The 2010 Baltic Thread--Cruise Tips and Planning

[slg]

Has anyone received a letter from DCL giving you a $100 OBC for every member of your party?

I'm curious as to whether everyone received this, or just a few of us very early bookers.

I'm also curious as to why they would do this! I'm so excited and delighted though! We are a family of 5 so an extra $500 OBC makes a huge difference!

We were supposed to get $200 OBC from onboard booking that we transferred and I wonder if this replaces it, or adds to it.

Anyone know anything?

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I posted this on another thread today, and I know I have posted this before - but it doesn't hurt to repeat info:

For our 2005 Baltic cruise with similar ports (no Germany, but both Helsinki and Talinn) - Rick Steves' Scandinavia guide book was all we needed for 5 of our 6 ports. We booked no excursions through the cruise line, but bought the "city" passes for most of the ports, and that covered admissions to most things we wanted to see in Oslo (the best value), Copenhagen, and Stockholm. The city pass for Helsinki wasn't much of a money saver, and it was very easy to walk around the old town of Talinn on our own using the Rick Steves book.

Visit Oslo Pass: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/advantag...en.html?page=2
Copenhagen Card: http://online2.citybreak.com/Search/...727&culture=en
Stockholm Card: http://beta.stockholmtown.com/en/Inf...tockholm-card/
Helsinki Card: http://www.helsinkicard.fi/
Talinn Card: http://www.tourism.tallinn.ee/fpage/tallinncard

In St. Petersburg, I strongly recommend doing a private tour. We went with DenRus and had an excellent 2-day tour: www.denrus.ru

Thank you; it is helpful, and when the DCL shore trips come out, I will compare, however I have my own private tour in St Petes with another operator, but did look at yours.

Has anyone received a letter from DCL giving you a $100 OBC for every member of your party?

I'm curious as to whether everyone received this, or just a few of us very early bookers.

I'm also curious as to why they would do this! I'm so excited and delighted though! We are a family of 5 so an extra $500 OBC makes a huge difference!

We were supposed to get $200 OBC from onboard booking that we transferred and I wonder if this replaces it, or adds to it.

Anyone know anything?

I have seen threads and people posting they have it, but I havent had a letter.......so far....others on our cruise have.

 

[OurDogCisco]

I posted this on another thread today, and I know I have posted this before - but it doesn't hurt to repeat info:

For our 2005 Baltic cruise with similar ports (no Germany, but both Helsinki and Talinn) - Rick Steves' Scandinavia guide book was all we needed for 5 of our 6 ports. We booked no excursions through the cruise line, but bought the "city" passes for most of the ports, and that covered admissions to most things we wanted to see in Oslo (the best value), Copenhagen, and Stockholm. The city pass for Helsinki wasn't much of a money saver, and it was very easy to walk around the old town of Talinn on our own using the Rick Steves book.

Visit Oslo Pass: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/advantag...en.html?page=2
Copenhagen Card: http://online2.citybreak.com/Search/...727&culture=en
Stockholm Card: http://beta.stockholmtown.com/en/Inf...tockholm-card/
Helsinki Card: http://www.helsinkicard.fi/
Talinn Card: http://www.tourism.tallinn.ee/fpage/tallinncard

In St. Petersburg, I strongly recommend doing a private tour. We went with DenRus and had an excellent 2-day tour: www.denrus.ru

Thanks for the links but they don't work for me. I should clarify when I click the links they don't work. I didn't mean the tours didn't work for me.

I had a question about your touring. Did you go on any tours with these passes? By tours I mean was it guided. I love guided tours. So, I don't get much enjoyment of just walking around and taking pictures. I like to learn something in the process so, I was just wondering how your tours were structured. Thanks...

 

[Celestine]

Thanks for the links but they don't work for me.

I had a question about your touring. Did you go on any tours with these passes? By tours I mean was it guided. I love guided tours. So, I don't get much enjoyment of just walking around and taking pictures. I like to learn something in the process so, I was just wondering how your tours were structured. Thanks...

