Regal Princess Baltics Cruise Review –May 24 to June 4, 2015 (long)

[canuck13]

Were the lines for the taxi long and did you notice the lines for bus 26 or public transportation. We have 5 people but we will be going to a hotel in the city centre.

 

 

When we disembarked there were plenty of available taxis, both large & small and we had no wait. I did not pay attention to waits for buses. We typically have too much luggage to consider public transportation.

[Grego]

Thanks for the very detailed review. We will study this closely before our voyage.

[cityguy300]

Were the lines for the taxi long and did you notice the lines for bus 26 or public transportation. We have 5 people but we will be going to a hotel in the city centre.

 

I was on the previous sailing as the OP, and my group did take the bus (which was operating on a slightly different route due to the Copenhagen Marathon closing traffic in the city centre that morning). With buses arriving every half-hour, I think we were the second group to go after they started running at 8. There weren't even a dozen people waiting in total.

 

Watching from the stop -- which is just across the road as you emerge from the ship/terminal, on the right-hand side of the street leading in/out of the area, with a UNICEF building opposite -- it looked like most passengers were boarding shuttle buses. There were a handful of taxis waiting with others still arriving now and again, so no problem getting one of those, as far as I could see.

[laughing husky]

Your review has made me want this cruise as the next one I plan......:)

[tetleytea]

I second--or third--or fourth--your frustration with Asians not waiting in line. My DW hit that problem multiple times, not just with restrooms but with baggage pickup.

Edited July 20, 2015 by tetleytea

[floatinrocks]

Best review I've read on CC, the detail is so very much appreciated. Thank you so much, we will be cruising N. Europe May 2016. For my own sanity I've written down some of the posts I will need to come back and peruse again. 1,7, 12, 32, 34,35, and 38. This is not a complete list . My memory could be better so this will help me refresh what I've read.

[anthonyy7]

Thanks for the great write up. I just booked this same cruise for next Aug so looking forward to it. The Regal is a beautiful ship, did the grand med on her last year.

[Camelia-]

I hadn't really thought of taking a Baltic cruise till now but after reading your review I've developed an interest and will certainly add it to my bucket list!

 

Camelia

[sandy999]

Thanks for posting, really helpful. We are sailing to the baltic in a few weeks.

[jagsfan]

Thank you for an excellent review of the ship and the itinerary. I agree about the Piazza being too noisy a lot of the time. Dance classes with a shouting instructor is not conducive to a sociable glass of wine with friends.

Our Baltic cruise was one of our two favorites. I enjoyed it all over again reading your review. We used Denrus in SP, and were fortunate in that our guide arranged for us to be standing outside at Peterhof to watch the fountains come on. We also had a lovely tour inside the palace. SP was a revelation to me, not the Russia I expected. Designer boutiques, new model nice cars and vibrant beautifully dressed young people off to work on the subway. The city had a lot of damage during WWII, but has been restored back to its original splendor.

We loved Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Tallinn, and we visited Gdansk Poland instead of Berlin. That was a marvelous day. I would have loved visiting Berlin again, but was very happy with Gdansk.

The Baltic cruise was a major item on my bucket list, and well worth the time, money, and the tired feet.

[sandy999]

Just back from a baltic cruise. I booked SP with Alla tours. Had a great 2 days seeing all the sights, the guide was a history teacher and was very knowledgeable. 13 people on our minibus. Much better than a coach load. They did price match other tour companies and this was stated on their website. I did the faberge tour, it was great to see and hear about those treasures.

[newcruzer2]

Excellent review :) and not just for your details, you have a good flow to your writing, not all people write as well as you. Which made it more enjoyable to read. Thank you.

[Eppe4]

Sunday, May 31 – St. Petersburg, Day 2

Our morning routine was the same as Day 1. We got off the ship at 6:45 and once again our wait was short. Because of the additional ships in port, it seemed the Russian officials were fewer at our terminal and not as many lines were open. However the inspection process was quicker on day 2 and we were through the line in about 5 minutes. We were actually outside and waiting when Slava and Kate pulled up so our departure was very quick.

 

 

Kate was delighted that we were off to such an early start and suggested we begin the day with our subway ride. This worked out very well since early on a Sunday the subway was not at all crowded. The long escalator descent into the subway was interesting and the artwork in the stations was impressive. Kate showed us where we were on the map and pointed out the route she takes every day to get to the city. By this time she had become much more comfortable with us and had started taking pictures of the 4 of us on her own phone to email to us later. She even got a passerby to take a shot of the 5 of us.

