The 2010 Baltic Thread--Cruise Tips and Planning

[2bundles]

Is anyone else confused about StP tours? I have had a price from Red October and it is $372US pp for 1.5 day tour. The DCL tours seem much more reasonably priced. Has anyone else found this?

 

[MrsScooby]

Is anyone else confused about StP tours? I have had a price from Red October and it is $372US pp for 1.5 day tour. The DCL tours seem much more reasonably priced. Has anyone else found this?

The private tours only seem more expensive because you are probably pricing just your family? They go down in price the more people you add-helps to check your cruise date thread to see if anyone else wants to go in on a private tour. Also the private tours in St P will visit more sites than the DCL tours so overall they are a better buy if you want to cram in as much as possible.

 

[cindy18]

I think if you compare the things you will see on the private tour to the Disney tours, you'll notice that Disney is not really cheaper. You'd have to do two different Disney tours to cover most or all of what you're doing on the private tour, and they add up. Also, on the private tour, you see exactly what you want to see, at your own pace and schedule. That's worth a little more money, I think.

 

[Madisonznana]

I think if you compare the things you will see on the private tour to the Disney tours, you'll notice that Disney is not really cheaper. You'd have to do two different Disney tours to cover most or all of what you're doing on the private tour, and they add up. Also, on the private tour, you see exactly what you want to see, at your own pace and schedule. That's worth a little more money, I think.

I agree. We would have to take 4 tours to see what we are going to see on our tour which would total close to $500 a person compared to the $324 we are going to spend.

 

[slg]

If you take a Disney tour, do they cover costs like bathroom trips? Or do we have to carry change for that?

Does anyone have any advice on that? One of my fears is being stuck in a country with a child needing to go to the bathroom and not have the correct change.

I'm hoping that the DCL tours will look after us for that.

Maybe I'm wrong

 

[denise]

If you take a Disney tour, do they cover costs like bathroom trips? Or do we have to carry change for that?

Does anyone have any advice on that? One of my fears is being stuck in a country with a child needing to go to the bathroom and not have the correct change.

I'm hoping that the DCL tours will look after us for that.

Maybe I'm wrong

Not covered...at least in the MED it wasn't. Make sure you carry your own TP. There are little rolls of Charmin you can carry. While in Monte Carlo we had to go. There was a little old lady with her hand out for Euros if you wanted TP. I had my own so no charge. They also have seat covers too. I know I will be carrying both.

 

[slg]

So even if we are on a disney cruise, we need to take change for the loo? It doesn't state that on the excursion page. Every bus tour I've taken before has covered bathroom breaks. Where do you get the little rolls of charmin TP? Does your tour guide give them to you?

It seems ridiculous to have to get currency for a couple of bathroom breaks. I don't usually buy much...I'm more of a photo person than a souvenir collector. I wonder if there are a few of us who don't need much money who can share?

 

[carolmb]

So even if we are on a disney cruise, we need to take change for the loo? It doesn't state that on the excursion page. Every bus tour I've taken before has covered bathroom breaks. Where do you get the little rolls of charmin TP? Does your tour guide give them to you?

It seems ridiculous to have to get currency for a couple of bathroom breaks. I don't usually buy much...I'm more of a photo person than a souvenir collector. I wonder if there are a few of us who don't need much money who can share?

They have the little rolls of charmin @ Target.

 

[Celestine]

I thought I would run our pre-cruise itinerary past the group to see if there are any suggestions.

We are arriving on Thursday 7/1 at 8pm. Renting a car and driving to stay with some friends in Potters Bar. 7/2 and 7/3 were going to hang out with friends and maybe spend a day in London. First thing in the morning 7/4 we are heading towards Winchester and want to visit Stonehenge and Windsor Palace. We are planning to spend the night in Windsor (any suggestions?) 7/5 we are headed to Portsmouth first thing in the morning to visit some other friends for a few hours, then we are heading to Dover. In dover I would like to visit the castle and tunnels time permitting. We will spend the night in Dover before boarding the ship on 7/6.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

That seems ambitious to me. I'm guessing you are talking about catching the train into London from Potters Bar? I don't recommend driving - that train will be quick and frequent.

