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Month: September 2013

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Jumping Ship in St. Petersburg

Rather than see Tallinn (which I had recently visited) and spend another day at sea returning to Copenhagen, Trish and I jumped ship in St. Petersburg to enjoy Russia’s most popular (and European) city for five days. I had second thoughts that this might have been too much time, but the city is well worth five days. While I’m always collecting ideas for future TV scripts, my immediate assignment was to update and improve our chapter on St. Petersburg. Now, with our Rick Steves’ Snapshot St. Petersburg, Helsinki & Tallinn guidebook, just out, and with this city being an important chapter in our Northern European Cruise Ports guidebook, we have a responsibility to offer our readers the best information possible on St. Petersburg. I enjoyed traveling in the footsteps of Cameron Hewitt and Ian Watson, who wrote the existing chapter. (In 1993, Ian and I wrote a little guidebook to St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tallinn, and Riga in an effort to help kick-start independent tourism immediately after the fall of the USSR. Now we’re ready to take that to a much higher level.) Photos by Trish Feaster, see her blog at The Travelphile.com.

Russia is not people-friendly in so many ways. The scale of things seems designed to create a deep-seated feeling of “I’m not worthy.” St. Petersburg’s massive new Marine Facade cruise facility has five giant terminals to serve a fleet of mammoth cruise ships in a massive horseshoe-shaped port built to accommodate the growing cruise industry.
Russia is not people-friendly in so many ways. The scale of things seems designed to create a deep-seated feeling of “I’m not worthy.” St. Petersburg’s massive new Marine Facade cruise facility has five giant terminals to serve a fleet of mammoth cruise ships in a massive horseshoe-shaped port built to accommodate the growing cruise industry.
Because I spent the money and went through the hoops to get a Russian visa, I’m was just one of a handful of cruisers out of the 3,000 on our ship who could come and go through the stern customs station at the terminal.
Because I spent the money and went through the hoops to get a Russian visa, I’m was just one of a handful of cruisers out of the 3,000 on our ship who could come and go through the stern customs station at the terminal.
St. Petersburg’s Marine Facade cruise port can host a fleet of cruise ships at the same time. From here a city of five million awaits exploration.
St. Petersburg’s Marine Facade cruise port can host a fleet of cruise ships at the same time. From here a city of five million awaits exploration.
About 99 percent of the passengers on our ship toured St. Petersburg by cruise line excursion. On these guided shore excursions a bus meets you at the terminal and takes you to see the major sights. Those I talked to thoroughly enjoyed their excursions. By my estimate, they saw the famous sights efficiently and had good guides. But they didn’t really experience — and certainly didn’t feel — the actual city and its people.
About 99 percent of the passengers on our ship toured St. Petersburg by cruise line excursion. On these guided shore excursions a bus meets you at the terminal and takes you to see the major sights. Those I talked to thoroughly enjoyed their excursions. By my estimate, they saw the famous sights efficiently and had good guides. But they didn’t really experience — and certainly didn’t feel — the actual city and its people.
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Formal Night on the Emerald Princess

While it’s not required when cruising, it’s nice to be able to dress up a bit. For this trip, Trish and I packed an extra bag with cruise-specific clothes.

Many cruises have one or two designated formal nights. The focus is the main dining room, and passengers get decked out for dinner in suits and cocktail dresses — even tuxes and floor-length gowns. In general, on formal nights the ambience of the ship is upscale, with people dressed to the nines hanging out in the bars, casinos, and other public areas.

Some passengers relish the opportunity to dress up on formal nights. But if you don’t feel like it, it’s fine to dress smart casual — as long as you stay out of the dining room. If unable to meet the dress expectations, you can skip the formal dinners and eat at another restaurant or the buffet, or order room service. (Photos by Trish Feaster, see her blog at The Travephile.com.)

