Wannermund / Berlin
 

I am on a cruise ship to Berlin ( Wannermund)..is there a good way to go on our own to Berlin and make this a day trip..instead of the cruise ship shore excursion which are expensive...or becuz of the travel time...better to do the cruise ship way...?

That's Warnemünde, I assume?

Warnemünde is 3 hours by train (one way) from Berlin, and just as much by car or coach. Do your maths and you'll see how little time this leaves in the city. There is no "good way" for a day trip. Berlin is a widespread city that cannot be seen in 5-6 hours.

You'll be better off if you pick one or maybe two of the beautiful old towns in closer vicinity to the port that can be reached without wasting more than half the day travelling and dashing around like mad. Check out these names: Stralsund, Wismar, Schwerin, Bad Doberan, Rostock.

thanks however, this being my first time to berlin and not knowing when I will return...I think the best for me is to take the ships cruise excursion...although expensive they have a dedicated train and then bus tour thru city..and some time also to explore..I was just surpirsed at how expensive that was...

any ideas for a private tour company...

We were on a Baltic cruise about 4 years ago and this trip was offered. Those who took it came back exhausted and angry. Train with no air conditioning, extreme heat and humidity, and running from sight to sight. We went to Rostock which was also extremely hot and eventually came back and just enjoyed lunch and the pool on the ship.

I agree completely with Jane and quokka. We took the train to Luebeck instead. Had a great time visiting this historic, compact, "walking" city. Returned to the ship in time for dinner, and later listened to the tales of the exhausted Berlin visitors. Berlin is very spread out. Even my 4 days' visit a couple of years ago was not enough time to really get to know the city.

what months did you all go to Berlin..?

The distance and travel time combined with the vastness of Berlin, hence the basic problem, is the same all year round. If you are unlucky and catch just that short period of some summer heatwave, it is of course even more uncomfortable.

There are no general weather rules in these parts of the world. Hot periods may or may not occur between late May and early September, but they are not the norm - it may just as well be chilly and rainy, overcast or sunny with medium temperatures, or changeable. Every year is different, so this is impossible to predict, and one year's experience is no model for the following year. The weather is always a question of good or bad luck. Along the coast, there is (almost) always a fresh wind from the sea, so really hot conditions are rare, it is always notably cooler than inland in summer. Berlin, quite a distance further inland, is a different story.

We did a Baltic cruise a couple years ago and I had the same dilemma for the Warnemunde stop. I was tempted to do the trip to Berlin, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth the cost and relatively short time that we were actually in the city.

Instead, we took the train to Rostock, had a leisurely walk around town and then returned to Warnemunde for lunch in town and a walk along the shops to the beach area. It was a really pleasant day (cooler temps but bright and sunny) and it was very relaxing.

Forgot to add that we were there in late July, early August.

One thing that was weird was that there we encountered SWARMS of ladybugs on that cruise. Leaving Harwich there were swarms of them crawling around on the upper decks of the ship. We also encountered them in several ports, one of them being Warnemunde.

I have never been bothered by ladybugs before, but having them around in that quantity was kind of gross. I didn't know if all of the ladybugs were a common thing at that time of the year or not, but I'd never seen it before.

Any reputable private compnay tour suggestions...? We decided to go to berlin but the cruise ship prices are way to high..

The cruise ship excursions are not really good. They drive you around in a bus and you are not able to catch a real glimpse of the city...

If you go on your own, there will be the risk that you stick in a traffic congestion or that a train is late und you might miss your cruise ship.

I would take the train to Lübeck, which is a beautiful city.

If you realy wish to visit Berlin as a daytrip, it is actually doable provided you leave very early to catch the train to Berlin in Rostock (check out schedules in advance). Usually the ship leaves at midnight so that would give you perhaps a little over half a day there. Once in Berlin, you can take bus 100 which goes to all the historical places of the city (much like a HOHO. Or choose in advance which places to visit and do it via taxi. Absolutely I do not recommend getting one of those expensive day trips from the cruise company.

Alternatively, you can visit Lubeck an old picturesque town near Hamburg. While more or less equidistant to Berlin, this place is smaller, thus easily navigable. This was what we did 3 years ago when we did the Baltic cruise. We came back in time for dinner.

Yikes..I think we got screwed on this cruise becuz the ship leaves from Wannermund at 6:00pm...and only allows 1 day in Berlin...the sailing just prior spends 2 days for Berlin..wonder why Holland America changed that..? Next day we sail to Keil...any thoughts on Hamburg.?