Ok, so your second day you want to visit Windsor castle, STonehenge & Winchester, but spend the night in Windsor? That is feasible, but would mean you drive past Windsor to come back to it, only to drive away from it again the next morning. Potters Bar - Windsor is about 40 miles, but you use the notorious M25 so I would allow 1.5hours for that trip. Much of the parking in Windsor is pay & display, so have plenty of change! You can easily spend a full day in Windsor with the castle, changing of the guard, shopping, river cruise & the Windsor wheel. Windsor - Stonehenge is about 70 miles so again allow an hour and a half (the road to Stonehenge is single carriageway & often frequented by tractors). Stonehenge - Winchester is about 35 miles & will take around 45 minutes. Winchester is actually a very nice city with plenty of places to stay & see (if you have any energy left!)

Day 3 is from here to Portsmouth which is a short 30 miles and will probably take about 30 mins. It is mostly motorway, so depending on the time of day you leave Winchester you'll be fine (from Windsor this would have been about 75 miles and considerably longer). Portsmouth - Dover is about 140 miles and will take around 2.5 hours as it is not a "straight line route", so you will get half a day at most in Dover to visit. The castle closes at 6pm, and whilst I've not been personally, friends of mine who have say it is a good day out and less than that you probably won't do it justice.

It is do-able, but I think you may be very tired before you get on the ship!

Celestine

 

[sshaw10060]

That seems ambitious to me. I'm guessing you are talking about catching the train into London from Potters Bar? I don't recommend driving - that train will be quick and frequent.

Ok, so your second day you want to visit Windsor castle, STonehenge & Winchester, but spend the night in Windsor? That is feasible, but would mean you drive past Windsor to come back to it, only to drive away from it again the next morning. Potters Bar - Windsor is about 40 miles, but you use the notorious M25 so I would allow 1.5hours for that trip. Much of the parking in Windsor is pay & display, so have plenty of change! You can easily spend a full day in Windsor with the castle, changing of the guard, shopping, river cruise & the Windsor wheel. Windsor - Stonehenge is about 70 miles so again allow an hour and a half (the road to Stonehenge is single carriageway & often frequented by tractors). Stonehenge - Winchester is about 35 miles & will take around 45 minutes. Winchester is actually a very nice city with plenty of places to stay & see (if you have any energy left!)

Day 3 is from here to Portsmouth which is a short 30 miles and will probably take about 30 mins. It is mostly motorway, so depending on the time of day you leave Winchester you'll be fine (from Windsor this would have been about 75 miles and considerably longer). Portsmouth - Dover is about 140 miles and will take around 2.5 hours as it is not a "straight line route", so you will get half a day at most in Dover to visit. The castle closes at 6pm, and whilst I've not been personally, friends of mine who have say it is a good day out and less than that you probably won't do it justice.

It is do-able, but I think you may be very tired before you get on the ship!

Celestine

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll think about spending the night in Portsmouth instead and go to Windsor in the morning and stonehenge late afternoon before heading to Portsmouth. We will definitely take the train into London. We have done that before and it was quite easy. Of course this is our first trip with a toddler, so all bets are off.

 

[Celestine]

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll think about spending the night in Portsmouth instead and go to Windsor in the morning and stonehenge late afternoon before heading to Portsmouth. We will definitely take the train into London. We have done that before and it was quite easy. Of course this is our first trip with a toddler, so all bets are off.

With a toddler, that sounds like a better bet. Stone henge is open until something like 7pm and generally only a couple of hours are required to visit. Visiting at that time will also keep you out of the tourist buses/coaches which will descend from late morning through to early afternoon. Whilst you can't get at the stones themselves there is plenty of space for the little one to work off some energy!

