Four Swampers
Picture is Disney Wonder at Cabo San Lucas
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2012
- Messages
- 998
St. Petersburg, Russia for one day with Exeter International Travel Agency.
We visited St. Petersburg, Russia on June 16th, 2015 as a one day stop on our Disney Cruise. We had eleven people divided into 2 families. Two grandparents in their 70’s, four adults, and five teens. One teen is wheelchair bound. The grandmother had previously visited St. Petersburg for 2 days. We used Exeter International as our tour service. The short answer is that this was a fantastic tour and blew away our expectations as well as the experience of any other person on our ship. The detailed answer follows.
Our guide, Lyudmila, and driver, Vladimir, were waiting for us when we exited the cruise terminal. We had no problems with passport control using the day permit/visa provided by Exeter International. Because we were with an accredited tour provider who took care of our paperwork, we did not need to get a visa on our own. Lyudmila’s English was perfect, as was her knowledge of St. Petersburg.
We started with the Peter and Paul Fortress and an inside tour of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the fortress. We then made a quick souvenir stop, at our request, and a stop by the Neva River to view the Winter Palace across the river and orient ourselves within the city.
We then continued to The Hermitage, where Lyudmila deftly navigated us around and through the large crowds in order to see all of the most important pieces of art on display. Again, she knew the history of the building as well as the artwork like the back of her hand. My mom, the grandmother who has been to St. Petersburg and the Hermitage before, remarked that she saw more in the Hermitage in 2 hours with Lyudmila than she saw in an entire day with her guide in the past.
After the Hermitage, we went to lunch at an upscale restaurant that served Russian classics. They chose the restaurant to be wheelchair friendly. Vladimir was very helpful with getting our wheelchair bound teen off and on the bus and working with the wheelchair itself. We enjoyed lunch and continued down the street to the Yusupov Palace. Despite a group of visiting dignitaries, we managed to tour the main rooms of the palace and visit the basement, site of Rasputin’s murder.
Afterwards, we stopped by St. Isaac’s Cathedral. We chose not to go inside, as we were a little crunched for time. Several photos of St. Isaac’s, then we returned to our ship to freshen up. After a quick dinner and clothing change, one hour total, we again left the ship, cleared passport control, and found Vladimir waiting to take us to the Mariinsky Theater. We enjoyed the opera, “Betrothal in a Monastery.” Fortunately, an LED display over the stage provided English subtitles. At the end of the opera, Vladimir was waiting and took us back to the ship.
We all spent the rest of the cruise congratulating ourselves on getting the best tour of St. Petersburg. We looked at everyone else on the ship and felt bad for them that they did not have Lyudmila, Vladimir, and Exeter International. A great big thank-you to our Exeter contact, Alex Datsev, and to Lyudmila and Vladimir for a perfect day in St. Petersburg!
(I realize everyone on the ship had a great day in St. Petersburg. I'm not looking to start any fights, nor make anyone sad, nor actually say that we had a better day. Please be patient with my hyperbole.)
We visited St. Petersburg, Russia on June 16th, 2015 as a one day stop on our Disney Cruise. We had eleven people divided into 2 families. Two grandparents in their 70’s, four adults, and five teens. One teen is wheelchair bound. The grandmother had previously visited St. Petersburg for 2 days. We used Exeter International as our tour service. The short answer is that this was a fantastic tour and blew away our expectations as well as the experience of any other person on our ship. The detailed answer follows.
Our guide, Lyudmila, and driver, Vladimir, were waiting for us when we exited the cruise terminal. We had no problems with passport control using the day permit/visa provided by Exeter International. Because we were with an accredited tour provider who took care of our paperwork, we did not need to get a visa on our own. Lyudmila’s English was perfect, as was her knowledge of St. Petersburg.
We started with the Peter and Paul Fortress and an inside tour of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the fortress. We then made a quick souvenir stop, at our request, and a stop by the Neva River to view the Winter Palace across the river and orient ourselves within the city.
We then continued to The Hermitage, where Lyudmila deftly navigated us around and through the large crowds in order to see all of the most important pieces of art on display. Again, she knew the history of the building as well as the artwork like the back of her hand. My mom, the grandmother who has been to St. Petersburg and the Hermitage before, remarked that she saw more in the Hermitage in 2 hours with Lyudmila than she saw in an entire day with her guide in the past.
After the Hermitage, we went to lunch at an upscale restaurant that served Russian classics. They chose the restaurant to be wheelchair friendly. Vladimir was very helpful with getting our wheelchair bound teen off and on the bus and working with the wheelchair itself. We enjoyed lunch and continued down the street to the Yusupov Palace. Despite a group of visiting dignitaries, we managed to tour the main rooms of the palace and visit the basement, site of Rasputin’s murder.
Afterwards, we stopped by St. Isaac’s Cathedral. We chose not to go inside, as we were a little crunched for time. Several photos of St. Isaac’s, then we returned to our ship to freshen up. After a quick dinner and clothing change, one hour total, we again left the ship, cleared passport control, and found Vladimir waiting to take us to the Mariinsky Theater. We enjoyed the opera, “Betrothal in a Monastery.” Fortunately, an LED display over the stage provided English subtitles. At the end of the opera, Vladimir was waiting and took us back to the ship.
We all spent the rest of the cruise congratulating ourselves on getting the best tour of St. Petersburg. We looked at everyone else on the ship and felt bad for them that they did not have Lyudmila, Vladimir, and Exeter International. A great big thank-you to our Exeter contact, Alex Datsev, and to Lyudmila and Vladimir for a perfect day in St. Petersburg!
(I realize everyone on the ship had a great day in St. Petersburg. I'm not looking to start any fights, nor make anyone sad, nor actually say that we had a better day. Please be patient with my hyperbole.)
