The 2010 Baltic Thread--Cruise Tips and Planning

[Madisonznana]

Karen, it's about a 20-30 minute walk from the ship. Just don't make the mistake we did and get lost going into town, but we did find the US embassy and they gave us a nice book and map that was in English.

Thanks Barb!!

 

[AL'N'STEVE]

BLOGG

http://andrewscruisetothebaltic.blogspot.com/

 

[Peek-a-boo]

Does anyone know if bottled water is provided on the shore excursions or by Disney Cruise before leaving the ship for an excursion?

 

[Madisonznana]

Does anyone know if bottled water is provided on the shore excursions or by Disney Cruise before leaving the ship for an excursion?

I think they have it for purchase.

 

[Peek-a-boo]

That is surprising...We have done several Adventures By Disney and we were always so pampered. They always had bottled water for us on every tour bus. I would have thought that they would do the same on the cruise. The reason I questioned is that I see you can order bottled water for your room.

 

[TDC Nala]

Brought my own water off the ship in a reusable bottle (from the drink dispenser on Deck 9).

Sometimes the longer excursions include a bottle. Water was available on the train to Berlin. I did not take any other all-day excursions with Disney.

If you get a bottle it will be provided by the tour operator. Disney does not provide bottled water unless you purchase it.

 

[Peek-a-boo]

Is the water from the dispenser on deck 9 bottled water?

 

[TDC Nala]

No, it's filtered water. The drink dispenser is just like any that you see in the parks. But as most bottled water is filtered tap water I don't really see the difference unless you are after spring water.

 

[Peek-a-boo]

I just ordered 2 cases of water to be put in my stateroom. They charged a 15% gratuity. Is this normal for DCL?

 

[TDC Nala]

Yes, there is a 15% automatic gratuity for any beverage purchase.

 

[EpcotKilterFan]

On the Disney Excursions, there were bottles of water handed out. Even the short ones.

We were going to buy water on the ship, but ended up buying a few bottles in London at a store in the central bus station. It was pretty reasonable. We took some along with us on the Disney excursion, but was pleasantly surprised to have it provided.

Hope that helps. Have a wonderful cruise!

Debbie

 

[TDC Nala]

On the Disney Excursions, there were bottles of water handed out. Even the short ones.

I do not recall being given water on any excursion on the June 24 Baltic other than Berlin and the private tour in St. Petersburg. (Did not take an excursion in Stockholm.) Was given a bottle of water at the Castaway Club reception and that got carried on one excursion.

I do not think you can count on being given bottled water on all excursions.

 

[dylan'smom]

I do not recall being given water on any excursion on the June 24 Baltic other than Berlin and the private tour in St. Petersburg. (Did not take an excursion in Stockholm.) Was given a bottle of water at the Castaway Club reception and that got carried on one excursion.

I do not think you can count on being given bottled water on all excursions.

Yes, I agree, we sometimes had it offered, but not every time.

We did a lot of DCL excursions & just filled the CC bottles we were given as a stateroom gift each day & took w/ us, to be covered. Most excursions used a bus to move around & we were able to leave any heavy bags on the bus during visits here & there so we would err on the side of bringing too much.

Bottled water available onboard is all for purchase. I didn't order it because I don't really care for Evian, and then it was so easy to fill the bottles each morning anyway.

 

[ldconley]

I do not recall being given water on any excursion on the June 24 Baltic other than Berlin and the private tour in St. Petersburg. (Did not take an excursion in Stockholm.) Was given a bottle of water at the Castaway Club reception and that got carried on one excursion.

I do not think you can count on being given bottled water on all excursions.

We were also on the June 24 Baltic. We did excursions in each port and got bottled water on all of them expect for maybe the one we did in Estonia. I do not remember for sure on that one, lunch was provided and we had water with lunch, but I cannot remember actually getting a bottle of water on the bus that time. I always carried my own water too, just to make sure. Since we were able to leave our stuff on the bus most of the time, it was not a big deal if we ended up having an extra bottle.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Hi. Just off the July 6th yesterday so the last group is on now. Hope everyone has as wonderful a trip as we did. One more day in London and then we journey home. Our post cruise Leeds Castle and Canterbury tour was cancelled so we find ourselves with an extra day in London.

