Live from the Second Baltic

[dflyer]

Hi All!

A brief report on our day in Oslo, as the internet has gotten very slow and difficult again. For anyone doing Oslo on your own, do not be concerned. It's REALLY easy. The walk from the ship to City Hall literally took less than 10 minutes, and it's very obvious where the ferries to Bygdoy Peninsula are. There is a helpful street map in the cruise terminal, right after you get off the ship (the forward debarkation point is closer to town, the aft debarkation point is closer to the Opera House). We were off the ship before 8:30 and caught the first ferry at 8:45 over to Bygdoy. We got off at the first stop and walked up hill (a bit tiring) to the Viking Museum, beating the first of several Disney tour busses. We really liked the Viking Museum. The ships are impressive, as is the installation.

After that, we walked over to the Holocaust Center, where there was a candid series of exhibits about racism in general and about what happened to Norweigen Jews during WW II in particular. Sobering, but worth a visit. Then we walked back towards the water and the Fram and Kon Tiki Museums. By that point, things were a lot more crowded, but the museums are fun and easy. We had a quick snack at a cafe along the water and then caught the ferry back to town.

From town, we went to the Nobel Peace Prize Museum, which we really liked. The main exhibits are about Mandela and Obama, and they are both very interesting. There is also a room with a brief bio on each winner of the prize, and that was interesting too.

After the museum, we walked up towards Karl Johans Gate and strolled along. It was very crowded but the buildings (National Theatre, Oslo University, etc) were impressive, and the weather was so glorious that it felt great just to be walking along. We found a casual sandwich shop and stopped for lunch, then walked back to Akerhaus Castle by the ship and explored the fortress grounds. Frankly, we were too tired by that point to tour the castle, but it looked pretty neat.

We did all of the above with our Oslo Pass, except for the snack and lunch. A word about that: we decided not to get the voucher before we left because we figured it wouldn't really save us any time and we'd still have to stand on line to pick it up. That was true, but there was something we didn't know. If you buy the Oslo Pass in the cruise terminal rather than online before you leave, there is a significant discount. The regular price for the 4 of us (2 adults and 2 kids) is 660 kr. We were charged 528 kr when we bought the passes in the terminal. Just a piece of info for those of you thinking about doing Oslo on your own. The pass paid for itself when we were only about halfway done with our day.

So now we're tired and a little sweaty and back on the ship. Time for some rest before the magician show and our first rotation dinner. Will try to post tomorrow morning, before we get off the ship in Copenhagen.

Oh, before I forget. Someone asked how the ship was doing. Considering her age and all the places she's been, she looks GREAT. I am continuously surprised by how clean she is. She honestly sparkles. We're not seeing any noticeable signs of age. She's still as gracious and elegant as ever. Maybe it will seem more obvious once the Dream arrives, but for now, the Magic is still as great as ever.

What is the Olso Pass?

 

[Deb T.]

What is the Olso Pass?

Visit Oslo Pass: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/advantages.52087.en.html

 

[geoffrey]

ahhhh this is torture. We are on the next cruise leaving the 6th out of Dover. I am going to be spending every hour refreshing this post waiting for the next update.

Thank you for posting, this is great

 

[Deb T.]

ahhhh this is torture. We are on the next cruise leaving the 6th out of Dover. I am going to be spending every hour refreshing this post waiting for the next update.

Thank you for posting, this is great

Welcome aboard, Geoffrey!

 

[StephenKay]

Hi Cindy,

Glad to hearing your enjoying Oslo it's a beautiful captital, mind you so is Stockholm. Please can you advise what the onboard DVC discounts and early Ko olina discounts?

Many thanks for the trip reports can't wait.

 

[cindy18]

Good Morning All:

It's another unbelievably beautiful morning as we approach Copenhagen. On the internet front, things appear to be working very well this morning, just like yesterday morning. Not sure why it's so much easier in the mornings than in the afternoons, but just something to keep in mind for future cruisers.

Let me try to answer some questions first.

There was a desk right when you walked into the cruise terminal in Oslo, with 2 people working at it. There was one line, and it actually wasn't very long at all (maybe because we got off so early). No distinction in time or person who helped you if you were exchanging a voucher or simply buying a pass.

Ship arrives in Stockholm on July 3rd. I'm blanking on the time of the port, but it's the one that's further away from town.

