Roll Call: 4223 August 30th Copenhagen-Stockholm / Sapsan

[rkaratsu]

Just booked this cruise on the Whisper. Hope others will be joining us!

 

And I did have a question: Has anyone done the day trip to Moscow via the Sapsan train? Sound interesting (albeit a LONG day) so I was curious to hear of other experiences.

 

Thanks!

 

RK

[Gololly]

After reading a number of posts on CC and Trip Advisor, there seem to be three top tour companies in St. Petersburg. Those traveling in smaller groups appear to save on tour costs while retaining some flexibility during the tour. We would be interested in pulling together a small group of people (two more couples or a similar number of singles) who are interested in an active tour (lots of walking, etc.).

 

Any cautionary tales and helpful tips are greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers!

[aundi]

We would love to join you on a tour. Please let us know the details.

[aundi]

Hi,

 

My husband and I are booked on this cruise also. We are very excited! We would love to join a group tour in St. Petersburg. Please let us know if you are interested. I do not know anything about the train.

[rkaratsu]

Hi there. Good to hear that we will have some company on this cruise!

 

Actually, the tour I had questions about is offered through Silversea (and not a private company. You probably have received an email from SS them about this particular tour.) What I was hoping to hear back from the CC board was if anyone has done this tour previously, and what they thought of it.

 

I am pretty sure that this cruise is the one time I will go to Russia and I have *always* wanted to see Moscow. But at the same time, the Sapsan tour sounds REALLY long (leave 6am in the morning and return around 10pm that evening) so whatever there is to be seen in St. Petersburg will need to happen on the first day in port. (In my case, another bucket list item is to see the Hermitage in depth.) There is a third day in St. Peterburg but at best it might include some half day tour. (And correct me if I am wrong but unless one has a pre-arranged tour booked, you cannot just get off the ship and wander around St. Peterburg like you can in all of the other ports on this cruise.)

 

Actually, it is good dilemma to have! Will make a decision in about a month...

 

Talk to you later!

 

RK

[aundi]

Hi,

 

I saw that on another cruise before us, some couples are doing the http://www.insider-tour.com. Check it out and let us know if you would like to join us. We are fun and love adventure, we are in 50-60 age group. The more peope the merrier. If you want to email me directly my email is attoth@aol.com and my name is Andrea.:)

[gr997s]

Just booked this cruise on the Whisper. Hope others will be joining us!

 

And I did have a question: Has anyone done the day trip to Moscow via the Sapsan train? Sound interesting (albeit a LONG day) so I was curious to hear of other experiences.

 

Thanks!

 

RK

Yup. We are booked on train.

[aundi]

Did you go with the cruise line or a independent company. We too are seriously considering it.

[rkaratsu]

Here is more about the train trip to Moscow:

 

http://www.silversea.com/destinations/plan-voyage/?voyage=4223&programme=100026767

 

It is offered through Silversea (not a private company.) I am pretty sure that my wife and I will also do this.

 

Has anyone out there done this excursion?...

 

RK

[Neuhoftraveler]

To the OP: Having just returned from St. Petersburg on the Whisper, I can assure you that there is far more to see in SBP than can be managed even in 3 days (if you're going to actually get a decent look at what you visit rather than just fly by). And especially if "the Hermitage in depth" is important to you, forget about Moscow. Three active days in SPB will sufficiently exhaust you.

 

A prelminary word: No, the Russian immigration authorities will not let you off the ship without a pre-arranged tour booked, nor can you legally just wander around without your escort once you do get off. But contrary to some of Silversea's more outrageous misrepresentations, the tour does not have to be ship-sponsored. You are free to book with one of the many independent tour operators, a half-dozen of which are well recommended on this board.

 

Back to the Hermitage: We've been to plenty of art museums throughout the US and Western Europe, but found the size and scope of the Hermitage simply beyond belief. Because this was important to us too, we arranged our tour to include two separate 2.5-hour visits, on successive days. Even with an outstanding private guide, it was far from enough, even limited to European paintings (and there is plenty more besides that). There are great paintings you probably never even knew existed (the so-called "trophy art," coyly described as "transferred from Germany after World War II" and secretly concealed until 1995, when it first went on display as "hidden treasures").

 

I mentioned "three active days." There is no reason not to sightsee both in the morning and the afternoon of the last day. You need only be back to the ship by 5 pm, and I have never seen a report or even a third-hand anecdote or rumor of anyone missing their ship, no matter which tour operator they used. Especially if the Whisper, being a small ship, will tie up in the center of town, on the English Embankment or Lt. Schmidt's Embankment, as it did on our trip last month.

