Any Cruise Critc Members On Board the Voyager Now?

[shua22]

Howzit? Would love to hear how it's going -- I promise to post a few times from the boat in a few weeks.

[ShireSailor]

We just got off the ship on Friday 8/6 and had a magnificent time. Other than a downpour in Tallin, we had a great time....even stood out on our balcony in St. Petersburg and listened to the Madonna concert near the Hermitage!!! The ship is in great condition, the staff was congenial and accommodating, and the food was delicious. There has been a lot of talk on these boards about dinner reservations at Signatures and Prime 7. We ate at both restaurants once while on board and have wonderful meals...but all other nights we dined at Compass Rose and had equally great food. We live near San Francisco and are accustomed to quality food and were not disappointed at all. Some folks were trying to finagle multiple reservations at Signatures and Prime 7 for the cruise. They were simply being greedy.

You will have a magical time on board. Let me know if you have specific questions about the cruise.

[shua22]

Thanks -- Good timing in St. Pete! Sounds like an awesome trip.... did you make your prime 7 and signatures reservationsbefore you left or were you able to make them on the ship?

[gfranzen]

What excursions in St. P did you take? How were they?

[UUNetBill]

What excursions in St. P did you take? How were they?

 

Yes, do tell, please! We're doing the Baltic next summer. . .would love to know!

[ShireSailor]

In St. Petersburg we did not get a visa, so we availed ourselves of the Regent excursions. We went to Catherine's Palace, the Hermitage, and Peterhof. Catherine's Palace is very nice...very grand and gave us a sense of Russian history at the time. The Hermitage is daunting and in the 2 hours that we were there, it was a sampler platter of the collection. The better known works had large crowds around them. Our tour guide did an admirable job given the conditions. Lastly, Peterhof is stunning. There are two tours through Regent...one that goes to the main palace and the big gardens and another that goes to two smaller pavilions and the big gardens. For us, the gardens and the fountains were the true stars. We also had the opportunity to wander in the gardens on our own without the guide....a bit of freedom. Lastly, I took the Metro ride/shopping excursion. 2/3 of this was fantastic. Riding the Metro and seeing the Metro stations (quite beautiful) was a treat given that we didn't have visas. Afterwards we went to a large food market and watched women make fresh cheese, sampled honey, tasted fantastic pickles, and bought chocolate and amazing glazed apricots. The last part of the excursion wasn't so great. They dropped us off at a souvenir shop for nearly an hour. I'm sure there was some financial incentive for the bus to stop there and some of us just walked back from the bus to the ship instead (about a 45 minute stroll). This was easy because we were docked in town and not in the industrial area.

Hope that helps you out....