Cruise lines make part of their profit by selling on-shore excursions. When chosen carefully, these day trips (lasting from 3 to 8 hours, costing $80 to $300) can be a fine value. Talking with the staff of various cruise lines in Northern Europe, I learned this about cruise excursions:
Most cruise lines offer essentially the same experiences, just with different names. Whether offered by a top-end cruise line or a cheaper one, the excursions are mostly purchased from the same ground services in port cities and are essentially the same. Excursion groups are smaller on walks (limited to about 22 people) and bigger on buses (up to 44 cruisers). Because most cruises start or finish in Copenhagen, there’s not much cruise-excursion business in that city. The best city for visiting an Ice Bar is Stockholm. But, in general, the Ice Bar tours — sold in several cities — are the worst value. (You just go into a frozen bar with a bunch of cruisers and share an experience that really has nothing to do with your destination and is little more than a big, icy ad for a vodka company.) Fit people will accomplish more if they choose a more active excursion option. The less demanding tours have much more leisurely schedules and a slower pace. The cruise line’s promotional material will make it clear how physically demanding a particular excursion is.
Russia is the least tourist-friendly destination. Cruisers find that the people there are often uninterested in helping and don’t speak English. The Russian excursions are all sold by the same big company. Ballet is a big hit and people love the ballet excursion but, as the big-name troupes are on summer break, your “ballet” evening is with lesser dance groups in lesser venues. While tourists can’t go ashore on their own in Russia without a visa, crew members have a “seaman’s book” that lets them go ashore in countries such as Russia.
The biggest money generators for cruise lines in Northern Europe are Berlin (since so many people take the three-hour train ride into the city from the north coast port) and St. Petersburg (because, with the visa requirement, almost no one ventures ashore without a cruise-line excursion). Photo by Trish Feaster; for more great photos, see her blog at The Travelphile.com.
We have found what you posted to be fact except that the Russians we came in contact with all spoke English.
Rick, You should emphasize to your readers the importance of Vacation Protection Plans. I have seen first hand its value. Yesterday my wife fell and broke her arm. We had to leave the ship for surgery. The plans are cheap and when you need it, it becomes a real value. BTW my experience with all Russian people has been very pleasant and helpful. It always helps to know a little of the language in any country. Pleasant travels. Jim Carr
We, too, found Russian people mostly friendly and helpful when visiting St. Petersburg on our own.
A little discouraging about St Petersburg. I read all the opinions on Face Book and was surprised at how many people had better luck with a private tour. I have always worried about getting back to the ship on time with a private service. Although they all claimed that SPB Tours was excellent. Hope you have some of that info in the Cruise book.
We linked with fellow passengers thru Cruise Critic and had small groups of 4 to 8. First to the Parthenon- before all the buses. Time to explore Ephesus. Your regular guide books were wonderful for British Isles cruise. and great tour with TJ Travel in St Petersburg. You do miss seeing Venice after hours tho- when all the tourists are gone.
We had excellent excursions while cruising in Russia last year aboard the MS Pushkin. The crew was quite young and enjoyed talking with us so they could practice their English!!. I can see how people would think the Russian people are rude, as they are somewhat more reserved and not maybe as trusting of us. It only took me making the effort to communicate via a smile… the universal language!