Help From Past Cruisers Re Stockholm

[Shelby Cruiser]

We will be in Stockholm in July while on the Star Princess & will now be docking at the Frihamnen pier instead of Nynashamn, eliminating the 1hr. drive back & forth. We are trying to plan our time so we allow sufficient time to see all the important sights while doing a walking tour on oiur own.

 

We want to take a shuttle, taxi or bus to the Vasa Museum from the pier where Princess will be docked. We then plan on taking a ferry back to Gamla Stan & do a walking tour following Rick Steve's Guide while taking in the outside sights of the Palace, checking out the Finnish church, Nobel Museum, Stortorget, the Cathedral, the German church, the special viewpoint for photos @Osterlanggatan St., the lock area on Jarntorgsgatan St. & back down Vasterlanggatan back through Gamla Stan area & over to see the City Hall. Is this feasible in the amount of time we will be in port, from 11am-5pm? We plan on taking a taxi or bus back to the pier. We also want to do some shopping & possibly get a light lunch while exploring the Old Town.

 

We love taking lots of photos & want to slowly explore the Old Town & don't want to be rushed like while taking a tour through the ship. The Vasa Museum & the City Hall are also places we want to see if time allows. We thought if taking a Princess tour to Vasa, would lose too much time & shorten our time in the Old Town. Also, are afraid that if take too long to do our walk, may not get to City Hall in time to get a tour through it, as they only do so many.

 

Can previous cruisers please give us some insight on how long it takes to explore Old Town. Can it be done in 2hrs or so. We figure Vasa would take at least 1hr & also the City Hall. Are we allowing too little time here? Or, do you recommend to have the taxi take us directly to City Hall, then walk to Gamla Stan area & do our tour & then catch a ferry to Vasa & then a taxi back to the pier. Is it also possible to walk across the bridges from Gamla Stan to the City Hall, or is it to far to walk & have to take a taxi here?

 

Any & all thoughts are appreciated. We are trying to plan each port as thoroughly as possible so we can just explore as much as possible on our own so don't get hung up with large bus loads & it always seems you have to wait for stranglers to come back to the bus & time is so limited. Thanks.

[teacherman]

We were there last August and docked in town on HAL. We walked from the ship all the way around the harbor into town (big mistake-wasted time). Once we got to where we could catch a bus, we went to the VASA museum and spent about an hour or so. We then bussed back to the central part of town and walked through Gamla Stan following Rick Steve's guide. We stopped for lunch in Gamla Stan. We did not feel rushed, and even had time to walk back to the ship and just rest out on deck while waiting for departure. My advice: take the ship's shuttle in to town, but depending on where you dock and where they let you off, you may have to backtrac through GamlaStan to get your shuttle. That is what we would have had to do, but we walked back to the ship. Also, public trans would only take Swedish kroners, so get them as soon as you can, ideally before leaving the ship. ALSO, we used Rick Steve's Scandinavia book in every port we could. We cut out the pages we needed for each port and only took them as opposed to carrying the whole book. It is a wonderful trip.

[suron]

We were on Star Princess on a Baltics cruise in August 05 - it was a wonderful trip and the memories will last for ages.

 

We docked at Nynsham so you are lucky not to have the bother of getting tenders ashore and the rush for the train to Stockholm if you want to go around on your own.

 

If you are interested I have posted a review of our trip which can be found at

 

www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=12469

 

A member of the Roll Call for our sailing has also posted her review under the name of sunprincess which can be found by going on to the Members Reviews board and logging on to the Star Princess section. Sunprincess has also posted some wonderful photos of the trip which can be found at

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/sunprincess8

 

Hope you enjoy the reviews and good luck with the plans

 

Regards from Suron in Bristol, England :)

[cruisemom42]

It is not too far to walk from Gamla Stan to City Hall across the bridge. We did it (but were very disappointed because we arrived in time for the last tour of the day only to find it had been cancelled due to a special event at City Hall, so be aware that this can happen).

 

I would suggest that an hour inside the Vasa museum is probably enough (not including your transportation time). The ferries back and forth to Vasa from Gamla Stan are pretty speedy if you time it right. Also, I think 2 hours is about right for walking Gamla Stan. We enjoyed having lunch there as well.

