Baltic Heritage on Crown Princess 3 June, 2017

[FishinChris]

Great composition on your photos, thanks for the review.

 

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

Saturday June 10 - St Petersburg (Part One)

 

As long as I can remember I have wanted to go to St Petersburg and I was finally here. One of the main reasons I choose this cruise was that it overnighted in St Petersburg meaning two full days of sightseeing. I did a lot of research and soon decided that I would not be doing a Princess Shore Excursion but would use a local operator. After much consideration I decided on the TJ Travel Standard 2 Day Shore Excursion. This was not because it was shorter but because I knew DH would have church and museum overload and we would get to walk in the city around Nevsky Prospect. TJ Travel were always prompt at replying to my emails and I was very happy to book with them. A month before the cruise I received an email from them stating that the rules in Russia had changed and they no longer could accept any other currency than Rubles for payment or credit card. If you had already purchased USD or Euros to pay for the tour as had previously been offered they would take you to an exchange office and accept any equivalent in Rubles that you were given in exchange for your USD or Euro for payment of the tour.

 

We received a letter in our cabin informing us what items we would need for immigration in St Petersburg and the procedure to get off the ship and through immigration.

 

 

As the letter stated that departure from the ship would start at 7.30am we decided to go to the Explorers Lounge just after 7am as I was concerned at how long it would take to get off and through immigration. We got to the Explorers Lounge at 7.05am and were given tickets 111 and 112. Within moments we were led off the ship and to immigration. We were through immigration at 7.15am. Wow!

 

Our tour didn't start until 8am so we met the TJ Travel representative who marked off our names and asked us to wait in the terminal as it was a little cool. She came and got us 20 minutes later and we waited in the mini bus using the free Wi-Fi until all people arrived. We were a group of 15.

 

Our tour guide was a lovely lady called Dina and our driver was Konstantin. Both did an excellent job over the next two days quickly getting us to all the points of the tour in the case of Konstantin and being very informinative and entertaining in the case of Dina.

 

Firstly we drove into the city and stopped at St Isaac's Cathedral for a photo stop.

 

 

Then it was a visit to the subway. We went to the Admiral Teyskaya station which at 86 metres deep is the deepest station in St Petersburg. As it is so deep they had to build it with a 125 metre escalator and a 25 metre escalator. We got a ticket and went down the first long escalator. It is very long! Then down the short escalator to the platforms. The station is decorated with mosaic pictures and pictures of notable Russians.

 

 

 

 

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

Saturday June 10 - St Petersburg (Part Two)

 

We then went to the river in front of the Hermitage to get a hydrofoil to Peterhof. It was rather smoky and the toilet was out of order but we got to Peterhof without any problem. As the morning progressed the cloud started breaking up and the sun started coming out. Dina told us that St Petersburg only gets 60 days a year when it doesn't rain and only 30 days a year of sunshine! We were very lucky as we got two of those days.

 

Peterhof was wonderful. The fountains were amazing and the gardens beautiful. It was also very crowded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

Saturday June 10 - St Petersburg (Part Three)

 

We left Peterhof and drove to to a restaurant for lunch. It was the Pub Khlebnikov in Tsarskoye Selo and was across the road from the Great Cathedral of St Catherine the Martyr. We had a very enjoyable lunch and made use of the very nice Restrooms.

 

After lunch was a short drive to the Catherine Palace. We waited a few minutes for our tickets and then walked to the entrance for tour groups. The palace is huge!

 

 

 

 

We donned our oh so glamorous brown paper booties and went into the palace.

 

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

Catherine Palace is very ornate and full of gold.

 

 

 

 

 

We saw the Amber Room but no photos are allowed. As we left the palace there was a fire in one of the little booths selling guide books and a fire engine came to put out the fire.

 

 

Our last stop of the day was at the local market. There were fruit and vegetable stalls along with fish and meat shops. We joked that the reason we stopped there was that Dina wanted to go shopping as she bought a number of items but it was very interesting.

 

We returned to the ship at 5.15pm and after dinner in the Michelangelo Dining Room had an early night.

 

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[sunsetbeachgal]

Oh my goodness your pictures are gorgeous!!

