NCL Cruise to the Baltics: Norwegian Dawn, ports of call & cruising tips (PART I)  

How did it go? I hope you had great time?

@@janabrannon4712 NCL insurance should be sufficient, although it might not cover Viator excursions. Read the fine print. There are other 3rd party insurance you can get for your travel needs but if your excursions are not super expensive, all extra insurance costs might not justify it.Some excursions are very expensive $300-$500 p/p, so that would be worthwhile to look into additional coverage.

This specific cruise to the Baltics goes to all these small towns close to the port. Most cities we docked at had "hop on and hop off buses" with a stop right by the cruiseship, so you do not have to pre-book but can literally jump on it and pay on the spot with a credit card or via their app. The buses conveniently wait for you at the port terminal and you can see it from the cruiseship. Some ports had tour operators offering different excursions. Some towns were very small and totally walkable where you didn't need a tour. The longer walks or seemed to be difficult to walk or do on your own were the following ports and you can either do a cruise excursion or book viator.com tour for: 1. Copenhagen Denmark (had trains and metro to go to/from port and airport). Has hop on and hop off bus. 2.Hamina port was absolutely terrible! Definitely get a cruiseline's excursion or stay onboard at a spa! 3.Visby offered bus ride to town for an extra fee, right from the port, but the town is small and walkable 4.Riga Latvia - has hop on hop off bus 5. Tallinn Estonia has hop on/hop off 6. Klaipeda Lithuania - walkable and close to town center 7.Gdansk Poland- far!! Book a tour! We researched and took a train. Had to walk far. The port is remote. 8. Berlin - we missed the port due to the weather, but the city is 4 hrs away. Book a tour for sure and better to go with cruiseline or buy insurance if booked via 3rd party. 9.Helsinki- has hop on hop off 10. Stockholm - long walk to the bus stop to get to town. Doable, or can arrange transportation to get to the city. In the city, they also have hop on hop off / plus boat. Everything is spread out! Get a multi-day pass, if staying for a few days. Express Trains work well to get back to the airport from the hotel. Have a great trip and I hope it helps!

@@HappyLady1on1 Wow this was great info! Thank you so so much for taking the time out to respond to me in such detail! Really appreciate it!

Np, I did a lot of planning for this trip since we only booked 1 excursion through the cruiseline (that totally sucked by the way, in Helsinki)!! Hop on/off was the best option for most Ports and you could do your own thing for less money.

@@HappyLady1on1 Our cruise leaves on the Norweign Dawn this Wednesday out of Stockholm. I have yet to book any excursions as all of them are so expensive, especially the one I want to do the most (Berlin). I was hoping I could avoid having to book through the cruise ship. Do you think we can get off the ship and just book a tour on the spot or do I need to do that in advance? Are their tour companies waiting at the dock for everyone that I can just easily go with?

@@nrah2630 Check this out from Viator, All-in-One Berlin Shore Excursion from Warnemunde or Rostock Port ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5/5 (125 Reviews) from $144.98 www.viator.com/search/63772P6?mcid=64243 If you don't have the Viator app already, download it my-viator.onelink.me/y0Xw/c4ddd6d9

Yes, they did! From glow nights to ABBA.

Thank you for the clarification!

Yes, you would think this was published by Pravda, or maybe even Tass. Worse is the tone deaf Klaipeda narrative failing to recognize Russian atrocities during Lithuanian occupation (1945 - 1990) other than "oh, they tore down some of the German buildings." Indeed. Not the life my parents described.

We booked our own RT flights from BWI Baltimore USA to CPH Copenhagen on PLAY airlines that stopped in Reykjavik Iceland both ways. Since NCL disembarked in Stockholm (different port), I booked a one way flight from Stockholm ARN to Copenhagen CPH on local airlines, under $100 p/p. RT international flights from the same city are cheaper.