I've had quite a few requests for more detailed information, I decided the best way to convey this, would be to create a page on our website. I have been on a Baltic Cruise 3 times. July and Aug 2005 on what is known as a back-to-back with my mom. Then again, May 2007 with John. For simplicity the Back to Back will be referred to as 1 cruise.
All sailings were onboard Princess Cruise Lines Star Princess.

General Information

A couple of cruise websites I recommend:

Cruisecritic.com, check out the Destination Section and the Roll Call section. The Roll Call will put you in contact with other passengers on your same cruise. This is a great way to coordinate a private tour with others for each port. 

Baltic Cruise Calendar ~  you can see how many ships are in port with you

CruiseCal.com, you can see how many other ships are in port with you

Reading Recommendation: Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, DK Eyewitness & Frommers, Inyourpocket.com

Streetwise maps for Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo and Berlin

DVD: John Lawrence Baltic

John Lawrence was our Cruise Director, and hopefully he will be the Cruise Director onboard the Crown Princess. In all my years of sailing, he is by far the most informative cruise director I have ever had the pleasure of sailing with. This DVD is an excellent resource. Not only does he tell you all about the ports, he gives you tips on how to do them on your own. He also explains when you should take a shore excursion. Very fair and unbiased. In addition, his lectures are some of the best at sea. They do run on your stateroom t.v., but you will have a full schedule and there's no TIVO on the high seas. While other lectures at sea are really about selling some product to you these aren't. They are truly about enhancing your knowledge of this wonderful part of the world. Do not miss them!

Update ~ shortly after writing this I received an email from John Lawrence that he had retired. He is now the Port Lecturer onboard. 

Currency: Onboard the Star Princess there was a currency machine that sold Euro, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, US Currency. It would accept US, UK, Euro, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Japanese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish currency. The fee was 3.50 per transaction. While in Russian, many places will accept USD or Euros. Please see my Money Page regarding currency converter, currency cheat sheet, and other tips.

The Euro was accepted in many places, however Helsinki is the only port that it is considered legal tender.

Travel Shots: Required or Recommended, speak with your doctor. It is a fine line that determines the two. Our health care provider said we needed them. 

Passport: you will need to bring 5 copies. 1 for each day in St. Petersburg that is given to customs in addition to showing your actual passport, 1 on your body, 1 for customs in Gdynia (maybe, depends on their mood) and 1 for the safe in your cabin.

Clothing: In May I was able to wear capri pants, blouse, loafers with no socks, and a light LL Bean rain jacket. The rain jacket came in handy as we had a severe down pour that came on instantly and cleared the streets for a good 15 minutes before it subsided. In July I wore jeans, turtleneck, 2 pairs of socks, LL Bean wind block fleece jacket with the Rain Jacket mentioned above. Topped off with mittens and a scarf. Weather is totally unpredictable for this region. Pack layers!

You'll be glad you did:
 ** If you are a woman, bring a scarf to wear on your head in Orthodox Churches. It's a sign of respect, how would you like a tourist being disrespectful inside your house of worship? Just because others aren't doing it, doesn't mean you should follow the crowd!
**pack a small roll of toilet paper and handiwipes!
**Lots of memory cards!
**Do your homework..this is a port intensive cruise, you will be physically and intellectually drained. If you have researched the ports ahead of time either by reading, googling, or viewing DVD's you will have a better ability to absorb all that is in front of you!
 **On this cruise, time is of the essence to fit everything in with the few hours you have in port. Don't be cheap, take the taxi..if you had many days in each port,
 I would advise more budget options!

Copenhagen

I suggest picking up the Copenhagen card and riding the HOHO bus. The Copenhagen card can be purchased at the TI which is located across from Tivoli gardens near the SAS Royal Scandinavia. It is closed on Sundays, however the train station sells it too! If you utilize these two features you will be able to see everything you want to in Copenhagen. It will also cover your train to Hillerod or Koge.

The Rick Steves book provides excellent information

As we had both spent considerable time in Copenhagen before, we headed to Hillerod at 7:30am and had the entire gardens of Frederiksborg Castle to ourselves..very romantic! and then we were off to the historic town of Koge!
 Back to Copenhagen for an evening at Tivoli!