We didn't get to the Norweigen Resistance Museum, although it was on our list of things to do. It is supposed to be within Akerhaus Castle and Fortress. We entered the fortress area from the harbor side and didn't go within the castle. My guess is that if you went within the castle, you'd find it. We were just too tired by that point in the day, and the DDs were a little museumed-out.

Because of the Oslo Pass, we didn't have to use credit cards or cash for anything other than food. It did look like all the museums and restaurants took credit cards. Our snack place was right along the harbor, just passed the Maritime Museum, and it took credit cards (although I paid cash). The sandwich shop took credit cards, which we used. There was a little snack bar right by the Kon-Tiki, and that took credit cards too. Things were REALLY expensive in Oslo. At the sandwich shop, we had 3 panini, 1 mini pizza (really, mini), 2 bottles of water and 1 box of apple juice, and it was 220 kr. The girls each had a bar of Norweigan candy for dessert, and that was another 40 kr. Pretty expensive. The snack bar at the harbor was expensive too, but I thought that was because of the location and how touristy the area was. We had 300 kr with us ($50) and on the snack bar, the candy, the locker at the Peace Prize Museum and postcards, we used 200 kr. We charged lunch and used the Oslo Pass for everything else. And we walked to and from the ship.

DH told me that people were going to ask about the DVC discounts. I will try to remember to bring the list with me. The thing that has really caught my eye is that there are resorts where points are available on the ship for well under $100 each, which struck me. They think Animal Kingdom and I think Grand Californian will sell out within the month.

OK, I think that was all the questions. Lovely evening last night, with another amazing sunset at 10:30 (as we head south). Jason Bishop did a big magic show in the Walt Disney Theatre. He's really quite good. Rotation dinner in Parrot Cay with a Minnie flamingo show. DD 14 had the rib eye and was very happy. Everyone (or so it seemed) watched the US lose to Ghana in the World Cup. The loss was a bummer, but it was amazing how many people were watching all over the place. DH and I wandered around the ship while the girls were in their clubs. We were tired last night.

I'm guessing that we're about 45 minutes out of docking in Copenhagen. Estimated all ashore is 8:45, per Brent, who says that the forecasted high is in the low 70s, with clear skies. There is very little wind this morning, so it's not even cold on our verandah. We've passed several wind farms and some tall ships, but so far no other cruise ships. We're doing Copenhagen on our own, mostly walking (plus a canal tour), and we plan to pick up lunch as we go: their version of a hot dog (polse) or the open faced sandwiches or something like that. We have the same amount of currency for Copenhagen as we had for Oslo, and this time I'm expecting to need to find an ATM, but we'll see.

Will try to post later this afternoon if the internet is tolerable. Have a great day!

 

[Cousin Orville]

Thanks for the update. How's the weather? Are most people wearing jeans? shorts? Hope you have a wonderful day in Copenhagen!

 

[cindy18]

People are wearing a mix. It's getting into the low 70s, and in the sun it feels quite warm, especially when there is no wind. At night it is chilly or even cold, especially if we're moving fast.

Forgot to mention that Raphael, our server, told us last night that there are 2000 passengers on this cruise and almost 95% of them are from the United States, which surprised us.

 

[Melcatfish]

People are wearing a mix. It's getting into the low 70s, and in the sun it feels quite warm, especially when there is no wind. At night it is chilly or even cold, especially if we're moving fast.

Forgot to mention that Raphael, our server, told us last night that there are 2000 passengers on this cruise and almost 95% of them are from the United States, which surprised us.

Wow, that is a surprise in many ways but not so much in others. Most people I know here in the UK didn't even know Disney had a cruise line (until we raved about our trips) and there is little to no marketing here. Considering the deep discounts Disney are having to offer on the Med cruises and the discounts offered on the June Baltics you would think they might like to consider a little more non US advertising!

Enjoy the rest of your cruise and thank you for the updates

Mel
x

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Good Morning All:

It's another unbelievably beautiful morning as we approach Copenhagen. On the internet front, things appear to be working very well this morning, just like yesterday morning. Not sure why it's so much easier in the mornings than in the afternoons, but just something to keep in mind for future cruisers.

Let me try to answer some questions first.

There was a desk right when you walked into the cruise terminal in Oslo, with 2 people working at it. There was one line, and it actually wasn't very long at all (maybe because we got off so early). No distinction in time or person who helped you if you were exchanging a voucher or simply buying a pass.

