St Petersburg - Private Tour Company

[dogs4fun]

Yes, I believe Alla Tours is offering this special discount as well.

Most of the local tour companies are very competitive and prices are matched. So, since prices are the same ... one needs to contact the top "players" and see which company best meets your needs.

For us, that was Alla ... she was amazing! :)

Edited September 14, 2013 by dogs4fun

[RJ2002]

We used SPB for our tour in St Petersburg, and I also can recommend them.

 

We actually elected to book a "private" tour with them, just for our group of 4. We customized the 2-day deluxe tour so that we could spend more time at Peterof and go inside the palace there.

 

In retrospect, we didn't think the "private" tour was a good value. The maximum size of the SPB tour group is only 16 - they uses mini buses, not large coaches. The group tours also utilize a personal audio system which makes it easier to hear the guide in the crowded venues. They don't offer the audio system on a small private group, and we found it hard to hear the guide in many situations.

 

If you are considering SPB's Baltic Pearls package (which includes multiple cities), read the Tripadvisor reviews carefully. Reviews of the other cities can be mixed, but St Petersburg is usually always favorable for SPB.

[Mareigold]

Just want to let everyone know that SPB is running a early-booking discount to all Cruise Critic members who book before Jan 1, 2014. Two day deluxe tour only $285 per person.

 

TJ Tour is also having a 5% discount on their website for booking before October 1.

Hi Gasmaster58,

 

I have contacted SPB tours about the 5% discount and have as yet to get confirmation from them that this is true. Can reply back where this is advertised?

 

Thanks

[NancyIL]

Hi Gasmaster58,

 

I have contacted SPB tours about the 5% discount and have as yet to get confirmation from them that this is true. Can reply back where this is advertised?

 

Thanks

 

It is TJ Travel who offers the 5% discount: http://st-petersburg-tours.ru/

[RJ2002]

Hi Gasmaster58,

 

I have contacted SPB tours about the 5% discount and have as yet to get confirmation from them that this is true. Can reply back where this is advertised?

 

Thanks

 

I don't see the offer on their website either, but I do seem to recall a similar offer last year when I was planning our Baltic excursions on the cruise we took this last May.

 

You should get a reply from SPB soon. They were always very prompt when I was corresponding with them.

Edited September 18, 2013 by RJ2002

[Mareigold]

I heard back from SPB tours this is their reply:

"Just to clarify, the early booking discount is reserved for 2 Day Flat Rate Deluxe Tours. All tour day lengths coincide with ship docking dates. For example, 2 Day Tours are only offered to ships docked in St. Petersburg for 2 Days and ships docked in St. Petersburg for 3 days are offered 3 day tours. As your ship is docked in St. Petersburg for 3 days, we are sadly not able to offer a 2 Day Flat Rate Tour for your ship, we also cannot offer an early booking discount."

 

We are in St. Petersburg for 3 days so no discount.

[Turtles06]

I heard back from SPB tours this is their reply:

"Just to clarify, the early booking discount is reserved for 2 Day Flat Rate Deluxe Tours. All tour day lengths coincide with ship docking dates. For example, 2 Day Tours are only offered to ships docked in St. Petersburg for 2 Days and ships docked in St. Petersburg for 3 days are offered 3 day tours. As your ship is docked in St. Petersburg for 3 days, we are sadly not able to offer a 2 Day Flat Rate Tour for your ship, we also cannot offer an early booking discount."

 

We are in St. Petersburg for 3 days so no discount.

 

Don't lose any sleep over it. It's a total of $15pp (on the 2-day tour) AND you must give them your Cruise Critic screen name.

[dogs4fun]

Don't lose any sleep over it. It's a total of $15pp (on the 2-day tour) AND you must give them your Cruise Critic screen name.

Why on earth would an independent tour company in Russia need your Cruise Critic screen name???? I don't get it.

I agree, I wouldn't fret over $15 (which works out to $7.50 per day).

[NancyIL]

Why on earth would an independent tour company in Russia need your Cruise Critic screen name???? I don't get it.

I agree, I wouldn't fret over $15 (which works out to $7.50 per day).

The discount is for people who post on Cruise Critic, so it may be a way to verify that one qualifies for the discount.

[Turtles06]

The discount is for people who post on Cruise Critic, so it may be a way to verify that one qualifies for the discount.

 

Since they aren't advertising it on their web site, and have only told folks about it via CC, and since it's such a small sum of money and since such a TINY fraction of the cruising public has even heard of CC, they should just give it to anyone who says the are on CC. It's not good internet etiquette for a business to ask people for their screen names.

 

TJ is offering an early booking discount on their web site.

[seabreezer]

We went with a custom tour for 4 in both St. Petersburg and Berlin with SPB and they were a pleasure to work with from the very first email. We thought the private custom was an excellent value because we traveled in a nice Mercedes van in both cities and we were able to make so many more stops because of the efficiency of boarding and leaving the van. The van could also maneuver through traffic more easily than a big bus. Helen in St. Petersburg and Preston in Berlin were outstanding in every aspect. Highly recommend.

