Golden Princess Excursions???

[pooh53]

I need help!!! 1. Hamburg: Princess says "board a charter train and travel in comfort through the countryside for approximately two hour ride, scenic drive thru Berlin etc.... Is this recommended excursion for past cruisers. ??? Or should we just do Hamburg excursion? Also LaHavre to Paris??? Not to crazy about long day into Paris. Any suggestions will be appreciated. I just can't seem to find the right thread on what past cruisers have done (July21,2006-Golden Princess-Classic European Capitals) Also suggestions on Olso and Copenhagen will be appreciated also. Thanks

[luvnorway]

Go to Berlin another time.

Hamburg is well worth seeing in its own right. No need to be regimented and pay $$ for a ship's shorex.

On various visits we have enjoyed the Hop On/Off Bus tour and also the boat cruises from the Outer Alster lake up into the canals above the lake - beautiful scenery cruising thro narrow canals (more like rivers) bordered by lovely homes and parks. Also the path around the Inner Alster lake is a pretty and restful walk. And, of course, there's always the Reeperbahn!!

 

If you get the opportunity (depending on ship's arrival/departure time) be out on deck to see the sail in or sail out up or down the Elbe - the last hr or so closest to Hamburg is very sceninc and interesting - smaller towns, resorts, villas high on the banks.

 

Re finding info:

When searching, don't focus on what ship you're arriving on, or even the cruise line. Do a search on this message board and the Baltic board by port names. Some people post re Hamburg and similar locations on that board either because they are on what has been labelled a "Baltic Cruise" or because they are "geographically challenged" and don't really know the location of the ports they will be visiting.

Also Google to find tourist info re the cities and check what the standard tourist guides such Frommers, Fodors, Rough Guide etc. have to say.

Good Luck and enjoy!

[Iowa Traveler]

I just noticed your posting and see you will be on the 7/21 Golden Princess Western Capitols cruise.

There is a roll call with at least 40 other folks on this same trip.

Find princess roll call, and search for:

Golden Princess Western Capitals 7/21. The last poster was Blackpool Belle on 5/27 @ 3:20 PM. (Mustanglvr was the thread starter)

There is a lot of good information about excursions. In fact Blackpool Belle did this identical trip last year, and she recommends taking a high-speed train from Hamburg to Berlin. Apparently it is quicker and less expensive than the excursion through Princess.

We’d love to have you join the roll call!

By the way, my name is Nancy and my husband Ron, and his folks, Ken and Anna Mae are on this cruise. First time to Europe and we're having the time of our lives planning and plotting our adventure.

[Host Karen]

Here's the link to the roll call Iowa Traveler referred to: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=246795

Roll calls are terrific sources of information. Good luck!

 

Karen

HostKaren@CruiseCritic.com

[Iowa Traveler]

Thanks for heading pooh53 our way, Karen!

[hryust]

We are on the August 10th sailing of the Golden. We are planning on doing the hop on hop off bus in Dubline but wanted to see Trinity College and the book of Kells.

Should we do the tour from the ship first to see the Book of Kells, or can you do that easily on your own.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

harriet

[luvnorway]

The Book of Kells is located at Trinity College and the Princess shuttle drops you off on Kildare St, right across from the college. You can easily see it on your own - just be prepared for lineups. I haven't checked this, but I'm sure you can easily find info about it on the Trinity College website.

A suggestion - instead of piggybacking your question on a generic thread like this one, start a new thread to ask for info using Book of Kells, or at least Dublin in the thread heading and you may be more likely to generate answers from people who have had recent experiences doing what you're enquiring about.

Also a warning - we were in Dublin on Sea Princess last week and the traffic that is always bad was absolutely horrendous. Expect a slow shuttle ride into the city centre from the pier due to road construction (taxi would be faster) and, if you take the Hop On/Off Bus, allow for it to be caught in heavy traffic.