Philip

Hello ~ Posted this under cruises but thought may hit different group by posting here! Appreciate your help.

My wife and I are avid travelers but not avid cruisers. I have come to the conclusion that the nicest and easiest way to see the Baltics is by ship. This cruise is the traditional Copenhagen to Copenhagen ~ 9 nts. Here are my question......

1. Cost is about $2,800 per person for rooms with balcony (inc. room, xfers, port expenses, $100 ship board cr; cancellation insur.). Sound reasonable?

2. Am thinking about adding few days at end for either trip to Amsterdam or Bergen (then return to states). Have you any suggestions on either of these two locations?

3. Any other cruise lines that you would consider for this type of trip?

Thanks!

Intrepid

Personally, if you have never been to either Bergen or A-dam I would opt for the latter...much much more to see and do (if you're into a lot of seeing and doing in terms of art, museums, and even the environs around)than in Bergen IMO. I think if you can adding on is a good idea because as much as I like the non-decision-making aspects of cruising, the amenities, etc., I think you'll find that on this particular itinerary you're going to come away from some of those places wishing you had had time to see them in more depth. So, seeing a place like Amsterdam for several days is going to be all the more satisfying.

Amsterdam is easy to get around in on public transportation, the inhabitants all very willingly speak English (and you won't have any trouble even if they didn't) and it is just simply much more of a cosmopolitan city and important historical place than Bergen. Go for it!

MHS

We did this Princess cruise -- Baltic leaving & returning to Copenhagen -- in August 2001; of course, it was on a ship which Princess has since sold. It was certainly the easiest way for us to see these Baltic countries. It is not a rest & relaxation cruise -- most mornings we were up quite early to take the port tours. Best decision, to book private car & guide in St. Petersburg -- a wildcat strike caused a long delay in getting off ship & those who had booked the 1/2 day overview tour missed most of it. Pricy but worth every penny. We added days both before & after in Copenhagen, booking our own air. Thus had direct flights at our chosen times vs. Princess bulk group ones. Having been to Amsterdam, I agree with prior poster -- that would be my choice of the two.

This was our 1st & only cruise on Princess, having used Royal Carb for 3 caribean cruises. We chose Princess because we wanted a different line & we prefered the Princess itinerary. At least at that time Princess did a better job of handling its tours IMHO. Also we booked tours in advance via the web site -- saved lots of time in long tour desk lines & disappointment over booked-up choices.

Think the cruise boards such as cruisecritic.com (sorry but Fodor's board is just not as active in the cruise area as these cruise specific ones are) would give you a more comprensive critique & current reports. You might also be able to obtain a copy of the tour descriptions long before they are "officially" released; that was extremely helpful for us in planning.

Enjoy -- it's a great trip; exhausting --7 countries in 7 days sort of thing with a simple taste of each; those long nights with light until 11pm are great; even the Baltic Sea itself, which can get a bit windy, is a great experience; and if you like a pre-dinner drink, do purchase local wine/beer (inexpensively in 7-11 type stores)& bring back to your cabin.

Dutch

I like both Bergen and Amsterdam, but I think for logistics you would be better served by spending the extra time in Copenhagen. It is one of my favorite European cities and the people are extremely helpful and friendly. I did a 12 day Baltic cruise tour several years ago and I loved it. The only down side is that you only spend a short-time in some great cities. I think the advice to get a personal guide in St. Petersburg is good - but you would need to arrange a visa to do that. Have fun.

TaniaB

Actually, it's the Grand Princess that's being deployed to the Baltics in 2004.

We were scheduled to do the Baltic last summer, expecting a rate-cut, but they actually raised the prices.

Looking at the Grand prices, they appear more reasonable, i.e. a standard balciny cabin is the same price as the outside cabin was on the Regal.

I hated Amsterdam on a recent cruise on the Royal. It seemed that every student who'd ever given me trouble in the last 26 years was there. LOL...

We are also avid travellers. Cruising gives us a taste of many cities and we return to those we like for a longer stay...Venice, Rome, Nice...

Kristi

We're not avid cruisers either but this was an excellent itinerary. We used Orient Lines as they included a couple of nights hotel in Copenhagen (which you can't really see in a day), a little more time in Stockholm (overnighted on the ship) and the standard 2 days in St. Petrersburg.

Dutch isn't entirely correct about Russian visas, there are several companies that do not require you to get a visa. They might be a bit more expensive but the visa process is also expensive at $100 plus overnight mail, etc. I thought it was much better to book the private tour than the ship tours, we saw tons more than the other folks on our cruise.

St. Petersburg was the only place we had a guided tour, all of the rest of the cities can be done independently if you want. Actually even St. Petersburg can be done independently but if you really want to see a lot in a short period of time, hire a private guide, it is worth the money.

cd

Philip
I would go to CruiseCritic.com and check out the ship...I think it is this line that is old and needs updating...I could be wrong, but CruiseCritic posts ratings for all the cruise lines.

abram

I agree with Kristi. We also took the Orient Lines Marco Polo this summer; we selected it for the size of the ship (750 passengers), itinerary (Norwegian fjords in addtional to Scandinavian/Baltic capitals), two extra days in Copenhagen, and because it didn't start or stop in England.

We used Red October in St. Petersburg, and would highly recommend them. Two full days for four people cost less than the ship's shore excursions, and they personalized an itinerary to our likes. We did not need to get individual visas; they get group visas, just as the cruiselines do.

mimipam

Hi Philip,
I have been on a Baltic cruise on Radisson ending in Copenhagen where we stayed an extra few days. I really enjoyed Copenhagen. I have also been to A'dam and liked that as well. There is a lot to see in both places. Don't know what ports you will see but we spent 3 days in St. Petersburg and did take the ships excursions which we were very pleased with. If you go out on your own, you will need a visa. This is for St Petersburg. When with a guide we did not require a visa. I, too, am not an avid cruiser but it is nice sometimes not to have to pack and unpack. I have also been to Tahiti on Radisson. I really like them, but I am sure others are good also. Priness had a good reputation I believe but didn't Carnival buy them? Bon vayage!