ship to city- walk or bus?

Hi

We are going to the Baltic in May. I was wondering about the distance between where the ship berths and the city- can you walk or is a coach necessary. The ports are

Helsinki

Stockholm

Copenhagen

St Petersburg

Thanks

The ships will dock at different locations - so not easy to answer without knowing which ship and departure date.

In general you might need a shuttle bus or taxi at all locations. A HoHo bus or shuttle bus might be a good solution

In St, Petersburg you will need a Russian Visa if you want to make it on your own.

As Hallasm's post, there are a number of quays for Stockholm & Copenhagen.

Helsinki - quite a long hike, best use shuttlebus or taxi to Market Square or the hop-on bus route calls at the port.

Stockholm - the very biggest ships stop on the coast at Nynashamn because they can't navigate the archipelago of islands leading to Stockholm. Your itinerary should show Stockholm (Nynashamn)_. It's a tender port and it's an hour or so from Stockholm by train.

If your itinerary doesn't mention Nynashamn, you'll sail through to Stockholm (be up for that sail-in of about an hour, it's magical. :))_

You'll berth at either

Stadsgarten - a short bus or taxi ride, or the hop-on boats, to old-town (Gamla Stan). Or, because queues for the Vasa ship (google it) build up later, take one of the (early-mid morning only) hop-on boats direct to Vasa as your first stop.

or

Frihamnen - a bus or taxi ride into the centre. Again, head for Vasa first.

Copenhagen

- you may be berthed at the new cruise terminal, some distance away. Don't know the place but you'll definitely need transport.

- or you may berth at Langelinie Quay. It's about a 20 to 30 minute walk to the centre. Hop-on buses, possibly local buses, ship's shuttle, or taxis. But do make the effort to walk at least one way. All along waterfront, past the Little Mermaid, castle, Amalienborg Palace, to the little bar-lined harbour at Nyhavn for a well-earned beer.

- or you may be at another quay vaguely near Langelinie. Doubtless the same transport options, may or may not be a sensible distance or pleasant experience to walk.

St Petersburg - sounds like you've yet to do any research.

As Hallasm says, if you just want to leave the port & do your own thing unaccompanied you will need a Russian visitor's visa. The visa's not as expensive for us as for Americans & others, but, new rule last year, Brits have to apply for their visa in person for biometrics to be taken - this can only be done at their embassies in London or Edinburgh.

But you can visit visa-free if you take an organised tour. Ships may try to con you that only ship's tours are visa-free, but a pre-booked tour with an approved local tour operator is also visa-free. And far far better than ships' tours because they're done in 16-seat minibuses - more personal, more flexible, quicker, etc than the big bus cattle-drives. They can also give you a ride on the metro, and out to Peterhof by hydrofoil rather than bus, impossible with larger groups. They've also tended to be cheaper than ships' tours but that's all a bit up-in-the-air at the moment due to the falling rouble.

Google Alla Tours, TJ Travel, Best Guides, SPB Tours, DenRus, and there's several more, all excellent. You do have to pre-book in order to be e-mailed tour tickets which get you thro' immigration without a visa, but you don't pay - or even give a credit card number - til you're there.

Browse this forum for other posts about St Petersburg.

What ship are you on?

JB :)

As Hallasm's post, there are a number of quays for Stockholm & Copenhagen.

 

Stockholm - the very biggest ships stop on the coast at Nynashamn because they can't navigate the archipelago of islands leading to Stockholm. Your itinerary should show Stockholm (Nynashamn)_.

 

It's a tender port and it's an hour or so from Stockholm by train.

If your itinerary doesn't mention Nynashamn, you'll sail through to Stockholm (be up for that sail-in of about an hour, it's magical. :))_

 

 

JB :)

Regal Princess berths more times in Stockholm then Nynäshamn this season (if the weather allows it) .

It is not a tender port any more since the cruise ships that berths at NH will moor at a floating pontoon walkway on which pax will walk to shore.

Regal Princess berths more times in Stockholm then Nynäshamn this season (if the weather allows it) .

 

It is not a tender port any more since the cruise ships that berths at NH will moor at a floating pontoon walkway on which pax will walk to shore.

