Berlin City Tour Excursion Reviews

Berlin was a long way from the ship but was worth it! The tour Guide was perfect and we had the afternoon free in Berlin, would really recommend the tour.

Provider: Celebrity Cruises

Very well done geared to our needs, a very good guide from Oregon! Even took in the mile long beef tasting...just happened to be on that Saturday! What a blast

Provider: Independent Operator

This tour is very long, of course, because one has to ride from Warnemunde, the port on the Baltic where the ship docks, all the way to Berlin. The ride was over 3 hours each way, but it was pretty comfortable and pleasant, and we were provided w/snacks both ways. This is a good overview of the city and one sees the main sights, but we didn't see the Reichstag as promised; that was a little disappointing. In addition, one doesn't get much time at each stop to see stuff; it's more like, get off the bus (excuse me, I mean "coach"), take a picture or 2 and hop back on or we'll leave you there! We did have some time at the end of the tour to shop (my passion), but we were pretty hungry at that point - it was like 4 in the afternoon - so we wasted time eating (couldn't find my favorite German dish, sauerbraten; German tourism, are you listening?), and then had very little time for shopping. What we saw of Berlin just didn't meet my expectations. It was interesting to a point. Most disappointing was our tour guide, Berndt, who thought he was funny (he wasn't); he was kind of smarmy. Of special mention was our tour escort, the young man, Tomas, who accompanied us from Warnemunde and hung w/us all day, then returned w/us. He was very nice and concerned w/our comfort.

Provider: Celebrity Cruises

This equaled the best tour on the cruise. The 3 hour train ride to then from Berlin was fine. Somehow we got a private compartment, were able to catchup on some rest, and were kept busy with visits from the train attendant bringing information, maps, bottled water, muffins, large soft pretzels, wine and soft drinks, a lunch with a mystery sandwich, good-sized packages of cake, peanuts, a box of tic-tacs, etc. Our tour guide, Burkhardt, had an excellent sense of humor and told us stories of growing up with the Berlin Wall and it's aftermath. We visited some city sites as the Eastside Gallery (interesting murals painted on the wall), Checkpoint Charlie (recreated but the guide pointed out the actual sites of the American and East German checkpoints and the path of the wall seen by a double-row of bricks in the street and sidewalk), Brandenburg Gate (spectacular), and the Reichstag parliament building. Lunch was at an upscale German restaurant with prime rib. Highlights were the 4-piece organ recital at Berlin Cathedral and seeing the huge Greek and Babylonian structures at the Pergamon Museum (check out the website for amazing photos).

Provider: Princess Cruises

This tour was very long and VERY expensive, but worth it!

Provider: Holland America Line

The city tour was very good and we were able to get off the bus and take pictures when we requested to do so, which we appreciated.

Provider: Celebrity Cruises

Not really worth the 5 hours it took to get there and back. Unless you really want to see something specific I would give this a miss.

Provider: Independent Operator

In the brief time available after traveling to and from the port in Warnemunde, we managed to get an amazing amount of sightseeing done. Like most major cities -- think New York, London, Paris, Rome -- doing Berlin in 6 hours or so is insane, but at least we got a good overview.

Provider: Independent Operator

Our guide for the city tour was knowledgeable but was somewhat cynical and made it difficult to understand what we were seeing. For example, he would tell us to get our cameras ready but then would not tell us until we were past that point what it was we were seeing. The most valuable part of this trip was what we learned from the personal experiences before and after the Berlin wall came down related to us by the woman who had essentially the role of a stewardess on the long bus ride between the port of Warnemunde and Berlin. They fed us excessively on this 13 hour excursion. The ship had opened the restaurant early enough to have breakfast on board, there was a stop for a hearty German meal in the early afternoon, and the ship was still serving supper when we returned. The lunch bags they served on the bus to and from Berlin were not necessary (contained sandwiches, smoked sausage, fruit, peanuts, chocolate bars, cheesecake, water, and fruit juice). This would have been useful on the St. Petersburg excursion, where we were underfed!

Provider: Holland America Line

Warnemunde/Berlin, Germany--My wife did the Molli train excursion. I took a much longer train (and trip) to Berlin and Potsdam. I saw the wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, and much, much more of Berlin and Potsdam than I really wished, while being shorted on the interiors of the Cecilienhof and San Souci palaces. Video of my excursion can be seen on YouTube at: http://youtu.be/hvFLt4bJx7g

Provider: Norwegian Cruise Line