NCL behavior in St. Petersburg

[LocardsChild]

I see a lot of warnings on every private tour company for St. Petersburg Russia about not letting the cruise line staff "bully" you... Specifically in regards to disembarkation.

 

Does this happen on NCL? Has anyone experienced disembarking for a private tour in St. Petersburg? We're in a suite for this cruise, so how about the priority disembarkation?

 

Just looking for NCL specific experiences there, so I know what to expect.

 

Thanks!

B

[JohnIreland]

You need a Visa in St. Petersburg if you are not taking a ship tour.

 

I believe it's the same on all cruise lines.

[NH Cruisers]

I know unless you have a visa you can't get off the ship unless you get a excursion that has a temporary one included. That is not bullying. If that is what this is about.

[LocardsChild]

I'm booked with a company that provides the visa...

 

What I'm asking about is the reports in multiple reviews that NCL is not allowing people with private tours off the ship until all ship tour individuals have disembarked. (This is something that I would consider bullying... :) )

 

TIA,

B

[NH Cruisers]

I'm booked with a company that provides the visa...

 

What I'm asking about is the reports in multiple reviews that NCL is not allowing people with private tours off the ship until all ship tour individuals have disembarked. (This is something that I would consider bullying... :) )

 

TIA,

B

Obviously never being there I wouldn' know. Must be customs looking at the Visas. NCL has a obligation to folks on their tours first. Only so many officials to look over papers. Is it right? I don't know. I don't know if it could be called bullying.

[JohnIreland]

NCL is not allowing people with private tours off the ship until all ship tour individuals have disembarked

 

That's normal in every port for every cruise line.

 

It just takes longer when a Visa is involved.

[Froggitt]

NCL has a obligation to folks on their tours first.

Why?

 

And even if there is a good reason, they should publicise this "rule" before the cruise is booked e.g. Unless you take an NCL Tour, you go to the back of the disembarkation queue.

 

We did St P on NCL Sun a few years ago, and although my memory is rather hazy, there was something about NCL tours meeting up in the Theatre and exiting the boat via a different door to the unwashed masses.

[dexddd]

How recent are these reviews you are seeing? We saw some of that before we went in 2010 but did not have any problems. Customs took a bit since they only had a couple agents and they wanted each person from the family to go one by one vs. the whole family.

 

Being in a suite I would imagine no problem as you would have priority and the concierge will walk you down crew stairs for an easy walk off.

[LocardsChild]

How recent are these reviews you are seeing? We saw some of that before we went in 2010 but did not have any problems. Customs took a bit since they only had a couple agents and they wanted each person from the family to go one by one vs. the whole family.

 

Being in a suite I would imagine no problem as you would have priority and the concierge will walk you down crew stairs for an easy walk off.

 

It's really been mixed. I've been reading the 2013 Baltic season reviews both in the forums and the memberreviews, but some of them have all sorts of issues and some of them are fine. We booked the suite solely to avoid having an issue and being able to maximize St. Petersburg. It looks like from some of the suite reviews I've seen that it will put us at the front or near the front of the customs line.

 

I'm just a nervous traveler when I have parents along and my mother is sailing with us on this trip.

 

Thanks for the help!

B

[rsato]

We were on the NCL star in September, and booked the 5 capitals tour with SBP. They were fabulous! I can't compare to NCL or other groups, but I would not consider doing anything different especially in St Pete's.

 

There was a big line getting off the boat at St Pete's. It didn't help having a Princess vessel next to us. NCL has no control over the rules requiring your tour operator having to get a visa for you (you can't go it alone, not sure why you would want to be alone...). Our SBP tour group of about 12 didn't leave until everyone got off the ship which took 45 minutes the first day, but much faster the second. I'm sure some could get priority but what's the point if you have to wait for everyone to assemble.

[dexddd]

I was going to add what PP said - if you have a group not all part of your immediate group you would have to wait for them anyways.

 

The second day is more relaxed as things are spread out it seems and you can adjust your time to go earlier if needed.

 

We saw the mixed info before (and after) our trip but we didn't have any issues.

