If you used SPB Tours in St Petersburg... Which shore excursion and why?

[suncityga]

We have read many good things about SPB Tours in St. Petersburg on Cruise Critic and have also reviewed their website. What particular shore excursion offering did you select and what did you like the most about it?

 

Thank you for your help.

[Giantfan13]

We have read many good things about SPB Tours in St. Petersburg on Cruise Critic and have also reviewed their website. What particular shore excursion offering did you select and what did you like the most about it?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

When we toured with SPB Tours on 2009, we chose their Baltic Pearl Tour Package. It seemed to include everything we wanted to do, plus several extras that most of the other tour groups were not offering at that time. One was the Canal Boat tour at no extra charge. Two lunches were also included at no extra charge. One was a complete sit down lunch at a Russian restaurant. We wanted this, opposed to eating some packaged lunch sitting in a van or something like that.

We had no special requests, except we also wanted to visit the Grand Choral Synagogue, as we are of the Jewish faith. When We mentioned this to Viktoria, she immediate said that would be no problem and added it to our itinerary. it wasn't posted as such, but she wanted it to be a surprise for the rest of the group and everyone enjoyed the added stop. That alone sold us on SPB tours, plus dealing with Viktoria was a complete pleasure, She answered all our questions immediately and we felt truly amazed how concerned she was in us having a great time in her city. We have not regretted using SPB at all.

In fact, I would say, because of some of my efforts on our roll call, we ended up with about 35 people doing this tour,and we needed 2 separate buses.

 

Here are a few pix and a couple of short video's from our tour with them

 

On entering Catherine's Palace, you will be serenaded by a Russian Band

http://s834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/?action=view&current=europemaster834.mp4

 

When visiting Peterhoff, the view looking our towards the Sea of Finland

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe721.jpg

 

View of Our Savior the Church of the Spilled Blood

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe764.jpg

 

You will be taken on a tour all around St Petersberg stopping at the Smolny Cathedral

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe860.jpg

 

Inside the Church of Peter and Paul you will view the final resting places of Peter the Great, among others

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe878.jpg

 

In the Hermitage, you will see magnificent rooms filled with some of the worlds greatest art works

http://s834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/?action=view&current=europemaster1037.mp4

 

I can guarantee you will not be sorry if you book a tour with SPB Tours

 

Cheers

 

Len

[rdnpdx1]

We have read many good things about SPB Tours in St. Petersburg on Cruise Critic and have also reviewed their website. What particular shore excursion offering did you select and what did you like the most about it?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

On our June 22, 2011 sailing we had eight different groups, from small private deluxe tours, to standard Baltic Pearl, Moderate, and Active tours.

 

We did the deluxe tour for our group of six and customized it. The price was all inclusive, including several items - meals, video pass, and canal boat not included in the others, and we felt the price difference was not enough to do a larger group or a less inclusive tour. Our tour started earlier than some of the others as a result and returned later on day one, to get everything in, but it was worth it. Do a bit of researchon what you want to include on the tour and choose the one that fits what you want the best. I think the inside visit of the Church on Spilled Blood is a must, and some do not offer that. The deluxe gets you an early admission to the Hermitage before the museum is swamped as well, another plus.

[Got2Cruise]

We used them in July 2011. We chose the moderate tour. Why? Because we made a conscious decision that we just were not going to be able to see it "all". We trusted that the moderate tour showed us the most important sites. Also, we wanted a light authentic Russian meal, not a full sit down meal on the two days. We augmented the tour with the Fun Vodka Tour. We loved every minute of it. Plus we had a group of ten gathered from CC, and we received the early booking discount, so we had a two day tour for a very reasonable price. The Vodka tour was worth every penny also. I live in NY, and I know that there are so many places to see, but you really can't see everything without being run ragged. I used that same analogy when booking the moderate tour.

[suncityga]

We have read many good things about SPB Tours in St. Petersburg on Cruise Critic and have also reviewed their website. What particular shore excursion offering did you select and what did you like the most about it?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Giantfan13, rdnpdx1 and Got2Cruise... thank you so much for your feedback and we really appreciate it.

