July 6, 2010 - 7/6/2010 ~ Pounds to Rubles ~ Mickey invades the Baltic Sea

[aurorafan65]

Thanks for sharing this. We are planning how much money we want for each port - could you ask how much the nesting dolls typically are (that tourists buy) and a range for the fur hats?

Anyone know if we'll be able to exchange for rubles on the ship? We're doing the shopping excursion on the first day but thought if we could exchange onboard then we wouldn't have to do that during our shopping time.

For the dolls - they can range anywhere from $20 to hundreds it really depends on what you are buying, also VERY important make sure they are really russian, apparently they sell alot that are made in China.

hats - should run $20 - $60

you can get rubles on the ship but the exchange rate will not be very good - it's better to either get some before you leave or use an ATM at the port. Our guide said there are ATM's all over the place to use.

 

[wintergreen]

No docs here yet - maybe tomorrow I hope!

Good news for anyone who booked on DVC points - I was checking my ressies on the DCL website and found the following statement on both of our stateroom reservations:

Information about your cruise.

Fuel Supplement Onboard Credit: The cost of the fuel supplement charge has been applied as a refundable Onboard Credit to this reservation


Whooo hoooo! I was going to call about this - probably will still call to verify the amount of the credit applied. This will be a much welcomed OBC for us!

It is $100 per passenger.

 

[denise]

is this the same $100 credit per person we got the letter about back in Dec? Or is this a new credit...I wonder?

 

[wintergreen]

is this the same $100 credit per person we got the letter about back in Dec? Or is this a new credit...I wonder?

I'm pretty sure it is the same thing.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Our fuel supplement was removed at the beginning (we are cash customers, though. it was on there to start with, then our TA called and DCL removed it) and we're still getting the $100 per passenger OBC. So I suspect those of you on DVC points who got the $100/passenger notice previously are getting the fuel supplement in addition.

I haven't looked to calculate the gratuities -- anyone have that handy?

Thx for the info about the costs for the dolls and hats in Russia. We were at Hilton Head for spring break and I saw a set of them that were actually from Russia. I told my dad I wanted to get a set while we were there but knowing my luck they would all be made in China The store clerk told me that if I don't find any made in Russia to call her and she will ship me a set that ARE made in Russia that they stock in their store

I'm off work today so I have four lovely days to do whatever I want / need to do. We are planning to copy our passports but then my boss suggested we not only copy them, but that we .pdf them... but then I wondered who I should leave the pdf's with or if I should put them on a thumb drive to bring with me as well. Any thoughts? What are you all doing about passport copies, etc.?

Five weeks from today and we'll be flying off to London! The kids have today and Tuesday for their last full days off school and then three half days. I cannot wait for them to be done.

No docs for us yet, but I'll be watching for the mailman today!

 

[buzzdad100]

just thought I'd share this here -

I had asked our private tour guide in Russia about paying for souveniers & they suggested paying in rubles & mentioned there are plenty of ATM's around to get them. Also if anyone is interested, I asked about fur hats (ds #1 wants one) & he said we should be able to find them on the shopping street (Nevsky?)

not toooo much longer - we're getting super excited

Starting to finally get our act together on this. We are looking into private tour guides for St. Petersburg and Germany. What company are you using?? Getting a lot of recommendations and having a hard time sorting them out

 

[sshaw10060]

Starting to finally get our act together on this. We are looking into private tour guides for St. Petersburg and Germany. What company are you using?? Getting a lot of recommendations and having a hard time sorting them out

A number of us are using Denrus. There are several reputable companies. If you look on Cruise Critic there is a lot discussion on the various companies.

 

[buzzdad100]

A number of us are using Denrus. There are several reputable companies. If you look on Cruise Critic there is a lot discussion on the various companies.

Thanks, Scott. They are one of the companies I am looking at.


Best

 

[goingsouth]

no docs for me.....that's ok! I'm sure they will show up soon. For those that did receive..what was included? Any new info?

I will send out final F.E. list this weekend. Sorry to anyone I missed first time around.

Again- cut off for sign up is June 1st...anyone else???

joanne

 

[goingsouth]

Starting to finally get our act together on this. We are looking into private tour guides for St. Petersburg and Germany. What company are you using?? Getting a lot of recommendations and having a hard time sorting them out

Denrus in St Petersburg and Original Berlin Walks in Germany!

Don't ask about any other port..still deciding! Is it true you can't get the Oslo card ahead of time? I've read conflicting reports.

joanne

 

[nzdisneymom]

No docs today but our Tower of London tix arrived!

