We took a disembarkation-tour as that seemed to be the best way to get to our post-cruise hotel near Central Station.  It hit the major highlights with stops at  Little Mermaid & Amalienborg. The Guide spoke excellent English. But of course, on a large bus, you do not get much of the local flavor.  That we did over the next two days.

Booked with SPB and they did an excellent job of showing us the sights.  Just wish we'd spent less time in the Vasa Museum (interesting, but not all that) and more time exploring the city.  The U.S. has it's own old warship and it still floats -- the U.S. Constitution.  But then, that's what we booked.  Oh, well.

Independent operators can't enter the port, so you have to hoof it quiet a distance to get to the gate, but then some folks choose to just walk into the Old Town on their own.  Our bus took us to the hilltop of the Old Town, which we then walked thu, descending to the main square at a leisurely pace. It was a remarkably well-preserved ancient place.  After that, we toured the countryside, stopping at Kadriorg Palace and a few others.  It was well worth the time and $$ to have a knowledgeable guide telling us about what we were seeing, instead of having to look down at Rick Steve's guidebook.

We did an 11-hour see-it-all tours with SPB.  It was all excellent.  We went from the Hermitage to Peterhof Gardens, Lunch and then to Catherine Palace (and Amber Room) to Church of Savior on Spilled Blood. It was rushed, but our guide was exceptional and we were entranced. Only wish our ship gave us more time.

Helsinki seemed rather blah and drab to us.  The weather was fine and the people were pleasant enuff.  It's just that the city had little, other than the market, to hold our interest.  Frankly, we would've traded this stop for more time in St. Petersburg.

We found Serenade's Baltic Cruise to be well-organized and efficient -- 5 stars for that -- but other issues, such as cabin odor and quality of food, dragged down that rating.We're not complainers by nature, but for what you're paying, you should not have to deal with a sewer-type odor in the cabin (Deck 3), a toilet that backed-up, a safe who's battery died, and food that's mediocre at best.

Serenade of the Seas Review

RCL Knows How to Cruise, but Serenade falls Short

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