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What to do in St. Petersburg for two days??


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We haven’t been to St. Petersburg,  Russia before.

 

We are going there with Cunard, but I think on the 2nd day we are only in port till 11:30am or around then ( waiting for Cunard to conform the port times), so we might not get 2 full days there.

 

I know St. Petersburg is quite a big and busy city.

 

So I was wondering what is their not to miss in St. Petersburg?? and what would you recommend doing here for the day or two??

 

Also is there any private tour company's you would recommend??

 

Any ideas / suggestions are welcome :)

PS: I also heard we might need a visa for Russia??

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Just a little reading will find MANY threads on the sites of St Petersburg, and several very frequently mentioned tour companies. 

 

What is "must see" is what interests you. There are many sites...you likely won't have time for them all, but again, that depends upon your interests. 

 

The visa issue is discussed here at length. You likely will require a visa, but using an approved tour company, you will be covered by their group visa.

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this is the second time have heard of a ship leaving 11.30 on day 2-other ship is a sailing of NCL Getaway

I really would recommend you switch to a different itinerary that gives you 2 full days as St Petersburg is the highlight of the Baltics cruise and needs more time

 

if you go with any of the well reviewed private tours eg Alla TJ SPB Best guides etc you wont need an individual   Russian visa as will be covered under their visa waiver system

However ships excursions get priority on disembarkation due to new rules last year

 

Russian immigration on the first day is awful with long lines and everyone wanting to be first off

second day much easier which is why an 11.30am departure is such a pity

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Agree with fabnfortysomething - you will not need a Russian visa is you book with a licensed tour company (Alla Tours, TJ, Best Guides, Spb, etc. - there are quite a few). On my first visit to St. Petersburg, I booked the Grand Tour with Alla Tours - it was fantastic.

Immigration is a train wreck on day 1 - subsequent days are much easier.

I, too, would confirm with Cunard to ascertain your ship's departure time on day 2 - 11:30 am departure is simply awful as it does not afford time to do much of anything on the second day. Another cruise line that offers 2 full days in port would be a much better experience, IMHO.

Must see sights for first time visitors (1 day):

Hermitage, Church on Spilled Blood, Catherine Palace, Peterhof

Visit to a few of the more beautiful metro stations (most tour companies offer this)

Assuming you have 2 full days, you could add some (not all) sites from the list below:

Faberge Museum

St. Isaac Cathedral

Yusupov Palace (if you are a history buff)

Peter & Paul Fortress/cathedral

Impressionist Collection/General Staff Building

 

 

Edited by dogs4fun
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2 hours ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

We are going there with Cunard, but I think on the 2nd day we are only in port till 11:30am or around then ( waiting for Cunard to conform the port times), so we might not get 2 full days there.

I just checked the 2019 Baltic sailings for Cunard. If you are booked on any of the ships/dates listed below, your ship does not depart on day 2 until 6 pm :classic_biggrin:

April 28 - Queen Victoria

April 30 - Queen Victoria

May 19 - Queen Victoria

July 14 - Queen Victoria

July 16 - Queen Victoria

August 11 - Queen Elizabeth

August 23 - Queen Victoria

September 20 - Queen Elizabeth

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We went last year, most people (including our parents) recommended a full 2 day tour, but for us it was too much rush and not see enough, so we decided to take fewer sights but spend more time enjoying them. I’d do lots of research and be honest with yourself over what you’d like to see and not what others think you should see. 

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Take the time to do the research on things that interest you. There are so many things to do in St. Petersburg, you won't want to miss the things that interest you. Dogs4fun listed the highlights above on what to see, but if you have limited time, research these places and be honest with yourself as to what you really want to see and do. Also, if you decide to go with a tour guide, they can help you determine what you should see based on your interests. We used Anastasia's Travel and when we talked to them, we told them a few things that we wanted to see, and they suggested a few other things based on our interests. Our guide met as at the ship and was very knowledgeable, not only about our destinations, but also about the city in general. We learned much more going with a tour guide than we ever would have learned on our own. I highly recommend doing this in St. Petersburg. 

