Weather/ trips inJune on Baltic cruise

[rebeccasmith2]

My mother and I will be traveling on the Constellation June 4th, 2005 from Dover, England. What kind of clothes should we bring. What will the weather be like. I am worried about packing for a 14 day cruise. We will be staying in the CC catagory in room 9102. Any other advice anyone has about any aspect of this trip would be greatly appreciated. I am a bit of a planner and liked to arrange everything I can ahead of time.
I have two adopted children from Russia so I have been to Russia before. I am looking forward to St. Petersberg. I have never visited any of the other countries. My mom is 62 and I am 41, we are both interested in tours that other travelers thought were enjoyable. We are very easy going, and would appreciate opinions from others. Unless the ship sinks I know we will have the time of our lives!

Thanks,
Becky

 

[Petert]

Hi Becky,

My wife and I are also sailing on the Constellation, but on May 7. We have just returned from a fantastic trans Atlantic cruise on the Connie, and are really impressed by the ship, the food, entertainment and the service. Our Baltic cruises will have the Cirque du Soleil venue that is being installed in December. This is supposed to be a great experience, and knowing the quality operations of both Cirque and Celebrity i am sure it will be fabulous. While we haven't sailed this itinerary in the Baltic we have traveled around the area several times, and have sailed on a Russian cruise ship from Helsinki to St Petersburg and on various ferries from Helsinki to Gdansk and from Stockholm to Helsinki. Our cruises from Helsinki were in May and the weather, while still cool, was great and the seas smooth. I think we can expect to see good weather for our cruises in May and June. The ages of your children will be a big factor in how you are going to spend your time on shore excursions. How much will they be able to walk, how long is their attension span and what are their interests.

There is a great deal to see in most of the ports of call, and you will have plenty of time in Copenhagen, Stockholm and St Petersburg to see most of the things you may interest you if you plan well. St Petersburgh is best seen with Celebrity's excursions because of the problems with Russian visas, and difficulties with transportation. While I haven't been to Tallin, I understand there will be a shuttle that will take you to old town which will be most interesting. In Helsinki you can see everything of interest in a two hour city tour that you can get in the city. The Church in a rock and the harbor area are of most interest. Oslo is one of the most interesting cities on the itinerary, with many very interesting sights such as Akerchus castle/fort which should be your first destination as it is just a short way from the dock and overlooks the ship and the center of the city which will give you a good perspective. Frogner park and the Viking ship are also of interest. Very short time to see so much. Gdansk is a large city and you may have language problems, so a celebrity excursion should be best. All the Scandinavian countries are easy to get around as English is almost a second language.

Hope I have helped get you started on your research. The more you know about what to expect the greater your enjoyment is going to be.

Peter

 

[lysolqn]

We did the Constellation Baltic cruise in late May of this year and it was wonderful. Other than two short downpours in St. Petersburg, the weather was spectacular. It was cool and windy in Tallin, but otherwise I'd call it "light jacket" weather. As a matter of fact, by the time we reached Rostock, it was quite warm. There are, of course, no guarantees. We heard the cruise following ours met with rather cool and wet weather all the way, so be prepared for anything.

The Baltic itinerary is incredible; every port is a gem with lots to see and do, but by no means is this a relaxing cruise. Because it is so port intensive, you might find yourself rather tired by the end - but it's worth it. Before our trip we read everything we could find on this and other cruise boards, and found lots of useful information from people who had already done this itinerary on both Celebrity and other cruiselines. Read the "Baltic ports," "Europe" and "Celebrity" boards and you'll be absolutely amazed by how much you will learn from cruisers who've already been where you're going.

We're not particularly fond of group tours so we generally stay away from shore excursions offered by the cruiselines. We had no problem at all touring on our own in all ports other than St. Petersburg. The ship docks very close to the center of town and Celebrity provides shuttle service to the town center in several of the ports. For the most part, the ports are walkable. We used Red October for our two days of touring in St. Petersburg and I highly recommend them. They were easy to work with (via the internet), very responsive and delivered everything they promised.

The Constellation is a beautiful ship - food, service, staff and crew are wonderful. In short, you're in for a very special time. We can't wait to do this cruise again. Enjoy!

 

[barbara06117]

My husband and I took this cruise last June, the same time that you will be travelling. We were very lucky with the weather in that the days were springlike. I checked the weather update on the computer before we left and found it to be quite accurate.
We also took the Red October tour group. We had an excellent guide who was not only knowlegeble but also spoke English very well.
While in Germany, I wouldn't recommend the Schwen Castle Tour. It was quite a bit of money and we didn't feel that it was worth it.
Please feel free to email me if you have any other questions. sambergbr@yahoo.com
Barbara

 

[deborah wedick]

Many thanks to Petert for the excellent overview. We are very fortunate to have him share his experience. Hope to see you all in May.
The clothing issue is a particularly vexing one as we live in a very warm climate and hate to invest in stuff that we don't get much use out of. 14 days is a fair amount of time and we are adding an extra week in London to boot.
Love to know from the experienced ones a) what did you ACTUALLY use. b) what packs best? and c.) has anyone used these new luggage services that pick suitcases up at home and you find them on the ship. They seem somewhat pricey but the thought of not having to drag stuff it SO appealing.
I am glad to hear about the shuttles as we generally do not like group tours and love walking around and snooping. Our focus will have a very heavy architectural overtones and I wonder if anyone could share their experiences with that. I am REALLY interested to know if there is opportunity to visit the Royal Copenhagen pottery or any of their stores? Contray to what his highness says, there is a "dish budget " on this trip...he just doesn't know it yet.

