Anastasia Tours, St. Petersburg

[ljandgb]

We will be on a Disney cruise this May to the Baltic, and I'm looking for St. Petersburg port excursions. A DCL forum member recommended Anastasia Tours. I can't find any recent reviews on them, however. A search here showed me a discussion from 2009. TripAdvisor had a few, but the recent ones sound odd (short, the grammar is a bit stilted, the reviewers have one review each) - sounds sketchy to me.

 

Anyone have any recent experience? I am particularly interested in their assertion you do not need a visa for their excursions, along with any general impressions anyone has.

 

Thanks!

[owensamo]

We don't have previous experience, but some of the fellow cruisers on our July Baltic have had experience with them in the past (2010) and had nothing but good things to say, so many of us are putting our trust in their experience and recommendation. So that's who we're using for our 2 day tour on our July cruise.

 

We have a group tour for our cruise with some of our cruisemates, and our contact at Anastasia couldn't be more helpful! They offered a 50% special for pre-payment prior to the end of December, and so we got a great deal, and working through getting our payments to them has been fine. They've even given what seems like decent guidance on how much cash to carry. Correspondence has been clear and quick - so far, we've had no complaints.

 

I'm hopeful that I will be able to give them a good review after our trip this summer!

[scungileen]

I don't know anything about Anastasia Tours, but back in 2007 or so we used a company called Red October and the guide we had was Galina and her driver was Andrew. They were fabulous. She was very informed, professional and we saw everything we needed to see. She even got us spur of the moment tickets for an evening performance of a Russian ballet. They handle the whole visa things, etc. Well worth the money. There was five of us on that trip.

[fabnfortysomething]

we used Anastasia in 2010 and were very happy

however the next year the founder was bought out and new management brought in so our experience is no longer relevant

 

all the frequently mentioned companies eg SPB Tj Alla provide visa free travel in the same way as the ships tours-blanket visa/visa waiver are terms frequently used to describe this loophole whereby visitors on cruise ships don't have to have a full independent visa which allows you to travel in Russia unescorted

Edited January 21, 2015 by fabnfortysomething

[ljandgb]

That's good to know, thank you.

[Giantfan13]

When I first read this thread, I also thought that Anastasia wasn't in business anymore, but I wasn't positive. Now that some one else mentioned it, you can sort of cross them off the list.

 

But, as has been mentioned, there are several very good and reliable tour companies that are frequently mentioned here and on Trip Advisor. You should go to your roll call and see what others on your cruise are doing and maybe you can hook on with some of them or form your own group if that is the way you want to see St Petersburg.

 

You also should contact each of the groups and see which one you feel more comfortable with. They are all about the same, each offering basically the same thing with slight differences. We used SPB Tours because of the great feeling Viktoria gave us. Her personal service was way above what we received from any other group so we valued that very much and we were not disappointed.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[ljandgb]

Yes, after more research, and knowing that the no Visa required status extends to several companies, I've contacted a few companies that have been mentioned on some of the other threads.

 

Interestingly, one company said that we would not be able to see Catherine's Palace because we will be there on a Tuesday and the palace is closed on Tuesdays. Our ship (Disney) is offering that excursion, though.

 

I haven't heard from the others yet.

 

Thanks for your input, though. It confirms what I'd been thinking.

[ljandgb]

and, sadly, the Roll Call for our sailing is limited to one post. There's some activity on Disboards for it, but it is limited mostly to arranging recipe swaps and fish extenders.

 

Hence my questions here. ;)

[Ashland]

When we were planning our St Petersburg port visit I emailed all the major providers...and just got a good gut feeling communicating with TJ Travel...so happy with the amazing private tour they provided...a VIP trip of a lifetime.

[TLCOhio]

We used Anastasia with great success in late July 2008 for two excellent days in St. Petersburg. Two couples, just the four of us, with our personal guide. Great flexibility to make things work and fit OUR personal needs, making adjustments on the schedules/stops as we progressed, etc. Below is one photo/example to illustrate why and how a "personal" tour can be good. Then in 2013, I helped arrange for two friends (both very sophisticated world travelers) to do two such days in St. Petersburg with Anastasia. Things worked super well for them, too!!

