Oceania or private tour in St Petersburg

[brandybold]

We had planned to do Oceania excursions in St Petersburg, but am wondering if a private tour might be better...pros & cons?

[joan24]

We used Red October to tour St. Petersburg and had a wonderful two days plus one evening with them. The best part of using a private tour company is being able to customize your tour. It's much quicker and easier getting in and out of a van instead of a large tour bus. We had lunch with a Russian family in their apartment and it was a rare chance to see how a Russian family lives. If you don't have a group of six or eight people you can post here or on the Yahoo Oceania board and find people to share your tour making it much less expensive. We did that and made some wonderful friends. Either way you'll enjoy St. Petersburg. It's a beautiful city. Have fun.
Joan

[shoshona2]

I agree with everything Joan said in her post. We used Red October three years ago and had a fabulous tour. The other thing is that you won't need a Russian visa as Red October and the other private companies take care of it. You will receive a "ticket" in the mail which goes in your passport to give to Russian immigration officials when you leave the ship. Your guide will be waiting about ten feet from immigration with a sign. You MUST stay with your guide during touring and will NOT be allowed to wander around St. Petersburg. We thoroughly enjoyed having lunch with a Russian family -- our guide was our interpreter.

Sheila

[frankpc]

Another vote for Red October .... We used them back in '01 on a Ren cruise ... great guide ... custom tour .... even whisked ahead of the Ren tour bus folks to get in the Hermitage ... if we ever go back there we wouldn't even think about doing a ship tour.

JMHO as we really like Oceania - but a big tour bus is not our thing.

I also read Massey's "Nicholas and Alexander" and "Peter the Great" before going .... great background for everything you'll see.
Here's a couple of links to the Amazon pages for the books:

http://*******.com/kvh7r

http://*******.com/gd2cr


Frank

[sancarlos]

We were in St Petersburg last July on Oceania and we used DenRus who were most helpful and the three days of touring was wonderful. They customized our tour to our wishes and our tour guide was Eugenia who was delilghtful. Beware of DenRus' Ludmilla. But highly recommend the tour company.

[smj]

We toured with Red October. I would most certanly do private again.

[Druke I]

We were in St. Pete last September, on Regatta.

My wife, sis-in-law & hubby, and I all went on different tours (different tastes I suppose), using Oceania's "canned tours", as they seemed to meet our needs/wishes. They were fine for us. I went on a subway ride/walk, my wife and sis-in-law went on a couple of excursions (including the ballet). I don't recall at this point what bro-in-law did.

That said, many people aboard reported good experiences using RedOctober or DenRus.

[Jane110]

We had planned to do Oceania excursions in St Petersburg, but am wondering if a private tour might be better...pros & cons?

PRIVATE TOUR (Denrus and Red Oct. - both excellent)
Pros - it's YOUR tour! You pre-decide itinerary w/ their help & guidelines. Once on your tour, you can do slight adjustments to schedule. We opted to skip some rose gardens for a walk through a St. P, neighborhood and shopping at a russian supermarket.
Cons - probably more expensive than ship's tour

SHIP TOUR
Pros - maybe saves a little money
Cons - it's THEIR tour! You want to spend more time someplace? Change lunch plans? Too bad! Get back on the bus!

Either option gets you a group tourist Visa. If you want to wander on your own or use an individual private guide, you'll have to get your own Visa before your cruise.

We were sorry we didn't pre-arrange an evening out with our guide. We were there in June, the longest day of the year and that week is St. P's famous "White Nights celebrations" when it doesn't get dark. Everyone is out in the streets all night and because we didn't have a Visa or pre-arrange a guide, we were on the ship, not out enjoying the festivities. Many people onboard were too tired from their day to go out, while I felt like I was in prison. So that aspect depends on your energy level and what time of year you'll be there.

Should you want to see a ballet/concert/nightclub in the evening, it's fine to book with Oceania if they offer it, even if you've toured w/ a private company during the day. After all, it's just transportation to/from the theatre. Be prepared for outrageous prices though because you won't have a Visa and the ship will take advantage of that. A ticket to the ballet/opera in Russia costs less than $10. pp.

[WJBonds]

One more strong vote for Red October. We used them last summer with a group formed on this very site. They were fabulous. We were picked up in a 10 passenger Mercedes limo and watched the cruiseline group get picked up by an old tour bus.
At each stop we went to the front of the line and right inside.
BTW - the cost of our completely customized tour was less than the cost of the ship's tour. And, we saw MUCH more than they did in the same time period.

