I picked this cruise because it was giving a broad overview of the Baltic region and made a full 3-day stop in Saint Petersburg. I was not disappointed! Everything on board was very nice and I consider good value. Concerning ports-of-call, I would just remove Fredericia and substitute it with a second night in Warnemuende to make this itinerary perfect! The biggest surprise was Visby - an absolute must! My whole family enjoyed it (even my wife who tends to be sea-sick) and we'll come back for other cruises.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
First time cruise for my family, check-in was a breeze and took all the stress away!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Good food, varied enough for a two-week cruise. Used specialty restaurants 4 times (one time was free part of booking promo, and bought a 3-dinners package). I don't think a dinner package for more than 3 meals is really needed.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Great kids club, even when you're not on board - so we could do a "boring" day of museums in St Petersburg while my daughter was on board having fun. Worked for everyone! Pools were ok but closed a bit early. Climbing wall was open just a few hours a day, and had to be closed several times because of wind (safety first!). Fitness center was ok. Not much else.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The ship band was very, very good. Some really good guest singers too! However there were not big shows or broadways - seems like that only happens on the bigger ship class from Royal Caribbean.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
My 6 year-old loved the club. And I could leave her there even when I was doing ground excursions too difficult for a child.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Excellent service! the stewardess in charge of my bridge was wonderful.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Really well thought. Very clean. Absolutely no worries.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Not big but not small, good balcony with no obstructed view, no noise issues with neighbors or other floors. Black-out curtains so we actually overslept a few times! Great.
I actually arrived 3 days early to visit Stockholm. What a nice city. Personal excursions. Do NOT miss the Vasa Museum!! This is absolutely world class. I'll stop there, see by yourself.
Took the hop-on / hop-off bus with a self-guided map. There were a few highlights, but overall that city does not have so much to offer compared to other ports of call. I was impressed with the amounts of pastry and coffee shops! (good quality too)
What a wonder. And the reason for this cruise, which was one of a few spending 3 full days in SP. I did a 3-day a la carte private excursion booked outside Royal Caribbean. A 4th day wouldn't hurt! but 3 days are really needed.
Did a self-guided Hop-on/hop-off bus tour combined with a walking tour of the city. Really nice art-nouveau district, so a must for architecture fans. Nice park right in the middle of it. Would come back!
Visby was a complete surprise. Perfectly preserved medieval town and walls, and we arrived right on the day of a medieval festival! I wish the ship would have left us there a few more hours. I definitely want to come back to do a bike tour of that island.
Took a taxi (cheaper than the train for my party of 5 people) to Rostock, which despite the WWII bombings had a lot to offer (downtown is fully rebuilt like it was before WWII). Walking around and some shopping opportunities for those wishing to take western goods with them after the cruise (if you don't live in Europe or the US). The missed opportunity is that the day after our stop a ship festival was opening in Rostock with visiting sailing ships and a big fair. I wish we would have stayed one more day. Likewise, some groups opted to go to Berlin (and back) in that one day we stopped. This is way to quick!! Again, a two-day stop would allow a much nicer visit of Berlin for those who want. Conclusion: next time, RC please make a 2-day stop in Warnemuende, either to have a 2-day visit of Berlin or see the ship festival in Rostock. Definitely better than wasting a day in Fredericia the next day.
Did a self-guided walking tour. It's a cute town and we even got the city fanfare to welcome the ship, but really there's not much to it. It's not bad to unwind at the end of a very busy cruise, but a second day in Germany (or a stop in Gdansk maybe) would make more sense.
No problems. In order to spend this last day in Copenhagen without my luggage I found a small company who handled luggage for me and sent them straight to the airport. This was great! RC could propose (or sub-contract) that service.
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