JohnnyFox

I know most passengers probably will arrange their own tours or take the ship excursion in St. Petersburg. But does O provide free shuttles for passengers that have their own Russian visa?

When I asked O about this, I got a very negative response - presumably because they are protecting their own overpriced shore excursion business. They said you'd need to walk "at least two miles" from the ship through the port to the nearest place you could get a taxi or bus.

I don't think it would be quite so much, but Google Maps suggests 2100 metres from the ship to Primorskaya, the nearest metro station at the end of line 3 so even if you have a Russian visa it might be best to order a taxi or guide to meet you at the cruise terminal. There's a sizeable car park there.

Oceania's Nautica has a half-day trip to the Molli steam train, and a brief stop in Kuhlungsborn which I'm very keen to see, but the trip's stupidly expensive.

I've researched some bus/train timetables and it looks very do-able in a day but maybe one of the 'locals' can tell me if that's practical, and/or if I'd be right at the back of the queue behind hundreds of passengers for the steam train?

Otherwise, anyone know about hiring a car from Warnemunde port - most car hire companies only seem to quote for 3+ days, rather than 10 hours !!!

Thanks!

Johnny