Did you enjoy St. Petersburg?

I am a little sad. Someone I work with just returned from a Baltic cruise, and when I asked him all about it, he said it was "99% wonderful, and I'll leave it at that.". OK, that's fine. And then I said, "But you loved St. Petersburg, right? My husband really, really wants to go there and cannot wait to book a Baltic cruise, maybe in 2017.". He said.... "Well, that was the 1%."

:(:(:(

I understand an opinion is personal and owned by the person who has it. I get that. Not everything is fabulous to everyone. But he said such sad things about it. He said it was the single most depressing place he had ever been in his life, that the guided tour focused on the "negatives" and the past and the wars, that in a city of millions of people not one person smiled, that the people are so oppressed it is heartbreaking... yes, the history is rich and the buildings are beautiful... but he came away with such overwhelming sadness I think it really skewed his whole cruise.

We are experienced travelers and cruisers, and we know a vacation is often what you make it. We choose to find the good in situations and try not to sweat the small stuff. I fought and beat cancer last year and nothing has been harder... I'm ready for this... but is St. Petersburg really that "awful"?

Please help.

.

I am a little sad. Someone I work with just returned from a Baltic cruise, and when I asked him all about it, he said it was "99% wonderful, and I'll leave it at that.". OK, that's fine. And then I said, "But you loved St. Petersburg, right? My husband really, really wants to go there and cannot wait to book a Baltic cruise, maybe in 2017.". He said.... "Well, that was the 1%."

 

:(:(:(

 

I understand an opinion is personal and owned by the person who has it. I get that. Not everything is fabulous to everyone. But he said such sad things about it. He said it was the single most depressing place he had ever been in his life, that the guided tour focused on the "negatives" and the past and the wars, that in a city of millions of people not one person smiled, that the people are so oppressed it is heartbreaking... yes, the history is rich and the buildings are beautiful... but he came away with such overwhelming sadness I think it really skewed his whole cruise.

 

We are experienced travelers and cruisers, and we know a vacation is often what you make it. We choose to find the good in situations and try not to sweat the small stuff. I fought and beat cancer last year and nothing has been harder... I'm ready for this... but is St. Petersburg really that "awful"?

 

Please help.

.

Wow! This is certainly NOT the St. Petersburg that I have visited on several occasions (going back again in September).

I suspect that your coworker did not take cultural differences into consideration. Russians do, indeed, smile (and quite frequently) but usually not at strangers - culturally, a smile really "means" something to a Russian whereas we often smile as a form of greeting.

I don't find the residents of St. Petersburg oppressed. I've spent some wonderful evenings at clubs in St. Pete where music is wonderful, conversations are lively and free-flowing and everyone is having a good time. Same with local restaurants.

It is a beautiful city, rich in history. Judging by your mindset (and not your coworkers), I believe that you will have a fabulous visit.

I just recently returned from the Baltic cruise and got just the opposite impression. The people in SP were very friendly and atmosphere in town did not seem to be bad. It reminded me of times past when everything was so simple and not the rat race we seem to live in our big cities here. I would definitely like to return to spend more time in SP and possibly Moscow. I definitely found Russia very intriguing and more interesting than I expected. It was the high point of our trip and is not to be missed!

Yea, thank you both!

More please! :p:)

We've been to St Petersburg twice and it was wonderful, as were the people. We did find the two your companies very different and the girl from spb was extremely upbeat.

Wow , we have visited 5 times and never encountered that . Perhaps a grumpy guide or TSA agent may give that impression . But here's some of our experiences . Some Russian friends invited us to dinner on Victory Day (VE Day ) .

After dinner , we went with them to see fireworks on the Neva River where everyone that we saw was having a good time . Here's a video clip :

On the next day we went to the Peter and Paul Fortress to ride a helicopter and people were putting their kids on the helicopter for photos .

Oppressed ? Not IMHO . There was a WW II reennactment there that reminded me of the ones that we used to attend in my childhood on the 4th of July . Take look at this concert video and tell me that the people there weren't enjoying life:

I know that we enjoyed our last visit there , and some of the recent news in this country has made us wish that we were still visiting St. Petersburg .

I agree with an earlier poster your friend did not consider a different culture he. looked at it the way he wanted to see it. Reminds me of people who think French waiters are rude because they don't sit down, draw on the tablecloth and introduce themselves

Also sounds like they had a bad guide

We enjoyed every minute of our 2 day stay in SP. We booked private tours through Alla and had a fantastic guide, Oksana, who made sure we saw every major site and had every positive experience possible in that short time. From that first "taste", I can hardly wait to go back. Just waiting for the political situation to improve.