[MRSBITS]

We did the two-day deluxe tour this past May; and our group of 15 was very impressed with our experience. Early entrance into The Hermitage is perhaps the biggest benefit of this tour, as well as a visit to Yusopov's Palace.

[Coolcruise02]

What happens if you don't come up with the 10 people they need for the excursion. There are 4 of us and our roll call only has us and one other poster. Will they add us to another group or cancel us?

[Got2Cruise]

Don't worry, on our CC thread, it was slow going, but in the end there were more than enough to make several groups. Unless you book a specialized tour, they will always find room for you on a tour. I am sure Vika would confirm that.

What happens if you don't come up with the 10 people they need for the excursion. There are 4 of us and our roll call only has us and one other poster. Will they add us to another group or cancel us?

[KirkNC]

Don't worry, on our CC thread, it was slow going, but in the end there were more than enough to make several groups. Unless you book a specialized tour, they will always find room for you on a tour. I am sure Vika would confirm that.

 

You can also post on the SPB website roll call, there maybe other ships in port the same day.

 

To the OP, we selected the active tour (tour C I think). We wanted to try and see as much as we could. It made for two long days but it was worth it!

 

Kirk

[suncityga]

To the OP, we selected the active tour (tour C I think). We wanted to try and see as much as we could. It made for two long days but it was worth it!

 

Kirk

 

Thank you KirkNC and MRSBITS. We appreciate sharing your experiences.

[wacamaw]

When is your cruise we have a group of 4 started with Spb our cruise is on 6-9-12 on NCL Sun.

[Cornishpastyman1]

We have read many good things about SPB Tours in St. Petersburg on Cruise Critic and have also reviewed their website. What particular shore excursion offering did you select and what did you like the most about it?

 

Thank you for your help.

In addition to the subway ride, half an hour's shopping time and numerous photo opportunities, our moderate-paced 2 day tour visited these 6 'attractions'

 

The Fountains of Peterhof

 

The Catherine Palace at Pushkin

 

Peter and Paul Fortress/Cathedral

 

St Isaac's Cathedral

 

Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood

 

The Winter Palace/Hermitage State Museum

 

I wasn't with SPB, but the above are staples on all the majors' programmes. To up the pace a bit, choose a tour that also does a canal ride and a visit to the Yusupov Palace, and you'll have a truly superlative 2 days.

 

All the best, Tony

[Spuzzum]

Did anyone do the folklore show in the evening that SPB takes you to, and was it worth going to?

Tony did you do the videos, they are really great and I can hardly wait to see everything. Lois

[Cornishpastyman1]

Did anyone do the folklore show in the evening that SPB takes you to, and was it worth going to?

Tony did you do the videos, they are really great and I can hardly wait to see everything. Lois

 

Hi Lois

 

Thanks for your kind words. I try and make a short video of every holiday I take, and cruises obviously create a lot of 'work' :) I have a loads to do from this summer's W Med cruise and a recent trip to Boston MA, but it will keep me busy throughout the winter !

 

In case it's of interest I made similar-style videos for Copenhagen, Berlin, Tallin, Stockholm/Vasa Museum and Helsinki/Suomenlinna, and they are all somewhere in that same YT account. You are right to be excited, as I think the Baltics is probably the best cruise of them all, and there's no way you won't love every minute of it. Although costs at the locations are high, other than in St P and Berlin, where you do really need an organised tour, all the others are very easy to do D-I-Y for the price of a day's public transport and the odd museum entry (i.e. Vasa c 120 SwKr).

Tony

[flintg]

We have read many good things about SPB Tours in St. Petersburg on Cruise Critic and have also reviewed their website. What particular shore excursion offering did you select and what did you like the most about it?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

I have booked a private tour for just the wife and I through SPB. I have mobility problems and am on oxygen but they have worked out an itenerary that is flexible and allows for breaks when needed. We will see most of the sites except the Hermitage which is just too much for me. Having seen most of the major museums in Europe we can forgo that even though it is fantastic. SPB is a great group to work with!

[LAN41]

Did anyone do the folklore show in the evening that SPB takes you to, and was it worth going to?

