thoughts on the cruise that goes to Kiel Germany

[Dznypal]

we are again talking about taking a big vacation and now rethinking our thoughts

our options are Hawaii even though weve been several times therse still things wed like to see easy trip to plan
next is the DCL cruise to the British Isle--this one would be another easy one to do

the last is up in the air--my DH wants to go to Germany there is one that goes to Kiel this year which I found out it the port for Hamburg but checking the port adventours theres nothing listed for Kiel I checked with our TA from DU and she said that sometimes they dont list tours until almost the time of the cruise which doenst make mcuj sense cause I like to know whats out there before I book a cruise

but Ive also noticed that once in a while theres been a cruise that the port is the Weinburger sorry for the spelling but its the port where ships are built and Ive seen that one has tours to Berlin which at the time I looked had some good tours but this was the last time I saw this

any ideas like to they do do the Berlin one every other year and the Kiel one the oppisite one

not sure what we should do--its been so long since we did a long big vacation I want it to be perfect--well as near to perfect as I can get it
any thoughts or advice

 

[Marc D]

Your TA is correct in stating that DCL will not list shore excursions for ports never visited before up until the moment where they can be booked, and much later than when the cruise goes on sale. The reason is that they need to finalize prices with tour operators, and nobody wants to commit such a long time in advance. The current inflation is a good reason, but DCL also needs to make sure that the tour operator will still be in business by the time the cruise sails.

However, tours are always pretty much the same, regardless of cruise line. You can search for what is usually offered for Hamburg (Kiel) on NCL, Holland America and others and you'll get a pretty good idea of your options. DCL will provide specific excursions geared towards kids, but the big excursions will be the same.

 

[NYMommy80]

I'm on that sailing and Kiel seems like the least exciting of all the stops unless you want to go to Hamburg. I'm flying in to Berlin and transferring to Copenhagen after a few days.If Berlin is on your bucket list then consider that maybe.

 

[holula]

Even if the ship did go to Warnemunde, I would still not go to Berlin as it’s three hours each way. Go to Berlin before or after the cruise.

I did love Hamburg though!

 

[Flossbolna]

Kiel is NOT the port for Hamburg. The port for Hamburg is Hamburg, which is Germany's largest sea port. Kiel is a nice northern German town, but it is not a sight in itself. Yes, you can go to Hamburg from there, it is about a one hour drive under perfect conditions. I have been wondering why they would schedule a stop in Kiel. I know it as a starting point for cruises for the German market.

The port which offers excursions to Berlin is Warnemünde. Which is even less the port of Berlin than Kiel/Hamburg. Every German will tell you that Berlin is a landlocked city. It's over two hours drive. But yes, they do offer excursions. It depends how much you want to see of Berlin, you can get a tiny taste on a day like that, but in my opinion you could spend a week in Berlin and not be bored.

 

[bcwife76]

We are also on this cruise in August and still pondering what to do. Right now if you look under Kiel in Port Adventures almost all that pop up are for Hamburg like you mentioned, only 2 are for actual Kiel at the moment.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[cmph]

We're going on an NCL Baltic this summer, that stops in both Kiel and Warnemunde. NCL markets the Kiel stop as "Hamburg (Kiel)", and Warnemunde as "Berlin (Warnemunde)".

From Kiel, there are a couple of local excursions (like a brewery tour), shuttles to do Hamburg or Lubeck on-your-own, and one additional tours listed each for Hamburg and Lubeck. It's a really short list, though. We are going to take the train to Lubeck, b/c the shuttle cost is ridiculous - $129pp (adult or child), no joke, just for a shuttle back and forth. (DH speaks some German and used to live in Europe, so we're comfortable taking trains. Your comfort level may vary.)

We never considered going into Berlin on the Warnemunde day. It's much too far. We booked an NCL tour titled "Schwerin and its Fairy-tale Castle". That one is $149/adult, but we have $100 in shorex credits. I looked into doing this on our own, and trains were less convenient than the bus (lengthier route).

I have a bunch of notes on both ports, if anyone wants more details. I made a PowerPoint for my family to help narrow down our choices in each port... 11 different places from start to finish for this cruise, so there were a lot of decisions to make!

 

[Marc D]

Kiel is NOT the port for Hamburg. The port for Hamburg is Hamburg, which is Germany's largest sea port.

