St Petersburg to Moscow

I checked the ports section to see if there was any information in reference to going from St. Petersburg to Moscow, but there was nothing there. We are on the August 24 N. Europe sailing on Voyager and have booked the train trip to Moscow. Have any of you taken this trip and was it totally exhausting?

I did research on the train and noticed there are various categories of seats, similar to an airline with first class/ business class, etc. Was wondering what level Regent book's their customers in.

Another question, this is our first cruise on Regent and was wondering about the air. We booked a PH so business air is included, but I noticed quite a bit of posting about deviation. How do you know what you have been scheduled for by Regent or do you just check airlines and then notify Regent what you would like and they charge the extra fees?

thank you for any assistance you provide. I am so happy for CC and being able to get all the great info I do here. I don't post much but I sure do read a lot.:)

Just read a wonderful review on the Crystal board (with pictures) that will definitely inspire you to do the Moscow trip. I'm so sorry that we didn't do it!

Another question, this is our first cruise on Regent and was wondering about the air. We booked a PH so business air is included, but I noticed quite a bit of posting about deviation. How do you know what you have been scheduled for by Regent or do you just check airlines and then notify Regent what you would like and they charge the extra fees?

 

thank you for any assistance you provide. I am so happy for CC and being able to get all the great info I do here. I don't post much but I sure do read a lot.:)

In regards to your flights, you will get them approx. 75 days prior to your departure which is much too late to usually be able to do anything about changing them to better flights. Many people choose to arrive several days early and depart for home several days after their cruise and to do this you must deviate. You are taking your chances on your routing by waiting for the Regent Flights.

Regent starts taking deviations 270 days prior to your departure and knowledgeable people immediately at that time make their deviation to get their preferred flights at the lowest, if charged additional add on. You have absolutely nothing at risk if you ask for your deviation as the $175 is not charged until you agree on the flights and any possible upcharges. You can go back and forth with offers and responses until you get the flights you like or simply stop the process at any time at no cost to you and wait for the included air. Traveling overseas increases the risk of delays in flights plus it is overnight to Europe so jet lag can be an issue as well as arrival on the morning or afternoon of embarkation runs the risk of "missing the boat".

Highly recommend asking about deviations and see what you get and how much you might have to pay, if anything and then make up your mind. The included flights without deviation may not be the most direct and can involve long connection times. Only you can decide the best approach for you.

Good luck,

We have been assigned some great flights 75 days prior to our cruise date. We also deviate if there is a certain flight with a certain airline that we want. Actually, there is a bit of a risk if you pay the $175/person and deviate. We have had flight changes that do not work for us and Regent could impose an additional fee. Also, there is an up-charge for certain flights.

Suggest that you read post #65 on this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1832227&page=4 which explains deviation in more detail.

In terms of St. Petersburg to Moscow, while we have not done that excursion we have been to St. Petersburg twice with Regent and the days are exhausting without going to Moscow. This is a wonderful but very port intensive itinerary. Also, St. Petersburg has so many incredible things to see that you may want to do excursions there. However, if you are full of energy and really want to visit Moscow, I'd say go for it:)

RALLY DAVE,

thank you so much for your response, we'll go ahead and do the deviation as we really prefer non stop to London and know we will have to do a connection from Stockholm. We will be in London before the cruise and have extended our return trip home from Stockholm to wander about there as well.

thank you Memlin, i'll go and take a look at the Crystal posting!

TC,

great information off your link about deviation......will check around and if something is too good to pass up then will try for the deviation. We have been to Europe multiple times and normally had direct flights, but one never knows.

We are fortunate that we often drive to one of the gateway airports since we have friends all over the east coast. Often drive to Miami, Atlanta, for this trip we are leaving from Orlando, staying with friends before the flight.

again, thank you so very much for your info!

I know my wife and I passed on the Moscow by air excursion a few years ago and we're still kind of torn about it. On the one hand, I really wanted to see Moscow (still do) but on the other hand, it was a brutal schedule. There was so much to see and do in St Petersburg though, so it wasn't critical to see Moscow on that trip...but next time we're there, I'm definitely going to check it out.

Not sure how long the train ride is down there, nor how the Russian trains are but if they're anything like the trains I've taken in Europe, there's not a huge difference in the classes of service. Usually the same amount of space, just nicer amenities in First Class. And probably fewer 'interesting' people, I'd imagine.

:D

UUnet Bill,

I know the trip is 4 hours each way. I reviewed the post on Crystal and now feel so much better about booking it. It will be a quite long day, possibly around 18 hours, but memories are made from these type of trips. We were so excited to see the optional trip to Moscow and decided we can sleep on the way there and on the way back to the ship, but to be this close we just knew we wanted to do it. We were interested in the air tour, but it was not available for our cruise, so the train it shall be.

The train appears to be similar to the bullet train in Japan. I found it so unusual that I was unable to find any posts about this tour..... and then Memlin posted about the tour a cruiser posted on the Crystal section and it was fabulous.

I believe that the more upgraded cars of the train have the larger more comfortable seats. After all, just as an airplane takes all its passengers to the same location so will this train. Just was hoping to not be squeezed in one of those little middle seats for our tour.

