Oceania breakfast times - St. Petersburg

[buggins0402]

Does O sometimes adjust breakfast times when ships are in ports where excursions might be leaving the ship early? We've signed up for a small group tour, arranged by another roll call member, in St. Petersburg.

 

The tour provider has just notified us that the second day has an itinerary change with a "meet" at 7 a.m. on our second day, rather than 8 a.m.

 

Will room service be our only option?

[willidc]

We did the Baltic cruise in late August 2013 on Marina. You are in for a magnificent experience---especially in St. Petersburg. :)

 

We have found all of the Oceania ships to be flexible as far the breakfast hours for passengers on early tours. Terrace can almost be counted on to adjust their schedule for the convenience of those with very early tours. I remember one morning they opened at 5:30 (?). And also check the GDR since they may also adjust hours.

 

There were even instances of dining facilities staying open later at night. On the evening when many were returning quite late from their tours in Moscow, Terrace stayed open until midnight. We had been to the ballet that evening and were able to come back to the ship and have a snack and decaf at Terrace before retiring for the evening.

 

Check your Currents the night before your early tour to see the times for restaurants. Also, some of the head waiters, maître d', or restaurant management may know more in advance than waiting for Currents.

 

There is so very much to see in St. Petersburg, so pack your days as full as you think you can enjoy. We did exactly that for three days and still feel as if we should go back to see some things we have missed and perhaps spend a bit more time in some of the sights that we already did tour. This Baltic cruise exceeded our expectations.

 

Enjoy your cruise!:)

[buggins0402]

Thank you so much for providing this information! Day 2 in Russia will now be a long day with this itinerary change and I was concerned that there might not be opportunity to eat much of anything until our 9 pm specialty dinner reservation. It's nice to know that some venues adjust dining hours and would have been pleased to know that even a "early riser" continental breakfast was available somewhere on the ship.

 

We are looking forward to this cruise very much.

Edited May 7, 2014 by buggins0402

[Paulchili]

What willidc said is often true when large groups leave early (like for Moscow) or return late for lunch or dinner from large tours, however, the hours are not changed for individual tours like OP's case.

There will be coffee, tea, pastries, croissants and jam, etc in the Horizons after 6 - 6;30 AM in addition to room service. Please check with the staff for the exact times.

Do enjoy SPG to the fullest!

[buggins0402]

Thanks Paul, that was my initial gut feel. The only time I've seen cruise lines adjust breakfast times was in ports where many cruisers were leaving for long, relatively far away excursions. But, my cruise experience is limited compared to most others on this board and we have never cruised O.

 

It will give DH the excuse to break his rigid healthy diet and have a few croissants. Hopefully, the early risers continental will be at 6 since it's a port day - but if not, we'll do room service (not a great dining experience in an inside).

[LHT28]

I seem to recall they did have an earlier breakfast times on a couple of our cruises where there were early shorex

I have not been to SPB with O so not sure there

I would think they would because they know people are up & out very early there (once the ship is cleared)

 

You can always grab some fruit from breakfast the day before to have before you head ashore

I am sure it will work out for you

 

Lyn

[Paulchili]

Also, if that is the day when they have the Moscow tour, then they will probably have an earlier breakfast.

[New Oceania Cruiser]

What are the MUST SEE sights in St Petersburg?

[Mura]

Too many to count. How much time do you have there?

 

Mura

[Paulchili]

Hermitage, Peterhof, Catherine's Palace, St. Isaacs, Spilled Blood Cathedral are musts in my book.

Second tier would include a cruise on Neva with visit to Yusupov's Palace, Peter and Paul fortress, maybe a visit to a subway station and a drive/walk along Nevsky Prospect. You might consider an evening visit to a ballet or cultural performance.

There is more but this should get you off to a good start :D

SPB is best visited with one of the many excellent private tours rather than the ship's tours.

Enjoy SPB - 3 days are the minimum for visiting SPB, IMO.

Edited May 10, 2014 by Paulchili

[JimandStan]

SPB is best visited with one of the many excellent private tours rather than the ship's tours.

Enjoy SPB - 3 days are the minimum for visiting SPB, IMO

 

Yes, and best enjoyed when the Russians are done with their shenanigans, in MY OPINION, We absolutely loved our earlier trips to Russia, but would not spend twenty five cents there again, unless and until they stop acting like twelve year old boys on steroids.

Unnecessary AND embarrassing, don't you think?

[Paulchili]

While avoiding Russia would seem to be the right thing to do, IMO it is not that simple.

The people who are responsible for these "shenanigans" (Putin and his gang) will feel NO financial or any other effect from this type of boycott, nor will they change their minds or policies if cruise ships avoid SPG.

The people who will suffer from this type of action are the poor innocent people who depend on their livelihood from tourism. These people are not responsible for those shenanigans of Putin et al. Is that what we really want?

Tough call.:confused:

PS - I don't want to start a political discussion on this controversial subject - just wanted to post a different point of view. In the end, everyone should and will do what they feel is the right thing to do.

Edited May 10, 2014 by Paulchili

[Noxequifans]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/travel/us-trips-to-russia-fall-amid-conflict.html?hpw&rref=travel&_r=0

 

Here is an article from the NY Times on the subject.

[Paulchili]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/travel/us-trips-to-russia-fall-amid-conflict.html?hpw&rref=travel&_r=0

 

Here is an article from the NY Times on the subject.

 

Interesting article - thank you.

As an aside, I was pleased to read how well SPB tours are doing.

I first met Viktoria when she was still working as a guide for Alla's tours (in 2006). She dreamed of setting up her own company and had told us about her German husband and their children. Her mom was a professor of English at the university and thus her command of the English language was excellent. Good for them! :)

[corpkid]

We are actually considering doing a B2B on Marina on July 11 (before our July 23 British Isles cruise) in the Baltics. We did it last year and had a FANTASTIC time. This is really a part of the world that is not to be missed. Russia is an incredible country - drama aside. We'd go back. It appears many are shying away from the idea of visiting Russia as we were offered an incredibly low price for the July 11 B2B offer. Think < $ 3000 for a verandah room for 12 days... That's a steal for Oceania.

 

That all said, we had three days in SPB last year, and used Alla tours (awesome). We spent the second day taking the Sapsan train to Moscow and really, really loved that city. The train oversold or something so we got to fly Aeroflat back to SPB, which was quite interesting. We had some VERY long days (and late nights) and we never had a problem finding something to eat via room service or the Terrace. You should be OK - but you many want to pre-order room service just to be safe. ENJOY! You are in for a real treat!