Tony did you do the videos, they are really great and I can hardly wait to see everything. Lois

 

We did the Baltic Pearl in July 2011 because it included virtually everything, including lunch and the canal tour. It was a wonderful 2 days. In addition, we added the Folklore Show after the first day of touring and absolutely loved it! If you are into music and/or dance, it is a MUST do. Costumes and performers and theatre were gorgeous. We were exhausted and still found ourselves exhilarated after the performance. We figured we may only be in St. P one time in our life and wanted to get as much out of it as possible. Even though it is a long day, you don't feel mentally exhausted since everything is handled by your guide for the day. No figuring out where to go, how to get there, where to eat, etc. Hope you have an amazing trip! We loved our 2 weeks in the Baltic.

 

Leslie

[Spuzzum]

Hi Lois

 

Thanks for your kind words. I try and make a short video of every holiday I take, and cruises obviously create a lot of 'work' :) I have a loads to do from this summer's W Med cruise and a recent trip to Boston MA, but it will keep me busy throughout the winter !

 

In case it's of interest I made similar-style videos for Copenhagen, Berlin, Tallin, Stockholm/Vasa Museum and Helsinki/Suomenlinna, and they are all somewhere in that same YT account. You are right to be excited, as I think the Baltics is probably the best cruise of them all, and there's no way you won't love every minute of it. Although costs at the locations are high, other than in St P and Berlin, where you do really need an organised tour, all the others are very easy to do D-I-Y for the price of a day's public transport and the odd museum entry (i.e. Vasa c 120 SwKr).

Tony

Tony, I have already found your other videos and absoulutely loved them. Got me very excited for the trip, which won't be till next Aug. I was thinking we could do most ports on our own. We are booked in St Petersburg on SPB tours. Thanks for your information. Lois

[Spuzzum]

We did the Baltic Pearl in July 2011 because it included virtually everything, including lunch and the canal tour. It was a wonderful 2 days. In addition, we added the Folklore Show after the first day of touring and absolutely loved it! If you are into music and/or dance, it is a MUST do. Costumes and performers and theatre were gorgeous. We were exhausted and still found ourselves exhilarated after the performance. We figured we may only be in St. P one time in our life and wanted to get as much out of it as possible. Even though it is a long day, you don't feel mentally exhausted since everything is handled by your guide for the day. No figuring out where to go, how to get there, where to eat, etc. Hope you have an amazing trip! We loved our 2 weeks in the Baltic.

 

Leslie

Thanks Leslie, my DH thought the ship would put on a folklore show that would be just as good as the one we are booked on and I just wanted confirmation from someone who had done it. He is looking at the cost of everything as we are doing a B2B.I kept telling him the show would be worth going to. so appreciate your feedback. Lois

[TylerRose]

We did the two-day deluxe tour this past May; and our group of 15 was very impressed with our experience. Early entrance into The Hermitage is perhaps the biggest benefit of this tour, as well as a visit to Yusopov's Palace.

 

This is the tour I am considering. Did you add in evening entertainment? If so, what...

Did you feel it was worth the upgrade to deluxe?

Did you add any of the other ports they service in to your arrangements?

TY

[rdnpdx1]

This is the tour I am considering. Did you add in evening entertainment? If so, what...

Did you feel it was worth the upgrade to deluxe?

Did you add any of the other ports they service in to your arrangements?

TY

 

1. We felt the upgrade to deluxe was definitely worth it as it included several items which were extras on other tours. When the cost of those items were added to the lower active or moderate prices the differential largely disappeared. Plus the sites visited were significantly more comprehensive, and you get a longer visit at the Hermitage, with early admission, which some of the other tours do not enjoy. The trade off is that the day is longer, but you are only there once, right?

 

2. If you wish to do an evening activity, you can do so, even though you do not return to the ship until 7 PM, after the other tours. SPB will arrange for your van to meet the others in town rather than return to the ship. They made these arrangements for both the ballet and the fun tour.

 

We opted not to attend the ballet but I did check into the options. With respect to the ballet, check the Mariinsky website directly for tickets if you want to go to that ballet - formerly the Kirov Ballet. Prices were considerably cheaper if ordered direct than through a broker or the tour company as I recall.