[gr997s]

To the OP: Having just returned from St. Petersburg on the Whisper, I can assure you that there is far more to see in SBP than can be managed even in 3 days (if you're going to actually get a decent look at what you visit rather than just fly by). And especially if "the Hermitage in depth" is important to you, forget about Moscow. Three active days in SPB will sufficiently exhaust you.

 

 

 

A prelminary word: No, the Russian immigration authorities will not let you off the ship without a pre-arranged tour booked, nor can you legally just wander around without your escort once you do get off. But contrary to some of Silversea's more outrageous misrepresentations, the tour does not have to be ship-sponsored. You are free to book with one of the many independent tour operators, a half-dozen of which are well recommended on this board.

 

Back to the Hermitage: We've been to plenty of art museums throughout the US and Western Europe, but found the size and scope of the Hermitage simply beyond belief. Because this was important to us too, we arranged our tour to include two separate 2.5-hour visits, on successive days. Even with an outstanding private guide, it was far from enough, even limited to European paintings (and there is plenty more besides that). There are great paintings you probably never even knew existed (the so-called "trophy art," coyly described as "transferred from Germany after World War II" and secretly concealed until 1995, when it first went on display as "hidden treasures").

 

I mentioned "three active days." There is no reason not to sightsee both in the morning and the afternoon of the last day. You need only be back to the ship by 5 pm, and I have never seen a report or even a third-hand anecdote or rumor of anyone missing their ship, no matter which tour operator they used. Especially if the Whisper, being a small ship, will tie up in the center of town, on the English Embankment or Lt. Schmidt's Embankment, as it did on our trip last month.

 

Always more to see. Moscow much different than SPB. Get out and experience the difference....

[aundi]

Thank you for the info. Can I ask did you do the Silversea tours or did you use a private company. Also is it worth to take a tour in Estonia or is it same enough to do a walking tour?

[Neuhoftraveler]

We used an independent company, not the tours offered by Silversea. (Of course not even the ship's tours are actually conducted by Silversea, merely by a private company just like the ones you can deal with directly, but contracted by Silversea and re-sold at a huge mark-up.) The cost for a totally private (just the two of us) 3-day tour, with our own car, driver, and first-rate, fluent English-speaking guide, was less than the cost of two seats on the Silversea-marketed bus tours for the same 6 half-days. And we saw far more.

 

As to Tallinn, Estonia: A self-guided walking tour with a decent guidebook or printed-out tour description will do it all (unless you want to see the couple of out-of-town sights that some organized tours include). In fact, even if you take a bus tour, you'll be walking the Old Town anyway, because the buses can't/aren't allowed to drive in the narrow streets. Also, you won't be in port very long (5-6 hours), the Old Town isn't very large, and it's very close to the cruise pier.

 

To save time, and to avoid a long uphill slog, we took a taxi from the pier to the highest point in the Old Town (Toompea, where the big Orthodox church is) and walked back down through the medieval streets and squares. For lunch, there are plenty of tourist-trap restaurants on the main square, and several higher-quality restaurants not far away. There was more than enough time.

 

The same goes for Helsinki. For 7 Euros you can get a 24-hour public transit pass that's good for both the ferry to Suommelinna Fortress and the Route 3B/3T tram that travels a figure-8 route taking you close to all the main sights and museums. Both the tram and the ferry are just yards from the pier where the Silver Whisper ties up.

 

Even if you do decide to take a tour, many of the well-recommended St. Petersburg tour operators now offer tours in the other Baltic ports as well, again for far less money than the ships' tours (and with an extra discount if you've booked their St. Petersburg tours too).

[rkaratsu]

Thanks for your post about SPB. I guess this is a (nice) dilemma to have! I am thinking (hoping) that a full day for the Hermitage on day one, then the Moscow excursion on day two and then (assuming my wife and I are still up for anything), something else for half a day on day three in SPB might be the plan. (And ideally day one and day three will be with a private tour company to allow for a bit more flexibility.)

 

As far as what to do in Tallinn, Estonia, there is a nice on-going thread about what to do there: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1661563

 

Decisions, decisions!

