EllieR

Just chiming in on the weather comments...

 

I did this itinerary twice: May of this year and August/September of 2013. We found it to be quite cold this year, and even the locals said they found it colder than usual. However, in 2013, there were days hot enough that people were swimming and sunbathing on the ship. So, always be sure to check the forecast before you go as it could be different next year.

 

Frankly, even Ottawa has been colder and MUCH rainier than usual this summer (we nearly set a few rainfall records this summer). I wonder if the Baltic was experiencing a particularly unusual year....

I fully agree with the two previous posters. I did the one-day tour in Moscow earlier this year as I had done 2 days in St. Petersburg on a previous cruise. While I don't regret going (I'd still be wondering, "what if..."), I do feel there is much more to see and do in St. Petersburg, even on a second (or third) trip.

Mud_Shark:

 

A segment of the population are budget travelers. We are two of them. We just can't justify sometimes close to $1000 C per person more for a 14 day cruise just to have your own balcony. We have the entire top deck for sitting outside.

I ditto every word of this. I have only booked insides.

 

Janetz:

 

We have our first ever inside, a sideways cabin on our upcoming 10 day Regal cruise.

I had a sideways on the Regal earlier this year. You'll enjoy the extra desk space. :D

I know that Princess has its Scandinavia and Russia itinerary, which includes all the countries you mentioned except Iceland. They also have an Iceland and Norway one, plus a Transatlantic in September that includes stops in those two countries. However, I have not seen an itinerary that has all four countries in it.

I was there in May. We used both. We exited in the morning via the pier, but had to return via tender. The reason is because one of the moorings broke, which prevented the Regal from being able to dock at the pier. So, the pier retracted back, and we got back on via tender.

 

As far as I understand, this is atypical. It was expected that people would be able to re-embark via the pier as well. Not having read anything about using a tender in Nynashamn lately, I assume all has been fixed, but thought I would mention my experience just in case something happens during your trip.

I'll be the odd one out and write that the inside of Peterhof is not only a must see, but that I also preferred it over Catherine's Palace.

 

The grounds are beautiful, as others wrote. However, what I liked about Peterhof's interiors more so than Catherine's was that each room seemed to have its own character. There was a lot more variety to be seen, whereas Catherine's Palace has a lot of gold and pastel. Of course there was some variety beyond that, but I found that the sheer amount of gold in the ballrooms overpowered everything else I saw later.

 

I would go back to Peterhof in a heartbeat. I would love to see the interiors again, plus spend more time on the grounds.

 

I suggest taking the tour that includes the Peterhof interiors. If you find, as others have, that the palaces all bleed into each other after while, so be it. However, at least you'll have seen and known as opposed to wondering "what if".

I am assuming that each cabin is under a separate booking number. If you wish to do the booking online yourself, you will need to get each booking number plus the name and birth date of one of the people in that booking (cabin). That will allow you to log in to that person's personalizer and book the excursion on the cabin's behalf. Mind you, I'm only suggesting this because I am assuming that the other family members are okay with you accessing their bookings on their behalf. If you haven't cleared that with them, I suggest doing so (I would hate it if someone accessed my booking without me knowing it, but I have done this on behalf of my mother as she likes me to take care of the details for her).

 

Otherwise, you may want to book on their behalf by calling a Princess agent.

 

As for getting on the same bus, that gets assigned when people show up at the meeting place. The crew tend to ask people if their whole party is there. If not, they ask those individuals to wait until the rest show up, at which point they all get assigned to the same group. Just make sure you all arrive together, mention you are in the same group, and you should be okay.

Yes, please don't let the need for a visa (if going independently) deter you. Saint Petersburg is truly one of the jewels of the Baltic.

 

As Cruiselover11 wrote, you can still get your own visa or hire a private guide who will act as your visa. You might also wish to contact the tour agencies, describe what you wish to do, and see how they might be able to accommodate. Another option, if NCL offers this, is an on your own type of excursion. This could be a tour that begins as a tour of someplace, followed by time to wander the city on your own.