[mirsown]

We were on this cruise last August.I don't consider there was any bullying going on, however we heard no announcement to say we were docked and ready for disembarkation as usually occurs. I had read previously on here the lines could be long to get off, but we were still amazed when we to investigate to find the line snaking all round the ship especially as we had got up early!

 

It was a slow process going through immigration, but the lines seemed to be a mixture of those on ships tours and those on private tours. We had booked a tour with SPB Tours and our group were all ready at approximately the same time. The tour would not leave without all who had booked. Our tour guide did comment that NCL is renowned for being amongst the slowest for getting passengers off the ship.

 

The second day was quicker, but make sure you have all the same documentation again - they would not let one of our group through as he had forgotten to bring the confirmation of his tour. We had a wonderful time in St Petes. Enjoy your cruise!

[sparks1093]

Why?

 

And even if there is a good reason, they should publicise this "rule" before the cruise is booked e.g. Unless you take an NCL Tour, you go to the back of the disembarkation queue.

 

We did St P on NCL Sun a few years ago, and although my memory is rather hazy, there was something about NCL tours meeting up in the Theatre and exiting the boat via a different door to the unwashed masses.

 

Because the cruise line has an obligation to get those passengers to their tour on time because they paid money to the cruise line for it. As I understand it this is typical of all cruise lines that I am aware of and all ports.

[GORDONCHICK]

Why?

 

And even if there is a good reason, they should publicise this "rule" before the cruise is booked e.g. Unless you take an NCL Tour, you go to the back of the disembarkation queue.

 

That's SOP (standard operating procedure) in all ports and is actually touted as one of the benefits when booking with the cruise line,it just NCL. Not every single one of the tours leaves the ship very first thing in the morning so you aren't after everyone.

Edited February 10, 2014 by GORDONCHICK

[KeithJenner]

That's normal in every port for every cruise line.

 

It just takes longer when a Visa is involved.

 

 

Not in my experience.

 

I have walked off the ship many times before the ship excursions have left.

[Froggitt]

That's SOP (standard operating procedure) in all ports and is actually touted as one of the benefits when booking with the cruise line

Which is fine so long as its publicised as such before you book the cruise. Is it?

[Norwegianlatvian]

instead of blaming NCL, blame Russia for their immigration laws..

[PokerDave]

We went in 2010 and had read about all the same issues. We also had a suite but not for that reason.

 

While it is Standard Operating Procedure for the cruise lines to WANT to provide their excursion passengers priority and they try hard to make it sound like you need to book through them in order to get a visa, this is misleading and in no way required.

 

The authorities at the port do not care at all whether or not you are on an NCL excursion or with someone else, just that you have arranged a tour with a company that has set you up with a temporary Visa. You have exactly the same status going through that process as an NCL excursion passenger.

 

When in a port at a dock, when the ship clears customs and can let passengers off, they have no right to deny non-ship excursion people the ability to get off the ship.

 

In St Petersburg in particular, because it usually is 2 days, is very lucrative for the cruise lines, and is Russia and sounds scary, NCL (and many other lines) take advantage in my opinion and both go out of their way to make it seem you need to book through them to get a visa (you don't, they book through some of the same tour companies you can book through privately and will have the same status as NCL excursion passengers by the time you reach immigration), and to also make it seem you have to wait until NCL excursion passengers get off first (also not true, when the ship clears you have as much right to debark as anyone else).

 

Now being in a suite you have an advantage as your concierge will be able to get you out much more easily. I think we still once in the line to the door had NCL people asking to see our NCL tickets. We just ignored them and went on.

 

I would highly recommend dealing with the hassle and doing a private excursion. We got so much more for a lot less than the ship charged. Right click on my name in the posting list and say show all posts. Go back to 2010 and read my extensive write up on our Baltic trip. I think I spent more time on that one and advice for folks doing it than any other review I've done.

[PokerDave]

Right click on my name in the posting list and say show all posts. Go back to 2010 and read my extensive write up on our Baltic trip. I think I spent more time on that one and advice for folks doing it than any other review I've done.

 

Ack!!! Glad I tried that to make sure I said it right! It is left click not right click. And they have changed what it does. It used to give you a little menu you could choose "Find all post by Pokerdave". Now it takes you to some kind of profile of me. Select the statistics tab, then select "Find all posts STARTED by Pokerdave". This is actually a lot more helpful as you will have to wade through less of them...

