AngelDisney

We booked on our own. It’s actually not really a tour but a round-trip shuttle transfer from cruise dock to the turtle farm plus admission. We checked in at the port terminal dock (they have a booth there); then a car came to pick us up (with another couple who were visiting the brewery). We were told when we would be picked up and where to meet them after the tour. We stayed for about 2 hours and there was enough time for us to check out everything. We love holding the baby turtles. The company was very good at answering my inquiries via email. Our cruise had to change its itinerary due to a storm. We were informed at embarkation. I was able to email the company to request a date change for our booking. They were able to switch dates for us. You can contact them about how they can accommodate a big group like yours. The price is about double of the turtle center admission. I thought about booking directly with the turtle centre and getting there by bus to save money, but eventually I picked this tour for less hassle. The company is called discountexcursions.com. You click on Grand Cayman then land tours then you will see turtle center tour which includes transport and free entry to the dolphin park now (this is new). Hope this help! Have fun planning!!

4 hours ago, Coral said:

I would save Moscow for a trip when you can spend multiple days there. It is amazing. Maybe go with your friend.

 

I used to like to watch the dogs riding the Moscow Metro. They would take the train to Red Square - hang out with their friends and then take the train back where ever. I am sad that they stopped this practice (metro stopped allowing dogs on it). They were pretty smart dogs! BTW - the Metro stations in Moscow are worth exploring also. I liked the one with the dog statues.

It would be cool to see dogs riding metro on their own! Too bad it’s not allowed anymore. 

16 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Too many to remember - I probably meant Matthew and/or Irma.  She just finished the roofing in May 2018..

 

But good news - her house, cottage, and landscape fared OK.  Her places have a straight, unobstructed shot in from the ocean (no high-rises or other homes in the way), so I was nervous about old structures taking any hit.  

I am glad that your friend and her house are ok. My heart aches for those affected in the Bahamas too!

14 hours ago, napoxoguk said:

Okay, I think the diy budget might be something like ₽20,000 (about $300) per person. This includes:

Train tickets: ₽9000 (5+4); Kremlin+armory: 1700 (1000+700)

Boat ride:600

Metro:200

Meals: 3000 (1500 per casual meal)

Contingencies (Uber ride if needed, etc): 2500. 

 

It's based on a number of assumptions, so real-life mileage will vary - please let me know if you identify some glaring omissions or errors.

 

Assumptions:

Done on day 2 of three.

Good weather (lots of outside/walking time)

Earliest Sapsan to Moscow, overnight double decker from Moscow (no hotel stays)

Train tickets purchased at least 30 days in advance, economy for Sapsan and economy plus for the double decker (includes a bottle of water and a piece of gingerbread).

All group members are adults

Done on a day when the Kremlin, Red Sq, and other Moscow attractions are actually open.

Boat ride via watertrams-radisson.ru (the cheapest option with English audio guide)

 

 

Sample itinerary:

leave SPB on Sapsan 743a (5:30am), sleep on the train.

Arrive Moscow 9am

DIY Metro tour until 11am

Kremlin excursion (cathedral Sq, DIY) 11:30

Armory excursion (audioguide) 12:30 

Quick lunch (at GUM stolovaya or fast food chains at Manezhnaya sq) : 2 to 3pm.

Walk to Zaryadye boat pier via Alexander's garden, Red Sq, Zaryadye. Boats leave every 30 minutes. Route: Zaryadye- Gorky Park - luzhniki- Ukraina - turnaround - sparrow hills - Gorky Park. Time on board: 2 hrs. 

Gorky Park/muzeon (5:30 to 7:30). 

Head back (metro) towards red sq for evening walk/dinner (tverskaya-kamergersky-b.dmitrovka-metropol-nikolskaya area)

Need to be back at the train station by 10:30 to catch the 006aa train departing at 10:50. 

Back to SPB at 6:47 am.

 

Doable?

Wouldn’t you be all wiped out when you are back to SPB? Will you be able to fully enjoy touring SPB the next day? I am not sure how much rest/sleep you can get on the train back. I know I would be fine but my adult daughter would definitely not enjoy touring after a red-eye ride on the train. Everyone is different. This is just a concern for me. Hope you have a sea day following your stop at SPB to get reenergized. 

