Russia Port excursion: PCL or private?

[pompeii]

Our little group had heard we might have to wait till the ship's tours disembarked. Not so. We got to the gangway area first and I told the Princess employee we were going off NOW, and we did.

 

This was our experience, too, on our trip last month. But we didn't have to "strong arm" our way off, everybody just got off like normal. There were no problems at all. In fact, we disembarked early thinking it would take a while for passport check, but it was very quick so we had a bit of time to look around the terminal waiting for the meeting time with our guide.

[Bruin Steve]

Okay...

I have done BOTH...

My first visit to St. Petersburg was on the old Crown Princess in 2001...

In those days, we didn't know much better and did all of our excursions through Princess...

We booked two days worth of tours plus the night time Ballet excursion all through Princess...

With 40 people in a bus, there were some sights we just couldn't see...too difficult for one guide to maneuver 40 people through the sites...We did a lot of "exterior" shots...At one planned 10 minute photo stop, one woman asked about a rest room facility...and next thing we knew, about 20 women left to go wait on line for the toilet...the 10 minute stop became a 45-60 minute stop... Our time in the Hermitage was difficult at best as 40 people TRIED to hover around the one whispering guide...and on and on and on...

 

Our next Baltic cruise, we booked a tour for 8 of us with Red October...Unfortunately for us, we had to leave that cruise early due to the death of my father-in-law (forcing us to fly home from Helsinki for the funeral)...but the other six in our group told me Red October did an excellent job.

 

For our last visit to St. Petersburg, we booked tours with SPB...We were able to design our tour to include those things we wanted to see (aside from the Hermitage, the Yusopov and the Peterhof, we wanted to see Catherine's Palace and the Grand Chorale Synagogue--that we missed the first time plus a ride on the Subway...They also were able to incorporate a hydrofoil ride back from the Peterhof, saving time...and they managed to get us admitted into an otherwise private memorial service (the general public was ushered out of the church) for Czar Nicholas and family on the anniversary of their killing at the Peter and Paul...We opted for an evening canal boat ride (with lots of Vodka) that was far more fun than the ballet had been with Princess...

And the cost of all of this was LESS than we had paid with Princess...This was 8 people in a comfortable van with an excellent English speaking tour guide (The canal boat was maybe around 20 of us with two guides--and after the boat ride, a walk on Nevsky Prospekt)...

 

There is NO WAY I would ever again book this with Princess...

 

Oh, and, yes, no hassles whatsoever--SPB dealt with all of the visas/red tape...We did NOT have to wait for the ship's tours to disembark first--just walked right off the ship...Our guide met us right as we exited...

Edited October 11, 2015 by Bruin Steve

[Renmar]

 

There is NO WAY I would ever again book this with Princess...

 

Oh, and, yes, no hassles whatsoever--SPB dealt with all of the visas/red tape...We did NOT have to wait for the ship's tours to disembark first--just walked right off the ship...Our guide met us right as we exited...

 

Glad you made it to all the places you wanted to go the third time around. As I said we used SPB as well with a small group of 8 or 10 and there was no comparison with the ships tours, IMHO of course. We were with the same group with SPB for Berlin-Tallinn-Helsinki & St. Petersburg. Talking with some fellow passengers afterward they felt a bit like cattle hurried in and out of places. We actually passed one of the Princess tours, who were waiting in line, when going into the Hermitage:).

 

Theo

Edited October 11, 2015 by Renmar

[eandj]

 

The only reason I can think of that might give a slight advantage to a Princess tour is that Princess will make sure you get off the ship before those who have private tours.

 

.

 

 

This doesn't happen anymore. We just did the Baltic late July-Aug. using SPB. We actually got off the ship before many ship tours that met in public rooms. So I see NO advantages.;)

 

We too saw ship tour groups loading and unloading big buses, moving slowly in long lines, waiting for slow pokes etc. Our group was 19 people. Very good experience.

[LaraTiara]

Thank you all!!

 

There is no roll call yet for our booked embarkation date.

 

As new cruisers we booked through PCL, but as we have found private tour guides exceptional and timely in returning us to port, we prefer private tours. I'm thrilled to hear that tourist visas were not a problem!

 

The SPB 2-Day Deluxe Tour looks best to me, from what I can tell.... Did anyone of you visit the Museum of Political History of Russia on their tour? We like propaganda [emoji6]

 

And I am in correspondence with Anastasia and TJ tours, for initial inquiries. Sounds like I cannot go wrong, thank you all!

[Pet Nit Noy]

The only reason I can think of that might give a slight advantage to a Princess tour is that Princess will make sure you get off the ship before those who have private tours. Not worth the trade off IMHO.

 

If Princess is holding cruisers using private guides until AFTER all the ship's excursions have left, they are creating preferential treatment against St. Petersburg port regulations.

 

Here's a link to a thread started by someone official from the St. Petersburg port. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2261960

 

The OP of that thread is trying to improve cruisers' experience at the port of St. Petersburg. If Princess is holding cruisers, perhaps, Mr. Kaplin can use his authority to re-educate Princess.

