Just back from first Baltic cruise.......any questions?

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I have a couple of questions if anyone who was there could be helpful to answer as we are doing the 12 night Baltic cruise on July 10th-22nd. Hubby wanted me to ask since he is the computer Nerd...Is there any places in or near the ports of call that have free Wifi for sure? And my next question is that Hubby was planning on bringing and using the Disney Visa for most of the ports and places but he wanted to know if anyone else recommended to bring cash/ currency for that port and if so how much roughly? Thank you so kindly for all the answers and wonderful help so far! We truly appreciate the help!

Tallinn does the port is free wifi and most of the city.
I think Helsinki now has free Wifi city wide.

Money take at least two different credit cards if you can one Visa and one say mastercard, keep an eye on them all the time if you use in Russia.

Take currency as well, small denominations and new notes for Russia.

All ports bar Russia acceptance of cards debit cards is very good, Russia its ok but some do not work, Mastercard I hear has issues.

UK Pounds, cards all 100% perfect, good to but currency here.
Copenhagen Danish Krona, cards availability very good.
Stockholm Swedish Krona cards good availability.
Helsinki Germany and Tallinn Euro cards good acceptance.
Russia Rouble, new notes only and tourist sites take cards and euros but not widespread, some restaurants OK.

The best back up currency is Euros.

USA $ is ok in tourist places in Russia and tipping but not a main currency outside city centres or tourist places.
Ask your Bank re suing them in Russia there is sanctions in place and some banks scrutinise payments or may decline as they think its a fraud.

 

[aggiedog]

Stockholm had free wifi on the pier. I don't remember about the other ports. We used our credit card for everything except street vendor food. If your card does not have a chip, however, it may not be taken in some places. My mother's is chip-less and it was declined occasionally.

 

[Angeshall]

I have a couple of questions if anyone who was there could be helpful to answer as we are doing the 12 night Baltic cruise on July 10th-22nd. Hubby wanted me to ask since he is the computer Nerd...Is there any places in or near the ports of call that have free Wifi for sure? And my next question is that Hubby was planning on bringing and using the Disney Visa for most of the ports and places but he wanted to know if anyone else recommended to bring cash/ currency for that port and if so how much roughly? Thank you so kindly for all the answers and wonderful help so far! We truly appreciate the help!

I can only remember seeing a sign for Wifi in the cruise terminal in Stockholm. I used my data package from home, so didn't need to use it.

I used my visa credit card in most ports. I bought some Danish krona for Copenhagen and I also took some Euros that I used in Russia. You will need a credit card with a chip and pin.We didn't spend a huge amount. Drinks, ice creams, lots of Russian dolls - my daughters were obsessed with them!

 

[Pixie Naseweis]

I was on the EBTA and Brent said he was only on for a couple more weeks and then Natalie would take over (she was asst cruise director on the EBTA).

A fellow cruiser who did the EBTA and the cruise after was on the same flight out of Copenhagen as Capt John and said Commodore Tom has now taken over.

Thank you for this information!

 

[Chirple]

We were on this same cruise. We spent 4 days prior to 5/30 in Copenhagen. Here’s what we did:

1. Got Danish Kroner prior to the trip.
2. Had a credit card with the chip technology (pin not required at any register we used).
3. Booked a private tour in St. Petersburg through http://anastasia.travel. (Thank you, Disney Fantasy, for the recommendation.) Did this during their 50% offering that ended the third week in February. The lines for Passport Control in Russia were very long at 8:30 am. Once you reached an agent, the process went quickly. This was our itinerary for one day, with Julia as our guide and Dmitry as our driver. Julia was very knowledgeable and passionate about St. Petersburg’s history.

a. City Tour
b. Peterhoff Lower Park (and commencement of fountains). We met the owner of the tour company here.
c. Hydrofoil directly to Hermitage
d. Hermitage (watch out for tourist groups with selfie sticks!)
e. Saviour of the Spilt Blood
f. St. Isaac’s Cathedral
g. Peter and Paul’s Fortress
h. Rivers and canals tour

4. Used Rick Steves’ walking tour of Old Town Tallin. Very easy to follow, and he provides descriptions of each place. Cheapest excursion ever – 3 Euros each (not including cost of guidebook).
5. Took DCL excursions in Helsinki and Stockholm.
6. Even though not the best rate, exchanged U.S. dollars for Euros and Roubles on the ship just for the convenience. No Swedish Krona available by the time I went to Guest Services. However, I was able to use Euros at the port souvenir shop in Stockholm. Used cash as much as possible.
7. In addition to requiring a passport and tour ticket or visa to go ashore in St. Petersburg, the Navigator also stated that your passport was required for Estonia. I brought them, but we never needed them.