Thanks to all for the additional replies. We had a Baltic cruise booked, and in fact had Alla Tours booked and confirmed, until we had to cancel the trip due to my health. I know DH has always wanted to get back there, and from what I'm hearing, I'm sure we will have a great time. :)

We did a Baltic cruise in September 2015. In SPB we booked a 2 day tour with Alla Tours. We thought it was fantastic. Yes the people are dour, but that is their character. When I went to India I wasn't impressed with the personality of the people there, but it didn't distract from my enjoyment of the holiday.

I did think a lot of the Russians in SBP were rude and pushed you out of the way, but I didn't go there to make friends. I wanted to see the art and architecture and IMHO that is difficult to surpass.

The least favourite place we visited on that cruise was Tallin. I found it too crowded an over commercialised. At the end of the day everybody is different, so you will get replies with varying opinions.

I meant September 2013

As the old saying goes, 'different strokes for different folks'.

We also loved our time in St Petersburg. We toured with SPB Tours and our guide was the happiest person I have ever seen as a guide. She was always smiling, and you could feel the love of this city in her voice. I know, Myself in particular, asked her many questions on the Russia of today versus the Soviet Russia, and she was beaming of this 'new' Russia and just thrilled to be out from under the soviet regime.

That said, St Petersburg wasn't our favorite city on the cruise. For us, we fell in love with Stockholm and even though it was our shortest port of call, THAT was our favorite port. This is no knock on St Petersburg, but in Stockholm we were able to intermingle with the people there so much, we spent time chatting with locals sharing things, but in St Petersburg, we really didn't have very much time for this as the tour was always moving.

Anyway, if you like history, like gorgeous buildings, like museums and fabulous art works, and just a magnificent city, you will love St Petersburg.

Cheers

Len

We started going to ST Petersburg in 1974 and have been there 16 times.

One thing, if you are doing a two day stay over, it is hard to see so much.

You will be rushed around. First, you should use one of the private service

that you will find on these boards. There is so much to see in the city and

the nearby countryside. It is an art lovers city. The palaces, though mostly

restored are great in showing one the period of the czars. You can explore

this period, when Russia was so tied to Europe. You probably won't have much time to interact with locals, but you will get a taste of it. If you do

a private tour, less than two, you can arrange to visit a local market, eat at

local-not tourist cafes. You must go, however, with an open mine.

I would also be "sad" at hearing that experience. However just consider there is always going to be that 1% regardless.

Our 2 day private (just DH & myself) tour with TJ Travel was a wonderful trip for us. We saw and did more in those 2 days than I ever thought possible.

Please consider a private tour when you book regardless of what company you decide to go with..The VIP experience and flexibility to change things up on the go at a moments notice makes this kind of tour well worth the extra cost.

Truly a trip of a lifetime to a place that always held such a mystery with

the "duck and cover" we grew up with.

Glad to hear you're doing so well...book that Baltic cruise and enjoy !

Thank you all, such lovely replies. :)

Thank you all, such lovely replies. :)

Experience is objective, everyone has their views on places and people. Get yourself out there and see it for yourself. I thought it was an amazing place

Wow! This is certainly NOT the St. Petersburg that I have visited on several occasions (going back again in September). It is a beautiful city, rich in history. Judging by your mindset (and not your coworkers), I believe that you will have a fabulous visit.

Agree with the above and the other comments on this thread that were very positive for visiting St. Petersburg. Yes, some might get into certain "politics" debates for aspects of Russian history during the past 100 years, including recently. BUT, the attitudes we experienced in visiting BOTH St. Petersburg and Moscow reflected a very positive attitude and pride about their nation, its amazing/challenged history, their skilled craftsmanship, etc. There were some times in the 1980's and 1990's when things got very bleak in Russia. Many aspects in the past 15 years have been on the upswing due to major gains from oil, gas and natural resources wealth.

As is true with most major countries, there have been "ups and downs" in their pasts. Plus, not all have shared equally in the "economics". However from a standpoint of culture, architecture, history, etc., what we saw and others have experienced, our times in Russian were very positive and memorable. Personally, I am very interested in historic, architecture and photography. In all three of these key categories, the Russian visit was an A-Plus!!

Before your trip, do a little "reading up" on the histories connected with Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, etc., etc. That will give a little more "perspective" for what you will be seeing and experiencing. Plus, explaining many of the "why's" for what is there in that large nation.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 109,818 views for this posting.

Wow, I am quite surprised by your co-workers reaction. I have never heard of anyone who did not enjoy (or fall in love with) St. Petersburg. Do you happen to know what tour company they used? I have heard about people not smiling but not every culture is into smiles and small-talk as Americans are. We are on the Serenade next year with 3 days in St. Petersburg and I have no doubt that will be the highlight of our cruise! We'll be doing excursions with TJ Travels and I'm considering the dinner with a Russian family for a nighttime "excursion". I think that will be enlightening.