It’s formal night on the ship, and I do my best with what I’ve got.
It’s formal night on the ship, and I do my best with what I’ve got.
Formal night is the night the captain appears before the ship’s peasantry. Whether you have a suite with a balcony or a tiny room with bunk beds and drapes that pretend to cover a window, all are welcome to gather as the captain introduces his lead officers and greets the passengers. Of course, the frequent cruisers, special guests, and those who pay for premium fancy cabins have other opportunities to hang out with the captain and the officers. There is a kind of hierarchy on cruise ships. Most crew members aren’t allowed to socialize with the passengers. But uniformed officers mix and mingle plenty at special events. We enjoyed one happy hour when it seemed every passenger in attendance had been on eight to 10 Princess cruises. It seems cruisers get comfortable with a particular line, become loyal customers, and enjoy special status.
Formal night is the night the captain appears before the ship’s peasantry. Whether you have a suite with a balcony or a tiny room with bunk beds and drapes that pretend to cover a window, all are welcome to gather as the captain introduces his lead officers and greets the passengers. Of course, the frequent cruisers, special guests, and those who pay for premium fancy cabins have other opportunities to hang out with the captain and the officers. There is a kind of hierarchy on cruise ships. Most crew members aren’t allowed to socialize with the passengers. But uniformed officers mix and mingle plenty at special events. We enjoyed one happy hour when it seemed every passenger in attendance had been on eight to 10 Princess cruises. It seems cruisers get comfortable with a particular line, become loyal customers, and enjoy special status.
I made this man feel short. He made me feel like a tramp. And we shared an elevator ride filled with laughter that will live on in our memories.
I made this man feel short. He made me feel like a tramp. And we shared an elevator ride filled with laughter that will live on in our memories.
Whether you packed fancy cloths and dress up or not, it’s fun to be out and about on formal night. Dressing up is a big deal for lots of people and it simply puts them in a fun-loving mood.
Whether you packed fancy cloths and dress up or not, it’s fun to be out and about on formal night. Dressing up is a big deal for lots of people and it simply puts them in a fun-loving mood.

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Enjoying the Ship

Cruising makes a lot of travelers happy. That’s clear every night when we enjoy our evenings on board the Emerald Princess. Some friends of this blog have commented that they can’t believe I’m advocating cruising. I’m not pro or con cruising. It simply works for lots of people.  I’m learning about it and hoping to help those who like cruising to get the most out of their precious shore time. That’s why we’ve written our cruise guidebooks to both Northern European and Mediterranean ports, that’s why I’m on this ship, and I’m having a great time while I’m at it. Go back to my blog from September 2011 to read my reports on our Mediterranean cruise. (Photos by Trish Feaster, The Travelphile.com.

Our Princess Cruise Lines ship has several pools and public zones that will suit your mood. If you want relative quiet, you can find it.
Our Princess Cruise Lines ship has several pools and public zones that will suit your mood. If you want relative quiet, you can find it.
The Emerald Princess’ main pool is the social gathering point. A huge screen, used for showing movies, towers above it. Hot water and conversation bubble in the hot tubs at all hours.
The Emerald Princess’ main pool is the social gathering point. A huge screen, used for showing movies, towers above it. Hot water and conversation bubble in the hot tubs at all hours.
One of the surprise delights of our cruise was feeding the birds. I imagine it’s not encouraged (and after 15 minutes of making birds very happy, a woman on a lower balcony craned her neck and looked up at me to say, “Can you stop that? They’re going to poop on me.”). But it was mesmerizingly fun. Seagulls seemed to be playing in the drafts caused by our mammoth ship all the time. Here, as we sailed away from Stockholm, I’d launch a tiny chunk of bread a few times and somehow the word got out. Within minutes, I had a gaggle of gulls swooping by to grab crumbs as I tossed them. They were graceful and seemed to laugh along with me throughout this acrobatic feeding.
One of the surprise delights of our cruise was feeding the birds. I imagine it’s not encouraged (and after 15 minutes of making birds very happy, a woman on a lower balcony craned her neck and looked up at me to say, “Can you stop that? They’re going to poop on me.”). But it was mesmerizingly fun. Seagulls seemed to be playing in the drafts caused by our mammoth ship all the time. Here, as we sailed away from Stockholm, I’d launch a tiny chunk of bread a few times and somehow the word got out. Within minutes, I had a gaggle of gulls swooping by to grab crumbs as I tossed them. They were graceful and seemed to laugh along with me throughout this acrobatic feeding.
As we sailed through Stockholm’s vast archipelago, the light was just right and a glass of Champagne seemed to compliment the moment.
As we sailed through Stockholm’s vast archipelago, the light was just right and a glass of Champagne seemed to compliment the moment.
A fun way to meet the stateroom neighbors was to share a drink as the ship sliced through particularly scenic stretches of our cruise.
A fun way to meet the stateroom neighbors was to share a drink as the ship sliced through particularly scenic stretches of our cruise.
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Some Insider Notes on Cruise Excursions

33-rick-look-out-from-deckCruise 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.