“Live" from the Baltic...9 Days.. 7-16 May..2013

aussie cruzer · May 10, 2013

Hi Duncan,

Thanks for the review & awesome photos!

Look forward to joining on your next leg,

G&G :):cool:

Gaye,

Not long to go and it's your turn.....safe trip to Copenhagen.

aussie cruzer · May 10, 2013

Must go and have my daily webcam update on my NCL app in a minute! :)

We'll be in a 2-bed family suite on deck 11 too - wonder if it's the same as yours!

We are in 11550....very nice cabins,great service from Romel the butler.

The butlers are rotating...so you might get any one of them.....they are all good.

Romel always brings my buckets of beer on time. :)

auducky2 · May 10, 2013

Thanks for this! We will be on the Star for the May 23rd trip, also in a 2 bedroom suite on deck 11. Love reading this!

sjnyc323 · May 10, 2013

Duncan

I am loving all your pictures. Mom and I hope to sail with you guys some day.

Suzie

hencoll · May 10, 2013

Enjoying your trip report. :) We will be sailing the same itinerary on 6/3 in a 2 bedroom family suite on deck 11.

herdingdogmom · May 10, 2013

Captain Konstantinos and all the heads of departments were present and gave a warm welcome too all of us....we were invited by the Captain for a personal tour of the bridge by him on the last sea day......He is very funny and welcoming and reminds me of Captain KIm of the Jade.

Love your live reports and pictures! We really like Captain K. If you get a chance (maybe at the bridge tour Q & A), can you ask him if he will be back on the Star for the Sept. 19 Norway/Iceland sailing? I sure hope so.

Beverly

Edited May 10, 2013 by herdingdogmom

aussie cruzer · May 11, 2013

Day 5

Saint Petersburg,

Weather forecast

Partly cloudy 19 C / 66 F

Arrive 8.00

Depart next day

The Star arrives in SP in three hours for a two day visit....this is the highlight of our 9 day cruise...we are doing a two day tour with Spb tours,this tour returns too the ship at 6.00 pm and concludes the next afternoon.

Tour details

Cost $300 p/p

http://www.spb-tours.com/st-petersburg/en/2-day-tour#deluxe.....two

St. Petersburg 2-Day Deluxe Tour

JOIN OUR GROUP TOUR AT A FLAT RATE 300 USD pp (max group size 16)!

Package tours and flat-rate prices are available for select ships. Please just check with us to see if your ship is eligible.

This tour is the most all-inclusive and the MOST ACTIVE option involving the most walking out of any of the tour options. You will have a special early entrance to the Hermitage museum, excursion in the Yusupov’s Palace, the Catherine’s Palace, the Church on the Spilled Blood, the Peterhof fountain park and Peter and Paul’s fortress + cathedral. Lunches, hydrofoil ride and a canal boat ride are included in the tour price. The tour is available as a group tour and as a private tour.

DAY 1 | 7.30 am – 6.00 pm

7.00 am – 7.30 amMeet at the ship as soon as the ship is cleared7.30 am – 10.00 amCity sightseeing tour. A visit to the farmers market (optional). Subway ride

10.00 am – 10.30 amHydrofoil ride to Peterhof10.30 am – 12.00 pm Walk in the Peterhof Lower fountain park and the Upper gardens12.00 pm – 1.30 pmLunch: traditional Russian meal1.30 pm – 2.30 pm Drive to the Tsars’ Village (summer residence)2.30 pm – 4.00 pmA visit to the Catherine’s palace with the Amber room and a walk in the park4.00 pm – 5.00 pmDrive back to St. Petersburg5.00 pm – 6.00 pmA visit to Peter and Paul’s fortress and cathedral, the burial place of the Russian Emperors6.00 pmReturn to the ship or evening optionsDAY 2 | 8.00 am – 5.00 pm

8.00 am – 8.30 am

Meet at the ship, paying for the tour8.30 am – 9.30 amCanal boat ride9.30 am – 12.00 pmSpecial early entrance to the Hermitage Museum12.00 pm – 1.00 pmExcursion in the Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood 01.00 pm – 2.00 pmLunch: traditional Russian meal2.00 pm – 3.30 pmA visit to the Yusupovs’ Palace

3.30 pm – 5.00 pm

A visit to St. Isaac’s cathedral. Return to the ship

aussie cruzer · May 11, 2013

Love your live reports and pictures! We really like Captain K. If you get a chance (maybe at the bridge tour Q & A), can you ask him if he will be back on the Star for the Sept. 19 Norway/Iceland sailing? I sure hope so.

