St. Petersburg - shore tours - odd questions?

[8 Westies Mom]

On Celebrity everyone dashed off together.

 

 

 

We used SPB and had friends who took the ship tour. 2 day tour, similarly priced.

 

 

 

Main differences were that we had a subway ride and took the hydrofoil to Peterhof, leaving us more time there.

 

 

 

Hi MS, we are booked on the two day Russian tour with SPB tours also. How was your experience? Did you feel you got your money’s worth? Did you feel safe the entire time? We sail April 28 on the Viking Sky. Thanks for any input you can provide.

Jill

 

 

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[Giantfan13]

Hi everyone! Been reading up on the options for tours in Russia, but I still have questions!

 

Let's say I'm looking at any and all of the names that keep coming up (Alla, Best Guides, SPD, etc.) for 2-day shared group tours ....

 

 

1. Anyone have recent experience paying them in cash? Will they take US $? I just think I'd rather pay cash.... Anyone think that's a terrible idea? Please be specific!

 

2. I heard somewhere on this site (shoot: I'm not going to find it...) about changes to when passengers on 3rd party tours can get off the boat, specifically at St. Petersburg (and maybe I read specifically RCI, which is what we'll be sailing?). Like, people of 3rd p. booked tours could get off at the same time as those that organized thru the ship? Does anyone have any recent experience of this?

 

3. Would anyone actually recommend booking the tours here via the ship? A lot of people talk up the local companies, and they do sound pretty great, but I don't know, maybe there's a reason for doing the ship's, specifically in Russia?

We're sailing RCI this July, and this will probably be our only "structured" excursion, and Russia's a big deal for us, so I want to do this right. This'll be my 2nd cruise ever, but my husband's 1st!

 

You have gotten some excellent replies do far.

Getting back to your original questions.

As per the supposed new rules, if you book an independent tour, you will have to wait for ship's sponsored tours to leave the ship first. Once the independent tour companies see how this is going to work, they will adjust their schedules and tours accordingly, and you will not miss anything. Just give it a bit of time.

As for doing these independent tours verses ships sponsored tours, there is simply no comparison. I won't go into all the specifics, but as I have said for many years now, ships sponsored tours really don't care if you have a great time on their tours. They will not alter a tour for any number of reasons and you are a slave to the slowest person on that tour. The independent tour operators do care whether you have a great time as they want your recommendations on CC and other sites. They will bend over backwards to make sure you have a terrific time. If traffic arises, bad weather, etc. they can, and will alter the schedule accordingly, to get you the best days possible. AND, the most people you will travel with is probably about 16.

If you want to do an independent tour, go to your roll call, introduce yourself and see what others are doing at far as tours. Myself, I would tell you to narrow down which companies you want to deal with, contact them thru either a phone call or email and see which one you feel the most comfortable with. As you said, this is a trip of a lifetime and you need to be perfectly comfortable with your tour company and not just settle for one.

Do not just take people's recommendation as most have just traveled there once and they will just recommend the company that they used. You have to see who and what is best for you. You do have to do some work for yourself, not just the recommendations of others.

Cheers

Len

[fabnfortysomething]

You have gotten some excellent replies do far.

Getting back to your original questions.

As per the supposed new rules, if you book an independent tour, you will have to wait for ship's sponsored tours to leave the ship first. Once the independent tour companies see how this is going to work, they will adjust their schedules and tours accordingly, and you will not miss anything. Just give it a bit of time.

As for doing these independent tours verses ships sponsored tours, there is simply no comparison. I won't go into all the specifics, but as I have said for many years now, ships sponsored tours really don't care if you have a great time on their tours. They will not alter a tour for any number of reasons and you are a slave to the slowest person on that tour. The independent tour operators do care whether you have a great time as they want your recommendations on CC and other sites. They will bend over backwards to make sure you have a terrific time. If traffic arises, bad weather, etc. they can, and will alter the schedule accordingly, to get you the best days possible. AND, the most people you will travel with is probably about 16.

If you want to do an independent tour, go to your roll call, introduce yourself and see what others are doing at far as tours. Myself, I would tell you to narrow down which companies you want to deal with, contact them thru either a phone call or email and see which one you feel the most comfortable with. As you said, this is a trip of a lifetime and you need to be perfectly comfortable with your tour company and not just settle for one.

Do not just take people's recommendation as most have just traveled there once and they will just recommend the company that they used. You have to see who and what is best for you. You do have to do some work for yourself, not just the recommendations of others.

