Private tour vs small tour

[SHS_band_mom]

I've read on this forum about people booking private tours. We are a small group of only four. I have read of companies that have 16 passenger vans, and sometimes they will put other people with you to reach the 16. These prices seem more reasonable than a private tour. Can anyone offer me some guidance? I know not to book the ships's tours as they are generally much larger groups (at least that is what I hear). We are going on the Jewel of the Seas July 2.

[cruising twosome]

Try your roll call, you should be able to find someone else to join up with your group of 4. Lots of information regarding what to do in the different ports and recommendations of tours also on cc. Happy sailing!

[jstducky]

Looks like there is a roll call for your cruise. Follow this link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1529042

 

You seem to have a very active Roll Call and a lot of fellow passengers from all over the world who are on your cruise.

 

Through skimming through their thread, it seems as though all of them have arranged for the pre-set tour group in St. Petersburg being offered by either Alla Tours or TJ Tours that is a set price of $300 US for the 2 days in St. Petersburg. Both of these tour companies have pre-arranged 2 day tours and if you contact them, they will put the tour group together for you and guarantee the price at $300, plus they guarantee that you will not have more than 16 people in your tour. It's a win-win situation.

 

These pre-arranged tours hit the highlights of St. Petersburg in 2 days. So, with this tour there is no need for you to arrange for your own private tour and customized itinerary, as long as you are ok with the itinerary they have arranged for you.

 

Check out the link and start communicating with the others on your cruise. Also do a google search for ALLA Tours and TJ Tours in St. Petersburg and it will bring you to their websites with a detailed listing of the itinerary for the tour.

 

Enjoy! St. Petersburg is a wonderful city!

[John Bull]

Although their websites said otherwise, for our cruise Alla & SPB needed a total of at least 8 in a tour to guarantee their standard prices. With six there was only a few dollars difference, with less it would have been too expensive for us. TJ it needed 10 for the std price.

But these numbers shouldn't be a problem on Jewel, you can find sharers on your RollCall and yes, those operators will probably have enquiries from others on your ship that they can add to your tour.

For logistical & visa-waiver reasons, you do need to book, you can't just get off the ship & look for a taxi or van.

Ours was a smaller ship & we were just two - we found sharers via RollCalls and Alla found others from our ship, so we booked with her. We ended up with two groups, a 12 & an 8, both at standard prices in 16-seater vans. A very civilised way of seeing St Petersburg, and cheaper than ship's bus tours.

 

The sights visited are very much the same as the ship's bus tours but these small groups mean:

- a much more personal service than the big bus tours offered by the ship.

- no long delays while 50 people, some of them very slow, get on or off the bus

- zipping through the traffic, using side roads if neccessary to avoid jams & parking near all the sights, not always the case with big buses.

- a trip on the metro. I don't think that would work with a large group.

- a trip (to Peterhof) on the hydrofoil rather than the van, not sure if that's possible with a big busload.

- so much more flexible. If someone wants a brief unscheduled photo-stop or whatever, the van can pull over. One in our party got something in her eye, so we stopped off at a chemist.

I don't know if this applies to ship's tours, but we had electronic headsets so we could hear our guide clearly without gathering round, and we had pre-public access to the Hermitage.

 

Getting off the ship was no different to ships tours - no delay in disembarkation, visa waivers organised by the operators.

The only people who need an expensive pre-arranged personal visa are those who are 100% independent - ie grab a taxi & head into town alone.

 

If you have any specific queries about their tours or terms, all three of these tour operators are very efficient, expect a response to an e-mail within 24 hours.

 

To be fair to ships' tours, everyone I know who've been on various Baltic cruises & booked with the ship has been full of praise for those trips too.

 

Super destination, the jewel of the Baltic.

 

JB :)

[Giantfan13]

Most of the tour companies will make the effort for you, if you want to join a group. We used SPB Tours and we had a large group where we needed two buses to accommodate us. They will not put more than what they advertise, they will just form a new group with another guide and bus. If you tell whichever tour company that you plan on using that you wish to join an already planned tour, they will do their best to get you on a tour, even if it may be from a different ship. For you it would make no difference, just the chance to save some money with a larger group.

 

If your roll call seems full, start another lead and ask if any others might want to join you on a tour as you are looking for a few more people to fill out the tour. there are always last minute posters who are looking to join on with some one.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Genessa]

we knew from reading here we didn't want to take a ship's tour in St.P, but debated between the cost savings of one of the small, group tours or a private tour.

