St. Petersburg

[josper]

My wife & I, after 15 cruises all with HAL, will be on the Regatta (Stockholm to London - Jul 2/08.

Has anyone had experience with DenRus Tours for excursions in St. Petersburg?

 

Josper

[pondnana]

I suggest you go to the Roll call for Regatta for the date of your cruise. You will find others who are going on the same cruise.

[Andee]

We communicated with both DenRus and Red Ocotber when we were stopping in St. Petersburg. When we asked to have the "standard" itinerary modifed slightly to accommodate our interests, RO was wonderful, but DenRus became difficult and downright snippy. We were extremely happy with the two days we spent with RO.

[shoshona2]

Hi Josper,

 

We also used Red October and loved our tours. Since you are new on CC, I strongly suggest you hit on "Boards" and scroll down to "Ports of Call". Hit on Baltic Ports and you will see hundreds of answers to your St. Petersburg questions.

 

Sheila

[shoshona2]

Hi Josper,

 

I meant to tell you to hit on "Europe" -- then three different areas of Europe come up. Then hit on "Baltics".

 

Sheila

[SteveS]

We used RO twice and were very happy.

[California Native]

Hello!

 

 

I have used Red October on my 3 Baltic cruises with Excellent results.

The 1st two times it was with a group of 10, that I used our roll call to set up. Last year we did

a tour just the 2 of us. It was worth every single

hard earned penny!

 

If you would like to see our 2 day itinerary with them for last year

I have posted it on our personal travel website

 

The 1st link will take you to the home page

go into St. Petersburg to view pictures and

the 2 day Red October itinerary.

You will also see links to pictures of the others ports

you might be visiting.

 

The 2nd link will take you to Baltic Port Information

There is Tips, our Things to do Check lists for each port, etc

 

If you would like to learn about Russian Vodka,

go into the journal and then

Something to quench your thirst.

 

Enjoy roaming around the rest of our website for other info...

 

 

http://when.do.we.leave.googlepages.com/

 

 

http://when.do.we.leave.googlepages.com/balticcruiseportinformation

[KHEC]

My wife & I, after 15 cruises all with HAL, will be on the Regatta (Stockholm to London - Jul 2/08.

Has anyone had experience with DenRus Tours for excursions in St. Petersburg?

 

Josper

 

No, I have not but our travel agent recommended we use Red October. We are on the same cruise Jul 2/08 and have put together a private 3 day tour of St. Petersburg with them. We are looking for another couple to join us. If you would like more information about the tour let me know. KHEC

[NVCLVR]

Josper: We've been on 2 Baltic Cruises in the past 3 yrs and this past summer used DenRus. Just the 2 of us...Denrus was wonderful at accomodating exactly what we wanted to do...customized our tour. We had already been on the "Grand" tour in 2005 and wanted a day to shop at "real" stores (not just the touristy-catering-to-cruise-ship-passenger vendors) for furs, jewelry and porcelain. We also wanted to see other parts of the Hermitage, have lunch at a nice local restaurant and see some of the sights we missed before. They accomodated us nicely..in an air conditioned Mercedes, with a guide and driver and supplied (on-line) us w/the "tickets"..which were our visas. The cost for just the 2 of us was quite reasonable...much less than quoted above w/Red October. We had the same experience w/Red October (as the previous poster had w/Denrus)..snippy and not willing to accomodate us w/a custom tour, whereas DenRus was very cordial and accomodating with us. I understand Alla will also offer some unique tours and a reasonable price. We're planning on our 3rd trip to the Baltic...in 2009, on Oceania (prev. went on Princess)..particularly for the 3 dys in St. Petersburg.....we will, most certainly again, engage DenRus for our "running around" & spending frenzy!

[lovecruisingtoo]

NVCLVR, when are you going to the Baltic? We are scheduled for the August cruise Stockholm to Dover.

 

Thanks for the great information on DenRus. Since we are in St. Petersburg for 3 days, we were thinking of 2 days doing the typical tour and then one day of shopping. Glad to hear that DenRus was willing to accommodate your requests. How far ahead did you start working with them?

[NVCLVR]

Hi...we're planning earlier in the Summer 2009--haven't booked, as yet, but looking at June/early July. Previously, I started planning and contacting DenRus, I believe, in the Fall....for early June cruise. I'll go thru my old e-mails and find my contacts for you. As I said...they were most accomodating and very timely in responding to my e-mails. I think I had better luck handling everything via e-mail (paper trail!), then from what I heard from others who contacted via phone. We, too, plan on combining ship tours w/pvt tour. By the way...I highly recommend the evening tour Oceania offers: "Imperial Evening at the Catherine Palace" (don't remember what Oceania calls it, but similar to Princess' tour)...its pricy...but worth every penny...truely a highlight of the cruise.."once in a lifetime" experience ('cept we plan on repeating it!.."twice in a lifetime"!!).

I'll get back to you w/the DenRus site.

