St. Petersburg dilemma- RCCL excursion

Can anyone give me feedback on the St. Pete 1.5 Day package?

It is mainly sit on the bus and drive past everything? Do you get to actually see the main sights and spend time at those places?

Thanks!

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Why not book with one of the independent tour operators for SPB. Even getting together with a few people on your roll call will help defray the cost. You will get a MUCH BETTER tour privately and more cheaply than you would with booking through the cruise line, the private operator will also provide the visas needed for exiting the ship.

Can anyone give me feedback on the St. Pete 1.5 Day package?

 

It is mainly sit on the bus and drive past everything? Do you get to actually see the main sights and spend time at those places?

 

Thanks!

This is a question that is better suited for the RCCL board or your roll call. The overwhelming majority of participants on this board prefer booking directly with a licensed Russian tour company.

Benefits over ship's excursions: Smaller groups. Less time spent getting people rounded up/onto & off the bus. Less costly.

Equal advantage: Booking through either the ship's excursion desk OR with a licensed tour company will result in a visa-free visit. Different companies use different labels -- blanket visa, tour ticket, visa-free -- but all work the same. If you arrive/depart by cruise ship, visit fewer than 72 hours, sleep on the ship, and stay with your guide basically all the time, you qualify for a visa-free entry to SPB regardless of what anyone is calling it.

Especially, do not get intimidated by scare tactics by your cruise line (and all the lines do this). Here's a link to the best explanation of touring with a licensed Russian company:

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/russian-visa/for-cruise-ship-passengers/

Tour PZZP, adults $219.75 ?

Haven't taken ship's tour, like many CC members we were glad we'd booked with an independent local operator (Alla Tours, though the others are equally good). 16-seat vans, very personal, very flexible, very informative.

Surprisingly, RCCL's price isn't too bad.

But St Pete's warrants two full days - is this tour only1.5 days because the ship has a late arrival (or early departure)?

It's clear from their synopsis that you'll spend time at the Hermitage and in the gardens at Peterhof.

Peter & Paul is inside castle walls so it can't simply be a drive-by.

I'd expect the Church on Spilt Blood to be a stop.

No mention of Catherine Palace or a couple of other minor sights on most 2-day tours, or of a canal boat or metro ride. I'm only guessing, but that's probably the missing half-day. So the other sights probably about the same time-span as most ships' or independents' tours.

Just one little pointer picked from the RCCL synopsis

Heavy traffic to and from Peterhof Palace may delay or interrupt tours.

Most local operators' tours include travel to Peterhof by hydrofoil. Great fun for small groups. Not possible with a coachload of about 50.

JB :)