Giantfan13

I agree with John 100%. Of all the tour companies mentioned here on the Baltic's Board, I have never heard of one asking for any sort of payment or deposit in advance. If you are doing a 2 day tour, mostly all the companies ask for the money on the SECOND day.

Personally, I would not want to send any sort of deposit to a company in Russia because if something happens and you cannot make the trip, you might be out that money.

They are probably looking to insure that you do go with them by asking for a deposit. There have been cases where people sign up for 2 day tours and only go on the first day, looking to sort of 'screw' the tour company. But they are few and very far between.

Unless there is some particular reason why you need to use that particular tour company, I would think twice.

Like some of the others, we used SPB Tours and they will cater the tour to whatever your needs are, as, I'm sure, most of the other companies will also.

Cheers

Len

What ship are you sailing on and when will you be in SPB? We are a family of 3 with a 21yr old and would love to join with someone for a small private deluxe tour with no more than 7-8 people. We are sailing on the Eurodam leaving Copenhagen on May 21 and will be in SPB May 24-25. I have checked with Alla, SPB and TJ tours and they all seem fine.

Go to the Roll Call section of this site, find your cruise line, your ship and the date you are sailing. Surely there will be many people who are on that cruise already posting. That's where you need to ask if people want to join you or if you could join them for any tours.

If you get no response or no one is interested, contact the tour company that you want to sue and ask if they can hook you up with a tour4 maybe from another ship. They are very accommodating that way.

Cheers

Len

I also concur. Be sure to give us the 'details' when you return.

Cheers

Len

The last time we were in Russia years ago we also visited a Russian department store, quite an interesting eye opener compared to what we were accustomed to seeing in US and western European department stores.

 

 

Exactly the point.

When we visited each port, even though we were just spending maybe 1/2 a day there, we wanted to at least feel we were part of it. that is why we exchanged money for each port, so we could use some of the local currency. sure we could always flash American Dollars at them and most would take it, but for us, that wasn't part of the charm.

In St Petersburg, we WANTED to eat in a Russian restaurant. Sure it was picked out and probably catered to a lot of Americans, but it was a Russian place and not just eating a boxed lunch. If that works for others, that is great, but we got what we wanted, a real experience in each port to intermingle with the people, on their level, if you know what I mean. Even if it was using some Krona's, Euros or whatever to buy an ice cream cone. It just helped us feel more like we WERE IN that particular city.

Cheers

Len

As I have said before, we used SPB Tours for our time in St Petersburg. I noticed that you mentioned about SPB Tours saying that they have no specific time and will leave to get you back to the ship about 6:00. On day one of our 2 day tour, we had magnificent weather. We were supposed to do the Canal Boat cruise on day two, but since the weather was so glorious and you never know what the next day will bring, they adjusted the itinerary to do the Canal Boat Cruise also on day one to take advantage of the weather. Can't say whether or not other tour companies would change their itinerary to do this, but we were so impressed that they did this and it worked out well. Yes, we got back to the ship a bit later than planned, but it also allowed us a bit more time on day 2 to spend at other venues like the Hermitage (yes, and some shopping). We went to the Famers market, but we were also taken to a Russian Supermarket to shop for anything and everything, including some great Russian Vodka.

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster995.jpg

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster996.jpg

We also mentioned that since we are of the Jewish faith, would it be possible to visit the Grand Choral Synagogue, that also wasn't part of our original itinerary. Since we had the extra time on the second day, we were able to make that stop and it was just a wonderful experience.

You see, the point I am trying to make is that no itinerary should be written in stone. They know their city as well as the weather and such. As I said, we were very impressed that SPB Tours altered things, to make our time in

St Petersburg that much better in any way they could.

Cheers

Len

Don't know if you are into things like this, but we did a great 'Ghost Walk' during our evening stay in Victoria.

My DW loves these things and I must say this one was pretty good.

Cheers

Len

As long as you were satisfied, that's all that counts.

Have a grand time once again.

Cheers

Len

As has been said, it is all in which is your preference. When we toured with SPB Tours, one of the things that did intrigue me was going to an actual Russian restaurant and eating authentic Russian food, instead of a 'boxed' lunch, that I could get anywhere. Yes it did take over an hour to eat, but it was worth any sacrifice on time. We got to see everything everyone else got to see, yet we had the time to sit and relax and enjoy some wonderful food.One sure way to appreciate a country you are in, is to eat some of their wonderful foods.

