Silhouette Baltic cruise...any questions??

[ginak1112]

We are doing this cruise in June, out of Amsterdam, into Stockholm- our cruise is the only time they offer this itinerary.

Did you get a visa & tour SPB on your own or did you book the private tour through the ship? Have heard the visa is a misery to get, too much personal info required, so as of now we plan on touring through the ship- just not sure whether to book the private guide or the organized tours. We will be with another couple, possibly a total of 6 of us. I think I will have to go to Berlin as we have never been nor do we plan to be there again, so just suck it up & spend 1/2 the day on the bus.

As far as Brugges, our friends would like to visit there before. Did you take the train to Amsterdam?

Thanks for any info~

 

I'm sorry but I don't know anything about the visa process. We used a big tour company, SPB, and they were wonderful; all you need to give them is your passport info and they take care of the rest. We were on a small bus with 17 other people and it was very efficient. They also offer tours to Berlin and other cities and will give you a discount when booking multiple tours. Another option would be to book your own tour for your group which will be custom tailored to your tastes. If you go with the ship tours, you will wind up paying much more money while seeing many less sights. They cram 50 people into a bus and it is not a great way to travel. You can find info about all of the tour companies on tripadvisor under things to do and tours and activities. I highly recommend researching each city you are visiting this way. You can find wonderful activities to do, hotels and restaurants.

 

As far as Brugges is concerned, it is an easy trip to/from Ams. We flew into Paris from the states and took the train there. We stayed overnight and took the Thalys fast train to Ams Central station. You can book directly on Thalys. The train station in Brugges is in the center of town and we connected in Antwerp by their city train. The whole journey was about 2 1/2 hours I believe.

[ginak1112]

We are on the reverse of your cruise next summer (the one from Stockholm to Amsterdam also with 3 days in SPb). We would never have even considered getting visas until we decided to go to Moscow first. Now we will see how much of a pain the visa process is and have the flexibility to tour St. Petersburg on our own. I wouldn't bother with a visa in your situation. Just use one of the private tour companies and set up your own group where you can pick and choose what you want to see and do.

 

 

I'm not sure what ship you will be on but Celebrity did offer a wonderful tour to Moscow. We met people who did it and they raved about it. I would be too nervous to venture that far on my own, lol. I would also go with some type of tour group in St.Pete. It is not a walking city and everything is incredibly spread out. My husband and I discussed how happy we were with a tour group and how it would have been almost impossible to see and do what was included in our tour. Just waiting in line for some of the churches, hermitage, etc. would be daunting. Our tour guide had it timed perfectly to get to some venues right at the opening and we were first ones in. Also, our driver would drop us off right at the entrance and pick us up when done. Additionally, the wealth of knowledge that the guide had possessed was incredible. It is really just one big history lesson and so fascinating!

[pjs678]

I'm not sure what ship you will be on but Celebrity did offer a wonderful tour to Moscow. We met people who did it and they raved about it. I would be too nervous to venture that far on my own, lol. I would also go with some type of tour group in St.Pete. It is not a walking city and everything is incredibly spread out. My husband and I discussed how happy we were with a tour group and how it would have been almost impossible to see and do what was included in our tour. Just waiting in line for some of the churches, hermitage, etc. would be daunting. Our tour guide had it timed perfectly to get to some venues right at the opening and we were first ones in. Also, our driver would drop us off right at the entrance and pick us up when done. Additionally, the wealth of knowledge that the guide had possessed was incredible. It is really just one big history lesson and so fascinating!

 

Hi Gina,

 

Yes,we are on Silhouette. I looked into the Celebrity tour to Moscow and some of the private companies' similar offerings when we first booked. When I figured out that we could fly business class to Moscow (and not really any place else based on our mileage balance), and saw how far the dollar goes now, we decided to take the plunge. The Celebrity one day tour costs $659 per person. Our 2 day/3 night pre-cruise stay in Moscow will cost about the same including visas, hotel, food, airport transfers, one-way flight to Stockholm and tickets/tours, etc. Plus we won't have to give up a day in St. Petersburg. At least three others from our roll call are doing this as well.

 

By the way, my research indicates that almost all of the churches, museums, palaces, etc. are within a mile or two of the Neva River with plenty of buses, ho/ho boats, etc. if we need them. The only places further out are Catherine Palace and Peterhof (easily reachable via hydrofoil). We will probably still hire a guide for the Hermitage and hop on a tour to Catherine Palace for ease of transportation and admission. But the rest we will enjoy at our own pace, timing our visits for when the cruise tours are somewhere else. We would definitely do a tour if we didn't already have the visas, but with three days, we should be able to see what we want to see.

