St. Petersburg questions - Baltics

[twsalso]

Sailing in June and although I have had 9 cruises this is the first for us with port overnights. Anyone who has been to St. Petersburg and has answers to the following, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

1. When the ship is in port overnight are the stores, casino and showroom open?

 

2. I understand that a visa is necessary to disembark unless it is for a shore excursion purchased through Celebrity. Does that shore excursion visa allow you to disembark later on your own or must you get a separate visa?

 

3. Has anybody been on the cruiselines shore excursion to the ballet? Is the troop worth anything? I note that the Kirov will have a performance on the night in port. Would I be wasting my money to attend the cruiseline's shore excursion?

 

Thanks in advance for the answers.

[Petert]

Hi twasalo, In general the shops and casino will be closed while in port. There will be a selection of bars and lounges open until late in the evening. There will normally be a performance in the main theater. Group visas issued for excursions are not valid for individual visits.

 

At the present time the Russian government is debating the existence of group visas. If the decision is to eliminate the group visa, all personnel leaving the ship in St Petersberg (and elsewhere in Russia) will be required to have an individual visa in order to leave the ship. As for the Ballet Russe, I would suggest that if you have an interest in ballet it is an impressive evenings entertainment.

 

We will be visiting St Petersberg on 16/17 May aboard the Constellation, and are very concerned about the visa situation. The fee for a Russian visa is about $100/ pers now, and we are hoping they don't put off the decision too long. The Baltic ports provide a great itinerary and we are really looking forward this cruise.

 

Peter

[Host Anne]

Tour operators such as Red October and DenRus presently take care of your visas for you if you book with them. Check out the Ports of Call boards for additional information on both tour operators. We've booked with DenRus for July. I'll be checking with them on the group visa situation PeterT is referring to. I'll post when I get more info.

[jakzak]

Anne,

What cruise are you taking in July. We will be on the Constellation on July 2nd and wondering if we will have your company.

[Host Anne]

Jakzak ~ we are on a July 2 sailing as well, but unfortunately, we are sailing on Jewel of the Seas. I'll have to compare itineraries and see where we might be docked together! It would be fun to catch up! I think you are on a 14-day and we're on a 12-day. Let me compare itineraries and I'll be back!

[Host Anne]

Jakzak ~ looks like we are in two ports at the same time -- Copehagen on July 5 and Stockholm on July 7. Maybe we can catch up in one of those. It would be fun to compare how the cruises were going!

 

:)

[gdayhoff]

Twsalso----Red October[and I'm sure denus can] arranged tickets[guide and transportation] for us to see the Kirov ballet at the Mariinsky theatre.Their website is http://www.mariinsky.ru/en.The theatre is not air condition and it does get warm.Enjoy

George and Sara

Austin,Tx

[twsalso]

Thanks to all - sailing on Constellation 6/4/05.

[Darspurs]

I went on the Jewel last July, on the overnight stop I recall that it was open seating in the dining room and the casino did not open although all the bars were open. I can't recall what entertainment was on but the ship was quiet as a lot of people went on evening tours or had gone to Moscow.

 

There were 6 of us and having seen Red October so highly praised by people who had used them from cruise critic I mailed them and we booked 2 full day tours in a private mini bus for the 6 of us doing exactly what we wanted to do. We had a driver and a guide and the only thing that we could complain about was that the guide was TOO knowledgeable and occasionally we had to ask him to give us a little less detail as it was impossible to take so much in. In any event better too much than not enough.

 

The price per person worked out at about 50-75% of what those going on the RCL tours were paying - you send all the details to R.O. and they sort out your visas and when we saw tours from RCL with a coach load of 40-50 trying to keep up with their guide in Catherines Palace or the Hermitage we knew we had done the right thing together with the fact that as I said before, I tailored our 2 days with them by email before going and we saw certain things/places that those on the big tours didn't see and we skipped one or two things that the 6 of us didn't fancy.

[Morgans]

We did the Baltic cruise on Constellation last year - you will have a wonderful holiday. We did not book with RO or Denrus as we preferred to go with Celebrity's excursions and these worked fine for us. We did the Celebrity Ballet excursion in the evening and had a marvellous time - picked up at the ship and taken directly to the theatre. We had champagne in the interval and there are some beautiful souvenirs available to purchase at the theatre.The production (Giselle) was excellent and we were well looked after. This excursion is worth doing.

As regards the Visa question, if you wish to go off the ship on your own, then you will need a visa, despite having done any trips with the ship's company.The port in St. Petersburg is not easy to navigate on your own - it's quite a distance from the City centre and transport is not easy. I would advise you to stick either with the ship's excursions or a private tour company who will organise the visas for you. Whichever you decide, you will enjoy it.

Marge

[Ma Bell]

We also used Red October for our Constellation cruise last June. What a wonderful time we had. Our guide and driver were great and we found that we were able to enter the museums and attractions ahead of the lines. We had lunches both days that were good and decided to do a folk show rather than the ballet. It was wonderful, with singing and dancing. The Kossack dancers were amazing. We saw all the major attractions and then some.:)

[ROXANNE]

We will be sailing on the Century, departing Amsterdam on May 21. St. Petersburg on May 27 and 28. I am trying to gather a group of no more that 10 for a private tour with Red October. If there is anyone interested in joining us please answer as soon as possible. Also, let me know if you have been to St. Pete before and what you might be interested in seeing there.

 

Roxanne

[joramrose]

Six of us on the Constellation arranged with a private tour and a minivan for two days last summer.

 

We elected to skip lunches (took sandwiches from the ship) so we could see more. We covered a lot of ground, and it was all superb and much cheaper than the ship tours. They covered us with a group Visa.

 

Our guide was top notch. Check the port of call boards for tons of information on visiting St. Pete's.

 

And I concur. While I am sure the trip to Moscow would be fabulous, I could not think of tearing myself away from St. P when time there so limited already. It has to be one of the seven marvels of the tourist world.!!

 

love

joan