Gold Room at the Hermitage?

[jstducky]

Was it worth the extra admission fee and time to see it? Or am I better off spending my time doing other things?

 

Thanks in advance!

[dbh62ark]

This question has been asked in several threads and discussed in detail. You can search the boards, and here are two threads.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=331095&highlight=gold

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=299275&highlight=gold

 

I enjoyed our tour of those rooms and would do it again, but some passengers have noted that they find it boring, so it's again a matter of personal opinion and preference. The cost is minimal considering the cost of the trip, so I don't think the extra $15 per person should be a deciding factor; the greater question is whether or not this is how you want to spend your time. It takes approx 40 minutes to tour these rooms.

 

Donna

[eldercruser]

We found it fascinating - and no crowd - as there was in the rest of the museum. Really a matter of personal preference. The items on display were truly unique.

[windjamming]

I agree with the above posters- it's a matter of preference and enjoyment. From what I remember most of the items are very detailed pieces of jewelry and handiwork.

 

Personally I loved it. To me, the extra hour or so it took really didn't take away from anything else, and I found the craftsmanship exquisite.

 

If you're interested, my full review of our Baltics cruise is at: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=408298

 

Have a great time!

[CJcruzer]

Would any faberge eggs be shown in one of the gold rooms - or Diamonds room?

 

Are there any in display cases in the "regular" rooms of the Hermitage?

 

CJcruzer

[CJcruzer]

Would any faberge eggs be shown in one of the gold rooms - or Diamonds room?

 

Are there any in display cases in the "regular" rooms of the Hermitage?

 

CJcruzer

[hotmike98]

No faberge eggs in the gold room. Most were sold to Malcom Forbes, but I believed were recently bought back by some Russian businessman. The crown jewels are in a museum in Moscow, not at the Hermitage. While I agree that gold room time is a matter of personal preference, I would not do it again, as the time (for me anyway) would be better spent on the painting collection, which is quite large. Most of what is in the gold room are personal items like combs, snuff boxes, etc., although there is also a large amount of Sythian gold items (ancient arm bands, necklaces, etc.) from an archeological dig in the southern part of Russia. So while not uninteresting, if you were expecting royal jewels, crowns, etc., you will be disappointed.

[jstducky]

now what is the Diamond room? do you need a special separate tour for that?

[dileep]

It is a matter of choice - lots to see and limited time. The ones that saw the gold room seem to like it. On the other hand, I cannot think of what I would have given up on our itinerary to spend the extra time in the gold room. Not having seen it, I don't know what I missed.

 

When we went in May 2005, you had to book the gold room ahead of time.

[EGG]

When we went to the Gold Room, there was a museum guide who explained everything in Russian and then our tour guide repeated everything in English. After a while I found this excrusiatingly slow (Especially when this was hour 4 of an 8 hour tour). There is no place to sit for the 40 minutes.

 

We did not even have time for 10 minutes at the museum shop. I would have preferred that. There is so much to do in St. Petersberg.

[Juliadlf]

We also had a gold room guide whose english was what she thought not good so she spoke in russian to our tour guide who in turn spoke to us in english. It was I think time consuming for the translations to be done and move on to the next exhibit.

There are many items in the gold room which take time for the guide(s) to tell you about each of them. It can be "information overload". I would definitely say to do it but try to get a guide who speaks english therefore reducing the time at each of the exhibits.

 

Have a great time in St.Petersburg.

 

Julia

[teacherman]

We spent 2 days touring with Red October. If I were to leave out one thing it would have been the Gold Room. The display items were lovely, but as others have said it is a long visit to a small area with everything being said twice and no place to sit. St Petersburg is a fascinating visit, but it can become a museum/history overload. You make your choice and see what happens. It is a great trip!

[RickT]

It was one of those things that we were glad we did because we'll probably never have the chance again. That being said, it was nice but we're not sure it was worth the time and extra dollars.