Excursion to St Petersburg from Regal

[sawtooth]

We booked all our tours for every port with SPB tours.

Smaller groups, great guide. Bulk booking discount.

We really enjoyed every one of them.

I believe it's a personal choice as all the companies mentioned are very good.

All are better than Princess tours, in my opinion.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

I took the best of st Petersburg 2 day tour thru the ship. Be aware that Russian immigration is a lengthy process and ships tours are given first priority for immigration. Guests not on a tour had to go to the concerto dining room when ready to go and get a ticket for immigration. It is the same as tendering

 

This just isn’t true. It’s what the cruise lines would like you to believe. We used SBP tours and got through immigration very quickly. The SBP ticket served as the visa. We had a small group of 16 in a 20 passenger van. Princess uses 40 passenger buses. We had an excellent tour guide. We saw more in the two days than we would have with Princess at less than 60% of the cost of the Princess tour.

[wallyworld583]

@Wallyword583: Good to hear your positive words about TJ. We will use their service in five cities: Berlin, Tallinn, SPt , Helsinki and Stockholm. I am very nervous about how to catch the buses especially in Wernemunde and SPt. I will appreciate any suggestions/recomendation very much. Thank you. D.I.

 

You should have been given a meeting time for all tours. Just walk off the ship and look for the person holding the TJ sign or banner at the end of the pier. No problem finding them at all. Bit off topic but a heads up, for bus to Berlin, make sure you have Euros. The bus stops at a gas station/restaurant about two hours from the ship and they do NOT take anything but Euros. The toilets cost .70 euros which seemed high but you get a .50 coupon to use in the restaurant. In Berlin all toilets were pay. If attached to a shop or restaurant and you bought something they would give a token.

 

If you are docking in Stockholm I would cancel the tour and take the HO-HO. We took tour and it was ok but folks who did HO-HO saw a lot more than we did. I wouldn't do the HO-HO if docked at the out of town port for Stockholm (name escapes me now). You were taken to town and there were no return buses to the ship until late afternoon.

[TMR]

We did the SPB 2 day tour in St. Petersburg last summer and it was amazing! We actually did tours with them in every port on our Baltic cruise and all were excellent. Their tour guides are among the best we have ever had. They offer a discount if you book more than one tour and if you put together a Cruise Critic Roll Call group, you may get additional discount. Our Baltic cruise was one of my favorites!

 

Also want to add that we did not have to wait in a dining room to exit the ship. SPB takes care of your immigration papers, etc. and it's a very easy process.

Edited June 2, 2018 by TMR
added information

[anigrl677]

We went last year on NCL and used a private guide. It cost less than the excursions the ship offered, and our guide was fantastic. Lines were wrapping around The Hermitage when we got there. Our guide walked us straight in. Amazing! It was Guide-Guru tours. You can find them on Trip Advisor

[Doctor I]

You should have been given a meeting time for all tours. Just walk off the ship and look for the person holding the TJ sign or banner at the end of the pier. No problem finding them at all. Bit off topic but a heads up, for bus to Berlin, make sure you have Euros. The bus stops at a gas station/restaurant about two hours from the ship and they do NOT take anything but Euros. The toilets cost .70 euros which seemed high but you get a .50 coupon to use in the restaurant. In Berlin all toilets were pay. If attached to a shop or restaurant and you bought something they would give a token.

 

If you are docking in Stockholm I would cancel the tour and take the HO-HO. We took tour and it was ok but folks who did HO-HO saw a lot more than we did. I wouldn't do the HO-HO if docked at the out of town port for Stockholm (name escapes me now). You were taken to town and there were no return buses to the ship until late afternoon.

@Wallyword583: Thank you very much for the tips. D.I.

[kitkat343]

Please note that the port rules have changed. Starting this year, ship tours are allowed to have priority in disembarkation over private companies. I would still recommend a private tour since we were able to see everything, but keep an eye on the Baltic board to see how disembarkation for private tours is going.

[Nonnie1975]

Give another thumbs up for SPB!!! Got us through immigration quickly. Much smaller group and got ahead of the Princess groups. Our guide knew all of the short cuts at the Hermitage, again ahead of the ship tours. When we were in Berlin, Obama was there for a visit, and the Princess groups were not allowed to see the Brandenberg Gate, our guide knew how to get around all of that mess and took us right up to the gate. They are the best, and a whole lot cheaper than Princess.