Ship arrives in Stockholm on July 3rd. I'm blanking on the time of the port, but it's the one that's further away from town.

We didn't get to the Norweigen Resistance Museum, although it was on our list of things to do. It is supposed to be within Akerhaus Castle and Fortress. We entered the fortress area from the harbor side and didn't go within the castle. My guess is that if you went within the castle, you'd find it. We were just too tired by that point in the day, and the DDs were a little museumed-out.

Because of the Oslo Pass, we didn't have to use credit cards or cash for anything other than food. It did look like all the museums and restaurants took credit cards. Our snack place was right along the harbor, just passed the Maritime Museum, and it took credit cards (although I paid cash). The sandwich shop took credit cards, which we used. There was a little snack bar right by the Kon-Tiki, and that took credit cards too. Things were REALLY expensive in Oslo. At the sandwich shop, we had 3 panini, 1 mini pizza (really, mini), 2 bottles of water and 1 box of apple juice, and it was 220 kr. The girls each had a bar of Norweigan candy for dessert, and that was another 40 kr. Pretty expensive. The snack bar at the harbor was expensive too, but I thought that was because of the location and how touristy the area was. We had 300 kr with us ($50) and on the snack bar, the candy, the locker at the Peace Prize Museum and postcards, we used 200 kr. We charged lunch and used the Oslo Pass for everything else. And we walked to and from the ship.

DH told me that people were going to ask about the DVC discounts. I will try to remember to bring the list with me. The thing that has really caught my eye is that there are resorts where points are available on the ship for well under $100 each, which struck me. They think Animal Kingdom and I think Grand Californian will sell out within the month.

OK, I think that was all the questions. Lovely evening last night, with another amazing sunset at 10:30 (as we head south). Jason Bishop did a big magic show in the Walt Disney Theatre. He's really quite good. Rotation dinner in Parrot Cay with a Minnie flamingo show. DD 14 had the rib eye and was very happy. Everyone (or so it seemed) watched the US lose to Ghana in the World Cup. The loss was a bummer, but it was amazing how many people were watching all over the place. DH and I wandered around the ship while the girls were in their clubs. We were tired last night.

I'm guessing that we're about 45 minutes out of docking in Copenhagen. Estimated all ashore is 8:45, per Brent, who says that the forecasted high is in the low 70s, with clear skies. There is very little wind this morning, so it's not even cold on our verandah. We've passed several wind farms and some tall ships, but so far no other cruise ships. We're doing Copenhagen on our own, mostly walking (plus a canal tour), and we plan to pick up lunch as we go: their version of a hot dog (polse) or the open faced sandwiches or something like that. We have the same amount of currency for Copenhagen as we had for Oslo, and this time I'm expecting to need to find an ATM, but we'll see.

Will try to post later this afternoon if the internet is tolerable. Have a great day!

People are wearing a mix. It's getting into the low 70s, and in the sun it feels quite warm, especially when there is no wind. At night it is chilly or even cold, especially if we're moving fast.

Forgot to mention that Raphael, our server, told us last night that there are 2000 passengers on this cruise and almost 95% of them are from the United States, which surprised us.

Thank you for continued great posts and insight; and enjoy your day.

 

[MrsScooby]

Thanks so much for all the details Cindy
Really takes alot of the uncertainty out of the trip for the rest of us

If you come across any really good places for lunch in the ports let us know

 

[StephenKay]

Cindy,

A very big top tip, when in Stockholm you must visit a ship named the Vasa, which is held in a indoor dry dock. The bus journey on the tourist bus is a 10 minute journey from the city centre. The ship was used by Disney to model the flying dutchman from Disneys Pirates of the Caribbean on. It's the best ship, so well preserved and presented also a nice outdoor cafe area.

You'll love it.

Another fun thing to do is the ice bar for adults, great fun. It's to be found in a hotel in the centre of Stockholm.

Stockholm has a tourist pass also.

Another fun thing to do was to visit the TV tower, again a bus journey and lovely views with nice cafe at the top.

 

[3princessMommy]

Good Morning All:

DH told me that people were going to ask about the DVC discounts. I will try to remember to bring the list with me. The thing that has really caught my eye is that there are resorts where points are available on the ship for well under $100 each, which struck me. They think Animal Kingdom and I think Grand Californian will sell out within the month.

