crawtaterfamily

Thank you all!

We are planning to get the Princess Visa credit card and were wondering if they offer any additional perks if you sign up while on board a cruise as opposed to online from home? Thanks!

We also had a great experience wtih Best Guides. We did the "Best Guides Children's Tour." My full review is posted at this link but I have copied the part re: Best Guides below: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=106938

Day 1, St. Petersburg

Once we met our guide (Masha) we knew it would be a good day. What makes her a "best" guide for us is she always spoke directly to our children and made the tour both educational AND fun for them.

Started the day with a city tour with stops for photos and the kids were given specific instructions to hunt for "secrets." They even found gold keys. Went to a fortress that was a political prison 100 years ago--very creepy and the kids were enchanted. My son got to experience solitary confinement when he volunteered to let them turn off the lights when he was alone in a cell for a few seconds. We took a hydrofoil (like a boat on skis) to Petershof Gardens/Fountains (the czars' summer palace). Very pretty with gold everywhere. Our guide whipped out some supplies for her purse and showed the kids how to make their own fountain using a hose, bottled water, etc. The kids were also challenged to walk across a series of stones while trying to "avoid" stepping on a mystery stone that would set off a fountain. They were soaked in seconds and didn't seem to mind it being so cold. Had a Russian lunch on site. Delicious beef stroganoff which was invented in St. Pete's and Russian pancakes for dessert. The bathhouses were interesting. The highlight of the day was the private Matroshka wooden doll painting class. The teacher was so patient and we all did a good job. I got bit by quite a few mosquitos while there. The class was supposed to be in one of the guides' home but it had to be moved since my mother injured her foot right before the cruise and the guide's home was on a fourth floor --not accessible. Too bad because our kids were supposed to meet her kids and practice their language skills. Maybe some other trip. But in any case, the doll painting class was a real treat. By this time we were exhausted. We could have arranged tickets to the Russian ballet at nighttime but we were glad we did not as we still had a full day in St. Pete's the next day.

Day 2, St. Petersburg

Our guide took us to the Hermitage Museum. Lots of gold everywhere and beautiful art. We also went to the gorgeous Church of Spilled Blood and had another good Russian lunch of Borscht soup. We climbed nearly 300 steps of St. Isaac's church for a spectacular view. Also went to pretty St. Nicholas's church where the guide had headscarves ready for my daughter and me. Our guide taught the kids about mosaic art and gave them "sidewalk chalk" to practice on the ground in an area where it was permitted to do so. These hands-on activities were perfect for the kids to have fun while learning!