Baltic Shore Excursions

[lynne17]

Hello all, first thread for 11 months. We are cruising to the Baltic aboard Arcadia this August and are visiting Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallin, Warnemunde and Gothenberg. What is the best way to pay for items when ashore (coffee, beer, snacks etc) given that there are several different currencies involved? Are credit cards widely accepted, or is it best to take the local currency? Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks

[Host Sharon]

Welcome to Cruise Critic Lynne

 

In my experience, credit cards are widely accepted in Oslo, Copenhagen and Gotenburg. I haven't visited the other countries, or at least not for many years.

 

It is a good idea to have a small amount of local currency for coffees, toilets etc. This is easiest to manage by changing it on the ship. That way you change the one you don't need anymore for the next one required, rather than carrying all of them with you.

 

Much as I love Baltic and Scandinavian cruises, the currency changes are a pain !! On one I needed five different monies.

[andyc567]

Much as I love Baltic and Scandinavian cruises, the currency changes are a pain !! On one I needed five different monies.

 

Yep, you are right there..

 

Be wary of Estonian currency, as we changed some at Thomas Cook but were unable to change it back as they don't give a buy back rate, so don't get to much.

 

Also there is something weird about Russian, are you not allowed to take it in or bring it out, I can't remember ?

 

Another thing we found with the Baltic was the time zone changes, I seem to remember there were about 4 during the week !!

 

Lovely cruise to do, one of our favourites, so you will enjoy it.

[C at Sea]

Warnemunde is a lovely old fashioned seaside town. If the weather is good its a nice place to stroll to from the ship.

We've done the Baltic twice and loved it. Not really a good weather cruise, though you may be lucky - think British type weather! But a very interesting one. Be aware though that Scandinavian countries are expensive. They have a high standard of living on the whole. You will definitely enjoy it!