Cruising North Europe, weather? pools?

[CatBelle]

We are planning to cruise around North Europe next summer, maybe those routes in St.Petersburg, Stochkolm, Danmark, Norway, etc.

 

I love sunbathing and using the ship's swimmingpool but I am not sure about the weather up there in summer, is it possible and enough warm weather to do a "summer life"?? unless there are storms or rain of course.

 

I've heard as well that the ships who sail around that area have indoor heat swimmingpools, is that true? I mean, not the same kind of ships which sail in Caribbean or Mediterranean.

 

I love that route and I know I will love it and visit all the cities, but my question is specially about weather :P

:cool:

[CatBelle]

Any cruiser here around this route before?

[windjamming]

We are planning to cruise around North Europe next summer, maybe those routes in St.Petersburg, Stochkolm, Danmark, Norway, etc.

 

I love sunbathing and using the ship's swimmingpool but I am not sure about the weather up there in summer, is it possible and enough warm weather to do a "summer life"?? unless there are storms or rain of course.

 

I've heard as well that the ships who sail around that area have indoor heat swimmingpools, is that true? I mean, not the same kind of ships which sail in Caribbean or Mediterranean.

 

I love that route and I know I will love it and visit all the cities, but my question is specially about weather :P

:cool:

 

Hi CatBelle. We did this route in August, and the outdoor pools were definitely NOT usable. I'd say the outside temperature was in the upper 60s most days. The good thing is that Radiance class ships do sail this route, and they have an indoor Solarium. So, yes, you can have the best of both worlds -- beautiful sightseeing and indoor pools!

 

We did our cruise on the Jewel and loved it. I highly recommend!

[kernow]

We did the Baltics on Celebrity Eclipse in July 2010. We had fantastic weather, it was difficult to find an empty sunbed on the sea days and the temperature in Stockholm hit 30 deg c, almost too hot. However I think this was unusual, passengers who had done the itinerary before said they had much cooler temperatures.

 

Be prepared for all weathers and you'll be ok.

 

Whatever the weather the ports of call are fantastic, it was one of our very favourite cruises.

 

Julie

[CatBelle]

Thanks people, yeah it must be strange to have 30 degrees in that area even in summer, I am from south Europe and we usually have more than 40º So this simple question was important for me, even more being next to the sea what for me means: sun, swim, etc.

 

Another question: Is there any port of call where you can visit the important city on your own? for example that happens in Ft.Lauderdale, or in Civitaveccia we took a train and we could stop just next to the port. Or are the ports far from the Main atraction? I don't know if I am explaining myself properly. Those kind of ports which are situated in the city and you don't need to do a long route to arrive to the most important places.

[windjamming]

Another question: Is there any port of call where you can visit the important city on your own? for example that happens in Ft.Lauderdale, or in Civitaveccia we took a train and we could stop just next to the port. Or are the ports far from the Main atraction? I don't know if I am explaining myself properly. Those kind of ports which are situated in the city and you don't need to do a long route to arrive to the most important places.

 

It's a great question, and the Baltics cruise is a great one to visit cities on your own. In Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Tallinn, we were docked right in the cities, making it a very easy walk to the attractions. In Helsinki I recall being a little further from attractions, but if I recall correctly, there was fantastic public transportation available. (We took an excursion out to Hvittrask, in the suburbs.)

 

St. Petersburg is the only city on the itinerary that you really can't tour yourself easily, and I think you'll have a better time if you choose either a ship excursion or a pre-booked private excursion. The distance from the ship to the entrance to the port is quite far and in an industrial neighborhood. It was also a distance to get to any of the attractions.

 

Good luck!

[critterchick]

Thanks people, yeah it must be strange to have 30 degrees in that area even in summer, I am from south Europe and we usually have more than 40º So this simple question was important for me, even more being next to the sea what for me means: sun, swim, etc.

 

Another question: Is there any port of call where you can visit the important city on your own? for example that happens in Ft.Lauderdale, or in Civitaveccia we took a train and we could stop just next to the port. Or are the ports far from the Main atraction? I don't know if I am explaining myself properly. Those kind of ports which are situated in the city and you don't need to do a long route to arrive to the most important places.

 

It's a great question, and the Baltics cruise is a great one to visit cities on your own. In Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Tallinn, we were docked right in the cities, making it a very easy walk to the attractions. In Helsinki I recall being a little further from attractions, but if I recall correctly, there was fantastic public transportation available. (We took an excursion out to Hvittrask, in the suburbs.)

 

St. Petersburg is the only city on the itinerary that you really can't tour by yourself easily, and I think you'll have a better time if you choose either a ship excursion or a pre-booked private excursion. The distance from the ship to the entrance to the port is quite far and in an industrial neighborhood. It was also a distance to get to any of the attractions.

 

Good luck!

 

I agree. Get yourself a good guidebook (Rick Steves and Eyewitness Travel are my favorites, although you might be more comfortable with a Spanish one) and you can do any of the cities on your own other than St. Petersburg. We did walk from the pier in Helsinki into town - it took about 45 minutes and we stopped for coffee along the way.

 

We sailed in July of 2007 and had glorious weather some day and pouring rain on others. We had 4 sea days and I recall that the outdoor decks were usable (as in sunny) for the two of the four days.