We were on the June 12 Baltic and bought into DVC on that trip. The discounts seemed pretty dramatic to us and we bought into the Grand Californian. Very interesting to know that they expect it to sell out within the month.

But they didn't even mention that the Hawaii resort was opening for sale to us...Oh well. We are ecstatic with the Californian! DH is already planning our first points vacation.

Enjoy your trip! If you see our servers Zeljko and Miki, please say hi from us (Joann, Aaron, Caitie, Alex, & Grace)! Also, I forgot to send kudos to one staff member, Adhi a room steward on Deck 5. We got moved from his cabins on the first night, but he was so nice to send things to us that were delivered to our old cabin that I wanted to make sure he got a shout-out in the evaluation and I forgot. Any idea how I can get that to the appropriate folks???

Love reliving our experiences through your posts! Thanks!

 

[cindy18]

What an amazing day we had today in Copenhagen. Again, for those of you who are doing this port on your own, it's very easy. When the ship pulled into port we were greeted by a marching band, which was really funny, and we were able to debark ahead of the tours, which meant no lines. We got a cab to City Hall Square, which was only 4 kr more than it would have cost for the 4 of us to take the bus, and we followed Rick Steves' walking tour pretty much completely. We feel like this gave us a good sense of the old part of Copenhagen, and since we started before 9, it was not crowded and we took our time. When we got to Nyhavn, we stopped for coffee and a snack and then got on the Netto canal boat tour for an hour long canal ride.

Important tip, which Rick Steves mentions as well. There are 2 canal boat companies, Netto and something like DFDS. The boats are the same and the tours are the same. DFDS runs boats more often and costs literally double (I checked this because we just missed the 11 am Netto boat and the next one wasn't until 11:40 and the other company had boats at 11:15 and 11:30. For the 4 of us, Netto cost 120 kr and the other line cost 240. Go figure). So we waited for the 11:40 Netto and it was a great tour.

After the tour, DH wanted to keep walking instead of stopping for lunch, so we stopped at the "best ice cream shop in Copenhagen", in Nyhavn, and kept walking. The ice cream was really good. We walked to Amalienbourg Square (very swish, as befits the home of the royal family) and then on to the Museum of Danish Resistance, at the entrance to a beautiful park. The museum, which is free, is excellent and describes what happened to Danes during WWII in great detail. Well worth a visit. After that, we thought about having lunch in the park, but the prices were so high that we decided just to come back to the ship. The walk along the water was beautiful. In the spot where the little mermaid usually is, they had a screen set up showing the statue live in her temporary home in China, which I thought was a nice touch. We headed straight for deck 9 and some lunch when we got on the boat.

A few more points: I'm actually typing this from my blackberry because the ship's satellite connection is totally down. Given that we're in port, I'm pretty astonished. Also, the weather is ridiculous. It's brilliantly sunny and warm, with a cool breeze coming in off the water. We cannot believe our luck.

I really love Copenhagen. I wish we had caught an earlier canal boat ride, and it would have been nice to have sampled a proper Danish meal. But other than that, I feel like we saw a good cross-section of the city and we really didn't spend a lot of money at all so it was a great day.

Stevie, we are planning to head to the Vasa as our first stop as soon as we arrive in Stockholm. Thanks for the tip.

We have Palo tonight (yay!!) and the show is Once Upon a Song, which sounds like a medley of Disney greatest hits. In the meantime, I'm going to rest and enjoy the sail-away, which I think will be spectacular.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

What an amazing day we had today in Copenhagen. Again, for those of you who are doing this port on your own, it's very easy. When the ship pulled into port we were greeted by a marching band, which was really funny, and we were able to debark ahead of the tours, which meant no lines. We got a cab to City Hall Square, which was only 4 kr more than it would have cost for the 4 of us to take the bus, and we followed Rick Steves' walking tour pretty much completely. We feel like this gave us a good sense of the old part of Copenhagen, and since we started before 9, it was not crowded and we took our time. When we got to Nyhavn, we stopped for coffee and a snack and then got on the Netto canal boat tour for an hour long canal ride.

