Hello.
We are a group of 8 people with luggage. We need to travel from Berlin to Rostock on the morning of our cruise. We plan to take the earliest RE5 regional train from Berlin Hbf (around 6:30 a.m.). Is this a safe plan, or is it too risky on the same day as our cruise?
Should we board at Berlin Hbf, or should we go to an earlier station like Potsdamer Platz to have a better chance of getting seats? Is it possible that the train will already be full and that we won't find seats, or even be unable to board? Also, how likely is it that we could miss the train? We are worried because we must arrive at the cruise port on time.
Is it advisable to buy the tickets ahead of time or it doesn't matter, they can be bought on the same day?
Any advice from people who have done this trip would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Surrey, UK
1069 posts
I can't answer most of your specific queries but, as a matter of principle, I would want to be In Rostock the night before your cruise in case of unexpected problems with the train.
An alternative would be to hire a big enough van/driver to cover the 150 mile journey.
Posted by
534 posts
having thought of all the problems that might happen on the way you forgot to say what time you need to be at the port!
how likely is it that we could miss the train? only people who know you can answer that!
There is also the important point of where exactly the ship will be waiting, if it says Warnemünde then you have a connecting local train ride after arriving Rostock Hbf. - but the good news is that this train ends across the road from the Cruise Centre.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
We need to be by 11am at Warnemunde cruise port. Yes, we are aware that we need to take S-Bahn from Rostock to Warnemünde (which are very frequent)
We are thinking of taking the RE Train at around 6:30am (Berlin Hbf to Rostock)
Posted by
Wengen
4101 posts
Early morning the trains will be full towards Berlin, but rather lightly loaded away from Berlin, so I would not worry. Just buy a ticket, and go. The chance that this train is so full that you won't even be able to board is negligible.
Posted by
Surrey, UK
1069 posts
You also don't say which day. Trains take between 2 and 2 hr 40 mins and may involve a change. The train to Warnemunde is about 20 mins, plus conecting time.
Personelly, with a boarding time of 11am, I simply wouldn't risk it.
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
5073 posts
Like Lin C wrote, check out the cost of a driver. Split 8 ways (or 4 if you are couples) might not cost too much more. Add in the convenience and eliminating the worry of a missed or delayed train would be worth the price for us.
If you stay in Warnemunde a night or two before you can go visit Rostock for a day. It is an interesting small city with East Germany history.
We are taking a cruise from Ravenna, Italy in September. We are 5 couples and we are staying in Ravenna a few nights before the cruise to eliminate all delay possibilities.
Posted by
534 posts
That 06:30ish train doesn't get you to Warnemünde until 09:58 which doesn't give much padding if final checkin for the cruise is 11:00 (but if that is the checkin opens time then it might be OK). If in doubt stay in Warnemünde for the night prior to the cruise, it's a pleasant little beach resort not one of the ugly commercial harbours where cruises often dock.
8 Passengers with luggage might need two vehicles with drivers (the most common mini vans go to 8+driver but then have limited luggage space). If you leave Berlin the previous afternoon you can use a RE5 + S-Bahn combination with discounted group tickets called "Quer durchs Land" (and almost always abbreviated to QdL). One QdL for four people costs €87, so two of those will cover 8 of you for €174 - which is much less than paying drivers. No need to book in advance, just buy them at DB machines at the station in Berlin, just remember you do not buy one ticket per person, you select the number of people in each mini group (the max. on one ticket is five which is why you need to split the group onto two tickets). Using these group tickets you pay €21.75 each - compared with the normal fare for the journey of €59.90 each that's quite a discount. QdLs are valid until early hours next day so you could even use it for an evening visit to Rostock old town.
https://int.bahn.de/en/offers/regional/day-ticket-germany not valid before 09:00 on Mondays-Fridays