Regatta Baltic ports for 1st time in Europe/ship tours or on our own?

[LKJ]

We've already booked excursions for St Petersburg. Of all the other Baltic ports, which would be best to do on our own or just stick to the Regatta's excursions? Just want to make the most of our time in each ports. It's difficult not knowing where the ship docks and if it's easy to walk into town or necessary to arrange for transportation.

[Andee]

What are your ports?

[Guest LetMeGo]

Hi!

 

Unless you get very cheap excursions for Helsinki, or want to visit a spesific sight outside the city, you really should do at least Helsinki on your own.

 

Here's a map to the central Helsinki. With the exception of July, Regatta is scheduled to dock at the Eteläsatama (South Harbour) right between the red box and the Viking Line -text.

 

http://www.njl.fi/pics/helsinki_map.gif

 

It's less than half a mile from the Market Square and Senate Square (with the Lutheran "Cathedral"), and the Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral is practically on your way to the centre.

 

All of these are easily accessible from the harbour by tram #4, which also goes within a half mile radius of Central railway staton, the Finlandia House, Temppeliaukio church, and the Sibelius sculpture.

24h tickets for the tram cost 6€. (The price also includes public buses, metro, and the Suomenlinna ferry.)

[LKJ]

BRUGES...taking a taxi into town w/ another couple and then on our own

 

AMSTERDAM....?

 

WARNEMUNE....? (staying there)

 

COPENHAGEN....?

 

GDANSK, Poland.......? ? 3 1/2 hr HIGHLIGHTS OF GDANSK ship tour....just bec it's far from the dock

 

HELSINKI......?

 

ST PET.....3 days Den Rus w/ 2 experienced couples

 

TALLINN, ESTONIA....."PANORAMIC TALLINN" 3 hr ship tour.... (then maybe on our own???)

 

STOCKHOLM...."HIGHLIGHTS OF STOCKHOLM & VASA MUSEUM" 3 hr ship tour..........(then maybe on our own???)

 

.................................................

So far I reserved the 3 ship tours, but can always change to something else if it would be better........Just seems mind bloggling right now and look forward to reading the 2 Rick Steve's bks I got today.

[LKJ]

Your post was very helpful Tero. Sounds like it's very easy to explore on our own, within blocks of the port. Also like the map showing where the Regatta will be docked.

 

Looking forward to visiting your city.

[Boreus]

Having recently come back from this cruise and having been in the area at other times, I think you can do most of the ports on your own if you get good maps.

 

Amsterdam: The passenger terminal is about a 15-minute walk to the Central Train Station and the edge of town.

 

Copenhagen: You will dock not far from the Little Mermaid statue, from which it is a 20 to 30 minute walk into Nyhavn and the Stroget, the main pedestrian street in Copenhagen. (Don't count on my spelling, but is is not too far off.)

 

Helsinki: I agree with Tero.

 

Stockholm: If you get Swedish currency (not on the ship. They charge too much.) you can take a bus from the port into downtown Stockholm. The tourist authority representatives that Oceania have come on the ship can give you the easy directions on where to pick up the bus. Have the bus driver drop you off near the old town. He is used to doing this.

 

Tallin: If I could I would cancel the tour. If you go on your own it will be an uninteresting 30-minute walk into the old town, but then you are on your own and can do as well as anyone can on a guided tour.

[daju22]

Hi!

 

Unless you get very cheap excursions for Helsinki, or want to visit a spesific sight outside the city, you really should do at least Helsinki on your own.

 

Here's a map to the central Helsinki. With the exception of July, Regatta is scheduled to dock at the Eteläsatama (South Harbour) right between the red box and the Viking Line -text.

 

http://www.njl.fi/pics/helsinki_map.gif

 

It's less than half a mile from the Market Square and Senate Square (with the Lutheran "Cathedral"), and the Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral is practically on your way to the centre.

 

All of these are easily accessible from the harbour by tram #4, which also goes within a half mile radius of Central railway staton, the Finlandia House, Temppeliaukio church, and the Sibelius sculpture.

24h tickets for the tram cost 6€. (The price also includes public buses, metro, and the Suomenlinna ferry.)

 

Hello Tero,

We will be in Helsinki on Constellation, Thurs. Aug. 31st. We use a small mobility scooter. We are also bringing our folding wheelchair. Would we be able to use either the scooter or the wheelchair on the tram? How about the public buses, metro and Ferry? I hope we can use the wheelchair. I know that most public transportation(in all cities) is not accessible to scooters.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Judy

[Guest LetMeGo]

Hello Tero,

We will be in Helsinki on Constellation, Thurs. Aug. 31st. We use a small mobility scooter. We are also bringing our folding wheelchair. Would we be able to use either the scooter or the wheelchair on the tram? How about the public buses, metro and Ferry? I hope we can use the wheelchair. I know that most public transportation(in all cities) is not accessible to scooters.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Judy

 

Hi

 

For starters, I just had a look at the Port of Helsinki website, and it seems that the Constellation is supposedly docking at the Aker Finnyards shipyard (where I've worked for a couple of years :D ) which is less than a mile from the city centre just under the southern end of tram line 6, shown in this map.

 

If that is indeed the case (I'm going to have to see for myself the next time Constellation is docking here), you're going to have to take the shuttle bus in both directions.

 

 

To get back to your actual question, about half of the trams on lines 3, 4, 6 and 10 (see the previous map) have access for wheelchairs or electrical scooters, as long as they are smaller than a square yard.:D

Most of the buses (at least outside of rush hours) have a mechanical ramp

which the driver will set up, if you are unable to board otherwise.

