On Shore in St Petersburg?

[travelscot]

Hi! we are going on the Jewel to St Petersburg in June and I have been getting mixed messages about going ashore on our own. We were told that if we got a visa we could do that but now we are told you cannot but must use the Shore Excursions off the ship or one of the travel tour operators. Does anyone have experience there that could advise us?

 

We do not want to end up sitting on the ship looking at the docks instead of experiencing the city!!!!!!!! We have booked a tour of the hermitage so we at least are ok there.

[coaster]

Hi! we are going on the Jewel to St Petersburg in June and I have been getting mixed messages about going ashore on our own. We were told that if we got a visa we could do that but now we are told you cannot but must use the Shore Excursions off the ship or one of the travel tour operators. Does anyone have experience there that could advise us?

 

We do not want to end up sitting on the ship looking at the docks instead of experiencing the city!!!!!!!! We have booked a tour of the hermitage so we at least are ok there.

 

NCL is going to the west coast of Florida now? Great news... NCL hasn't been seen in these parts since the Norwegian Sea was in dry dock about 10 years ago. Is this in regards to St Petersburg, FL or Russia? I couldn't help myself..... You must mean Russia.

[Toyz711]

if you haven't already, make sure you check out the port-of-call board:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=192

[stunnedinva]

Here's the link for the Russian Embassy with information on obtaining a Russian visa: http://www.russianembassy.org/ . They want to know everything including what you had for breakfast in 1977. ;)

If you don't want to use one of the cruise's shore excursions or one of the private tour companies (there are several--check the Northern Europe and Baltics board), you must have a visa to disembark in St. Petersburg. Otherwise, you must stay with a tour group that has a blanket visa.

[Carnac767]

You just can't get off the ship and wander about on your own. First of all, you'd have to get a visa to do that prior to your cruise. But even if you did get a visa, the ship is docked in the industrial area of St. Petersburg, several miles from the heart of the city. Just to get to the main gate of the port is a couple of miles of walking. Taxis aren't allowed into the port--according to the guides we had. Our guides also said the area outside the port entrance was not safe. We had visions of the ship docking in the Neva right by the Hermitage. It didn't quite work out like that. You can book private tours and they'll meet you on the pier.

[Carnac767]

The Peterhof excursion and the tour of Catherine's palace are great. I'd highly recommend them. The Hermitage is another "don't miss" attraction but the Russians docents push you through there like it's on fire.

[garycarla]

As mentioned above, make sure you visit the PORTS OF CALL boards.

 

Also, visit the ROLL CALL for your cruise. Click on BOARDS at the TOP left, then scroll down.

[Len3]

Check out our roll call for the July 28th sailing on the Jewel. 8 of us put together a full 2 day tour with Alla. We selected the "moderate" tour and made one change in the itinerary so that we could have early entrance into the Hermitage. The cost is $270.00 pp.

[babysnow]

If you book a shore excursion with NCL they will take care of the visa for Russia. If you plan to walk around on your own you must obtain a visa before you get there. Russia is very strict about documentation requirements. just FYI! :)

[Ms belp]

I would go with the NCL excursions. You'll be with a group, they will know where you are, and you will have a level of comfort that I wouldn't feel going off on my own. They used to arrest tourists who were walking around, taking pictures of buildings they deemed off limits. They were deemed spies. With relations as strained as they are right now between our governments; I, personally, wouldn't chance it.

[Len3]

I can agree in part - I wouldn't want to get caught in a real mess in Russia. But an NCL tour - no way. Can you just think of 40 people on and off a bus, let alone the bathroom stops. Our little group will be long gone before the NCL tours even gather onboard to get organized. Think of going with one of the government authorized tour operators - Alla Tours, Denrus or Red October. Read the board under Northern Europe/Baltics for reviews. NCL tour involve many more people and cost quite a bit more.

I would go with the NCL excursions. You'll be with a group, they will know where you are, and you will have a level of comfort that I wouldn't feel going off on my own. They used to arrest tourists who were walking around, taking pictures of buildings they deemed off limits. They were deemed spies. With relations as strained as they are right now between our governments; I, personally, wouldn't chance it.

 

[Ms belp]

Which government? NCL will guarantee you get back to the ship; or they won't leave you stranded. The ones you mention can't. If you are an experienced cruiser, okay. But, OP sounds like she isn't all that familiar with all this.

[Carnac767]

Something else I'd recommend is to go to CC's home page and look at the reviews for the Norwegian Dream from last summer. Granted, she's a different ship than you'll be on, but the Baltic shore excursions will be reviewed, which you might find helpful. Our review is at this link: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=32583 Have a great time. My wife and I are already trying to figure when we can get back to the Baltic.

[Rehobo]

I can agree with Len3 completely on this issue. First, it's the Russian Government that will not allow Cruise Ships to leave their port until ALL passengers have been accounted for and are onboard. If in doubt, check with the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Secondly, if you go with the ship's tour, you will be with a cast of thousands instead of just a few people. Smaller groups can move around faster and see more than those that select the ship's tour. We cruised the Baltics last year and selected

Denrus as our tour operator. After returning to the ship, many of those who took the ship's tour were greatly disappointed with the large number of passengers on their tours and didn't get to see nearly as much as those who when with private tour operators. Thirdly, the cruise ship charges a much higher price for 2 full days and they are not really full days. Be wise when selecting which way you want to experience St. Petersburg.

 

Which government? NCL will guarantee you get back to the ship; or they won't leave you stranded. The ones you mention can't. If you are an experienced cruiser, okay. But, OP sounds like she isn't all that familiar with all this.

