Live from the Second Baltic

[Andrew DEREK UK]

That's reasonable! I'd hate to think about people arriving early and just standing around outside the terminal!

Yep, I do not think you will miss out on too much, they might start embarkation slightly later say 12 noon, or 12.30pm, so you have lunch and Deck 9 use, that can be organized still whatever their arrival time, food is a normal day.

The issues are staterooms, so a ban on staterooms to 2pm or 2.30pm is possible.

The cruise terminal will not cope, so they will have to do something like that.

 

[sinnika]

I am sure you will have an embarkation delay on yours, maybe they will open up Deck 9 and Parrot Cay but staterooms could be 2pm or later.

On June 6th, people were clearly arriving at 9.30am, and we saw them get through security and into the terminal at 10am.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the tide. We were ready to debark in Dover from the June 5th repo at 7am. Those with earlier than 1pm flights had already debarked, but because our luggage was not in place yet in the terminal, we could not debark. If we had left our luggage in our room, we would have been able to get right off with our luggage. Then they made an announcement that no one could debark because the tide was coming in (or going out - can't remember which) We watched lots of cast members coming back on board, and finally a little after 8am, we were allowed off. By that point, there was a very long line. We were near the very front after waiting for an hour or so. We made it to Dover priory Station at 8:25am and caught the 8:44am train to St Pancrus. And made it in time to see the Queen!

 

[cindy18]

Hi Guys:

I learned more on debarkation and it seems there have been a lot of posts on that so I wanted to post. They've handed out all the info on debarkation, which I hadn't expected until tomorrow. We have luggage tags, tip vouchers and a whole schedule for the morning of the 6th. Captain John announced that our expected arrival alongside the pier was 8:45, considerably earlier than the 10:30 slot we had been told previously. The latest breakfast seating is 9:15, which is also the time all guests must vacate the staterooms. Everyone must be off the ship by 11:15. I doubt that they will let people in before we're all off, given how small the port is, although of course I could be wrong. Luggage has to be outside our rooms by 10:30 on Monday evening. I was hoping for a little more time. Sigh. Starting to feel more and more real that this amazing vacation will be ending soon.

Very relaxing sea day today. The 4th of July party by the Goofy pool was super. John Charles sang lots of patriotic songs and finished with a terrific rendition of American Pie, and everyone, adults and kids, sang the chorus loud. Great stuff. I sat in the sun reading, had lunch from Goofy's Galley (although DH pigged out at the 4th of July BBQ at Topsiders) and had a facial/massage pamper package at the spa to finish off our on-board credits (what a tough job). I met DH at the Ariel View screen to watch the end of Mulan, and now we're all getting ready for the evening. The show is Disney Dreams, which we love, and it's Captain's Gala/semi-formal for dinner, and we're looking forward to that a lot.

Will keep trying to post.

 

[grlzmom]

Thank you, havent met either have had Richard (Holland), and the lady from Germany, Nicol?

Nicole maybe is on vacation? Haven't seen her this cruise but in May she was working at guest services.

We have had Linda and Rodrigo and they are both nice. Linda is from the US (Orlando) and I forgot where Rodrigo is from.

So sad this cruise is coming to an end, it has been incredible. Felt like crying when they had the disembark info and luggage tags on the beds this a.m.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Hi Guys:

I learned more on debarkation and it seems there have been a lot of posts on that so I wanted to post. They've handed out all the info on debarkation, which I hadn't expected until tomorrow. We have luggage tags, tip vouchers and a whole schedule for the morning of the 6th. Captain John announced that our expected arrival alongside the pier was 8:45, considerably earlier than the 10:30 slot we had been told previously. The latest breakfast seating is 9:15, which is also the time all guests must vacate the staterooms. Everyone must be off the ship by 11:15. I doubt that they will let people in before we're all off, given how small the port is, although of course I could be wrong. Luggage has to be outside our rooms by 10:30 on Monday evening. I was hoping for a little more time. Sigh. Starting to feel more and more real that this amazing vacation will be ending soon.

Very relaxing sea day today. The 4th of July party by the Goofy pool was super. John Charles sang lots of patriotic songs and finished with a terrific rendition of American Pie, and everyone, adults and kids, sang the chorus loud. Great stuff. I sat in the sun reading, had lunch from Goofy's Galley (although DH pigged out at the 4th of July BBQ at Topsiders) and had a facial/massage pamper package at the spa to finish off our on-board credits (what a tough job). I met DH at the Ariel View screen to watch the end of Mulan, and now we're all getting ready for the evening. The show is Disney Dreams, which we love, and it's Captain's Gala/semi-formal for dinner, and we're looking forward to that a lot.

Will keep trying to post.

Thank you for the update and very sorry your cruise is nearly at an end.

Seems they are as usual well organized on this, if everyone is out of staterooms by 9.15am, then a 2pm stateroom release is feasible, but embarkation 12.30pm???

Nicole maybe is on vacation? Haven't seen her this cruise but in May she was working at guest services.