[sailaway5]

We were there last August and docked in town on HAL. We walked from the ship all the way around the harbor into town (big mistake-wasted time). Once we got to where we could catch a bus, we went to the VASA museum and spent about an hour or so. We then bussed back to the central part of town and walked through Gamla Stan following Rick Steve's guide. We stopped for lunch in Gamla Stan. We did not feel rushed, and even had time to walk back to the ship and just rest out on deck while waiting for departure. My advice: take the ship's shuttle in to town, but depending on where you dock and where they let you off, you may have to backtrac through GamlaStan to get your shuttle. That is what we would have had to do, but we walked back to the ship. Also, public trans would only take Swedish kroners, so get them as soon as you can, ideally before leaving the ship. ALSO, we used Rick Steve's Scandinavia book in every port we could. We cut out the pages we needed for each port and only took them as opposed to carrying the whole book. It is a wonderful trip.

 

We will be in Stockholm in July on the Prinsendam. Thank you for your advise about the long walk into town. Do the HAL ships typically have a shuttle? We also want to maximize our time here so your advise is appreciated.

[dileep]

Stockholm: Took shuttle at 8:45 am for 15 minute ride. Walked over to catch the ferry boat (30 Kr per person each way paid in cash) near Old Town to Vasa Museum to see the old ship (ship's map was incorrect about where the ferry dock was). Museum accepts credit cards.

 

Took about 3 hours to go to Vasa and get back to Old Town.

 

Changing of guard at the Palace from noon to 1 pm. Walked around Old Town (Gamla stan).

 

Took the shuttle back to the ship at 3 pm.

[sailaway5]

Are the hop-on/hop-off bus or boat near where the cruise ship docks (HAL)? Can you purchase tickets at the bus or boat? Or is it better to order a Hop-on/Hop-off pass? We definitely want to see the Vasa, Changing of the Guard, and Old town. Appreciate any suggestions.

[nancycara]

How is Stockholm on a Sunday??? Will be there on the Century.

[Al_Frescoe]

How is Stockholm on a Sunday??? Will be there on the Century.

 

Greetings,

 

You will find most everything open on Sunday in Stockholm (museums, shops & restaurants in the Old Town etc.). This is pretty much true all year, but especially in the summertime when the cruise ships come in regularly.

 

Skål

 

Al

[dog]

Are the hop-on/hop-off bus or boat near where the cruise ship docks (HAL)? Can you purchase tickets at the bus or boat? Or is it better to order a Hop-on/Hop-off pass? We definitely want to see the Vasa, Changing of the Guard, and Old town. Appreciate any suggestions.

 

I am also wondering about this. The Star Princess will possibly be docking at Stadsgarden and from the HOHO Boat/Bus brochure it looks like you can get on the boat or ferry near this pier. Is this true?

 

Thanks

[exarche02]

How do you find out which they will docking at?

[Scott Cyn]

We cruised to Stockholm on Celebrity Constellation on Tuesday, June 6, 2006. Here is what I had in my trip review for that day:

 

Day Four, Stockholm:

I had picked up a tip here on CC to get up early for the sailing through the Stockholm archipelago and I am really glad we did. I asked the Captain’s Club desk what time we would enter the archipelago and was told we would enter at about 5:30 AM with the best viewing being between 6:00 and 8:00. We made a party of it, ordering breakfast in to our mega-verandah for the four of us. The scenery was spectacular! Islands to the left of us, islands to the right of us, cute little houses on some, stately manses on others. Make the sacrifice and get up early; you’ll be glad you did.

We docked in Stockholm a few minutes before 9:00 AM local time. It was a national holiday in Stockholm. In fact, little girls were on the dock handing each passenger a Swedish flag. We opted to take the ship shuttle into Gamla Stan, but it appeared a few hearty souls were making the walk. I know this because I watched from my balcony as they left the dock and then a little while later I saw the same people still walking as our bus passed them. In other words, spend the five bucks.

We wandered around a bit and then made our way into the Royal Palace. It cost a few Kroner to get in and it was very crowded. We and our thousands of new friends shuffled through, looking at rooms, furniture, ball gowns and china. Frankly I was not overly impressed. Compared to a Versailles or a Catherine’s Palace, this palace is a bit dark and cold.

Next on the agenda was a hop-on hop-off harbor boat. The plan was to get an overview and enjoy a nice boat ride. Good plan except for a) we couldn’t hear the recorded commentary, b) the recorded commentary we could hear was pretty much one or two sentences between stops and c) a stiff breeze had kicked up making it rather chilly. So we hopped right off at the Vasa Museum (http://www.vasamuseet.se).

