Oh no! Help?! What have I done!!

[tams531]

:confused: I am sailing to the Baltics on Century in July. One stop is St Petersburg. We do not like big ship arranged excursions, as we prefer smaller more private tours. So, after reading the boards, we went with DenRus for a 2 day tour for our group of 8. In total, it is about 2500 dollars.

 

A member of my party called tonight to tell me that there is a private Celebrity tour for a private group (of up to 10) that costs a total of only 800 dollars for the two days. The book from Celebrity does not give much info on the itinerary, it just says once on the ship go to the excursion office and book/arrange the tour with them.

 

That is a big savings from using DenRus!!! Has anyone done one of these private ship tours? What did you think? We leave on 7/21, is it too late to secure the private ship tour? I don't even know if I can cancel with DenRus.

 

I feel like a fool for not doing enough research...I am afraid my party will not enjoy themselves knowing how much we could have saved!

 

Thanks for any insight....

[rebeccalouise]

:confused: I am sailing to the Baltics on Century in July. One stop is St Petersburg. We do not like big ship arranged excursions, as we prefer smaller more private tours. So, after reading the boards, we went with DenRus for a 2 day tour for our group of 8. In total, it is about 2500 dollars.

 

A member of my party called tonight to tell me that there is a private Celebrity tour for a private group (of up to 10) that costs a total of only 800 dollars for the two days. The book from Celebrity does not give much info on the itinerary, it just says once on the ship go to the excursion office and book/arrange the tour with them.

 

That is a big savings from using DenRus!!! Has anyone done one of these private ship tours? What did you think? We leave on 7/21, is it too late to secure the private ship tour? I don't even know if I can cancel with DenRus.

 

I feel like a fool for not doing enough research...I am afraid my party will not enjoy themselves knowing how much we could have saved!

 

Thanks for any insight....

 

Do the ship tour. I am sure it will be great. My father and son just came back form St. Petersburg (in May) and they were traveling solo- they hired a private tour guide. They said it was the worst part of the trip because she didn't shut up for one single second of the trip. Apparently when they are being paid so well- they think the customer deserves to get their money's worth. My father and son said they couldn't look at a painting in a museum without her constant knattering! I have heard this from others. So, just beware that the guides can be annoying!

[Host Anne]

I could be totally wrong so perhaps others will be able to confirm the ship tour you are talking about but there is no way (in my opinion) that the ship can do two days in St. Petersburg for $80 per person. I would double check to be absolutely sure what you are getting for $80 per person and that it is for both days.

 

We used DenRus two years ago on our cruise and they were terrific. Our guide was wonderful (we did not have any problems with her constantly talking and had plenty of time to view things everywhere). There are many great reviews of DenRus and Red October here on the boards. I'd be comfortable touring with either of them.

 

So before making a final decision, just ensure you know what you are getting.

 

Good luck....let us know how it goes.

[evoni]

Hmmm, I would be surprised if the ship tour was for a full 2 days for up to 10 people for only $800.00. Perhaps the tour is only for 4 hours a day for the 2 days or something like that. We did the Baltic last year on Celebrity's Constellation and the ship tours including the private ones offer through the ship were much more expensive then what we paid for a private tour for the 4 of us for 2 full days and 1 nighttime activity (folklore show) using DenRus.

 

As far as guides not shutting up, you can get that on a ship tour as easily via a private tour, except on a private tour one has a better chance of communicating to their guide exactly what their party wants from the tour and a smart guide who wants to make a good tip will usually listen to what you want, though of course there are some bad guides out there and sometimes one is just unlucky in who they get. Our DenRus guide would discuss whatever we wanted and was a Pushkin Scholar, but she was also very good at being hands off and for example when we were at the Hermitage she gave us time on our own and we met her back at a selected spot when it was time to leave.

[Susan-M]

 

A member of my party called tonight to tell me that there is a private Celebrity tour for a private group (of up to 10) that costs a total of only 800 dollars for the two days.

 

$800 for 10 people for 2 days in a van doesn't sound possible (unless I've misunderstood your post?)