We have had Linda and Rodrigo and they are both nice. Linda is from the US (Orlando) and I forgot where Rodrigo is from.

So sad this cruise is coming to an end, it has been incredible. Felt like crying when they had the disembark info and luggage tags on the beds this a.m.

Yes ,sorry your cruise is coming to an end, you must book another, Richard and Nicole looked after us on the last cruise, Richard was Port side, but Nicole would chip in as well. Both good at their role.

We had a 'family' debate on the ball park Concierge tipping, and finally agreed the same basis as last year, that the ball park is the stateroom host/ Main server base tip and work from that.

Although we tend to up the stateroom host as the area is double.

I think I know Rodrigo, he was in Guest services before, IIRC.

 

[cindy18]

Just got clarity on disembarking from guest services. We are pulling along side at about 8:45, but there are going to be 3 groups of disembarkation times, depending on when your return flight is leaving. So the large majority of passengers will not start getting off until 10:30, and the schedule is, according to Brent, to be done at 11:45 and start boarding the 3rd Baltic at 12:30. Not sure when that means they will open the port for check-in, but there it is.

 

[din]

Thanks for the very informative reports. I am now catching up on the threads from London! We will be the same "boat" as you (feeling sad) are in about 15 days!

Can anyone confirm if the train in Germany will stop at Berlin Central Station? Trying to arrange for the hop on hop off bus.

Thanks in advance!

 

[CarolAnnC]

Just got clarity on disembarking from guest services. We are pulling along side at about 8:45, but there are going to be 3 groups of disembarkation times, depdning on when your return flight is leaving. So the large majority of passengers will not start getting off until 10:30, and the schedule is, according to Brent, to be done at 11:45 and start boarding the 3rd Baltic at 12:30. Not sure when that means they will open the port for check-in, but there it is.

Thanks so much Cindy! This is so very helpful to us. We arrive at Dover tomorrow afternoon, after a fabulous London stay!

 

[MrsScooby]

Forgot to ask before...did you guys need bug spray in St Petersburg?

 

[ImprovGal]

For anyone currently on this cruise --
We've still got a nice chunk of Norwegian goat cheese left and will be up in the Cove Cafe offering samples from 4:30pm this afternoon until it's gone. Come have some!


Also, a note on debarkation. There are 2 additional groups other than the ones cindy18 mentioned. Flights from 3-4pm and flights before 3pm. I'm a 3:30pm flight and have to grab breakfast at Topsiders or Cove and be at Rockin Bar D by 9am (I think) for an early debarkation. I also have a special luggage tag group. For those with flights before 3pm, they don't get luggage tags and have to carry their luggage off the ship and have an earlier meeting time in another lounge for an earlier debarkation.

 

[cindy18]

I'll definitely be looking for the Norweigen goat cheese later today, thanks!

Hi from the last full day. Such sadness! We had a terrific evening last night. Disney Dreams really is a wonderful show. It doesn't get old, no matter how many times to see it, and it feels as though they keep adding new things. Captains Gala menu was great (love the lobster), and there was a special 4th of July menu as well. At around 10:15, we passed under a bridge connecting 2 parts of Denmark. We had passed under the same bridge earlier in the trip, but at midnight, and all of us except DD 12 had missed it. This time, we all saw it. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that we were close enough to touch the bottom of the bridge. There was a big cheer from Decks 9 and 10 when we just fit underneath it. I strongly recommend that you listen for Captain John's announcements and watch when the ship goes under it on your cruises. We skipped the dessert buffet in Lumieres because we were full and tired, but we got to visit with Chef Michel and Pastry Chef Carmine in Animator's Palate last night and tell them how much we enjoyed everything, so that was nice.

The weather today is more like what we had expected the whole trip: party cloudy with a chance of rain and highs in the low to mid 60s. I'm in jeans for the first time. The air feels so fresh though. It's actually very nice, and I've gotten word from home that there's a heat wave waiting for us when we get back, so I'm enjoying this while I can. DH and I spent some time talking to Tommy from DVC in Cove Cafe this morning. He'll be on the 4th Baltic (Andrew, I told him to look out for you), and he's really great. He said that he believes there's got to be some cruise tie-in to Hawaii coming and also that Greece is a real possibility. One of the officers told me yesterday that Asia seems like a likely upcoming test market, for a tie in with Hong Kong or Tokyo. Imagine being on the repo for that one!

Not sure what the day will bring. DH is going to another Baltic lecture at 1. There's a book swap in Cove Cafe at 11:30 and 2 big Bingo matches today. Lots of additional tastings for the adults scattered throughout the day. Both Little Mermaid and Jungle Book on the Ariel View screen. And sooner or later, some packing. Blech.

No need for bug spray in St. Petersburg. Can't answer the Berlin train question because we took a car, but I'd be surprised if the answer wasn't yes.

