The Baltic

[kaymar]

In response to a recent query on Baltic cruises and St Petersburg excursions in particular, I am posting an extract from a cruise report which I did a couple of years ago for the P&O forum. I hope it may be of interest for those planning a similar trip.

J011 - Arcadia – Baltics – August 2010

Excursions.

We did not take advantage of any P&O excursions, preferring to do our own thing, which was easy enough except, of course, in St Petersburg - see below.

We opted for a mixture of a walking, shuttle bus and HOHO bus. The stroll into Copenhagen took us half an hour or so, stopping off by a canal for an (expensive) coffee on the way to the Tivoli Gardens. These turned out to be more of an amusement park with a 100kr entry fee and a 200m queue which we decided not to join, preferring to potter round the city before taking a local bus back to Arcadia. We probably didn’t get as much out of Copenhagen as we should have, mainly because of a lack of preparation.

On disembarking in Stockholm a HOHO bus was waiting 50 yards away and we opted for the full tour at c£25. We “hopped off” at the Vasa museum to take a look at the ill-fated ship but, faced with a 30 min queue, hopped back on the next bus and completed the circle to the city centre. The highlight of Stockholm was in fact the sail away from it though the labyrinth of small islands, as the sun set. Beautiful!

We took the short shuttle bus ride into Helsinki, walked up to the Church in the rock then back down through the market square to the waterfront. Another easy place to wander around whilst not being wildly exciting.

As expected, St Petersburg was easily the highlight of the trip. We had arranged a private, two-day tour with TJ Travel and could not have wished for anything better. Just to dispel a few myths :-

a) if you are arriving by cruise ship and staying in StP for less than 72 hours, you do not need a visa provided that you are escorted around the city by an approved tour guide, as we were.
b) Even if you are not taking a P&O excursion, it does not take hours to disembark. With two trips due to leave Arcadia at 8am, we disembarked at 7.55 and walked straight through the terminal.
c) The Russian immigration authorities are not determined to make your visit as difficult as possible. We presented our passports and the travel passes provided by TJ Travel and cleared immigration in two minutes. Not many smiles but quite efficient.
d) If our experience is the norm, then tales of traffic chaos are grossly exaggerated. P&O endeavour to plan Baltic cruises so that you are in StP. over a weekend when traffic is light. We moved around with no delays whatsoever and the chances of failing to return to the ship on time were Nil.

We were met by our guide Irina and driver Igor in a new, air-conditioned, 8-seater Mercedes people- carrier. Despite being 30 minutes early for our agreed meeting time, they were already waiting. A resident of StP, Irina has a degree in history, majoring in fine arts and speaks fluent English, as do all the guides employed by TJ.

Over the two days, we toured the city in cool comfort, visiting all the major attractions in line with the itinerary we had agreed, and more. We stopped whenever and wherever we wanted, everything was described clearly and expertly by Irina as we went along, and she was more than happy to answer any questions we had. As a “small party”, we walked straight past long queues, especially at the Hermitage, where her knowledge of the works of the old Masters really came into its own. When we saw other parties of thirty or more crowding round their guide trying to catch a few words over the noise, we were even more sure that we had made the right decision.

We took a trip by hydrofoil to Peterhof, drove back via the Csars’ Village and Catherine’s Palace, visited Peter and Paul’s Fortress and the Church on the Spilled Blood, sampled delicious stollen (pies) and vodka and chose some replica Faberge eggs from a lovely shop with delightful, English-speaking assistants and even learned a few words of Russian.

Without hesitation, we would recommend TJ Travel for a party of four or more. They could not have been more helpful in planning an itinerary to suit our personal preferences and the cost of c£200 each for the two full days was very competitive. Just google TJ Travel, St Petersburg for more details and contact information.

We took another HOHO bus from the cruise-ship berth into Tallin, got off at the top of the hill in the Old Town, wandered around the cobbled street and then down to the lower Town with its lovely square and historic buildings. A leisurely lunch at the “Klafira”, a fascinating Russian restaurant on Vene, just off the town square, was delightful and Tallin slotted easily into number 2 on our list of destinations.

It was an easy walk from the berth in Oslo to the Royal Palace and then onward to Frogner Park with its open-air display of hundreds of Vigeland sculptures, allegedly showing the seven ages of man (and woman), obviously before the advent of clothes! Back down through the City, past the Norwegian Parliament building, a bit of souvenir shopping and back on board in time for a quick swim before dinner. Perfect!

Arcadia berthed almost in the centre of Kristiansand, a lovely, picturesque town in Southern Norway. Our visit coincided with the Norwegian leg of the beach volleyball World Tour, an event which only added to the charm of the city for at least half of the passengers! A pleasant little place which we covered comfortably in half a day, but a nice change from the bigger cities.

The weather

We could hardly have been luckier. If there was a complaint it was that St Petersburg was too hot, allegedly reaching 40 deg. on the Saturday. As we returned to the ship on Sunday, there was a slight smell of smoke in the air and reports that the fires, which had been burning for some time around Moscow, were spreading closer, after a month of weather some 15/20deg. hotter than normal. Maybe we just got away in time!

Other than that, we had one morning of rain when we were at sea and the rest of the time it was perfect for sitting on deck in the warm sunshine, even on our final day as we cruised down the East coast of Britain!

The verdict

An excellent cruise where little could have been improved. None of the things which could have gone wrong did so, and we would have changed little except, maybe, some better planning for our DIY excursions. If you haven’t yet cruised to the Baltic countries then please do so, and I hope you are as lucky as we were.

[bluedawdie]

Thanks for the report you posted on your Baltic trip. It was very informative and helpful. The St Petersburg info is particularly useful. We are on a Baltic cruise on Arcadia in August this year, and like yourselves are hoping to arrange a private trip for the 2 days we visit this wonderful city. I have also read good reports about another company called Alla tours who do a similar 2 day experience to what you mentioned.
As there are only 2 of us travelling I am hoping that nearer the time I may be lucky enough to find other like minded cruisers who may be interested in joining us on this private trip.
I will keep checking this web site & the 'cruise critic' web site to see if anyone else who is going on this cruise, may want to join us for a private trip round St Petersburg.

[Princess]

We did a two day private tour with Red October back in 2007. They were great.

[Manoverboard]

Thanks Kaymar, I have highlighted the Ports to make them easier to locate but will revert if you are unhappy about that idea

I agree that the Baltic is generally very easy for DIY walkabouts, a couple more ...

Visby, Swedish Island
It is a blast from the past. If you were a returning 13th century monk you would feel right at home here. A walk around sort of place for sure and absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Had a lovely 'Gotland' style lunch .... you just can't be hungry after two weeks on a cruise - just wanted to be part of it.

Warnemunde, Germany
Thought this seaside destination was going to be a bit of a damp squid but we were quite wrong. Had breakfast and caught the local train to Rostock. Walked about there for a few hours and then returned to Warnemunde via a river boat. Had a bowl of garlic prawns with crusty bread and a bottle of Riesling for lunch (last port and had a pile of Euros left over) and then walked around the town. Back to the ship for a sleep ...... great day.

Riga, Latvia
We opted for an excursion here. Did a walking Tour of the Old Town, yummy, plus we also went to see the Art Nouveau style buildings in the newer part of the city but whizzed past them in the coach so not quite what we had anticipated. An unusual and interesting Hansiatic Port which still has its roots in the middle ages.

Would also mention ...

Oslo, Norway
There is a very interesting Castle to visit complete with a WW2 resistance Museum, you cannot miss it as the ship is berthed virtually beneath it. We walked towards the City and then turned sharp right into and beyond the Parkland but it is a steep climb.