May 7 Constellation Review Baltic/Russia (Very Long)

[Live the good life]

The trip to Berlin was excellent... We also HIGHLY recommend the independent company that we used...

deb

 

We are booked with Berlin Stadtfuehrungen (http://www.berlin-sightseeing-tours.de) for our July 02 trip...Hopefully it would be the same company you mentioned above...Did the tour include an inside visit to the Charlottenburg Palace, and how was it compared to the palaces in St. Petersburg or Copenhagen, etc...? Was there time for shopping at the "House of International Cultures" or other shopping plaza? Which sites from the 4 hour walking tour did you most enjoy seeing/visiting? Was the full 4 hour tour walking or combination of walking and van ride? Who was your guide and driver and how were they?

 

Thanks, Kim

[MSBYRDY]

Host Anne, the lasagna I spoke of earlier was just like the sauce on the pasta in Venice in the restaurant you gave me. You have to try this place.

Marilyn

[uktog]

We are booked for the Baltic next year in May and realise the weather will not be such that outdoor evenings will be possible. My husband is a cigar smoker. On our recent Carribean cruises, he used the aft bar as this was the desgnated place in the evening for the cigar smokers. Can you look at the daillies and tell me whether he has an alternative venue or has to freeze (think this may also be a relevant question for our Alaska trip this year). In both cases, we have a Celebrity Suite, so no balcony and he would never smoke in the cabin anyway

Thanks for the info

[MSBYRDY]

Every daily reads "Cigar and Pipe smoking guests, enjoy a cigar under the stars". It's daily from 8 PM - midnight at the Seaside Cafe Bar, 10 Aft. port side. Might want to reconsider a balcony LOL

Marilyn

[uktog]

thanks - no we will not be reconsidering a balcony - he can freeze or desist!!!!!!:p

[janrj7]

re: Canterbury, we stayed at the Kingsbridge Villa ( http://www.canterburyguesthouse.com/ ) right in the center of town. Very nice, though not as elegant as the Dover B&B. Walked there from the bus station. The owners were SO friendly, and even let me use their private computer to email my sister in Florida (her phones were in and out ... hurricanes.) Saw the famous cathedral of course, and took a boat ride on the River Stour, walked in their many fantastic gardens, and went to an English Food Fair. Very walkable town, lots of quaint old buildings, interesting restaurants & shops. Definitely worth a visit!

 

Jan

[Boo's Mom]

Thanks, Jan.

 

How far from Dover is Canterbury?

[evoni]

Hi Jan,

 

We're looking for 2 rooms in Dover June 2006 and have decided against the Churchill since it's getting mixed reviews. I'm interested in the B&B that you stayed at, East Lee Guest House, would you please described the room/bath and any other details you liked or perhaps didn't like? Thanks!

 

Diana

[Live the good life]

Baltic/Russia Cruise on Constellation…May 7-21, 2005

Wed. May 18 Copenhagen, Denmark

Took the free shuttle into town once again...

Marilyn/Msbyrdy@aol.com

 

Marilyn,

Thanks for letting us know that the free Celebrity shuttles dropped passengers off at the Opera house in Stockholm, and at the Stockman's department store in Helsinki.

 

Do you recall where the free Celebrity shuttles dropped cruisers off in Copenhagen?

 

Also, with regards to theme buffet, did the Constellation have theme buffet(Russian, Swedish, Danish, German, Estonian, Polish, etc...food) this year? We are planning to have local food lunches in ports, but would be interested to find out about these things ahead of time...

 

Kim

[MSBYRDY]

In Copenhagen, the shuttle dropped us at King's Square, it's right next to the canal tour boats and a mere walk across the square to the main tourist St., I believe it's called Ostergard (sp?). We took the canal tour first and it gave a great overview of the city, then headed out to walk.

 

I know we had a Russian buffet the evening we overnighted in St. Petersburg, and it was good. The others I would have to look thru the dailies and check.