 

We decided we wanted to go very small, either just the 2 of us or go for 4. We ended up booking with Alla, for 2, but had also asked her to price out 4. She contacted us several weeks before our cruise and said there was another couple who on our cruise who wanted to do 4 if we were interested.

 

so we did 4, which turned out to be 3 'cos the wife of the other couple wasn't feeling well.

 

IMO, the difference between 3/4 and 16 is almost as great as the difference between 16 & 42. (well, of course, mathematically it's not, lol)

 

with just 3 we were able to customize our tour, almost on the fly. There were some things that were timed, of course, such as our boat to Peterhof, but even the day we went there, we added in a visit to a wonderful synagogue.

In the Hermitage, we saw all the "tour guide must sees", and then were able to spend time in a gallery area of our choosing - and even got to see an Annie Liebovitz exhibit that we saw a sign for.

 

we were given choices by our tour guide often of, we have extra time here, would you like to see this, or that. One of the reasons we had extra time is we didn't have to wait for 16 people to get on/off a bus, we coordinated our bathroom visits - with just 3 of us it was easier to deal with than more.

 

many list not having to wait on the long lines. with 3, I felt like I was back negotiating the sidewalks of Manhattan at Christmas time with my mother. We could stand in a small group and hear about what we were seeing, and then move on quickly, with only 3 people asking questions. With 3, we were able to move ahead of not just the groups of 42, but the groups of 16.

Our tickets were all pre-purchased, but Julia, our guide, lead us to the front of every single line - we waited nowhere. And, once out, our van was always able to just pull up and we'd hop on, no wasted time.

In addition, while we were driving (or walking) you were never out of hearing distance and, for me at least, we were able to get into real conversations with Julia, not just Q & A sessions.

 

It did cost more, but both my dh & I felt it was worth every cent.

[MMDown Under]

we knew from reading here we didn't want to take a ship's tour in St.P, but debated between the cost savings of one of the small, group tours or a private tour.

 

We decided we wanted to go very small, either just the 2 of us or go for 4. We ended up booking with Alla, for 2, but had also asked her to price out 4. She contacted us several weeks before our cruise and said there was another couple who on our cruise who wanted to do 4 if we were interested.

 

so we did 4, which turned out to be 3 'cos the wife of the other couple wasn't feeling well.

 

IMO, the difference between 3/4 and 16 is almost as great as the difference between 16 & 42. (well, of course, mathematically it's not, lol)

 

with just 3 we were able to customize our tour, almost on the fly. There were some things that were timed, of course, such as our boat to Peterhof, but even the day we went there, we added in a visit to a wonderful synagogue.

In the Hermitage, we saw all the "tour guide must sees", and then were able to spend time in a gallery area of our choosing - and even got to see an Annie Liebovitz exhibit that we saw a sign for.

 

we were given choices by our tour guide often of, we have extra time here, would you like to see this, or that. One of the reasons we had extra time is we didn't have to wait for 16 people to get on/off a bus, we coordinated our bathroom visits - with just 3 of us it was easier to deal with than more.

 

many list not having to wait on the long lines. with 3, I felt like I was back negotiating the sidewalks of Manhattan at Christmas time with my mother. We could stand in a small group and hear about what we were seeing, and then move on quickly, with only 3 people asking questions. With 3, we were able to move ahead of not just the groups of 42, but the groups of 16.

Our tickets were all pre-purchased, but Julia, our guide, lead us to the front of every single line - we waited nowhere. And, once out, our van was always able to just pull up and we'd hop on, no wasted time.

In addition, while we were driving (or walking) you were never out of hearing distance and, for me at least, we were able to get into real conversations with Julia, not just Q & A sessions.

 

It did cost more, but both my dh & I felt it was worth every cent.

 

Do you mind saying what it cost for 4, as against the small group prices (10-16) advertised on various tour guide websites?

 

Great that it was worth every cent!

[Cornishpastyman1]

I've read on this forum about people booking private tours. We are a small group of only four. I have read of companies that have 16 passenger vans, and sometimes they will put other people with you to reach the 16. These prices seem more reasonable than a private tour. Can anyone offer me some guidance? I know not to book the ships's tours as they are generally much larger groups (at least that is what I hear). We are going on the Jewel of the Seas July 2.

