Has anyone taken the ship's excursions? or does everyone go private?

[Canuckdoc]

Mostly interested in St. Petersburg - motivated by some advice on a separate thread - but since that thread was about a specific sailing, I thought that a new thread might gather more input...

 

I can see the pros and cons of going private, and using the cruise line -

 

For me the cruise line tours offer the security of the line, the convenience, and only one full day event - given that we are 3 days in SP - 2 half days and a full day seem like enough...

 

I can appreciate the cost savings and smaller groups and a more indepth tour going private - but on a 7 day cruise - doing 3 days of 8 am to 6pm seems like a bit much - no matter how culturally enriching -

 

- what worries me is the sentiment from another thread that the cruise tours would be a meaningless/superficial 'look-see'...

 

Are any of those comments based on any real experience with cruise tour?

 

Can anyone offer meaningful feedback? or is it all just personal attitude/opinion... I believe that many can convince themselves of anything depending on the motivation...

[Nigella]

I haven't been to St Petersburg so my comments can only be general about SS tours. We're far too lazy to spend time making our own arrangements to go private, so up to now we've only taken ship's excursions. We've even taken them in cities in the Med with which we're already familiar and enjoyed them. We are still quite new to cruising, have only about 30 days on SS and our tour experience has been in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, not northern Europe/Baltic.

 

We find them to be very good quality. The buses are not crowded. The tour guide is usually astute enough to tailor the information level to a more sophisticated and well travelled crowd like SS passengers tend to be. And the passengers strongly influence that by the questions they ask.

However we've had one or two experiences where the guide clearly hasn't researched the SS product and has made comments about eg pointing out a hotel,saying it's "very expensive at 200 Euros a night for a double room" :D Of course it's relative, I do realise, but such comments did cause raised eyebrows and amused glances on our tour bus.

 

We won't rule out arranging a private tour in the future but we're happy with ship's tours. Many on this board absolutely prefer to arrange their own though.

[bobndee]

I haven't been to St. Petersburg, either, so my comments are based on two other SS cruises.

 

I've taken SS tours and done my own both in Italy and in Alaska. In Italy I took SS tours to Pompeii and to the Vatican. Both exceeded my expectations. The guides were knowledgeable and accommodating. Neither tour was too large a group. In Alaska the Skagway train trip and the Misty Fjords were well worth it. The Misty Fjords trip was all day - long enough that if I weren't on a SS tour I would have worried about missing the ship. Not a concern on that tour.

[CanadianKate]

Like Nigella, I'm lazy and always worried about getting back to the ship. In Manilla, one half day tour turned into a nightmare in the traffic and I only had to deal with being very hungry (we were to have got back at lunch time) instead of also being worried we'd miss the ship. (And the staff kept the pool bar open to serve us when we got back since they knew we were on our way, not that it really mattered since we could have had something in our cabin.)

 

When we take a tour, it is always with SS. Our TA gives us a generous ship board credit and on our last cruise we got a good credit from SS so the tours are always almost 'free.'

 

They have all been very good. But I read carefully, avoid the bus tour around a city tours (can do a local hop-on-hop-off bus for WAY less) and discuss with other passengers (I tend to take long cruises so there's time to adjust the tours I've booked before the deadlines.)

 

I've taken SS tours in Ireland, Australia, Malaysia, Bali, Philippines, Alaska, Canada (!), Panama, Namibia, Cape Verde, Ghana, Canaries, Morocco, and Spain. All have been just fine. A couple were exceptional (pulling into an oasis in the Namib Desert and finding porta-potties with running water on the back of a trailer, waiting for us was the most over-the-top.)

 

I've never had a tour canceled due to low turnout (one day-long tour to Ronda had only 5 of us on a bus to hold 20 IIRC, as a result, we were able to be dropped in the center of town, cutting a walk.)

 

Having taken tours in my own "back yard" has given me confidence about the quality of the tours elsewhere. There's a lot of stuff that isn't worth the money, especially in big, safe, cities with good transit and lots of reviews of things to do available on the internet.

 

Tours that get me off into the countryside have always proved interesting and worthwhile if expensive. And far less stressful than doing things on our own. We rented a car in Brisbane to go visit friends up the coast and driving in torrential rain was stressful and our car got dented while parked in a lot so we had to deal with that when we arrived back at the rental place, making the day more expensive than a tour would have been. (Yes we took the insurance but in Australia it just lowers the deductible.)

 

Now I will say that the tours could be better. I know this because I've been on tours offered by Tauck and they were far superior to a SS tour. But I've never been disappointed with a SS tour and rather than try and find a company that offers the quality of a Tauck tour in each port, I'm happy to continue to use SS. "Very Good" is good enough for me, I don't need exceptional.

