The 2010 Baltic Thread--Cruise Tips and Planning

[cindy18]

This is one of the reasons why DCL and other cruise lines hand it all over to local tour operators, and these, generally apart from DCL characters are all exactly the same.

The tour operators, know what an statistically average cruise ship books, and will plan to that, they can add a coach or tow or three, or drop one, they can add cars to the train.

But there is a limit, and as the Magic will have a higher percentage of USA travellers on it, they will I think book more shore trips, 1/ The Med proved this, I went private as i am European, but 2/ People from say London, can get to Berlin quicker and cheaper by plane, than from the port. So Europeans would be less inclined to book Berlin, but people from USA, more inclined as they cant go there for a weekend.

I hear you, but this gets me back to considering doing the whole thing on our own. In addition to the SPB Tour company quote of $880 for the four of us with a pick-up in Warnemunde, the German tour company quoted 850 euros for a round-trip tour, which is also cheaper than taking Disney transport and then hiring the tour company. $800 for the four of us to get on a bus seems, even by Disney standards, really out of whack.

 

[woody73]

This is on all DCL shore trips; and all cruise lines, basically to encourage early booking, however we do not know numbers therefore have to go along with it.

I think DCL and other cruise lines encourage early booking to avoid passenger disappointment if a shore excursion sells out.

I have been on a number of cruise lines where excursions sell out in advance of the cruise. Some will offer a wait list. Also, on day one at excursion desks, I have seen signs with a list of sold out excursions.

It seems that excursions are more likely to sellout on special or unique itineraries (vs. eastern and western caribbean cruises, that many passengers have been on before).

My observation is the first excursions to sell out are the ones where the tour operator has limited capacity (such as on a boat or train). This is also affected by how many ships are in port. It seems that it is easier for a tour operator to add buses to motorcoach tours.

If there is an excursion you really want to go on, I suggest booking in advance.

Woody

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Well, it also states 'bus or train' a few times and never states 'train or bus'. This would suggest to me that 'bus' is actually slightly more likely than 'train'. Also, it should be noted that adding additional passengers to bus transportation would be as simple as hiring an additional bus. Adding to a train gets more complicated (and spendy, I bet).

Well as I see it, say the train is 1,000 passengers, if shore trips take up is low, more will go on the train. So bus or train will be train. If take up is high, then more buses are laid on, and the bus or trains, are 'Bus.

IE The train amount is fixed. Bus is variable. (Buses are the overflow).

If there is very high take up, a car or two will be added to the train.

Several excursions also filled up on the Med cruise.

My wife and I booked very late and missed out on a few that we were really interested in.

Yes, saw that and posted that a few times, at 90 days a few were sold out, the VIP tours.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I think DCL and other cruise lines encourage early booking to avoid passenger disappointment if a shore excursion sells out.

I have been on a number of cruise lines where excursions sell out in advance of the cruise. Some will offer a wait list. Also, on day one at excursion desks, I have seen signs with a list of sold out excursions.

It seems that excursions are more likely to sellout on special or unique itineraries (vs. eastern and western Caribbean cruises, that many passengers have been on before).

My observation is the first excursions to sell out are the ones where the tour operator has limited capacity (such as on a boat or train). This is also affected by how many ships are in port. It seems that it is easier for a tour operator to add buses to motorcoach tours.

If there is an excursion you really want to go on, I suggest booking in advance.

Woody

Yes, Woody, thats what I have posted, and agree, there are 'pressure points' once that cannot change, Dolphins, animals such as horseback, as you say boats, for safety.

Plus, there is a tipping point on others, say a boat holds 30 people, and 2 more want to book, they will not add a boat of 30 for 2 more, however if another 25 odd want to they will add another boat. I understand they do monitor saved shore trips, and try to feed this back to operator.

I am on the fourth cruise so by then they might have worked things out, I know that in 2008, WB, Acapulco was terrible, so by EB, they changed things, and now for 2011, miss it.

 

[mardonna]

I have been so focused on St. petersburg that I have neglected Berlin.....which is my next issue .....

We are a family of 6....plus a friend......my husband has agreed to stay in the local port city with our twins....and baby will be in Nursery but my friend and I and our older daughter want to do Berlin.....so 2 adults and a 9 year old....we figured we should do something with Disney to not take chances ongetting left behind.....I have seen all this talk about private train and getting your own guide.....and thoughts and recomendations would be helpful....

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I have been so focused on St. petersburg that I have neglected Berlin.....which is my next issue .....

We are a family of 6....plus a friend......my husband has agreed to stay in the local port city with our twins....and baby will be in Nursery but my friend and I and our older daughter want to do Berlin.....so 2 adults and a 9 year old....we figured we should do something with Disney to not take chances ongetting left behind.....I have seen all this talk about private train and getting your own guide.....and thoughts and recomendations would be helpful....

Just look back a page or two on this thread, lots of stuff there.....