The Vasa is a must-see in Stockholm. The ship itself is huge! How they blew the engineering on that thing is amazing. Be sure and sit through the film in the little theater. It was in Swedish, but I was able to pick out some of the stuff from the French subtitles. I heard it plays in English at some point, but regardless of the language it is a good little film about how the ship was located and raised.

Next stop after a chilly run back across the harbor was shopping in the Gamla Stan. We wandered and shopped, shopped and wandered until it was time to head back to the ship for a 5:00 PM departure and a couple more hours of sailing through the archipelago.

[JunaluskaLady]

We had the luxury of being in Stockholm 3 days prior to our cruise. The taxi from Gamla Stan to the Frihammen pier was only about 10 dollars. Having read the previous posts, I would suggest you plan to spend more than an hour at the Vasa Museum. I agree with the poster who suggested the film. It was most helpful, and we were fortunate to see it in English. Taking the ferry between the Vasa Museum island and Gamla Stan was easy and quick. We didn't go inside the palace, and I didn't feel we missed anything. We did tour City Hall, and that was a treat. It's a beautiful structure, and the Blue Room (which was intended to be painted blue, but was wisely left in it's original brick) is where the Nobel Prize winners have their post award banquet. The gold room where they dance afterward is incredibly beautiful.

 

Also, the cruise through the archipelago is truly beautiful. We did it in the evening, but I can imagine it at dawn. Beautiful.

[Shelby Cruiser]

Thanks to all of you for your comments re Stockholm.

We appreciate your time in responding to our questions.

Looking forward to sailing through the archipeligao, seeing Vasa, Gamla Stan & the City Hall.

We are planning on purchasing the Stockholm Card to cover transportation, the ferry to Vasa & for any entrance fees required to avoid having to exchange monies.

Any additional comments are always welcomed.

[Livestotravel]

We'll be on the Star Princess in May, arriving in Stockholm on Thur. the 24th at 11 a.m. and Helsinki on Friday the 25th at 10:00 a.m.

 

Are the Hop On/ Hop Off buses running weekdays that time of year? Also, when posters refer to the Ship's Shuttle, or the shuttle at the pier, are these just sitting there for anyone to take (one poster mentions $5) or are they ship excursions that have to be booked.

 

Also, one poster said the HO/HO took them to the Vasa Museum and they took a ferry back - so you can take a bus there then - the map I have doesn't show a bridge.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Livestotravel]

Hi - just caught my mistake. The poster hopped off a boat at the Vasa Museum.

[Scott Cyn]

We'll be... in May, arriving in Stockholm on Thur. the 24th.....Are the Hop On/ Hop Off buses running weekdays that time of year? Also, when posters refer to the Ship's Shuttle, or the shuttle at the pier, are these just sitting there for anyone to take (one poster mentions $5) or are they ship excursions that have to be booked.

 

Also, one poster said the HO/HO took them to the Vasa Museum and they took a ferry back...

 

We were there last June on Tuesday, the 6th. The harbor ferries were running then and that's only about two weeks later than you are going, so I would guess they will be running for you. The HO/HO boat does a circuit around the harbor. One of the stops is right next to where our ship docked. We realized we could have very easily used the HO/HO to move around the harbor right from the ship.

 

On Celebrity, they are a little loose with the shuttles. They want you to book it in advance just like an excursion. But if you show up at the door of the bus and look slightly frazzled, they will scold you a little, take down your cabin number and put you on the bus. I have no idea how Princess runs their shuttles, but probably similar.

[tonim]

the marco polo sails out of Frihammen port on july 21 at 1pm...do you think it would be possible to see some of stockholm that morning? how far is the pier from the center of stockholm? if it is too far...i am wondering if there is anything to even do around the area, of the pier...thanks

[ollienbertsmum]

We are in Stockholm in July - on a Sunday.

 

I had thought about leaving the ship as early as we can - we dock at 9 am in Frihamnen (spelling?). then getting a taxi to the Vasa museum because I think that it gets busy, and hopefully we can catch the first film. After that we could get the ferry back to Gamla Stan and take a good look around. Any comments?

 

On Sunday I have been told that the changing of the guard is at 1 pm, so we should have plenty of time to explore.

 

I wonder if anyone has gone further in to the modern part of town and found shops of any interest.