Planning For Our Summer Trip

This year's BIG trip begins in Amsterdam (5 nights) followed by a 12 night Baltic Cruise on Celebrity's Constellation.  We are excited to see so many new places (the only port we've visited before is Stockholm and that was many years ago).  In addition, we've heard so many wonderful stories about the Constellation - affectionately referred to as the 'Connie" - that we are very excited to be sailing on her and returning to Celebrity after more than 1 1/2 years.

Celebrity's Constellation

We are staying at the Amsterdam Renaissance Hotel chosen because we had such a positive experience at the Renaissance Hotels in Paris and Barcelona last year and on the very positive reviews on Trip Advisor.  It is on a quiet side street just a 10 minute walk from some main sites. Although the hotel is unassuming from the exterior, a major renovation was recently completed...looking forward to seeing the new lobby and room decor AND to the Elite lounge for complimentary breakfasts and snacks. A real perk of my Elite status with Marriott.

Our Itinerary

Day		Date	Port of Call / Activity	Arrive	Depart
1	Wed	Jul 31, 2013	Amsterdam, Netherlands	--	4:00 pm
2	Thu	Aug 1, 2013	At Sea	--	--
3	Fri	Aug 2, 2013	Warnemunde, Germany	9:00 am	11:00 pm
4	Sat	Aug 3, 2013	At Sea	--	--
5	Sun	Aug 4, 2013	Stockholm, Sweden	9:00 am	4:00 pm
6	Mon	Aug 5, 2013	Helsinki, Finland	10:00 am	6:00 pm
7	Tue	Aug 6, 2013	St Petersburg, Russia	7:00 am	--
8	Wed	Aug 7, 2013	St Petersburg, Russia	--	6:00 pm
9	Thu	Aug 8, 2013	Tallinn, Estonia	7:00 am	3:00 pm
10	Fri	Aug 9, 2013	At Sea	--	--
11	Sat	Aug 10, 2013	Copenhagen, Denmark	8:00 am	5:00 pm
12	Sun	Aug 11, 2013	At Sea	--	--
13	Mon	Aug 12, 2013	Amsterdam, Netherlands	5:00 am	--

We have booked a 2 day tour of St. Petersburg with Alla Tours (based on the recommendation of our dear friends Tina and Tim) and a tour of Tallin again with Alla since they have been so good and responsive. I put together a group of 16 for St. Petersburg and a group of 8 (so far) for Tallin.  Details will follow when we get to those ports. Our plans are to do the other ports on our own using either Hop-on Hop-off buses, walking from the port to the city center  in those cities where the port is close by and enjoying free Walking tours when available.