[PokerDave]

Ok, for anyone who doesn't want to dig it up, the appropriate part of the trip report. It was "Live from the Baltics" if you go to find it and dig through the rest which I recommend.

 

Day 7 and 8 – St Pete

This will be by far the most important section to read for someone doing this cruise (or any other line that does 2 or 3 days in St Pete). We took a private 2 day tour in St Pete with a group from our roll call. This is what I would recommend anyone do in St Pete. We saw more, in a smaller group, and for much less money than the ships excursions. The only reason I would accept from someone that this is not what you should do is if you are just incapable of enjoying yourself on a private tour anywhere because you could conceivably miss the ship. We used Anastasia tours and while I can highly recommend them I have read enough reviews to know that they are not unique. Alla, SPB, Denrus, Red October and others all provide similar tours/prices/quality. We chose this tour because it did a little more than the SPB tours a lot of the others from our roll call did. There is NO issue with getting a visa for doing a private tour in Russia. Yes, you have to have one, but YOU don’t have to do anything. The tour company you work with will get your details and they will have a blanket visa for the group when you arrive. They send you a tour ticket in advance and that is what you take to the customs/immigration booth in St Pete.

Here is the itinerary we did:

 

 

Time

Activity

 

 

First day

 

 

7.30 - 8.00

Passing the Passport control

8.00 - 9.00

Drive to the city of Pushkin

9.00 - 11.00

Tour around the Catherine’s Palace, including the visit of the Amber room. You will have special early entrance to the museum.

11.00 - 12.00

Drive back to the downtown

12.00 - 13.00

Lunch at the restaurant (included)

13.30 - 14.30

Peter and Paul’s Fortress visit

15.00 – 15.30

Visit of the Saviour on the Spilt Blood

16.00 - 16.30

St.Isaac’s Cathedral visit

17.00 - 18.00

Gala River and Canal tour. During the trip You will be served withh Blins, caviar, champagne and vodka

18.30

Return back to the ship

 

 

Second day

 

 

9.00

Passing the Passport control

9.30

Bus trip to Metro and Metro ride

10.00 – 10.45

Bus trip to Peterhoff

10.45 - 12.00

Peterhoff Park Tour

12.00 - 12.30

Hydrofoil trip to the downtown.

13.00 - 14.00

Lunch at the restaurant (included)

14.30 - 16.30

The Hermitage visit

17.00

Return back to the ship

 

 

The price for this tour was $295 per person. We were a group of 10 people, had the same driver and guide for 2 days, and a nice Mercedes van that would hold 18 people so we had plenty of room to get comfortable. We spoke to a couple that did 2 half day tours through the ship, did WAY less stuff and paid over $1,000. I would be interested in others who did ships tours to comment on our itinerary and how it compares in completeness and cost to what they did.

I won’t go into all the details of the places involved. Suffice it to say that St Pete is the highlight of this itinerary. It is a bit overwhelming even. Spectacle after spectacle.

 

Some comments/tips:

 

There is a lot of walking required to get through some of these huge places. I’m sure some tours are geared more than others towards how much walking, but to get through Catherine’s Palace, Peterhoff gardens, The Hermitage, etc takes a lot of walking period. Take comfy shoes.

When you get a chance at a bathroom ( Water Closet ) use it.

Peterhoff is a do not miss. It was all an outside tour of the gardens and fountains. Peter wanted a palace where he could have extensive outdoor fountains. At Peterhoff there are what I will just describe as an incredible display of outdoor fountains. There are no pumps involved. All the water is piped in from higher ground. We arrived shortly before 11am. At 11am music starts up and they turn on the fountains. The water starts coming out of the central fountain, then progressively works its way through the hundreds of other fountains and spigots. Quite a site. Touring the rest of the Peterhoff grounds you see many other impressive fountains in a setting that gives you an idea of what being outside was like for some of the folks that live in the kind of splendor of all the palaces you’ve already been touring.