June should still be in regular ballet season. It’s from August to September that the top ballet theatre companies are on tour. If you visit the ballet theatre’s website like the Mariinsky’s, the ballet company performing will be noted and you can tell if it’s a troupe or not. Once you know the company and if it’s not Mariinsky, you can google them and you may find videos of their performance to decide if they are worth watching. I checked out the schedule for the past August and checked out videos of a listed company and was not impressed. So, I may not visit any ballet performance next August when I visit SPB. I would when I can visit again in the regular season. An excuse to return! 

I hope everyone in the affected areas are safe and well. We visited Disney World and cruised the week between Charlie and Frances hit Florida. We were really lucky. It will take a long while to clean up the aftermath and rebuild the damaged areas. My prayers are with those affected by Dorian.

I have never ridden Uber solo, mostly with my daughter who has ridden it solo many times, and we have felt safe riding. I would feel worried riding a taxi though, and need to check the driver’s info discreetly while I am in it. For Uber, I have all the info on the App and can keep a record of it digitally on the phone. You can also read reviews of the driver. I would pay more for the peace of mind by using Uber.

9 hours ago, angie7911922 said:

When we went to St Petersburg we had the same dilemma. We decided not to go to Moscow and didn’t regret it one bit. There is so much to see! If you spend the 2 days in St Petersburg you can go and see Peterhof Palace on one of the days. We were on a Princess cruise and like flowslow, we booked our private tours with Katharina from Anastasia Travel.  This way we used our time to the fullest to see as much as possible at our pace with a personal guide. (We are not fond of the big group tours from the cruise lines).

We have two days and decided only staying in SPB for both days. We are thinking of forming a private tour with other cruisers on another forum as the CC roll call for that cruise is so quiet. We are looking into Anastasia Travel as well. Very excited to go!

Thanks Black Pink Tink! It’s the 1820 Society, not 1821 Club!! My bad!

1 hour ago, dogs4fun said:

Alla does offer small group tours. DIscounts are also offered for cruise critic members and possibly early bird discounts (not sure about this). You can contact her to get more information. 

Thank you! I will. 

23 hours ago, rosiebee said:

We've just come back from a Baltic cruise which was amazing and the highlight was our time in St P. Before the cruise I read some excellent reviews of Alla Tours and booked the Grand Tour. They did not disappoint. Their website is very easy to navigate and the whole thing was so simple to book. They then email with full details and tickets. One of the things we liked was that we were in a group of 14 in a very comfortable mini bus. Our guide, Alexandra, was brilliant. So full of knowledge and enthusiasm. We had quite a few photo stops to start with before getting into the nitty gritty of the tour. One highlight was going into the Hermitage an hour before the public were let in. You could really marvel at everything without lots of others around.

Lunch on the first day was at grand old restaurant. Every time we left the bus, it went off but was always there as we got back. Other highlights were the subway ride, canal trip and visit to Peterhof. Alla exceeded my expectations. We talked to other cruisers who had also done one of the Alla tours and they were all enthusiastic about their trips. Look up their website and see that they do lots of different itineries, including private tours, but this one suited us down to the ground. It was a tiring two days but we saw so much, I shall never forget it.

Is the tour you attended a small group tour or a private tour? We have only two people in our group and private tour is out of budget for two people. Would be interested in small group tours. Do they offer early bird discounts? If so, how early should we book? Thanks for sharing your experience and answering our inquiry!

There’s a 1821 Club your daughter can join to meet up with other youngsters her age. They do have organized meetups which should be listed on the personal navigator or DCL App.

Alcoholic drinks and specialty coffee cost extra plus gratuity charge. I believe non-alcoholic Shirley Temple is free at MDR though. 

Go to the DCL website to get some quotes to see if the price is right for you. We had OBB 10% off on a 4-night cruise sailing out of Miami to the Bahamas on January 1 and the cost was about $2320 including taxes and the 10% discount. This was an Aft extended verandah room category 6A. An inside room should cost less. We were on the Disney Magic. The DCL Dream class ships usually cost more though. Hope this helps!

I also hope for DCL to expand their sailings to other parts of the world. I am not a beach person. Asia would be wonderful!

I am happy with kids friendly (for the young at heart) and adult only choices offered by Disney. I enjoy seeing kids getting excited meeting with their favourite characters. I also enjoy quiet adult downtime. I can choose between family activities and adult only activities. I make the choice I want at the time I want. 

