St Petersburg Ultimate 2 day Tour thru VIKING

[Celiac Cruiser]

I am hoping to hear from you all who have done the Homelands Cruise already and who bought the Ultimate 2 day St Petersburg through VIKING. Would you recommend it? What were the highlights and low lights?

 

I know a lot of you use the private tour companies but I would really like to hear about the experience through the Viking Shorex.

 

Thanks.

[chipmunkbob]

Let me add one more question to the pile. We're on Homelands in May. Is it worth getting a Russian Visa and going through that process or should we simply rely on Viking provided tours as the entire experience? The travel agent advises sticking with Viking, but warns that we're tethered somewhat to the tour and can't explore on our own. The VISA cost and turnaround may be an issue also.

[aquidneck1]

You do not need a Russian Visa if you use a Russian Tour Company to provide you with a 2 day tour. There a a number that come very highly recommended and the group size is smaller than the ship tour. If you only have 2 days, getting a Visa and touring on your own is probably not the most efficient way to see the city.

 

Sorry, I cannot answer the OP's question.

[ebtrip]

Did a 2'day Russian tour with a total of 10 people from cruise critic. We used

SPB tour company. They will tailor the tour for you. They get the visa. We had a wonderful 2 days with our guide and did thing that a group of 40 could never do. My daughter also did Russia with a private company Red October. She also had a wonderful time.

[stretchcruz]

We are booked with Alla Tours in April...private for 6 of us. I think our total is about $315 pp for the 2 day tour...only 6 of us and a private guide. I think it should be exceptional.

[PROCRUISE]

We used Red October for two day private tour with just the two of us, plus driver and tour guide. We were given a general itinerary, prior to arrival, which we could add or subtract stops at, no waiting in lines and our tour guide added several things we never would have thought of like a short ride on the subway to see the magnificent art work in the subway stations and a walk through a famers market. Worth every penny and we saw twice as much at a nice pace compared to those to took the ship tours.

[PatriciaF]

We also used Alla tours in St. Petersburg--a group of perhaps 12? Customized as needed--but we agreed to what was planned.

 

Great guide and saw all the highlights--with early entry into the Hermitage--AND it was still packed!

[CharTrav]

This is what I wrote up after our VH cruise last Summer and posted on another forum (can't remember which). Hope it's useful and what you were looking for:

 

4. Ultimate St Petersburg (2 day) - Chose to do the Ultimate because of how Viking had the individual tours arranged. No matter how Steve tried, he couldn't create a good mixture of individual tours that didn't conflict/overlap/etc. Couldn't schedule one for the morning and one for the afternoon; some tours were plopped in the middle of the day. This drove him to say we should just do the Ultimate. So we did. We were both pleased and overwhelmed with the result. A lot of stuff jammed into two days. Our tour guide -- Alexsey -- was great. Knowledgeable, an old hand at the "trade", knew how to take care of "his people", flexible, etc. Even came equipped with a big bag of coins for anybody who needed to visit a pay for use toilet facility (rarely needed tho).

* Day 1 started with Catherine's Palace and then an excellent lunch (good food, vodka, and entertainment). The afternoon was spent in the Hermitage .. ALL of it which is HUGE (my legs gave out towards the end so I and a few others retreated to the lower level waiting for the rest to finish the final 30 min push). Alexsey's knowledge here and ability to take care of "his people" (e.g., clear out people ahead of us) was amazing. In the evening we returned for a performance of Swan Lake -- not the St Petersburg Ballet but a good local troupe nonetheless. The venue -- The Hermitage Theater -- was great. Steve is still annoyed with their interpretation of the story .. doesn't agree with who died at the end (sigh...).

