Would like a review of a baltic cruise on Regent

[gemcruiser]

I've cruised once on regent...last year in Alaska. Ours was a shortened cruise because the Mariner had engine problems. I now have a "free" cruise on Regent to make up for that and was thinking of going to the Baltic in 2008. However, in reading boards on the Baltic, it sounds as if that area is overrun in cruisers from all cruise lines.

 

If anyone has done the Baltic, I'd like your input...I can't stand for lengthy periods due to back issues...however, I can walk. Do you have to wait in lines for many of the museums and other sites?

 

Any comments are welcome!

 

Thanks!

[Island Cruiser]

My first Regent (then Radisson) cruise was on the Voyager in the Baltics. The trip was simply magnificent. The ports all interesting with SP at the top of the list. BUT if you have serious mobility problems, SP may not be for you. All of the principal attractions, Peterhof, St. Catherine's Palace, and the Hermitage are mobbed with tourists. You stand in a line to get in and you navigate through crowds to see the sights. Everything moves as the Russians planned. I enjoyed each experience. But everything was very very crowded (lots of Russian tourists who enter from a different point and stand in much longer lines than we did). I imagine it would be somewhat of a nightmare for someone with mobility problems. But other than this, the trip is majic!

 

By the way, I was on the Mariner when her pod went out. As you know, we arrived in port a day late while you folks were cooling your heals in an unanticipted extra night in an Ancorage hotel. Regent took care of all of us nicely with respect to that inconvenience. But my oh my did you folks get a great deal. Enjoy your free cruise. You have lots of great options.

[Travelcat2]

I agree with everything that Island Cruiser said about how wonderful the Baltic cruise is -- we did it in August, 2006. We utilized a private tour company (check the CruiseCritic boards under "Ports" to learn more about private tours in St. Petersburg) -- it was definitely worth the money.

 

Suggest that you do some research -- particularly in St. Petersburg. Both tours through the ship and privately are quite pricey but worth the money. When you do a private or small group tour (not through Regent), the licensed tour operators are allowed by the government to go to the front of the VERY long lines of tourists.

 

We stayed in Copenhagen 2 nights before the cruise to rest up. Both Copenhagen and Stockholm (the Voyager tends to go back and forth from these ports) are beautiful cities.

 

Our favorite port was Tallin -- a wonderful walking city. Regent provides bus transportation into the town.

 

How wonderful to have a free cruise. We've been on the Voyager, Navigator and PG -- really looking forward to the Mariner next year (think the new pod will be installed before we go). Later next year we'll return to the Voyager -- from what I hear, it is very similiar to the Mariner - but, with larger suites. As you probably have already read on these boards, when you book the Voyager, avoid the aft cabins as there tends to be a vibration problem.

 

Have a great time!

[AngieS]

Hi. We did the Baltic cruise a few years ago on the Regent Voyager and it was the best cruise we have ever done. The only shore excursions we did through the ship were the ones in St. Petersburg and they were well worth it. I would not attempt trying to do St. Petersburg privately. Regent had fabulous tours, excellent guides and we got into the museums and palaces earlier than everyone else. We did the rest of the cities on our own. The three days in St. Petersburg were exhausting but we figured we would probably never go again, so crammed as much as we could into those three days! I would like to warn you though that it involved lots of walking and standing and cobbled stones in some places!

[freddiebud]

As everyone said, these ports are alot of walking. With that said, it is the best itinerary I have been on yet. You can limit the amount of waiting by securing a private tour in St. P. We did not have to wait at the Hermitage nor at St Catherines Palace - or anywhere else for that matter. BUT it is ALOT of walking.

[gemcruiser]

Thanks to everyone who answered my request about information. I think I will go ahead and try to book the Baltic cruise. Walking isn't my problem; it's standing for long periods.

 

Hope everyone has lots of fun on their cruises!

 

Thanks!

 

Laura

[vi1234]

We did the Baltic cruise on the Voyager summer of 06. Fabulous! In St. Petersburg we were part of a group of 4 couples (met on cruise critic) who booked a private tour through Red October for all three days. We had a new van, a driver, and a guide who was very competent and spoke excellent English. Like you I can walk but have trouble standing (bad back). The only real standing that I remember was in the museums. You can always walk around in a small area. There were some long walks and a few stairs. If you can get a group together, Red October is the way to go. You also do not need to get a visa if you are booked with a Russian travel agency.

Vivian

[Hambagahle]

We did the Voyager Baltic cruise in June last year. We took several tours through RSSC, but in St P we hired our own guide and car. Galina, our guide, has guided several US Presidents, and makes a specialty of getting you into museums and palaces without waiting and in fact when then are not generally open to the public, so there is no standing around. However, there IS a lot of walking!! I don't think you can avoid that. If you want to contact her, Google Galina Travel. If she can't help she will almost certainly refer you to other guides. I know that Red October is one such company and people really liked it.

We have done several cruises with RSSC and love the company and especially the style with which they do things! The Baltic was very interesting. We took the cruise out of Dover so it was longer than the average. Have fun!!

[Shawski]

We did the Baltic cruise this past July and enjoyed it immensely. SP is the only port where you might have problems with a lot of standing. The sights are all very crowded, so you can end up waiting for several minutes to move from one location to another. This is particularly true in regard to The Hermitage. There is no place to sit. You might be better off arranging a private tour because you would be able to move more freely than you would with a group tour. I would suggest that you contact one of the private tour guides that are mentioned quite often on the Baltics boards, explain your situation and see what they have to say.

 

Also, I think that if I had to do it all over again, I would arrange for a private tour, at least on the days that the ship stayed overnight in SP. The Regent tours were very good, however, they had about 20 people in them and, in most places, unless you were able to get right in front of the tour guide, you couldn't hear what the guide was saying.

 

Good luck! You'll love the cruise and make sure you spend a few days in Stockholm - it's a great city!

[Judyumcer@aol.com]

We were on the Voyager to the Baltics and it was truly the best experience we have ever had. St. Petersburg is so fabulous; you won't believe it. We used a private tour company for 3 days. Called Red October. We cut in front of all lines and never had to wait. The guide took us everywhere. I would definitely go back. Do the pre-cruise in Moscow if you can. Worth every penny!!! Enjoy!

[Balliett]

We were also on the Voyager to the Baltic last year. Best cruise ever for us, by far (out of ten, mostly HAL and, this year Oceania.) The ship had an excersion for an after-hours tour of The Hermitage, which had no crowds or any standing around at all. Very calm and good. We also did a long day with a private guide, which avoided most lines.