How much cash for SBP?

i know I can pay tips in USD. However I want to figure out what would be a good amount in rubles for incidentals (my kids will want souvenirs, ice creams etc) $50? $100? Is $100 too much? Our tours don5 include lunch bu5 I suppose we can pay for lunch by cc

Honestly we started with no Rubles, but ended up with some in change for small purchases. I am a big believer in the use of local currency when traveling but Russia does not make travel, even by cruisers, the simplest process. Usually an ATM in town or near the port is on my to do list but not here.

We went on our Baltic cruise, ready with several different currencies that we pre bought, except for Rubles. Our tour, everything, including lunches, were included.

We, like the other poster, like to feel we are part of that country when visiting and wanted their currency to pay for small things. Overall we charged everything else. But in St Petersburg, we charged souvenirs from a shop, we bought a music box from a vendor and paid with US Dollars and we bought a couple of magnets, also from the street vendors which we used euros. All was accepted. So we never needed Rubles and never had the chance to use them. Now, if we were going off on our own, I would have had them, but that wasn't the way it worked in St Petersburg.

Cheers

Len

We did a 2 day tour of St Petersburg with TJ Travel with lunch included. We were able to pay for small purchases with Euro and USD at all the places we stopped. Large purchases went on the credit card. I did not think it was a good idea to get Rubles as they are difficult to exchange once you leave Russia.

Thanks for the advice! There are quite a few Russian families at my kids’ school so I was thinking some might have rubles around they’d be willing to sell. Maybe just a small amount would suffice

you onlyneed rubles for the toilets

you onlyneed rubles for the toilets

Even used dollars for them.

I'm headed for a Baltics cruise on Serenade next month. I'm doing the 3-day SPB tour and lunch is included with the daily tour. Can anyone tell me what kind of meal I should expect? Eastern European food is not too new to me as my Grandparents were Ukranian and Romanian......but I trusted my Grandmother's cooking. Is there a choice of food. Lunch is only an hour long, so I expect it's a hurry up and eat type of meal.

Thanks :)

We had about $20 in Rubles. Wound up using most of it as part of the tip for the guide.

I'm headed for a Baltics cruise on Serenade next month. I'm doing the 3-day SPB tour and lunch is included with the daily tour. Can anyone tell me what kind of meal I should expect? Eastern European food is not too new to me as my Grandparents were Ukranian and Romanian......but I trusted my Grandmother's cooking. Is there a choice of food. Lunch is only an hour long, so I expect it's a hurry up and eat type of meal.

 

 

 

Thanks :)

We had an included lunch on our Alla tour. It was in a restaurant that catered to meals for tourists. As I recall there was no choice as to the meal, but it was delicious. (Chicken, potato, salad, dessert). The service was fast, but I did not feel as we were being rushed. I imagine your meal will be similar.

I'm headed for a Baltics cruise on Serenade next month. I'm doing the 3-day SPB tour and lunch is included with the daily tour. Can anyone tell me what kind of meal I should expect? Eastern European food is not too new to me as my Grandparents were Ukranian and Romanian......but I trusted my Grandmother's cooking. Is there a choice of food. Lunch is only an hour long, so I expect it's a hurry up and eat type of meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks :)

Our SPB guide talked us through the lunch menu and we chose something we liked the sound of from that

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We had an included lunch on our Alla tour. It was in a restaurant that catered to meals for tourists. As I recall there was no choice as to the meal, but it was delicious. (Chicken, potato, salad, dessert). The service was fast, but I did not feel as we were being rushed. I imagine your meal will be similar.

Thank you GradUT.....that relieves my anxiety about the food. If the service is fast, then there's no need to rush.....not always the case in my experience.... How I'd love to taste an authentic cabbage roll like my Grandma used to make.....ah-h-h, the good ol' days!! :D

Our SPB guide talked us through the lunch menu and we chose something we liked the sound of from that

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Maybe I will get my cabbage rolls.....I'm with SPB tours!! Thank you for your input Tartanexile81 !! :)

Many people on these boards have reported using USD and Euros in St Petersburg, but an international credit card is your best bet. Officially, any cash currency other than rubles in Russia is "illegal". That seems to be somewhat ignored in touristy areas but you might run into local shops and vendors that only deal in rubles or credit cards.

How much are the toilets?

Many people on these boards have reported using USD and Euros in St Petersburg, but an international credit card is your best bet. Officially, any cash currency other than rubles in Russia is "illegal". That seems to be somewhat ignored in touristy areas but you might run into local shops and vendors that only deal in rubles or credit cards.

Yes, I’m wanting to know about how many rubles I should bring for incidentals, bathrooms, ice creams etc

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

How much are the toilets?

Been a while, but when we were at Katherine’s palace gave the little lady manning the door a US dollar and got 10 rubles in change. I would have left it but it was my first and only ruble note, so it came home as a souvenir.

How much are the toilets?

Anywhere between free and 70 rubles, 30 being the most common fee.

Bottlrd water is 20 to 50 rubles at a store for a small bottle, 1 to 3 euro euro when you're captive audience (bus, parks, etc).

Same with ice cream.

When we toured several years ago, I never remember having to pay for the toilet, bottled water. The tours usually make stops for bathroom breaks and supply bottled water. As for the person who mentioned ice cream, again, I never remember having t he time to stop for ice cream or even a place to buy it. Maybe my memory is short, but again, we really saw no reason to exchange for any rubles.

Cheers

Len

Is it possible to obtain foreign currencies on board the cruise ship (Swedish Krona, Russian Rubles, and Euros)? I will be onboard NCL Breakaway in a few weeks. I like to take home a bit of currency from each new place as a nice souvenir.