St Petersburg private tour Mariinsky ballet

I am going on a Baltic cruise at the end of May and will stay in St Petersburg for 3 days.

I am very interested in ballet and would like to see ballet performance at Mariinsky theatre one evening. My cruise schedule coincides with the "White Night festival" and there will be performance at Mariinsky theatre.

I contacted one tour agent to arrange a private 3 days' tour in St Petersburg, and also requested booking tickets for the ballet with transfer etc.

I was told by this agent that Mariinsky theatre did not deal with travel agents and I would have to wait till one month before the cruise to buy the tickets myself directly from the theatre.

Certainly I would like to make sure that things are all pre-arranged smoothly by the agent, rather than me buying the ballet tickets, then arranging transfer and dinner with the agent. I understand that travel agents will provide me with a "cruise visa" and I am not allowed to wander around St Petersburg on my own.

I wonder if anyone had found travel agents providing private tours, as well as booking Mariinsky ballet tickets. I only want to go to Mariinsky theatre, not other theatres or ballet or folk dance shows.

Any advice appreciated.

I would reach out to one of the tour companies in St. Petersburg. The main players seem to be: SPB Tours, Alla Tours, Red October. I know if you search this forum, there are plenty of posts about them. I am also on a Baltic Cruise this summer and will have 3 days in SPB. We booked a 3-day guided tour with Alla Tours. They offer the option of the ballet on the 2nd night in SPB or a Russian Folklore show. By booking with one of these companies, they will handle the Russian Visa for you, which from what I have read, can be quite difficult and expensive to try to obtain on your own.

Good luck. Please let me know if you have any other questions about your cruise or port stops.

You can book tickets here directly.

http://www.balletandopera.com/?sid=2mL3S46dH09IA98kj3y1&month=2014-05&play_theatre=&play_festival=&play_perfomance=&play_date_from=01-May-2014&play_date_to=31-May-2014#mo1

I hope I don't have any misunderstanding from my St Petersburg tour agent. This is the email reply I received:

"As for ballet in Mariinsky theater, they used to announce the time-table one month prior the show. So, performances for May will be known in late-March and April.

You may also check their web-site for the news and tickets booking. Mariinsky does not deal with any tour companies or concert agencies: since the theater is top-rated, everybody must buy tickets through Mariinsky booking."

I just want to know which tour agents in St Petersburg will be able to book Mariinsky ballet tickets as well as arranging a 3 days private shore excursions for me.

There are many threads here about private tour companies for your 3 day tour. The most mentioned companies are Alla, TJ, Denrus, and Red October (I may be missing one).

I suggest you read the first two pages of this board and you'll see why folks chose one over the others. You'll also notice approximately zero complaints about any of the major companies.

I appreciate you advice, but it was one of the tour agents your recommended which sent me the email advising that it could not arrange Mariinsky ballet tickets for me.

Anyone had a good experience with a tour agent which could arrange Mariinsky ballet tickets, as well as private tours?

Nitemare, you forgot SPB tours and Best Guides, I guess:) I e-mailed to three of these companies and two were ready to book tickets in Mariinskiy in advance but only if you confirm your tour program.

Good catch. I was working off the top of my head which gets emptier and emptier every year.

You can book tickets here directly.

 

http://www.balletandopera.com/?sid=2mL3S46dH09IA98kj3y1&month=2014-05&play_theatre=&play_festival=&play_perfomance=&play_date_from=01-May-2014&play_date_to=31-May-2014#mo1

Has anyone actually used this service?

