need help with St Petersburg and reassurance

[dulcemariamar]

Help!!

 

I already scanned the port of call board but I am not sure I can find the answer since most people are looking to book a private tour company.

 

i am thinking about booking an excursion with princess cruise line in St. Petersburg. I have never booked an excursion with any cruise company before and we like to do things on our own.  But the port in St Petersburg seems quite far from what we want to see and I will be traveling with a 6 year old and I still have to worry about car seats. I guess with a ship tour, we will have a large motor coach?

 

the tour we are looking at is the hermitage museum and then 3 hours on your own in center of the city. Has anyone done this excursion? I have never been to St Petersburg before so I am looking for some insight especially with traveling with a small kid. I rather just do a visit to the hermitage museum but the hubby is keen on doing a long tour that includes being three hours on your own in st Petersburg. I guess I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with planning a day trip in St. Petersburg. And my kid is a great traveler but kids are weird and who knows if she will be having an off day.

 

so just Hermitage Museum or Hermitage Museum + 3 hours of on your own in downtown St Petersburg.???   What advice would you give me???

 

and to be honest I am finding the city of St Petersburg to be a bit daunting which is weird since I am a seasoned traveler. So any reassurance there will also be nice. Thanks! 

[jasbo49]

I would suggest you check Alla Tours. Much better and much cheaper than Princess tours. We used their services last August. Our guide was exceptional, even mailed a post card to my 98-year-old mother.

 

Jim

[Aus Traveller]

We went on a twp-day tour with SPB Tours in St Petersburg - also excellent. We were in mid-size buses rather than the full-size coaches that the Princess tour used. Our tour was organised on the Roll Call by a member of Cruise Critic. The cost was maybe half of the price of the Princess tour, and we had the advantage of not being with such a large group. Although our tour had seven buses, we only met up at lunchtime.

[d9704011]

We did a two day tour with SPB a couple of years ago.  I realize that’s much more than what you have in mind but I can tell you a few things you may want to consider:  travel from the cruise port to St Petersburg is not quick and easy on your own; SPB (and Alla) provide great tours at very good prices which include the visas you will need; doing things ‘on your own’ in the city will be very difficult.

[Jezabel2924]

I think that with a child you would be better served by a Private Tour for your family through TJ, Alla, SPB or any of the major tour companies.  The Hermitage is diffcult to navigate with a small group (we had 12) let alone 45 people.  I also think you would have an easier time navigating the last 3 hours with a Private Guide, as well.  Check into what they offer as it might give you the freedom you are looking for.

[Coral]

If you are a US citizen and want to go out on your own, you need to get your own Russian Visa.

 

If you go with Princess or one of the many tour companies, you don't need to get a visa, their tour company covers it. There are several tour companies that have "child friendly excursions". I would suggest asking over on the Northern Europe board on child friendly companies and also maybe just book the tour for your small family. This way you are in more control of your time.

 

St. Petersburg is beautiful - don't limit yourself to the Hermitage (which is probably boring for a child). Definitely go out to Peterhof and see the gardens. Your 6 year old would enjoy it.

 

Check this thread out and post for child friendly tour companies here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=192 

Edited May 11, 2019 by Coral

[LoriPhil]

Our observation with our Princess tour was that it was great, good bus transport and guide narration, but tiring as you're trying to keep up with your group (gauge those bathroom breaks and plan accordingly! 😊).   A 6 year old might find it taxing so a private/smaller operation might be a good consideration.

[ksm77]

My DH & I did this Princess tour in July 2017.  We enjoyed it very much.  We loved seeing the Hermitage it is amazing.  We also liked the 3 hr time period  of being on our own.  We don't care for the large group tours.  Most people will recommend that you do one of the tours that pack everything in a day.  That is just not what we enjoy, we have done those but at the end of the day sometimes I feel like I really didn't enjoy it, because we ran from one thing to another.  It is hard to pack everything into one day.  On the tour you are looking at it gives you one of the main attractions in St. Petersburg plus time on your own in the heart of the city.  We enjoyed walking in this area, seeing the church of the blood, and we were able to enjoy lunch on our own.  I think with a 6 year old you might enjoy some time away from the group to do your own thing.  Trying to fit everything into one day with a 6 year old would be stressful to me.  

