Viking River Cruise - St Petersburg Landing address

[Karanja]

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We are arriving at St. Petersburg's Finland Railway Station from Helsinki on August 10th.

 

Do anyone know exactly where the Viking River Cruise riverboat dock and how far it is from the station?

 

Thank you in advance.

Ted

[petef]

We took the reverse trip 2 years ago. (ie: St Peterburg landing to St Petersburg railroad station). It was a short cab ride and not expensive, though I don't recall the details.

 

More importantly, there were 3 trains. The Sibelius (Finnish) train was the best. The other two were Russian. The border crossing was fascinating with woods on the Russian side, a shaved area with a guard tower and then prosperous farmland on the Finnish side.

 

And of course there is a crew change at the border.

[Karanja]

We took the reverse trip 2 years ago. (ie: St Peterburg landing to St Petersburg railroad station). It was a short cab ride and not expensive, though I don't recall the details.

 

More importantly, there were 3 trains. The Sibelius (Finnish) train was the best. The other two were Russian. The border crossing was fascinating with woods on the Russian side, a shaved area with a guard tower and then prosperous farmland on the Finnish side.

 

And of course there is a crew change at the border.

 

Petef

Thank you for the response.

 

There are now two daily trains (one Finnish/one Russian), and the one I can catch (Russian) from Helsinki arrives at St. Petersburg at 2251, and it's the time of night that makes me nervous about negotiating a Russian cab. I am not normally timid about these situations as I live in New York, and I have ridden Russian trains from Simferopol to Moscow; Moscow-Riga; and Moscow-Warsaw.

 

Ted

[petef]

Interesting problem. When we went from the landing to the railroad station, Viking called us a cab and it was mid-day. So it never occurred to me to be concerned. Guess what, we even had a Russian cab driver, just like in New York, hah!

 

I am not sure what to suggest or even what alternatives you have.

 

When do you go? I would to hear how it works out. I often make my own arrangements as you seem to do since "exploration" is part of the thrill of travel. Maybe someone else has an idea. Overall, it seemed to me that St. Petersburg was very western and seemed safe.

 

Regards

 

Pete

[Karanja]

Interesting problem. When we went from the landing to the railroad station, Viking called us a cab and it was mid-day. So it never occurred to me to be concerned. Guess what, we even had a Russian cab driver, just like in New York, hah!

 

I am not sure what to suggest or even what alternatives you have.

 

When do you go? I would to hear how it works out. I often make my own arrangements as you seem to do since "exploration" is part of the thrill of travel. Maybe someone else has an idea. Overall, it seemed to me that St. Petersburg was very western and seemed safe.

 

Regards

 

Pete

 

Pete

I live in New York so I am not concerned about safety. I am concerned about arriving at the Finland Station at 2251 (August 10) and being in the clutches of Russian cab drivers about how much it will cost to get to the riverboat landing. If the train is at all late we are talking about midnight. Flying from Helsinki is the dull way, and I like trains, and after all that is the way and the station where Lenin arrived!

Ted

[janetcbl]

I have just returned from the trip (it was fantastic!), but the dock where the ship lands is far from the Finland Station. I would suggest contacting Viking River Cruises and having them arrange this transfer for you. I know they made arrangements for transferring individuals from the ship to the station (I did the reverse direction). Taxis are an "iffy" proposition in St. Petersburg at best and traffic is terrible. Enjoy your trip! It is a terific experience.

[Karanja]

I have just returned from the trip (it was fantastic!), but the dock where the ship lands is far from the Finland Station. I would suggest contacting Viking River Cruises and having them arrange this transfer for you. I know they made arrangements for transferring individuals from the ship to the station (I did the reverse direction). Taxis are an "iffy" proposition in St. Petersburg at best and traffic is terrible. Enjoy your trip! It is a terific experience.

 

++++

 

I have asked Viking again if they would arrange a pick up from Finland Station, St Petersburg that we would happily pay for as they say that transfers are only arranged from the airport.

 

We have decided to take the train "Repin" at 1700 from Helsinki arriving St. Petersburg at 2251. We cannot make the morning train from Helsinki.

 

The difference is fare is 270 euros one way by air vs 44 euros by train! That is each, so times two it is a huge difference. And we like trains.

[ileina makai]

Hi,

I am booking a cruise today on Viking Peterof for September 27. My friend cruised with Viking last year, but cannot find her member number for the referral credit. Would anyone be able to provide one for me? My e-mail is: thepresence98 at yahoo dot com. Please reference Viking.

 

Anyone else going on that cruise?

Elaine

[DMommyP]

We are thinking about booking this trip but on the Oct 9th date. I have just started looking at Cruise Critic and haven't yet been able to find any info on Viking River Cruises. Does anyone have any ideas where I should be looking? Thanks!

[ileina makai]

DMommyP,

This is the only site I've been able to find. I did manage to get my friend's member number. Now I have to figure out when to apply for the visa. I'm doing another cruise from 07/24 - 08/29, and leave for the Russia cruise on 09/25. I was told that I cannot apply before 90 days and need at least 30 days for processing. Anyone have a recommendation?

 

Elaine

[cdhdeh]

Not the question you asked but want to advise that if you have any problem with the food it would be wise to speak to the dining manager. Ours was extremely disappointing in quality and temperature and in hindsight we all should have brought up the problem with the management instead of assuming that was all they were capable of.

