Anyone not like St. Petersburg Russia

Interested in doing the Baltics, but in reading reviews, I've been wondering if I may get bored with the Palaces and Churches.:( I know of the pros. Any cons?

Interested in doing the Baltics, but in reading reviews, I've been wondering if I may get bored with the Palaces and Churches.:( I know of the pros. Any cons?

We went in May and toured with Alla Tours. All I can say is that it is a super long day (thinking 12 hrs??) with lots and I mean lots of walking. It is all churches and palaces, you have no time to be "one your own" as a guide must stay with the group at ALL times. I'm glad we had the experience but I would not repeat it. That being said I am a bit curious about Moscow!!!

Palaces & churches - and you forgot museums ;) - aren't my scene either. But no, I didn't get bored, far from it.:)

You can tailor a private tour to spend little or no time at those places, but the standard Alla tour (other operators' tours are very similar) suited me fine.

No worries :cool:

JB :)

Don't forget the beautiful fountains, parks and canal/boat rides! Museums and Churches aren't really my thing but WOW! SPB was over and beyond my expectations and Alla's Tour manage to bring this city to life...far from boring!

Dolfans from Miami

We did a private 2 day tour with fellow CCrs. We were blown away. Yes, churches and palaces but worth seeing. We did a hydrofoil from Peterhof to the Hermitage. Saw where Yusapov killed Rasputin (took a major effort to kill him).

Ride the underground with its fabulous stations. It was worth anything to experience those two days.

My husband is easily bored with churches and museums but if you ask him what his favorite port was he would tell you it was St. Petersburg. We did a private tour with just my in-laws and at one point my husband was getting a bit bored with the Hermitage. We had the option to leave right then and move on to our next site. We too, did the underground, Yusapov's palace, the hydrofoil, canal tour along with the palaces and churches. Yes it was two intense days but we would love to do it all over again.

Sheal

Interested in doing the Baltics, but in reading reviews, I've been wondering if I may get bored with the Palaces and Churches.:( I know of the pros. Any cons?

I can't imagine using the word "bored" and the city of St. Petersburg in the same sentence. It's beautiful! I've had the opportunity to visit the city twice. In June we did the two days with Alla. Yes, it's a lot of walking but what you get to see is beyond wonderful.

We only had one day in St Petersburg on our cruise out of Stockholm a few years ago. We took a tour to St Catherine's Palace which was spectacular particularly the amber room. We had some hours then free in the city center. We walked through a street market and found it fascinating to visit the shops etc...

There was no guide with us we had to meet back at a rendezvous and were taken to a huge souvenir shop on way back to the ship where they had Russian dolls etc.

I don't know if it is different for American travellers but we were definitely allowed to do the walking/shopping part of the tour on our own. The center of the city is modern and vibrant but the outer areas still have the very stark concrete buildings from the Communist era. Everyone was very friendly but not many English speakers.

We did the two-day "comfort" tour with Alla. With our two teenage sons in tow, I was also concerned about their becoming bored - hence the "comfort" tour, which skipped St. Isaac's Cathedral and Ysupov's Palace. The only time their attention flagged was in The Hermitage - art overload. (Others in our group suffered from art overload as well; at the end of that tour we still were slated to see the French Impressionist exhibit, and a number of folks in our group opted to visit the gift shop instead.) What was telling is that when the 17 YO had WiFi access, he busily posted photos of palaces and churches on Facebook.:)

I do recommend the comfort tour. It's less intensive, but I don't feel that we missed much.

We chose the Alla comfort tour as I was afraid of overload -- it was a perfect balance for us. Dolfans describes it well --WOW!

Before the trip I read several biographies by Robert K. Massie that really enriched the trip and put it into context. Knowing a little about the devastation during WW2 and the amazing restoration that has occurred was very helpful.

Zales, you also forgot theaters and food. Any tour guide you choose will gladly take you to local restaurant. And in St.Petersburg restaurants are not as expensive as in Moscow.

Visit to Mariinsky Theater will substitute for a trip to museum.

Besides, you can always request customized tour.:D

Have fun!

