How early can we leave ship for Private tour in St. Petersburg

[bionicbeacher]

Hi Everyone....can anyone pass along any protocol or secrets or experience in St. Petersburg.

 

We will be arriving on the Royal in a couple of weeks and have booked a private tour for one day in St. Petersburg ...we are booked frrom anytime after 7:30 AM....looking for advice on disembarking this early....are we OK to just head for the gangway around the time of arrival and wait for the ship to be cleared.

 

We like to follow the rules but we don't want to be left behind either. Any and all advice would be appreciated.

 

Cheers

Ken

[Bob7]

We did a private tour there a few weeks ago. Our HAL ship and others we read about had an announcement that people not on ship tours could not leave the gangway between 7:30 and 9. Our tour was for 8:30. We went to the gangway at 8 and walk right off, as did people on other ships. Apparently no one ever gets told they can't disembark, they're just trying to keep the area clear for ship tour people.

 

We found that ship tour people tend to line up in one immigration line, all together, instead of looking for other faster lines. So if you see people all lined up, go further down and see if other immigration entrances have an agent present. There were about 6 or 7 "gates" operating when we were there. Looking through the gates you can see the interrogation rooms if they want to search you, perhaps 10 small rooms. We only saw one party in there getting their backpacks searched. We expected to find a rough old Russian guard in our immigration booth, but found a lovely young lady with a little smile for us who stamped our passports right away and gave us the red temp immigration card you hand in on return. Others in our party also had no trouble, the Russian guards were just great.

 

The scope of the Hermitage will amaze you. Be sure to book early entrance, the crowds at normal opening time are huge, and the half hour jump start is worth it. Ask for a guide who can explain the history of the artwork and historical objects or you'll miss the significance of them. Take the hydrofoil back to St. Pete's from the palace, the traffic at that time of day can take several hours, and the boat takes only about 30 minutes. If you're on a 2 day tour, and rain is forcast for one of those days, ask if you can do the Hermitage and Churches (inside tours) on the rainy day. Then do Peterhof and St. Catherines on the sunny day. Take snacks from the ship for lunch, saves tour time and avoids $30 Russian lunches.

Wonderful tours.

-Bob

[bionicbeacher]

We did a private tour there a few weeks ago. Our HAL ship and others we read about had an announcement that people not on ship tours could not leave the gangway between 7:30 and 9. Our tour was for 8:30. We went to the gangway at 8 and walk right off, as did people on other ships. Apparently no one ever gets told they can't disembark, they're just trying to keep the area clear for ship tour people.

 

We found that ship tour people tend to line up in one immigration line, all together, instead of looking for other faster lines. So if you see people all lined up, go further down and see if other immigration entrances have an agent present. There were about 6 or 7 "gates" operating when we were there. Looking through the gates you can see the interrogation rooms if they want to search you, perhaps 10 small rooms. We only saw one party in there getting their backpacks searched. We expected to find a rough old Russian guard in our immigration booth, but found a lovely young lady with a little smile for us who stamped our passports right away and gave us the red temp immigration card you hand in on return. Others in our party also had no trouble, the Russian guards were just great.

 

The scope of the Hermitage will amaze you. Be sure to book early entrance, the crowds at normal opening time are huge, and the half hour jump start is worth it. Ask for a guide who can explain the history of the artwork and historical objects or you'll miss the significance of them. Take the hydrofoil back to St. Pete's from the palace, the traffic at that time of day can take several hours, and the boat takes only about 30 minutes. If you're on a 2 day tour, and rain is forcast for one of those days, ask if you can do the Hermitage and Churches (inside tours) on the rainy day. Then do Peterhof and St. Catherines on the sunny day. Take snacks from the ship for lunch, saves tour time and avoids $30 Russian lunches.

Wonderful tours.

-Bob

 

Wow ......thanks for taking the time to give us such a wonderful informative response.....I noticed that there was a thread already dedicated to this question and with the information that you have given us plus the information on that thread ....we are all set.

Cheers and thanks once again

Ken