Dream Baltic Capitals

[tony@stanton19.freeserve.]

We have booked the Baltic Capitals on June 22nd 2007

 

Any tips re the Dream and/or the itinerary ?

 

Anyone done this cruise ?

Where are the good places to hang out on the ship?

We have taken the free parking option and turned down the free flights and transfer option.

Any suggestions as to places to stay the night before?

It's either stay in Dover or somewhere within an easy drive off the M25 ?

 

I am sure that lots of Brits have done this cruise, but are you on this board?

 

 

Thanks

Tony

[soccerref]

Hi Tony,

We did this cruise last August and loved it. I have posted my review below which, hopefully will answer all your questions.

 

Norwegian Dream 12day Baltic Capitals 3rd August 06

 

We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. The positives far outweighed the negatives and I will try to write a constructive review. I imagine that it will be quite long.

 

There are some key tips as well;

1. Pre-register on the NCL web site (home page -'already booked' box) http://www.uk.ncl.com - it saves a lot of time at the ship.

2. You can also book ship's excursions on the web site - just click on 'excursions' on the home page but make sure you get confirmation otherwise they are not booked.

3. Try getting your TA to ring NCL about 3 weeks before you go to see if there are any 'upsells'. Last year we got one from low deck inside cabin to a high deck window cabin for $11!!!!!

4. Take a 4 gang extension cable and 1 plug converter. The plug sockets are for US plugs.

5. You can ask for feather pillows which are fab.

 

 

Background info:

This was our 6th NCL cruise (Dreamward, Star, Sun, Crown and Jewel) but first on the ‘Dream’ since she was stretched a few years ago. My DH and I are both English and in our late 50’s but we count ourselves as active and quite young at heart.

 

Itinerary:

It was wonderful not to have to fly out to join the ship. We chose to drive down from the Midlands the day before and explored the north Kent coast before staying in Ramsgate overnight.

 

Boarding:

We arrived at the cruise terminal at 1.00p.m., our luggage was whisked away and my husband parked the car 100 yards from the terminal building. The boarding procedure was extremely fast and we were on the ship within 15 minutes of arriving at the terminal.

 

Cabin 6200:

We booked a ‘porthole’ cabin on deck 6 forward which was a reasonable size with just enough storage. The bathroom was adequate but the shower cubicle was small with a curtain (the ones on the more modern ships are much bigger with glass doors and are great) so, although water pressure was good, the curtain kept sticking! The bed was large and comfortable. The cabin was kept spotlessly clean by our 2 very pleasant cabin attendants.

The downside to this cabin was the very loud noise from the machinery when we were docking and leaving port. I shall never book a cabin so far forward again!

 

 

The Ship:

The ship is a medium sized one at 50,000 tons and she was launched in 1992 as ‘Dreamward’. She was then ‘stretched’ a few years later by being cut in half and an extra 130 feet added in the middle. This has made the layout of the ship quite difficult to navigate but we used this as a bit of an adventure and were just getting the hang of it by the last couple of days.

The Dream is beginning to show her age and is not glitzy like the newer ships. She was also not built for ‘freestyle’ dining but, apart from the ‘sports bar buffet area’ which is far too small for the volume of passengers, we had no major problems with the dining arrangements.

There was plenty of deck room for the good weather days and the 2 smallish pools seemed OK. The ship was clean and there was continuous maintenance being carried out.

 

Staff:

We found the staff generally pleasant, helpful, cheerful and hard working.

 

 

Food:

We ate breakfast at the ‘Four Seasons’ restaurant which had a buffet + waiter service and this was fine although they did run out of marmalade for 2 mornings! We usually had lunch in the ‘Sports bar’ buffet and found a reasonable choice of items. We tried all the evening dining options and found the food and service to be on a par with a mid- range restaurant. We rarely waited more than 5 minutes as we were happy to share tables. We also ate at Le Bistro which was well worth the $15pp for the ambiance and attention.

 

 

 

Entertainment:

As with everything else, enjoyment is subjective and personal. We enjoyed all the shows this time. We love dancing and went to the ‘ballroom’ lessons when we could. We learned some new moves and had enough room to practise these in the Stardust lounge. We also enjoyed the 45 minute ballroom dance music sessions that were held most evenings. There were several areas where different sorts of music was being played and all the artists were very good.

 

Ports and excursions:

We did NCL excursions as we have this paranoia about not making it back to the ship on time! They are expensive and we could probably have done exactly the same itineraries for half the price but, for me, the peace of mind is priceless.

We had no real idea what any of the ports would be like even though I had done some research before we left. We were thrilled with all the places that we went.

 

Kiel Canal transit:

The canal links the North Sea with the Baltic and passes through the narrow neck of land at the base of the Danish peninsular.