Kerry

We chose the Alla comfort tour as I was afraid of overload -- it was a perfect balance for us. Dolfans describes it well --WOW!

Before the trip I read several biographies by Robert K. Massie that really enriched the trip and put it into context. Knowing a little about the devastation during WW2 and the amazing restoration that has occurred was very helpful.

Alaskanb - Just wanted to thank you - I believe you were the poster who mentioned Catherine The Great by Massie. I just received the book from our public library last week and I'm on page 189 and getting ready for a business trip tomorrow and hoping to read more this week while on the plane. We leave Aug 17 on Eclipse. Any other books you can recommend? Again, thanks so much for your recommendation.

You are most welcome -- I read avidly before any new adventure :)

I found Nicholas and Alexandra also by Massie --while a little heavy going in parts--to give a really good overview of the rise of communism and ousting of the tzars.

A lighter read about the siege of Leningrad is "The Madonnas of Leningrad" by Debra Dean -- it is the tale of a former guide to the Hermitage's decline into Alzheimers and her memories of the museum during the siege. It added another layer to our visit there.

I know there is a thread on CC somewhere about books for a Baltic cruise.

Boredom..no problem at all when you do a private tour (just the two of us with guide & driver) with flexibility..We used TJ Travel and even added things at the spur of the moment like...a shopping mall, subway, post office, local bakery and an amazing hotel where celebrities and diplomats stay (this was one of our restroom breaks)..Enjoy this amazing city and all it has to offer.

We did a private tour with a group from our Roll Call, and I don't feel like it was all churches and palaces. I feel like the Hermitage is more museum than palace, and the gardens at Peterhof stand out in my memory far more than the palace itself. We also made a trip on the subway, took a canal cruise, did some shopping, and ate some great food. I feel like it was quite a variety. Throw in an evening theater performance, and that would be even more!

IMO, the cons were that it was a long day, and there was a lot of travel time getting out to Peterhof (we only took the hydrafoil back, and that was kind of fun and different itself). I'm not a fan of tours in general, so I kept wondering if there was something I was missing out on that wasn't on the itinerary.

I do not know about you, but in my lifetime, I just haven't visited that many Palaces, and when the chance comes to visit another one, I'll probably take it. Maybe if my residence was Buckingham Palace, it might get a bit bored, but since I live in a average colonial, something about visiting palaces is sort of thrilling.

Both my DW and myself are also not big Museum people, but spending 3 hours in the Hermitage is like dropping in for a quick peek and nothing more, just a drop in a bucket of what it has to offer. Churches, yes, we may get a bit tired of visiting many, but in St Petersburg, most see 3 in two days and even we loved them, as each is completely different.

As I said, we are both seniors. We grew up in the 'duck and cover' generation, when Russia was the sworn enemy and we were each going to blow each other up 10x over. Just the thought of vacationing in that country sent a thrill down our spines and we were so excited about that. We kept pinching ourselves, 'are we REALLY here?'

To be honest our favorite port was Stockholm, but we just loved every minute of our time in St Petersburg and maybe next time, we make it 3 days.

Cheers

Len

You are most welcome -- I read avidly before any new adventure :)

 

I found Nicholas and Alexandra also by Massie --while a little heavy going in parts--to give a really good overview of the rise of communism and ousting of the tzars.

 

A lighter read about the siege of Leningrad is "The Madonnas of Leningrad" by Debra Dean -- it is the tale of a former guide to the Hermitage's decline into Alzheimers and her memories of the museum during the siege. It added another layer to our visit there.

 

I know there is a thread on CC somewhere about books for a Baltic cruise.

I agree on Nicholas and Alexandra. It is an interesting book with great insights but it is hard to read compared to the Catherine book. I have finally made it to the last 100 pages. It has only taken me 3 to 4 weeks. I've read and finished other books during the time as well.

I am wishing that I had time to read Peter the Great. I might go ahead and order it and see how far I can get before I go on the 20th. But I need to read my book on the Cold War (from a Russian perspective) first. Goodness. Lots of reading to do.

Interested in doing the Baltics, but in reading reviews, I've been wondering if I may get bored with the Palaces and Churches.:( I know of the pros. Any cons?

