Gala evening at Yusupov palace--HA?

[noteasilyimpressed]

Anyone tried this and liked it? It's offered one evening on the HA Eurodam.

I can't stand ballet, but I love Opera. (strange, I know). It sounds like a really fabulous evening--or a complete waste of time. I am doing the DenRus value tour during the day, but for the one evening we could leave the ship, we wanted to do a Russian Opera...or something equally fabulous. This HA offering also eliminates the need to get a visa. Comments, opinions? TIA!:)

[lazey1]

You might also consider the Russian Folkloric show. I would highly recommend that one. Either would make for a very long day

[Max2003]

We are booked for this excursion. A few comments on the boards seem favorable. It would be nice to hear from someone who has done this one recently. It says dress is formal. Should be quite an evening.

[ginger and professor]

We used Denruss and were very happy with the two day tour. If they take you down to the basement of the yusupov palace, I would decline any food or drink. It didn't work out too well for a monk about one hundred years ago.... Seriously, you will love the entire time in St. Petersburg, and the knowledge of your tour guide.....

[MrsMuir]

DH and I took this excursion and enjoyed it -- in 2000. The best part for us was the palace itself. The Yusopovs were supposed to have been wealthier than the Romanovs, and the grandeur on display is amazing, especially considering the miserable lives of the peasants. The guided tour took us down to the basement, to the actual room where Rasputin was lured and his drinks were poisoned. Wax figures by Mme Tussaud depicted the party scene. Goose bumps!

 

At the beginning of the evening we were served a glass of champagne and offered caviar. Welllll....it was July and a hot evening, so we declined the caviar. The opera selections in the palace theatre lasted too long for us after a long hot day, but they were good singers and musicians, as far as we could tell.

 

In 2005 we went to the Folkloric show, and both fell asleep after an hour of repetitive (but enjoyable) singing/shouting and dancing. Of the two excursions, we liked the Yusopov Palace the best. It was expensive, I recall, but we (I) liked dressing up a bit and seeing how the aristocrats lived just prior to the Revolution. "Formal" dress consisted of a few longish dresses when we were there, and some ladies wore nice pantsuits or cocktail dresses. There were elegant stairs to climb beyond the foyer, which was part of the fantasy feeling to the evening. If you're into history, I recommend this excursion -- at least as it was eight years ago.

 

Mrs M

[Max2003]

Mrs Muir

 

Do you recall if most men wore tuxedos?? That would make a big difference in the experience. Your comments on women's attire leads me to think not all (many) took the formal dress request seriously.

 

Thanks for your reply

[ScottishMaid]

Our group from the Rotterdam was well dressed. Ladies should wear sensible shoes for the tour though .. narrow staircase down to Rasputin part. We had welcome by costumed people, had the Rasputin tour, were seated and given champagne and caviar (just fine to eat), period dancing by costumed people, and some folk music, then moved into the very small intimate theater for opera performances. There were 4 singers who sang a solo each, then duets (NOT a whole company of singers). Then we could buy their CDs and go in the gift shop. Best of all my family took photos of each other dressed up on the grand staircase and outside in the light at 10 pm. We made believe we were the Russian aristocracy but no carriages sadly. The opera singers wore evening wear. Yes men dressed in tuxedos or dark suits and ladies in formal night pants and jackets for warmth or long skirts, remembering you are going on a coach. The palace was open for about 3 HAL busloads only.

People dressed up in general on that cruise. Plenty of Europeans onboard.