St Petersburg- white nights boat ride? Shopping?

[vegasgirl702]

Please help!:confused:

 

Family of 3 (son 12), doing Jewel of the Seas (Jun 24) Baltic Cruise.

Currently, working with SPB - Vika for 2 day moderate tour (14 CC members).

 

 

Questions:

 

Night time activity- wanted to "shop" and people wAtch/drink vodka & have some Caviar. Near main street Nevsky. Is there 2 hours worth of shopping there? Looking for miltary hat or souvenirs, stuff made in Russia etc but not tchukes. (sp?)

 

Other people in our ship doing canal ride (white nights). Granted not exactly the same but have done canal rides in Venice & Amsterdam. Is this a "must do"?

 

Would you "shop" for an extra hour or do boat ride? Please explain. Just wanted to make sure I have time to buy souvenirs.

 

;) What are some things to buy other than nesting dolls?

Thanks inadvance for your suggestions & info! ;o)

[tally10]

Please help!:confused:

 

Family of 3 (son 12), doing Jewel of the Seas (Jun 24) Baltic Cruise.

Currently, working with SPB - Vika for 2 day moderate tour (14 CC members).

 

 

Questions:

 

Night time activity- wanted to "shop" and people wAtch/drink vodka & have some Caviar. Near main street Nevsky. Is there 2 hours worth of shopping there? Looking for miltary hat or souvenirs, stuff made in Russia etc but not tchukes. (sp?)

 

Other people in our ship doing canal ride (white nights). Granted not exactly the same but have done canal rides in Venice & Amsterdam. Is this a "must do"?

 

Would you "shop" for an extra hour or do boat ride? Please explain. Just wanted to make sure I have time to buy souvenirs.

 

;) What are some things to buy other than nesting dolls?

Thanks inadvance for your suggestions & info! ;o)

 

Just my personal opinion, but we did not care for our canal cruise. Inside the cabin was filled with diesel fumes and outside it was cold and rainy (May of 2004). Skipped it in 2006 and will again this May. Some purchases in the past besides the nesting dolls were a lacquer box (they have the real ones and the imitation ones), prints of famous places, Russian hats (fake fur and real fur), commemorative plates (various scenes of St. Petersburg), beautiful picture books of the city or its history, amber jewelry, and calendars, vodka, etc. I always buy the calendars as a reminder of the places we have been to (memories). Of course, there are many other things but these are the items we have brought home in the past. Hope you and your family have a wonderful time!

[vegasgirl702]

Thanks for your reply! By chance do you remember the cost of things?

Fake fur hat vs real fur? Do you negotiate? Or set prices? Pay in dollars? Rubles?

 

Best way to get Rubles?

[Giantfan13]

Please help!:confused:

 

Family of 3 (son 12), doing Jewel of the Seas (Jun 24) Baltic Cruise.

Currently, working with SPB - Vika for 2 day moderate tour (14 CC members).

 

 

Questions:

 

Night time activity- wanted to "shop" and people wAtch/drink vodka & have some Caviar. Near main street Nevsky. Is there 2 hours worth of shopping there? Looking for miltary hat or souvenirs, stuff made in Russia etc but not tchukes. (sp?)

 

Other people in our ship doing canal ride (white nights). Granted not exactly the same but have done canal rides in Venice & Amsterdam. Is this a "must do"?

 

Would you "shop" for an extra hour or do boat ride? Please explain. Just wanted to make sure I have time to buy souvenirs.

 

;) What are some things to buy other than nesting dolls?

Thanks inadvance for your suggestions & info! ;o)

 

The previous poster is correct in that, if it is rainy or the weather is bad, you will not enjoy your canal boat ride very much. That said, we had magnificent weather and it was one of the highlites of our tour. We specifically went with SPB tours because they offered the canal boat tour as part of one of their packages when none of the other groups did. We WANTED that. We were scheduled for it on day two, but, as I said, we had magnificent weather on day one, so they included it on that day. (Day two was just as beautiful, but you just don't know).

Let me say, my DW LOVES to shop and we usually buy souvenirs for half the neighborhood, but if we had to have made a choice, we would have still done the canal boat tour.

We also did canal boat tours in several other cities, but each one has an uniqueness of it's own, and you get a completely different perspective of things from the water. You can shop in several places, but I would not miss the canal boat tour.

 

If you are using SBP tours (maybe the others do the same) but when they do rest room breaks they take you to souvenir shops ( I wonder why)and give you time to sh0p if you like. Prices are reasonable. If you dock in the new dock in St Petersburg, inside the building there are several sh0ps who sell things and their prices are pretty good.

 

Our favorite thing we bought was a musical thing-a-ma0jig. A sort of model of the Church of the Spilled Blood that played a Russian song. We bought it at one of the street booths where you can barter with the people. Got a great buy on it, almost 1/2 of what we saw it for at other places.

 

Just to whet your appetite about the boat tour here a few pix of what you will see

 

Fortress of Peter and Paul

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster760.jpg

 

Going under one of the many bridges along the canals

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe774.jpg

 

An old time sailing ship you pass in the harbor

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster782.jpg

 

Also just cruising along. i still do not know how people get to these boats

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster773.jpg

 

More of the stunning buildings along the canal

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe786.jpg

 

Cheers

 

Len

[TLCOhio]

Thanks for your reply! By chance do you remember the cost of things? Fake fur hat vs real fur? Do you negotiate? Or set prices? Pay in dollars? Rubles? Best way to get Rubles?

 

On your wide variety of questions, here are some other items of info to be aware of and/or to consider.

 

1. You can get rubles from ATM machines in Russia or buy them in advance from your local bank (at probably a bad conversion rate) before your trip. We didn't get any rubles and it worked out fine for us just using our credit cards, etc. Most of the shops will take credit cards.

