Disney Magic - July 6, 2016 Northern Europe

[DISNEY FANTASY]

There are still a lot of DCL excursions available in St. Petersburg. We actually booked a private tour with Anastasia Travel. We booked a tour from (9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.) and customized it to visit all of the places we wanted to see, It ended up be $776 for the four of us. In order for us to see everything on a DCL excursion we would have had to book two tours, and with how the excursion time frames over lapped, we were not able to book the two we really wanted. Anastasia Travel takes care of everything, even the VISA's that are required to get off the ship. I researched them and read MANY reviews off of DisBoards and they seem very reputable. We are excited, especially since it is a private tour....we actually have more flexibility to change things up if we need to.

sdivers - if you were interested in the minibuses, it might be a lot cheaper to check out Anastasia Travel.

You will have a fantastic time there, say hello to Katherine and Anastsia for me.

 

[linetbo]

Just jumping in, pardon, but I know Linetbo read my trip report from the Baltic last year, http://torussiawithmickeybars.blogspot.co.uk/ now firstly we have used Anastasia twice in 2010 and 2015 both for two full days and one evening. They are fantastic. You will see more, do more, have a great price and the CEO Anastsia does take personal interest, she met us in the port on disembarkation, and embarkation and also in the tour st places. We had a full day the first day from 8 am, ( scheduled arrival time was 9 am but we got in early, ) we stayed out the first night getting back at 9.45 pm.

We did the riverboat, we had one for our family it was great, brilliant shots, and it was cheap. Now for DCL tours if your out day and night, you will have to go back to the ship, go through immigration, meet back up then get back off. Travel time to/ from the city us another thirty minutes each way, we stayed out! We Also we the the Faberge mesuem, and a local meal, Anastsia can organise what you wish, also a night a the threate depending what time it starts, ends and ship departure time. Basically you normally email Katherine, she will do what you ask, when I emailed for a helicopter, she said yes, first one was expensive, do she found be another that's cheaper. So ask what you want, we did a lot that evening, in fact our brilliant guide is still exhausted as I personally overworked her, we went to Yousof palace where Rasputin, was, and not normally served on DCL tours.

I recall a DCL trip report in 2015 saying, " we spent 11 hours looking at the inside if a bus, we'll do not let that be you, book a private tour everyone gets a window seat and a personal guide, just look at my trip blog, do much on it, including the helicopter video links. Yes our hour long river cruise was fantastic, just my family on it, not 55 looking for outside seats, we had the bost to ourselves, it was fantastic.

The DCL tour times make it hard to do a day and a night tour, you may get thirty minutes on ship to have a snack, if you do a half day morning and then an evening it nay work, but do nit loose time, just have a day and evening out in one tour with Anastsia. Some will say you need a visa, no, Anastsia sort that out fir you, on your tickets there your border pass.

This is a wonderful city, and you want to do it justice and the very best way, concierge service but at affordable prices. I do not get any commission, not connected with them, just want you to have the best time there. A high number of DCL cruisers in 2015 and 2010 did what I recommended thry all loved it, and felt it was the jewel in the crown. Example at the hermitage, we went in a side entrance an a runner hit our tickets, no waiting like cattle outside in herded groups. If it was busy inside, we went a different route to the tour groups.

Anyway if you go say Hello to Katherine and Anastsia for me!

I will be at Anastasia tour till 7pm, I was looking for some disney excursion at night, but there is nothing.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I will be at Anastasia tour till 7pm, I was looking for some disney excursion at night, but there is nothing.

Add onto your Anastsia tour, my additional visits were quite cheap, far cheaper then DCL, just ask them, they have evening ideas on thier website, but just ask.

Faberge is great for an hour, so is a canal trip. No need to go back to the ship, pass immigration twice more and get back off.