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7 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

I just checked the 2019 Baltic sailings for Cunard. If you are booked on any of the ships/dates listed below, your ship does not depart on day 2 until 6 pm :classic_biggrin:

April 28 - Queen Victoria

April 30 - Queen Victoria

May 19 - Queen Victoria

July 14 - Queen Victoria

July 16 - Queen Victoria

August 11 - Queen Elizabeth

August 23 - Queen Victoria

September 20 - Queen Elizabeth

Assuming that this is correct, then the what to see is exactly what the tour companies offer in their two day cruise.  Alla, SPB, Best Guides, etc.

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4 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Can you expand, regarding these new rules please.

Thanks.

the ships have always tried to give priority to their own tours often lying outright that its Russian immigration whereas they couldn't care less whether you are on ships tour,private or have your own visa-they delay everyone to same extent

 

However last year the port authority came under new management whereby they wont allow private tour companies to enter the port until an hour after the big buses -yes money probably changed hands

 

So whereas it used to be possible to disembark ASAP and be off the ship whilst ships tours were still congregating in the theatre now you have to wait and queue with thousands of other passengers in Russian immigration lines

 

my recommendation is to arrange to meet your tour guide later-say 10am when lines will have died down and stay out later that first day  

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3 hours ago, fabnfortysomething said:

my recommendation is to arrange to meet your tour guide later-say 10am when lines will have died down and stay out later that first day  

OR ... start earlier on day 2. No disembarkation restrictions apply for subsequent days in port - they only apply on the first day wherein cruise ship tours are allowed to disembark before passengers booked through independent operators (or passengers with Russian visas) are allowed to disembark. So, the independent operators usually start their tours later on day 1 and earlier on day 2. It seems to work out quite well. 

Edited by dogs4fun
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If you contact one of the local tour operators, they send you a sample itinerary for 1 or 2 days (maybe 1 and 1/2 days?) which normally includes all the most important city attractions. To have a more customized tour, tell them your interests (art, history, politics, sports, modern life?) and they suggest something to match. The tour company we used was very responsive to our needs, and they were able to include things that are off the beaten track (a tour of Mickailovsky theatre backstage). As locals, they know what is there and what are the sights that suit your interests better.

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13 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

Are there separate terminals used for different ships in port ?

If there were say 4 ships in port, ( 2 arriving, 2 on their second day) how many could be sharing a single terminal ?

There are four terminals (7 berths) at the Marine Facade. So, theoretically, two ships could share a single terminal. However, I have no clue if or how frequently a single terminal is shared.

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13 hours ago, fabnfortysomething said:

So whereas it used to be possible to disembark ASAP and be off the ship whilst ships tours were still congregating in the theatre now you have to wait and queue with thousands of other passengers in Russian immigration lines

 

Thanks for that info.

How does that work in practise ?

Are you required to show proof of being on a ship tour in order to walk off the ship, or is this controlled once inside the terminal.

Which cruise line / size of ship did you encounter this ?

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We did our Baltic cruise a few years ago but still hear that people are just as happy with TJ Travel as we were back then. It made for unbelievable memories. I did do a cruise review here on CC. Here is a link to the to the review,Saint Petersburg starts on page 3 in case you might find it helpful.

 

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10 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Thanks for that info.

How does that work in practise ?

Are you required to show proof of being on a ship tour in order to walk off the ship, or is this controlled once inside the terminal.

Which cruise line / size of ship did you encounter this ?

we were on NCL with 4000 passengers

 

A few days prior to St Petersburg independent guests and those on private tours had to book at box office a disembarkation letter A to G with A being earliest-was free disembarkation after 10am ,no physical cards given out-was marked on ship pass

Those on ships tours were called first to theatre and filed through there off the ship-presumably ships staff were checking they all had their ships tickets

 

Then about 8am they called for letter A to go to theatre-that was us

unfortunately no attempt was made to check actual letters on ships pass as there was absolutely no way all the mass of people who converged on theatre all had letter A -

as a result it took over an hour to get through theatre and into immigration hall

 

 A good idea if it had been policed properly but too many people were impatient and not prepared to wait till it was their turn

There was no way to avoid queing through the theatre as ropes blocked off exits to ship

these were apparently removed after 10 and for day 2 as was a normal exit off ship

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2 hours ago, cansas.piligrim said:

Majority of the local museums opens  at about 10am. Ships dock at about 7am. According to the new rules the port admits buses of local tour companies at 8.30am (on a busy day only). You have a lot of time for sightseeing before museum opening.

