The 2010 Baltic Thread--Cruise Tips and Planning

[MrsScooby]

Just got back from the June 12th Baltic so if you have any questions ask away!
Anastasia was wonderful in St Petersburg, except we didn't get the meal we had pre-ordered so half of my group didn't eat.

We also are booked with Anastasia. Did they just forget your meal?
Which meal and which day? Did the rest of your group get a meal or bring box lunches from the ship?

Anyone go to the Parkwood Hotel?

Ditto. Any feedback on the Parkwood Hotel would be great as we are there too

 

[MrsScooby]

All food is very expensive, one crew member said they had paid 15 euro for a coffee.

Wow, I heard it was expensive, but that is ridiculous

Anybody have some good suggestions for eating in port that were a little more reasonable

Somehow those crustables are looking not so bad

 

[slg]

We're doing:

Helskinki and Porvoo
Viking Heritage
Best of Drottningholm
Berlin sights and sounds
all inclusive tivoli gardens
Peterof parks and gardens
evening canal tour
catherine's palace and hermitage
and..
Leeds debarkation to london

Going from gatwick to dover with silverline
staying at castle guesthouse in dover
parkwood hotel

Any feedback on any of the above would be amazing.

I'm struggling with the whole clothes for dinner stuff. Considering just having 2 formals for both nights, and then 3 outfits which will be worn 3 times each. Is that sufficient? I imagine most folks are not going to be lugging a different outfit for every dinner.

 

[scrapycruiser]

Just showed our passports when we checked in at Dover and when we left the ship in Dover. We did have to have our passport to get back on the ship in one of the ports but I don't remember which one, DCL gave us notes on our beds every night reminding us of things we needed to do.

Also in Russia we had to keep our passports with us and give Anastasia a copy of them plus a copy of the credit card that we were using to pay for the excursion.

Another thing that I found useful(a passenger told us) that if we only had a little of the currency left from the countries we visited to leave it for your stateroom host or dining servers. They can't exchange on board and DCL is trying to give them time during the 4 cruises to be able to get of the ship in some of the countries for a few hours. They can use the money for buses.

Kids clubs were not open as many hours as on previous cruises and seemed to have fewer planned activities. IMOP - We did NOT like to new rules for the floating ages in the clubs or the changes that have happened to the Lab as a result in these!

My Grandson is 5 1/2 and I'm looking forward to his 1st Disney cruise. What do you mean fewer hours and activities ??? When we went on the 2007 Med cruise the clubs were very active !

 

[Rogillio]

I selected 150 out of 2,270 pictures to give a flavor of our trip.

http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x143/CasMicRog/Baltic Cruise 2010/?albumview=slideshow

Our trip report is posted here. I posted a draft on the firs page of the thread and the final on the second page....so use this URL if you want to read the report:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2494674&page=2

~Mike

 

[Scoobydoo76]

Just wondering if anyone has used Woodford Chauffeur Cars. We have hired them to transport us from the port to Heathrow. Any feedback?

 

[RJAYL]

My Grandson is 5 1/2 and I'm looking forward to his 1st Disney cruise. What do you mean fewer hours and activities ??? When we went on the 2007 Med cruise the clubs were very active !

Check out the posted info on the Navigators for the first Baltic the activities looked OK

 

[Madisonznana]

I selected 150 out of 2,270 pictures to give a flavor of our trip.

http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x143/CasMicRog/Baltic Cruise 2010/?albumview=slideshow

Our trip report is posted here. I posted a draft on the firs page of the thread and the final on the second page....so use this URL if you want to read the report:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2494674&page=2

~Mike

Your pictures are wonderful Mike, thanks for sharing them!

 

[MrsG]

I've posted the navigators for the entire cruise on this thread starting here

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37124438&postcount=3058

I think the rest are on page 205 or just look through my Photobucket albums and you will find them.

Thank you sooooo very much! It looks like you guys had a great time! If it's even half as great as the Med, we'll be happy. That was one fabulous trip.

 

[EpcotKilterFan]

Oh no! We have Santa's house scheduled. What was it like?

I'm starting to think I'm better off not reading the posts of people returning. This is the 3rd excursion we picked that I'm hearing not so good things about.

