Princess BALTIC cruise, how close to town do you dock?
 

We are thinking about a Princess cruise to the Baltics but we don't want to spend much time getting back and forth to the cities via bus rides or taxis. How close to the city (cities) do you actually dock when on this cruise? Thank you for your help.

Most of the cities on the Baltic cruise are close to the docks. The cruise ships that stop in Germany, France, Englnad, and Poland would be the exceptions. Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo, Tallin, are easy to get to from the docks. Usually a short taxi or a long walk will get you to the city center. St. Petersburg could be a bit further away. You'll love this cruise if you decide to go.

Dutch: Did you take the Baltic Cruise? If so, any tips on sights, shopping, etc. Did you go with Princess and if so, did you take their tours or private tours. Thanks for any info you can give me. Iris

We took the Princess Baltic cruise this year and thought it was great. In Oslo,Helsinki, and Talinin you dock close enought to walk. In St Petersburg you will need a visa(supplied with ships excursion)and I would recommend taking excursions to enjoy this port. For Stockholm and Gydansk, the ship is docked some distance from these cities and and either train travel or an excusion are needed.

Iris,

Sorry for the late reply. We did the Baltic cruise on the now defunct Renaissance. We did some excursions through the ship, and did others on our own. Stockholm and Copenhagen lend themselves to exploring on your own with ease. The shore excursions were handy because the buses were pulled up to the dock, but they were plenty pricey. In Stockholm, the double decker bus pulled up right by the cruise terminal and provided a quick tour of the city. We didn't have to take a train into town and it was only a 20 minute walk to Gamla Stan (old town). If you are brave and energetic consider venturing out on your own, I would recommend forgoing the cruise excursions - with the exception of St. Petersburg. Although some of the fellow cruisers arranged to have a private guide in St. Petersburg and enjoyed it.

I thought the shore excursions were geared to people who wanted to spend a lot of time shopping for trinkets instead of getting a feel for the countries.

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

We did Baltic with Celleberty. They had continuous free shuttle bus to downtown except in St. Petersburg. It was very convenient.