We really enjoyed the canal tour. This isn’t just a tour in some small venice like canals, although part of it is that. It also gets out into the main river around which are many of the St Pete sites. We had vodka, champagne and Blihns (crepes with different filling. Each got 3. One Mushroom, one Chicken, one spiced potato. All good). The canal boats all have an outdoor viewing area and an indoor area. After the 10 of us killed a fifth of vodka (with orange and apple juice) and 2 bottles of champagne we were all in a jolly mood as we returned to the ship.

The Hermitage is an amazing place. Be prepared to get just a glimpse of many many cool things. Your alternative is to get a longer glimpse at fewer things. Our guide explained that if you spent just a minute at every item in the Hermitage and stayed there 24/7 it would take you over 7 years to see it all.

Our tour included lunch at 2 Russian restaurants. They were set menus and our group of ten had a nice area set up for us in each when we arrived. Got to try some Russian food and in general enjoyed things like Borsch and Stroganoff.

It isn’t on the itinerary but we spent 45 minutes in a really large souvenir shop. Got some Russian nesting dolls ( matrushka? dolls ). We got a set of 10 for ~$25 and also another set of 10 for ~$200. The high end ones were more like $1,500. Price goes up for more decoration ( gems, gold leaf ), more dolls, and better art work. There was an amazing selection and 45 minutes seemed almost not enough time to wade through the options.

Again, the main tip I have is avoid the ships tours. Whether you form a group from your roll call, join a group someone else is forming in your roll call, or simply join one the set tours from one of the Russian companies (these are likely to be 20-30 people, but with itineraries similar to the above), you will see more and pay less.

[garycarla]

This is not fair. They are being mean to me!

 

That is all I can think of here. So sad.

 

The ship has people booked on tours the ship arranged. They have set up the lines and departure such that these folks get off first. That is their choice.

 

Maybe some people think THEY should get off first. At which point those that paid the ship to take care of them have to wait. Then they would say it was "not fair".

 

Come on folks. This is just how it is done.

 

This is generally, but not always how it is done. If it was YOUR BUSINESS, how would you do it?

[Demonyte]

When in a port at a dock, when the ship clears customs and can let passengers off, they have no right to deny non-ship excursion people the ability to get off the ship.

 

They do have the right to even deny disembarking completely. In other words, the Guest Ticket Contract doesn't entitle you to get off the ship unless the cruise line so decides.

 

Namely every guest has agreed "to abide by the rules of the Carrier, including, but not limited to, the rules and regulations particularly set forth below, and to follow the lawful instructions of the vessel's officers and crew, at all times."

 

Read the contract and understand what it really entitles you to - many, many people think that they'd be entitled to a whole lot more than they actualy are when cruising.

[PokerDave]

Read the contract and understand what it really entitles you to - many, many people think that they'd be entitled to a whole lot more than they actualy are when cruising.

 

Oh, please. Spare me the sermon. I'm not talking about bucking the ship's Captain here. I have done a lot of cruising and my point is that NCL and some other lines monopolize the situation particularly in St Pete. Some other lines treat it just like any other docked port. There is NO reason from the Russians perspective for it to be different. They DO NOT care.

 

So NCL is choosing (without there being a limited number of ships for tendering or something to have to dole out) to do this. They also highly IMPLY that it is the Russians who require this and they are just doing what they are told. This is not true. Perhaps according to the contract they have the right. They also according to the contract have a HUGE number of other rights that if they actually enforced them passengers would revolt.

 

In my opinion (and it is just that) they are unfairly treating people with the specific goal of them making more money. I understand they are a business, and have never had a problem with the whining people do about "nickel and diming".

 

I'm not looking for "special" priviledges, even though in a suite you are paying for some. I just have an issue with them being devious...

[Demonyte]

Oh, please. Spare me the sermon.

 

I just corrected your incorrect assumption about entitlement and who gets to decide when somebody gets to disembark.

 

I wouldn't like the scare tactics with excursion sales any more than others here but still the point is that the cruise line can prioritize their own excursions over passengers not having bought their excursions through the cruise line.

[Froggitt]

You will find in reality the gangway for the private tours will remain closed until the gangway for NCL tours has disgorged its passengers.

 

And you wont get onto the NCL tours gangway unless you have a little sticker with a number on it!!! Or are a suite guest.