kiek Kok tunnels. My kids liked this also. We also walked around the Old Town. One thing I wanted to mention was that we were under the impression that the cruise dock was very close to Old Town. It wasn't really that close and there were no taxis waiting. It was at least a 30 minute brisk walk. The walled town was also more spread out than I had imagined. It wasn't a problem for us but would definitely be a problem if you have issues with long walks or if the weather is poor. It wasn't as straight forward as I was lead to believe.

St. Petersburg - St. Petersburg was our favorite! We didn't overdo the museums but the one my sons loved the most was the Artillery Museum. We heard from others that said by the time they were done with their two day tours, all of the museums and palaces started running together and it was just too much of the same thing over and over. We are glad we mixed it up. My husband took my boys to the Artillery Museun with our driver and guide while my girls and I went to the ballet. We did a noon ballet performance at the Mariinsky theater. We bought the tickets directly from the Mariinsky website and paid 1/4 the price. TJ travel knew just want to do and we picked up the tickets the day before at the theater. It took 5 minutes. We loved this theater. We did do Peterhof, all of the fountain areas and the palace there, but we didn't do any other palace or museum. We drove to Peterhof and took the hydrofoil boat back on the first day. The Hermitage is too big to conquer on such a short trip. Also, something else we did that was the absolute highlight of our trip was an orphanage visit to Baby House #16. We got to play with the 3 year old group for 2 hours for their "outside time" from 4 to 6 the first day. The kids all said this was the best thing they have done on the whole trip, even my sons, who were reluctant. It was such a hit that TJ travel is planning on adding this as an option to their tours. I had set it up myself because I had been on past trips with Orphan Outreach. We also did the inside of St Isaac's cathedral, inside and out of Church of the Spilled Blood, a visit to the old farmer's market, a visit to the new metro stop/station (to see the art work and ride the very long escalator down, which our kid loved) a visit to a chocolate store (where you still buy like they did in Soviet times), had lunch at Sadko with traditional Russian food and great service (but kind of pricey), and made a few other stops for picture on our two day tour with TJ Travel. We never felt rushed because we didn't try to jam in tons of stops. We had planned a public canal tour at 7:00 on the first day but were too tired so we canceled this and went back to the ship. We also had about an hour to shop the 2nd day at a place with good prices compared to another place we had stopped. Our guide was absolutely amazing! We learned so much from her and she had a way with kids as well as adults. Her name is Alla Semenova and her email is alla.7.nova@gmail.com TJ travel was the tour company and they were great. Everything went extremely well from start to finish. My kids said this was their favorite guide of the whole trip.

Helsinki, Finland - This is the day after the 2 full days in St. Pete so we went to the zoo. It is on a beautiful little island and they have some unique wild cats there, as well as a tiger and lion. It was a small but interesting little zoo that my kids enjoyed. There really wasn't anything else to do in Finland. We were there on a Sunday which was also a holiday. Market Square was closed but we walked around that area. I didn't see anything of interest to kids/teens. Glad we did the zoo.

Stockholm Sweden - We combined the Vasa Museum with Skansen, since they are close together. One thing that I didn't see mentioned much on these boards is the issue of transportation in Stockholm. You really do need a plan in advance! It is somewhat chaotic. The Hop On Hop Off bus is expensive if you just need it to get to Vasa and takes longer. We pre booked a taxi from Stockholm Taxi a few weeks in advance and we are glad we did. Otherwise, it would have been a very late start to the day. I didn't see any easy way to quickly leave the port area. Also, getting to the Vasa early is critical We were able to get there at 8:50 AM and beat the crowds. We watched the 9:00 show in English and did the 9:30 tour in English and then had free time. By then, the line was out the door! Skansen was much nicer than I expected. My kids loved the animals there. We could have spent all day there but we had to be back on the ship by 2:30. Skansen is great for all ages. Make sure to arrange a pick up time for a taxi. You don't want to use any taxi company in Stockholm because prices aren't regulated and you can get a very high bill at the end of a ride. I read about this beforehand. Taxi Stockholm was one recommended and we were pleased.

Thank you for this review!! We go in August.

How much was the taxi to the Vasa? Did they meet you at the dock with name sign or something? Did you set a time and place for pick up to return to the port? Lastly, did your kids like the Vasa?

Thanks in advance!

Thank you for sharing your experience sailing the Baltics with children. :) I'm in the research and planning stages for our 2013 cruise with our 3 girls who will be 17, 12 and 10 at the time of travel.

How did your kids do with the Back to Back sailings? We will be doing something similar...me and our two youngest daughters will be doing a 14 night Trans-Atlantic from Galveston to Barcelona, fly from Barcelona to Copenhagen where we will meet my husband and eldest daughter. We will have a few days in Copenhagen before our cruise.

