Constellation June 27, 2009 from Harwich

[Aunt Jo Jo]

I am looking for hints on in port excursions for Amsterdam, Helsinki, Tallin. Can these cities be done on your own or do you need to join a tour? We are a party of six. Any suggestions are welcomed. Aunt Jo Jo

[Cruise Fanatic]

Welcome to Cruise Chat.
All three of these cities are wonderful. In Amsterdam I would recommend taking a canal tour. Ask for one of the English narrated canal tours. They will narrate about history and interesting facts about the city. From Dam Square you can walk to all sorts of shopping, the floating market and the Red Light District. If your into museums there's the Riksmuseum, Van Gogh, and Ann Frank. Ann Frank usually has long lines. If you have enough time you could take a tour to the country side of Edam and see windmills and how cheese is made.

Tallin is a beautiful medieval city. Walk to the old walled city and just explore. There are several nice restaurants/bars, try their local beer Saku. Tallin is known for their Amber stones and jewelry.

Helsinki is also a walkable city. You can get a hop on/off bus too. They have a large flea market at the end of the walkable mall. Close to the flea market is a ferry marina. You can take a two-three hour ferry ride which goes out around the coast line and you will see some historical sites. Shopping is good in Helsinki
too.

[LisaP]

Welcome to cruise-chat. Amsterdam is the only city I can speak of. If you are docked where we were, it is a very short walk to the Central Station, where you can pick up a tram to anywhere in the city. The 1, 2, and 5 will take you near the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museums; I forget the tram # for the Anne Frank museum.

You can avoid the lines at the Anne Frank museum by purchasing your tickets in advance. They must be for a specific time. You can find more information, and order them, here.

I agree that the best way to experience Amsterdam as a first-time visitor is by canal boat, as CruiseFanatic described above.