Baltic Cruise - St. Petersburg Excursions

[PattiG]

I have read many postings regarding the private tours in St. Petersburg on Alla, Red October, etc. Has anyone taken the excursion offered by Princess? If so, I would like to hear about it. Seems like everyone takes the private tours. Can the Princess excursion be that bad?

[ocean.queen]

No...it was wonderful! Did one each day we were there. The guides must have a certificate for each venue....very strict about it and they were very good. You may not get enough time to shop but that was fine with us. We covered a lot of territory each day and they were very attentive to us and our safety. We did A walk in Peter the Greats Footsteps one day and the Catherine's Palace + more the next. No complaints at all.

[Wormy53]

We also did the big 2-day full tours. They were quite good. Our tour operator was Alla. (I'm thinking the same person that does Alla's tours) She had a radio and talked to us through headphones. Very informative and very busy days. Our bus was about 2/3 full, so there was not a lot of waiting for people.

 

The only downside I could see was the day we had at the Hermitage. It was so busy, it was difficult to walk through. And this was what I was interested in the most!! Love that impressionist art (rooms of Picasso - not just a few paintings!). This was not actually the cruise lines fault. We happened to book when the G8 summit just finished, so other cruise lines rescheduled for the same time as us. Even taking private tours would have been crowded.

 

There was not a lot of shopping time (this is to my liking!). The Church of the Spilled Blood is beautiful beyond words. I would probably do it again in a heartbeat!! Next time, though, I will never go to Europe in the height of summer, but will do April, May, Sept, or Oct. Hopefully the crowds will be lighter. This was probably one of my favorite cruises, and hope to do it again someday.

[crusdiva]

I have read many postings regarding the private tours in St. Petersburg on Alla, Red October, etc. Has anyone taken the excursion offered by Princess? If so, I would like to hear about it. Seems like everyone takes the private tours. Can the Princess excursion be that bad?

PattiG,

The Princess 2 day tour was awesome!

DH and sailed the Star last September and thoroughly enjoyed our 2 day tour. There is no way you are going to see everything or spend as much time as you would need. This tour went to all of the same sights as the others you mention, our buses were not full, the arrival times are staggered and remember that even with all this there will be hundreds of other tours (cruise and land based) all trying to see the same thing you're seeing.

Princess' tours included sit down lunches at restaurants in St. Petersburg and for us that was a huge selling point as we knew we would need some "down time" given the hectic schedule of the tour.

I could talk about this tour for days...

I would be delighted to answer any questions you might have. Feel free to email me at cpebmw@yahoo.com

Here is a link to our photos:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/cpebmw/album/576460762317735680

[PattiG]

Thanks so much for your info. I loved the pictures, Crusdiva. Can you tell me how much money you paid for the 2-day St. Petersburg excursion?

[crusdiva]

Thanks so much for your info. I loved the pictures, Crusdiva. Can you tell me how much money you paid for the 2-day St. Petersburg excursion?

Thanks Patti,

It was about $350 per person. It included all admissions and all camera and video fees.

The Princess price is higher and I think that's the main objection most people have but for me it was worth it to have them handle our visa and and as I said, the lunches sealed the deal. One was at the Nevskiiy Palace Hotel on Nevskiiy Prospekt and the and the other was at Academy Restaurant. Both were 4 course lunches with included an appetizer, salad, main course and dessert and coffee as well a glass of champagne, a shot of vodka and entertainment. I wasn't keen on a boxed lunch on the canal tour. Both days were long and it was nice to sit down and have a relaxing lunch.

[ggprincess2004]

The Princess 2 day tour was fabulous. We had a guide who was just totally completely incredible beyond words!!!! We have had good guides, very good guides, wonderful guides. This one was the best ever.

It was a lot to take in - 2 solid days. There is so much to see, and Princess has it well organized. We didn't need to worry about visas since were on the Princess tour.

There was shopping time, and mom and I had enough time to find things that were special for people on lists. But, I am glad there was not anymore time devoted to shopping each day than what was allotted, since there is just so darn much to see.

We knew that the Hermitage needed a week long visit to really see everything - and then moving at a pretty good pace, but I feel what we did see was an excellent selection on our guides part.

I might suggest checking out some of the websites of the museums you are going to visit on this cruise to get prepared and even more excited.

Have a great trip!

[Shoalwater]

I have read many postings regarding the private tours in St. Petersburg on Alla, Red October, etc. Has anyone taken the excursion offered by Princess? If so, I would like to hear about it. Seems like everyone takes the private tours. Can the Princess excursion be that bad?

 

As OP have said, the 2-day comprehensive Princess tour was superb! In our case (2004) we had the same guide for both days and that helped a lot. Princess also was able to get entry into the Hermitage 1 hour before the scheduled opening, and we had the museum to ourselves for that time, and always stayed ahead of the following masses as we passed through!. We were almost by ourselves in the Impressionist's room! BTW, Princess also had the same arangement for us in Istanbul in May aboard the Emerald P. We were there on a Tuesday, and the Topkapi Palace is normally closed, but they allowed Princess tours entry and again we had the place to ourselves! I normally book tours on my own, but there are times when the Princess up-charge is worth it. I think this is the case for St. Petersburg. I encourage you to take the 2-day comprehensive tour, unless you plan to be back there another time and will see then what you miss on the cruise.

[smvthecpa]

Used Red October with Helen as guide. We were one of the first groups off the ship. Wasted no time. 2 days of straight sightseeing for about $265 pp.

 

Didn't have the fancy lunch. Was fascinated that Helen hurried us to Palaces to avoid long waits. Thanks Helen. I preferred quick box lunch and sightseeing more and more. Very efficient and knowledgable.