 

[Deb T.]

I haven't looked to calculate the gratuities -- anyone have that handy?

The docs had the following section:

12-night Cruise Gratuity Suggestions
(per person, including children)
Restaurant Server $48
Restaurant Assistant Server $36
Head Server $12
Stateroom Host(ess) $48
Room Service Your Discretion

All amounts are in U.S. dollars

 

[Deb T.]

no docs for me.....that's ok! I'm sure they will show up soon. For those that did receive..what was included? Any new info?

The docs arrive in a little spiral-bound notebook. Ours contained:
Passport Info
Luggage Tags
Castaway Cay "Welcome Back" letter
Contents Page
Vacation Checklist
Embarkation Info
Vacation Summary (including our already-booked excursions & Palo ressie)
Sailing Itinerary
Flight Info (we registered our flights online and all the info was included on this page!)
Ground Transportation info
Gratuity Guidelines
Ship Contact Cards you can give to family/friends
Cruise Documents info
Ground Transfer Purchase Option
DCL Data Privacy Notice
Directions to the Port

 

[goingsouth]

The docs arrive in a little spiral-bound notebook. Ours contained:
Passport Info
Luggage Tags
Castaway Cay "Welcome Back" letter
Contents Page
Vacation Checklist
Embarkation Info
Vacation Summary (including our already-booked excursions & Palo ressie)
Sailing Itinerary
Flight Info (we registered our flights online and all the info was included on this page!)
Ground Transportation info
Gratuity Guidelines
Ship Contact Cards you can give to family/friends
Cruise Documents info
Ground Transfer Purchase Option
DCL Data Privacy Notice
Directions to the Port

Thank you, Deb T......appreciate you doing that!

joanne

 

[Deb T.]

Thank you, Deb T......appreciate you doing that!

joanne

No problem! I'd definitely want to know, too, if I hadn't received my docs yet.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thx for the gratuities info.

 

[aurorafan65]

Starting to finally get our act together on this. We are looking into private tour guides for St. Petersburg and Germany. What company are you using?? Getting a lot of recommendations and having a hard time sorting them out

we're using SPB - http://www.spb-tours.com/

she helped fill out the group so we have 11 people -> lower price

What I found was their detail for the tour was much more specific (if that's the right word) than some of the others

 

[CarolAnnC]

is this the same $100 credit per person we got the letter about back in Dec? Or is this a new credit...I wonder?

This is in addition to the $100 OBC previously sent to us. MS had previously told us that they would review the fuel pricing prior to our cruise. I paid in the vicinity of $385 for fuel supplement for our two staterooms. Looking foward to this nice chunk of change on our account!

Our fuel supplement was removed at the beginning (we are cash customers, though. it was on there to start with, then our TA called and DCL removed it) and we're still getting the $100 per passenger OBC. So I suspect those of you on DVC points who got the $100/passenger notice previously are getting the fuel supplement in addition.

I haven't looked to calculate the gratuities -- anyone have that handy?

Thx for the info about the costs for the dolls and hats in Russia. We were at Hilton Head for spring break and I saw a set of them that were actually from Russia. I told my dad I wanted to get a set while we were there but knowing my luck they would all be made in China The store clerk told me that if I don't find any made in Russia to call her and she will ship me a set that ARE made in Russia that they stock in their store

I'm off work today so I have four lovely days to do whatever I want / need to do. We are planning to copy our passports but then my boss suggested we not only copy them, but that we .pdf them... but then I wondered who I should leave the pdf's with or if I should put them on a thumb drive to bring with me as well. Any thoughts? What are you all doing about passport copies, etc.?

Five weeks from today and we'll be flying off to London! The kids have today and Tuesday for their last full days off school and then three half days. I cannot wait for them to be done.

No docs for us yet, but I'll be watching for the mailman today!

John always keeps an electronic copy of our passports with us (as well as a paper copy) for emergencies. Perhaps he will chime in here - he just arrived home a short time ago from O'Hare via London Heathrow.

 

[Deb T.]

Perhaps he will chime in here - he just arrived home a short time ago from O'Hare via London Heathrow.

Glad to hear you're back safe and sound.

Thanks, again, for your first-hand report on the carry-on baggage restrictions out of Heathrow on the Baltic thread!

 

[slg]

So, for those of us who booked the first day, not on DVC, will we get our fuel surcharge back as an OBC too? Are there different rules for DVC than there are for anyone else.

I would be super happy about this because the fuel surcharge has seemed unfair to those who booked early.

Does anyone know? How might we find out?