My Trip Report: Brilliance of the Seas (12 night Baltic, May 18 2015)

[estebofarr]

I am enjoying your trip report as well.

[Carolla5501]

Carolla5501 - are you going with a tour group or did you decide to do it all on your own? The tours seem to go to places we don't want to go and not go to places where we want to go. I'm seriously considering going on our own...

 

 

We are going on our own. We did have to get visas and because I got the wrong type we will be staying in a hotel overnight in St Petersburg. But I'm actually very excited because that will allow us to see more of the city in the evening

[Donna_In_India]

We are going on our own. We did have to get visas and because I got the wrong type we will be staying in a hotel overnight in St Petersburg. But I'm actually very excited because that will allow us to see more of the city in the evening

 

Please come back and post. If I remember you're leaving soon? We'll all have our own visas so we can come and go on the ship.

 

Sorry for going OT Bob. :)

[silentbob007]

Hi everyone ... sorry for being absent a few days. I actually spent most of last week relocating back to Indiana after a year in Arkansas. Long story short ... I've been occupied by packing, driving a rental truck, etc. Now that I'm at least in my new place I need a distraction from all of the boxes stacked around ... :)

 

St. Petersburg Continued

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not going to outline our days in St. Petersburg as I couldn't really do it justice and the tour hit all of the points mentioned in its description on Alla's website (though the order did change a little). However, I will mention a few highlights ....

 

Hermitage Hallway by cmong, on Flickr

 

Peterhof and Catherine's Palace

 

These two I'll mention together because they were on the same day (but have a fair distance between them). The weather cooperated and there were some very nice sights at both of these attractions. We did not go into any buildings at Peterhof ... just toured the grounds. The opposite was true at Catherine's Palace ... the entire stay was inside. Because of these two major stops, there was quite a bit of walking even though it was a "comfort" tour. Do not let that description fool you into thinking it is low-activity ... it may just be lower activity than the regular tour but you are going to log some miles on your feet. About every place we went was also very crowded ... there were plenty of ships as well as other visitors to make places busy. Everyone on our tour was given an earpiece to hear our guide whenever we were in busy areas.

 

Hermitage Hallway II by cmong, on Flickr

 

Note 1: We were allowed to take photos everywhere but the Amber Room.

Note 2: Visitors with bulky coats or large bags were asked to check them at Catherine's Palace. This was unexpected and something I dreaded doing (I had a large messenger bag with camera lenses, travel documents, etc). You might plan ahead if you don't feel like leaving valuables at a very busy check point.

 

Hermitage

 

The Hermitage was very interesting but again, very crowded. When we arrived there was perhaps a 20-30 minute wait for the women's restroom at the entrance. This time we were warned about needing to check large coats or items so I left them on the bus (but it did not seem as strict as at Catherine's).

 

Church of Spilled Blood Interior by cmong, on Flickr

 

Random nitpick 1: With large crowds, many people are shoving forward in a herd to see (a Renoir, a staircase, etc). Inevitably, the whole process was slowed down because some person wanted to block everyone out from in front of a painting to line up the perfect iPad camera shot of the paining. Please don't be that person. Ever. Remember that if you just want a picture of the painting, 20 seconds on Google will get you a better shot than anything you can take in not-great lighting with huge crowds on the fringe.

 

Follow-up to random nitpick 1: Watch your wallets/valuables in those large crowds. It could get very tight as people strained forward to get to whatever the attraction was.

 

Spilled Blood Ceiling by cmong, on Flickr

 

Paying for the tour

 

At the end of the first day, we were taken to a souvenir shop that had a small podium where Alla Tours collected money (for everything ... tours completed and those to come). There were strict Russian policies about foreign money (Euro, Dollars, etc) that had to be followed (crisp, unmarked bills, etc) but they also had a credit card machine that worked just fine. We had told our credit card company to expect a fairly large charge from Russia and did not have a problem with it going through. This beat carrying large amounts of cash around the city for the day. Of course, after payment, you were more than welcome to buy souvenirs at the store. They had just about any of the "standard' souvenirs that were also available at the port ... everything seemed pretty much the same and similarly priced.

 

St. Petersburg Lamp Post by cmong, on Flickr

 

Slight Hiccup

 

I think it's fair to judge tour companies by what happens when things do not go as planned. In this case, Alla Tours did a very good job. I've been called a Jonah before after a few van breakdowns returning from cave tubing in Belize. Unfortunately we also had van difficulties traveling from Peterhof to Catherine's on Day 1 (so no pressure about missing ship). The van started having difficulties (and it seemed like a newer, well-maintained Mercedes van) and after the driver pulled over and tried to fix it, it became clear that we were not going to be able to continue in that vehicle. Alexandra (our tour guide) was on the phone when the problems started and by the time the van's death was pronounced, another van with another group had already pulled behind us with space for 4 of passengers. A minute later another van pulled up and took 2 more passengers. The 4 of us who stayed behind with the guide had about a 5-minute wait until another van pulled up with space for the rest of us. We then continued on to Catherine's, met up with the rest of our original group (who were taken to a place to wait), and by the time we were ready to go, a new van and driver were waiting for us to finish the day.

