Advice on booking tours in St. Petersburg

[Alona]

Hi we are first time cruisers and we are taking a Baltic cruise on the Queen Victoria next August. We need advice on booking tours. Is it best to do it through Cunard or try and find a private tour. If we do a private tour do we need a Visa. Any help would be appreciated.

[sbhdmh]

You will find a lot of discussion of this topic here on the CC boards. While Russia requires a Visa for entry there is a special waiver for cruise passengers who will be in the country for less than 72 hours. We have the option of using private tour companies who will cover us under their "blanket visa." This is the same waiver that allows the cruise lines to offer you tours without visas. Most people opt not to get a personal visa because of the time, trouble and expense involved in getting one. When you go ashore you will provide the Russian authorities with your passport, a copy of your passport information page, a valid tour ticket (which the tour operator will have already submitted showing that they are covering you) and the immigration form you receive on board.

 

The problem is that one particular tour company who contracts with many of the cruise lines has decided to launch a "misinformation campaign" to prevent cruise passengers from using anyone but the cruise tours. In some cases they are saying that the Russian authorities are requiring passengers on ship's tours to disembark first causing those on private tours to be delayed by up to 3 hours. In our case MSC actually denied our ability to go ashore without a private visa or being booked on a ship's tour. All summer people have been posting their stories of what it took to get themselves off their respective ships for their private tours.

 

All that being said I still believe the private tours are the way to go if you really want to see St Petersburg. The ships' tours are much more expensive and you will see only a fraction of what those of us on private tours are able to see. There is a section of CC called "Roll Calls" where you can find other passengers on your sailing who share the same interests and put together a personalized tour just for your group. On a ship's tour you will be on a 50 passenger bus being herded from place to place just long enough to take photos. In our case we had 3 families in a mini bus and saw specific sites that the ship would never make available. We literally saw more the first day than would be possible on any combination of ship's tours over the 2 days, and for much less money.

 

The most popular tour operators mentioned on CC are Denrus, Red October, Alla and Anastasia. All use the same guides. We went through a particular guide, Masha, who is setting up her own tour company while still working through the others. She provided an extremely personalized service, did some amazing research to show us some things that no one else even mentioned and was truly a mother hen watching over us the whole time. All of this at a price that was lower than the larger tour companies and a fraction of the ship's price. Her website is http://www.guide-spb-ru.com/index.html. You will find that most people are fiercly loyal to the tour companies that they chose. I think just about everyone on a private tour had a great experience. I certainly cannot say the same for the folks on our sailing who used the ship's tours.

 

Hope this answers your question. I'm sure a lot of other people will be able to add more information.

[Alona]

Hi, thank you very much for the information it is a great help.

[lalique]

Hi we are first time cruisers and we are taking a Baltic cruise on the Queen Victoria next August. We need advice on booking tours. Is it best to do it through Cunard or try and find a private tour. If we do a private tour do we need a Visa. Any help would be appreciated.

Agree with sbhdmh. You will see much more with private tour guides than you could see with ship's tours . Even if you took 2 ship's tours each day you would not see as much as with a private tour. We were a group of 6 and used Alla Tours and it was fantastic. Saw everything we wanted plus more and with private guides, you do not wait in any lines. They get you right in all the sights ahead of all the crowds. When you book with these private tour groups, they take care of getting your visa and you do not have to do anything. Get a small group and do the city with a private guide - you will see much more and do it at your own pace. Also, if you are interested in nighttime activities, Alla got us wonderful seats to see the Swan Lake Ballet one night and the Feel Yourself Russian Folkloric Show another. We did tell them we wanted to see these 2 things and they took care of getting the tickets, getting us there and bringing us back to the ship when the shows were orver.

[lalique]

Hi we are first time cruisers and we are taking a Baltic cruise on the Queen Victoria next August. We need advice on booking tours. Is it best to do it through Cunard or try and find a private tour. If we do a private tour do we need a Visa. Any help would be appreciated.

Forgot to say also that the private guides for 3 days will cost less than taking the ship's tours and you will see much more .

