Has anyone missed the boat....

[kiberkid]

using either Dunrus or Red October tour companies in St Petersburg? If so what have they done to get you back on the ship?

This is my only worry about not using a cruise line excurision.


Thanks.

S

[42trvl]

We found Denrus to be extremely punctual and efficient. You should get a schedule of your itinerary long before your cruise and before you agree to anything and can make sure that nothing is scheduled too late on your last day in port. We also had three days there and decided to end the third day a little earlier which provided even more of a cushion. But they were very knowledgeable about travel distances and traffic conditions, and you are really never too far away from the port.

[JodiBB]

We used Red October and they were also very punctual. We were back to the boat 45 minutes before the time we were expected to be on board by RCCL.

We did ask our guide if it was ever a problem. He told us that the only time it could potentially be a problem is if the train that crosses the entrance/exit to the port dead stops and the bus/van can't access the port. The upside is that any time that has happened, there are RCCL excursion buses behind them, which would definitely not be left behind, so it's never been an issue.

That being said, we asked the big what if???? Our guide told us that (at their expense) they would drive us to Tallinn (about 5-6 hours) to meet up with the ship there.

But like it been said, they got us back to the ship in PLENTY of time...in fact there was enough time to shop in the souvenir store before getting back on the boat.

[kiberkid]

Thank you for your replies. The reason I am concerned is that last year, our Carnival excursion in Costa Rica, arrived back @ the ship 1/2 hr after it was to set sail. We kept thinking thank heavens this is a Carnival excurison & not a private one.

I am glad that Denrus & Red October they have a safety net in place.

Thanks again.

[dileep]

We used Red October during our May 21 sailing on the Constellation. We had our itinerary arranged so we would be dropped off an hour before the ship's departure. There is a train track near the pier and a long train decided to move and many buses were stranded on the other side including one of Celebrity's own tour buses. I don't know if any private companies were in the same boat.

We ended up leaving 45 minutes late. I doubt if they would have waited for someone else's bus. But then if a large number of guests are missing, they might.

we had a couple that showed up in a taxi 5 minutes late in Tallinn and we had just pushed off and were 10 feer away from the edge of the peir and we kept going. The pilot boat picked up the couple and brought them to the ship. Lucky for them, because our next stop was St. Petersburg and they would have difficulty getting there without a visa!

[ekp]

Just returned. Our Red October tour was very punctual. There is a lot of traffice in St. Petersburg and that is figured into the schedule. I wouldn't worry about missing the ship. By the way, the tour was terrific. The guide and driver were excellent. The restaurants they chose for us were very good. There were 8 of us in the van and there wasn't one complaint.