On the other hand, I saw kids went into the gym once and were trying out the equipment for a good while. After I was done my exercise, on my way out, I told the CM at the Spa desk about it and mentioned the incident on the comment card. This is a greater safety issue than kids being in the adult only areas. I just wish parents can show more respect to rules and safety regulations. 

Second vote for Blue Water Cafe! Have been there twice and enjoyed it both times!

1 hour ago, MN'smom said:

25. It was very easy. It appeared to be the first stop and went directly to Oceankaj. Just buy your ticket in the station before you get on the bus. If you use a credit card you will need a pin at the machine.(I didn't need a pin at the machines in the airport but I did for the other machines, including the one at the pier for the return trip)

 

Thanks again! This is helpful.

Also check the show schedule. We went on pirate night because there’s a comedian show that night. Remy dinner takes hours, so you wouldn’t want to miss any Disney show.

4 hours ago, MN'smom said:

We just returned from a Baltic Cruise. Pre-cruise we stayed at the Wakeup Copenhagen Borgergrade. It had A/C. We are a family of 4 so were able to get a family room (2 standard rooms with a connecting door), which is hard to get for a decent price in Europe. The location was great, room was clean and the location was perfect for us. Few blocks from Rosenborg Castle, Nyhavn and Stroget. About 20-25 minute walk to City Hall area. Walked to the bus stop that took us directly to the cruise terminal and quick walk from the train station upon arrival from the airport.The downside was that the rooms were small and it's a no frills kind of place. It had everything we needed, but nothing more. I would recommend staying there as long as you know what you are getting.

 

We also stayed one night post cruise at the Anderson. It's located behind central station and Tivoli. We loved our stay here. There was a/c, the room was pretty large and there were tons of extras, including a great breakfast. Also, an easy walk to Tivoli, Christianborg Palace, the Glyptotek and central station to get back to the airport and from the cruise port by public transportation.

Thanks for sharing! Which bus (bus number) did you use to go to the terminal? 

3 minutes ago, davidmbfonz said:

 

Is that $415 per person, per NIGHT?  wow!  I think of the Alaskan and European cruises as sort of a DCL "special pricing" cruise, but still!

 

The thrust of my main concern is that $350 p.p./p.n. for a Bahamas cruise is getting a bit indulgent.

Yes, it’s per person per night. It’s kind of a norm now to have $315 p.p/p.n for the Bahamas and Caribbean cruises during peak seasons. I can only travel in peak season (December and summer). it should be cheaper during low seasons. 

I have 2 days in St. Petersburg and am thinking about this possibility. I think it’s hard to do this with 2 days. The first day will take longer time to go ashore because of the immigration process. The second day is not possible due to the early all abroad time. It seems that it’s only worth doing it if there are 3 days in St. Petersburg especially when a full day of touring in Moscow is preferred. 

We went in late August for a 7-night cruise and it rained everyday. There were sunny periods during the day. It’s lucky that it didn’t rain during our ziplining in Skagway and dogsledding in Juneau tours. It rained during our snorkelling tour in Ketchikan and that’s alright! We visited the towns in the rain with our rain jackets. We didn’t have a waterproof/water resistant backpack then and I put a plastic bag outside my backpack. Since then I have bought a few water resistant backpacks for travel. 

Have fun planning!

Don’t think this is a must do but it’s sure different. We went snorkelling in Ketchikan and had lot of fun. The guide told us about the sea creatures in the area. We were not allowed to touch or disturb the sea creatures we encountered unless it was handled by the guide. Now we can proudly say we snorkelled in Alaska! We wore wetsuits and didn’t feel cold (in August).

4 minutes ago, angie7911922 said:

 

Why don't you contact the tour company? You can always ask them. I always have many many questions and Katharina was very patient to answer them. 

The $75 transfer, is that only the ride? 

It’s only the ride for one person I think. I will contact the tour company if I decide to watch a ballet. I think the summer season opens for booking a month in advance. I will check out which ballet company is touring then and determine if we will be attending a ballet. My twin nephews saw one in Moscow and said it was excellent. Unfortunately we will not be able to see a world class one in August. 

Visiting Tracy’s on our own allowed us to go on another excursion on the same day. We went on the dogsledding on glacier excursion then had lunch at Tracy’s. Doing the crab feast would be an excursion on its own and it would be too rush to add in another excursion for the day. We really enjoyed the king crabs at Tracy’s and glad we tried it on our Alaskan cruise. Would love to go back for more!