May 2013 Baltic Cruise

[Joel&Hall]

Hi, we have just booked our first ever cruise and have chosen to do a Scandinavia and Russia Cruise on Celebrity Eclipse leaving May 2013 :)

Would love any tips anyone may have on the different ports, also how far in advance would you recommend booking independant tours in the different ports? We are going to Bruges, Warnemunde, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallin & Copenhagen

We are looking at staying a night in Southampton before we cruise can anyone recommend somewhere to stay & is there anything to do in Southampton?

Also would be great to hear from anyone else who has booked or is looking at booking this cruise :)

 

Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

There is huge volumes of info here for you. First, I would be reading on the Celebrity board. Secondly, the Northern Europe ports board will give you lots of good info on what to do in each port.

[Gonzo70]

Welcome to Cruise Critic,

 

If you are on the May 25, 2013 cruise, I am sailing on that as well. It is a great itinerary!

 

Another board here on Cruise Critic to check out is the Roll Call boards - these boards have threads where everybody on the thread is going on the same exact cruise. Great forum for sharing information about the upcoming cruise, planning group activities/excursions, asking questions etc. Here is a link to the Roll Call for the May 25, 2013 Celebrity Eclipse sailing: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1594337

 

I plan to start looking into booking private excursions in a few months. Sometimes the better companies book up far in advance, so planning ahead is a plus.

[Andee]

We found Bruges, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallin, & Copenhagen very easy to tour on our own--read some guidebooks, surfed the Net, put together our own day of sightseeing.

 

In St. Petersburg, we were delighted with our two days touring with Red October. Can't praise them highly enough.

[jocap]

If you stay at the Holiday Inn, Herbert Walker Avenue, the Eclipse should moor right across the road from you; it's a '70s style hotel, but clean, comfortable with friendly staff. The majority of guests will be cruisers, many going on your ship. From the bedroom windows you'll see either the ships creeping up river in the early hours, or them docking just past the hotel.

If you have wheeled luggage, it's a couple of minutes to walk to the check-in.

Jo.