Seeking previous clients of SPB tours in Berlin and St. Petersbug

[Harry Cane]

Thanks, Len. I was wondering how that worked. I've looked at all the tours offered and they all seem fairly similar. I'm leaning to Anastasia.

They've guaranteed the price even though they only have 8 at this point and it seems to cover everything I want to see.

[greyhound101]

Harry,

 

When I first booked my Saint Petersburg tour Vika sent me a confirmation with the cost. Then when I added a second couple she sent me a new confirmation with a new price. When we added the third couple (I stopped it at this point) she sent me a new confirmation. So you will know up front what your cost will be. SPB did a wonderful job for me on our June 6th Baltic cruise.

 

For the person who asked about getting off the ship, Azamara attempted to get all independent tour people into a single location, but a group of us did not go to the meeting place and when Russian Authorities cleared the ship, we just walked off and met our guide on the other side of passport control. No one on the ship said a word to us.

 

Greyhound 101

[Giantfan13]

Thanks, Len. I was wondering how that worked. I've looked at all the tours offered and they all seem fairly similar. I'm leaning to Anastasia.

They've guaranteed the price even though they only have 8 at this point and it seems to cover everything I want to see.

 

Harry

 

As has been said many times here, ALL the independent tour groups do a fantastic job helping all of us see St Petersburg. Each one has it's own merits and that is waht you should focus on. We chose SPB because of Viktoria and her personal touch. From some of the others, we got basic form emails,and we hated that. SPB also included several things in their tour package that others did not like free lunches and a free canal boat tour. When We asked if we could add something to the itinerary, like the Choral Synagogue, Viktoria immediately said, no problem. That I liked. I spent 30 years in a 'service' type of business, and know waht good customer relations means. A personal touch always gets better results. With SPB and Viktoria, I always received that. For us it wasn't about money.

 

Anyway, you will enjoy your time in St Petersburg, no matter which group you use. Have fun.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[greyhound101]

You are so right about Viktoria and SPB, we also added in the Choral Synagogue in St. Petersburg, and customized some things for our 2 days in Berlin. She was great as you said and very accommodating.

[oceanviewcruise]

Just want to thank you all for these posts. We are just starting to plan for our Baltic cruise in 2011 and it looks like I already have two of my shore excursions decided on. HUGE weight off my back as I had just found out how restrictive travel in Russia could be if you don't want to take a ship excursion.

 

Hi Meg,

 

I too am looking at the Baltic ports and organising some private tours maybe. My recent research into this matter may help you also.

 

Reading the rave reviews on here from past clients of SPb-Tours in St. Petersburg and Berlin I decided to see what all the fuss was about and found their website via Google.

 

Having organised many private shore excursions on our previous cruises I pretty much knew what I was looking for in a tour company. In the past some of our CC cruise threads have been very active and on our last one we had a record 230 at the Meet & Mingle party (RCI ships). Consequently some of the private organised trips we did were well attended and up to 6 full 45 seater bus loads on one.

 

I found that the great thing about the SPb service is that they have a Roll Call page where folks like me who want to advertise a private tour on a specific ship on a specific cruise can do so to try and make up the numbers. They operate a "More the Cheaper" system which can start at 2 people and end in a full ship load - (I never have managed more than 250 or so but they could cope with that it seems!)

 

They offer a variety of 1-day and 2-day tours from St. Petersburg - we are not going to Berlin so I have not researched that port - one in particular caught my eye which they call the Baltic Pearl 2-Day tour so I contacted the company and within no time it seems I got an answer from Viktoria.

 

After explaining what I wanted to do and receiving a possitive reply I then asked the impossible - which rarely works with other companies - "Can they adapt the tour to suit our specific requirements (our group want to spend a little extra time in the Hermitage Museum for instance) and perhaps add or subtract places we visit?"

Guess what? Viktoria and her team could supply us with a bespoke 2-Day tour at the same advertised prices, which looking at what the ship was offering was a no brainer. Furthermore, apparently because they only use small vehicles and therefore each bus has perhaps only a max of 16 occupants, they take you to places the ship tours can't go, such as the metro system and along the canals etc. They also take care of the visa and issue all documents required to exit the ship.

 

Seems a good deal to me

[PJames]

Just got back from the NCL Baltic cruise (on the Sun).

The best part? The 2-day SPb tour!

http://www.gummy-stuff.org/Baltic-cruise.htm#SPb

:)

[Got2Cruise]

PJames, thank you for the FABULOUSLY presented review.:) One of the best reviews eva. We leave on the next sailing of the Sun and are touring with SPb also. I love your attitude, you didn't even allow a bum ankle or lost passport spoil your mood. I have to say, thank goodness Heidi didn't lose her passport in Russia.:eek: I am going to post the link on the July 10 roll call.

 

Just got back from the NCL Baltic cruise (on the Sun).

