My Trip Report: Brilliance of the Seas (12 night Baltic, May 18 2015)

[Tad4irsh]

Hi! Thanks so much for your reviews!

I apologize if I am using the wrong part of the forums to ask this question- this is my second cruise and first time on cruise critic!

 

I am travelling with my family on the 12 night Brilliance of the Seas Baltic Cruise starting Aug 22. My wife and children are very keen to see the shows in the evening. Does anyone know when is the best time to book for dinner? We are on MyTime Dining.

 

Has anyone got a copy of the Cruise Compass they could send us as an example?

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

Stewie :D

 

Stewie -- Hi...my wife and I just completed the same cruise in July. You will LOVE it. The evening shows are for the most part offered twice a night at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. we were alos on my time dining and we learned that the very best time to go was at 7:00 pm to dinner. You could try a little bit earlier like 6:45-6:50 pm. The Maitre D explained to us that at 7:15 to 7:30 it is virtually impossible to get a seat because they only have so many tables. We never had to wait at 7:00 pm and we were always out on time to get good seats in the theater. We saw every show.

 

Enjoy!!!! Wish I could go again already! :)

[Tad4irsh]

Stewie -- Hi...my wife and I just completed the same cruise in July. You will LOVE it. The evening shows are for the most part offered twice a night at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. we were alos on my time dining and we learned that the very best time to go was at 7:00 pm to dinner. You could try a little bit earlier like 6:45-6:50 pm. The Maitre D explained to us that at 7:15 to 7:30 it is virtually impossible to get a seat because they only have so many tables. We never had to wait at 7:00 pm and we were always out on time to get good seats in the theater. We saw every show.

 

Enjoy!!!! Wish I could go again already! :)

 

I forgot to add -- if she is still working the my time dining area try and ask for Marianna....she was OUTSTANDING and we had several different waiters during our 12 nights. She was consistently the best and made dinner worth looking forward to!

[Stewie66]

Stewie -- Hi...my wife and I just completed the same cruise in July. You will LOVE it. The evening shows are for the most part offered twice a night at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. we were alos on my time dining and we learned that the very best time to go was at 7:00 pm to dinner. You could try a little bit earlier like 6:45-6:50 pm. The Maitre D explained to us that at 7:15 to 7:30 it is virtually impossible to get a seat because they only have so many tables. We never had to wait at 7:00 pm and we were always out on time to get good seats in the theater. We saw every show.

 

Enjoy!!!! Wish I could go again already! :)

 

Thanks so much for your reply- so helpful! We will book in for just before 7 everyday.

 

Can I ask who you toured with in St Petersburg? We are just about to book with TJ for their two day standard tour. Who did you go with and were you happy with them?

 

Thanks once again

 

Stewie :D

[Tad4irsh]

Thanks so much for your reply- so helpful! We will book in for just before 7 everyday.

 

Can I ask who you toured with in St Petersburg? We are just about to book with TJ for their two day standard tour. Who did you go with and were you happy with them?

 

Thanks once again

 

Stewie :D

 

Stewie -- We toured with SPB Tours. Here is a link to my review (if it works): http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g298507-d2216909-r296116066-SPB_Tours-St_Petersburg_Northwestern_District.html

 

I was tempted to go with TJ because of the reviews but ended with SPB and was not disappointed. I think you will be fine with TJ though. I'm not sure there is a bad choice among the top five companies.

 

We did the two day delxue tour with SPB. One member of our group, when booking, said they were with cruise critic and got a discount, but that didn't work for me, but I had booked the tour first and then mentioned I was with cruise critic. You might give it a try.

 

Tad

[marcogilbert]

Hi,

 

I don't know if you migth be interested, but we just returned from this cruise and we booked a private tour in St.Petersburg with Anna Antonenko from Nevskitour. We were a group of 15 and we were looking to book a 2-day tour in St. Petersburg with a French speaking guide.

 

Anna offered us an good itinerary and a good price. We wanted to do some adjustment to the itinerary and she was very accomodating. For example, we wanted to do the early tour of Peterhof Grand Palace to be able to visit before the official opening time and she was able to get us those special tickets.

 

After sending our deposit Anna bought the tickets for our visits and confirmed us our itinerary which was :

 

Day 1 : Peterhof Grand Palace, Peterhof gardens and fountains, underground subway, lunch at local restaurant, St.Isaac Cathedral, shopping, boat tour in the canals.

 

Day 2 : City tour, Peter-and-Paul Fortress and Cathedral, Church of the Savior on Blood, lunch at a local restaurant, Ermitage museum

 

Later she sent us the necessary visas (which were identified with the company "Rossi Tour"... So maybe she is associated with them) and told us she would be waiting for us at the cruise terminal.

 

Effectively she was there as soon as we were off the ship (after the lengthy customs lines and the grumpy people there). Anna found us quickly and we left for Peterhof quickly. Anna speaks French very well and was easy to understand (contrary to other "French speaking" guide that we encountered in other ports of call. During the bus ride she told us about the history of St. Petersburg and she is very very knowledgeable. When we got to the first visit (Peterhof), she was quick to get us in, and again she taught us a lot about the place.

 

I won't tell you about all the things we did with her because I did review those place on TripAdvisor. But I can tell you that Anna is very meticulous and she is a very accomplished guide. However, she could improve the experience a lot if she could include some anecdotes or personal stories. At times, the visit was more like a formal history lesson with a lot of dates and names to remember and it wasn't "fun" enough. Anna is very good at her job, but if she could include more fun in her tour it would be great.

 

Both days Anna took us to a small local restaurant for lunch and it was a pleasant experience. It was not too fancy and we were served quickly so we did not lose too much time and we really appreciated it.

 

In brief, I would definitely recommend Anna from Nevskitour because you will learn a lot with her and she is very professionnal. You won't get any bad surprise and you will see everything you asked to see. But do not expect a clown-guide, she is more like a teacher-guide. If it is what you are looking for, you won't be disapointed.

[Stewie66]

Thanks both of you for your kind replies. Made me even more excited for St Petersburg!

[hebbie67]

We did the two day delxue tour with SPB. One member of our group, when booking, said they were with cruise critic and got a discount, but that didn't work for me, but I had booked the tour first and then mentioned I was with cruise critic. You might give it a try.

 

Tad

 

That would be me then! We paid a discounted price of 285 USD for mentioning Cruise Critic - so worth doing. SPB were exceptional -I've also posted a review on Trip Adviser on 17 Aug 15 (work got in the way!).

 

I can also vouch for Marianna at My Time Dining - truly the best waiter we've ever had -but not good for your waistline!! If you couldn't decide between 2 dishes, you got both to try!

[Stewie66]

That would be me then! We paid a discounted price of 285 USD for mentioning Cruise Critic - so worth doing. SPB were exceptional -I've also posted a review on Trip Adviser on 17 Aug 15 (work got in the way!).

 

I can also vouch for Marianna at My Time Dining - truly the best waiter we've ever had -but not good for your waistline!! If you couldn't decide between 2 dishes, you got both to try!

 

Thanks for your reply! We will be sure to look out for Marianna! :p