ANYONE ON THE JEWEL BALTIC NOW OR IN THE NEXT MONTH?

[mellyhelly]

Anyone on the Jewel for the Baltic - pls help me with this dilemma! We have booked Red October for the two days while in St Petersburg for our Aug 20th sailing. We are debating about the evening performance, whether we will have the energy to drag ourselves out again after 10 1/2 hours of sightseeing the first day. Then I heard from someone on Princess last year that they stayed on board and there was a Russian folklore/cossack troupe on board that night as the ship board entertainment and that it was great. If you have the cruise compass, do you know what the evening's onboard events are? We want to see a performance but don't know at this point if the energy level will be there to go out again. If there is good entertainment on board, we will stick to the sighseeing itinerary

I guess. thanks!!

 

 

RCI Diamond Members

Radiance of the Seas Jan 2004

Jewel of the Seas August 2004

Splendour of the Seas Jan 2005

Brilliance ofthe Seas May 2005

[porky113]

I am doing the Jewel on June 09/04. e-mail me at eds.ws@rogers.com around July 01 and I will update you on the entertainment. Seeing we live not too far away.

Ed

[Mrs Seabird]

We just did the Baltic on the Jewel May 28th. There was no folklore show on the ship. We took Red Octobers and it was absolutely wonderful. You are tired but not enough to miss this, in my opinion.

[mellyhelly]

thanks for your input - we really want to see the show but we heard on the Princess line they brought in an troupe to perform on board and thought if RCI did that, maybe we would opt for that instead. Looks like we'll be going out!

 

 

RCI Diamond Members

Radiance of the Seas Jan 2004

Jewel of the Seas August 2004

Splendour of the Seas Jan 2005

Brilliance ofthe Seas May 2005

[nny92825100]

We were on the Jewell May 16 and there was no folklore show on the ship.

 

We did RO folklore show. I thought it was wonderful. Those that chose the ballet said the same thing. I wish we could have done both but with time constraints. If you are doing such a long tour, I would recommend you shorten it a bit. Note you will be on your feet almost all the time, it is crowded in places and can be very hot. We did a nice 6 1/2 hour tour with RO the first day and seen everything the ship tour offered. We got back about 4PM which allowed us to shower, nap and have dinner before we met them again at 7 for the folk lore dance show. You can ask for a different itinerary than what they offer. Our 6 1/2 hour was $89 (7 people) including entrance fees and our folklore show was 42 (19 people).

 

Jewel of the Sea May 2004

Serenade of the Sea August 2003

Splendour of the Sea August 1999

Legend of the Sea August 1997

Rotterdam May 1989

[kcnn]

Our family is on the RC Jewel of the Seas next month. Where did you go in St. Petersburg? Also, why did you book a tour with Red October instead of the private car tours through RC? Thanks, Kcnn

[nny92825100]

We opted for Ro as there were 7 of us and the price was right. We did the gold room and the folk show the first night. Below is what our days were like which were just right without over tiring.

 

DAY ONE – 6 HOURS

May 23, Sunday

 

07:00 AM - Ship’s arrival in St. Petersburg

09:00 AM - Start from the pier for a city orientation drive (city highlights): St. Nicholas’s Church, Theatre Square with Mariinsky Theatre, St. Isaac’s Square, majestic St. Isaac Cathedral, “Bronze Horseman” – the most famous monument to Peter the Great, Shmidt Bridge, Vasilievsky Island with Arts Academy, Menshikov Palace, University, Kunstkamera, “Strelka” with Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns and with the most beautiful view of Neva Embankments Winter Palace and other buildings of the Hermitage Museum, Twelve Colleges, Palace Bridge, Palace Square with Winter Palace and Alexander Column, Admiralty, Nevsky Avenue, the central street of the city, Smolny Cathedral and Smolny Institute, “Field of Mars”, drive by the Savior on the Spilled Blood Cathedral, Troitsky Bridge, Peter’s the Great Cabin, Cruiser “Aurora”.

10:15 AM - inside visit of Peter-and-Paul Fortress, place where the city was founded in May of 1703, incl. the Peter-and-Paul Cathedral (1712 1733), burial place of the Romanovs

11:00 AM - Shopping opportunity at the biggest and best souvenir shop of St. Petersburg – Red October (wooden dolls of various dimensions and quality, authentic lacquer boxes from Palekh, Mstera etc., splendid amber, china, Russian shawls etc.)

