Seeking previous clients of SPB tours in Berlin and St. Petersbug

We have currently booked private tours with SPB tours for both Berlin and St.Petersburg in May 2010. There was a very negative post on our roll call from a previous client. I would really appreciate hearing from others who have previously used SPB tours in Berlin and St. Petersburg. I have heard many good things regarding SPB in St. Petersburg, but not many comments one way or the other regarding Berlin. A fellow roll call member feels that Berlin in a day is not worthwhile. What are the opinions of others who have actually made the 12 hour excursion to Berlin (inc 3 hrs going and coming) ?

As always, thanks for your input. The previous experience of CCer's is so valuable in planning.

Don't know if this will help either. We used SPB for St Pete and we were thrilled with them. I had contact with Viktoria many times before we booked and she was just wonderful. We did not do the Berlin tour, as I had been to Berlin while I was in the service, and, for the reasons you have already said, it is a LONG day to see something that I had already seen.

On our St Pete tour though, we had almost 2 van loads booked with SPB, 16 on one and 12 on the other,and I know several did the Berlin tour also. On speaking to them afterwards, everyone, and I mean everyone was happy they did it and no one had any bad comments about SPB. In fact there were only raves. SPB is a professional tour group and I guess there will always be one bad apple along the way, but they are as professional as the next and they were simply a pleasure to have been with. They went out of their way to accommodate things, took us to several places that weren't even on our agenda and did all they could to make our St Petersburg experience the best ever. NO one had any complaints. I woud HIGHLY recommend them to anyone,and I already have.

Hi - We also used Viktoria SPB tours in St Pete and found her to be excellent from our first contact to meeting up with her on our tour. We booked a tour just for the two of us and found her very responsive to e-mails and very flexible with our itinerary. She was a pleasure to work with and our guide Elena was lovely and extremely knowledgeable.I would have no hesitation whatsoever in reccomending her. We also didn't go to Berlin as we thought that on what was already a very busy cruise the travelling time was just too long and although we had never been - we are Europeans and go go for a short break at another time.

We also used SPB-Tours for St.Pete this past July.Can't say enough good things about Viktoria and her team.A first class operation.Four years ago we did a ship sponsored tour of Berlin.It was really a long day as the train took 4 plus hours each way and we probably spent only 3-4 hours in Berlin.A private tour can probably can do it in less traveling time but Berlin has so much history and places to see I don't think you can do it justice in a few hours.Would love to spend 3-4 days there.In the 1959-1960 time frame I was a USAF pilot and did fly in and out of West Berlin several times but that was a long time ago and a different era

.

Okay, I guess I'll be the first to say we used Viktoria and SPB in both St Pete and Berlin this pastJuly.

First off you can't compare the 2 experiences because St Petersburg is so much more and it is over 2 days- 2 very full days. I didn't enjoy Berlin as much but I am very glad we went- who knows if we'll ever get back.

Getting back to SPB- out tour was very good and some of the highlights included time at the Reichstag and walking upto and thru the Brandenburg Gate and then on to the Holocaust memorial. I also loved seeing the Berlin Wall and Gendarme Square. I apologize that I don't remember our guides name b ut she was from the US but had lived in Berlin for ovber 7 years working as a translater and I would reccommend her always.

The best thing about our tours was her willingness and ability to personalize the tours. We had a group of about 9 in St Petersburg. Then in Berlin we hooked up with some additional people and split into 2 groups for Berlin and one group focused on Jewish sites. We all shared the same bus from Warnemunde so that saved on some costs.

The only real negative was the ride to get there and back- there is no getting around that weither by bus or train.

Both me and my wife would highly recommend using Viktoria for both tours.

Just a quick further note- a couple of the earlier postings are on target- it would be much better if you had 2 days because if you only have 6 or so hours there is no way to see "everything" that there is to see in Berlin.

You'll have to pick and choose. Keep in mind- like every other port- you're only getting a taste.

But again- for me a history teacher that teaches about the cold war- how could I miss the chance to visit East and West Berlin.

Also keep an eye on all the wind turbines in the fields along the ways.

We should have so many!

We have currently booked private tours with SPB tours for both Berlin and St.Petersburg in May 2010. There was a very negative post on our roll call from a previous client. I would really appreciate hearing from others who have previously used SPB tours in Berlin and St. Petersburg. I have heard many good things regarding SPB in St. Petersburg, but not many comments one way or the other regarding Berlin. A fellow roll call member feels that Berlin in a day is not worthwhile. What are the opinions of others who have actually made the 12 hour excursion to Berlin (inc 3 hrs going and coming) ?

As always, thanks for your input. The previous experience of CCer's is so valuable in planning.