 

After reflecting on this, I see many positives. First of all, the general lack of disruption showed planning and good communication. Secondly, also with regards to planning, the itinerary made a lot of sense for the two days. We hit the most distant spots on the first day when we did not have to worry about missing the ship. The second day was mostly in town and relatively close to the ship. This makes a lot of sense to me. FYI, a ship tour was about an hour late getting back that second day and the ship waited ... I would not want to try my luck on an independent tour like that, however.

 

 

In the end, both my dad and I thought that Alla Tours did a very good job and that our guide Alexandra was excellent. We spent about the same amount of money as a ship's tour, but we had a group of 10 versus a group of 40-60. That was more than worth it in my mind.

[silentbob007]

Thank you,For this helpful guide. As we are not able to walk long distances, we would like to go and come on our own. If we take a hop on hop off or bus, is there a way to pay or do I need to get the currency for that particular country. I don't plan on using much cash, mostly credit cards but I hear it is expensive getting small amounts of currency for each country. Is there a way to do this at the different ports? I don't think I would need more than $30 or so. Is this an unreasonable amount? I hate to have too much left over.

 

The HoHo busses all took credit cards right on the bus or from the vendors right where the ship docks. They will make it as easy as possible to get your money.

 

* to be clear, no HoHo in St. Petersburg because almost everyone is on tours

[CruisingGramsof2]

Hope you are settling in well in your new surroundings ! We are enjoying your tour review,photos and tips immensely and want to thank you for taking the time to share :)

[Donna_In_India]

Wonderful photos! I can't wait to go....

[Dick and Jane]

I have questions about tipping your tour guide in Russia: what was the general amount the passengers were tipping for the two day tour? Did you tip each day or just at the conclusion?

[Dick and Jane]

A comment about cards: I completed travel notifications with my banks for my credit cards and ATM card. I received a travel warning from my Chase ATM card for Russia. It stated it is not safe to use the machines in this country because of fraud and theft.

[Carolla5501]

A comment about cards: I completed travel notifications with my banks for my credit cards and ATM card. I received a travel warning from my Chase ATM card for Russia. It stated it is not safe to use the machines in this country because of fraud and theft.

 

 

[emoji3]in other words Chase is just not going to let you use your card. It really has nothing to do with anything but them wanting to protect themselves not you. I had a bank do that to me on Spain one time. Of course after they did it I canceled all my accounts.

[phonequeen]

Which port? This is not an option for most of us in St Petersburg unless you previously obtained a Visa.

 

We have the comfort tour with Alla booked two days in Russia so am interested in the other ports. So many ports most with different currency's. Makes it hard to get money for all, but want to do some sightseeing but know for example that we would not be able to do 5 hrs in Tallin walking, but would like to see Old Town even if it is for an hour. I do have some euros left from our Italy trip a few years ago, but no Danish or Swedish Kronas, no Russian rubles etc. what is easiest an least expensive way to get unde $50 for each.

[Carolla5501]

We have the comfort tour with Alla booked two days in Russia so am interested in the other ports. So many ports most with different currency's. Makes it hard to get money for all, but want to do some sightseeing but know for example that we would not be able to do 5 hrs in Tallin walking, but would like to see Old Town even if it is for an hour. I do have some euros left from our Italy trip a few years ago, but no Danish or Swedish Kronas, no Russian rubles etc. what is easiest an least expensive way to get unde $50 for each.

 

 

An ATM. Make sure your bank knows that you are going to the countries in advance

[Dick and Jane]

We have the comfort tour with Alla booked two days in Russia so am interested in the other ports. So many ports most with different currency's. Makes it hard to get money for all, but want to do some sightseeing but know for example that we would not be able to do 5 hrs in Tallin walking, but would like to see Old Town even if it is for an hour. I do have some euros left from our Italy trip a few years ago, but no Danish or Swedish Kronas, no Russian rubles etc. what is easiest an least expensive way to get unde $50 for each.

 

 

The guest relations desk on the ship will exchange your currency. It is definitely the easiest way although maybe not the cheapest.

 

The last time we were in Russia, we never obtained any Rubles. All the street vendors would take US dollars or euros.

[SilentDad]

Tipping on tours

 

I believe the two day tour in St. Petersburg through Alla cost about $ 265 a person for the comfort tour. I think we (Chris & I) tried to tip about 10%. We gave our guide around $50 for the two days. I've forgotten how much we gave to the driver but usually it's 10%. We gave them our tips as we were getting out of the van at the cruise port.

[silentbob007]

Tipping on tours

 

I believe the two day tour in St. Petersburg through Alla cost about $ 265 a person for the comfort tour. I think we (Chris & I) tried to tip about 10%. We gave our guide around $50 for the two days. I've forgotten how much we gave to the driver but usually it's 10%. We gave them our tips as we were getting out of the van at the cruise port.

 

I think Alla suggested 5% for the driver and 5-10% for the guide. The tour info provided for each tour after making the reservation had specific suggestions.