The Dream is the largest passenger ship that can navigate the canal and this is possible because she is able to lower part of her funnel and navigation system tower so the ship can pass under the many bridges. Seeing this happen was amazing. The passage through the Kiel Canal was an unforgettable experience and rates higher than transiting the Panama Canal because there is so much to see along the length of the canal. There were people lining the bridges to wave to us, people cycling along side the ship, lovely countryside and pretty villages.

TIP – get a seat on the starboard (right) side of the ship or at the rear (deck 8) for the best views.

 

Warmeműnder – Northern Germany (7a.m-9p.m)

About 800 people went on the Berlin trips from here but we decided to stay in port and do an NCL afternoon trip through the local area.

Warmeműnder itself is a very attractive seaside town with loads of cafes, a quaint old town, a long sandy beach, a market and a river with boat trips.

TIP: The attractions are within easy walking distance of dock.

In the afternoon our trip took us to a monastery, on the ‘Moli’ steam train and then to a couple of seaside resorts. I’m glad we did it as we now know that the former East Germany is not a grey and faceless place but a beautiful and vibrant area with fabulous beaches.

 

Tallinn – Estonia (8a.m-5p.m)

WOW what a place! The old town is straight out of a fairy tale. There are prettily painted houses, narrow cobbled streets, churches, castle walls, fabulous views and cafes.

We walked to the old town from the ship which is about a mile and spent the day exploring independently. The highlight was sitting at a café in the main square and watching the world go by. I wish we had had enough time to go into the modern town.

TIP: there were open topped tour busses immediately outside the port exit.

 

St. Petersburg - Russia (2 full days)

This is huge city and the ship docks in the middle of the industrial area which is 3 miles from the centre. The immigration procedure is very strict and time consuming so I wouldn’t recommend doing anything independently.

Day 1: Our NCL excursion took us to ‘Peterhoff’, a large palace, in the morning, lunch at a restaurant and then the ‘Hermitage’ Museum in the afternoon. We were lucky that ‘Peterhoff’ had been specially opened for the cruise ships that were in port so it wasn’t so crowded (only 1,000 of us instead of the usual 12,000 daily visitors). The Hermitage was fabulous but a nightmare with the crowds. We were only able to see a small part of this huge building and its collections.

Some passengers went out to events in the evening but I’m glad we hadn’t booked anything as we were exhausted.

Day 2: We did an afternoon river cruise along the River Neva through the heart of the city and this gave us an overview of the beautiful buildings and the history of the area. I wish now that we had done a morning trip too as there was so much to see.

TIP: We didn’t need a visa as we did NCL trips but, if you choose to do independent tours apply for your Visa well in advance as it can take a long time to come through.

 

Helsinki – Finland (8a.m.-4.30p.m.)

We did an NCL tour to the fortress in the bay. It was interesting but I wouldn’t bother as the town itself is lovely and the market on the waterfront in the city centre is fantastic – the best I have ever been to!!

TIP: The ship docked quite a way out of town but there were open topped tour busses available from the dock exit.

There are plenty of bay cruises available from the town centre

The tram system does a figure of 8 loop around the town and you get an hour ‘hop on and off’ for 2 euros.

 

Stockholm – Sweden (8a.m.-4.30p.m.)

We did a ½ day NCL tour of the waterways which, again, was interesting but we could have done exactly the same for a fraction of the cost from the city centre. We then caught the bus into the centre and explored the old town which had some lovely shops and narrow cobbled streets.

TIP: The no. 76 bus goes from the dock exit to the centre.

The sail through the islands as you depart from Stockholm is spectacular and best watched from deck 8 aft so you get the panoramic view.

 

Copenhagen – Denmark (7p.m - 0vernight - 12 noon)

We arrived in the early evening and did an NCL waterways trip followed by a visit to the Tivoli gardens. NCL then provided a continuous shuttle bus from the gardens back to the ship. We were disappointed with the Tivoli gardens but we are not ‘amusement rides’ people and there wasn’t much else see so we sat in a café and watched the world go by.

The following morning we walked along the harbour front, saw ‘the little mermaid’ statue and found a couple of tourist shops that were open (it was Sunday)

TIP: There were busses from very close to the ship which took you into the centre.

 

 

Overall:

As you can probably work out, we had a wonderful holiday. The great thing about this trip was the good balance between port days and sea time so we got the chance to recover. We were extremely lucky with the weather for most of the time. It was cold, rough and wet both times through the North Sea and it rained in the morning of our time in Copenhagen but the rest of the days were hot and sunny.

The ship was fine and we still enjoy the freestyle concept. Yes, there are a few issues – expensive excursions, some waiting at peak times and expensive drinks but, for us, the plusses are the lack of hassle with tipping, the freedom to dine when and where we want and the more casual approach to dress.

This is an older ship but the itinerary was outstanding and any niggles were minor in comparison with the overall experience.

 

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

 

Regards

[Druke I]

Poster above gives lots of good info re Dream and the Baltics.

