One day trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow

Hi I will reach St Petersburg on the 18th July 2014 . I want to travel to

Moscow by flight at 10:35 am , my ship arrive at 7:00am and I will depart out by this time too . Is there enough time for me to reach the airport at St Petersburg by 8:35am after immigration clearance as I will be traveling by my own . I will be going by taxi to the airport from the port . And shall I return to St Petersburg by 4 hours fast train from Moscow or by flight on the same day , the flight is at 23:45pm and arrive St Petersburg by 1:00 am on the 19th .. Will the ship close it's door and don't allow me in as the ship only depart on the 19th July at 6 pm .. Please advice for this is my second time cruising in my life and so inexperience . Thank you

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Hi I will reach St Petersburg on the 18th July 2014 . I want to travel to

Moscow by flight at 10:35 am , my ship arrive at 7:00am and I will depart out by this time too . Is there enough time for me to reach the airport at St Petersburg by 8:35am after immigration clearance as I will be traveling by my own . I will be going by taxi to the airport from the port . And shall I return to St Petersburg by 4 hours fast train from Moscow or by flight on the same day , the flight is at 23:45pm and arrive St Petersburg by 1:00 am on the 19th .. Will the ship close it's door and don't allow me in as the ship only depart on the 19th July at 6 pm .. Please advice for this is my second time cruising in my life and so inexperience . Thank you

 

 

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I assume that you will have a Russian visa.

There will not be time to catch the flight if your ship arrives at 7:00am and the flight to Moscow departs at 8:35am. Sorry - this is impossible. It will take you at least until 7:30 to get off the ship (takes about 20 minutes for the ship to clear in St. Petersburg) and get through immigration, even if you are among the first passengers off the ship. Pulkovo airport is about 15 miles south of the city. Traffic in St. Petersburg is usually chaoatic. By the time you reach the airport, you will not have time to clear security and make your flight.

you might consider using one of the tour companies in St Petersburg who can arrange the trip to Moscow for you and they will also get the visa you will need. We are using Alla Tours but there are other companies that you can use.

Marianne

Hi thanks for your reply , and I'm really new with Cruise Critic and this is the first question I ask in the forum .. My flight will depart only by 10:35am and I just check in the airport 2 hours before flight at 8:35 am ..

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Hi FTL cruisers thanks for your tips , I will email the tour company you recommend ..

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On St Petersburg cruises that I know about, the ship hasn't been cleared to disembark until about 8am.

If you're amongst the first off (and you'd have to be, cos lines for immigration are slow) then you'll be through immigration in 5 minutes.

There may not be any taxis waiting at the port, because virtually everyone takes a St Petersburg tour so very very few cruise passengers need one. Staff in the terminal will call one for you, but that would eat deeply into your time.

The drive to the airport is about 30-35 minutes, so there's a very big risk that you won't be there by 8.35.

Does check-in close 2 hours before your flight, or is that just the recommended arrival time. I'm guessing you won't have bags to check in.

If you must check in by then, I think the risk of making it in time is way too big.

On overnites in port, usually you can get on or off the ship at any time - the gangway is always open. But I don't know whether Russian immigration will be open during the night. Certainly they'll be there to maintain security but I don't know whether passengers will be allowed through. Something to check out if you can.

Do you have a special over-riding reason to go to Moscow?

I think pretty-well everyone would try to dissuade you, because you'll see very little of it in the time and St Petersburg is well worth two very full days.

The only folk who use a St Petersburg cruise to see Moscow are those who've already seen St Petersburg & aim to spend a couple of days in Moscow.

JB :)

Hi Jb

Thank you so much for your reply :)

I was thinking of reaching the airport by 8:35am because it's the international check in time 2 hrs before flight departure . But since it's a domestic flight and I don't have any luggage to check in maybe I can check in by 9 pm or do online check in .

You have given me a really good advice on the taxi , immigration clearance .I really appreciate :)

Now I will consider taking the tour to Moscow then travel by my own . I really want to see St. Basils Cathedral in Moscow :) on 18th July and 19th July St.Petersburg .

