Tad4irsh

Thanks so much for your reply- so helpful! We will book in for just before 7 everyday.

 

Can I ask who you toured with in St Petersburg? We are just about to book with TJ for their two day standard tour. Who did you go with and were you happy with them?

 

Thanks once again

 

Stewie :D

Stewie -- We toured with SPB Tours. Here is a link to my review (if it works): http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g298507-d2216909-r296116066-SPB_Tours-St_Petersburg_Northwestern_District.html

I was tempted to go with TJ because of the reviews but ended with SPB and was not disappointed. I think you will be fine with TJ though. I'm not sure there is a bad choice among the top five companies.

We did the two day delxue tour with SPB. One member of our group, when booking, said they were with cruise critic and got a discount, but that didn't work for me, but I had booked the tour first and then mentioned I was with cruise critic. You might give it a try.

Tad

Stewie -- Hi...my wife and I just completed the same cruise in July. You will LOVE it. The evening shows are for the most part offered twice a night at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. we were alos on my time dining and we learned that the very best time to go was at 7:00 pm to dinner. You could try a little bit earlier like 6:45-6:50 pm. The Maitre D explained to us that at 7:15 to 7:30 it is virtually impossible to get a seat because they only have so many tables. We never had to wait at 7:00 pm and we were always out on time to get good seats in the theater. We saw every show.

 

Enjoy!!!! Wish I could go again already! :)

I forgot to add -- if she is still working the my time dining area try and ask for Marianna....she was OUTSTANDING and we had several different waiters during our 12 nights. She was consistently the best and made dinner worth looking forward to!

Hi! Thanks so much for your reviews!

I apologize if I am using the wrong part of the forums to ask this question- this is my second cruise and first time on cruise critic!

 

I am travelling with my family on the 12 night Brilliance of the Seas Baltic Cruise starting Aug 22. My wife and children are very keen to see the shows in the evening. Does anyone know when is the best time to book for dinner? We are on MyTime Dining.

 

Has anyone got a copy of the Cruise Compass they could send us as an example?

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

Stewie :D

Stewie -- Hi...my wife and I just completed the same cruise in July. You will LOVE it. The evening shows are for the most part offered twice a night at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. we were alos on my time dining and we learned that the very best time to go was at 7:00 pm to dinner. You could try a little bit earlier like 6:45-6:50 pm. The Maitre D explained to us that at 7:15 to 7:30 it is virtually impossible to get a seat because they only have so many tables. We never had to wait at 7:00 pm and we were always out on time to get good seats in the theater. We saw every show.

Enjoy!!!! Wish I could go again already! :)

The guest relations desk on the ship will exchange your currency. It is definitely the easiest way although maybe not the cheapest.

 

The last time we were in Russia, we never obtained any Rubles. All the street vendors would take US dollars or euros.

Yes...the vendors will gladly take Euro or US Dollars....however...it is very much illegal to pay with anything other than rubbles in Russia. The local market areas even have undercover police watching just for exchanges occurring in Euro or dollars. It is illegal for both the vendor to take the currency and for the customer to pay with it.

You might not get caught...but if you do, you could be facing more than just embarrassment. Be careful when deciding to use dollars or Euro! I would recommend sticking to credit cards, and ATM machines You usually get the best exchange rates at ATMs anyway....

If you're unhappy with the service' date=' go to the passenger desk and tell them about that...but not to remove the auto-gratuities, but to get the matter resolved. For example, if you feel your cabin steward isn't taking care to clean your cabin everyday, the supervisor can have a talk with him/her. But remember to be reasonable -- that you share your cabin steward with others and that you share your waitstaff with other tables, so any request you make may not be handled in two seconds.[/quote']

 

Cruisn chick -- VERY good point...I didn't mean to sound so glib about that portion of it - I didn't get the right point across, but you are absolutely right...I should take steps to try and resolve the matter FIRST, before I resort to a drastic step like taking away those tips because they are "supposedly" shared among all the staff.

 

Thanks for keeping me honest!!! :) You rock!

I am new to cruising...in fact I have not even been ON a cruise yet. that will change this summer when we take our first cruise on RI's Brillance of the Seas to St. Petersburg. As a new - and nervous - cruiser, I have read just about ANYTHING I can find on all things cruisng -- even the "scare" stories "six things to make you change your mind about going on that cruise!!!!! LOL -- anyway...recently i read an article about tipping on cruise lines and the author (and I APOLOGIZE -- I have been looking for that article and can not find it now!)made point I can relate to.

I currently live in Europe and have lived her for about two years now, but am American by birth. Tipping is a cultural thing. In th US...we tip - A LOT. Not so much in Europe. The article I read indicated that ONE of the reasons cruise lines went to obligatory tipping is because they have expanded the market outside the US -- more European vacationers are opting for a cruise. This meant fewer tips for the cruise staff. And let's face it, it should be no surprise to learn that the cruise lines do not pay very well for the vast majority of the ship's staff. Just like in a US resturant, a lower wage is offset by our tipping culture.