[dog]

Used Red October with Helen as guide. We were one of the first groups off the ship. Wasted no time. 2 days of straight sightseeing for about $265 pp.

 

Didn't have the fancy lunch. Was fascinated that Helen hurried us to Palaces to avoid long waits. Thanks Helen. I preferred quick box lunch and sightseeing more and more. Very efficient and knowledgable.

 

What time were you off the ship both mornings?

Was this the Star Princess?

Did the crew try to stop you from going prior to 9:30am as they say in the literature they send out in the pre cruise package?

 

Thanks,

dog

[Princess Patches]

I too enjoyed the Red October two day tour. It costs about $100 less than the two day ship's tour. We did the same thing as the above poster and skipped the fancy lunch and the river cruise. We had a boxed lunch and ate it with our guide and driver. We saw everything on the ship's tour as well as three additional sights the ship's tour does not have time for. We were also able to see Catherine's Palace (a must see), Alexander Palace (Nicholas and Alexandra's home) and the Cottage Palace in Alexandria Park which was the Tsar's country home.

 

Red October got us into the Peterhof and Catherine's Palace prior to official opening times and we toured those palaces alone without any other tour groups. A real treat. The great thing about Red October is that they will work up any itinerary you want. We were able to get off the ship with the first rush of passengers. Get in line early. This was the most fantastic two days of touring ever. I would love to go again.

[lmlcruise]

I have read many postings regarding the private tours in St. Petersburg on Alla, Red October, etc. Has anyone taken the excursion offered by Princess? If so, I would like to hear about it. Seems like everyone takes the private tours. Can the Princess excursion be that bad?

I have friends who recommend the private excursions. Would you like to share with us

[mek]

To the OP - I was on the Grand three years ago and did the Baltic. It's not that the Princess tour in St Pete is bad, it's simply that IMO, the independent tours are that much better. They also take care of your visas, will customize your itinerary, stop if you see something interresting, and generally get you to the front of the line without any wait. Oh, and you're traveling with only 8 - 10 people. All of this for less,(at least for us), than the Princess tour. We used Denrus - they were great!

[NVCLVR]

Hi PattiG: We've been on 2 of Princess' Baltic cruises (2005 & 2007). The first time we had 2 full days of Princess tours (not the 2-day tour, but a different full day tour each day and in the evening we took the ballet tour. Very intensive and almost sensory overload, but well worth it. Everyone we spoke w/who took the 2-day package love it, too. This year we mixed our tours. 1st day we took a morning tour, then a separate afternoon tour and went to the Evening at the Catherine Palace excursion (absolutely fabulous and not to be missed...we want to do it again, in 2009!). The second day we had arranged for a private tour through Denrus. They were terrific (they provide the visa, so no worry about that). It was just my daughter and I with a driver and guide & we had specific things we wanted to do (shopping in "real" stores and pvt Treasure Room at the Hermitage & Peter & Paul Fortress & Cathedral. It was well worth the $$ (yet, less than Princess' tours). So, there you have it...either Princess or Private are excellent and its just up to your personal taste. Either way, you'll have a wonderful time!:D

[phillipahain]

We did a tour with Red October .....chose our own Itinery which inc the Gold Room at the Hermitage

 

We took room service for lunch off the ship for ourselves and the guide and driver ( its custom you feed the guide ) because the last thing we wanted to do was waste time on lunch with a Russian family or a restuarant when we could use the time to drive out to Catherines Palace etc

 

We had Helen as our guide and both days were superb

[ontheweb]

We were on the Star Princess this past August. We did an Alla tour. I did speak with several passengers who had taken Princess tours. Here is what I wrote about those 2 days in my review at http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=33517

 

days 6 and 7 our Alla tour in St. Petersburg

 

We finally met our last 2 from the roll call and our Alla tour group. We left the ship and cleared customs as soon as the ship allowed us to leave. We found the

Alla van and our guide Viktoria and driver Boris. I would highly recommend a private tour. We had flexibility. Our guide, Viktoria, asked if there was anything we would like to add. I mentioned I had heard the subway stations were interesting. She agreed. We ended up seeing 3 subway stations, all with different art work and unlike US stations, graffiti free, before proceeding to our first stop at Catherine's Palace. Our 9 1/2 hours on day 1 and 7 hour on day 2 flew by. We did run out of time to see the Choral Synagogue on day 1 that had been added to our tour, but saw it the second day.

 

At one point, while we had photo opportunities, Viktoria disappeared. She came back with flowers for us for our anniversary and also for Ron and Deb for both an anniversary and a birthday. Later Alla gave everyone a dvd of St. Petersburg.

 

We accomplished much of our Christmas shopping in one of the gift shops, buying several nesting dolls. The shops offer booze and chocolate as you enter.

 

I would recommend Alla to anyone. The other local tour groups also seem to come highly recommended. I have since read on the CruiseCritic.com Baltic board that our wonderful guide, Viktoria, has opened her own agency, spb-tours, with tours in St. Petersburg and Berlin. I wish her good luck with her new business, and I'm sure she will have an excellent product.

 

Most everyone we spoke to who took Princess tours were also happy, but I heard a few exceptions. One person told me his bus' air conditioning did not work the second day. (It was 87 degrees that day and sunny.) We did not have that worry being in an air-conditioned Mercedes van. After I told one person that our guide had 18 years' experience. I was told he had a guide who was 18 and answered one question by saying "Why would you want to know that?". And one other person said that their guide was bitter over the fall of Communism.

 

People thought we must have paid more than for Princess tours especially having to pay for visas. But, the truth was we paid less, and, just as they went into Russia on Princess tour visas, we went on Alla's group visa.