The 2010 Baltic Thread--Cruise Tips and Planning

[rotary2808]

No credit card in St Petersburg
What did I miss

It's a recommendation. My dad is a gov't employee and had to read up on each port we were visiting before we left and one of the things he read was that credit card fraud can happen pretty frequently in Russia and it's recommended that you don't use credit cards and use cash whenever possible.

 

[MrsScooby]

Brent said that there had been numerous reports of CC freud in St P. Not sure where he got his information. Sorry, I should have added that he did say this was primarily for shops. Private tour operators should be fine. And with their reputation at stake, I'm sure they will .

We used our Capital One card in the shop we went to while on a Disney sponsored tour. Didn't have any problems at all......Also, in the shop you could pay in Rubles, USD or Euros. In fact, all the prices were listed in Euros! I was really surprised.

Just thought I would let you know what our experience there was

~Julie

It's a recommendation. My dad is a gov't employee and had to read up on each port we were visiting before we left and one of the things he read was that credit card fraud can happen pretty frequently in Russia and it's recommended that you don't use credit cards and use cash whenever possible.

Wow, ok...something to keep in mind.
That's one way to keep our shopping expenses down

 

[DisneyDoc1895]

We used our Capital One card in the shop we went to while on a Disney sponsored tour. Didn't have any problems at all......Also, in the shop you could pay in Rubles, USD or Euros. In fact, all the prices were listed in Euros! I was really surprised.

Just thought I would let you know what our experience there was

~Julie

Julie-

Was this the little 3 hour shopping experience? We are booked on that - just to get a tiny taste of the area. If that was what you were on, how was it?

Ken

 

[wickesy]

I've just finished posting my trip report for the inaugural Baltic cruise over on the UK Trip Reports board so if anybody here would like to read it you can find the index here

Tiddly Carvings?! - A Baltic Cruise: Index

 

[Deb T.]

I've just finished posting my trip report for the inaugural Baltic cruise over on the UK Trip Reports board so if anybody here would like to read it you can find the index here

Tiddly Carvings?! - A Baltic Cruise: Index

Thanks! I'd been following it all along and enjoyed every minute of it! Thanks so much for taking the time to post it all, along with all of your fantastic photos!

 

[Kailey's Mom]

Julie-

Was this the little 3 hour shopping experience? We are booked on that - just to get a tiny taste of the area. If that was what you were on, how was it?

Ken

Ken-
We didn't do the 3 hour shopping tour. Our stop was part of the Introduction to St. Petersburg tour. Driving past the shop, you wouldn't even know the shop was there. I did want to go on the Shopping experience, but couldn't fit it into our schedule

~Julie

 

[Stimpy]

Thanks! I'd been following it all along and enjoyed every minute of it! Thanks so much for taking the time to post it all, along with all of your fantastic photos!

I've been following too and LOVE it!! I was checking obsessively about 3-4 times a day for updates Thank you so much!

 

[wickesy]

Thanks! I'd been following it all along and enjoyed every minute of it! Thanks so much for taking the time to post it all, along with all of your fantastic photos!

I've been following too and LOVE it!! I was checking obsessively about 3-4 times a day for updates Thank you so much!

Thanks for reading!

 

[el_bandito]

what do you all recommend for best program for creating and posting slide shows?

 

[DL1957]

Wickesy...THANKS for the pictures !

Sooooooooo glad it's July !!! Just 11 days til we leave for London...love that city !! And just 15 days til we see our Grandsons ( Cousin Orville's kids ) !!!
Met Sue from the DisBoards ( DL1957 ) yesterday. She was so sweet to bring me copies of all the Navigators !! We met her at her office and chatted for over an hour !! We plan to get together when we get back. Love these Dis Folks !!

Sue did say that Brent warned people repeatedly about not using credit cards in St Petersburg!!!! I think we'll get some rubles on the ship. If we want to purchase a big ticket item ,more than $ 100, not sure what we'll do ? The lacquer boxes, hand-painted , are beautiful ! She said they have a Russian Bazaar on board when they leave Stockholm. Prices similar to St P , but who knows what the selection will be. But for us July 18th cruisers, maybe they'll reduce the prices since it's the last Baltic cruise ??