Marilyn

[jezzdogg]

How far is it from Dover to Canterbury, and what transportation is there between the two and from there to Heathrow. We were suppose to meet up with friends who live imn Leeds, however they are unable to meet us off the ship so now we need to make plans

Thanks

Norma

[Host Anne]

Marilyn ~ Ahhhhh.... Ai Leonicni....we still talk about it often and it's been four years since we were there. We will definitely give the place a try. Printing out your review and re-reading it!

 

 

;)

 

Thanks again!!!!

[JORAY]

jezzdogg

 

I think you may have to go by Bus or Private driver/car.

 

To check out bus use this site. You may have to go into London and transfer. That is why I said Private car (because of handling bags & etc.)

 

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home/hp.cfm

 

For a privatedriver/car use this site on London or ask you friends

 

http://www.londontown.com/

 

Last Sept we when to London for two days and then trained to Dover for two nights. Transport cost with train, taxis, tips & etc. it cost us $250, This week we are going again and have a private car for $150 airport to Dover with no transfers & etc.

[MSBYRDY]

Anne, I swear it was the same creamy sauce. LOL

Marilyn

[Live the good life]

Got a reply from Deb and Shaun. They both enjoyed Berlin and their tours. Here is a quote from Shaun SDT (hope it will be helpful infos for those interested):

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Live the good life

Deb, we are booked with Berlin Stadtfuehrungen (http://www.berlin-sightseeing-tours.de) for our July 02 trip...Hopefully it would be the same company you recommended in another post...

 

Did the tour include an inside visit to the Charlottenburg Palace? Was there time for shopping after the licensed guided tour or time for lunch? Which sites from the 4 hour walking tour did you most enjoy seeing/visiting? Was the full 4 hour tour walking or combination of walking and van ride? Was Karl also your guide (like Shaun's)? How was he? and was the driver narrating during the drive/or accommodating? Did you drive by Rostock or Wardemunde? We saw a DVD of those towns, they look neat...

 

Thanks, Kim

 

P.S. Really enjoyed the photos posted by Monica P. Now we see why your gang has so much fun!

 

 

 

Kim, I 'll answer your questions since I was the one that arranged the Berlin tour.

 

Yes, that's the same company we used for our tour. Do you mean Klaus? That was our guide. He was very knowledgeable and friendly.

 

We did not go inside Charlottenburg Palace. We also opted to omit a visit to the Olympic Stadium.

 

We stopped for a quick bite to eat that wasn't planned. The tour was about 50/50 as far as walking and van ride. At the end of the tour, there's an hour for shopping while waiting for your driver to arrive to take you back to Rostock. The ride to Berlin is through the Germany countryside. There's not much to see but fields and pastures. No narration needed.

 

There's a lot to see in Berlin, so don't think you'll get to see it all in four or five hours. If Berlin interests you, plan to make a trip back to see everything in detail. We are.

 

SDT

__________________

'till we leave FL. for Nicolle's wedding

 

Until we set sail on the Golden Princess

 

Until we sail for Hawaii on the Summit

 

 

"It's only funny until someone gets hurt, then it's hilarious!"

[Carlene]

Norma, hi, we went from Dover to Cantebury the day before sailing. We got into Dover from London about 1pm and dropped the bags and took a taxi to the trainstation, and 10 pound round trip per person to Cantebury, a bit pricey for a 17 mile trip but cheaper than a taxi, go figure. We walked the wall around the city to the Cathedral and it was just alot of fun. had dinner at a local pub, nothing to write home about there, but all walkable. Back to Dover by 5pm, don't expect to find anything in Dover open after 5pm except restaurants, liquior stores and Micky D's... down town Dover is walkable from the Churchill where we were staying. There is also a line of "discount" stores behind the Churchill, we saw some deals, but were just starting out on vaca so didn't want to over buy just yet.

 

Depending on your transport from Heathrow you may want to stop on the way to Dover.

 

Have a great cruise,

Carlene

[jezzdogg]

Joray

 

What limo company did you use from Heathrow to dover that charge $150. Yhat would be easier on us then the Celebrity transfers.

