How much time do you actually have in port?

[Shutterbug623]

New cruiser here trying to plan the port-intensive Baltic cruise on the Royal Princess in August. I know the times the Princess website says we are in port, but how much time can I actually plan for touring (mostly on our own, using public transit, not ship tours except for SPB and Berlin) out of that time? I know it makes a difference where you dock (i.e. We are docking in Nynashamn, not Stockholm), but I was just wondering what time we could actually get off the ship. Do you lose an hour on each end or one end with disembarking/embarking process? Are there some ports that are worse than others? Thanks!

[MeHeartCruising]

My experience has been that in Europe cruises where you dock, you will generally be able to leave the ship within 15-30 minutes of docking. And in all my cruise stops, I don't recall a late arrival at port. It could happen, of course, but I don't think the Baltic is known for it. Other than St. Petersburg, there isn't much in the way of immigration that slows the process. As soon as the ship is moored and they have had time to set up the gangway and ropes, they start letting people off. If the ship is tendering, that is usually when tendering of passengers will begin. Different cruise lines do their tendering differently and some will tender their own excursion passengers first and some will have more than one set of tender stations going. Your tender priority is the wild card when tendering (which I think is done in Nyneshamn, for example). You generally must be back on board 30 minutes prior to sail time, but most seem to recommend you get back 60 minutes beforehand.

Edited June 8, 2014 by MeHeartCruising

[SparkleBee]

just off this cruise. times are adequate but you definitely are rushed if you're going to try and hit most of the major sites. we did it all ourselves except for St.P. wish we had more time in all of the places but we did the best we could. for Stockholm figure an hour and a half each way for transportation to the city. Berlin is approx 3 hours each way to the city. Oslo and Tallin were easy to walk right into town. it's an intense and wonderful trip!!!

[Giantfan13]

I don't know your itinerary or your time in the ports, but for the most part, most of these cruise stops give you ample time to see the best of the cities you are in, even if you want to DIY.

You got a bum deal on Stockholm though, that is why many people try to book a cruise that docks right in Stockholm.

I believe, listening to others who have done that cruise, that you can book an excursion that will take you to Stockholm, maybe the Vasa also, give you about 3 hours of free time and then back to the ship. that is you best bet, as maybe it will help you get an earlier tender off the ship.

 

We did all the ports on our own except St Petersburg.

Tallinn, did the walking tour and had plenty of time to wander about and browse the market on the way back to the ship.

Copenhagen, we did a walking tour, saw everything we wanted to see, did the canal cruise and still had plenty of time to spare to sit in a park for about an hour.

Helsinki, also, we saw everything we wanted to see (we only spent about 1/2 at the fortress, it just wasn't our thing). We again had about an hour extra to spare to wander about.

Warnemunde. We chose to stay and took the ferry to Rostock. Since the last ferry back was about 4:00, we had plenty of extra time to wander about Warnemunde and got back to ship before dinner.

Stockholm. We docked at Frihammen and this was our shortest time in a port. we would have liked to be able to spend more time in Gamla Stan, we found it fascinating, but we did see everything we wanted to see, so no complaints.

 

Whatever you do, take your time and don't rush around so you won't remember what you did, where. Enjoy what you are doing. You will be fine.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Shutterbug623]

just off this cruise. times are adequate but you definitely are rushed if you're going to try and hit most of the major sites. we did it all ourselves except for St.P. wish we had more time in all of the places but we did the best we could. for Stockholm figure an hour and a half each way for transportation to the city. Berlin is approx 3 hours each way to the city. Oslo and Tallin were easy to walk right into town. it's an intense and wonderful trip!!!

 

Thanks everyone! Very helpful. Sparklebee, how did you get yourself to Stockholm? Also, did any of you find a chip and sig/chip and pin card to be necessary for public transit? I keep reading conflicting opinions on that.

[SparkleBee]

ok, when you dock at Nynasham you will walk approx. 15 minutes to the train station. exit the dock area and turn LEFT, there is a (blue or yellow) line painted on the road that will lead you the right way. the train takes exactly an hour. you are best off buying the all day transit pass because it's cheaper than the roundtrip from Nynasham to Stockholm. I was able to purchase this ticket with my non-chipped credit card. I think there is free wi-fi on the train so good time to catch up. you can use that same transit pass to take the ferry to Djurgarten (sp?) for the Vasa. then walk back to town along the waterfront. you will have enough time to do Vasa and Gamla Stan but might not have enough time to see the changing of the guard (we didn't) or see too much else. LOVED Stockholm!!!

 

There were only 4 times in the whole trip I had a problem with the non-chip credit card... once at a fancy food court in St. P and twice at the Copenhagen Central Station, and once at a bakery in Copenhagen. if you have time to get a chipped credit card I would but if not don't stress you will be fine. for things like trams you probably want to have some local currency.

 

to give you a rough idea, I spent about $500 in cash and about $500 in credit cards, including $300 credit card for the St. P tour.

[KirkNC]

In my experience the ships tend to be a little earlier to the docks than stated (not always but more often than not). You can usually get off pretty quickly. We always try and be back one hour before sailaway just in case something doesn't go right. The ship will tell you that you need to be back 30 minutes before scheduled departure.

[buggins0402]

ok, when you dock at Nynasham you will walk approx. 15 minutes to the train station. exit the dock area and turn LEFT, there is a (blue or yellow) line painted on the road that will lead you the right way. the train takes exactly an hour. you are best off buying the all day transit pass because it's cheaper than the roundtrip from Nynasham to Stockholm. I was able to purchase this ticket with my non-chipped credit card. I think there is free wi-fi on the train so good time to catch up. you can use that same transit pass to take the ferry to Djurgarten (sp?) for the Vasa. then walk back to town along the waterfront. you will have enough time to do Vasa and Gamla Stan but might not have enough time to see the changing of the guard (we didn't) or see too much else. LOVED Stockholm!!!

 

There were only 4 times in the whole trip I had a problem with the non-chip credit card... once at a fancy food court in St. P and twice at the Copenhagen Central Station, and once at a bakery in Copenhagen. if you have time to get a chipped credit card I would but if not don't stress you will be fine. for things like trams you probably want to have some local currency.

 

to give you a rough idea, I spent about $500 in cash and about $500 in credit cards, including $300 credit card for the St. P tour.

 

Sparklebee - we have two chip cards - but they are chip and sign, not chip and pin. Would those have helped in the circumstances where you were not able to use the mag strip cards? Or was the pin a necessity?

Edited June 9, 2014 by buggins0402

[SparkleBee]

I think one bakery my brothers chip card worked w/o a pin but my non-chipped card didn't work. I think the ticket machine at Copenhagen Central Station wanted the PIN.