St Petersburg excursion

[verne1956]

Hello all

We are booked for cruise in August on QE and I have booked a 2 day excursion with Lentina to see St Petersburg.  I liked what they offered as they never have more then 6 and will go even if it is just us 2.  They are slightly more expensive for this service but not by much maybe US$40 or 50.  I am noticing that most seem to book with Alla but there groups max out at 16 has anyone booked with Lentina and were they what you hoped.  I read many positive comments on TripAdvisor but don’t know much about comments on Cruise Critic.

 

We have not paid any deposit as yet so I can cancel but I do really like the low numbers. Would like any comments concerning reliability and service.

 

Thank you for any assistance 

 

verne1956

[Host Hattie]

You might get more answers on our Port of call board

 

Northern Europe and Baltic

[verne1956]

Thanks for that I posted on your link hopefully others may know the answer about this company. Even after using Cruise Critic for a couple of years I still struggle to use it.

[Stella1250]

I have never heard of Lentina. I am on the July 13th Baltic cruise on QV. We booked a private tour with SPB for two days. Just me and my husband, plus driver and guide. It was half the cost of the Cunard tours. Try looking on Trip Advisor. There are many reviews there on the St. Petersburg tours.

[verne1956]

I got them off TripAdvisor I just had a quick look at SPB Tours and what they have says 16 person max for the advertised 2day tours. Have you booked a separate fully private if so was it much more then site amounts US$210 to 285pp.

 

It was the price that made Lentina stand out max 6 for US$295 pp plus I really liked the itinerary.  I posted this on Nothern Europe & Baltic so hopefully someone has been with them. If no one answers I can cancel.

[Stella1250]

I knew that I wanted a private tour. I have friends that have been to St. Petersburg. Since I am going in July when it is the most crowded, they all recommended private as the more people you have, the harder it is to navigate the crowds. Yes, it is more expensive, but the tour was customized by SPB to exactly what we want. Compared to the tours offered by Cunard, it is a bargain. When compared to all the other tours, it is probably three times as much, but we felt it would be worth it as it is the only time we will see this city.

[Windsurfboy]

The 162 reviews on TripAdvisor look good, almost too good in fact, I  notice a lot of the reviewers have only one TripAdvisor review which is unusual ! I think you are right to be cautious and ask for independent evidence.  st Petersburg is the reason for this cruise, so like Stella we have splashed out on a private tour just for my wife and l,  with SPB. All the other ports will be DIY walking , hop on hop off tours

[angie7911922]

I haven't heard of this company, but we did a private tour with Anastasia's Travel, and we really liked the smaller group. It was definitely worth the little extra to skip the lines and do what we wanted to do. We were like you and didn't want the 16 in a group. 

If the other company doesn't work out, Anastasia's was fantastic to work with if you want the smaller group!

[grotbags]

Hi

We used Insider Tours when we visited St Petersburg ,they were great.We had visited a few years before and taken ship tours there was no comparison.

Good Luck and have a great trip. 

[brian1]

The website seems Kosher.All these companies don't ask for payment until the end of the tour,so no worries there,cheers,Brian.

[verne1956]

Thank you all for your generous information 

 

Stella1250, thanks for your confirmation that your trip is truly private and not shown on site. I have seen several sites that also offer full private but as you have said at least around US$400 plus and above each. The fact that Lentina was US$295 each for max of 6 seemed reasonable.

 

As for the other comments I will look more closely at recommendation.

 

Brian1, I have had Lentina send me a information sheet and it states they do want a deposit US$190 for 2 but it is refundable by early August before we leave for the tour.  The much larger remainder US$400 is payable when the tour starts. Would you think that normal, the sheet gives a registration MBT 006361 I have to say I can’t tell if websites are legitimate as I am not so tech savvy.

 

regards verne1956

[bazzaw]

We have done the "16 person" two day tour with TJ Tours - twice, with 5 years in between each one 🙂 We highly recommend them - no deposit asked for and payment is done on last day of tour. https://st-petersburg-tours.ru/  They also do private tours 

[Stella1250]

Our tour, since it is private, required a small deposit, which is refundable until 30 days before the tour. The remainder is payable on the second day, which sounds reasonable as we are getting our own guide, car and driver.

[verne1956]

Thank Stella1250

 

I am hoping ours turns out to be fully private by default if she can’t find people from the ship to join then we will be the only ones at no extra cost.

 

I private messaged on TA a lady whose review was recent and she said she and her family were more then happy. I will be happy even if there is six.   I really think it will be fine it’s just that this company is newish and is still building.  That doesn’t make it bad In fact they probably try hard to get good feedback reviews.