Norma

[MSBYRDY]

You could try justairports.com We used them to go from the ship to Heathrow. For the drive from Heathrow to Dover, you might consider what we did. It was a great tour of all the countryside, lunch at a great little pub and getting to Dover the scenic way. A bit more money, but well worth seeing something along the way. Check out Toursoftherealm.com Denise is a great lady to spend the day with.

Marilyn

[cruise'n]

Thanks, Marilyn for the great review!

 

I have a question, please. Considering the weather, did you think the balcony was worth the extra cost on this cruise or would it be better to take either an outside or inside stateroom? We are booked on a May '06 Baltic cruise.

[a1dolllady]

We are booked with Berlin Stadtfuehrungen (http://www.berlin-sightseeing-tours.de) for our July 02 trip...Hopefully it would be the same company you mentioned above...Did the tour include an inside visit to the Charlottenburg Palace, and how was it compared to the palaces in St. Petersburg or Copenhagen, etc...? Was there time for shopping at the "House of International Cultures" or other shopping plaza? Which sites from the 4 hour walking tour did you most enjoy seeing/visiting? Was the full 4 hour tour walking or combination of walking and van ride? Who was your guide and driver and how were they?

 

Thanks, Kim

Hi, Kim,

 

Just a quick question: Aside from a faxed confirmation, we have nothing else from this tour. Did you get anything more? Thanks, Helen

[Live the good life]

Hi, Kim,

 

Just a quick question: Aside from a faxed confirmation, we have nothing else from this tour. Did you get anything more? Thanks, Helen

 

 

Helen,

 

I received a faxed confirmation as well as an e-mail reply that said a faxed confirmation has been sent. The faxed confirmation indicated the date and time of pick up from the Constellation port (whether it is Warnemuende or Rostock). It also lists that the total price of 650 euro for a van of 7 people is to be paid in Euros in cash or via credit card after the tour...The purpose of the credit card is just to guarantee the reservation. They won't charge it until the end of the tour if you desire to have it paid by credit card. I have been very impressed with their quick response to e-mails and professionalism.

 

We will not need tickets or letter of sponsorship or anything else like in Russia!

 

Hope somebody will join you for the tour; it is much more cost effective if 4-7 people share a van...It is still worth it for a tour for 2 people, as the ship tour costs 299-360 USD per person...

 

Kim

[a1dolllady]

Helen,

 

I received a faxed confirmation as well as an e-mail reply that said a faxed confirmation has been sent. The faxed confirmation indicated the date and time of pick up from the Constellation port (whether it is Warnemuende or Rostock). It also lists that the total price of 650 euro for a van of 7 people is to be paid in Euros in cash or via credit card after the tour...The purpose of the credit card is just to guarantee the reservation. They won't charge it until the end of the tour if you desire to have it paid by credit card. I have been very impressed with their quick response to e-mails and professionalism.

 

We will not need tickets or letter of sponsorship or anything else like in Russia!

 

Hope somebody will join you for the tour; it is much more cost effective if 4-7 people share a van...It is still worth it for a tour for 2 people, as the ship tour costs 299-360 USD per person...

 

Kim

Do I understand that you gave a credit to reserve the tour? We were not asked for this eventhrough we plan to pay in cash. Please advise. Also, I sent you a check today for the Stockholm tour. Helen

[Host Anne]

Marilyn ~ OK, OK....STOP....you are making me hungry and we just finished dinner. Tonight is a "real" assembling of information for our Baltics cruise. I'm starting with your recommendations....I'll be back with a report after we return!

 

:)

[MSBYRDY]

cruisen, The balcony was well worth the sights we saw from it. We had a sailaway party and from the aft, the White Cliffs of Dover were great. We used it coming in and out of every port, cold or not. I guess it's just personal preference, but we loved it. We popped in and out and could stay warm that way, and still not miss a thing.

Marilyn

[MSBYRDY]

Anne, email me and I'll fax you the card with the address and directions on the back.

Marilyn