Celestine

 

[wickesy]

I posted this on our cruise meets thread last night but it's probably worth repeating here:

I just arrived home to find a FedEx package that I wan't expecting. When I opened it up I found it was a nice little booklet from DCL welcoming us to the cruise and giving us a little bit of info on each port and how things work on the ship. I don't know if everybody has had one but here's a few key bits of useful info about Day 1 for those that haven't had it yet:

• Disney Magic will be berthed at Terminal 2 at the Port of Dover
• The Cruise Terminal opens at 10 a.m. and boarding begins around 1 p.m.
• If you are staying at a London hotel arranged through DCL stop by the DCL hospitality desk one day before you sail to receive important info on departure times and luggage transfer
• If you are staying at a London hotel arranged yourself call a DCL representative at 800-395-9374 and select option 1 to receive important info

 

[mardonna]

What cruise are you traveling on? I'm on June 24th and in cat 2.....I have not received this package yet.....do they also give you better descriptions for all ports, berths, excusrios .....stuff like that?

 

[Rogillio]

I posted this on our cruise meets thread last night but it's probably worth repeating here:

I just arrived home to find a FedEx package that I wan't expecting. When I opened it up I found it was a nice little booklet from DCL welcoming us to the cruise and giving us a little bit of info on each port and how things work on the ship. I don't know if everybody has had one but here's a few key bits of useful info about Day 1 for those that haven't had it yet:

• Disney Magic will be berthed at Terminal 2 at the Port of Dover
• The Cruise Terminal opens at 10 a.m. and boarding begins around 1 p.m.
• If you are staying at a London hotel arranged through DCL stop by the DCL hospitality desk one day before you sail to receive important info on departure times and luggage transfer
• If you are staying at a London hotel arranged yourself call a DCL representative at 800-395-9374 and select option 1 to receive important info

Cool. Thanks for posting....now I can't wait to get home and see if we got one.

 

[wintergreen]

I posted this on our cruise meets thread last night but it's probably worth repeating here:

I just arrived home to find a FedEx package that I wan't expecting. When I opened it up I found it was a nice little booklet from DCL welcoming us to the cruise and giving us a little bit of info on each port and how things work on the ship. I don't know if everybody has had one but here's a few key bits of useful info about Day 1 for those that haven't had it yet:

• Disney Magic will be berthed at Terminal 2 at the Port of Dover
• The Cruise Terminal opens at 10 a.m. and boarding begins around 1 p.m.
• If you are staying at a London hotel arranged through DCL stop by the DCL hospitality desk one day before you sail to receive important info on departure times and luggage transfer
• If you are staying at a London hotel arranged yourself call a DCL representative at 800-395-9374 and select option 1 to receive important info

We won't be getting any FedEx packages anytime soon, as our street has still not been plowed in the wake of Snowmageddon I, and Snowmageddon II on the way any minute!

 

[wickesy]

What cruise are you traveling on? I'm on June 24th and in cat 2.....I have not received this package yet.....do they also give you better descriptions for all ports, berths, excusrios .....stuff like that?

We're on the June 12th in a Cat 6. There isn't really much about the ports - only a paragraph on each and nothing on the excursions at all.

The rest of it talks about documentation you will need, services onboard the ship, what to pack/not to pack and that sort of thing.

 

[Rogillio]

We're on the June 12th in a Cat 6. There isn't really much about the ports - only a paragraph on each and nothing on the excursions at all.

The rest of it talks about documentation you will need, services onboard the ship, what to pack/not to pack and that sort of thing.

We're 12 June cat 4 and nothing yet. You must be special.

 

[scrapycruiser]

Does anyone know if DCL is planning to give the kids those wonderful books they gave the kids on the '07 Med cruise ? Hope so !

 

[wickesy]

We're 12 June cat 4 and nothing yet. You must be special.

I'm wondering if it's because we are first-time Disney cruisers, or if they over-estimated the time it would take to reach the UK and it was supposed to land at the same time as those in the US got it.

 

[DL1957]

Does anyone know if DCL is planning to give the kids those wonderful books they gave the kids on the '07 Med cruise ? Hope so !

Scrappycruiser, which cruise are you on? We are in Williamsburg and going on the 6/12.