Sailing on the Silhouette through the Baltic

[bernipops]

32 minutes ago, hlddad said:

Hi all -

 

ABBA, THE MUSEUM - 4 FREE tickets available!!

 

I was supposed to be sailing on this cruise but had to cancel due to a travel companion needing emergency surgery. (she is doing fine now, but can't travel)  

 

 I have 4 tickets to the Abba Museum that i am happy to pass along to anyone who is interested. I have spoken to the museum and they said i can transfer the tickets to anyone, but i can not get a refund.  I would love to see them used by someone and not go to waste!

 

Just reach out to me and let me know if you want them!

 

Holly

 

 

Hi Holly what a shame you couldn't take the cruise, I do hope your friend recovers quickly.  What a kind offer to pass your Abba Museum tickets on and I would really appreciate two of them if they are still available.  We are on 16 June sailing will they still be valid.  My email is thedoghouse178@aol.com.  Many thanks in advance.

Edited May 29, 2019 by bernipops

[hlddad]

31 minutes ago, bernipops said:

Hi Holly what a shame you couldn't take the cruise, I do hope your friend recovers quickly.  What a kind offer to pass your Abba Museum tickets on and I would really appreciate two of them if they are still available.  We are on 16 June sailing will they still be valid.  My email is thedoghouse178@aol.com.  Many thanks in advance.

 

 

You are welcome!  What date will you be in Stockholm?  I will need to change the date on them but I will email you two tickets once that is settled.

 

Holly

 

 

[citronella]

Holly, very Kind offer.  We will be in Stockholm 11 June ( on 02 June sailing ) if you have 2 tickets left.

 

Sorry to hear you had to cancel.

[hlddad]

1 minute ago, citronella said:

Holly, very Kind offer.  We will be in Stockholm 11 June ( on 02 June sailing ) if you have 2 tickets left.

 

Sorry to hear you had to cancel.

sure - what's your email address.

 

[citronella]

bdon9@nl.rogers.com.  Many thanks.

[hlddad]

11 minutes ago, citronella said:

bdon9@nl.rogers.com.  Many thanks.

just sent via email.  Enjoy!

[citronella]

I shall send you a picture - again, many thanks.  And hope you are able to take this trip in the future.

[hlddad]

Just now, citronella said:

I shall send you a picture - again, many thanks.  And hope you are able to take this trip in the future.

 

I would LOVE that!  and i do hope to make this trip at some point - have  a few others booked at the moment, but perhaps after those. 😉

 

[bernipops]

1 hour ago, hlddad said:

 

 

You are welcome!  What date will you be in Stockholm?  I will need to change the date on them but I will email you two tickets once that is settled.

 

Holly

 

 

Hi Holly we will be in Stockholm on 21st June, I have just emailed you. Thanks.

[milokama]

WARNEMUNDE & ROSTOCK

 

Our final port day on our 15 day Baltic Cruise and the last day was the BIGGEST let down.  

We didn't want to spend 6 hours on a bus (3 hours each way) and 6 hours in Berlin.  This port day seems to be designed for this particular excursion.

We were told Rostock was a wonderful town full of lots of interesting things to do...

And also that Warnemunde was beautiful as well.  

 

I wholeheartedly disagree...

 

First all, I'm so very disappointed in Celebrity that our day in this port was a Holiday (Ascension Day and Men's Day).  Everything was closed except a few restaurants and bars catering to packs of men wandering around getting completely inebriated.  Truly...Its like St. Patricks Day on steroids.  Men are encouraged to fill a wagon with beer (and maybe some food) and troop around in a group being rowdy and getting falling-down-drunk.  As a woman, its a terrifying prospect to encounter pack after pack after pack of very drunk men at every street... in a foreign country.  I would imagine other men would find it disconcerting as well. 

 

CELEBRITY, IF YOU'RE LISTENING, you should take care to avoid this area on this 40th day after easter.  It is known to have triple the average alcohol related deaths.  I'm confused as to why you would choose to stop here on THIS day in particular.

 

It seems strange to me that in all the countries we've visited thus far (today being the exception) the tour guides spend a great deal of time remarking on the destruction caused by Germany during the war, vilifying the Germans in general... and then we end in Germany.  It was a strange juxtaposition ... and then to come here on a day when the masses are misbehaving badly seems an odd choice.

 

I found myself really wishing all day that we had skipped the sea day yesterday, stayed in Sweden for 2 nights, and catching up with the ship this evening.

 

In the end, we wandered around Rostock,  walked through the beach paths - attempting to avoid  the "packs of wolves"-  and coming back to the ship early... the ONLY time we've done that this whole trip.  We are usually 15-20 min shy of being THOSE DOCK RUNNERS.

