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

[DISNEY FANTASY]

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.

That's terrible I have had that in our cruise meets on a cruise.

 

[gdstone04]

We LOVED Copenhagen and would have loved to have stayed longer. We were there three days before the cruise and we found it very easy to navigate and get along. We walked everywhere. Just a note--watch out for the bicycles! They are truly a bicycle-commuter city.

Tallinn was great but if you want to do any little tower tours (on your own), you'll need Euros.

We did a Disney Tour in St. Pete and we spent the majority of our time looking at the inside of the bus. I wish we had sprung for a private driver or independent package.

Helsinki was not our favorite stop. We did this independently and I think we just didn't find the right things to see.

Stockholm was GORGEOUS! We did Vasa and it was AMAZING. We used HOHO boats to get everywhere and walked on the islands. It was very easy to do that and we loved the views we got from the boat. We are definitely interested in returning to Stockholm.

We are extending our vacation and are currently in Paris. Whew! I definitely appreciate the ease of "sampling" cities with a little bit of Disney insulation although Paris is phenomenal. Headed out to Disneyland Paris tomorrow after a trip up the Eiffel Tower.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

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.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

We did a Disney Tour in St. Pete and we spent the majority of our time looking at the inside of the bus. I wish we had sprung for a private driver or independent package.

Pity I was not able to convince you on this or you may not have seen my posts, but I have banged on about this here forever, and not that I am on any commission!

But I highlight this now for those still to go and booked DCL tours, St Petersburg is a fantastic city, do not go there and sit and see the inside of a coach with 55 people in it and get stuck in traffic, stuck in lens before going into tourist places like the Hermitage.

For those to go.

Book a private tour there! You will see more, do more, spend less, cut lines, avoid bad traffic, everyone gets a view, my driver would pull up so I could take a quick snap on the camera outside and nip back in, a coach with 55 people cannot do that.

Please everyone who is to go, look into it and book a private tour, it isn't to late!


See My post on the first page.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

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.

Thank you for this heads up as several of us are on Iceland Air going over to Copenhagen prior to the 6/29 sailing. So I'm assuming you had to go find the form in the airport? You are right - that would be a first for me too, to not be given it on the plane. Was this in the Copenhagen airport? If so - any tips where you located the form?

Thanks in advance,
Heather

Ps. I am saddened to hear of the loss on board and RIP to the cruiser and thinking about his/her family.

 

[Chirple]

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.

This makes me sad.

 

[Chirple]

Thank you for this heads up as several of us are on Iceland Air going over to Copenhagen prior to the 6/29 sailing. So I'm assuming you had to go find the form in the airport? You are right - that would be a first for me too, to not be given it on the plane. Was this in the Copenhagen airport? If so - any tips where you located the form?

This was our flight from Iceland to Newark. Once we got to Passport Control in Newark, there was a table where the forms were located. Also, there was an airport employee handing out the forms who even commented that he could not believe the airline did not pass them out. Mine ended up being a sloppy mess from rushing through it.

Speaking of airports, I have never seen such disorganization as we did in Iceland. There wasn't any boarding order. The gate opened, and it was a free for all. You just got in one long line. At Copenhagen, you must print your boarding pass from one of the kiosks and then proceed to baggage drop off. Icelandair did not print luggage tags from the kiosk as SAS did; those were done at bag drop. We were dropped off at Terminal 2 (kiosks are right inside), and Icelandair bag drop is in Terminal 3 (straight walk through Terminal 2). The line for Economy bag drop can be long.

 

[gdstone04]

Pity I was not able to convince you on this or you may not have seen my posts, but I have banged on about this here forever, and not that I am on any commission!

But I highlight this now for those still to go and booked DCL tours, St Petersburg is a fantastic city, do not go there and sit and see the inside of a coach with 55 people in it and get stuck in traffic, stuck in lens before going into tourist places like the Hermitage.

For those to go.

Book a private tour there! You will see more, do more, spend less, cut lines, avoid bad traffic, everyone gets a view, my driver would pull up so I could take a quick snap on the camera outside and nip back in, a coach with 55 people cannot do that.

