no fuss travel Posted September 14, 2012 #26 Share Posted September 14, 2012 The folklore show was very entertaining. We lucked out and went to the ballet during SPB White Nights Festival. It was a night to remember forever. All the top dancers come back for the Festival. The seats, though are just as memorable. No comfort there. Hard, Harder and Hardest.:eek: The ballet though was so fantastic you forgot about the hard seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Easy Posted September 15, 2012 #27 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Many of the tour companies have a visit to the Russian museum & we wondered if anyone has any comments about it so we can decide whether to include it or not. IMO you must include the museum if you possess any culture at all :) We found it truly amazing and well worth the time (which can be lengthy depending on what you wish to see). We enjoyed the art Russia stole from Europe after WWII - Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted September 15, 2012 #28 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Don't miss the Heritage. Well worth going to. I am not a big fan of museums and pictures but I definitely was glad that I went. Catherine's Palace was a definite do not miss for me. Yes, I toured all day and went to the shows afterwards. The Russian folklore shore was so energizing, even though we had toured all day, you stayed awake because you could not afford to miss any of it. The ballet was a treat for me therefore I would not have missed it for anything. It was my husband's first ballet performance and he enjoyed it. We saw Swan Lake and I still have fond memories of the performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted September 15, 2012 #29 Share Posted September 15, 2012 LHT28: the DVP is always in rush hour mode these days so I take it SPB is gridlocked too! This is true It is much like the city but you have lots of bridges to get from one side of the city to the other Sort of like Yonge Street being the river (only wider) & the one way streets ;) I think they have 6 million people there & just about as many cars;) But very interesting places to see Enjoy Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindrift Posted September 17, 2012 #30 Share Posted September 17, 2012 I was in SPB with my Mother many years ago on Silver Seas. We docked right in the middle of town, but we could not disembark unless we were on a private or ship's tour. It seems that you all were able to travel about SPB without any special visa. Is that correct? My husband and I are on the August 1, 2013 trip as he has never been to the Baltic, so I was interested in your comments. I really only saw comments about SPB. Any other comments about the other ports? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roothy123 Posted September 17, 2012 #31 Share Posted September 17, 2012 I was in SPB with my Mother many years ago on Silver Seas. We docked right in the middle of town, but we could not disembark unless we were on a private or ship's tour. It seems that you all were able to travel about SPB without any special visa. Is that correct? My husband and I are on the August 1, 2013 trip as he has never been to the Baltic, so I was interested in your comments. I really only saw comments about SPB. Any other comments about the other ports? If you book with SPB, Alla, DenRus, or another company, they clear everything so that you can get off the ship without a personal visa. We had to provide names, passport number, etc. to Alla beforehand to be able to be coverd by the group visa. So yes, you are able to travel about SPB, with your guide and group - no wandering off!), if you are with a group like Alla or with a ship's excursion. In either case, allow plenty of time to get off the ship, as almost everyone goes off the first morning, and there can be quite a line at 8AM. I had never seen so many people lined up to go off the ship before - amazing! You also need 15-20 minutes to wait in lines in the terminal to get through passport control/immigration. Oceania and Alla gave us good information on what we needed when we got off the ship, both for people going on Oceania-sponsored excursions or excursions with a tour company. This was in late August of this year on the Marina. We docked at the fairly-new Marine Facade - not right downtown, which I believe is now normally just used for river cruise ships. I could give you comments on other ports, but I'll wait to do that because: 1) I'm not sure if you're visiting ports we did (Copenhagen, Warnemuende, Ronne, Gdansk, Visby, Riga, Tallin, SPB, Helsinki, Stockholm and 2) Other than SPB, I did all the ports independently, using shuttles, public transportation, and walking. That may not be your cup of tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Easy Posted September 17, 2012 #32 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Big Easy: Thanks for your input. For most, it will be more a question of available time. Do we spend more time at the Hermitage or split the time between the Hermitage & the Russian Museum? We are members of our provincial art gallery here so we go to art collections wherever we go but sadly we have only 3 days in SPB & must make choices. My impression is that the Russian Museum is somewhat less crowded than the Hermitage so one may get to see the art more easily. What is your take on that? The Russian Museum has wonderful art to enjoy, but it mostly concentrates on Russian painters, whereas the Hermitage has a much broader array of international artists, both contemporary and historical. You could not go wrong visiting the Russian museum, as you can tour on your own and the grounds are beautiful. IMO the Hermitage has much more to offer in other areas, but as you state is extremely crowded. To see a substantial part of Hermitage within 6-8 hours, you need a great tour guide that has some "inside pull" and is able to move about fairly freely. We visited back in 2000 so things might have changed quite a bit. But we booked a tour guide online for our group (10). She was a Russian university English teacher and told us she made much more money being a tour guide than teaching. A sad commentary on Russian society. Anyway she had lots of friends at the Hermitage and we toured feeling like we were VIP's. Our tour was shortly after loss of Russian submarine KURSK, when all 118 crew perished. Our tour guide provided such interesting insight to the entire affair and her contempt for Putin. And now we have Putin once again as their leader, another sad commentary on Russian society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted September 27, 2012 #33 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Thanks for the review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digtexas Posted September 27, 2012 #34 Share Posted September 27, 2012 We were very pleased with a two day private tour using Anastasia, which we shared with another couple that we met through CC. They use clean, roomy vehicles, educated, English speaking guides, prices were reasonable, and you can customize your tours. Of course they provide visas and are easy to communicate with via email. All of these private tour companies have the ability to get you in the major sites, The Hermitage, Peter and Paul Cathedral, etc. without waiting in lines and ours, for example, took us into the Hermitage at an uncrowded hour after lunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindrift Posted September 27, 2012 #35 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Roothy123, We are sailing from Stockholm to London, and we will be doing the ports you did. Yes, we do a lot on our own. Do you recall which ports might have had the Hop On Hop Off buses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williegirlcat Posted September 30, 2012 #36 Share Posted September 30, 2012 [ I could give you comments on other ports, but I'll wait to do that because: 1) I'm not sure if you're visiting ports we did (Copenhagen, Warnemuende, Ronne, Gdansk, Visby, Riga, Tallin, SPB, Helsinki, Stockholm and 2) Other than SPB, I did all the ports independently, using shuttles, public transportation, and walking. That may not be your cup of tea. Hi, We are doing a similar cruise on July 15, but not including Ronne, and Gdansk. I would be very appreciative of any comments you can give on the other ports. We are starting in Stockholm, so will be spending our pre days there. Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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