 

[bksaffle]

Thank you so much! We have actually been in contact with Anastasia, and have also read tons of good reviews!
We have 3 families looking to share the cost of the DCL minibus, so it would be cost-effective if we can make it work...and if it's even still available...
I'm just trying to explore all options, but it's difficult without knowing the times of all the DCL excursions. Someone posted that the evening canal tour begins at 7:00...I'm wondering what else might be later in the day???
Anastasia may be the only option to do everything we would like, as we are wanting to see Peterhof, Catherine's palace, Hermitage, and Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.
Does anyone know if there's a way to do all of these with DCL?

That is funny, the areas you would like to visit are the areas we wanted to go, but I could not coordinate the DCL excursions to go everywhere. Below is our itinerary with Anastasia:

8:30-9:30 - exit ship (depends on actual port arrival time)
9:30-11:00 City Tour
11:00-12:00 Drive to Pushkin (Tzar's Village)
12:00-2:00 Catherine's Palace and Amber Room
2:00-3:00 Drive to Peterhoff
3:00-5:00 Peterhoff Fountain Park
5:00-5:30 Hydrofoil boat trip
5:45-7:45 Hermitage
8:00-8:30 Savior of the Split Blood Church
9:00 Back to the Ship

The DCL Minibus is still available. It holds up to 16 people for $2200. This cost DOES NOT include the entrance fees for any of the places you go to, so make sure you take that into consideration as well.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

That is funny, the areas you would like to visit are the areas we wanted to go, but I could not coordinate the DCL excursions to go everywhere. Below is our itinerary with Anastasia:

8:30-9:30 - exit ship (depends on actual port arrival time)
9:30-11:00 City Tour
11:00-12:00 Drive to Pushkin (Tzar's Village)
12:00-2:00 Catherine's Palace and Amber Room
2:00-3:00 Drive to Peterhoff
3:00-5:00 Peterhoff Fountain Park
5:00-5:30 Hydrofoil boat trip
5:45-7:45 Hermitage
8:00-8:30 Savior of the Split Blood Church
9:00 Back to the Ship

The DCL Minibus is still available. It holds up to 16 people for $2200. This cost DOES NOT include the entrance fees for any of the places you go to, so make sure you take that into consideration as well.

Great trip, keep an eye on when the ship docks it may give you a later time as thry try to get DCL tours through immigration first, on the quiet, but, as soon as the ship docks, for us 8.30 we went through, we're off in minutes and Anastasia herself welcomed us, she was already there, we met our guide and was off in minutes.

 

[linetbo]

That is funny, the areas you would like to visit are the areas we wanted to go, but I could not coordinate the DCL excursions to go everywhere. Below is our itinerary with Anastasia:

8:30-9:30 - exit ship (depends on actual port arrival time)
9:30-11:00 City Tour
11:00-12:00 Drive to Pushkin (Tzar's Village)
12:00-2:00 Catherine's Palace and Amber Room
2:00-3:00 Drive to Peterhoff
3:00-5:00 Peterhoff Fountain Park
5:00-5:30 Hydrofoil boat trip
5:45-7:45 Hermitage
8:00-8:30 Savior of the Split Blood Church
9:00 Back to the Ship

The DCL Minibus is still available. It holds up to 16 people for $2200. This cost DOES NOT include the entrance fees for any of the places you go to, so make sure you take that into consideration as well.

Did you got your visa already?

 

[bksaffle]

No we haven't received our VISA's yet. We sent Anastasia all of our info/passport copies, so they are working on what they call a "Blanket" Visa. My understanding is that you don't actually need VISA's anymore, but an agreement with a licensed tour operator. We should receive our final documents about a month before we leave.

I found this link that talks about Russia Visa's...good info:

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/russian-visa/for-cruise-ship-passengers/

 

[sdivers]

Our group is torn over using a non-DCL tour group. We definitely realize it is the only way to see all we want to see, but some are still nervous. We decided to go ahead and book DCL excursions when our window opens on Thursday, and then decide on Anastasia.

Can someone tell me what time the DCL Spilled Blood excursion starts?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Did you got your visa already?