[PROCRUISE]

All the previous info is excellent. We traveled on HAL to The Baltic this past June. We booked a 2 day tour of St. Petersburg, for just the two of us, with Red October. The tour was extraordinary!!!!!!! We set our own itinerary because we love photography and included things like a ride on the metro and visit to farmers market.

 

We followed the Red October instructions to the tee for getting off the ship immediately and had NO problems at all with HAL.

 

Any additional info I'd be happy to give-RN_DEW@YAHOO.COM

[dlr2]

Ditto to all of the above for me. We used Anastasia and had Svetlana as our guide & Sergey as our driver. Both were excellent! I discovered CC so late in the game that we just hooked up with another couple on our Roll Call who had already selected an itinerary. A third couple rounded out our group to a party of 6. We also seemed to be able to go to the head of the line at every venue. We were very happy with everything we saw our 3 days there.

 

We were on Azamara Journey. Although they furnished a letter about the so-called "new immigration rules" requiring that ship's tours disembark first, and they separated ship tour groups from independents (by asking us to wait in different lounges so they could verify our paperwork), we just ignored them and went straight to the gangway. No one tried to stop us from getting off. And... I echo the many others who said that Russian Immigration didn't care who got off first. They checked that our paperwork was in order, stamped our passports, gave us a card that we returned at the end of the day and we were on our way. Took less than 2 minutes once we were at the window. I will say, though, that Anastasia set our meeting time for the first day as 9:30, so maybe a lot of the ship's tours had already left at that point.

 

I also agree with the post that named all the popular tour companies. I read a lot of posts from a lot of fellow CC'ers and I don't remember a single negative comment about any of them.

 

Have fun!

[NCMtnBoys]

I've been looking at some of the sites suggested, and notice that many, if not all, of the excursions are two days or longer. Our stop in St Petersburg next year while on the Vision of the Seas is just one full day, 7:00am - 10:00pm. Since it's so far out, I don't really want to email any of them yet, but does anyone know, off the top of your head or from experience, whether any of these companies do single-day excursions?

[msmoger]

I've been looking at some of the sites suggested, and notice that many, if not all, of the excursions are two days or longer. Our stop in St Petersburg next year while on the Vision of the Seas is just one full day, 7:00am - 10:00pm. Since it's so far out, I don't really want to email any of them yet, but does anyone know, off the top of your head or from experience, whether any of these companies do single-day excursions?

 

If you are booking with one of the private tour companies (e.g. Denrus, Alla, Anastasia, Red October, etc.) and you put together your own group, they will create any itinerary you want. You obviously can't see as much as you would in 2 days, but you can certainly customize the tour to hit the sites most important to you.

 

Have you checked if there's a Roll Call for your sailing? That's a great way to put a group together. You can also just book the tour for the 2 of you (or the number in your group). That will usually cost more but should still be less expensive than the ship's excursion and based on everything I've read, is a much better experience.

 

Good Luck.

[rdr525]

NC Mt Boys- You're doing the same tour/ship we are but one wk later. We're on the 8-28 sailing. Only 2 other women on my cruise have posted and both have young kids with them, so I dont think I'd be interested in ride share tours

I have inquired re: one day tour on St Petersburg -tripadvisor site. It is done since a man fr upstate NY did it and used ALLA tours and loved them. I will look into it after new yr.

[derekthesailor]

Just back today from Baltic Capitals on Norwegian Jewel. The tour of St Petersburg with SPB tours was awesome.:D

 

In spite of all the misinformation from NCL, all our tour group of 17 were off the ship and through immigration, had met up with our driver and guide and had set off in our minibus BEFORE anyone on the official tours had even started leaving the ship - on both days.

 

I've posted a diary of our cruise at http://www.derekparker.co.cc

It's a work in progress so not all the links or photos are up yet, but it's a start.

[Granny DI]

Just returned from the Baltic on the Emerald Princess. Our group of 8 used TJ Travel in St Petersburg. They were EXCELLENT...no lines, great Russian restaurants...even a private canal tour. Their website is www.travel-stpetersburg.com. Email address is traveltospb@gmail.com

Several of the guides are former exchange students. Our guide had lived in Idaho!!!

