SPB Tours?

[Buddy2004]

We are taking a private two day tour in St Petersburg from the Emerald Princess. Just wondering if any one has paid with credit card and had any problems as I don't want to carry such a large amount of cash around with us for a week. As we will not be going to any countries before the cruise that use the euro.

Thanks in advance.:)

[Artful]

We are taking a private two day tour in St Petersburg from the Emerald Princess. Just wondering if any one has paid with credit card and had any problems as I don't want to carry such a large amount of cash around with us for a week. As we will not be going to any countries before the cruise that use the euro.

Thanks in advance.:)

 

Why don't you check with your tour operator on their website. We are going with Alla Tours in SPB. Instructions on their website inform that you can pay with MasterCard or Visa, which we are planning to do.

[Pam in CA]

We are taking a private two day tour in St Petersburg from the Emerald Princess. Just wondering if any one has paid with credit card and had any problems as I don't want to carry such a large amount of cash around with us for a week. As we will not be going to any countries before the cruise that use the euro.

Thanks in advance.:)

They are terrific. The best tour operator in St. Petersburg IMHO. Viktoria was a tour guide for Alla before starting her own company with her husband. They give personal service and don't be surprised if she shows up during your tour to make sure everything is going well. She's very hands on. I'd go with SPB Tours over Alla any day. You shouldn't have any problem giving them a credit card #. They will also ask you for your passport info as they get the Russian tourist visa for you.

[Giantfan13]

We also used SPB Tours several years ago and they are just terrific, and Viktoria is just a joy to work with. They have been the #1 rated tour service in St Petersburg for over a year now on trip advisor.

 

I know you can pay with a credit card as well as cash. I always thought you received a sort of discount for paying with cash as they have to incur the cost of the credit card transaction, and that will be passed on to you.

Again, I am not positive about this extra cost though. You need to check with them, or just email Viktoria and ask.

 

Most everyone does do cash. Just keep in the safe on the ship until the second day of your tour and then take it with you.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[isutru]

We just got back from our Baltic cruise and used SPB in St Petersburg. Class act. We paid by credit card on the first day of our private (family of 4 and no one else) tour. The guide called in our credit card info to the company during the car ride so there was no waiting around and we got the receipt the next day. Incidentally, we used them in Berlin also and paid by CC in St Petersburg with one transaction. We had gotten an email from SPB prior to leaving home that we could pay for Berlin by cash in Germany or CC in Russia so we opted for CC in Russia.

[dogs4fun]

We also used SPB Tours several years ago and they are just terrific, and Viktoria is just a joy to work with. They have been the #1 rated tour service in St Petersburg for over a year now on trip advisor.

Len

 

Actually, this is incorrect. I just checked the rankings on TRIPADVISOR and SPB Tours is rated #6, not #1.

[hubofhockey]

Actually, this is incorrect. I just checked the rankings on TRIPADVISOR and SPB Tours is rated #6, not #1.

 

Some smaller companies with less reviews have surpassed SPB. It is odd that the others ranked above aren't mentioned on Cruise Critic too often. My rule of thumb is look at both Tripadvisor and Cruise Critic and go with the consensus pick, unless the cost difference among top two or three is significant.

 

We aren't going until next year (2014) and just had some questions about St Petersburg since we are (1) tendering in Nynashamn and (2) interested in seeing the Grand Choral Synagogue. First, they advised me and my group of eight to do a private tour in St Petersburg and also told me that since we are on a large Princess ship, they will be providing Stockholm tours that begin outside the tender dock and priced it out for us. After all of the help and information these people are constantly providing me, I am inclined to move forward with them. I am sure the top competitor also great tours as many reviews here attest to. To be honest, what led me to that company other than the reviews is the easy to navigate website.

 

I will be looking for advice to evening activities in St Petersburg (restaurant vs. ballet or music, etc).

[brentp]

We are taking a private two day tour in St Petersburg from the Emerald Princess. Just wondering if any one has paid with credit card and had any problems as I don't want to carry such a large amount of cash around with us for a week. As we will not be going to any countries before the cruise that use the euro.

Thanks in advance.:)

 

It should not be an issue to use your CC. We toured with TJ Travel in June and paid at the end of the tour with a CC. No fees added by TJ Travel - they converted the agreed to funds (USD in our case) to Rubles and processed the transaction based on that conversion. Each company has there own policies, so check with the one you choose (and I do highly recommend TJ Travel - they run a top notch company). Also, which CC you use may add fees. Most do add anywhere from 1 - 3 %, with CapitalOne being a noted exception where they charge no fee, not even the Visa/MC 1% fee.