I mention this because one of the things that were served to us was Borscht. Now I have eaten Borscht for a good part of my life. (It is a sort of beet soup, for those that do not know). It can be eaten cold or hot with some sour cream and a nice boiled potato right square in the middle. My DW usually dislikes it. But when we were served a bowl of Borscht, and I tried it, it was a completely new experience. What REAL Borscht should taste like. Even my DW loved it and we had seconds. To me, it is experiences like this that make a trip fully memorable. Sure you can spend an extra few minutes looking at more and more, but something unusual, like this lunch experience, is long remembered after all the churches and statues meld together. I surely preferred that to eating in a van, or sitting around eating a cold sandwich.

As we said, to each their own

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe717.jpg

.

If I am not mistaken SPB Tours is the only one who does offer this lunch experience. It is well worth it.

Cheers

Len

I think the original poster is just looking for transportation to Berlin, not a tour. I am kind of curious to see what the response is. My husband and I aren't really comfortable taking the train that far but would much rather spend our time in Berlin exploring on our own instead of being stuck with a group. As of now we are probably going to do SPB and are hoping they will at least give us a little time on our own.

Sorry, but I thought I read where she was looking for a tour company, that is why I suggested whom I did.

Suggestions on tour company to contact

If I misinterpreted this, sorry.

Cheers

Len

I am interested in getting transportation to Berlin from our cruise ship. I would like to walk around the "east" Berlin area and visit a few sites. I don't want to take the train. i would like to find a tour company that would pick us up and drop us off in Berlin and then return us back to the ship. Has anyone done this? Suggestions on tour company to contact?

There are several tour companies that do this. Many of them are the same companies that do tours in St Petersburg, so if you book a Berlin tour and a St Petersburg tour, they usually can save you some money.

We used a fantastic company called SPB Tours. Here is their web site for Berlin and then the other for St Petersburg http://www.spb-tours.com/germany/en

http://www.spb-tours.com/st-petersburg/en/.

If you read these boards, you will see nothing but compliments for this tour company as many people on this site, have used them and all have come back with glowing reviews. Viktoria, the owner of the company is a joy to work with and she will answer all your questions. She is based in St Petersburg and her husband does the Berlin tours.

They are the #1 rated tour company of Trip Advisor

Hope this helps

Cheers

Len

Hopefully it should cover any restrooms

Excellent point. Many people roaming around these cities do not realize that most of the WC's or restrooms, are not free but require a coin, like a euro, to use them. I'm sure a euro would be accepted at any WC but that is a pretty lot of money just to use the facilities.

There are free toilets around, but for us 'older' folks, when you gotta go, you gotta go and no time for searching.

have some change always in your pocket.

Cheers

Len

Hello Len: Your point is very correct. In my analysis of the past reviews I didn't mention my present actions. Initially was in touch with Viktoria of SPB for some special interest features and I got handed over to another person (whose name I shall not reveal) and unfortunately it took a few email exchanges with that substitute person for him to figure out an appropriate plan. But that plan as well as cost was not as attractive the one offered by TJ whose representative caught on to my needs in our first email exchange.

As I said before, you did decide by corresponding, and again, felt that this was just right for you.

As I said before, enjoy your trip, I'm sure TJ will ensure you have a wonderful time in St Petersburg.

Cheers

Len

We will be visiting SPB in June/2013 sailing on RCI Brilliance of the Seas. We are very much looking forward to touring with Alla during our 2 day visit. Like others have posted, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the "top rated" companies. I do think it comes down to personal preference and who you feel will be the best "fit" for you. In our case, a member of our party has a slight hearing impairment from many years of flying small aircrafts. When this concern was presented to the several companies we contacted, Alla was quick to respond to our needs with several good options that she could provide for us. In addition, she has posted videos on you tube showcasing her guides which gave us the opportunity to listen to their commentary to put our concerns for potential communication issues to rest. For us, the special accommodations and fantastic customer service she has offered made our decision easy. She is the best "fit" for us!

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

 

"When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do!"

Walt Disney

That is exactly the point I was trying to make. It is 'THE FEEL' that you get when you correspond with these companies. If you felt Alla made you feel comfortable, then that is the way to go, and never look back. We got 'THAT FEELING form SPB Tours and also couldn't have been happier.

Enjoy your tour, I'm sure you made the right choice.