[RetiredFL]

We used Red October several years ago and feel we got the best. You will probably only be in St. Petersburg once so it is worth the extra cost, if any. We designed our days, saw what WE wanted in the museums, ate in local restaurants (One with various meat pies was great). and were on a much more relaxed "leash" that the organized tours. We did get to walk around the Prospect on our own and use an internet cafe to check e-mails (Much cheraper than the ship) Our guide arranged for us to exchange money on the first morning. We found the Red Ocotber store well priced although our guide willingly took us to one too many amber stores until one in our party of four found the perfect necklace!
We also had a lively conversation about life in Russia and current politics.
I would recommend it highly.
PS: The ship says you have to wait until all the Oceania tours leave before you can get off to go on private tours but we just joined the line and got off without a problem. Show your ticket to the bored customs person and meet your guide.

[JohnCH]

We will be Regatta passengers in St. Petersburg August 4-6. Do the private tour companies still provide a document that substitutes for a tourist visa? Zierer Visa Services,the company mentioned in Oceania's literature, has been acquired by another and will no longer issue the "tourist invitation letter" required for a visa unless one is staying in a hotel. Ocenaia will not issue the letters either. My wife and I are very interested in joining with others on private tours.

[RetiredFL]

Red October sends a letter to be shown to the dock officials, who really don't look very thoroughly. That works in place of a visa. In theory you have a group visa with them the same as a ship's tour. If you are going in August the time is fairly short. Red Ocotber did e-mail us the letter to show but it takes a little while to get everything planned as you have to agree on what you want to do and prices, etc. I presume other local tour companies do the same.

[Raphy]

We had planned to do Oceania excursions in St Petersburg, but am wondering if a private tour might be better...pros & cons?

We've done the internet research & also vote for Red October Private Tour.
We are interested in sharing a NON-SMOKING Private Tour for St Pete. Red October has prepared a 3 day itinerary for us.
We are on Regatta 7-18-06.
Hope that someone is interested in joining us.

[sophie1]

HAve not yet done this so do not know the answer...but private tour company Red October has been highly recommended

[Portrait24]

We've done the internet research & also vote for Red October Private Tour.
We are interested in sharing a NON-SMOKING Private Tour for St Pete. Red October has prepared a 3 day itinerary for us.
We are on Regatta 7-18-06.
Hope that someone is interested in joining us.

Am on Regatta 7-18 and may be interested. Can you provide specific information on tours and costs?
Portrait1911@aol.com

[dbh62ark]

We had planned to do Oceania excursions in St Petersburg, but am wondering if a private tour might be better...pros & cons?I cruised the Baltics twice and highly recommend a private tour to see the most in the time alloted. Jane has listed some excellent points above. I think all three of the main private tour operators (Alla, Red October, and Denrus) do a great job with tours as shown by all the favorable posts on the Baltics section of these message boards. We went with a Red October group in 2003, and I organized a Denrus group for 25 in 2005--we used three vans with separate guides (I think the groups need to be smaller than 10 to fully benefit from a private tour)--because Red October did not want to work with us on some of requests for customization. So I highly recommend Denrus (http://www.denrus.ru/) but know you'll have a great time in a fabulous city no matter what you decide.

:) Donna

[nanam305]

Have you finalized your St Petersburg private tour? We are 2 interested in doing a private tour of St Petersburg. We are on the same ship and sailing.
nanam305

[VIVACE]

We are interested in forming a group to use Red October for the two days we are in St. Petersburg - July 26 and 27th. I have a 2-day Shore Excursion Program that they prepared - First day is the Grand Palace, Hermitage Arts Museum, Peter-and-Paul Fortress, shopping opp - Second day is to Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), Catherine Palace, St. Isaac's Cathedral, Yusupovs'Palace - I gather from reading the postings that we can add or subtract various visits.

[mstencino]

The posts seem to recommend the Red October private tours. Would anyone be interested in joining my husband and I on a private Red October tour. We sail on the Regatta- Stockholm to London, July 4th, 2006. Time is quickly approaching!!!!!!

[mikedenver]

I am travelling on the July 18th sailing of the Regatta. I contacted Red October to try to book something in St. Petersburg, and was told that it was too late. The only thing available would be a private car, which wouldn't work out to be any more "cost-effective" than taking the ship's excursions. Should I try DenRus? Any other suggestions? There are two of us...my mother and myself, celebrating a "big" birthday for her...

