I am new to the site, and have gotten tons of great advice! I have a question about a Baltic Cruise, I am looking into them for the summer of 2001 and what any recomendations, suggestions etc..., I am looking at NCL, but will consider all lines. Has anyone here been on the NCL Baltic Cruise? What were the ports like, especially in St. Petersburgh? Overall, I feel comfortable traveling to these ports, but is there anything a family should look out for? Thanks!

I also should have mentioned, we enjoy doing the ports on our own, we have cruised before, and find the only way to truly "see" the city is to go it alone. I'm not sure if we would be able to do this in St. Pete? We just hate being herded along with everyone else from the ship. Thanks again.

<BR>Dear John, <BR> <BR>Had a wonderful cruise on NCL Baltic. Food was good, service was good......until we crashed into a 600 foot container ship on a clear night in the North Sea. <BR> <BR>But we did get a $300 credit for a future cruise. <BR> <BR>Paul

My family did this cruise on the NCL Dream in July and really enjoyed it. We were very apprehensive as NCL generates such loved it/hated it reviews. <BR>If you don't want to do the group thing in St. Petersburg you'll need to get your own visa. NCL offered a private car tour where I imagine you'd have more leeway to see what you want. We did a city sights bus tour and the Hermitage tour with NCL and thought these were fine. <BR>The other ports would be doable on your own. they give great port talks on the ship--of course they're trying to sell you THEIR tours but you can get a feel for the ports. <BR>Our kids (11 and 13) enjoyed our evening at Tivoli Gardens--a little more low tech than the theme parks here but it was a nice change after sightseeing.

Last month I was on the HAL Maasdam Baltic cruise. It was absolutely fabulous. We too prefer to do our own thing and did except for St. Petersburg. There is so much to see there that I highly recommend the ships' tours. You can see so much more in a shorter time and would not recommend doing this city on your own. While in St. Petersburg don't miss seeing a folkloric show by the Russians. The costumes, acrobats, singing and dancing etc. was one of the most memorable parts of our trip. Even my husband just raved about it. As far as which ship you chose....I have also been on NCL (not the Baltic though) and I personally prefer HAL Cruise Line heads and shoulders above NCL. HAL is just a classier experience and there are lots of perks included that NCL charges for. Also the cabins on HAL are amongst the largest by all cruise standards. Whatever ship you should select, I know you will have a great experience. Marcie

Marcie: <BR> <BR>You are absolutely correct. HAL is a premium line while NCL is mainstream which is the same category for Carnival and Royal Caribbean. NCL is poorly manages and their new freestyle cruising is a joke. The new President Colin Veitch said they will be charge for food on NCL in another year or two. It will be called a la carte dining. Only passengers with balcony cabins and above will not have to pay.

Thanks for the input. It sounds as if what I suspected was true.., and NCL is not the standard of traveling I am looking for. We have cruised before on RCCL and Princess. Thanks all.