Cheers

Len

Hello Baltic-bound cruisers. I’ll be on a cruise to this area in May 2013 and have faced a similar situation in trying to choose the “best” tour provider, particularly for St Petersburg. I can understand how good tour experiences in the past have influenced the judgement of new searchers because the raving tourists keep posting some outstanding reviews for whichever tour provider they used. This is not such a bad thing because one would expect that the tour experience should be nothing short of excellent, but it muddles the ability to make a reasonable comparison. I took a different approach and decided to do a pseudo-scientific analysis. Using Trip Advisor as the data source I looked at the reviews for the St Petersburg offerings from Alla, SPB Tours and TJ Travel. They are put into five categories: Excellent, Very Good, Average, Poor and Terrible. The scores were as follows:

Alla: E = 297; V = 18; A = 1; P = 5; T = 2, for a total of 323 reviews

SPB: E = 164; V = 2; A = 1; P = 2: T = 0, for a total of 169 reviews

TJ: E = 118; V = 7; A = 2; P = 0; T = 1, for a total of 128 reviews.

 

On a percentage basis more than 97% of the tourists gave a rating of excellent or very good to all three providers. Now that didn’t help me much and so I looked more closely at the reviews that were below average. But I didn’t want to consider old gripes because everyone should be given a chance at redemption. So I focused on the reviews for tours taken in 2012 only. For Alla, 3 out of a total of 7 below average ratings were from 2012; 2 out of 2 for SPB and 1 out of 1 for TJ. But what were the details of these gripes and what was the tour provider’s perspective and response. Here is a summary:

 

Alla Poor #1: Not enough time in Hermitage; Visited tatty shops; Detoured to pick up hotel guests; Guide effusively irritating; No boat ride; Low standard food. Alla’s response: None.

Alla Poor #2: Late leaving port; Bus microphone not working, no spares; Guide difficult to understand; Alla wanted to change the itinerary. Alla’s response: None.

Alla Terrible #1: Spent an hour at Alla’s junk store. Guide full of propaganda; Lunch worse than prison food. Alla’s response: None.

SPB Poor #1: Disorganized; Late start; Problems with cheap headsets; Subway ride on dingy train; Late for lunch, provided with hamburgers instead; Waited one and a half hours to board the hydrofoil while other jumped the queue. SPB’s response: None.

SPB Poor #2: Guide’s English not understandable; Returned to the ship an hour and a half before schedule; Late starting the 2nd day; Returned early again to the ship; Driver aggressive (in traffic). SPB’s response: None

TJ’s Terrible #1: Visas were not obtained; Had to take ship’s tour. TJ’s response: The tourists contacted TJ five days before arriving in St Pete. Personal data for blanket visa application was emailed from the ship 2 days before arrival. Russian regulations require 3 days to process visa applications.

 

What I was looking at was the nature of the problems and how they were handled. So although the reviews were very good for the three tour operators I felt that my chances at getting better service would be with TJ Travel.

I've been reading this thread and your calculations are fascinating. But sometimes numbers do not tell the entire story of a company. As was said, I truly believe you get a more honest assessment from Cruise Critic than from Trip Advisor.

But, sometimes you have to go right to the 'horse's mouth' as they say and contact each of these companies on your own. I know that was what sold me on SPB Tours over some of the others. Yes reviews are fine, but, as has been said, there is always some people who just will never be happy.

When we were looking for a tour company, we wrote to all the major players. Some wrote back right away, some sent sort of form letters for us to fill out and others we didn't hear from for maybe a week. Obviously, we eliminated all that didn't respond right away, and all that sent us form letters. That narrowed it down to 3, and we decided on SPB because of Viktoria, the owner, and just the way she just seems to really take a personal interest in us truly having a good time with her company.

I worked in the service industry for over 30 years, and to us, that is the main reasons for choosing a particular company. A few dollars more or less didn't mean much to us. All the tour companies will show you St Petersberg and do an excellent job doing that. All have Russian guides that speak excellent English but there will always be one in the party that can't understand the accent. (in other words, your bad review) We value personal contact, the way Viktoria responded to all our questions and her replies made us feel so confident that we were doing the right thing. We just didn't get that from Alla and Red October. We decided on SPB and have never regretted it one bit.

I understand how you came about your decision, but you should, at least, try and contact the tour groups you are considering, and see how they feel to you that way.

Cheers

Len

Same with us, great price, did u get quoted $275, hope so, if not , get back to them.Great price, cant wait

Fizzy

Just a heads up on this Comfort Tour. Just be aware that it does not include two of the more frequented places in St Petersberg, St Isaac's Cathedral and the very popular Yusupov’s Palace. These are very popular places to visit. The price is very good, but you will be missing some of the highlights of St Petersberg.

Cheers

Len

I can also concur that SPB Tours does not charge a CC fee.

Cheers

Len

Several have mentioned good walking shoes. Do you have any suggestions? Do you think that athletic shoes (Nike type sneakers) have enough support for the cobblestones? Thank you:).

