Tallinn & Oslo - Time in Port

[ncsongbird]

I'm looking at a Baltic cruise for 2008 and the Princess itinerary shows port time for Tallinn as 7AM-1PM and Oslo from 7AM - 2 PM. That doesn't seem to give us much time in port especially compared to some of the other cruise lines itineraries.

 

I'd appreciate any comments from people who have been to these ports. Is this enough time to see what we should see in Tallinn and Oslo? We do like to do things on our own or do private tours if possible.

[eldercruser]

I would think that the times you have posted would be insufficient to see much. Most shops and museums don't open until 10 AM.

[luvnorway]

Having been a victim of "short ports" many times (included in cruises we chose based on overall itineraries), I sympathize with your concern and commend you for noticing the time limitations of this itinerary.

 

It's amazing how many people don't think to check this or the other factors that limit your time in a port:

 

1) having to tender ashore, especially from a huge ship with a few thousand passengers and shorexes being given disembarkation priority

 

2) distance from dock to city/town

 

3) disembarkation usually doesn't even begin until about a half hour after arrival

 

4) all aboard is a half hour before departure

 

 

I strongly agree with the previous poster that you won't have enough time in port - especially when your arrival is early in the morning - this is even worse than a "short port" afternoon stop for the reason mentioned.

 

People will tell you they've "seen" Oslo in the length of time you have available, but usually this means either they rode around on the Hop On/Off bus, or hired a taxi or driver = a waste of money when trams, metro and ferries are so easy to use) -> seeing Oslo = "drive bys and photo op stops".

 

What you can do in the limited time available is get a taste of the cities and decide if you want to return to this part of the world (it's great) - or be selective and pick one or two places to see and enjoy and don't try to do it all in a mad rush!

[MacThespian]

I'm looking at a Baltic cruise for 2008 and the Princess itinerary shows port time for Tallinn as 7AM-1PM and Oslo from 7AM - 2 PM. That doesn't seem to give us much time in port especially compared to some of the other cruise lines itineraries.

 

I'd appreciate any comments from people who have been to these ports. Is this enough time to see what we should see in Tallinn and Oslo? We do like to do things on our own or do private tours if possible.

 

It's definitely NOT enough time to see everything in Oslo. I've been there a few times before, and even just trying to take in the museums on Bygdoy took me a full day. Sure, you can breeze through town, but there's a lot to see that you won't get to in a short port day.

 

We'll be on Jewel of the Seas on a Baltic cruise this summer, and we also have limited time in Oslo. I'd love to spend more time there, and don't know why we have such an early departure. I don't think it's because the ship needs the extra couple of hours to get to the next port. (Wonder if they get a discount on port fees if they're only docked for 6 hours?)

 

You can see pretty much anything you want to see in Oslo on your own--but you can't see everything.

[ncsongbird]

Thanks for the input. I thought the port time was too short, too. I had a similar problem on an Alaskan cruise last year. We had to be back on ship for 1:00 departure and every other ship was still in port as we sailed away. So I learned my lesson and now I look at both the ports visited and the time spent in each. I definitely will be looking at other cruise lines. Thanks.

[JesterPlaying]

We are going on the Holland America Rotterdam for a Baltic cruise at the end of July in 2008. Time in both ports is from 8 AM to 5 PM.

[ontheweb]

I'm looking at a Baltic cruise for 2008 and the Princess itinerary shows port time for Tallinn as 7AM-1PM and Oslo from 7AM - 2 PM. That doesn't seem to give us much time in port especially compared to some of the other cruise lines itineraries.

 

I'd appreciate any comments from people who have been to these ports. Is this enough time to see what we should see in Tallinn and Oslo? We do like to do things on our own or do private tours if possible.

 

We are on the Star Princess this summer. Those were the times originally scheduled, however, they have been changed.

 

Oslo is now 12:30 PM to 7:30 PM. That is the same amont of hours, but obviously it works out better for museums that do not open until 10 AM.

 

Talininn is now Noon until 6 PM. again, the same amount of hours, but probably better times for seeing attractions.

[dog]

We are on the Star Princess this summer. Those were the times originally scheduled, however, they have been changed.

 

Oslo is now 12:30 PM to 7:30 PM. That is the same amont of hours, but obviously it works out better for museums that do not open until 10 AM.

 

Talininn is now Noon until 6 PM. again, the same amount of hours, but probably better times for seeing attractions.

 

 

I see for my sailing that we are in Tallinn on Sept.15/07 from 7am-1:00pm

and for Oslo 7:00am-2:00pm for Sept. 18/07...No changes from my personalizer as of today.

 

dog