Berlin from Warnemunde

Does anyone have information on the train from the port in Warnemunde to Berlin. I have been on the bahn.de website but could not get ticket prices this far out. It seems like it is an over three hour trip each way and I am wondering if it is worth it to be on a train for over six hours with just three or four hours in the city.

The cruise line is offering a Berlin on your own tour where they put you on a train with a guide, give out snacks, info and maps and you do the city on your own then get back on the train for the trip to the ship. It is $199.00 pp for this deal.This may be worth the price instead of trying to do it on your own though.

Does anyone have any comments?

Thanks much.

Mazie:)

Mazie I have been wondering this too. I am not sure if I would do this without doing it with the ship tour because if the ship tour is late they will wait for you. I think that makes me feel more secure since it is such a long train ride. Happy Sailing, Joy

You don't say how long your ship is in port. This summer our ship docked at 7:00 and didn't depart until about 10:00 PM. Those that took the train in to Berlin had the long train ride you mention but did have 6-7 hrs to site see.

My wife and I didn't go and LOVED Warnemunde as well as some of the smaller towns nearby. The Baltic can be a hectic cruise and it was nice to just walk around and enjoy the sites and beaches.

We really want to go to Berlin but felt that you'd need 2-3 days and we'll just visit it on our own soon.

One more thought. I believe you have to pay extra for an Air Conditioned train. When we were there the temperature was very warm and everyone said the AC was worth the extra cost.

RickT Thank you for replying. My husband and I will be on the same ship as Mazie and the ship will be in Warnemunde from 7am to 9pm. I appreciate your reply because I am debating what is best for us to do at this port. Happy Sailing, Joy

Thank you Rick for the info. We will be in Warnemunde in early May so it shouldn't be too hot.

I was looking into a private van tour from the ship. A 12 hr. tour and van ( 6 people) transportation to Berlin would be about $330.00pp which is a little more than the ship's tour. Doing it on your own doesn't seem to be a good option because of the train schedule and the possibility of getting back to the ship too late.

I will keep researching though.

Joy, what do you think you are inclined to do?

Mazie

I'd recommend considering renting a car at the port and driving yourself to Berlin. You will be able to do it much cheaper than either a ship's tour or the private van tour that you're thinking about. When I did it (some years ago now), between the car rental and the petrol costs, it added up to little more than the cost for one person to go on the ship's train, and we got four people to Berlin and a certain amount of intra-city travel as well, driving from sight to sight. And we go to see what we wanted to see, at our pace - which was actually essential for that particular city visit, as we wanted to spend a lot of time at the Reichstag when it was wrapped.

Thank you globalizer. How much time did it take you to drive to and from? Our ship will be in port from 7am to 9pm. Was it easy to pick the car rental up and return it? Happy Sailing, Joy

It was about 2 hours each way: It's about 150 miles and the vast majority of the trip is on autobahn so it's pretty easy driving really.

We were actually docked at Rostock. Pickup was easy because we just strolled into town to the Avis office. But it should have been even easier because (unknown to us) there was an Avis rep at the dock who was ready to drive us to the office in a van. More recent reports suggest that they will sometimes actually bring the car to the ship's side. And having learned our lesson, we dropped off the car at the ship's side when we got back, so that was easy.

We were originally supposed to dock at Warnemunde but we were told of the change in docking area only after we boarded the ship. Although we told Avis to change the booking, it turned out that they already knew of the change and had moved it already.

Thank you so much Globalizer I appreciate it very much. Happy Sailing, Joy

Thank you so much Globalizer I appreciate it very much. Happy Sailing, Joy

Hi Joy,

It looks like we are getting a few more options regarding the trip into Berlin. Now Im thinking that driving there from the ship would not be a bad idea. Maybe we could get a group together and rent a van. I think bookdoctor is interested in driving there also.

Any thoughts?

Thanks to all for your very helpful comments.

Mazie

Please keep Jeannette and me in mind if anyone rents a van to go to Berlin. I think that's the only way I'd want to go. I priced a small car at E70 from Hertz.

I really have to decide what to do about tours NCL still does not have all of their tours up yet and so I wanted to wait utill I read those to decide what to do. If we do go to Berlin sharing a car would be a good idea. I will keep you posted. Happy Sailing, Joy

I have no interest in going into Berlin. The German countryside and small hopefully picturesque villages interest me more. Thinking about the visit to Schwerin/Rostock. There is a castle in Schwerin and the area looks nice when you google Rostock/Schwerin.

Please keep Jeannette and me in mind if anyone rents a van to go to Berlin. I think that's the only way I'd want to go. I priced a small car at E70 from Hertz.

We are a group of 4 and would be interested in going in on a van rental with you. Would you do the driving? I will check out the prices and availability if you want . If you want to reach me directly my e mail is jdubritz@optonline.net. Thanks.

It was about 2 hours each way: It's about 150 miles and the vast majority of the trip is on autobahn so it's pretty easy driving really.

We also drove with another couple in May 2005. Hertz had an office right at the dock in Warnemunde. Like Globalizer says, the drive is quite easy. We drove for about 2.5 hours and parked near the Zoo station and then took a HOHO bus for about 6 hours before driving back. The cost including rental, tolls, parking and gasoline was less than $100 per person.

We also drove with another couple in May 2005. Hertz had an office right at the dock in Warnemunde. Like Globalizer says, the drive is quite easy. We drove for about 2.5 hours and parked near the Zoo station and then took a HOHO bus for about 6 hours before driving back. The cost including rental, tolls, parking and gasoline was less than $100 per person.

Thank you for this great information. How did you go about having the car at the cruise terminal? I was able to rent a van with Hertz but the pickup location is over 8 miles away. I tried to email Hertz but got no response yet.

Thanks.

