St Petersburg - is 2+ hours in Hermitage enough?

[Bridge Maven]

I'm not sure how people that took private tours can say that theirs was better than the ship tour. We saw everything. The bus did not have any problems getting through the traffic. The lunches we had were interesting. Both days traditional foods, different menus, and entertainment. Thought the food was good. The tour guide was terrific. As I said, we had two filled days, no waiting in lines, no waiting for bathrooms, felt like we saw as much as we could in two days. So don't knock the ships tours unless you were on it! Cheers!

 

gwilli - We, also, took Celebrity's tours in St Petersburg and thought they were excellent.

[Charles4515]

I have been looking into tours in St Petersburg and get the impression that visits to the Hermitage are generally only 2 to 3 hours. That doesn't seem like much.The Hermitage and Catherine's Palace are our priorities. Are all the other parts of the tours worth the time allocated to them?

 

Can any past cruisers comment please?

 

Thanks,

Kathy

 

I have not been there yet, it is upcoming very soon, but my travel friend had been there a few years ago and said 2 hours was not enough. So we have booked four hours there with an independent tour company, TJ Travel. We could have had 7 hours but I figured I would be museumed out. TJ Travel has been great to work with. They modified their regular two day tour to give us a private guide for the 2 additional hours at the Hermitage.

[CruisingChick]

I have been looking into tours in St Petersburg and get the impression that visits to the Hermitage are generally only 2 to 3 hours. That doesn't seem like much.The Hermitage and Catherine's Palace are our priorities. Are all the other parts of the tours worth the time allocated to them?

 

Can any past cruisers comment please?

 

Thanks,

Kathy

 

Our tour of the Hermitage was 2 1/2 hours and it really isn't enough, but there were so many other thing we wanted to see that this was the itinerary we set. The second day we decided not to stop for lunch and ate lunch on our way back from Peterhof, which was our favorite place we saw while we were there.

 

BTW we did a private tour with Denrus.

[HazyDavy]

When I was there our guide said something like if you spend 20 seconds looking at every piece of art in the Hermitage's collection, it would take over a year to see everything. These numbers are not correct but the point is valid. In 2 or 3 hours you're getting at best a taste of what's available. But for most of us, that's enough.

 

For some people 15 minutes is enough:

 

 

 

I, for one, was not impressed with the Hermitage. Not because of the collection, that was outstanding, but the structure itself. There's no climate control. On the day I was there, it was raining outside, there were many big windows open, exposing the collection to the damp and humid environment. That can't be good.

 

They allow people (at a nominal cost) to take photos of the artwork, so in front of every painting of note people are focusing cameras, taking several photos, so the crowds move very slowly. I don't recall if flash was allowed or not but many people were using it anyway. Again, can't be good for the artwork.

 

The Louvre had many of the same issues.

 

I was more impressed with the Rijksmuseam in Amsterdam. At the time I was there (2009) they were renovating it and had a limited "highlights" collection. Excellent facilities, even during construction. Also the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam very nice.

[gwilli]

We didn't feel like we were hearded through anything! We had headsets on so we could linger if we wanted. The guide was very knowledgeable and answered many questions. We felt like we saw it all....at least the highlights. Not enough time to look at everything, but saw enough. I don't think one tour is better than the others, just different. You must remember that you have 5 port days in a row.. It was a lot to see in a short time. And the meals were special. Not grab and go.....a real Russian lunch each day. The tours were perfect for us.

[dinosaurdem]

No.

[Kellie Poodle]

I'm not sure how people that took private tours can say that theirs was better than the ship tour. We saw everything. The bus did not have any problems getting through the traffic. The lunches we had were interesting. Both days traditional foods, different menus, and entertainment. Thought the food was good. The tour guide was terrific. As I said, we had two filled days, no waiting in lines, no waiting for bathrooms, felt like we saw as much as we could in two days. So don't knock the ships tours unless you were on it! Cheers!

 

Just a few thoughts.

 

I've been on ships tours. While you might have a good experience, my personal experience was not good. My husband became very ill and we had to be put off the ship in Sicily because a ship's tour guide refused to put us in a taxi (which we would have paid for) to go back to the ship. The guide was rushing us and my husband has back problems and needs a slower pace. The guide insisted we keep up. They lost us THREE times and when we finally found them, they person in charge of the tour screamed at us.

 

As a result of the extra exertion, he became ill.

 

Whenever a tour involves any walking, we go privately or with river cruise companies that offer "gentle walker" groups as we had with our AMA Moscow to St. Petersburg cruise.

 

...then there was the poor forlorn woman lost by the Princess tour.

 

You do realize that the ship is not doing the tours? They hire local companies who own the buses. The bus companies hire the step on guides. Already you have three levels of responsibility (or irresponsibility). You also have the ship making a profit on what they pay the tour bus company.

 

It is very rare that the same itinerary private tour will cost the same or more than the ship charges for their tours. In almost all cases the charge is less for a private tour.

