Baltic Cruise Questions

[skatie]

We will be on the Getaway Cruising the Baltics August 14. I have a couple of questions if anyone has insights....

1) we arrive in Warnemunde at 7:30am but have no intentions of going to Berlin. What time would the rush of folks heading into Berlin be over so we could leisurely walk off the ship without waiting?

2) there are many currencies involved in this trip. Will credit cards work for any purchase in all ports?

3) the itinerary shows us in the port of Stockholm and touring through the Archipelago. I have also heard though that this ship is too large to mKe it through this area and would have to dock at port at least one hour outside Stockholm. Does anyone know if Getaway is able to sail through Archipelago to Stockholm?

THanks!

[bunzini]

1. No idea, but my guess is fairly soon after arrival.

2. Yes, almost everywhere. However we could not use ours in McDonalds in Copenhagen. Now we have a chip card -likely you have at least one chip card- and they are no problem throughout Europe.

3. Our shop had no problem, but I have no idea. The Archipelago is beautiful!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[sprint180]

Credit cards will work but make sure it has a chip and get a visa. Only one place would take my discover

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[sprint180]

They wouldn't take mine that didn't have a chip in it

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Pszaffveauhraunne]

3) the itinerary shows us in the port of Stockholm and touring through the Archipelago. I have also heard though that this ship is too large to mKe it through this area and would have to dock at port at least one hour outside Stockholm. Does anyone know if Getaway is able to sail through Archipelago to Stockholm?

 

According to the Port of Stockholm website, you'll be docking at "Statsgarden", which is within walking distance of the old town. You'll definitely be sailing through the archipelago; when we did this cruise in 2013, the journey through the archipelago was absolutely magnificent - don't miss it!

[casofilia]

We will be on the Getaway Cruising the Baltics August 14. I have a couple of questions if anyone has insights....

1) we arrive in Warnemunde at 7:30am but have no intentions of going to Berlin. What time would the rush of folks heading into Berlin be over so we could leisurely walk off the ship without waiting? Unless you have a real need to leave early I would wait till 8.30. The trip to Belin is a long day and I am sure they will want to get the trippers off the boat early.

2) there are many currencies involved in this trip. Will credit cards work for any purchase in all ports? Warnemunde and Tallinn are Euro countries so credit cards should work there. Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stockholm while not Euro are "modern" and credit cards should work there too. But in all acses make sure it is chipped and you also have a pin. Russia may be a different kettle of fish.3) the itinerary shows us in the port of Stockholm and touring through the Archipelago. I have also heard though that this ship is too large to mKe it through this area and would have to dock at port at least one hour outside Stockholm. Does anyone know if Getaway is able to sail through Archipelago to Stockholm? There was a programme on TV in NZ showing a very large cruise liner that went through. However the weather can be troublesome going through there and so be prepared not to go in. We didn't get in when we did the Baltic a couple of years ago.THanks!

 

Good Luck

[Nipsu]

Hello from Helsinki,

 

the currency used in Finland is Euro so the Euros are good in Helsinki. At least Visa should work practically everywhere here but you need your PIN-code for your card.

 

All taxis accept credit cards but for public transport you may need cash.

 

Have a nice cruise.

[casofilia]

Sorry about the mix-up with Finland, forgot it was a Euro country.

[KeithJenner]

I would be very wary about Stockholm.

 

The Getaway itineraries are all over the place with that port and most of them appear to be using Nynashamn, which is not a good place to be docking.

 

Personally, from the comments I have heard and taking other factors into account, I would not be at all surprised if the Getaway never actually sails through the Archipelago. I'm not convinced that they have any intention of doing so.

 

It is very confused, and I hope I'm wrong, but I would make sure you have contingency plans.

 

Just one point about Warnemunde. As stated earlier, I would wait for short while for the crowds to clear, but it shouldn't be too bad. However if you are planning to use the train then give yourself plenty of time to get a ticket. There are only a couple of machines and it seems that using them is a problem to some people. We thought they were ok, but it took ages for some people. Quite a few people watched their train leave whilst still queueing. Given the size of the Getaway, this problem is likely to get even worse.

[SullytheBFG]

Make sure you have a chip and pin card, Visa is the preferred card.

 

In Stockholm it depends the big ships tend to go to Nynashamn as already stated. Most tourists head for Gamla Stan (old town).

 

The Archipelago is beautiful to sail through and starts a long way out. I may be biased as I am married to a Swede and all the family is in Stockholm!

 

Public transport both buses and trains are very good and precise in Sweden.

[hawkeyetlse]

It is possible for a ship the size of Getaway to sail through the archipelago right into Stockholm (see here), but even for smaller ships, the margin of error is limited and it is not rare for this port to be scratched (like once per season, I don't know if that's rare or not). Maybe it's something something to do with the tides, so they already know there are some dates where they can't even attempt it with the GA.

