Thomson Spirit, 4th September 2009

[from hull]

Hi Lion_Sa,

 

I wonder do you apply your russian visa yet?

[from hull]

Hi Kruzseeka,

 

I wonder do you take the Panoramic City Tour of St Petersburg from ship excursion during your visit to St P? is that the tour only involve sitting in the bus or have chance to get off the bus for some photo shot ;)

 

My second question is, for the full day tour such as Peterhof Grand Palace and Hermitage , will lunch including in the package?

 

My last question is , do you take Neva cruise, will it run in evening?

 

Sorry for disturb you again :o

[Lion_sa]

Hi Hull

 

We have decided not to do the visa thing, as it works out for us about £40 to £50 each, so we have decided to do some or one of the excursions. we have not yet made up our minds on witch one to go on.

 

Chow

[from hull]

Thanks for reply :)

[cjvinthechair]

Hi !:)

 

Bit late, as I've only just discovered this site and its excellent options for reviews/advice/get togethers etc..

Anyone else travelling in 10 days' time, I'd be delighted to hear from you.

After cruises with RCI & Celebrity, I'm more than a little worried, despite researching the ship and its reviews as best I could, that this carrier might be a bit of a 'comedown'; do hope not, maybe others know better ?

[jirah]

Hi

 

Only our second cruise but we were warned last year of the much higher cost of tours from the ship and being hustled from one place to another with no time to enjoy which others said they experienced, so we pre booked some local tours then.

 

We have, therefore, booked a two, full day tour of St Petersburg.

 

At the moment there are 9 of us (5 different parties) from this cruise on the 'relaxed' tour that they offer. The cost for the two days is just over £127 pp but the more who book the cheaper it becomes.

 

The tour operator is TJ Travel and their response has been really good. No visas are required as they have the necessary validation. I don't know if it would be too late to book but the more on the tour, the less it costs so it could be worth trying this address Tatyana Churikova <traveltospb@gmail.com> the company is TJ Travel.

[cjvinthechair]

My 1st Thomson cruise, having previously been with RCI & Celebrity. Bit of a shot in the dark, as it's a very different kind of ship, but most comments I've read so far on the web have been encouraging - except the vibration, which I'm dreading !

I contacted in-country operators for St. Petersburg, have found one (TJ Travel) which seems to have attracted a few more customers from our boat, and having got their E-mail addresses I'm currently arranging to meet them on the ship in advance, probably in the Horizons bar on Sept. 5th at about 6:30 (?), to make sure we're all presenting a united front to Thomson about getting off the boat in good time at St. P.

I'm travelling alone, would be happy to met any Cruise Critic colleagues for a drink or two of an evening - do leave a message for me here and we'll sort something.

Happy sailing to all.:)

[cjvinthechair]

Just read Jirah's posting - we're part of the same group. All sociable Cruise Critic friends welcome !

[cjvinthechair]

Hi !

Not given myself much time for this - only recently appreciated just how interactive this site is !

I'm cruising alone, and apart from arranging a meeting with several couples who are going on the same 'private' tour in St. Petersburg, I've nothing planned to share with anyone ! Ahh.. well, yes and no, it's my choice to travel alone, so... !

 

So, if somebody should read this who thinks 'What the hell, can't hurt to have a drink with the guy !' I'd be very happy to hear.

[kruzseeka]

Hi Kruzseeka,

 

I wonder do you take the Panoramic City Tour of St Petersburg from ship excursion during your visit to St P? is that the tour only involve sitting in the bus or have chance to get off the bus for some photo shot ;)

 

My second question is, for the full day tour such as Peterhof Grand Palace and Hermitage , will lunch including in the package?

 

My last question is , do you take Neva cruise, will it run in evening?

 

Sorry for disturb you again :o

 

Hi there - only just spotted your post :o - we were away (on the Spirit!) when that one came through and I must have only read the threads near the top when I got back. Sorry for the delay - but I'll do my best to answer your questions now, if somewhat belatedly!

 

Right - the Panoramic tour (dragging my memory for this one so have looked at my pics to remind me!). As I remember we got out of the coach at St Isaacs (a few market stalls here too), at the Aurora (battleship) which is also near the Rostral columns, near the Church of the Spilled Blood (with the fantastic onion domes) and the Smolny Convent (white and blue). We had enough time to take photos of all these - but not enough time to go inside anywhere. We also saw the Hermitage, Admiralty, Peter & Paul Fortress, Nevsky Prospekt etc from the coach. St P is quite a compact city in terms of the main sites, so you get to see most of the highlights in the one tour.

