St Petersburg on Silver Spirit

Booked on the Silver Spirit early September with 3 days in St Petersburg. Has anyone done this trip and I would be interested in hearing comments regarding tours to all the wonderful places offered by SS. Also did anyone use a land based tour guide rather than the expensive ships tours. Was a shuttle bus provided and did you feel "secure" if walking around shops etc. Does the ship berth somewhere where there is easy access to the city or is it "miles" away.

We were on the Whisper 2016 and called at St Petersburg for 3 days. You need to bear in mind that if you want to leave the ship independently you will need a Russian Visa whereas if you are there for 72 hrs or less and use an authorised tour company (this applies also to ship's tours) then a Visa is not required. As far as I know none of the passengers on our cruise had acquired a Visa and used either the ship's excursions or had made private arrangements.

We took a 3-day itinerary with SPB tours. The itinerary covered all the essentials and pretty much mirrored what is available from Silversea BUT at about half the cost - or less - while also having the benefit of a small group size and a guide who proved adept at avoiding the often horrendous queues (lines). If you contact SPB they can set up a trip for your cruise and you benefit from some reduction if others from your cruise sign up. I forget the details but spending some time on their website should explain matters. After making a reservation I then set up a thread on this forum asking if anyone else wanted to join the tour and we had a group of 7 in the end. SPB also answer email queries promptly and fully. One thing worth noting is that while lunches are included in the programme do not expect anything special. It's a worthwhile experience to eat in a St Petersburg restaurant but the food is - and I'm trying to be kind here - uninspiring.

The Whisper docked on the middle of the city very near the Winter Palace. We felt secure at all times but, as explained, were only ever in the company of the tour group while ashore.

I hope that helps.

Agree with Tothesunset.Visited St Petersburg on three occasions with SS all in times when there was no

Political situations as there are at present.Always used SS tours as stated above no Visa required.There are some excellent tours both within the City and out of City eg Pushkin Palace was amazing.One piece of advice.When leaving the ship and lining up to pass through passport control DO NOT Smile at the Officials! We saw someone guilty of enjoying themselves by smiling detained for further questions.A fantastic city but take care and stick with SS excursions particularly in today’s political climate.

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Agree with Tothesunset.Visited St Petersburg on three occasions with SS all in times when there was no

Political situations as there are at present.Always used SS tours as stated above no Visa required.There are some excellent tours both within the City and out of City eg Pushkin Palace was amazing.One piece of advice.When leaving the ship and lining up to pass through passport control DO NOT Smile at the Officials! We saw someone guilty of enjoying themselves by smiling detained for further questions.A fantastic city but take care and stick with SS excursions particularly in today’s political climate.

 

 

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Couldn't disagree more. imo the best way to see St Petersburg is with a private tour company like Denrus, Alla. SPB or Red October. That way you set the agenda, you are in a private car with your own guide and driver, you can change things at will, avoid a bus full of forty other people and best of all, you don't have to return to the ship between tours to catch the next one. And it usually costs less than individual tours from the cruise line. And you don't need a visa. The tour company will provide you withe the same visa as the cruise line. They take care of everything for you.

It's common knowledge that ships tour's cost more than private ones. I would say take the one that makes you feel the safest. We have taken some SS tour's and they were small and ok.

Couldn't disagree more. imo the best way to see St Petersburg is with a private tour company like Denrus, Alla. SPB or Red October. That way you set the agenda, you are in a private car with your own guide and driver, you can change things at will, avoid a bus full of forty other people and best of all, you don't have to return to the ship between tours to catch the next one. And it usually costs less than individual tours from the cruise line. And you don't need a visa. The tour company will provide you withe the same visa as the cruise line. They take care of everything for you.

Agree with you completely. Used TJ Tours for an excellent 2 day experience more complete and personal than the more expensive Viking Ocean tours. Wife also used them to take her (alone!) to ballet that first evening. Sat in best seats.

We also toured privately (4 of us) in 2016 for 2 days with Marina Wilson. It was a wonderful experience and we appreciated being able to design the tour to our interests. http://www.st-petersburg-visit.com/

We did this in 2013. Used Alla tours and were very happy.

There were 4 of us from SS and they added another 6 from a large cruise ship. The group wasn’t too big and we were able to avoid most lines.

We were moored in the river in the middle of the city while they were at the cruise port.

Here is our blog about St Petersburg.

http://thefletchers.com.au/The_Fletchers/Norway_Baltic_Cruise_2013/Entries/2013/7/11_St_Petersburg_Day_1.html

Usually, cruise ships cooperate with shore companies and you have to pay more just because you book the tour through SS.

We have visited St.Petersburg several times and most of all liked St.Petersburg4U tours stpetersburg4you.com . Reliable, professional, personalized and cheaper than SS tours.

Last visit we had 3 days in St.Petersburg and itinerary was created according to our preferences. On the second day we went to Moscow and visited Kremlin, Armoury, cathedrals, metro. Intensive, but worth it. Everything was organized really well, train tickets, transfers, business class cars, professional guide, skip the line tickets. It was great experience !:):):):)

Used Denrus in 2016, Whisper Baltic cruise. We signed up for group but others did not sign up. There were only 2 of us but we paid for third person and got group rate (hope that makes sense) for 3 days of tours. I really wanted to see the Russian Museum and other group tours did not offer it. Great experience, as is the evening concert at the Hermitage.

Many thanks for all your advice re SPB. I notice there is also another post regarding SPB tours so I think I will do a private tour with one of the Tour Companies instead of the many on offer from SS. If anyone on these boards want to join me and make a small goup I would love to hear from you.