 

Another thought: unless you're in a major tourist location, don't expect to find too many people who can speak English. There are also no translations for signs, transit, directions, etc., which could be challenging if you don't know the Cyrillic alphabet. This is where you may find that going the private guide route is a good idea.

Not much to add, but do want to ditto those who've made reference to keeping a routine and the fun that a child can have in the kids club.

 

My daughter was 3 on her first cruise, a 10 day Southern Caribbean (Princess). I intended for us to have family time in the ports and to keep her to a routine. Well, once she saw the kids club she didn't want to have anything to do with us! She had a blast. Also, though we were good with keeping her bed times consistent, she still started having meltdowns about halfway through the cruise. It was her first big trip, so I think all the excitement just caught up to her. We may have avoided this if we budgeted more down time during the day, and at the beginning of the cruise. Live and learn...

 

All in all, everyone had a good time and she's been begging me ever since to take her on another cruise. She's getting her wish next year. 😊

My husband and I stayed in the NH Berlin Mitte Leipziger Strasse this past May. I found it well situated between Checkpoint Charlie and Unter den Linden. It also had a very good breakfast. I would not hesitate to stay there again.

You can walk the grounds of Akershus Fortress, along the docks towards Bygdoy, and/or up the roof of the Opera House. If you feel like taking one of the streetcars (or are good walkers, it's about 45 minutes from Akershus), you can also explore Vigeland Sculpture Park.

If you plan to purchase from one of the street stalls, I advise you to have Rubles. However, if you shop at any of the main gift stores (i.e. Onegin), your credit card will be all you need.

 

The first time we went to St. Petersburg, we did the two-day deluxe tour with SPB Tours. This time, our second day was the "Hermitage and St. Petersburg On Your Own", while the first day was "Moscow in a Day".

I may have exaggerated about all night :confused:. It certainly felt late to me! However, your assumption about other ways to get in is correct as there are back entry ways, which is how hubby and I got in, and a publically accessible roadway between the fortress grounds and the Armed Forces Museum. Whether those are closed at 9pm is unclear.

Just to add to Kaisatsu's response: Sondre Akershuskai denotes Akershus Fortress, which is right across the street from the cruise terminal. Also, you can walk to Vigeland Sculpture Park in roughly 45 minutes (at least, I did). If you're into walking, this can be a good alternative to relying on the trams and far cheaper than paying for an excursion.

 

Hubby and I walked the entire time in Oslo. We left around 11am from the terminal to Vigeland, spent some time there (including time for a drink/snack), walked back through the gardens of the Palace spent time watching the changing of the guard), continued down Karl Johans Gate (shopped for a bit), and then to the Oslo Opera House where we climbed up the roof. When I checked my emails inside the Opera House afterwards, it was around 3/3:30pm. So, if you're thinking of doing Oslo on your own, it is very easy to do so. Just time the museums and City Hall for the beginning of the day and you'll have plenty of time for the rest. The Akershus grounds are open all night, you only need to worry about timing if you want to see inside the Fortress or take a group tour.

I did this tour in May. The drop-off and pick-up point we had was in front of the Onegin gift shop on Italyanskaya, acfross from the Russian Museum and one block from Nevsky Prospect.

 

This was only about three blocks away from the Church of the Saviour and, by Google Maps, is just under 2km. walking distance from St. Isaac's. I remember passing by the Church of the Saviour about 5 to 10 minutes into my walk. Assuming no mobility issues, you should have plenty of time to visit both.

Montelco, if you're docking in Nynashamn, the trip to Stockholm is quite easy. Once you get off the ship, buy a transit pass from the Tourist Information booth at the terminal. Then, follow the blue or yellow line (the tourist booth people will tell you) to the train station. It's roughly a 15 minute walk. You get on train #35 which will take you to Stockholm Central, which is a 1 hour ride.

 

The train ride was smooth, quiet, and comfortable.

What are the seats like? (Bench type, airplane type etc. Do they recline)

They are comfortable. I would liken them more to airplane seats, and they recline somewhat.

 

What are breakfast and dinner like? (Box meals, a separate dining car, examples of food)

For us, breakfast was a ham and pepper omelette with bread, fruit-filled pastry, and a bottle of water with tea/coffee. Dinner was salmon, a salad, bread, drink, and a small fruit-filled pie.