 

[cindy18]

Safest route is getting yourself to and from Berlin with Disney. With kids also the train is probably the most pleasant way to travel because they can get up and walk around and so on. What you do once you get to Berlin is up to you. There are several Disney tour options, from the most basic to the most intense and everything in between.

There are tour companies that will meet the train and give you a tour of Berlin and bring you back to the train. There are tour companies that will meet the ship in Warnemunde and be responsible for driving you in and back. Problem with that is that if there's a problem (traffic, car breaks down), you're in trouble if you miss the ship. If you travel via Disney, you are safe, assuming you don't miss the train back from Berlin.

Our current plan is to train in with Disney and then do a tour with a private guide. Not the least expensive route but also not as expensive as several of the Disney offered tours. The back and forth this morning concerned the realization that we may be on a bus instead of on the train, and that's not as attractive to me.

That's a general overview. For others, anything to add?

 

[woody73]

I hear you, but this gets me back to considering doing the whole thing on our own. In addition to the SPB Tour company quote of $880 for the four of us with a pick-up in Warnemunde, the German tour company quoted 850 euros for a round-trip tour, which is also cheaper than taking Disney transport and then hiring the tour company. $800 for the four of us to get on a bus seems, even by Disney standards, really out of whack.

Ship's excursions are always more expensive than independent tours.

But with independent tours, there's the risk of not getting back on time and missing the ship. If a ship's excursion is late, the captain will hold the ship for as long as possible.

Last year, we were on the RCI Mariner of the Seas in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The departure time was 7:00 pm. We had second seating (8:00 pm). Part way into dinner at around 8:30 pm the captain made an announcement. He was holding the ship's departure as he was waiting for a ship's excursion; a bus ran into traffic delays due to construction on the highway. I remember saying, "That would never have happened if is was an independent tour."

Woody

 

[cindy18]

Woody I know and I appreciate that. I'm just struggling to find the way to make this LONG day make sense. A train is a civilized way to travel, a bus less so. I appreciate the risk, but you know these tours that offer round-trip from Warnemunde to Berlin and back and the city tour would go out of business if they didn't get their guests back to the ship before it left. I think they've planned for many contingencies.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Ship's excursions are always more expensive than independent tours.

But with independent tours, there's the risk of not getting back on time and missing the ship. If a ship's excursion is late, the captain will hold the ship for as long as possible.

Last year, we were on the RCI Mariner of the Seas in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The departure time was 7:00 pm. We had second seating (8:00 pm). Part way into dinner at around 8:30 pm the captain made an announcement. He was holding the ship's departure as he was waiting for a ship's excursion; a bus ran into traffic delays due to construction on the highway. I remember saying, "That would never have happened if is was an independent tour."

Woody

Agree/disagree: Shore trips Vs Private tours, it depends on many factors.

The number of people in your party. If there are only two of you a car for 4 or more will be far more expensive, The coach has economies of scale.
-If your party is 4 or more a private tour should be cheaper.

Some places are subsidised by tourist shops, IE they take the bus to a shop expect you to buy, this keeps the cost of that trip down.

The DCL shore operator, might be able to buy Tickets for the ballet in bulk, or charter a train, but a private tour cant do that.

True the advantage is DCL will hold the ship for 'its' tours, it will go if you are late back on a private tour.

I have looked into Private tours at Oslo, and they are far more expensive for a party of 4, than DCL.

 

[sbell111]

Well as I see it, say the train is 1,000 passengers, if shore trips take up is low, more will go on the train. So bus or train will be train. If take up is high, then more buses are laid on, and the bus or trains, are 'Bus.

IE The train amount is fixed. Bus is variable. (Buses are the overflow).

If there is very high take up, a car or two will be added to the train.

That would be one way to handle it, but we have no idea if that is what they have elected to do. I certainly would not build my plans around our idle speculation.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

That would be one way to handle it, but we have no idea if that is what they have elected to do. I certainly would not build my plans around our idle speculation.

Well we would ''never'' know, there are to many variables, who will/will not book, these trips, and it will be different for each cruise, I wouldn't call it Idle speculation but a guesstimate, we have an idea of how it works, you most likely will not know anything more than that.

But if you want train book one of the 'train only' trips. That chops the variables out.

 

[mardonna]

a little confused.....if you book with Disney.......the only way to get gty train is to book the very expensive train ride right? $1599 a person?????

If you book other options with Disney you won't know what you get.....is this correct.....

I am assuming iif you want a private guide.....you do independent tour and then book a private guide to meet you but this would be very exppensive for 3 people don't tyou think?

 

[woody73]

Agree/disagree: Shore trips Vs Private tours, it depends on many factors.

The number of people in your party. If there are only two of you a car for 4 or more will be far more expensive, The coach has economies of scale.
-If your party is 4 or more a private tour should be cheaper.

Some places are subsidised by tourist shops, IE they take the bus to a shop expect you to buy, this keeps the cost of that trip down.

The DCL shore operator, might be able to buy Tickets for the ballet in bulk, or charter a train, but a private tour cant do that.

