Overall-- there are Hop on/off busses in most of the larger ports. They give great tour info and allow you to choose where you want to go.. We could have taken more of them rather than some of the excursions- but since this was port intensive we wanted to make sure we were in a professional tour group so not to miss anything. I only suggest another sea day to break up the heavy touring- I can't imagine how pooped we'd be if we had done St Petersburg too ! Overall just a fabulous cruise - even tho it was over summer solstice time and some shops etc were closed. More time for shop for goods would have been nice on each tour. We'd do this again.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
smooth- pleasant- 30 minute wait till all aboard was given
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Excellent seafood choices this trip- Garden cafe had excellent breakfasts and lunches- anytime was great for early excursions and return from excursions midday. Specialties did not disappoint as again wonderful choices and great staff accommodating them.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Port intensive cruise so not much time for onboard activities-- altho the weather was superb and we did sneak in some pool deck time.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Elements was the big attraction-- I'm not a great fan of it but it was done excellently. Better than in April when we sailed on Dawn.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
@ 831 of 2400+ capacity we had practically beck and call service. Very friendly and the ship was clean as a whistle!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Common areas were clean as a whistle! Washy washy everywhere!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
only a club balcony beats our position! midship and great balcony views.
Ship tip
order coffee to your room every morning! Balcony time is great in the morning!
Midevil Visby-- Walking tour- quite long but excellent way to see as streets are tiny and you can see the small ages old homes. And the abandoned churches were amazing.
Kotka + Hamina Highlights- nice drive out to Hamina - we were met by lovely ladies giving out maps etc. However- tour guide did not elaborate on town and left us to roam on our own. More information would have been nice. Not exactly the most exciting stops. Church of Kotka was gorgoeus.
Go local- throught the eyes of a local-- excellent tourguide- but a lot of walking- stop at Library was the most fascinating! Stop for local food snack was terrific. Open markets were terrific- took the street car AND the subway with tour. Altho I liked this tour-- I'm wondering if Hop on/off would have been better for just the city highlights.
Soviet Nuclear Weapons Site- EXCELLENT EDUCATION! the site is a museum now, altho not up to our USA standards for a museum, it is still very enlightening. EXCELLENT tour guide and bus ride through he countryside to get to site was awesome. Local lunch at pub was awesome as well!
Stutthof Camp- Even tho the subject of this tour is depressing it is enlightening for all generations. A nice ride through the countryside- tour guide was an ex-teacher and was very matter of fact about the subject matter. Personal experience in her family was incredible to hear!
Enchanting Wismar and brewery- walking tour was great altho our tour guide was not especially good. On your own time in center of Wismar was good- could have been longer for shopping- brewery was interesting as it was in 1400's building.
Kiel Brewery tour- Short walk about town not exceptionally needed. Would have been nice to tour 2 breweries. But brewhaus was best stop of all. Very authentic!
We stayed 2 extra days-- Hop on/Off was terrific- Palace tour and canal tour were great! LOVELY city with lots of museums-- a week there would be great!
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