Strode
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Posts posted by Strode
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On 3/22/2019 at 10:06 AM, cansas.piligrim said:
I was in St. Petersburg twice. The first visit was a similar 2 day tour with Best Guides. I enjoyed it and I did the private tour to see more next year.
I'm so glad to hear all of the great experiences people have had with Best Guides, and even other St. Petersburg tour companies. I was really nervous about booking a private tour because I have trust issues when it comes to businesses (especially ones I communicate with online only) and because something going wrong with the tour company could ruin the highlight port of the trip. But I've heard virtually nothing but good things about the companies. I'm now much more confident that it'll be wonderful, and I'm so excited for the tour!
On 3/22/2019 at 10:06 AM, cansas.piligrim said:They offered me a fully individual itinerary and added a tour to Moscow for one day.
Ooooohh, Moscow for a day sounds great. We thought about adding that, but my travel partner has some mobility issues. From what I'm hearing, Moscow's highlights would be a little faster pace than St. Petersburg, so I'm saving it for another trip.
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On 3/20/2019 at 9:47 AM, zigdilcru said:
Last year we wanted to see specific things not on any tours listed and Best Guides was very accommodating in that respect. Funny how I want to go back and see some more.
There's so much I want to see!!! I couldn't fit even 10% of it into three days. I keep having to tell myself that I'll probably have opportunities to go again if I really want to. Otherwise, I'll have us going at such a quick pace that we won't enjoy ourselves.
On 3/20/2019 at 9:47 AM, zigdilcru said:Enjoy St Petersburg it's a wonderful place to visit, but wear some sun glasses you will be blinded by all the gold.
😂😎
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On 3/20/2019 at 5:49 AM, DennStann said:
I like this palace-focused itinerary. Is it a special interest tour?
I'd add the Rasputin exhibit at the Yusupov palace. Other than that, I think it's a good plan for a first-time visit. You'll see a lot. Enjoy your tour.
Thank you for your reply!
I let my travel partner choose the places. She looked at preset must-see/best-of itineraries offered by different companies and watched some YouTube videos, and she came up with this list. Best Guides got everything we asked for plus some in our itinerary! I really like anything history-related, so I think I'll enjoy the palaces, too.
I just checked the itinerary emailed by the company, and the Rasputin exhibit is indeed included. Yay! It'll be nice to add some intrigue to the tour. I've had a Rasputin book sitting unread on my shelf for a while; I guess now is a good time to dig in.
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Thank you so much, everyone, for all the helpful feedback! We chose this cruise itinerary mostly because of the three days in St. Petersburg, and we're determined to make the most of those days. For that reason, we chose to do a private tour. It sounds like we can expect an interesting, memorable, and fun adventure!
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I’m going on my very first cruise this year (and first trip to Europe) and will visit several ports on the Baltic Sea. St. Petersburg is the super-highlight of the trip for us, so it’s important that we to do it right. Thanks to all the helpful reviews/posts on Cruise Critic I knew that a private tour company was clearly the way to go, and I’ve just about completed booking a customized private tour with Best Guides.
I’ve never been on an all-day/multi-day guided tour before, so I’m wondering if anyone with experience in St. Petersburg (especially with Best Guides specifically) has any thoughts/advice/opinions to share on our itinerary (tour is in early May):
Day 1: Peterhof (park, fountains, lesser Imperial palace), metro ride, Catherine’s Palace and Amber Room, walking tour of Nevsky prospect, Faberge Museum
Day 2: Hermitage Museum (early entrance), Peter and Paul Fortress/Cathedral, canal boat ride, Church on Spilled Blood
Day 3: Yusupov’s Palace, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Russian Museum
Also, each day starts with a driving tour.
As a side note, I’m impressed with Best Guides so far. I’ll write a review after doing the actual tour (I hope the info will help future cruisers as much as you have all helped me). For now, I’ll just say that their customer service is exemplary. Natasha and I have emailed back and forth several times because I keep thinking of things to add/change/rearrange. Her replies are always quick and helpful, and she never has any problem adjusting the schedule. Judging by the booking experience, I expect that the tour itself will be excellent!
