Warnemunde, German Questions! - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

jstducky · 04-05-2006, 05:32 PM

Has anyone been here? How close is it to Berlin? From reading some shore excursion possibilities, it seems rather far from Berlin.

Is a shore excursion necessary? Through the ship or privately?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Bill S · 04-05-2006, 07:38 PM

We docked at Warnemunde last year. We opted for the day trip to Berlin. It is about a 2.5 hour train ride each way. We felt it was worth the long trip to visit Berlin. The train had compartments, seating 6 people and each car had a bathroom. It IS a long day, about 12-14 hours, but once again, we are glad we visited Berlin. When we got back to our ship (the Prinsendam), there was a local oompah band in the main show lounge with a German buffet set up. And even though when it was pouring rain at time when the ship cast off, there was a crowd of enthusiastic locals to see us off!

BTW, Berlin is a photographer's delight, IMO!

jstducky · 04-05-2006, 07:57 PM

wow photographer's delight? music to my ears bill.

so you took a ship tour? is this really the only way to go? since berlin is soo far from warnemunde, does it pretty make it impractical and impossible to do on our own?

is there private tour options here?

i've never been to berlin before. what did you do there? did you see the remnants of the berlin wall?

if i dont go into berlin, is there anything in warnemunde worth seeing?

localady · 04-05-2006, 08:43 PM

Warnemunde is not as exciting as Berlin, but it is truly a charming German sea shore town. Many Germans will come vacation here, and there are many shops and restaurants throughout the town and on the seaside Promenade.

I'm going to modify a couple of pics Warnemunde itself and post them as soon as I can.

jstducky · 04-05-2006, 08:44 PM

Where can I find the pictures?

Does that mean you just stayed in Warnemunde and didn't go into Berlin?

Its it kind of a seaside resort town?

Is it an expensive city? Is Berlin expensive?

Any great buys here?

localady · 04-05-2006, 10:18 PM

Alisa-

Yes, I have stayed in and around Warnemunde both times we have cruised there. I have a heart condition and 12-13 hour days are just too much for me, I hit the wall and stop enjoying it.

Warnemunde is a nice seaside town to stroll around. We have had lovely days strolling around the little town and stopping for lunch in the downtown area.

Your best buys will be in Tallin, Estonia and St. Pete's. We've always shopped in Warnemunde for flowers, stocked up on sodas and bought some other presents for folks at home, but not as cheaply as in Estonia.

Okay, hopefully, here are the pictures, they were too big to attach before.

Bill S · 04-06-2006, 01:33 AM

Alisa: yes, we took the HAL excursion to Berlin and left Sher and Bob back in Warnemunde to hold down the fort!

There are posts on the CC board (Ports of Call) forum whicd discuss other options to get to Berlin-I recall some folks are interested in renting cars and there might be private tour operators, as well. I think you can also take the train on your own and arrange for a commercial tour/private guide in Berlin.

HAL had about 5 or 6 different tours in Berlin and we opted for a tour with no specific theme (for example: Holocaust; WWII, etc) and which included a 2 hour river cruise that included lunch--it provided a unique perspective to see Berlin and was quite enjoyable and photogenic. There is not much left of the Berlin Wall but we did get to see one of the few remaining segments and around Checkpoint Charlie there is an outline in the street and sidewalks of where the wall stood. I have previously posted some Berlin photos in the CLF gallery.

There are so many choices on a Baltic cruise! Have fun!

jstducky · 04-06-2006, 01:14 PM

Wow! Sher and Bill! You guys are fantastic. I didn't realize that you guys did this cruise together?? I will certainly have to check out the CC board once I book the cruise, if I choose this itinerary with Warnemunde. Sher, those are amazing amazing pictures of Warnemunde. It looks like an absolutely gorgeous town! I may have to brush up on my 4 years of high school German! Bill, thanks for the information. I was reading about the HAL excursion to Berlin that included the river cruise. That would be on my short list. I noticed that it was $300+ so that is a bit of a detraction. But if I could pay $400 for dog sledding in Alaska, this must be worth it to see the Berlin Wall. Its just so hard when everything keeps adding up. Although with a 3 hour train trip to Berlin, I am not sure that I should risk trying to do this one on my own. I noticed that HAL has the option of taking the train ride to Berlin and then doing Berlin on your own for 5-6 hours, but as the train itself was like $150, I am not sure it would be worth it to do it on my own or get a guide from Berlin itself.. I also was looking at the Jewish Berlin option that went to the concentration camp. Did you hear anybody talking about doing that excursion and what they thought about it? I think it sounds fascinating since I love history, but I don't know if it would just be a very difficult excursion and emotionally taxing for a 13-14 hour excursion. Any thoughts? Once again you guys are amazing and I truly value your opinions so much!

TerilynnS · 04-06-2006, 04:55 PM

Hi Alisa - We're going to be taking a tour that's geared to the food and beer of the region. So, we're tkaing a bus over to a brewery in Rostock, then coming back over to Warnermunde for a focus on local food, then staying in town to do some additional "research" on our own. A lot of our fellow cruisers are taking the train down to Berlin and Celebrity has a plethora of options for the Berlin tours! A couple of people I know are doing Berlin on their own, a couple more are taking a bus tour, and couple others have hired a van and tour guide through the ship. They've been told it's 3 hr. train ride down there.

I think I'm looking forward to Germany the most on this trip. I though I'd be bummed about missing Berlin, but I htink I want to see Berlin for mosre than just a few hours....I'm going to need to stay there for awhile...maybe on some future land-based trip.....

Bill S · 04-06-2006, 05:03 PM

Alisa: our tablemates did the Holocaust excursion in Berlin and they thought it was excellent, but of course, very somber and thought provoking. We did see, from a distance, the Holocaust memorial in Berlin-very unique.

Our excusrsion included a bus tour through E. Berlin, where the train station was, over to Checkpoint Charley - we had a good half-hour to walk around and then a walking tour in the area where we saw the remnant of the actual Wall. We stopped at a Palace for pictures and leg stretch-did not go inside. Then the liesurely boat ride/lunch, which we enjoyed very much. Then we went over to the Brandenburg Gate and were able to stroll around the area for about 30 minutes and then meet at the Reichstag for a visit to the rebuilt and very modern cupola. We had about an hour there. Then back on the bus for a spin around E. Berlin and into the countryside to a rural town where we used different train station north of the city for the ride back. It was pleasant but full day for us. Hope this helps you decide!