[NCMtnBoys]

NC Mt Boys- You're doing the same tour/ship we are but one wk later. We're on the 8-28 sailing. Only 2 other women on my cruise have posted and both have young kids with them, so I dont think I'd be interested in ride share tours

I have inquired re: one day tour on St Petersburg -tripadvisor site. It is done since a man fr upstate NY did it and used ALLA tours and loved them. I will look into it after new yr.

 

Yes, we're doing the 9/4/10. I have looked at various sites and bookmarked a few and will check them out the closer it gets to sailing. Tripadvisor is a great resource also. Thanks for the info about someone doing a 1-day tour using ALLA. Will keep that in mind.

[cruzisme]

we went with SPB tour company and they supplied us with Elana, an excellent tour guide who really knew all the facts etc. and she had personality too. Excellent driver Sasha.

 

Anastasia gave us a better price but not sure if that included all that we finally saw with SPB (ie subway ride, hydrofoil, plus whimsical places Elana took us to ie her favourite 'wishing' places), a local market (fresh fish, meat, cheese, honey, veggies etc.) and then a small supermarket for the vodka.

 

whichever company you choose, they will provide the group visa so no worry there. Plus you can walk off the ship and not wait for the ship's tours even tho' they even write it up in the nightly 'news sheet' that ship tours go first. The Russian officials just look at your tour ticket, passport, and then give you a red card which you return when you come back to the ship. Next day, they give you a red card again. No problems leaving the ship, no matter what Princess, HAL, or other companies tell you.:)

[TLCOhio]

The most popular tour operators mentioned on CC are Denrus, Red October, Alla and Anastasia.

 

sbhdmh summarized correctly many key points. We used Anastasia and loved both the two-day tour, but more important, the planning that led up to those days in St. Petersburg. Getting a tour that fits your personal interests and needs is very, very important. You have many options on what to see and do in St. Petersburg. Get that "FLOW" right to fit your needs. One type of plan does not fit for everyone's interests. Make sure your tour is shaped to fit your needs. You can't just grab the first offering or what others might do. Make it work for you and what you most want to do and see.

 

Do a search on this CC site, such as with the term Anastasia or the name of the other companies and get back the other various items of feed-back and suggestions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[CB Group]

We just returned from the Emerald Princess, and had also hired a private tour for four people, both days in port in Russia. I read repeated horrow stories about what went on while people who had paid for tours outside of the cruise ship attempted to get off the ship. I wasted every minute of that time worrying over nothing... Here are the facts.

 

1) Make sure you have all paperwork required. (a) Original passport (b) copy of passport © Immigration card that will be given to you on the ship. Make sure you fill out the passport information on line under documents. The immigration form you will receive from Princess is preprinted with your information. (d) The ticket for the private tour company that you hire. We used Denrus.

 

2) You will received notices in a letter, in the padder, and from the ship's employees about how all cruise paid excursions people will be required to get off the ship before those who have booked outside of the cruise company for an excursion.

NOT TRUE. THE RUSSIAN IMMIGRATION LOOKS AT THE FOUR PCS. OF PAPER I MENTION IN #1, THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHO IS WITH A PRIVATE TOUR COMPANY OR WHO IS WITH THE CRUISE TOURS UNTIL THE SEE THE 4TH PC. OF PAPER WHICH IS YOUR TICKET. PRINCESS OUTRIGHT LIED TO EVERYONE ABOUT THIS. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF PUTTING A LETTER TOGETHER TO SEND TO PRINCESS CRUISE LINES CORPORATE OFFICE.

