St Petersburg - Private Tour Company

[Got2Cruise]

I have been reading all these entries about tour companies and I have contacted SPB tours and told them to book their deluxe tour. I didn't check TJ, but I just felt comfortable with them from what I read here and Trip Advisor. I didn't check TJ, but I hope I have made the right choice. There is so much work involved with booking all these excursions that I didn't want to over analyze. It sounds like they all do a good job.

 

You will be very pleased with SPB. They are very friendly, and aim to please. We used them by getting a group together on our roll call. It ended up being at least 4 separate groups. Everyone was pleased with the value

[mauimary]

I saw a post the other day for KURS SPB tours. They are not SPB Tours. I have never seen anything about them on cruise critic. They are all over Trip Advisor. Does anyone know anything about them? Are they a new company.

[cricketts]

I saw a post the other day for KURS SPB tours. They are not SPB Tours. I have never seen anything about them on cruise critic. They are all over Trip Advisor. Does anyone know anything about them? Are they a new company.

Curious that you say they are all over Trip Advisor. We recently booked with TJ's for our trip next July :D As part of our decision process we read everything on the Trip Advisor top 20. We never saw them listed :confused:

Deedee

[mauimary]

Cricketts.....I did a google search of KURS SPB and it brought up all these 2013 reviews and they were all on trip advisor. Not sure what to think of them.

[mauimary]

Like I say this was the first time I had ever heard about them and was wondering if anyone else had.

Edited November 7, 2013 by mauimary
would like to delete this post

[cricketts]

[quote name='mauimary']We also did a lot of reading and research prior to booking our private tour with SPB Tours. I trust cruise critic reviews more. We have had some wonderful private tours thanks to those companies that we have discovered from reading many pages of cc advice. Like I say I have never seen this other company mentioned on cc.[/quote]
I absolutely agree!
Our communications with Vika at SPB were excellent. Making a decision wasn't easy! I expect that we'll both have terrific tours. Enjoy!
Deedee

[Got2Cruise]

I wouldn't rely on trip advisor for tour reviews. Anybody can write a review on trip advisor there are no restrictions as here on cc. I wouldn't rely on the Ratings as gospel. Use your judgement based on others reviews that particular reviewer posted whether that review is legit


Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[RJ2002]

[quote name='Got2Cruise']I wouldn't rely on trip advisor for tour reviews. Anybody can write a review on trip advisor there are no restrictions as here on cc. I wouldn't rely on the Ratings as gospel. Use your judgement based on others reviews that particular reviewer posted whether that review is legit


Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app[/QUOTE]

If you research tripadvisor or cruise critic, you can pick up on recurring themes which may reflect a concern. I usually disregard someone with only one or two posts.

[Go South]

[quote name='cflower04']We're sailing on the 20th July! I've contacted SPB Tours several times and they've been really good to reply. Just booked our 2 day tour.[/QUOTE]

Hi there. Great to see someone else on our cruise. We have started a roll call but it's a little lonely over there. Why not come over and join us!

[Go South]

[quote name='sailingbuddy']cflower we are on the same cruise. This is a graduation present for our daughter. Does your tour group need to grow in size. We will be looking to go through a private tour company also. Open to options. Can't wait.[/QUOTE]

Hi there. Great to see someone else on our cruise. We have started a roll call but it's a little lonely over there. Why not come over and join us!

[mellowrose]

So glad I found this thread, I will make use of these recomendations for next August!

[Swice]

Also interested to find out if any of you have traveled with children and which tour companies you've used. Our boys will be 11 and 14 when we go in July/August on HAL.

Interesting that no one has mentioned "Dancing Bear." They are highly rated on Tripadvisor.

[Nitemare]

I'd trust the people here well before I'd trust Tripadvisor on anything cruise related or related to the ports that cruises visit often.

[Kenato]

Have not and am not travelling with Children but we looked at all the main tour companies operating in SP and the other ports we visit. As a lot of people on the Board have said, what it came down to with them was a gut feel. That is the same for us. We wrote to three companies with Questions and TJ Travel gave us the most detailed answers to our specific questions. This impressed us and then I think they are smaller when compared to SPB and Alla and the smaller guy always tries harder. As a result we have booked TJ Travel for all the five Baltic ports where they offer tours.

[nybumpkin]

[quote name='Swice']Also interested to find out if any of you have traveled with children and which tour companies you've used. Our boys will be 11 and 14 when we go in July/August on HAL.[/quote] Our sons were 13 and 17 on our cruise this past July. On our roll call, another member asked whether anyone traveling with teens would be interested in Alla's Comfort Tour. We had looked at both Alla and SPB and thought we could go with either, and we thought it would be a good idea to have a group with other teens. It worked out well - of our group of 15, there were 5 teens. And the (slightly) less hectic pace of the Comfort Tour really helped. The Comfort Tour didn't go to Yusupov's Palace or St. Isaac's Cathedral, and the boys really didn't miss them.