[RJ2002]

Since they aren't advertising it on their web site, and have only told folks about it via CC, and since it's such a small sum of money and since such a TINY fraction of the cruising public has even heard of CC, they should just give it to anyone who says the are on CC. It's not good internet etiquette for a business to ask people for their screen names.

 

TJ is offering an early booking discount on their web site.

 

I also think it is odd for SPB to ask for your CC screen name. I used them this past May. I looked back at my correspondence with them, and they didn't ask for my screen name - - but I don't think I booked during the discount window though.

 

The other thing that I find odd is that they wouldn't offer it on a three day tour. I wonder if they would honor it if the passenger on a ship that was in port for three days only wanted to do the two day tour???

 

All sounds sort of bizarre to me.

[NancyIL]

I also think it is odd for SPB to ask for your CC screen name. I used them this past May. I looked back at my correspondence with them, and they didn't ask for my screen name - - but I don't think I booked during the discount window though.

 

The other thing that I find odd is that they wouldn't offer it on a three day tour. I wonder if they would honor it if the passenger on a ship that was in port for three days only wanted to do the two day tour???

 

All sounds sort of bizarre to me.

 

As Mareigold posted above, SPB Tours will not allow someone to book a 2-day group tour if their ship is in St. Petersburg for 3 days. (A 2-day private tour may be possible.) However, I am on the same ship as Mareigold, and I organized a 2-day private tour of St. Petersburg on days 1 and 3, and a 1-day private tour to Moscow on day 2 with Alla Tours.

[RJ2002]

We went with a custom tour for 4 in both St. Petersburg and Berlin with SPB and they were a pleasure to work with from the very first email. We thought the private custom was an excellent value because we traveled in a nice Mercedes van in both cities and we were able to make so many more stops because of the efficiency of boarding and leaving the van. The van could also maneuver through traffic more easily than a big bus. Helen in St. Petersburg and Preston in Berlin were outstanding in every aspect. Highly recommend.

 

Just so that others don't get the wrong impression, SPB does not use a "big bus". For their usual 16 person tour groups, they use a mini-bus. The mini-bus is not much larger than the Mercedes van (which I was in as well). From what I saw, the mini-bus was able to maneuver just as easily.

 

Also, congratulations to you if you were able to "make so many more stops". On our private tour, we really just made a minor revision to their standard two day deluxe tour. We were really going hard both days. I can't imagine making many more stops in addition to the regular itinerary!

[RJ2002]

As Mareigold posted above, SPB Tours will not allow someone to book a 2-day group tour if their ship is in St. Petersburg for 3 days. (A 2-day private tour may be possible.) However, I am on the same ship as Mareigold, and I organized a 2-day private tour of St. Petersburg on days 1 and 3, and a 1-day private tour to Moscow on day 2 with Alla Tours.

 

Thanks for the clarification. May I ask who you are going with on your 2-day tour?

 

It is great you have 3 days for St Petersburg. There is so much to see. Hope you are able to get in some evening activities as well. We were there for 2 days, and we were really hustling to see everything. Sure could have used a day off after St Petersburg, but alas, we had Helsinki the next day, then Stockholm the day after that!

[NancyIL]

Thanks for the clarification. May I ask who you are going with on your 2-day tour?

 

It is great you have 3 days for St Petersburg. There is so much to see. Hope you are able to get in some evening activities as well. We were there for 2 days, and we were really hustling to see everything. Sure could have used a day off after St Petersburg, but alas, we had Helsinki the next day, then Stockholm the day after that!

 

Both the St. Petersburg and Moscow tours are with Alla Tours. Our Moscow tour meets off the ship at 6 a.m. on day 2 and returns around midnight, so I won't be doing an evening tour in St. Petersburg on the first night. I will be in bed very early!

[MVPinBoynton]

Both the St. Petersburg and Moscow tours are with Alla Tours. Our Moscow tour meets off the ship at 6 a.m. on day 2 and returns around midnight, so I won't be doing an evening tour in St. Petersburg on the first night. I will be in bed very early!

 

 

Hi Nancye. Good to see that you and John are going on a Baltic cruise. I hope you checked out our review, since we have lots of photos of our Alla tour in St. Petersburg. I hope yours is as good as ours.

[NancyIL]

Hi Nancye. Good to see that you and John are going on a Baltic cruise. I hope you checked out our review, since we have lots of photos of our Alla tour in St. Petersburg. I hope yours is as good as ours.

 

Thanks, Mike! I will be cruising with my oldest daughter, but John might go, too. He is booked on the cruise, but won't know until close to the final payment date whether he can get the time off work.