Another way to look at the tipping though, according to this article was that there are TWO types of tips on a cruise ship - the obligatory one - the one you pay for everyday (about $12 per person per day?) and then the discretionary tip. In europe, espeically in Italy, France, and now even in busier parts of London, it is standard to have what is called "sitting fee" added to the bill. In italy it sometimes called a cerperto. In London a sitting fee. It is a form of "obligatory" tip. The author of the article I read suggests that the gratuity fee charged by cruise lines is similiar to this "cerperto." And he even went so far as to suggest tipping above and beyond this for your room steward and waiters if using a standard dining program. If using flex or my time dining he suggest carrying envelopes with you on the ready.

In other words...it really is still not that simple to understand, but when I think of it as two separate tips, then I feel more comfortable tipping for the service I recived separatley from the obligatory tips that will appear on my bill.

And...if I am not happy at all, then I just prepare myself to ask/argue for them to be removed. I know I will learn a lot on my first cruise, and getting a handle on the tipping will probably NOT be one of them. :)

KG -- it looks like a great area! I'm sure we will love to explore the area as much as we can. Living in Europe gives us a lot of opportunities like that already...this place is amazing!!! But this will be our first time venturing north of our location (other then London). Early mornings in almost any European city is a wonderful thing to experience. I think when we are in Copenhagen, it will be pretty busy for us...running to see as much as we can without wearing ourselves out too much and saving the celebration for the evening back on the ship. Since we have a day at sea following...we can sleep in :) I think that will be our breakfast in bed day. :)

KG -- I had read other experiences with the romance packages as well that echo your experience so I was already reluctant to try that....while I would prefer a more quiet and romantic setting, my wife is very much a social butterfly that makes instant life-long friends everywhere she goes and for her...I will probably make the Chef's Table reservation for that day. We will be in Copenhagen on the day of our anniversary and one thing we will be doing is the Sandeman's Walking Tour...we try and do a Sandeman's tour everywhere we go because we have enjoyed them so much, but on this itinerary, Copenhagen is the only city they offer. But...that is from 11:00 to 1:30 p.m. which gives us about 3 hours before the tour and two hours after the tour of free time. Of course...we are not tied into the Sandeman's tour.

We are being a little ambitious with our first cruise...lol But really, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into....so much more to think about then just booking the cruise...it doesn't seem like much different then any other vacation, but there feels like more pressure to make sure we get it right. And what if we forget something??? Will it be too late once we are on the ship if we suddenly discover some hidden item we didn't know about??? In re-reading your report, I think you had four nights of specialized dining? Did that feel about right? We will be celebrating our anniversary on the cruise...is the main dining room better for that, or one of the specialty restaurants? I know, it will be your opinion, and anyone else reading this, please feel free to chime in with your ideas as well. On that note...what can you suggest as a surprise for my wife? I have developed a habit of surprising her with the unexpected on our anniversaries and her birthdays...but I have no idea what to do on a cruise...I have registered our anniversary with our reservation, but is there anything I should ask for? I know you had ordered a bottle of champaign can they do anything else, do you know?

KG -- Thanks again for the great review that has helped get me and my wife excited about our upcoming trip. In your review you mentioned that you guys bought a pre-paid drink package but each had purchased different options. I am leaning toward doing the same because as you and many other have mentioned, the convenience is almost worth the cost of admission alone. But, as a first time cruiser, all of these pre-purchase options, reservations and general "things to think about before your cruise" are getting a bit overwhelming. When you see the price of these packages ahead of time, it gets scary. But I imagine it would be worse at the end of a cruise. So...my question for you: My wife drinks a lost no alcohol....she may have a glass of champaign or wine on the night of our anniversary, but otherwise, she will likely not drink anything else. I enjoy an occasional beer as long as it is good...not a big fan of US Domestic but living in Europe has made me a pretty big fan of English Ales and Belgium/Dutch trappists. When I drink, it would be usually one or two for the whole day. Getting the basic package looks about right for us with the idea that I can just pay per beer if I decided to have one. I expect that I will have at least one per day during the cruise. With your experience and knowledge, do you think this is a good plan or would you recommend doing the same as you did, the refresher plan for my wife and the beer plan for me (I don't really drink wine or spirits/hard liquor). Sorry this has rambled on...but as we get closer, we have more and more questions popping into our heads and based on your review...you seem very helpful and knowledgeable. :) TIA!!!

KG! Thanks for the amazing report on your ENTIRE trip!!!! I am now more excited then ever! We will be taking the same cruise this summer and you have given us a lot of ideas to explore as we finalize our prep in the coming weeks. Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed report!!!