ALW2

Silly question....we booked a private tour with a tour company. When eating lunch or dinner in SPB, does the tour guide eat with you?

Thank you! I forgot they were on the sea pass now. It is interesting to see how the coupons have shrunk over the years. We are so close to Diamond + - will be after this cruise! I wish we could partake in the benefits this time and not have to wait.

Hi! I haven't been on a 12-14 day cruise in a while. Does anyone have a recent list of coupons that are in the Crown and Anchor Diamond level booklet? Is there still one free bag of laundry?

Thank you everyone for all of the advice and tour information. We have traveled extensively with our kids overseas and have taken many, many cruises but haven't had to deal with getting visas before. We usually just do our own research and explore on our own. I think we have got it all figured out now. We used a travel agent to book our cruise and he recommended a company called ShoreTrips to book a 2 day tour of St. Petersburg. It turns out the company they use in St. Petersburg is TJ Tours! I am waiting to compare pricing of the tours if I go directly through TJ Tours or the other company. If they are the same, I will use the company as they offer a few more assurances and payment options since they are based in America. They are going to customize a private tour for our family of 4 so we can adjust our plans on the fly if we spend less or more time at some of the locations. We are also able to combine a few tour ideas into one this way. So happy that we will be able to do a private tour instead. The pricing isn't that much more than with a group - it seems once you get past the 3 person mark the price goes down. I love the idea of going to a grocery store and some more local places to get more of a "taste" of less touristy St. Petersburg. Now on the figure out if we want tours in any other cities on our cruise!

Just my idea......But.... are you planning on being in St. Petersburg regularly? If not I suggest you get up and out of bed for this once, maybe few in a lifetime experience.:eek: Sleep in on another day!

Its not me....TEENAGERS!:roll eyes: I am just being realistic. We are really laid back travelers. But, if that is all that is available then we will have to make it work.

I am starting to come to terms with taking a long tour in St. Petersburg but really do not think an 8:00 am start is realistic for my late night family. I haven't found any tour companies that advertise anything later than an 8:00 start. Any ideas?

Do any of these tours start out a bit later in the morning. I know an 8:00am start will be hard for my family! Looking for something that starts around 10 am. Also, has anyone used any of these tour companies for private family tours (just 4 people) and what was the cost? Thank you!

When you all used TJ Tours, Alla Tours or Denrus - did you tour alone or with a group? We really want to just tour on our own if possible but the cost seems very high. All of the set tours I have seen are 10 - 11 hour tours. I think we would prefer 5-6 hours tops per day. How many hours were the tours you went on? Thank you so much for your help. We are planning a last minute baltic cruise and I do not have that much planning time:eek:! Thank you!!!!

We've used Alla Tours twice. Both great experiences. In St Petersburg both RCI and private tour operators take care of the visa for the tour. You have to stay with the tour and cannot walk around on your own.

 

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Thank you! If we do not book a tour and get a visa on our own, can we walk on our own around town?

Hi! We are interested in booking a private tour in St. Petersburg, Russia. Had anyone used a specific tour company to book a private tour? What are the must see attractions (we will have two older teenagers with us)? We do not want a tour that is too long as we like to walk around on our own a lot. Thanks!

We are possibly booking a cruise aboard the new Kronigsdam on the Norse Legends itinerary. I am looking for things to do in Eidfjord, Alesund, Geranger and Bergen that have something to do with Norse Mythology or something other than looking at the Fjords. Any suggestions?

I did everything thru the Butler, he was the nicest guy yet profession. I tipped him right from the very first day and I continued my tipping along the way so things worked out perfectly.

The food was set up free of charge, he asked me the size of the party and I told him 8 adults and 4 kids, that's why you see pizza on the plate, I had a few bottles sparkling set up, red wine which was not in the picture.

It just happened to be my friend's mother in law birthday so he was trying to arrange a birthday cake to bring to our party but failed. So I called my Butler at 3pm and he said "Done"

He brought two chocolate cake with Happy Birthday written all over them, it turned out to be a perfect evening for everyone. Our seating was at 8:30pm and our party was set up from 7-8:30pm

 

Here's another pic of the breakfast set up by our butler at St. Thomas

 

If you don't mind me asking.......how much did you tip the Butler right away? I never know the right amount. Sound like you had an amazing trip!