twruger

87 until the Baltic on Breakaway! Was 377 when the countdown started after booking, so it seems like hardly any time is left. lol

I'd rather drink seawater, and its free. Personal preference. :)

Are you booking excursions through NCL? If so, you're paying more than twice as much as you should. See if you can find tours based out of the ports themselves. I would never buy an excursion through the cruise line, unless you have money to burn.

We had a horrendous experience with NCL on several fronts. The first day, we got moved from room to room due to a string of issues out of our control, and was 10 hours on board before we were finally settled, and still didn't see our luggage for another couple of hours. The next couple of days was more of the same. There were food issues, last minute port cancellations with no excuses, and a litany of things that made the whole crew look like buffoons. I never hated a company more than NCL by the time I got out of that jail 7 days later. I swore I would never go back, and here I am years later giving them another try this July in the Baltic. I figure after that much time, completely different employees and ships, it ought to be a different company. NCL had the best itinerary/length/ports for the Baltic Cruise we wanted, so figured we would give them another shot.

As long as you take the typical precautions against pickpockets that you should do for every port, don't worry. If you get there and are still worried, you need to buy a bottle of vodka. If that doesn't work, keep buying vodka until the worry disappears. :D I'll be there in July and have no concerns taking my 10 and 12 yo boys. It's going to be a great trip!

Right?? I booked with SPB tours for 3 of us, two days and one night and I think it came to a little over $900, so don't know how the poster thinks he saved $700 when the two visas alone would be $600. To each his own, but hate to think people would think you could do it cheaper on your own, especially also booking a hotel for the night, perplexed for sure

He's likely comparing to ship-based excursion prices, which are more than double what the reputable guides like Best Guides, TJ, Alla, and SPB charge.

Hi twruger! Could you give a little bit more info about the modified group tour. Did you manage to get any additional options? I actually thought we can't modify a group tour... only private ones.

Hi SS&S!

I just emailed Best Tours to setup the Happy Tour. I then asked if we could make a few modifications, and they were perfectly willing to change as requested. It probably helped that both adds were literally within 5 minute walk from their office and Church on Spilled Blood. :D

I believe that set tours offer a fixed itinerary. If you wish to customize, a private tour is the way to go.

I booked the Happy Tour with Best Guides, and just asked them about a few modifications and they said it would be no problem.

Would you be interested in a private tour in SPB? I’m thniking of arranging one and having another family would reduce the cost. I’m looking at TJ and Best Tours. I want to customize one of them a bit

We already setup the Happy Tour with Best Guides, and added the Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines and Starbucks. We plan to skip Grand Maket, since we will have done the Minatur Wunderland in Hamburg the day before departure.

I had to make sure we could stop at Starbucks! :halo::halo:

Janique, which dates will you be on? We’re going the 22nd with a 10 and 13 yo, so I’m interested to read this thread

We will be on the Breakaway, but leaving the next day on the 23rd from Warnemunde. We'll have 10 and 12 yo boys with us. I'm sure our kids will bump into each other in the ship's kids club!

Yay! I'm a floor up in 9134 in July. It seemed like the larger balcony would be worth it, and sounds like it definitely is. Looking forward to it!

You can have one cruise and many people will have absolutely terrible experiences while others on the same ship have outstanding experiences. It happens, and because yours went good or bad doesn't mean anyone saying differently is wrong. Everyone's cruise experience can have different outcomes due to many factors. So like another poster said, look for consistencies across reviews. I find that most issues go back to customer service.

I have had an absolutely horrible voyage on NCL in the past. However, knowing different ships, staff, and times means a completely different experience, I have booked a hopeful journey on the Breakaway in July. Hopefully the drydock this Spring will fix her up nicely.

Get money locally before leaving. I'm in U.S. and use Chase Bank. They can get me most common currencies within 24 hours at practically the lowest exchange rates. ATMs and dedicated currency exchange places are ripoffs. Use your CC that has no foreign transaction fees everywhere you can, and local currency for the rest. For a country with a simple port stop, you only need equivalent of USD $20-$50 for each. If the CC gets you by, then when you get back home you can exchange back at lowest rates.

We also have two boys (10 and 12) going on the Breakaway in July (22nd/23rd departure). Does anyone know how Grand Maket compares to Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg? We are already planning to take our boys there pre-cruise, so wonder if its worth burning precious SPB time on an attraction so similar. My wife and I did Madurodam in The Hague without our kids last year and loved it.