[Doctor I]

Give another thumbs up for SPB!!! Got us through immigration quickly. Much smaller group and got ahead of the Princess groups. Our guide knew all of the short cuts at the Hermitage, again ahead of the ship tours. When we were in Berlin, Obama was there for a visit, and the Princess groups were not allowed to see the Brandenberg Gate, our guide knew how to get around all of that mess and took us right up to the gate. They are the best, and a whole lot cheaper than Princess.

Hi, What tour agency did you use? Thanks. IB

[kitkat343]

IB - Nonnie used SPB . The name's a little confusing, but here is their website https://www.spb-tours.com

[caribill]

Please note that the port rules have changed. Starting this year, ship tours are allowed to have priority in disembarkation over private companies.

 

I find it hard to believe that the port cares at all. I believe it is Princess trying to convince people to book their expensive tours.

 

When we did that itinerary, there were about eight immigration booths. Princess put up signs by 7 of them saying "for Princess tours only" and the 8th had a sign for all other passengers.

 

The immigration agents did not care at all if you were on a Princess excursion. We, as did many others, just got on whatever line was shortest and had no problem being on a "Princess line" for a non-Princess tour.

[kitkat343]

I find it hard to believe that the port cares at all. I believe it is Princess trying to convince people to book their expensive tours.

 

When we did that itinerary, there were about eight immigration booths. Princess put up signs by 7 of them saying "for Princess tours only" and the 8th had a sign for all other passengers.

 

The immigration agents did not care at all if you were on a Princess excursion. We, as did many others, just got on whatever line was shortest and had no problem being on a "Princess line" for a non-Princess tour.

In previous years, the cruise lines occasionally tried to lie to passengers and told them that only cruise tour passengers could disembark first, but the port rules prior to this year stated that all passengers needed to be able to disembark at the same time. And on the Baltic forums we advised people to not listen to the cruise lines if their employees tried to stop them, since the cruise lines were in violation of the port regulations. However, last August, passengers began to report on cruise critic's baltic forum that they were testing out a new plan, allegedly only to go into place on busy days, in which cruise line tours are able to disembark first. Only after the cruise tour members have completed disembarkation are private tour participants allowed to disembark.

 

There are a couple of news articles describing this situation, one is linked here: https://guidetopetersburg.com/new-disembarkation-rules-st-petersburg-cruise-port-for-2018-navigation/ . These rules were announced last August, and were scheduled to go into effect on busy days this season.

 

Other travelers on the Baltic forums who have ignored the cruise lines rule that only cruise tours are allowed to exit first this season have found like you that Russian customs agents don't care and will process whoever is in line next. The major difference between this year and last year is that if you are stopped by ship employees and told you cannot disembark they actually have the law on their side, and you won't have much of an argument to be able to disembark first. It seems - so far - that people have been able to sneak off even if on a private tour, but there is no guarantee that everyone who tries to do this will be successful and I would strongly recommend no longer arguing with the ship employees if they stop you. And as it is still quite early in the season, the ship employees may be more stringent about enforcing this regulation and checking each person on the disembarkation line when there are more ships in port later in the season.

[Doctor I]

IB - Nonnie used SPB . The name's a little confusing, but here is their website https://www.spb-tours.com

Thanks! However, I am already bound to TJ Travel. D.I.

[Micahs Grandad]

We used SPB for four ports and should have used them for Stockholm. Did a great job

[denisiel]

We just came back from Regal sailing. Waited about five minutes in dining room. At immigration there are two areas, one for Princess tours and then Others. The immigration officer told us to go through the Princess tours line even though we booked with another company. He said it doesn't matter at all.

[caribill]

The major difference between this year and last year is that if you are stopped by ship employees and told you cannot disembark they actually have the law on their side, and you won't have much of an argument to be able to disembark first.... And as it is still quite early in the season, the ship employees may be more stringent about enforcing this regulation and checking each person on the disembarkation line when there are more ships in port later in the season.

 

Just save the Princess tour stickers from an earlier port and put them on you. Off the ship then with no problem.

[Tucker in Texas]

Originally posted by kitkat343

The major difference between this year and last year is that if you are stopped by ship employees and told you cannot disembark they actually have the law on their side, and you won't have much of an argument to be able to disembark first.... And as it is still quite early in the season, the ship employees may be more stringent about enforcing this regulation and checking each person on the disembarkation line when there are more ships in port later in the season.

Just save the Princess tour stickers from an earlier port and put them on you. Off the ship then with no problem.

We had no problem disembarking at 7:30 a.m. for a private tour, just strolled off the ship. The ship's tours were still organizing I think.

[juniper berries]

The ship tours may have been long gone by then our meeting time were early for the princess tours in Sp in May.