P.S. I never let someone else's view/version color mine or even color my choice of going to a particular place. Kind of like movie reviews. I need to go and see for myself.

I'm one who did not love St Petersburg. I absolutely hate tours, even small van tours (there were only 6 people on our tour). But, for only two days a tour was the cost effective way to see the city.

I could tell downtown St. Petersburg was an extremely walkable city (we love to walk and experience a city through our own " filters"). But instead, I felt like a caged animal stuck in that van. Note: we have been to Moscow with a visa and did enjoy that city.

I'll admit it. I didn't love SPB. We were just there last month, on a Baltic cruise preceded by a week split in Iceland and Copenhagen. We were only there for 1 day, with a private tour thru TJ.

My overall impression - lots of beautiful old buildings in various states of disrepair, all with that tell tale polluted air black streaks running down them. Much like Vladavostok, which I spent a week in 20 years ago, a city built to impress which then wasn't kept up.

I think it was that coupled by what we in the US hear about their government, corruption that's endemic, their history of the vast gap between the haves and have nots, that just colored my whole impression. We were driving back from Peterhof, thru the suburbs, and saw an electric train, 2 cars, very rusted and looking like it came from the Soviet era, stopped to pick up people from a small, run down station. The next day saw an electric train running thru Helsinki, clean, gleaming, modern. In a nation with such potential wealth, it bothers me to see it all with the oligarchs, while the citizens can't even afford to buy fruit (new embargo of Putin's "support local agricultural" actually a thumb-my-nose at Europe) and buildings decay around them.

The people were lovely. The restored buildings are stunning. The art at the Hermitage was fabulous. I realize a one day tour is not in any way an indepth cultural activity.

That said, of all the places we went, I liked everywhere else better.

You can count me in as one of those people who did not fall in love with St Petersburg. I felt that our two day guided tour was highly scripted and not a broad picture of the true culture, and history of this city/country. All of the major sites are restored, rebuilt, recontructed and "polished". I would have been so much more interested to see the unrestored portions of Catherine Palace along with the newly created, and to visit places that weren't "show pieces"; or to hear about the interesting theories of all of the missing treasures, Of all of the places we've been, I felt that St. Petersburg was the least authentic. (Hard to describe.)

At the end of our second day our guide asked if we had any questions. It was asked how the people of Russia felt when the government was spending millions of dollars re-gilding the domes, and applying new amber to the palaces, while they were cold and hungry. The gist of the reply - Why of course, the people were very happy that the government was doing so much to rebuild positive morale. I wanted to inquire about the current inability of the country to provide adequate care for their orphans, but after the first response, felt it might be a question perceived as confrontational, so left it unsaid.

As a comparison, our guides in Prague gave comprehensive and "balanced" pictures of their cities: the good the bad and the ugly. Perhaps we just had a poor guide, but I don't beleive that. It was the entire two-day experience; just left us with an impression of a staged show (and a breath-taking visual display at that)!

We are glad we went, but of all of the places we've been, SPB is probably one that we have no desire to revisit.

Truthfully I don't think anyone on a guided tour anywhere for just a day or two gets a true reflection of what makes that place tick. If you get a good guide, you'll have a positive experience. If not, then....

I am with Buggins, I much prefer to see and navigate a city on my own. You get to know a little about what life is like in a city when you have to queue for a bus or negotiate the streets or interact with others in order to find something to eat, etc.

That said, I enjoyed St. Petersburg within the confines of my guided tour very much. I suspect some Americans have an already established view on life in Russia and perhaps that contributes to a skeptical attitude when presented with a rosy picture by a guide. But really....what city doesn't have problems? what tourist sites haven't been tarted up to attract tourists (Venice, Pompeii come readily to mind).

Thank you.

I have always heard that going on a tour (private or ship's) was the best way to handle the visa requirement issue.

Thank you.

 

I have always heard that going on a tour (private or ship's) was the best way to handle the visa requirement issue.

Yes, that's unfortunately true in St. Petersburg. There is both cost and time involved in getting a visa. However, next time I will do it just because I'll be able to see the city on my own terms.

For most people, the private tours are an excellent choice. I just happen to be one of those folks that really doesn't like tours that much!

agree a good guide can make all the difference-we were a party of 3 and St Petersberg was the highlight of our cruise.

Did I think the place was perfect? No but I found it fascinating and the run down parts contrasted with the grandeur which made it real

I would go back and there will be plenty more places I would like to see