cf2404

giraffe0514, Bollinge, cf2404 and dileep: Enjoyed reading your comments and opinions regarding the ports, people, etc. Looking forward to our turn on July 2nd. Do have some questions?

 

The cost of hop on/hop on buses in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki?

 

What particular sights/museums in Olso, Copenhagen, Tallin, Stockholm and Helsinki would you consider a "do not miss?"

 

Any recommended places for light lunches, snacks, coffee, wine/beer and people watching?

 

Is it true the Constellation or Century will not exchange US$ to Estonian kroons or Russian rubles?

 

Any info you would like to share would be helpful to all.

A few pointers here:

The Century Bank does not deal in Estonian or Russian currency, Tallinn takes Euros readily (and probably Dollars though I didn't try) and US$ widely accepted in St Petersburg main tourist areas including outdoor tourist flea markets and souvenir shops.

Helsinki Must See is the open air market at the harbour side which attracts both locals and tourists and is lovely just to stroll around at leisure and pick up souvenirs and grab something to eat or drink. Also head towards the area where the day cruises leave from just beside the open air market and you will see a building just behind that houses an indoor food market, if you are at all interested in food/drink this is a fantastic place again where all the locals seem to shop. Helsinki has lots of lovely pavement cafes along the large boulevard where you can sit with a coffee/beer and just people watch. Very Continental in feel.

Copenhagen: Little Mermaid statue was a huge disappointment for us but you probably will go and see it as it's such a landmark of Copenhagen. Tivoli Gardens at night is nice for coffee/beer at one of the restaurants/cafes to sit and people watch. Nice restaurants along the canal where the canal cruises leave from for lunch during the day although fairly pricey.

Sights in Oslo include the Statue Garden which is very popular with tourists and is filled with very artistic nude statues by a famous Norweigan artist I think. Oslo not a particularly busy city when we were there so didn't do too much else. The Viking Musem and Cultural Museum admission prices were too much for us unless you are serioulsy interested around 15 Euros per person

Tallinn really just made for strolling at leisure through the old town, several churches to look at and make sure you walk right to the top of the hill for panoramic views. Lots of nice tourist souvenir shops here and make you way to the Central Square for lots of cafes and restaurants and again people watching. We were there on a Sunday and there was outdoor singing/music/dancing free of charge around Midday.

All the Hop on Hop Off bus tickets are valid for 2 days and I think they were priced as follows for us:

Oslo 18 Euros per person

Stockholm 22 Euros per person

Helsinki 22 Euros per person (although we used the same company that we had used in Stockholm the day before and got it for 20 Euros each)

Links here to the open top bus tours if you are interested:

http://www.citysightseeing.com/EN/index.htm (Stockholm & Helsinki)

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/ (Oslo & Copenhagen)

Hope some of this helps!

Well it seems like Bollinge really did go independent. We were also on the Century sailing on 21 May and St Petersburg was the only port of call where we booked through Celebrity purely because of the Visa situation. I just could not be bothered trying to apply independently to get my own visa and just wanted them to sort it out for me. I would say that of everyone on the Century that took tours in St Petersburg, 90% of them were through Celebrity so well done Bollinge for being so independent. We booked a 2 day package ($345 pp I think) with Pushkin and Peterhof on Day 1, White Night River Cruise on Evening 1 and City Tour and Hermitage on Day 2. Traditional Russian lunch with champagne and vodka included on both days and drinks/snacks in the evening.

In Helsinki we took the ship's free shuttle bus into the main city centre then jumped on the hop on/hop off (HOHO) tour bus. In the case of Stockholm we walked into the town (20 minute walk) and again picked up a HOHO and in Oslo there was one waiting for us at the quayside. In Talliinn we took the ship's shuttle bus to town and just walked around the old part of the city, no bus needed and finally in Copenhagen, shuttle into the town and again onto the HOHO althought the HOHO goes right past the ship so if you are prepared to wait you can forget the shuttle. Getting in to the centre of town and getting on a HOHO bus is as independent as I like to get! But it does let you see the whole city and get on and off at your leisure and visit the sights as you wish at each of the stops.

Ask away for any other questions!