St. Pete Moscow trip

[merryecho]

Has anyone done the Moscow excursion from St Petersburg? If so, was it done on the second day? I assume so, but you never know. And, did you have any time for everyday Moscow, rather than all tourist sites?

Thanks

[StanandJim]

Merry-

 

Everyone who did this VERY EXPENSIVE excursion, on our cruise, HATED IT.

• You're booked on a local Russian airline (Think Aeroflot leftovers), and, they really pack you in like sardines.
  
• The crime in Moscow is rampant.
  
• At the time of our cruise, (July '07), Lenins Tomb was being renovated (although it may be finished by now), and much of Red Square was off limits.
  
• This Tour takes up about 18 hours (from the ship. to the ship), so you really need to devote TWO full days to it.

I hate to be so negative, but, honestly not one person had a single nice thing to say about the Moscow Tour.

 

Am I wrong in thinking that there are River Cruises that encompass Moscow? I'm sure that I've seen something along those lines.....

[orchestrapal]

There are many river cruises that go from Moscow to St. Pete or reverse.

Every one on our cruise last year hated the day too. The travel took most of the day with very little, very rushed time in the city. Save Moscow for a future trip.:)

[Bollinge]

Moscow from St Pete in a day? What's the point?

 

Take an independent tour by the "Метеоры" (Meteors) hydrofoil from outside the Winter Palace, across the Gulf of Finland to the superb Peterhof Palace (about 45 minutes away) instead!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterhof

 

http://www.pole-nw.ru/pages.php?pageTreeCode=050404

[merryecho]

Thanks everyone, but we have been to St Pete twice before, and done the Peterhof, Hermitage, Vorontsov, etc. Haven't been to Moscow though, and have heard just as many people say they thoroughly enjoyed the trip, wouldn't have missed it. Not a place I care to come back for on a special trip though.

So, if anyone has actually done it, I would appreciate their input about when what and where.

[wripro]

I did the one day Moscow tour when I was there on Seabourn and it was one of the BEST days I have ever had on a trip. It's a long day but so worthwhile if that's all the time you have to see Moscow. Yes, the flight was on a Russian airline (not even Aeroflot) and the airport in Moscow is a relic from the Cold War but these things only added to the flavor and excitement of the day. We got to see more of Moscow than I had ever expected including all the biggies (Kremlin, Red Square, subways, etc) and even residential areas. We had a great guide who managed to get us in at the head of every line. We stopped for tea at the Metropole Hotel and had a fabulous dinner at a top restaurant with caviar, vodka and great food all around. We didn't get back to the ship till one in the morning but I couldn't have been happier. Is it the ideal way to see Moscow? No! it would be better to spend a few days there but if you don't have the time and you have been to St. Petersburg before (as I had) this is an acceptable and enjoyable alternative. Much better than not seeing Moscow at all. And yes, it is usually done on the second day.

[merryecho]

Wripro- thanks for the supportive comments. I am sure that because the Moscow trip is expensive, some think it is a luxury trip, rather than something of an adventure, so are disappointed. I have looked into various ways of getting to Moscow-there is an overnight train, but will probably end up using the ship tour.

[wripro]

Merryecho,

 

In all honesty I don't know how Oceania handles the day but I am sure it will be well done. Seabourn was exemplary. We literally were taken care of from the moment we left the ship until we returned. As I said, it was a special day and I would definitely recommend it.

[Jana]

Hi,

 

I too thought of doing this but since it's my first time to St. Petersburg I decided to stick with the main tours and get the best overview. I went looking on the Celebrity board, though, because the year before last, Cruise Critic's Editor-in-Chief did a "blog in a thread" about her Baltic cruise on Century and posted, in detail, her Moscow experience:

 

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St. Petersburg! But…Not….

 

A repeat visit to St. Petersburg (whose splendors I’ll go into later), this time around I opted for what is easily the most exotic urban shore excursion on any itinerary: a daylong trip to Moscow! It’s not for the faint of heart in either courage (the only way to do a day trip is to fly and these planes aren’t the usual Boeing or Airbus models and, as well, the trip is a justifiably expensive one at $650 per person). But it was easily the most fascinating, complicated, and well-run shore excursion I’ve ever experienced through a cruise line.

 

I’m going to save many of the details for an upcoming feature (“A Letter From…” – keep an eye on our e-letter for its launch) but the high points, in a nutshell:

 

*We departed at about 7:15 a.m. – not too bad! – and were taken first to a quick stop in St. Petersburg for souvenir shopping (not sure I understood why as we had a second day to visit St. Petersburg) then headed to the St. Petersburg airport terminal. We took a scheduled flight (11 a.m. or so) on a model called Ilysion 86 (forgive me if I don’t have the spelling right) but it was like a plane out of the sixties, really big, wide body (for just an hour’s commute), stewardesses, and yes, not cabin attendants or whatever, who wore “Jackie O” tailored suits and white gloves. There are no gateways, by the way (on either end) – you’re bused out to the tarmac and enter via stairs. In the case of this huge plane you actually climb up through the cargo area! Otherwise, pleasant and uneventful.