World Gallery

I am so glad your Baltic Cruise exceeded all your expectations.

I know you were worried about certain aspects of cruise, tours and all. I'm so glad it all worked out well and we were of some help to you.

If you don't mind my asking, you were concerned about passports and such as you have adopted Russian children.

. Did this go OK??. I'll bet you had a great time at the orphanage as you really can relate to those children. I'll bet you would have liked to take a few more home.:):):):)

Glad you and your family had a grand time.

Cheers

Len

kwcrnp- The taxi was about $40 USD for a van for 7 there but they quoted me in krona then I had to convert the price. They didn't give me a price until about a week before but had give me a range. I had a reservation number that they had sent to me. When we got off of the ship and I realized we were gated in, I asked a NCL rep if the taxi would be allowed in. He said that it would and that he would keep an eye out for it and use his walkie talkie to communiciate with the front gate area. Then in a few minutes I saw the van so I walked up to it. There was nobody with our name but when I opened the taxi door, it was if they were waiting for me and confirmed my name. There were lots of people walking up to the taxi trying to figure out if they could get in it but the driver was looking for us. Really, it is a problem with transportation in Stockholm that really needs to be resolved. Without reading here beforehand, I would not have been prepared. The cruiseline doesn't give you any info if you are DIY. It is as if they want people to struggle finding their own way so that you will book their tours.

Also, we were supposed to dock at Frihamnen but this was changed at the last minute. NCL did called Taxi Stockholm for us from the ship and told them about the change since this was not my fault. Lesson - double check your dock the day before.

hencoll - My kids did fine with the back to back sailings but I did have to make an effort to plan accordingly. I knew I could not overdo the museums/churches and had to build in time for "fun" things. By the last few days, they were missing home and their friends but having WIFI on their Iphones and having Facebook time helped a lot. We also got them the 200 text message package to stay in touch. This all helped a lot to stay connected. We found free WIFI whenever we could. We also flew direct from Barcelona to Copenhagen on Norwegian Air Shuttle. I tried to make the flights all as direct as possible. On the way over, we only had one stop.

World Gallery

 

I am so glad your Baltic Cruise exceeded all your expectations.

I know you were worried about certain aspects of cruise, tours and all. I'm so glad it all worked out well and we were of some help to you.

If you don't mind my asking, you were concerned about passports and such as you have adopted Russian children.

. Did this go OK??. I'll bet you had a great time at the orphanage as you really can relate to those children. I'll bet you would have liked to take a few more home.:):):):)

 

Glad you and your family had a grand time.

 

Cheers

 

Len

All went very well with immigration in Russia. They got in on their US passports but I had renewed their Russian ones just in case (but kept those in the safe). If we ever fly into Russia, then they will have to use their Russian passports.

Yes, we definitely wanted to take more of those beautiful children home with us!

Thank you for this review!! We go in August.

 

How much was the taxi to the Vasa? Did they meet you at the dock with name sign or something? Did you set a time and place for pick up to return to the port? Lastly, did your kids like the Vasa?

 

Thanks in advance!

Forgot to answer about the Vasa. Yes, my kids did like it. It was impressive to see in person. The movie was only 25 minutes, a good length for kids and it was well done. Our tour guide was excellent so that helped. She talked about how hard it was for the sailors to live on ships back then. The tour wasn't too long. The key to sightseeing with teens and kids is remembering that their attention span isn't as long as adults so keeping it short and interesting and moving on. Also, taking breaks for snacks and WIFI time and giving them a camera to take their own pictures all works too:).

Also, at dinner every night, we would play little trivia games. We would ask a question about the day and whoever raised their hand first got to answer and we kept score.

Thank you World Gallery! I've already emailed Taxi Stockholm and the KGB Museum....THANKS for the links!! :)

We have traveled all over with the kids...its so much fun to see the world through their eyes!! I was more worried that I and my friend would not like the Vasa but everyone recommends it. Hopefully the taxi can get us there early too.

Thanks again!

So glad to hear you enjoyed using TJ Travel...I recommend them every chance I get on these boards :D

hencoll - My kids did fine with the back to back sailings but I did have to make an effort to plan accordingly. I knew I could not overdo the museums/churches and had to build in time for "fun" things. By the last few days, they were missing home and their friends but having WIFI on their Iphones and having Facebook time helped a lot. We also got them the 200 text message package to stay in touch. This all helped a lot to stay connected. We found free WIFI whenever we could. We also flew direct from Barcelona to Copenhagen on Norwegian Air Shuttle. I tried to make the flights all as direct as possible. On the way over, we only had one stop.

