7/18/2010 Mickey's Baltic Ballyhoo!!

[Flora Fan]

Hey Everyone.
I've been reading in the Book, "PassPorter's Field Guide to the Disney Cruise Line" that there is a theme night during the cruise.

While Pirates of the Caribbean is a great theme night and I'm sure the cruises to Castaway Cay love it... I'm sure we could come up with some really fun ideas for the Northern European Cruise. Anyone up for the challenge?

 

[jilljill]

I heard on one of the podcasts that DISNEY rumor is...no one will be allowed off the boat in St. Petersburg unless they are on a Disney tour. Just a rumor thus far, but you might want to check this out.

Every cruise line uses this tactic so you think you have to book their tours only. This is not factual. DCL can not stop you from leaving the ship if you haven't booked one of their tours.

We just did a Carnival cruise in July that included an overnight stop in StP and they tried to tell everyone the same thing, along with every other cruise line. They even tried to say that if you didn't have one of their tours booked and you booked on your own that you couldn't get off until 10:00am. We were in our tour bus and out of the port by 8:15am.
Our tour guide said a cruise ship can't stop you from leaving the ship. Now if you don't have anything booked that includes a blanket visa or your own visa then Russian Immigration will stop you and from the looks of them I don't want to deal with any of them - especially the women.

As long as you are booked on some sort of tour that includes your blanket visa you are fine to enter the country.

 

[Flora Fan]

Every cruise line uses this tactic so you think you have to book their tours only. This is not factual. DCL can not stop you from leaving the ship if you haven't booked one of their tours.

We just did a Carnival cruise in July that included an overnight stop in StP and they tried to tell everyone the same thing, along with every other cruise line. They even tried to say that if you didn't have one of their tours booked and you booked on your own that you couldn't get off until 10:00am. We were in our tour bus and out of the port by 8:15am.
Our tour guide said a cruise ship can't stop you from leaving the ship. Now if you don't have anything booked that includes a blanket visa or your own visa then Russian Immigration will stop you and from the looks of them I don't want to deal with any of them - especially the women.

As long as you are booked on some sort of tour that includes your blanket visa you are fine to enter the country.

Totally cool. It is so nice to have all the information needed before you arrive. I love these boards, cuz you can always find out the real skinny. Thanks.

 

[alanapapa]

I can't get any info on this site, it keeps saying 'be the first to post a review of this port'.

For St. Petersburg if you go with a cruise tour or an organized tour with a recognized Russian tour company a blanket visa will be included in your our pricing. You will have to show your tour ticket to the Russian immigration officials and they will stamp your passport and let you in the country.

If you want to tour the city on your own, which is not recommended, you will need to get your own tourist visa. But your hardest obsticle is figuring out how to get to the port entrance which is about 2 miles from where the ships dock in the industrial port.

Click on the the city and it should bring up the info.

 

[jilljill]

Totally cool. It is so nice to have all the information needed before you arrive. I love these boards, cuz you can always find out the real skinny. Thanks.

If you look on cruise critic there's a ton of info on the ports over there. I spent a year planning our cruise this past July and it really paid off.

 

[jilljill]

Click on the the city and it should bring up the info.

I tried that and it still wants me to post a review of the port.

 

[Flora Fan]

On the Theme Night ideas...with so many European destinations, how about a:

Prince and Princess' Night

 

[Flora Fan]

If you look on cruise critic there's a ton of info on the ports over there. I spent a year planning our cruise this past July and it really paid off.

Excellent, I'll go there. It'll take a year to research all these places.

I went to the book store this weekend and just couldn't spend money on a book that has tons of info that I won't use. I've decided to use the web for now.

While at the store, I saw language books and began to wonder if I should research phrases... Do you suggest using these books for a few hours in port, or just wing it?

 

[alanapapa]

Excellent, I'll go there. It'll take a year to research all these places.

I went to the book store this weekend and just couldn't spend money on a book that has tons of info that I won't use. I've decided to use the web for now.

While at the store, I saw language books and began to wonder if I should research phrases... Do you suggest using these books for a few hours in port, or just wing it?

Try using books on tape/CD from the library. I have a one for Spanish that I put on DD14's iPod.

 

[jilljill]

Excellent, I'll go there. It'll take a year to research all these places.

I went to the book store this weekend and just couldn't spend money on a book that has tons of info that I won't use. I've decided to use the web for now.

While at the store, I saw language books and began to wonder if I should research phrases... Do you suggest using these for a few hours in port, or just wing it?

Go to your library and check out some travel books, I did that as well. I did buy a Baltics port book, but if you want to buy one wait to get the 2010 edition when it comes out. Otherwise the ones at the library are good for now.

English was pretty much spoken at every port we went to, we really just stayed in the towns near the port. Except for St.P but that's why we had our guide and what we were paying her for. I couldn't imagine trying to learn Russian, even a few phrases.

Stockholm and Oslo are going to be new ports for us, we haven't been there so lots more research to do.

 

[alanapapa]

I tried that and it still wants me to post a review of the port.

Click on the St Petersburg in the box under Russia destinations. It should be an active link. Under the box is the words "Be first to post..."

 

[alanapapa]

English was pretty much spoken at every port we went to, we really just stayed in the towns near the port. Except for St.P but that's why we had our guide and what we were paying her for. I couldn't imagine trying to learn Russian, even a few phrases.

From what I have heard, it actually is not that bad to learn to speak, reading is a different story.

 

[alanapapa]

Excellent, I'll go there. It'll take a year to research all these places.

I went to the book store this weekend and just couldn't spend money on a book that has tons of info that I won't use. I've decided to use the web for now.

While at the store, I saw language books and began to wonder if I should research phrases... Do you suggest using these books for a few hours in port, or just wing it?

Isn't that why we have the DIS???

Anything you need to know about everything can be found on the DIS.

 

[Flora Fan]

Stockholm and Oslo are going to be new ports for us, we haven't been there so lots more research to do.

I have a military friend who has been to Oslo many times. He tells me the port is 3 blocks from the town. DH and I are thinking of skipping the tours this day and just enjoying the town.

 

[alanapapa]

For our friends on the Eastern Side of the Atlantic, where is the area that A.A. Milne wrote about in his Winnie-the-Pooh books? As you might have already gathered, my darling wife is a fan of the main character and has wanted to see if she can find some of the places (Gallion's Leap??).

 

[jilljill]

I have a military friend who has been to Oslo many times. He tells me the port is 3 blocks from the town. DH and I are thinking of skipping the tours this day and just enjoying the town.

We will do the same for all ports but StP.
We loved Warnemunde and are really looking forward to enjoying the town once again. We would like to hang out at the beach and the beach side cafes as well.

 

[jilljill]

For our friends on the Eastern Side of the Atlantic, where is the area that A.A. Milne wrote about in his Winnie-the-Pooh books? As you might have already gathered, my darling wife is a fan of the main character and has wanted to see if she can find some of the places (Gallion's Leap??).

There is a Hundred Acre Wood 'attraction' that my friends have been to. It's north of London up towards the midlands if I recall correctly. My friends lived in the midlands area and it was about an hour or 2 drive for them.

Izzi....Andrew.....am I telling him correctly or has my mind gone totally bonkers?!?

 

[alanapapa]

We will do the same for all ports but StP.
We loved Warnemunde and are really looking forward to enjoying the town once again. We would like to hang out at the beach and the beach side cafes as well.

Even though it is a long ride, I am thinking we will take an excursion to Berlin.

 

[alanapapa]

Copenhagen though we might see an exchange student who lived with us one year.

 

[alanapapa]

Here I wasn't fluffing and still got the