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kehai-

Just my "two cents". In St Petersburg the Church on Spilled Blood is superior to St Basils I am told by people who have seen both. DH and I have been to St Pete twice and would go again in a heart beat just to see the church again. The church is decorated all in mosaic panels. They tell the story of Christ and depict many Orthodox saints. Here's a link to our photos from our July 2013 trip: https://picasaweb.google.com/gkappesser/SaintPetersburgDayOne?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPqcqcLPgMvT4AE&feat=directlink and https://picasaweb.google.com/gkappesser/SaintPetersburgDayTwo?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKGruZOIoOjj_wE&feat=directlink

My advise would be to stay in St Pete for the two days, book a tour with one of the companies mentioned here on CC (we used SPB and they were excellent) and enjoy every minute you have there.

<<<Karen>>>

Hi Karen ,

Thanks for sharing and it's really beautiful looking from the pictures you took at St Petersburg .. :)

Guess I will decide to stay 2 days in St Petersburg and follow one of the tour company .. the tour company you recommend is one of the good one ..

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kehai-

Glad you liked the photos. This was our second cruise there and we would go back again tomorrow if we could. In 2010 we toured with Alla. They were also great but we think SPB was better. We had a wonderful guide last year so maybe that's why we had such a good feeling about SPB.

Have you checked out the "Roll Call" board for your cruise? This is a great way to meet people before your cruise and to do tour sharing. Look under the roll call board for the cruise line, then for the ship and finally for your cruise. There may already be tours for St Pete set up and people looking for others to join them to fill the spots. This has worked well for us in the past and I'm sure it will for you.

<<<Karen>>>

Hi Karen

Thanks once again for your advice .. I've checked both of the company and the pricing is almost the same for the tour in St. Petersburg .. Glad you are enjoy the tour with SPB ..

I'm very new to CC .. I will try to find other travelers from CC from the roll call you mentioned .

You are very helpful and kind :)

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kehai-

Thank you for your kind words. CC has been VERY helpful to us so a little "pay back" is indicated. Which cruise line are you going on and which cruise? We have photos from other ports on our two cruises if you are interested.

<<<Karen>>>

Hi Karen

Yes I would love to see your photos taken from your holidays . :) the previous photos you shared was beautiful .

I will join Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Sea . 13 nights Scandinavia & Russia . This will be my second time cruising in my life . I really enjoyed my first cruise last year so I decided to go cruising again this year .

Which cruise ship did you join for your St. petersburg travel ? You been there twice I remember ..

Thank you Karen

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You could also check with your cruise line to see if they are offering an excursion to Moscow. We are on the Brilliance of the Sea next month and our cruise is offering the excursion to Moscow. Actually, we are booked for that excursion at the cost of $650 per person and then we have rented, through the cruise line, a private car on our second day in St. Petersburg to see the things that are important to us. If Moscow is as important to you as it is to us then you might consider this option.

Hi Dcort

Yes I've checked with the cruise company .. Yes they do offer the tour . Have an enjoyable holiday to you next month with Brilliance of the sea ..

Thank you for your reply .

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"I will join Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Sea . 13 nights Scandinavia & Russia . This will be my second time cruising in my life . I really enjoyed my first cruise last year so I decided to go cruising again this year . "

 

 

Hi Kehai -

 

Please come join us on our roll call for the July 13th Brilliance sailing. Also, be sure to sign up for the Meet and Mingle event on the RC website.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1811841

 

This will give you some ideas of your fellow passengers and what we are planning to do in the various ports.

 

RenoDuck

kehai-

Here's a link to photos from all the ports we visited last year. And, they are even labeled :) so you'll know where they are: https://picasaweb.google.com/gkappesser/BalticCruiseOnCrownPrincessJuly13272013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIqA36CHrbnZCg&feat=directlink I forgot the other links I sent you didn't have labels but now you'll know. I'll need to find the links to the photos from 2010. Once I do then I'll post them.

Enjoy!!!

<<<Karen>>>

Thanks so much Reno for the thread

I'm so excited to get to know so many cruise mates here .

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Hi Karen

Wow very beautiful pictures . Thank you for sharing ..

Enjoyed myself looking at your pictures ..

Can't wait to visit ..

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I have to echo the other cruisers..there are so many variables that I would only recommend doing it through the cruise line. The original itinerary can't be done.

I prefer st Petersburg...there's a reason it's Venice of the north!