We will be stopping in Warnemunde next week and we still have not finalized plans for this port. We are definately not going to Berlin, too far for just one day. So, has anyone been to Lubeck and if so, is it worth the effort? It is listed in the "100 Places to See Before you Die", book so it must be quite special. Our other options include the towns of Wismar, Rostock and Schwerin. Thanks for any help.
Cheers, Pam

Hi Pam,
We took the ship's tour to Rostock. The ride there and back was interesting as we got a glimpse of what life must have been like in East Germany before the reunification. Rostock was interesting (damage from WWII still evident) and we lucked into a festival in the main street.

Even better was Warnemunde and we enjoyed walking the streets and down by the sea. If we were doing it again today, we'd spend our time in Warnemunde. Can't help you about Lubeck. Sorry!

Hi Donna,

Thanks for the detailed information. We have decided not to do a ship's tour, instead take the train to any of the above mentioned cities. This cruise is so port intensive that a few days touring on our own will be nice. Hopefully someone else has visited Lubeck and tell me if it is worth the longer train ride.
Cheers, Pam

We took a ship’s tour of Lubeck last June when we were on the Silver Cloud. This is an old historic city and I would not have enjoyed it as much without a knowledgeable guide. Our tour started from Hamburg and the drive was about 1-1/2 hours each way. We enjoyed it, but if you are toured out, Warnemunde is enjoyable on your own.

We were in Warnemunde on a Voyager cruise in 2003. It is a picturesque coast town with shops and restaurants, and a lot of tourists, many from Europe. We enjoyed walking around and having lunch after a morning tour of a nearby garden show. (The show might have been in Rostock but I am not sure as it was 3 years ago.) If you walk around Warnemunde be sure to walk all the way around to the beach side of town. There is a wide promenade along the beach.

Merril

We also will be on BLISS June 19 out of Dover and debated on what to do in Warnemunde, as we too didn't want the hazzle of going to Berlin. Did a little research and just decided to visit Wismar and Schwerin to get a little taste of German countryside and have a "wurst" lunch at some spot. I gather this part of Germany is not as picturesque as Bavaria and the Black Forest area, but charming in its own way. The castle and gardens at Schwerin sound lovely and the market square in Wismar reminds me of Brugge. We have rented a car for the day with Hertz and by some miracle I was able to communicate with them to deliver to Warnemunde. Here's hoping. A car gives you so much freedom to explore and German roads are great. Hope this might be a help. Lubeck sounded interesting - just too big for us. See you in a few days on the Voyager. Bon Voyage.

Jan and Charles Ware

We've booked one of the ships tour to Berlin on BLISS - thought it would be a pity to be so close and not see it, but after reading all your comments, we're beginning to wonder whether we're doing the right thing. Anyone done the ship's Berlin tour? I think it's the Cruising Berlin tour we've booked. Will check with my son. Lee

Lee,

We opted out of the Berlin trip because of our temporary location here in the UK. I booked a weekend in Berlin for the first weekend in August and the cost for air and hotel (Hilton) with breakfast comes to less than the price of the excursion! We probably would have opted for the ship's tour if we did not have this choice. I am sure it would be worth it if this is your opportunity to see Berlin.
See you soon.
Cheers, Pam

We will also be joining you for BLISS June 19, looking forward to meeting all of you.

At Warnemunde we decided to go to for the full day tours in Berlin and signed up for
Cruising Berlin
http://www.rssc.com/voyage/details.jsp?code=VOY060619&page=ports&portcode=WMD06222006

So close to Berlin, we have to at least get a glimps, even though it's considered a pretty modern city now. It's suppose to be a nice ride thru the countryside to Berlin.
Might be our only chance to see Berlin.

David