An advisement to anyone flying on Icelandair—they did not provide us with customs declaration forms on the plane (a first for us regarding international travel). It was a mad scramble at the airport to get them and complete them. Make sure you bring a pen.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

3. Booked a private tour in St. Petersburg through http://anastasia.travel. (Thank you, Disney Fantasy, for the recommendation.) Did this during their 50% offering that ended the third week in February. The lines for Passport Control in Russia were very long at 8:30 am. Once you reached an agent, the process went quickly. This was our itinerary for one day, with Julia as our guide and Dmitry as our driver. Julia was very knowledgeable and passionate about St. Petersburg’s history.

a. City Tour
b. Peterhoff Lower Park (and commencement of fountains). We met the owner of the tour company here.
c. Hydrofoil directly to Hermitage
d. Hermitage (watch out for tourist groups with selfie sticks!)
e. Saviour of the Spilt Blood
f. St. Isaac’s Cathedral
g. Peter and Paul’s Fortress
h. Rivers and canals tour.

So how was it then? You seem to have done a lot there, I am glad you booked that I bet you did far for more than DCL tours could.

 

[tazgirl1981]

Thank you all so kindly for the replies. Also one last question, Did the ship offer the standard wifi package (to purchase) as well? Wee do have the Disney Visa with the chip but I will let hubby know that we should probably pick up a little local currency as well

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Thank you all so kindly for the replies. Also one last question, Did the ship offer the standard wifi package (to purchase) as well? Wee do have the Disney Visa with the chip but I will let hubby know that we should probably pick up a little local currency as well

Internet packages are standard over all ships and all cruises.

 

[Chirple]

It was a fantastic tour. Per Julia, it was far easier to get to and through these locations with a small group. In addition, the traffic in St. Petersburg was heavy so having a private car made getting around much faster.

 

[Chirple]

Oh, I forgot to add these. At the Copenhagen port, we embarked on Deck 1 so there were no family announcements. Also, no free 50 mb of wifi was offered. We bought the 1000 mb package for $89.00.

We did laundry 3 times and found that 10:30 pm and later gave us the best availability to washers and dryers.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

It was a fantastic tour. Per Julia, it was far easier to get to and through these locations with a small group. In addition, the traffic in St. Petersburg was heavy so having a private car made getting around much faster.

Yes the benefit of a private tour a small car or van gets out of traffic whereas a tour bus with 55 has an approved rite than cannot change. In 2010 our guide changed routes and orders of places to see re crowding and traffic. We went on the subway underground when our driver did get stuck once and picked him up later.

Glad you enjoyed it, yes we got 50% off as well.

 

[Angeshall]

Early on in the cruise I think it was the Tallinn day, in the afternoon (2.30pm ish) there was a brightstar announcement. We were on deck 9 in the splash zone with our daughter. The on board doctor and other senior members of the crew all came running and congregated near the pizza area. Someone had collapsed and the doctor was doing CPR and the area was cordoned off by staff.

Does anyone who was on the cruise know what happened? I hope the outcome was positive.

Thanks,

A

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Early on in the cruise I think it was the Tallinn day, in the afternoon (2.30pm ish) there was a brightstar announcement. We were on deck 9 in the splash zone with our daughter. The on board doctor and other senior members of the crew all came running and congregated near the pizza area. Someone had collapsed and the doctor was doing CPR and the area was cordoned off by staff.

Does anyone who was on the cruise know what happened? I hope the outcome was positive.

Thanks,

A

I wish them well.

 

[Chirple]

Early on in the cruise I think it was the Tallinn day, in the afternoon (2.30pm ish) there was a brightstar announcement. We were on deck 9 in the splash zone with our daughter. The on board doctor and other senior members of the crew all came running and congregated near the pizza area. Someone had collapsed and the doctor was doing CPR and the area was cordoned off by staff.

Does anyone who was on the cruise know what happened? I hope the outcome was positive.

Thanks,

A

I didn't hear about this, but I hope that the person is okay.

 

[DISGRL13]

We were on this same cruise. We spent 4 days prior to 5/30 in Copenhagen.