[houtbay]

[quote name='cansas.piligrim']But there is still a difficult choice: Alla(good company, a lot of reviews), TJ Travel(as it was said "smaller=better), Best Guides(a lot of good reviews, have children excursions):)[/QUOTE]

We will be in SPB 27/28 September on Marco Polo and want to book a 2 day tour. Any one else looking at these dates and who do you plan to use. Thanks

[Captain Hughes]

Hi we are looking to book a tour in St Petersburg in May, we are on the Arcadia J405. I have checked out all main companies, Alla, SPB, TJ, Dancing Bear and Guide Guru and so far Guide Guru are coming out best on price and response, with TJ a close second. We have asked for a custom tour for the 4 of us taking in different sights to those offered on the standard tours. Does any-one on here have any knowledge of Guide Guru or information that may help me make the final decision ?

All opinions and information would be gratefully received :)

[Nitemare]

Guide Guru has been mentioned twice on Cruise Critic since 2010. I'd be wary of a company that is not regularly used -- this is a trip of a lifetime and risking a substandard tour is not something I'd risk.

Of course you are likely to do fine with them if you do more research, but the other companies you mentioned have very long track records with Cruise Critic, and they are unanimously positive.

[Essexlass2]

We have just booked the 2-day Grand Tour with Alla Tours and are VERY impressed with their courtesy, organisation and efficiency. No payment in advance, payment is made on the second day.

[Captain Hughes]

We have chosen to book a custom 2 day tour for the 4 of us through TJ Travel as they have been very helpful and accommodating. I emailed Alla twice and received no response, nor from my message to them via Facebook. Disappointing as I had seen good reviews for them.

Anyway really looking forward to our trip now :)

[YoungDubFan]

I'm taking my Baltic Cruise this summer. I selected Alla, partly because they had a price guarantee for the 3-day group tour. Since I was the first one to book, I was guaranteed that the group tour would still go on, even if it was only the 2 of us. Also - the price was locked in, again regardless of how many people book. I put the deposit for my cruise down in Jan 2013 for a June 2014 trip. I booked my tours with Alla more than a year before sailing. This allowed me to lock in the 2013 rates, which none of the other companies would do. As it is, I think we are up to 6 people for our tour. I'm really looking forward to it. Everyone at Alla has been great to work with and very prompt in their replies.

[Captain Hughes]

Hi YoungDubFan

So looking forward to our cruise to the Baltics in May too. It's good that you have had a positive experience with Alla and I am sure we will both have a wonderful time on our trips. Unfortunately I could not consider Alla as an option as they failed to respond to any of my enquiries. TJ Travel on the other hand were extremely prompt and efficient with their replies, as were several other companies I contacted also, so these were the only one's I considered when making my final choice.

Have a great cruise, we will be back before you go so will post my review on here :-)

[MVPinBoynton]

[quote name='YoungDubFan']I'm taking my Baltic Cruise this summer. I selected Alla, partly because they had a price guarantee for the 3-day group tour. Since I was the first one to book, I was guaranteed that the group tour would still go on, even if it was only the 2 of us. Also - the price was locked in, again regardless of how many people book. I put the deposit for my cruise down in Jan 2013 for a June 2014 trip. I booked my tours with Alla more than a year before sailing. This allowed me to lock in the 2013 rates, which none of the other companies would do. As it is, I think we are up to 6 people for our tour. I'm really looking forward to it. Everyone at Alla has been great to work with and very prompt in their replies.[/quote]

I used your same logic a year before our Baltic cruise. We couldn't have been happier with Alla's pre-cruise communications or the wonderful two days of touring. I am sure you will feel the same way in about 5 months. Have a great time. St. Petersburg is an awesome city.

[Giantfan13]

[quote name='KAS1029']I'm surprised that no one on here has mentioned Russian Tour Guide! I'm not sure about the other companies mentioned here, but I'm sure they are great as well.

A friend of mine went on a Baltic cruise and scheduled her St. Petersburg shore excursion through Russian Tour guide.. they aren't the biggest company but it seems that they know their stuff and focus on quality instead of quantity.

Because of her experience and my desire to travel to Russia, I've subscribed to their blog and it seems like there is tons of helpful info to learn about traveling there, getting a visa, currency exchange, etc. They do private tours (not positive about private shore excursions but I'm sure they do). I really enjoy reading this blog because it seems like the guy is super honest about traveling there regarding what places are really good to visit, what scams to look out for, etc. I think this is some of the best info you can find about traveling there. Check it out. [url]http://blog.russiantourguide.com/blog[/url][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]I'm not sure if it has been mentioned already in this huge thread, probably, but I'll do it again. ALL the major tour companies do a fine job helping one see St Petersburg. It all depends on which one you feel most comfortable with. As for this Russian Tour guide group, I really know nothing about them. Sure they could give you all the experience of a lifetime, but they seem like one of the many new start up groups, and who really knows if they will even be around when it is your time to tour.
We have said this hundreds of times, go with the group you feel most comfortable with, but try and stay with the 5-6 more reliable companies that are sanctioned by the Russian tourist agencies. That way you know exactly what you will get and you'll have no fear that when you get there, they won't be there to greet you. All prices are very similar so why, on a tour of a lifetime, entrust your time to a group that no one really knows anything about.
All we can do is suggest, after that it's up to you.

Cheers

Len[/SIZE][/FONT]

[MVPinBoynton]

[quote name='cansas.piligrim']I loved your website and your reviews! Thank you for sharing![/QUOTE]

You are most welcome. I hope they help in your cruise planning.