Tough Question. Alaska or Baltic?

[houch]

I have done both, Alaska was my first cruise, loved it and fell in love with cruising. The Baltic was my first European cruise and I was in awe! I would love to do it again. We went in Sept, the last cruise of the season and took all Princess tours. They were great and we had no problem with crowd. Weather was good, wore capri's and sandles during the tours and included a light weight jacket and was very comfortable. If I would do the Baltic again I would want to spend a couple days in Copenhagen, love that city. Though I loved Alaska I doubt I would ever cruise it again, jmo.

[travellover3]

It is true that crowds at St Petersburg's major attractions can be bad but certainly can be avoided. With the right planning and booking a small private tour, all that can easily be avoided.

 

There were crowds at the Hermatige ehrm we went. However, our guide knew how to avoid the crowds and we were able to truly enjoy the museum.

 

St Petersburg proper and the sites outside of the city are true "bucket list" must see sites. To be seen properly one should avoid the big ship's tours and the like.

 

If you can do it with a private guide and driver, they will assure you do not wait inline and avoid the crowded times and places. A private tour also can add "extra" sites not on the canned tours and that adds tremendously.

 

St. Petersburg was one of the true highlights of our several cruises.

 

P&J

 

We took the 2 day and evening ship's tour, and they arranged early entrance to The Hermitage (2 hr ahead of general opening), 2 hrs ahead at Peterhof and the lunch stops were excellent. I have taken both private and ship's excursions for different ports, and I was extremely satisfied with everything about the St. Petersburg ships excursion. There were 25 people on our tour and a great guide, who found extra time for shopping and going to a couple of unplanned stops for photo ops. The ease of arrangements with the ship's excursion was well worth the cost (that is, if in the long run, it was more expensive than a private tour for what was included).

[Roses2]

It appears that we should clarify what we mean by private tour.

 

There are many definitions of "Private Tour" on Cruise Critic. To some it means any tour not operated by the ship. To us, a "Private Tour" is just that, Private -- the two of us with a driver and guide.

 

We save those Private tours for those special "bucket list" locations, and St Petersburg was such a place. For our two days in St Petersburg we had a car, driver, and guide at our disposal and we set the itinerary -- not the company.

 

We went where we wanted, when we wanted. The guide assured that crowds and lines were avoided. When we wanted to see a Russian supermarket, we were taken there. When we wanted to see a church service in session, we went there.

 

We believe we had the best possible exposure to the sights, sounds, sites, and activities of St Petersburg, Peterhof, evening activites, and the many other cultural sites of the area that anyone could have during a two day stay.

 

To us, our visit to St. Petersburg was memorable and one for us to share with each other, not more than 20 other people.

 

P&J

[dennbr9]

We've done both and enjoyed both, but if I had to choose only one, it would be Alaska for it's amazing scenic beauty. Oh, and because the crowds at the major attractions in Russia were horrible!; imagine 50,000 people packed into your living room, and you'll have a good idea! Hopefully you'll be able to do them both eventually.

 

Not an issue if you use a Private Tour Company instead of Ships Excursions. We saw everything in two days and had "front of the line access" while those in the Cruise Ship Tour Buses waited for us. We actually got into some of the sites before they were open to the public.

 

Had a van for eleven of us Cruise Critics with a Driver and guide.

 

Baltics Cruise was our Second favorite Cruise next to French Polynesia - so far.