CruisersSFO

Hello -

We are doing the June 7th Baltic Capitals Cruise to Stockholm. So we will be disembarking as you start your adventure.

We did a lot of research and found (and booked with) this tour operator in SPB.. They get RAVES from TripAdvisor and others:

https://st-petersburg-tours.ru/st-petersburg-tours

They also offer their own tours in Berlin, etc.

Have a GREAT time!

Hello -

Here is another tour company recommended to us:

https://www.toursbylocals.com/TBL/WebObjects/ToursByLocals.woa/1/wo/VCRGQFZJG2Xn1OhR9bHck0/10.27.7.3.13.5.5.1.22.1

We have decided to skip the whole Moscow thing, too. I (Thom) have been many times on business. My sister, a former AAA travel agent, has been to St. Petersburg says there is so much to see in St. Petersburg that three days will still keep us busy!

As we live in San Francisco, we might get our Tourist Visas prior to leaving the U.S. There is a Russian Consulate in downtown San Francisco so it only takes 10 days and is $193 for a 3-day multiple-entry tourist visa. My experience has been that the 'Visa Upon Arrival' doesn't always go smoothly. We did a cruise to Vietnam a couple of years ago and obtained our visas prior to leaving the U.S. SO glad we did as the visas available upon arrival took 4-5 HOURS to complete, and we had been off the ship and on our way immediately.

I am in touch with Tours By Locals already, and will check out these other two. Have you been in contact with anyone other LGBT cruisers yet for this sailing?

Hope all is well. Can't WAIT for June to arrive!

Cheerio,

Thom & Adrian

This is our third Celebrity cruise! We sailed Celebrity Equinox on an Eastern Mediterranean cruise (last-minute upgrade to a suite - amazing!) in 2011, and Celebrity Millennium SouthEast Asia (fabulous!) in 2013!

For Russia - if you want to do independent excursions (such as what we are thinking of), you MUST have a Russian visa in your passport. You can get it from several places, but we've used VisaExpress.net over the years for expedited visas, and plan to use them for our Russian visas. You CANNOT do independent excursions in St. Petersburg without a Russian visa in your passport (our travel agent has already made this very clear to us). The group visa supplied by Celebrity does NOT allow for independent travel.

What are you thinking of in St. Petersburg, besides the usual? Does a side trip to Moscow via fast-train interest you? The Kremlin, Red Square, St. Basil's, etc.?

We are SO looking forward to this cruise. We've always enjoyed our cruises on Celebrity, and so far they have customers for life!

Sail on!

Thom & Adrian

Hello Everyone -

Hope you had a GREAT cruise! My spouse and I are sailing next year on the Baltic Capitals Cruise out of Amsterdam on June 7th. We'd like to get some ideas on booking some private tours - especially in St. Petersburg and Berlin!

Also - if you got your own Russian visas where did you get them? I have used a visa service in Houston (TransVisa) via FedEx but am open to new suggestions. We live in San Francisco.

Thanks for your feedback!

Thom & Adrian

WooHoo!

Hello LGBT Cruisers!

My spouse and I have booked this cruise and can't WAIT until we sail! Two days in Copenhagen, three days in St. Petersburg and two days in Stockholm! All almost during the summer solstice. And on a Solstice-class ship, to boot! (Yes, we know the actual summer solstice isn't until June 22nd, but LOVE this itinerary anyway!)

Looking to meet other LGBT and LGBT-friendly shipmates who would like to book some private excursions in:

1) Berlin (Warnemunde)

2) St. Petersburg (possibly with a side trip to Moscow by fast train?)

3) Helsinki

4) Stockholm

I've been to Copenhagen several times with my job, and it's an easy city to explore on your own, but would be interested in perhaps setting up something interesting there as well!

This is our third Celebrity cruise and our first time on the Silhouette! Looking forward to planning for this incredible Baltic adventure!

Until then,

Thomas & Adrian