Scandinavia & Russia cruise/tour

15 day cruise/tour - June 23, 2012

Optional 3 day Moscow extension - SOLD OUT!

Dr. John L. Lund

Special Guest Educator

We spent a lot of time evaluating the best way to do the Scandinavian Countries. Cruises only visit the major cities and a Land Tour has to cover too much ground. We have found the best solution. We have combined a special 5 night cruise with a fantastic land tour. Add a flight and train here and there; plus the right educator and you have the perfect trip!!!

Nyhavn Harbor - Copenhagen, Denmark

Tour Information

Here is what our special cruise/tour has to offer:

We start our special cruise tour in Stockholm Sweden. After touring Stockholm and the countryside, we will spend 6 days, 5 nights on a Royal Caribbean Ship visiting Helsinki, Finland and St. Petersburg, Russia. Upon returning to Stockholm we will fly to Oslo Norway. The approximate one hour flight eliminates an 8 hour drive by bus. Our tour of Norway includes sailing through majestic fjords, riding the famous Bergin Railway and the famous Flam Railway. You will love Norway’s breathtaking fjords, mountains, waterfalls and waterfront towns. After we are through with Norway, we will fly from Oslo to Copenhagen, again avoiding a 10 hour ride by bus. Our tour in Denmark will include Castles, Copenhagen and a drive through the countryside to a ferry that will take us to the wonderful old town of Lubeck Germany. Our tour also includes Berlin and its history.

This special cruise tour is just the right mix of cruising, ferry’s, trains, buses and airplanes to bring you a wonderful tour of the best the Scandinavia Countries and Russia have to offer. June is the best time of year. In this part of the world the sun never really sets.

We have combined a perfect cruise, with a perfect land tour, with the perfect time of year and added the perfect educator (Dr. John Lund) – this really is the perfect Vacation!

Optional 3 day tour of Moscow

Why not add on Moscow, there are inexpensive flights from Berlin to Moscow, you can be there in a few hours. We have a 3 night extension to Moscow that is the icing on the cake. No other tour or cruise can deliver it all. With our combination of land, cruise, train, flights, fjord cruise and an option to add on Moscow, NO ONE can come close to what we deliver; especially when you consider the quality of hotels, buses and guides!!!

Important note

We were able to get a fantastic deal on the next years 5 night cruise on Royal Cribbean. When we add next year’s cruise to our special land package, we ended up hundreds less than what our 2011 Scandinavia cruise, shore excursions and land tour cost. 2011’s cruise was more expensive, plus the high cost of shore excursions made 2011’s cruise and tour hundreds more than your 2012 cruise and tour. There are only two optional shore excursions not included in the total package – Helsinki and St. Petersburg. 2012 is the year to do the Scandinavia cruise / tour

Price Includes

Your Fantastic Cruise / Tour Price Includes:

5 night Royal Caribbean Cruise
All Port Charges
All Hotels - 3 Star is first class, 4 star is deluxe and 5 star is luxury – All of your hotels in Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Lubeck and Berlin are either 4 star deluxe or 5 star luxury. The quality of hotels does make a difference!
All transfers from airports, hotels and ship
All tours, buses, guides & entrance fees in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany.
Special Guest Educator: Dr. John Lund
Fun For Less Tour Staff throughout the cruise and tour
Option to purchase our special discounted airfare – hundreds less than the ship charges.

Pricing Information

Fun For Less Tours Member Package Price: $2,795*
Call for Discounted Air
* Cash discount price per person based on double occupancy.
Price does not include airfare, optional package, cruise taxes, shore excursions, Moscow ext, taxes and fees.

Day to Day Itinerary

Day 1 June 23: Fly

Today you will fly from the US to Stockholm Sweden

Day 2: June 24: Stockholm

Upon arrival into Stockholm we will immediately start our tour of Stockholm. Our tour will include the fantastic Vasa Museum. The Vasa ship is the world’s only surviving 17^th century ship and one of the ship sunk on its first voyage in the harbor. It survived in the cold waters in tact until a few years ago it was discovered. This will be one of the special highlights on this tour. In addition to a tour of the city we will also visit a special open air museum that is filled with ancient homes, buildings and farm houses. This special museum and one like it in Oslo, show what life was like hundreds of years ago. At the end of the day we will check into our Stockholm hotel.

