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Looking at booking 2021 Baltic - got a couple of questions


siforest65
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Really fancied the Med but the price hike for balcony prices has put me off. Anyway, I’ve got a £50 enhanced OBS job burning a hole in my pocket and the June 2021 Baltic one appears favourite for me to book when the window opens next week.

 

Firstly an odd question but are the QE and QV identical regarding cabin numbering and exact tender/lifeboat position and configuration? Reason for asking is we had a partially obscured deck 5 balcony on the QE recently and it was brilliant with no supporting structure in the way. Wonder if the same cabin on the QV would have the same view.

 

Secondly, what’s the overnight stay in St Petersburg like? Is the ship dead or functioning as normal. Would probably do a shore trip on the first day there.

 

thanks in advance.

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Hi siforest65

 

We were on the Queen Victoria Baltic cruise this July.  I can't comment on the cabins.  We were on second sitting in Brittania and the restaurant was as busy as any other night.  The normal entertainment was offered.  There was a local Russian folklore group in the theatre who were very good and got a standing ovation, the theatre was full which it had not been on other nights.  We booked a two day private tour with T J Travel, and would recommend them, service was excellent and we covered all the main sights. 

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26 minutes ago, siforest65 said:

Really fancied the Med but the price hike for balcony prices has put me off. Anyway, I’ve got a £50 enhanced OBS job burning a hole in my pocket and the June 2021 Baltic one appears favourite for me to book when the window opens next week.

 

Firstly an odd question but are the QE and QV identical regarding cabin numbering and exact tender/lifeboat position and configuration? Reason for asking is we had a partially obscured deck 5 balcony on the QE recently and it was brilliant with no supporting structure in the way. Wonder if the same cabin on the QV would have the same view.

 

Secondly, what’s the overnight stay in St Petersburg like? Is the ship dead or functioning as normal. Would probably do a shore trip on the first day there.

 

thanks in advance.

 

Link QV Obstructed View Staterooms 

https://ask.completecruisesolution.com/help/ext/cunard/fleet/qv_obs

 

Link QE Obstructed View Staterooms

https://ask.completecruisesolution.com/help/ext/cunard/fleet/qe_obs

 

Tour Suggestions

Hermitage with the Gold Room

An evening at the Ballet

 

Ship operates normally throughout the stay in St Petersburg, except the Verrandah is closed for lunch.

 

 

 

 

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Another top-class tour operator is Alla Tours.  They created a two-day custom tour for the two of us (including two Hermitage visits) at a very reasonable price.  There are several others that also get lots of favorable reviews. This can include an evening opera or ballet, for which you can even buy your admission tickets online in advance,  at a great saving as well as being able to choose your own seats.  (Do not be fooled by anyone who tells you that you need a visa to go ashore unless you take the hugely overpriced ship's excursions.  I don't know whether Cunard engages in this form of sleazy deception, but plenty of other cruise lines do, even the "luxury" ones.)

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An advantage of booking one of the independent tour operators is the smaller vehicles. We toured with Alla in 2013 and had 15 passengers in a 16-passenger bus. We were able to see every place advertised. One of the ship tour full-sized buses was unable to go to the Church on Spilled Blood, one of the top places to visit, because the bus driver couldn't find a place to park.🤨

 

For the evening we were there we went back to the ship for a quick dinner and then took a canal excursion after dinner.

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