Which SPB Tour company

[Mardonna]

I am so torn with which compnay to use....

 

we are 3 adults and 3 kids ages 5-9

 

want to see the most we can.....price not a huge issue as long as it is in the range.

 

Have contacted....Red October....I want to talk about it on phone), Denrus sent proposals, Anastasia sent proposals, and SPB sent proposals and responded quickly to emails.....Alla and Masha have not gotten back to me....

 

Doesn't someone out there have a list of the best tour operators and why....like a top 10.....it seems they have it for everything else....

[Giantfan13]

I am so torn with which compnay to use....

 

we are 3 adults and 3 kids ages 5-9

 

want to see the most we can.....price not a huge issue as long as it is in the range.

 

Have contacted....Red October....I want to talk about it on phone), Denrus sent proposals, Anastasia sent proposals, and SPB sent proposals and responded quickly to emails.....Alla and Masha have not gotten back to me....

 

Doesn't someone out there have a list of the best tour operators and why....like a top 10.....it seems they have it for everything else....

 

NO one can tell you which tour company to use, that has to be done by you taking into account your various needs.

 

We used SPB tours with Viktoria, and I cannot sing her praises loud enough. but anyone who has toured in St Petersburg with a different tour company will say the exact same thing about their group. As I have said several times, most of us who have been, have nothing to compare their last tour with. We have done it once and we had a great time, so we all think ours was the best. How can anyone here say that you should definitely use this group or that group.

We all have our reasons why we used that certain group. OUR reasons were the extra personal attention that Viktoria showed me, with her immediate emails and just the tone of her words. Also, she had some things on her tour that we wanted to do, that other groups did not offer, like a free canal boat ride.

Another factor is what others on your roll call may want to do. It is nice to tour with a group as you get to meet other folks. Maybe they already ahve a tour booked and you could join them.

You just need to contact most of other groups, sort them out, eliminate some that just do not 'catch your eye' for one reason or another. When you have that narrowed down to maybe two or three, then ask specific questions to each, especially about the children, and See what they say and what makes you feel more comfortable. I know you had asked about the kids in another thread, and there are no easy answers. In St Petersburg, there aren't THAT many things that might interest kids. But that is what you have to ask the tour people. maybe there are parks where the kids can play, maybe some rides or something like that.

We cannot make the decision for you. Believe me, they are all good, and you will not make a bad choice whom ever you decide on. That is a fact.

 

Here is a short video of the band that was playing outside of Catherine's Palace. The kids will definitely like that.

http://s834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/?action=view&current=europemaster834.flv

 

Len

[Mardonna]

I am very confused now.....just talked to Red October and many of the things I asked to see and do he now mentions is just not possible in the time frame we have.....but the other guides seem to see we can do it......who do I believe.....this is all so confusing.

[Giantfan13]

I am very confused now.....just talked to Red October and many of the things I asked to see and do he now mentions is just not possible in the time frame we have.....but the other guides seem to see we can do it......who do I believe.....this is all so confusing.

 

Once again, contact all the groups, and eliminate the ones that do not seem to 'get' your needs. If Red October didn't meet what you want, move on. Personally, I would contact Viktoria with SPB tours--- http://www.spb-tours.com/flash.html. On that page you will see a few buttons towards the bottom of the page, one a Two day tour, the other a package tour. with the package tour, you get everything mentioned. With the two day tour, you can chose any of the selected packages that meet your requirements. But first email SPB, specifically Viktoria, explain to her what your needs are, what you are looking for, and ASK HER what would be best for you. She is very nice and will help you plan the way to go.

 

As I said here before, we cannot tell you how to see St Petersburg. You have to do some work on your own. Find out what most interests you in the city, what you may NOT want to see and what you definitely want to see. YOU have to do some of the legwork here and then the tour people will be able to help you a lot more.

 

Len

[Islanderman]

I will agree with Len about getting a feel for the tour operator. We got proposals from 3 operators. SPB also stood out for us. I haven't toured with them yet, but Viktoria was very helpful in planning a very ambitious private 2 day tour for our group of 4. It was almost as though she was reading my mind. She was very responsive to our requests and we are looking forward to touring with her in September.

 

Rich

[jkw3tx]

Not to beat the drum too much for SPB- when we toured last summer not only did we work with them on our itinerary but once we arrived they had a couple additions they suggested and really worked with us for a totally memorable trip.

One point- get as much done as you can before may- once the season starts- no one is great at getting quick responses to you.

As was mentioned earlier- right now- everyone should be responding and working with you- if they aren't- move on.