The best part? The 2-day SPb tour!

http://www.gummy-stuff.org/Baltic-cruise.htm#SPb

:)

[brockwer]

I have a question that I am hoping someone can help with. Taking a cruise in the Baltic next month, but we are bringing a 90 year old with us (who is about as active as you can be at that age, but still not as mobile as most). So these tours seem like fairly long days, but can anyone provide any insight into the level of activity (ie amount of walking and such)? I assume its quite a bit, but it also seems like most of the tours have a significant amount of driving. Anyways, I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thanks.

[PJames]

I have a question that I am hoping someone can help with. Taking a cruise in the Baltic next month, but we are bringing a 90 year old with us (who is about as active as you can be at that age, but still not as mobile as most). So these tours seem like fairly long days, but can anyone provide any insight into the level of activity (ie amount of walking and such)? I assume its quite a bit, but it also seems like most of the tours have a significant amount of driving. Anyways, I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thanks.

I'm 77-going-on-90 (with a bum ankle) so I couldn't walk much.

We signed up for NCL excursions identified by "1" (as opposed to "2" or "3" which require more walking).

There were many who were older than I.

When the tour bus stopped I often sat on a nearby bench while my wife wandered about taking photos.

However, I did get to see much of the places we toured, though often through the window of the bus ... and from my wife's photos.

 

Conclusion?

Your 90 year old will enjoy the rides if they are half-day tours.

[fabnfortysomething]

I have a question that I am hoping someone can help with. Taking a cruise in the Baltic next month, but we are bringing a 90 year old with us (who is about as active as you can be at that age, but still not as mobile as most). So these tours seem like fairly long days, but can anyone provide any insight into the level of activity (ie amount of walking and such)? I assume its quite a bit, but it also seems like most of the tours have a significant amount of driving. Anyways, I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thanks.

 

did the Baltics last year with 49 year old husband just prior to his hip replacement so he was having a lot of mobility problems!

 

we contacted several private tour operators and organised a shortened 2 day tour with minimal walking.we still saw a lot and not just through the windows of a bus as we were in a private car and so could get right up close to the main attractions

 

I would recommmend to use a wheelchair at the Hermitage and peterhof-the tour guide can arrange this.

 

Lyn

[srb321]

Just got back. Used SPB in St. Petersburg and Berlin.

In St. Petersburg did the Active tour. It was hectic, tiring and great. We saw what we could in two days. The guide was fantastic.

We did the Jewish Heritage tour in Berlin and again it was great. Well worth the three hour drive to get there.

Would recommend this tour company to anyone.

We had friends that used Alla in Berlin and were very unhappy.

[don2738]

Just joining in that we too had a very good experience with SPB tours in St. Petersburg. Viktoria met us each of the two days. Our guide was great, van was clean, water bottles at each seat, everything I wanted in a private tour. We were a group of 5, you'd still have an easily manageable group at maybe up to 10 folks. We were certainly better off than the big crowd on the ship's tours. They customized our tour and let us add a couple things. Maria was an expert on the art and history, she grew up there all her life. Good job all around. I wanted to be sure and give them a great review on Cruisecritic, they deserve it.

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

 

Showing us the throne room below:

 

 

[joebeth]

Hi gtojr. I'm a little late to this party, as my husband and I just booked the August 26th Baltic cruise on Constellation two weeks ago! But was wondering which tour groups you decided to go for - and whether you're doing both St. Pete. and Berlin.

 

We're thinking about SPB for Berlin and are pretty much set on Alex's tours for Russia, but I'm eager to hear where folks are at!

[rdnpdx1]

Hi gtojr. I'm a little late to this party, as my husband and I just booked the August 26th Baltic cruise on Constellation two weeks ago! But was wondering which tour groups you decided to go for - and whether you're doing both St. Pete. and Berlin.

 

We're thinking about SPB for Berlin and are pretty much set on Alex's tours for Russia, but I'm eager to hear where folks are at!

 

Members of our little group went to Berlin with SPB and really liked it. We also did a walking tour with SPB in Tallinn which was excellent. The highlight of the trip was our two day St. Petersburg with SPB. Viktoria was charming and she and Anthony made sure every thing was top notch for our group of six. Our guide Elena and driver Sasha made the two days very enjoyable. I can't comment about other companies, but SPB had eight tour groups on our sailing and I heard nothing but rave reviews from anyone who took them - whether a standard moderate or active tour, or the private deluxe tours offered. All top quality guides, small comfortable vans. First class in all regards.

[joebeth]

@rdnpdx1 -- thanks for the detailed info. about spd-tours. Just trying to decide now whether to book them for this four-city package deal of $399pp, including the two-day St. Pete., Berlin, Talinn and Helsinki. so if anybody can weigh in on that, we're all ears! sorry if I'm not posting right -- I mean to reply to somebody, but it may be that I'm starting a new thread. And then when I do want to start a new topic/question, I may be replying to something completely different. And... I work on a computer all day, can you imagine?!