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On 3/14/2019 at 7:55 PM, kitkat343 said:
check the paperwork your tour company sends you. I sailed 4 years ago, but our tour company sent us a tour ticket that covered more time than our scheduled tours, and they explained that they did this since many clients decide at the last minute to add night tours,
Thank you!! This is good to know. In addition to it being useful for visiting the terminals, it's good to know that we might be able to do a last-minute night tour. The private tour operator (Best Guides) is scheduled to have us back about 1.25 hours before our evening tour that's scheduled with the ship. Maybe we'll have the option to do an evening tour with the private company if the ship tour timing doesn't work out.
On 3/14/2019 at 7:55 PM, kitkat343 said:And dogs4fun is also correct about completing your errands before clearing customs. I was returning to the ship, and the women who crossed in front of me realized after clearing customs that they wanted to buy souvenirs in the port but customs wouldn't let them go back. They asked to borrow my visa waiver, but I had to explain that the customs wouldn't let them through with my waiver since the name wouldn't match their passport, and it isn't a good idea to try to screw around with Russian officials.
I'm surprised that someone would think that would work and is worth the risk. I wouldn't try that with any country's government -- yikes! And it sounds like you didn't know her? They asked a stranger to take that risk? Whoa.
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On 3/14/2019 at 2:52 AM, dogs4fun said:
Yes, you can visit terminal 4 provided you have a visa or tour ticket - I have included a link to the port map below (showing location of terminals).
No, you can not enter ANY terminal without a Russian visa OR a tour ticket from a licensed company. You will not get past the agents at the immigration booths in terminal 4.
https://portspb.ru/en/scheme_of_port
If you are going on a day tour with a licensed company, I would recommend visiting the other terminal at the end of your tour BEFORE going back through immigration to your ship. This way you will not have any issues with immigration.
Visiting the other terminal on the way back sounds like a good idea - thank you for the recommendation!! The earliest time we're scheduled to be back at the ship is 6:00 pm, so I hope their post office will stay open late enough. It might; I suspect they'd get a good amount of business in the evenings when passengers are returning.
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Our ship is scheduled to dock at Terminal 4 of Marine Façade in St. Petersburg. I'd like to visit the post office in Terminal 3. Does anyone know if passengers are allowed to enter terminals that their ship isn't docked at? Also, can we enter the terminals at any time, or only when we have paperwork saying we're going on a tour? For example, will I be able to go from the ship into the terminal in the afternoon to visit the souvenir shop if I don't have paperwork saying I'm going on a tour that evening? I will not have a visa to travel freely, if that makes a difference; just the kind of visa provided by a private tour company. Thanks in advance for your time and help!
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Best Guides does a Faberge Museum tour: https://www.bestguides-spb.com/tour-faberge.html
I don't know if it's available in the morning, and I can't personally recommend it, although I've had a good experience with them so far (they're helping me put together a personalized package tour). It might be worth looking into.
I like this palace-focused itinerary. Is it a special interest tour?
Any thoughts on my Best Guides St. Petersburg itinerary?
in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea
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Faberge will be 6:00-7:00, and then we'll return to the ship (scheduled to be back at 7:30). Day 1 is longer and more packed than in earlier versions of our itinerary because we asked to return to the ship early on Day 2. We've book an evening shore excursion for Day 2 with Viking. We're going to the folk show, for which I have fairly high expectations. I really enjoy cultural exchanges/experiences. I'd prefer them to be less tourist-oriented, but I'm OK with it this time since not having our own visas limits our options. Audience participation? Oh, boy, I hope we won't be asked to bust a move because I'll ruin the show for everyone. 😅
Thank you for this very helpful information! On Day 1, I had planned to wake up and get through immigration as early as possible, like the literal minute I'm allowed off the ship. But now that I know Day 1 is going to be so long, I'm considering waiting until a more reasonable time and getting a little extra sleep. We'll see how motivated I am that morning to get going, and I guess that will determine my choice.