Day 3: June 25: Stockholm – Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

We will travel into the countryside surrounding Stockholm, before returning to Stockholm in the early afternoon to board your Royal Caribbean cruise ship. This evening the ship will sail for Helsinki Finland.

Day 4: June 26: Helsinki

Today will be an optional shore excursion in Helsinki, Finland and the surrounding countryside. In the Finish countryside we will visit the charming old wooden town of Porvoo. From the red warehouses nestled on the riverbanks to the delightful old town, you’ll discover a tranquil village. Porvoo retains its town plan from the middle ages, with small wooden houses, picturesque gardens and narrow streets. We will return in the afternoon to do a tour of Helsinki before returning to our ship.

Day 5 & 6: June 27 & 28: St. Petersburg Russia

You will spend 2 full days in St. Petersburg. The ship has a lock on shore excursions. From what we understand, if we tried to do our own shore excursions as we do everywhere else in the world, our buses would not be allowed into the port area to pick us up. Though the ship is expensive when not buying from us, we highly recommend you spend both days touring St. Petersburg. It is one of the most fascinating cities in the world and should not be missed.

Day 7: June 29: Fun Day at Sea

Today will be a day to relax, enjoy your free time and have a private get-together with only our group.

Day 8: June 30: Stockholm – Oslo

This morning we disembark our ship, travel the short distance to the airport and fly to Oslo Norway. Upon arrival we will immediately start our tour of Oslo that will include the Viking Museum and a Oslo City tour. Our Hotel is located in the perfect location, close to shops restaurants and the Warf. We will stay here three nights using Oslo as our base as we tour Norway.

Day 9: July 1: Norway in a Nut Shell

Today will be a highlight day on earth. We depart Oslo early in the morning on the Bergen Railway. You will see some of the most beautiful scenery in the world along with many waterfalls. The highlight of the day will be our cruise through some of the best fjords Norway has to offer. We will top it all off with a ride on the famous Flam Railway, before heading back to Oslo on the Bergen Railway. Here is an overview of what you will experience today:

The Bergen Railway:

The Bergen Railway is a unique experience on Northern Europe's highest-altitude railway line. One of the greatest challenges is the harsh and changeable weather. The line is exposed to deep low-pressure centers from the west, which can mean strong winds and heavy snow for part of the year. Keeping the railway open demands great effort and technical expertise. Today, skilled workers, effective equipment, tunnels and snow tunnels make the Bergen Railway one of the safest and most comfortable ways of travelling between Oslo and Bergen. The line was voted one of the 20 best railway experiences in the world in 1999

Flam Railway:

The journey on the Flam Railway is regarded as one of the highlights of the Norway in a nutshell® tour. The 20-km-long train journey from the mountain station of Myrdal down to Flam, down beside the fjord, takes around 55 minutes. On the journey, you have views of some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in Norway with an ever-changing panorama of tall mountains and cascading waterfalls. The train moves slowly or stops at the best views.

Norwegian Fjords – on UNESWCO’s World Heritage List

We will board a ship in Flam to sail into the Fjords of Norway. Your ship will sail through the Aurlandsfjord and into the Naeroyfjord, one of the narrowest fjord in Europe. The Naeroyfjord is included on UNESCO's famous World Heritage List. Surrounded by towering mountains almost 6,000 feet high, this branch of the Sognefjord is amazingly beautiful. On the journey, you have excellent views of small traditional farms. If you are lucky, you will see goats grazing right beside the fjord and seals basking on rocks before the boat moors at Gudvangen.

Stlheimskievia

The journey continues by coach up the steep and spectacular hairpin bends of Stalheimskleiva*. The road up to Stalheim Hotel has 13 steep bends. After enjoying the wonderful views of the Stalheimsfossen and Sivlefossen waterfalls, continues the journey on to Voss and further by train back to Oslo.