[bogey]

We're in St. Petersburg for the first time this summer. So, no specifics about tours there.

 

On other cruises we have tried both the ship's tours and private. Here are my opinions, but they are certainly subject to debate:

 

First: Silversea does a great job with their excursions. We have never been disappointed with one of their tours. Indeed, our most amazing excursion was a Silversea tour in Ephesus. They keep the group sizes manageable and they always have a representative from the ship (often one of the entertainers) on the tour to monitor things and provide assistance.

 

Second: If you really want a personalized tour of an area, a private guide can be excellent. You will have your own vehicle dedicated to you and your wishes. You will have a knowledgeable guide who can tailor the tour to things you want to see and who can offer special options that are not on the usual large-tour itineraries. Silversea will arrange private tours for you, or you can make your own plans.

 

Third: In St. Petersburg, we are going to try a 3rd option. I'll call it a "semi-pivate" tour. The tour company (in our case Alla Tours) puts together a relatively small group (no larger than 16 pax) based on "roll calls" which they set up on their web site. I think this option won't be as individualized as a private tour, but more personal than a larger ship's tour.

 

Costwise, the private tour will be the most expensive and the "semi-private" will be the least, with Silversea tours somewhere in the middle.

 

Obviously none of these options is fool proof. You can always have the misfortune of a bad itinerary or a weak guide. For that reason, I think it is extremely important that you do a lot of research if you are making your own arrangements.

 

Because cruising usually provides limited amount of time in port, I have found that private tours are best in ports where there is a lot to see in that limited time. On a private tour, you will be able to spend less of your time mingling around with a large group and loading and unloading from a bus. That provides more time for seeing the area and the sights of interest.

 

I have looked at the Silversea options in St. Petersburg. They are fantastic and include a couple of very interesting in-depth tours --- the amber workshops, for example. So, please don't read this as any criticism of what the cruise line has to offer. I think the deciding factor should be what you want to accomplish. I have decided that seeing as much of St. Petersburg as I can in the limited time available (we have only 2 days) is my goal. I think I can accomplish that better by foregoing the ship's tours. It sounds as though your goals can be accomplished using the ship's tours. I do envy the extra day you have.

[Seafairer]

A lot of great feedback here, and it will certainly apply to St. Petersburg. Yes, Silversea always tries to provide superior guides and service. Groups are small, guides don't hoist flags to keep the group corralled. Buses are roomy, not crowded. While there are some parts of the world where English isn't spoken well and guides may not be to Silversea's normal standards, this certainly won't be the case in St. Petersburg.

 

Since you have a few days here, I'd advise that you do some research beforehand to get an idea of your "must see" sites. This will keep your touring efficient and you'll know exactly what you want (and don't want), whether you use SS or go for another option. You can also phone Silversea in Ft. Lauderdale and speak to their director of excursions; they can give you very specific information on the tours, schedules etc. (I've done this).

 

You're probably aware that Russia has stringent visa regulations that can seriously affect your ability to leave the ship. You're covered if you're on Silversea's excursions; for other arrangements, you'll need to ensure you're covered by the tour organization, or secure your own visa. And I believe that solo travelers face particularly stringent limitations - very important to know about this beforehand. If you haven't already done so, please be sure to review the visa requirement with your travel agent.

[wripro]

St Petersburg is a very unique port and cannot be compared to any other. For one thing you are there for three days and two nights. There is a reason for that which is there is so much to see any less time and you would miss way too much. For this reason I believe that it is imperative to use a private guide with car and driver for the entire stay. There are several great companies, primarily Denrus, Red October and Alla, who will either offer a suggested itinerary or work with you to design one that fits your needs. You will see more, pay less, not be on a bus with 25 or 30 other people, always go to the head of the line at every attraction and be able to set your own pace. And because you are there for three days there is no need to worry about missing the ship. Calculate what it would cost to see the same things on ships tours (which charge per person) and you will that you come out ahead both financially and from the standpoint of having had a better experience.e

[FFMilesJunkie]

St Petersburg is a very unique port and cannot be compared to any other. For one thing you are there for three days and two nights. There is a reason for that which is there is so much to see any less time and you would miss way too much. For this reason I believe that it is imperative to use a private guide with car and driver for the entire stay. There are several great companies, primarily Denrus, Red October and Alla, who will either offer a suggested itinerary or work with you to design one that fits your needs. You will see more, pay less, not be on a bus with 25 or 30 other people, always go to the head of the line at every attraction and be able to set your own pace. And because you are there for three days there is no need to worry about missing the ship. Calculate what it would cost to see the same things on ships tours (which charge per person) and you will that you come out ahead both financially and from the standpoint of having had a better experience.e

 

100% agree with this. We did Red October last summer while on the Cloud. Every day we got to sleep in a little extra and leave after the busses. In every instance, our private car passed the Silversea bus and we got to the attraction in front of the Silversea group. This gave us a little extra time at the attraction while the bus is trying to organize everyone. Then we would leave while the bus is trying to gather everyone up.