 

On this subject, we had no need for any Rubles while in St Petersburg for the two days. Our tour company supplied water for the group as well as lunches both days. When we stopped for shopping the stores we stopped at took CCs, USDs, or Euros. On that note, the shopping stops were combined with comfort breaks for the stores have restrooms and offer complimentary coffee, water, and vodka!. We stopped at one each day, and they again at the very end of our tour (TJ Travel contracts for space with one store and this is when we paid for our tour - at the very end combined with 'shopping' which was nice, for we had something to do while all were settling up). Some of the others that were in our group tour did buy some Rubles for incidentals (cokes, street vendors, etc.), not sure if they needed it for much.

 

My suggestion, use your CC for the large purchases, and have some USD or Euro with you just in case (with ATM as an emergency back up plan). We also tipped our guide/driver in USD on the last day.

[dogs4fun]

Some smaller companies with less reviews have surpassed SPB. It is odd that the others ranked above aren't mentioned on Cruise Critic too often. My rule of thumb is look at both Tripadvisor and Cruise Critic and go with the consensus pick, unless the cost difference among top two or three is significant.

 

Yes, a wise "rule of thumb" IMHO. :)

Personally, I would be inclined to give far more credence to Cruise Critic than to TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor uses some rather indecipherable algorithm for its rankings.

Hope you enjoy your cruise.

[The_Big_M]

We are taking a private two day tour in St Petersburg from the Emerald Princess. Just wondering if any one has paid with credit card and had any problems as I don't want to carry such a large amount of cash around with us for a week. As we will not be going to any countries before the cruise that use the euro.

Thanks in advance.:)

 

The only issue with that was they built incorrect expectations.

 

They said credit card payments are made on day 2. However, on day 1 we were surprised to be asked to make the payment then. Not only that, we had to write the amounts and details ourselves, and I didn't have the paperwork with me, but was told I had to.

 

Then, on day 2 I receive a receipt which I had to sign with an amount in rubles and no record of conversion or the original figures provided. I would say it was not done professionally. You don't know what you're signing.

 

They should actually say you pay on day 1. If you go in aware of that, it's probably okay, but I'm not a fan of agreeing to one thing and then having another demanded of you.

[Giantfan13]

Actually, this is incorrect. I just checked the rankings on TRIPADVISOR and SPB Tours is rated #6, not #1.

 

Sorry I was misinformed. These rankings change fairly regularly.

 

Out of the main private tour companies usually mentioned here though, they come out ahead of most. It is all so silly though, as they all do an excellent job, and the differences between them are so minor.

 

I would assume the smaller companies that have received a 'better' ranking, as we have said many times, we don't know who is doing the rankings.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[isutru]

Our guide politely asked us to give her tip in cash, rather than added to the credit card, so that the driver and the guide could be paid directly rather than recoup it from SPB Tours. I had no problem with that and asked her to take us to an ATM. It was safely inside a very nice hotel and we got Rubles and paid them in cash. It was a smooth transaction and the ATM allowed us to use English. Incidentally, that ATM, the only one we used, only allowed me to select the number of Rubles from a limited list of choices, rather than me selecting a specific number. It was no problem since I knew the number of Rubles I wanted and I did two withdrawals to get the correct number. I hope that makes sense. Seriously, Russia is just as civilized as the US and they will accommodate your needs, I think especially on a private tour like we did.

[Buddy2004]

Our guide politely asked us to give her tip in cash, rather than added to the credit card, so that the driver and the guide could be paid directly rather than recoup it from SPB Tours. I had no problem with that and asked her to take us to an ATM. It was safely inside a very nice hotel and we got Rubles and paid them in cash. It was a smooth transaction and the ATM allowed us to use English. Incidentally, that ATM, the only one we used, only allowed me to select the number of Rubles from a limited list of choices, rather than me selecting a specific number. It was no problem since I knew the number of Rubles I wanted and I did two withdrawals to get the correct number. I hope that makes sense. Seriously, Russia is just as civilized as the US and they will accommodate your needs, I think especially on a private tour like we did.

 

Thanks you all for your help.

[NeoVega]

I am curious., what were your ATM fees in Russia?

 

I took out around $20 in Rubles at the Cruise ship Terminal and found a $11.52 ATM fee in my account!

 

That really messes up the net exchange rate.

[isutru]

Neovega: I use Fifth Third Bank, a regional bank mostly in the Midwest. I checked the fees charged and I had a flat $5 fee plus a 2.97% fee. That was the same for me no matter where in Europe I used an ATM. The $5 fee applies no matter the amount withdrawn, and that is why I tend to take out large sums at one time, balancing that with the fear of carrying too much cash at one time. We did a week precruise throughout Europe and I wore a money belt. The SPB guide was glad I did not have a wallet and warned us about pickpockets, which are everywhere. She kept a close eye on us, appropriately.