[SilentDad]

Yep, Chris is right. We gave the driver less since when we changed vans, we also changed drivers and had the second driver for only one day. Give what you feel is right.

[Dick and Jane]

Good suggestions on tipping. I know tipping is a personal decision, but I always like to have some kind of basis especially when traveling in other countries. Thanks.

 

I'm assuming your guides were comfortable with dollars or euros.

[silentbob007]

They certainly took it. To be honest I worried very little about local currencies on this cruise. I got some pounds since we were spending several days in London but otherwise I relied in credit cards (with ATM card backup).

[phonequeen]

The guest relations desk on the ship will exchange your currency. It is definitely the easiest way although maybe not the cheapest.

 

The last time we were in Russia, we never obtained any Rubles. All the street vendors would take US dollars or euros.

 

Thanks for the info. I forgot to mention that we are also on the TA after this cruise, so more countries with different currency. So hop on & off take credit cards, does anyone know about buses? Doesn't sound like I need any of the foreign currency if I plan ahead and take tours or hop on &doff. vendors take whatever we have.

[Carolla5501]

Thanks for the info. I forgot to mention that we are also on the TA after this cruise, so more countries with different currency. So hop on & off take credit cards, does anyone know about buses? Doesn't sound like I need any of the foreign currency if I plan ahead and take tours or hop on &doff. vendors take whatever we have.

 

 

If the vendor takes whatever you have your getting ripped off. In addition not everything will take a credit card and sometimes if it does take a car it requires a chip and pin card which most Americans do not have. Having a little currency is always a good idea

[silentbob007]

If the vendor takes whatever you have your getting ripped off. In addition not everything will take a credit card and sometimes if it does take a car it requires a chip and pin card which most Americans do not have. Having a little currency is always a good idea

 

I don't expect anyone to take currencies other than local except maybe the port (where they will generally advertise pricing in multiple currencies). There should not be a problem with non-chip and pin credit cards as long as you don't try to use an automated machine or kiosk. I've yet to have anyone turn down a purchase because I needed to sign for it. Supposedly my card was chip/pin after my first signed foreign transaction and it never worked properly.

 

As for currency, it just depends on what you want to do. If you plan on doing things where you'll want local currency (go to cafe, but from street vendors, etc) then get some at an ATM (ship or anyone else will give you a bad to horrible rate on small amounts). Otherwise you should get along just fine with credit. Personally I had little to no use for getting local currencies that you are essentially obligated to spend in a day ... specifically DKK and SEK for this trip.

[Lilyrosemum]

Thanks for all the info. I am doing the Serenade 7 day cruise which covers several of the same ports. (I am doing St. Petersburg on my own and the visa wasn't that bad, except that I got the wrong kind and will now have to get a hotel and remain overnight in St. Petersburg... could be worse! )

 

You have an overnight in St. Petersburg on the 7 night cruise on the Serenade? We just did the Serenade last month for 7 nights and we sailed out of Copenhagen with stops in Stockholm, Tallin, St. Petersburg and Helsinki and then return to Copenhagen. We did not have an overnight in St. Petersburg. Your itinerary must be different that you will be in St. Petersburg overnight at a hotel. When is your cruise? By the way, FABULOUS cruise and service on the Serenade was awesome.

[Lilyrosemum]

The only currency we got was at the airport in Copenhagen because we were staying in Copenhagen for two nights. We didn't even need that. When we tipped or needed something small we found no problem using dollars. The dollar is up. Otherwise we used credit cards. We had prepaid all our tours by credit card. No problem.

[Carolla5501]

You have an overnight in St. Petersburg on the 7 night cruise on the Serenade? We just did the Serenade last month for 7 nights and we sailed out of Copenhagen with stops in Stockholm, Tallin, St. Petersburg and Helsinki and then return to Copenhagen. We did not have an overnight in St. Petersburg. Your itinerary must be different that you will be in St. Petersburg overnight at a hotel. When is your cruise? By the way, FABULOUS cruise and service on the Serenade was awesome.

 

We sail out of Stockholm with stops in Helsinki, St. Petersburg (overnight), Tallin and Riga. Only one sea day.

 

Now if I had gotten the "right" visa we would just return to the ship while in St. Petersburg, but in between the time I got the visa and now the Russians changed the rules and a one entry visa apparently only gets you off the ship ONE time. So... I booked us a hotel (although his visa is actually better then mine and is a multi entry)

Edited June 15, 2015 by Carolla5501

[Tad4irsh]

The guest relations desk on the ship will exchange your currency. It is definitely the easiest way although maybe not the cheapest.

 

The last time we were in Russia, we never obtained any Rubles. All the street vendors would take US dollars or euros.

 

Yes...the vendors will gladly take Euro or US Dollars....however...it is very much illegal to pay with anything other than rubbles in Russia. The local market areas even have undercover police watching just for exchanges occurring in Euro or dollars. It is illegal for both the vendor to take the currency and for the customer to pay with it.

 

You might not get caught...but if you do, you could be facing more than just embarrassment. Be careful when deciding to use dollars or Euro! I would recommend sticking to credit cards, and ATM machines You usually get the best exchange rates at ATMs anyway....