Baltic

[Grando]

My first post so please be gentle with me! We are due to go to the Baltic in June on Adventure of the Seas. As this is our first time in this part of th world we would be grateful for any information and tips regarding excursions in St Petersburg etc. Realise that visas are usually included in the cost of trip. Thanks in advance.
Doreen

[sunseeker16]

We went last year (Cunard not P&O but I don't know if that makes a difference to the excursions)

Yes, the ship-organised tours include the visa. You get that done in the immigration process on your first day and get a piece of paper which stays in your passport till you return on the second day. It was not difficult, particularly time-consuming or stressful.

We did two half-day trips, which were actually quite tiring. People who did more got very tired (but had a great time, so it's a personal choice thing). If you think it might be your one and only visit there you may want to cram as much in as possible.

People on our table booked a private tour, through a company they found on the internet. They found it very good and enjoyed being in a much smaller group (minibus/large people carrier size) and having more control overwhat they saw and how long they stayed at each spot. The company arranged their visa (or helped them arrange their own) and they said there was no problem.

We had very good, very well informed local tour guides. They used a headphone/receiver round neck system for communication, which was great and meant you didn't have to rush or jostle to get near the guide to hear the information. We particularly enjoyed the half day walking tour, which we felt gave us a good overview of the centre and the highlights, without constantly climbing on and off coaches.

St Petersburg is a beautiful, beautiful city, though you mightn't feel particularly relaxed or safe there - we were always glad to be with the official tour. They gave us a little slip of paper to carry, with 'Can you help me? I am lost. I need to get back to the liner Queen Victoria etc etc' translated into Russian for us to present if we became detached from our group!

You will be unable to avoid being taken to souvenir shops/sheds. They all speal English there, and take euro or dollars quite happily

Have a lovely time!

[Boris+]

Hi Sunseeker - ditto - we also did St Petersburg last year on Cunard!

Anyway, if you are told that it is unsafe to buy souvenirs by the flea market opposite the Church of the Spilled Blood don't believe it - it's better value for money and there's nothing wrong with the products.

Beware the huge mozzies in port! Leaving and joining the ship (if you are on an organised tour - can't speak for diy because we didn't do that) is pleasant and quick and efficient - they have a brand new set of buildings for cruise ships.

When going ashore in St Petersburg, please take handwipes and handgel with you because the public loo facilities (even in The Hermitage) are awful.

Our experience was that they will show you precisely what they want you to see - and maybe not what you want to see.

Don't worry too much about the local currency - if you have US dollars or Euros that's fine.

We had really scorchio hot weather in June last year - enjoy!

Em
Em

[sunseeker16]

Ooh yes - I forgot the mozzies!

We were encouraged to use that little market! A bird (luckily small) gave me a little 'welcome to St P message' on my head and a kind lady on astall gave me a wet wipe and told me - through side language/pidgin English and general bonhomie - that it was good luck there too

The guys who went diy dashed down the gangplank as soon as it had been lowered (despite being told independents would only be allowed off once the ship-organised groupls had left) and passed through immigration no problem, so that aspect shouldn't put people off

[Boris+]

Hi Sunseeker - it seems you were on QV, we were on a different outing; and we didn't get the full time in St Petersburg because of riots in Moscow etc.

On the tour which we did we were taken to a tourist shop and told very clearly this was the only place to get souvenirs because the stuff in the market was rubbish, overpriced and it was unsafe there. When we eventually got to the market place by the Church of the SB, we found out that it was exactly the same merchandise, cheaper prices, helpful stall holders and at no time did we feel at risk there.

We also went to Talliin - which was really enjoyable.

Em

[gfwgfw]

Hi

Even if you have no interest in Ballet

Give yourself s a real treat and go to World-known Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet and Opera theatre is one of top 6 ballet and opera companies in the world. It is a "must see" in St. Petersburg

The Theatre itself is well worth seeing, an architectural gem

BTW Dress code is surprisingly causal for the locals, but our party poshed up a little

[gfwgfw]

. . . . and be prepared for the mega of all mega traffic snarlups in and around St Petes

[Boris+]

Hi Graham,

When we went in June it was a public holiday, and therefore as there was minimal traffic our coach was able to stop at places it would normally have driven straight past.

Em

[gfwgfw]

Dear Em

We have visited St Pete's four times - and each visit the traffic jams were markedly worse

Having said that it is by far our favourite Cruise destination

Do hope all is well with you and yours

Luboooo

Graham x

[Boris+]

Hi Graham,

We were just to incredibly lucky - normally we were told that the coach would have driven by various points of interest, but due to the public holiday we were able to stop and get off the coach to take photos - including ages at the cruiser Aurora, the P&P fort etc., and a good long time at the Church of the SB and flea market.

I think if we go back (probably now that will be in 2014) we would want to go to some of palaces etc which are 'out of town'.

Trust all is well with you - and rest assured I'm working on being able to 'drop in' to the theatre before too long!