No we haven't received our VISA's yet. We sent Anastasia all of our info/passport copies, so they are working on what they call a "Blanket" Visa. My understanding is that you don't actually need VISA's anymore, but an agreement with a licensed tour operator. We should receive our final documents about a month before we leave.

I found this link that talks about Russia Visa's...good info:

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/russian-visa/for-cruise-ship-passengers/

Note you do not get visa's from Anastasia, you do not need them for cruise calls under 72 hours, they take your passport details and on your final tickets you will have a stamp and authorization to go through immigration, you get a ticket per person per day for this. no visa. and no visa is required. If you cruise in June I think they will send it about 4> 6 weeks before.

Details of my trip last year with photos videos including a flight over ST Petes and navigators here. http://torussiawithmickeybars.blogspot.co.uk/

This is the ticket you get from Anastasia that is your immigration pass.



This was for two days last year, no visa is required!!!!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Our group is torn over using a non-DCL tour group. We definitely realize it is the only way to see all we want to see, but some are still nervous. We decided to go ahead and book DCL excursions when our window opens on Thursday, and then decide on Anastasia.

Can someone tell me what time the DCL Spilled Blood excursion starts?

Do contact Anastasia, it will be the best thing you do on this trip, look at my trip report see what I did in 2015 ( and 2010) with them, DCL cant match it, the price is good against DCL tours. You do more see more, you dictate your pace, ie go on quicker, stay longer, do some shopping, we had real Russian meals with the locals, we have been on the subway trains, we had a helicopter, you can do it.

DCL will have coaches of 55 going through immigration at a time, going on the bus, ( half with window seats), if your at the end of the group you may sit apart.
You can choose what you want to do in the time available. The will give you personal care, like at the hermitage we went in a back door and a runner got our tickets, no queues! No herding no whisper system. Safety wise would you like to be in a local van that can go anywhere or on a coach that has a big sign on it Disney Cruise line?

I suggest get a quote, compare to DCL, you could still book DCL online but can cancel up to 72 hours pre cruise, you will see whats better.

I understand being nervous some cruisers in 2015 were, but many booked, those who did said it was the best thing they did, no problems at all. There were many moans on DCL tours on trip reports, you can search them here.

This is what we did, far more on the trip report quoted .


http://torussiawithmickeybars.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[dcassetta]

Note you do not get visa's from Anastasia, you do not need them for cruise calls under 72 hours, they take your passport details and on your final tickets you will have a stamp and authorization to go through immigration, you get a ticket per person per day for this. no visa. and no visa is required. If you cruise in June I think they will send it about 4> 6 weeks before.

This was for two days last year, no visa is required!!!!

This is correct information with one caveat. No visa is required for Americans arriving on cruise ship, and staying less than 72 hours, as long as they are touring with a licensed Russian tour operator. This would include booking through Disney or licensed tour services like Anastasia. It is essential, if not booking through Disney, to insure your tour operator is licensed under the 72 hour visa waiver program. If you plan to tour on your own, cruise ship passengers are required to have a visa and these must be arranged ahead of time.

This information is specific for Americans - http://moscow.usembassy.gov/russian-visas.html
Other countries may have differing requirements.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

This is correct information with one caveat. No visa is required for Americans arriving on cruise ship, and staying less than 72 hours, as long as they are touring with a licensed Russian tour operator. This would include booking through Disney or licensed tour services like Anastasia. It is essential, if not booking through Disney, to insure your tour operator is licensed under the 72 hour visa waiver program. If you plan to tour on your own, cruise ship passengers are required to have a visa and these must be arranged ahead of time.

This information is specific for Americans - http://moscow.usembassy.gov/russian-visas.html
Other countries may have differing requirements.

Yes, agree. I was posting re Touring with Anastasia and not going DIY.

 

[linetbo]

Note you do not get visa's from Anastasia, you do not need them for cruise calls under 72 hours, they take your passport details and on your final tickets you will have a stamp and authorization to go through immigration, you get a ticket per person per day for this. no visa. and no visa is required. If you cruise in June I think they will send it about 4> 6 weeks before.