 

RK

[Neuhoftraveler]

Forgive me if you've already thought of this, but be aware that unless something's changed since last month, you'll need a full individual visa to take the Moscow trip. The 72-hour visa waiver rule applies only to SPB. And just to repeat prior comments, although you indicate an inclination to use a tour operator on Day 1 and Day 3 for "more flexibility," you're required to do that in order to get off the ship (unless you've got those visas, of course.)

[gr997s]

Forgive me if you've already thought of this, but be aware that unless something's changed since last month, you'll need a full individual visa to take the Moscow trip. The 72-hour visa waiver rule applies only to SPB. And just to repeat prior comments, although you indicate an inclination to use a tour operator on Day 1 and Day 3 for "more flexibility," you're required to do that in order to get off the ship (unless you've got those visas, of course.)

 

 

Vendor provides the visa....

[Neuhoftraveler]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but tour vendors can't and don't provide visas. They can, and do, provide tour tickets that qualify for waiver of the standard visa requirement (sometimes known misleadingly as "blanket visas"). As I understand it, the waiver alternative applies only to tourists arriving on "cruises" to SPB and touring in the SPB area. Is this Moscow day trip based on another one of those flaky, fast-and-loose unwritten "interpretations" such as calling ferry trips from Helsinki "cruises," and calling shuttle buses from the ferry to downtown "guided, escorted tours"? If so, if I were a US citizen visiting Russia these days, I would be very leery of a possible bureaucratic about-face without notice at the worst possible time.

 

GuideDiva (or other SPB tourism pro), can you provide enlightenment?

[aundi]

Could you share the independent tour company's name you used in St. Petersburg.

 

Thanks for all the info.

[gr997s]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but tour vendors can't and don't provide visas. They can, and do, provide tour tickets that qualify for waiver of the standard visa requirement (sometimes known misleadingly as "blanket visas"). As I understand it, the waiver alternative applies only to tourists arriving on "cruises" to SPB and touring in the SPB area. Is this Moscow day trip based on another one of those flaky, fast-and-loose unwritten "interpretations" such as calling ferry trips from Helsinki "cruises," and calling shuttle buses from the ferry to downtown "guided, escorted tours"? If so, if I were a US citizen visiting Russia these days, I would be very leery of a possible bureaucratic about-face without notice at the worst possible time.

 

GuideDiva (or other SPB tourism pro), can you provide enlightenment?

I don't care what it is called, just as long as it works....

[aundi]

Did you book your tour yet. We are looking to book in the next two days. Let us know if you are interested.:)

 

Andrea

After reading a number of posts on CC and Trip Advisor, there seem to be three top tour companies in St. Petersburg. Those traveling in smaller groups appear to save on tour costs while retaining some flexibility during the tour. We would be interested in pulling together a small group of people (two more couples or a similar number of singles) who are interested in an active tour (lots of walking, etc.).

 

Any cautionary tales and helpful tips are greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers!

[rkaratsu]

I called SS this morning and their day trip to Moscow (via the Sapsan) is sold out and there is no longer a waiting list.

 

However Andrea ("aundi") and I are working on a two-day private tour of SPB as well as a one day trip to Moscow. (We have been in communication with what we can surmise are reputable tour companies such as Alla, SPB Tours, and Insider Tours (all highly rated by Tripadvisor. And the Moscow trip does fall into the "72 hour blanket visa" category.) Just trying to get the best package price now.

 

So last chance, if there is anyone out there on our cruise (#4223), if you want to join us, last call! (I think we will need to commit in the next day or two.)

 

Thanks!

 

RK

[duct tape]

We went to Moscow for 3 days2 nights. We got off the ship as soon as it docked, flew to Moscow, picked up by our guide who stayed with us for 3 days, and when it was time to go she took us to the airport and pointed us in the right diection. Worked out great! Will post their name when I remember it,( shortly)! Moscow. Done.

[duct tape]

Exeter. Excellent.

[Gololly]

Sorry for the long silence...I've been moving into a new house.

 

We are still interested in hiring a private tour company for the first two days. We thought we'd go on the SS's tour of the Hermitage on the last day. If you haven't already booked, please consider us in for a general tour of St. Petersburg. We are in the same age group and are physically active. We would love a walking tour of the city.

 

Please feel free to call me. My name is Lorelei Meeker. We live in Bloomington, Indiana.

My cell is 812.327.9595 and my email address is lorelei.meeker@gmail.com.

 

Hope to hear from you!

LM

[KWlynnfield]

My wife and I are on this cruise as well. We may be late for this but we'd be interested in one or two day private tours in St Petersberg.