Finnlines

[r32]

I would be interested to hear your review of the company if you had the chance to travel with them.

I am thinking of taking the ferry to Rostock this summer and I wanted to get some info about Finnlines...

Let's see, maybe you can help me

[DMC]

I have used them a few times, the most recent being a trip to Traavemunde a couple of weeks ago. I find it depends on vehicle, and the ultimate destination, whether they are a good choice. Travelling in a normal car and heading west from the Baltic I think it is faster and cheaper to take a ferry to Stockholm then drive down through Sweden & Denmark. In a larger vehicle, perhaps with a trailer or caravan, and/or heading east, Finnlines to Rostock can be cheaper.
The crossing itself is either boring or relaxing, depending on your point of view. With some good reading material I usually enjoy it.

[r32]

I have used them a few times, the most recent being a trip to Traavemunde a couple of weeks ago. I find it depends on vehicle, and the ultimate destination, whether they are a good choice. Travelling in a normal car and heading west from the Baltic I think it is faster and cheaper to take a ferry to Stockholm then drive down through Sweden & Denmark. In a larger vehicle, perhaps with a trailer or caravan, and/or heading east, Finnlines to Rostock can be cheaper.
The crossing itself is either boring or relaxing, depending on your point of view. With some good reading material I usually enjoy it.

Thank you DMC! I was checking their web pages today and I saw that the travel time is VERY LONG! The ship leaves Tuesday 18:30 and arrives in Rostock Thursday 8:30....To my standards it is TO LONG because I don't like ships so much

I would have taken the Baltic trip because I am quite used with it, but now I have a problem with my car's valtakirja which is not valid in Poland, Estonia,Latvia and Lithuania...How weird is that?

[DMC]

My last trip was to Fance, and we went with two large vehicles and trailers. The Finnlines to Traavemunde was definitely cheaper than driving through Sweden. I didn't come back with the vehicles as I continued on to do another job in Spain. Apparently the vehicles got back to Traavemunde on Easter Monday only to find there was no sailing that day. Rather than wait for the next day they drove up through Sweden and got a ship from Kapellskar to Naantali. They got home about the same time as if they had waited for the ship at Traavemunde, but of course they had significant extra fuel costs. The extra fuel would be less significant in a normal car.
It is a while since I took the Rostock route. On the Traavemunde route at least they introduced some new ships a couple of years ago, but continued to run the old ones for some sailings. The new ships were considerably quicker than the old ones, so it might be worth checking whether there are ay quicker crossings available. Maybe not all crossings take the same time.

[r32]

My last trip was to Fance, and we went with two large vehicles and trailers. The Finnlines to Traavemunde was definitely cheaper than driving through Sweden. I didn't come back with the vehicles as I continued on to do another job in Spain. Apparently the vehicles got back to Traavemunde on Easter Monday only to find there was no sailing that day. Rather than wait for the next day they drove up through Sweden and got a ship from Kapellskar to Naantali. They got home about the same time as if they had waited for the ship at Traavemunde, but of course they had significant extra fuel costs. The extra fuel would be less significant in a normal car.
It is a while since I took the Rostock route. On the Traavemunde route at least they introduced some new ships a couple of years ago, but continued to run the old ones for some sailings. The new ships were considerably quicker than the old ones, so it might be worth checking whether there are ay quicker crossings available. Maybe not all crossings take the same time.

I don't mind driving, actually it's quite cool in Sweden and Denmark, not so much traffic, good roads...but still I am a bit concerned about the fuel cost because I read that this summer the price will go high...even today I bought petrol with 1.42 euros/liter.

Also the bridges in Denmark are very expensive...

[DMC]

I doubt fuel costs will change enough to make the ferry cheaper for a passenger car, but do the calculations and convince yourself. Also consider which trip you prefer. If you don't like ships then the ferry may not be the best choice for you, but weigh that against arriving in Germany refreshed and ready for a drive rather than having already 900 or 1000 km by taking the land route. My choice is to drive through Sweden in a normal car but to take the ferry in a large vehicle, but that may not be the best choice for you.
One other thing is that the Finnlines ships are not the luxury cruise liners that you may be used to on the Stockholm run. There is little on them to keep you amused - a little shop, a bar, and a restaurant that is only open at set times. As I said, some would regard that as relaxing but to some it is boring.

[r32]

I doubt fuel costs will change enough to make the ferry cheaper for a passenger car, but do the calculations and convince yourself. Also consider which trip you prefer. If you don't like ships then the ferry may not be the best choice for you, but weigh that against arriving in Germany refreshed and ready for a drive rather than having already 900 or 1000 km by taking the land route. My choice is to drive through Sweden in a normal car but to take the ferry in a large vehicle, but that may not be the best choice for you.
One other thing is that the Finnlines ships are not the luxury cruise liners that you may be used to on the Stockholm run. There is little on them to keep you amused - a little shop, a bar, and a restaurant that is only open at set times. As I said, some would regard that as relaxing but to some it is boring.

Once again, thank you. It's good to know more before choosing...At the moment, I have to think a bit. First stop is to call Nordea tomorrow and see how come they decided to make a change to the countries...

But most likely I will choose the ferry to Stockholm.