 

*The drive in from Moscow’s domestic terminal isn’t all that…outrageous until your guide (ours, we had two, actually, one from St. Petersburg who held our hands all the way, and one in Moscow) pointed out a shopping mall with Ikea as its anchor. Big deal, eh? Actually it was; she said that six or seven years ago, when the country was still emerging from its isolationist rule, the Swedish Ikea was the first major import and considered incredibly exotic at the time.

 

*There’s lots of history, even in inexplicable places, like beside the highway in a growing area of suburban concrete apartment blocks. In this case our guide pointed out a monument to the “coverage of Soviet soldiers who were forcing Hitler back during World War II. Hitler had planned to eradicate the city by flooding it. It just reminded me of how bloody is the recent past of St. Petersburg and Moscow, not to mention so many other parts of Russia.

 

*Would you believe that the Russian Federation is so big it has 11 time zones?

 

*The biggest highlight was arriving in Moscow. It’s not a pretty city, looks like a blend between an Eastern bloc metropolis (with old tramways and their attendant low-hanging power cables) with a handful of very tall, very sleek apartment, hotel, condo and office skyscrapers; these represent the new, moneyed Russia. We get off the bus on what’s an average looking block of buildings and our guides lead us around the corner and – kaboom! We’re in Red Square. It’s one of the two most breathtaking urban squares in the world in my opinion – St. Mark’s in Venice gets the other nod. First up is St. Basil’s and you wouldn’t believe that despite its sort of rocky karma in the beginning (it was built at the behest of Ivan the Terrible) it was so beautiful and so unique I couldn’t breathe for a second.

 

What makes it unique is its various patterns and textures – it’s much, much more whimsical than the average Eastern Orthodox cathedral. Its onion domes are painted in oranges, greens, blues, reds, with the gold minaret-style spires offering the more classic counterpoint. St. Basil’s is significant because it resembles a blend of East and Western influences; to me its fabulous and varied onion domes felt like a carnival.

 

*So we see St. Basil’s ahead and walk around the corner and there is Red Square, in all its glory! The Kremlin on one long, long side, facing Gum’s department store, the legendary Soviet-era mercantile, which in what I guess is a perfect symbolic move now is now a sterile (albeit pretty) shopping mall that houses the same-old chain boutiques – Burberry et al – that you can find anywhere in the world). St. Basil’s anchors one end, the State Historical Museum lies on the other. And right up against the huge Kremlin (which spans the length of the square) is Lenin’s mausoleum.

 

*One interesting new twist is that our guide actually gave us 40 minutes free time to wander around at will – first time ever that’s happened on any of my St. Petersburg tours, where guides were required to accompany you at all times (I got separated from my group once on an Hermitage tour and I remember she was really really upset – and quite relieved when I resurfaced).

 

*We toured the Kremlin (now the equivalent of a business-oriented White House – Putin reportedly lives on an estate in the suburbs but he does work there). The Armory is the big attraction; it’s a bit like Russia’s Smithsonian, with collections of everything from ancient religious cassocks (cakkoc) to Catherine the Great’s summer carriage. Don’t miss the collection of thrones….

 

*Very cool was our tour of the subway system. We got on at Revolution Square (near Red Square) and rode for two stops. Moscow’s subway is legendary; Stalin spent millions building the most architecturally extravagant stations (marbled walls, crystal chandeliers, bronze sculptures). Each station is different, too. One warning: our guide warned us to be very careful of pickpocketers and, indeed, one of our group caught a woman trying to nab her bag….

 

*We had an outstanding (early) dinner at a gorgeous ancient manse that now serves as an elite private club for writers; dinner came with red wine, water and the obligatory vodka.

 

*We finished up before 7 p.m., even though our return flight wasn’t until 10 p.m., and were back on the bus – and for good reason because the traffic was monstrous and it took two hours! We were cutting it close.

 

*The flight home was frankly scarier than the flight there…it was a long, narrow plane and when we took off the entire bank of luggage compartments began to vibrate, making a very distinctive “rat a tat rat a tat” sound that frankly sounded like gunfire. One wag said he hoped the plane had one more flight still in it (and frankly so did we all).

 

*We landed safely…deplaned into yet another bus, rode to the terminal, got on our motorcoach and headed into St. Petersburg. It was just after midnight and there was still light in the sky! Great day, exhausting, and I would advise folks who take this adventure not to over-book the next day in St. Petersburg (some were doing afternoon tours; perfect blend as you’ll want the rest!).

 

Stay tuned for more details – these are just quick impressions but I hope they whet your interest. Would love to hear from others who’ve done the Moscow excursion (we traveled in tandem with a group from Oceania Insignia, by the way; our group was about 100 folks).

 

Carolyn

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The link to the whole thread is http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=383399&highlight=editor%40cruisecritic.com

 

and the link to the page where Moscow starts is http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=383399&page=14&highlight=editor%40cruisecritic.com

[Acrusa]

Merryecho,

 

In all honesty I don't know how Oceania handles the day but I am sure it will be well done. Seabourn was exemplary. We literally were taken care of from the moment we left the ship until we returned. As I said, it was a special day and I would definitely recommend it.

 

We did this trip on the Prinsendam in 2002.Both Holland America and Seaboun being owned by Carnival must have been the same tour,If i am not mistakin it was the first time they ever did this.It was fasinating and worth while.That was 6 years ago the resturant they took us for lunch was a big catering hall in a Moscow hotel very shabby.

But I think that has changed as per WRIPRO indorsment.