 

 

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[Kellie in Texas]

We did a Baltics cruise in May 2016 on RCCL that included Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, and Helsinki. I'm loving your pictures! Brings back so many memories of these beautiful places.

 

But the real reason I'm posting is because we also toured St. Petersburg with TJ Travel (we only had one day) and Dina was our guide as well! She was awesome. If we ever go back, I'd be sure to book TJ Travel again and ask for her.

[sophielove]

Thank you for the wonderful description of your Baltic's cruise. Had not considered that itinerary but now will. What are your impressions of the Crown Princess ? We are considering booking a transatlantic on her.

 

 

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[rocklinmom]

When you say that the hydrofoil to Peterhof was smoky, do you mean cigarette/cigar smoke? I am considering doing that in a few weeks and would love to know if that could be an issue for us. And hopefully the broken toilet is not a typical problem!

[georgiacat]

Enjoying your review. Reminds me of our trip in 2014.

[PurpleTraveller]

Great composition on your photos, thanks for the review.

 

 

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Thank you. Hope you enjoy the remainder of the review.

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

Oh my goodness your pictures are gorgeous!!

 

 

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Thanks. Glad that you are enjoying them.

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

We did a Baltics cruise in May 2016 on RCCL that included Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, and Helsinki. I'm loving your pictures! Brings back so many memories of these beautiful places.

 

But the real reason I'm posting is because we also toured St. Petersburg with TJ Travel (we only had one day) and Dina was our guide as well! She was awesome. If we ever go back, I'd be sure to book TJ Travel again and ask for her.

Thank you. We thought Dina was wonderful. We learned so much from her and she was so entertaining. I would use TJ Travel and also ask for her again if we were ever back in St Petersburg.

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

When you say that the hydrofoil to Peterhof was smoky, do you mean cigarette/cigar smoke? I am considering doing that in a few weeks and would love to know if that could be an issue for us. And hopefully the broken toilet is not a typical problem!

The hydrofoil was smoky from exhaust smoke not cigarette/cigar smoke. Once we left the dock the smoke wasn't a problem but while we were waiting on the dock smoke billowed over us as the hydrofoil docked. I don't think the toilet being out of order was typical as our guide seemed to be surprised but I don't really know. The ride once we were going was quick and comfortable.

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

Thank you for the wonderful description of your Baltic's cruise. Had not considered that itinerary but now will. What are your impressions of the Crown Princess ? We are considering booking a transatlantic on her.

 

 

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Thank you. We really enjoyed Crown Princess. We like her design and though a little tired in some areas, maintenance was always being done. I thought the food was not as good as we have had on other Princess cruises but that is only my opinion. The food was not bad just not as good as I have had previously. I would not hesitate to sail on Crown Princess again.

 

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Edited July 5, 2017 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

Enjoying your review. Reminds me of our trip in 2014.

Thank you. Hope you enjoy the remainder.

 

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[LaraTiara]

Thanks for sharing your cruise review - especially loved your photos of the Hampshire countryside. It's England just showing off, I realise. Nice eye you have though [emoji2]

 

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

Thanks for sharing your cruise review - especially loved your photos of the Hampshire countryside. It's England just showing off, I realise. Nice eye you have though [emoji2]

 

 

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Thanks. We loved Hampshire. The weather was great and we went to some lovely places.

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

Sunday June 11 - St Petersburg Day 2 (Part One)

 

Today's tour started at 9am and it took three minutes to get off the ship and through immigration. Our first stop was at the Quay with Sphinxes on the embankment in front of the Academy of Arts. It was only a short stop until it was time to go to the TJ Travel office to pay for the tour. I paid by credit card and the exchange rate was the same as I had looked up before the cruise. A bit of souvenir buying was also done in their office/store and I also paid for my purchases by credit card.

 

Our next stop was the Hermitage. The queue to get in was short but my goodness were there a lot of people in there. As the morning progressed it got more and more crowded and the queues to get in, which we could see through the windows, became very long.

 

Dina was great moving us around the Hermitage which is absolutely huge and a warren of rooms and passages. When a room was particularly crowded we would bypass it and then go back later when it was less crowded. We started by going up the Grand Staircase.

 

 

 

 

There were many beautiful rooms and art.

