Disney Cruise Line Baltic Ports

by Michael A. Walsh
AllEars® Guest Columnist

Feature Article

This article appeared in the December 15, 2015 Issue #847 of ALL EARS® (ISSN: 1533-0753)

As I wrote in my article A Few Days in Disneyland Paris (AllEars® Issue #842) several weeks ago, in June of this year I finally was able to add Europe to my list of places visited. The focal point of that trip was a seven-night cruise aboard the Disney Magic to the Baltic. Since I have already shared my thoughts on Disneyland Paris, I wanted to devote this feature to the land portion of our cruise, for those of you thinking of taking a Disney Cruise to somewhere other than the Bahamas.

Just to recap: Knowing that this trip would be our only European trip for several years minimum, my family also planned stops in London and at Disneyland Paris. The end result can best be described as a barnstorm through Europe.

Flying to Europe, we used frequent flyer miles to fly to New York, from which we flew Norwegian Airlines to London. Flying home, we flew from Copenhagen to Boston on Icelandair, and flew on a cheap flight home the next morning. Both airlines provided services that I would classify as better than most domestic flights I have been on in the United States. The routing made for some odd connections (including a rush-hour taxi ride from LaGuardia to Kennedy in New York), and some stress (our flight from home to New York left an hour late), but all in all our flying arrangements worked out very well.

Side note: If you intend to sleep on a 787, which does not have a true way to close windows, either sit on the side of the plane not facing the sun (right side for North America to Europe), wear a sleep mask, or fall asleep before the sunrise by not watching a three-hour long movie first.

So, after our whirlwind trip through London and Paris, we flew to Copenhagen the night before the cruise, and left for the ship by cab the next morning. A victim of timing, we did not spend any real time in Copenhagen, but, based solely on our cab rides through the city, we certainly want to return. Copenhagen Airport is absolutely beautiful, and reminds me of a few very nice indoor shopping malls we have in Northeast Ohio. It would be a great place for a long layover. It is worth noting that our two cab drivers in Copenhagen spoke better English than any cab driver I have had in America in recent memory.

Our cruise was, in a word, a blast. Others have covered the onboard experiences better than I ever could (see Laura Gilbreath's series of blogs about visiting Norway on the Disney Cruise Line, which was on the Magic the week before our trip), so I wanted to focus instead on our four ports of call.

Our first stop was Tallinn, Estonia. We did not have a scheduled excursion here, but rather went out on our own. We walked into the Old Town (a bus was provided, but it was not running when we were leaving, and we did not know where to look on our return), which dates back to Medieval Europe, and explored for a few hours. The town, which retained much of its Medieval feel, is an incredible place, and absolutely worth a visit. I recommend getting off of the main tourist path, which allows you to really experience the Medieval charm, which is something unlike anywhere in the United States.

In St. Petersburg, Russia, we visited Peterhof and the Hermitage Art Museum (partially in the Winter Palace, which was stormed to begin the Russian Revolution) on a Disney Excursion (excursions are required here, unless you obtain a private shore tour, or a Russian visa). Our tour guide, a St. Petersburg-born English teacher during the school year, gave us tours of both places. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a political science student and fan of Russian history, so this tour had a lot of meaning for me. Again, in a word, incredible. There is really no other way to describe some of the things we saw.

One frustrating thing in Russia — our tour guide almost immediately began talking about a gift shop she would take us to after our tour was over, and how we should buy any souvenirs from there. When we got to the gift shop, it became very obvious that the tour company either owned it, or received a kickback from it. This, of course, did not hurt the tour, and in fact made purchasing things in Russia a bit less stressful, but it was annoying. Onboard the Disney Magic, the normal duty-free liquor shop in the adult area was remade into a shop selling authentic Russian souvenirs, which included a lot of what we found in the gift shop at the end of the tour.

Helsinki, Finland, in my opinion, was hurt by our short time in port (six hours). I had read before the trip that it, of the four ports, is the most like any American city, and after our tour, I would have to agree. The city itself is very nice, and is worth spending time in (at Helsinki's famous Rock Church, we had 20 minutes to take pictures), but our tour, Helsinki and Old Town Porvoo, in my opinion, was not worth its time. Porvoo, like Tallinn's Old Town, dates back to Medieval Europe. However, compared to Tallinn, it felt underwhelming. I think this is less an indictment on the city than one on how little time we had. After taking a city tour and stopping at a farmhouse for coffee and cake, we had a little less than an hour to tour Porvoo (which is an hour outside of Helsinki), which did not allow us to get out of the tourist area. If we were able to, I think it would have been a more interesting stop.

Our final stop was Stockholm, Sweden, where we went on Disney's excursion to the Skansen and Vasa Museums. Our first stop was at the Vasa, which is centered around a salvaged, near complete 17th century warship, which sank on its maiden voyage. We only had an hour to tour the museum, which was nowhere near enough time. The ship itself is awe-inspiring, and the museum built around it has a mix of exhibits on the Vasa (including walk-throughs and simulations), and interactive games. The Skansen is an open-air museum of Swedish history, including both authentic Swedish buildings from around the country, and a zoo of Swedish animals (and, oddly, a free-roaming peacock). If you have ever been to the Henry Ford Museum's Greenfield Village in the Detroit area, imagine that, but far larger, and, if it is possible, more immersive. We spent about two hours walking around the grounds, and got nowhere close to seeing everything. The best aspect of the museum were the volunteers dressed in period clothing, acting the part of the schoolteacher, or the home owner, and telling stories, in English to our tour group, about what the buildings were originally used for. It was a very fun way to end the trip.

My goal in this report was to touch upon the experiences my family and I had on our trip. As I wrote, a running theme developed that, for almost all of these places, I regret something about our time there.

That's not to say that I feel we did anything poorly, but rather to say that there was something in every stop that our limited time did not permit us to see. That's the nature of trips to places like Northern Europe; you will always have something else you want to see. But the fact is, if you can go, even to just one place, do it, but do not be afraid to be creative. Our original plan was to go from home to Copenhagen for the cruise and then return home. Through creative scheduling of flights, we were able to see London, Paris, and Disneyland Paris too. London, Paris, and Copenhagen are all fantastic cities that have a lot to offer even people who go there frequently.

On the other hand, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, and Stockholm (and even Iceland, where our 90-minute connection was enough to convince us to want to visit) are places that deserve far more tourism than they receive. These are undiscovered gems that are aching to be explored.

While in Russia, I talked a lot with my father, who lived in Luxembourg briefly as a teen in the 1980s. A history lover in his own right, my father's memories of Russia as the place behind the barbed wire fence in Germany were replaced by beautiful palaces, and getting to watch his son be served straight Russian vodka (yep, my first alcoholic drink was in Russia). It was a reminder to me of how, less than 30 years ago, our cruise would not have been possible.

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Norway on the Disney Cruise Line

Other AllEars® Features by Michael Walsh:

A Few Days in Disneyland Paris (AllEars® Issue #842)

The (Disney) Wonders of Alaska

The Ultimate Disney Day: Six Parks, Two Coasts

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael A. Walsh, 20, the son of Disney Vacation Club members and a lifelong Disney fanatic, has taken about 50 different Disney-based vacations in his life, ranging from two to more than 10 days in length. When not at his second home or writing long trip reviews, he is a third-year Political Science student at The University of Akron in Ohio, with a focus on Homeland Security and American Politics.

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Editor's Note: This story/information was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all current rates, information and other details before planning your trip.