Celebrity Constellation Gdansk Excursion - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

nu2sea · 06-12-2006, 11:43 PM

Celebrity offered two tours of Gdansk, one for those who wanted more independent time to wander and one for the rest of us. Being unsure of what we would find, we took the escorted one. ($39 adult, $21 child approximately 4 hrs and 15 min.) Since the Constellation would only be docked at Gdynia for five hours, a ship’s excursion seemed to be the only way to go.

Unfortunately it started at 7:45 which meant meeting in the Celebrity theater at 7:30 and taking a number and waiting. I love Celebrity, but treating us like cattle because it is easier for the staff, just does not make sense to me. Why not assign a number and a time to be at the gangplank the night before, and have the information called into the guest (voice mail, anyone?). It would be more work for the staff, but my purpose in taking a cruise is not really to make their jobs easier. And at the prices cruise lines charge for the excursions you would think some concession could be made…

Anyway, after lining up like third graders (with all the pushing and shoving that entails) we were led off the ship by a pursed lip staff member recruited from her normal job of selling stuff in the center of the shopping emporium. Throughout the tour she tried to get me to wear my number where it would be easily seen by her. She had a better chance of selling me an overpriced item from one of her displays.

Fortunately things really brightened up as we left the ship. At the dock was the local band, including cheerleaders welcoming us to the tri cities of Gydnia, Sopot and Gdansk. Our tour guide was a delightful young Polish woman with a wealth of local knowledge and a realistic attitude about the needs of her homeland.

The first thing she apologized for was the condition of the roads. Although they were occasionally rough, we would encounter much worse at other ports. I guess the condition of the infrastructure and the rough start had lowered my expectations for this tour. Was I surprised!

We got off of the bus a short walk from the city’s Green Gate. Rather than fight through the milling crowd, our guide took us into the main city through a side street to the south of the Green Gate. A short time later we were on the Long Market Street.

I should explain what our guide told us, Gdansk, known at the time as Danzig is where the Germans started WWII. It suffered extensive damage throughout the war from bombing raids, and was perhaps one of the most devastated cities in Europe at the end of the war.

During the ensuing Soviet occupation, Gdansk was completely rebuilt, and today is simply one of the most enchanting cities we visited. I wish the stop was longer than five hours. I would have loved to have sat in one of the open air cafes and lingered over coffee.

Back to Long Market Street. It is the east end of the Royal Route and is lined with fully reconstructed houses once occupied by wealthy merchants of the town. Colorful, elaborate facades of Mannerist, Rococo, Baroque and Classical architectural styles face the street that leads up to the Neptune Fountain and the Town Hall beyond.

Especially notable was the Golden House which includes statues of Achilles, Oedipus, Antigone and Cleopatra on its balustrade. Also striking was the Mannerist façade of the Artus Court, where wealthy merchants held meetings and banquets.

The Long Market Street and the Long Street were simply stunning in the morning sun, but didn’t give us a clue as to what was waiting just a block to the north on Mariacka street. There stood the largest old brick church in the world, The Church of Our Lady (St. Mary’s Basilica) built in 1350. And 1502. Taken over by the early Lutherans, the soaring interior walls of this church are all painted white. In some small areas the white paint has been removed to reveal the original colored walls of the church. Our guide explained that there just isn’t yet enough money to completely restore the interior of the church. Perhaps someday…

After a brief visit to an Amber shop where we learned how to tell if a stone was genuine amber (drop it in water, it should float) we were left to browse the market stalls.

We met up with our guide at the Crane on the banks of the river Motlawa to begin the drive back to the ship. The driver took us by the Gdansk Shipyard where the Solidarity movement was born. There is a monument to the shipyard workers slain in the riot of 1970 that is not particularly impressive, but perhaps a free Poland is all the monument they need.

Photos are posted at: http://www.cruiselineforums.com/gall...ry.php?cat=805

Susan