While this is geographically true, and some cruises do stop directly at the cruise port in Hamburg, cruise lines still market Kiel stops as Hamburg stops :

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/ports/kiel-hamburg-germany.html
https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/port-of-call/cruises-to-hamburg-kiel
https://www.msccruises.com/en-gl/Cruise-Destinations/Northern-Europe/Germany/Kiel.aspx
https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/kiel-hamburg?rootCategoryCode=shoreex

Much like they now do with Venice (Ravena or Trieste) because of the ban.

 

[Flossbolna]

We are also on this cruise in August and still pondering what to do. Right now if you look under Kiel in Port Adventures almost all that pop up are for Hamburg like you mentioned, only 2 are for actual Kiel at the moment.

I don't think it is less travel time, but I think Lübeck might be a better destination for a port day in Kiel than Hamburg. I personally love Hamburg, but it is a big city and might not really be conducive for touring in a short port day. Lübeck is a very old trading city of the Hanse, a Northern German and Scandinavian trading group of cities (Hamburg was a member, too). But it didn't grow into this massive port city instead kept a lot of charm.

One needs to keep in mind that Germany is a country full with very distinct regions. The picture a lot of foreigners have of Germany is that of the Germany pavilion in Epcot. But this Germany only exists in the southern most quarter of the country. Northern Germany is flat, full of beautiful brick buildings and with a very different cuisine and dialect.

 

[Flossbolna]

We booked an NCL tour titled "Schwerin and its Fairy-tale Castle".

Yes, that would be my recommendation to go there from Warnemünde. It is beautiful!!

 

[Flossbolna]

While this is geographically true, and some cruises do stop directly at the cruise port in Hamburg, cruise lines still market Kiel stops as Hamburg stops :

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/ports/kiel-hamburg-germany.html
https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/port-of-call/cruises-to-hamburg-kiel
https://www.msccruises.com/en-gl/Cruise-Destinations/Northern-Europe/Germany/Kiel.aspx
https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/kiel-hamburg?rootCategoryCode=shoreex

Much like they now do with Venice (Ravena or Trieste) because of the ban.

I understand that it is marketed that way, but it is false advertising in my opinion and I wanted to point it out to someone who might think its just a short hop away and would base a decision on it. Paris (Le Havre) is another one that really bothers me.

 

[cmph]

Yes, that would be my recommendation to go there from Warnemünde. It is beautiful!!

Thank you for confirming!! I will admit, my slide deck *may* have skewed the rest of the family to that choice, b/c I really want to go there. DH and DD17 didn't have any notions of what they wanted to do at that stop, but DS14 originally wanted to go to Rostock. I featured the below photo and he immediately changed his mind.

 

[cmph]

I don't think it is less travel time, but I think Lübeck might be a better destination for a port day in Kiel than Hamburg. I personally love Hamburg, but it is a big city and might not really be conducive for touring in a short port day. Lübeck is a very old trading city of the Hanse, a Northern German and Scandinavian trading group of cities (Hamburg was a member, too). But it didn't grow into this massive port city instead kept a lot of charm.

They are pretty close in travel time from the port. Hamburg is slightly further.

@bcwife76 Flossbolna stated exactly why we decided on Lubeck over Hamburg - it's going to be much easier touring. We actually have a decent amount of time in port, but with Hamburg, we'd have to travel around a bunch within the city to see things. It's not that we're uncomfortable taking mass transit, but I don't want to waste half the day taking trains around. With Lubeck we're walking from the train station to all the things we want to see, which are all walking distance to each other. Not sure if this link will work for all, but this is the walking route I saved as our basic plan VIEW IN GOOGLE MAPS.

Depending on your family's preferences, Hamburg is the better choice for museums. My teens think most museums are boring though. (Exceptions for this particular trip will be the ABBA museum and Vasa museum in Stockholm lol.)

 

[Skylarr29]

While there are no port adventures listed on the information page about Kiel they do come up when selected in the Mediterranean port adventures list.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...tq1P4upqaMCqsWcvz7iENCkMxFX4c54oyXL9XZngTa9ds

 

[Dznypal]

thanks for all the great and helpful replies those tours that are now on the port adventures werent there just a few months ago

we have alot of info to go over now

thanks again

 

[Flossbolna]

I just came across this video which is by the German public TV station that broadcasts in English about Northern Germany. I think it’s a fun introduction to that part of Germany for those thinking or planning of going there: