St Petersburg excursion

We are going on a baltic cruise with Celebrity in May and are looking for the best way of doing an excursion in St Petersburg. Should we use the ships or do a private tour, also which one should we go on.:)

We are going on a baltic cruise with Celebrity in May and are looking for the best way of doing an excursion in St Petersburg. Should we use the ships or do a private tour, also which one should we go on.:)

Hi Fungus Face, we are on Eclipse in June & have arranged a private tour with a company called SPB tours, there are a number of other companies out there with similar good reviews.

The main reason we booked a private tour versus taking the ships was down to the number of places to visit in the time frame, smaller groups & value for money.

You may find you have a roll call for your cruise, this is a good place to chat to folk who may have already booked a tour/thinking of booking a tour & you can share information.

Look after the Eclipse for us & enjoy your cruise!:)

We are going on a baltic cruise with Celebrity in May and are looking for the best way of doing an excursion in St Petersburg. Should we use the ships or do a private tour, also which one should we go on.:)

Almost to a man (or woman) everyone here will recommend a private tour company over any ship's excursion. We have talked about this so many times already. Just do a quick search or just go back a few pages on this site and you will see a wealth of info on this. The who's, the whys and why we all recommend a private tour.

We also used SPB Tours for our time in St Petersburg. They are an excellent company and one of the major players in St Petersburg. They also offer tours to some of the other ports you may be going to, so you could save some money if you prefer to use them for all of them.

Any specific questions, please just ask away.

Cheers

Len

We are going on a baltic cruise with Celebrity in May and are looking for the best way of doing an excursion in St Petersburg. Should we use the ships or do a private tour, also which one should we go on.:)

You've proved you're a smart cruiser by coming on here. Don't mess up by booking a ship's excursion. Go with one of the big independents like Len says and you'll have a couple of days you'll remember forever.

Almost to a man (or woman) everyone here will recommend a private tour company over any ship's excursion. We have talked about this so many times already. Just do a quick search or just go back a few pages on this site and you will see a wealth of info on this. The who's, the whys and why we all recommend a private tour.

We also used SPB Tours for our time in St Petersburg. They are an excellent company and one of the major players in St Petersburg. They also offer tours to some of the other ports you may be going to, so you could save some money if you prefer to use them for all of them.

 

Any specific questions, please just ask away.

 

Cheers

 

Len

Absolutely agree. On our June 2011 NCL Sun sailing eight different groups chose SPB - moderate, active, deluxe and Baltic Pearl were the tours chosen. Size ranged from 6 person private Deluxe, to 16 person tours. All reports I heard, and I heard from many as I organized our roll call and the coordination of the tours, raved about the tours, the guides and SPB in particular.

There are other good operators, but I would say that any of the ones recommended by past cruisers here would be better than a ship's tour.

Contact by e-mail some of the ones recommended on these boards..We did and after hearing back from them we opted to use TJ Travel for our 2 day private active tour...It was one of the best decisions we could have made....Enjoy this amazing city and the best way to see it by private tour !!

We are contemplating the 2 day excursion off Holland America on the June 24 sailing out of Copenhagen. I have one question to see if anyone else has done this one in the past. It does NOT mention the Church of the Spilled Blood or given time for shopping. When I called Holland America's excursion desk they said that if it wasn't listed, then probably you wouldn't see it. I can't' imagine going to St. Petersburg and not seeing that specifically, so I wondered if anyone out there had taken that specific excursion (called Showcase St. Petersburg). We are alittle worried about taking a private excursion and getting back to the boat if they have a problem since we wouldn't have our own visa's, etc. Any advice is appreciated.

We are going on a baltic cruise with Celebrity in May and are looking for the best way of doing an excursion in St Petersburg. Should we use the ships or do a private tour, also which one should we go on.:)

I absolutely agree with previous posters that using a local tour company is the best "bang for your buck". There are several reputable tour operators in SPB. We used Alla Tours last August in both SPB & Berlin and were thrilled with what we saw and learned. The private tour operators will tailor your tour to your specifications.

SPB is an amazing city. Enjoy!

jill

We are contemplating the 2 day excursion off Holland America on the June 24 sailing out of Copenhagen. I have one question to see if anyone else has done this one in the past. It does NOT mention the Church of the Spilled Blood or given time for shopping. When I called Holland America's excursion desk they said that if it wasn't listed, then probably you wouldn't see it. I can't' imagine going to St. Petersburg and not seeing that specifically, so I wondered if anyone out there had taken that specific excursion (called Showcase St. Petersburg). We are alittle worried about taking a private excursion and getting back to the boat if they have a problem since we wouldn't have our own visa's, etc. Any advice is appreciated.

I agree with you and can't imagine not seeing this as well...so buyer beware...I think many on these boards will agree that you have little to really worry about regarding a private tour getting you back to the ship on time..They are tour "professionals" and this is a big part of their dedication to providing the many private tours that they do for cruiseship passengers...We used TJ Travel for our private 2 day active tour and it was the best decision we could have made..Enjoy "ALL" this city has to offer and don't be short changed and limited to what a ship excursion can offer....Best of luck !!

We are contemplating the 2 day excursion off Holland America on the June 24 sailing out of Copenhagen. I have one question to see if anyone else has done this one in the past. It does NOT mention the Church of the Spilled Blood or given time for shopping. When I called Holland America's excursion desk they said that if it wasn't listed, then probably you wouldn't see it. I can't' imagine going to St. Petersburg and not seeing that specifically, so I wondered if anyone out there had taken that specific excursion (called Showcase St. Petersburg). We are a little worried about taking a private excursion and getting back to the boat if they have a problem since we wouldn't have our own visa's, etc. Any advice is appreciated.

Maggie

As I have said in a previous post, book the private tour and don't give anything else a second thought.

You want to know why?? You have already experienced why and I'll be more specific. The cruise line could give a rat's you know what if you have a good time in St Petersberg. All they are required to do is fulfill the excursion and nothing more. You had a taste of it when you called and the representative couldn't care less. They take you out, show you what they said they would and bring you back.

Compare that to ANY of the private tours, where they make their living on YOUR recommendation. They will bend over backwards to make sure you see what YOU want to see and enjoy yourself while doing it. When we went, we had glorious weather on day one so they rearranged some of our schedule to take advantage of this glorious weather. Guaranteed no ship's tour will do anything like that.

All private tours need your recommendation to survive and the service you will get, the attention to your desires and just the fact that they bend over backwards to make you happy are all that needs to be said.

Ships' excursion---60 people, one huge bus, no change in any plans

Private tour-16 people at most, small bus, plans change to meet the groups needs.

Here are a few of my pix of St petersburg, so you can see this glorious city in all it's splendor

At Catherine's Palace, you will have time to wander the gardens also

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster712.jpg

At Peterhof, you will either arrive or depart via a hydrofoil, but the entire Palace is just magnificent

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster734.jpg

You want to see the Church of the Spilled Blood, no problem with ALL private tours, inside and out

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe764.jpg

Here is a short video of the famous church from the inside

http://s834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/?action=view&current=europemaster840.mp4

Several tours are skipping Yusupov's Palace. Do not miss this wonderful place.Here is a box in a private theater just made for past Tsars of Russia

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe897.jpg

And the Hermitage is just awe inspiring. Here is a self portrait of Rembrandt

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe960.jpg

Cheers

Len

Private tour: you will see much more in the same amount of time and enjoy the smaller group experience.

Absolutely agree. On our June 2011 NCL Sun sailing eight different groups chose SPB - moderate, active, deluxe and Baltic Pearl were the tours chosen. Size ranged from 6 person private Deluxe, to 16 person tours. All reports I heard, and I heard from many as I organized our roll call and the coordination of the tours, raved about the tours, the guides and SPB in particular.

 

There are other good operators, but I would say that any of the ones recommended by past cruisers here would be better than a ship's tour.

Just wondering if you requested the whole group to meet at a certain time on ship to debark or just set up a meeting place off ship for group?

Our group met in front of one of the restaurants at a decided time, just so we could all go down together and stick together if the ship gave us a hard time getting off. There was no issue with that. We used SPb tours and they were waiting with a sign on the other side of Russian immigration. You really don't have to meet on the ship. As a matter of fact, Vika, the owner was there to oversee all of the groups. If you make a Meet and Greet it is easy to talk about logistics. One of the members didn't make the M&G but he still managed to find us, just from our conversations on the roll call. Join the roll call and go to the meet and greet. It makes it much nicer.

Just wondering if you requested the whole group to meet at a certain time on ship to debark or just set up a meeting place off ship for group?

Our group met in front of one of the restaurants at a decided time, just so we could all go down together and stick together if the ship gave us a hard time getting off. There was no issue with that. We used SPb tours and they were waiting with a sign on the other side of Russian immigration. You really don't have to meet on the ship. As a matter of fact, Vika, the owner was there to oversee all of the groups. If you make a Meet and Greet it is easy to talk about logistics. One of the members didn't make the M&G but he still managed to find us, just from our conversations on the roll call. Join the roll call and go to the meet and greet. It makes it much nicer.

Our group was small, six, and were traveling together, so we went down as a group. No problems with leaving the ship at all.

The idea of using the meet and greet to organize your group is a good one.

We had eight groups using SPB Tours, and all of the guides were waiting together with Vika, as Got2Cruise said, so very little risk of getting lost.

We had a group of 10 on our 2-day tour with spb-tours. We were concerned about getting back to the ship so arranged to have our tour finish 2 hrs. prior to sailing. We loved our tour and we were able to pick and choose what we wanted to see. We rode the subway with our guide, it was unbelievable. She took us to a small cafe for lunch and we were the only ones there. We also visited a local store to buy vodka, a market which was very interesting and tasted some of the local foods. We did all this plus visiting the main attractions without waiting. They travel through streets that a big bus can't. Check out their web site, they also have a "roll call" section if you want to join another group to bring costs down. We had a wonderful visit thanks to Viktoria and her guides. Hope you have the same experience.