 

According to my Excursions Guide (Sept 08) the tour to Peterhof and the Hermitage (9 hours) includes lunch. You see the Palace and Gardens (spectacular) then it says 'Your guide will then take you for a tasty Russian lunch at one of the city's best restaurants before going on to the Hermitage'. The cost was £71 which is about the same as two typical half day tours costing £30 -40 plus you get lunch thrown in - which could be quite an experience! Perhaps we'll try that next time!

 

And yes, we did the Neva evening cruise (there is also a daytime one combined with a visit to the Yusopov Palace). We really enjoyed it and saw a lot of the city from the water which gives you quite a different perspective. There's a glass of bubbly thrown in and some folk singers on board too. When you set out it's daylight but it gets dark before the trip ends and the buildings along the waterfront are all illuminated. It's quite a sight. sorry, can't say whether it's likely to rain or not but I would say it wouldn't be as enjoyable if it did! We were just lucky!

 

Sorry again for the delay, hope you pick this up and it helps. Won't be long now until you go - have a wonderful time! :) (P.S. The entertainment on the Spirit was EXCELLENT!)

[from hull]

Thanks for you reply :) I still can't make up my mind about the excursion, it just one week to go and seem that still lots of thing to plan :eek:

[dado]

hello lion sa. just got back from the baltic on the spirit . 1st answer to your question luggage yes you can take one big suitcase each on board if you can carry them so can they no to the bikes and when you see the ports for yourself you will understand why alot of them are docks ie cargo ports and the roadways are full and well used by big lorries and forklift trucks and coaches beware..we only found to walk ofports so to speak. Adise always use thomson coach trips and shuttle bus. dont use independant including taxis unless you are street wise. COFFEE love it my self bars charge alot but its good. i would advise you to take a small flask each and use the boiling water in the lido to fill them take to your cabin. take the coffee you like with you in your suitcase. milk and sugar are free in the lido and mugs. the coffee thats free always tastes burnt to me but you might like it. kettles and irons are barred in the cabins.

[tessy2]

Just got back from the cruise you are doing on Friday -do you need any more info or advice?

Let me know -we had the most fantastic time and wish we had taken bikes!

[tessy2]

Hi,

just read a bit more of the discussion!

We did the Peterhof and Hermitage tour whole day -well worth it though no time to take it at your own pace.the lunch was fab-they managed to cope with vegetarians in a lovely restaurant. The guide was excellent and kept us on track with timings and toilet stops. Take euros for russia and if you are doing Neva cruise book as soon as you get onto the boat.

We did most things independently -bus to Copenhagen then own tour, Riga small and just a walk in, Helsinki was beautiful just a shuttle bus ride and do-able without tour-get up early to buy tickets for bus; Stockholm -check where berth is and get water taxi from near boat if possible -costs 10 euros and you can get to Vassa museum which is truly spectacular-don't do the tour as you only spend an hour there. St P -did the Spilled Blood but wish we'd done St Catherine's Palace-did folk evening -fantastic!

Tallin was beautiful-don't take euros everywhere; Berlin is too much for a day trip -we did Warnrmunde and molli train -lovely! didn't like Aalborg except clothes shops were reasonable.

Germany was cheapest for food and drink off the boat and souvenirs in Russia were cheap. Helsinki street market was fabulous-good food and great people.

We had the best holiday ever-with two teenagers that's saying something.

the ship was great -staff the best ever -we ate in the Lido every night except for the Gala as it gave us veges. more choice-though I did try to dress up.

Entertainment excellent too and loads of extra things we weren't expecting like plays and craft stuff.

Weather was gorgeous -I hope you have a fantastic time too!!

[Lion_sa]

Thank you everyone for your posts and comments.

I got 1 day and 6 hours to wait till we go cruise !!!

I have taken loads of notes and ideas thanks allot.

When I get home (at work now) I am packing my flask as well. and coffee :D. good tip.

K Cheers

[kruzseeka]

Bon Voyage!

 

Have a wonderful trip and don't forget to let us know how you got on!! :)

[Lion_sa]

Thank You !!!

I will let you know how we got on, and if we hit an ice-burg or the Russian othorities arrested me for having to much of a good time :D

[Lion_sa]

Hi there ANYONE !!!

I am cutting it short, but have a question, that is if someone gets it before I got to leave for the cruise.

I have a question on Luggage allowance, as I am hopping on at harwicha nd not flying, what is the limit ? I have packed three bags. one weighs 27Kgs, is this to much ? is there a limit ? I ahve bene trying to find an answer on the web but no luck yet.

K hope someone gets this question soon enough.

Later and Thanks in ADVANCE as I am about to leave !!!!!!!, k well in about 12 hours time. :D

[davecttr]

I think no limit if you are not flying as long as you or the steward can lift it.

 

Anyway you can always decant some stuff into a plastic shopping bag.

[Lion_sa]

Thanks Davetheroad.

I'll take some plastic bags incase they ask me to empty them a little.

Cheers