Many, many, oh so many years ago on one of our first trips to Europe, we were in the middle of the middle of the economy seats to Holland. Oh, my goodness, I had to use the restroom during the flight.......Yes, I know you are all smiling or laughing, but really, it can become a pressing problem! and you have to excuse yourself to 2 other persons regardless of which way you choose to leave this section.

As one gets older, comfort becomes so much more important, doesn't it? When we first were able to move to business class, I thought we moved to heaven! When we were able to always book at least a suite on a cruise ship I thought we are the most blessed persons in the world.

My goodness, how did I ever get on this soapbox.

happy travels to all

My husband and I did the Moscow excursion and we are soooo glad we did. We did it last year in August and it is wonderful. Do not miss this. Well worth the money. It was a long day but well worth it. The seats on the train are okay.

The day we went the weather was great.

Kandy from Texas

We did the Moscow excursion by Air with Regent. Great trip and we are very glad we did it. It was probably the only chance we would have to see Moscow and it was spectacular.

Well, I know it's a year-old post but I came across it while searching for 'Moscow' in the forum...we're back in St. Petersburg this August and have decided to do the Moscow trip - sounds like it's going to be well worth the time and expense - if anyone else has any updated info on this excursion, I'd sure love to hear about it!

Thanks,

Bill

I did the train to Moscow on the last voyage of the season on the Voyager Sept 25, 2016. Your questions. We left the ship at 4:30 am. Bus to the St Pete train station and left about 7:00am. While the train does have 3 classes, all of the tour was in the economy class. Seats are comparable to airplane economy plus seats. That is to say not that great. You can not upgrade. Our group of 45 were all in one car. The ride is 4 hours each way, with 2 stops along the way. Not much to see along the way, a few small farms and rivers. Left Moscow about 7:30 pm and back to the ship just before midnight. Yes it is a long day and the train ride is not that comfortable. As to why Regent didn't use a better class in the train, I was told that it was the vendor decision. This train is not the same as quality as the "Bullet" or TGV trains in western Europe.

Cost was about $1,300 pp. I was discounted 25 % becasue of my Titanium status.

They take you to the highlights, the Kremlin and its museums, ride on the Moscow subway and Red Square. I am glad I did the trip, but I would not do it again. But I knew that this was going to be a "one and done" trip for me.

You can email me if you have any other questions.

J

40/595

We have been to both St. Petersburg (Regent and Viking) and Moscow (Viking). We loved them both. Our 3 days in Moscow were terrific but not long enough; I can't imagine "seeing" this fascinating city in one day. St. Petersburg is even better than Moscow! We have spent about 10, days there - just about enough. Unless this is absolutely the only way(time) that you will see Moscow, spent your few days in marvelous St. P.

I don't know if this is a 'one-and-done' for us, but if it is, I'd like to at least see Moscow. We've spent 3 days in St P before with two more coming up on this trip. We passed on this trip last time we were in St P so we could spend more time there but we've always somewhat regretted skipping Moscow. I know it's going to be like trying to experience NYC or D.C. In one day - not possible but still cool for the highlights.

I checked the ports section to see if there was any information in reference to going from St. Petersburg to Moscow, but there was nothing there. We are on the August 24 N. Europe sailing on Voyager and have booked the train trip to Moscow. Have any of you taken this trip and was it totally exhausting?

 

I did research on the train and noticed there are various categories of seats, similar to an airline with first class/ business class, etc. Was wondering what level Regent book's their customers in.

 

Another question, this is our first cruise on Regent and was wondering about the air. We booked a PH so business air is included, but I noticed quite a bit of posting about deviation. How do you know what you have been scheduled for by Regent or do you just check airlines and then notify Regent what you would like and they charge the extra fees?

 

thank you for any assistance you provide. I am so happy for CC and being able to get all the great info I do here. I don't post much but I sure do read a lot.:)

I did the train version of the trip on Seabourn. It was very exhausting. First I'd done Catherines palace the night before and due to an accident along the way didn't return until ~0100. The tour left at 0400 that morning and we didn't return until around midnight (then there was the third day of tours...). Seabourn sadly didn't book us into anything special so several hours of no recline seats, no a/c. That train ride was probably the worst part of the trip.

Links to what I saw in St. Petersburg/Moscow (I wasn't overly snap happy in Moscow - also at least at the time no photos in the museuems):

We were in St. Petersburg last summer and took a private tour to Moscow one day. I see on here that someone paid $1300 per person.

We found doing it privately was significantly better for the following reasons

1. We were picked up at 6am for the 7am train. (Not 4:30 am!!)

2. We were escorted to the seats on our train.

3. We were upgraded to business class ( my request)

4. We were met trainside by a private guide in Moscow.

5. It was our group (there were 6 of us) only and we had a 20 passenger coach driving us from site to site.

6. We chose what we wanted to visit and for how long.

7. We were escorted to our seats on the train on the return.

8. The only negative was the fact that the food (supplied free in business class) was pretty close to inedible.

9. When we got back to St Pete we asked for a night tour as we had all slept on the train.

The best part? I recall it was around $500 pp.