Day 10: July 2: Oslo

This morning will be another highlight as we visit Oslo’s Open Air Museum. Norway has gathered ancient homes, farm houses, schools, churches (even a Stave Church) from around Norway and created an authentic open air museum. Much like Plymouth Plantation near Boston and Williamsburg in Virginia, it is stepping back in time where everyone dresses as they did hundreds of years ago. This afternoon you will have some free time to explore Oslo on your own.

Day 11: July 3: Oslo – Copenhagen

Today we will transfer to the airport for your flight to Copenhagen. After our arrival you will have a full day tour of Copenhagen that will include a city tour. We will visit the Church that holds the original Christus. We will also visit one of the top 5 castles in the world: Frederiksborg Castle. We will overnight in Copenhagen.

Day 12: July 4: Copenhagen – Lubeck

We will spend our time driving through the Copenhagen countryside before boarding our ferry that will take us from Norway to Germany. We will to Lubeck in time to explore the ancient town before checking into our hotel.

Day 13: July 5: Lubeck – Berlin

We will depart early for Berlin. We will spend 2/3 of a day visiting both the east and the west side of Berlin. You will enjoy Berlin with its history and intrigue as we visit places like Check Point Charley and parts of the Berlin Wall that still stand today. We will overnight two nights in Berlin.

Day 14: July 6: Berlin – Separation of regular tour and Moscow extension group)

We will spend the morning visiting some of the important museums in Berlin. This afternoon will be free time to explore on your own or prepare for your flight home tomorrow.

NOTE: Those doing the Moscow Extension will fly to Moscow this afternoon.

Day 15: July 7: Fly

This morning you fly back to the US and on to your homes.

3 Day Moscow Extension

It is sad to go all the way to St. Petersburg, Russia and end up missing the fantastic city of Moscow with Red Square. During the stop in St. Petersburg, many ships offer a one day tour to Moscow for about $900. By the time you subtract airfare, you really only get at most 2/3 of a day touring. Moscow takes a minimum of 2 full days to tour Moscow.

We have the solution. For less than 900 you can fly to Moscow, spend three nights in a 5 star Marriott Hotel, spend two full days of touring and not lose time in St. Petersburg by trying to fly to Moscow for a few hour tour.

There are two big problems with this idea. It takes two full days to visit St. Petersburg and about 2 ½ days to visit all of Moscow. Even if you could afford the price you would only have one day in St. Petersburg and 2/3 of a day in Moscow after you subtract the flying time.

What the Moscow Extension price includes:

5 Star Luxury Marriott Hotel near Red Square – possibly the best hotel in Moscow – the price of this hotel on the internet, including taxes and breakfast is over $600 per room per night. We have included 3 nights in this special hotel. The last time we were in St. Petersburg, they let us know that this hotel is a expensive business hotel. We have been the only tour company that they have ever let stay there. We have known them for years and they allow us to stay in their special hotel at a price you can afford.
One Way Airfare from Berlin to Moscow
All tours, buses, guides, entrance fees and all transfers to and from hotels and airports
Svetlana is a close special friend to Fun For Less Tours. Her father was Stalin’s Air Marshall. She even went on Vacations with Stalin growing up. She witnessed the murders, disappearances and intrigue of Russia during the cold war. She will be with you the whole time you are in Russia and will share her life story. She only does with Fun For Less tours!

Extension Price: $979 per person

Extension Itinerary:

Day 1: July 6: Berlin – Moscow

The Moscow extension group will separate and fly to Moscow this afternoon. Upon arrival into Moscow, we will do an orientation tour around your hotel so you will know the area. We will then check into our 5 star Marriott hotel near Red Square.

Day 2 & 3: July 7 & 8: Moscow

You will experience 2 full days of touring in and around Moscow. A partial list of what you will enjoy while in Moscow: Full city tour, Red Square, the Kremlin, Lenin’s Tomb, the GUM Store, Moscow Circus, Izmailovo Market (the best shopping in Russia), Novodevichy Cemetery (the most unique cemetery in the world), the fantastic Metro and a lot more. You will have plenty of time to explore and shop.

Day 4: July 9: Fly

This morning you will fly from Moscow back to the US and home.