Cruise To Scandanavia And The Baltic

[Gavmacp]

My in laws are going on a cruise and I would like information on places to visit and tour excursions. The ones organised by the Cruise are not cheap and looking for alternatives for them. Please remember they are in their mid 80s.
Destinations are:-
1. Aalborg Denmark
2. Warnemunde Germany (they were told it is easy to get to Berlin)
3. Faaremaa Estonia
4. Tallinn Estonia
5. St Petersburg Russia
6. Karisk Rona Sweeden
7. Copenhagen Denmark
Thank you in advance!

[boxtops]

I can't answer your query, but Scandinavia isn't a cheap place to visit - people who've visited recently commented on the high prices. That might be why the cruise ones are pricey.

[shaneystar2]

Warnemünde is a good two and half hours by train to Berlin.
There is a through train I think .
Depending on when they dock they'll have to hustle along to the station ,get there and practically turn round and come back again depending on sailing times They may get about 3 to 4 hours in Berlin .
In their mid eighties I would stay put in Warnemünde,it's a lovely place .

[VHG]

A look on Google maps shows it is 149 miles from Warnemunde to Berlin.

Hardly the sort of trip you want to make if your cruise ship is only in dock for a day. A good chance they may miss the cruise ship and then need to somehow catch up with it.

The advantage of the organized trips is that they will make sure they are picked up and dropped off at the right time so always get back to the ship.

Organizing their own trips is fraught with potential problems, even worse if they are in their 80s.

To save money get them to do SOME of the organized trips and skip others. Maybe do every other one for example.

[VHG]

p.s. If they want visit Berlin that make it part of a trip round Germany.

Don't try and fit it in to a cruise trip.

Either do the cruise trip and enjoy it, or do a trip round Germany and enjoy it. You cant combine the two.

[netibiza]

Tallin is beautiful but the locals like alcohol a bit too much, plus the Brits love to go there for stag weekends, so can be rowdy, but the place and scenery is stunning. St Petersburg, is very confusing, need a proper guide, looks very downtrodden and poor with amazing palaces on every corner, I lvd it but had a proper tour guide. Copenhagen is a delight, you can pay for the buses by credit card, but be careful there is always a bike lane between the pavement and the buses and can be very dangerous if not looking. We had proper guides at every place although most places do speak English. Beer and wine is very expensive in all these places, I paid 8€ for one small glass of wine!

[Gavmacp]

They will not be taking the ale. Their wee free! If you know what I mean!

[boxtops]

I don't think I'd even contemplate trying to take a trip from the boat on my own, at their age and in a strange country (particularly if they don't speak the language). Better to take a well-organised trip from the cruise company, that way they won't miss anything.

[netibiza]

Definitely agree with Boxtops, and they'll be safer and see the important things. Slight rip off with souvenir places though!

[Buenchico]

Several of the places on your list are tourist destinations in their own right, so there's no need to go beyond them (especially as time would obviously be tight).

The only place I've actually visited is Copenhagen. It's a very compact city centre (and flat), so it's easy to explore on foot (even for fit octogenarians!) or on public transport. There's loads of information here:
http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen-tourist

Information about guided tours in the city can be found here:
http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/culture/guided-tours

However one excursion I would suggest is to take the train to Malmo, in Sweden. The trains are frequent (every 20 minutes) and cheap, taking around half an hour. They cross the Oresund Bridge, which is actually a tunnel and a bridge combined. (They meet part way across, on a man-made island).
http://www.malmotown.com/en/

I'd love to go to St Petersburg, if only to see the world-famous Hermitage museum:
http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/index.html
Like the Louvre or the Prado, it must merit at least half a day there.
Other ideas can be found here:
http://www.saint-petersburg.com/

Tallinn is definitely on my 'to do' list. Here are some recommendations, from the official website, for visitors with limited time:
http://www.tourism.tallinn.ee/eng/fpage/ideas/must_see
This might also be of interest:
http://www.tourism.tallinn.ee/eng/fpage/explore/sightseeing

In Warnemunde, this tour company
http://www.friendsofdavetours.com/
has excellent reviews
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g187364-d1647222-Reviews-Friends_of_Dave_Tours-Warnemunde_Rostock_Mecklenburg_West_Pomerania.html
(Perhaps it's the one used by the cruise company anyway? Even so, it might be cheaper to book direct).

These links might also be of interest:
http://www.visitsaaremaa.ee/index.php?act=atraktsioon&lang=en

http://www.visitaalborg.com/ln-int/aalborg/tourist

http://www.visitkarlskrona.se/en

Chris