Arcadia J405

Arcadia cruises in 2014

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KarenH
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Arcadia J405

#1

Post by KarenH »

J405 Baltics 16th May. Any-one else on this cruise? We are 2 couples who would be interested in sharing a taxi from Zeebrugge to Bruges if others are interested?


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KarenH
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Re: Arcadia J405

#2

Post by KarenH »

We are also looking to put together a 2 day tour in Saint Petersburg focusing mainly on the war history, i.e Siege of Leningrad, Artillery museum, Aurora Battleship etc. If any-one would be interested in joining a group please let me know :) :)

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jacksparrow
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Re: Arcadia J405

#3

Post by jacksparrow »

Hi Karen,

In relation to your first question there is a shuttle from Zeebrugge to Blakenburg and the drop off point is across the road from the railway station. The train ticket to Bruges is around 6 euros return each… When I was there in December I heard a lot of people moaning about the cost of taxis. Also, if I remember correctly, the ship docks in a container port and I cannot remember any taxis at the port so you would have to get the shuttle in the first instance.

In relation to St. Petersburg I believe that you have to do the ships tours there. They issue a visa on board but if you want to do it alone then you have to get an independent visa and get seconded… not sure how it works but your agent or someone more informed on this forum would be able to tell you.

Enjoy…
The pesky scarfaced pirate


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KarenH
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Re: Arcadia J405

#4

Post by KarenH »

Hi
I have heard about the train tickets but gather they only leave every hour and so didn't want to waste time hanging around stations waiting for trains and would prefer the flexibility of a taxi which still works out cheaper than doing the ships "Bruges on your own" trip. A taxi at 50 euros each way is a lot cheaper between 4 of us and could be cheaper again if others joined as I have been told that Taxis can seat 6-8.

St Petersburg tours can be organised through Alla, Red October, TJ Tours etc independently from the ship, and these companies organise the group visas the same way P&O do for theirs so that is not an issue. We have just found that most tours are heavily dependant on visits to palaces and churches but we would be more interested in the war history and so want to visit some of the memorial museums instead. I am sure there must be others who would share the same interest and the more of us on the tour the cheaper it is so if any-one is interested please let me know. I am looking to book with either Alla or TJ Tours but I am open to other suggestions


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Re: Arcadia J405

#5

Post by Quizzical Bob »

jacksparrow wrote:
Hi Karen,

In relation to your first question there is a shuttle from Zeebrugge to Blakenburg and the drop off point is across the road from the railway station. The train ticket to Bruges is around 6 euros return each… When I was there in December I heard a lot of people moaning about the cost of taxis. Also, if I remember correctly, the ship docks in a container port and I cannot remember any taxis at the port so you would have to get the shuttle in the first instance.

Enjoy…
There is also a tram service that runs all the way along the coast and passes the gate of the docks. There is always a free shuttle bus to the dock gates because you cannot walk freely through the commercial port.

http://zeebrugge.net/en/kusttram.php

http://shorebee.com/en/belgium/blankenb ... berge/tram

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic- ... vince.html


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KarenH
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Re: Arcadia J405

#6

Post by KarenH »

I have received this quote for SPB tour from guideguru. Price is $245 pp with $10 discount for over 70's. Price is for 4 of us and would reduce if more people join. Itinerary can be tweaked to include other interests
Day One
8:00-8:30am - meet your guide and our tour coordinator at the St Petersburg sea passenger port terminal next to the Immigration control.
8:30-11:30am - Comprehensive city sightseeing tour (see the Old city, Nevsky Prospect, Square of Arts, The Winter Palace, Bronze Horseman, Strelka, stop on
St. Isaac's square. You will also see Cruiser Aurora (the battleship that signaled the Bolshevik Revolution) and Peter the Great's Log Cabin.
11:30am-12:30pm – visit the Artillery Museum.
12:30-1:30pm - lunch time.
2:00-4:00pm - tour The Hermitage museum. You will explore treasures of one of the richest world art museums, see the Royal collection of European masters
(Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Michelangelo, Rubens, Titian, Rembrandt etc.), a collection of French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists that is only second to the
collection in France. You will also take a special tour of The Winter Palace and view royal living rooms and gala halls.
4:30pm - back onboard the cruise ship.
from 6:00pm - check out our evening entertainment programs (ballet, folk dance show, circus, etc.).

Day 2 (9:30am-1:30pm)
9:30am - meet your tour guide and tour coordinator, payment.
10:00-11:30am – visit Peter & Paul Fortress with cathedral and Trubetskoy bastion (the prison).
12:00-1:00pm – visit the Museum of Leningrad Siege.
1:30pm - onboard the cruise ship.
Tour sequence may vary depending on museum days-off, or to avoid overcrowding at venues.
BOOKING TERMS & CONDITIONS

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melsea
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Re: Arcadia J405

#7

Post by melsea »

I'm back!!!!!

I have recently booked this cruise. We have withdrawal symptoms, so we are sailing for the first time on Arcadia using the saver fare. Since we last went on a saver fare there are a few things that different from before. I will be make notes of the various aspects of this. First thing though, we have been allocated our cabin already and there is no upgrade just in case you are wondering.

Onto the cruise itself, there are some new ones to us, not only that I can't even pronounce a couple of them.

I have read the post above and I quite like the idea of the tram along the coast in Zeebrugge.
I am looking at the tours for St.Petersburg on both P&O and the ones that someone mentioned above. The TJ tours seem to be doing what I want. OH won't be getting off there as he has been before a few times. Any thoughts on which one if any are better than the others.
Looking forward to the others. Tallinn was a lovely place, so will look forward to that one again.

As I mentioned we have not sailed on Arcadia before so that will be exciting. One query though is there a place to eat like Cafe Bordeaux or Cafe Jardin which are on Aurora & Oceana?

Are there enough of us to meet up on a sea day???

Thanks in advance to all you lovely people.

Melsea :clap:

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david63
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Re: Arcadia J405

#8

Post by david63 »

melsea wrote:
One query though is there a place to eat like Cafe Bordeaux or Cafe Jardin which are on Aurora & Oceana?
Sorry - no. The lack of a range of "eateries", compared to the other ships, is one (probably the only one) of the downsides of Arcadia

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The Tinker
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Re: Arcadia J405

#9

Post by The Tinker »

david63 wrote:
melsea wrote:
One query though is there a place to eat like Cafe Bordeaux or Cafe Jardin which are on Aurora & Oceana?
Sorry - no. The lack of a range of "eateries", compared to the other ships, is one (probably the only one) of the downsides of Arcadia
Depends what you are after - I have been on Arcadia and Oceana and found Café Jardin menu for snacks quite limited and always felt rushed as it is waiter served and people have to queue for a seat. At least on Arcadia you can visit and help yourself almost 24hrs if you so wish in the buffet. There is also a burger bar serving lunches during the day.

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melsea
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Re: Arcadia J405

#10

Post by melsea »

Thanks guy.

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