 

[davejohn]

Something else I'd recommend is to go to CC's home page and look at the reviews for the Norwegian Dream from last summer. Granted, she's a different ship than you'll be on, but the Baltic shore excursions will be reviewed, which you might find helpful. Our review is at this link: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=32583 Have a great time. My wife and I are already trying to figure when we can get back to the Baltic.

 

Very interesting review. I noted your comment on the camera charges in St. Petersburg. I wonder if others who had been on St. Petersburg tours also experienced these charges ($5 per camera to take pics in museums, etc.) or your guide was just making a little "extra"?

[sjbdtz]

Very interesting review. I noted your comment on the camera charges in St. Petersburg. I wonder if others who had been on St. Petersburg tours also experienced these charges ($5 per camera to take pics in museums, etc.) or your guide was just making a little "extra"?

 

 

Camera charges are clearly posted on signs.

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

Very interesting review. I noted your comment on the camera charges in St. Petersburg. I wonder if others who had been on St. Petersburg tours also experienced these charges ($5 per camera to take pics in museums, etc.) or your guide was just making a little "extra"?

 

Your guide and driver are very professional and are looking forward to tips so likely wouldn't risk a very bad tip on making $5 "extra".

[SomeBeach]

I highly recommend DenRus for a tour operator in Russia. Via their website you can make your selections as to what you would like to see. They are very professional, have clean transportation, and English speaking guides. They also handle your visa requirements.

If, as I did, you have 2 days in Russia, I believe you will see much more than using a ships tour. Mine came about because of folks I met on the Roll Call. Nine of us got together and picked various places we wanted to see. This worked out very nice. The only thing they wanted to do that I did not was the subway. I remained with the driver at the pick up point. I was asked to stay next to our van but I did kind of wander towards some businesses to window shop, always making sure the driver could see me.

Most of the churches I found to be museums. Having attended Eastern Orthodox churches all my life (Serbian and Russian) I wanted to see a real working church. I had seen one on the way to Peterhof and asked if it would be possible to stop there as it wasn't on our itinerary. Our guide allowed me a 10 minute stop and I hurried in, said a prayer, lit a candle for my recently deceased FIL, made a donation, met the priest, and left. Very kind of her to allow me that experience.

As others have said, Peterhof is a must see, as is Catherines Palace. At the Hermitage, make sure you don't lean against or touch anything, the *watchers* will get you, as one person in our group found out! ;) :p

[Carnac767]

Who you chose to do your excursions with is a matter of personal preference and experience. We would have been hard pressed to see anymore than we did on the two different excursions we booked with NCL. As to cast of thousands, that's maybe a slight exaggeration. The most we had in any group was 25. Were the places we visited crowded? You bet. There were tourists there from our ship, the other cruise ships, tourists with private tour groups, tourists on their own, etc. We didn't use NCL excursions on all of cruise stops but the ones we used in Russia were first rate.

[Coastaljen]

If you decide you are comfortable with private tours, which I am, you might look at spb-tours.com You can do private tours or one of the three on the website with Viktoria.

 

I am part of a private tour with Viktoria. We are going to see fewer buildings, but more of what I want to see. We will go to the operating Russian Orthodox Church, the local food market, Kuznechnij, a local restaurant for dinner, a boat ride, the subway, and even have tea/coffee with a local family and other places. Her husband is a photographer and has down a photo project of the family. There are five of us on the tour.

 

I am also using them for Berlin.

 

Whatever you want to see, I am sure you can find it on a cruise ship tour or with a private tour company.

[Pennsylvania Sailor]

We used Alla Tours last September. If I were doing it all over again, I would definitely use one of the three private tour operators. All three companies are extremely professional.

 

In our case, Alla covered the camera charge, but not the video camera charge, if you were using one.

 

We had a group of six for two days, a Mercedes minibus, private driver, and a private tour guide. We were into the Hermitage an hour before the ship's tours. Some of the rooms were completely empty. And, we could vary our tour as we wished.

 

No problem getting back to the ship on time - they watched that very closely.

 

What others have said about the port is very accurate. It is an industrial port and, like in most parts of the world, not in the nicest section of town.

 

Enjoy St Petersburg. :) It is an amazing experience!

[roboref]

I would also recommend Denrus, very professional and we got to quite a bit more of the city than with the NCL excursions. Advantages for Denrus,

 

1. Small 12 passenger van, didn't have to walk as far as it was able to get closer to the entrances.

 

2. Small group of 8 allowed a much easier time hearing the guide, NCL excursion of 25-40 people with a a guide who has an accent and it was almost impossible to hear in these larger groups.

 

3. Got to see more, ie, our guide took us to some of the smaller churches, a jewish synagogue, a ride on the metro, and a visit to a local grocery store.

 

4. at about $140 less per person.

[Len3]

This sounds just exactly like the tour that our group of 8 people have booked with Alla. After much research, it seems that the local tours are the way to go.

I would also recommend Denrus, very professional and we got to quite a bit more of the city than with the NCL excursions. Advantages for Denrus,

 

1. Small 12 passenger van, didn't have to walk as far as it was able to get closer to the entrances.

 

2. Small group of 8 allowed a much easier time hearing the guide, NCL excursion of 25-40 people with a a guide who has an accent and it was almost impossible to hear in these larger groups.

 

3. Got to see more, ie, our guide took us to some of the smaller churches, a jewish synagogue, a ride on the metro, and a visit to a local grocery store.

 

4. at about $140 less per person.

 

[travelscot]

Lots of info from you guys to my query about shore excursions in St Petersburg (yes Russia not Florida!) Thanks a bunch.

 

We will not try the Visa route but just go with NCL even althoug the different tour companies may allow for more choices.