 

3) Once the ship has cleared customs, in our case it was about 6:45 am. You can leave the ship. The only thing you are required to do for Princess Cruise lines is punch your cruise ticket in the machine as you leave. This is their record of who has departed the ship. Myself, my husband and our two friends went to deck 4, which is where the gangplank is. We did not go to the lounges as they had instructed us. We had no intentions of waiting until 9:30 to leave for a tour we arranged to begin at 7:30 am. Two people stopped us, one being the cruise director. I politely said tot he first person who stopped us, and I quote; "We have all my paperwork in order, and I am getting off the ship." We kept walking, the second person to stop us was the cruise director herself. I repeated the same statement, knowing Princess Cruise line has no right to discriminate against passengers who choose to look for a better bargain, and not use their tour company. We walked right past her and were off the ship by 6:55 am. We went through Russian immigrations who took the paperwork I listed above, returned our ticket, and passport, and the copy.

 

Second day, we had no problem at all. No one stopped us, no one asked a thing. Don't worry about it, don't be intimidated, and don't allow any Princess Cruise employee to tell you, you can not get off of the ship.

[CB Group]

Hi, Do not use the cruise tour. They are overcrowded and over priced. We were able to have a private tour in Russia for two days, four people for the price the cruise was charging for a bus full of people. We were able to pick and choose where and when we wanted to see the sights. The company we used was Denrus. Red October is also a popular one. You can use cruise critic to find other people on your cruise that are looking to do the same. I also included in my previous email to you information about problems Princess cruise lines has been known to give people in Russia who book privately. Not to say this is every cruise, or everytime, but it has been happening a lot. Cunrad may not be doing the same thing.

Have a great trip

[room with a view]

Recently back from a Baltic cruise on Jewel of the Seas . As with previous contributors we were asked to assemble in the theatre to be "escorted " from the ship.

Some passengers did - others just waited near the gangplank the first tour off was a RCI tour to Moscow ( they had a plane to catch)- the private tours were off next. On our coach were people who were first off (gangplankers!) and some who had waited in the theatre - we all left at the same time.

We booked with Denrus and were on a coach with 24 others, and found that at times it was difficult with such a large number .Reading other comments we would have preferred to book with a company that had fewer people on the tour, but we did not know that until we got onto the coach.

[Giantfan13]

Have to agree with Derek as we were on the same tour group. We just loved SPB tours. they went over and above what we expected, gave us the usual hydro foil ride plus a canal boat ride, two lunches, and an extra side trip to a Synogogue that we wished to see. Elana was our guide and she knew her stuff. When anyone got in her space, she let them know who was in charge and we benefitted form it all. We met Viktoria on the second day and she was so freindly and nice to just as her emails pictured her. . I would heartily recommend them to anyone and everyone. I understand everyone thinks their tour was the best, but as long as you were satisfied, that's all that counts. We did our research and we just found SPB to give the most for what we wanted.

[vival]

We also used Viktoria at SPB Tours and would highly recommend her company. We had a three day tour just for the two of us with Elena as our guide/driver. She was great and had a fantastic knowledge of St P. We also met Viktoria on the second day. I think she likes to met all her groups since she has built up a relationship with them in the months prior to cruising.

[gdayhoff]

Agree with Vival and Giantfan 13 comments.We also used SPB-Tours in July.Our guide was Elena Skidan who was outstanding.She was very good.Communicated with our 15 year old granddaughter very well.Viktoria of SPB is a joy to work with and she also met us on both the 1st and 2nd day.After about the second e-mail from her she has the knack of making you feel like you have known her all your life.We booked with her last Nov.and received a Xmas card from her.It's the little things.

On our first visit to St Pete a few years old we used Red October.We had a good guide and a good tour but I would still take Elena and SPB.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the top 5-6 tour agencies in St Pete.Just about all the comments on Cruise Critic has been favorable on them.I think if you go with the one you are most comfortable with you will have a good tour.

[Sanbelle]

Recently back from a cruise to the Baltics. I was on the Rotterdam we used Anastasia for our tour in St Petersburg. Our tour guide was Olga she did a fantastic job we enjoyed both days. Our group consisted of 10. We did not do the hydrofoil but instead went on the metro it truly is amazing. Had lunch at a restaurant called 1913 it was delicious, this was a restaurant suggested by Anastasia. We had no problem getting off the ship the only difference was the ship booked tour had 3 windows open for immigration and the independant groups had only 1. But because we were such a small group we still pulled out of the parking lot before the bus loads. This was a very exhausting 2 days but I am glad we did this tour. There is so much history here.

