Baltic Sea Cruise

This is one of my highly recommended cruise itinerary. Many commercial cruise lines run this. Some do round trip from Amsterdam, some Copenhagen and some from Warnemunde, Germany. Mostly ranging from 10-12 nights. Most of them include ports such as: Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallin (Estonia), Warnemunde, etc. All these ports are well developed for tourism. Many of them have hop-on hop-off buses picking you right next to your ship. You don't really need to buy excursions from the ships. Of course some people still buy from the ships for the sense of security. If you're a decent map reader, it's worth saving the money and do the touring on your own. 

This is my second Baltic Cruise. The difference is that it did round trip from Amsterdam. There's a nice little catch to the port of Amsterdam. As most Nederland is below sea level, there's a lock that separates the higher sea from the lower river where it exits. If you never went through a lock before (i.e. Panama Canal), this is a very exciting experience.

First port of call: Warnemunde
Photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/6017723789602373345?authkey=CK-z5eLnpPqOwQE 

Warnemunde is a small resort town in North Germany near Rostock. Most big cruise ships dock here. The cruise lines sell this port as "Berlin," which is a good 3-4 hour drive away. You can take a regional train (only 20 min ride) to visit Rostock. Rostock's got a nice little old town and some old walls. I did Rostock last time, so this time I went to Schwerin Castle (http://www.museum-schwerin.com/). It's about 1.5 hour train ride away (transfer at Rostock). Plan ahead and buy ticket at bahn.de and you can save some money. For us the entire trip was only 10 euro p.p. There's a regional ticket for unlimited rides on non-express trains (you need to read the fine prints) during off peak times (weekends included). It's cheaper per capita if there are more people in your group.

Second port of call: Tallin
Photos (from my last cruise in 2011): https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5615643995713215425?authkey=CI3Yh4juvdGVJg

3rd port also the highlight of the cruise: St. Petersburg
Photos:  https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/6017731198342465249?authkey=COiHtpmkoIHh_QE
We got 2 days in St. Petersburg. I did the complete 2-day guided tour the last time (https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5615650659857318849?authkey=COqU6MGKjLrtUg), so this time I only did the ballet at the Palace Theatre and the 1/2 focus tour on the Faberge Museum. The Faberge Museum only recently opened, and for now it's only open for privately arranged tours. The trick with visiting Russia is that you need a visa for most countries, except when you are visiting via Cruise ships and are on pre-booked tours with government-approved companies. A Russian visa can cost from 6000 NTD to 200 Euro. So it's really not that much extra to go with the tours. If you're interested to know the name of the company that I went with, feel free to contact me. I was quite satisfied with them the last time, so I went with them again this time and also for my parents. They're about 10% cheaper than tours offered by the cruise lines. 

4th port of call: Helsinki
Photos (from my last cruise in 2011): https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5615648860795359937?authkey=CIHIg7qKqbHVygE

5th port of call: Stockholm
Photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/6017734549301594449?authkey=CJvb9sGH76a65wE
Yes yes, this is my 3rd visit to Stockholm. Surprisingly there's still stuff for me to see. I didn't get to the top of the city hall tower and the inside of the Ridderholm Cathedral the last time (closed during winter). I got on top of the tower, climbing the whole way. If anyone's interested, take the elevator to half way. The steps are small and narrow, not the best place to work out.

6th port of call: Copenhagen
Photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/6017739304795456209?authkey=CI7lrbTp9_eiTA
Highlight of the city (or outside of it) is the pass by Kronborg castle on our way into the North Sea. I visited the Kronborg via land the last time. It's a very impressive castle. Shakespeare's Hamlet's castle was said to have modeled after Kronborg. About the city, I was shocked by the big mermaid. I still enjoyed walking through Copenhagen this second time through. It's older than Stockholm but still very well kept. You can still feel its wealth at its peak.