 

If you decide to go with a group of 16, that is still small enough to be light on your feet and quick. Your fellow tourists will tend to be motivated and enthusiastic about the tour and won't hold you up, and hearing everything the guide says is not an problem as you will have the radio headsets. I did this sort of tour and enjoyed meeting some different but like-minded people (than my family :)) The transport is very comfortable too.

 

Obviously it won't be as personal as a private party of 4, nor quite as flexible in that you won't be able to (say) skip lunch for an extra 30 minutes here or there but it is still a very good option.

 

All the best, Tony

[John Bull]

If you decide to go with a group of 16, that is still small enough to be light on your feet and quick. Your fellow tourists will tend to be motivated and enthusiastic about the tour and won't hold you up, and hearing everything the guide says is not an problem as you will have the radio headsets. I did this sort of tour and enjoyed meeting some different but like-minded people (than my family :)) The transport is very comfortable too.

 

Obviously it won't be as personal as a private party of 4, nor quite as flexible in that you won't be able to (say) skip lunch for an extra 30 minutes here or there but it is still a very good option.

 

All the best, Tony

 

I'll go along with that, Tony. :)

We were 12 (max potential of 16), and no-one held the group up -its a long way from 50, and from the fitness/speed of some that can be amongst those on a ship's tour.

Same no-lines, easy parking etc as Genessa's private tour.

And the headsets were fine. In fact we could listen whilst wandering away from the group without seeming disrespectful/disinterested. I just might have felt too conspicuous in a smaller group, if you can understand that.

No, not quite the same flexibility of course.

 

MM - Alla's price was $270 pp, as long as there were a min 8 in the party.

At one time it looked as if it'd be four, for which the price was $355, without the (excellent) lunches.

So a cost difference in the order of $125 pp.

 

Genessa: I was pleased that we were more than 8, it avoided the risk of the price going up if someone dropped out. I'm afraid that I didn't have the nerve to ask such a negative question in advance :rolleyes:

Do you know if the other couple still paid for two? Or did you have to pay extra? Or did Alla bite the bullet?

 

Important thing is that we, Tony, and Genessa, all feel that we chose what was right for us.:)

 

And to be fair, a lot who took ship's tours felt the same about their own excursions.

 

BTW Julia was our guide too.

I'll give her a score of 11 out of 10 :)

 

JB :)

[dogs4fun]

I agree with both Tony & John. We toured with Alla last August and had a magnificent experience.

We had a full group of 16 and the pace was just perfect for us.

Our guide was Valentina. I, too, would give her a score of 11 out of 10. :)

jill

[Genessa]

Do you mind saying what it cost for 4, as against the small group prices (10-16) advertised on various tour guide websites?

 

Great that it was worth every cent!

 

I"m going to have to try and find it. Off the top of my head, it was at least 1/3 more. But, if you e-mail either Alla or SPT they'll price it for you quickly.

[Genessa]

I'll go along with that, Tony. :)

 

MM - Alla's price was $270 pp, as long as there were a min 8 in the party.

At one time it looked as if it'd be four, for which the price was $355, without the (excellent) lunches.

So a cost difference in the order of $125 pp.

 

Genessa: I was pleased that we were more than 8, it avoided the risk of the price going up if someone dropped out. I'm afraid that I didn't have the nerve to ask such a negative question in advance :rolleyes:

Do you know if the other couple still paid for two? Or did you have to pay extra? Or did Alla bite the bullet?

 

Important thing is that we, Tony, and Genessa, all feel that we chose what was right for us.:)

 

And to be fair, a lot who took ship's tours felt the same about their own excursions.

 

BTW Julia was our guide too.

I'll give her a score of 11 out of 10 :)

 

JB :)

 

I think Alla bit the bullet. My dh & I paid the price for 4, and I'm pretty sure the other man just paid for himself, or maybe that and a bit more. He was a skilled negotiator ;)

 

And you are right - I have seldom heard or read about anyone having a bad excursion, even those on the ship's.

[hazeleyez3]

We looked at different tour guides for our trip in September. All of them were around $350/person (2 person). We decided to go with I Travel SPB.

 

We have been tailoring it to our liking. At this point we have....

Peterhof Palace (along with Catherine's Block)

Hermitage

Church of the Spilled Blood

Lunch

Tour around the city (morning and late afternoon)

 

We'll stop when we want or possibly alter the trip a bit that day.

 

Yes, its more expensive, but we'd rather pay a bit more for a private tour as opposed to including other people.