 

Lara Tiara, if you get a letter from Princess that warns cruisers to buy ship's excursions to get off first, I suggest you post it on CC. Then, Mr Kaplin will have some documentation that Princess is inventing rules for its own benefit.

 

FWIW, Princess has a reputation for holding private tour cruisers. Plenty of us have cruised with other cruise lines and were not stopped from disembarking.

Edited October 11, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[IECalCruiser]

If Princess is holding cruisers using private guides until AFTER all the ship's excursions have left, they are creating preferential treatment against St. Petersburg port regulations.

 

Here's a link to a thread started by someone official from the St. Petersburg port. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2261960

 

The OP of that thread is trying to improve cruisers' experience at the port of St. Petersburg. If Princess is holding cruisers, perhaps, Mr. Kaplin can use his authority to re-educate Princess.

 

Lara Tiara, if you get a letter from Princess that warns cruisers to buy ship's excursions to get off first, I suggest you post it on CC. Then, Mr Kaplin will have some documentation that Princess is inventing rules for its own benefit.

 

FWIW, Princess has a reputation for holding private tour cruisers. Plenty of us have cruised with other cruise lines and were not stopped from disembarking.

We had no issue with getting off the Emerald in St. Petersburg in 2013. We played nice and went to the DR for disembarkation tickets and got group 2. Groups 1&2 disembarked within 5-10 minutes after she was cleared and we were through immigration in a breeze and got to our meeting power not before our SPb van even arrived at the port.

[IECalCruiser]

If Princess is holding cruisers using private guides until AFTER all the ship's excursions have left, they are creating preferential treatment against St. Petersburg port regulations.

 

Here's a link to a thread started by someone official from the St. Petersburg port. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2261960

 

The OP of that thread is trying to improve cruisers' experience at the port of St. Petersburg. If Princess is holding cruisers, perhaps, Mr. Kaplin can use his authority to re-educate Princess.

 

Lara Tiara, if you get a letter from Princess that warns cruisers to buy ship's excursions to get off first, I suggest you post it on CC. Then, Mr Kaplin will have some documentation that Princess is inventing rules for its own benefit.

 

FWIW, Princess has a reputation for holding private tour cruisers. Plenty of us have cruised with other cruise lines and were not stopped from disembarking.

We had no issue with getting off the Emerald in St. Petersburg in 2013. We played nice and went to the DR for disembarkation tickets and got group 2. Groups 1&2 disembarked within 5-10 minutes after she was cleared and we were through immigration in a breeze and got to our meeting point before our SPb van even arrived at the port.

[nybumpkin]

My first visit to St. Petersburg was on the old Crown Princess in 2001...

In those days, we didn't know much better and did all of our excursions through Princess...

We booked two days worth of tours plus the night time Ballet excursion all through Princess...

With 40 people in a bus, there were some sights we just couldn't see...too difficult for one guide to maneuver 40 people through the sites...We did a lot of "exterior" shots.

This is the main reason I would recommend booking through one of the independent tour operators in St. Petersburg. We had 15 people on our tour with Alla in 2013 and had a 16-passsenger Mercedes van. We saw everything scheduled - maybe not in the order originally planned, but sometimes the traffic demands a change in plans. However, one of the ship-booked tours completely missed the Church of the Spilled Blood because there was no place to park a full-sized bus. We, on the other hand, had plenty of time there - even enough for Katya, our guide, to take family photos outside the church.

[CrazyJess]

I vote for Best Guides. We been to St. Petersburg twice and both times we booked with them. I can’t say enough good words about this company. Just excellent!

As far as I understand the main thing is to book your tours with a PRIVATE company, not with the ship. It’s not only MUCH better quality but very often it could be 2-3 times cheaper. Their groups are smaller and guides are much better. There are several private companies in St. Petersburg with excellent reputation: SPb tour, Alla, TJ, DenRus. Just do your homework and send requests to several of them. After you get the replies you will be able to choose. Good luck!

Jess :)

[pompeii]

We had no issue with getting off the Emerald in St. Petersburg in 2013. We played nice and went to the DR for disembarkation tickets and got group 2. Groups 1&2 disembarked within 5-10 minutes after she was cleared and we were through immigration in a breeze and got to our meeting point before our SPb van even arrived at the port.

 

No disembarkation tickets needed when we were on the Regal last month. We just walked down to the gangway and out the door, just like any other port. No fuss, no muss.

 

Also, to the OP, I saw that you have contacted Anastasia. We communicated with Katherine for our pre-cruise planning; ask her if they are offering their 50% discount. That is how we got our completely private tour for less than most independent group tours. Everything was just my husband and me, with our driver and guide in a Mercedes car, not a bus. Even the canal boat ride was just the two of us! It was beyond excellent from start to finish!

[Giantfan13]

Looking for valuable advice from fellow CCers...

 

When in St P, did you book through PCL or private? Why did you end up choosing as you did, and which tour operator did you choose? And - were you pleased with your tour?

 

Also, was this your first time to St P?