[ginak1112]

Hi Gina,

 

Yes,we are on Silhouette. I looked into the Celebrity tour to Moscow and some of the private companies' similar offerings when we first booked. When I figured out that we could fly business class to Moscow (and not really any place else based on our mileage balance), and saw how far the dollar goes now, we decided to take the plunge. The Celebrity one day tour costs $659 per person. Our 2 day/3 night pre-cruise stay in Moscow will cost about the same including visas, hotel, food, airport transfers, one-way flight to Stockholm and tickets/tours, etc. Plus we won't have to give up a day in St. Petersburg. At least three others from our roll call are doing this as well.

 

By the way, my research indicates that almost all of the churches, museums, palaces, etc. are within a mile or two of the Neva River with plenty of buses, ho/ho boats, etc. if we need them. The only places further out are Catherine Palace and Peterhof (easily reachable via hydrofoil). We will probably still hire a guide for the Hermitage and hop on a tour to Catherine Palace for ease of transportation and admission. But the rest we will enjoy at our own pace, timing our visits for when the cruise tours are somewhere else. We would definitely do a tour if we didn't already have the visas, but with three days, we should be able to see what we want to see.

 

 

Well that sounds like a great plan! 3 days will definitely make a difference in SP as we only had 2. Good luck and enjoy!

[mrsm88]

I'm sorry but I don't know anything about the visa process. We used a big tour company, SPB, and they were wonderful; all you need to give them is your passport info and they take care of the rest. We were on a small bus with 17 other people and it was very efficient. They also offer tours to Berlin and other cities and will give you a discount when booking multiple tours. Another option would be to book your own tour for your group which will be custom tailored to your tastes. If you go with the ship tours, you will wind up paying much more money while seeing many less sights. They cram 50 people into a bus and it is not a great way to travel. You can find info about all of the tour companies on tripadvisor under things to do and tours and activities. I highly recommend researching each city you are visiting this way. You can find wonderful activities to do, hotels and restaurants.

 

As far as Brugges is concerned, it is an easy trip to/from Ams. We flew into Paris from the states and took the train there. We stayed overnight and took the Thalys fast train to Ams Central station. You can book directly on Thalys. The train station in Brugges is in the center of town and we connected in Antwerp by their city train. The whole journey was about 2 1/2 hours I believe.

So you booked tours with SPB without dealing with a visa? My TA made it sound like I needed to do Celebrity tours in SP because of the visa issue. If that isn't the case, surely will investigate setting up private tours. As far as Berlin, since it is a 3 hour trip, I would feel more confident with Celebrity just in case there is a logistics issue.

Thanks for the Brugges info, will pass it onto friends. We plan on doing a 3 day re-cruise in Amsterdam as I have never been.

[mrsm88]

We are on the reverse of your cruise next summer (the one from Stockholm to Amsterdam also with 3 days in SPb). We would never have even considered getting visas until we decided to go to Moscow first. Now we will see how much of a pain the visa process is and have the flexibility to tour St. Petersburg on our own. I wouldn't bother with a visa in your situation. Just use one of the private tour companies and set up your own group where you can pick and choose what you want to see and do.

It is a great itinerary & the 3 day SPB really sold me to go! We chose out of Amsterdam since we have never been & it was easier for us to do a few days pre-cruise than any time after & Amsterdam was a wish list, not Sweden, so the overnight in Stockholm was fine for us.

I wish I had the time (still working) to add Moscow on, sounds like a great trip!

[bubbachief]

So you booked tours with SPB without dealing with a visa? My TA made it sound like I needed to do Celebrity tours in SP because of the visa issue. If that isn't the case, surely will investigate setting up private tours. As far as Berlin, since it is a 3 hour trip, I would feel more confident with Celebrity just in case there is a logistics issue.

Thanks for the Brugges info, will pass it onto friends. We plan on doing a 3 day re-cruise in Amsterdam as I have never been.

 

We used SPB tours when we did the Baltic cruise a couple of years ago, They were great and took care of getting the visa for us.

[pjs678]

It is a great itinerary & the 3 day SPB really sold me to go! We chose out of Amsterdam since we have never been & it was easier for us to do a few days pre-cruise than any time after & Amsterdam was a wish list, not Sweden, so the overnight in Stockholm was fine for us.

 

I wish I had the time (still working) to add Moscow on, sounds like a great trip!

