We're on the Voyager August 9 - 16 from Stockholm to Copenhagen. We have stops in Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, and Visby.

Has anyone got any tips or info to share?

The cruise critic boards for Northern Europe are pretty helpful but not Regent specific.

Also, we will spend 3 days in Stockholm and 3 in Copenhagen. I've already got hotels and am now working or site-seeing. I'm probably going to do all ports on our own except St. Petersburg. None of the RSSC tours caught my eye. In St. Petersburg we hope to spend one day in Moscow (with RSSC) and the other 2 days with one of the private tour companies.

So can any of the helpful people on this board pass on some vital info? If not, I guess it will fall to me to be the info provider in the future.

Would you all be interested in updates from the trip?

Colleen, a Baltic cruise on Regent was my very first cruise so I have fond memories of the area. At that time, we mainly took RSSC excursions so I really don't have much advice. Be sure to see the Vasa museum in Stockholm. Sail-away from there is also extremely scenic. Helsinki is easy to do on your own. I really liked Tallinn, very quaint. And, of course, St. Petersburg is awesome. We didn't stop at Visby.

Have a wonderful time. And, yes, we want updates about the trip.

You will love your Baltic Cruise on the Voyager. The sail into Stockholm is incredibly beautiful. We did all our own excursions. A driver in Holland to some small villages, rented a car at the Wandemunde port and drove to some small towns nearby (the car rental is through Avis and they will have it at their small port office right next to the ship). Others in our group had a driver and went to Berlin for the day. They enjoyed their day but thought it long and tiring. We did Red October for our 3 days in St. Petersburg { very pleased) and just walked around Tallin. Tallin is charming and we had a marvelous lunch of "Pigs Knuckles" at a cute sidewalk restaurant. A meal for memories. You'll see all of Stockholm and Copenhagen on your tours. Id love to go back to Stockholm - such a beautiful city.

Have a wonderful trip-- Jan

Colleen,

In Stockholm, definitely go to Drottningholm Slott, the "Versailles of Stockholm". It's a very nice trip out there too.

I second Donna's advice to see the Vasa museum. It's amazing and very interesting. The day trip to Moscow is maybe my top 1 or 2 travel memories. It's right up there with a very different one --- being the only couple on the Bora Bora motu.

We took a train about 30 km from Copenhagen to the Viking Ship Museum. Very cool if you like that sort of thing.

Thanks for the info and I'd love to hear any more tidbits. But right now, I have to go. Mom just called and wants help navigaitng Amazon (and I used to be able to control her computer from here but lately can't do it - no idea what happened). Be back later.

Colleen,

Visby is one of most favorite places in the world. They have a Medieval Week August 3-10. Looks like you will miss it. I hear it is a lot of fun.

Hi.

I did the cruise 2 years ago and just loved it. We walked on our own, except for St. Petersburg. There we worked with Denrus for a private guide, and were very pleased. The entire trip is quite magical, and beautiful.

Marcia

All right since there are a few of you who have been there, what do we wear? I realize we need to dress in layers and I thought I would stick with pants for the day time (I'm not worried about RSSC dinners - got them covered) but there seems to be a lot of walking. Are sneakers of some sort OK? Even visitng churches? Do sneakers in Europe just make you look like a "crazy American"? I have some hiking sandals but I fear it may be too cold.

Should I bring a head scarf for the churches? Do I need a skirt for church? Yikes, I may freeze, if so.

This was one of our first cruises and we had so much fun. We did all the ports on our own except for St. Petersburg. Visby, Tallinn, and Helsinki are very easy to get around.
Helsinki has a hop on/hop off bus but if you are feeling energetic you can walk most of it. There are some pretty parks just outside the city - including one with a great monument to Sibelius. There's also an interesting open air market just where you walk into town from the dock.

In Copenhagen you should take a Canal tour - it's a good overview of the city and it gives you a different view. Also be sure to go to Tivoli - you can check on line and see what the entertainment is in the evening - they sometimes have very good performers. It's another relatively small city and good for walking. You can also rent bikes if you want to cover more ground.

The sail in (or sail away) to Stockholm through the archipelago is magic - be sure to be outside to see it. The Vasa is amazing and I second the recommendation for Drottningholm Slott. We spent a very pleasant afternoon at Skansen which is an open air house museum - they have houses and other buildings from all different eras and all parts of Sweden in a beautiful setting across the harbor from Old Town.

As to what to wear: the weather can vary a bit. When we were on our Baltics cruise the temperature was in the 60s for the first few days and then into the 80s for St. Petersburg and Stockholm. You can wear pants everywhere. You definitely need good comfortable shoes - there's lots of walking everywhere and these are old European cities with lots of cobblestones and uneven payment in the historic areas. We used Red October in Russia and they were great - the tours were much smaller than the ship excursions. We did not go to Moscow but everyone that did seemed to enjoy it. You did not need a head scarf when we were there. Enjoy your trip.

Mary Ellen

2001,late July, similar cruise;Tallin, very warm, St. Petersburg, 90+, Helsinki, as well, the natives were miserable, so very unpredictable! In Helsinki, the "market" most interesting and we took a local boat trip in the surrounding area (at the market area,) to see "summer homes," icebreakers and other ships, and to enjoy the breeze!

Vasa museum , memorable and HOHO bus in Stockholm covered much, most enjoyable!

Bottom line...weather very unpredictable! Didn't need to worry about COLD weather!

I second the suggestion for a canal cruise in Copenhagen. Also, Tivoli is fun, especially at night when there are concerts and other entertainment.

On one visit we took a 30-minute train ride from Copenhagen to "Louisiana" - not the US state - but a wondeful modern art museum with a sculpture park on a spectacular seaside site. I think we got the info from a TI in Copenhagen and may even bought the tickets there. (It reportedly is called Louisiana because the owner had three wives - hopefully one at a time - named Louise. Apparently he didn't want to change the monograms on the towels.

Wow, thanks for all this info. We are really looking forward to this trip. I'll keep you posted on as we travel like I did when I did for the canal cruise several years ago.