Please everyone who is to go, look into it and book a private tour, it isn't to late!


See My post on the first page.

I wish I had trusted you! I think we were just worried because it is our first time in Russia and we were very, very certain we did not want to get left! That being said, if I had it to do over again (and hopefully I will in a few years), I would do as you recommend.

 

[gdstone04]

This makes me sad.

I tried very hard not to cry even though I did not know the person. It definitely sparked the "what would we do if one of us died in a foreign country" conversation.

 

[tink too]

Thanks for adding your tips, Chirple - it's a big help to those of us travelling later in summer.

Also, glad you enjoyed your tour with Anastasia (we've booked with them also) looks like you managed to fit a lot in to your day.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

This shows what is possible.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I wish I had trusted you! I think we were just worried because it is our first time in Russia and we were very, very certain we did not want to get left! That being said, if I had it to do over again (and hopefully I will in a few years), I would do as you recommend.

I think a lot of people think that, but then hindsight proves it very wrong, back in 2010 someone told me about Anastasia it was the highlight of my cruise, I wanted to repay that advice here for this year, I think you have a bigger chance of being left with 55 in a coach rather than four in a van.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

This was our flight from Iceland to Newark. Once we got to Passport Control in Newark, there was a table where the forms were located. Also, there was an airport employee handing out the forms who even commented that he could not believe the airline did not pass them out. Mine ended up being a sloppy mess from rushing through it.

Speaking of airports, I have never seen such disorganization as we did in Iceland. There wasn't any boarding order. The gate opened, and it was a free for all. You just got in one long line. At Copenhagen, you must print your boarding pass from one of the kiosks and then proceed to baggage drop off. Icelandair did not print luggage tags from the kiosk as SAS did; those were done at bag drop. We were dropped off at Terminal 2 (kiosks are right inside), and Icelandair bag drop is in Terminal 3 (straight walk through Terminal 2). The line for Economy bag drop can be long.

Thanks again and makes sense

Since our cruise ends in Dover must of us are flying home from Heathrow after the cruise but I appreciate all the extra info so thanks again

Heather

 

[aggiedog]

Yes, the Copenhagen airport was really chaotic. One of the workers there, though, said it was particularly bad because the baggage handlers had been on strike. Not sure how that would impact check in lines, but it was confusing. FWIW, you can use the check in kiosks in Terminal 3 also, or they can check you in at the counter after standing in line.

 

[Andrew2005]

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.

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.

Thanks for that information, very useful, and it's good to know we can use a credit card to buy souvenirs and such, and we'll be taking some euros for Helsinki and Talinn, so we'll have those as a back up too.

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Thank you very much for the information!

 

[DISGRL13]

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.

Thank you for the detailed information!! I will check out the Best Western Hebron. We have one son (15) so there will be 3 of us. Do you think they have rooms for 3 people or would we need 2 rooms? Thanks again Chirple!

 

[thndrmatt]

Yes, the Copenhagen airport was really chaotic. One of the workers there, though, said it was particularly bad because the baggage handlers had been on strike. Not sure how that would impact check in lines, but it was confusing. FWIW, you can use the check in kiosks in Terminal 3 also, or they can check you in at the counter after standing in line.

Random note on SAS if flying to the US at CPH, after using the SAS self service kiosks to print your boarding passes and luggage tags, do not leave the normal line to attempt to use the self service baggage drop, as the computer will reject you because they have to have a real person check your documents for US destinations, and you'll get to rejoin the line, possibly not where you were before...

 

[Chirple]

DISGRL13, it looks like they have a limited number of suites based on their website. I think we paid around $660 for 4 nights, but I did book very early. The hotel had a number of guests heading to different cruises. The hotel reception will call a taxi for you on checkout day, and the driver comes into the lobby and looks for you by hotel room number. They also had a nice buffet breakfast every morning (included).

 

[DCL4LIFE]

What time did you arrive at the port for check-in and when did you board? Disney is telling us 1pm is the earliest, despite Platinum and Concierge. Another family member who is neither Platinum not Concierge was able to select an arrival time of 11am.