[angelacc19]

Another vote for SPB. We took the package of excursions in 5 Baltic ports. Day 1 in the museums was very congested and it was hot indoors. The canal down to Peterhof on Day 2 was simply the best! I would recommend you take a tour group that offers smaller groups (15 pax). Enjoy you time in St. Petersburg.

 

Hi, can you please recommend the excursions in other Baltic ports and if they were necessary? I'm planning to use SPB in other ports as well but seems lots of people suggested to tour them on your own. Thank you.

[pompeii]

I took the best of st Petersburg 2 day tour thru the ship. Be aware that Russian immigration is a lengthy process and ships tours are given first priority for immigration. Guests not on a tour had to go to the concerto dining room when ready to go and get a ticket for immigration. It is the same as tendering

 

We were on the Regal a couple of years ago and did a private tour with Anastasia. It was one of the best tours we have ever been on. We had no problem whatsoever walking off the ship as soon as it was cleared. We definitely did not have to go to the dining room and wait, and Russian immigration took all of a couple of minutes.

 

Don't let the ship tour scare tactics alarm you. People may also try to tell you that if you don't book through the ship, you won't have the proper type of visa. Just ignore them and go with a reputable private tour, if that's what you want. If you are more comfortable with a ship's tour, that's fine as well. Just don't think that there is any downside with going private.

[wallyworld583]

Hi, can you please recommend the excursions in other Baltic ports and if they were necessary? I'm planning to use SPB in other ports as well but seems lots of people suggested to tour them on your own. Thank you.

 

Having done this trip in May I would recommend you skip the tour in Tallin. There is a shuttle bus that takes you to old town and you can see most of what there is to see on your own. If the ship docks in downtown Stockholm take the hop on - hop off. If you are outside the city proper (about 1 hr bus ride) might consider the train to town and then the ho - ho. We took a tour in Stockholm and those that did the ho-ho saw more than we did. In Oslo, unless you want to get out into the country the ho-ho is great. It stops at all the museums (Kon-tiki, viking ships, etc) and allows you to see at your pace. The Berlin Tour was great. Long way to get there but the tour was worth the trip.

[sweetpeanz]

I took the best of st Petersburg 2 day tour thru the ship. Be aware that Russian immigration is a lengthy process and ships tours are given first priority for immigration. Guests not on a tour had to go to the concerto dining room when ready to go and get a ticket for immigration. It is the same as tendering

 

We were on this cruise departing 23/6 and our experience in St. Petersburg was quite different. We had booked a private company. a fabulous person on our roll call organized private tours - in total 6 buses of 15 as it turned out, via I love travel SPB. It was a fantastic tour and I think very similar to other private tours. Great value at $214 each for two full days and lunch - everything included. We saw everything on the ship tour and more and much easier with a small group than a big one as everything is crowded, bathrooms are few and far between.

The private companies know that on day 1 they can't get early entry to the port so their tours start at 8.30 We didn't go to Concerto - that is just a big decoy. We just went out as usual but at about ten to 8. We were out through immigration by 8.10. The people who got tickets at concerto- no one checked them or asked for them anyway.

[Dorset Cruiser]

We are on Regal now. We did have to go to get a ticket but only waited for about 20 mins to get off. Immigration queues in the terminal were long on first day but not too bad on second.

 

 

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[Dorset Cruiser]

We were on this cruise departing 23/6 and our experience in St. Petersburg was quite different. We had booked a private company. a fabulous person on our roll call organized private tours - in total 6 buses of 15 as it turned out, via I love travel SPB. It was a fantastic tour and I think very similar to other private tours. Great value at $214 each for two full days and lunch - everything included. We saw everything on the ship tour and more and much easier with a small group than a big one as everything is crowded, bathrooms are few and far between.

 

The private companies know that on day 1 they can't get early entry to the port so their tours start at 8.30 We didn't go to Concerto - that is just a big decoy. We just went out as usual but at about ten to 8. We were out through immigration by 8.10. The people who got tickets at concerto- no one checked them or asked for them anyway.

 

 

 

Why do you class it a 'decoy'. Is your time more important than the people who follow the rules and wait their turn ?

 

 

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[Micahs Grandad]

Hi, can you please recommend the excursions in other Baltic ports and if they were necessary? I'm planning to use SPB in other ports as well but seems lots of people suggested to tour them on your own. Thank you.

 

We did SPB tours in three other ports and were delighted with them.

 

Did it on our own in Stockholm with hop on/hop off and were sorry we didnt use SPB for that one as well