 

[cindy18]

Hi. Just off the July 6th yesterday so the last group is on now. Hope everyone has as wonderful a trip as we did. One more day in London and then we journey home. Our post cruise Leeds Castle and Canterbury tour was cancelled so we find ourselves with an extra day in London.

So glad the trip was great! Anything especially wonderful happen? We heard it was very hot!

 

[Deb T.]

So glad the trip was great! Anything especially wonderful happen? We heard it was very hot!

It was very, very, VERY hot! Record breaking temperatures in St. Petersburg and Berlin! The un-airconditioned train ride back to the ship from Berlin was downright brutal.

Regarding water on buses - it was provided on two of our six DCL tours. And, it was always room temperature, which equated to very warm since the ports were so hot. The filtered water from Deck 9's drink station is a great option.

The seas were very calm the entire sailing, which was good. No seasickness issues that we heard of.

The trip was awesome and we hated to step off the ship yesterday. DH and I would love to return to most of the same ports since there was sooo much to do and so little time to do it in.

 

[cindy18]

I hear you! We were really bummed when we got back to Dover from the 2nd Baltic. Believe me, I know how you feel. It does get better, but it takes awhile. We're still tracking the ship's every move!

Can't imagine what it was like to tour Berlin and St. Petersburg in that kind of heat. Was St. Petersburg still really crowded?

Also heard that Peter was your cruise director not Brent. Interesting because there was no mention of Brent switching on our cruise. Do you know if Brent just took a vacation and is back for the rest of the summer?

Did you book another cruise onboard??

 

[Deb T.]

I hear you! We were really bummed when we got back to Dover from the 2nd Baltic. Believe me, I know how you feel. It does get better, but it takes awhile. We're still tracking the ship's every move!

Can't imagine what it was like to tour Berlin and St. Petersburg in that kind of heat. Was St. Petersburg still really crowded?

Also heard that Peter was your cruise director not Brent. Interesting because there was no mention of Brent switching on our cruise. Do you know if Brent just took a vacation and is back for the rest of the summer?

Did you book another cruise onboard??

St. Petersburg was definitely more crowded than I expected. I was very disappointed with the "shopping tour" since the bus basically dropped us off at a store that was miles from any of the other stores, and due to traffic we had only had about 90 minutes to shop. The place was packed since there were about 20 other tour buses parked there, too.

I was very surprised (and very disappointed) that Brent was not our cruise director. Peter is nice enough, but doesn't have the same enthusiasm (or wonderfully sweet accent) as Brent. There was no sight or mention of Brent at all, and we all assumed he was on vacation. I'm curious to learn whether he was back onboard for the last Baltic cruise.

I'd already booked two Dream cruises while on the Wonder last April, so no new onboard bookings this time. Tried to talk DH into another, but he thought that having two already was plenty enough. For me, there's never "plenty enough"!

 

[cindy18]

There's a rumor I saw somewhere on the boards that Brent has reboarded the Magic, although a blog from the 4th Baltic said that Peter was still the cruise director, so who knows? If Brent did the TA and the Med and the first few Baltics, he may just have been due for a vacation before the rest of the summer cruises.

We found St. Petersburg really too crowded also. We didn't do the shopping tour, but the traffic was almost unbearable, and the crowds definitely took away from our enjoyment of the Hermitage. My two favorite things that we did were Catherine's Summer Palace and Peter and Paul Fortress, and we did both of those things in the late afternoon, when I think the crowds had eased up a bit, and I don't think that's a coincidence.

Maybe 2 trips on the Dream is enough!! We have 1, plus Alaska, and are already looking ahead to where the Magic might go in the summer of 2012....