St. Petersburg Radisson/Regent Private Tour Option

[freddiebud]

Just got a form from my TA about a private car/van option that Regent is offering for St. Petersburg. This is NOT the bus tour option. I had already started talking with Denrus, which is about 60% less than Regent is charging. I was wondering if anyone used this option with Regent/Radisson and what you thought. I am still leaning towards Denrus (the Regent private option does not include the Hermitage Gold Room) but am always concerned about making the sail time.

[PaulaJK]

Two summers ago, we sailed rssc in the Baltic and booked our private

car tours through rssc. Upob booking, we were given blank sheets, to write our sightseeing agendas/wishes for each day. We took advantage---w. our guide of the early opening of the Hermitage, scheduled for rssc.

We saw the Gold Room....and the Amber Room. Additionally, once you are w. driver & guide, you can modify your itinerary to your wishes, e.g.

stay longer here. We enjoyed lunches in local restaurants

 

You are in St P's at least 1 overnight, if not 2. Whichever, don't worry about the guide missing the ship. This is part of their job! Denrus &

Red October have been privately [not ship sponsored] utilized by many

who post here.

[jhp]

Freddibud, I have not cruised to the Baltics since 2001, on the Navigator. It was only my second cruise. I booked independently with a young man over the internet, and got my own visa. He was unable to take us, but sent a very intelligent woman as a substitute (I knew this in advance of the cruise) and it was great. She took us through back gates to the palaces, cut lines, you name it, there was just my daughter and me. At that time "private tours" booked through the ship were $600 per day. We were paying about $25 per hour!

 

Since then, I have learned about Red October, and very seldom about Denrus, but I have heard about them. If they are like Red October, they take care of all the visa stuff for you, but you cannot get off the ship independently on the third day. If I went back, I would book through one of these services for the first two days, and leave the 3rd day for booking on RSSC's excursions if you don't want to get off the ship. You can only do this with your own visa, not one through a TA in St. Petersburg. Of course, if you are doing the Moscow excursion, you will only have two days in SP.

[wsiegel]

We also hired a private guide for my family's 2001 2 days in St. Petersburg (we took the ship's Moscow excursion). Before the cruise we exchanged emails about what we wanted to see, and each day we had the option of modifying what he had planned for us. We never waited on any lines -- he knew every trick in the book to get us everywhere. Because it was just the 4 of us and him, we were able to see an amazing amount of this wonderful city. He picked simple, but delicious, and inexpensive places for lunches. If I went back, I would choose him again. In fact, having the opportunity to talk with him about life in Russia was one of the highlights of our trip.

[freddiebud]

Thanks for all your responses.

 

To clarify my question - I am going to hire a private guide. The question is - thru the cruise ship or Denrus. Has anyone used the private guide option from Radisson?

[PaulaJK]

read post #2

[revaruth]

Just got a form from my TA about a private car/van option that Regent is offering for St. Petersburg. This is NOT the bus tour option. I had already started talking with Denrus, which is about 60% less than Regent is charging. I was wondering if anyone used this option with Regent/Radisson and what you thought. I am still leaning towards Denrus (the Regent private option does not include the Hermitage Gold Room) but am always concerned about making the sail time.

 

Which cruise are you on? We sail on June 19 from Dover. If you are on same cruise, are you interested in sharing tour guide in any of the ports?

[freddiebud]

Which cruise are you on? We sail on June 19 from Dover. If you are on same cruise, are you interested in sharing tour guide in any of the ports?

 

We are on July 29th to the Baltics. We decided to go with Denrus.

[CruiserPK]

Revaruth,

We are also on the June 19th sailing. We have booked a private tour in Stockholm and have another couple joining us. We can have a total of six. Let me know if you are interested and I will send you details.

Cheers, Pam

[revaruth]

Hello Pam:

Yes we would like to hear about your tour. My email: jayile@aol.com. Thanks,

Gene