They are self guided tours so the book gives you the route, sometimes a map & the places of interest. Some of these ports have organised tours from their tourist offices, but not necessarily everyday or in your language or starting at a time you can make! As things stand, our plan is to use a combination of this & hop on hop off tours - you know the bus tours which get you to all the major tourist sites

Celestine

 

[OurDogCisco]

Has anyone received a letter from DCL giving you a $100 OBC for every member of your party?

I'm curious as to whether everyone received this, or just a few of us very early bookers.

I'm also curious as to why they would do this! I'm so excited and delighted though! We are a family of 5 so an extra $500 OBC makes a huge difference!

We were supposed to get $200 OBC from onboard booking that we transferred and I wonder if this replaces it, or adds to it.

Anyone know anything?

Yep we got the letter too. So, I have $700 from Dreams and $400 from Disney so that's $1100. Definitely will help.

I'm assuming they did this to discourage people from canceling.

Tina

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Can't wait to see them!!

I can vouch for New York. Stayed there in 2007 after my Med Cruise and loved it! I booked as an add on through DCL. Had to find my own way there, but was easier to deal with then booking online. Met 2 other parties from our cruise on our floor, so looks like DCL booked a group of rooms. Don't know if these will be offered for the Baltic cruise or not.

I ate at the Cafe Mickey and the meal was great. Also ate at Annettes and found that good as well. Prices were expensive though, once you factor in the exchange.

Yep we got the letter too. So, I have $700 from Dreams and $400 from Disney so that's $1200. Definitely will help.

I'm assuming they did this to discourage people from canceling.

Tina

Agree.. I have TA OBC of $500, so hopfully get a letter as well, helps pay for trips.

 

[slg]

OUrdogcisco:

How did you get an OBC of $700 from DU?

Did you already have an OBC from DCL for onboard booking? I was to have a $200 OBC so I wonder if DCL has now given me $500 on top of that to a total of $700 or if I get $500 instead of $200.

I have a $600 OBC from DU, so if I have $700 form DCL I now have $1300! I'm so excited!

(especially since I've been checking out the plane fares and see how much they are from BC Canada!)

 

[woody73]

I'm assuming they did this to discourage people from canceling.

Or to discourage people from switching to promotional rates if/when they are announced.

Woody

 

[MJGirl]

Has anyone received a letter from DCL giving you a $100 OBC for every member of your party?

I'm curious as to whether everyone received this, or just a few of us very early bookers.

I'm also curious as to why they would do this! I'm so excited and delighted though! We are a family of 5 so an extra $500 OBC makes a huge difference!

We were supposed to get $200 OBC from onboard booking that we transferred and I wonder if this replaces it, or adds to it.

Anyone know anything?

I too got the OBC .. I didn't get a letter, but called my TA from SmallWorld and she confirmed that I will get the credit.

I think I'm up to $600 now. I agree with Woody, in that I think it is to discourage us from re-booking if they do drop the rates.

 

[slg]

or to discourage us from cancelling when we see the cost of the shore excursions.

 

[Deb T.]

or to discourage us from cancelling when we see the cost of the shore excursions.

 

[NancyIL]

Thanks for the links but they don't work for me. I should clarify when I click the links they don't work. I didn't mean the tours didn't work for me.

I had a question about your touring. Did you go on any tours with these passes? By tours I mean was it guided. I love guided tours. So, I don't get much enjoyment of just walking around and taking pictures. I like to learn something in the process so, I was just wondering how your tours were structured. Thanks...

Sorry about that! The Helsinki and Talinn links worked for me, but I replaced the other three. I'll try again:

Visit Oslo Pass: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/advantages.52087.en.html
Copenhagen Card: http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/
*Stockholm Card: http://www.europeancitycards.com/citycard.asp?cur=235&id=236
Helsinki Card: http://www.helsinkicard.fi/
Talinn Card: http://www.tourism.tallinn.ee/fpage/tallinncard

**If the links don't work, just Google "Stockholm Card," etc.

The cards are basically prepaid admission to many attractions, and I got the most value out of it in Oslo. If you have a good guidebook, like the Rick Steves' Scandinavia one I mentioned, it will tell about the various places of interest. Some attractions do have guided tours.

