Constellation/Red October/Touring

[2ifbysea]

Hi fellow cruisers. We are two couples on Constellation's August 26 cruise and looking to tour with 4 to 6 others in St. Petersburg for a two day excursion. If you have an interest please answer here or give your e-mail address. Ours is www.frenan@comcast.net.

[Brahmama]

Hi fellow cruisers. We are two couples on Constellation's August 26 cruise and looking to tour with 4 to 6 others in St. Petersburg for a two day excursion. If you have an interest please answer here or give your e-mail address. Ours is www.frenan@comcast.net.

 

Hi, I saw this post and wanted to let you know that there

is a thread dedicated to this very cruise. If you are not aware of it, you

can find it under Celebrity Roll Calls - and it will be listed as

Constellation August 26 Baltic Cruise or something like that. There are

several of us who are posting and exchanging ideas. And that is where I

found other people to share RO with.

 

By the way, the email address that you have in your post is incorrect.

 

Good luck!

 

Carol

 

clstuard@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

:D

[2ifbysea]

Thank you Carol. Of course you are correct. The www does not belong. In this instance, the e-mail address won't be seen either as the computer is not functioning. It had a problem last week. A call and $35 to Microsoft, and then another call, and another call, and now it won't boot up.

 

Here is an alternative address:

brit2ifbysea@hotmail.com

[thecruisechick]

Do you still have space on your tour? We are also 2 couples from the Boston area and are looking for people to share a tour.

 

I sent you an e-mail on behalf of my friend Connie.

Let me know if you are still open.

[2ifbysea]

Hi Mary, The first e-mail address went to a computer that is terminal, me thinks. So I suggest you try again at the e-mail address above your post As an alternative to that you can call me at 781-762-0026.

Thanks much,

Henry

[thecruisechick]

Henry,

 

I'll call you on Wed.

 

Mary

[2ifbysea]

Thanks Mary,

 

Suggest you call before 7 as this is my business number.

[celem]

We just returned from the Constellation's July 3-17 Baltic cruise. We were in St. Petersburg on July 7 & 8. Here is an excerpt from my journal about the Red October tour participants that were scheduled for very early tours. You may want to avoid planning on your tour starting before 8:30 to 9AM.

-----------------

July 7, 2004, St. Petersburg, Russia

- Room service for two, to save time as I wanted to get a jump on the "independent tour" requirements of waiting in the Reflections Lounge on deck 11 for our debarkation numbers.

- Observed arguments by Red October customers with crew at the gangway, then went to reflections lounge to get debarkation pass. It was a very ugly scene between the Red October customers at the gangway trying to argue their way through the crew's barricade. The crew remained polite but obstinate while the Red October customers grew ever more hostile. A lot of foul language and name calling, etc. When, around 7:15AM, the ship's Moscow excursion came through, one of the Red October customers jumped into their line and when queried by the crew said that she was on the Moscow excursion so they let her through. Eventually, the Red October customers were permitted to get off around 7:25AM - after a LOT of hostile interaction.

- We were in the first group of "independent" travelers permitted off of the ship at 8:40AM.

- Our American Express tour by Baltic Travel was also delayed in its 9AM departure because we were waiting for three customers that were held late by Celebrity because they had high exit numbers.

[missm]

Celem -

 

We are on the 14 August Constellation Baltic cruise, and would appreciate your help. I gather from your post that you recommend that since we are touring with RO as "independent" travelers, that we get a disembarkation number prior to attempting to disembark. Others on this board have said to ignore this request from Celebrity, and proceed directly to the exit point w/out a disembarkation pass. We certainly want to get off the ship as early as possible, but don't want to get into a fight with ship personnel, either! What is your take on this?

 

Also, we were wondering if the ship had any sort of folklore show on board while in SP? We think we will be too tired after touring all day to go off the ship again for a show.

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

MissM

[celem]

Re: "Others on this board have said to ignore this request from Celebrity, and proceed directly to the exit point w/out a disembarkation pass."

 

They may have been able to do this in the past, but it took a pretty ugly scene before they were allowed to leave - around a half hour past when they wanted to get off. They were not permitted off until the Moscow tour was totally through security and then only because of a lot of hostile and ugly interaction with increasingly senior and tougher ship security personnel. Celebrity appears to be getting tougher about getting off early in St. Petersburg. They are probably justified in forcing you to wait for the Moscow tour because their timing is critical. However, the delay after the Moscow tour has departed seems totally unjustified. The Russian security was a breeze to get through. The Russian security personnel seemed boared by the whole thing and simply stamped the passports with hardly a glance.

 

It is your call, but I would not count on an easy time getting off the ship early.

 

By the way, on the second day, since there was no Moscow tour to worry about, the ship let everyone off as early as they wanted.

[celem]

Re: "Also, we were wondering if the ship had any sort of folklore show on board while in SP? We think we will be too tired after touring all day to go off the ship again for a show."

 

No, not in St. Petersburg, although they did in Poland.

 

So many people were off the ship that night, going to the balet and folklore show, that the ship was rather empty. We utilized this fact to enjoy the thalassothrapy pool for the ONLY time that it wasn't crowded.

[missm]

Celem -

 

Thank you so much for your replies. They were of immense help in deciding just the right approaches to these issues. Our group definitely wants to play by Celebrity's rules and realize that we are their guests in foreign lands. We will let RO know about these changes, so they will be prepared, and not think we've stood them up!

 

MissM

[msiowa]

I was on Constellation last summer so things may have changed, BUT we waited until the Moscow tour people got off the ship (around 7:15) and then we left at 7:30. (The time we had arranged with Laura)

 

Not one crew member asked us what we were doing or where we were going. Like at any other port, they smiled and wished us a nice day.

 

The ship tours (other than Moscow) were still meeting in various lounges at this time.

 

I think if you wait until 7:30 and the Moscow people have left (that's the crew's main concern and it seems from celem's story that the people who had trouble tried to leave before the Moscow people) you'll have no problem getting off the ship and starting your wonderful tour of St. Petersburg.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

Joanie

[celem]

I agree that once the Moscow tour has cleared Russian security that you will probably be able to talk you way through but unless Celebrity changes its current policy it will not be with smiles and wishes for a nice day. I wouldn't plan on getting off of the ship before 7:30. However, if you follow their rules of using the debarkation numbers I wouldn't count on getting off before 8:30. They were checking the debarkation pass numbers and looking for the ship's tour clothing stickers and if they were not correct they stopped you.