Em

[Mamil1]

We were in St Petersburg last May on Aurora and done organised trips.The ballet was terrific,Swan Lake.Done church on spilled blood etc,but my favourite trip was on the underground system.It was beautiful,very ornate and spotlessly clean.Unfortunately the traffic was horrendous .We were over an hour late getting back to the ship.Captain unhappy at late departure.

[RB1961]

We were there in September and went on a P&O excursion.
A group of 3 on our table used Alla Tours for both days and said they were fantastic.

Have a good time.

[dorsetlad]

We did St P with Fred Olsen a couple of years ago, and spent 3 days there. A group of 10 of us spent all 3 days with TJ Travel, (similar to Alla tours) and had a fantastic time. We travelled in a mini bus, and didn't experience any traffic snarl ups at all. This was in September 2010. Would thoroughly recommend TJ travel, they looked after us royally.

Brian

[Grando]

Thanks for all your helpful tips and information (must admit the mozzies hadn't crossed my mind, and they love me)! Looking forward to this trip as we have never been here before, also never been on Adventure of the Seas. Doreen

[kaymar]

A slightly belated welcome to the forum, Grando Doreen - I'm sure you will find it interesting and maybe even occasionally entertaining.

We did a Baltic cruise on Arcadia in 2010 and, like dorsetlad, used TJ Travel for a two-day visit to St Petersburg and could not have wished for anything better. If it is of interest to you, I have copied an extract from a report I did for the P&O forum and posted in on here in Destinations - Europe - The Baltic.

There are a handful of similar companies who can arrange a similar itinerary for you. We have recommended TJ Travel to several friends and acquaintances and, without exception, they have been as delighted as we were with the service provided.

They responded immediately to my first, general enquiry email, gave us a list of what was available and then helped us put together a bespoke itinerary to meet our exact requirements. We chose to take our time rather than try to cram in everything and they were more than happy to vary the timetable "on the hoof" when we were there. Less time here, more time there, another coffee stop - absolutely no problem! Just so much easier than falling in with the wishes of a coach-load of passengers following a set itinerary (and waiting for the inevitable late-comers!)

TJ's website is at http://st-petersburg-tours.ru/. where you will find pages of similar testimonials and a lot of background information on this company. Others forum users have used SPB, Alla, Red October and Anastasia and I have not read a bad report of any of them. I would suggest that you Google something like "St Petersburg Tour Companies" and have a browse.

[sunseeker16]

I think our table companions may well have used TJ's - it sounds familiar, though I can't say for certain

[roscol]

We did Baltic Last September on Arcadia, fantastic cruise, very tiring though. St Petersburg was everything we expected & more! We booked our trips with Alla Tours (http://www.alla-tours.com) they do mini buses for max 16 . We spent 2 enjoyable days seeing all the major attractions, including Hydrafoil trip to Peterhof. The guide spoke perfect english & was extremely informative. The cost of the two days was less than the P&O trip. Enjoy!

[Grando]

We returned today from our Baltic cruise on Adventure of the Seas and would like to thank you all for the recommendation to use T.J Travel, they certainly lived up to their reputation and cannot speak highly enough of them. We took the 2 day tour in St Petersburg and Irena our guide was brilliant and her English was perfect (she had taught Russian at Durham University). There was 6 in our party and we expected to be part of a larger group but had a mini bus to ourselves, she did the reverse of the ships tours and we avoided the queues, we also felt very safe with our driver, although he didn't speak English was very pleasant. We took in all the main sights, she even took us for a ride on the Metro for one stop for the experience! We met 'T' Tatiana who wanted to know how we had found T.J so I explained that you kind people had recommended them! We had a great cruise and couldn't fault Royal Caribbean at all. So thank you all once again. Doreen.

[Manoverboard]

Topic moved to ' Destinations / Europe ' as the info will be much easier to find at a later date by others.

[kaymar]

We returned today from our Baltic cruise on Adventure of the Seas and would like to thank you all for the recommendation to use T.J Travel, they certainly lived up to their reputation and cannot speak highly enough of them. We took the 2 day tour in St Petersburg and Irena our guide was brilliant and her English was perfect (she had taught Russian at Durham University). There was 6 in our party and we expected to be part of a larger group but had a mini bus to ourselves, she did the reverse of the ships tours and we avoided the queues, we also felt very safe with our driver, although he didn't speak English was very pleasant. We took in all the main sights, she even took us for a ride on the Metro for one stop for the experience! We met 'T' Tatiana who wanted to know how we had found T.J so I explained that you kind people had recommended them! We had a great cruise and couldn't fault Royal Caribbean at all. So thank you all once again. Doreen.

Glad it went well for you, Doreen, St Petersburg is rather special, isn't it and I'm glad (and maybe a little relieved) that your experience of TJ Travel was as good as ours. We know of a number of people who have used them and we have had nothing but good reports.