[tally10]

If you are into art museums, it would take a long time to see and enjoy everything in the Hermitage. We are not into art and just wanted a highlights kind of visit mainly for the others on our private tour. I am more interested in the historical sites. It still took us several hours to go through the Hermitage. You may want to consider the Alexander Palace (where the Romanovs were held prisoners until they were moved for execution), the subways (opulent and beautiful stations), and even a trip to a local supermarket where your guide can point out and translate what food item you are looking at in those packages! We brought home a lot of food souvenirs as their candies and chocolates are quite good. Peterhof is a must and do have an ice cream bar from the vendors there. Our daughter said it was the best ice cream she has ever tasted-lol. There is SO much to see in St. Petersburg and you will definitely want to return. We have been there on the Connie, the Eclipse, and the Jewel of the Seas. All fantastic experiences. You will have to squeeze in and do as much as you can. I would go back in a heartbeat.Having done both ship's tours and private tours, you do so much more on a private tour and can easily share the expense with people on your roll call. And, it is usually cheaper than a cruise line tour. Enjoy!

[gwilli]

Kellie, if the discription says that there is a lot of walking and lots of steps, it is foolish to take that tour if you can't do what is expected. In Russia, you must stay with your group. The ship's tours are with tour companies that they have contracted with, very knowledgeable and experienced guides.

[Kellie Poodle]

Kellie, if the discription says that there is a lot of walking and lots of steps, it is foolish to take that tour if you can't do what is expected. In Russia, you must stay with your group. The ship's tours are with tour companies that they have contracted with, very knowledgeable and experienced guides.

 

 

It was not the "amount" of walking it was the unnaturally fast pace that this guide insisted upon. I have met others who took a ship's tour in the same city and knew this guide. He rushes everyone. These people encountered him the year before we had him and were surprised that he was still contracted as they were certain he'd have been fired.

 

When I asked the person from the bus company to ask him to slow down her response was that I should ask him as she had in the past and he didn't listen to her.

 

You never know who is the guide with a ship tour. At least with a private tour there are recommendations either from other cruisers or on Trip Advisor. With a private tour, I can tell them in advance that we need a slower pace.

 

Just another example. We asked at the excursion desk about a ship's tour in Hawaii last April. The excursion desk emailed the company with our requirements. The company said "no problem" They were not truthful. There was a problem and we just insisted that the guide slow down as her own company had told the ship that she would. She did, but even with such personal service from the excursion desk, the ship tour is not reliable.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

There is a lot to see ..... Maybe for your 2nd visit there ..

[Kathy with a K]

Thanks so much for all of your responses. You have given me a lot to think about and I have come to the conclusion that I need to switch to a cruise line that offers 3 days in St Petersburg. I will then probably do a 2 day tour that does a little bit of everything, probably with a small group using one of the private tour groups. Pretty much everything that was recommended is included in the 2 day. And then we will do a 1 day private tour for just my husband and I to do more of the Hermitage and anything else we decide we need to spend more time on. This assumes of course that a private tour can be flexible on that day.

 

Again, thank you all.

 

Kathy

[Bridge Maven]

On our Baltic cruise, Celebrity's shore excursion desk

offered an option in Russia for a minivan type of vehicle with a tour guide/driver. Since it held up to 8 passengers and the charge was per minivan instead of per person, this is a good option for people who want to customize their tour.

[tally10]

On our Baltic cruise, Celebrity's shore excursion desk

offered an option in Russia for a minivan type of vehicle with a tour guide/driver. Since it held up to 8 passengers and the charge was per minivan instead of per person, this is a good option for people who want to customize their tour.

 

That IS a good option and is exactly what we did on our private tour (a minivan) with Anastasia. On our first two Baltic cruises, we took strictly cruise line tours. We opted for private on our third and last tour. We picked the itinerary and included things we had seen before because we were sharing with people who had not been there before, plus things we had never seen before. I can't believe the difference! There were so many little things that we never got to see the first two times on ship's tours amd although our guide used our itinerary, she added her own ideas and she was wonderful! Most of the tour guides on cruise line and private tours are university instructors and have a wealth of knowledge about history and art. It was funny that on our first time there, the guide bartered for us for the stacking dolls and lacquer boxes which we actually did get from local artisans. The last two times there, most of the things were mass produced and non-negotiable. Capitalism at its finest!

[Cruisechristi]

We were there for two days and hired a private guide. Although we spent the majority of one day at the museum, it certainly was not enough. If that is all you will have, figure out what is your focus and just view that. The Faberge Collection, carriage collection and amazing array of art from all over the world will astound you.

[California Dreamin]

In June of this year we took a 2 week Baltic cruise which included a 2 day port stop in St. Petersburg.
Two people of our four have minor mobility issues and we felt that the SPB excursion offered by the ship, HAL Ryndam, would be too rushed for us and we would probably miss some of the guide's explanation if we lagged a bit behind.
I booked a 2 day private tour with DenRus tours which turned out to be perfect for us. We had a wonderful guide, Helen, and a very savvy driver, Igor, who put together a tour of the sites we wanted to see. DenRus took care of the visas, accepted our credit card and met us as we exited the arrivals hall. DenRus also has an office in Florida. We had reasonably priced lunches in small restaurants where large groups would not be able to go, 7 hours of touring each day at a cost below the ship's price.
Be sure to include the Peterhof Palace & Gardens, St. Isaacs, The Church on Spilled Blood and the Fortress. We spent about 31/2 hours at the Hermitage and felt we had seen all we could absorb. Have fun !!