 

[MrsScooby]

Cindy your posts now remind me of the last day of our 2008 PC repo cruise. Everyone was so sad

The only thing that helped was to rebook on board and to organize the pictures some what

Even booking a dummy cruise that you knew would have to be moved was better than nothing.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post so many details for us

 

[ladyvet]

Cindy,
It sounds like you have had a wonderful trip. I so enjoy reading your posts. We're on the July 18 cruise, so your descriptions are getting us all excited. Thank you for taking the time to share, and I hope you have a safe trip home.

Beth

 

[Cousin Orville]

Again, thanks you guys for posting from the ship all this time! Our Baltic Cruise (Jul 18) will be our first trip back to Europe with kids and our first DCL cruise. Everything here has really helped us plan our trip and has been a lot of fun to read. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks again for taking time out to post your thoughts!

 

[cindy18]

Laurie, I hear you on rebooking. We actually have 2 cruises already booked for 2011, President's Day weekend on the Dream and Alaska in August. And those will be exciting and wonderful in their own rights. But this cruise, all 12 wonderful days of it, has felt so fantastic, so easy, and so far away from home and all the stresses and anxieties of everyday life, I guess, that it's very hard to say goodbye to, especially when it feels like we've been waiting for it for 18 months! But of course we will all get through the sadness and look forward to the next one.

The North Sea has gotten choppy, so we're finally having a more typical experience. The vibe on the boat seems very relaxed. We've done the tips, the evaluation form, the photos at Shutters. We're about 50% packed, maybe a little more. Having the 2 days at sea at the end like this gives you a lot of time to get everything together. It's a lot more relaxing than rushing back from Castaway Cay to pack! The final jackpot bingo is about to get going, and the pot is over $12,000, so I'm thinking to go watch that for fun. We're in Parrot Cay for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow, and the adults are getting John Charles again for our last night's entertainment, which I must say I'm really looking forward to. That will probably help my doldrums a bit. DH and I were actually almost wishing for another volcano eruption so that we'd have to stick around in the UK for a few days after we get off the ship rather than flying home tomorrow evening...

They are shutting down access to the internet at midnight tonight, but I will try to post about debarkation from my blackberry tomorrow morning. I'm really glad this thread has helped people on future Baltics. This really has been just a fabulous vacation, and I know you guys on the 3rd and 4th Baltics will have a super time!!

 

[scrapycruiser]

THANKS, CINDY !!!!!

Your reports have been so detailed and helpful ! And so much fun to read ! Thank You for taking the time

Enjoy planning your DREAM cruise and the one to Alaska !! Planning is half the fun ! We will be on the DREAM March 6 with friends we met on the Eastern Magic last Feb. Looking to book the 11 day '11 Med cruise while on the Baltic cruise.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Laurie, I hear you on rebooking. We actually have 2 cruises already booked for 2011, President's Day weekend on the Dream and Alaska in August. And those will be exciting and wonderful in their own rights. But this cruise, all 12 wonderful days of it, has felt so fantastic, so easy, and so far away from home and all the stresses and anxieties of everyday life, I guess, that it's very hard to say goodbye to, especially when it feels like we've been waiting for it for 18 months! But of course we will all get through the sadness and look forward to the next one.

The North Sea has gotten choppy, so we're finally having a more typical experience. The vibe on the boat seems very relaxed. We've done the tips, the evaluation form, the photos at Shutters. We're about 50% packed, maybe a little more. Having the 2 days at sea at the end like this gives you a lot of time to get everything together. It's a lot more relaxing than rushing back from Castaway Cay to pack! The final jackpot bingo is about to get going, and the pot is over $12,000, so I'm thinking to go watch that for fun. We're in Parrot Cay for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow, and the adults are getting John Charles again for our last night's entertainment, which I must say I'm really looking forward to. That will probably help my doldrums a bit. DH and I were actually almost wishing for another volcano eruption so that we'd have to stick around in the UK for a few days after we get off the ship rather than flying home tomorrow evening...

They are shutting down access to the internet at midnight tonight, but I will try to post about debarkation from my blackberry tomorrow morning. I'm really glad this thread has helped people on future Baltics. This really has been just a fabulous vacation, and I know you guys on the 3rd and 4th Baltics will have a super time!!

Thank you again Cindy, one word comes to mind as the Americans sometimes say:-

AWESOME.​

 

[mca]

Thanks Cindy,

I have used your informative posts to do all my final planning. Being our first trip in Europe there was a lot of missing info that you were able to clear up for us.

Thanks again

 

[TDC Nala]

Did most places in Estonia take Euros?

not only did some places in Estonia take euros, some also took US dollars. Had I brought dollars I would have been able to buy more vodka on the Medieval Spirits tour. I brought kroon both into Estonia and out of Estonia (I have five kroon I forgot to spend or give to the tour guide)

 

[scottishwee35]

Thank you again Cindy, one word comes to mind as the Americans sometimes say:-

AWESOME.​

Cindy

I enjoyed reading your report... I know sad it is end....

I am sure that Baltic people enjoyed your story...

Scottishwee35