Well I haven't been yet but if you are there more than one day maybe divide the palaces and churches equally between the days. That way they won't all seem like they run together. Adding non-palace & non-church might help too. We are doing the visit to Peterhof, hydrofoil ride, and Peter and Paul Fortress to keep things interesting.

I agree on Nicholas and Alexandra. It is an interesting book with great insights but it is hard to read compared to the Catherine book. I have finally made it to the last 100 pages. It has only taken me 3 to 4 weeks. I've read and finished other books during the time as well.

 

I am wishing that I had time to read Peter the Great. I might go ahead and order it and see how far I can get before I go on the 20th. But I need to read my book on the Cold War (from a Russian perspective) first. Goodness. Lots of reading to do.

I read N and A in the same way....

Peter the Great is so thick that it's hard for me to hold so I have it on my Kindle. Made it through about the first 100 pages so I need to get back to it.

Thank You Guys So Much:) I am sold, there was not one con, and yes a Palace or two one day in this life, should be interesting and not boring. You guys were kind enough to mention still having a good time despite not being into churches/palaces/museums in addition to offering other sights such as canals, bakeries, theatres, and subways, etc. Thanx Again:cool:

I am also reading Peter the Great. Much is slow going with lots of descriptions of battles. I have also read several books in between but am now 81% through on my iPad. It does give a good background for knowing the beginnings of St. Petersburg. Those were extremely brutal times!

Thank You Guys So Much:) I am sold, there was not one con, and yes a Palace or two one day in this life, should be interesting and not boring. You guys were kind enough to mention still having a good time despite not being into churches/palaces/museums in addition to offering other sights such as canals, bakeries, theatres, and subways, etc. Thanx Again:cool:

I'll add one more on ...

I love history, but have had and still have little to no interest in Russian history - don't know why, just don't.

I like visiting odd little churches (for a brief time) and will do museums, etc., maybe once a year.

I would have been happy ahead of time to spend the 2 days on board the ship.

DH really wanted to see St. P, though, and we chose a private tour with Alla - ended up with 3 of us, and it was fabulous.

The only place I was bored was Yusupov's. And that wasn't for the whole time.

The Hermitage - since we were in such a small group we didn't end up having a lot of time waiting for anyone to look at something we had already seen - we moved fast and ended up getting to pick two additional galleries/sections to see.

But, my favorite place was the subway, lol!

After not wanting to visit in the first place, I would happily go back.

St Petersburg was beautiful and intense and can easily put you in sensory over-load. I loved it, and I will say:

• I am not museum person
  
• I don't like the structure of having a tour guide
  
• I have concerns about how far St Petersburg/Russia has really come in Post-Soviet times
  

If fact, in another discussion about VISA workarounds, other folks probably think I am a paranoid and narrow-minded old person who won't let go of old biases. Shrug.

I am admitted paranoid when it comes to breaking the law and confrontations with authorities in places like Russia. I realize that places are not always as civil with rulebreakers as the US might be. So as much as I disliked the constraints of a tour group, I appreciated being able to see the wonders of SPB under the watchful eye of my guide.

How much you like something depends on your expectations. I expected sensory overload. I expected not just being able to wander the streets and follow my nose. I expected to be obedient, cooperative and follow the group.

As a result, I thoroughly enjoyed my St Petersburg experience.

I am sure there are people who don't like St. Pete, but the majority are fascinated. I think full appreciation does require some knowledge and interest in history. But the biggest drawback to me is that I don't like group tours and prefer to go on my own. Very difficult to do in St. Petersburg, obviously. Having visited with a visa on my own for 8 days, and having seen all of the major sites, I have been very reluctant to go again with no visa, but the visa hassle is not worth the short visit on a cruise.

Before my Baltic Cruise in June, I also watched

2 DVD on the Hermitage. The first is a tour room by room of the museum called: The Hermitage: a journey through time and space.

The second is the movie Russian Ark which was filmed in the Hermitage. The DVD includes the "making of" as it was filmed in one take, with hundreds of participants including an amazing ballroom scene, a true cinema tour de force.

Both were borrowed from the public library.

Really added to the appreciation and enjoyment of the museum.