 

Plus there is the option of flipping your itinerary if your driver gets word of particularly bad traffic, or other event that might cause one site to be more crowded than another. This saved us on a couple of occasions.

 

Finally, there is the flexibility to stay longer somewhere if you are really enjoying it and dropping something else because you changed your mind. You also get much more local flavor on a private tour. You can easily drop into a small neighborhood restaurant, or do some quick shopping without holding up your fellow bus passengers. Our guide even took us down into the subways so we can see some of the art deco stations and ride the train like a local. The car would then meet us at the next subway stop.

 

We do plenty of Silversea excursions also (one of the best was on the same cruise in Estonia), but in St Petersburg, you really get your money's worth when you go private.

[Dallas Aggie]

We did St Pete in 2011 and did a private tour. If we ever go back we would do it again. 4 of us take a Silversea cruise once a year and we do a mix of both private and ship tours. The 4 of us like history and we are easy to agree to spend more time at some places or just move on. Many of the sites in St Pete are far away and we couldn't see everything we wanted to on the ship tours. We can move a lot faster as a small group and I don't mean we rush around. I searched the destination boards and saw what others said about there tour guides and then checked out their websites and made our decision. Being a small group of 4 we were able to do things like attend an actual church service. I have no idea what anyone was saying, but it was a cool thing to do.

The tour company takes care of your visa just like SS does, and with both you can only leave the ship with the tour. (Though technically you met the tour outside of passport control so it really isn't checked tightly.) I only new of one couple that ventured on their own visa, that's not something I would recommend.

I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever choice you make.

[SanFranCruizer]

We were in the Baltics last Fall on the Whisper. We did virtually all of our excursions through the ship. They were great! Not a single bad one. None were crowded (because the majority of SS passengers do their own things). One one, a visit to the Hermitage, there were literally 12 people. We got to enter early and we had an outstanding tour guide who was also an art historian.

[BAR3543]

We normally utilize SS tours. In St. Petersburg for instance, if you are on your own you needed a visa, however, with ship's tours you did not. We normally do an overview tour covering a wide area and we prefer not to full day tours or eat off the ship. The ship is also required to wait for delayed returns of their tours, not certain how they handle private delays. SS has not been filling buses, therefore very comfortable.

[wripro]

The above post is not true if you book private tours. They will provide the necessary visa for you and it is included in their fee.

[wripro]

Also, meant to add, as I said previously, you are in St Petersburg for three days so the ship is not going anywhere no matter which tour you are on.

[Seafairer]

Silversea always arranges tours in small groups, so I'm not surprised, SanFranCruizer, to read of groups of 12. That's pretty normal, and I suspect that it just reflects Silversea's standard procedure, rather than a lack of interest in their tours. I could be wrong, but that's always been my own experience.

[SanFranCruizer]

No idea about lack of interest, but on both Silversea cruises we have done, the majority of folks we met were doing their own excursions. It could be that the excursions are always small. But all I can say is we loved the excursions we did with them in St P. The one we mentioned that we did at the Hermitage included a trip to their repository, which blew our minds. We saw tons of artwork not currently displayed in the museum, and we even got to see at least a half dozen of the Imperial carriages used at the coronation ceremonies of the Czars!

[Herman The Cat]

We were in the Baltics last Fall on the Whisper. We did virtually all of our excursions through the ship. They were great! Not a single bad one. None were crowded (because the majority of SS passengers do their own things). One one, a visit to the Hermitage, there were literally 12 people. We got to enter early and we had an outstanding tour guide who was also an art historian.

 

We were on the same voyage. We mixed up our excursions...we did two different tour companies on two of the days with private tours for just the two of us, and one ship excursion. All excursions were very high quality. The ship excursion we did was called something like "Pavlosk and Palaces," which went to the Summer Palace. We probably had about 20 people in our group. I think the tour was run by Baltic Travel. We did one of the evenings events (ballet) which was great. Definitely take advantage of those.

 

You might want to check out my review.

[duct tape]

Also be sure to check out Exeter. They did a really great job for us!