I knew Princess were pushing for their big ship/s to be allowed to sail into Stockholm, seems they've broadly succeeded :)

Thanx for the update

JB :)

Public transportation is a viable option for all of those ports except St. Petersburg. (We opted to go with an organized tour that took care of the Russian visa for us.)

Helsinki--If your ship berths at West Harbour (which is fairly likely), then you can walk out of the port area to the nearby tram station and take Tram 9 to the center of town. From there, it's a 1km walk to Market Square. A ticket costs 2.5 euros but you can get an all-day pass for only 8 euros.

Stockholm--Our ship berthed at Frihamnen and the bus stop was just outside the gates of the port. We actually ended our day at the Vasa Museum and there was no line and few people. (This was July 2015). A single ride cost 36 SEK and an all-day pass was 115 SEK.

Copenhagen--Our ship berthed at the newest port, Oceankaj. It was also easy to get into town from here via public transportation. Just take a bus from outside the port area to the Osterport or Norreport stations and continue to your destination via foot, bus, train or subway. (If you go to the Norreport station, you are only a 1km walk from Tivoli and the main city square.)

If you are DIY-kind of traveler, I highly recommend "Rick Steves Northern European Cruise Ports" guide book. It gives great information on how to sightsee and get around in all of the ports on your own.

 

Helsinki--If your ship berths at West Harbour (which is fairly likely), then you can walk out of the port area to the nearby tram station and take Tram 9 to the center of town. From there, it's a 1km walk to Market Square. A ticket costs 2.5 euros but you can get an all-day pass for only 8 euros.

Tram 9 only applies for quay LMA. For quays LHB and LHC (a.k.a. West Harbour - Hernesaari) use bus 14 instead if you want to use public transport.

You'll then have to change to tram 3 to reach the Market Square area.

Usually cruise ships for all West Harbour quays have shuttle bus transport available. There are no technical difficulties walking, just the distance, quay LHB being closest to city and LMA farthest away.

I am going on a cruise in May, my cruise goes to

Tallinn, Estonia

St. Petersburg, Russia

Helsinki, Finland

Stockholm (nynashamn), Sweden

Copenhagen, Denmark

Oslo, Norway

I am trying to find out the approx time it takes once I am off the ship to pass though some kind of passport check/customs or how ever it works. Thanks much

The only one of those with any passport control is St. Petersburg, where we waited for 10-15 minutes tops. Everywhere else you just get off the ship and go.

The only one of those with any passport control is St. Petersburg, where we waited for 10-15 minutes tops. Everywhere else you just get off the ship and go.

Sounds good, I just wasn't sure if there would be any hold ups at other ports so I can make sure I am on time for my tours. Thanks much :)

You will be able to skip customs everywhere except St. Petersburg, and all of those cities are easily toured by yourself (if you are not docking directly in Stockholm, it is fairly easy to take the train by yourself since the station is close to the port).

It's great that GradUT only waited 10-15 minutes to clear Russian customs, but please be prepared for the possibility of a much longer wait if you leave right after the ship docks on the first day. The Russian officials carefully examine your visa (or visa waiver papers if you are booked through a private tour) and match that information to your passport. One tour company recommended starting later on the first day (like 10 am) and earlier on the second day to avoid the lines, which would be a possibility to consider. Or some cruise lines give priority disembarkation to passengers who have either achieved status with their line, or book a suite.

You will be able to skip customs everywhere except St. Petersburg, and all of those cities are easily toured by yourself (if you are not docking directly in Stockholm, it is fairly easy to take the train by yourself since the station is close to the port).

Just to avoid possible confusion (or to add some extra confusion) it might be good to note that what is referred to here as "customs" is actually border control. I think that this common use of the word is due to the fact that in the US customs and border protection are carried out by the same agency. In many European countries these are separate entities. To put it simply: border protection is concerned whether you are allowed in and customs is concerned whether your stuff is allowed in. To make all this harder to comprehend the Schengen agreement is a border control agreement that abolished internal border controls. On the customs side there is the EU wide customs union.

