The 2010 Baltic Thread--Cruise Tips and Planning

[scrapycruiser]

We are cruising with our son & family. We all have iphones and plan to text each other ( .50 ea text we send and receive ).

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Disney Magic is leaving St Petes, NOW!

 

[MrsG]

Not normal for June but the North Sea has Gales today, strong cold winds down from the North Pole, but good news we will have High pressure from Monday and we will warm up and its Sunny for the first week of Wimbledon.

Glad they are not crusing this Saturday rather than last.

North Sea is often active, lets hope it will settle down.

Man the lifeboats!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I understand why they are only doing 4 Baltic cruises. And this is supposed to be the best time to cruise there.............

 

[DisneyDoc1895]

Aha my plan for Wunermunde!

Super Ditto. Who needs Berlin? I am sure there will be a nice ocean front pub that we can sit at and sample some local brews while the kids have a blast in the camp.

When we were on another cruise ship we found a nice port side bar at Freeport, Bahamas - no one else went to it - we were by ourselves having a Kalik, looking at the blue sea and the ship. Very nice.

Ken

 

[aurorafan65]

Well, even the website says 30 days. I spoke directly to someone w/Verizon who works in the Global Travel division and, hey, for all I know, he was reading directly from the webpage.

The Global Travel Program Agreement paperwork says "and agree to take ownership of the enclosed global device for a period of 30 days from date or order." So. Date of ORDER. In my case, that's 6/11, which is (unfortunately) 11 days before I hit the road. I fly back on 7/7, so I have 4 days to get that sucker back in the mail. It's not a lot of time, but it's certainly not my shiny enV Touch so I'll just have to get that sucker back in the mail ASAP!

maybe that's why they said 21 days, they are taking into account the order/shipping time? hmmmm I know it'll all work out

 

[goingsouth]

I need Berlin! Can't wait to see it. We have a great day planned.


joanne

 

[MrsG]

I need Berlin! Can't wait to see it. We have a great day planned.


joanne

I agree, Joanne! Warnemunde looks lovely but I've always wanted to see Berlin. I'd hate to go all that way and then wish we had. It's just DH & I so we don't mind the train ride. I can see people with little ones opting to stay closer to the ship. That would be a very long day for them.

 

[Madisonznana]

I agree, Joanne! Warnemunde looks lovely but I've always wanted to see Berlin. I'd hate to go all that way and then wish we had. It's just DH & I so we don't mind the train ride. I can see people with little ones opting to stay closer to the ship. That would be a very long day for them.

If we didn't have 2 8 yo and one 11 yo with us, I would definitely being going into Berlin. I didn't think the girls would enjoy the long trip both ways to get there.

 

[cindy18]

If we didn't have 2 8 yo and one 11 yo with us, I would definitely being going into Berlin. I didn't think the girls would enjoy the long trip both ways to get there.

We debated for quite awhile before deciding to go into Berlin for the day. Our DDs are 14 and 12, so we think they can handle the day, and luckily we have a sea day to recover afterwards. I don't think we would have done it if they were a few years younger. But ultimately, Berlin just seems like too important a city not to experience, even if only for a few hours. I think we will all be exhausted that evening, but hopefully it will be worth it. And maybe we can some decent local beers over lunch while we're there!

 

[wdwsog]

We are sticking with Rostock...just being in Germany is good enough for me

 

[jilljill]

We are cruising with our son & family. We all have iphones and plan to text each other ( .50 ea text we send and receive ).

Last time we were on the Baltics cruise, texts were free to receive thru AT&T.

 

[jilljill]

Super Ditto. Who needs Berlin? I am sure there will be a nice ocean front pub that we can sit at and sample some local brews while the kids have a blast in the camp.

When we were on another cruise ship we found a nice port side bar at Freeport, Bahamas - no one else went to it - we were by ourselves having a Kalik, looking at the blue sea and the ship. Very nice.

Ken

There's a nice bar at the TeaPot building right along the beach and across the walkway is another beachside bar/ice cream place. There's lots of outdoor seating on the walkway and on the beach. Last time we were there, around 3:00 it seemed as if everyone at that place either had a beer or ice cream.
Then in town, along the canal, there are plenty of pubs and other outdoor places to eat/drink. We plan on going to the beer hut once again that is along the right side of the canal as you are coming from the ship.