Just something to consider

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We were in St. Petersburg last summer and took a private tour to Moscow one day. I see on here that someone paid $1300 per person.

We found doing it privately was significantly better for the following reasons

1. We were picked up at 6am for the 7am train. (Not 4:30 am!!)

2. We were escorted to the seats on our train.

3. We were upgraded to business class ( my request)

4. We were met trainside by a private guide in Moscow.

5. It was our group (there were 6 of us) only and we had a 20 passenger coach driving us from site to site.

6. We chose what we wanted to visit and for how long.

7. We were escorted to our seats on the train on the return.

8. The only negative was the fact that the food (supplied free in business class) was pretty close to inedible.

9. When we got back to St Pete we asked for a night tour as we had all slept on the train.

 

The best part? I recall it was around $500 pp.

 

Just something to consider

 

 

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IMO, everything in Russia is better seen on private excursions. Your experience sounds so much better than what others have posted. We have been to St. Petersburg twice - there was so much to see that we have yet to see Moscow (given the time it takes to get there and back, it is unlikely that we will ever see it).

We were in St. Petersburg last summer and took a private tour to Moscow one day. I see on here that someone paid $1300 per person.

We found doing it privately was significantly better for the following reasons.................................................................................

 

The best part? I recall it was around $500 pp.

 

Just something to consider

Except:::You can only do this trip on you own as you describe if you private purchase a Russian visa. The visa that the ship gets for the passengers do not allow for independent excursions.

Last time I checked the Russian visas cost was $225.00 and you need to send in your passport. Also the ship is in port for 3days/2 night so you can only do the trip on the 2nd full day. The train schedules are not consistent and what works one day may not the next. I looked into doing this on my own before I went last fall and decided that is was not worth saving (for me) $200 per person.

J

Except:::You can only do this trip on you own as you describe if you private purchase a Russian visa. The visa that the ship gets for the passengers do not allow for independent excursions.

 

 

Last time I checked the Russian visas cost was $225.00 and you need to send in your passport. Also the ship is in port for 3days/2 night so you can only do the trip on the 2nd full day. The train schedules are not consistent and what works one day may not the next. I looked into doing this on my own before I went last fall and decided that is was not worth saving (for me) $200 per person.

 

J

Can you still fly to Moscow? This would save a lot of time - even though it would cost more $$$.

If you are with a licensed guide you do not need a visa. The guide has to be with you the entire time, including on the train and must be sanctioned by the authorities. Doesn't matter if you are going around locally or around Moscow. It might matter if you intended to stay the night but the references here have been to same day tours.

Best,

John

If you are with a licensed guide you do not need a visa. The guide has to be with you the entire time, including on the train and must be sanctioned by the authorities. Doesn't matter if you are going around locally or around Moscow. It might matter if you intended to stay the night but the references here have been to same day tours.

 

Best,

John

Not true. You need a visa if you are going to use anyone other than a official ship tour.

j

Can you still fly to Moscow? This would save a lot of time - even though it would cost more $$$.

Yes you can fly, but the train is much faster overall time wise when you add in transfer time, security, pre-boarding, flight, deplaning, transfer to Moscow, you need to figure about 6 hours each way.

j

Not true. You need a visa if you are going to use anyone other than a official ship tour.

 

j

J, not sure about that - every thing I've seen so far says as long as you're with a licensed tour company you don't need a visa. Doesn't specify only ships tours, but the 72-hour visa exemption is only for cruise passengers. Visas are only required if you want to go out on your own.

At least that was my understanding.

A lot of what everyone is saying is true but, there are some missing nuances. Yes, everyone going ashore in Russia needs a visa. The ship get a blanket visa covering everyone going on ships tours and everyone has to remain with the tour. For those taking independent tours, the major tour companies are able to get you a Visa that again allows you on tours where again you have to stay with the tour. Therefore, if you want to do an indepent tour to Moscow you have to go with a tour company that will get your the required visa.as long as the tour company gets it for you. Now the tricky part. From reading it appears that some tour companies don't have the guide accompanying you on the train or plane and for that you would need a visa you get yourself. So, appears if you want to do an independent tour to Moscow, you have to use a tour company that will get you the required visa and have guides that are with your the entire day. Cannot drop you at the train station and then get another guide upon arrival in Moscow. Of course that is an assumption and perhaps the tour company is allowed to put you on the train or plane and then pick you up upon arrival. Best to ask the requirements from the tour companies organizing the one day tours to Moscow.

There are easy tours to Moscow - less $$$ than with Regent. Check out this site: https://www.viator.com/tours/St-Petersburg/St-Petersburg-Shore-Excursion-Private-Moscow-Day-Trip-Including-Flight-and-Train/d908-6225PRTSPBMOSPRIV . Viator is a personal favorite of ours. You fly one way and take a train back.

Here is another option: http://www.guide-guru.com/destinations/petersburg-cruise-tours/1-day-moscow-cruise/air/ Neither of these options require a visa!

Alternatively, you can get your own visa and do it on your own. IMO, using a tour company is the easiest way to go:)