I have stayed at the Hotel on Square and the SAS Royal Scandinavia. Both hotels were booked with an internet special. I thought SAS rested on their old 5 star laurels and I would give it about 3 stars. Definately worn, but the location is fabulous. Hotel on the Square was excellent! I can't say one negative thing about it! The Marriott comes up many times on priceline.com. However, look at a map 1st. If you were to leave Tivoli at night, you might walk back to the hotel on the street in front of train station. This street is not well lighted so proceed with caution.

Copenhagen is just a ridiculously overpriced city. So, I have a few money saving tips for you. If you are a meat eater the hotdog carts are your financial friend! Grab a hotdog in Radhus plaza, then have a seat on the bench for an excellent view of Bishop Absalon and the architecture of City Hall. Take the time to locate the Hotel on the Square near Radus Plaza, there is store next door to it called TIGER , this is equivalent to our Dollar Stores, actually it's about a $1.50 with the exchange rate. Not only do they have all sorts of potential souveniers, but they sell snacks, bottled water and sodas. CHEAP! Inside Tivoli Gardens by the amusement park rides is a little dessert house that is blue and white in color and sells 3 ableskivers for an equivalent of 3 euro! Just delicious and really the bargain in the whole park!

The port for Princess in Copenhagen is Frihaven, it is not close to town.
There are 2 ports the other Langeline, which is a tad closer to town.

Here are the taxi rates to Frihaven last year 2007

Airport to Pier -9 miles 36 USD 30 minutes,
City Center to Pier 5 miles 27 USD 20minutes

Stockholm

On my 1st cruise we toured Vasa Museum and City Hall and then walked around Gamla Stan using Rick Steves Walking Tour visiting all sites, including the Royal Palace. We also walked out to Skeppsholmen Bridge to take a picture of Gamla Stan and the crown on the bridge.

On my 2nd cruise John and I decided to go Skansen, since he had also visited the city before. While the ship is docked in Stockholm it was at the furthest pier possible and a good 20-30 minute walk to Gamla Stan. We decided to take a taxi instead of the hassle of a 30-45 minute walk/wait for the ferry. The taxi was equilvalent to 30 Euro. We loved Skansen, we spent a wonderful day there and then took the ferry back to Gamla Stan, strolled the town and then returned to the ship.

I recommend that you visit the Vasa Museum and City Hall, do the walking tour of Gamla Stan. Further options would be Drottningholm Palace and Skansen if you have been to the city on another visit. If you take a shorex they will give you the option of being dropped of at the Opera House at the end of your tour, so you can visit more of Gamla Stan and return to the ship on your own.

On a side note, I was hesitant about Vasa...I thought this is a "boy thing". I was wrong! It is so much more than that, when you view it as such an incredible piece of history! If you are on a shorex, you can break away from your guide, just ask what time and where to meet them. Viewing and reading the information on your own would probably be much more of an enriching experience!

Helsinki

This port is very easy to do on your own. You will need to take the shuttle in from the port. It was 8 Euros roundtrip last year and will drop off /pick up at the Swedish Theater. This is handy to know if you are on a Shorex and they drop you off in Senate Square to make your own way back to the ship. On my 1st cruise we used Open Top Tours for a city tour which had 15 minute in length stops at the Sibelius Monument and The Rock Church.

**It was brought to my attention, the city tour might no longer be in business, in my research to confirm that I did find this company as a possible alternative for you... http://www.helsinkiexpert.fi/sightseeing/ **

The 2nd time we booked the shorex option as our docking times did not coordinate with the private option. The Open Top Tours did pick us up in front of the Swedish Theater. Very convenient and easy. Rick Steves does have a walking tour of Helsinki, also check out Lonely Planet. The Uspensky Cathedral was wonderful! Have lunch at the Central Market, you can choose from a takeaway plate of smoked salmon, a scrumptious crepe or something else equally as delicious! This is an excellent place for souveniers. There is a store right where the cruise ship docked, for one last shopping stop, however it was much more expensive. If you are a Contemporary Art and/or Architecture Fan, you will want to research a trip to Kiasma Museum.

Our Helsinki Checklist, which was accomplished in 1 day

City Highlights tour (see shorex description or the private option above)
Senate Square- Lutheran Cathedral
Uspensky Cathedral 9:30-4pm
Presidential Palace (outside only)
Market Square
Aleksanterinkatu Street
Sofiankatu Street
City Museum

 Tallin

This port is extemely easy to do on your own!

The transfer into town from the cruise dock was 4 Euros per person each way, which drops you in lower town.

We took a taxi straight to upper town for 10 Euros total and then walked the entire upper town and down to lower town.