What do you recommend seeing in Copenhagen? Any tips? Can you recommend a hotel to stay at in Copenhagen pre-cruise? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Chirple]

DISGIRL13, we stayed at the Best Western Hotel Hebron. We loved it. It was very centrally located. When we booked, the rate was also extremely reasonable. I viewed guest photos online to see which room configuration worked for us (2 adults). I ended up booking a room with two single beds (double beds in Europe are small), and our bathroom had a separation of shower and toilet. The hotel had a pretty courtyard (too cold for us to sit there) and a comfortable lounge area with free hot tea and coffee all day. There were also 4 private restrooms off of the lounge. There is a strip club adjacent to this hotel, but it was only open in the evening. We didn't see any activity except for one man leaving. We did request a quiet room so we were on the opposite side in the hotel.

Our first day was arrival day so we arrived at the hotel at check-in time and were able to get into our room immediately. We took a nap and then ate dinner at the restaurant closest to our location.

I'll start by saying that there is a terrific Tourist Information center across from Tivoli Gardens. On Wednesday we bought tickets here for the HOHO bus and only got off at The Little Mermaid statue to take photos. It gave us an overall view of the city and helped us decide where we wanted to return.

Thursday we went to Tivoli Gardens. We purchased the unlimited ride ticket (in addition to the entry fee). It was a cloudy, cool day with short periods of rain so the park was relatively empty. It was money well spent because we were there all day. They do not have the same safety measures as Disney parks. For example, the roller coaster bars lift before the ride comes to a complete stop so we saw kids jump out while the train was still moving. They do have height restrictions on some rides and will measure children.

Friday's weather was really nice so we walked to Rosenborg Castle. We spent a couple of hours here and wished we had more time to explore the grounds. There's a lovely cafe on premises.

I absolutely loved Copenhagen and would return in a heartbeat.

 

[Andrew2005]

I can only remember seeing a sign for Wifi in the cruise terminal in Stockholm. I used my data package from home, so didn't need to use it.

I used my visa credit card in most ports. I bought some Danish krona for Copenhagen and I also took some Euros that I used in Russia. You will need a credit card with a chip and pin.We didn't spend a huge amount. Drinks, ice creams, lots of Russian dolls - my daughters were obsessed with them!

Thanks for all the information. I've enjoyed reading through this thread. We're on the 22nd July cruise, and I was wondering about the money situation for St. Petersburg as well. So will we need to get any roubles do you think? Or if we get some extra euros will that be OK?

We're only booked on 1 disney excursion in St. Petersburg, the City Highlights & Hermitage one, so I don't think we'll need much in the way of cash either. How much cash do you think we would need? I was thinking maybe £50 worth per person? Or am I way off do you think?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Thanks for all the information. I've enjoyed reading through this thread. We're on the 22nd July cruise, and I was wondering about the money situation for St. Petersburg as well. So will we need to get any roubles do you think? Or if we get some extra euros will that be OK?

We're only booked on 1 disney excursion in St. Petersburg, the City Highlights & Hermitage one, so I don't think we'll need much in the way of cash either. How much cash do you think we would need? I was thinking maybe £50 worth per person? Or am I way off do you think?

Andrew get roubles there, Direct from Anastasia Travel: As for the Rubles, usually you can pay by credit card In tourist places, ie at Hermitage . For lunches allow about 700-1000 Rubles per person per day, as not all the cafes accept cards. Souvenirs you can buy using your card or USD or Euros - they are usually accepted by Tourist souvenir shops. Note Visa seems to work MasterCard doesn't in places.

Russia is cheap the Rubles rate fell a lot this year re the sanctions , you cannot take large amounts back out, have cash for snacks soda sandwiches post cards, use cars to buy the Matryoshka dolls. As a back up Euros are good, $ only in the big tourist centres.

The terminal duty free shop on ship side of border control is a good place to price goods up so you know what is good or not good for the dolls, and also a good place to use up currency on vodka or chocolate.

 

[gdstone04]

Early on in the cruise I think it was the Tallinn day, in the afternoon (2.30pm ish) there was a brightstar announcement. We were on deck 9 in the splash zone with our daughter. The on board doctor and other senior members of the crew all came running and congregated near the pizza area. Someone had collapsed and the doctor was doing CPR and the area was cordoned off by staff.

Does anyone who was on the cruise know what happened? I hope the outcome was positive.

Thanks,

A

We were on this cruise. Unfortunately, as we were watching the dock as we were leaving, we saw them off-loading what was obviously a deceased person. So horrible.

 

[Chirple]

Just to piggyback on what Disney Fantasy said, I was able to combine different currencies or local currency/Visa at some souvenir locations just to burn through the remaining cash.