Beverly

Will try and find out for you.

The ships internet was very slow last night,wouldn't let photos be uploaded.

aussie cruzer · May 11, 2013

Thanks for this! We will be on the Star for the May 23rd trip, also in a 2 bedroom suite on deck 11. Love reading this!

I'll post some photos of our cabin when possible.....they are very nice.

Perfect for a family.

sjnyc323 · May 11, 2013

Thanks Duncan have a blast in St Petersburg

Suzie

drsb · May 11, 2013

I am doing that same tour in St P. Is there time to stop and take in everything you are seeing? Was there enough time at the Hermitage? Was there anything you wish they had done different? Is there time to shop? My husband wants a soviet style fur hat, I want some amber jewelry, a Christmas ornament and matrushka (sp?) doll sets.

Speaking of shopping, did anyone buy sweaters or mittens in Tallinn? How much did they cost?

gayengarry · May 11, 2013

Gaye,

Not long to go and it's your turn.....safe trip to Copenhagen.

Thanks mate, 3 days & counting :D:D

Keen to see your review of St Petersburg, we've also booked the 2 day tour with SPB in June

Looks like the weather is being kind to you

Cheers,

G&G :):cool:

aussie cruzer · May 12, 2013

Day 5

St Petersburg...Day 1

Yesterday we had our first full day in St Petersburg,our group met in the vip area on the Star for early exit of of the ship.......most of us are staying in suites and we took advantage of this great perk.

The queue off the ship was very long,but we were one of the first off the ship.......the Russian authority's had a lot of custom officers on duty...I would take a guess and say around thirty booths were open for passport control....the process was quick and we were into the cruise terminal.

I heard that there was a long wait on the Star for people getting off.......some said 1 hour in the line,but we didn’t experience that.

We were met by Spb at the arrivals area and were checked off there list....we were taken too nice 18 seater bus too wait for our guide Elena and driver .

There was some confusion with missing passengers who were stuck on the Star and a quick chat too Victoria the owner of Spb and was decided too start the tour and the others could catch up at the next stop.

The weather was wet for most of the day,with light rain falling....SP only gets 66 days of full sunshine a year and this was our first bad weather day on this cruise .

We started the day with a visit too Peter and Paul’s fortress and Cathedral,this is a large fort and burial place for the Russian emperors......we visited for around 1 hour and got to see the where Tsar Peter the great is buried.Due to the bad weather the hydrofoil to the Peterhof was cancelled and we had to take the bus for 45 mins instead.

The Peterhof has the most magnificent gardens and fountains,very much like Versailles in Paris....we spent one hour walking around the gardens and then stopped for lunch next door to the Peterhof,lunch was a simple dish of soup,stroganoff and ice cream.

Some of us had the local beer as well,it was a extra $3 .

We were then taken to Catherine's palace,this was the highlight of the day.......huge palace with amazing rooms,including the Amber room.the weather was on improve by now and sun was starting to come out....Catherine's palace is about 1 hour outside od SP and we started to head back into town.

We made a stop to look at the subway system,some of the group stayed on the bus,but most of us went down inside the subway to see these huge stations....each station was fitted out superbly and it was like entering a large hall with huge arch-ways.

We arrived back at the port at 6.30 pm,none of our group were doing the evening tours,so we were in no hurry to get back too the ship...Victoria from Spb was at the port welcoming all the tours back and checking if anyone needed any information on the tours....she was very busy that day....Spb tours had over 300 people doing private tours and there busses were all lined up.

A quick passport check and we were back on the Star.

Over view of day

Fantastic day tour,the bus was large and comfortable and our guide was great....there was nothing she didn’t know....her knowledge of Saint Petersburg is first class and she did a great job showing us the sights.

Day 6

Today day 2 of our Saint Petersburg tour,we leave the Star at 8.00 am for second part of tour

Todays highlights

Tour of canals by boat

Early entry into Hermitage museum

Church of our savior

Yusupovs palace

St Isaacs Cathedral

Church of the spilled blood

Weather looks good today,the sun is out.

All aboard 6.30 pm tonight

Tomorrow Helsinki ,Finland

aussie cruzer · May 12, 2013

The internet speed on the Star is very slow...will be posting photos as soon as possible.

sjnyc323 · May 12, 2013

Great review Duncan. Thanks

Suzanne

aussie cruzer · May 12, 2013

Free wifi in the Hermitage cafe.

Great tour today......the westher is clear skys