Gdynia? any ideas?

[Jessicabr]

Hi,
We are looking at next years cruises and we really want to see the Baltic again. Just love it. I have been checking the itinerary for the Magic.

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8-Night Northern Europe Cruise from Copenhagen
and
11-Night Northern Europe Cruise from Dover ending in Copenhagen.
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they are almost identical, but the 11 nights cruise has Gdynia Poland included. This is the only port from the 2 cruises we have not yet been.
I can't say I am getting excited to potentially see this new port and the price of the cruise is higher (logical, more days)
Here is my question: Is Gdynia worth it? If I take the 8 -night cruise, my budget will allow me to book private tours in most of the ports.
Please, any comment is appreciated.

 

[shoes99]

To me it was. Polish heritage, seeing the shipyard where they had the protests. Beautiful cathedral.

 

[Lilsia]

If you ever have a chance to go to Poland, do so. It is an amazing country with great people and delicious food.

 

[shoes99]

To me it was. Polish heritage, seeing the shipyard where they had the protests. Beautiful cathedral.

Forgot about our excursion to the amber jewelry factory. It was wonderful and prices were very reasonable.

 

[Melissa S]

I haven’t been to Gydnia but highly recommended going to Gdańsk which is close by. It is absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful architecture, great food-even street food, and shopping (lots of amber).

Even closer (10 minutes away) is Sopot which is a beautiful seaside city which much like Gdańsk has great food and shopping. There is a beautiful pier which you can walk down and take in the scenery.

My parents were born in Poland and I have lots of family there. When my son was born and was too young to cruise that year we spent two weeks in Poland traveling to all the major cities. Gdańsk and Sopot were my favorite cities. We will be going back to Poland in two years for my cousin’s wedding and my daughter was so excited because she is dying to go back to the water park in Sopot. You will have an awesome time and hopefully will fall in love with Poland!

 

[Jessicabr]

Thank you, everybody! I will take another look at those ports. You guys make me a little excited to go there, thank you again.

 

[angelinaxox]

I stopped in Gdynia on a Princess Baltic Cruise and visited Gdańsk and Malbork Castle from there. I really enjoyed the stop in Poland and am possibly looking to do the 11 day cruise with DCL.

 

[Melissa S]

I stopped in Gdynia on a Princess Baltic Cruise and visited Gdańsk and Malbork Castle from there. I really enjoyed the stop in Poland and am possibly looking to do the 11 day cruise with DCL.

We loved our visit to Malbork! We did the self guided audio tour and I think it was one of the best audio tours I have ever heard. My daughter was 6 at the time and got to hold an Owl on her arm and it was the highlight of the trip. Definitely something you can’t do in America lol.

 

[rwhistler92]

We are on then 11 night next year. I don’t see any excursions for Poland on the Disney Cruise site. Any suggestions on where I can find some details?
We are beyond excited for all the ports.
Thanks

 

[lklgoodman]

We are on then 11 night next year. I don’t see any excursions for Poland on the Disney Cruise site. Any suggestions on where I can find some details?
We are beyond excited for all the ports.
Thanks

I wonder if this is a new stop for DCL and that's why they don't have any excursions listed for it yet? A pp mentioned they stopped there on a Princess cruise. You could look at the Princess website to see what excursions they offer, just to give you an idea of what there is to do in the area. I've looked at Carnival's site before for our DCL Caribbean cruises since they give reviews and do a lot of the same excursions as Disney. Hopefully DCL will have some fun excursions for you all, what a great cruise!

 

[Jessicabr]

Oh my, we can't seem to make up our minds. Even though everybody is praising Poland and its cities, I am still leaning towards the 8-night cruise. This way I can book private tours in St. Petersburg. Last time we went to St Petersburg we were not able to see it all. And I am already in contact with Anastasia Travel and they are beyond helpful. We booked our tours the last time with them. The prices they gave us so far for a customized tour is pretty good. And they will give me a discount cause I am planning to book more cities in the Baltic via them. (Copenhagen and Tallinn)
At this moment I have Catherine Palace and the flea market visit on my list and for night time, a canal tour or date on the roof tour. Still researching other possibilities. In our last visit, we did among other things the Hermitage, Peterhof, Faberge museum. We had such a knowledgeable and attentive guide, that we want to book with them again.
So if anybody has any more ideas about places to see in St. Petersburg, please do let me know. Love to hear some personal experiences.