Re: Grand /Baltic cruise;Which are the best shore excursions

Can anyone suggest the best shore excursions on this cruise?

Not sure which ports you'll be visiting ... but from our experience last year on the Regal Princess here's what I can tell you.

Copenhagen - We did one day pre and one day post. Saw the city on our own. Easy to do, and public transportation is very inexpensive.

Stockholm - We visited on our own. You can purchase a Stockholm Card (we did it in advance on the web) which gets you entrance into all the major attractions and public transportation. Get Rick Steves' Scandinavia book and it will be a great help in planning what you want to see.

Helsinki - We also did this on our own, purchasing only the transfer into town. There is a tourist office on the Esplanade (central park sort of thing) where you can get directions to things. A local tour bus originates there, and that's how we visited the Temple Rock church and saw other city sites. From the Explanade it's an easy walk to the Uspenski Cathedral and the church on Senate Square.

St. Petersburg - Many choices. Any would be good. For the first port day I went into Moscow. A pricey tour, but well worth it IMO. Absolutely fabulous.

Tallin - Grab the ride into town and walk on your own. It's fairly compact, so there's no trouble getting it all taken in.

Gdansk - We took the tour that went out to Marlbork. Very interesting midieval castle. Also a nice drive through the countryside. This included a walk through the main shopping area and a visit to an old church. Not much shopping time, however, if that interests you.

Oslo - We took the tour to the sculpture park and found it fascinating. They also take you up to the Olympic ski jump where you can get a great view of the city (unless it's fogged in.)

This is a great itinerary. Lots of history. I'd love to go again some day.

'Vegas Jim

bear,
Be sure to check out the Baltic Ports message board, there is info about each of these ports on there!

Grand Princess 5/29/2004
Dawn Princess 3/7/2004
Dawn Princess 3/10/2003
Golden Princess 2002
Sea Princess 2001
Carnival Fastasy 1997

What date are you sailing? We are planning a private 2 day tour in St. Petersburg. There is
a tour company called Red October that we plan
to use. They have good feedback from past users
so we plan to use their services and they provide
group visas at no extra charge. We will be in SPB
on June 2 and 3. At present there are 5 of us
in a group but could grow to a group of 10. The
price of tour get more reasonable as additional
people join. Let me know. Clare