 

Much appreciated!!! [emoji5]️

 

Lara

 

Some things you need to know. As you can see, EVERYONE will recommend a private tour over any ships excursion. Take that to the bank. That is a fact. You can also see that everyone thought that their tour company was the best ever. Believe me, they all do a fantastic job. Honestly, all the tours are about the same. You really need to contact some of the main companies and see which one YOU feel comfortable with. Each company has their own little quirks and each tour is mainly the same but a bit different. Like we used SPB Tours and just loved them. They gave us two sit down lunches which we wanted. I know ALLA has a sort of boxed lunch on one of their days. May not be a big deal, but we wanted a restaurant to eat in, while others loved the fact that they won't waste time eating in a restaurant. So, YOU need to do some homework. You simply cannot take anyone's advice just because they say that their tour was great. As I said they are all great.

 

I've been saying this for a long time now. You asked why a private tour is better and you have gotten many replies. What I always say is that the private tour companies really care if you have a great time so you will come back to CC and recommend them. They bend over backwards to assure you will have a great time, In all the time I have been posting here I have never seen one person specifically come here and tell everyone that they used the ship's excursions and they were wonderful and we all should use them. The ship will deliver exactly what they promise but do they really care if YOU had a great time? Not really. Also, ship's excursions are very inflexible. They have an itinerary and they follow it. Private tours can adjust the itinerary to fit traffic, the weather, crowds, illness, whatever may come along. On our tour, we were scheduled to do the canal cruise on day two, but we had magnificent weather on day one so they moved that to day one also. No ship's sponsored tour can ever do that.

 

Hope this helps you make a decision, but again, you need to do some of the leg work.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[CrazyJess]

Hi Len! I’m absolutely agreed with you. A couple of years ago you helped me to choose a company. I followed your suggestions and did my homework. I mean I sent mails to 5 companies, in 24 hours I got 4 replies. In about a week I already had no doubts which company to choose. After reading reviews on this forum for a while I’m sure all private companies do a fantastic job, all really care about if you have a great time, all are very flexible and so on. So, all these companies have only positive rewires on this forum. I also checked reviews on Tripadvisor – the result was almost as good as on this forum. And still there are small differences. Yes, each company has their own little quirks. We chose Best Guides first of all thanks smaller size of their groups (only 12 people) and great children friendly tours. We been to St. Peter twice and both times had fantastic tours.

Jess :)

[Giantfan13]

Thanks Jess. We NYers have to stick together, :D:D:D:D:D:D

 

I've been saying that to posters who ask, for years now. It's not just me, but many who say the same thing. People come here and ask which tour company to use, which is the best? They all are and to the people who used any of them, theirs WAS the best.

 

Glad I was able to help.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[CrazyJess]

Yes, indeed … :D

 

 

Jess :)

[sam123]

The staff with TJ Travel were excellent! This was my second time traveling to St. Petersburg on a cruise. The first time, I used the onboard excursion. It was OK, but too many people, and you could not customize.

The second time, which was September 2015, I booked with TJ Travel. We were a party of four, with one using a walker/wheelchair. This was far superior to the onboard excursion, as we were able to customize, and it made it easier and less stressful for my mother who has mobility problems. We had a very comfortable van, and were not having to deal with a bus full of people.

From the first moment I contacted TJ Travel, they responded immediately to my questions and concerns. They were willing to accommodate any of my (reasonable) requests. They even provided a wheelchair pusher for my mother at no additional cost, except for a well deserving tip.

A special thank you to Elena our guide! She was knowledgeable, friendly, and extremely helpful. Also, a special thank you to our driver Gettany, who was always there to assist my mother getting in and out of the car, and he navigated the busy streets of St. Petersburg with the ease of a seasoned driver. Lastly, Vladimir was extremely helpful and friendly pushing my mother around St. Petersburg, which gave my arms a rest.

Again, an excellent tour due to the outstanding employees!!! Thank you!

[DougH]

Princess tours: bus with about 40 other passengers and you always wind up waiting for a few people at every stop not to mention the time needed to embark and disembark that many people from the bus; no flexibility; guide doesn't have time to answer questions, and costs a lot of money.

 

Private tour: few people and it takes just a few minutes to board or leave the bus; see a lot more; tour is flexible depending on wait times, traffic, etc.; and the cost is a heck of a lot less than the Princess tour.

 

I've been to St. Petersburg/Leningrad several times, including land tours, since the early 70's and the absolutely best tour/tour experience was with SPB Tours. We stopped at small, inexpensive Russian restaurants (with no tourists) for quick meals that were delicious. I can't say enough good things about Vika Rather (the owner) and SPB Tours.

 

Pam we have to talk about the Baltic while on the Anniversary cruise. I'm on the Regal next spring for my first Baltic trip and have to arrange all my tours. SPB sounds like the answer

 

Doug

[Pam in CA]

Doug, definitely. They are very highly rated and I have yet to see anyone post anything other than a glowing review or opinion. :)

[Giantfan13]

Pam we have to talk about the Baltic while on the Anniversary cruise. I'm on the Regal next spring for my first Baltic trip and have to arrange all my tours. SPB sounds like the answer

 

Doug

 

Doug

 

We also used SPB Tours, several years ago, when they were a much smaller company. Thru sheer effort to do a great job, they have grown to one of the best tour companies in St Petersburg and many other ports. You will not regret using them.

 

Cheers

 

Len