Want to hear thoughts on TJ Travel for St Petersburg

[NYCcruiser65]

Hi I'm new to this forum and don't mean to hijack the topic but just curious can you post the website for TJ Travel? I want to make sure I have the right one.

 

Also are the prices you are quoting for private tours or group tours? I'm hoping to cruise on the Norwegian Star Baltic cruise in Sept 2014 and looking for tour guides in St. Petersburg as well as other ports. Does TJ do other ports. Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

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[Nitemare]

Here's their website: http://st-petersburg-tours.ru/

 

Prices vary, depending on what you want to see, how far you want to go, and what addons you want.

 

We were 100% satisfied with our private (2 person) TJ tour. But to be fair, in three years of time on this board, I've only seen 1 person ever not be 100% thrilled with their private tour with any of the big operators.

[NYCcruiser65]

Here's their website: http://st-petersburg-tours.ru/

 

Prices vary, depending on what you want to see, how far you want to go, and what addons you want.

 

We were 100% satisfied with our private (2 person) TJ tour. But to be fair, in three years of time on this board, I've only seen 1 person ever not be 100% thrilled with their private tour with any of the big operators.

 

Thanks Nitemare for posting the website. That's the one I found, I just wanted to make sure it was correct.

 

Will be interested to hear from anyone about the tours with TJ. I'm particularly curious about whether people have used TJ for all of the Baltic ports since they offer that.

 

Thanks!

[Ashland]

Thanks Nitemare for posting the website. That's the one I found, I just wanted to make sure it was correct.

 

Will be interested to hear from anyone about the tours with TJ. I'm particularly curious about whether people have used TJ for all of the Baltic ports since they offer that.

 

Thanks!

We of course loved our private tour with TJ but didn't think tours were necessary in our other Baltic ports...just a personal choice.

[Nitemare]

We of course loved our private tour with TJ but didn't think tours were necessary in our other Baltic ports...just a personal choice.

 

Agreed. There's enough English signage in all the other ports that a couple hours studying and a decent map got us all we needed.

[newtocruise123]

I used Alla Tours in July 2012 and opted for their 5 port tour. They were very good. The 2 days in St Petersburg were fabulous. We had a very nice practically new mini bus for the two days. The beauty of booking with them was that we did not need to try to get the numbers to fill a mini bus ouselves, lol.

 

I also heard good reports of TJ Travel and SPB tours as several cruisers had found these companies. Believe me when I say that many others on the ship wish they had discovered one or other of these companies when they found out how much we got to see in comparison to ships tours.

[NYCcruiser65]

I used Alla Tours in July 2012 and opted for their 5 port tour. They were very good. The 2 days in St Petersburg were fabulous. We had a very nice practically new mini bus for the two days. The beauty of booking with them was that we did not need to try to get the numbers to fill a mini bus ouselves, lol.

 

I also heard good reports of TJ Travel and SPB tours as several cruisers had found these companies. Believe me when I say that many others on the ship wish they had discovered one or other of these companies when they found out how much we got to see in comparison to ships tours.

 

Hi newtocruise123… thanks for your response. glad to hear you had a good experience with the 5 port tour. I'm thinking about using Alla or another one for the 5 port tour. I'm just curious how the trip into Berlin via car was? I know the ship offers this tour, but it's via train, which I think I would prefer. Would love any other feedback about the 5-port tour you can offer. Thanks!

[fabnfortysomething]

Hi newtocruise123… thanks for your response. glad to hear you had a good experience with the 5 port tour. I'm thinking about using Alla or another one for the 5 port tour. I'm just curious how the trip into Berlin via car was? I know the ship offers this tour, but it's via train, which I think I would prefer. Would love any other feedback about the 5-port tour you can offer. Thanks!