This allowed us to be in upper town by ourselves (besides residents) for at least 30 minutes before our fellow passengers arrived. We were able to take incredible photos and experience such a peacefulness of our surroundings. Once you are in upper town, follow Rick Steves walking tour. It is excellent and covers everything you need to see! The tower at St. Olav's Church is a tough climb, but the view is phenomenal!

Our Tallin Checklist which was accomplished in 1 day

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Dome Church 9am-1pm
Toompea Castle (outside)
3 sisters
Scenic Overlook from Upper Town
Kiek in de kok - closed on Monday
St. Nicholas Church
Pikk Jalg Gate Tower
Viru Gates
Tallin City Museum 10:30-6pm
St. Catherines Passage
House of the Blackheads
Town Hall and pharmacy 9am-7pm, tower closed Monday 
Holy Spirit Chuch 9am-5pm
Great Guild
Town Wall and 3 Towers – Nuna, Sauna, Kuldjala open at 11am
Fat Margaret
St. Olavs Church 10am-6pm,
Dominican Monastery 

Gdansk

You will port in Gydnia, the drive between the 2 cities was under complete renovation each time I was there, during the summer months you will have beach traffic, the town of Sopot in between is considered a beach resort. Each time I have booked the shorex "Gdansk on your own". This guarantees that no matter how bad the traffic is, the ship will wait for us! As soon as we arrive, we confirm with the escort the pick up place and we are off!  On the drive back to the ship, the driver will make a stop  at the Solidarity Movement Monument.

Our Gdansk Checklist that was accomplished in 1 day

Green Gate    
Gdansk Crane-Central Maritime Museum 10am-5pm
Golden House (near Artus Court)
Artus Court 10am-4pm..EXCELLENT!
Neptunes Fountain
Main Town Hall- Gdansk History Museum 10am-4pm
St. Mary’s Church 8am-5pm, Tower is open
Clock 12 noon
Mariacka Street
Arsenal –Great Armoury
Golden Gate
Upland Gate-High Gate
Piwna/Chlebnicka Streets 

Gdansk is the best place to buy Amber!  

St. Petersburg, Russia 

I have provided the link above to our itinerary with Red October.
On my 1st cruise I did a tour with 8 other couples in an oversize mini van I arranged this utilizing the roll call feature of Cruise Critic.
It was an excellent experience, as we were able to move much quicker
than a shorex with a large amount of people on each bus.
As many of you know, there's always 1-2 people in any group
whose behavior is cringe worthy, which sadly my mom and I encountered.
While it didn't ruin our experience, we did want to punt them into the Neva!

John and I decided we wanted this to be a once in a lifetime experience,
we chose to have a tour with just the two of us! It exceeded all of our expectations!
We bypassed every single line including gift shops, we were taken into rooms of the Hermitage that shorex groups never see! We had our guide speaking just to us and answering our questions for a total of 19 hours. The culture immersion was tremendous! I highly recommend that you consider this option, even if this means you need to budget elsewhere!

Oslo  

My 1st visit to Oslo, we boarded a bus right outside of the dock area
just waiting for passengers to disembark, for about 15 Euro per person. We did a tour of downtown and then headed out to Holmenkollen ~ the site of Olympic Ski Jump with breathtaking views of the Fjord! On my next visit, we did a shorex that included the Viking Ship, Kon Tiki and Fram Museums. After much research, we realized it was the most efficient option, and not too much more than doing it on our own and wondering if we would make it back in time, because port times were limited The museums were fascinating, and we could've spent another 20-30 minutes in each one. After our shorex dropped us back at the ship, we walked through Akerhus Fortress, to where the hand marks the spot of where OSLO began!

Riga

We were there for 4 days post cruise.  
When researching Riga we used Inyourpocket.com  and Lonely Planet

Here is a Sights to See list for you.......

Dome Cathedral
Russian Orthdox church
House of the Blackheads
Three Brothers
National Theatre-outside only
Art Nouveau Buildings on the following streets- Alberta iela, Elizabetes iela, Smilsu iela
Town Hall St. Peter's Church and Tower
Latvian Riflemen Statue
Swedish Gate
Powder Tower
Pic Kristapa
Great Guild
Cat House
St. Jacobs Cathedral Mentzendorff House
Museum Of Riga History and Navigation
St. Johns Church
Alexander Nevsky Church
Freedom Monument
Alksjanga iela (scenic street with Medevial Buildings)

                                                          ~ Bon Voyage ~