In practice it is highly unlikely that you will see either border controls or customs except when you first arrive inside the Schengen zone at an airport. On Baltic cruises there have been occasional reports of Schengen exit and entry checks in ports before and after St. Petersburg. Those checks are part of the default Schengen border controls but can be (and typically are) omitted for cruise ships if risk is deemed low.

. Or some cruise lines give priority disembarkation to passengers who have either achieved status with their line, or book a suite.

That's a fun topic for St Petersburg ;)

Whereas ships usually give disembarkation preferences at tender ports to those on ships' tours or with higher-priced cabins, lines at the terminal are for immigration, and cruise lines have no jurisdiction over those lines.

A couple of years ago, Princess were hauled over the coals by immigration authorities for trying to stop independent excursionists from leaving the ship before ship's tours or splitting the immigration lines between ship's excursionists & independents - and falsely claiming they were instructed to do so by immigration officers. :rolleyes:

I'm pretty certain Princess no longer do that, and other cruise lines haven't given independents any such problem, so it's extremely unlikely that there'll be any preferential treatment in St Petersburg.

I suggest that those on independent tours meet up with the rest of their party near the gangway super-early, so that they can go ashore as soon as it's open, through immigration with no lines, and into their buses while ships' excursionists are still assembling in their designated public rooms on the ship.

Or, as kitkat's post, by arrangement with their tour operator go ashore after the rush.

And, as per kitkat's post, any lines will be on the first day - immigration is a slow process as passports are minutely examined & checked against the manifest. On subsequent days it's a very much quicker process, so lines tend to be short and fast.

JB :)

Edited to add, re Jonza's post.

There have been rare difficulties with Schengen visas (for those who need one) on cruises which include St Petersburg. Schengen visas are either single entry or multiple entry - and because porting at St Petersburg falls between Schengen countries, a multiple-entry visa is needed. Hence problems for those who have purchased a single-entry Schengen visa.

A couple of years ago, Princess were hauled over the coals by immigration authorities for trying to stop independent excursionists from leaving the ship before ship's tours or splitting the immigration lines between ship's excursionists & independents - and falsely claiming they were instructed to do so by immigration officers. :rolleyes:

I'm pretty certain Princess no longer do that, and other cruise lines haven't given independents any such problem, so it's extremely unlikely that there'll be any preferential treatment in St Petersburg.

 

I suggest that those on independent tours meet up with the rest of their party near the gangway super-early, so that they can go ashore as soon as it's open, through immigration with no lines, and into their buses while ships' excursionists are still assembling in their designated public rooms on the ship.

Our tour operator provided a letter along with our tour tickets essentially warning our ship's personnel that they could not dictate the time and the order in which we left the ship for our private excursion. I had this letter with me and was prepared to become vocal if the ship's representatives interfered with us. Happily, this letter stayed in my purse while the security folks smilingly processed us off the ship.

I'll add that my husband and I were at the exit while the ship's excursion folks were still organizing in the lounges. This had less to do with avoiding a confrontation and more to do with the fact that the earlier disembarkation meant more time ashore.

Regal Princess berths more times in Stockholm then Nynäshamn this season (if the weather allows it) .

 

It is not a tender port any more since the cruise ships that berths at NH will moor at a floating pontoon walkway on which pax will walk to shore.

Do you have more information about this? The Princess website still lists Nynashamn as its port for all of the Regal Princess cruises I have looked at for this summer and

this is currently a sticking point for me in deciding between 2 cruises.

I don't know more then the information posted on the official PoS website:

http://www.portsofstockholm.com/vessel-calls/

configure like this:

http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag158/ThunderboltDragon/POS-vessel-calls2_zpsh9nokcxa.png~original

Also have in mind that when it berths in central Stockholm, ship will depart at 2pm already. Giving you very little time in Stockholm.

Do you have more information about this? The Princess website still lists Nynashamn as its port for all of the Regal Princess cruises I have looked at for this summer and this is currently a sticking point for me in deciding between 2 cruises.

Mine still shows:

Sat, 05/21/16 Stockholm (nynashamn), Sweden

Thank you for all the messages about port information and times. I feel much better now knowing what to expect.