 

 

I particularly liked the Peacock Clock which was in a very ornate room.

 

 

 

This is Madonna and Child (The Benois Madonna) by Leonardo Da Vinci.

 

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

So much more art and beautiful rooms.

This is The Holy Family (Madonna with the Beardless Joseph) by Raffaello.

 

 

When we first went to go to the Raffael Loggias it was packed with people but when we went back it was empty and we were the only people there!

 

 

There was so much wonderful art and beautiful rooms it was a bit overwhelming.

 

 

 

 

This is Portrait of an old Jew by Rembrandt.

 

 

We also went into the Grand Church of the Winter Palace.

 

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

After our dose of art it was now time to go to the site that I had most been looking forward to - the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. The Church was built on the site that Tsar Alexander ll was fatally wounded by a bomb in 1881. After the Russian Revolution it was ransacked and badly damaged and the Church was closed in 1932. After WWll it was used a vegetable store. It started to be restored in 1970 and reopened it 1997. It is absolutely beautiful and the mosaics are breathtaking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can probably tell I loved this church.

 

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[PurpleTraveller]

Sunday June 11 - St Petersburg Day 2 (Part Four)

 

After we viewed the inside it was time to go outside and get a good look at the outside. It was just as beautiful on the outside.

 

 

It was now time for lunch and we went to a cafe just off Nevsky Prospect where we were able to pay by credit card. After lunch we went for a walk and visited Kupetz Eliseevs Food Hall which was a complete contrast to the market that we had been to the day before.

 

 

 

After some more walking around Nevsky Prospect we drove to the Peter and Paul Fortress where we went to the Cathedral where almost all the Tsars are buried.

 

 

 

This is the room where the remains of Tsar Nicholas ll and his family who were killed during the Russian Revolution are.

 

 

 

 

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Edited July 6, 2017 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

Sunday June 11 - St Petersburg Day 2 (Part Five)

 

We left the cathedral and went for a walk around the fortress.

 

 

We went out to the waterside where people were enjoying the sun.

 

 

We also saw this statue of Peter the Great with a very small head and large body. It is supposed to be good luck if you rub his hand.

 

 

Our last stop of the day was at the Aurora the ship from where the shot that signaled the start of the assault on the Winter Palace in October 1917 was fired from.

 

 

We got back to the ship at 4.30pm.

 

Our two days in St Petersburg were wonderful. We had an amazing time and saw many fabulous palaces, museums, churches, gardens and so much more. I am amazed that we managed to see so much in such a short time and that was thanks to Dina and Konstantin. TJ Travel were great and Dina and Konstantin were excellent. I could not recommend TJ Travel or Dina and Konstantin highly enough.

 

We also had wonderful weather. Never did I expect to have two days of sunshine or to be wearing short sleeves in St Petersburg in June!

 

We set sail at 6pm and about an hour later as we relaxed in our cabin we saw a lighthouse outside our window. We were sailing past Kotlin Island at the mouth of the Finland Gulf and where the Leningrad Naval Base is. As we sailed past we could see sunken ships, submarines, navy ships, cranes, ruined buildings, a large church and defensive buildings. It was fascinating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited July 6, 2017 by PurpleTraveller

[sawtooth]

PurpleTraveller,

 

I am loving your review and pictures.

Very informative as we are embarking on the Regal on 8/29 and really looking forward to this cruise.

We have booked tours for all port with SPB Tours.

Would you say that a tour is necessary for Tailin? to can we DIY?

[PurpleTraveller]

PurpleTraveller,

 

I am loving your review and pictures.

Very informative as we are embarking on the Regal on 8/29 and really looking forward to this cruise.

We have booked tours for all port with SPB Tours.

Would you say that a tour is necessary for Tailin? to can we DIY?

Thank you so much. Tallinn is very easy to DIY as long as you don't have any mobility issues. The Old Town is an easy 20 minute walk from where we docked and the Old Town and Toompea Hill are compact and very easy to walk around. There are cobblestones as in many places in Europe, but we had no problem with them as long as we walked carefully and there was a bit of a walk up to Toompea Hill but we did not find it difficult. Tallinn was one of our favourite ports on this cruise and is a very pretty town. Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

 

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