 

Some on our sailing did the evening folklore tour and enjoyed it. Just be mindful that the theater has a lot of stairs and is not wheelchair friendly for those in need of accessibility.

 

If you wish to have dinner in St. P with shopping on the Nevsky Prospekt, SPB will arrange for a driver at a reasonable $30 per hour rate as I recall. If you are lucky you will get Viktoria's sister as a combination driver interpreter as my sister and her friend did. The three of them spent an enjoyable evening crusing the Prospekt.

 

3. As far as other cities - some in our group took the SPB tour to Berlin and really enjoyed it. The Berlin guides are very professional and make the day extremely worthwhile. You travel buy motorcoach to Berlin, then are separated into smaller groups for the Berlin tour. The cost is considerably less than the ship's tour and you have more time in Berlin, traveling in more maneuverable small vans rather than the huge tourist buses the ship's tours use.

 

We also took the walking tour in Tallinn with SPB which we really enjoyed. While you can definitely do this city on your own, the local guide was delightful and knew how to steer us around the crowds which tend to overwhelm the old town when several ships in town. This was a considerable benefit. The three hour tour was only 20 euro, and left us with a half day for strolling, lunch shopping before returning to the ship. I would recommend this tour, if it is offered, highly.

 

We also did a three hour "walking" tour with SPB in Helsinki which I would not recommend for several reasons. First, it involved taking a city bus from near the cruise dock to the start of the tour and this process took well over 30 minutes. Second, the beginning of the tour was along busy streets and was of little interest. The consensus in our group was that the first half of the tour, at least, was not worthwhile, and included little of interest and involved way too much walking. Only when we got to the Rock Church did things improve. I would not do this tour.

 

SPB also has a bus tour for 35 euro and a longer day which includes Porvoo, an old town outside Helsinki. Both would be preferable to the walking tour, in my view.

 

But, if you want to stay in central Helsinki and visit the sights there, you can easily do this on your own. Helsinki has an excellent tram system which you can use to get to the Rock Church. And there is a ferry leaving from near Market Square to the fortress. All of the sights are centrally located and a day pass on the transit system is reasonable. Much better to do this beautiful city on your own if you intend to stay in town.

[TylerRose]

:)

 

Thank you so very much for taking the time to provide such detailed recommendations and insights. I am extremely excited about this cruise... but also rather anxious. I found planning easier in the old days when HAL mailed all the docs with the big tour books, & when I just went with the ship tours because I did not know any other way.

I started following cruisecritic nearly a decade ago and have not booked a ships tour since! :cool:

I have already heard back from SPB & Alla.

Both seem to have wonderful options...

Has anyone out there used both SPB & Alla and found one better than the other?:confused:

 

How did the euro payment work? Were you able to use a credit card?:confused:

[rdnpdx1]

Thank you so very much for taking the time to provide such detailed recommendations and insights. I am extremely excited about this cruise... but also rather anxious. I found planning easier in the old days when HAL mailed all the docs with the big tour books, & when I just went with the ship tours because I did not know any other way.

I started following cruisecritic nearly a decade ago and have not booked a ships tour since! :cool:

I have already heard back from SPB & Alla.

Both seem to have wonderful options...

Has anyone out there used both SPB & Alla and found one better than the other?:confused:

 

How did the euro payment work? Were you able to use a credit card?:confused:

 

 

You can pay by credit card with SPB - or could do so this year. There was a 3% fee for doing so - an amount equal to the fee they pay the cc company, I think. You could also pay in $$ or euro, your choice.

[Giantfan13]

Thank you so very much for taking the time to provide such detailed recommendations and insights. I am extremely excited about this cruise... but also rather anxious. I found planning easier in the old days when HAL mailed all the docs with the big tour books, & when I just went with the ship tours because I did not know any other way.

I started following cruisecritic nearly a decade ago and have not booked a ships tour since! :cool:

I have already heard back from SPB & Alla.

Both seem to have wonderful options...