I was on the same tour with Gydell. The "santa" summer house was a small shack like structure on the grounds of a hotel. We were met by Santa's elves. Who actually were pretty cute. We were led up to a beautiful pond where we "had to fill the water bucket for Santa's sauna" which meant that you took a small cup, went to the pond and brought back water, one cup at a time. All I could imagine was what the little kids would look like after all this water!

I will give you the highlights of issues.... the santa could not have been more than 30 years old and his beard was falling off. If you wanted a picture with santa, you had to ask to sit on the lap, he never talked to the children and just waved in the pictures. The description did state you would have a .8 of a mile walk over cobblestones and possibly uphill. Well this uphill was pretty extreme and the cobblestones were large rocks and tree roots.

We were 2 adults on the tour, so reserved judgement until we heard some of the same issues from families with kids.

Now, on the bright side, the Helsinki Highlights part of the tour was great. The guide was very informative and did a great job.

If I can get my pictures uploaded soon I will post them here.

Deb

 

[Toocoolmom]

If anyone took any DCL excursions, I'd love to know your opinion on them...worth it, not worth it.

I'm glad Silverline worked out,we're using them

I'm hoping to do the Leeds debarkation, I wonder if that went last time. Anyone know?

Any tidbits and advice is greatly appreciated. I'm in panic mode right now...staring at empty suitcases and unable to make decisions.

12 days post cruise in London doesn't help my packing decisions.

Anyone go to the Parkwood Hotel?

I think we all feel the same right now. We are doing 2 weeks pre and I don't know where to start with packing. I just keep getting a little done at a time. I think we all need to just relax and remember this is going to be so fun!!!

 

[MrsG]

I just noticed that the first cruise was only in Stockholm until 1 PM???? Wow.

 

[gydell]

Oh no! We have Santa's house scheduled. What was it like?

I'm starting to think I'm better off not reading the posts of people returning. This is the 3rd excursion we picked that I'm hearing not so good things about.

It was a SHACK behind a motel. If we saw it in the states there would have been no way we would have entered it. As Debbie said the Santa was awful. If it had rained the day before then the kids would have been covered in mud when getting the water for the bucket. I was scared that a kid would fall in the lake and then have the rest of the day in wet clothes. Also if the hill had been wet then some of our group would not have made it up to the top. There were no cobblestones!

We also are booked with Anastasia. Did they just forget your meal?
Which meal and which day? Did the rest of your group get a meal or bring box lunches from the ship?

They changed restuarants on us and we had beef instead of chicken. There were only 5 in our group and we had lots of crackers and peanut butter with us.

My Grandson is 5 1/2 and I'm looking forward to his 1st Disney cruise. What do you mean fewer hours and activities ??? When we went on the 2007 Med cruise the clubs were very active !

He'll be fine! On some of the days the club didin't open until 12pm. Since the 3-5 year olds can go into the lab now the kids can't go to Topsiders for lunch so lunch is brought into the lab. If you don't like the sandwich then you don't eat. The kids are not told to sit down and eat. An announcement is made that lunch is there - get a few 7-9yo boys on the computers and they either don't hear or don't realize that you eat now or not at all. On the 1st sea day we went in around 2pm to see if dgs wanted to get some ice cream with us and he said that he hadn't had lunch yet and was hungry. He hadn't hear the announcement about lunch and was used to going with the group to Topsiders. That's when we found out about the new dining rules. There just didn't seem to be as many of the planned activities that they usually have. I't know if this has to do with the new any age can go into the lab - which I didn't like. It seems the only people that did like the new rule were ones with kids with siblings.

 

[Cptjackandcrew]

Yes there is a 3% fee for credit cards. We didn't pre-warn them we were paying by credit card, just handed over the form on the morning of the second day. All of the tours go to an area just outside the port where either Anastasia or the Managing Director take payment from everybody.

We are using Anastasia as well, and I was just curious as to what percentage or how much of a tip is appropriate for the tour guide and the driver. Thank you for your help.

 

[gydell]

We are using Anastasia as well, and I was just curious as to what percentage or how much of a tip is appropriate for the tour guide and the driver. Thank you for your help.

After talking to other people who also used Anastasia on our cruise, we tipped the guide 15% and 5% to the driver.