Thanks,
Michael :)

[dbh62ark]

Welcome to CruiseCritic, and I think it's wonderful that you and your mother can make this trip together. I would suggest that you contact Denrus at www.denrus.ru. Hopefully they will have a group that you can join, or you can sign up for a "value tour" for your sailing. I worked with Red October and Denrus (made arrangements for 3 van loads of passengers on our Baltics sailing last year) and found Denrus to be much more accomodating and flexible. I do hope you'll be able to arrange a private tour because you'll see so much more than you would on a ship's excursion. Have you checked the roll call boards (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=72) to see if there is a group for your sailing listed there? There is information for other tour operators on the Baltics ports section of these boards. Alla is highly recommended, but I don't know how she does with those booking on short notice. There are a few other guides, but you will need a Russian visa, so you might check the boards to see if you can obtain a visa on short notice.

Have a great trip,
Donna

[2dogcarol]

I just returned from the Baltic cruise. Our group of 8 used Denrus and had Nadya as a guide. I can't speak highly enough of both Denrus and Nadya. She spoke perfect English and was a treasure trove of knowledge. She made us all want to return home and read up on Russian history. She always took us straight to the head of the lines. St. Petersburg was the highlight of the cruise so see everything possible to see in three days time. Denrus sent us a letter to show to officials but all they wanted to see was our passport, they took a copy of our passport, and they needed to see the tour ticket. It was as easy as that. We also had no trouble getting off the ship. Just walked off as soon as the ship was cleared.

[mikedenver]

I've been in contact with them, and am waiting to hear back now. I'll let you know what I arrange...

Thank you so much for your encouragement!

Michael :)

[dbh62ark]

That's great, Michael. I hope you have a wonderful trip and would love to hear a report when you return.

:) Donna

[Raphy]

I am travelling on the July 18th sailing of the Regatta. I contacted Red October to try to book something in St. Petersburg, and was told that it was too late. The only thing available would be a private car, which wouldn't work out to be any more "cost-effective" than taking the ship's excursions. Should I try DenRus? Any other suggestions? There are two of us...my mother and myself, celebrating a "big" birthday for her...

Thanks,
Michael :)
Michael
Please contact me ASAP if you are interested in 3 day non-smoking private St Petersburg tour. We are putting it together with ALLA.
Raphy.
SOULHLR@yahoo.com

[page W]

Hello, I see several people (John CH and namam 305 and maybe more) are interested in tours in St. P on the Regatta sailing Aug. 1. A friend and I would love to share tours on Aug. 4 and 6 and maybe attend a ballet or other show at night. (We are taking the ship's Moscow tour on Aug. 5.) Of course, we want to cram in all the good stuff on Aug. 4 and 6, and you may be interested in tours all 3 days. I have been in contact with Red October, and Galia says she may have others interested in these days. Olga with DenRus says we need to set up our own group. Also, we would be interested in sharing a taxi in Gdansk, maybe to find an English speaking driver to take us on a tour. Any ideas? Thanks!!

[sunflowerinde]

My husband and I are also on the August 1 Regatta. A number of us who have been exchanging information on another thread are booked with Alla Tours. She has been extremely responsive and received many positive reviews. The link for her website is http://www.alla-tour.com/ I believe her email address is posted on the website but if not I can post in another message.

We have been trying to get interest in a tour in Gdansk. I checked out www.toursinpoland.com (http://www.toursinpoland.com) , which was recommended on one of the threads, and sent an email. At present they have a van that would accomodate 8. I was looking at tour #2.

My email is sunflowerinde@yahoo.com.

[JohnCH]

We will also be on the August 1 Regatta cruise. My wife and I would like to join others on a DenRus or Red October tour.
John Hale

[sunflowerinde]

We have 6 confirmed for tour in Gdansk with toursinpoland.com. Need 2 more to fill van for 8. Price in euros - 50 per person. Contact sunflowerinde@yahoo.com

[sunflowerinde]

The groups I have been working with are now full. Thanks to all who contacted me.