True the advantage is DCL will hold the ship for 'its' tours, it will go if you are late back on a private tour.

I have looked into Private tours at Oslo, and they are far more expensive for a party of 4, than DCL.

Andrew, I think this is one of the few times we disagree.

I don't think you can really compare a private tour for four to a ship's excursion, unless the ship also offers a private tour for four.

But since you mentioned it:

Last year we were on the HAL Volendam on a Great Barrier Reef & Indonesia cruise. HAL offered through the shore excursion desk a "Signature Collection Private Car or Minivan" with a private driver/guide. The cost was very expensive. This is the closest I've seen to a private excursion for four offered by a cruise line.

I recall HAL's cost for a private car in Bali was over $800 for up to four people. We booked in advance an independent private driver and car for $70 total for just the two of us. Our driver/guide was terrific. He met us on time, and had a new van for just the two of us. He was a former HAL server who left the cruise industry (and our ship!) to raise his family. He knew may of the crew on board.

So if DCL were to offer private drivers/guides for four, that would be a fair comparison. But I'll bet it would be more much expensive than one booked independently.

Woody

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

a little confused.....if you book with Disney.......the only way to get gty train is to book the very expensive train ride right? $1599 a person?????

If you book other options with Disney you won't know what you get.....is this correct.....

I am assuming iif you want a private guide.....you do independent tour and then book a private guide to meet you but this would be very exppensive for 3 people don't tyou think?

Many say train only.....

• Berlin Discovery, train or bus.
• On your own, train or bus.
• Past and present, says train only.
• Turbulent History, train only.
• Cultural Splendor, train only.
• Sights and Sounds train only.

Private guides will be very expensive, best to get driver/guide, and for smaller groups prorata will be more expensive, than a DCL guide per bus.

 

[sbell111]

a little confused.....if you book with Disney.......the only way to get gty train is to book the very expensive train ride right?

If you book other options with Disney you won't know what you get.....is this correct.....

Unless Disney chooses to clarify this, you are correct.

I am assuming iif you want a private guide.....you do independent tour and then book a private guide to meet you but this would be very exppensive for 3 people don't tyou think?

You could also arrange your own transport to Berlin via the train or some other method.

You could also have the private tour company pick you up at the port and transport you to Berlin.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Andrew, I think this is one of the few times we disagree.

I don't think you can really compare a private tour for four to a ship's excursion, unless the ship also offers a private tour for four.

But since you mentioned it:

Last year we were on the HAL Volendam on a Great Barrier Reef & Indonesia cruise. HAL offered through the shore excursion desk a "Signature Collection Private Car or Minivan" with a private driver/guide. The cost was very expensive. This is the closest I've seen to a private excursion for four offered by a cruise line.

I recall HAL's cost for a private car in Bali was over $800 for up to four people. We booked in advance an independent private driver and car for $70 total for just the two of us. Our driver/guide was terrific. He met us on time, and had a new van for just the two of us. He was a former HAL server who left the cruise industry (and our ship!) to raise his family. He knew may of the crew on board.

So if DCL were to offer private drivers/guides for four, that would be a fair comparison. But I'll bet it would be more much expensive than one booked independently.

Woody

Woody, understand as said before I agree/part disagree.

Oslo for example, I got a quote for a private car for four hours , car and guide is £700, thats about, $1,000, way more than, DCL, or going DIY, for four people.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Unless Disney chooses to clarify this, you are correct.
You could also arrange your own transport to Berlin via the train or some other method.

You could also have the private tour company pick you up at the port and transport you to Berlin.

My post 835, shows a number of tours that DCL say is train only...

 

[mardonna]

Andrew

We are a party of 7

4 adults and 3 kids (ages 9, 5, 5, and 2 1/2)

In your opinion if we do everything together with the exception of wandermaude and SPB....would it be cost effective to hire a guide and driver and have us see the highlights in each city as opposed to Doing it on your own or with Disney.....if you have already researched this.....it would prevent me from doing this number crunching......could you pass along the same of private guides in these cities?

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Andrew

We are a party of 7

4 adults and 3 kids (ages 9, 5, 5, and 2 1/2)

In your opinion if we do everything together with the exception of wandermaude and SPB....would it be cost effective to hire a guide and driver and have us see the highlights in each city as opposed to Doing it on your own or with Disney.....if you have already researched this.....it would prevent me from doing this number crunching......could you pass along the same of private guides in these cities?

OSLO- Either, walk, do on your own, local transport, or DCL, not private.

COPENHAGEN As Oslo.

TALLIN- As Oslo

STOCKHOLM. DCL, or taxi.

Each of the above ports, are very close to the city, and great to get around, Taxi, walk, etc, there are lods of attractions and no need to book a tour. We do not tender, so there is free access to get on/off.

St PETES, is Private tours only, unless, you 'want' the Disney Characters, then book DCL.-You cannot do DIY.

Germany is up to you, there are so many options and risks, if you want Berlin, I tend to say go to DCL, as you will get back on time.