[joebeth]

Actually, thanks to EVERYBODY for your wonderfully detailed responses about SPB! True for form about how I am navigating my way around this board, or not, I missed all the comments when I thanked the one PP! Now that I see them, we're almost sure to do SPB for St. P and Berlin and will think about the pkg deal which would add helsinkin and talinn. we like to do much on our own, but for that price, maybe we ought to. It still allows for several hours on our own in Hels and Tall. On the pkg deal though, I don't remember if there was a way to indicate active, moderate, etc., which I would definitely want to convey -- active for us!

[joebeth]

Me again, folks! If I could ask one more question -- was there any time for (souvenir, crafts) shopping, say, in Berlin or St. Petersburg on your tours?

[rdnpdx1]

Me again, folks! If I could ask one more question -- was there any time for (souvenir, crafts) shopping, say, in Berlin or St. Petersburg on your tours?

 

In St. Petersburg there are museum shops in the Hermitage, etc. In addition, the guide stopped once each day at shops she recommended. The one on the first day was very large, two stories, and had a much bigger selection. Ask the first morning for the guide's recommendation for the best stop for the type of souvenir you want.

[rdnpdx1]

Actually, thanks to EVERYBODY for your wonderfully detailed responses about SPB! True for form about how I am navigating my way around this board, or not, I missed all the comments when I thanked the one PP! Now that I see them, we're almost sure to do SPB for St. P and Berlin and will think about the pkg deal which would add helsinkin and talinn. we like to do much on our own, but for that price, maybe we ought to. It still allows for several hours on our own in Hels and Tall. On the pkg deal though, I don't remember if there was a way to indicate active, moderate, etc., which I would definitely want to convey -- active for us!

 

The guide in Tallinn was wonderful and told us much more than we would have learned just wandering through the town. She also helped us avoid all of the ship's tours. We had several hours there afterwards - plenty of time on your own.

 

For their package four city offer, I think you should check and see which tour they do to see if it works for you. I think their included tour was a tour called "Baltic Pearl" or the like, as I recall. SPB will obviously know and can tell you how, if at all, it differs from the active tour.

[LAN41]

Me again, folks! If I could ask one more question -- was there any time for (souvenir, crafts) shopping, say, in Berlin or St. Petersburg on your tours?

 

We had tickets for the Folkloric show at 7pm at the Nicholas Palace. Everyone else in our SPB van was going back to the ship. Our guide, Valeri, dropped us off a block or so from the the theatre (before making the drive back out to the port) and pointed out a large souvenir shop. It was huge, with great prices and a gigantic selection. In addition, we stopped at another shop the following day at the end of our tour for about a half hour, so the other members of the tour could also shop. The first one, by Nicholas Palace was the best. If you stay in town in the evening for the Folk Show, make sure you go over there. Have a wonderful time!

 

Leslie

[Got2Cruise]

You are probably not doing the "Active" tour with the $399 special. When you correspond with SPb, ask them to spell out the difference between the active tour and the $399 tour. The difference would be the itinerary in SPB.

Actually, thanks to EVERYBODY for your wonderfully detailed responses about SPB! True for form about how I am navigating my way around this board, or not, I missed all the comments when I thanked the one PP! Now that I see them, we're almost sure to do SPB for St. P and Berlin and will think about the pkg deal which would add helsinkin and talinn. we like to do much on our own, but for that price, maybe we ought to. It still allows for several hours on our own in Hels and Tall. On the pkg deal though, I don't remember if there was a way to indicate active, moderate, etc., which I would definitely want to convey -- active for us!

[CintiPam]

Me again, folks! If I could ask one more question -- was there any time for (souvenir, crafts) shopping, say, in Berlin or St. Petersburg on your tours?

 

As others have written, there is time in St. Petersburg but we did not have any time in Berlin for shopping, which was fine by me. There is a lot of ground to cover there in a short amount of time. (We even pre-ordered our lunches to save at least 30 minutes at the restaurant so we would have more sightseeing time.)

Edited August 18, 2011 by CintiPam

[swin26]

You are probably not doing the "Active" tour with the $399 special. When you correspond with SPb, ask them to spell out the difference between the active tour and the $399 tour. The difference would be the itinerary in SPB.

 

 

Another big difference is the size of the group. I was told that the 4 group special (which will be $499 in 2012) has groups of about 20 in St. Petersburg and 24 in Berlin. Our preference is for smaller groups in both.

[Got2Cruise]

We had ten in our group in SPB for the moderate tour. The perfect amount. Not too big, and it enabled us to have an affordable price.

Another big difference is the size of the group. I was told that the 4 group special (which will be $499 in 2012) has groups of about 20 in St. Petersburg and 24 in Berlin. Our preference is for smaller groups in both.

[joebeth]

Hi everyone! Well, SPB has cancelled the 4-port tour, the one for $399 pp which included Talinn and Helsinki. So now we're down to deciding between SPB or Alex's Tours (love Alex's e-mails and itinerary) for Saint Petersburg, and SPB for Berlin (Alex and co. don't do Berlin). If anybody cares to weigh in... late as it is :) that'd be much appreciated! Counting the days here, either way!