I think too many people don't do their homework, and have no clue what there is to do in a port until the cruise line comes out with an excursion list. You've paid a lot of money for your cruise (especially DCL's Baltic cruise), and it's in your best interest to know something about the ports your ship will visit. The only excuse for not doing any research ahead of time is if you booked the cruise at the last minute - but that's not the case with this group.

 

[DisneySpirit]

Andrew, We need some of your great advice

OK, got our airfare booked today on BA nonstop from Phoenix. We are arriving on the June 11th and departing on the 25th. We are staying at the Park Plaza Westminister Bridge before and after the cruise. We also have Disney transfers to the port and back to the hotel. My question for you is what is the best (and hopefully economical) way for 2 adults with 4 large suitcases to get from LHR to the hotel and vice versa?

Tom & Lynn

 

[OurDogCisco]

The cards are basically prepaid admission to many attractions, and I got the most value out of it in Oslo. If you have a good guidebook, like the Rick Steves' Scandinavia one I mentioned, it will tell about the various places of interest. Some attractions do have guided tours.

I think too many people don't do their homework, and have no clue what there is to do in a port until the cruise line comes out with an excursion list. You've paid a lot of money for your cruise (especially DCL's Baltic cruise), and it's in your best interest to know something about the ports your ship will visit. The only excuse for not doing any research ahead of time is if you booked the cruise at the last minute - but that's not the case with this group.

Yes... I've got Rick Steve's 2010 London book and Frommer's London book. You can see my post about it on the London board. I just haven't had a chance to get the other book. I'm actually waiting for Disney excursions to come out first. I am curious to see what Disney has on the excursion list to see what is available out there. I definitely think it as a guide as well in figuring out what we want to do. I kinda had a rough idea of what we want to do in each town and I had all my ideas booked marked but then, in Aug/September my computer crashed and I loss everything. I do have all of Samantha Brown's show taped of each area as well. I haven't had the energy to go back and look for stuff. We had a recent death in the family that has been difficult. So, I'm just starting with the research. I plan my trips day by day almost minute by minute. We have plentity of time to narrow down the details.

I can see why a lot of people just use Disney excursions for one it is easier. YOu don't have to think about it. It is all planned for you. I'll probably do a couple of Disney excursions as well. It probably won't be any different from going on our med. cruise. We did all 3 types: private tours, group tours & just on your own.

 

[jilljill]

Reviewing the pages for the ports of Call in the Baltic, it appears they have swapped back again.

Now we saw this on the advance changes for the 7 night Med cruises, we had a Website update, then it was pulled.

I still feel as posted before it should be up by Thursday, not sure about Tallinn though, that might be 24 days later as first two cruise do not go there. Yesterday it wasn't changed.

Andrew why do you keep saying the first 2 cruises do not go to Tallinn? The cruise schedule is Helsinki, Tallinn, Helsinki and then our cruise to Tallinn. Last night on the website Tallinn had been updated but Warnemunde was not updated, this morning Copenhagen was not updated but the other one's were.

None of us know when they will be posted by DCL, we are all just sitting and waiting and speculating.

 

[jilljill]

Has anyone received a letter from DCL giving you a $100 OBC for every member of your party?

I'm curious as to whether everyone received this, or just a few of us very early bookers.

I'm also curious as to why they would do this! I'm so excited and delighted though! We are a family of 5 so an extra $500 OBC makes a huge difference!

We were supposed to get $200 OBC from onboard booking that we transferred and I wonder if this replaces it, or adds to it.

Anyone know anything?

You may or may not receive a letter. Just call DCL or your TA to verify your OBC.
We have $600 from our TA, $200 (or $250) for an onboard rebooking, and the $300 additional from DCL, for a total of $1100 or $1150. Not sure about the onboarding rebooking OBC since it was booked before the new CC levels were released. We haven't rec'd the letter either but my TA verified this info.