K

[stanjune]

No, I have not but our travel agent recommended we use Red October. We are on the same cruise Jul 2/08 and have put together a private 3 day tour of St. Petersburg with them. We are looking for another couple to join us. If you would like more information about the tour let me know. KHEC

 

my wife and will be going on the same regatta cruise 2/7/08.

what sort of info have you gleaned about touring in St Petersburg with either Red October or Denrus.

 

Stanjun

[NVCLVR]

lovecruisingtoo: the denrus site is denrus.ru (I corresponded w/Olga Pobal and she was great & had much better luck dealing directly w/the Russian office/site). also..Alla will customize tours and I understand they're also very good. alla-tour.com - I received some excellent quotes from her, as well. And..in checking my old e-mails, I found I actually started contacting in February prior to our June trip (I had started in the Fall w/some other port arrangements, like hotels, drivers, etc).

Good luck...and remember, if you stay w/either ship-sponsored or pvt tours, you don't need to get a separate visa...they provide the documentation you need. If you want to leave the ship and stroll around on your own, you need to apply for a Russian visa.

[DrJW]

We are booked on the Regatta for the 6-1-09 sailing...is that the one you are considering? Leaning towards Alla for St. Petersburg. Do you have any more specific info as to the "Imperial Evening at the Catherine Palace" What does this consist of? We are booked for Deck 8 [thats what they simply called it whem it was the Renaissance]..now it is the PENTHOUSE SUITES!! :<) Are you also planning to stay in Stockholm a day or two prior to sailing? What hotel are you considering? Last question...what means of transportation are you considering from Dover back to Heathrow?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

DrJW

[NVCLVR]

DrJW: Actually, we're looking at the 6/29/09 sailing & in A1 or A2 category. First..Heathrow to Dover..we'll probably use the same car service we used this past summer..took 2 cruises and needed transfer frm Heathrow to Southampton. Used Woodford Chauffeur svc. woodfordchauffeurcars.co.uk I found them on the CC boards and they were terrific. Driver waiting at baggage w/placard..the works. Also..they will provide side sightseeing trips (took us to Winsor..on the way) for a nominal additional fee. We found it a reasonable way to transfer, considering we didn't have to hastle w/the luggage, rode in comfort w/a delightful, informative & knowledgable driver. "Cheryl" is the person who answers the e-mails so very promptly & will handle all the arrangements. Re: Stockholm...yes, we plan to stay 2-3 days. Have been there 2x already but there's just so much more we want to see. Looking at a real splurge..The Grand Hotel (have been there for their wonderful lunch smorgasboard)..also, checking out some others, nearby..plus there's a boutique hotel in Gamla Stan that has pique'd our interest. Lastly..."O" calls the excursion "Grand Imperial Evening of the Tsars" (Princess' name for the tour was "Imperial Evening @Catherine Palace". From the description, its essentially the same. We're excited to do "O"'s tour because will probably be a smaller group. They bus you out to Pushkin to the Catherine Palace (amazing place!)..depending on traffic, about 1-1.2 hr ride. You go thru the carriage house..then enter the Palace from the "front door" (day tours go thru the courtyard entrance..I call the "back door"). There's a band to play for your entrance. Then you put on some booties (free floor polishing for the Russians!) and go up stairs thru several beautiful rooms..most have a musician..in period dress..harpisordist, flautist, violinist in each room and they play a little piece for you. The amber room is breathtaking and you get to take photos..which is "verbotten" during day tours. Then there's a champagne reception in the Grand Ballroom, where "Catherine the Great" greets you...you are her "diplomatic guests"..some dancers and entertainment. Then down to the courtyard for more musical entertainment, dancing and pagentry...then off to dinner w/lots of vodka,wine and great food and singers and more entertainment. Then..bus ride back to the ship...arriving around 11pm/midnight. A wonderful evening....not to be missed (we'll be going...again!):)

K

[DrJW]

So sorry you won't be sailing with us! Thank you for the information!

 

Jack

[ljn743]

We are sailing on Regatta 2nd July 2008. We have already been on Pacific Princess, an identical ship even down to all the furnishings (both formerly Rennaisance, who went bust). Did Alaska last year. Always swore we were sailors and not cruisers, but here we are again!

Have been making enquiries with Denrus and Red October. So far Red October have been very helpful and the more responsive. have read many good reports. We are close to booking a three day tour with RO, we did the research of the tour opportunities and gave them a wish list. They responsded by return and we are making minor mods.

We also obtained the tentative schedule of the Oceania excursions, this is not in the brochure or confirmation pack (unlike Princess who gave very comprehensive info). They indicate that the Grand Imperial Evening is on Sunday 6th. Other posts say this is worth every penny. It is not offered by Denrus or RO.

Our proposed schedule includes minimal shopping (maybe none) and maximum photo opportunities. Day 2 with RO ends in time to return and change for the Grand Imperial Evening.

At the moment the RO tour is quite expensive at approx USD 900 each for a party of 2. I have asked for 4 and 6 pax prices. If you are interested please email me at leighton.nowell@tiscali.co.uk

We are in our early 60's, retired but very active. We live in South Bucks.

 

Regards