Thank you. It seems our traveling styles are similar. We also try not to overload the kids with too much and we try to stick to DIY and/or private tours for flexibility as well cost.

I see you were on the Sun for your Baltics trip....what quay were you at in Stockholm? Did you like the ship? Any thoughts on the shows or kids programs? We will have a 13, 16 and 17 yo with us.

Thanks again!!

Thank you for sharing your trip report and welcome home.

Keith

Glad everything worked out and the kids enjoyed themselves! I know you did extensive research and it paid off. Cruise Critic is great.:)

I know you said that you didn't want to visit Seurasaari Open Air Museum because you planned to visit Skansen, but I just wanted to point out to other readers with kids/teens that this place is really enjoyable. We visited both Seurasaari and Skansen with our kids/teens, and, although Skansen is clearly more impressive, we very much enjoyed Seurasaari. The setting for Seurasaari, right on an peninsula surrounded by the water, is just gorgeous. The exhibits in Skansen were more numerous and more interesting, but I would still recommend Seurasaari, especially for kids/teens.

Thank you so much for your review! I am travinling with 3 kids (8;10 and 17). I am from Ukraine going back to Russia for the first time in 25 years...

We are flying to Copenhagen tomorrow for our cruise leaving on the 4th.Tivoli Gardens: worth the cost and the time considering we only have about 1 afternoon and then a day to expolore? Is there enough time to do the Jewish tour (we will have a half day on the 4th before we board? I checked the link and there are several options, which tour did you do and what was the name of the guide?

I am planing to rent a car in Warnemunde and drive to the concenration camp. How did your kids deal with the jewish tour? I can't decide if my 10 and 8 year old are too your for the visit to the concentration camp (we are Jewish).

For St. Pete I have a 2 day tour booked that includes all the attaractions like the fountains ; st. catherine; st. peters; st. isaacs, church of spilled blood. Do you think we will overload the kids? IF I were to skip something, what do you recommend?

Stockholm: I read your commends re: transportation. All the research I have done seems to imply that the hop on hop off water tours are right at the ship's dock,was that not the case?

Did you kids have a good time on board? enough kids to play with?

Any other neat things you can recommend for the kids?

I also read your comment about the orphanage: What a great lesson your are teachinng your kids, I think it's wonderful!

Thanks, in advance for your help.

Thank you, Irene

Thank you so much for your review! I am travinling with 3 kids (8;10 and 17). I am from Ukraine going back to Russia for the first time in 25 years...

 

We are flying to Copenhagen tomorrow for our cruise leaving on the 4th.Tivoli Gardens: worth the cost and the time considering we only have about 1 afternoon and then a day to expolore? Is there enough time to do the Jewish tour (we will have a half day on the 4th before we board? I checked the link and there are several options, which tour did you do and what was the name of the guide? Both the Jewish Tour and Tivoli rank at the very top for my kids for the entire Baltics. We did the longest tour, the 5 hour Rescue Route tour. We had Charlotte, the owner. You may need to call her since it is so close to your leaving. I had booked about a month or two in advance. To me, it was worth every penny. It was one of the most enducational, interesting tours I have ever taken. Charlotte was an amazing story teller and she knows first hand since her father was on that boat and her grandfather died because he was part of the resistance movement. If you can get the book Number the Stars, it would be great for the plane. They also have an audio book that can be listen to. Our library had it. It is for ages 8 -12.

Tivoli - I had read mixed reviews but it was great. My kids loved it. It is a very beautiful place. You can do Tivoli in half a day but if you had more time, that woud just mean riding some of the rides again.

 

I am planing to rent a car in Warnemunde and drive to the concenration camp. How did your kids deal with the jewish tour? I can't decide if my 10 and 8 year old are too your for the visit to the concentration camp (we are Jewish). We had a tour guide with SPB and they geared it toward the group, which had more teens/kids than adults. I think it is all in the way the information is presented to kids.

For St. Pete I have a 2 day tour booked that includes all the attaractions like the fountains ; st. catherine; st. peters; st. isaacs, church of spilled blood. Do you think we will overload the kids? IF I were to skip something, what do you recommend? We thought that Catherine's palace was the one at Peterhof but when we realized it was not, we changed and did the Peterhof palace that is on the grounds of Peterhof, with the fountains, to avoid more travel time. This worked about well. I don't think it is too much. These are the things we did and we added in a noon ballet at the Mariinsky (left after the 2nd intermission to save time), and added in fun stops like the metro to ride the very long escaltor, a bit of shopping and a stop at an old chocolate shop as well as the Farmer's market where the kids could try unique foods.[ Also, having a private tour in St. Pete means you skip VERY long lines. It is worth it with kids. /COLOR]