I would say YES. I think many people say to get a good walking shoe, opposed to people who live in sandals et al.

Any good sneaker will do fine as long as you are comfortable in them.

Cheers

Len

We are in the process of planning our 2 port days in St. Petersburg and have read much information online about SPB & Alla private tours there. We would like to tour with 8 people in St. Petersburg. From your experience, is one company better than the other? If so, please explain why. We like to hear all the positive and negative as well.

Thanks! :):)

Many Cruises

You have asked a question that is very subjective. As was said, most here toured with one particular company and most, likely came back, with glowing reviews. Most of the major players do an outstanding job showing you St Petersburg, or else they would not be in business.

When we went, we contacted all the major players, and one company seemed to stand out above the rest. That was SPB Tours. Why, because of Viktoria, the owner of the company. She never failed to email us back with 24 hours and always showing a concern for our doubts and questions. I have said this countless times already, I worked in a service industry and customer service was paramount to anything else. From all the replies I received Victoria and SPB Tours had the best customer service than any of the other companies.

PLUS, we booked a set tour from them, their Baltic Pearl package. We also wanted to see the Grand Choral Synagogue which wasn't on the tour. We wrote Viktoria about this and she immediately replied that it would be no problem to also include it as past of our tour. That sold us on SPB.

As I have said, all the companies do a great job, but some just go over and above the regular things to try and make your visit that much more special.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Len

On our cruise, they always had souvenirs on board,and on the last day of the cruise, most were marked own 50%, but you are getting what was left from the rest of the cruise.

We found the best prices for souvenirs were at the pushcart type wagons that abound at every site in St Petersburg. Be aware, that many of the tour companies do not like stopping there, as they all have 'deals' with other shops, that they conveniently take you to for bathroom breaks and vodka tastings. Also, these carts do not carry expensive things like a very well made set of the nesting dolls. But if you are looking for the basics for souvenirs, and if you can get the tour to stop for a few minutes, there are deals to be had.

My DW saw this music box on the ship for maybe $100. We saw the exact same thing at a vendor by The Church of the Spilled Blood for $40. WE kind of snuck away from the group, hondled a bit with the vendor and ended up buying it for $25.00. It was the exact same thing we saw on the ship. We used US dollars and got dollars back as change.

Here is a pix of what these vendors look like

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe662.jpg

Hope this helps

Cheers

Len

Hi again, one more question - how long is the way to Berlin from the ship?

Although we did not make this trip, the time is about 3 hours each way.

Almost to a man or woman, the people who have made the trip, say it is well worth it.

Cheers

Len

My recommendations are

- Stay at least two days in St. Petersburg

- Cruising Stockholm Archipelago

- Copenhagen and Tallinn are nice cities to visit

 

Hello,

I understood that only with a tour operator one can go to Russia without a visa, ok.

What about Tallinn and other Baltic capitals, do we need visas or tour operators there? Or we can just disembark and spend a day by ourselves?

 

Vaclav

 

All the ports except St Petersberg, you are allowed to just walk off the ship, no customs, no immigration, just go as you please. There have been many debates on this site as to whether or not you should take your passport off with you. Some say always, while others say, leave it locked in your cabin and just carry a copy. That is up to you, but unless something seriously goes wrong, you will not need it.

Tallinn is just a wonderful town to wander around in on your own. You can download a great walking tour, just google Tallinn walking tours and you will find it. We cannot mention it here, for reasons no one really knows. Just be aware that walking in Tallinn, to get to the top of the town, there is a slight incline and you are walking on cobblestone streets. It is NOT a hard walk, more of a leisurely stroll, but if you have any walking impairments, it could make a difference.

 

 

Here are a few more pixs of Tallinn for you to enjoy

 

From the ship, it is a very easy walk to Fat Margret Gate, the main entrance into the old town

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster511.jpg

 

Tallinn is so European with it's narrow winding cobblestone street. A great way to explore

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe518.jpg

 

Once at the top of the town, you get a exquisite view of the town, out towards the harbor where you can even see your ship

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe543.jpg

 

Here is the main town square, where you can just sit awhile and enjoy the entire area

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster602.jpg

 

Along the walls of the city, are many, many vendors, selling an assortment of goods

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe622.jpg

 

And you never know what you will see wandering around the streets

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe627.jpg

 

Many of the shops are down below the street, but they are stocked full of great things

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe619.jpg

 

Hope this helps you a bit

 

Cheers

 

Len

Some really great info here by all who have already been and happy to share their experiences with others.

