St Petersburg Shore Excursions

[Paulchili]

7 hours ago, tropicalkerry2002 said:

Yes, I had arranged a group of 8, I think, on the roll call, and we did the whole 3 days together.

Believe me, WE missed Florida as well!

The subway was incredible! The trip down the escalator took 2 minutes, I think the guide said, and was incredibly steep. The stations are gorgeous. I have always loved to see what the local life is like in places I visit, and enjoy the local architecture of houses. Here is another photo of the trip down, and one taken at a subway station

 

While I agree that the subway in SPB will impress any visitor it truly does not compare to the oldest line of Moscow subway (Red Circle line?)

While not as well kept under the current regime, it's splendor does come through despite some minor vandalism (unimaginable under the previous Soviet Socialist system)..

Not to be missed if and when one is in Moscow.

Edited July 10, 2021 by Paulchili

[SophieM]

We were three days in St. Petersburg in Sept. 19. We found three other couples on our roll call and arranged a tour with Natalya, owner of Tzar (Tsar) travel. From the very beginning of our arrangements to the completion of our tours, she and her guides did an excellent job. We did take the high speed train to Moscow on the second day. Yes, it is a long day, but we all thought quite worth it. We also found our tour to be very cost effective compared to the ship offered similar tour. I just checked with Natalya to make sure she is still offering tours after Covid, and she replied immediately, just as she always did when we were working with her. She’s the best!- Jane

[avalong]

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

While I agree that the subway in SPB will impress any visitor it truly does not compare to the oldest line of Moscow subway (Red Circle line?)

While not as well kept under the current regime, it's splendor does come through despite some minor vandalism (unimaginable under the previous Soviet Socialist system)..

Not to be missed if and when one is in Moscow.

Yes, I remember seeing a pictorial of these. Each was different from the other, but all were equally magnificent. I was gob-smacked.

[RJB]

1 hour ago, avalong said:

Yes, I remember seeing a pictorial of these. Each was different from the other, but all were equally magnificent. I was gob-smacked.

If my memory is correct when we were there about 10 or 12 years ago they told us no pictures down in the subway in SPB.  Am I wrong?  

[tropicalkerry2002]

We were there in 2012, no problems taking photos.

 

[avalong]

7 minutes ago, RJB said:

If my memory is correct when we were there about 10 or 12 years ago they told us no pictures down in the subway in SPB.  Am I wrong?  

I was referring to the subway stations in Moscow. And the "pictorial" I saw several years ago was making the rounds via e-mail back when people used to do that sort of thing (now they post on facebook or some-such). I have no idea who took the photos. They may well have been official photos. Google "Moscow subway stations" for a look-see. How do they compare to the SPB ones?

[Cruise NH]

8 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

I have visited Saint Petersburg multiple times and, as you are aware, there is much to see - a week barely scratches the surface.  We sailed on the Marina on one of our cruise visits and booked our shore excursions with Alla Tours - they were superb. I have a Russian visa and when I fly into Pulkovo, I now easily get around on my own. Any of the top rated independent tour operators will provide you with a good experience 🙂 but I think that you will do just fine with the tours offered by Oceania. 

I assume that you have two days in port rather than three? The highspeed train to Moscow (Sapsan train) makes sense only if you have 3 days in St. Pete wherein you travel on the middle day.

I don't know what Oceania is offering but below are a few things to whet your appetite that you may not have seen on your previous visit & if you have questions or want more ideas, feel free to shoot me an email (address included in my signature):

The Faberge Museum (opened in 2014) - over 4,000 items (including nine imperial eggs) are displayed in the restored Shuvalov Palace: https://fabergemuseum.ru/en/

Another unique and interesting museum that opened fairly recently is an interactive miniature museum, The Grand Maket Russia: https://grandmaket.ru/en

Does Oceania offer any tours of Peterhof? Most cruise ship visitors visit only the fountain park but there are some wonderful palaces to visit in addition to the fountains. The Grand Palace is spectacular but my absolute favorite is the Cottage Palace: https://en.peterhofmuseum.ru/objects/aleksandriya/dvorets_kottedz

The Staraya Derevnya - the Hermitage storage facility contains an unbelievable collection http://www.saint-petersburg.com/museums/hermitage-museum/storage-facility-staraya-derevnya/

A visit to the gorgeous Art Nouveau masterpiece on Nevsky - The  Eliseyev Emporium - love shopping there and just having a cup of coffee & gawking at the items on display. http://www.saint-petersburg.com/buildings/eliseyev-emporium/

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliseyev_Emporium_(Saint_Petersburg)

Lenin Memorial Museum (Smolny Institute) – you can visit Lenin’s office and living quarters. It was from the main hall that the October Revolution was proclaimed in 1917.

http://www.russianmuseums.info/M109

Porcelain Museum - Part of the Imperial Porcelain Factory which can include a tour of the factory workshops. Gorgeous, small collection containing some of their finest creations of the past 250 years – fantastic!

https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/visitus/porcelain-factory

and

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/museums/hermitage-museum/museum-porcelain/

Are you a fan of the famous Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky? 

Dostoevsky Museum – I'm a huge fan of Dostoevsky and enjoyed my visits immensely (have taken friends here as well).  It is a reconstruction of the Dostoevsky apartment (he returned here and lived until his death) including many of his belongings. Also contains items devoted to Dostoevsky's literary life. http://eng.md.spb.ru/

Impressionist Collection – General Staff Building – located across Palace Square from the Winter Palace - opened in 2014. Five big atriums, covered with glass roofs, houses Impressionist and Post- impressionist paintings, Russian and European decorative art, paintings and sculptures from the 19th and 20th centuries as well as contemporary art. The exhibition includes the renovated historical interiors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire and the personal apartments of the Chancellor Count Karl Nesselrode.

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/museums/hermitage-museum/modern-european-art/

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/museums/hermitage-museum/general-staff-building/

 

 

 

 

 

Great information, thanks for taking the time to detail all of this.  There are things here I didn't even consider.  I'm going to have to do some research!

 

I remember the long subway escalators...I white-knuckled them all the way!

[Paulchili]

3 hours ago, avalong said:

Google "Moscow subway stations" for a look-see. How do they compare to the SPB ones?

The Circular (Central?) line in Moscow is unmatched. The others are more or less like the ones in SPB.

[ORV]

18 hours ago, RJB said:

If my memory is correct when we were there about 10 or 12 years ago they told us no pictures down in the subway in SPB.  Am I wrong?  

No issues when we were there. 2017