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Recent travel on Princess line to Baltic area
Hoping that someone has gone on a Princess Baltic/Russian cruise in the past year. We are considering a cruise in June 2020, and would like recent opinions. The cruise we have reserved leaves from London and arrives 14 days later in Copenhagen. Excited to visit St. Petersburg for 2 days. Were you pleased with the various ports and their sights? Would you recommend this cruise? We are thinking of flying to France for an add on time! Any recent cruisers out there? Thanks |
Not really recent, but still doesn't stop me to say that the Baltic cruise is an excellent choice! There are so many different ports and they all have their own magic.
We did Copenhagen, Oslo, Talinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Warnemunde, and we would go back as many times as we can :) |
We did this cruise in 2007 but friends of ours cruised there on the Regal or Royal, not sure which, last month. They loved it as did we. It’s a great cruise though port intensive so port days can be very long. However the sights are amazing and SPB is the crown stop. So yes go! June is the best month too because of white nights. |
My thanks! |
My pleasure. Enjoy it. its a great cruise. :ok:
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I just returned from a Baltic cruise last week but not with Princess. I know Princess is very popular for the Baltic. I had a few unsatisfactory experiences with Princess years ago and haven’t gone back. I have come to like smaller ships over the years and also wanted 3 days in St Petersburg because there is so much to see. I found a great sale on Silversea and was happy with it. It’s an incredible part of the world to see. We had a lecturer on board who told us that in St Petersburg you should see at least one palace, one church & the Hermitage. Then whatever else you have time for, keep adding in. My favorites were the Peterhof gardens, Catherine’s palace, Church of the Spilled Blood & St. Isaac’s Church. I did not do an evening event and was glad I didn’t because I was exhausted from the long touring days, but if I had 2 days in SPB then I would probably do an evening event as well just to have maximum time there. |
Hi,
We are about to start our first Princess cruise onboard the Regal. Embarking on Aug 6 in Copenhagen... cant wait. It is also our first time going to the Baltic and oh my, so much to see. I can give you some more info once we come back if you like? |
Thanks! I look forward to hearing about your trip. Enjoy 😊 |
BTW many people including some Fodors members have used private Russian tours guides for SPB. By using them or the ships tour your need fora Russian visa is met and from my understanding some of the Russian guides are great. Typically the cost is less, you can tailor your tours better and the number of people they have per vehicle is less too so its worthwhile to look into. Our friends did one day touring and spent one night at the Russian ballet. Just a thought.
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We are back home and wow, St Petersburg did not disappoint. We saw so many sights, Hermitage, St Peterhof, Catharine palace, Church of spilled blood… And at night we went to the ballet, fantastic!
In Warnemunde we opted to go to Berlin, I thought we should go there at least once in a lifetime. Stockholm we did a tour to the Vasa Museum, I didn’t expect too much, not really into ships. (Unless it’s a cruise ship) but a must-go-to place. Oh my so many things we have seen. In most of our ports of call, we decided to use local tour operators to organize more private tours. (Cause the price difference is not that much different than the Princess tours) So this way we could see what we wanted in our speed. And not be waiting all the time in those big tours groups for those few people who are a bit slower or need to use the bathroom all the time. And after reading a lot of good comments online, we contacted Anastasia Travel. What a difference that made. Katharina helped us create the perfect tour. She was also helpful in answering all the questions I had. Even making good suggestions. And you know what the best part was? Because we took several tours in different cities, we had a little discount (I am a sucker for discounts). You will not regret doing this cruise and we will definitely go back. |
Many thanks for your reply. We are fans of local tours, so really good to hear about Anastasia Travel.. I will be checking it out! We, like you, enjoy personal tours, not hordes from the ship traveling on a bus. The local tours are often more expensive when private, but you get what you pay for is our motto. Again, thank you.�� |
When we were in SPB we chose to do the full two day tour through Princess which was around $350.00 pp. Denrus which is also another Russian co. did the same for around $280.00 but our traveling companions were leery of any Russian co. so we went with the ships tour.
Another Russian co. I've heard great things about is Alla. |
👌 Thanks
Great to hear from you! Good to hear you had a good trip. Thanks for current information! |
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We were on this cruise 3 years ago. It was one of the best things we have ever done. We opted to go with St. Petersburg Tours, and used their services in every port save Copenhagen and Tallinn. https://www.spb-tours.com/. They were outstanding in every city, but most especially in St. Petersburg. They handle obtaining the visa. There was a group of about 25 of us from the Regal Princess on these tours, and we bonded instantly. If you have not seen Berlin, do not be discouraged by the length of time to get there from Warnemunde. Again with SPB Tours, we rode in a luxurious Mercedes van and had time to see a number of sights, most notably the Holocaust Memorial, as well as a relaxing biergarten lunch.
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Baltic area travel
Thank you! Will check into SPT! 😃 |
We’ve cruised the Baltic with Princess twice and been very happy. You should look at cruisecritic.com, you’ll find plenty of reviews on the ports, tours, etc.. Think about spending a few days in Copenhagen before you fly home; it’s a friendly, walkable city. |
Came back to tell you not to miss this, if you have the opportunity. https://fabergemuseum.ru/
We took this optional excursion after a day of sightseeing, and so glad that we did. We had dinner in a decidedly non-tourist restaurant and loved it. Then the museum. The Eggs are an artistic treasure. Trust me here, you will love it. |
We've done the Baltic cruise and very much enjoyed it. Copenhagen and Stockholm are especially worth seeing. Do the excursion in St. Petersburg- it saves you from having to pay for expensive visas, and they take you to all the "must see" sites. I've been back to St. Pete since, and it's much nicer when you're not being herded through the tourist sites, but you really do need to go to them the first time.
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Originally Posted by Momburd
(Post 16973753)
Many thanks for your reply. We are fans of local tours, so really good to hear about Anastasia Travel.. I will be checking it out! We, like you, enjoy personal tours, not hordes from the ship traveling on a bus. The local tours are often more expensive when private, but you get what you pay for is our motto. Again, thank you.�� |
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