 

[Doingitagain]

Here is what the DCL website FAQ has for flights for the Northern Europe cruises:

12-Night Northern European Capitals Cruises (June 12, 2010; July 6, 2010; July 18, 2010)
Latest London Airport Flight Arrival on Embarkation Day — 11:30 a.m.
Earliest Flight Departure from a London Airport on Debarkation Day — 1:00 p.m.

12-Night Northern European Capitals Cruises (June 24, 2010)
Latest London Airport Flight Arrival on Embarkation Day — 11:30 a.m.
Earliest Flight Departure from a London Airport on Debarkation Day — 4:00 p.m.

Looks like it is only the one cruise that is returning later.

 

[flower91882]

Make sure you do your homework on these cards too.

We're not going to be in some of these ports for very long and you might not get your money's worth. It really depends on how many attractions you think you'll have time for. Sometimes just buying the admission to the sites you'll make it to ends up being cheaper. Also, some of the sites that are listed under the 'included attractions' are already free.

Sorry about that! The Helsinki and Talinn links worked for me, but I replaced the other three. I'll try again:

Visit Oslo Pass: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/advantages.52087.en.html
Copenhagen Card: http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/
*Stockholm Card: http://www.europeancitycards.com/citycard.asp?cur=235&id=236
Helsinki Card: http://www.helsinkicard.fi/
Talinn Card: http://www.tourism.tallinn.ee/fpage/tallinncard

**If the links don't work, just Google "Stockholm Card," etc.

The cards are basically prepaid admission to many attractions, and I got the most value out of it in Oslo. If you have a good guidebook, like the Rick Steves' Scandinavia one I mentioned, it will tell about the various places of interest. Some attractions do have guided tours.

I think too many people don't do their homework, and have no clue what there is to do in a port until the cruise line comes out with an excursion list. You've paid a lot of money for your cruise (especially DCL's Baltic cruise), and it's in your best interest to know something about the ports your ship will visit. The only excuse for not doing any research ahead of time is if you booked the cruise at the last minute - but that's not the case with this group.

 

[NancyIL]

Make sure you do your homework on these cards too.

We're not going to be in some of these ports for very long and you might not get your money's worth. It really depends on how many attractions you think you'll have time for. Sometimes just buying the admission to the sites you'll make it to ends up being cheaper. Also, some of the sites that are listed under the 'included attractions' are already free.

As I mentioned, we got the most bang for the buck out of the Oslo Pass. We saved some money with the Copenhagen Card and The Stockholm Card, and broke even on the Helsinki Card. My DH decided he was tired and didn't want to get off the ship in Helsinki - so I ended up giving away his Helsinki Card to someone from the ship. I didn't find the card to be a good value in Talinn so I didn't buy it.

The Scandinavian ports are fairly close to the city centers, unlike some of the ports on a Med cruise. My husband and I enjoyed walking around the cities on our own, whereas my in-laws and DH's aunt and uncle booked the ship's tours. They joined us on the private tour I booked in St. Petersburg, and that was the highlight of the cruise for them.

There's no doubt that booking a ship's excursion is easier than looking for an independent tour guide. I have done my share of ship excursions - especially when the port time is short, or when the activity isn't close to the ship. (I booked the ship's excursion to Virgin Gorda when my RCI ship was in Tortola last April.) For those of you with large onboard credits, it's also a good use of your funds! But when possible, I prefer to see sights either on my own or with a small group of people, rather than on a 50-seat tour bus.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Here is what the DCL website FAQ has for flights for the Northern Europe cruises:

12-Night Northern European Capitals Cruises (June 12, 2010; July 6, 2010; July 18, 2010)
Latest London Airport Flight Arrival on Embarkation Day — 11:30 a.m.
Earliest Flight Departure from a London Airport on Debarkation Day — 1:00 p.m.

12-Night Northern European Capitals Cruises (June 24, 2010)
Latest London Airport Flight Arrival on Embarkation Day — 11:30 a.m.
Earliest Flight Departure from a London Airport on Debarkation Day — 4:00 p.m.

Looks like it is only the one cruise that is returning later.

Great information... I'm okay with the 1 pm flight time. So, glad we are not on the 6/24 cruise (I feel for those that are though).