 

WHAT'S BEST?: Personally, I wrote many months out to about five different firms giving my background and interests. I wanted to see what they would suggested, how they responded, understood my needs, etc. One didn't respond. Two were pretty "formula" on what they offered, etc. Anastasia ended up being the most "responsive" and helpful in both understanding my interests and making good suggestions. I went with her based on what she offered, how she "educated" me, help answer all of my questions, etc. PLUS, things worked super well during our two days in St. Petersburg, etc. Much depends on how "personal" and small of a group you desire. A key point is getting your "flow" correct for what you are doing, those logistics, mixing the variety for stops, standing, touring, etc. Ours worked well so that we did not have too much standing and standing that become too tiring, etc.

 

Bottom Line?: Think in advance about what you want to do, see; how it will be done, etc. Do your research!! Have your priorities in order!! You want to experience much, BUT, you do not want to "rush" things too much.

 

Clearly, a private, smaller tour is much better than being "forced marched" in a mass of 30-45 people through the Hermitage as the guide barks out the canned script for the various art works you are passing quickly past. We saw those types of ship tours while there and would hate to suffer under that type of less-than-desirable situation.

 

Just like there are many different sizes, styles and types of shoes, the same is true with private tour companies. We don't all wear and have same types of shoes for all needs, occasions and purposes.

 

Keep planning and researching. Happy to answer any more questions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 94,305 views for this posting.

 

 

Private, personal tours can be worth it, especially in St. Petersburg. Here our group of four, with our guide, Jane or Zhenya from Anastasia, we are viewing and learning more about one of the two da Vinci masterpieces (Madonna Litta or Madonna and Child) at the Hermitage after an early admission. There are only 14 such paintings by this artist existing in the whole world. We did an early admission at the Hermitage, lessening the crowd battles and adding to the enjoyment in this spectacular place/set of five palaces AND museum. It is both! This Madonna and Child was probably painted in Milan, where the artist moved in 1482. The Madonna's tender gaze as she looks at her son, and the tranquillity of the distant mountainous landscape, reflect humanist dreams of Ideal Man and a Harmonious Life. Experts says the painting reveals great beauty in its coloring and composition. The painting came to the Czar's collection and museum in 1865 from the collection of Count Antonio Litta in Milan.:

 

[Giantfan13]

Ah, the master photographer finally got into a picture. :D

 

I also know that feeling all to well. LOL

 

:D:D:D:D

 

Cheers

 

Len

[TLCOhio]

Ah, the master photographer finally got into a picture. :D I also know that feeling all to well. LOL Cheers. Len

 

Ah, YES! Len is a very smart guy in so many ways. My view is that visuals are very powerful and sometimes what people remember most. That's why this thing called television, rightly or wrongly, has done fairly well in our society. I like the Eyewitness and Insight travel books because of their great variety of good visuals.

 

The old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" incorporates the idea that a complex messages can be conveyed with just a single or a few still images. People are four times more likely to remember what they BOTH see and hear. Studies also show that those younger tend to be more visually-oriented. Has MTV been popular?

 

This second picture below makes a good point. Here is how an early admission to the Hermitage and doing a "personal" tour can better capture the "feel" for how being there can achieve more of that "Royal" period that the Czar and friends could enjoy in these spectacular locations.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 169,582 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

At St. Petersburg’s Hermitage, here is just one of the many, many great galleries with so many different and great architecture details, soaring ceilings, dramatic floors, etc., in areas where the Czars entertained and impressed other Royals and nobility. Even without the art items, these five palaces are so spectacular! This room is adorned with 19th-century Russian lapidary works and feature Italian and Spanish canvases of the 16th-18th centuries, including Veronese, Tintoretto, Velázquez and Murillo.: