Regal Princess Copenhagen (Berlin question)

[escott74]

Hi there... I am taking the 11-day Regal Princess June 14, 2016 from Copenhagen. It says it visits Berlin, but it's actually Warnemunde, and I believe Warnemunde is a good 2.5 hours from Berlin. 5 hours combined driving seems like a waste of time and Berlin is so big with so many things to see, I can't imagine being able to make it worth while.

 

Is there another city that is closer to Warnemunde that you can recommend? Hamburg looks a little closer, but not much. Or, is there a faster way do get to Berlin?

Edited January 6, 2016 by escott74

[canuck13]

We did this cruise last year. We made the trip to Berlin by train & we were glad we did. However we expect this to be our only trip to this region and were happy to just get a taste of Berlin. Others on our cruise chose to take tours to Rostok and/or Schwerin. We heard good things about those excursions.

[LeeW]

Take the train tour. We had a guide that had given a tour to the Queen of England, and the lunch was spectacular. Long day, though. Only problem we had was a soccer tournament in town that day so sidewalks were a challenge with many folks dressed in their team colors and consuming massive amounts of beer. Very happy crowd around!

[IECalCruiser]

We did this cruise last year. We made the trip to Berlin by train & we were glad we did. However we expect this to be our only trip to this region and were happy to just get a taste of Berlin. Others on our cruise chose to take tours to Rostok and/or Schwerin. We heard good things about those excursions.

We opted for a lighter day and took the train to Schwerin. Make certain you have Euros if you do it yourself as for some reason we couldn't charge our ticket cost of about 35 Euro for the three of us. We had to switch trains in Rostock. In Schwerin we toured the very interesting castle and walked through other parts of the town. I even found a microbrewery to spend some time enjoying a local brew or two while DW and DD had some quality shopping time. You can get to Berlin and see the major sights during the long 10+ hour tour with half the time traveling but we choose to plan a longer stop visit in the future. That was our choice.

[skynight]

We did this cruise in the fall of 2014. Berlin is actually a three hour train ride each way from Warnemunde. The train is waiting right on the dock as you disembark.

 

We chose to join a private tour which included a walking tour through Warnemunde down to the beach area. Warnemunde was a popular vacation spot during the East German era. We then took the trains over to Rostock and continued the tour. Rostock is a nice city. We stopped for some beer and brats, then boarded a ferry back to Warnemunde.

Edited January 6, 2016 by sknight

[sunsetbeachgal]

We did a Baltic cruise on HAL last summer, ship also stopped in Warnemunde, and we did a private tour through SPB to Rostock and Schwerin. We had a lovely lunch and enjoyed these towns very much. Then at the end we had time to walk into Warnemunde, a cute seaside resort and the ship is docked right in town. It was a very pleasant day. We also did not care to spend the three hours each way in a bus or train, but hope to get to Berlin one day on another trip as it sounds fascinating!

[kitkat343]

Since you are sailing the Regal Princess, I'd just advise you that last summer there were times where the Regal was able to dock directly in Stockholm, and not in Nynashamn where it was scheduled to dock. I have no idea what will happen this summer, but here is the thread from last summer:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2221572

 

Also, travalanni is a cruise critic member who was very helpful in terms of planning how to get around Germany. Here is his webpage if you decide to visit Rostock or Schwerin independently: http://travelanni.webs.com

Edited January 6, 2016 by kitkat343

[Desdichado62]

Since you are sailing the Regal Princess, I'd just advise you that last summer there were times where the Regal was able to dock directly in Stockholm, and not in Nynashamn where it was scheduled to dock. I have no idea what will happen this summer, but here is the thread from last summer:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2221572

 

It will still berth in Nynäshamn on four occasions but it will berth in central Stockholm on 8 occasions (weather permitting).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=48165366#post48165366

[GradUT]

When we were in Warnemuende last summer, we rented bicycles in town (very easy to do and only 9 euros for the day). There is a scenic bike trail along the coastline and we spent the morning riding.

 

In the afternoon, we returned to Warnemuende for some lunch and sightseeing and then caught the train to Rostock to visit the old Stasi (East German State Security) prison. Admission is free and there are free audiotours in English. If you have an interest in Cold War history, this place is a "must". (Allow at least 1 - 1.5 hours for the Stasi Prison.)

 

We then walked around the pedestrian zone of Rostock for awhile and took the ship's bus back to our ship. If your ship doesn't offer transportation, you can take the train from Rostock back to Warnemuende.

 

If you have an interest in any of these activities, let me know and I'll provide details. (I did a lot of online research to find out about these places and I'm happy to pass it on.)

[Sauer-kraut]

Warnemunde is a beach resort area so if you walk up the pedestiran way you will come to the beautiful beach with their "StrandKorbe" to rent. Make sure you purchase a beach chit and validate it if you plan on spending time on the sand.

 

Also Rostock has a lot of interesting history, medeival brick gothic buildings, churches and there is a roman bath but I can't find information on it right now. I visited it though. It might be a nice low key day to spend a few hours there and then the rest of the afternoon in Warnemuende. You have a fairly port intensive day so you might need to schedule a 'down' day and Berlin is quite a long day trip.