[Ombud]

58 minutes ago, Coral said:

If you are a US citizen and want to go out on your own, you need to get your own Russian Visa.

I went to the Russian Consulate 6 times in San Fransisco --- never granted the Visa. My tour with Princess was awesome! Went inside the Grand Synagogue & had lunch in their basement restaurant, visited the subway, food mart, and a square. It was this one but there was a Jewish option onboard ship (St. Petersburg Subways & Walking Tour) so substituted shul & kosher meal for church 

 

My point is if you have OBC tack down  a tour (can always cancel later) bc not all US Citizens are granted a visa

[roxievegas]

We did the Baltic cruise with Celebrity so i will give you the pricing from them.  We booked the two-day tour through Celebrity as we did not want to apply and pay for the Russian Visa.  The port is a distance from where we went.  We spent two days going all over and we enjoyed everything - don't know how much a 6 years old will handle it.  The cost through Celebrity was $316 pp.  I can't tell you the price of the "doing it on own", but the ship tours get you the priority off the ship - we were the first group off the ship each morning and we only had 20- 25 people on our bus.

[Coral]

27 minutes ago, Ombud said:

I went to the Russian Consulate 6 times in San Fransisco --- never granted the Visa. My tour with Princess was awesome! Went inside the Grand Synagogue & had lunch in their basement restaurant, visited the subway, food mart, and a square. It was this one but there was a Jewish option onboard ship (St. Petersburg Subways & Walking Tour) so substituted shul & kosher meal for church 

 

My point is if you have OBC tack down  a tour (can always cancel later) bc not all US Citizens are granted a visa

The OP said they were used to doing things on their own. I didn't know the nationality and didn't know if they knew Russia isn't like some other European ports where right now, you can just walk off the ship and do your own thing. 

 

I actually have gotten my Russian and Soviet Union visa (yes, I am old) both times I have gone there but I just paid the $$$$ and hired a visa service as I don't live near a consulate. I do have US friends who were in Austria and did walk to a Russian consulate and did get their visa that way. I have no clue how difficult it is to get. I had to get mine both times I went as I was flying into/out of Russia.

 

I have never done a Princess tour in Russia enough to say good things or bad things - I do know there are 3rd party companies that do specialize in kids tours.

Edited May 12, 2019 by Coral

[Aus Traveller]

A few posts have referred to getting a Russian visa but this is irrelevant. The OP is considering booking a Princess tour that includes some free time. They would not need a Russian visa. If a visitor books a tour through a recognized tour company (including through Princess) they do not require a visa.

 

I think the ideal tour for the OP would be to contact Alla Tours and SPB Tours to find out the price of a private tour just for their family. Then they can tailor it to suit their interests and if their daughter gets tired or bored, they can move on.

[ghstudio]

Definitely arrange your own tour...either alone or perhaps with another couple you find in the roll call.  Caution....only use the large tour companies....Alla, SPB...I think there might be one or two more.  When we were there on our private tour, some groups with guides were turned away....the smaller agencies can't always get tickets and the line can be 4 hours long to get in.  You do not want time on  your own in St Petersburg without a guide and/or a visa.  Don't let anyone tell you that you can take their tour and then have 3 hours on your own without them without a visa.  

 

The ship tours will be crowded...herding a busload of folks around....not a good experience for a 6 year old.

[Bubba54]

Really good responses and advice already. My 2 cents. We just returned and did the two day grand tour with Alla-Tours. They were fantastic. I do know they offer private tours. 

[Ombud]

Princess tours often increase in price as it gets closer to final pymt due date so if you have OBC it's better to reserve early rather than later, and private tours often fill up

[caribill]

5 hours ago, ghstudio said:

 

 

The ship tours will be crowded...herding a busload of folks around....not a good experience for a 6 year old.

 

Or an adult,

[Wehwalt]

If you get a visa, by the time you get through immigration, there will be a taxi desk open in the terminal which will get you downtown. There is also a public bus, you will often see crew members waiting for it. Uber works, but I'm not sure they can get in the port.

 

As a practical matter, though, you will have trouble doing the sights in a timely manner without a tour. Remember summer is high season there. I would not advise a visa on a first visit to St. Petersburg. I did it once, and stayed overnight downtown, but it was my fifth visit, including once as Leningrad in 1986.

