Nitemare

I'm not sure there are 2 full days of Jewish sites in SPB, but when we were setting up our private two days with TJ tours, they had a few Jewish options we could chose from. We ended up only doing the Grand Chorale Synagouge, out of that list, as we wanted to see all the other highlights as well.

Our TJ guide and our driver both spoke very easily understood English.

These companies all train their guides very well so there are never any complaints. Read back on this board a few pages, it's hard to believe, but I have never seen a complaint about TJ, Alla, or SPB, and we've had dozens (maybe hundreds) of reviews of each of them.

according to their website, yes.

Excursions in December should be very little different from excursions the rest of the year, as the air and water temperatures are still very warm.

If you read down this board you'll see lots of recommendations from the restful (lie on the beach with our without adult beverages) to the very active (helicopter tours, scuba, etc).

One thing?

Cobblestones are pretty, but they will do bad things to your feet. Make sure you have thick soled shoes and padded socks to absorb the hardness of the cobblestones that are all over the Baltic.

We've done tens of miles in the Med and in South America. Walked miles and miles on beaches and in the woods and on glaciers, but our feet have never been as sore as they were from those darn cobblestones.

How accurate is this information now?

I am trying to pick between SPB and TJ at the moment, emailed them both this morning and had personal replies from both Olga and Viktoria within 5 minutes!!

 

A question though, on a few boards I have read, they talk about the lunches and the Russian food, what sort of food is it because I have seen pictures of things that are unrecognisable :eek: I want to try the local fare and feel that it's important for the whole experience....but wondered if I should pack an emergency sandwich :D

You can tell your guide what you are comfortable with -- they are very familiar with our likes and dislikes -- and how "native" you really want to go, and they will take you to an appropriate place.

Mebbe mixed up my colours.

Yellow blue vase, perhaps?

 

JB :o

I was taught: Ya Looblyoo Teebah

which when I typed that into Google, brought up this site that seems to confirm, although reversing the last two words.

Which do sort of end with something like "blue", so you may be part way there, or have a regional alternative.

That's "vase" pronounced the correct way

Not the American way :p

 

And it worked on a girl in a shop. :cool:

Shame I hadn't learned any follow-up lines :D

 

JB :)

Pretty sure "I Love You" is pronounced totally differently than what you're writing here. I wonder what you told her!

An easy-to-learn greeting in Russian, courtesy of our Alla guide, is pronounced "blue yellow vase".

 

But best not to use it on the immigration officer.

It means I love you. ;)

 

JB :)

That's not how I learned to pronounce that one.

:)

 

Can you tell us how to say Good Morning in Russian? ;)

 

Thanks

Pretty much something like:

Strahs vyi tyeh

is how I said it.

I bet you can find a better pronounciation elsewhere on the Internets

We were warned by Celebrity beforehand to expect a "cold" welcoming while going thru Russian Immigration & that is exactly what we got. Boy, those people need a life. lol (just have your passport, the "Russian Landing Card" - given to you by Celebrity and filled out properly, plus the private tour operator's pre-printed confirmations with you).

 

Mike

Funny, we found that saying "Good morning" to the SPB Customs agent in Russian made our entry very pleasant. And that getting back into the States was the most annoying transit of any border crossings we did during our cruise and extension.

We did a 2 day private tour (just the two of us) using TJ and were more than happy with the trip. Awesome guide, interesting driver (and the back and forth between them was amusing as well). Saw all the sites, learned way more than I needed to, got to go off the beaten track (subway, farmer's market, local (non-tourist) restaurant. Couldn't have been better!

Thanks!

Wondering if the Journey's WiFi is good enough that I can take my iPad for some minor necessary interneting in our upcoming Baltic cruise, or should we just head down to the wired computers onboard.

Nothing more rigorous than e-mail and ESPN checking, but if the wireless is lousy, we'll just leave the iPad home.

Thanks!

You just don't go to the right packies! :)

I don't know what day you sail, but you can't buy liquor in MA before 12 noon on Sunday.

 

I'm guessing they sailed more than a year ago

not sure what you want to do but i actually enjoy going to the "Dessert of Maine" while I am in the area. Also LL Bean is there. Portland also has a lot of restaurants to eat. I have only done the area with young children- there is a children's museum.

Second the Dessert. It's delicious!

The Desert of Maine is a very cute and hokey attraction. Based on what they told us there nearly 40 years ago, I imagine the sand must be 10,000 feet high by now!

No idea if you can park at 5AM. You won't be able to get on the ship until noonish anyway, maybe you could drive around Manhattan and do some siteseeing?

I bet you could find a phone number for the parking lot and they might know when they open! ;)

How close is the parking at the port to the ships???

Can I park at the port at any time???5:00 in the mornig???

We could read our license plate from the ship this past week when we left NY.

When we returned, we docked two berths down, so it was about a 200 yard walk. I got the car and brought it to where I left my wife and bags.

Hell, it's not usually warm enough here in Boston to dress like that in May, it certainly won't be warm in Alaska in may, most of the time!

Bring layers, lots of layers. Fleece, sweaters, windbreakers, and rain gear. You'll probably need all of those at some time or another. And you'll be glad you have the sweaters onboard, as the dining rooms and other public areas are often A/C'd to the max.

Royal Caribbean Board here at Cruise Critic

You should probably click the above link and ask this question there. That's where all the RCCL experts hang out.

Good luck!

Each port charges a fee to the cruiseline for docking/visiting. I imagine the rates should be similar for cruiseline to cruiseline at the same port, although ship size may enter the formula.

I know the Coral and Island Princess pay the highest "toll" for their Panama Canal trips (like $225K each trip) of any ship that enters the canal (passenger or freight) due to their sizes.