Cheers

Len

 

Len

brilliantly stated as always

[Hlitner]

It is my understanding:

The big Russian tour company that provides the tours for the cruise ships is now an ownership partner with the Marine Facade (cruise port). So - my assumption is that this is why the new rules have been instituted - it is an effort to drive out the small local companies.

The excuse given to the local companies was overcrowding during disembarkation/long queues at immigration - so those booked on independent tours would need to wait until the cruise ship tours have gone through immigration.

A trial run was conducted last year - the problem was not ameliorated with the cruise tours departing first. So - who knows what will occur during the upcoming season? As far as I am concerned, I think that this complicity between the cruise port & cruise tours is a complete scam!

 

Guess folks will have to wait and see, but past history would make me skeptical and wonder if this is just another faux scare perpetuated by the cruise lines (and their shore contractors) to entice more passengers into booking the overpriced, overcrowded cruise line excursions. Personally, we have no future plans to return to Russia (been there too much already)....but it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Some cruise lines have previously tried to hold back non-excursion cruisers (while pushing their own tour folks to the head of the line) and this met with a lot of protests. Bite the hand that pays for the food (passengers) and ye shall soon be bitten?

 

Hank

[bennybear]

The first time we used the ships tour and were very disappointed. Couldn’t see inside the churches, told they were plain inside. Missed seeing the gold room or treasury in the hermitage. Missed a stop and travelled with 50.

 

The second time we did it right. We contacted Victoria at SPB and she set up a private tour of what I wanted to see, the Gold room that should not be missed. The amazing inside of the churches! The church of The spilled blood is filled with mosaics of semi precious stones. We were awed! Then the hydrofoil and a canal tour and Yusupov palace. as we had been to Peterhof, a private tour of the fountains and the smaller buildings was arranged. We did the subway, visited a local market and ate local food. I can’t say enough about how much better this tour was. Victoria will arrange what you want to do with how many you want to go with.

 

Do it right the first time!

[inmyfootsteps]

Just adding my two cents worth to this thread. My husband and I did Baltic cruise back in 2016 and we booked Alla Tours via our CC roll call. Not sure what the changes are this year..but when we went, yes there was a line up at Immigration, but not like the ones experienced at the airports. Yes, there were alot of cruisers trying to find their respective tour operator, but it wasn't chaotic.

Booking through a private local operator is the way to go. I have yet to have a negative experience with any local operators in any of the countries I have visited (knock on wood). It all comes down to research, research, and hooking up with fellow cruisers. After all, the local tour operators' reputation is dependent on us cruisers!

Having said that, we did notice that if you were on a private tour in St. Petersburg, although you had to line up to get into Hermitage Museum, we avoided the "public" line up. Upon our exit from the museum, the tour operator remarked that the people in line will most likely not get in that day. It was 2:00 pm when we exited the museum.

So there are pros and cons to private operators, but from my previous experiences, it is worth it!

[zigdilcru]

Hi Linda. I know that Best Guides have a good reputation for tailored tours. Can I ask what sights you will be seeing? My husband likes to stay away from crowds. Things which most tours don't do may be the right thing for him. Thank you.

Sorry just saw your post, we will be going to see Peter the Greats cabin, and to the Kunstkamera (hope I spelled that right) and of course Spilled Blood and Peter and Paul Fortress. I'm calling it our Peter the Great tour. Also we will have lunch at Teplo restaurant which I found on trip advisor and looks real good. We did St Petersburg back in 2015 and had two days and they were just so tiring with all the driving, taking family this time and just wanted to have our day be more relaxing and I think they will enjoy this. You can google the Kunstkamera and see how interesting it is and I'm gonna guess a lot less crowded than the Hermitage which was an absolute zoo when we went before. Read up on what you would like to do or sounds interesting and I bet Best Guides could work it out. Oh and by the way the total for all 6 of us was $151.00 or $960 which I'm quite happy with. Linda

[esseff35]

Will there be an issue getting off the ship at 6 a.m. for a day trip to Moscow with a non-ship vendor? Thinking of something like Alla's three-day tour that includes a middle day in Moscow.

[K-Roo-Zers]

DH and I will be visiting the Baltic for the first time in May and I have been really enjoying your comments.

 

I am currently in the process of "speaking" with various operators such as Alla, SPB and TJ Tours, but am now going to contact some of the other operators mentioned.

 

Thank you so much for sharing.