[caribill]

6 hours ago, roxievegas said:

We did the Baltic cruise with Celebrity so i will give you the pricing from them.  We booked the two-day tour through Celebrity as we did not want to apply and pay for the Russian Visa. 

 

Celebrity and Princess do a good job of scaring passengers into thinking they must book  a ship's tour if they want to tour without a Russian visa.

 

As others pointed out, if you book with a recognized Russian tour company (Alla, SPB, Red October, etc.), you can tour without having obtained a Russian visa.

 

You only need a Russian visa if you want to tour on your own.

[dulcemariamar]

Hi OP here!!

 

My concern with using a private tour is being stuck with a small van. My kid is small and still needs a car seat. I have had bad experience in the past with rental companies and the car seats they provide. I am thinking that with princess cruises it will be a big motor coach so then car seats will not be a priority.

 

in the family there are two members with EU passports and one American.

[dulcemariamar]

12 hours ago, jasbo49 said:

I would suggest you check Alla Tours. Much better and much cheaper than Princess tours. We used their services last August. Our guide was exceptional, even mailed a post card to my 98-year-old mother.

 

Jim

Thanks. I will check them out but as I wrote below I am nervous about hiring a private tour since it will be a small vehicle and then the whole issue of a car seat

[dulcemariamar]

12 hours ago, Jezabel2924 said:

I think that with a child you would be better served by a Private Tour for your family through TJ, Alla, SPB or any of the major tour companies.  The Hermitage is diffcult to navigate with a small group (we had 12) let alone 45 people.  I also think you would have an easier time navigating the last 3 hours with a Private Guide, as well.  Check into what they offer as it might give you the freedom you are looking for.

Thanks! As I wrote below, I would prefer a private company but a motor coach is better so as not to deal with car seats. 

[dulcemariamar]

11 hours ago, LoriPhil said:

Our observation with our Princess tour was that it was great, good bus transport and guide narration, but tiring as you're trying to keep up with your group (gauge those bathroom breaks and plan accordingly! 😊).   A 6 year old might find it taxing so a private/smaller operation might be a good consideration.

How are the bathroom

breaks handled?? 

[dulcemariamar]

11 hours ago, ksm77 said:

My DH & I did this Princess tour in July 2017.  We enjoyed it very much.  We loved seeing the Hermitage it is amazing.  We also liked the 3 hr time period  of being on our own.  We don't care for the large group tours.  Most people will recommend that you do one of the tours that pack everything in a day.  That is just not what we enjoy, we have done those but at the end of the day sometimes I feel like I really didn't enjoy it, because we ran from one thing to another.  It is hard to pack everything into one day.  On the tour you are looking at it gives you one of the main attractions in St. Petersburg plus time on your own in the heart of the city.  We enjoyed walking in this area, seeing the church of the blood, and we were able to enjoy lunch on our own.  I think with a 6 year old you might enjoy some time away from the group to do your own thing.  Trying to fit everything into one day with a 6 year old would be stressful to me.  

Thanks for the info! Can I contact you later if we decide to book this trip ?

[dulcemariamar]

10 hours ago, roxievegas said:

We did the Baltic cruise with Celebrity so i will give you the pricing from them.  We booked the two-day tour through Celebrity as we did not want to apply and pay for the Russian Visa.  The port is a distance from where we went.  We spent two days going all over and we enjoyed everything - don't know how much a 6 years old will handle it.  The cost through Celebrity was $316 pp.  I can't tell you the price of the "doing it on own", but the ship tours get you the priority off the ship - we were the first group off the ship each morning and we only had 20- 25 people on our bus.

Yes. Thanks for the info. It is good about being first off the ship

[dulcemariamar]

10 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

A few posts have referred to getting a Russian visa but this is irrelevant. The OP is considering booking a Princess tour that includes some free time. They would not need a Russian visa. If a visitor books a tour through a recognized tour company (including through Princess) they do not require a visa.

 

I think the ideal tour for the OP would be to contact Alla Tours and SPB Tours to find out the price of a private tour just for their family. Then they can tailor it to suit their interests and if their daughter gets tired or bored, they can move on.

Hello 

thanks for the info. I wouldn't want to do only just a private tour for our family because of price and it will not be as enjoyable for us if the whole focus was just on us. 

 

And plus lies as I have mention now, a coach bus means no car seat issues