Four of us are crusing Dover to Stockholm in July on the Insignia and I'm looking for suggestions on local points of contact for Tallin, Gdansk, St. Petersburg and Helsinki. We're all veteran travelers, but speak only English and a spattering of Spanish and French. I'd like to avoid the ship-sponsored excursions. Thanks in advance for any tips.

I would suggest using the Fodor's search engine and type in your individual city choices for a wealth of information on this site. I have used that resource with regards to St. Petersburg last spring and there are gems of information to be had on hiring local guides, etc. I would advise you not to attempt going into St. Petesburg without a guide as the language barrier makes independent travel very difficult. The docks are located a long distance from the tourist sites and your mass transit options do not post signs in English.

You will find a lot more information about doing these ports on your own at the Ports of Call section of the message boards. Also go to your ship's section for "Roll Calls"... sometimes people get together to share the expense for personal tours and/or transportation.

Oops, I forgot to mention the most important thing, the website for this is www.cruisecritic.com

I definitely recommend that you take the ship's suggested tours on your St. Petersburg stop. The security is very tight. The line at the Hermitage was very long even though we were with a guide. We took the Scandinavia trip 2 years ago and just loved it. I would not be comfortable walking around St. Petersburg on our own. Tallin, we felt very safe and were able to wonder around. We had a marvelous time. Enjoy

I agree with the other posters about St. Petersburg. If you plan on doing a self-guided tour, you'll have to apply for a visa before your trip. If you go with the ship's tour, you don't need a visa. I wouldn't worry about the language barriers, most of the people you'll see are used to dealing with tourists and will speak some english. Tallinn was a highlight and easy to get around. I would recommend negotiating with taxi drivers before you get in the taxi. Have a great time.

Another option is to wait til you're on board then get the concierge to arrange private car/driver for your group. We have done this frequently. Also, go over to tripadvisor.com and see if the cities you're going to have 'local experts' listed in their forums. You can then post a question and one of these folks will give you info. Have fun.

In Tallin, we followed a self-giuded walking tour of the old city and had a great day.

In Helsinki, we walked or used the tram to get to interesting sights. There is also, I believe, a hop-on/hop-off sightseeing bus.

In St. Petersburg, we used Red October for a private two day tour. They personalized it to our interests, and it was cheaper (for four of us) than equivalent shore excursions. Fabulous.

I don't know anything about the ship you ae going on. I do agree with the other posters as to St Petersburg because of the Visa restrictions, the museum lines and the less than impressive public transportation. As for the other ports, my husband and I went on our own to Oslo, Stockhom, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Tallin. We were on Celebrity and they had a free shuttle service that took us to a central spot where we could access public transportation. Language was no problem in any of those ports and we got to see what we were interested in, shop when and where we wanted and ate in local places where we really got a flavor of the towns. It is a wonderful cruise, have a great time.

We also used Red October during our two-day stopover in St Petersburg and were extremely satisfied with the guide's English fluency and her willingness to arrange a tour that would meet our interests, in contrast to the the usual shipboard tours that hit all the touristy sites. We rode the subway (photos are illegal), shopped at a local open-air market (lots of great bargains to be had), and had lunch with a survivor of the Great Siege! Red October also takes care of your visas, which saves you around $125 per person.

Tallin and Helsinki are both walkable from the cruise ship pier, and if you read enough about the cities before you go, you shouldn't need a tour guide as most of the sites need no additional elaboration. Sorry I can't help on Gdansk, as the Regatta (Insignia's sister) didn't stop there during our cruise.

Another vote for Red October in St. Petersburg. As for the other cities, no guide is necessary. They can easily be done on your own.

Thanks for the feedback. I've taken the advice and contacted Red October and they have proposed a great program in St. Petersburg at a very reasonable price and I think we'll likely use their service.

Hi,
We used Denrus in St. Petersburg. Like RO they will give you private guide and a driver as well as supply the special cruise passenger visa. I believe that it is the only way to go because you don't have to wait on line for entrance to the various venues. I actually waved to my shipmates as we passed them waiting on a long line. We also did not have to wait for 40-50 people to use the washroom facilities, buy souvenirs or get on & off the busses. We were 4 people and it was very economical and we were able to plan our itinerary and see more places because we didn't wait on lines.
In Helsinki and Stockholm we used hop-on, hop-off busses and enjoyed seeing things at our pace. (Don't miss the Rock Church in Helsinki and the Vasa museum in Stockholm)

Although we have not used Red October I have read many glowing reviews of them and we will use when we do the Baltic cruise in future.