* Day 2 hit a number of places in the morning followed by lunch at a huge, must have been built by one of those Russian oligarchs we hear so much about, monstrosity but with good food anyway and then the Peterhof Palace in the afternoon. My comment of "flexible" refers to the start of the day. Some folks requested a visit to a Starbucks so they could pick up a Starbucks travel mug (collectible apparently). Thus our day started parked by the Kazan Cathedral (not part of the published tour but he was knowledgeable about it anyway) just across from a Starbuck's. The Peterhof was fantastic, especially when you realize that it, along with much of St Petersburg, was in ruins at the end of WWII. May not agree with the priorities that drove the Soviets to expend so much time, energy and money to restore it and other such national treasures (while committing outright travesties to churches and general building architecture elsewhere) .. but the end result is certainly awe inspiring. Our hydrofoil ride back to the bus (parked by the Hermitage) and then back to the Star would have been great except for the rain that started after we'd finished our tour inside the Peterhof.

* Overall -- we were happy with the excursion altho agree that traveling with a smaller group would have been better.

 

 

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[AFL Kiwi]

Hi there

 

We did the two day Ultimate in May 2015 and could not have faulted it. Our guide was a pleasure to deal with and the information she gave us was perfect. We toured St Catherine's Palace in the morning together with the grounds.

 

After lunch of authentic food we had our panoramic drive of the city. We had two stops, one at the Church of Spilled Blood and one at St Issacs Cathedral. Both long enough to get a feel for the place, have a toilet stop and take some great photos.

 

After dinner (back on the ship) we then went to the ballet at the Hermitage Theatre (and my husband enjoyed it!). Back at the ship that night the staff had left a supper in our room for us which was a lovely gesture.

 

The next day we started with a wonderful your of the Hermitage and then after another included lunch went to St Peterhof's palace. We toured both the grounds and the inside.

 

We finished the day with a hydro foil ride back to the centre of town and then back to the ship by bus.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the two days and met some new cruise mates who became good friends with. There are about 30 on our bus (could have been less) and there were four bus loads of us.

 

Felt we were well looked after.

 

Hope this helps some what but everybody is different and has different ways of doing things and different expectations. We were happy.

[chlives60]

We are booked for Homelands in May and based on research I did we are using TJ's Tours (they promise if you miss the boat they will get you to the next port at their expense) we are also going to use them for the Berlin tour as they give you more than Viking. They are also much cheaper than the Viking 2 day tour and you get a Cruise Critic discount. It looks like most of the private tour companies give the same tours but are cheaper than Vikings. All provide visas if you go with a tour company. If you are on the May 6 Bergin sailing look on the Roll Call as Fred is trying to get a group together and then we save even more!

[TERRIER1]

We used Alla and it was great. There were 6 of us. VISA's were handle by Alla. You might want to compare agendas and cost. There is a lot to be said of having 6-10 people on a tour versus 30.

[jiminyC_fan]

This has been a great thread for me. I have started a roll call for the May 20, 2017 sailing on the Star. Just posting here in case there are any others on my cruise that are looking to join a group for St Petersburg.

[TERRIER1]

This has been a great thread for me. I have started a roll call for the May 20, 2017 sailing on the Star. Just posting here in case there are any others on my cruise that are looking to join a group for St Petersburg.

 

As an FYI, I did not have to gather a group for my Alla tour. I just posted that I would be doing a tour and if anyone was interested to contact Alla. Alla took care of everything.

[jiminyC_fan]

Thank you Terrier1. I started that just last night as a matter of fact. I signed up for the Grand Tour but now wondering about the comfort tour. Which one did you decide on and were you happy with it?

[Dauntless]

Thank you Terrier1. I started that just last night as a matter of fact. I signed up for the Grand Tour but now wondering about the comfort tour. Which one did you decide on and were you happy with it?

Back again with first hand experience. Another passenger started the Comfort Tour when I started the Grand Tour. She did not get any takers and Alla offered several options but she decided to join us, Individual results may vary but I think a lot of cruisers are in these ports for the first time and trying to see as much of Europe as they can. We did not do the night time activities with Alla. I am sorry but not upset we didn't take this in but there is just so much time. Another poster mentioned that the ship seems empty when in port as so many Americans are there to see Europe. It is a destination cruise line without an expedition feel. I enjoyed every minute and can't seem to rest until I spread the word to anyone that will listen!