11:30 AM - Tour of the Hermitage Arts Museum · Excursion to the West-European Masters’ collection (Rembrandt, Rubens, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, El Greco, Murillo, Van Dyck etc.)· Living and gala halls of the Winter Palace,· French Impressionists and art of XX century.· Optional visit to the Gold Rooms (Treasury) of the Winter Palace for additional $ 15 per person (minimum 10 persons in a group)

02:00 PM - Visit to the Savior on the Spilled Blood Cathedral built in 1907 as memorial church to honor Russian Emperor Alexander II murdered on the spot by the terrorists. It is a sample of "Russian style" architecture and decorative art of the edge of the XIX-XX centuries. Mosaic attire of the church (over 7.000 sq. m) was created by the most famous Russian artists of the epoch.

02:30 PM - Drive back to the pier

03:00 PM - Return on board

 

The per person cost of the program:

if you are 7 is USD 94 pp

Extra charge for the Gold Room USD 15 pp

The above costs include car transportation, highly qualified English speaking guide services, entrance fees to the museums as mentioned in the program.

 

 

DAY TWO – 5 HOURS

May 24, Monday

 

09:30AM10:30 AM11:30 AM - Departure for Peterhof. Drive 30km/19 miles west of St. Petersburg.Peterhof is a jewel of the Russian art, a town of parks, palaces and fountains. In the past it used to be an exquisite summer residence of Russian tsars. - Arrival in Peterhof. - Visit to the GRAND PALACE famous by the unbelievable splendor and beauty of its interior decoration.- Stroll through the wonderful “LOWER PARK” with its 150 fountains, cascades and various pavilions and palaces.

00:15 PM - Drive back to St. Petersburg

01:30 PM - Visit to St. Isaac's Cathedral (architect Montferrand), one of the finest architectural monuments of the XIX century, the former principal Cathedral of the Russian capital, the largest cathedral in town able to accommodate about 10,000 audience. The cathedral is beautifully decorated inside: marble of 13 colors, malachite, lapis-lazuli, paintings and mosaics made by the most famous Russian artists, impressive stained-glass image of Christ seen through the open doors of the magnificent Icon-Stand etc.

02:00 PM - Drive back to the pier

02:30 PM - Return to the ship

06:00 PM - Ship’s departure

 

The per person cost of the program:

If you are 4 is $ 118 pp, if you are 7 is $ 98 pp, if you are 8-9 is $ 93 pp, if you are 10 is $ 86 pp

The above costs include car transportation, highly qualified English speaking guide services, entrance fees to the museums and visit to the Grand Palace on special arrangement as mentioned in the program.

[kcnn]

Thanks for all the great information. Did the price through RO depend on the number in your party or duration of tour? Also, did you need to arrange for your own visa or does RO do all that for you? Again, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

[nny92825100]

RO took care of the visa stuff. If you tour throught the ship or through a qualified tour operator, the visa is taken care of through a group visa.

 

I think the price has to do with the length of tour and price of admissions. The price per person does change with the number in the party.

[porky113]

Hi guy's:

We are back and we have so much to share with you about the trip. e-mail me at eds.ws@rogers.com and I can answer any questions or give me a call at night at 905-668-1957 where in Whitby right next door. When do you leave?????

 

Ed

[charleysmom]

Hi there-

 

We are on the Jewel on Aug 8th -- anyone else? The 7 of us are signed up with Red October for both days. Our tour days are a little longer (an hour or so) and slightly more expensive. We added a tour via canal boat to the overview on the first day. We got all of our tickets from Red October this week -- very cool to get the envelope with the Finnish stamps -- and are getting seriously excited about the trip. I'm glad to hear of continued good experiences with RO.

 

Ed, can you post your experiences online so we can all share and enjoy? Also, anyone have any weather reports? It sounds like it's been a colder, rainer summer than normal in the area... any packing tips???

 

Thanks all -

 

Ann

[porky113]

I agree with everyone that I have no complaints with Red October. ..no hidden cost's..straight forward company. It was different getting the mail from Finland and I asked our guide why and they stated if they mailed the package from Russia it would take a month or more to get to you. We did almost the same as the itinaray above. 2 days of non stop Palaces and Museums. Yes we where tired at night but we did take in a Russian Kosack folflore Dance. Something differnet because my wife is Ukranian. I was amazed how Red October was able to get to the front of evey line and walk past 200 - 300 bus tours waiting to get into places. Then I picked up on the odd hand shake and a few American dollars get you past everyone else. Same with parking right up to the front of each building no walking. Weather was cool and a 1/2 hour of rain. They told us 90 days of summer and 60 of those it rains.

Ed