Andy

We are thinking of doing the Copenhagen to Copenhagen rountrip thru the Baltic- St.Petersburg etc on the Windurf..<BR><BR>We have take this ship thru the Med but wondered if anyone had done the Baltic and if so,how were the excursions&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;???<BR><BR>Please let me know soon as I need to book and want to know if this is the best ship to do the Baltic- We do not want a huge mega ship and also do not want to get dressed up--<BR><BR>Spouse got spoiled on the last Windsuf cruise and wants another laid back atmosphere-<BR><BR>Thanks

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topping

Benita

Andy,<BR><BR>We did an 8-day cruise of the Baltic in August on the Seven Seas Mariner. Started in Copenhagen, then Gotland, Estonia, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, and ending up in Stockholm. Had a few days for sightseeing both before and after the cruise.<BR><BR>I can't rave enought about the Mariner. However, I don't think they're doing the Baltic in 2003, but are replaced by the new Voyager. Both these ships only take 700 passengers, but are the size of a 2000 passenger ship. They're both all-suites, all-balcony, all-inclusive ships. Do consider the Voyager for your cruise, you won't regret it (check it out first on the Radisson site or at cruisecritic.com)<BR><BR>We only had one formal night, two informals, and the rest were casual nights. Had a lot of fun and never felt like the atmosphere was too stuffy.<BR><BR>Whatever you decide, you will love Scandinavia and St.Petersburg does have its good sides, too. When are you going, by the way? Scandinavia just had its warmest summer in 200 years, so I hope it will continue next year.<BR><BR>Have fun!<BR><BR>Benita

Andy

Benita-thanks for the heads up on the Mariner-- <BR><BR>We are thinking of going the end of July-<BR><BR>How was the weather when you went and what kinds of clothes did you need?<BR><BR><BR>Thanks loads!

Benita

Andy,<BR><BR>Our cruise began August 3rd and ended on the 10th. The only slight rain we had was the first day in Copenhagen, but it was still warm enough to wear shorts. The rest of our two-week vacation was sunny, in the upper 70's and lower to mid-80's.<BR><BR>For formal night I wore a long, straight, slinky dress, my husband wore a dark suit, striped shirt and a tie. About half the men wore suits, the other half tuxedos. Women wore both short and long dresses, or evening pants with a dressy blouse.<BR><BR>On the informal nights most men still wore a jacket but with either a polo shirt or a dress shirt either with or without a tie. I always wore a short dress, and one night a sleeveless top with a short skirt.<BR><BR>On casual nights men mostly wore polo shirts or short-sleeved shirts with dress slacks. Always dressy shoes or loafers (I think we saw men in jeans at dinner only a few times, and tennis shoes once or twice). Women wore nice clothes, too, shorts are not allowed after 6 p.m. in any public areas.<BR><BR>If you're thinking about doing a Radisson cruise, please check out the cruisecritic.com web site. Find the Seven Seas Mariner for the ship we were on, then check under "messages" and you'll find both a complete cruise report from one of our fellow passengers, and also a lot of other useful info on both the Mariner and other Radisson ships. It's a wonderful site and I check it at least once a week just for the fun of it, and I feel like I'm always learning something new.<BR><BR>Happy planning!<BR><BR>Benita

David G

We've been on the Windsurf twice and we've done a Baltic cruise on Royal Viking several years ago. If you love the Windsurf as we did, I would think doing the Baltic on that ship would be great. We took sightseeing tours in Helsinki and St. Petersburg but did our own thing in Stockholm and Visby. Spend an extra day or two in Copenhagen if you have the time. Many, many years ago I did a North Cape cruise from Bergen, Norway on a luxurious small boat and the sailing was very smooth; you should be fine in the Baltic on the Windsurf.<BR>Have a wonderful trip.

Andy

David and Benita=Many thanks for all info<BR><BR>I happen to LOVE the Windsurf due to the Casual Elegance in the dress code-No jeans at dinner either...but also no need for tux of jacket....<BR><BR>When either of you did the Baltic, is there any area OFF the ship, that you may need a coat and tie at nite???<BR><BR>Thanks

Benita

Andy,<BR><BR>With the itinerary we had on our cruise, we only spent days in ports and sailed at night, except in St.Petersburg, where we had three days. Depending on which tours you did the two evenings we had in St. Pete, dressy clothes may be needed. Some people went to a concert, others to ballet, I don't remember what else was offered. My husband and I just stayed on the ship, since we'd been busy touring during the day.<BR><BR>In each port there were several options for tours. Since we'd already been to all these places except St. Pete and Visby, we just went out on our own and did just fine everywhere except St.Pete, where we did take tours. It is probably the only one of these places where we felt a little unsafe anyway, the others are very civilized and there's not much to worry about.<BR><BR>If you haven't been to Scandinavia before, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how clean, modern, beautiful, Scandinavia is. Most people speak very good English, too, so don't worry about language problems.<BR><BR>Have fun!<BR><BR>Benita