When we went, some 3 years ago now, we thought we were prepared for everything. We spent so many hours on this site, asking about everything, and we did a pretty good job of knowing most of the ins and outs.

Just a few other things, maybe others have missed.

When booking your cruise, make sure the ship docks in Stockholm and not in the town about an hour away.

Make sure you get to the Vasa Museum ASAP. As the day goes on and the crowds build up, they limit the number of people going in at one time. It pays to be there as early as possible.

Also, in Stockholm, try and get to the Palace to see the Changing of the Guard ceremony. It is about an hour, but you do not have to stay for the entire event if you don't want to.

When wandering about in Gamla Stan, get off the main streets and explore many of the marvelous narrow, cobblestone back streets.

If you dock in Warnemunde and do not go to Berlin, go to Rostock for a while and also get to the beach area in Warnemunde, and bring your swim suit if it isn't too chilly.

Do the walking tour that many of us have used in Tallinn. You can print it right out from several web sites.

Some one mentioned a photo ticket in St Petersburg. If you book a tour with one of the independent tour companies, ONE camera is covered under their blanket, any other camera's you need to buy a separate sticker for. This is only true in St Petersberg, in certain venues like the Hermitage.

In St Petersberg, try and get to the Grand Choral Synagogue. It was the ONLY religious place that stayed open during the Soviet regime

wear layers. If you go in August, the temperatures will be mild during the day, but cool in the early AM and later PM, and I would definitely forgo the sandals in favor of good walking shoes.

One other thing which helped us a great deal, try and exchange some money before you leave for several of the currencies. You don't need a lot of money, but something to buy a snack, take a taxi, pay for a bus ride. Yes, you could hit an ATM while there, but your time in these marvelous cities is short and make the most of it.

Here are a few of my pictures from our time to help get you a bit acclimated

In Stockholm, the Changing of the Guard Ceremony is wonderful to watch

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe1306.jpg

Sailing thru the Archipelago is truly a wonderful experience not to be missed

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe1344.jpg

In Gamla Stan, get off the main street and you will discover so many hidden treasures

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe1270.jpg

The Grand Choral Synagogue

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe991.jpg

In Tallinn, along the walking tour you will see the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe566.jpg

One last thing, do not miss the Canal boat tour in Copenhaven

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe247.jpg

Cheers

Len

Welcome back Anni.

Hope you are well and enjoyed your time away from us.

Cheers

Len

Hi I was wondering how you paid? By credit card or cash in person? I'm wondering if they are going to charge a convenience fee for credit cards? Would you reccommend this tour? I'm planning to go in Sept.2012

Most people pay in cash on the second day of the 2 day tour. They prefer newer type bills with no writing of any kind on them. they do NOT have to be crisp, right off the press type of bills, just no real old bills that have lost their crispness. If memory holds, SPB sort of advertises a price for cash that is kind of a discounted price, so when they charge a % more for a CC, that is supposed to be the real price. Anyway you want to figure it, you will be paying more for using a CC. Now if you have a card that charges no foreign transactions fees (Like CapitalOne) and you can earn say 2% cash back, then you are only paying a slightly larger amount than for cash if you prefer to go that route.

Some people question the carrying around of that amount of money in cash, but you are only carrying it for the second day of the tour. the rest of the time, store it in your room safe on the ship. No big deal, and, as I said, most people go that route.

We also used SPB Tours and you will NOT be sorry you booked with them. They do a spectacular job of making each and every tour person go home feeling that they had the time of their lives. Just a professional organization from top to bottom.

Cheers

Len

Can anybody tell me what the difference between the local tour operators in St. Petersburg is? Does each have their area of expertise or are they all more or less the same?

Overall, they are all basically the same as to showing you all the sights in St Petersburg. They all will have a set plan or you can draw up your own, to your liking. They all will accommodate you. price wise, I also think they are all in the same ballpark.

But they all do have their little 'quirks' that separate one from the other. Like some include lunches and some include the canal boat ride.

Customer service is also a big factor. Big outfits, like Denrus and Red October, do not have that intimacy between host and tourist that you will find with some of the other tour groups.

We toured almost 3 years ago with SPB Tours. We used them because, at that time, they did not charge extra for the canal boat tour which we really wanted to do, they also included 2 lunches, one which was a sit down at a real Russian restaurant, which we also wanted to do. But the main reason why we went with SPB was because of the tremendous customer service we received from Viktoria, the owner. She was calm when we needed calming. She suggested things to us, and she never failed to respond to every email we sent her, by the very next day.

Now that they have expanded their tours to other ports, it makes it more accommodating and you can save some money at the same time.

Cheers

Len