Advice on European cruises and lines such as P&O and Fred Olsen are not easy to come by.

Malcolm,London

[ 10-24-2002: Message edited by: Bobby G ]

It's nice to read some good advice. I am also thinking of taking a Baltic cruise.

Has anyone cruise with Fed Olsen?

[ 10-24-2002: Message edited by: Bobby G ]

Insight Tours, affiliated with British Airways, is similar to Trafalgar Tours, with similar itineraries. Both are strong on British Isles/Ireland itineraries.

Did Baltic cruise with Royal Princess two years ago. Only thing I can add is that in St. Pete, our dinner table companions hired their own taxi for two days, and toured the city on their own. I don't remember the cost, but it was something like US$500 a day. So if there are 4 in the group, having your own taxi is quite worthwhile, since the bus tours are like $50 per person and up, but these last mostly 3 - 4 hours and you might go on 2 or 3 tours per day. Lastly, no need to really worry about having a lot of single dollar bills with you. First, the vendors have plenty of change for 20's, 10's, etc - their pockets are stuffed with a lot more greenbacks than you will be carrying, and the handicrafts are not that cheap. Not much can be bought for a dollar. Second, the ship's pursar will make change for you. I find the most useful notes are 10's and 20's, for tips, purchases, etc.

One final comment - the food on the Royal Princess was the best I have ever had on board a ship, especially their Italian dishes, due to maitre'd Giuseppe and his group of Italian waiter captains.

Have a good trip.

Thanks for those comments. We are expecting to do some type of Ireland tour in the future and we may look into the other tour groups. Of course we may just cruise instead. We are looking forward to the St. Petersburg visit and will probably buy a few things so your comments on the money are good for us to consider. I expected that one dollar wouldn't go far so we'll up that to $20.

[ 10-24-2002: Message edited by: Bobby G ]

Sorry to come in so late on this. If you can get ahold of "Scandanavia and Baltic Europe on a Shoestring" (Lonely Planet) DO!

In Stockholm we visited the old city and loved the changing of the guard. (Don't stand too close to the horses.) Walked one way, cabbed back because I'd purchased a short ton of crystal.

Oslo is very easy to get around using public transportation. There is a stop right at the dock. And the sweaters are the same price in the pierside shop as downtown. (SHOCK!) Vigeland Park is an absolute must. Take LOTS of film and be prepared to be blown away.

In Helsinki we took (on our own) one of the local tour boats then just wandered around. Our fellow passengers thought we got the best of the day.

Copenhagen is wonderful, the Little Mermaid really is, and Tivoli is a delight for all the senses. We went both at night and during the day. You can walk Copenhagen fairly easily and the public transportation system is well-organized. There's a "travelers' rest" on the second floor of the Royal Copenhagen store.

We had Russian visas, and our St. Petersburg experience didn't mirror that of any fellow passengers. Many people were not pleased at the cost of the landside outings ... maybe they hadn't checked in advance to see how much it would cost to do everything. (A lot.)

In sum, you can easily freelance in most of the port cities and save your rubles for St. Petersburg.

If I can help in any way, please ask.

Pam Kane http://happysails.com

note: I am a travel writer, not a travel agent

I don't know what a Russia visa costs near you, but in Hong Kong, getting that visa was like US$100 per person. Whereas if you stick with the organized tours or agent taxis, no visa is required. Other countries on that tour do not require visas, even Poland, Estonia, Lithuania.

So, I think, no need to lug around any travel book, get local currency in advance, tell the Russkies to stick their visas in their ear, and forget the land tours, except in St. Pete.
Camera film and batteries are expensive in Europe, so bring sufficient quantity.

Still might be a bit cold there in late May, so check the weather chart.

Only a week or so until your trip. I think you are going well prepared.

To everybody that responded to this topic...A BIG WEST TEXAS THANKS!...we have researched but, without a doubt most suggestions are indeed welcome. And to think this topic wouldn't fly (or float). I will continue monitoring until we leave and will post something when I get back. BTW, as you see a question presented will get answers. The next one is...Will Anybody reading this be on the same cruise?