 

Out of interest, has anyone done the Faberge Museum in the evening, on their own? The research that i have done suggests that it is very inexpensive to enter the Museum, but the tours are asking $45 USD, just for the transport. Is it easy to catch local transport? We are more than comfortable to do it, if it is easy enough. Obviously commonsense prevails, but if it is practicable, we will give it a go.

 

Many thanks for any information.

 

Nicki

[fabnfortysomething]

DH and I will be visiting the Baltic for the first time in May and I have been really enjoying your comments.

 

 

 

I am currently in the process of "speaking" with various operators such as Alla, SPB and TJ Tours, but am now going to contact some of the other operators mentioned.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing.

 

 

 

Out of interest, has anyone done the Faberge Museum in the evening, on their own? The research that i have done suggests that it is very inexpensive to enter the Museum, but the tours are asking $45 USD, just for the transport. Is it easy to catch local transport? We are more than comfortable to do it, if it is easy enough. Obviously commonsense prevails, but if it is practicable, we will give it a go.

 

 

 

Many thanks for any information.

 

 

 

Nicki

 

 

 

Are you getting your own visa?

If not you won’t be able to catch local transport as you need to be covered by one of the companies who as you say charge more for admission

 

 

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[K-Roo-Zers]

Are you getting your own visa?

If not you won’t be able to catch local transport as you need to be covered by one of the companies who as you say charge more for admission

 

 

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We plan to choose one of the "big four" companies to do a two day tour with, but were hoping to do the Faberge tour on our own in the evening, thus allowing us more time to see the museum.

 

Irrespective of the company we choose for the day tour, a visa is included.

 

Are you saying that the visa allocated by the company only allows us to use it when we travel with them, and not on our own in the evening to the Faberge museum?

 

Many thanks for your help. I appreciate it.

 

NIcki

[aquidneck1]

It's not a true Visa, so yes, it is only good for when you are travelling with the tour company. It is an exception that is made for cruise ship tourists. If you want to venture out on your own, you would need to apply for a real Visa.

[dogs4fun]

We plan to choose one of the "big four" companies to do a two day tour with, but were hoping to do the Faberge tour on our own in the evening, thus allowing us more time to see the museum.

 

Irrespective of the company we choose for the day tour, a visa is included.

 

Are you saying that the visa allocated by the company only allows us to use it when we travel with them, and not on our own in the evening to the Faberge museum?

 

Many thanks for your help. I appreciate it.

 

NIcki

As already stated, you will not be allowed to tour on your own unless you have a valid Russian visa. The tour ticket (also referred to as a "visa waiver" or "blanket visa") that is supplied by your tour operator is only valid for the time that you are touring with them.

Furthermore, you will dock quite a distance from town (Marine Facade) and local transportation would require the use of a bus to the metro and then the metro into town OR a taxi. Note that most taxi drivers do NOT speak English and frequently rip-off tourists. So, if you want to tour on your own, make certain to do your research before you obtain a Russian visa (my visa cost $320 - US citizen).

IMHO, it would be much more cost effective to simply pay the $45 and tour with a local operator - they will take you to/from port, pay for your admission to the Faberge & your audio guide rental and provide you with the tour ticket that will act as your visa.

[K-Roo-Zers]

Thank you both very much for your prompt response and all the good advice.

 

If we decide we want to do the Faberge Museum, and I think we will, as it is our first trip to SPB, and it isn't as if Australia is only a short flight to Europe, we want to make the most of our valuable two day stop!

 

Again, thank you very much.

 

Nicki

[fabnfortysomething]

Thank you both very much for your prompt response and all the good advice.

 

If we decide we want to do the Faberge Museum, and I think we will, as it is our first trip to SPB, and it isn't as if Australia is only a short flight to Europe, we want to make the most of our valuable two day stop!

 

Again, thank you very much.

 

Nicki

 

which ever company you choose for day time tour will also provide evening blanket visa if you want to do Faberge museum later in day

as you noted would be extra cost mainly for guide time and vehicle

but if this is a one time trip work with the company to maximise the itinerary

[CruisingFox27]

Thank you both very much for your prompt response and all the good advice.

 

If we decide we want to do the Faberge Museum, and I think we will, as it is our first trip to SPB, and it isn't as if Australia is only a short flight to Europe, we want to make the most of our valuable two day stop!

 

Again, thank you very much.