 

Celebrity's website shows excursion prices, with a van for one day at $1450.

[bubbie617]

We just got back from a Baltics cruise with a two day stop in St. Petersburg. We had a group of 7 couples who booked a two day custom tour with DenRus. Ludmilla was our guide, and I can't say enough good things about her. DenRus was highly recommended to us, and I second that opinion. The cost of $620 (for two) included lunch on both days, a trip on the Metro, all entrance fees, the camera charge (you have to pay to use your camera in many places in St. Petersburg), the guide, and the driver. We did give a tip on top of that. They were well worth it. We were also able to pay with a credit card online before the cruise. It made it much easier than having to have the right cash to pay on the first morning of the tour as some other tour companies do.

 

You won't be sorry if you do your touring through DenRus.

 

Have a great trip.

[BurBunny]

I think your friend is mistaken in what they saw on Celebrity's site. They offer a van tour of 4 hours at $850/van (per van, not per person), and 8 hour tours at $1,450/van. No way at all you're going to get 2 full days in a private van for $800 total. Not from Celebrity. Take a look at the excursions for your sailing - they misread something.

 

I also don't see any 2-day tours at all.

[chrismch]

Did you get the big book Celebrity Excursion guide? This book shows all the tours available in detail. We are going in Aug on the Connie and have our book, so I am surprised you do not have one as well.

 

Using our book as an example, they show 4 "van tours" that are priced per van and not per person at a total of $850. However they are each just 4 hour tours. They also show 8 hr tours at $1450. The van can hold up to 10 people but they will only bill 1 person. The others have to pay that 1 person separately.

[spearmint]

We went, Constellation, to the Baltic last fall. Took the DenRus Value Tour. We also had Ljudmilla, and she was indeed terrific, as has been already noted by a previous poster. She is very knowledgeable about history and art, which is great in a city that we had never been in before, and inside the Hermitage and the Peterhof.

 

One thing that we noticed, is that often we were getting ready to leave a venue as ship tours were arriving, as in the Peterhof; or we were well into our tour when we were invaded by ship's tours (one particular Italian line was outrageous in loud, noisy, pushy behaviour:eek:), in the Hermitage. Ljudmilla then took us to see other parts of the museum, and brought us back later when the "masses" had left!:)

 

You will not be sorry that you booked with DenRus. We absolutely thought it was a great tour and would not hesitate for a second to book with them again, even going so far as to specifically ask for Ljudmilla.. :D

 

That being said so as not to be one-sided, others that we talked to on the ship were very happy with Red October, too. You are going to love St. Petersburg! Happy sailing.

[zelker]

We are also sailing on Connie in Sept. to the Baltic. I just checked the X web site again and the only van they offer is $1,450 per day for 8 hours for however many people a van holds (it doesn't specify).

 

There are 6 of us and we booked with RO for two full days and we are paying around $1900 total (for 2 days, 6 people) which includes admission to all sites. Lunch is additional.

 

Would have to agree that someone in your party misread what X offers --obviously a non-X tour is a much better deal and the reports for DenRus, RO, and Alla have all been nothing but stellar. Stick with your original plans.

[fllady]

Our friends just returned from this Century cruise and also used Denrus. Very highly praised as one ofthe best tours they ever had.

[tams531]

Thanks all~ We have figured it all out......and you are all correct. We misunderstood something we read, and it is really 1450 a day with X. Which makes it more costly than DenRus. So we are sticking with DenRus. It sounds like they are great from what I have read on this board! Thank you for working with me! This board is the best!

[ACCagent]

We also had a DenRus tour last year and totally enjoyed the two days. If I am not mistaken there were some private car ship tours that cost almost $800 per person for the two days.

[Host Anne]

Tams ~ glad everyone could help out. We all hope you have a wonderful time (I know you will ... this is a TERRIFIC cruise and tour!).

 

BON VOYAGE

[cs1]

We were on Princess last summer and did the Denrus 2 day private tour. Private tours are the way to go in select ports and this is one of them!!

You will love Denrus, our group could not say enough good things about the guide, itinerary and beautiful St. Pete!! Princess was another story...