Has anyone done one of the private car excursions on the Jewel of the Seas in St. Petersburg? We can only do this if we book it on the ship and want to know if the driver/guides are flexible as far as the itinerary goes. If we have an itinerary that includes shopping and we're done early and have the time left would they let us do another attraction (cathedral, garden) even if it was not part of the original itinerary if we paid the admission? Would also like to know if anyone has done the Rivers & Canal Tour and if you could tell us why it is "strenous" activity level? Thanks!
Jewel of the Seas - St. Petersburg Excursions
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You might want to check out www.cruisecritic.com
There is a wealth of info there about all cruises, ports, what to do, how to do it, etc. And if you go to the 'roll call' section you can find others on your exact cruise...same ship, same date of sailing.
Look into private tours in St Petersburg instead of using the ship's tours. You will get more bang for your buck.
Hope this helps...
We used Red October to tour St. Petersburg and had two wonderful days. It was cheaper than using the ship's shore excursions and they were very willing to tailor the tour to our interests.
It seems to me that you can always do better by arranging a private tour. It takes a bit of internet work, but it's worth it. You already have a recommendation. You need to check references a bit, but there is plenty of help out there.
There was a recent thread on St. Petersburg excursions.
I think those of us that have been there with a cruise will tell you to explore the options for a private guide.
Denrus (which we used), Alla (sp?), and Red October are the three most named.
With cruised with Celebrity and found the cost of DenRus for a two day tour of St. Petersburg, for four, to be less than what Celebrity wanted for a one-day private guide.
Good luck.
Agree with Ryan. We took a Princess sponsored tour only because our traveling companions preferred it but Denrus was less and covered the same itinerary and did so with a smaller group. The three Ryan mentioned have consistently received good reviews here. BTW we will be cruising with X for the 1st time in Oct. and I can't believe what they are charging for tours. I found private tours for Israel to be about $550.00-600.00 per day for 2-3 people. X wants $1400.00 per person!
We used Alla tours for two days in St. Petersburg. I would use them again. They are significantly cheaper than the ship sponsored tours plus you travel in smaller vans so you move much faster than the sixty passenger busses (especially loading and unloading).
One thing to consider also. We traveled with ten people. At Catherine's palace under six don't have to wait in line. We did well but were passed by many smaller tours there.
I can't recall what they called our tour, some type of complete two day tour. There was a choice of comfort level, moderate level or, the one we took, a fast moving tour. The complaint others in our group had was no stop for lunch. I didn't mind because I'm happy skipping lunch to see sites - we packed some sandwiches and snacks from the boat (we always pack extra ziplock bags) and were fine.
check out my blog, I list tons of details, Non ship excursions is the way to go.
cruisinbob
Use SPB. Viktoria, the owner, is wonderful and put together a tour specific to my family's needs. Also, I think they are the only ones who have early entrance to the Hermatage. We went in and no one was there. Such a treat to avoid the crowds and have real time to enjoy this marvel. If you go with Viktoria, ask for Helen. She was so good and knew so much. Good luck.