[memawree]

As we have just returned from our RCCL, JOS Baltic cruise, I too would like to add my two cents to the praises of SPB tours. Viktoria can plan with you anything you are wanting to see. We also had Elena and Andres as our driver in a great Mercedes van. We were eight in our party and had the best time possible in two days. Elena also insisted on pushing me around in the wheel chair so that my husband could enjoy the tour. I think now is the time for anyone planning to do St. Petersburg next year to make your arrangements. Viktoria is always prompt in answering your questions, no matter how many you have or how silly you may think. She has a world of patience and will guide you in the right direction. As a handi capped person, she was able to get the proper venues for me and my group.

Marie:)

[misskef]

AGREED with above. I just got back from two days in St. Petersburg using DENRUS. We did a group tour (value tour with DENRUS) but ended up in a van with 11 others. The ship excursions were 65-100 people each bus. You can do a private custom tour for WAY less than the ship and see alot more things than the ship tour does. Our tour guide, Julia, had a masters degree in Russian History and lived in the city her whole life. We never waited on line, never sat in traffic because they knew what to do (and likely who to bribe).

 

Other companies to look at are Red October and Alla. Go with any of these biggies and they'll get you back in time each day and are legitimate

 

A few things:

 

1. COMMUNICATION: Russian tour companies get SWAMPED with requests and sometimes don't get back to you or their emails end up in spam. We ended up communicating via Skype and it worked perfectly and was free.

 

2. DON"T BELIEVE THE SHIP: We were on Holland America and they tried to convince us we couldn't leave the ship before their tours (which left an hour after ours) because Russian Immigration wanted a specific order. Let me be clear about this: IMMIGRATION DOESN"T CARE ABOUT ORDER--every person is the same to them. Wait down by the gangway and the guys there will let you off.

 

3. PLAN IN ADVANCE: The weather was cold and rainy bring a backpack with socks shoes, umbrellas, windbreaker, hat. Let you tour guide know of dietary restrictions.

[aldukenew]

As we have just returned from our RCCL, JOS Baltic cruise, I too would like to add my two cents to the praises of SPB tours. Viktoria can plan with you anything you are wanting to see. We also had Elena and Andres as our driver in a great Mercedes van. We were eight in our party and had the best time possible in two days. Elena also insisted on pushing me around in the wheel chair so that my husband could enjoy the tour. I think now is the time for anyone planning to do St. Petersburg next year to make your arrangements. Viktoria is always prompt in answering your questions, no matter how many you have or how silly you may think. She has a world of patience and will guide you in the right direction. As a handi capped person, she was able to get the proper venues for me and my group.

Marie:)

We just returned from a Baltic cruise on RCCL's Jewel of the Seas and loved every minute of it! We arranged a St. Petersburg 2-day tour for the 2 of us through Denrus and cannot praise them enough. We made the arrangements with Olga, who was extremely responsive and informative. We were able to tweak the tour to suit our needs, and continued to make minor last-minute changes during the tour. Our guide, Mikhail, a high school history teacher, and driver, Vladimir, were the best! We never waited in line, ate lunch in restaurants frequented by locals, and were able to stop to buy stamps at the post office and vodka at the liquor store! It was very apparent at our dinner table that none of our tablemates saw or learned as much we did. They were in awe. The bicycle tour of Copenhagen was great. We toured on our own in the rest of the ports.

 

Our aft cabin was amazing. We had coffee and cocktails out on the balcony every day (even in the rain). It was very peaceful, although a long walk from the elevator (thus the peace and quiet). Our tablemates were fabulous and provided us with many laughs. The only negative comment I would make is that, because of the rain and cool weather on a day or two, the ship seemed quite crowded. In the past, I haven't really been aware of the large number of people on these ships, but this time it was difficult to find a place to sit down and read. The solarium was full by 8:00 (people saving chairs) so we managed to grab seats in Lattitudes or the champagne bar on occasion.

 

All in all, it was a fantastic trip!