Stockholm: I read your commends re: transportation. All the research I have done seems to imply that the hop on hop off water tours are right at the ship's dock,was that not the case? Yes, but it is not as easy as it may sound. Sometimes the boats may be there right when the ship docks but maybe not. ANother couple we had dinner with did the boat. The first stop is not the Vasa museum but they were able to convince the boat driver to skip all the other stops to get them there quickly since all on the first run wanted to do to the Vasa. If you want to get to the Vasa very fast and have control over your timing, the boat is not the best option. You have to buy tickets, wait for the boat to board and follow it's time table. Again, it may depend on where your ship docks. I do not remember where we docked but it was the dock very close to Gama Stan and started with an "S", which was a change and brought us even farther from Vasa. Also, the bus was $25 per peson. We are a family of 7 so that is $175! We paid about half that with a taxi plus had the control over our timing.

Did you kids have a good time on board? enough kids to play with? Yes, the had a great time but really, didn't hang out with other kids because it was such a port intensive cruise. They are just a bit too old (at least they think so) for the kids clubs but if you use the kids clubs, your kids will meet others.

Any other neat things you can recommend for the kids? I think all of the things we choose were great for kids. Also, if you do Skansen or the zoo in Finland, give them a bit of time on the unique playground equipement and time in the petting zoo at Skansen.

I also read your comment about the orphanage: What a great lesson your are teachinng your kids, I think it's wonderful!

Thanks, in advance for your help.

 

 

 

 

Thank you, Irene

Have a great time. I answered above in Red. Actually, one of the answers showed up in blue.

Hencoll

We also have a baltic cruise booked for 2013. When are you going? We have 2 kids, 8 and 11, who have also been all over the world. If you find any great ideas, please post. I have started a notebook for the trip.

World -

Thanks so much for the review. I took notes! My daughter read Number the Stars last school year and I am planning on taking the tour your requested. Thanks for taking you time to report.

Thank you for great advice!!!

I will report back when we retunr. Have to start packing now, the flight is tomorrow :)

Thanks for the great info! We just booked a 12 night Baltic cruise with our 8 and 10 year old kids, departing Amsterdam on August 12th, and your posts are full of really useful tips. I typically plan MUCH further in advance for our big trips, but not this time. :-)

World Gallery : My initial thought was "you are nuts taking all these kids on a B2B, or you're one fine specimen of humanity" !! I now know, you to be a fine wonderful person. Your heart must be gigantic! Hope you took lots of photos, the kids will never forget this trip.

ps. thanks for taking the time to post reviews etc.

Hencoll

We also have a baltic cruise booked for 2013. When are you going? We have 2 kids, 8 and 11, who have also been all over the world. If you find any great ideas, please post. I have started a notebook for the trip.

We are sailing June 3, 2013. I have a notebook as well as folder on my PC to collect information. Sharing ideas is a must, that's what makes these boards so great. :D

SweetGG - That is funny! My parents and others thought we were nuts but on the other hand, understood our logic of making the most out of expensive flights. It was funny to see the reaction of people when we told them our plans. Travel surely opens up a child's mind. I wrote down some of their comments and observations. They were funny and quite amazing. Kids see things in a whole different way.

We sure did take a ton of photos. I have been wanting to learn how to post pictures so I will give it a try now. Hopefully they will post. If not, I will try again. These are all in Russia. The pics with the toddlers are at the orphanage.

Wow, it worked. I will post a few more. These are in Skansen, a place my kids really like, especially the petting area, then a few more in Russia.

I recently booked my adult daughter and myself for the July 15, 2013 sailing on the Marina from Stockholm to London. I have just started to conduct research on each of the ports that we will be visiting. A friend recommended Cruise Critic when I booked our 10/15/11 sailing on Ocenia's Insignia cruise of the Mediterranean. Communication with cruisers enhanced our experience and we shared many excursions with our fellow passengers. Our group met for dinner the 1st night aboard the ship and I have kept in touch with some of the people who we met. After taking 3 excusrions with our group, the 1 excursion that we booked through the cruise line was disappointing. I loved the flexibility of traveling in small groups of 3-12 people rather than on large groups.

I am interested in hearing about cruiser's experiences on Baltic cruises and receiving recommendations as well as suggestions on what to avoid.

Chai Cruise Enthusiast#18

World Gallery..... You DID IT!!! Pictures are great. You have a wonderful family, they certainly look like they had a great time. I see a doctor, a teacher, a professional football player, a nurse and a dancer (all this in my glass ball hee hee). Loved the fur hats!

Wise move on the expensive flights. The airlines certainly curtail our travel plans.