[luvpadreschargers]

We just got back from Oceania's Baltic Cruise on Tuesday of this week - we would definitely recommend Red October. Our group consisted of 10 people and Red October worked out perfectly for us. We did an 8:30 to 5:00 tour on the first day, 8:30 to 4:30 on the second day, and 9:15 to 3:30 tour on the final day. It was wonderful having a van take us where we wanted to go - rather than travelling with 50 other people on the bus. It was obviously much more personal.
The price per couple for the three days was $800. If we had done ship tours for that length of time, it would have been much more expensive.
I met people on the ship that had four people in their tour - that ended up being $1200 per couple - but they also attended a ballet one evening.
I would recommend Red October to anyone. Our guide, Tatyana, was outstanding. She was extremely knowledgeable.
Have fun!

[sandbag7]

We also just returned from the Regatta on July 4. We used Alla, an independent, and were very pleased. We were a group of 4, and the cost for three days was $900.00 per couple including both treasure rooms of the Hermitage, and visits to Catherines Palace and Peterhof as well as numerous other sites. All entree charges were included including the charge for camera use.
We rode in a Mercedes Van with the guide and driver; by travelling in a smaller group than the usual 8-10 that is characteristic of Denrus and Red October, I felt we were able to travel quicker and see more; we also were able to add sites (like Kazan Cathedral) when time allowed. We also were able to see some sites (a market and a famous cemetary and monastery) which probably would not have worked with a larger group because of the need to have multiple consents.
Prior to booking with Alla I checked with Denrus and Red October; both were considerably more expensive for a small group.

[sandbag7]

I should add that our tour was from 9 to 7 on the first day, 9 to 5 on the second and 9 to 4:30 on the third; if you wanted a shorter tour, I'm fairly certain Alla would adjust her pricing.

[cranium]

[quote=nanam305]Have you finalized your St Petersburg private tour? We are 2 interested in doing a private tour of St Petersburg. We are on the same ship and sailing.
Hi, We are on the Regatta sailing on August 1st. We are interested in sharing a private tour . We have contacted Red October and would like to share with another couple or two. Let us know if you are interested. Dodieray@aol.com

[sancarlos]

MIKE IN DENVER I would very much contact DenRus and see if they can arrange something for you. Ask for Eugena is she is available, she is wonderful. I am formally from Evergreen, hope you enjoy the cruise to the Baltic as much as we did last year. This year Greece on the Natical.

[kimrealestate]

I am not a fan of Oceania and one of the primary reasons is the overpriced, overcrowded, lousy tours they offer. I wish I had known about this site prior to my cruise. If I had I would have booked a private tour at every port. We missed a lot on our Northern European cruise because I had not arranged things prior to the cruise. The Oceania concierge was lame. He told us their were no car rentals twice - both cases we got off and found a rental within walking distance of the ship. I don't think he ever was off the ship! Oceania works if you take the time prior to your cruise to plan your port excursions. Bravo for thinking ahead and have a great time!

[funoverdue]

My husband and I are also on the Regatta Aug 1 sailing. We have contacted both DenRus and Red October about custom tours of St Petersburg. We are interested in the following:
CatherinePalace
Hermitage
Spilled Blood Cathedral
GrandPalace of Peterhof
Peter and Paul Fortress
St Nicholas Church
St Isaac’s Cathedral
Yusupovs’ Palace

As time is very short.....immediate response required from couples interested in joining us to form small group.
Please e-mail ..... jvan1000@hotmail.com (jvan1000@hotmail.com)

Based on the the response by both, we are inclined to book with DenRus.

[shedevil]

Just back from the Insignia cruise to the Baltic - July 10-24 - and we used Red October. It was great. Before the cruise we were in contact with the company to develop a tour that meet our expectations.

I would suggest groups in St. Pete's of 4-6 because it gives the guide more leeway when getting you in and out of the really busy sites...Like the palaces and churches. If you are a small group.....if the guide is good.....you don't spend much time in the really long lines. And be prepared if you take a large tour to stand in line and be treated like a small herd of cattle.

Red October worked out 3 days of tours and they were able to change a few things once we got there due to the huge crowds caused by the G-8 meeting delaying port entry for other cruises.

We started very early...that is one trick because most cruise tours start after 8:30am. At most sites we were through our visit and getting back in our van when the 15 buses pulled in the parking lot.

Bring a small hand fan....it gets very stuffy in the buildings.....Even when it is cool outside.

One of the hightlights was having lunch in a local restaurant on the last day. It was the resturant our tour guide meets her friends after work and the food was great. Much better than the "tour" arranged local resturant on the first day.

Our guide, Victoria, was knowledgeable, excited to tell us about her town, and spoke very good english. Our driver was very good and we always felt safe during the visit.

