Kids in St. Petersburg--what to do?

[famcruise]

We will be taking our kids (3 & 5) with in August on a Baltic cruise with two nights in St. Petersburg. Our kids are very easy and experienced travelers, so I'm not looking for people's opinions on kids-on-cruises in general.

 

Instead, I'd be very grateful for any advice on what St. Petersburg excursions might work out OK for kids in this age group. Or do people think we should shell out $$$ for a private tour with Red October? Thanks much!

[tclowe]

We just booked with Denrus for our trip in August next year. They were very prompt in giving us a possible itinerary for our 2 days in St. Petersburg. I requested a 1 1/2 day tour. We are traveling with a 2 1/2 and 6 year old. So very close in age to your two children.

 

We received a quote of $305 per person (children just minimal charge). We will get a private guide, driver and van since there are 3 adults and 2 children. I requested light on the museums because of the kids short attention span and don't want to disturb other tours in the museums. So for first day, plan to go to Peterhof (fountains should be a big hit with the kids), visit Grotto and Monplaisir. Lunch. Then hydrofoil ride back to the city. Shopping in the Trade House. visit to the Church of the Spilled Blood (love the name of this church). then shopping at the Flea Market. Then back to the Ship.

 

Next day is a 1/2 day tour. With a visit to the Peter & Paul Fortress and a visit to the Russian Village. Lunch. Returning to the ship around 2:30 pm

 

I think hiring a private guide is the best way with such young children. My kids are very well traveled as well. However, I would never take them on a tour with all adults and to visit mostly museums. Kids are naturally curious and I can see my small daughter kissing one of the statues in a museum. I like to think that taking a cruise is just scratching the surface of seeing a city. Don't be pressured to do and see everything in the city. Can always come back by taking a land trip.

 

Have a good trip, and I hope your kids have wonderful memories their family vacation in Northern Europe.

 

Cynthia

[famcruise]

Fantastic advice--thanks much--we'll check out Denrus right away.

 

Are you going this August or in 2006? Which ship?

[Boo's Mom]

famcruise...

 

Here is an option that most folks don't consider an option.

 

Your kids are very young. Have you considered allowing them to stay onboard the ship....to play and have fun with their friends (children's program) ...while the adults do the touring?

 

By the time St Petersburg comes around....your children (and you) will know the staff/children in the program rather well.

 

Just a thought... ;)

[tclowe]

We are eyeing the Star Princess for August 2006. Haven't booked yet but sure we want this cruise. Hoping the cruise prices drop a little more before booking in a couple of months. Now, planning where to stay in Copenhagen for 3 days and thinking about taking the kids to the original Legoland in Denmark (since we are there anyway).

 

I personally would never leave my small children on board while we are touring. The childrens' program are very safe and my son enjoy them immensely. However, I would feel awful if something happened to my child and I wasn't there. In addition, we treat the childrens' program as a privilege, not a right. My son gets to go only if he shows good behavior in the dining room, good manners among adults in the common areas, and follow rules when we are on land.

 

We have taken our son cruising to Alaska, Asia, Med. Europe, and Western Caribbean. Mostly with Princess because they are a wonderful cruise line and very kid friendly. The key is to plan sights that would be fun for the kids as well. We always try to do our own touring or hire a private guide.

 

Bon Voyage!

Cynthia

[famcruise]

We feel the same way about leaving kids on kids' programs while we're ashore--maybe it's not rational, but that's how we feel.

 

We will be on the Crystal Symphony Aug 12-23. We took the Crystal Harmony to Alaska last summer had a terrific time; there were about 40-50 kids aboard and the kids' program was superb. This time, I think there will be fewer kids and less of a program, so it may be tough going. On the other hand, we're bringing someone along who is going to watch the kids part of the time.

 

Thanks again for your advice. I would be happy to tell you how things go next month if it will help in your planning for 2006.

 

Re: Copenhagen, according to biddingfortravel.com, you can get the Copenhagen Mariott for about $90/night. We heard the Sofitel is good too--right next to Tivoli Gardens. The big splurge hotel in Copenhagen is the Hotel D'Angleterre, but it's too expensive. We've researched LegoLand too. The best way is to rent a car, but you can also do a train/bus combo from Copenhagen. There's a nice family resort hotel there apparently.

 

Hope that helps.

[Kaylas Mom]

I have seen a reference in a couple places to a tour to the Musuem of Applied Arts where kids get to paint Matrushka dolls. Has anyone done that?

[tclowe]

Famcruise:

 

You must be so excited to be leaving in about one month on this fantastic voyage. It would be wonderful to read a review from you about your trip and some of the things that your family did.