Sue also said that Brent warned people often ,that no one will be allowed off the ship who isn't on a private or DCL tour, or if you have a visa. Apparently, some just wanted to get off and shop at the store at the pier and were quite upset that they weren't able to.

No problem getting off to meet your Priv tours in St P.

In Wandemunde, those going to Berlin got off before anyone else. And those on DCL's priv tours got off first . No one complained about the train not being a/c. But we plan to bring our little hand held fans that we take to the park.

Anyone planning to book a cruise while on board ? We went to the Med in '07 and would love to go back. I think we can only afford the 7 nt Med, after taking this Baltic cruise. And I can't imagine a Med cruise w/o a seaday to break it up ??

Great meeting you as well! The recommendation on not using credit cards in Russia was not Brent but two bankers I know who travel a lot. They shared that the Russian shopkeepers steal the credit card numbers. Sometimes it will be a few months before charges begin showing! We felt it was better to be safe than sorry on this issue. Sue

 

[Stimpy]

It seems we may have a bit of wait until we can board the Magic on Tuesday. Since the cruise before us gets in late, we can't board until 2 PM. Our flight arrives at 7 AM in Heathrow. I realize it will be a long time through customs, getting the DCL transfer etc but I still think we will have some time.

Any suggestions on what to do? Can we leave the terminal (and our luggage behind )? Is there anything close by we can walk to? Even if there is a shop or two, it would be helpful to keep the kids busy! After the flight, transfers etc, they may be a little stir crazy if we make them sit around the cruise terminal for a long wait.

Thanks!!

 

[EpcotKilterFan]

I bet they will have a longer stop over in Canterbury. We had a 1 hour wait and was able to take a short walk through the shops and see the Cathedral from the outside. Bascially they were doing this to stagger the busses.

It was actually a nice surprise to stop there. The area is quite nice mix of new and old.

The cruise terminal is not very large. So I do not think they will have large crowds there waiting.


Debbie

 

[scrapycruiser]

Great meeting you as well! The recommendation on not using credit cards in Russia was not Brent but two bankers I know who travel a lot. They shared that the Russian shopkeepers steal the credit card numbers. Sometimes it will be a few months before charges begin showing! We felt it was better to be safe than sorry on this issue. Sue

Sorry I misquoted you ! We look forward to getting together when we get back. Have LOVED looking at the Navigators ! So helpful..thanks again !

 

[MrsG]

Does anyone have a link to the Tallinn navigator?

 

[Madisonznana]

Does anyone have a link to the Tallinn navigator?

The first cruise didn't go to Tallinn. We have to wait until someone from the second cruise posts it.

 

[MrsG]

The first cruise didn't go to Tallinn. We have to wait until someone from the second cruise posts it.

Eeek- I knew that! I forgot they weren't back yet.

 

[MrsScooby]

Great meeting you as well! The recommendation on not using credit cards in Russia was not Brent but two bankers I know who travel a lot. They shared that the Russian shopkeepers steal the credit card numbers. Sometimes it will be a few months before charges begin showing! We felt it was better to be safe than sorry on this issue. Sue

Thanks for the info

 

[RJAYL]

Good Morning All

Happy 4th of July

 

[MrsG]

We are on the 18th cruise and one of our disfriends just got a letter stating that we are leaving Stockholm at 3pm instead of 4:30 (I think the cruises before us left at 3 also). We are on the DCL excursion - Historic Stockholm and Sigunta with Lunch. Does anyone know if they removed lunch from the tour, or if any time adjustment was made?

Thanks.

 

[Stimpy]

I bet they will have a longer stop over in Canterbury. We had a 1 hour wait and was able to take a short walk through the shops and see the Cathedral from the outside. Bascially they were doing this to stagger the busses.

It was actually a nice surprise to stop there. The area is quite nice mix of new and old.

The cruise terminal is not very large. So I do not think they will have large crowds there waiting.


Debbie

That would be really nice! I hope they do that for us too. Thanks!