 

Nicki

 

Alla Tours do a 2 day Grand Tour with the option of an evening visit to the Faberge museum for an extra $45.

https://alla-tour.com/tours/

[kftw]

I know I'd even prefer less "new best friends" than the 16 in a van than seems the norm. Now you've got me thinking of going full private, but we're only 2 people, and in some ways that's weirder (pressure to answer questions and laugh at strange foreign jokes in my experience). But I do speak Russian, so now... ugh I don't know!

 

We booked private tours for 8 with members from our roll call. We decided we'd rather have the extra space and so 6 of us shared the booking for 8. Just increased our portion cost of the tour.

[J Belleek]

It is my understanding:

The big Russian tour company that provides the tours for the cruise ships is now an ownership partner with the Marine Facade (cruise port). So - my assumption is that this is why the new rules have been instituted - it is an effort to drive out the small local companies.

The excuse given to the local companies was overcrowding during disembarkation/long queues at immigration - so those booked on independent tours would need to wait until the cruise ship tours have gone through immigration.

A trial run was conducted last year - the problem was not ameliorated with the cruise tours departing first. So - who knows what will occur during the upcoming season? As far as I am concerned, I think that this complicity between the cruise port & cruise tours is a complete scam!

Someone suggested that the shops at the port of St.Petersburg is a good place to shop. Did you notice any port shops?

Are there shops and time to shop as you tour St.Petersburg over the two day stay if you take the ship tours. We are taking NCL’s “Best of Tours” throughout our cruise.

Use a CC or bring rubles?

Should we bring low denominations of US currency?

Edited February 28, 2018 by J Belleek
Add and spelling

[FloridaTourist]

Someone suggested that the shops at the port of St.Petersburg is a good place to shop. Did you notice any port shops?

Are there shops and time to shop as you tour St.Petersburg over the two day stay if you take the ship tours. We are taking NCL’s “Best of Tours” throughout our cruise.

Use a CC or bring rubles?

Should we bring low denominations of US currency?

 

 

Last August when we were there on the Zuiderdam queue lines were long but moved. Coming back was a joke. There was one line and they kept moving us as the guards got to their break time. But still moved

 

We used CC every where. I would not use AMX.

 

The port has a number of shops. They herd you through them so you have to see them. They are expensive. Our tour guide took us to 2 shops in town where the quality and prices were much better. You can always shop in town and buy on your way back to the ship.

 

My only warning to anyone going to St Pete. When in the city stay with your group. Hide your cash and leave the jewels on ship. We know folks that even on tour were forced by themselves and mugged. Stole the watch off their wrist and took all the jewels. Took wallets and cc. Of all the places we have ever been, the area of the Most sacred blood church was the worst for crime. Stay away from the booths selling stuff. That’s where it happens

 

 

 

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[fabnfortysomething]

Someone suggested that the shops at the port of St.Petersburg is a good place to shop. Did you notice any port shops?

Are there shops and time to shop as you tour St.Petersburg over the two day stay if you take the ship tours. We are taking NCL’s “Best of Tours” throughout our cruise.

Use a CC or bring rubles?

Should we bring low denominations of US currency?

 

 

there are indeed port shops but as to value?

there is an ATM at the port and we got a small value of roubles but ended up giving most back to guide as part of tip

a few years ago private tour operators took payment in dollars as long as were crisp and brand new

however now they are only supposed to take payment in local currency ie roubles and prefer payment in credit card

as you are taking ships tour would suggest getting roubles via ATM or pay with major credit card if you intend buying souvenirs

[Nelsj099]

This is Russia they must take Roubles. Payment must be completed in roubles. I work here and this is even for Russian companies trying to buy something from overseas. The company must agree to be paid in Roubles.

[Cruisiesusie05]

TKBD see my spreadsheet made to compare some of the City Highlights kind of tours operated by top local companies - how many people in a group, what sights are on the itinerary, the prices, etc. Here is the link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BgxA9lzzPpaV58Rhh-11N-JrsPu9vya7/view?usp=sharing

 

Brilliant spreadsheet, thanks for sharing :D

[Ashland]

Just to add another great company to consider...we had an amazing private tour with TJ Travel...very flexible since it was just the two of us with a guide and driver...adding and changing things up even on the spur of the moment. They truly provided us a VIP 2 day tour visit of a lifetime that allowed us to see and do more than we ever imagined possible.

[CruisingFox27]

Thanks Ashland, very useful to know, I'll take a look. Although given the current breakdown in Russian relations with UK and other western countries I'm currently holding off actually booking in case we don't actually get to visit!

[Nelsj099]

Russia still wants your money [emoji106][emoji16]

 

 

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