They say they will provide transport to and from the cruise ship.

still seeking response

We booked 2 day tour with Alla - wonderful. Many emails to/from and she was most informative about how to do the Mariinsky. All the tour companies use lesser "tourist" ballets in auditoriums and halls. This keeps the prices lower as the Mariinsky is expensive. But Alla told us how to do it and helped with transportation. Here is what we did -

go to the Mariinsky's own website - mariinsky.ru - and book your tickets when the schedule is available - they have seating charts and prices - there are special prices that are lower for Russian citizens only, so don't be fooled - the tickets are over USD100 each depending on where you sit - you pay by credit card and get an emailed voucher - you present that at the ticket booth the night of the performance - very easy and safe

Alla sent us a tour voucher verifying that she was providing transport to/from the ballet - we presented this to immigration at the pier when we left the ship to meet our driver - this was in essence our "visa" for the evening

we were charged for the 2 day tour plus an extra fee for the driver to/from the ballet - at the end of the day one tour we were dropped off at the ship at about 530pm as the tour stated - we had just enough time to go to our room and change into nice clothes and go right back out to meet our driver at about 615pm - lots of locals at the ballet and everyone was dressed up - most men in suits/ties, ladies in dresses and heels - so we were glad we dressed up, plus it was a "special" night

total cost was a small fortune but well worth it - the building is beautiful and we had box seats up close on the side - we could hear their feet hitting the boards

footnote - after we had booked, paid, and arranged all this, our ship announced an added shore excursion featuring "a special night at the Mariinsky" with tickets and bus transport for 40 people only - first come,first served - the price was way more than we paid, and we paid a lot and we got a private car, and not a bus, and we saw these folks seats - not as good as ours!

So good luck - you can do this through Alla - I would imagine the other large tour outfits (SPB etc.) could arrange the same

We booked 2 day tour with Alla - wonderful. Many emails to/from and she was most informative about how to do the Mariinsky. All the tour companies use lesser "tourist" ballets in auditoriums and halls. This keeps the prices lower as the Mariinsky is expensive. But Alla told us how to do it and helped with transportation. Here is what we did -

 

go to the Mariinsky's own website - mariinsky.ru - and book your tickets when the schedule is available - they have seating charts and prices - there are special prices that are lower for Russian citizens only, so don't be fooled - the tickets are over USD100 each depending on where you sit - you pay by credit card and get an emailed voucher - you present that at the ticket booth the night of the performance - very easy and safe

 

Alla sent us a tour voucher verifying that she was providing transport to/from the ballet - we presented this to immigration at the pier when we left the ship to meet our driver - this was in essence our "visa" for the evening

 

we were charged for the 2 day tour plus an extra fee for the driver to/from the ballet - at the end of the day one tour we were dropped off at the ship at about 530pm as the tour stated - we had just enough time to go to our room and change into nice clothes and go right back out to meet our driver at about 615pm - lots of locals at the ballet and everyone was dressed up - most men in suits/ties, ladies in dresses and heels - so we were glad we dressed up, plus it was a "special" night

 

total cost was a small fortune but well worth it - the building is beautiful and we had box seats up close on the side - we could hear their feet hitting the boards

 

footnote - after we had booked, paid, and arranged all this, our ship announced an added shore excursion featuring "a special night at the Mariinsky" with tickets and bus transport for 40 people only - first come,first served - the price was way more than we paid, and we paid a lot and we got a private car, and not a bus, and we saw these folks seats - not as good as ours!

 

So good luck - you can do this through Alla - I would imagine the other large tour outfits (SPB etc.) could arrange the same

pv girl is absolutely correct! We also used Alla tours for the ballet in exactly the same manner ... booked online, printed voucher, used Alla for transportation. Very easy! :) Superb performance with excellent seats that we selected ourselves.

I am certain that Alla would actually purchase the tickets for you when they become available if you give her your credit card details so that she can charge them for you (there was a couple that did this through Alla). Then you wouldn't have to worry about purchasing them yourself if you are worried about purchasing online (perfectly safe, by the way). Give it a try! http://alla-tour.com/

Did somebody say the Marinsky was expensive.? You can hardly get into a decent Broadway show for those prices. We plan to see the Bolshoi in Moscow and Marinsky (old Kirov) in SPB and Bolshoi cost two to three times as much and there is an ongoing debate about which company is better. Be careful of tour company ballet excursions. There are a number of ballet companies around SPB putting on shows for the tourists. You won't have seen great ballet, just maybe some decent dancers.