 

My 2 cents.... but if you are taking this cruise and you are as taken with Sweden as we were... and not interested in going to Berlin... you just might want to skip Warnemunde and stay in Sweden for an extra 1 1/2 days.  

 

On the whole its been a good cruise.  We're very happy with our room, the majority of the ports, we LOVE Sushi on 5 and Tuscan Grill.  The Premium drinks package (a gift from our TA) made our overindulgent drink consumption a no-brainer... nice not to have to think about what we're spending. Our room attendant, Yolanda,  was superb, we've had many laughs with our favorite bar staffers Radley and Tony.  

 

We're so so about Grand Cuvee. The wait staff works really hard, but the quality of the food since the inception of Specialty Restaurants, Blue and Luminae,  has definitely gone downhill.  Ocean View has always been a circus that we avoid whenever possible.  I do feel like Celebrity nickel and dimes you for everything and I'll be looking to either supercharge my Captains Club points, or pay through the nose in a suite in order to get Free Unlimited Specialty Dinning... or I'll be shopping around for another cruise line.  

 

Or maybe its just the bad taste this last port day has left in my mouth.  Its really a shame to end on this note.

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by milokama

[bernipops]

Mens Day! Really!  There has to be a joke there somewhere.  Sorry to hear Warmunde/Rostock was such a let down.  We are fortunate that on our 16 June sailing we are in Stockholm for two days.  Try not to let this last port spoil your memories of a good holiday.

 

Thanks again for a great review and the information.

[Bretty]

 

On 5/28/2019 at 6:16 AM, milokama said:

We are pulling in to Stockholm now and we've done our research (hopefully).  Public transportation is very easy and the cards seem to transfer between busses and light rail.  We have purchased the tickets and app on our phones and will get lost amongst the Swedes

 

Hi @milokama this is a great review and thread with so much info. Rather than start a new thread I thought I’d ask you directly about the App / tickets purchased via your phone for Stockholm?

We are doing a Baltic itinerary in May 2020.

 

Like you my OH and I are fairly independent travellers and like to “get lost” as you put it and immerse ourselves in a place whether visiting for a day or several days. We do very few organised tours (the Alla Tour itineraries for St Petersburg are far too intensive for us so we’re gonna opt for shorter tours via Celebrity I think).

 

Anyway, so far our cruise planner is only showing one tour for Stockholm, and it’s in Spanish, so it’s likely we’ll just mooch around for the day and pick a few things to do independently. Also, that port day will be my 50th birthday so I’ll be celebrating one way or another lol.

 

It looks like we might get the Copenhagen Card for that port (our Celebrity cruise consultant recommended it for independent travellers over booking a tour).

 

So, thanks for an informative post packed with useful info, and hope you won’t mind bumping the post after this time to give a bit more info.

 

Many thanks,

John

 

Edited August 14, 2019 by Bretty

[milokama]

On 8/14/2019 at 4:14 PM, Bretty said:

 

 

Hi @milokama this is a great review and thread with so much info. Rather than start a new thread I thought I’d ask you directly about the App / tickets purchased via your phone for Stockholm?

We are doing a Baltic itinerary in May 2020.

 

Like you my OH and I are fairly independent travellers and like to “get lost” as you put it and immerse ourselves in a place whether visiting for a day or several days. We do very few organised tours (the Alla Tour itineraries for St Petersburg are far too intensive for us so we’re gonna opt for shorter tours via Celebrity I think).

 

Anyway, so far our cruise planner is only showing one tour for Stockholm, and it’s in Spanish, so it’s likely we’ll just mooch around for the day and pick a few things to do independently. Also, that port day will be my 50th birthday so I’ll be celebrating one way or another lol.

 

It looks like we might get the Copenhagen Card for that port (our Celebrity cruise consultant recommended it for independent travellers over booking a tour).

 

So, thanks for an informative post packed with useful info, and hope you won’t mind bumping the post after this time to give a bit more info.

 

Many thanks,

John

 

Hi john

im glad you found my post useful. 

 

Let me start art by apologizing for any typos. I’m responding to this via phone because I’m traveling  right now. 

 

Many of the ports are beginning to blur already but Stockholm stood out because it was so easy. 

 

When you disembark you have to walk through a building that sells tourist trinkets. We bought our bus tickets from that cashier and she told us how to get to the bus stop which was 200 yards away. She recommended a certain number bus but we ended up taking the first one to come along. (I want to say we took #1 instead of #71 or #74)

 

The iphone app is an excellent tool for using public transportation in stockholm. We were able to navigate the busses, the tunnel banne and walking routes this way. 

 

Another great thing is that Yelp has come to Europe and is beginning to have a nice strong following. Whenever possible, we use Yelp as it has always helped us find fun and interesting things to see, do, eat and drink. 

