Thanks for posting this - I'm looking at the Oceania BAltic cruise in September - similar itinerary to yours. Could you comment on the boat? Your cabin? We haven't done a cruise before. Thx

Hello Elizabeth_S - We have been on several cruises on a few different cruise lines (Princess, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean). This was our first Oceania Cruise. We were in stateroom 9133, which was a Concierge level room.

We loved the ship - although with such a busy itinerary we weren't on the ship too much. I only made it to the pool deck twice as the weather did not permit it, and in September you will probably not spend any time out there at all. The Marina is a lovely ship. The common spaces are beautifully decorated, and our stateroom had lovely finishes, and was well maintained.

Oceania is noted for the quality of food on their ships, and we found all the dining venues to be excellent. You will be able to book the restaurants online prior to sailing (they are included with the price of your cruise, no extra charge as on other cruise lines). We ate at Jacques the first night and liked it so much we went to the restaurant booking desk on Deck 5 and asked to eat there again. We ended up eating at Jacques twice and at Toscana twice.

The staff is wonderful. Everyone is exceptionally friendly and helpful.

The only comment I would make about a September cruise is that the weather in the Baltic Sea is extremely temperamental, and sometimes ships have a hard time getting into ports. The week before we arrived in Saint Petersburg another cruise ship was unable to get into port. They spent 2 days in the Baltic unable to dock. My husband also read about a ship that was unable to get into Stockholm because of the weather.

Take warm clothing, and be ready for rain.

Elizabeth_S - here is a Cruise Critic thread about the Oceania Balitc Cruise. It has information about various ships getting into ports. Evidently, it's the larger ships that have trouble docking in Stockholm. The Marina sails through the archipelago, which is probably more sheltered from stormy seas & bad weather.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/show....php?t=2610415

Thanks for all the information.
I am interested in your comment about Schwerin Castle. You went there from Warnemunde. We are thinking of going to see it while our ship is docked in Hamburg during our Viking Ocean cruise early in October. You say "it was ok" which isn't a really ringing endorsement. Does that comment mean that the castle itself was just ok, or that the tour of the castle arranged by your ship was just ok? The pictures I've seen of the place make it look pretty spectacular and I've been pretty excited to work it into our (independent) itinerary, but it will take some doing to get there by train, etc. so if you think it not as worthy of our time as other activities, it would make things easier not to try to include it on our independent explorations while in Hamburg.. OTOH, if the castle itself was quite worthy and it was primarily the tour your ship arranged, I'd continue my plans to visit on our own. Thanks for any guidance you can share.

You might find my more favorable take on Schwerin useful:

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...g-in-schwerin/

On the other hand, whether it is worth the train trip from Hamburg depends on what else is on offer.

We enjoyed Schwerin Castle and the grounds.

Hi Julie, I think it was primarily the tour that was arranged by our cruise line. We did a little boat tour on the lake and the castle is quite picturesque from the water. My husband & I would have liked more time out on the boat. Then we felt rushed through the castle interior. We never did get to walk through the gardens, and it was a really lovely day - perfect for strolling.

If my husband & I were on our own we would have taken time to explore the town, eat lunch, see the cathedral, etc. If you are able to get to Schwerin from Hamburg on your own, you should go for it. It would make a really nice day.

Thanks thursdaysd and deladeb for your comments on Schwerin Castle and to you, halfapair for responding to my specific inquiry about whether it was the castle or the ship's tour you found only ok. Glad everyone enjoyed Schwerin. It is now definitely on my itinerary for our cruise's stop in Hamburg. Looking forward to it. It's these kinds of exchanges that I find so helpful about the forum.