I booked a van from Enterprise via Expedia, and pickup is right at the port.

My future Baltic cruise. I always get Euros because any left over goes on my next trip. However, for the Baltics, I need 3 "other" currencies. Although I use CC for everything possible, I will be getting about the equivalent of $50.00 for each. Basically pocket money. I never seem to have an issue spending it on little things for the grandkids, or snacks etc. For St. Petersburg, I'm getting $200.00. I will use a CC also on some things, but on the second day, what I have left over, I will tip the tour people the money and if I don't have any rubles left, than they gladly accept EUR or USD for tips.

After reading a lot about this, I agree and will be doing this as well. It's easiest just to get various forms of currencies from local banks before leaving the US. You can always exchange back any leftovers.

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Russia/664-St_Petersburg/June_2018/

Thanks for this link! This is great info! It will be good to know if port loads alter those rules and at what load triggers it. I see one day with 14k cruise passengers! :-O

Whooooah, that word is longer than most sentences. Very cool - thanks for sharing. NZ must have been beautiful. It is on my bucket list.

New Zealand was amazing, and I have my doubts if any of my other travels will ever top it. It was not a cruise, so I won't bore everyone here with the details, but was exciting and adventure-heavy (kayaking, rafting, hiking, Zorbing, etc). One cruise-related thought though, my in-laws traveled with us for two weeks, and after our departure they stayed and did a cruise that started in Auckland, then wrapped around both NZ islands before heading west to Tasmania and ending in Sydney. It is a great way to get around, but you will miss a lot of inland features which is where we ultimately spent most of our time. If you were set on cruising, I would recommend combining that with many land tour days as well (although done DIY imo).

If you are ever planning to travel there, I highly recommend it and would be happy to share info from my extensive planning. (I may also be OCD/AR in that regard!) Save for one small glitch, two weeks went off without a hitch. (Hertz decided to close at Noon on our first day when we had scheduled a 2:30pm rental car pickup, leaving us scrambling to find an alternative in the busiest part of the year. <GRRRR> Seriously?!?!?!) I decided there was so much to do and didn't want to spend the whole time driving, so we only covered the North Island, and plan to return some day soon for the South.

But for now, I am looking toward cruising the Baltics! (after I recover from Amsterdam, Brussels, and Oktoberfest next month.) Looking forward to the rest of your review!

--TW

Did anyone else notice that the photo I took of a store with the long name happens to be a cruise/travel agency?

I did notice that! But I think I have you beat with longest word (taken 8 months ago at Te Puia, Rotorua, New Zealand)... :cool:

Below are a few things off the top of my head, but I would like to think about this some more and may have a few things to add later on . . . .

Amazing bonus material! ;) Thank you! I'm ready to set sail! Only 346 days and a lot of planning to go!

Continue to ask questions, and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability. [And I'll try to keep the answers short and succinct - not that I have been able to do that yet.]

I will be taking two boys, 10 and 12, on this itinerary. Is there anything that you would recommend considering specific to them that you ran across but did not participate in and review due to having daughters instead? I don't think my sons will be interested in Claire's. ;)

Ongoing thanks! :D

Thanks.

 

I am trying to get this review written and published as soon as possible. I do also work in publishing, so I am trying to meet a few deadlines as well, which take precedent. I do also write as a side-hobby, and I have deadline for an upcoming article looming over my head to boot. But I will try to get as many of the port reviews written by the end of the upcoming weekend.

 

If you have any specific questions now, please feel free to ask. I am writing this review in order to help people by sharing information, so let me know how my recent cruise experiences may be of assistance. There have been a great many cruise critic members that have helped me, and I am just paying it forward.

I appreciate your insight! It is coming at a great time for me as I have booked this same trip 355 days from now, so just beginning all of the planning, planning, planning...

I just booked only my 2nd cruise with NCL, and my first was 18 years ago.... so I'm learning all over again. I opted for Specialty Dining and Internet Packages, but then decided to swap Internet for UBP. After calling and learning of the 18%, I stayed with (slow) internet package. My wife and I aren't big drinkers, so generally get by with tea, coffee, and water. Will only have an occasional beer or wine. So are we best off just staying a la carte for beverages?

Has anyone used Shore Excursions Group for St Petersburg?