[escott74]

Great information in here, thank you to everyone who responded. I really appreciate it! Still not sure if I will make the trip to Berlin or opt for Schwerin, but I'm leaning to the latter.

 

I also appreciate the tip about the boat going straight to Stockholm instead of Nynashamn which saves a lot of time.

[IECalCruiser]

Great information in here, thank you to everyone who responded. I really appreciate it! Still not sure if I will make the trip to Berlin or opt for Schwerin, but I'm leaning to the latter.

 

 

 

I also appreciate the tip about the boat going straight to Stockholm instead of Nynashamn which saves a lot of time.

The time to get to attractions in Stockholm will be greatly reduced but your time in Stockholm may actually be shorter. The trip through the Stockholm Archipelago takes 4-5 hours and I believe we departed Stockholm at 2:00. The real advantage to going to Stockholm is the scenic cruising [emoji4]

[escott74]

The time to get to attractions in Stockholm will be greatly reduced but your time in Stockholm may actually be shorter. The trip through the Stockholm Archipelago takes 4-5 hours and I believe we departed Stockholm at 2:00. The real advantage to going to Stockholm is the scenic cruising [emoji4]

 

The itinerary says it's in Stockholm 7:00am to 7:00pm. Does that include the time on the boat riding around the archipelago? In other words, are we not going to get to exit the boat until after 12?

Edited January 11, 2016 by escott74

[IECalCruiser]

The itinerary says it's in Stockholm 7:00am to 7:00pm. Does that include the time on the boat riding around the archipelago? In other words, are we not going to get to exit the boat until after 12?

That 7:00am to 7:00pm is showing for Nynashamn, not Stockholm. Unfortunately, I don't know when the sailing time will be for your cruise.

[Desdichado62]

The itinerary says it's in Stockholm 7:00am to 7:00pm. Does that include the time on the boat riding around the archipelago? In other words, are we not going to get to exit the boat until after 12?

 

If berthing in central Stockholm, your ship will arrive at 7 and leave at 14.00. The other cruise ships usually leave at 4 or 5 in the afternoon,

except those who are overnight stays, so I don't why the RP have to leave at 14.00 already.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Desdichado62

[decamp303]

We are on the same cruise on June 1 out of Copenhagen. We will be in Warnemonde on June 6th and are taking the Mega Mecklenburg tour with Friends of Dave. Search them on Trip Advisor, amazing reviews.

 

If you book, let him know David Campigotto referred you.

 

Thanks.

[IECalCruiser]

If berthing in central Stockholm, your ship will arrive at 7 and leave at 14.00. The other cruise ships usually leave at 4 or 5 in the afternoon,

except those who are overnight stays, so I don't why the RP have to leave at 14.00 already.

That was the schedule a couple of year's ago for the Emerald but it may have changed for the Regal.

[balticbabe]

We took that same Regal Princess cruise last September and really wanted to see as much of Berlin as possible in the few hours we had arriving at Warnemunde. We used a fantastic private guide, The Berlin Expert Jeremy Minsberg. He's an American and probably the best private guide I've ever had. His driver picked us up at the ship and made great time on the autobahn both ways (180 km per hour!) Jeremy specializes in cruise ship visitors and has the entire day so well planned. We saw 20 out of the 25 key Berlin sights recommended by Rick Steves. It was my first time in Germany and as a WWII buff, it was really important to me. It ended up being the best part of our entire Baltic cruise and something that I will never forget. He also will personalize it as much as you want. He books far ahead due to his popularity but I recommend checking out his website.

[decamp303]

We took that same Regal Princess cruise last September and really wanted to see as much of Berlin as possible in the few hours we had arriving at Warnemunde. We used a fantastic private guide, The Berlin Expert Jeremy Minsberg. He's an American and probably the best private guide I've ever had. His driver picked us up at the ship and made great time on the autobahn both ways (180 km per hour!) Jeremy specializes in cruise ship visitors and has the entire day so well planned. We saw 20 out of the 25 key Berlin sights recommended by Rick Steves. It was my first time in Germany and as a WWII buff, it was really important to me. It ended up being the best part of our entire Baltic cruise and something that I will never forget. He also will personalize it as much as you want. He books far ahead due to his popularity but I recommend checking out his website.

 

How long was the drive to and from Berlin? That is the only thing that has me worried as DW can sometimes get car sick.

[GradUT]

The distance from the port at Warnemuende to the Brandenburg Gate, where you would likely begin touring, is about 250 km. If you are planning to make this drive yourself, you probably would not be driving as fast as Balticbabe's driver. (Germans are used to driving this fast. Even after I had lived in Germany for several years, I was not comfortable driving that fast.)

 

I'd be interested to see how fast Balticbabe's driver was able to make this trip, but I would say that a good driving time between Warnemuende and central Berlin is around 2 1/2 to 3 hours, depending on who's doing the driving.