 

 

 

hi

not the poster you directed to but you mentioned you would prefer train into Berlin

 

just be aware the ship charters older trains which do not have air conditioning-it can get very hot in summer

 

whereas a car or bus provided by private company will be air conditioned

[SparkleBee]

I read on SPB's site that the trains to Berlin are not direct, you'll need to transfer trains a few times and busses are actually a more efficient way to go. I HATE busses but SPB said theirs has a bathroom. If that is true I will consider doing it this way.

[NYCcruiser65]

hi

not the poster you directed to but you mentioned you would prefer train into Berlin

 

just be aware the ship charters older trains which do not have air conditioning-it can get very hot in summer

 

whereas a car or bus provided by private company will be air conditioned

 

good to know about the trains vs. the car/bus. thanks!

[vered4]

We are sailing on the July 8 Celebrity cruise. I have read a million reviews and until now, I couldn't find CURRENT reviews of TJ! They sound super reputable. Has anyone had a negative experience with them?

 

We're thinking about booking the ALL HIGHLIGHT tour of St. Petersburg. Has anyone done this longer 2 day tour with TJ??

 

And....has anyone used them for the OTHER cities on the Baltic cruises??

 

I'd love to make a decision soon! Thanks! (We depend so much on CC!)

[Nitemare]

No recent reviews, because it's not Baltic season!

[Kevin's girl]

One more month until the Baltic cruise season starts. I'm looking forward to new reviews :)

[West Windsor girl]

WE took a TJ 2 day tour tour a year and a half ago and it was great. We had a private van for 7 of our family members that was the same price as the ship's

tour and we got to see much more because of the size of our group. My son oft his backpack (with his PASSPORT) on the little boat we took on the Neva River first thing in the morning. He didn't notice it was missing until 3:30 in the afternoon. Our guide did an amazing job of tracking it down before we had to return to the ship.

[9singer27]

I cannot sing the praises of TJ Travel highly enough. And when we compared our experiences with others on board, many felt we had been given a more comprehensive tour than they had with the other big agencies, although no one was unhappy. The ship's tours, however, were a different story. We heard of having to wait in long lines & then being rushed through various places. We did not experience that with TJ at all. We were moved to the head of the line, no matter where we went. TJ even arranged our visit to the Hermitage for a time when our guide knew it would not be as busy and we actually went through the Hermitage with very few people in our rooms! It was amazing because we heard that others had to fight for a good position to see the various paintings, especially the famous ones.

 

We were in St. Petersburg for 3 days in August 2011 on an Oceania cruise. We booked a 2 day tour for 4 of us which covered all the normal highlights of SPB, but we customized it to our desires. TJ was happy to do this and even arranged for us to see more than we had asked! The cost for the 2 days for 4 people was $440/person. Obviously, the prices will have increased. The 3rd day, we booked a private tour for 2 of us while the other 2 made a trip to Moscow. The private tour on the 3rd day included the Yusopov Palace and a home visit, including lunch, with a Russian family. This was the highlight of our SPB stay and I can't recommend it highly enough. The Russian family lived on the outskirts of town and had never hosted an American family before. They spoke no English & we spoke no Russian. But our guide was fluent in both (of course) and helped us out. Our 2 hour visit turned into 4 hours and our guide said she had never been on such a fantastic home visit. This wonderful Russian family even invited our driver in for lunch and, unbeknownst to them, a neighbor and her grandson dropped by to say hello. Honestly, the neighbor did not know we were there, so our visit just got better and better. We talked about politics (they were VERY interested in our system of elections and wanted to know why we had elected Obama - they were not fans). They wanted to know what we thought about Putin and found it interesting that many Americans do not follow European or Russian politics. They wanted to know about dating customs in the US and our health care system (again, not fans of the socialized medicine they have in Russia). It was an invigorating and enlightening discussion! One of the reasons we booked with TJ is that they were the only company that would even consider a home visit. They had done them before, so they were experienced in providing this type of program. They certainly provided us with a winner of an experience! The cost for the day of the Yusopov & home visit was $50/hour for guide & driver, $30/person for Yusopov & $30/person for the home visit. They offered a 5% discount for paying the entire tour cost in cash, which we did. We brought $ from home (clean and crisp) and paid that way. They were more than happy to accept American $. We also paid the driver and guide in cash for their tips.