The TeaPot building

The beer hut

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Man the lifeboats!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I understand why they are only doing 4 Baltic cruises. And this is supposed to be the best time to cruise there.............

Other cruise lines such as RCCL go a bit later, its still early season for us, now Gales in June are 'unusual', they were lucky they went last weekend rather than Yesterday, it would have been a bumpy ride.

Sun is forecast all week in London from Monday getting warmer and then hotter each day. Thursday should be nice for those embarking then for the second cruise.

 

[MrsScooby]

I need Berlin! Can't wait to see it. We have a great day planned.


joanne

I agree, Joanne! Warnemunde looks lovely but I've always wanted to see Berlin. I'd hate to go all that way and then wish we had. It's just DH & I so we don't mind the train ride. I can see people with little ones opting to stay closer to the ship. That would be a very long day for them.

We debated for quite awhile before deciding to go into Berlin for the day. Our DDs are 14 and 12, so we think they can handle the day, and luckily we have a sea day to recover afterwards. I don't think we would have done it if they were a few years younger. But ultimately, Berlin just seems like too important a city not to experience, even if only for a few hours. I think we will all be exhausted that evening, but hopefully it will be worth it. And maybe we can some decent local beers over lunch while we're there!

I agree with you guys
We debated this as well for several months and felt we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see Berlin. Our kids are 16 and 13 -they'll sleep in the car on the way or play games. They'll survive.

Has anyone heard any details on how DCL handled the disembarking at Germany and St Pete?

 

[cindy18]

Sun is forecast all week in London from Monday getting warmer and then hotter each day. Thursday should be nice for those embarking then for the second cruise.

 

[cindy18]

Has anyone heard any details on how DCL handled the disembarking at Germany and St Pete?

MJ Girl mentioned in her blog that the people going to Berlin with Disney had a 6:30 meet and Andrew has mentioned being on the train at 7:15. This is good news for us doing a tour without Disney, because we have the car picking us up at 7:30. Sounds like it will be very easy simply to stroll off the ship. No word that i've seen on debarkation in St. Petersburg.

 

[MrsScooby]

MJ Girl mentioned in her blog that the people going to Berlin with Disney had a 6:30 meet and Andrew has mentioned being on the train at 7:15. This is good news for us doing a tour without Disney, because we have the car picking us up at 7:30. Sounds like it will be very easy simply to stroll off the ship. No word that i've seen on debarkation in St. Petersburg.

Thanks, I saw the posts, but I wasn't sure if there was a long line of people backed up to get off the ships and if people that were DIY would have to wait

If DCL is trying to get a mass of people onto those trains in Germany by a certain time -just wondering if we could beat the crowds by getting in line sooner or save ourselves the frustration by just hanging out at breakfast until the DCL tours have left.

 

[cindy18]

Thanks, I saw the posts, but I wasn't sure if there was a long line of people backed up to get off the ships and if people that were DIY would have to wait

If DCL is trying to get a mass of people onto those trains in Germany by a certain time -just wondering if we could beat the crowds by getting in line sooner or save ourselves the frustration by just hanging out at breakfast until the DCL tours have left.

Well, I guess the way I interpreted what she wrote was that if you're going into Berlin with Disney, you will more or less be off the boat (and on the train) by 7:15. I think the Disney tours that are more local have a later start time. So for those of us who are DIY, it sounds like there ought to be a nice window right after the Disney train people leave.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I am very interested in how they organise, disembarkation at Warnemunde and St Petes, and dinner in those places.

With internet coverage being very poor, might find out more on the last two sea days as they come back to the UK. This is a port intensive trip and I bet they will need those sea days.

We will not get full details until next weekend, with navigators etc, but then the second Baltic is already gone.

 

[cindy18]

I am very interested in how they organise, disembarkation at Warnemunde and St Petes, and dinner in those places.

With internet coverage being very poor, might find out more on the last two sea days as they come back to the UK. This is a port intensive trip and I bet they will need those sea days.

We will not get full details until next weekend, with navigators etc, but then the second Baltic is already gone.

Yup. I'm a little stunned that internet access would be so poor even when the ship is in port. But then again, maybe people are too busy when the ship is in port to bother with those of us eagerly awaiting news. What happens if I buy the 500 minute internet package (which I had been planning to do) and then can't get online to use them?????