 

 

Amsterdam is great. Make sure to pre-book tickets for the Anne Frank museum well in advance as they sell out and the lines are long.

 

And to answer your question to the other poster, you definitely do NOT need a visa if booking with SPB or any other licensed tour company in St Petersburg. You should also consider using the same company for Berlin as they will not miss the ship (if they ever missed one, they'd lose so much business) and it is much cheaper with a smaller group.

[mskaufman]

So you booked tours with SPB without dealing with a visa? My TA made it sound like I needed to do Celebrity tours in SP because of the visa issue. If that isn't the case, surely will investigate setting up private tours. As far as Berlin, since it is a 3 hour trip, I would feel more confident with Celebrity just in case there is a logistics issue.

Thanks for the Brugges info, will pass it onto friends. We plan on doing a 3 day re-cruise in Amsterdam as I have never been.

 

We used SPB (last month) and the tour ticket/receipt took care of the visa. We were not on a Celebrity tour. There are 3 - 4 tour companies that consistently get good write-ups on cc.

[mrsm88]

Amsterdam is great. Make sure to pre-book tickets for the Anne Frank museum well in advance as they sell out and the lines are long.

 

And to answer your question to the other poster, you definitely do NOT need a visa if booking with SPB or any other licensed tour company in St Petersburg. You should also consider using the same company for Berlin as they will not miss the ship (if they ever missed one, they'd lose so much business) and it is much cheaper with a smaller group.

Appreciate all the info.

Already have it on my calendar when I can buy in advance to Anne Frank & also for a restaurant in Copenhagen that was recommended. I am definitely going to consider SPB & will read around on CC for others....CC & Trip Advisor were such a wealth of info for me when I booked my pre Galapagos cruise Quito visit, & I am determined to get this trip worked out the same way. I already saw on SPB that they don't require visa's for their tours in SPB & yes they are way less $ than Celebrity. I am beyond excited as SPB is on my bucket list & to have an unrushed 3 days is a bonus as well as the 3 days in Amsterdam.

[mrsm88]

We used SPB (last month) and the tour ticket/receipt took care of the visa. We were not on a Celebrity tour. There are 3 - 4 tour companies that consistently get good write-ups on cc.

Will definitely search around, thanks!

[ginak1112]

Appreciate all the info.

Already have it on my calendar when I can buy in advance to Anne Frank & also for a restaurant in Copenhagen that was recommended. I am definitely going to consider SPB & will read around on CC for others....CC & Trip Advisor were such a wealth of info for me when I booked my pre Galapagos cruise Quito visit, & I am determined to get this trip worked out the same way. I already saw on SPB that they don't require visa's for their tours in SPB & yes they are way less $ than Celebrity. I am beyond excited as SPB is on my bucket list & to have an unrushed 3 days is a bonus as well as the 3 days in Amsterdam.

 

Oh good, you can help me with Galapagos when we decide to go one of these days. My husband travels a lot to Quito so that part of it should be pretty easy for us. I travel quite a bit to Amsterdam so can give you some must sees. Pre-buy tickets to the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum because the lines get very long. Same for Heinekin if you are interested in that. There is a fun comedy show in the evening that many of the Saturday Night comedians started in called Boom Chicago. There is a great Jewish quarter with a museum, beautiful synagogue, diamond factory, etc that you can self tour. Lots of other things that you will find on tripadvisor as well. You can message me as your trip nears too.

[mrsm88]

Oh good, you can help me with Galapagos when we decide to go one of these days. My husband travels a lot to Quito so that part of it should be pretty easy for us. I travel quite a bit to Amsterdam so can give you some must sees. Pre-buy tickets to the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum because the lines get very long. Same for Heinekin if you are interested in that. There is a fun comedy show in the evening that many of the Saturday Night comedians started in called Boom Chicago. There is a great Jewish quarter with a museum, beautiful synagogue, diamond factory, etc that you can self tour. Lots of other things that you will find on tripadvisor as well. You can message me as your trip nears too.

I made a note to message you as the trip gets closer & feel free to do same for Galapagos.

Thanks!

[lovestocruise1]

ginak1112 you spoke of the cobblestone walks. We are thinking of booking a 2 day tour in St Petersburg and are wondering how strenous the tours are not only in St Petersburg but elsewhere. My husband is on oxygen. He can walk just not sure if there are alot of stairs and long walks without rests. We are traveling in August of 2016.

[curiouscat]

Was the Molecular bar and Cellarmasters still there?

 

TIA

 

CC