[TERRIER1]

Thank you Terrier1. I started that just last night as a matter of fact. I signed up for the Grand Tour but now wondering about the comfort tour. Which one did you decide on and were you happy with it?

 

We took the comfort. It was busy from pick up to drop off so I have no idea about the other tour would entail in addition to ours. Our guide was Marina and it was great. We were the first in the Hermitage and with a small group it is easy to move around and also change the sequence of the sights if traffic/weather dictates. Our driver also got around all the traffic jams since we were in a small van and not a large bus. We went on the subway which was a blast. Definitely do a subway visit. I would use Alla again in a heartbeat.

[Dauntless]

We took the comfort. It was busy from pick up to drop off so I have no idea about the other tour would entail in addition to ours. Our guide was Marina and it was great. We were the first in the Hermitage and with a small group it is easy to move around and also change the sequence of the sights if traffic/weather dictates. Our driver also got around all the traffic jams since we were in a small van and not a large bus. We went on the subway which was a blast. Definitely do a subway visit. I would use Alla again in a heartbeat.

 

He's back, and Marina was also our guide for the Grand Tour with Alla. She has been doing this for about 20 years and educates herself on the subjects in the slow season. You can get an example of her English on the website in a short video to see how easy she is to understand. Everything Terrier1 says is true. The Grand has a couple of more stops and the visit to the palace that played a large role in the Romanov's assassinations. We also had a lecture series on the ship in 3 parts on this family. It's not really necessary but why not grab all you can experience "when in SP?" I was very impressed with the restaurant we went to the second day for lunch. You should be thoroughly captivated.

[deec]

Has anyone included the Faberge Museum with the tour and did you feel it was worth it?

[Squigmond]

Dauntless......of course you were impressed with the restaurant. Being from San Antonio you had probably never been in a restaurant that did not have sawdust on the floor.

 

Before anyone flames me for this comment I was with Dauntless in that restaurant.

[Celiac Cruiser]

I appreciate all the feedback. My VH cruise is coming up in May and tour decisions will have to be made soon. 😊

[Dauntless]

Dauntless......of course you were impressed with the restaurant. Being from San Antonio you had probably never been in a restaurant that did not have sawdust on the floor.

 

Before anyone flames me for this comment I was with Dauntless in that restaurant.

 

Diane is a saint and has earned her place in heaven.

[jiminyC_fan]

Like Celiac Cruiser, I thank everyone for their responses. We have decided on the Grand tour but will, also, pass on the night tours through them.

[Dauntless]

Like Celiac Cruiser, I thank everyone for their responses. We have decided on the Grand tour but will, also, pass on the night tours through them.

 

If you wanted to do the night tours through Viking you could as you get back to the ship by 6 and the night performance tours leave at 7 and 7:15 from the terminal. You get a box lunch the first day,if you do the Alla Grand Tour(and I think that covers most if not all the highlights you wanted, so while you are at the stop maybe you could pick something up to tied you over and eat the lunch a little later in traveling time. I would say, don't go back through customs when you get to the terminal as you will be leaving in an hour. Don't forget you tickets for the night tour in the morning. You could also see in the morning if food is available in the terminal. I don't remember. There are some small shops there that we shopped the first day so you are not rushed to get back on the ship. People will probably be disembarking for the night tours about 30 minutes early to make sure they clear customs, so you will soon have company. We had opera singers on board that night.

 

If you are still hungry when you return to the ship you could order room service or go by Mamsen's for split pea soup!

 

Just trying to let you know about your options for personal decisions.

[jiminyC_fan]

Great info Dauntless. Thank you!

[jiminyC_fan]

Dauntless......of course you were impressed with the restaurant. Being from San Antonio you had probably never been in a restaurant that did not have sawdust on the floor.

 

Before anyone flames me for this comment I was with Dauntless in that restaurant.

 

Too funny!