 

As for currency, if you are spending time in Copenhagen pre- or post-cruise, you should get some local money. Not worth it for a day in Stockholm if you have functioning credit cards. In St. Petersburg, they will take USD and EUR cash, and for small purchases you may even get a lower price with those currencies, so again I wouldn't bother with rubles.

 

As a reminder when using credit cards abroad, if they offer to run the transaction in your home currency, say no and pay in the local currency.

[skatie]

Thanks everyone for your replies. We have VISA's with PIN chips and I have some spare Euros and USD I can take with us for small purchases so all good there. I am so looking forward to the Archipelago sailing, but am bracing myself that it may not happen. We'll take our time getting off ship in Warnemunde. I wonder if things like the rope course will be open that morning so kids could do that with little or no wait while most people empty off the ship!? I guess with this being the Getaway's first trip to Baltic, I'll have to wait until May and hopefully someone will post the dailies from this trip!

[KeithJenner]

The ropes course will be open on port days (weather permitting). The only question will be whether it opens early enough for you. My guess is that it will be about 10am, so it may well not be early enough.

 

Doing the ropes course whilst in port is quite a good idea if you can find the time. Not only is it quieter, but not as windy up there.

[rocklinmom]

Yes I am hoping to see lots of reviews in May too! We are doing the same cruise in July.

[ialex]

According to the Port of Stockholm schedule, if you port on 8/21/2017, your berth will be s167 Stadsgarden. We will be doing the Baltics in May, and will also port at the Stadsgarden berth. Our edocs state that we will be cruising the archipelago. I hope that helps.

[BostonGal35]

we had no desire to go to Berlin. we did this instead, and had an AWESOME time. I highly recommend.

 

http://dna-tours.de/tours.html

[kitkat343]

If - weather permitting - you dock at s167 you have the option of taking a hoho boat directly to vasa prior to 10 am. The hoho boat rotes run their longer routes after 10. You just walk along a painted line to the boats from your dock. Vasa fills up quickly so you need to get there fast if you want to go. They limit the total number of tourists allowed at one time to protect the ship.

 

Public transport is excellent in Stockholm, and I'd research how to get there by train from nynasham just in case weather conditions are poor the day of docking. There's info on the Baltic forum

[skatie]

If we do end up at Nynashamn and don't get to sail the Archipelago, is there maybe a tourist boat that would leave from Nynashamn and tour the archipelago for a couple of hours? We are probably better off touring Stockholm centre but just wondering as a option. Thanks

[space_bar]

We're on the Getaway for the July 27th sailing and our itinerary clearly states the ship is docking in Nynashamn.

 

We are disappointed with the port location because of the 1 hour travel time to/from Stockholm, but it is what it is. The Nynashamn location shortens our time in port so we will have to manage our time and really focus what we want to do while we're there.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Credit card fraud is rampant in Russia so you are safer using cash (they will take dollars). The ship warned people not to use their credit cards and even our private tour guide told us the same thing.

[hisleepy]

You can check where your ship docks here: http://www.portsofstockholm.com/vessel-calls/

 

Getaway will be docking at Nynashamn on August 3, but it will be docking at Stockholm August 12, 21 and 30.

[BostonGal35]

We're on the Getaway for the July 27th sailing and our itinerary clearly states the ship is docking in Nynashamn.

 

We are disappointed with the port location because of the 1 hour travel time to/from Stockholm, but it is what it is. The Nynashamn location shortens our time in port so we will have to manage our time and really focus what we want to do while we're there.

 

another reason why a large ship has no business doing the Baltics itinerary....

[Huntingdon1701]

Some itineraries do include the archipelago - it actually shows up as an event in its own right for the one I'm on (16 May). Not sure how much tidal impact there is in the Baltic and whether that affects when Getaway can get in.

[hawkeyetlse]

Some itineraries do include the archipelago - it actually shows up as an event in its own right for the one I'm on (16 May). Not sure how much tidal impact there is in the Baltic and whether that affects when Getaway can get in.

I wondered about this, too, earlier in this thread, so I just looked it up: Tides are pretty insignificant in the Baltic Sea, with a range of only about 40 cm at most at Stockholm (typically much less than that). Maybe it still has some effects on navigation. But maybe it's because of other aspects of the shipping schedule, like what ships would have to pass the Getaway going the other way through the narrow channel.

[buggins0402]

For Warnemunde, what you don't want to see as a port assignment is an LP berth. That means you dock in the commercial port in Rostock. If there are three big ships scheduled for any day, one gets stuck here. Breakaway is only porting there once during the season....mid July.

 

http://www.rostock-port.de/en/cruise-shipping/port-calls/2017-port-calls.html

 

It will make no difference for those planning to go to Berlin..only those planning to stroll off the ship into Warnemunde. Those cruisers will have a port shuttle to Rostock and have to find their own way to Warnemunde if they want to go there. That said, Rostock is a nice town to visit.