Oceania Marina Baltics 2012- Not so much - Baltic & Northern Europe "Ports" Review by Averagetraveler

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Home > Member Reviews > Averagetraveler's Port Reviews of Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Gdansk, Warnemunde

Averagetraveler's Port Reviews of Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Gdansk, Warnemunde
Marina cruise in August 2012

Member Name:	Averagetraveler
Cruise Date:	August 2012
Embarkation:	Stockholm
Destination:	Baltic & Northern Europe
Member Review:	Averagetraveler's Marina Review

	Stockholm Port Rating: Staring point - Scandia Park was good hotel. A dreary 2 days, but a beautiful city. Wonderful parks, great walking.
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	Helsinki Port Rating: Took boat tour around Helsinki (not booked through the cruise line). Good tour, reasonable cost (20 EU). Very walkable city - lots to see, architecture, churches museums.
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	Tallinn Port Rating: Took shuttle into the old city. Started with "hop on-hop-off" bus, which was not amazing but a good way to get a sense of the general area. Did the short loop and then walked. Fantastic, historical, amazingly restored. Enjoyed - would have liked to spend more than a day here.
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	Riga Port Rating: Another amazing port. Walked into the city, around the city, through parks and the neighborhoods. It is true that this city has some of the most spectacular Art Nouveau architecture. The best meal on the entire tour - Navat Club - Uzbek cuisine. If you go to Riga you MUST go to one of the 3 restaurants operated by this owner navatclub.lv
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	Gdansk Port Rating: A very fun adventure for us! We took a taxi from the pier - the driver spoke no English and we speak no Polish. Didn't matter - in fact it was even more fun. For a very modest sum (70EU - which he would not take until the end of day) we were taken to some of his favorite places. We saw essentially the same itinerary as the tours organized by the ship but spent as much time as we wanted in each place. When needed he met up with other drivers for a bit of translation. He chose a meeting place for us in Gdansk, when he dropped up off he was worried we would not get to see the best sites so he parked and led us through some of the side streets to the main pedestrian area. We agreed to meet at 3 at one of the cathedrals and he was there waiting for us - running to meet us. We've done this several times on cruises. Isn't amazing that you can do this in Europe?? Where in North America would you hail a cab and have mutual trust that they were going to take good care of you and accept payment only at the end of day when you are safely back to where you want to be.
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	Warnemunde Port Rating: No need to take a 6 hour bus trip to Berlin - if you want to see Berlin, go to Berlin. Take time to wander around this lovely fishing town. Fantastic lunch at Aqua Sol.
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	St. Petersburg Port Rating: Booked private tour through Alla Tours. Check their site - it is all they claim. Wonderful. Please, please, please people. Don't book excursions through the ships - they will cost 3X and you will be in a gaggle. For the same price book a private guide and driver.
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