 

Thanks for the advice about the Copenhagen hotel. I like the Marriott a lot but nervous about waiting 3 or 4 months before traveling without a hotel reservation. I wonder if I can bid earlier for the Marriott. Most of the hotel prices around the Tivoli area seems to be the $200 and up (and those rooms look a little small). I still remember our honeymoon in Rome, Italy at a Jolly Hotel 10 years ago. Two twin beds pushed together (fell through the crack 3 times in 5 days stay). Plus, the shower was so tiny that the water kept flooding the bathroom. Thankfully, we are wiser and a little richer so we can stay at a more comfortable hotel.

 

Legoland looks fun but seems kind of inconvenient to get to. It would take 2 1/2 hours train + bus ride from Copenhagen to Billund or rental car (don't want to drive in a foreign country). So only viable option would be to take a short flight from Copenhagen to Billund airport and Hotel Legoland has a shuttle that will pick us up. This might be okay if we do Legoland at the beginning of our stay in Denmark. Off of International flight and then take Domestic flight to Billund.

 

To KaylasMom:

 

Part of our Denrus tour includes a trip to Russian Village. The description of tour said this is an area where Russian nobility had their country estates. There are displays or performances of folk tradition and various workshops such as Matryoshka dolls, porcelain plates and jars, and smithy and where we can try our handicraft skills or buy the products of the masters.

 

Maybe this is one place where the kids can paint their dolls?

[SCDH]

We went by the Russian Village when we went to Catherine Palace. It's like Skansen (in Stockholm), only much smaller. Oslo and Helsinki have similar villages--they're called open-air museums.

[Boo's Mom]

We are scheduled to spend 1/2 of a day at the "Russian Village".

Children are 10 and 13.

 

Is it worth it???

 

We are not scheduled for The Hermitage.

 

This is a Denrus "child friendly" itinerary.

[talyanka]

Peterhof is a nice place for kids, they would appreciate all the fountains there. Peter and Paul fortress, Cruiser Aurora also would be interesting places. If your kids can get bored from seeing too much art in the Hermitage you can still introduce them to fine arts in natural setting in Summer Garden that has a lot of open air marble sculptures. And there are a couple of museums that could be intersting for kids too - Kunstkamera - museum of natural science and ethnography and Naval Museum. You can find information about these museums on the web.

[new_2_cruise]

I'm so glad that Boo's mom revived this thread and I saw it. We are taking a 2 1/2 year old on the Baltic cruise in June. We have booked a private tour in St.Petersburg with Alla.

 

If any of you from last year see this - I would love to knpw what insight you have now that you have been. He will come with us - he is a good traveller and loves kissing statues ;).

[Artemis]

There have been so many good tips thrown out already. I had this in my SPb file--a few more fun ideas here: http://www.travelforkids.com/Funtodo/Russia/stpetersburg.htm

 

We were in SPb last summer with young teens. We didn't alter our itinerary for them, and they loved it all. However, if I had known in planning what I know now from having visited, I would have axed a city site or two to allow more time for exploring the fabulous grounds at Peterhof. There is so much there for kids of all ages! -- the Peterhof fountains, gardens, grotto, etc. would have supplied the relaxing, outdoors break from urban sightseeing we all needed to recharge our batteries. I definitely recommend taking the hydrofoil (like city bus on water) either to/from Peterhof unless you are already planning a canal tour in the city, which sounds like great fun.

 

For the child who kisses statues, you will definitely want to stop at the famous lions on the Neva!

 

I think the greatest challenge for parents of toddlers and young elementary children will simply be the long and tedious day--there is a lot of driving involved because the geographic area is somewhat vast, and traffic is murder. Unless you thoughtfully plan for some kid-friendly respites during the day, a small child might look back on it as a very long day in a van/on a bus puctuated by a series of stops involving being hustled on/off to stroller ride/walk around a place jam-packed with adults looking at things not that interesting to little ones! Few of the "usual attractions" of SPb have given much thought to young visitors, so it will be up to the parents to make that visit as interesting and/or comfortable as possible for the child. Times 2 days or 3 days...y'all have your homework cut out for you!

 

I have said it before, I think a custom private tour is the only way to go for families. It will transform your experience to a magical family memory, and ours ended up costing less than what we would have paid to take cruise line excursions, and we saw far more than what we would have seen on cruise line excursions. When planning a custom visit to SPb, then, you should read travel guides aimed at land visitors to SPb, as you will come up with a lot more creative ideas for planning your day with children, e.g., the Kuntskamera recommended above is often mentioned as a great place to visit with kids, but you won't see it on the stock itineraries offered by the cruise tour operators. The only tidbit of advice I offer is that once you think you've come up with a priority list of things to do and see, then allow your chosen tour operator to help you place that list into the proper order to formulate an itinerary based on geographic logistics of getting around. Also, be prepared to have to scale back your list, as the time required for transportation is more significant than you will think just by looking at the SPb map.