[dennyls798]

My wife and I did the Viking Russian cruise last year. The food was generally good to very good in quality, but the portion size was modest at best. There was always an option of steak, chicken, or some other entree. The steaks were very good and cooked per order. BTW, the optional Vodka tasting party was a blast (and I'm not a huge drinker). Overall we were extremely impressed with Viking and are now in the process of booking a Viking China tour.

[Karanja]

DMommyP,

This is the only site I've been able to find. I did manage to get my friend's member number. Now I have to figure out when to apply for the visa. I'm doing another cruise from 07/24 - 08/29, and leave for the Russia cruise on 09/25. I was told that I cannot apply before 90 days and need at least 30 days for processing. Anyone have a recommendation?

 

Elaine

 

I applied for my Russian visa yesterday (6/22) through Zierer Visa Service in New York, and the visa will be ready by July 16. You have to get an invitation letter from the travel company first, and that took just four days, though it can take up to two weeks. It arrived via e-mail in Russian and you need to carefully check all the information (numbers/dates) before attaching it to the visa application. The latter is lengthy and detailed, so we filled out a sample one first then copied the information onto the one we submitted.

 

The service is not cheap, neither is the visa fee, so you want to allow enough time not to have to pay even more for rush. While the Russian consulate is just up the street, I was advised to make things simpler by paying for the professional service.

Ted

[cdhrdh]

Interesting that previous poster had very good food on Viking ship. Ours was also last year and I guess we were unlucky as the food was poor, maybe the chef was the problem, not the cruise line. It was not the quantity that was the problem. They warned us not to order the steak (which was always an option) as it was well done and not tender. Beef stroganof with significant gristle was the first dinner. We greatly regret not talking to the appropriate staff about the problem which was an almost universal experience. Breakfast cooked to order was great.

[ileina makai]

I am leaving on Saturday for the cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Would you recommend bringing some rubles? Also, it looks like I have a lot of time in Moscow. Any recommendations on what to do?

Thanks,

Elaine

[Karanja]

I am leaving on Saturday for the cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Would you recommend bringing some rubles? Also, it looks like I have a lot of time in Moscow. Any recommendations on what to do?

Thanks,

Elaine

 

Rubles - yes.

 

There is no exchange on board as it is not allowed. However, there was a currency exchange just up the slope from the gangway. ATMs exist in St. Petersburg, including my New York bank.

 

Moscow - The first period of free time is about 90 minutes following an introduction to Red Square, and the second is a full day, when we lected not to take the optional extra cost excursions.

 

We loved going in on our own - dead easy via the Metro. The guide can point out where the stop is located, a 15-minute walk from the River Station. I had last been to Moscow in 1963! and I can still read the cyrllic alphabet which helps a lot.

 

Our first stop was State Tretyakov Gallery with a fantastic collection of Byzantine and Russian icons, then we walked back across the Moscow River and into some of the neighborhoods not far from the Kremlin and had lunch at a bistro. I can be more detailed if you are a walker and want to do something like this. We loved loved our day, and I ended up liking Moscow as much as St. Petersburg.

[ileina makai]

Ted,

Thanks for the information. I printed out the Russian alphabet to take with me. I hope that will help.

 

Were there many changes since your trip in the 60's?

 

I would love to just walk around during any free time. I walk slowly and am what you might call a "plugger". I would love more details. I will be travelling by myself for the first time, and I'm a little nervous about it. I wouldn't mind exploring small ports by myself, but the big cities are more intimidating to me. The only optional tour I might take would be the canals in St. Petersburg; a friend recommended going to Peterhof Palace, but since I live on a boat, I might head for the water. Did you walk around St. Petersburg, too?

 

I really appreciate anything you'd like to share. You can email me at: thepresence98 at yahoo dot com.

 

By the way, do you have a relative named Jim Scull in San Diego?

 

Elaine

[Karanja]

Ted,

Thanks for the information. I printed out the Russian alphabet to take with me. I hope that will help.

 

Were there many changes since your trip in the 60's?

 

I would love to just walk around during any free time. I walk slowly and am what you might call a "plugger". I would love more details. I will be travelling by myself for the first time, and I'm a little nervous about it. I wouldn't mind exploring small ports by myself, but the big cities are more intimidating to me. The only optional tour I might take would be the canals in St. Petersburg; a friend recommended going to Peterhof Palace, but since I live on a boat, I might head for the water. Did you walk around St. Petersburg, too?

 

I really appreciate anything you'd like to share. You can email me at: thepresence98 at yahoo dot com.

 

By the way, do you have a relative named Jim Scull in San Diego?

 

Elaine

 

Elaine

Maybe you will meet someone aboard to do some independent touring.

 

Yes, we spent a day on our own in St, Petersburg, taking the metro to Nevsky Prospekt and walking this glorious boulevard. The Kazan Cathedral was wonderful as was a corner bookstore in the old Singer building. We did quite a lot more on foot but perhaps more than you wish to do. For a water lover, there are canal walks and promenades along the Neva.

 

Scull is not a common name, but I do not know of Jim Scull. Most of the immediate family settled as Quakers in the Philadelphia area in the late 17th century.

Ted