Port Question for Stockholm on Regal Princess

You might want to look on Googlemaps.com to see where the port is. We were maybe 2 miles from town when we docked a year ago. We booked a tour outside of the cruise company--actually the same tour company we used in St. Petersburg. It's a city best seen from a tour and not on your own.

Unfortunately, you are arriving to a port outside of the city. I hope you have a long day in Stockholm..

I've traveled from Nynäshamn a couple of times, but it was more than 10 years ago and on ferries rather than a cruise ship.

It is about a 15 minute walk from the port to the train station. The commuter train (pendeltåg) takes about an hour to Stockholm Central. In general, the train runs twice an hour on weekdays and less frequently on weekends. You should buy a 24 hour card which is valid on buses and subway too. You can check the schedule on the SL website
http://sl.se/en/

There is also this website which has info in English. http://www.visitnynashamn.se/en/home/cruise/faq.4.2447cef013e3c1b82892878.html

You might also check cruisecritic to see if there are excursions offered by companies other than the cruise line.

How long are you in port at "Stockholm"? The earlier noted link is a good one and confirms the train trip to Stockholm is an hour-plus. Check the frequency of the train to and from Stockholm and allow some time on both ends of the trip to get to/from the station, and back to the ship, then see how much time you have in the city. If you have 6+ hours left, I’d say go for it. Something to bear in mind; if the train takes over an hour to reach the city, so will a Princess Tour. The only difference is the ship's tour may be on a bus. The only "benefit" to a ship's tour is that you are "guaranteed" the ship won't leave without you. I personally wouldn't worry about this much unless your planning on really getting off the beaten path. Just watch your time and don't wait for the very last train back to the ship. If you’d miss the last train it would be a very, very expensive taxi ride.

We're not big-time cruisers but my wife and I will be on a Baltic Cruise in May, while we port closer to the city in Stockholm, it is still a train-trip away. We'll visit Stockholm as well as all the other ports on our own with the exception of St. Petersburg where we have booked a private (not ship's) tour to avoid the "visa hassle".

Pick up a RS book on Stockholm (or a Rough Guide, Lonely Planet or Everymans Guide-formerly Knopf) and go for it. David noted above that (Stockholm) is a city "best seen on a tour". I suppose this depends on how secure you are on making your own plans. Once you arrive at Central Station (train) you're a short walk from Gamla Stan, and a short tram ride (or ferry) from Djurgården. Most folks visiting Stockholm want to visit Gamla Stan and at least one of the museums on Djurgården (the Vasa Museum is unique). If you have 6+ hours in the city this is doable.

The ships tour would likely take you by the iconic City Hall and a drive around Djurgården, and perhaps a stop at the “IceBar”. Before you sign up for a ship’s tour, check if you actually go inside the City Hall and/or the museums and have time to enjoy the exhibits.

If you decide to do a DIY, once you arrive at Central Station, walk a short distance across the bridge to Gamla Stan, Take RS’ walking tour ending at Skeppsbron then take the ferry to Djurgården, walk to the Vasa Museum, (allow an hour to an hour and a half), then take the tram back to the center of town then walk back to Central Station (about 1,000m) and get a train back to the ship. Check the Stockholm Card to see if the train from the ship to the city is included on the card as well as the Vasa and the ferry and tram. Do some arithmetic to see if the Stockholm Card is a good value (or not).

Good luck, and enjoy Stockholm.