R & R Carroll Posted February 6, 2013 #1 Share Posted February 6, 2013 We will be on the Marina in September with a three day stop in St Petersburg. We are considering taking Oceania's Musical Evening at the Hermitage tour and are looking for feedback from any of you that may have done it. I realize it is impossible to see it all, but will this tour let us see enough of the Hermitage to remove it from our day itinerary? Is it worth the expense? What was the dress code? Any input will be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted February 7, 2013 #2 Share Posted February 7, 2013 We will be on the Marina in September with a three day stop in St Petersburg. We are considering taking Oceania's Musical Evening at the Hermitage tour and are looking for feedback from any of you that may have done it. I realize it is impossible to see it all, but will this tour let us see enough of the Hermitage to remove it from our day itinerary? Is it worth the expense? What was the dress code? Any input will be greatly appreciated. We've been to two of those Musical Evenings, and they were magnificent, but , you really don't see anything of the museum itself. Ushered into a private door, escorted through dim corridors, they usually don't even allow the audience near the paintings in the gallery where the performance is held. In the eyes of the Russians, the benefit of being in the Hermitage on those evenings is acoustic, not artistic. Incidentally, those acoustics are superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R & R Carroll Posted February 7, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Jim and Stan, thank you for clarifying and sharing your experience and video link. If we are not allowed near the artwork, then the ship's excursion description is a bit deceiving as it states, "This enchanting evening tour offers you the unique opportunity of visiting the Hermitage Museum at night, where you are able revive Catherine the Great's exquisite tradition of the 18th century and enjoy the Museum's beautiful collection on your own, avoiding the usual crowds. ...This tour includes approximately 90-minutes of moderate walking/standing..." Roseann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molliem Posted February 8, 2013 #4 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Hi: Being in SPB for three days is wonderful, we have done that twice. We would recommend a small private tour to see the many site including ballet, folk music evening etc. If you would like sample itinerary and reference, feel free to contact us at mowryltd@gmail.com and to assure you we are not travel agents but have plenty of experience in quality private tours.Have 12 cruises with Oceania. Elwin We will be on the Marina in September with a three day stop in St Petersburg. We are considering taking Oceania's Musical Evening at the Hermitage tour and are looking for feedback from any of you that may have done it. I realize it is impossible to see it all, but will this tour let us see enough of the Hermitage to remove it from our day itinerary? Is it worth the expense? What was the dress code? Any input will be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durante Posted February 11, 2013 #5 Share Posted February 11, 2013 This excursion is described by Pancake in the Oceania Blog. See his/her post with lots of photos dated 22 August 2012 . It looks like a wonderful evening! http://www.oceaniacruisesblog.com/taste/excursions/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R & R Carroll Posted February 12, 2013 Author #6 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Durante, thank you so much for sharing that link. It does appear that we will be able to tour portions of the Hermitage prior to the concert. Now we are definitely considering booking this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacarr Posted February 13, 2013 #7 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Last summer we were on Oceania's Baltic Treasures Cruise and we went to the "Musical Evening at the Hermitage". This was a wonderful evening. The museum was closing as we began our tour and as a result, the three groups of Oceania passengers were the only ones in the museum. About mid way through the tour we enjoyed a 45 minute concert. After the concert we continued our tour of the museum's art. This was a wonderful evening. We thoroughly enjoyed the art as well as the music. The following is from our journal: Before we knew it, we were off the ship and on our way to the Hermitage. The Hermitage is one of the great museums of the world. We didn't know if we should try to pack so much into one day, but the evening tour was really wonderful. We toured the Hermitage after the crowds had left. The Museum was open just for our group. Midway through the guided tour of the Museum, there was a concert in the Large Italian Skylight Hall by the State Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg for our group. The concert opened with Mozart's Marriage of Figaro overture and ended with Tchaikovsky's Polonaise, with five other selections between. While this is a large gallery room, it is small by concert hall standards and the music really filled the hall and surrounded us. This was a wonderful way to experience the music. Following the concert there was a champagne reception before we continued our gallery tour. We returned back to the ship at 11 p.m. just as the sun was setting. The Terrace Cafe was opened for those on tour to have a late dinner. It was another late evening for us. We had a martini night cap before retiring around 1 a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R & R Carroll Posted February 13, 2013 Author #8 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Sacarr, thank you so much for sharing your experience. Did you also do a tour of the Hermitage during the day, or did the evening tour and concert fill your requirements? We are hoping that by taking the evening tour it will free up some time from our busy days in St Petersburg for other sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palmetto Lady Posted February 13, 2013 #9 Share Posted February 13, 2013 We have also booked this tour and was wondering about the dress code which was not answered previously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durante Posted February 13, 2013 #10 Share Posted February 13, 2013 For this particular excursion, the Oceania website says country club casual and comfortable walking shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacarr Posted February 16, 2013 #11 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Sacarr, thank you so much for sharing your experience. Did you also do a tour of the Hermitage during the day, or did the evening tour and concert fill your requirements? We are hoping that by taking the evening tour it will free up some time from our busy days in St Petersburg for other sites. Sorry for the delay in answering. i suppose that one could spend days in the Hermitage sort of like the Louvre or the Met NYC. But with the absence of crowds we had a good taste of the museum. During the day went to the summer palace in the city of Pushkin and visited some other sites in St. Pete. It was a very long day but one we really enjoyed. We slept in the next day and then visited some other sites in St Pete in the afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacarr Posted February 16, 2013 #12 Share Posted February 16, 2013 We have also booked this tour and was wondering about the dress code which was not answered previously. I don't recall any specific dress code for the evening. I would say that comfort would be the best guide. You needn't dress up for the concert. I guess that CC casual would be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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