Having wanted to see the art of St. Petersburg for years, I jumped at the chance when this cruise went on sale. This was an early 50th anniversary cruise, and it was great. The weather was unusually warm, sunny, and gorgeous. We love seeing the old European architecture, quaint medieval shops, and visiting with the friendly people. The ship's staff were all very friendly and helpful, the food excellent and varied, and the schedule sensible. Since the cities are so close together, though, it seems like we could have spent more time (like, a full day) in Helsinki and Stockholm. In Rostock/Warnemunde and Helsinki, we used public transportation instead of the ship's a tour. We had no trouble navigating our way around the towns, saving quite a bit of money, and getting to meet a lot of nice, helpful people. We used the Hop-On, Hop-Off buss in Stockholm, getting off to see what we wanted to see. Over the 9 days' trip, we only met one person, an older lady in Copenhagen, that didn't speak English. Everyone we met was very helpful and friendly.
We used a local tour company in St. Petersburg, Insider Tours, which was pretty expensive but still cheaper than the ship tour. Valentina was extremely knowledgeable and made traveling with my wheelchair very easy. We were also able to skip the long lines at each of the tour stops and use our time enjoying the sites. We chose not to make the very quick trip to Berlin but, instead, took a local ferry to Rostock and strolled around the lovely old, Hanseatic town. Later that afternoon, we then sauntered around Warnemunde.
We enjoy not having to "dress" for dinner at night but can eat where and when we choose. The food was good, varied, and plentiful. We liked the local flavors that changed with each port of call. The Vegas-style entertainment was first class and varied; something for nearly everyone. Although this was only our second cruise which doesn't provide much with which to compare, we definitely recommend this cruise if one enjoys historical architecture, beautiful cathedrals, art, and friendly people.
Although small, our cabin proved adequate for our needs, including space for my collapsible wheelchair. The porthole enabled me to deal with my claustrophobia. The bathroom was quite small, but, again, adequate as long as only one of us at a time was in there.
We used a local ferry to get to Rostock, walked around it and visited the cathedral, etc. We visited Warnemunde in the afternoon. Very picturesque and historical.
We walked to the Old Town. We were able to see everything recommended in the tour books. My wheelchair made navigating on the medieval cobblestones a challenge, but my husband persevered, and we had a good time.
We chose to walk around the city on our own. It is very tourist-friendly and small enough to see on foot. The people are very friendly and speak English; the open-air market was really fun. Even with my wheelchair, we were able to see nearly all of what we wanted to see. It would help if the ship could stay until evening instead of leaving at 4:30.
We toured Copenhagen on our own both before and after our cruise. We used the 1-day Tourist Pass, bought from the vending machines in the airport and train station. This enabled us access to all buses, trains, and trams so we were able to get to the sites easily. We loved Rosenborg Palace, Tivoli Gardens, the shopping streets, and just walking around seeing the old architecture. We'd like to go back someday.