Thanks - this sounds very encouraging - we have signed up with SPB with the "Kam" group - not sure if they would like to keep the group to a smaller size like you did as well. We are really looking forward to it. We are also going to sign up for the night tour - might as well see it all while we are there.

Thanks - this sounds very encouraging - we have signed up with SPB with the "Kam" group - not sure if they would like to keep the group to a smaller size like you did as well. We are really looking forward to it. We are also going to sign up for the night tour - might as well see it all while we are there.

Our guide was Elena Levchenko and our driver Andre they were so much fun and a wealth of information. We didn't do an evening tour because we found out that our ship was going to have a special show onboard by a Russian dance group. It was very good. If you are still undecided check with your ship to see if they are going to have a special show. Have a wonderful trip and tour.

Almost to a man (or woman) everyone here will recommend a private tour company over any ship's excursion. We have talked about this so many times already. Just do a quick search or just go back a few pages on this site and you will see a wealth of info on this. The who's, the whys and why we all recommend a private tour.

We also used SPB Tours for our time in St Petersburg. They are an excellent company and one of the major players in St Petersburg. They also offer tours to some of the other ports you may be going to, so you could save some money if you prefer to use them for all of them.

 

Any specific questions, please just ask away.

 

Cheers

 

Len

we used SPB tours too last year and they were fantastic. Well worth the money!

Thanks - this sounds very encouraging - we have signed up with SPB with the "Kam" group - not sure if they would like to keep the group to a smaller size like you did as well. We are really looking forward to it. We are also going to sign up for the night tour - might as well see it all while we are there.

Just a wise move Maggiemag. You will not regret it at all.

Any further things we can help you with, just ask away.

Cheers

Len

Thanks - this sounds very encouraging - we have signed up with SPB with the "Kam" group - not sure if they would like to keep the group to a smaller size like you did as well. We are really looking forward to it. We are also going to sign up for the night tour - might as well see it all while we are there.

Thanks everyone - it all sounds very encouraging - we are definitely going with SPB and doing the night tour - I'd rather be "out and about" seeing whatever we can see (though it will still be light out - oh well). You were all very helpful.

You are going to have a wonderful time! You won't be sorry you took the Vodka tour, it was a blast.:) Touring in a small van instead of a large bus will have you spoiled forever.

Thanks everyone - it all sounds very encouraging - we are definitely going with SPB and doing the night tour - I'd rather be "out and about" seeing whatever we can see (though it will still be light out - oh well). You were all very helpful.

Thanks everyone - it all sounds very encouraging - we are definitely going with SPB and doing the night tour - I'd rather be "out and about" seeing whatever we can see (though it will still be light out - oh well). You were all very helpful.

You will be very happy with SPB tours. We used them last July and it was the highlight of our Baltic Cruise. We saw so much in the 2 days we were there. Jelena, our guide, spoke perfect English and could answer any of our questions. And, the owner Vika was there at the end of our tour as we arrived an hour before the ship left. Absolutely no problems. The van was modern and clean; we had a bottle of water provided each day; we stopped at gift shops for potty breaks; we saw Catherine's Palace, Peterhof Gardens, Peter & Paul Cathedral, Church of the Spilled Blood, Yusopov's Palace, did the canal ride, a hydrofoil ride, visited the subway, and saw some of the Hermitage (it would have taken 7 years to see it all!)

We ate a traditional restaurant meal one day and ate at a cafe for the locals the next. Jelena rearranged our schedule at one point when she received word of long lines at the Hermitage. No time was wasted. We had earphones that worked perfectly so the 16 of us didn't have to huddle and could listen to her info while we looked at things on our own. Hope this info helps anyone considering a private tour. We heard from others that the ship's tour had 40 people and saw half as much for twice the price.

Just a wise move Maggiemag. You will not regret it at all.

 

Any further things we can help you with, just ask away.

 

Cheers

 

Len

What about the "private tour" offered by Regent vs the ones listed above

What about the "private tour" offered by Regent vs the ones listed above

I'm sorry but I've never heard of that particular company. Where did you find it???

As I have said so many times already, why look for some obscure company that is either just starting out or scrounging for business, when you can be safe and use any of the several major players in St Petersberg. What is the fascination with these companies no one has ever heard of. St Petersberg is probably a once in a lifetime visit, so why take any chances on some company that is either starting out and may not even be around when you are ready to cruise.

You can take my advice or not, but I would stick to one of the major tour companies and assure yourself a magical time in this wonderful city.

Cheers

Len

It is the private tour company that Regent Cruise line is affiliated with and that you book via their site.

As backed by the cruise line, would it not be safer