Tue, 9 Feb
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This semi-private shore excursion is for those who want to experience Berlin’s vibrant dining and craft beer culture, and also get a comprehensive overview of the city’s history and visit its most iconic and important monuments.
You will be greeted in front of your cruise ship as soon as it docks and shown to a modern, comfortable and air-conditioned bus. Your professional driver will then transfer you through the picturesque flatlands of former East Germany to Berlin (circa 3 hours).
When you reach the city you will be met at the stunning Schloss Charlottenburg by a professional English speaking tour guide (we hire only the best) and your own private vehicle and driver for the Berlin portion of the tour. After driving through former West Berlin, via the Kurfürstendamm, the dramatic, ruined spire of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, and the Tiergarten, you will make a stop at the Lindenbräu within the futuristic Sony Centre. Here you can try Berlin’s signature sausage dish – Currywurst – alongside one of Berlin's most popular beers.
On the next portion of the tour, you will visit the city’s most important sites – including the Reichstag, the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, the site of Hitler’s Bunker, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, and more. Your guide will provide an in-depth commentary, helping you understand the sites and what makes the city and its people tick.
Next, we head to Brauhaus Lemke, one of Berlin’s most established craft breweries, to taste 6 of their beers and also indulge in a platter of fine sausages and German cheese. For dessert, we head to Berlin’s most famous independent chocolatier, Rausch, for a slice of sumptuous cake – or an ice cream if you prefer. Finally, we’ll make our way down to Kreuzberg and Markthalle Neun, the undisputed king of Berlin’s street food markets, to pick up a BBQ sandwich for the journey back to port and a final beer at mini-brewery Heidenpeters.
Your guide will then accompany you back to Schloss Charlottenburg at the end of the Berlin portion of the tour, where you will rejoin your original bus and be driven back to the port.
All of our shore excursions are adjusted to each ship’s docking times and each starts promptly after your vessel’s arrival, returning with plenty of time to spare before its departure. We have been organizing shore excursions for nearly a decade and have never missed a cruise ship’s departure.
The tour begins with a pickup directly at your ship’s docking port. You will be escorted to a modern, air-conditioned bus and driven to Berlin – the journey takes roughly 3 hours.
Arriving at the palace you will be met by your professional, English-speaking tour guide and your own private vehicle and driver for the Berlin portion of the tour.
Driving through the former British Sector, you will cruise down the Kurfürstendamm – Berlin’s Champs-Élysées.
We then witness the devastation caused by US and British bombing raids during WWII as you drive past the preserved ruins of this late 19th-century church.
You will then be driven through the lush greenery of Berlin's vast central park.
Make sure to have your camera ready to catch the sun glinting on the golden angel Victoria, goddess of victory, as you circle around Prussia's emphatic monument to its triumphs in the Wars of Unification.
Next is our first food stop: sample one of Berlin's most popular beers and snack on the city's signature sausage dish – Currywurst.
After our snack we reach the German parliament building – burned down after Hitler’s rise to power, now a bold symbol of modern German democracy. Here we will exit the vehicle and spend the next portion of the tour on foot.
We then walk through the gateways of Berlin's most iconic monument and find out what makes the Gate the most important cultural monument in Germany.
After taking plenty of time for pictures we journey through the iconic field of concrete blocks, bear witness the atrocities of National Socialism.
Just a short walk from the memorial is the site of the bunker where history's most notorious criminal committed suicide at the end of WWII.
Next we head to the dark heart of Nazi Germany at the former headquarters of the SS and Gestapo. You will also come face-to-face with the Cold War's most brutal symbol: The Berlin Wall.
You will then have the opportunity to cross between East and West at the most famous border crossing point over the Berlin Wall, frontline of the Cold War, where spies roamed and US and Soviet tanks faced off in 1961.
Back in the vehicle we’ll drive past the oldest district in Berlin.
Next we pass the second tallest building in Europe, built as a symbol of the East German state’s power and modernity in 1969.
Pass by the heart of pre-WWII Berlin and see the Old and New Town Halls and the Church of St. Mary.
For lunch we stop at one of Berlin’s best microbreweries to sample a selection of beer brewed in house, and delicious platters of local sausage and cheese.
Back in the vehicle we have time to marvel at the stunning structures and imperial splendor of this UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site. See the Old Museum, the Berlin City Palace, the Berlin Cathedral and more.
Next we cruise down Berlin's most important historical boulevard – the city’s royal mile.
As we drive toward our next food stop time will be taken to bathe in the architectural splendor of Berlin's most beautiful square. See the French and German Domes and the Concert House.
Time for dessert. We pay a visit to Berlin's best, and one of Germany's most famous, independent chocolatiers, and sample one of their sumptuous cakes.
Finally we spend some time browsing the undisputed king of Berlin's contemporary street food markets. Grab a BBQ sandwich to takeaway and sup on one last craft beer before heading back to port.
We then end the Berlin portion of the tour back at the Charlottenburg Palace. Your guide will leave you at this point and you will rejoin the original bus and be driven back to port.
The tour finishes back at port in plenty of time for your ship’s departure.
You will be picked up directly in front of your cruise ship.
Tour times are adjusted to your ship’s docking times. In the event of heavy traffic, road blockages, special events, or unforeseen circumstances the tour itinerary may be subject to change. We cannot take responsibility for such incidents and refunds will not be provided.
At the end of the tour you will be dropped off back at your cruise ship.
- For groups of 1-6 people: free cancellation up to 48 hours in advance.
- For groups of 7+ people: free cancellation up to up to 7 days ahead. From 6 days in advance to 48 hours in advance, a 50% fee will apply.
- Cancellations less than 48 hours ahead or no-shows result in no refund.
Starting times of the semi-private version of the tour in the 2023 season:
Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 7:30am - Rotterdam
Friday, June 2, 2023, 7:30am - Celebrity Apex
Tuesday, June 6, 2023, 7:30am - Rotterdam
Wednesday, June 14, 2023, 7:30am - Norwegian Dawn
Friday, June 16, 2023, 7:30am - Nieuw Statendam
Wednesday, June 21, 2023, 8:00am - Carnival Pride
Sunday, June 25, 2023, 7:30am – Oceania Marina
Tuesday, June 27, 2023, 9:30am - Celebrity Apex
Friday, June 30, 2023, 7:30am - Norwegian Dawn
Monday, July 10, 2023, 7:30am - Nieuw Statendam
Wednesday, July 12, 2023, 8:00am - Carnival Pride
Monday, July 17, 2023, 7:30am - Sky Princess
Friday, July 21, 2023, 9:30am - Celebrity Apex
Monday, August 7, 2023, 7:30am - Norwegian Dawn
Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 7:30am - Norwegian Dawn
Wednesday, August 23, 2023, 9:30am - Celebrity Apex
Monday, September 11, 2023, 8:30am – Oceania Marina
Friday, September 15, 2023, 7:30am – Oceania Marina
Tuesday, September 26, 2023, 7:30am – Rotterdam
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