For our July cruise (RSSC), I'd love to hear input on which tours folks particularly liked in St Petersburg, and also which ones people perhaps did not so much enjoy.

Would be interested in same for other Baltic ports also.

Thanks an awful lot.

Hermitage and Petergoff in St Petersburg. The only thing you may not like about is too little time.

We went with Red October, rather than the ship's shore excursion, and they were very willing to adapt their "standard" two day tour to our interests.

We surfed the web and read several guide books to figure out exactly what we wanted to see.

Red October is the best. Since we had only two days in St. Petersburg, we made arrangements with RO for a guide and driver (Mercedes auto) for just the two of us. It was expensive (and not something we would do in many cities) but, we were able to accomplish so much in the two days. We worked out our itinerary and communicated often with RO re the details. In the evening, we attended a concert and the driver was right there to get us back to the ship. The guide was excellent (a professor) whose English was very good.

Besides what's already been mentioned, we saw an local evening Folkloric show at a theater that was a highlight... Lots of talented singers, dancers and acrobats.

dkrom96 and traveller333,

You both mentioned evening concerts or shows. Could you tell me more about which ones you saw and the name of the concert hall or the place where they were? I am trying to decide between several evening options in August.

I keep seeing good feedback on the folkloric shows but there are 2 major ones. One is at the Hotel Pulkovskaya in an air conditioned modern theater. The other is in Nikolaevsky Palace, which is not air conditioned, but has beautiful old architecture.

Do you know which one is supposed to be better? Also any other information about ballets or evening canal rides would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Ginny

What sailing are you on? We are on July 2 and looking for a couple to share a private excursion. If you are interested, I will give you my email address and we can share details. Cost for two couples (each) will be just under what we would spend with cruise line.