Saint Petersburg Excursion Question

[Carol From California]

On our upcoming Baltic cruise there is an overnight in Saint Petersburg and we have a question about one of the excursions offered. For anyone who has been on this cruise, the excursion "Grand Imperial Evening of the Tsars" is described as a visit to Catherine's Palace and a dinner afterwards at a Russian restaurant. There is some entertainment at the palace as well. Is it worth $199/person? We are only two days in port. One day we will visit the Hermitage and the other day Peterhof. I thought this would be a good way to see Catherine's Palace, but wondering if the excursion is worth it.

[RachelG]

We were too exhausted to do much of anything in the evenings in st. Petersburg. So this trip I have not scheduled any evening activities.

[cruisealert]

On our upcoming Baltic cruise there is an overnight in Saint Petersburg and we have a question about one of the excursions offered. For anyone who has been on this cruise, the excursion "Grand Imperial Evening of the Tsars" is described as a visit to Catherine's Palace and a dinner afterwards at a Russian restaurant. There is some entertainment at the palace as well. Is it worth $199/person? We are only two days in port. One day we will visit the Hermitage and the other day Peterhof. I thought this would be a good way to see Catherine's Palace, but wondering if the excursion is worth it.

We did that evening excursion in 2010 and the Carherine's Palace part was beautiful, even though we had an extended tour of St Catherine's the day before. It was pretty to see it during sunset. Great music. All very elegant. The restaurant is a simple Russian restaurant after you leave the palace. Not elegant, but fun. Only problem is it is after 9PM before you eat and that is tough for us, but we would do it again. It is a set menu as you would expect. Lots of good vodka. Get back to the ship after 11PM but you sleep on the bus -- at least we did.

[Travelcat2]

Although we have only visited Catherines Palace on a private excursion, it would definitely be worth the money. The half day tour alone was $500 (back in 2006). I would not hesitate to book this excursion. Hope you have a great time.

[Lvtocruize2]

Catherine's Palace is outstanding! I would imagine it's more beautiful at night, if that is possible. We took a 2 day private tour and also a Regent tour. The first day was the ship's tour which included Yusupov Palace and a riverboat ride. Our guide was excellent and Yusupov Palace/ river tour was awesome.