 

Our guide was phenomenal. Her English was as good as ours and she told us many interesting stories about living in Russia in the days of the Iron Curtain and after. She was highly educated and in addition to being a tour guide, she taught at the local university. TJ is a first class tour company and you won't regret booking with them. I agree with the other poster about the other Baltic ports. Do not bother with ship tours or tour guides. Go on your own. You can find wonderful helpful information for the other ports both on CC and TripAdvisor, so go it on your own. But book TJ without any concern - it will be the tour of a lifetime!

[CoriCaitlin]

We'll be cruising on the Constellation 5/21 & have booked with TJ Travel for the 2 day active group tour in SPB. Any suggestions to find out who is in our TJ tour group with my husband & myself? The last I heard our group had 4 others.

 

Vicki

[Nitemare]

We'll be cruising on the Constellation 5/21 & have booked with TJ Travel for the 2 day active group tour in SPB. Any suggestions to find out who is in our TJ tour group with my husband & myself? The last I heard our group had 4 others.

 

Vicki

 

Have you checked your Roll Call thread here at Cruise Critic? That's probably the only way to find out, it's unlikely the agency will tell you.

[Kevin's girl]

I cannot sing the praises of TJ Travel highly enough. And when we compared our experiences with others on board, many felt we had been given a more comprehensive tour than they had with the other big agencies, although no one was unhappy. The ship's tours, however, were a different story. We heard of having to wait in long lines & then being rushed through various places. We did not experience that with TJ at all. We were moved to the head of the line, no matter where we went. TJ even arranged our visit to the Hermitage for a time when our guide knew it would not be as busy and we actually went through the Hermitage with very few people in our rooms! It was amazing because we heard that others had to fight for a good position to see the various paintings, especially the famous ones.

 

We were in St. Petersburg for 3 days in August 2011 on an Oceania cruise. We booked a 2 day tour for 4 of us which covered all the normal highlights of SPB, but we customized it to our desires. TJ was happy to do this and even arranged for us to see more than we had asked! The cost for the 2 days for 4 people was $440/person. Obviously, the prices will have increased. The 3rd day, we booked a private tour for 2 of us while the other 2 made a trip to Moscow. The private tour on the 3rd day included the Yusopov Palace and a home visit, including lunch, with a Russian family. This was the highlight of our SPB stay and I can't recommend it highly enough. The Russian family lived on the outskirts of town and had never hosted an American family before. They spoke no English & we spoke no Russian. But our guide was fluent in both (of course) and helped us out. Our 2 hour visit turned into 4 hours and our guide said she had never been on such a fantastic home visit. This wonderful Russian family even invited our driver in for lunch and, unbeknownst to them, a neighbor and her grandson dropped by to say hello. Honestly, the neighbor did not know we were there, so our visit just got better and better. We talked about politics (they were VERY interested in our system of elections and wanted to know why we had elected Obama - they were not fans). They wanted to know what we thought about Putin and found it interesting that many Americans do not follow European or Russian politics. They wanted to know about dating customs in the US and our health care system (again, not fans of the socialized medicine they have in Russia). It was an invigorating and enlightening discussion! One of the reasons we booked with TJ is that they were the only company that would even consider a home visit. They had done them before, so they were experienced in providing this type of program. They certainly provided us with a winner of an experience! The cost for the day of the Yusopov & home visit was $50/hour for guide & driver, $30/person for Yusopov & $30/person for the home visit. They offered a 5% discount for paying the entire tour cost in cash, which we did. We brought $ from home (clean and crisp) and paid that way. They were more than happy to accept American $. We also paid the driver and guide in cash for their tips.