 

 

Slava was waiting at the next stop and we headed off for our canal boat ride. This was an interesting narrated tour that lasted about an hour. It gave us some great views of St. Petersburg and I was fascinated by the large number of elaborate waterfront homes that were owned by nobles prior to the revolution. It painted a very clear picture of a society of “haves and have nots” back in those days.

 

 

While we were on the canal cruise our weather changed dramatically. Temperatures dropped and the wind came up to make it quite chilly. We had a bit of time to stroll around the square in front of the Winter Palace and take pictures, but we were quite ready to head inside the Hemitage for our early entry. Today would be primarily inside, so the weather timing was excellent for us!

 

 

As I had expected, the Hermitage was quite crowded. We had early entry but it seemed that most others did as well. We were happy to be able to bypass the line outside. What saved us was Kate’s familiarity with the Hermitage. She told us that prior to joining SPB, she had worked for 7 years as a guide at the Hermitage. This meant that she was not only familiar with the primary exhibits and artwork, but she knew the best ways to navigate this enormous building and bypass the crowds. By following her lead, we were able to see a tremendous sampling of the huge Hermitage collection during our 3 hour visit. It would take weeks to really do justice to the Hermitage, but we felt we really got the most out of our brief visit. Kate’s extensive knowledge and narration added greatly to our experience.

 

 

Despite the crowds and traffic, Slava was an expert at finding parking and he was waiting very near the Hermitage to take us for our lunch at Stolla (the pie shop). This lived up to reviews – we each had a meat pie and a fruit pie and they were very good. Stolla was quite busy and I had to settle for my 3rd choice of meat pie as they had run out of the first 2. Nevertheless, the service was quick and we had no complaints about the food. Once again, lunch was included in our tour cost.

 

 

After lunch, we headed off for our 3 afternoon stops as follows:

 

 

Yusapov Palace – Here we had to wait to join another group as Kate explained that she is not licenced to tour here. The tour was OK. The exhibit and stories about Rasputin and his death were interesting and it was very neat to be where it actually happened. The remaining tour of the palace was nothing special. Having the experience with a different guide made us appreciate Kate even more!

 

 

St. Isaac’s Cathedral – Very good interior tour. The architecture and well preserved interior were quite spectacular. This is the only cathedral in St. Petersburg that escaped major damage and 90% is original. Once again, Kate was very knowledgeable.

 

 

Church of the Spilled Blood – The exterior of the church is the iconic symbol of St. Petersburg and we were very glad to be able to get some great photos here. The stories and history were interesting and we did get to go inside but it was extremely crowded and difficult to navigate. This was really the only stop where the crowds impacted our experience.

 

 

We ended our tour and were back to the ship by 4:15 – well planned for our 6 PM sailaway. We bade a fond farewell to Slava and Kate and showed our appreciation appropriately. We can’t say enough good things about this pair and SPB in general. We were very pleased with the tour and were so fortunate to have Kate & Slava all to ourselves. We are absolutely convinced that it was well worth the extra cost!

 

 

We were back in lots of time to make our early seating for dinner and enjoyed a fun Italian night with our favorite servers. During dinner, there was an update from the captain regarding our itinerary. At the beginning of our cruise, we were notified that the Regal had received permission to sail up the archipelago for the first time and would be docking in Stockholm, not Nynashamm - weather permitting. Unfortunately the Captain announced that predictions of high winds were forcing us to return to the original schedule and tender from Nynashamm. A bit disappointing, but it just returned us to our original plan. We later learned that the following cruise had more cooperative weather and those folks had the honor of being the first Regal passengers to sail up the archipelago.

 

Sincere Thanks for posting a wonderful review. We're in contact now with SPG about our 2 day tour in St. Petersburg for next Sept. 5th & 6th. We want to see the Gold Room at the Hermitage and it's not included in their regular tour of the museum but they will include it, the extra charge is $100 pp, but our friends say it's not to be missed. After reading your review we're very happy that we chose SPB as our tour company. They did ask if I knew where we would be docking, of course of itinerary says St. Petersburg, can you tell me where the Regal docked for your cruise. Again, thank you so much for all of your help.