I can say from experience that Viktoria and SPB-Tours is a 1st class tour group. We utilized Viktoria last May and found her to be very professsional and the tour guides we had we extremely knowledgeable and without any doubt the tour was the best tour that we have ever taken anywhere bar none. Interesting that someone would complain that the distance from the port to Berlin is a very long way. Do they not read the brochure the ship puts out???? For the small amount that SPB-Tours charges does one expect air from the port to Berlin. After taking SPB-Tour we had the opportunity to talk to many people who had taken other company tours, and the ships tours -- comparing notes everyone we talked had wished they went on the tour we had. Did we have an exceptional tour without a doubt; was it because we were special of course Viktoria treats everyone special. You cannot go wrong with Viktoria and SPB-Tours. If someone complained then they would really have a boatload of complaints with another tour.

I used SPB Tours this past August for a group of 32 people in

St. Petersburg and Berlin. I can't begin to tell you how great both tours were and how nice it is working with Viktoria in St. Petersburg and her husband, which runs the Berlin tours. They do not sub-contract out their tours, it is done within their family. Yes, getting to and from Berlin is a long ride (each way they stop at a nice rest area) but everyone in our group were so glad we were able to see all the sites in Berlin. None of us have ever been there so it was well worth it for us to see this wonderful city and learn some of it's history. We had a very nice girl as our guide that was from the New England area. Spoke perfect english and provided us with so much history of Berlin, as she now resides there with her husband. The St Pertersburg 2 day tour was fantastic but I am so glad we did not miss the Berlin tour just because it's a long ride. After we arrived home, we were very thankful we did both tours and I would not hesitate again to use SPB Tours for any of my groups that visit these wonderful cities.

We had tour with Victoria earlier this year in SPB. We could not have been more pleased with their services. We are originally from Russia but have been living in US for many years. We had very high expectation (been to SPB few times before we moved to US) for that tour and Victoria met all of them.

I would not use any other company to go to Berlin.

Hello

In July 2009, I arranged for our roll call (Constellation) a tour for Berlin with SPB. I could go on, and on about how good Viktoria from SPB is, but I am sure you have gathered that from most postings already.

The ONE thing you must realise before arranging any trip to Berlin from Waramunde (be it by private or ship tour) that, yes, it is a long journey, BUT how often will you get the chance to visit Berlin?

Our group consisted of 20 people....all very, very happy with the tour. Our guide was American, married to a Berliner and living in Berlin for the last 16 years. She was incredibly knowledgeable about everything German....all aspects. With any guide.....one of the most important factors is their accent...and I have to profess that the American accent is very easy to understand (I AM WELSH)!!! So, in my opinion having an American guide was a bonus, especially one with an anbundance of facts. She knew her stuff and was very accommodating throughout the tour.

We also did the St Petersburg 2 day tour with SPB...and again this was magical. Our guide Elena was a dream....very accommodating. They are such knowledgeable people.

If you retrace my postings nerysj back to May/June/July '09., you can see my arranged tours for St P I arranged via our roll call for July 25, 2009 Celebrity Constellation. The St P tour was so popular we eventually had 4 or 5 groups of 16 passengers!!! The Berlin tour had approx 20....others wanted to join, but we limited it to this number.

To summarise.......SPB were fantastic for Both Berlin and St Petersburg...both these trips were the highlight of the trip, made even more wonderful by SPB. I have no qualms about recommending SPB as a tour company.

Nerys Jones

North Wales

I must agree with all of the above. We used Viktoria and SPB in July 2008 and it was the highlight of our trip. The most impressive thing was her quick responses to my e-mails for information. She always was quick to reply with answers. Our trip to Berlin was very special as it was my wifes birthday that day. When we got off the ship and met our driver who had our name on a sign the next thing he did was bring out a Happy Birthday Rayma sign for my wife. On our way to lunch our guide said "Look it's Steffan" Viktorias husband who was on the way to meet us for lunch. When we arrived he presented a nice bouquet of flowers to my wife something she will never forget. It was that something extra special that made the day. Berlin is a special city and we saw the highlights in the time alloted with a guide who was very informative and was from the states so spoke perfect English. Our time in St Petersburg was equally as special. We were fortunate to have Viktoria as our guide who is a wealth of knowledge and was able to get us into places ahead of the large tour groups. There were only four of us which is ideal. I would recommend no more than eight if the cost is favorable. I have no problem with recommending SPB which I have done on numerous other posts on CC. Hope you all have a great cruise. Happy New Year to all!!!!!