 

I read your wonderful review, and will reread it when our cruise gets closer. I most recently read your South America review, as I just booked that cruise for 2015. :D

[seabreezer]

Just so that others don't get the wrong impression, SPB does not use a "big bus". For their usual 16 person tour groups, they use a mini-bus. The mini-bus is not much larger than the Mercedes van (which I was in as well). From what I saw, the mini-bus was able to maneuver just as easily.

 

Also, congratulations to you if you were able to "make so many more stops". On our private tour, we really just made a minor revision to their standard two day deluxe tour. We were really going hard both days. I can't imagine making many more stops in addition to the regular itinerary!

 

16 vs 4... Consider the logistics for shopping, toilet, lunch stops not to mention the sites. Big difference in hassle factor. 16 is a big bus IMHO. We were able to make at least 5 more stops than we originally planned in our custom tour. Thanks for the congratulations.

[CAPinBoynton]

Thanks, Mike! I will be cruising with my oldest daughter, but John might go, too. He is booked on the cruise, but won't know until close to the final payment date whether he can get the time off work.

 

I read your wonderful review, and will reread it when our cruise gets closer. I most recently read your South America review, as I just booked that cruise for 2015. :D

 

South America was one of my favorites! I hope you will plan to do Iguazu Falls. As you can tell from the review, it was at its peak when Mike and I were there. Amazing!!

[NancyIL]

South America was one of my favorites! I hope you will plan to do Iguazu Falls. As you can tell from the review, it was at its peak when Mike and I were there. Amazing!!

 

Hi, Carol! The SA cruise begins in Buenos Aires, and after reading your review, I know I want to arrive a few days early to go to Iguazu Falls! (I also read your Australia/NZ review, because we're going there in January! :D)

[CAPinBoynton]

Fantastic, let us hear from you. Enjoy!

[RJ2002]

16 vs 4... Consider the logistics for shopping, toilet, lunch stops not to mention the sites. Big difference in hassle factor. 16 is a big bus IMHO. We were able to make at least 5 more stops than we originally planned in our custom tour. Thanks for the congratulations.

 

I don't dispute that it would take 4 people less time to do things as 16 people, but calling it a "big difference" is debatable.

 

I can only report what I experienced and observed.

 

The days I was in St Petersburg, I think there were 6 or 7 cruise ships in port at the same time. I recall hearing that SPB Tours had upwards of 600 customers on these days. They have a huge operation. At many of our stops, we shadowed several of the same 16-passenger groups. Again, they were in mini-buses (not "big buses"). They are similar to the size of the smaller rental car mini-buses that you see in airports. These mini-buses where getting in and out of the venues just as easily as our smaller van. We were all parked right up at the entrances of the venues together.

 

To refer to SPB's 16-person vehicle as a "big bus" is simply inaccurate, and people considering their options need to be aware. A "Greyhound" 50 passenger coach is a "big bus"... the SPB 16-passenger vehicle is not.

[MavisMarie]

We used Alla Tours. www.alla-tour.com

Probably one of the best tours we have ever had. You can see lots of photos from our two days touring St. Petersburg in our review on our website, www.thepreismans.com. As has been said, there are many fine touring companies to use there. Since there are very few people that have used multiple companies in St. Petersburg, I don't know that you will get opinions other than their company is best. That is probably a good problem to have, since you will be happy with whatever choice you get.

 

A lot depends on the quality of the tour guide you have. Ours with Alla Tours was just outstanding. All the other people on our cruise we talked to that had different guides with Alla, also thought that theirs was outstanding.

 

Mike, as always, your reviews are outstanding. As has happened on many cruises in the past, we have traveled in the same path but never at the same time. One of these days, maybe we'll actually end up together!

We are booked on a Baltic cruise in May, 2014. I haven't been in St. Petersburg since 1994 and, from your photos, I can see so much has changed. The last time I was there, the place still looked like a war zone. I was happy to give links to your review to some of my travel buddies. We all read it and enjoyed the commentary and the photos. Thank you for sharing so much over such a long period of time. You are someone I completely trust -- and that says a lot, coming from me!

 

Please give my best to Carol.:)

Edited September 19, 2013 by MavisMarie

[MVPinBoynton]

Mike, as always, your reviews are outstanding. As has happened on many cruises in the past, we have traveled in the same path but never at the same time. One of these days, maybe we'll actually end up together!

We are booked on a Baltic cruise in May, 2014. I haven't been in St. Petersburg since 1994 and, from your photos, I can see so much has changed. The last time I was there, the place still looked like a war zone. I was happy to give links to your review to some of my travel buddies. We all read it and enjoyed the commentary and the photos. Thank you for sharing so much over such a long period of time. You are someone I completely trust -- and that says a lot, coming from me!

 

Please give my best to Carol.:)

 

Mavis Marie,

You are too nice! I am glad you enjoyed the review and I hope it helps in your planning. We used to live across the bay from you in Fairhope.