 

[Cptjackandcrew]

I selected 150 out of 2,270 pictures to give a flavor of our trip.

http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x143/CasMicRog/Baltic Cruise 2010/?albumview=slideshow

Our trip report is posted here. I posted a draft on the firs page of the thread and the final on the second page....so use this URL if you want to read the report:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2494674&page=2

~Mike

Thank you for sharing your pictures as well as your TR. We can't wait!

 

[Cptjackandcrew]

After talking to other people who also used Anastasia on our cruise, we tipped the guide 15% and 5% to the driver.

Thank you.

 

[3princessMommy]

I was on the same tour with Gydell. The "santa" summer house was a small shack like structure on the grounds of a hotel. We were met by Santa's elves. Who actually were pretty cute. We were led up to a beautiful pond where we "had to fill the water bucket for Santa's sauna" which meant that you took a small cup, went to the pond and brought back water, one cup at a time. All I could imagine was what the little kids would look like after all this water!

I will give you the highlights of issues.... the santa could not have been more than 30 years old and his beard was falling off. If you wanted a picture with santa, you had to ask to sit on the lap, he never talked to the children and just waved in the pictures. The description did state you would have a .8 of a mile walk over cobblestones and possibly uphill. Well this uphill was pretty extreme and the cobblestones were large rocks and tree roots.

We were 2 adults on the tour, so reserved judgement until we heard some of the same issues from families with kids.

Now, on the bright side, the Helsinki Highlights part of the tour was great. The guide was very informative and did a great job.

If I can get my pictures uploaded soon I will post them here.

Deb

I have to say that we also took this tour and had a much better experience. The kids LOVED it! yes, the summer house was on the grounds of a hotel-like place, but once at the house you couldn't see the hotel.

Our elves were very engaging with the kids and had fun activities, but simple, for them. Filling the sauna tub with water (yes, some kids got a little wet, but all the kids on our tour liked it), ring toss into a stocking, and a craft project. The kids also loved being out in the fresh air. And they had yummy cinnamon buns for everyone with tea, coffee, or juice.

Our Santa was fantastic! I don't know whether they changed him between tour groups. But he was great with the kids and it was like he knew ours (and that they had been a little naughty) as he advised them that they needed to not fight with their sisters and mind their parents. Generic, but definitely hit the nail on the head. The photos were only with him sitting and the kids gathered around, but didn't mind that.

The souvenir shop was very small and expensive, but did have a couple cute items. The trail was uphill and more of a naturewalk-type trail. But it was nice to walk through the woods. If you have mobility issues, however, this could be quite problematic.

Frankly, this was one of our best tours. We really liked it.

 

[3princessMommy]

Just wondering if anyone has used Woodford Chauffeur Cars. We have hired them to transport us from the port to Heathrow. Any feedback?

We used a private taxi hire recommended by our B&B in Dover. He was GREAT! Met us at Heathrow, loaded all our big suitcases in and drove us to Dover. 130 pounds one way. He also picked us up at the port on the way back. He was always on time and very friendly. He offered us stops along the way, but we were tired and with three kids, just wanted to get where we were going.

Large taxi seats 6 or 7. But not a lot of luggage space. We had five people and six big suitcases. Little cramped for us, but manageable.

Would highly recommend his services for anyone else trying to get to Dover from London.

Stephen Smith
Tel: 01708 452 923
Mob: 07710 348 126
E-mail: stevetaxichannel@aol.com

 

[3princessMommy]

I'm not Mike but I can answer a couple of these for you. You only need one copy of your passport per person and black and white is fine. The immigration officer gave us the copy back.

As far as dinner, here's a copy of the letter they left in our stateroom

We weren't on a Disney tour but dining tickets were given out to everybody to get them access to their restaurant at a time suitable for their evening plans.

Because the cruise wasn't full, they were very accomodating with dinner, particularly in germany and russia. We got back from our our first day tour in Russia an hour and a half late at 8pm. We were still able to sit in our dining room and have dinner.

This probably couldn't have happened if the ship had been full though.

Other than the formal and semi-formal nights, the dress was much more casual than I remember on previous cruises. We even found ourselves in jeans a couple of times, which I never would have dreamed of on previous cruises. And many times found ourselves running in from excursions or activities to dinner.