 

Can you upgrade to better seats (I am a large person) if so any idea of the cost and if they take credit cards.

I don't recall this being offered but, if they do, you'd likely have to go through Princess (I doubt it's offered, though, because you're under the care of your guide and they want to keep everyone together).

 

Are there additional food options and do they take credit cards or do you need rubles?

There are from a small canteen, but I didn't visit it so I cannot attest to whether what was available matched the menu in the seat pocket. However, I can tell you that the breakfast/dinner meals served are the only option included in your trip.

Just to confirm some others' experiences... I got the promotion added today, but had to cancel and rebook. No big deal for us as our PVP got us the same rooms, the cruise fare hadn't changed, and we had no other promotions on our booking. The deposit I already paid and FCDs I used were transferred over. I'm glad others were simply able to get it added.

You can take train #35 from Stockholm Central to Nynashamn. I did it this year to/from Stockholm and the ride only took one hour.

Happy birthday, fellow Canadians, from rainy Ottawa. :cool:

 

And thank you also to our international friends who are wishing us well today. :D

If by "evening entertainment" you mean shows in the theatre, a singer in crooners, a comedian in the Vista Lounge, etc., then, yes, there is plenty of evening entertainment on the Baltic cruise.

 

I did this cruise this year, for the second time. The first time, in 2013, we boarded in Copenhagen after spending a few days there touring the city. This time, we boarded from Warnemunde, also after a few days of touring Berlin. It's quite a hike from Berlin, but not difficult. It's also quite inexpensive if you're going via the regional trains.

 

You could easily spend a few days in either city with the feeling that you could have been there another week. I know that, should we do this cruise again, I hope to embark from Copenhagen so I can see more of the city. Having written that, an advantage to boarding in Warnemunde is that there are far fewer people lining up to board. When we arrived at around 2pm, there were only about ten people in line ahead of us (boarding commenced at 1pm).

 

You cannot go wrong with this itinerary, nor with either embarkation point. :)

My souvenir ideas aren't ideal for a 5 year old, but I'll offer them in case you'd consider putting something away till she's older and/or you want to buy for someone else (i.e. you :)).

 

Tallinn:

Linen

 

Russia:

Faberge Eggs (if yes, then ensure you buy one with the mark inside. Those are made in the factory in Moscow and, I'm told, are of better quality than the non-marked ones, which possibly come from outside Russia.).

Malachite and amber, if you want to buy jewellery.

 

Berlin:

The Ampelmann Store

Buddy Bears

 

 

Helsinki:

I picked up a book called, "Finnish Nightmares". It's a short, comic-style book that pokes fun at the Finns' supposed reserved nature. I bought it because I thought it was funny and could have just as easily been named "Canadian Nightmares". :)

I'm with Virgin, which offers travel passes of varying GBs/minutes for all of the Baltic countries (most fall within zone 1, which is least expensive).

 

Having written that, if you're willing/able to get your surfing done at certain times, most of the ports we visited this year had free wifi at the terminals (Tallinn, Warnemunde, Copenhagen, Oslo, Nynashamn, Helsinki). Various tourist sites had free wifi as well, so you might be able to do what you need by paying attention to hot spots as you move around (i.e. Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, train between Nynashamn and Stockholm, Opera House and Nobel Peace Prize Museum in Oslo, the shopping malls in Helsinki). The only exception we found was Russia, which did not have wifi at the terminal nor did we run across many reliable hot spots (free wifi exists in St. Petersburg, but I always had a hard time connecting). Just something to keep in mind if you cannot find what you're looking for.

Hubby and I got one on the Regal in May. Mind you, it was one for the both of us, not one each as we have had in the past.

I love dressing up on formal nights because of precisely that: I get to dress up! Formal nights are my excuse to go shopping in stores in I would never otherwise have a reason to step into, buy something beautiful, and feel glamorous. Even if I go with a dress that isn't new (I don't have THAT much money :D), I still love have an excuse to dress to the nines. Formal nights, here I come!