 

I believe the passes we bought at that tourist shop at the disembarkation point allowed us to use all forms of public transportation in Stockholm.  

 

However, if I’m wrong, there was one light rail in one of the towns where we had to purchase a ticket and we did this in a convenience store. I want to say it was in Helsinki that we did this. 

 

Does this answer your question?

[milokama]

On 8/14/2019 at 4:14 PM, Bretty said:

 

 

Hi @milokama this is a great review and thread with so much info. Rather than start a new thread I thought I’d ask you directly about the App / tickets purchased via your phone for Stockholm?

We are doing a Baltic itinerary in May 2020.

 

Like you my OH and I are fairly independent travellers and like to “get lost” as you put it and immerse ourselves in a place whether visiting for a day or several days. We do very few organised tours (the Alla Tour itineraries for St Petersburg are far too intensive for us so we’re gonna opt for shorter tours via Celebrity I think).

 

Anyway, so far our cruise planner is only showing one tour for Stockholm, and it’s in Spanish, so it’s likely we’ll just mooch around for the day and pick a few things to do independently. Also, that port day will be my 50th birthday so I’ll be celebrating one way or another lol.

 

It looks like we might get the Copenhagen Card for that port (our Celebrity cruise consultant recommended it for independent travellers over booking a tour).

 

So, thanks for an informative post packed with useful info, and hope you won’t mind bumping the post after this time to give a bit more info.

 

Many thanks,

John

 

Hi John.  

I'm back with my computer and answering your question(s) has become easier.

We talked to several folks after our epic 2-day extravaganza in St. Petersburg.  For the most part, those  who went on the Celebrity-led tours were unhappy with their tours.  I might suggest calling All or one of the other recommended tour companies, and designing your own tour.  Might cost the same-is and you'll be transported in a very nice touring van instead of one of those large passenger busses with 60 other people.

 

Have you tried looking on Trip Advisor for tours of Stockholm?  We took the Free Walking tour in Copenhagen.  It was amazing.  There are usually multiple languages offered at different times. You meet at a pre-designated spot that is easy to  find, and the tour runs 2-3 hours.   I highly recommend it.  Bring cash for a tip.

 

As for the app/tickets we purchased... I believe we downloaded an app (I can't remember now which one) that helped navigate the different types of public transportation.  I do remember buying the actual ticket from the trinket shop cashier where we docked.  Super easy and very reasonably priced.

 

Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[HelenREMfan]

I agree re contacting companies for tours in St Petersburg. I used SPB and they were great. We were 4 couples  meeting on the roll call with several of us having mobility issues. SPB were great and we tailored the venues to exactly what worked for us. We had a great 2 days and cannot praise them highly enough - 12 seater minibus for the 8 of us with free wifi, excellent guide, early entry to the Hermitage and we went with her judgement as to which rooms to focus on. We were met promptly each day - located the guide and minibus easily and returned to the ship in perfect time. For the cost it could not be faulted at all!. 

[Bretty]

@milokama thanks for taking the time to reply, very helpful info. I think I’ve identified the app, which is by the Stockholm metro, so thanks again.

 

@HelenREMfan thank you also for your tip.

Looks like I need to chat with my OH re St Petersburg. We have plenty of time.

 

Thank you both

John

[Tipsy252]

Hi John or anyone else looking for tours on this Baltic Cruise. We used Tour in St. Petersburg and took a private tour, just 2 of us. I cannot recommend this highly enough. The price for the 2 day tour was RRub 44500 or around £610 GBP. This included entry to all the museums, cathedrals, places of interest, a tour of the canals and Hydrofoil ride. The only thing we had to pay for was food at restaurants and drinks/snacks. We had our own guide and a driver for 2 full days and saw so much more that the larger tours, as we were able to alter the itinerary to avoid crowds and also tailor to our interests.

[macsford]

 I agree with Milokama  that Warnemunde is one to miss except that my husband and I booked with Friends of Dave for a full day tour starting from Warnemunde.

We had a wonderful full day tour in a small group. Our guide was Christian as Dave was not available.  We went to Schwerin a lovely and interesting place and had other stops too.

We did not want to spend 3 hours each way going to Berlin . 

It was a highlight of the cruise along with our 2 days in St. Petersburg with Alla tours .

Alla took care of visas and all arrangements worked so well.

 

We booked a walking tour in Tallinn.

 

Other ports we used public transport .

 

 

In Stockholm, the Vasa museum is easy to access on your own.

Yes, it is worth getting up early for the sail in.

 

 

Sandra

 

 

[Bretty]

@Tipsy252 many thanks. We’ve a lot to think about and work out what we want, thanks for the info.

 

@macsford thankfully the cruise in May 2020 skips Warnemunde! Not sure I would enjoy it. The HAL itinerary I was considering did have it though.

 

thanks again all