 

That's right, most of the museums don't start working until 10.30 am. Even if you meet your guide at 8.30, you have about 1.5-2 hours for a panoramic tour.

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That is too bad about the short day, I wonder why cruises are doing that? There is so much to do, 2 full days is merited for sure. We used TJ and had a private tour a

flr just our family (2 adults, 2 kids). It was amazing and with the small size our guide managed to whisk us by lines easily. We were able to fully customize our tour (see my trip review linked below). I would not miss the hermitage, Amber room and st catherine’s. We could have done without the hydrofoil from peterhof, but peterhof itself was beautiful. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/14/2019 at 3:34 AM, dogs4fun said:

I just checked the 2019 Baltic sailings for Cunard. If you are booked on any of the ships/dates listed below, your ship does not depart on day 2 until 6 pm :classic_biggrin:

April 28 - Queen Victoria

April 30 - Queen Victoria

May 19 - Queen Victoria

July 14 - Queen Victoria

July 16 - Queen Victoria

August 11 - Queen Elizabeth

August 23 - Queen Victoria

September 20 - Queen Elizabeth

 

We are on the August 11 sailing on the Queen Elizabeth....

 

This is the only information Cunard has given us (attached) and our TA has said we leave at 2pm....

 

In till we get on to the Queen Elizabeth on the 11th Aug 2019, we wont know what time we have to be back on the ship....

Hopefully it will be latter!

 

CaptureQB.JPG

Edited by Kiwi_cruiser
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On 1/13/2019 at 3:11 PM, Kiwi_cruiser said:

We haven’t been to St. Petersburg,  Russia before.

 

We are going there with Cunard, but I think on the 2nd day we are only in port till 11:30am or around then ( waiting for Cunard to conform the port times), so we might not get 2 full days there.

 

I know St. Petersburg is quite a big and busy city.

 

So I was wondering what is their not to miss in St. Petersburg?? and what would you recommend doing here for the day or two??

 

Also is there any private tour company's you would recommend??

 

Any ideas / suggestions are welcome :)

PS: I also heard we might need a visa for Russia??

We visited St. Petersburg last year, and still our memories are fresh. That city is great and 2 days is not enough to see all treasures. We didn't want to book a regular tour with an average tour company just to cover everything. We wanted just to taste and may be understand that country and people who live there.  We went to ( and I would recommend)  visit Peterhof gardens - just terrific, Hermitage museum , Spilled Blood church - they are really highlights. If you take a city tour and have a subway ride, dine with a Russian family and go to a regular market like we did , you will see how they live and work.  it was an unusual tour, personal, sincere and very significant for us. it will be ever-lasting memory. We booked that tour with Red sun tours and i am very confident in recommendation of them. 

btw they provided us with blanket visas, so we could easily get off the ship

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On 1/31/2019 at 9:37 PM, wing said:

We visited St. Petersburg last year, and still our memories are fresh. That city is great and 2 days is not enough to see all treasures. We didn't want to book a regular tour with an average tour company just to cover everything. We wanted just to taste and may be understand that country and people who live there.  We went to ( and I would recommend)  visit Peterhof gardens - just terrific, Hermitage museum , Spilled Blood church - they are really highlights. If you take a city tour and have a subway ride, dine with a Russian family and go to a regular market like we did , you will see how they live and work.  it was an unusual tour, personal, sincere and very significant for us. it will be ever-lasting memory. We booked that tour with Red sun tours and i am very confident in recommendation of them. 

btw they provided us with blanket visas, so we could easily get off the ship

 

Thank you for this review. It helped me to make a decision. We have just booked a 2 day tour in St. Petersburg with Red Sun Tours.

 

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