Please keep Jeannette and me in mind if anyone rents a van to go to Berlin. I think that's the only way I'd want to go. I priced a small car at E70 from Hertz.

Hi there,

I was able to rent a 9 passenger van with Hertz for $296.30 for the day . I am now looking into how to have it picked up at the cruise port instead of the office in Rostock. So far, we have 6 people and you are welcome to join us. We do need someone to volunteer to drive though.

Let me know.

Mazie

Hi there,

I was able to rent a 9 passenger van with Hertz for $296.30 for the day . I am now looking into how to have it picked up at the cruise port instead of the office in Rostock. So far, we have 6 people and you are welcome to join us. We do need someone to volunteer to drive though.

Let me know.

Mazie

We were supposed to pick ours up at Rostock, but they had a car in Warnemunde. Rostock is not that far anyway.

Hi!

I have looked at a map of Berlin and see where we would pick up the HO/HO Bus. Did you park at the train station, the Zoo, or in a parking garage? thanks for any info. I also see that there is a boat tour at one of the stops. Did you take that? Comments? The museums are closed on Mondays, when we are there.

Hi!

 

I have looked at a map of Berlin and see where we would pick up the HO/HO Bus. Did you park at the train station, the Zoo, or in a parking garage? thanks for any info. I also see that there is a boat tour at one of the stops. Did you take that? Comments? The museums are closed on Mondays, when we are there.

We found a parking garage around the corner from the Information Center just up the road from the old bombed church. There is a Hertz office in the building. We did not take the boat or visit any museums due to lack of time. We did stop almost everywhere and sometimes walked to the next stop if we were close.

Hello Mazie,

first of all: Happy New Year from Germany.

There is one car-rental-station of HERTZ which delivers to the next building of the Warnemünde Cruise-Terminal.

Miera Kraftfahrzeuge GmbH - St. Petersburger Str.

St. Petersburger Str. 50

Rostock 18107

Germany

Phone: 011-49-381 7699653

Fax: 011-49-381 7699642

Location Type: Independent Licensee

Hours of Operation: Mo-Fr 0700-1800, Sa 0800-1200, Su closed

Additional Information:

After hours pick-up available on request. Please contact your Reservation Centre. An additional fee will apply.

After hours return available. Please contact the location. Conditions may apply.

This location is the most convenient one if your are arriving by International Luxury Liners (June to Sept).

Special Services at this Location:

Child Seats

Truck and Van Rental

The HERTZ Code is RST61. You must ask for delivery/collection at the CRUISE CENTER WARNEMÜNDE.

If you are berthing at pier 7 (large buildung) and you are leaving the building you are turning to the right to the next building.

If you are berthing at pier 8 (looks more like a camping ground) and you are leaving the building you are going towards a little red brick-stone buildung to the right. From there you pass the CRUISE CENTER and find the next buildung.

Regarding train services:

Most of the trains are regional express trains i. e. you do need to buy the regular long-distance fairs which is about 65 EUR/person.

If you are a group of 5 max. you buy:

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern-Ticket = 24,00 EUR

Brandenburg-Berlin-Ticket = 26,00 EUR

= totally 50,00 EUR

This ticket is valid from 09.00 am to 03.00 am the following night and on S-trains (commutertrains in Berlin and Rostock (white S in green circle)) and on the RE-trains between Rostock and Berlin.

If you are arriving on a weekend: You can buy Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket which is 33,00 EUR and also valid for 5 persons. It's valid nationwide for all regional trains but on weekends also on all public transports in Bermin.

The station of Warnemünde is just in front of he Cruise Terminal. Walking distance 3 minutes.

You must go S-train to Rostock Central Station (in German: Hauptbahnhof or short Hbf) and you change to RegionalExpress towards Berlin. Get off Berlin Hbf which is located few minutes foot walk to Brandenburg Gate/Reichstag.

It takes about 3 hours one ride. With the car you need about 2,5 hrs due to traffic in Berlin. I would also say that it is very expensive and hard to find parking in Berlin.

I was living in Berlin for 8 years. If you have specific requests just ask.

This is a view from our cruise ship while it was berthing at pier 7.

The word "Bahnhofsgebäude" describes the railways station building.

"Hier: Anleger" is the access to the tunnel to the platforms of the station.

"Hier links Cruise-Center" is the Cruise-Center building. Just next is HERTZ.

Hope this was helpful for you.

Regards,

HeinBloed, Germany

Did you park at the train station, the Zoo, or in a parking garage?

For all the information about Berlin. Do I understand that 5 people can ride on 1 ticket to Berlin? Seems too good to be true. But I had read something similar previously. Where would I find a schedule on the web? Hopefully, in English. I am feeling much more comfortable about going there now. However, I read in a couple books that the Pergamon is closed on Mondays (the day we will be there), then on a Berlin Tourist site it showed Mondays open. Where do you suggest I get the most accurate information? the Pergamon is the main reason for going to Berlin. Thanks.

Thank you for all the valuable information about traveling to Berlin from the cruise port and your New Year's greeting from Germany. I greatly appreciate it as I'm sure my fellow cruisers do. I keep going back and fourth about going on the train or driving. What would you suggest? It is such a short amount of time there and we want to be able to see as much as we can. I am sure the train is more relaxing than the driving but you have the time constraints and schedules to deal with but no worries about parking. The pros & cons seem to be pretty even with both options.

Thanks again.

Mazie

We are an Australian family of 4 (travelling with 2 teenagers). I think the train trip sounds appropriate but am wondering how we best get around the sites once we are in Berlin. My husband is very interested in History so that will probably be the main theme of our siteseeing unless you have further suggestions. Also, our ship is in port on Sat Aug 18 from 6am to 10pm. Do you save much money by waiting until 9am to depart on the train?

Thank you so much for your help.

Jennie