choccy14

Thanks for that!! We are using SPB in Berlin and St. Petersburg, Sept 2015, glad to hear you had a great time. Do you remember if they stop at an ATM or do you suggest we have Rubles ahead of time to pay the tips?

 

Thanks!!

We went with Alla tours and paid for the tour and the tip in US Dollars. These had to be pristine with no marks or tears for their bank to accept. The exchange rate with Roubles does fluctuate and I think they prefer Foreign currency. I'm sure you will have an amazing time :)

As we were late enquiring and no-one else from our ship tried to book we were unable to book a group tour with SPB for Aug, only a private tour which was too pricey for the 4 of us. We have now booked with Alla Tours and hoping this will be a great tour of St Petersburg!

If you've already seen the major sites, maybe you could do a 1-2 hours rental with GoBoats and cruise the area with your family. You can bring drinks and snacks and just motor around enjoying the scenery. We went through the canals and then down the opera and back. It took about 1.5 hours.

 

http://goboat.dk/en/

 

Another fun thing to do that maybe you haven't seen is the Arsenal Museum. Best all of all - it's free! When we were there last month they had a very interested interactive exhibit on Denmark's involvement in Afghanistan. When we went, there was a group of 10-12 kids there climbing all over the bunker and having a blast.

 

http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/the-royal-arsenal-museum-gdk410541

 

We also had great meal at Cocks and Cows - a burger place right near the statue of Bishop Absalon - an easy walk from the Arsenal Museum.

Thanks for the info, boat trip sounds interesting , fingers crossed for good weather!

I would also like to know how easy it is to get into Copenhagen from Oceankaj if we decide to do that or is there anything at all near the ship?

We fly early into Copenhagen for our cruise and plan to get a taxi to Oceankaj as it seem the easiest thing to do for a family of 4 with big cases! We are hoping to leave our cases at the ship, MSC Sinfonia and then get back into Copenhagen for a look around unless there is anything to see or do near the ship. Any suggestions how we could do this? We have been on a non cruise trip to Copenhagen before, so have seen the main sights, just looking to soak up some atmosphere and enjoy a bit of Copenhagen before we set sail in the evening.

We are a family of 4 arriving on MSC Sinfonia on 6th Aug in St Petersburg. We are trying to book a group tour with SPB Tours as they seem have great reviews. Anyone else looking to join this group tour?

Are you likely to be going to Alaska again? How keen are the kids to see Vancouver? Is this a once in a lifetime trip? I think these are the questions you need to ask yourself! We are a family of 4 from the UK with 2 teenagers. We are squeezing ourselves into an Inside cabin in order to allow us to even see Alaska, do some excursions and spend some time in The Canadian Rockies. Without some cutbacks it just wouldn't be possible for us. If money was no object then yes, balcony every time but not if it stops you doing other exciting trips IMHO !

Tim, thanks for all the info re Avios etc - very useful! I usually use my Tesco points for holidays, Virgin ones in the past and last year RCI. However Virgin no longer take Tesco points and RCI seem to make it difficult to get value. I am very interested in using the Avios and have set up an Iberia Plus account, just in case we book a Canaries cruise next year. I am a BA Executive member but the flight timings are not good.

Just to let you know, whilst I normally use Quidco, I have signed up on your referral to Topcashback for the Tesco points! Many thanks :)