Details of my trip last year with photos videos including a flight over ST Petes and navigators here. http://torussiawithmickeybars.blogspot.co.uk/

This is the ticket you get from Anastasia that is your immigration pass.

View attachment 160436

This was for two days last year, no visa is required!!!!

Does disney give priority to deliver excursions to disembark?

 

[bksaffle]

The excursion "Majestic Spilled Blood Cathedral & Boat Ride (SP05)", is scheduled for 1:15 p.m.
The excursion "St. Petersburg Introduction" also spends time at the church, is scheduled for 9:15 a.m.
The excursion "Walking Tour of St. Petersburg" also spends time at the church, is scheduled for 9:00 a.m.

 

[sdivers]

The excursion "Majestic Spilled Blood Cathedral & Boat Ride (SP05)", is scheduled for 1:15 p.m.
The excursion "St. Petersburg Introduction" also spends time at the church, is scheduled for 9:15 a.m.
The excursion "Walking Tour of St. Petersburg" also spends time at the church, is scheduled for 9:00 a.m.

Thank you so much!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Does disney give priority to deliver excursions to disembark?

I have been there twice on DCL both for two days. On day one, for both cruises we were in about an hour before the advertised schedule. As soon as we were cleared, we were off. We beat " all" DCL shore trips. We were off before thier meet times, no immigration issues and our guides were waiting for us.

Day two we had been there overnight, we were off circa 8 am and there were some DCL trips around.

So, actually YES, they try to keep it a bit quiet and get DCL trips off, but thry do not have priority and we beat them , on day 1 in 2015 as well as 2010.

I would say, get up early, and keep checking, and get off as soon as you can.

To add,

I actually had otivste tours in every port, not just St Petes, full details in the quoted blog.

 

[KDG]

We are looking forward to joining all of you on this great cruise. We will be visiting DLP for 2 days prior to sailing to celebrate my 60th birthday and the cruise will be a celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary. This will be our 3rd Disney cruise. We are interested in alternatives for excursions in St. Petersburg and have been reading these recent posts.

 

[bksaffle]

We are looking forward to joining all of you on this great cruise. We will be visiting DLP for 2 days prior to sailing to celebrate my 60th birthday and the cruise will be a celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary. This will be our 3rd Disney cruise. We are interested in alternatives for excursions in St. Petersburg and have been reading these recent posts.

Welcome, you will have fun in Disneyland Paris, I think the park is beautiful. You will see different opinions on here about what excursions to take. I am all about getting as much as I can, because there is a really good chance we wouldn't be going back....that is why we chose to go with Anastasia Travel, because I wanted to make sure we visited certain places. I know we will be exhausted, but I think it will be worth it.

 

[lbw25]

We are looking forward to joining all of you on this great cruise. We will be visiting DLP for 2 days prior to sailing to celebrate my 60th birthday and the cruise will be a celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary. This will be our 3rd Disney cruise. We are interested in alternatives for excursions in St. Petersburg and have been reading these recent posts.

Welcome to the group - and happy anniversary! We just celebrated our 25th last year on a Disney cruise.

 

[KDG]

Anastasia Travel has set up this potential itinerary for us. Looking for others who might be interested in the same tour. Contact Katherine at Anastasia with your interest.

8:30-9:00 exit thru passport control
9-10:30 city tour including Tchaikovsky's grave site
10:30-11:30 drive to Pushkin
11:30-1:00 visit Catherine's Palace and Amber Room
1:00-2:00 drive to Peterhof
2:00-3:30 tour around Peterhof Fountain park (no visit inside)
3:30-4:00 hydrofoil trip to downtown
4:15-6:00 visit Hermitage
6:15-6:45 visit Church of the Spilled Blood
6:45-8:30 evening folk show or canal boat trip (we will take the canal tour but you can choose)
9:00 back to ship