On the first morning in St. Pete's be downstairs at the gangway around 8:00-8:30am (check your ship's daily paper and be there at the time they list disembarkation) and you will beat the HUGE crowd getting off the boat. This was the only day that we got caught in a long line to get off the boat. TIP- if you are on a private tour, once you get off the ship on the first day, there will probably be a long line of people (if you were not first in line) for the O tours (they will have O stickers on their shirts) go around that line to the right and there is a customs line for just crew and private tours. That will save you 30 minutes your first day in St. Pete's.

Cons -
It cost a little more than the Oceania cruise.
Beware of the "boxed lunch" (this goes for all St. Pete's tours)
They have to stop at the souvenir store for you to pay the balance on your account (But the items were reasonably priced, a hat we bought was being sold in the ship's boutique for twice as much and there was free vodka samples.
You won't be with 50 of your fellow shipmates;)

Pros-
More flexible and tailored to our interests
Due to the small size of our group of 4, we were able to by-pass many of the long lines.
One on one chats - Victoria told us about growing up under soviet rule and how things have changed, she made us feel like we understood what being Russian was, her love of St. Pete's and Russia gave our tour a special feel.
You could hear what the guide was saying and ask questions.
No waiting for the last 2 people who took forever to get off the bus or were late in the morning. (heard horror stories about folks who made a large tour go really slow because they kept wandering off)
Our guide took us to a shop off the beaten track and we found wonderful Russian folk art we did not see anywhere else.

St. Pete's for many is a once in a lifetime visit - spend a little extra money and get the tour that you will enjoy and fulfill your expectations. I would recommend Red October but DENRUS has gotten good reviews too.

[Riverroad]

Sharon,
Thanks for sharing your experience & for the helpful tip about getting off the ship in St. Petersburg. We are on the Aug. 3 Insignia sailing & have a private tour booked with Alla. I was wondering how it worked getting off at the same time as the ship's excursions & now I know. We'll be prepared!

[gailoterson]

For those of you who booked a private tour, about how far in advance to you contact the tour group? I am booked for next June and wanted to know when I should contact someone.

CJ cruiser feel free to chime in here. I am counting on planning this with you.

Also, how many people would you recommend to form a small group? I was actually thinking that we should try to find a group of 6-8. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Gail

[shedevil]

For those of you who booked a private tour, about how far in advance to you contact the tour group? I am booked for next June and wanted to know when I should contact someone.

CJ cruiser feel free to chime in here. I am counting on planning this with you.

Also, how many people would you recommend to form a small group? I was actually thinking that we should try to find a group of 6-8. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Gail

We started contacting tour companies about 4 months before the July 2006 cruise. For example the months of June - August are considered high season in the Baltic and if you wait too long....you might be out of luck.

It is wise to expect the unexpected. We were glad we had already booked Red October when the G8 Summit in St. Pete's changed the plans of other cruise lines and suddenly there were double the number of ships in port with the Insignia. Folks from those ships were scrambling to schedule/reschedule tours.......

Do some research before you contact a tour company and have a list of the things you want to see. For example, if we had it to do again, we probably would have skipped the piers in Gdansk and spent more time exploring Old Town.

We had a group of 6 for one tour but for St. Pete's and rest of the time we were just a group of 4. In my opinion, the best size is 4-6 due to the size of the van needed for transport and it is easier getting a smaller group in and out of the buildings. The larger your group, the more likely you will end up having to wait in lines and you have less flexibility when asking to change things. Also, if you want to eat in local restaurants, it is easier to accomodate smaller groups.

It does make it a little cheaper to have a larger group but you lose flexibility and the tour gets a little less personal.

We also asked our guides (and driver in St. Pete's) to join us for each local meal. It was a great time for getting to know about their families and personal experiences.

[gailoterson]

Thank you Sharon for your response.

Gail

[patnles]

Quick question for those of you who went on an Oceania Baltic cruise this season - where did your Oceania ship dock in St. Pete? I have now read that there are four possible dock locations depending upon the size of ship (and clout of the cruise line?).
There are also rumours of a new cruise ship terminal - any information on that would be useful too as we plan our 2007 cruise to the Baltic on Regatta.
Thanks
Les

[sboca]

What is the Email address for Red October. My husband and I are taking this cruise July 14 2007. Also what part of the guided tour did you like the best and what part would you eliminate. Thanks for your response. I find these boards so helpful.