-Jamie

Mine still shows:

Sat, 05/21/16 Stockholm (nynashamn), Sweden

Which according to the list of vessel calls will be at Stadsgården S167

It didn’t take us longer than 15 minutes to go through passport control in St.Petersburg.

They have a taxi service at the port if you want to go to the city. We didn’t use it, though, as we booked a tour with a local operator. The tour started right from the port and was very good. The drive from the port was long. I don’t think walking is a good idea.

Just to avoid any confusion. It does not take long tim to get through immigration if you have the right visa for entrance to Russia or a visa waiver for the tour.

But you cannot just walk through Russian immigration and take a taxi without appropriate Russian visa!

I think this forum post captured what happened during the 2015 cruise season for the Regal Princess in Stockholm: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2221572

The speculation was that the ship was cleared by Sweden in the middle of the summer to dock directly in Stockholm (all the ships are apparently tested to ensure they won't damage the archipelago and someone stated that the Regal was retested during this timeframe), but many of the cruise ship berths were already booked in 2015 so not all of the Regal's sailings could dock directly in Stockholm in 2015. Please note that I don't know if this information is correct - it seems to make sense, but I can't independently confirm it.

I hope they will let people know ahead of time where they will be docking in 2016, since some people purchased tours assuming they were docking in Nynashamn to avoid the hassle of organizing transport into the city, and were a little disappointed when they docked directly in the city because they felt they'd wasted money on the tour (Stockholm itself is very easy to DIY if you dock directly there. It shouldn't be too hard to get to the train from Nynashamn, but for families and travelers with disabilities it is an extra hassle).

I also hope Princess clears this up for their potential passengers - we actually sailed the NCL star instead of Princess because we traveled with a 3 year old, and I didn't know how he would do on the cruise and just felt it was too much of a risk to be so far from the ship if my toddler had an epic meltdown in Stockholm (thankfully he loved all of Europe and was an angel on the trip).

 

 

 

I hope they will let people know ahead of time where they will be docking in 2016,..............

 

I also hope Princess clears this up for their potential passengers ............

I think the big problem with this, particularly for Regal Princess and for other ships of almost the same size, is that the decision to allow a ship to navigate the archipelago is weather-dependent.

Very broadly, the bigger the ship the greater the likelihood that the ship will have to port at Nynashamn in inclement conditions.

So the bigger the ship, the more unreliable the information about Stockholm porting printed in itineraries.

Regal Princess passengers will have to cross more fingers than those on smaller ships that the weather will be suitable.

But hey, more passengers = more fingers that can be crossed ;)

JB :)

Regal Princess 15th July at Stockholm.

I cannot get the port information site to give me any details about where we are expected to berth.

This matters because the cruise says we will berth at Nynashamn and as I understand it the railway line between there & Stockholm is going to be closed for trackwork for most of July & August.

I very much hope that it is Stockholm as I would gladly swop time in the city for the trip through the islands.

Regal Princess 15th July at Stockholm.

 

I cannot get the port information site to give me any details about where we are expected to berth.

 

This matters because the cruise says we will berth at Nynashamn and as I understand it the railway line between there & Stockholm is going to be closed for trackwork for most of July & August.

 

I very much hope that it is Stockholm as I would gladly swop time in the city for the trip through the islands.

The information I have Regal Princess will arrive July 15 from Helsinki into Nynashamn at 07AM and depart for Copenhagen at 07 PM.

Looks like problems with Stockholm trains.

Regal Princess 15th July at Stockholm.

 

I cannot get the port information site to give me any details about where we are expected to berth.

 

This matters because the cruise says we will berth at Nynashamn and as I understand it the railway line between there & Stockholm is going to be closed for trackwork for most of July & August.

 

I very much hope that it is Stockholm as I would gladly swop time in the city for the trip through the islands.

Ports of Stockholm does show that Regal Princess is booked to dock at Stadsgården in Stockholm on July 15th and not in Nynäshamn. So it is highly likely that the cruise information is wrong, That does however not mean that things couldn't change, sometimes ports are changed even at very chort notice. Could be because of weather or something else, you can never be sure.