Just want to thank you all for these posts. We are just starting to plan for our Baltic cruise in 2011 and it looks like I already have two of my shore excursions decided on. HUGE weight off my back as I had just found out how restrictive travel in Russia could be if you don't want to take a ship excursion.

My wife and I could not speak highly enough of the excellent service provided by Viktoria and her team both in the preparation for and the implementation of our 2 day visit to St Petersburg in September 2009. We would participate again without hesitation on a follow-up visit to St Petersburg and several other New Zealand families, to whom we recommended Viktoria's services, share our view.

The briefness of the stopover (2 days) and the vast number of tourist sights on offer meant that considerable skill and a sound local knowledge was required at the organisational level in order to achieve maximum value and satisfaction from the visit.

The little "extras" were so special. Eating lunch with the locals at a small cafe, the excitement of a ride on the Metro and six of us gathering for dinner at a Russian restaurant without another tourist in sight !

I should add that while we did not participate in the Berlin tour because we had been to the city on an earlier visit, several of our colleagues were unhesitating in their praise and positive support.

The SPG organisation a world leader in planning and conducting specialised tours.

Just to defend myself- if I sounded like I expected Berlin to be aound the corner- of course not- I do teach Geography- you just need to be prepared for a long trip- nap, listen to music, check your cameras- whatever. Doesn't matter if its by train or bus or van it is 2-3 hrs to Berlin. Most of the rest of the trip the sights are much closer.

Regarding St Petersburg and Russia visitation- don't listen to your boat- the officials don't care what tour you take- get down to the disembarkation lines early and you'll be in good shape.

Viktoria will setup your tours however you decide- both in Berlin and St Pete.

I just booked the NCL Sun for July. I am impressed with the comments of SPB tours. What is there email and/or web site?

I would appreciate any other tips or info.

Thank you

Steven

http://www.spb-tours.com/flash.html

vika.rother@gmx.de

Nows the best time to start conversing with Viktoria since it's the off season- try to plan ahead- once it gets to may and the busy cruise season starts swinging she will be very hard to get ahold of.

jkw

Boy, one of those evening tours looks pretty interesting. Wonder if I can combine with one of the DenRus day tours. It'd be a killer day, but hey, I'll probably only ever go there once.

Boy, one of those evening tours looks pretty interesting. Wonder if I can combine with one of the DenRus day tours. It'd be a killer day, but hey, I'll probably only ever go there once.

If it's the one I'm looking at, I have asked about doing an evening tour by itself and Viktoria says it's doable. Problem is I think you need a group to go with. She is trying to see if any of her clients for that date are interested and I am going to try to drum up interest on my cruise, who knows how that will go.

If it's the one I'm looking at, I have asked about doing an evening tour by itself and Viktoria says it's doable. Problem is I think you need a group to go with. She is trying to see if any of her clients for that date are interested and I am going to try to drum up interest on my cruise, who knows how that will go.

That is EXACTLY what you have to do. Before we went, I went to our roll call, and no one was really doing much of anything. Well, I sort of took the bull by the horn, as they say, and started telling everyone about SPB tours. before long, i had about everyone on the roll call signing up with SPB. As I have said before, we had enough to almost fill two buses, and they ALL had a marvelous time.

Go to the roll call, and try and drum up some business.

Cheers

Len

I agree with Giantfan13 comments about forming a group---Go to your roll call and normally you will find someone has taking the bull by the horns and gone with it and put together groups(small ones and big ones).Just a cursory review of the roll call forum will bear this out.With us forming a group was easy-----My family.Good luck and enjoy

Basic problem I'll have is, it's a Disney cruise, and most Disney cruisers have children and may not want an evening vodka boat tour. But I have heard from Viktoria and she is going to register me and do the paperwork so she may have other clients who are interested, either from my ship or the other ship in port at the same time (since I have only inquired about the evening tour and we don't have to stick with the times the Magic itself is in port).

I know Viktoria will do her best

I know Viktoria will do her best

She seems to be doing so, I am so far pleased with her responsiveness.

Basic problem I'll have is, it's a Disney cruise, and most Disney cruisers have children and may not want an evening vodka boat tour. But I have heard from Viktoria and she is going to register me and do the paperwork so she may have other clients who are interested, either from my ship or the other ship in port at the same time (since I have only inquired about the evening tour and we don't have to stick with the times the Magic itself is in port).

We're on the sailing right after you (July 6th) otherwise I'd love to go!

OK -I think I may have messed up a little :eek:

I thought I was emailing SPB tours but it turns I out I contacted http://www.bestguides-spb.com/tour-hermitage.html

I've been talking to Kira there about a 2 day tour. Has anyone used them before? They seemed to be in the same price range as everyone else.

(should I start this as a new thread?)

thanks for any help