 

Our guide was phenomenal. Her English was as good as ours and she told us many interesting stories about living in Russia in the days of the Iron Curtain and after. She was highly educated and in addition to being a tour guide, she taught at the local university. TJ is a first class tour company and you won't regret booking with them. I agree with the other poster about the other Baltic ports. Do not bother with ship tours or tour guides. Go on your own. You can find wonderful helpful information for the other ports both on CC and TripAdvisor, so go it on your own. But book TJ without any concern - it will be the tour of a lifetime!

This is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to hear. Thank you so much for sharing. I really like the home experience.

[vered4]

I'm taking a July 8th cruise through Celebrity. I'm so happy to see so many positive reviews of TJ Travel! I booked them for ALL of my cities include St. Petersburg. Most of the people on my roll call are using other tour companies so I was getting nervous! Sounds like TJ is a good choice!! Any concerns at all???

[RJSeniorTraveler]

We have only done about 20 cruises, and, until St. Petersburg, we always did shore excursions with the cruise line (usually included with the price of the cruise). But, visiting St. Petersburg, it was important to cover as much as possible. TJ Travel's 2-day package is incredible, both in terms of price (compared to the cruise offering) and the variety of sites seen (compared to the cruise offering). I highly recommend TJ Travel.

[CoriCaitlin]

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but TJ Travel fell far short on many fronts. At any venue where tickets were needed for admittance our guide had our tour wait while she got our tickets. TJ Travel knew in advance how many people would be on the tour, this should have been taken care of in advance. Our tour was NOT given admittance to the Hermitage Museum prior to the scheduled opening as promised. Time was NOT used wisely. My husband & another man on our tour were served RAW chicken kiev @ the restaurant chosen by TJ Travel. Totally inexcusable & the wait staff @ the restaurant was marginally rude regarding the incident. Our guide was polite, had time management dilemnas that overwhelmed her & did not deviate from her prepared text. TJ Travel exhibited an attitude of indifference & arrogance. I would not recommend TJ Travel for tours.

[lovelyr]

We just used TJ travel in five ports 2 weeks ago. There were great in all the ports. The tour guides were wonderful and extremely knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend them. I too, was scared about not making it back to ship on time, especially on the Berlin tour. We were back in plenty of time with room to spare.

Have a great time. St Petersburg is two very long days, but you get to see everything!

[Steveinflorida]

We used them in July and had a great experience. One hint about St. Petersburg that they give (and I second it) is that the ships try to tell you that their groups have priority on disembarkation for immigration clearance. If you follow the cruise line advice all you'll be doing is delaying your own tour and those of others on the tour. No one really knows, or cares, why you are getting off the ship. Just let the first wave (those waiting in the passageways) clear and then disembark.

 

FYI, our guide was super knowledgeable and had a great personality. She was also really good about steering us around the crowds in the various venues. That saved us a lot of standing around time.

[lalawgirl]

We used TJ Tours in July for a private excursion for our family of four. I can't recall the exact name but it was the that included lunches, too. (It was nice to sit and rest and eat in the AC-- both lunches were quite good!)

 

The tour went at our pace, which we appreciated. Another thing I appreciated was that the "out of town places" were included in day 1; day 2 was the more local sites. We never had any concerns about missing the ship, and we even finished a little early on day 2.

 

Our guide, Daria, and driver, were both amazing. The van was clean with great AC!

 

We had an amazing experience and would not hesitate to recommend TJ in a heartbeat.

[Kevin's girl]

Just a quick thought on our TJ Travel tour in SPB. It was fantastic, far better than I had expected. Our guide Irina was very knowledgeable and so nice to spend two days with. Our driver was Gennady, and together they made a wonderful team. Ours, was a private tour and by the end of the tour I felt as though I was driving around SPB with friends and not just a guide and driver. Yes Irina did purchase tickets for the venues as we arrived but so did all of the larger groups I saw. It just seemed to be the way things were done there in that city. Our lunch stop both days were great and definitely local stops and not just a tourist stop.

 

Don't worry about your days with TJ. They are great. Enjoy your time in SPB. It is a wonderful city with an overwhelming amount of places to see. They will take good care of you.