JKW

[LadyCruisers]

I would like to add my two cents. Just finished two weeks of back and forth e-mails with Viktoria at SPB Tours, and finalized our two days in St. Pete as well as our one day in Berlin with her. She was amazing to work with. She responded within 24 hours with an anwer to every little question and with lots of ideas and suggestions as well. I managed in a matter of a days to add two other couples from our roll call (Celebrity Eclipse Baltic cruise June 12) to my party of four people (to cap our group out at eight total at a price of $295US pp for the two days), and put together a very extensive two-day (it's her Active Tour C with a few tweeks) in St. Pete based on what we wanted to do. We did eight people for Berlin as well. I feel confident with my choice based on my experience with her thus far. Just last week, she started to bring in more staff as the inquiries are coming in now. I'm really glad I got my excursions set when we did. It is really a lot of work for all these tour operators to handle the inquiries, set the individual tour, collect passport info and get visas for all the ships that visit St. Pete over the period of May -September. For those who haven't done it yet, my suggestion would be to start now. You'll get the best service possible and your questions answered in a very timely manner. I can now turn to the other ports on our cruise that don't require nearly as much work and cost. Really looking forward to this trip.

[Giantfan13]

Exactly guys. As I said to the OP, we can suggest, but we simply cannot do the leg work for you. If you want a memorable experience, you have to do some of the work yourself.

[jjferr]

I would like to add my two cents. Just finished two weeks of back and forth e-mails with Viktoria at SPB Tours, and finalized our two days in St. Pete as well as our one day in Berlin with her. She was amazing to work with. She responded within 24 hours with an anwer to every little question and with lots of ideas and suggestions as well. I managed in a matter of a days to add two other couples from our roll call (Celebrity Eclipse Baltic cruise June 12) to my party of four people (to cap our group out at eight total at a price of $295US pp for the two days), and put together a very extensive two-day (it's her Active Tour C with a few tweeks) in St. Pete based on what we wanted to do. We did eight people for Berlin as well. I feel confident with my choice based on my experience with her thus far. Just last week, she started to bring in more staff as the inquiries are coming in now. I'm really glad I got my excursions set when we did. It is really a lot of work for all these tour operators to handle the inquiries, set the individual tour, collect passport info and get visas for all the ships that visit St. Pete over the period of May -September. For those who haven't done it yet, my suggestion would be to start now. You'll get the best service possible and your questions answered in a very timely manner. I can now turn to the other ports on our cruise that don't require nearly as much work and cost. Really looking forward to this trip.

 

Are you willing to share the "few tweeks" that you mentioned? I am in the planning stages of our 2 days in St. Petersburg.

 

Thanks!

[Mardonna]

I would love tweeks as well....getting ready to send off my stuff to Viktoria this week.

[LHT28]

I would love tweeks as well....getting ready to send off my stuff to Viktoria this week.

Just send her your list of must sees she will tell whether it is possible in your time frame,

She will let you know how much time is required to see what you want & make suggestions for other things to see

[LadyCruisers]

We basically took SPB's "Active C" tour and told Viktoria we wanted to see as much as possible, that we wanted the shortest lunch stop possible (just grab something quick), we were not interested in souvenir or shopping stops (if we must have something I felt we could get it in one of the gift shops in one of the museums we'll be in). We wanted her to throw in one or two things of military interest for our husbands as well as all of the usual must sees. We will go by the Russian Cruiser Aurora (and can go in if our group of 8 choses). On our way back from Catherine's Palace, we'll be stopping at the Seige of Leningrad War Memorial, which my husband is thrilled about. This tour will also visit Yusupov's Palace. This tour also starts an hour earlier than her other tours which are "moderate" as opposed to our "active. We kept our group at 8 (felt anything more would slow us down - although the price would have been lower). At $295US pp for the two days, I feel we're doing great compared to ships' tour with bus of 40 or so people, and even better than cheaper private tours with with 20 or so people.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Barbara

[jjferr]

We basically took SPB's "Active C" tour and told Viktoria we wanted to see as much as possible, that we wanted the shortest lunch stop possible (just grab something quick), we were not interested in souvenir or shopping stops (if we must have something I felt we could get it in one of the gift shops in one of the museums we'll be in). We wanted her to throw in one or two things of military interest for our husbands as well as all of the usual must sees. We will go by the Russian Cruiser Aurora (and can go in if our group of 8 choses). On our way back from Catherine's Palace, we'll be stopping at the Seige of Leningrad War Memorial, which my husband is thrilled about. This tour will also visit Yusupov's Palace. This tour also starts an hour earlier than her other tours which are "moderate" as opposed to our "active. We kept our group at 8 (felt anything more would slow us down - although the price would have been lower). At $295US pp for the two days, I feel we're doing great compared to ships' tour with bus of 40 or so people, and even better than cheaper private tours with with 20 or so people.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Barbara

 

 

Thanks Barbara. It does help. My husband may be interested in the military things also. He is in the Army reserves and is currently on active dury. When we go on our trip, he will have just come off of active duty.

[Giantfan13]

When you speak to Viktoria, tell her, Len said Hi.