 

[Petert]

Hi Deborah,

We will be leaving Calif on May 5, and my wife is just taking a jacket and a sweater, as the temperatures in the Baltic ports should be moderate at that time of the year. You may encounter a little rain, and my wife usually carrys a collapsable umbrella in her carry on bag. The Constellation also had an umbrella in our cabin, for our use when it was raining. Is your London visit pre or post cruise? Ground transfers to Dover can take some planning if you are not taking the Celebrity transfers. We are flying into Gatwick this time, and taking the train to Dover. We spent a couple of days there last Sept, waiting for the Constellation, and really enjoyed it. On the May 7 cruise we are spending an overnight in Copenhagen, so I would think that there will be no problem getting your pottery. If you could get the address and hours of operation from the internet, you can easily work it into your explorations of the city.

We are a little concerned about the Russian discussions about the termination of the group visas. They are very convenient, and getting individual visas can be expensive, and could take some time to obtain. Lets hope they decide to keep the group visas. If we can help with any information about the cruise we would happy to assist.

Peter

 

[deborah wedick]

Thanks so much for your information Peter. We will be leaving Arizona for London, on the second of May and then travel down to Dover on the 7th. We will probably take the Celebrity bus ( which happens to pull out from about 3 blocks from where we are staying in London). The bus service eliminates the hassle of a transfer from the train to the ship. I have spoken with Celebrity and they will not accept reservations or quote a price until after Feb 1. This time we are flying into Heathrow as it is the only non-stop available to us from Phoenix. I much prefer Gatwick and it's train connection to Victoria station. London is very familiar territory for me and I would be happy to answer questions.

We do not depart until sun afternoon and wonder if Dover would be a good overnighter or should we head back to London? I am so glad to read that there is an umbrella provided is CC as we never seem to need them at home. Ditto on rain gear. We think getting rained on is a bit of a treat.

Where did you hear about the group visas? Further updates and a weather eye on THAT topic would be very useful.

Looking forward to meeting you and your wife....deb

 

[tartangal]

Deborah,
Can you tell me where you are staying in London? We leave on the same cruise May 21 and I am just starting to check out places to stay. And exactly where does the Celebrity bus leave from? As long as you are sailing with them can you take it to the ship regardless of your hotel in London not having been booked through Celebrity? Regarding your visa question the topic was mentioned on this message board under destinations: Europe. Can't recall the exact title of the posting but something about important development for Baltic cruisers.

 

[tartangal]

Barbara,
We were planning to rent a car and drive to Lubeck and Schwerin castle on our own (Dad speaks German fluently). didn't you feel the castle was a worthwhile excursion or was it just the price?

 

[Petert]

Hi Deborah,

We stayed a couple of nights in Dover on our last cruise on the Constellation, and will also spend a night there this May. We found Dover to be a very interesting place, and a nice transition to the ship. If you decide to stay a night there I would recommend the Churchill Best Western hotel, which is across the harbor from the cruise depot, and is a older but clean and well maintained hotel with a nice English breakfast available. It is just a two block walk to the city center, and they have a hop on hop off tourist bus that stops in front of the hotel. Dover castle is atop the white cliffs, and is one of the stops for the bus. The hotel is just off the shore, and we watched the ship come into the harbor from our balcony. The only problem you have with a post cruise visit is the transfer to Heathrow, but as you are familiar with London area this should not be a problem. The transfers from the London Hotels are usually available, but you are wise to make early arrangements with Celebrity.

The umbrellas are just one of the the thoughtful little amenities that Celebrity provides. They get you off to a great start with a glass of champaign as you board the ship, and follow up with some one to carry your buffet tray to your table as you enjoy the lunch that will be awaiting you on board. Some one mentioned the Russian visa situation, which will bear watching. The Russins are discussing doing away with group visas, that had eliminated the need for individual visas. At this date it is highly unlikely that anything could be passed in time to affect the early Baltic cruises. In any case we should be informed by Celebrity if there are any changes in the visa requirements. I am watching for information on this subject just for my own peace of mind.

Peter

 

[Marytutor]

We were on the May 22, 2004 cruise. The weather was outstanding, in the eighties in Copenhagen. A fleece jacket or a windbreaker with a hood would be useful. We were in Cabin 9112 and it was very nice and the attendents were outstanding.

We too used Red October and were very pleased with them. Rostock and Warnamunde are outstanding as was Tallin.

You will enjoy the ship. We did so much that we are taking the Millie for the Classic Med trip in May.

Mary