Emerald Princess Baltic Cruise 5/26/09 - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

Metalcowgirl · 02-19-2009, 01:05 PM

Would anyone know about how far the cities are from the cruise ports and if it worth it to take a tour instead of exploring on ones own.

The stops are Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Peterburg, Tallen, Gdansk and Oslo. We opted for the two-day tour of St. Petersburg, the other ports I don't know if it is worth it for we will be there for about 6 - 7 hours.

Wilma

houch · 02-20-2009, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metalcowgirl

Would anyone know about how far the cities are from the cruise ports and if it worth it to take a tour instead of exploring on ones own.

The stops are Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Peterburg, Tallen, Gdansk and Oslo. We opted for the two-day tour of St. Petersburg, the other ports I don't know if it is worth it for we will be there for about 6 - 7 hours.

Wilma

We did this same cruise on the Star Princess in 2007. It was amazing and I'm sure you will love it. We booked the ship's tours for every port and saw a lot, were pleased with everyone. That way we didn't have to bother with the money exchanges. We always book with the ship just in case there are any problems and we are late for sailaway, we know the ship will wait for us. If on a private tour and we were late, the ship would be gone and we would be responsible to get to the next port. In fact there was a bus problem in St Petersburg and we were an hour late, the ship waited. I know that many do book tours on their own without any problems, but we just feel better this way.
As I recall there is a distance to get to what you want to see in each port. Gdansk is a way inland from the port city and you definitely want to do a tour of the old town there, it was awesome and they still had some building ruins outside the wall from WW2. It was also a drive to the old town in Tallinn, another place that was amazing to see. Stockholm has many islands, depends on what you want to see but I think a tour would be best. Our bus tour in Helsinki went to many parts of the city with stops to shop and to walk around and in the buildings, especially enjoyed that large Luthern Cathedral. We did a tour in Oslo that was probably our least favorite one. The ship docks almost in town with a very short walk to the downtown area and there are many places you could walk to, although you have very little time there.
We went a day early and overnight in Copenhagen. After arrival we walked from our hotel to Tivoli and the old town in the afternoon. We booked the hotel through Princess and the cruise staff were there offering a tour the next morning before we could board. It was a walking and a bus tour, very good.
You will love this cruise, enjoy.

houch · 02-20-2009, 04:38 PM

I think I wrote a bit here about each port we visited. Click on Europe under the port cities. It's in Cruise Places