 

We did the Dream into the Baltics, way back in 5-99, and loved the itinerary, but not the ship. Oddest layout we have ever seen, and we thought botched in comparison to its original design (we had been on her sister Windward before the stretch).

 

We did the Baltic again in 8-05, similar itinerary, on Oceania's Regatta. Great ship!

 

On both trips, the real highlight was the Kiel Canal transit. What a beautiful part of Germany, with local townsfolk lining the banks and cheering the ship.

 

Enjoy your trip.

[calmac]

Hi Tony, like soccerref we did this trip last summer. This was our second cruise on the Dream and we now have a third booked. Very friendly crew and officers.

 

Our preference for dinner is either Terraces (deck 9 aft) which has the same menu as Four Seasons or Trattoria (deck 11 aft) which is usually Italian but some nights has the same as the other two. On the Baltics trip we found that they served continental breakfast in Trattoria which was nice and much quieter than the Sports Bar which we try to avoid.

 

Deck 8 aft is a lovely spot and there is also public deck space aft on 9 (with a swimming pool) and forward on decks 8 - 11.

 

If you are in a BA or higher cabin you have the option of hot items (egg, bacon, sausage) for breakfast.

 

We didn't go on any of the NCL excursions.

 

In Warnemunde we strolled through the town which was very pleasant and then returned to the ship for some peace and quiet.

 

In Tallinn we too wandered through the old town and stopped in the square for a very pleasant drink.

 

In St Petersburg we booked two days of private tours with Alla Tours. Their standard 2 day tour covered all the sights we wanted to see and gave us some shopping time. Alla Tours (and Denrus) will organise visas for you.

 

In Helsinki we took the shuttle bus into town then walked to the church in the rock. After the OTT opulence of St Petersburg I found this church to be much more impressive (not sure what that says about me)! We then wandered round the market.

 

In Stockholm we took the hop on hop off boat (not bus) to the old town then to the Vasa museum (really interesting) then ended up with a walk back from town due to problems with the HOHO boats!

 

In Copenhagen we went to see the Little Mermaid in the evening which was good as there were very few people around so photos were not a problem. In the morning we wandered round the nearby working fort and stopped at a cafe for coffee.

 

I would suggest looking at the Northern Europe & Baltics Ports of Call board as there is tons of info on the ports there as all the ships visit the same places.

 

If you have any specific questions, I'm happy to help.

[tony@stanton19.freeserve.]

Thanks a million for the prompt replies.

Calmac & Soccerref, thanks for taking the time to posts so much information.

I am at work at the moment but will read them properly when I get home.

 

We only booked on Monday. Sitting in the gloomy rainy weather on Sunday, the Baltics was the last place I fancied, but since reading the info on these boards, reinforced by your above posts has made me really excited about it.

 

Mind you Calmac, you may remember me saying that I didn't fancy the Alaska cruise but then I was totally blown away by it.

 

We will probably take your advice re the private tour in St Petersburg as the thought of all those people queing to get on the NCL tours will ruin it for me. It will remind me of the debacle at Port Canaveral on the Dawn as everyone queued for Universal and Disney transport.

 

What time can you board in Dover?

We will travel down by car the day before and stay within spitting distance to embark fairly early.

 

We didn't want to pay the price for a balcony as they are a real premium on this ship so have ended up with an oceanview on the bottom deck in the most aft cabin. Not quite sure how that happened , but it is right next to the lifts and stairs up to the restaurants, so I am inclined to stay put. It was a really good price too, so perhaps the money saved by going F grade will be better spent on trips or elsewhere.

 

Any extra info gratefully accepted, enjoy the inaugural Gem Med cruise. Was very tempted after reading about all your exploits on the inaugral Pearl last year. (Green with envy actuall)

[calmac]

Hi Tony, I know what you mean about the price of the balcony cabins on the Dream - we've opted for an oceanview for South America as it was half the price of the balcony. At least on the Dream there is lots of open deck space so there is less need for your own "deck".

 

We decided we wanted to enjoy St Petersburg and not spend loads of time waiting on other people in our tour. Be prepared for large $$ for tours there though, whichever choice you make. My favourite places were Catherine's Palace and the gardens of Peterhof. As soccerref mentioned, the Hermitage was very busy but we managed to see a lot when we were there for the first afternoon.

 

Last year we flew to Heathrow from Edinburgh and took the NCL transfer to Dover. Not the best bus journey ever and we arrived about 1.5 hours before we were due to sail. I think staying overnight in or near Dover would be a good idea. I know I looked at Premier Travel Inn in Dover as a possibility prior to our cruise on the Gem. We arrived back in Dover VERY early so I would expect you would be able to board from 11 or 12.

 

We had a great time on this cruise - hope you do too!

[paulanddarnell]

We are booking for this cruise now. Do you recommend a room on the port or starboard side? Or does it matter?

 

Thanks