Need feedback - Moscow from St Petersburg

We're going to the Baltic on May 15th 2005 with Princess.

We get to St. Petersburg on a Thursday, which unfortunately may preclude our option to take a shorex to Moscow (apparently that can happen on Thursdays).
Anyway, if we do get the option, I would appreciate feed back on whether it's worth the $700.00 (?) per head to have a 17 hr day rushing around, and whether anyone who did it wishes they had stayed in St Pete. because they felt "short changed".
We really can't decide how we feel about this at the moment.

Thanks for any comments.

We were on the Constellation two years ago. There was a small group of people that went to Moscow. They had to fly on a Russian Airline and had problems with their plane. Their 17 hour excursion lasted 24 hours. They came back hungry and miserable. The cost of the excursion was $900 per person. I personally would never consider this trip. St. Petersburg will be the highlight of your Baltic cruise and will be sad not to take advantage and see the beautiful museums, churches and palaces that this offers.

Yannis

My DH originally also wanted to consider going to Moscow, but after some research, we realized that St. Petersburg is what he really wanted to see. Moscow is not condusive for tourists while St. Petersburg is more tourist-friendly. Also, there is SO much to see in St. Petersburg that even our 2-day stay on RCI's Jewel of the Seas won't cover it all.

I was one of that small group two years ago on the Constellation, and I LOVED the extra adventure! Don't let others deter you, I got my moneys worth plus a whole lot more. Also, we paid 700, not 900. I will post more later . . .

More on the group from two years ago. Celebrity and their tour partner extended our tour because there were significant airport delays due to heavy weather- they wisely chose to keep s touring rather than cooling our heels in an airport. It was fabulous! We saw so much more, and we stopped at a great hotel for cafes, and got to experience so much more of Moscow. The Celebrity guides really made it a worthwhile delay. When we finally got to the airport, there was a bomb threat on the flight we had, so we all got off the plane while it and all luggage was removed and inspected. Between the weather and the threat, we didn't land in St Petersburg until 3 am. The Celebrity's officers were lined up waiting for us, it was a receiving line, each of us personally greeted warmly with smiles, hugs, handshakes and "welcome home"s. They actually had set up an excellent HOT buffet for us, as well. We were really treated nicely. Plus we got to see the "white nights" of ST P. at 3 am! It was an exhilirating, exhausting, magical, memorable adventure. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

[cleo]

We did the Moscow trip about 4 years ago from the Constellation. Was worth every moment!!! It was a long day, but memories that will last a lifetime.

I took the tour in July / August 2003 (Holland America). Think I paid around $460. Was well worth the price. Only snag was lack of bottled water during lunch. But they did offer vodka and champagne at no charge. Since it was an all day deal, the ship served us a late diner when we got back. Personally, I'm very glad I took the tour.

[marshe]

We are goin' to the Baltics in Sept., with Princess. We are unsure what to do about St. Petersberg. Apparently you need a Visa to get of the ship, unless you take a ship's tour. But we are in port for over 24hrs. The cost of a Visa is expensive and the ship's tours don't cover the entire port time. We forsee sitting on the ship for 2 days and only venturing ashore on a ship's tour for a few hours, which is what we are trying to avoid.
Anyone have any advice or suggestions or testimonials?

Thanks in advance

[luv2cruise]

Hi Marshe,

I strongly recommend that you contact either Denrus by e-mailing OlgaT@denrus.ru or Red October Russia at rols@redoctober.spb.ru. We are sailing on another ship and have chosen Denrus for our tours because they were more flexible, but I think both companies are excellent. Web sites are http://www.denrus.ru/ and http://www.redoctober.spb.ru/RedOct800x600/index.htm. A group visa will be provided for your small tour group by hiring one of these private tour companies, and you won't need an individual visa. And the best news is that you will not be in a large group and can go where you want to go, when you want to go there and will see so much more than you will on a shore excursion.

Which Princess sailing are you on? I know of a passenger who is looking for tour mates for the September 2 Princess sailing. If you're on that one and want to join a group of 4, please feel free to e-mail me at dahillark@yahoo.com.

Have a great trip,
Donna

It's not surprising that those who went to Moscow (and didn't get stuck by poor transportation) loved Moscow and those who stayed in St. Pete loved it there too. Clearly, neither group knows what they missed in the other place.

We've been to both places for extended stays on our own that were not associated with cruises. My wife has been to Moscow more often than I have, because she's had to go on business. But we agree that as a tourist destination, St. Petersburg wins hands down. That's not to say that Moscow isn't a worthwhile destination. It's a great place to spend a day, maybe two. The Kremlin, Red Square and St. Basil's alone make it worth a trip.

But when we cruised the Baltic last year, we stayed in St. Petersburg. There was literally no discussion about it. We got a good two-day tour with Red October, and explored the never-ending wonders of this indcredible city. We revisited some fondly remembered places, and got to see some new ones as well. Even with a great guide and driver, we could have used another day or two in St. Petersburg.

The difference is that St. Petersburg is the city of the czars and of history, while Moscow is the city of the bureaucracy. Which isn't to say that Moscow stinks. It doesn't. But if you've only got two days to spend, we vote for spending them in St. Petersburg.

Thanks for your feedback everyone.
I'm not sure what we're doing yet but your contributions definitely give us some background.
If nothing else, it seems that we'll enjoy whatever we do.

[Simpsonvic]

I recently visited St.Petersburg Russia and the experience is something I'll holdon to for a lifetime