 

2. On our canal boat trip there were no odors or problems. It was very nice and relaxing, giving us a different view of the key areas and buildings around St. Petersburg than you cannot get at street level dealing with traffic and noise, etc. Below are a few picture examples of what we saw from our canal boat trip. It was a nice break later in the day where we did not to have to do more walking and standing. It's a personal taste and style question as to whether it fits your personal interests. Later in the evening it will be light, but many of the attractions will be closed. An evening canal trip could be worth considering.

 

3. On shopping, you can buy lots of "STUFF", but in the better shops you discover there is a very wide range of qualities (and prices). It depends on what you seek (and can afford). You can see the quality difference!!! There are lots "cheap things" available. One person in our group of four wanted a Russian-style military hat. Not all shops carry that type of item. Anastasia found a place and we went there. There are many, many places to buy "things". If you are working with private tour company, you need to be specific in what you are seeking and the quality/price level you want.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

From the canal boat, this is a view of an original palace built by Peter in St. Petersburg:

 

 

 

An example of the many buildings and bridges you will see on the canal boat tour:

 

 

 

Another royal structure seen on the canal boat tour:

 

 

 

An example of bridge details you will see on the canal tour:

 

 

 

[vegasgirl702]

Thanks for the wonderful pics & inside knowledge.

 

SPB will do our canal trip at night. We will return to the ship to freshen up and then go out again at 7 pm- 11ish. This will be done on the first day.

[Giantfan13]

thanks for the kind words. as I said, we also used SPB tours and Viktoria will make your visit to St Petersburg one you will never forget.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[tally10]

Thanks for your reply! By chance do you remember the cost of things?

Fake fur hat vs real fur? Do you negotiate? Or set prices? Pay in dollars? Rubles?

 

Best way to get Rubles?

 

I don't remember pricing specifically. Our best experience was when we came upon a small group of street vendors (not in the square by the Church of the Spilt Blood where they are in abundance) and our tour guide was able to barter and get a large nesting doll for $20. What made this one special was that it was hand crafted and not one of the mass produced ones. DH got the fake fur hat in the Red October Store as well as the lacquer box (a small but real one inlaid with mother of pearl). This was in 2004 and the prices were really good. However, on our 2006 cruise there, prices were higher and there was not so much bargaining with the street vendors. No bargaining in the Red October store, just with the street vendors. I don't know what awaits us in 2010. We have paid in dollars as in those days they did not want rubles and we didn't have any. DH just got rubles for the cruise this May from Wells Fargo bank, but I am sure they still take dollars and euros (and credit cards hopefully).

[vegasgirl702]

What time of day did you do your boat ride? And is it calm like canals in Venice, Italy?

[TLCOhio]

What time of day did you do your boat ride? And is it calm like canals in Venice, Italy?

 

We did our canal tour late afternoon and the waters were very, very calm.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Giantfan13]

Likie Terry, we did ours very late in the PM, and waters were extremely clam.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[makiramarlena]

I like the SPB vodka tasting tour and I would love to do that. But they need a minimum of 10 people and I am only one person. Would they put me in with another group from somewhere? Unfortunately I'm on the Disney ship, everyone else has children and they're not interested in a vodka tasting tour. Has anybody been able to book that if you're not 10 people?

[ETinCA]

I forgot to mention, we also loved the canal cruise and we did it first thing in the morning. The Peterhoff was fantastic and we got to the cathedrals too as well as the Hermitage and a subway tour. Definitely take the subway if you get the chance. So unusual.

[bludevil]

I'm sure it's here somewhere, but does anyone have a link to the SPB tours everyone keeps mentioning?

 

also, would you recommend SPB or Red October (and is Red October US the same company?)

 

thanks!

[reynoldswrap]

SPB's site is: www.spb-tours.com ; email mail@spb-tours.com and vika.rother@gmx.de

We have tours scheduled for St. Petersburg (2-day plus evening) and Berlin due to the comments on these boards as well as the responsiveness and personal attention to detail Viktoria has shown.

 

 

[greyhound101]

Havel also booked tours in Saint Petersburg and Berlin with SPB and Vika. Very accommodating. Planning on doing the canal cruise on one of our evenings, since we have 2 of them. As for shopping not terribly interested, and you can't shop on your own due to the visa restriction. Meaning you have to be with the tour representative at all times. Since they are the provider of the visa.

[potomacgator]

My wife and I will be taking SPB tours evening fun tour on June 11. It consists of guided shopping on Nevsky prospect, a canal boat ride including vodka and choclates and a brief city tour through the city of the White Nights. Additional individuals and couples are welcome to join us. Contact SPB tours.

[potomacgator]

My wife and I will be taking SPB tours evening fun tour on June 11. It consists of guided shopping on Nevsky prospect, a canal boat ride including vodka and choclates and a brief city tour through the city of the White Nights. Additional individuals and couples are welcome to join us. Contact SPB tours.

 

I made a mistake. We will be taking this tour on June 10 not June 11.

[gdayhoff]

We have done both(Red October and SPB-Tours)-----Go with SPB-Tours.You will love working with Viktoria.Very accommodating and prompt with her e-mails.

If you go with Red October deal with Red October-Russia(RU) and not Red October- USA.They are the same company but you will eliminate the middle man.

[makiramarlena]

I signed up with SPB just to do the boat "fun" tour at night, which they said they would work out for me as a single, but I had to move it to the early evening, because they got me signed up with a full tour group and that is when the rest of the group wanted to do it. (Personally I would have rather gone at night but I can't do both and stay with the group. Viktoria's promised me the vodka though). They'll work with you on times if you want to include a boat ride.