Alla Tour in St. Petersburg

[bookdoctor]

Hello all, Has anyone used Alla? If so which tour did you do the moderate tour or the strenous? We are trying to decide which one to choose. I was afraid we would be too rushed in the strenous tour? Was there time to shop on your tour? Thanks so much. We are on the NCL Dream May5,2007. Vicki

[eldercruser]

While we have not yet toured with Alla, we have contracted to tour with her in 2007 and have had an extensive exchange of emails with her. The suggested tours on her web site are just suggestions of how you can utilize your time in St. Petersburg. She is more than willing to tailor the tour to your personal choices. For example, if you want more shopping time, just tell her where you are willing to spend less time or forgo visiting altogether.

[jstducky]

I too have not used her services, but have booked her for my cruise in 2007.

 

I have opted to do the strenuous tour because I want to see and do as much as possible in the time I'm there.

 

But I too have had extensive email contact with her and am working with her to customize the tour to the wishes of my party and she is certainly more than accomodating.

[hotmike98]

One of the beauties about working with Alla is that the itineraries are only suggestions. We booked with her for a party of four. It was fabulous (see my review under Regent Seven Seas Voyager), as we were not part of the tour bus herds, got to see things at our pace, and could deviate and/or abandon things mid tour without any problems. That said, we had the luxury of three days instead of two and that really helped us squeeze in everything that we wanted to see, as we don't really have any plans to revisit St. Petersburg--so many other places to see--not because we didn't enjoy it. Thus, I would recommend seeing as much as possible--I don't know your specific cruise itinerary, but we had the day following St. Petersburg at sea, so we had time to decompress and relax (and do laundry, oh well!). Also, we always returned to the ship in the evening instead of doing ballet or opera (most ships bring in Russian dancers while in port); we were even able to get a last minute seating at the specialty restaurant because so many others left the ship for evening excursions!

[sunraiser]

We had a wonderful time w/ her last August. She was very good at replying emails. You can tailor your tour with her.

[Dbedros]

We used Alla this past August for two days while doing the Star Princess Baltic Cruise. Our guide was Julia and Andrey was the driver. They were excellent. There were 11 of us that met hear on the boards. We arranged our itinerary with guidance from Alla. Shopping was not a priority for us. I guess you could call the first day strenuous. The second day was more laid back as we wanted the afternoon free to hang out on Nevsky Prospect and to insure we got back to the ship on time. I think we would have been able to shop if not for the rain. We saw everything but did not shop except for souveniers at one shop so that we could use the bathroom as we could not wait for the place Julia had scheduled for this. It actually turned out to be a nice shop that gave us vodka and the souvenier magnets were unusual and reasonably priced.

 

When I say we saw everything I mean everything and got to ride the subway too. Alla arranged for us to have an early entrance to Catherine's Palace and it was wonderful. We got pictures where there is no one on the grounds but us and we were the only ones in the palace. People started to arrive as we were leaving. I heard some people say that the ship advertised exclusive entrance but there were crowds. You get to build your itineray if you know what you want to see and do. If you don't know, Alla has the standard itineraries that can be modified and she is willing to help. If you would like a copy of my itinerary, post your email address and I will send it.

 

I hope this answered your question.

[Moose Tracks]

Hi Dbedros. I'd appreciate you sending me your itinerary.

moosetracks_1957@yahoo.com

Thanks. Lynn

[jstducky]

I'd love a copy of the itinerary as well...

 

duckcrazy@hotmail.com

 

thanks so much!

[mpbmark]

Dbedros,

 

Here is another request for your itinerary. We have booked Alla Tours for June 6, 2007 cruise and I would like to see if my group missed anything.

 

Thank your in advance,

 

mblock@san.rr.com

[nancycara]

dbedros- would also like your itinerary. We are booked with Alla for next July and would like to make some comparisons. Also include what you paid per person. Thanks, nancara@verizon.net

[Dbedros]

Check your email.

[mpbmark]

Thank you, Dbedros. We are doing something similar in June 2007. Your itinerary is food for thought.

[wandb]

Dbedros---another request for your itinerary. Also, are there any places that you would skip if you had it to do over again? I guess you had to take care of getting your own visas? I understand the ship does this if you are on ship excursions. We will have only 2 days in SP, so will not get to see all that you did. What would you consider priorities? We are not too interested in shopping, as we'd rather see as much of SP as possible in our time there. I understand that there is a very good porcelain and ceramic shop very near the port. I'd also love to get some idea of cost per person and the size of groups. If there are only 4 or 6 of you, is it more cost effective to join up with another small group, or does the per person rate change that much?

 

Thank you in advance!!!

[wandb]

I guess it would help if I included my e-mail address!:o batkhanna@hotmail.com

[dakrewser]

The joy of a private tour company, and especially Alla Tours, is that you can do exactly what you want! We did a 3-day tour last July - 2 couples. It was fantastic, we saw everything we wanted to see and were able to make last minute decisions based on the weather, our tiredness, etc. every day. Our driver was amazing - we were never less than perfectly comfortable but he always found ways in-out-over-around to lessen the time spent on the road, could always drop us off and pick us up at exactly the right spot, etc. Our guide was a gem! She was very informative, but never glib. If she didn't know something, she knew who to ask. If that person wasn't right there, she knew their phone number.

 

We've never had a better tour experience.

 

Here's our itinerary (and you can find pictures here):

 

June 29th , Thursday

9 am Meet at the ship

9-30 am General tour of the historic part of the city, including visits to the Peter and Paul Fortress and Saint Isaac's cathedral

1 pm Lunch

2-30 pm Yusupov’s palace (place of assassination of Rasputin and just beautiful palace)

4 pm Church on the Spilt Blood

5pm Free time for shopping, coffee, strolling on Nevsky prospect (main street of the city)

7 pm return to the ship.

 

June 30th, Friday

9 am Meet at the ship; visit to the State Hermitage Museum

1 pm Lunch

2-30 pm Visit to the Golden Treasure Gallery in the State Hermitage Museum

6 pm Return to the ship to change

7 pm Opera at Mariinsky theater

 

July 1st, Saturday

 

9 am Meet at the ship; travel to the Fountain Park of the Great Palace in the town of Peterhof (arrival 10:30 am)

1 pm Lunch

2-30 pm Travel to Catherine's Palace in the town of Pushkin (Tsarskoe Selo - Tsar's Village).

5 pm Return to the ship

[SuperStanley501]

Dbedros if you wouldn't mind can you send me a copy too.afeld69543@aol.com

Thank you very much,

Phyllis