Baltic Cruise

My husband and I are looking into taking a Baltic Cruise this summer or
early fall. He is looking at Seaborne, Silverseas or Radisson. Can anyone
point me to recent reviews of the Baltic cruises on these lines? Or have
any of you been on one of these cruises? We are wondering, in particular,
how these lines compare to the suite service on HAL. I understand there is
one seating for dinner on these lines. Are there formal nights? And on the
iteneraries, is three days in St. Petersburg enough, or too much? Which
other ports in the Baltic do we want to ensure is on our itenerary?

one seating for dinner on these lines. Are there formal nights? And on the
iteneraries, is three days in St. Petersburg enough, or too much? Which
other ports in the Baltic do we want to ensure is on our itenerary?

\
You could probably spend an entire lifetime in the Hermitage
alone...
I love Tallin, Estonia.. It has a nice "old town" and some good
shopping and interesting museums.

--
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late
to work within the system, but too early to shoot
the *******s."-- Claire Wolfe

"Cathy Kearns" wrote in message
et...
My husband and I are looking into taking a Baltic Cruise this summer or
early fall. He is looking at Seaborne, Silverseas or Radisson. Can
anyone
point me to recent reviews of the Baltic cruises on these lines? Or have
any of you been on one of these cruises? We are wondering, in particular,
how these lines compare to the suite service on HAL. I understand there
is
one seating for dinner on these lines. Are there formal nights? And on
the
iteneraries, is three days in St. Petersburg enough, or too much? Which
other ports in the Baltic do we want to ensure is on our itenerary?


Copenhagen is a must. An overnight there, so you can go to Tivoli Garden at
night would be a BIG plus to me.

--Tom

"Cathy Kearns" wrote in
et:

My husband and I are looking into taking a Baltic Cruise this summer
or early fall. He is looking at Seaborne, Silverseas or Radisson.
Can anyone point me to recent reviews of the Baltic cruises on these
lines? Or have any of you been on one of these cruises? We are
wondering, in particular, how these lines compare to the suite service
on HAL. I understand there is one seating for dinner on these lines.
Are there formal nights? And on the iteneraries, is three days in St.
Petersburg enough, or too much? Which other ports in the Baltic do we
want to ensure is on our itenerary?




Radisson and Silversea and Seabourne are all open seating which means
that the restaurant is open for 3+4 hours and you go when you want and
sit where you want. this is really desirable in the Baltic since it is
light late and you have some long shore excursions. There are generally
a couple formal nights in the Baltic. Tallinn is good but Visby is the
one that I would put as a required.

On RSSC you will be on the Voyager which has as a minimum 301 sq feet
plus balcony. I have sailed Voyager twice and would go again in a
heartbeat. Radisson (Regent actually since the announcement today) has a
free wine program the other two are totally all inclusive except for
premium wines which can be purchased. The food on all three makes HAL
look like buffet service.

--
Joseph Coulter
Cruises and Vacations
http://www.josephcoulter.com/

Hi, Cathy,

We did the Baltics last summer. I don't know if there are ever enough days
for St. Petersburg! You will enjoy your full 2 or 3 days to the max. If you
go in June, you will experience White Nights. We were there in mid-July.
Throughout the trip, we had pleasant daytime temps, with several days of
scattered showers.

I think Tallinn is like the Dubrovnik of the Baltic Sea, if you have been to
Dubrovnik. Very charming.

Tom's right, Copenhagen is wonderful. I also liked Stockholm a lot, and
cruising the archipelago is fabulous. Many people enjoy the Kiel Canal
transit that smaller ships allow (connection of North & Baltic seas that
allows sea traffic to skip the passage around Denmark).

We were on the ms Rotterdam, although not in a suite. The Signature of
Excellence upgrades made those cabins the most comfortable we've ever
enjoyed, and the Explorations Cafe co-branded with the NY Times is a
terrific innovation. However, we thought food, service and entertainment
were appreciably lacking--it was a rather soulless voyage. I realize you
have enjoyed many HAL cruises, but I, personally, cannot imagine a HAL
Baltics cruise holding a candle to what the other lines you mentioned have
to offer.

Did you check the Cruise Critic forums for the three lines you mentioned?

Happy planning!

Diana Ball
near Houston, TX