Has anyone out there used both SPB & Alla and found one better than the other?:confused:

 

How did the euro payment work? Were you able to use a credit card?:confused:

 

We used SPB tours, as have many on this site. They do a fantastic job and Viktoria is just a joy to work with. We chose them over the others because of the way Viktoria responded to our inquiries, ther way she really seemed to care that we had the best time possible. Plus, they had a few extra;s, like lunches for both days, one at a Russian restaurant which we just wanted to do. they also included the canal boat tour, another thing we we thrilled about.

You will not be sorry with any tour company you chose, so don't really fret about it. If you are looking to do tours in some of the other cities, like Tallinn or Helsinki or travel to Berlin, SPB will arrange all of them and give you a nice discount by booking them with SPB.

Anyway, you will have a blast no matter which way you go.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[marylizcat]

We had an excellent time with SPB Tours. However, we did not do any of the tours listed, but a customised one based on the fact that our ship was there for one and a half days only and we also wanted to see some extra things. You don't have to do exactly as per any of the tours on the website. They will adapt to suit your requirements.

[TylerRose]

1. We felt the upgrade to deluxe was definitely worth it as it included several items which were extras on other tours. When the cost of those items were added to the lower active or moderate prices the differential largely disappeared. Plus the sites visited were significantly more comprehensive, and you get a longer visit at the Hermitage, with early admission, which some of the other tours do not enjoy. The trade off is that the day is longer, but you are only there once, right?

 

2. If you wish to do an evening activity, you can do so, even though you do not return to the ship until 7 PM, after the other tours. SPB will arrange for your van to meet the others in town rather than return to the ship. They made these arrangements for both the ballet and the fun tour.

 

We opted not to attend the ballet but I did check into the options. With respect to the ballet, check the Mariinsky website directly for tickets if you want to go to that ballet - formerly the Kirov Ballet. Prices were considerably cheaper if ordered direct than through a broker or the tour company as I recall.

 

Some on our sailing did the evening folklore tour and enjoyed it. Just be mindful that the theater has a lot of stairs and is not wheelchair friendly for those in need of accessibility.

 

If you wish to have dinner in St. P with shopping on the Nevsky Prospekt, SPB will arrange for a driver at a reasonable $30 per hour rate as I recall. If you are lucky you will get Viktoria's sister as a combination driver interpreter as my sister and her friend did. The three of them spent an enjoyable evening crusing the Prospekt.

 

3. As far as other cities - some in our group took the SPB tour to Berlin and really enjoyed it. The Berlin guides are very professional and make the day extremely worthwhile. You travel buy motorcoach to Berlin, then are separated into smaller groups for the Berlin tour. The cost is considerably less than the ship's tour and you have more time in Berlin, traveling in more maneuverable small vans rather than the huge tourist buses the ship's tours use.

 

We also took the walking tour in Tallinn with SPB which we really enjoyed. While you can definitely do this city on your own, the local guide was delightful and knew how to steer us around the crowds which tend to overwhelm the old town when several ships in town. This was a considerable benefit. The three hour tour was only 20 euro, and left us with a half day for strolling, lunch shopping before returning to the ship. I would recommend this tour, if it is offered, highly.

 

We also did a three hour "walking" tour with SPB in Helsinki which I would not recommend for several reasons. First, it involved taking a city bus from near the cruise dock to the start of the tour and this process took well over 30 minutes. Second, the beginning of the tour was along busy streets and was of little interest. The consensus in our group was that the first half of the tour, at least, was not worthwhile, and included little of interest and involved way too much walking. Only when we got to the Rock Church did things improve. I would not do this tour.

 

SPB also has a bus tour for 35 euro and a longer day which includes Porvoo, an old town outside Helsinki. Both would be preferable to the walking tour, in my view.

 

But, if you want to stay in central Helsinki and visit the sights there, you can easily do this on your own. Helsinki has an excellent tram system which you can use to get to the Rock Church. And there is a ferry leaving from near Market Square to the fortress. All of the sights are centrally located and a day pass on the transit system is reasonable. Much better to do this beautiful city on your own if you intend to stay in town.

 

TY so very much for sharing so much information... you are an angel