 

 

The metro and the ferry have access for wheelchairs, but they would probably not be very useful for you.:confused:

 

The metro only stops in half dozen stations in the city (see the same map...), and then heads out to the suburbs in the east. Suomenlinna is a fortress built on islands, and is best if you like tunnels and climbing on walls to view the surroundings. With its sand and cobble roads, it might not be a good place to go with wheelchair, unless you are really interested in the military history of the Baltic Sea.;)

[daju22]

Hi

 

For starters, I just had a look at the Port of Helsinki website, and it seems that the Constellation is supposedly docking at the Aker Finnyards shipyard (where I've worked for a couple of years :D ) which is less than a mile from the city centre just under the southern end of tram line 6, shown in this map.

 

If that is indeed the case (I'm going to have to see for myself the next time Constellation is docking here), you're going to have to take the shuttle bus in both directions.

 

 

To get back to your actual question, about half of the trams on lines 3, 4, 6 and 10 (see the previous map) have access for wheelchairs or electrical scooters, as long as they are smaller than a square yard.:D

Most of the buses (at least outside of rush hours) have a mechanical ramp

which the driver will set up, if you are unable to board otherwise.

 

 

The metro and the ferry have access for wheelchairs, but they would probably not be very useful for you.:confused:

 

The metro only stops in half dozen stations in the city (see the same map...), and then heads out to the suburbs in the east. Suomenlinna is a fortress built on islands, and is best if you like tunnels and climbing on walls to view the surroundings. With its sand and cobble roads, it might not be a good place to go with wheelchair, unless you are really interested in the military history of the Baltic Sea.;)

 

Hi Tero,

Thanks for the wonderful map! If tram 3T is accessible, we can ride through the city and have a tour. Sounds like a good plan. Celebrity has a shuttle for $10 that would take us to Stockman's and return us to the ship. Which shuttle are you referring to that goes to and from the dockyards?

 

I'll have to check out the price of the 3T tram on the transportation site you had me check.

 

The scooter is 29 inches long and 19 inches wide. Less than a yard square.:) My husband is able to walk slowly and go up steps if there is a railing.

 

Thank you so much for your help!! Did you work in the shipyards where cruise ships are made?

 

Have a great day.

Judy

[Guest LetMeGo]

Hi Tero,

Thanks for the wonderful map! If tram 3T is accessible, we can ride through the city and have a tour. Sounds like a good plan. Celebrity has a shuttle for $10 that would take us to Stockman's and return us to the ship. Which shuttle are you referring to that goes to and from the dockyards?

 

I'll have to check out the price of the 3T tram on the transportation site you had me check.

 

The scooter is 29 inches long and 19 inches wide. Less than a yard square.:) My husband is able to walk slowly and go up steps if there is a railing.

 

Thank you so much for your help!! Did you work in the shipyards where cruise ships are made?

 

Have a great day.

Judy

 

Yes, the 3T (or 3B in the opposite direction of the same route) is probably the best way to have an overview of the city in less than an hour. By law every public building should have a wheelchair access, so there should be no problems in visiting any sights.

 

The pier Celebrity is supposed to be docking at is literally inside the gated shipayrd area, so there would be no option of going out on your own and buying the regular 24h/6€ ticket for public transport... But it would be a very odd place to dock.:confused:

 

Yes, I did work at the Helsinki shipyard while I was studying electrical engineering... I've never been on a cruise, and the ships in my signature line are the ones I worked on as an electrician.:D

 

If you do have any more questions, I'll be glad to try and help.:cool:

[readinglady]

We just got off the Rotterdam today from our baltic cruise. We did all ports on our own, except for Berlin and St. Petersburg. We used Rick Steves Scandanavia for his wonderful walks of Oslo, Arhus, Helskinki, Tallin and Stockholm. We are using his book for the post cruise in Copenhagen.

[Raphy]

BRUGES...taking a taxi into town w/ another couple and then on our own

 

AMSTERDAM....?

 

WARNEMUNE....? (staying there)

 

COPENHAGEN....?

 

GDANSK, Poland.......? ? 3 1/2 hr HIGHLIGHTS OF GDANSK ship tour....just bec it's far from the dock

 

HELSINKI......?

 

ST PET.....3 days Den Rus w/ 2 experienced couples

 

TALLINN, ESTONIA....."PANORAMIC TALLINN" 3 hr ship tour.... (then maybe on our own???)

 

STOCKHOLM...."HIGHLIGHTS OF STOCKHOLM & VASA MUSEUM" 3 hr ship tour..........(then maybe on our own???)

 

.................................................

So far I reserved the 3 ship tours, but can always change to something else if it would be better........Just seems mind bloggling right now and look forward to reading the 2 Rick Steve's bks I got today.

 

Hi

We just returned from Baltic cruise with the very same ports.

I am happy to share with you that we had the same concerns that you do & that we only took a Private Guide & Tour in St Petersburg. We found Taxi's waiting at the dock for almost every other port.

We did ALL of the other ports on our own & with other couples & have NO regrets.

I got sick for Gdansk & my Hubby took the ship's bus tour...simply "OK".

We found all of the ports easy to get around & see what we wanted to see, do what we wanted to do.

The Ice Bar in Stockholm is a must do experience.

Happy to answer anyother questions, email me directly at SOULHLR@yahoo.com

Have a safe & enjoyable trip.

Raphy