Important tip, which Rick Steves mentions as well. There are 2 canal boat companies, Netto and something like DFDS. The boats are the same and the tours are the same. DFDS runs boats more often and costs literally double (I checked this because we just missed the 11 am Netto boat and the next one wasn't until 11:40 and the other company had boats at 11:15 and 11:30. For the 4 of us, Netto cost 120 kr and the other line cost 240. Go figure. So we waited for the 11:40 Netto and it was a great tour.

After the tour, DH wanted to keep walking instead of stopping for lunch, so we stopped at the "best ice cream shop in Copenhagen", in Nyhavn, and kept walking. The ice cream was really good. We walked to Amalienbourg Square (very swish, as befits the home of the royal family) and then on to the Museum of Danish Resistance, at the entrance to a beautiful park. The museum, which is free, is excellent and describes what happened to Danes during WWII in great detail. Well worth a visit. After that, we thought about having lunch in the park, but the prices were so high that we decided just to come back to the ship. The walk along the water was beautiful. In the spt where the little mermaid usually is, they had a screen set up showing the statue live in her temporary home in China, which I thought was a nice touch. We headed straight for deck 9 and sokme lunch when we got on the boat.

A few more points: I'm actually typing this from my blackberry because the ship's satellite connection is totally down. Given that we're in port, I'm pretty astonished. Also, the weather is ridiculous. It's brilliantly sunny and warm, with a cool breeze coming in off the water. We cannot believe our luck.

I really love Copenhagen. I wish we had caught an earlier canal boat ride, and it would have been nice to have sampled a proper Danish meal. But other than that, I feel like we saw a good cross-section of the city and we really didn't spend a lot of money at all so it was a great day.

Stevie, we are planning to head to the Vasa as our first stop as soon as we arrive in Stockholm. Thanks for the tip.

We have Palo tonight (yay!!) and the show is Once Upon a Song, which sounds like a medley of Disney greatest hits. In the meantime, I'm going to rest and enjoy the sail-away, which I think will be spectacular.

Loving your live informative reports and we are doing Palo Copenhagen night as well to drop a rotational dinner.

 

[cindy18]

Great minds think alike Andrew!

A quick mention on the DVC discounts. They depend on which resort and how many points you buy. But for example, AKV has an $18 discount for 250 points and a $16 discount for 125 or 200 points. Grand Californian has a $22 discount for 250 points and a $19 discount for 125 or 200 points. I think both of those resorts are due for price increases soon. So that's why we're tempted. The discounts on Bay Lake Tower are not quite as good, but they're still good, and Bay Lake Tower is more expensive, naturally. The cruise presale price on Aulani for members only is $114, which everyone thought was an excellent price.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Great minds think alike Andrew!

A quick mention on the DVC discounts. They depend on which resort and how many points you buy. But for example, AKV has an $18 discount for 250 points and a $16 discount for 125 or 200 points. Grand Californian has a $22 discount for 250 points and a $19 discount for 125 or 200 points. I think both of those resorts are due for price increases soon. So that's why we're tempted. The discounts on Bay Lake Tower are not quite as good, but they're still good, and Bay Lake Tower is more expensive, naturally. The cruise presake price on Aulani for members only is $114, which everyone thought was an excellent price.

Don't need to say it, but enjoy Palo, have a Chocolate souffle and a Panna Cotta, on me.

 

[dflyer]

Visit Oslo Pass: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/advantages.52087.en.html

Thank Deb, this is greast information!

 

[TDC Nala]

Butting in again - I went to Tivoli with the Disney excursion including harbor cruise, we had fun. Not a lot of time to do rides after the tour. They have a nice little modern coaster with 2 inversions and a corkscrew and "Soarin Over Copenhagen" (they call this thing the Star Swinger or something) but believe me you cannot be afraid of heights and ride this thing. Sorry, they don't allow you to take ANYTHING on with you - no cameras.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Butting in again - I went to Tivoli with the Disney excursion including harbor cruise, we had fun. Not a lot of time to do rides after the tour. They have a nice little modern coaster with 2 inversions and a corkscrew and "Soarin Over Copenhagen" (they call this thing the Star Swinger or something) but believe me you cannot be afraid of heights and ride this thing. Sorry, they don't allow you to take ANYTHING on with you - no cameras.

So you would recommend it? This is the exact tour we are signed up for. I don't think we are interested in doing too many rides. Mainly just wanted to see and stroll around the park. Was the guided tour pretty good? And did you have the option to leave the tour after the canal ride? We were thinking of strolling around town before finally heading back to the ship.