Norwegian Breakaway Aug 2018

Hello all,

I'm new to this site and forum. Will be on the Norwegian Breakaway this Aug 2018 for the Scandinavia, Russia and Baltic cruise. Just registered for excursions with Alla tours in St Petersburg and Warnemunde. I'm very excited. Additional suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

itravel150

go to the roll call section of Cruisecritic and find your sailing to connect with others on your sailing who may be planning other excursions etc

also check out the ports of call forum-Europe then sub forum Northern Europe and Baltic for more information on ports you will be visting

We are on the July 22 sailing

Thanks. I will totally follow up on your recommendation.

We just booked our St. Petersburg excursion through Best Guides. We also booked our Tallinn excursion through Saku Travel, an Estonian company.

We are still deciding on Germany, Finland and Sweden.

Hello all,

 

I'm new to this site and forum. Will be on the Norwegian Breakaway this Aug 2018 for the Scandinavia, Russia and Baltic cruise. Just registered for excursions with Alla tours in St Petersburg and Warnemunde. I'm very excited. Additional suggestions are welcome.

 

Thanks,

itravel150

I am sailing on the August 27 cruise. I am using Alla for St Petersburg- Grand Tour and Stockholm. DIY for Talllin and Helsinki, "Friends of Dave" tour for Warnemunde, Wismar and Schwerin.

Elaine

I am sailing on the August 27 cruise. I am using Alla for St Petersburg- Grand Tour and Stockholm. DIY for Talllin and Helsinki, "Friends of Dave" tour for Warnemunde, Wismar and Schwerin.

Elaine

We just got off and you are doing almost everything we did. I strongly suggest denruss (?) for Finland. it's a new company and we were the only 2 for our walking tour. Friends of Dave in Germany was our favorite. I would never suggest the long train ride to Berlin. Again, fantastic tour! Alla in St. Pete was also really good. As said many times, customs in Russia was nearly an hour. Alla needs to update their info since they claim they will leave after 8:45 which was false. You'll be on a bus with 15 others, so they fill a bus and go and continue this.

Maybe it was because it's the last stop but no one we spoke to enjoyed Sweden. Lots and lots of people.

Also for future cruisers if you have a balcony, try to get on the right or starboard side of the ship you'll see lots more land but you'll have to contend with the smoking side of the oceanfront area.

We also loved the band in St Normans pour house. It was billed as something like Nina and the guilty pleasures. They absolutely rocked the house. Hands down the best ship band we ever heard. Get their early since they packed the house. Rock of ages sucked. 20th 30 percent of the crowd walked out, but we stayed to the end and they had some people give a standing ovation.

Enjoy!!

We just got off and you are doing almost everything we did. I strongly suggest denruss (?) for Finland. it's a new company and we were the only 2 for our walking tour. Friends of Dave in Germany was our favorite. I would never suggest the long train ride to Berlin. Again, fantastic tour! Alla in St. Pete was also really good. As said many times, customs in Russia was nearly an hour. Alla needs to update their info since they claim they will leave after 8:45 which was false. You'll be on a bus with 15 others, so they fill a bus and go and continue this.

 

Maybe it was because it's the last stop but no one we spoke to enjoyed Sweden. Lots and lots of people.

 

Also for future cruisers if you have a balcony, try to get on the right or starboard side of the ship you'll see lots more land but you'll have to contend with the smoking side of the oceanfront area.

 

We also loved the band in St Normans pour house. It was billed as something like Nina and the guilty pleasures. They absolutely rocked the house. Hands down the best ship band we ever heard. Get their early since they packed the house. Rock of ages sucked. 20th 30 percent of the crowd walked out, but we stayed to the end and they had some people give a standing ovation.

 

Enjoy!!

Thanks for the heads up! Yes, we are booked in a balcony on the starboard side, mid-ship. I had already considered which side best to see land! Hope smoking isn't too bad, though. I did reserve "Rock of Ages" but i'm thinking I may be one of the ones that walk out! lol!

For Alla tour, how did you pay tips? Euros or US$? Did you tip for "Friends of Dave"? Regarding currency in the ports, I am hoping to use credit cards mostly and some euros. I don't want to deal with the Danish or Swedish kroners. We will be in Copenhagen one day prior and one day post cruise...did you do a tour in Copenhagen? Any suggestions of what to see/do?

thanks! Elaine

I LOVED Rock of Ages. I saw it on Broadway and saw it on the Breakaway 4 years ago. Going on the Breakaway in June and super excited to see it again. I love 80’s rock and I’m in my 40’s so it’s music I grew up with so maybe that makes a difference? We have a port side balcony. I’m sure the views will still be beautiful and I’m glad I won’t have to deal with the smoking side.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hi SClakeliving!!

You'll love the cruise and the tours you selected! Just be prepared to be zonked by the time you hit Sweden :)

For your questions:

For Alla tour, how did you pay tips? Euros or US$? US currency for tips.

Did you tip for "Friends of Dave"? We did. I am kinda set on giving tips when the service is good. I actually watched the people leave the bus at the end of the tour to see how many greased the palm of Christian (?) and it was about 70% of people who did tip. We did $30 USD.

Regarding currency in the ports, I am hoping to use credit cards mostly and some euros. I don't want to deal with the Danish or Swedish kroners:

For sure don't get Swedish Kroners. We charged all souvenirs and never needed kroners. For DK in Copenhagen, I suggest you hit an ATM in Copenhagen. My wife advised our bank we would be traveling and we were only charged $2.95 for the ATM fee - cheaper than in the US. The ATM machines will make it VERY easy to use - they offer English and provide a simple step by step process for withdrawing. If you plan to use the public transit you will need smaller DK. If you find it beneficial consider the Copenhagen City card - it covers all public transit and many tours (aquarium - which was very cool, Tivoli and many museums). We did not purchase one so perhaps do some research.

We will be in Copenhagen one day prior and one day post cruise...did you do a tour in Copenhagen? Any suggestions of what to see/do?

We did a castle tour with Grey Line. It was very good - a solid 7.5 :) It takes you way outside the city so you not only see the castles you get to see the country side. We also did the canal tour which is only about $10. Well worth it. We also just walked a lot.

Again, have fun! Be sure to hit the Pour House for the band. Lots of 70's, 80's rock.

I LOVED Rock of Ages. I saw it on Broadway and saw it on the Breakaway 4 years ago. Going on the Breakaway in June and super excited to see it again. I love 80’s rock and I’m in my 40’s so it’s music I grew up with so maybe that makes a difference? We have a port side balcony. I’m sure the views will still be beautiful and I’m glad I won’t have to deal with the smoking side.

Interesting, I am the same way and love 80's rock but it was just not good this time. I can't put my finger on the specific reason - perhaps a bit over the top and too cheesy is the closest I can get.